Aunty Rhea

The chime sounded, signalling the end of the hour. Students began gathering their things, the room filling with the rustle of parchment and the scrape of benches. Cassia moved slowly, deliberately, letting the others filter out ahead of her.

When only a handful remained, she looked up.

Rhea was watching her. The magistra had abandoned all pretense of sorting her books, her hands resting on the lectern, her warm brown eyes fixed on Cassia with an expression that made something flutter in the younger woman's chest.

Cassia stood and walked toward the front of the room. Her heart hammered, which was ridiculous, this was Rhea, not some stranger she needed to impress. They had shared meals, conversations, laughter. Rhea had taught her to play cards when she was twelve and had explained the concept of love in a child could understand when Cassia had asked, with the brutal directness of youth, what it meant that her parents shared a bedchamber.

But something was different now. Cassia was no longer a child. She had reached primacy. She had, she **** herself to acknowledge it, a body that responded to certain stimuli in ways she was still learning to understand.

"Magistra Scipio," she began, keeping her voice formal for the benefit of the few remaining students.

Rhea's composure cracked entirely. She swept around the lectern and caught Cassia in a fierce embrace, her arms wrapping tight around the younger woman's shoulders.

"None of that," Rhea murmured, her voice thick with affection. "None of this 'Magistra' nonsense when we're alone. I'll always be just Rhea to you. Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to arrive at this academy? Demetria's letters have been insufferable, 'Cassia has been accepted,' 'Cassia will be starting in the autumn,' 'Cassia is very excited about your class', as if I didn't already count the days."

Cassia laughed, hugging her back, breathing in the familiar scent of ink and old parchment. "I didn't want to interrupt your lecture. You were wonderful. You're always wonderful."

Rhea had become an unofficial member of the Longwood family since Rhea and Cassia's mothers met six years ago at a reformist party. They quickly became fast friends and intellectual allies with Demetria frequently quoting Rhea's work during her grand speeches in the Senate. Cassia idolized Rhea, viewing her like a cool older sister, or hip aunty. Cassia was aware that her "Aunty" Rhea was more than just a close family friend to her parents though. Sometimes, when Cassia was younger, aunty Rhea would “stay over” which usually involved Rhea and Cassia's parents staying up late drinking wine and later emerging from her parents' bedchambers looking positively rumpled and satisfied in a way that went way beyond a good night's sleep. Cassia never asked too many questions about those visits.

Rhea pulled back just enough to look at her, her hands still resting on Cassia's shoulders. Her eyes widened slightly as she took Cassia in properly for the first time.

"By the gods, Cassia." Her voice had changed, softened into something almost wondering. "You've filled out. I knew you would, Lara mentioned you had, but seeing you in person..." She stepped back, her gaze traveling over Cassia's figure with an appreciation that made the younger woman's cheeks warm. "Primacy agrees with you. You're not a girl anymore."

Cassia wasn't certain how to respond to that. She felt suddenly aware of her own body, the modest breasts beneath her tunic, the subtle weight of her six-inch cock nestled against her thigh, the way her hips had widened slightly in the past months. She had always been pretty, she knew, but Rhea was looking at her as though she were something more.

"I've been training," Cassia said. "Combat drills, mostly. And I've been reading your new book. The one on post-hierarchical ethics. I have questions about the section on beta agency."

Rhea laughed, a genuine, delighted sound. "Of course you do. You're exactly like her, you know. Demetria. That same fierce intelligence, that same refusal to accept easy answers." She reached out and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Cassia's ear. "But you're also like Lara. Softer. More receptive. I can see it in your eyes."

The observation struck uncomfortably close to Cassia's deepest fears, that latent beta side she worked so hard to control, the part of her that responded to being dominated and filled. She straightened her spine, summoning her mother's discipline.

"I'm going to become an alpha," she said. It came out more defensive than she intended.

Rhea's expression softened. "I know you are. Or at least, I know you want to. And I think you could, truly. You have the will for it, the determination. But Cassia..." She paused, seeming to choose her words carefully. "There's no shame in being an omega. I've made my entire career out of that simple truth."

"I know." Cassia looked down at her hands, then back up. "I've read your work. I understand the argument. But you chose to remain an omega. You had a choice. Most omegas don't, they either become alphas or they become betas because someone stronger takes their will from them. I don't want to be someone's beta. I don't want to lose myself."

The words hung between them, heavier than Cassia had intended.

Rhea reached out and took her hand, her grip warm and steady. "Then don't. Hold your will. Guard it. But also..." She tilted her head, that infinite kindness still shining in her eyes. "Don't be afraid of what you are. You're a futanari, Cassia. You have a cock and a cunt, both fully functional, both capable of giving and receiving pleasure. That's not a contradiction. It's not a weakness. It's just... balance."

Cassia's breath caught. Rhea had never spoken to her like this before, so directly, so... intimately. She was suddenly acutely aware of the warmth of Rhea’s hand, the way their bodies had drifted closer together without her quite noticing.

"What did you think of the lesson?" Rhea asked eagerly. "Honestly. I want to know."

Cassia considered the question, grateful for distracting her wandering thoughts. "I thought you were right," she said slowly. "About hierarchy being constructed. But I also thought..." She hesitated, then pushed forward. "You didn't address what hierarchy gives us. Order. Predictability. Protection for those who can't protect themselves. My mother, Demetria, she holds five wills. Those betas are safer with her than they would be on their own. Isn't that worth something?"

Rhea's smile widened into something almost proud. "Excellent. A real objection, not just parroted talking points. You're right, I didn't address that. Partly because I want the class to wrestle with it themselves, and partly because you're not wrong. Hierarchy does provide those things. The question is whether they're worth the cost." She released Cassia's hand and stepped back. "We'll get to that in week three. I'm saving the chapter on paternalistic justifications for then."

Cassia nodded, filing the information away. She should go, but she found herself lingering.

Rhea seemed to understand. She reached out one more time, squeezing Cassia's shoulder.

"Off you go now," she said, prodding Cassia towards the door. "We have plenty of time to catch up later. You can come and visit me in my office any time. However, I do want you to come full of stories of your adventures here at the academy when you do. I’ve already started working on my next book so I need someone to live vicariously through.”

Cassia laughed, promising to tell Rhea all about her annoying new roommate later.