Chapter 324: 324: The Morning of Apex
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Miryam poked his muscle plate with a claw finger. "It’s so hard! Papa, could a sword break it?"
"Not easily," Kai replied, watching her with faint amusement. "A normal blade would shatter before leaving a scratch. But there are weapons out there, forged with beast materials that could pierce even this. Remember, strength doesn’t mean invincible."
Luna stepped closer to his back, her hand brushing along the ridge of his shoulder plates. "The shape... it’s made for movement, not just defense. When you were fighting last night, it looked like you could twist and strike from any angle without losing speed."
"That’s the design," Kai said. "The armor is an extension of my own body, not something I put on. It moves with me, not against me. The joints are layered, so I can block without losing range of motion."
Miryam stepped in front of him, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Papa... show me how fast you can move."
Kai’s mandibles flexed in a faint grin. "Inside the chamber? That wouldn’t be wise. I might break something."
"Then show us a little!" she insisted.
With a faint hum of strength, Kai blurred forward — not far, just enough to vanish from where he stood and reappear a few paces away. Miryam gasped, clapping her hands / paws.
"That’s so cool!" she said. "I blinked and you were gone!"
Luna’s eyes lingered on his movements. "That speed... it’s dangerous in close quarters. Anyone unprepared would be finished before they realized what happened."
Kai inclined his head. "Which is why control is more important than raw power. Uncontrolled strength can be as dangerous to allies as to enemies."
Miryam tilted her head. "Papa... can you play with me while you’re like this?"
He crouched down, one clawed hand open. "Climb up. I will give you a horse hide."
She scrambled onto his shoulder plate, her small hands / paws gripping the smooth armor where it curved over his chest. "It’s warm!" she said in surprise.
"Heat builds in the armor during battle," Kai explained, standing again with her perched high. "It helps keep my muscles primed for sudden movement. In long fights, it can wear me down if I don’t pace myself."
Luna stepped in front of him, eyes serious now. "Kai... you said you’d train with me. But if your body can do this... how could I ever keep up?"
"You don’t need to match me in form," Kai said firmly. "You need to find your own strength. We’ll build on your natural speed, your precision. Together, we’ll make sure that when you strike, it counts."
Her lips curved in a faint smile. "Then I will hold you to that." She paused and silently said, "My sexy handsome hubby. I also want to feel your apex from raw power on the bed."
Kai didn’t hear that. She was very silent and thinking about what would Kai’s Anaconda looked... in his apex form. It was already big and thick.
She thought, "Will it be red instead of human skin colour? Will it be bigger and thicker than his human form? Can I take in until Kai’s is satisfied? Ohh. Gosh. I am feeling wet. If I can’t handle his apex from’s anaconda until he cums. I will suck it up for him. Or maybe I should ask someone else to join. I will ask Kai..."
She paused again, "I need to think about it. I can’t imagine myself taking turns and waiting for anaconda time. Or seeing him mate with others in front of me. I need some time... I am not that open minded yet. He can mate with as many as he wants but I can’t share my personal time with other. I am still a jealous wife."
Meanwhile...
Miryam tugged his antenna gently. "Papa, can you roar?"
Kai chuckled. "Not a roar... but I can make my enemies wish they’d never heard my voice." He turned his head slightly, releasing a short, low-frequency click through his mandibles. The sound was more felt than heard, a vibration that shivered through the air.
Miryam’s eyes went wide. "That’s scary! But I liked it. I will roar too. But I need to learn it first. When I am done learning we will roar together in the desert."
"That’s a promise," Kai said. "We will roar together in the desert. A father and daughter duo will make all the desert beast vow in fear."
Luna stopped thinking and they spent the next several minutes asking more questions — about how long he could keep the form active (five minutes without using any aura, longer with controlled aura), about the sharpness of his mandibles (able to shear through bone and hardened shell alike), and about whether the armor changed his senses (the antennae’s range and detail doubled in this form).
Finally, Miryam leaned against his chest plate, her small weight warm against the cool resin of his armor. "Papa, you’re the strongest. But promise me you won’t fight alone again. I want to fight too."
Kai rested one armored hand gently against her back. "I promise. But sometimes... until you grow up, to protect you, I have to be the first into the fight. That’s my place. When you grow stronger we will fight together."
Luna stood beside him, her hand resting lightly on the edge of his chest plate. "And I’ll be beside you one day soon."
Kai looked at them both — one small and wide eyed, the other tall, sexy and resolute — and let the apex form dissolve. The armor plates shimmered, retracting into his skin until only his humanoid form remained. The sudden absence of heat left the air feeling cooler, quieter.
Miryam reached up to touch him now with her paws. "You’re still warm, Papa. I feel safe when I am close to you."
"I am warm because of you two," Kai said simply. "and it’s my job to make you feel safe. That’s the job of all fathers. I will always fulfill my job as a father, no matter what happens."