| @DaveTheBarbarian Good to see you started reading the fan fiction here as well. Feel free to leave a comment in threads that haven't received an update in a long time too. I'm sure the writers will nonetheless appreciate it. Heck it might even stimulate someone to start working on their story again :-D |
MetallumOperatur said: She missed the Ochimusha. Author's mistake, or are her senses slightly less keen than she would like to admit? I suspect the scent of undead is easy to miss under all those others. On Arcadia they don't rot, after all. |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
tygertyger said: MetallumOperatur said: She missed the Ochimusha. Author's mistake, or are her senses slightly less keen than she would like to admit? I suspect the scent of undead is easy to miss under all those others. On Arcadia they don't rot, after all. That's totally it! :P |
Chapter 19 The next morning I woke, for once, well rested. A pleasant contrast to the previous night. I allowed my gaze to drift down and consider Sekhet, whose head was resting on my chest. I had been in good company throughout most of the previous day. Then my gaze turned contemplative as I stroked her back and a soft purr emanated from her throat. What exactly were the women of Gray Gardens looking to me for? Were they merely making use of the opportunity an unbound man presented to enjoy themselves, or were they hoping I’d be convinced to stay here and something more would develop in time? And what was the best course of action for me? Gray Gardens appeared to be different from what I’d been told much of Arcadia, and certainly Umbra, was like. I still didn’t like the idea of turning into a Hemu and having my freedoms restricted. But it wasn’t just that. If I stayed here, what would that look like? Getting my brains fucked out every day was nice and all, but was that everything I wanted to do for the rest of my life? I was a visitor from another world and though I seemed to be one of many, I wanted to see more of this world. On the other hand, I really didn’t know much about what awaited me in Bestallion and beyond. Even without Ahmose’s restrictive laws, the basic attitudes of most mamono were unlikely to be too different. Aneksi had said as much, after all. Even if she had an interest in keeping me here, I did not have the feeling she would lie to me to achieve that. I wracked my brain on that for a while, but managed to draw no conclusion other than that there was no easy answer, no clearly better path to choose. I let out a loud sigh and I felt Sekhet stirring, looking up at me through curious, sleepy eyes. “Sorry,” I said. “Didn’t mean to wake you.” “That’s fine.” She assured me while stifling a yawn. “We should make good use of the day.” She got up and stretched thoroughly, giving me a great view. She smiled seductively when she noticed my staring and returned the favour when I left the bed and stretched in turn. “What do you think about a little bath?” A bath was agreeable to her and, after we got dressed, we headed down from the fifth floor of the tower, which exclusively housed members of the first family, and out into the already hot, pre-noon sun. In the bath, contrary to my expectation, she didn’t attempt another round of hanky panky. Instead, she relaxed against my chest and enjoyed the cool water with me. Even if we had arrived only recently, the bath had quickly established itself as one of my favourite places in Gray Gardens, similar to how the public baths in Umbra had been one of its most pleasant features. Who’d have thought having ready access to cool water in the desert was something I’d appreciate? We spent a good amount of time soaking in quiet reverie. Neither of us saw a need for the distraction of conversation, not until she finally informed me that noon was fast approaching. I dimly wondered how she could tell, but at that particular time did not care enough to ask about it. If she said it was almost noon, it probably was. We left the water and started heading back for the tower entrance. At the entrance, we came across Akela, Mesta and Ella. While Akela shot me a knowing look and Mesta put on a jealous display, Ella looked somewhat contemplative. I excused myself after a brief greeting, citing my impending lecture with Aneksi. They looked somewhat disappointed with that. Perhaps I should make sure to give them ample attention as well while we resided in Gray Gardens?. After all, I would soon be on the road with them again. --- My lecture with Aneksi followed much the same pattern as the previous day. She spoke of various mamono and also included some insights about Arcadia, the highlight of which was a map roughly outlining the continent and its varied regions. She repeatedly quizzed me on what she’d told me both today and the day before. Once more, she seemed quite pleased with me and eventually declared today’s lecture over, once more telling me that we would continue the following day. I was just about ready to depart, when the doors to the chapel opened and Tony and Beset entered, followed by a dozen mummies. “Ribbon duty?” I ventured a guess. “Ribbon duty,” the anubis confirmed. I was quite amazed that she was still walking around with relative ease. She looked ready to give birth at any moment. “So how does this work?” Unsure of how to approach the prospect of doing it with twelve women at once. The absent gazes in their eyes, their passive demeanour and the fact that they didn’t speak for themselves also made things more than a little strange, even by the far from normal standards Arcadia had been setting since I first arrived. She seemed somewhat confused by my question. “Are you asking me how to have sex? I was under the impression you were acquainted with the process.” “I know how to have sex,” I explained, somewhat flustered. “But they seem somewhat absent? Do I just…?” “Oh, that,” she said with a smirk and an instant later, like a blinder had been taken from their eyes, the mummies’ gazes focused on me. Their absent gazes were replaced with ones of longing and desire. Almost simultaneously, they started creeping towards me. “A little privacy maybe?” I suggested. “I can’t see what you’re doing anyway,” Tony chimed. “The mummies are like an extension of myself. I will experience what you do with them one way or another,” Beset said. “Besides, I will need to put the Ityphallikos curse on you if you hope to last and provide energy to all my girls.” “Ok fine,” I said, shooting a gaze towards Aneksi and Tony. Aneksi shrugged her shoulders and got up, took Tony by the hand and the two headed out. Beset stepped towards me, and after whispering a few words I could feel the familiar sensation that accompanied the Ityphallikos curse welling up in my body. I took a hesitant step towards the waiting mummies, who in turn stepped closer as well. Like all mamono I’d seen to date, they had very attractive bodies. Even if they were almost entirely covered in bandages. Aneksi had told me that these were necessary because the skin of mummies was extremely sensitive. I removed my clothing before the mummies could rip it from my body and as my mind became more and more clouded with lust, I hardly cared anymore that Beset was still present. H-Scene When the act was finally done, I was lying on my back, breathing heavily and feeling ready for another bath and a nap, preferably all at once. The mummies had let go of me, lined up and had once again assumed a somewhat absent look. Beset walked over to me, a small smile on her face. “That was quite the performance Sönke,” she… praised me? “Thanks,” I said. “I’m kind of feeling ready for another bath.” “I believe that can be arranged,” she replied with a smile. Then her face turned business like again. “I thank you for the service you have rendered to Grey Gardens.” “It's the least I can do, given all the hospitality you have offered us,” I gave a tired shrug. “If you knew the cost of such a performance rendered by a professional, you might not think so. Nonetheless I am pleased to hear you say that.” She turned around and made her way towards the doors and the mummies fell into step behind her. Just moments after they all departed, the familiar form of Adrianna made her way towards me. An amused sort of glimmer played in her eyes as she beheld my supine form. “Need a hand?” I extended a weary arm and she effortlessly pulled me to my feet. “And now to the bath!” I declared, hobbling towards my discarded clothing. “I can’t,” she said with no small measure of disappointing tinging her voice. “I have to go out on patrol soon, no time to play around.” “I suppose I’ll have to go alone then,” I said and she gave a disappointed nod. We stepped out of the tower’s main gate and, to my surprise, the day had progressed well into the afternoon. How long had I spent with the mummies? Every time I was under the influence of those curses and aphrodisiacs, I so easily lost track of time. I said my goodbyes to Adrianna and told her to take care, which she seemed to find amusing for some reason, and then headed to the bath once more while she walked towards one of the surrounding outbuildings. The bath was certainly something I’d miss when we hit the road again. And yet, I didn’t spend nearly as much time as I did in the morning, barely enough to feel somewhat invigorated once more. I headed back for the tower, whose gate was manned by one of the lizardman guards, when the twins came out and toward me. “Would you like…” Nefret started “…to join us?” Bahiti finished. “For what?” I wondered, stifling a yawn. “We are having a little…” “…fiesta, up on the roof.” I let out a small sigh. My plan had been to nap for a bit in my room. Though I could certainly do that later as well. “Sure, let’s go.” I agreed and they took position on either side of me to lead me up the stairs. Up top we were met with Beset, Tony, Aneksi, Sekhet, Anuket, two of the lizardmen and a handful of the mummies from earlier as well as Akela, Kohaku and Rin. I idly wondered what some of my travel companions were doing all day; some of them, like Ella, I had barely seen since our arrival. There were chairs strewn about the roof, so I quickly took one of them. Not missing their beat, the twins sat close to me, their intentions clear. “How come you two are always finishing each other’s sentences?” I asked them. “Because we…” “…share souls.” “Shared souls?” I asked for clarification. “What does that mean?” They both dipped their head and then smiled. “Just what it says, of course.” They replied in unison. “So you share one soul or spirit or whatever, kind of like one being in two bodies?” “No, we are two beings…” “…deeply intertwined.” “So you share everything?” “Of course” “What if one of you found a man and he only wanted one of you?” “Why would he only…” “...want one of us?” “Just hypothetically.” “That would…” “…not work.” “I see.” Amazingly enough, they did not appear to be lying. I wondered how such a connection worked? How deep did it go? Surely, magic was involved somewhere in the answer. I doubted you could easily fake being in such perfect sync. Why would one even go through the effort? This connection sounded like a wondrous thing, but what would happen if something happened to one of them? Would the other feel that as well? I mused on the topic for a bit and let my gaze lazily pass across the other people present. As it went from Aneksi, over Beset and finally settled on Tony, I was struck with a truly devious thought. “Tony! You’re going to be a father soon, have you practiced your dad jokes yet?” “I happen to be excellent with those,” he remarked. I smiled widely. “Shoot.” He thought for a second, then said. “Why did the picture go to jail?” I had no answer and he continued. “Because it was framed.” Some of the women shot him an unhappy look. “Ha, you can do better than that. How about this? What did the ocean say to the shore?” I looked around expectantly, then said. “Nothing, it just waved.” Tony gave a little chuckle. “Ok, you might be a worthy opponent. Well, have you heard the rumour going around about butter?” I had not, so I looked to him for the answer. ”Oh, never mind, I probably shouldn’t spread it.” I gave him a little grin and could hear Akela groaning. “Hmm, what do you call a person who never toots in public?” I asked in return. “You don’t know? Well, it’s a private tooter!” Tony and Kohaku chuckled, the rest of the women twisted up their faces even more. “Alright, answer me this. What’s brown and sticky?” Tony now asked. I thought on that one for a moment. “A stick.” He finally said. This time I was forced to shake my head at him as well. “Ok, try to beat this one. What did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college?” No one answered, so I continued with the answer. “Bison. He said bison.” I snorted at my own joke as Beset let out a pained noise. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad.” I tried to defend myself. “It’s not that,” she said in a strained voice. “The child…” Instantly, the roof was bustling with activity, Anuket and Sekhet quickly helped Beset to her feet and guided her towards the stairs. Aneksi quickly said. “Make sure to restrain the mummies,” before heading off after them. The mummies were quickly restrained by the remaining mamono on the roof and guided away, down the stairs. Tony, normally seeming like the soul of calm itself, seemed very much on edge all of a sudden. Despite that, he remained seated on his chair. “Don’t you want to go as well?” I asked. “Of course!” He exclaimed, then continued with a voice that was straining to be calm. “Of course, but Beset won’t let anybody near her now, except for the doctor, Aneksi and perhaps Zahra.” “I see… then what do you want to do now?” “Just keep me company here for a while.” “Alright,” I said and leaned back into my chair and thought for a moment. “So, have you decided on a name yet?” I finally asked him. I asked partially out of interest, but mostly because I figured that getting him talking might be a good thing to distract him. He looked at me confused for a moment, but then seemed to get what I intended with my question. He gave me a thankful nod, cleared his throat and said. “Katana. She will be called Katana Brianne Warren.” |
mugen91Dec 19, 2022 2:27 AM
| Let me throw in one dad joke as well: The furniture store keeps calling me. All I wanted was one night stand. You actually are present when the first Warren offspring on Arcadia is being born! Nice. Also you've just doubled the number of passport entries: |
| Well... Tyger did insinuate that one or two entries might be added in Grey Gardens :P |
Chapter 20 I kept Tony company on the roof until well after the sun went down. As the sun slowly sank beneath the horizon and the moon shone its dull light down upon us, he slowly became more and more anxious. Not being allowed in was clearly taking a bit of a toll on him. I tried my best to keep him distracted, but was increasingly less successful in doing so. Small talk wasn’t exactly my forte at the best of times and I was quickly running out of topics to talk about. It did not help that he started becoming more and more taciturn. Eventually, he fell entirely silent, deep in thought while he waited for any kind of message. I was mulling over whether or not to suggest we head down and see if we could get an update when Aneksi made her way onto the roof, audible enough that Tony could hear her. She wore a wide smile on her face. “Is…?” Tony started in a tense and worried voice, obviously not able to see her smile. “Everything is as it should,” she exclaimed. “Come and meet your daughter.” He lunged out of his seat and hurriedly moved towards Aneksi, who took him by the arm and guided him down the stairs. I smiled to myself. I wouldn’t want to insert myself into that family moment. Instead, I asked the last remaining tower guard, Simrit, to take me down to the guest floor and my room. Upon our arrival, she fidgeted a little. “I was wondering if… could I come by when my shift is over?” I gave her a long look, then shrugged with a smile. “Why not? But don’t wake me if I’m already sleeping.” Her eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically before heading off with a spring in her step. I chuckled a little to myself and headed into my room. Not really having anything in there to distract myself with, I removed my clothes and lay down in my bed. Simrit’s shift better not last too long, else she would be sorely disappointed. Or perhaps not, as some time later I still laid awake, feeling somewhat tired, but unable to fall asleep. I was thinking of Katana, who had just been born and all the encounters I’d had since my arrival. I had been with a lot of women and protection seemed to be a foreign concept on Arcadia. Was I inadvertently and unknowingly on my way to being a father? I shuddered a little at the thought. On the one hand, because I did not feel ready to be a father, on the other because it was a bit painful to consider that if I had indeed impregnated one of the women I’d been with, I might never meet this child. How was the role of the father seen on Arcadia anyway? Was it normal for fathers not to be around when their children grew up? I couldn’t see someone like Tony not being an involved father, but with how things were in Umbra... I continued my musings as I tossed and turned under the sheets, leaving me in a solemn mood when I heard the door to my room creak open. I opened an eye, though it really wasn’t necessary. The glow that Ani gave off was unmistakable, even with my eyes closed. She moved next to the bed. “Put a baby in me,” she said and I choked and coughed. “Say what?” I demanded after finally managing to get a few breaths in again. “I said, put a baby in me,” she said again, more forcefully this time. I guess I’m not the only one to contemplate the topic, though her thought process seems to have gone a different way. “I’m not really in the mood right now,” I stated. “Oh, don’t say that. Just lie back and I’ll take care of everything,” she climbed onto the bed and threw the sheets to the side. She pushed me onto my back, to straddle and embrace me as her flames licked at me. Perhaps just a little. I thought to myself, shuddering at the sense of well-being her proximity gave me. --- My mood was still somewhat somber when I woke up the next morning. I looked over Ani and Simrit, who had managed to arrive before Ani could completely drain me, lying on either side of me. Simrit, who embraced me in an iron grip that made movement quite difficult, had been all too happy to jump on the ‘get me pregnant’ bandwagon. Maybe it was time to stop being so promiscuous? While it was perhaps the most enjoyable facet of my sudden translocation into another world, the thought of fathering a child and never meeting it troubled me greatly. And would they even understand and respect my feelings on the matter? The women of Grey Gardens would probably leave me alone if I insisted on it, that was the law for them after all. My impression was that they respected the first family enough to act in accordance with it. But I strongly doubted my travel companions would accept such a stance, especially after they’d grown accustomed to the comforts I had been providing them on the road. I let out a long sigh. Abstinence was probably not the answer. Not on Arcadia. But what then? Was it time to get married? But whom? I could stay in Grey Gardens, they would surely welcome me. The face of Sekhet flitted through my mind, followed by Cleo, Adrianna, Simrit, then I bit my lip and the images faded. I liked them, but did I truly know them? There was Ayanna back in Umbra, but I’d just escaped that place and the inevitable consequence of remaining there. Then there were my travel companions. Some of them I liked more than others, but wouldn’t staying with them mean to always live on the road, back and forth between Kioko and Ahmose? My sighing awoke Ani who, with a disgruntled groan, rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What are you grumbling about so early in the morning? In need of relief?” “No, I’m good for the moment. And even if I were, the access is somewhat blocked.” I directed her gaze towards Simrit, who still held me in a death grip. “I know how to fix that,” Ani proclaimed confidently. She extended her hand towards Simrit’s finned ear and softly stroked it. Without warning, Simrit's hand shot forward and grabbed Ani’s wrist. Ani let out a startled yelp - perhaps that was not the reaction she was expecting. Simrit now came awake and looked slightly confused at her hand gripping Ani’s wrist before letting go. Subconscious reaction maybe? “Good morning,” I said, trying to wriggle myself out of her weakening grasp. She smiled widely, her hand going down to rub her flat stomach. ”Good morning.” I arched an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Instead, I moved to get out of bed and Simrit reluctantly let go of me. I put on my clothes and decided to follow my routine and go for a bath. I had Simrit accompany me through the tower while Ani decided to stay put for a little while longer. Upon stepping out of the gates, we were ambushed by Ella and some other Grey Garden inhabitants, lizardmen disproportionately represented. I arched an eyebrow as Ella separated from the group and stalked towards me. “You may be useless as a warrior,” she started. Seriously, you people can stop saying that. I possess self-awareness. “But without your interference I might have died. So… thank you.” She blushed profusely, but whether from shame or something else I could not tell. “I have decided that you are in need of training!” “Huh?” I was taken aback. What good would that do? Everyone kept telling me I couldn’t match up anyway? I said as much. “True enough, but that is no reason not to train. Training is it’s own reward, so even if you’ll never beat a healthy mamono in a straight fight, that’s no excuse. Besides, just being able to hold on for a minute may be crucial at some point in the future!” She declared with absolute confidence. “I thought that something like a bow would probably be better, “ I dodged. “You know, to keep my distance?” “The bow would be useful, but there is no substitute for close quarter combat skills. No more discussion now, I will beat you into shape!” She declared eagerly. Her arguments were valid, sort of, maybe. Still, saying I was unenthusiastic about making an ass of myself with an audience was an understatement. “Aren’t you really just trying to live out your public humiliation fetish?” I asked. She blushed a bit but quickly caught herself. “Nonsense, this is for your own good only.” Without waiting for my agreement, she continued. “Very well, for starters, we will need to see your skill level…” “That’s not necessary. I don’t have a skill level. Zero. Nada. Never held a sword in my life,” I said with a deadpan expression. Her eyes were wide with shock. “What about any fighting experience?” “I used to do a little archery, some years ago, which is why I suggested the bow. I’ve been in a few fistfights, but nothing serious. It’s not exactly a necessity where I’m from.” She looked sorely disappointed with me. “Whatever. We’ll start from the top then.” “I don’t have time, I have my lesson with Aneksi soon…” I tried a last ditch effort to weasel my way out of whatever torture she had planned for me. “Do you really think that she will have the lesson with you today? Stop it with the excuses.” I sighed deeply. Perhaps some physical training would do me some good after all? --- Ella drilled me for what felt like many hours, but in reality the sun had not shifted far enough across the sky for that to be the case. She started out by having me run laps across the inner perimeter of the compound before using a training sword to instill some basic knowledge about keeping a proper stance and basic movement patterns into my brain. All the while, the assembled onlookers kept cutting in with their own commentary, suggestions for improvements or simple calls for me to ‘shake that ass a bit more’. When Ella finally relented, I was bathed in sweat, overheated, parched, tired and above all, irritated. I headed for the bath, closely followed by a few of the spectators, who were no doubt hoping to take advantage of the easy reputation I had no doubt earned by this point. Any of them who hoped for more than a look were left sorely disappointed, as I was more cross with the crowd for their incessant commentary, jeering and suggestive remarks during the embarrassing bout of exercise than I was with Ella for facilitating the experience. Afterwards, I had Simrit take me to the infirmary, where I checked on the still unconscious Mareli before heading back up to my room so I could do some more brooding. For all the time I spent mulling over the topic in my head, there was still no answer forthcoming. Selfish as it was, I really didn’t want to forego the fun I’d been having. While I was lost in thought, Sekhet had entered the room and lay on the bed beside me, stretching her body in a way that beautifully showed off her curves and drew my gaze even as I tried to ignore it. “What is getting you down?” she asked after some time had passed in silence. I sighed and explained my conflict, eliciting a knowing nod from her. “I believe that is not an uncommon problem. One without an easy solution, I fear. I have heard tales of women who unknowingly happened across their fathers on the road and proceeded to… act on their instincts.They are just tales though,” she quickly added as I twisted my mouth, horrified at the thought. “I would certainly prefer you keep your… open attitude.” She ran her paw along my jaw. I sighed heavily, but could not resist reciprocating her affections. At least she had not participated in the training session that seemed like little more than public shaming to me. “I was wondering whether you also plan to show my sisters a good time?” She asked unexpectedly. I arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a bit of a strange thing to ask? Shouldn’t they ask for it themselves if they wanted to be with me?” She smiled. “I am sure they wish for it. And as the oldest sister, I should look out for them and make sure they are not missing out. Perhaps they were just unlucky getting together with you at the right time?” “Or they were just not as good at stalking their prey?” I suggested with a smile that she quickly returned. “In all seriousness though, I’m not exactly opposed, but you trying to set it up is kind of weird.” “I will be sure to pass it on,” she promised. “But first, there will be the naming ceremony tomorrow.” “Isn’t that a family event?” I asked. “No, it will be a public affair.” “Then I’m looking forward to it.” --- The next day began much like the previous one. Ella intercepted me on my way to my morning bath, though at least there was less of an audience this time around. After her drilling and the bath, instead of heading back to my room, I stuck around for the naming ceremony that would be happening in the chapel in the early afternoon. I waited alongside Sekhet as more and more of the locals and my own companions arrived and slowly filled up the chapel. Eventually, the buzzing of conversation was interrupted by a hush going through the crowd and Beset, cradling a bundle in her arms, entered the chapel followed by Aneksi, Tony and Zahra. The crowd parted as they went by the pool and towards the altar at the head of the room. I was impressed with how Beset carried herself. She looked tired, but had otherwise rebounded from her pregnant form quite remarkably. They arrived at the altar and Beset laid down the bundle and untied it, revealing the delicate form of the new-born child. Beset stepped back to stand next to Tony as Aneksi walked forward. She began speaking what I believed to be a sermon of sorts in a language I did not understand. Only after speaking for a good few minutes did she finish by placing a delicate kiss upon the baby’s forehead. After that, she stepped back and Beset took the helm once more. She picked up the child and presented it to the assembled crowd. “I name you Katana Brianne Warren. Shade and sweet water on all your paths,” she said in a solemn voice. She then set Katana down into the bundle again and took it into her arms. I looked around, unsure if the ceremony was concluded or not. Guests started making their way towards the front to extend their congratulations. I decided to wait for most of them to avoid the press of the crowd before making my way over. “My heartfelt congratulations,” I said when I finally stood before them. I nodded deferentially to Beset and clapped Tony on the shoulder. Beset, as usual, kept her expression guarded, but Tony had a shining smile on his face. I then considered the baby. She returned my gaze with curious gray eyes. I was slightly surprised, I had expected her to be sleeping, given that she had not made much noise now or during the ceremony. The kinship with Beset was obvious. Aside from the fact that she was unmistakably Anubis, what little hair she had was of the same raven black colour as her mother’s. “What do you think of my little pup?” Tony asked with a grin. “Just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” I returned with a grin that he could not see. I wanted to stay a little longer, but more people were waiting to extend their best wishes, so I stepped aside. It was quite refreshing, for once most people were not paying me any heed, but everyone’s attention was focused on the new parents and little Katana. While I was distracted, the twins stalked up on me from behind. “Our sister tells us that…” Nefret started. “…we should be more assertive,” Bahiti finished. As if to underpin the statement, they clung close to me, each placing a paw around my hips. “It can’t hurt,” I said, chuckling. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted by twins. It was a long-time fantasy after all. I reached around and wrapped my arms around the two, stepping to the side of the room. “Katana is cute,…” Bahiti began in a slightly dreamy tone. “…is she not?” Nefret finished with the same tone. They’re not going to jump on the ‘get me pregnant bandwagon’ now, are they? I shook the thought from my head. “Super cute,” I agreed. As more and more of the guests finished giving their regards to the parents, they slowly started pouring out of the chapel and into the entrance area where food and drink had been set up. Two feasts in such a short time, it seemed like an auspicious time for Grey Gardens’ residents. This celebration overall had a much more subdued feel to it than the feast on the day of our arrival. Nefret and Bahiti stayed glued to me the entire time, seeming determined not to stray too far. I enjoyed the food and drink on offer and engaged in idle conversation with the twins. As the celebration started dying down, I pulled Nefret and Bahiti closer and squeezed their butts. “You want to get out of here?” They beamed and proceeded to pull me in the direction of the tower’s gate. “Any preference for where you…” Nefret began. “…would like to indulge us?” Bahiti finished. Feeling a little adventurous, I suggested. “How about the roof?” They agreed enthusiastically and near dragged me up the stairs with impatience. On the roof, they proceeded to push me to the ground under the shadow of some tangerine trees. H-Scene I rolled to the side and allowed myself to fall to the ground, feeling deeply satisfied. “That was amazing,” they exclaimed in unison, snuggling up against me from both sides. “You can say that again,” I said, still trying to catch my breath. I reached my arms around them and enjoyed the feel of their smooth skins against my palms, content for the moment to just lie there with these two beauties in my arms. I was drawn out of my reverie by the sound of someone clearing their throat. I opened an eye and saw Sekhet and Anuket standing just a few steps away. Sekhet had a slightly amused expression on her face, while Anuket looked somewhat annoyed. “…late again,” Anuket muttered under her breath. “You got to work quicker than I thought,” Sekhet chuckled. A slightly awkward silence ensued, then Nefret and Bahiti ran their paws over my chest, naughty smiles on their faces. “You told us to…” “…show more initiative.” “That I did,” Sekhet agreed. “But surely, you are not done just yet, are you?” I returned the ensuing smiles of the four sphinxes somewhat hesitantly. I had spent myself twice already and was feeling slightly tired. Then I turned my gaze to Anuket and Sekhet and stretched out a hand to them, beckoning them closer. I dimly hoped there would be some ‘help’, as I could not help but doubt my ability to handle the four of them without it. |
mugen91Dec 21, 2022 4:40 AM
| Well, save for his wives, you're on your way to shag Tyger's entire family there! mugen91 said: dimly wondering if I’d be able to handle four of them at once without ‘help’. I'm sure you will be able to find a vial Alraune nectar or two somewhere in the complex, or you could try and get your hands on a raging mushroom if you're feeling adventurous :-P Let me see, a Sphinx twin, two more Sphinxes, and a Lizardman as new bed mates if I counted correctly. Busy guy... ...Opens his monster girl art map, and discovers he doesn't have any Sphinx art. So is now off to look for art. Slight delay with the passport update. |
MetallumOperatur said: Well, save for his wives, you're on your way to shag Tyger's entire family there There is potential to get worse. He's headed for territory that's on Clan Redblade's trade routes, and it was never specified who Fritzi and Frieda's father is... |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
| [quote=MetallumOperatur message=53209568]Well, save for his wives, you're on your way to shag Tyger's entire family there! [quote] Only his sisters in law and only from Aneksi's side. Didn't Beset have sisters as well? I know they never made an appearance, but I think I remember her saying something about growing up expecting to share with sisters. MetallumOperatur said: Let me see, a Sphinx twin, two more Sphinxes, and a Lizardman as new bed mates if I counted correctly. Busy guy... ...Opens his monster girl art map, and discovers he doesn't have any Sphinx art. So is now off to look for art. Slight delay with the passport update. [Achievement unlocked: Metal ran out of appropriate pictures] Soon you'll be a bit less busy with the passport though :P tygertyger said: MetallumOperatur said: Well, save for his wives, you're on your way to shag Tyger's entire family there There is potential to get worse. He's headed for territory that's on Clan Redblade's trade routes, and it was never specified who Fritzi and Frieda's father is... It can always get worse (or better, depending on how you look at it) |
mugen91 said: MetallumOperatur said: Well, save for his wives, you're on your way to shag Tyger's entire family there! Only his sisters in law and only from Aneksi's side. Didn't Beset have sisters as well? I know they never made an appearance, but I think I remember her saying something about growing up expecting to share with sisters. Well spotted! Beset did indeed grow up with sisters. Why they don't make an appearance is a matter I am leaving for a future short story that I won't be working on until after City of Thorns is finished. |
tygertygerDec 1, 2017 9:56 PM
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
tygertyger said: mugen91 said: Only his sisters in law and only from Aneksi's side. Didn't Beset have sisters as well? I know they never made an appearance, but I think I remember her saying something about growing up expecting to share with sisters. Well spotted! Beset did indeed grow up with sisters. Why they don't make an appearance is a matter I am leaving for a future short story that I won't be working on that until after City of Thorns is finished. Let's see if they're save from me. Gotta shag 'em all :P |
| Chapter 21 I awoke buried under a small meowntain of sphinxes. Surprisingly enough, I felt well rested, but for the moment not inclined to escape the press of warm, soft bodies. I let my hand roam across a back and grabbed a handful of firm bum. Sekhet groaned happily and pressed her backside firmer against my hand before lazily opening one eye and stretching with a purr. This caused the others to stir and react similarly, stretching and purring on and around me, a sight I was not sorry to see. I decided to get up from the floor before they could call for an encore for yesterday’s performance, though. The twins let out a synchronized sigh of disappointment as I disentangled myself from their grasp. I assembled my clothes that were strewn about the rooftop waiting for the sisters to get up and take me down the tower. “I believe my sister would like to meet you in the chapel again today,” Anuket put forward. “In that case we should head for the bath first,” I said, trying to gauge the time by the sun’s position. We headed down and towards the bath. I rebuffed Ella’s attempt at signing me up for another training lesson, citing my need to take a bath before meeting with Aneksi. She looked disappointed, but promised or perhaps threatened to find me later. After taking a bath, I headed to the chapel to meet with Aneksi, who already awaited me when I arrived. “You are late today, Sönke,” She chided me. “Sorry, I was a bit… busy,” I apologized. “Yes, I believe my sisters kept you quite busy,” she said with a sly smile. “I took a bath though…” I said, thinking she meant I still reeked of sex. “I know, but with the acoustics of the tower being what they are, I doubt there are many that are not aware,” she explained with the same smile. “But do not worry, I am happy they had their fun, they have had little opportunity of late.” She sighed. “They were so disappointed when they learned that Tony was to be my husband, not just a concubine.” “Concubine?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “He answered all my riddles,” she said, like that explained everything. “Still, you are here to learn, are you not?” I smiled. “Of course.” --- After our lesson, I headed over to the doctor’s office where Linea showed me to Mareli who had awakened some hours before and was in a most foul mood. “Finally, someone I know, where is that bitch of a witch Sönke? I’m going to tear her limb from limb.” I was slightly taken aback by her outburst and looked to Linea who only shrugged before taking a swig from a small flask. I turned to Mareli. “Well, she’s dead? I doubt we’ll be going back, so tearing her limb from limb might be difficult.” “Ohh… that’s also alright, I guess. How long was I out?” “Six days. How are you feeling?” “Tired, but fine now, I think?” she said in a questioning tone. “No serious injuries,” Linea confirmed. “I’ve already taken care of any physical harm. You were also fully drained of demonic energy. That's what kept you unconscious. Lucky for you harpies can survive that.” “So that’s why I’m still feeling so tired I suppose. Well Sönke? Come on, that’s your job.” I arched an eyebrow, but was forced to admit that it actually was a sensible argument. Semen would be the easiest way for her to recuperate. But why didn’t Linea just ask me for my ‘assistance’ in the first place if energy was all that was missing? “Alright, one helping of spirit energy coming right up.” With a glance at Linea I asked. “Do you mind?” Linea shook her head and took a seat. “No, I don’t, go right ahead.” It took me a second, but then I said. “Actually, I meant would you mind giving us a little privacy?” “Oh… don’t even want to give me a little show? Alright then, call me when you’re done, I suppose.” She said in a disappointed tone. I followed her with my gaze as she left the room nursing her flask until Mareli impatiently cleared her throat. “Ok ok, how would you like to receive your ‘medicine’?” --- After receiving her medicine, Mareli soon appeared much more energetic and Linea declared that it would be alright for her to be up and about now, so long as she took it easy. We headed out and with the help of one of the guards, a werewolf, I showed her around Grey Gardens. While we were walking around the camping ground outside the ring of outbuildings, Simrit came walking up to us and told me that Tony wanted to see me. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to Mareli. “Just look around here for a bit, Kohaku is out here gambling a lot, so you can probably find her here.” Mareli seemed a bit annoyed at me for leaving her, but made no attempt to keep me. I headed back towards the tower with Simrit, curious what Tony wanted with me. She led me up onto the level reserved for the first family and into a room where Beset, Aneksi and Tony were waiting for me. Simrit excused herself and left the room, closing the door behind me. I gave a questioning look, which Beset answered by gesturing for a chair. Before sitting down, I stepped before Tony and saw little Katana cradled in his arms. “Would you like to hold her?” he asked. I shot a questioning look at Beset, who nodded reluctantly and said. “Yes, of course.” I took the little bundle of joy from Tony and sat on the indicated chair. I stroked her little stomach with my thumb, a smile on my face and made little cooing noises. She giggled and enveloped my thumb with her little paws, pulling it towards her mouth and sucking on it like a pacifier. Beset cleared her throat, drawing my attention and reminding me that they probably didn’t ask me to come so I could play with Katana. I gave her a questioning look, but it was Tony that spoke. “You’ve been here for almost a week now, what do you think of Grey Gardens?” “It’s a nice place. I enjoyed my time here” I replied earnestly. “Our girls enjoyed your stay here as well,” Aneksi said with a sly smile. Tony nodded. “Let me just get straight to the point. We were wondering if you wanted to stay here.” “Hmmmm,” I kind of expected the question when he asked what I thought of Grey Gardens. “I have thought about it a few times since arriving here…” “And your conclusion?” Beset asked. “Logically, it would probably make sense to stay here. My main reason to want to leave Ahmose was to avoid the negative conditions associated with the Hemu status. I would become Hemu, but given how things work here, these negative effects would be mitigated. Still, once I’m Hemu I wouldn’t be able to leave Ahmose. Also, and I’m not sure that makes sense, but Grey Gardens feels like your place. I have yet to find mine if that makes any sense.” I tried to gauge their reactions. Beset nodded like she’d expected something of the kind. Aneksi seemed a bit sad while Tony’s face spoke of light disappointment. “Sorry,” I said. “It would’ve been nice to have another man around, but it is your decision of course. No need to apologize,” he finally said. “You are not leaving just yet are you?” Aneksi asked. “You can always…” She was interrupted when someone knocked on the door. All eyes shot towards the door where Cleo just now entered. “You are supposed to be on patrol,” Beset chided. “Yes, Sharif, but while on patrol we observed a large group traversing through the desert, roughly on course for Grey Gardens.” Beset rushed out of her seat, taking on an air of command. “How many are there? How far away are they? Who are they?” “By now they should be about a day’s march away. Adrianna stayed behind with them. They…” “Protocol is to report back before engaging with any larger groups heading for Grey Gardens,” Beset interrupted. “Yes Sharif. We were heading back to report but were intercepted by their scouts. They are not hostile however. They are the Sandwalker company and they are accompanying about 500 refugees.” Cleo seemed eager to downplay the fact that they were spotted and intercepted. “500 at once?” Aneksi exclaimed. “Do we have the capacity to take in so many?” “We should be able to manage,” Tony said in a calming tone. “So long as they don’t mind sleeping in their tents for a while longer still.” “We should get Grey Gardens ready for all eventualities. Be it receiving refugees or meeting with hostilities,” Beset said, getting up from her seat. “Simrit, assemble the guards in the audience hall!” Simrit stood at attention and then turned for the door with Beset, Aneksi and Tony following close behind. I was unsure of what to do about Katana. Zahra approached me from behind and gestured for me to hand her over. I extracted my thumb from her mouth, prompting her to start crying, and carefully handed her over. Where had Zahra come from anyway? She hadn’t been in the room when I arrived. I concluded that there must be a secret entrance. Cleo now stepped closer to me. “…Sorry by the way.” “What did you say?” “Sorry about how I acted when I used you to get off in the bath…” “Why?” “The captain was not very pleased about it when he heard…” “Are you actually sorry, or just sorry you got scolded?” “I’m not sorry I made you blow me!” she said somewhat indignantly. “But maybe I could’ve been a bit nicer about it…” “Yeah, you could’ve,” I said sternly. Then, a little more meekly I added. “But it was kind of hot. Next time, if there is one, just let me breathe every now and then.” Her normal superior smile returned to her face. “Can’t get enough of me huh? But I have to disappoint you, I need to get down with the others. Have some patience and I might make you choke on my dick again.” I arched an eyebrow. With that attitude, maybe not. She waved and stepped out the door. With no one else left, I had Zahra lead me out of the tower so I could look for my companions in the camp outside and update them on the current situation. “So, a large number of potential hostiles are heading this way?” Kohaku asked incredulously. “Supposedly they are friendly, I think Beset just wants to be prepared for all eventualities.” “Do you know anything about the people that are coming?” Akela asked. “Well, they are called the Sandwalker company?” “If they are the Sandwalkers, we should have nothing to fear from them,” Akela declared firmly. “Also, if they were hostile, wouldn’t it be safer here than on the road? If they have aerial scouts, it wouldn’t be hard for them to spot us and with the oxen, we’re pretty slow.” Kohaku contemplated for a moment. “We will leave the day after tomorrow then. By then we will have certainty.” --- The next day, the refugees living in the tent city surrounding Grey Gardens were moved into the tower as a precaution and all able-bodied women were armed. A fair bit of tension was building as the large group of people approached Grey Gardens. They stopped a fair distance away and a small detachment consisting of three lizardmen, two black harpies and Adrianna carried on. They were granted entrance and led to the audience chamber to meet with the first family. The meeting lasted about an hour. Afterwards, and to everyone’s relief, Beset announced that the Sandwalker company was indeed here with peaceful intentions and that the 500 refugees they escorted would be welcomed to remain at Grey Gardens. This, along with the announcement of another feast, was met with wild cheers from the crowd that had grown tense during the approach of the refugees and the hour-long meeting. The refugees soon started setting up their tents outside the ring of outbuildings, growing the camp by a factor of three at least. Preparation for this next feast started immediately. As the long benches and tables were brought out once more I knew there would be nowhere near sufficient space for everyone. A feast for all these people would also consume a lot of food, not to mention all the food they’d consume going forward. I sincerely hoped Grey Gardens was well stocked with supplies and the fields capable of producing enough. --- My suspicions that the space would not suffice were confirmed, as large numbers of attendees ate while standing, although none seemed all too bothered by that. The general mood was exuberant as the locals mingled with the new arrivals. Given that most of these residents had been refugees themselves until not long ago probably played some part in this. Some of the locals were not swept up in the good mood however, It seemed that knowledge of my decision not to stay in Grey Gardens had circulated already. “What is it you do not like about this place then? Why do you want to leave?” I sighed heavily. Sekhet was by no means the first that had demanded an explanation or tried to convince me to stay. It seemed that more than one of them had entertained fantasies of something more serious developing if I stayed here. I calmly explained my reasoning, trying to suppress my budding annoyance at having my decision questioned by everyone I spoke to. I was hoping to enjoy my last night here and not spend it justifying my decision over and over. It was understandable that they would try to change my mind, finding another man willing and able might not be quite so easy, but staying here out of pity was hardly the way to go for me. “If he doesn’t want to stay, we will not force him and we also shouldn’t try to guilt him into staying,” Tony said in a slightly scolding tone. Sekhet looked like she was preparing to continue arguing anyway when a little harpy flopped down onto the ground in front of me and stared at me with big, brown eyes. Glad for the distraction, I quickly asked. “Who are you, little girl?” “I’m Inez. But I’m not little, I’m already seven!” She said boisterously. Then she started fidgeting, as if unsure what to do, before she started beating her wings and grabbing my shoulders with her talons. She flapped her wings and made a strained noise. I looked up at her in amusement. “What are you doing, Inez?” Sekhet asked her, trying to hide a smile. “I’m catching a husband!” she said, entirely serious. “And what are you going to do once you catch him?” “Huh?” The little harpy let up on her attempts to lift me into the air. “My mom really wants to have a husband,” she explained. “That is not how we do it here at Grey Gardens,” Sekhet explained. She tried to maintain a serious tone, but she failed to hide her amusement. Inez stopped fluttering her wings entirely and plopped herself down on my lap. “Why not?” “Because here in Grey Gardens we do not force men to become our mates,” Sekhet explained, a slightly sour expression on her face. She seemed not so very fond of that rule at this particular moment. “Do you want to be my Mom’s husband?” she asked me in a sincere tone. “No, thank you,” I said, somewhat weirded out at the question. “Why not?” she asked, clearly puzzled. “Because you’re a child.” “Only warriors can become husbands,” came the chirping voice of an undersized lizardman child. In spite of her words she regarded me with obvious curiosity. “Or do you think you can take my mother?” Before I could answer anything, two voices sounded over to us. “Daphne!” “Inez!”. The two girls flinched visibly as two women, presumably their mothers stepped up to the table. “Sorry about them, they are easily excitable.” “That’s alright, no harm done,” I assured them. They scooped up their girls and walked off. Inez waved her wings as she was carried away. “Now,” Sekhet said. I sighed, anticipating her to continue trying to convince me to stay. “If I cannot make you stay, how about you say goodbye to me properly?” she laid a paw on my thigh suggestively. That was a bit more like it. I smiled and placed my hand on her thigh in turn. “I think I’ll turn in a bit early tonight.” I said to Tony, who nodded with a knowing smile on his face. --- I awoke early in the morning, satisfied, yet still uncertain whether I’d made the correct choice. Or if there even was a correct choice. I resolved not to show my doubts, as otherwise the others were sure to start arguing again. Even though we were both awake, Sekhet and I enjoyed the press of our warm bodies against each other before getting up. The morning passed fast and quiet and before I really knew it, I was standing outside along with my travel companions, saying my goodbyes. Most of the women, particularly Sekhet, Cleo and Adrianna insisted on a hug, one I was more than willing to provide and used the chance to get a little touchy feely one last time. I stepped up to Tony and clasped his shoulder. “At the very least, I will miss having a guy around that has his shit together. Take care” I said, trying to sound light-hearted. He chuckled. “I can imagine. Just drop by whenever you’re in the neighbourhood.” I turned to Beset and, after short consideration, gave her a short hug and stroked Katana’s head. “I wish you many more babies as cute as this one.” I told her and she nodded her thanks. Finally, I turned to Aneksi. “And for you, I hope that your child will be as pretty as her mother, sorry I’ll not be around for her birth.” “You could always change your mind,” she said. “But thank you.” I gave her a quick hug as well, then turned towards the others, who were waiting as they’d already finished their goodbyes. |
mugen91Dec 28, 2022 2:21 AM
mugen91 said: meowtain of sphinxes Look like you kept the worst pun for last. Please show yourself out. |
MetallumOperatur said: mugen91 said: meowtain of sphinxes Look like you kept the worst pun for last. Please show yourself out. The worst pun is not the one that makes you cringe the most, it is the pun that gets no reaction whatsoever :D But I'll stop (for now :P ) |
mugen91 said: The worst pun is not the one that makes you cringe the most, it is the pun that gets no reaction whatsoever :D Indeed. The beauty of a pun is in the "oy" of the beholder. |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
| There is indeed not too much Sphinx art out there. Anubis seems much more popular in that regards. I did eventually find a couple suitable ones, the twins made it easier by allowing for the same picture being used twice. Finding a black haired Lizardman turned out to be a challenge as well. I found this one. Due to the cropping and her ears being covered by her hair, it isn't the clearest of pictures, but it will do. |
MetallumOperatur said: There is indeed not too much Sphinx art out there. Anubis seems much more popular in that regards. I did eventually find a couple suitable ones, the twins made it easier by allowing for the same picture being used twice. Finding a black haired Lizardman turned out to be a challenge as well. I found this one. Due to the cropping and her ears being covered by her hair, it isn't the clearest of pictures, but it will do. Three pages full... steady progress on the road to being a massive man slut |
| So chapter 21 and you've got 3 pages of 9 girls. So that's 9 girls per 7 chapters, I suppose massive man slut is 2 girls per chapter. Haha. |
| Chapter 22 After leaving behind Grey Gardens we followed the river towards the northeast and my companions were clearly glad to be on the road again. “How long to reach Kioko?” I wondered aloud. “It will take perhaps a month with the oxen limiting our speed,” Rin explained. “Let’s hope we don’t come across any more bandits then,” I said, trying in vain to hide my anxiety about this prospect. “That’s unlikely,” Kohaku said in a serious tone. “Saying that there are a few bandits in this desert is like saying there are a few fish in the sea.” I gulped. “And that doesn’t concern you?” She gave me a contemplative look. “I would prefer if we didn’t come across any more of them. But we can’t change what the circumstances are. If you wish to trade in Ahmose, you need to be prepared to face bandits on the roads these days. Don’t worry though, we’ll keep you safe. We have rarely had any wounded on our journeys. Many of the bandits roaming these parts are not too fond of an actual fight. It’s mostly the real desperate ones, like the ones we encountered earlier, that will be giving us trouble.” “I hope you’re right,” I said. The weird part was that I was not so much worried about the dangers to myself. I Was mostly concerned about seeing more battle. The casual nonchalance that death and killing was being treated with was not something I could just get used to. After a few hours of travelling that I had spent mostly in silence, Kohaku addressed me in a serious tone. “Well Sönke, while we were in Grey Gardens, we respected the local laws and let you do as you pleased, but now that we’re on the road again, I expect you to perform your duties again.” “Duties,” I mused, pretending to be contemplative. “I don’t remember agreeing to duties. Neither do I remember throwing any of you out of my bed while we were in Grey Gardens.” “No, but you did spend plenty of time with the locals, just making sure we’re on the same page.” “Don’t worry we are,” I assured her and she gave me a satisfied smile. “Whose turn is it then today?” Mareli asked, sparking a heated discussion that reminded me of the day we left Umbra. I could only sigh at that. When we stopped for the day and finished setting up the camp, Ella stalked up to me, a familiar wooden sword in her hand. “Time to work on your form,” she said cheerfully, to which I could only groan in response. --- The next few days passed without anything worth mentioning happening. I found myself frequently exhausted as, aside from the nightly exercise, Ella insisted on performing her training sessions every single evening. They always ended the same. With a sparring session in which she beat the living shit out of me. In all fairness, she didn’t really try to beat me up in earnest, but she believed that if she hit me when I made a mistake, I would remember better not to repeat it. It was not an entirely unsound argument, but getting beat up in front of the entire group every day left me somewhat grumpy. I seemed also to be a poor student, as the flaws the lizardman pointed out were frequently the same. In spite of these woes, the landscape slowly started to change with the passage of days. There was still desert all around us, but there were more plants jutting from the ground and I thought that the scalding heat wasn’t quite so bad anymore. The occasions at which Mareli warned of a possibly impending fight also became fewer. Luckily, none of these occasions led to a serious skirmish like the one that had made us deviate to Grey Gardens. My companions confirmed my suspicion, we were closing in on the border separating Ahmose and Kioko, which we reached on the 31st day since leaving Umbra. At the border, there was a sort of checkpoint. I couldn’t help but wonder about the effectiveness of border controls, considering there wasn’t, to my knowledge, a wall preventing egress anywhere else. Wouldn’t it be easy to just pass some kilometres to the east or west? Perhaps they had ways to secure the borders, what did I know? I had no clue what magic was capable of. Perhaps they also had harpies like Mareli patrolling and raising the alert when they spotted someone entering or leaving where they were not supposed to? I was just glad I could pass legally, as only about two thirds of the mark on my hand was faded by this point. The checkpoint was guarded by twenty seven heavily armed mamono who conducted themselves quite professionally. They checked everyone for Akhet and visitor marks. Akela had to show them some documentation that, after a brief inspection, seemed to clear her to leave. The girl who checked me, a cute short girl with dog ears that was almost entirely covered in soft brown fur, made a little sad face and let her ears droop when she said: “Please come back soon, we need men in the sands.” I produced a non-commital shrug and said. “Maybe.” After everyone had been checked, the guards examined the wagons, detailing the goods that were transported and making sure we were not smuggling anyone out of the territory. Soon enough, we were cleared to proceed and just like that my primary goal, since my arrival on Arcadia, was achieved. The threat of becoming Hemu no longer loomed over me. I had escaped the desert. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and a big smile formed on my face as we passed into Kioko. During the two days after passing the border, the landscape started to change quite rapidly as more vegetation started springing up around us. Much of it was scrubby bushes, gras such, but after just another day of travelling we found ourselves on expansive plains with hardly any indication of the desert, just some dozens of kilometres away, remaining. “Welcome to Kioko, I know you will like it,” Kohaku exclaimed with a wide gesture that seemed to envelope everything around us. “Thanks, I can’t wait to see more,” I smiled thankfully. Now that I thought about it, I had been so preoccupied with leaving Ahmose, that I didn’t really know anything about the land I had so desperately tried to get to. Ahmose seemed to bear some degree of resemblance to ancient Egypt, what would Kioko be like? “This may seem like a weird question to ask now, but what is Kioko like?” This earned me an incredulous look. “Lord Kioko is not known as the lord of randomness for no reason… She has a certain reputation for unpredictability in the way she runs her domain. Nonetheless she cares greatly for the wellbeing of her subjects, which shows in how Kioko is one of the most stable regions of the continent.” Lord of randomness? That sounds… Interesting. “Ah yes, but actually I was asking about the land and maybe the people living here…?” “You came here and didn’t even inform yourself about that beforehand? You must have been seriously desperate about leaving,” Kohaku said with a sort of disbelieving snort, then shot me a contemplative look. “It is a very broad question… There are a lot of different mamono that are native to the region, although you can find just about any type of mamono in most regions, as Aneksi has no doubt told you. Kioko spans much of the northern territories. The population is split between those living in more urban environments and those living a nomadic lifestyle. It’s really hard to say something specific with such a broad question… We will reach a small town tomorrow, perhaps this will give you some insights?” “I’m sure It will.” --- When we stopped for the night, Ella, like every day, enthusiastically approached me for our daily training session. I had gotten slightly better through her training. Which is to say that she didn’t hit me quite so frequently. “No no no, you need to stop overextending yourself when you think you see an opening,” she scolded me as she whacked me in the side. “Any novice fighter can easily take advantage of you.” I shouted out in frustration. “Whenever you leave me an opening like that and I strike, it’s wrong. And whenever you leave an opening and I don’t strike, it’s wrong. What do you want me to do?” “I want you to learn to properly read the situation, if you fall for a feint that easily, a real fight will be hopeless for you.” I grimaced. “You’re telling me that any openings you show me are real and not intentional?” Scowling at me, she said. “You don’t get it, come on, again.” And so, the sparring session continued. After receiving a dozen more whacks, I saw what I thought was a legit opening. Ella failed to keep track of her surroundings and misplaced her foot on a small unstable rock on the ground. She struggled with her balance and in my frustration, I struck at her, seeing a chance to get just a little bit of payback. She quickly caught herself and dodged, my strike barely brushing her arm. She twisted around and slammed her tail into my side, knocking the air out of me. I rolled up into a ball and winced. “Are you ok? I didn’t mean to hit you that hard,” she said, laying a claw on my shoulder while I was struggling to return air into my lungs. “That was actually good, you saw the chance and… almost hit me. Even if the execution was still lackluster,” she said encouragingly as she ran her clawed hand over my shoulder and back. Her words provided no more than minor consolation as I felt at my bruised ribs. --- Late that night I felt the call of nature and began the arduous process of disentangling myself from Mesta’s and Mareli’s clinging embrace. The lingering effects of Mesta’s saliva was still doing its thing, sorely tempting me to ‘accidentally’ wake them for some more fun when I returned. But before that I had urgent business to take care of. As I stepped out of the tent, I saw Akela standing guard and giving me a wink. She gestured in the direction of some bushes a little distance from the camp. She had a weird smirk on her face as I scampered off. I finished my business and was about to head back to camp when I thought I heard a sound coming from behind a bush a few meters away and stopped to listen. There was a recurring, wet-ish sound. Curious, I sneaked towards the sound, ignoring the voice in the back of my head that this was probably a bad idea. As I approached the bush, I heard a low moan. Still ignoring the sensible voice in my head, I rounded the bush and saw the prone form of Ella on the ground, she had her belt stuck between her teeth to muffle the sounds the furious activity between her legs caused. I stood transfixed for a moment, my eyes drinking in her form in the moonlight. Her face, screwed up with effort and arousal, the light definition of muscle on her arms, her small boobs, her lean, flat stomach with the softly defined abdominals and long legs. Finally, my eyes fixed on her glistening sex. I was sorely tempted to jump out and join her, but she had made her feelings abundantly clear when we first met. As horny as I was, Mesta or Mareli would likely be more than willing to give me a hand, or perhaps Akela. Still, somehow the fact that Ella was not aggressively pursuing me tempted me to pursue her. I shook my head to get the thought out of my head. I turned and started to slink away, but I placed my foot on something that snapped beneath it. I shot a gaze towards Ella and saw that she stopped, her eyes fixed on me. Before I could attempt to apologize, she shot to her feet and tackled me to the ground. I let out a pained groan as I fell on all my fresh and not so fresh bruises. “Aren’t you a naughty one Sönke,” she had a slightly unhinged look in her eyes. “Spying on a girl enjoying herself.” “I thought you said that you weren’t interested in someone who isn’t a warrior?” I asked, trying to downplay my nervousness at her rather sudden shift in demeanor. Part of me didn’t really want her to get up, but another reminded me that I was not what she wanted. “It’s skinship… Skinship between a teacher and student. It is important. That’s all it is,” I heard her trying to convince me. Or herself. Mostly herself, probably. Her flushed face showed clearly that she was not thinking straight right now. “You don’t have to do this,” I tried once more to reason with her. H-Scene When the look in Ella’s eyes finally returned to the normal calm, she rolled off of me and lay in the grass beside me. She was breathing heavily, seemingly content to lay there for a while. Eventually though, she got up and assembled her discarded clothing. I picked up my underwear and did not bother to put them on again as we headed back towards camp. Akela shot a knowing wink our way, but withheld her comment as I was pulled into Ella’s tent where she laid me down before wrapping me in a bear hug and quickly falling asleep. This was not exactly what I had in mind, this position was not well suited to sleeping. I tried to wriggle myself into a more comfortable position, but she only grabbed me tighter. Left with no other choice, I resigned myself to an uncomfortable night. --- I awoke to a very stiff neck and Ella still holding me in a deathgrip. I once again tried to wriggle myself out, but to no avail. The claws of her hands were poking into my back uncomfortably now. Akela was already gone. She had come into the tent when her guard duty was up, only shrugged at my predicament, obviously not very surprised. “Ella… Ella… Ella…!” No reaction. I wriggled my hand into position and poked her stomach. She made a face but still didn’t wake up. I’d have tried to touch her face, or perhaps tickle her ears, but I couldn’t free my arm and her head was well out of my reach. Thus, I unsuccessfully continued poking her. I was almost ready to give up when I heard Mesta asking after me outside. “He’s in there,” Akela’s voice answered. A moment later, Mesta’s head appeared at the entrance of the tent. Somehow, this was enough to instantly wake Ella, who’s eyes shot open and body tensed until she realized it was just Mesta. Then her gaze fell upon me and her body went tense again, quickly releasing her bear hug. “What are you doing in here?” She demanded. Then she seemed to recall last night’s event. “Ohh, but… No…” she said, sounding conflicted. “I’m sorry I just jumped you,” she said, suddenly bashful. I shook my head. She may have initially jumped me, but what happened afterwards had been a very mutual affair. I said as much when Mesta interrupted me. “You should apologize to me, it was my turn and you slept with him,” she pouted. She seemed fond of pouting. “Now now, relax yourself. You had your turn yesterday. Ella hasn’t had a turn once since we started our trip,” Rin scolded the ghoul. Mesta withdrew her head, presumably to argue the point. When Ella and I left the tent, we received a round of smirks and sneers and Akela asked. “I simply must know Sönke. Does she handle the meat sword as well as the real deal?” Ella’s face turned beet red at that and looked like she was about to shout at Akela, who then scooped her up in a comforting hug. “Was it good?” “…” Whatever the lizardman whispered in response, I could not hear, but her face turned a shade redder yet. I smiled and moved to the other tent to retrieve my remaining clothing before one of the others took the opportunity to squeeze in a quickie. After the less than stellar sleep and ‘double duty’ of the previous night, I felt plenty drained already. |
mugen91Jan 4, 2023 1:25 AM
| Righty, then! Tyger wants more hot crossover action! Those with stories set in Kioko, raise your hands! |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
tygertyger said: Righty, then! Tyger wants more hot crossover action! Those with stories set in Kioko, raise your hands! Tentatively raises his hand. |
| Oh my, he's in Kioko now. This gonna be good! Will he be able to continue his promiscuous activities, or will he end up in the coils of a lovely, but possessive Shirohebi? Who knows, in Kioko everything can happen! :-P BTW a technical question: which map do/did you use for Atalantheis / Arcadia? Or did you get the "2/3rd of the northern part of the island" part from the description of Kioko? Cause that might be outdated info, or the result of an optical illusion, for Elizabeth's territory is bigger than Kioko area-wise. Also time for another passport update. Was actually surprisingly hard to find a picture of a Lizardman that wasn't stacked. |
MetallumOperaturDec 14, 2017 5:00 PM
MetallumOperatur said: Oh my, he's in Kioko now. This gonna be good! Will he be able to continue his promiscuous activities, or will he end up in the coils of a lovely, but possessive Shirohebi? Who knows, in Kioko everything can happen! :-P BTW a technical question: which map do/did you use for Atalantheis / Arcadia? Or did you get the "2/3rd of the northern part of the island" part from the description of Kioko? Cause that might be outdated info, or the result of an optical illusion, for Elizabeth's territory is bigger than Kioko area-wise. Also time for another passport update. Was actually surprisingly hard to find a picture of a Lizardman that wasn't stacked. I think I took it from the Kioko thread in the vault, can't be sure though. On another note, Shirohebi might be nice... Let's see what happens :P |
| Hot shirohebi action yehyehyeh! |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
| Chapter 23 We arrived in the small town Naharo in the early afternoon of that day and I got my first look at what my new life in Kioko might look like. The architecture was reminiscent of what you’d expect from classical Japanese or perhaps Chinese cities. Wood was the predominant building material, emphasizing a strong contrast to what I had seen in Ahmose. Many buildings were elevated slightly above ground. The population, as I expected by now, was a wide spread of different species and I could not see any men moving around as we passed through. The residents of the town mustered me with equal level of interest, though I suspected their motivations were slightly different. I chuckled a bit to myself as I saw a red oni spread her legs and smile at me alluringly. I suppose the forwardness will remain the same, regardless of where I go. We finally pulled up at an inn at the edge of town and after a few moments a blue skinned woman with white hair, elegantly dressed in a kimono, stepped out to greet us. Based on Aneksi’s lessons I guessed her to be a yuki-onna. I wondered if she was fine living this close to the desert. “Kohaku! It’s good to see you. I didn’t expect you to be back here for another few days.” “Greetings,” Kohaku returned. “We made good time on the way to Umbra, and therefore we left we bit earlier than anticipated.” “That is good, not too much trouble on the road here I hope?” “Some, but nothing out of the ordinary.” “Well, with the conditions as they are, that is to be expected, sadly. But excuse my rudeness, I see you have a new member in your group.” She said, looking at me with a friendly look in her eyes. I quickly introduced myself and added an. “Nice to meet you.” “Likewise, please refer to me as Yuki.” “Sönke here has been taking good care of us and in exchange, we’re taking him to Bestallion.” Yuki gave me a long look and a knowing smirk as Kohaku explained. After a few seconds of silence, the Yuki-Onna caught herself and quickly said. “But where are my manners, you must be tired from the road. Let’s get you settled in so we might talk in comfort.” --- After securing the wagons and taking care of the oxen, Yuki showed us to our rooms. To my delight, I learned that the inn was attached to a natural spring. Our stay would be short, but I would use the chance to thoroughly soak. I had really missed the bathhouse at Grey Gardens since our departure. Kohaku dished out for two rooms, I’d be sharing with Akela, Ani and Ella. As soon as the girls entered the room, a heated discussion broke out when they discovered there were two beds. Ella insisted that I should sleep with her, after all, so far she had not made much use of my companionship during the trip. The other two were having none of it though, insisting that it was nothing short of the lizardman’s own stubbornness was to blame for that. As these things tended to go, the discussion did not achieve quick resolution, so I left it to them. Secretly I hoped that it would not be Ella. While she had been quite cute enough the day before, another night of barely any sleep was not high on my wishlist. I left my squabbling roommates behind and decided to instead check out the bath. On my way, I came across Kohaku, who told me to enjoy myself with a smirk. Not thinking much of it, I headed to the bath, disrobed and prewashed myself before entering the pleasantly warm water. I groaned, feeling at ease as the discomfort from the bruises Ella insisted on inflicting upon me faded into the background. I relaxed, revelling in the feeling of not doing anything and not thinking of anything in particular. I snapped back to attention when I heard activity outside the bath and moments later my assorted companions came striding in. “Shall we see how dirty we can get in the bath?” Kohaku asked and put her earlier comment into the right context. --- They’re crazy. I’m so drained. There has to be some rule against gangbangs in the bath? I thought to myself when they were finally done with me. The planned relaxation had turned into quite the opposite. I remained in the bath for a little while after all the others, except for Ella, had left. She had been a bit reserved about joining in while the others had their way with me. She was now pressing herself against me, perhaps hoping to rouse me to activity again. Fat chance of that happening right now. I thought to myself. After a few minutes, she seemed to come to the same conclusion and instead leaned against my chest and relaxed. We remained in there together without exchanging many words for a good while and when I finally left, my fingers were all wrinkly. The planned relaxing bath had ultimately ended up having quite the opposite effect, leaving me more tired than refreshed, in spite of being left alone at the end. At least I would be sleeping well tonight, provided that I wasn’t crushed in Ella’s bearhug again. We ended up enjoying a delicious dinner. Ani’s cooking was fine, but the ingredients she’d had to work with while on the road were limited, making the fresh ingredients much appreciated. Yuki was also a splendid host. We were presently the only guests staying in the inn, so she regaled us as we ate. The room only filled up after dinner time, when Patrons came in to drink at the bar and to play. I saw people playing cards and dice, Kohaku, Mareli and Ani quickly joining in. I had a few drinks, but ended up going to bed early, still tired from earlier. --- I awoke to a thumping sound and cursing. Ella’s arms were wrapped around me from behind, Ani snuggled up against me from the front and Akela was muttering as she raised herself up from the floor to which she had apparently just fallen. I guess the argument was ultimately unfruitful. I gave her a lazy smirk and she playfully whacked me over the head before assembling her clothes, giving me a great view of her backside as she bent over to slip into her pants. As she left the room, I tried in vain to wriggle free, only prompting the sleeping Ella to tighten her grip on me a little more. Caught like that, I was left with no other choice than to wait for the women to wake up before I could finally rise from my bed. After a short breakfast, we resumed our journey. I enjoyed viewing the landscape as the plains slowly made way to wooded terrain. I learned that much of Kioko was covered in forests, a primary reason why agriculture did not play a large role in their economy and why they could well afford to supply Ahmose with all the timber they required. --- The second day on the road after we left Naharo, we came across another group of peddlers going in the opposite direction. That in itself was not entirely unusual, we had met a few other groups on the road. This peddler was led by another gyoubu danuki and appeared acquainted with Kohaku and her group. After the standard small talk of: How do you do? How is the road? Met any trouble? She looked at me with an intrigued look. Coming around and circling me she finally asked Kohaku. “How much for the man? It would be nice to have some entertainment on the road.” “I’m not for sale, she does not own me,” I said, feeling irritation quickly rise. “Well?” She asked Kohaku instead and in the process made me even more annoyed. “I’m afraid he’s a customer, not part of my wares. Not sure why you’d think Ahmose would let us export men,” came the response. “I see, a shame. Well, we need to be off then,” she huffed. With that she gestured for her group to continue. And we likewise continued on our way. I was seething. “Who does that bitch think she is?” “Calm down,” Rin chastized me. “Getting angry won’t help you. I suggest you get used to attitudes like that, especially if you’re going to live in a big city like Bestallion. It is not uncommon for mamono to buy themselves companionship, if they have the necessary coin. You do not have a brand that shows that you are claimed, which by Kioko law makes you fair game.” She explained. I know that getting angry is not productive, but no one just suggested you be sold like you were cattle. “What brand? And who sells men?” I asked instead, rather than voicing that thought. “When a Kiokan finds a mate, she may visit a keeper who will magically brand both, making it recognisable who has claimed him. And since there are so few men around and many appear from the other world like you did, you can imagine that it’s hard to find a mate unless you happen to stumble across them. If a mamono lives in the city, randomly coming across an unclaimed man might not be as easy, especially since it isn’t as easy as just taking him whether he wants to or not, like one might do out in the woods or plains. That’s why there are those who specialize in breeding humans, although those are very expensive and only truly available to those with deep coffers.” I was a bit speechless at that. I left Ahmose because I feared I might become a figurative slave, just to come here where I might become a literal one? Apparently sensing my trepidation, Rin continued. “In reality, few men are held as slaves. The purpose of the brand is not primarily to mark property, but rather to ensure that couples can be reunited if the man is, for instance, lost. It also ensures that they cannot be sold as slaves within Kioko. Slavery is a custom that can be found in many places on the continent, although the form it takes varies wildly. Be thankful if you never have to set a foot into Kaori is all I will say on that. Breeders are primarily used by the rich, as I said, the majority of men you will meet in Arcadia will not originate from them.” “I see.” Was all I answered. I still didn’t like it much. I supposed I would have to be careful. It brought to the forefront of my thoughts the consideration of what I should do when we finally arrived in Bestallion. Should I actually look for a more permanent partner? Would that make for a better lifestyle? The question is how to get to know women without risking that they just ‘claim’ me. But perhaps I’m painting myself a picture that is worse than what it really is? Most of the women I met so far here did not just try to take me against my will. Though it admittedly did not take a lot of convincing to get me to bed. This made me consider my group of companions. In Umbra, none of the women could legally have just claimed me. But wouldn’t it be easy for them to just do so now? Judging from what Rin had said, it seemed to be entirely legal to take and keep a man against his will. I could ask them why they did not just do it, but was also worried that doing so might be taken as an insult or worse yet, give them ideas to drag me back with them to the desert. I resolved myself to try a more positive outlook when I arrived in Bestallion, but keep up my guard and try to remain vigilant. --- That evening, after Ella had her customary training session with me, Kohaku broached the question that had been on my mind for a while. “We’re almost to Bestallion now. Have you figured out what you’re going to do once you’re there?” I considered it for a moment. Though I had thought about it at length, I had come to no conclusion. “I’m still unsure really. I have no idea what Bestallion is like and… I don’t know anyone there. I’ll have to find a place to stay and then try to find some work.” “You’re a man, finding work should be easy enough.” “I don’t want to be a whore. Our arrangement was made because there was no other way.” I said somewhat indignantly. “Well, you may not have a choice, unless you want to let someone take care of you? But perhaps I can give you a hand with both, finding a place to stay and perhaps even work.” “Continue,” I urged her. “I have a good friend who runs an inn with her husband, if we pitch it well, we may be able to get you a place to stay there for the time being and perhaps work as well.” “That would be a great start. Thank you, I mean it. Without you all, I doubt I’d have made it until here.” That earned me a round of warm smiles. “How about you show me how grateful you are?” Mareli said, ruining the moment. |
mugen91Jan 17, 2023 2:41 AM
| Ah yes, though technically Kioko, Michiko, and Amaranthe don't endorse slavery, their laws are suspiciously vague when it comes to unclaimed humans. If memory serves right, then Ahmose and Elizabeth are more clear about what is and what isn't allowed. And in Kaori... well if the Bladetail Legion does not find you first, then you're fucked. No H-scene with Yuki? I just found a picture that would have been perfect for her... Better hope the Yuki-Onna becomes the MG of the month January ;-) |
MetallumOperatur said: No H-scene with Yuki? I just found a picture that would have been perfect for her... Better hope the Yuki-Onna becomes the MG of the month January ;-) As if Sönke would jump into just any bed :P *wrings his hands in outrage* |
[claps hand over mouth] [walks away snickering] |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
Chapter 24 The remaining days of our journey to Bestallion passed uneventfully once more. Ella’s demeanour had become somewhat more tender towards me, though her training sessions, in which she still bruised me mercilessly, remained a constant. Finally, more than another week of traversing Kioko’s heavily wooded landscape later, Bestallion came into sight. I judged the city to be substantially larger than Umbra and it gave off an entirely different feeling. Just like Naharo, the predominant building material was wood, while stone foundations raised most buildings slightly off the ground. Some regions of the city featured primarily simple, single floored buildings, while other parts, the ones I guessed to be the richer districts, featured more elaborate and decorated multi-floored buildings. While the city itself had no noticeable fortifications, I observed watch towers dispersed throughout the city and a large, heavily fortified castle in the center of the city, surrounded by a miniature forest. The lords seem to be fond of sprawling palaces that are visible from just about anywhere in their cities. As we entered and passed through the city, I eagerly observed what might be my new home. Just like in Umbra, there were a wide variety of mamono, though the specific species of mamono that traversed the bustling streets were quite different. We finally pulled up the wagons close to a warehouse not too far into the city, where we were greeted by a diminutive harpy. She greeted Kohaku, who, after returning the greeting and making a little small-talk, asked her to set up a meeting with a person called Marchesa. To me she said. “This is it then. As agreed, we brought you to Bestallion. If you want, I’ll take you to my friend later and we’ll see about getting you settled in there. We won’t have a long stay here in Bestallion, not like we did in Umbra, so we will depart further north-west tomorrow to unload the rest of my wares and stock up,” She made a meaningful pause. “If you want to, you’re welcome to remain with us.” I shot a look around at those who had been my travel companions for the past weeks, some of them looking expectant, others hopeful and others maintained neutral expressions. By no way did this offer come particularly unexpected and I honestly couldn’t say that I had disliked our journey together. Except for those bandit incidents, those sucked. The first one in particular. Who could say? Eventually I might be good enough with the sword that Ella would not beat me up every day. Her face was one of the hopeful ones. She would probably be hurt if I decided to depart now. Or rather, stay behind as they departed. Still, was this really the time to be considerate? Conflicted, I asked. “Afterwards you’re going back to Ahmose, right?” “Of course,” came the swift reply. “Then I’m afraid I’ll take you up on your offer to introduce me to your friend.” Even though I’d come to appreciate these women, I didn’t want to go back to the desert. It was just not my kind of place. I looked around again and it seems that my reply came as no surprise to most of them. And why would it not? I had talked plenty with each of them. Mareli and Ani seemed more annoyed than sad, but Mesta and especially Ella looked quite dejected. “But we have gotten along so well. And who is going to make sure you keep up your training? Besides, I thought that maybe we could…” Ella tried to argue. “It’s not that I didn’t like travelling with you, but my goal from the start has been to leave Ahmose. If I travel back there with you again, what was the point?” She hung her head. Had she been so certain that I’d come along with them again? “We could always just take him along anyway,” suggested Mareli. ”He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s way better off with us than alone here.” “Mareli!” Kohaku exclaimed angrily. “I made a deal and he kept up his end of the bargain, I’m not going to break mine. Not me.” Mareli looked just about ready to argue, but instead shut her mouth into a thin frown. Kohaku turned away and began once more speaking with the harpy. “What was that about?” I asked. “It’s a touchy subject for her,” Rin explained. “Has to do with her father and… well, it’s not really my story to tell. All you need to know is that she’s a bit touchy about keeping to her bargains.” “Hmmm,” I mused. I was somewhat curious, but also did not want to sour the Danukis' mood without good cause. Kohaku returned after talking to the harpy again. “I’ll be busy with my business later tonight. If you’re sure you don’t want to accompany us, then come, I’ll show you the way.” I agreed and we departed, heading towards a part of the city with larger and more elaborate buildings. Aside from Rin and Akela, none of the others accompanied us. I wanted to say goodbye to them, but Kohaku assured me that they would come by the inn later as well. We finally stopped by an elaborate two-floored building when Kohaku announced we had reached our destination, the Wet Scale Inn. As we entered, I found myself in a large common room. It was separated into a bar area, and two large open spaces. One was furnished with tables, chairs and banquettes in a variety of sizes and the other with much lower tables without any chairs, but soft cushions arranged around them. Large wooden support pillars were positioned throughout, holding up the roof. Multiple sliding doors led to other sections of the building and a set of stairs in the back of the room led up to the second floor. So early in the day, the place was almost entirely deserted, except for two obviously drunk blue oni at the bar and a man of diminutive stature behind it. Diminutive didn’t quite cut it, he really was quite short, perhaps reaching up to just below my chest, but the face suggested he was in his late teens or perhaps early twenties. He had brown hair that reached well beyond his shoulders and lightly tanned skin. “Hello Jean,” Kohaku greeted the short man. His face lit up. “Good to see you again, Seba will be so delighted. And who is that with you there? Have you found companionship at last?” “This is Sönke and he’s not quite mine I’m afraid,” she answered with a hint of a sour note. “He’s not very partial to the lifestyle, I fear. We’d like to talk to Seba about that, where might we find her?” “Oh, she is in the bath with Shibi, but they should be out soon enough.” We sat down at one of the tables with a drink and waited for this Seba person. The man, Jean, came by occasionally between refilling the onis’ cups to make some small talk with Kohaku. After about half an hour, a lamia with snow white scales and waist long hair, clad in a kimono of sorts slithered into the room and buried the short man in a lamia hug. After enjoying that for a few moments, she noticed us and exclaimed. “Kohaku, Rin, Akela, you’re back already, what a pleasure. Will everyone be staying here again?” Kohaku pulled herself to her feet and returned the greeting. “It’s good to see you as well Seba and of course you too little one,” she addressed, what I just now realized was an adorable miniature version of the lamia coiled around her arm. “The others will be arriving later and I still have a meeting with Marchesa to cross off the list, but for now we are here about him,” she gestured to me and I took that as my cue to introduce myself. “Hi there, I’m Sönke. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Likewise, you may call me Seba. This is my daughter Shibi and you already met my husband Jean.” Then addressing Kohaku again. “It’s nice of you to introduce me to your partner.” “Actually, he’s not mine. He travelled here with us from Umbra, but will be leaving us.” “Oh, a shame. Still, I don’t see why you have brought him to me?” “I was thinking that you might like another set of hands to help out around here.” “Hmmm,” Seba considered, “I’m not sure I need another pair of hands, although….” She put a thoughtful hand up to her chin and swayed back and forth gently as she considered. “I suppose with another man around, the patrons might stop pestering my poor darling Jean. They are so disrespectful, always propositioning him.” Then she addressed me. “How do you see yourself contributing around here?” I considered it for only a moment. “I have some experience working a bar from when I was a student. I’m a decent cook, although I have no experience with the local cuisine or taste. I could help clean around here, but that would honestly not be my preference.” “He can also play music,” Akela interjected. “You could work the bar at night, the help I have for that has been pestering me about it. You could entertain the guests a few nights a week as well, I suppose,” she mused out loud. “There might also be another advantage,” I suggested. Seba looked at me inquisitively, so I continued. “If you get some publicity that you have an unclaimed man working here, that might draw a few more guests?” Was it a good idea to go about attracting attention like that? Probably not. But I supposed with men being sufficiently rare, it would become known before long anyway, so there was little point in not taking advantage of it. “True, that might draw some extra business. The question is how long will you remain as such?” “That’s hardly a question that I can answer. But I’ve got no immediate plans or commitments where that is concerned.” “I believe there would be no harm in letting you try out for a while, but you will need to look a bit more presentable,” she said, giving me another, more critical look. I chuckled nervously as that comment made me very aware of my physical appearance. My clothes were dirtied from the road and my head and beard were in desperate need of a razor. At least there had been more plentiful opportunities to bathe once we passed into Kioko, though once we left the desert far enough behind, the temperatures had fallen by quite a bit and bathing had been a bit more of a brief necessity than a pleasant diversion. “Of course, I’ll need some new clothing and a proper shave. I’m somewhat low on funds though.” Kohaku threw me a little purse that jingled with coins. “Consider this a small bonus for your services. That should be enough to get you started, with a little to spare if you haggle well.” I’d be a fool not to take the money. Still, that officially makes me a whore, I suppose. Also, somehow I have an inkling what manner of terms might be brought up in such negotiations. “Thanks, that will help a lot.” I said with somewhat gritted teeth. Kohaku grinned in a way that indicated she was well aware. Our negotiation carried on for a while. In the end, we agreed that I would be working the bar four nights a week, entertain the patrons with music two nights a week and provide assistance with whatever was needed two days per week. I even got Seba to agree that I’d be able to put general help duty on the same days as bar duty, giving me three full free days and two half-free days every week. Rin and Kohaku then said their goodbyes to go to their meeting with this Marchesa person. Akela offered to show me around to find some clothing. She led me to a shop that was run by another spider lady. I’d have called her an Arachne, but with her less bulky and black and yellow striped lower body she set herself apart enough that I suspected she was another subspecies that Aneksi had not covered. She didn’t waste much time before offering the special discount if I helped her ‘scratch a certain itch’. My reluctance meant that I spent a significant portion of the money Kohaku had given me on a new pair of pants, a simple but well-tailored tunic and a pair of full shoes from a long-tongued Akaname cobbler. I even got the arachne to take a shot at fixing up the shirt that I had kept with me from earth. It would be good to have more than one set of clothing. Ayanna’s cloak remained in good condition and would be like new again after a thorough wash. When we left, Akela informed me that the woman had indeed been a subspecies of arachne called a jorou-gumo, which made me wonder if there was some sort of seamstress union that demanded that the clothing industry be handled exclusively by arachne. Akela escorted me back to the inn before excusing herself and promising to see me later. In the inn, Jean offered to show me to my new room. “We offer both beds and futons to our customers, you can choose which one you’d prefer.” “I would definitely prefer a bed,” I quickly replied and he showed me to a moderately sized room with a solid bed, dresser and some empty shelves. Certainly nothing special overall, but it was a good start. He also handed me a straight razor, something resembling shaving cream and a towel and gave me directions to the bath. The inn had a large open-air bath with a high fence built around it that quickly brought back memories of our stay in Naharo, causing a slight stir in my loins. Just like in Umbra, there was no separation between men and women, which seemed reasonable enough considering the overall demographics. It featured a separate area where guests could wash before heading into the real bath. I used that area to get a preliminary wash before putting a towel around my waist, taking a seat and applying the shaving cream to my face and head. I had never used a straight razor before and it showed as I cut myself multiple times, trying to remove the hair from my head that had regrown since my arrival. As I grew increasingly frustrated, I suddenly heard a voice from behind me. “Need a hand with that?” I turned around, startled, as I had not noticed anyone approaching. I almost put my face straight into a pair of breasts. I leaned back a little to see more of the person. She had straight black hair that went down perhaps until her shoulder blades. She had fair skin and eyes so green they were almost shining with a hint of mischief in them. There were some curves to her body, but overall she had the body of an athlete. Surprisingly, she had a towel wrapped around her waist. There had not been many mamono so far that had bothered with such modesty. Rather, it seemed like most were eager to flaunt all that they had to offer as soon as they could. I might’ve thought her an extraordinarily beautiful human woman, if not for the pointy ears and long, slender tail gently swaying behind her in a deliberate fashion. Her glistening skin suggested she had just been in the bath, although I had not noticed her at all. “Like what you see?” she asked, a hint of teasing in her voice. A little flustered, I replied. “Yes…” she smiled, “…I’d appreciate some help.” She pulled a face. I handed her the razor. While I was nervous about having someone operate a blade this close to my face and throat, I didn’t believe that I had to fear that any mamono would try to injure me in such a manner. I showed her how I wanted her to shave my beard and she efficiently got to work, not producing any additional cuts. Her erect nipples occasionally brushed up against my back, drawing slight shivers from me. “My name is Kasumi by the way, What is yours? I have not seen you before,” her voice had taken on a neutral tone. “You can call me Sönke. I just arrived and will be staying here for the time being. Are you a guest of the inn?” “I am, when I’m in the city.” She quickly finished up the shave. I thanked her and she took her leave, not even bothering to suggest any sort of repayment for the service rendered. If she was a guest I was sure I’d see her again. It felt good to be decently groomed for the first time in two months and I finally got to enjoy the bath for a short while. My mind wandered to Kasumi. I wouldn’t mind having her in my bed. Still, Umbra and Grey Gardens had been somewhat safe due to the local laws, but I should probably take a little more care here in Bestallion. At least until I was more familiar with the way this place worked. After a short while in the bath, I decided to head back to the common room and see if any of the others had arrived yet. Back in the common room I saw that, with the exception of Ella, all my companions seemed to have arrived. Kohaku had a happy grin on her face that told me her meeting had gone well. I first made my way over to Seba though, who inspected me and gave an approving nod. “You look like an entirely new person. Perhaps now my guests will start hitting on you instead of my Jean.” After thinking for a moment, she added. “Since your travel companions will be here for only one night, I have decided that we will start showing you the ropes tomorrow.” |
mugen91Feb 1, 2023 12:57 AM
Well if the view count of the latest Passport entries are any indication, you got a few dozen more readers. Well I'll be damned, I talk about a Shirohebi and two chapters later not one but two show up... Not expecting a H-scene with either of them, though. Finally, a Kunoichi called Kasumi, yet has no brown hair worn in a ponytail... Call me surprised :-P |
MetallumOperatur said: Well if the view count of the latest Passport entries are any indication, you got a few dozen more readers. Well that's good to know, harrd to tell with only 2 people commeneting regularly. Then again, I was lurking for a long time so I can't complain :P MetallumOperatur said: Well I'll be damned, I talk about a Shirohebi and two chapters later not one but two show up... Not expecting a H-scene with either of them, though. It's a miracle, are you playing the lottery? Although the prediction didn't come true completely :) MetallumOperatur said: Finally, a Kunoichi called Kasumi, yet has no brown hair worn in a ponytail... Call me surprised :-P Well, the ponytail could happen, she was just coming out of the bath, but no brown hair indeed :P |
| Chapter 25 After thanking the shirohebi, I decided to head over to where my erstwhile travel companions were sitting. They had already gotten started on celebrating a successful trip. My question where Ella had gone off to earned me a dismissive gesture from Akela. “She’s feeling a bit down, but I’m sure she’ll be joining us later.” “Is it because I said I was not coming?” “Sure it is. But don’t feel too bad about it. She’s a big girl and will get over it. Besides, she knew you were only along for the ride until Bestallion.” I shrugged, though I did feel a bit bad about it. “I guess so.” We spent a good portion of the night there, talking and drinking. At some point the girls started playing dice, the price being who got to spend the last night with me. I didn’t mention that technically our agreement had concluded. The only thing that bothered me about that night was the fact that Ella did not show up. Perhaps she had taken it even harder than I had anticipated. I had hoped to properly say goodbye to my slightly overeager instructor. Finally, not long after midnight, Kohaku called an end as they would need to get on the road again the next day. While I didn’t have to go, I would be taught the ropes of my new job and I planned to be awake for that. Ani was cursing, her score was only slightly lower than Akela’s, who was in second place. I shrugged, what did it matter on the final night? In the end, the two, along with Kohaku, shared my bed on this final night. --- During breakfast the next morning, I got a chance to get a good look at the people that were currently staying at the inn. Aside from my group, there was the woman who had helped me with my shave yesterday. The only description for her outfit I could come up with was ninja and, surprisingly enough, not even the overtly sexy kind. She wore long, dark boots of soft leather, a pair of equally dark, loose fitting pants and a dark, short sleeved tunic. She noticed me looking almost immediately and shot me a wink. Then there were the two white haired blue onis that were drinking at the bar the day before. Their attire was just about as minimalistic as possible, wearing little more than strips of cloth wrapped around their waists and breasts. There was a nekomata, her fur and hair were light brown and she was wearing a very short cut Kimono, showing off plenty of leg. The last guest was a rather imposing figure. You might even call her an absolute unit. She would probably eclipse two and a half meters tall if she were standing up, with long, dark purple hair and thick and long horns. Her arms and legs were scaled from elbow and knee down respectively and ended in massive claws. Large, majestic wings were folded behind her back. She was covered mostly in black, from her clothing to her midnight scales. Only her skin was of a lighter tone, showing a light, healthy tan. She seemed to me to exude an aura of power and self-confidence, though all she was doing was sit by herself in a corner of the room. She was, without a doubt, a dragon. Perhaps the kind of Mamono I had most wanted to see since I was made aware of their existence. I had also been told they were extremely proud and looked down on just about everything that was not also a dragon, so I’d probably be well advised to watch myself when interacting with her. Just as we had finished our breakfast and I was saying my goodbyes to the group, Ella made her way in through the front door, hiding something behind her back. Her eyes were fixed on me and she quickly stomped over and pulled me away from the others. When we were a few steps away, she finally spoke. “I’m sorry for how I behaved yesterday, I was just surprised, I was sure you’d want to stay with me, with us I mean.” She blushed. “I’m not trying to guilt you into coming along with us. I wanted to give you this.” She revealed what she held behind her back. It was a Gladius. What was more interesting though, was the sheath. It was covered in a scale-like material. Green scales. Green scales like those that adorned Ella’s own body. “What is this? Why are you giving me this?” I asked with torn feelings. This wasn’t some manner of obscure proposal for lizardmen, was it? She leaned in close and said. “Now you can always think of me when you… sheath your sword.” In spite of the innuendo of her words, her voice was slightly higher pitched than normal and her face quickly turned beet red. She took a few deep breaths and leaned back again, her eyes moving all about, but refusing to look at me. Meanwhile, I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to say and it resulted in a brief awkward moment. FInally, just as I was about to find my own voice, she said, her tone normal once more. “I expect you to keep up your training and that you show me your progress when we return. I will not have my student slack off, unless you like getting whacked around, of course.” She then hugged me, tugged at my shirt and finally gave me a kiss before quickly retreating towards the others. I headed back as well and finished my goodbyes. Mesta especially seemed quite distraught at their departure without me. I was a bit relieved when the others stopped her from getting in one final lick before they left. --- When they finally did depart, I couldn’t quite place my own feelings. For the second time in perhaps just over two months, I was trading a relatively safe place and familiar people for something new and unknown. Would it turn out just fine once more? Only time would tell. This place would be somewhat different, I told myself. I had a job now, insignificant though it was, that would allow me to sustain myself without depending on handouts or having to sell myself. In accordance with our agreement from the day before, Most of the day was spent being shown around and familiarized with my new obligations by Jean and Seba. It really wasn’t all that difficult, I had tended bars before and the biggest difficulty was remembering what was on offer and what everything cost. Cleaning duties would be somewhat more arduous without the comforts of modern technology, but that too would not pose too much of a challenge. At some point, while Jean was showing me around he spoke up. “Honestly, I am quite relieved that you started here.” “And why is that?” I asked, although I secretly thought it would be quite nice to have another man around again. Even if his appearance was more that of a boy. “Well, I am certain you know how mamono get around men. That is doubly true when they are drinking, which you can probably imagine is quite often the case here.” “So you’re hoping that that will be directed towards me instead?” “That would be terrific. You see, Seba is a wonderful woman, but she is very possessive and gets very jealous, very quickly.” “And I suppose she doesn’t like it when other women hit on you?” “Haha, no, certainly not. But that is not the worst part. When it is just catcalling the result is usually nothing more than, shall we say, forcefulness in bed. But some patrons get a bit grabby from time to time.” He shudders a bit. “I am sometimes afraid she might start getting violent towards the customers when that happens.” He chuckles nervously. “That makes sense,” I nodded. “Where are you from, anyway? You wouldn’t also be from earth?” “No, I was born here, on Arcadia. Visitors from the other world, while not that uncommon, still present the minority of humans on the continent.” “How was that?” I asked, intrigued. “To be raised among mamono?” “Well, I was raised to be a good husband of course. But, aside from my former mistress and instructors, I did not have a great deal of contact with mamono until I was in my teens. I was raised primarily among my peers - other men, or boys, as it were. A suspicion formed in my mind “How did you get to know Seba then?” “Why, she desired a partner, a lover, a husband. So she went to my former mistress and made the proper arrangements, but we were only introduced when I was nearly a man.” My suspicion confirmed, I scowled. “And you’re alright with that? Just being bought by someone who waves enough cash at your owner?” I might’ve raised my voice a little. He considered for a moment, seemingly surprised at my disgruntlement. “Well, not just anyone could have bought me. I was conceived to be with Seba - my destined wife if you will. My previous mistress is also very selective about who she does business with. She wishes to ensure that her men and women, her children, are matched to the right partners. She performs stringent evaluations on the characters of any prospective customers before she will consider their wishes. If her children are seen in bad conditions, not only would it reflect poorly upon her, it would also cause her much distress, I am sure.” Okay, so she is careful about who buys her ‘product’, but in the end they’re just looked at as breeding stock, no? Even if Seba seems to love Jean. “Where I’m from, trading in people is considered among the worst things you can do. It’s not something I can just condone.” “I understand that it may seem hard to understand from an outworlders perspective, but for me, it is all I have ever known. It’s normal. It is certainly no solution to the general shortage of humans, but often the only way for those spending most of their time in the larger cities to obtain a partner.” “If they have the necessary coin,” I added with a frown. “Isn’t that how everything works?” He asked with a shrug. That doesn’t make it right. Then another thought came into my mind. “Not to be too personal, but you have a rather… diminutive stature… was that desired?” He chuckled. “Oh yes, my erstwhile mistress caters to many different tastes.” I shook my head in disbelief. He doesn’t even mind that he was bred to serve someone’s tastes. I doubt I’ll be able to understand that mindset. Deciding to change the topic, I asked. “Earlier, Seba was talking about other hired help, who is that?” “Oh Mirri? You must have seen her already, she’s the nekomata.” “Oh, then there are only four guests here right now?” The Wet Scale had 15 guest rooms, seven single rooms, six double bedrooms and two four-bedrooms, which could house 27 guests, far more if guests were inclined to share beds. With two rooms taken up by me and that Mirri person, there were 25 available beds, altogether. “The guestrooms really are not the primary business of the Wet Scale, even if it is called an inn. For the most part, we accommodate short term visitors and guests of the owner.” “The owner? Seba is not the owner?” “No, Seba is managing the Wet Scale, but it is owned by mistress Marchesa.” Marchesa again. “And who is that, precisely?” “She is a very rich woman with very… diverse business interests,” Jean answered somewhat evasively. --- My first shift behind the bar of the Wet Scale turned out to be quite relaxed. I stood there together with Seba, who wanted to make sure that I did everything right the first time around. Activity in the bar was moderate, which meant that I had no issues keeping up with orders. I performed well enough that, after some time, the shirohebi let me man the bar alone. As the night progressed and the patrons grew more intoxicated, a fair number of them started making passes at me, just like Jean had suggested. I quickly noted that the more intoxicated patrons, while more forward, were also more generous with their coin. I figured there was no reason to spurn their generosity. Feeling quite good about myself, I received a little shock during breakfast the next day. Kasumi, the kunoichi came walking over, her outfit was similar, only she was not wearing proper pants this time around and the hem of her tunic just barely managed to fall below the curve of her bum. Her legs were instead wrapped in fishnets that showed off the softly tanned skin of her thighs and allowed me to see a complex pattern of tattoos adorning her right thigh. Her face was also covered by a mask that covered her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes visible. It was a bit more difficult to pull my eyes away from her athletic body as she sashayed towards me. “You’re about to become popular,” she said while holding out a small book, held open to a page about midway through. Confused, I took it from her and considered what was written there. The right side was blank, but on the left side something was written. I let out an involuntary gulp. ’Sönke, 26 years old. This is a hot tip for all you single ladies. A fresh arrival from Umbra completely unbound and looking for love. A secret source has confirmed that he is in fact an ass man and likes his women tall and strong with long straight hair. And here is the best part, you can find him at the Wet Scale Inn.’ My jaw opened involuntarily. I read it again, just to be sure. “WHAT THE HELL?” Everyone in the room, the two oni, the dragon, Seba and Jean, all looked over curiously. I lowered my voice and asked again. “What the hell is this?” “The Ratatoskr work fast,” Kasumi said sagely. “…” seriously? “What Ratatoskr?Who put that there? I’ve only just arrived. Who talked to them?” “Me of course.” Came a cheerful voice. I turned around and there stood Seba, Shibi hanging around her neck. “But why?” I asked, puzzled. “Your argument was that having an unclaimed man working here would draw customers, no? How is that going to work if we don’t get the word out?” she said in a cheerful voice, like she didn’t just throw me to the dogs. “Mareli was so kind to inform me of your preferences.” Damn that harpy! Stirred awake by the commotion, the young shibi let out a yawn and slithered forward a bit on her mothers arm. Big, red eyes looked at me curiously and then the little girl held out her hands to me. I looked to Seba, who nodded with a hint of reluctance. I took Shibi from her and she coiled her already remarkably long tail around my arm as she snuggled into my arms. In spite of the cuteness of the little snake coiled around my arm, I could not help but be annoyed with her mother, but figured there was nothing to be done about it now. There was truth to her word that without people knowing about me, it was unlikely that I would be drawing any crowd. I had simply imagined a more organic growth of the customer base through word of mouth. I felt the little tail coil more tightly around my arm as she let out an unstifled yawn. Seba chuckled at that and I asked. “How old is she?” “Almost one and half years,” she said with a soft smile on her face. When the grip of her coils on my arm strengthened yet again, I looked down at the little lamia, only to see that she had fallen asleep, breathing softly and steadily. “Now you’ll have to hold her for a while.” Seba said and I had to agree. Why have a moot argument when it might wake up this little bundle of joy? We continued softly chatting and exchanging pleasantries for a while. Kasumi had remained quiet since Seba came over, but her gaze incessantly wandered between me and the sleeping Shibi in my arms, an unreadable expression in her eyes. It took about half an hour for the little sleeper to wake once more and hold her hands up to her mother, slowly releasing her tail coiled around my arm. Goddamn, this baby could melt the heart of a snowman. Or in this world, probably a snow woman. |
mugen91Feb 15, 2023 1:37 AM
| Heh. No one can resist the power of the cute kid. Be glad you didn't visit Gray Gardens after Ruby was born. Nice touch with the discussion on the differences in perspective between human outworlders and human natives. There's no way people who were raised in that environment would have modern attitudes toward things like slavery and feudalism. |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
| Oh, who knows, another visit in Grey Gardens is not impossible after all :P Although if I look at my rolling luck, there will be a lot of potential cuteness that Ruby has to compete with :P |
mugen91Jan 4, 2018 8:58 AM
| Nice to see that even after his death Spicy's reputation keeps spreading. He will be dearly missed. Now that I think of it, you might even be able to catch his funeral :-P Also don't judge Mareli too harshly, poor girl probably still has brain damage from her little tumble in the desert. |
| Chapter 26 I decided to use the day to do some exploring in the city, though I remained in the neighbourhood for the time being. Getting lost was not high on my list of priorities, after all. While walking the streets, I could never shake the feeling of being followed or watched. Still, no matter how often I looked around, there was nothing particularly suspicious. Realistically, it was probably the stares and inviting gestures that followed me wherever I went. I went window shopping through some stores, considering clothing and accessories on sale with many enthusiastic saleswomen offering… special discounts. Eventually, as I passed the streets, I came across a green skinned woman with short brown hair, webbed feet and hands and a shell on her back. As I walked past her, one of her hands suddenly gripped tightly around my wrist. “Hey there, handsome. You look like you know how to have a good time,” she gave me her spiel with an enticing smile on her face. “Come along with me and we’ll grapple. If you win, you get to be on top.” She pushed her arms up against her breasts from below to really drive home the point. “Very tempting, but I’m afraid I don’t really have time for that now,” I said and tried to get out of her grasp. Who knew being hit on by so many women in a day would make the whole thing less appealing? “Don’t say that. I promise it will be worth whatever you’re missing. Just come home with me and I’ll take reeeeal good care of you.” She promised, resisting my attempts to disentangle from her and starting to yank me towards a back alley. While she was far from the first to propose such an arrangement, or any kind of arrangement, today, the others had, some with more and others less grace, accepted my refusals. Certainly none had tried to drag me away as brazenly as this. I tried to get loose from her grip again, but found myself inexorably drawn towards the alley. “Come on, I said no. I’m not going with you,” I insisted as my shoes dragged across the ground. “Ohh, to me it looks like you are,” she replied with a grin. Just as I was getting ready to shout for help, a figure appeared beside us and, in the blink of an eye, the green skinned woman was lying on her shelled back. Kasumi, the woman from the inn, was standing beside me and shooting an icy glare at the woman. “Get lost,” she said, deadpan but with a hint of a threat. “I found him first,” the woman countered, but made no move to get up as she considered the woman beside me cautiously. She alternated her gaze between my angry visage and Kasumi’s, who was silently staring daggers now and seemed to decide that retreat was the best option, after all. Crawling a few steps away, before getting up and then leaving. Kasumi’s eyes had taken on a neutral expression once more when she turned to face me. “You’re not going to last long acting like that. Are you sure you didn’t actually want to grapple with her?” “No, I did not want that. What was I supposed to do?” Kasumi shrugged noncommittally. “But thank you,” I added. “You’re welcome. And if you want to avoid attention you could try to keep your eyes down and try to act inconspicuously.” “How do I act inconspicuously when every mamono seems to sense my presence from a hundred meters away?” She had no answer for that, just shrugging again. Instead, she linked her arm with me and pulled me close to her side. Miraculously, this somewhat reduced the attention levied my way. I was still catching some glances, but Kasumi did a tremendous job keeping them at a distance. Though the suspicion that Kasumi might have ulterior motives herself persistently made itself known in the back of my head, with her as my guide, the tour around the city was much more enjoyable. And, considering we were staying in the same establishment, at least she had no need to abduct me (I hoped). She showed me around the district. Though she occasionally shared a tidbit of information, I could not help but note that she obviously had not much experience with acting as a tour guide. Not that I had a need to complain. With her around, I could watch and listen freely. As the day turned into late afternoon, we headed back towards the inn. Back there, though I was sorely tempted to laze around for a while, I decided to uphold my promise to Ella and do my sword practice in the Inn’s little garden. I noticed Kasumi watching me and even though she wore her facemask, I felt like there was a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. What a great confidence booster, I thought to myself. Finishing my exercise, I went into the, luckily, empty bath. After a brief soak, I decided to make sure that everything was ready for tonight’s performance. I’d have been nervous about it regardless, but given the profile on me I’d seen in that book, calling me nervous would have been an understatement. Just how far had that information been shared by now? I began the evening, just as the night before, behind the bar. The music would only start later, when the house was full and the guests had gotten started on their drinking. My nervousness only increased when the Wet Scale filled up more and more, a conspicuously high portion of the guests were rather tall and strongly built. Seba and Jean were both standing behind the bar with me, as they would take over when I started. Seba seemed immensely satisfied with the turnout, as she worked with a very content smile plastered across her face. She seemed especially happy about the fact that a large portion of the women seemed quite keen on talking to me, rather than her husband. Finally, as the common room slowly started to burst at the seams,it was my turn. A chair had been placed in a raised corner of the room from where most guests would have an easy view of me. I had thought about what I should play throughout the day, and reached the conclusion that I’d just play some of my favourite songs. I took a seat, placing the guitar Seba had provided me with on my lap and, without much in the way of introduction, started playing. Sorrow hides under the water Sorrow is my only friend Sorrow stands beside the doorway And sorrow needs a helping hand As I played the familiar notes, I slowly felt myself relax and the din of the crowd faded into the background. Say my name Silverflame and take control Of my heart of, my mind and my soul What a shame Silverflame that you can't burn forever After the first refrain, I made the mistake of regarding the crowd a bit closer. Seeing a hulking oni practically champing at the bit to get at me, only held back by her more rational friends, had me fumble a few notes and almost made me lose track of the lyrics entirely. Luckily, the song text to Silverflame wasn’t particularly complicated, so I managed to re-compose myself and bring the song to a satisfactory close. Say my name Silverflame and take control Of my heart, of my mind and my soul What a shame Silverflame, that you can't burn forever Only when I finished did I look up to gauge the audience’s reaction once more. I was met with raucous applause and smoldering gazes, intermingled with shouts for more. I took a few deep breaths, gave the crowd a few nods and smiles, took a big swallow from my cup and launched into the next song. --- As the evening carried on, the atmosphere became more and more heated. Most members of the audience were obviously trying to catch my attention, though some tried harder than others. Some, like the oni from earlier, stood out by an apparent lack of self-control and were more fear inducing than anything else. Three short girls that were so flat chested one might assume them to be children, though they were really just goblins, were jumping up and down and shouting in between songs to get my attention. Another woman with Panda-like arms and legs flashed me her tits while my gaze scanned through the crowd and a raiju with long blue hair and a scandalously cut Kimono had streaks of electricity running across her body as she openly masturbated. When she noticed my gaze on her, she gave me a bold smile and held out her sticky fingers. I continued playing for about an hour and when I was done, I had to retreat to safety behind the bar, much to the chagrin of the patrons, where I spent the rest of my night shift. To say that many of the guests were riled up would have been an understatement and I received more offers to spend the night than I cared to count. With some of them, I was sorely tempted, but finally decided against it. I’d really have to rethink my interactions going forward if I wanted to avoid being claimed by my ‘conquest’. Many of the guests insisted on paying for my drinks, some of which I accepted. If I’d accepted all of them they’d have had to carry me to my room within half an hour. Yet, even though I held back, by the time we finally closed for the night I was more than a little tipsy. Stumbling up to my room, I let myself fall into my bed and quickly drifted off to sleep. There was something strange going on when I woke up. I could’ve sworn I went to bed alone, yet there was a head lying on my left arm and my right arm was draped across someone’s waist, hand lying softly against their breasts. Breaking the fog in my mind to come fully awake, I reared up slightly. Kasumi was lying in bed with me. I tried to remember how I had stumbled into bed what couldn’t have been more than a few hours earlier, but I was sure I had been alone. Not to mention the fact that we were both clothed. If I had taken her to bed with me, surely, we wouldn’t be dressed? “What are you doing here?” I asked in a hoarse voice. “Sleeping,” she stated with a deadpan tone of voice. “And why are you sleeping in my bed?” “I’m just making sure that no naughty women crawl into your bed while you’re drunk and can’t defend yourself.” I could barely make out the hint of a smile showing at the edge of her mouth. “Yet you crawled into my bed,” I stated the obvious. “And I laid no hand on you,” she retorted in mock regret. “Though the same can’t be said about you.” She put her hand over mine, which was still lying atop her breast. I reluctantly removed my hand from its, admittedly, wonderfully shaped cushion and she rose. “I promise I’m not going to do anything to you without you asking me for it.” Without elaborating further, she left and left me mildly puzzled. And more than a little intrigued. A woman that wanted me to take the initiative was certainly a change from the norm. And, even though it had been only two days since my travel companions had left, I was also feeling a little aroused. Even during the previous day I had experienced a longing for the embrace of a woman. While this might not be entirely unusual, even back on earth, it felt… different now. Like there was something changing within me. It probably wouldn’t have taken much effort from her to get me willing. I might have initiated something myself if she had not left. Shaking the thought from my head, I languidly made my way downstairs to get breakfast. The only guest that was in the common room was the imposing dragon lady. Seeing no reason not to, I decided to satisfy my curiosity, so I picked up some food and sat down on the table opposite of her and introduced myself. I tried to keep my tone respectful, as up close she was even more imposing. She didn’t seem to take any notice of me though, chewing on a large piece of meat as she was. I tried again. “Hello? Can you hear me? I was wondering what your name was? I am called Sönke.” Again she ignored me. I started to wonder if perhaps she might be deaf or blind or both. I was just about to undertake a strategic retreat when her gaze finally drifted in my direction with pointed disinterest. “You are addressing Vela Nightshroud, what do you want, little man?” Her voice was resonant and powerful, matching her frame. I’m not exactly little… you’re just huge, I thought, slightly miffed. I did not voice that thought though and instead said. “I don’t want anything in particular, I was just curious about you and wanted to talk to you.” She scowled. “You wish to mate with me then? You’re not worth my while. You may leave now, I’m busy” Damn, Aneksi was not kidding when she said dragons tended to act high and mighty. Although the thought of being held by that woman was somewhat… enticing, her attitude was rather unattractive. All I had wanted was to talk to her and learn more about dragons. I mean... it’s a dragon, dammit. It’s not as if she seemed very busy. I swallowed my budding annoyance and decided that it would be wiser not to be confrontational with this one in particular, so I got up with my food and said. “Well it was nice talking to you, enjoy your meal,” and left. My goodbye went without acknowledgement from her. I sat down at another table and occasionally shot a gaze over at her. I could’ve sworn that she was looking over in my direction a few times, though whenever I turned my head towards her, her gaze continued drifting about the room. I decided to shelf my curiosity for the time being and returned my plate to the kitchen, where Seba was busy preparing food for the evening. Shibi, who was once again slung across her shoulders, held out her little arms to me, so I picked her up and let her snuggle against my neck while I hummed a calm melody. After a while, she once again fell asleep. Seba looked almost jealous and said. “If you’re not careful, she’ll fall in love with you.” I was not sure what to say to that, other than. “That’s a joke, right? You’re not going to tell me that mamono… start that early?” “No, I was joking,” she said with a snort of laughter and I sighed in relief. ”Mamono are not that different from humans in that aspect of our development.” I nodded, feeling relieved that she had confirmed this. We made some idle conversation as she chopped vegetables and I held the sleeping child. Only after Shibi was done napping, I returned the little one to her mother and informed her that I’d be going out again. Today was a free day, so perhaps I could find something to do tonight. Preferably something somewhere somewhat safe from abduction. As I walked through the streets, I attempted to follow Kasumi’s advice to be more inconspicuous, but my success was marginal at best. Perhaps, in trying to be inconspicuous, I was actually even more conspicuous? Once more, I felt watched, but there were once again dozens of women looking at me, so I couldn’t tell who it was that triggered that feeling or if it was all of them collectively. After a while of walking I heard a voice chirp up behind me. “That’s him, get him!” Before I could react, I was hoisted off my feet and three pairs of hands were holding me up in the air, quickly carrying me off. Before I could let out a shout of protest, a small, but unnaturally strong hand clasped over my mouth and nose, muffling any sound I made. I couldn’t see my captors, but they must have been very short, since I was moving quite low to the ground. My struggling was in vain and I didn’t manage so much as budge against the hands that held me. A few of the women we passed by looked on with some alarm, jealousy, curiosity, but none seemed inclined to interfere. Was this kind of stuff even illegal in the first place? If I got out of this, it would probably behoove me to inform myself more closely about the laws of my new home city. After a few minutes of this, I was carried into a house and unceremoniously dumped onto the ground. Finally able to take a look at my captors, I saw that it was the three childlike goblins from the previous night. “This is the one we told you about,” chirped one of them. I turned my head, only to look at another short girl. Only this one was not flat chested. Not at all. She was ridiculously well endowed, to the point where it had to seriously mess with her center of gravity. My guess was that this was their leader and a hobgoblin at that. “Hmm, he might be enjoyable. I’m going to give him a try right away,” She declared, trying to sound magnanimous, but the horny leer on her face made the whole point somewhat moot. She took a step towards me. I jumped up and quickly looked for a way out. Unfortunately, the three girls that had carried me here were blocking the only door. “Sorry, but I’m not really into lolis,” I said, with little hope they’d listen. “Good thing we don’t care,” the busty one grinned. “You’ll learn to love it.” “I really can’t let you out of my eyes for more than five seconds.” A voice sounded from above me. I looked up and saw Kasumi hanging from the ceiling, suspended by her tail. “A little help maybe?” I pleaded, foregoing my immense surprise and relief. As the goblins looked on with big eyes, she dropped to the floor beside me, wrapped an arm around my chest and her prehensile tail around my waist and dashed towards a window. The girls still looked dumbfounded. “Hey! That’s ours. Get your own!” The busty one finally managed to complain, just as we vanished through the window. I cried out in panic as my head just about collided with the window frame, but Kasumi managed to move us through unharmed. She moved swiftly through the street, still carrying me with her arm and tail. How is she even lifting me with that slim thing? Let alone carry me and still move so fast? I wondered in amazement. After we had traversed a fair distance, with many more curious stares following us, she finally let me down. I rubbed my aching waste while she scolded me. “This is the second time in two days you need rescuing, are you sure you don’t actually seek out these situations?” “No I am not,” I protested. “So thank you. Again. Besides, how did you know where I was? Were you stalking me?” She pursed her lips, then said in a very uncertain tone. “…. No?” “Then what? Did you just randomly stumble across me?” “I was just keeping an eye on you.” “I think that’s called stalking.” No reply. “Why were you keeping an eye on me?” I finally asked. “Because you obviously can’t defend yourself.” “So I’m like your Damsel in distress?” “Not a damsel, but you do seem to be in distress a lot.” Ouch. I rubbed my temples. This woman! I couldn’t be angry with her, she’d come to my help twice already in just two days. “I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me somewhere later?” She asked, abruptly changing the topic. “And where is that?” I asked, suspicious. “I will participate in a little game later and I was hoping you could be my… good luck charm?” I was a bit suspicious, but what reason did I have to shoot her down? If she’d wanted to abduct me, she could easily have done so already. And there was still the matter of us staying in the same inn in any case. I had been hoping to see some nightlife in the city anyway and with a companion it would be much safer. After all, it seemed I could not even walk through the street without being scooped up by one mamono or another. So I finally said. “Sure, I’ll accompany you… but drinks are on you.” |
mugen91Mar 1, 2023 2:13 AM
| This actually gave me an idea for a new business in Ahmose... With how things are going, its looking like you're going to need to keep a ninja on retainer for protection. =) |
Not yet, Kioko postponed the funeral three weeks to allow the Ryu's to recover enough to be able to make it to the funeral, which they have to attend naked. Could be a great opportunity for him to learn more about dragons :-P |
emeraldtryst said: This actually gave me an idea for a new business in Ahmose... With how things are going, its looking like you're going to need to keep a ninja on retainer for protection. =) Is Joe going to set up a protection racket? :P I think Sönke can live with a kunoichi bodyguard WITH benefits :D MetallumOperatur said: Not yet, Kioko postponed the funeral three weeks to allow the Ryu's to recover enough to be able to make it to the funeral, which they have to attend naked. Could be a great opportunity for him to learn more about dragons :-P Hmm, let's see, maybe Sönke will have time to catch that funeral :P |
| It seems opening night went well. And yes, I was able to hear a harmony for that song right away. And it looks like Kasumi is playing the long game. Good for her -- I am rapidly becoming Team Kasumi here. Oh, and the official term is "dude" in distress. |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
tygertyger said: And it looks like Kasumi is playing the long game. Good for her -- I am rapidly becoming Team Kasumi here. Oh, and the official term is "dude" in distress. I was genuinely not aware that dude in distress is a thing. I also hear playing the long game can produce positive long term results :) |
| Chapter 27 We headed back to the Wet Scale, where I retrieved my Gladius from my room and headed to the garden to perform my customary exercises. Kasumi was once again watching me, sitting up on the roof overlooking the small garden and seemed just about as impressed as the previous time. After my exercise, I washed up and went to get some dinner. I invited Kasumi to join me, which she did. “What kind of game is it then that you’re going to play later?” “Getting second thoughts? It’s just a little gambling.” “No, no second thoughts, unless you plan on betting me, that would certainly give me second thoughts,” I joked. “Alright, I’ll try not to gamble you away,” she answered in a deadpan tone, making it impossible to tell if she was just humouring my joke or was actually serious. I chuckled nervously, actually getting second thoughts now. But I had promised to come along and decided to keep that promise. I could not stay in the inn for the rest of my life for fear that something might happen anyway. --- A few hours later, when dusk had already given way to night, we headed out to the streets. Kasumi led me to a two floored, somewhat plain looking building. Two mamono were standing by the entrance, but didn’t stop us as we entered. Inside, a counter was set up behind which a bored looking red oni was sitting, sipping from a gourd. Kasumi handed her a handful of coins and received a handful of polished wooden jetons in exchange. “Is this a Casino?” I asked. Because it sure seemed like a casino. “I would rather call it a gambling den,” Kasumi clarified. “A seedy casino then?” I asked. “Something of that sort, so do try to stay close and don’t run off somewhere.” “Hmmm,” I hummed in response. I remained close to Kasumi like she asked as we passed by the counter. Seedy was a good description for the place. Distinctly smelling smoke was permeating the air, originating from the pipes smoked by various mamono and the occasional rarer human. The first floor consisted of five large rooms and a stair in the back of the building leading to the second floor. Looking into the rooms, I saw that most were filled with gamblers, each room offering different games. We entered a room featuring several tables with roulette wheels. Kasumi pulled me towards one of them and took a seat, leaving me to stand beside her. I’m just the eye candy then? And I didn’t really expect roulette in this place, rather I’d have expected something more archaic. My gaze wandered around the table, where four other mamono were sitting to play, one of them, a succubus, dressed in nice clothes. That one was also the only one in the room that had a man with her, although he seemed quite spaced out. His eyes were unfocused and he didn’t seem entirely present. His company occasionally held a pipe up to him, which he promptly sucked on. I arched an eyebrow. This was certainly… an unconventional place to invite someone. Kasumi freed her jetons from her satchel and lined them up in front of her. Twenty jetons each with denominations of five and ten, and ten jetons of denominations twenty, fifty and hundred, for a total of 2000. She started betting low, with only ten chips and when she lost she doubled up her bet. She continued this process, her losing streak coming to a close at her fifth bet, 160. She played conservatively, only betting on the relatively high chance outcomes, such as first, second or third dozen or first, second or third column that provided a two to one pay-out. While this strategy guaranteed to recoup the losses and provide a pay-out equalling the initial starting bet when the losing streak broke, she could easily lose everything if her losing streak exceeded eight. I really hoped she was not playing with money she could not afford to lose here. My worries seemed to be unfounded though, as she played fifteen games and only once came up to her maximum threshold of eight, before finally winning a bet. With 150 extra jetons in play, she changed up her strategy. She still placed her doubling bet, but now also started placing five jetons on the zero in each game. In the sixth game she got lucky, giving her a pay-out of 175 jetons. She now had a total of 2305 Jetons. She continued playing for a while, not saying much but asking me the occasional question to keep me talking. She had one hand on the small of my back the whole time. Every time she won a bet, her hand would brush just a little lower and cop a feel. It was a bit strange, but I didn’t want to make a scene, so decided not to mention it for the time being. It’s not like it was terrible. The rest of the table was fairly quiet, aside from the dealer announcing the bets and results and I kept my own voice low. At one point the succubus, who had been on a losing streak with a series of ill placed bets, ran out of the necessary chips to continue betting. She grew increasingly frustrated and eventually turned to the dealer, whispering something in her ear. She nodded reservedly and left, returning a short while later with a well-dressed kitsune, three tails swishing behind her. She stepped close to the succubus and they had a whispered conversation. The kitsune maintained a calm demeanour, but the succubus evidently was quite irritated. Finally, the kitsune raised an eyebrow, shrugged and nodded, prompting a smile from the succubus and a whisper of “I just know this is the one.“ At a nod from the kitsune, the dealer slid a handful of jetons towards the succubus, who promptly placed them all on black six. I noted the kitsune standing close and placing a hand on the man’s shoulders. The rest of the table placed their bets and the dealer spun the wheel. Not entirely unexpectedly, the succubus lost. She cursed and protested loudly, angrily trying to reason with the kitsune. In short order, three bulky oni stepped in and maneuvered her away. The man didn’t seem entirely aware of what was happening as the kitsune gently steered him in the opposite direction. Now things were turning from somewhat strange to worrisome. Had Kasumi taken me here as collateral? I really needed to get out of here. “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you,” she whispered, sensing my discomfort. When that didn’t help she added. “You’re not my legal property, I could not bet you if I wanted to. I apologize you had to see that.” We had spent about an hour at the roulette table at this point and Kasumi had had quite the lucky run. Perhaps because of this or perhaps purely to assure me, she rose from her seat and left the table with her winnings of 615 additional jetons. She sighed and packed them up and we headed out of the room and to the second floor, most of which was taken up by a bar and lounge area, which was substantially more busy than the first floor. Kasumi got two cups from the bar and handed me one, filled with a strong-smelling liquor. We sat down on a comfortable couch and I started sipping on my drink. “So, you want to tell me what that was?” I asked, still distinctly sour about the affair. “I expect she ran out of funds and wished to use some manner of collateral to keep playing.” “So the man was collateral?” I asked angrily. “I doubt it. Even if she intended to separate from him, the man would fetch far more than she bet. I expect the house will keep him in custody until she can balance her debt.” “So this is nothing special to you?” She shrugged, seeming a little uncomfortable. “Things like this happen, rarely, but they do happen. Believe me, I’d have preferred that woman had a bit more self restraint and didn’t ruin your mood.” I narrowed my eyes and gave her an appraising look. She seemed genuine. I thought it over for a moment, then sighed. Being angry at her for another’s behavior didn’t seem right. “You do this kind of thing a lot?” I asked her. “Only when I’m working.” “This is work?” “I checked out the dealer at the roulette table for… my employer. There were unsavory rumors.” “So you decided to bring me along for work?” “All the easier for her to mistake my true motive for being here,” she explained. “And I thought I could combine something necessary with something pleasant.” “You know, this isn’t the kind of place you’d typically invite someone to when you’re showing… interest, right?” “In retrospect, it might’ve been a poor choice of venue,” she conceded. “Alright, whatever. So who is this employer then? And what do you do for her?” “She’s a very influential business woman and I solve problems for her.” “…Could you be any more vague?” “She’s rich and I do things for her.” Kasumi maintained her perfectly neutral expression as she took my question quite literally. I looked at her scoldingly. “Fine, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” “Would you care to dance?” She asked, deflecting my budding indignation. I shot a look over to the stage, where a band of three mamono were playing an upbeat melody, a small crowd dancing in front of the stage. It didn’t seem to be any formal kind of dancing, so I agreed, albeit after a moment's hesitation. We headed to the dancefloor and she pulled herself close to me. As I felt her close to me, I resolved to bury my misgivings about the evening so far and try to enjoy what remained. Kasumi quickly established herself as the lead, skilfully directing my movements. Before long I started to enjoy myself and we ended up dancing for the duration of multiple songs. It was only when we left the dancefloor some time later that I felt a sting in my thigh. I rubbed at it, wondering what it was but couldn’t identify the source. We returned to our seats, had some more to drink and exchanged some trivial words but before long I felt a throbbing hot sensation spreading through my body. I tried to ignore the sensation spreading out from my thigh, but that didn't yield much in the way of success. Rather, the feeling only grew in strength and intensity. My breath was growing heavier and my body was feeling flush with warmth. I excused myself, heading out of the main area and into a quiet corner, where I could try to be alone for a moment and get a hold of myself. Given in to the insistent mental compulsion that told me to rip of my clothes and beg to be fucked seemed a poor choice. Kasumi wanted to follow me, but I told her to stay, ignoring the voice in my head that told me that was probably a very stupid idea. And yet, with her next to me, I didn’t stand a chance at getting this potent compulsion under control. I also ignored the small voice in my head that reasoned that even without her I was unlikely to just get rid of the sensation. I found a quiet corner and I leaned against the wall, slowly slipping down to the ground. I felt my breathing growing heavier and more laborious. “That took longer than expected,” said a low sing-song voice above me a short moment later. I opened my eyes. I hadn’t even realized I’d closed them. A centipede-like woman loomed in above me. Oomukade, the small voice in my head told me. Oomukade had potent venom that doubled as an aphrodisiac, so it stood to reason that she’d stung me. She was looking me over, idly running her hands across her glistening, already revealed sex. Still trying to control myself, but failing fast, I unconsciously raised one hand towards her. She chuckled as I felt the strength drain from my body. She deliberately coiled herself around me and started to work down my pants, only to suddenly freeze. Kasumi was standing over us, holding a dagger to the mamono's throat. Without saying a word and with her hands raised non threateningly, the oomukade uncoiled herself and slowly skittered away. “First and last warning,” Kasumi said in an icy, threatening voice, before hoisting me up and pulling up my half-removed pants, though with a bit of hesitation, I noted. Needless to mention, by that point I didn't really want her to. I grinded my myself against her hips as best I could, a fruitless undertaking in my barely controlled state, and looked at her with lust addled eyes. Instead of taking the invitation though, she propped me up, slung one arm under my own and wrapped her prehensile tail around me for support and started walking me down the stairs and to the exit of the building. At the counter, she quickly changed her jetons for a small purse filled with coins and we left. I had no doubt in my mind that, if I had any strength left, I’d have tried to push her to the ground and take her then and there. Given the state I was in however, I could only utter obscenities and invitations at her. In a moment of near deranged lucidity, I found a modicum of strength and tried to move my hand between her legs. She caught my hand, as she looked me over. She certainly looked sorely tempted. I smiled invitingly and her gaze grew resolute. Her free hand snaked its way up to my neck. I felt a short pressure and my legs gave out under me as the world turned black. --- I awoke in my bed, Kasumi was lying behind me, one arm slung over my torso and softly caressing my chest while the other arm served as my pillow. Once again we were both at least partially clothed, though I could definitely feel something poking me. “How are you feeling?” she asked. “A bit strange, but… in control again. What happened to me?” “Oomukade venom.” “Ooh,” The memory returned from the haze of sleep. “Do you remember what happened?” “I think she stung me when we left the dance floor. Then I started feeling very hot and I think I tried to get some distance before,” I chuckled nervously. ”I had the weird notion of ripping of my clothes and asking everyone present to fuck my brains out. I thought I could calm down in a quiet corner. Then that oomukade came and wrapped herself around me, then you were there, then we left and…?” “Yes, that’s more or less what happened. I carried you back here and stayed with you to make sure you didn’t wake up and do something stupid.” “And you didn’t do anything?” “No.” “Why not?” That question seemed to catch her off guard and it took her a moment to answer. “I told you I was not going to do something if you didn’t want me to.” “But yesterday I clearly wanted to. And if I’m not mistaken, so did you,” I returned, not even sure why I was pushing the point. “You were drugged, that hardly counts.” “I’m not drugged now,” I said, as I turned, hooked my arm around her neck and drew her in for a kiss. Regardless of her intention, the fact that she saved my butt three times now and had not taken advantage of me, even though she easily could have, made me think that perhaps it would be safe to give things a shot. Even if her venue of choice for the first date had been an unmitigated disaster. She returned the kiss after a brief moment of hesitation and I moved my hand to softly caress her back. After a few moments, I broke the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes. “Do you want this?” I asked. She regarded me with her bright green eyes, then nodded. “I want you.” I kissed her again and moved my hand from her back to her front, freeing her breasts and moving further down to place my lips on one of her nipples, gently teasing it. I started moving my hand lower, but she quickly caught my hand and pulled away from me, getting out from the bed. “If you just tell me you’re not interested, this would be a lot easier,” I said, “Although you’re sending a lot of mixed signals.” The situation had turned from heated to awkward in a heartbeat. I was still lying on the bed and she was standing two steps away, looking conflicted. She finally asked. “You don’t blame me for that catastrophe yesterday?” I thought for a moment. “Let’s say I’ve had better first dates. But I at least believe you that you didn’t have any bad intentions.” She looked thoughtful. “Yes, alright. But, you should go and take a bath now, it may help purge your body of the remaining effects of the oomukade venom.” And without another word, she left the room. That left me sitting on the bed, looking dumbfounded at the door. In a world full of horny monster women, who were aggressive in their pursuit of all things human, getting a rejection was a strange, unexpected feeling. Did she not want me to find out about the surprise between her legs? If so, then she had chosen badly in being the big spoon. She was right in insinuating that I still felt the lingering effect of the venom though, so I decided to put that topic aside for now and follow her advice. |
mugen91Mar 14, 2023 3:10 PM
| Welps, looks like Sonke is a Futa magnet :-P I assume that "subdue" meant the Succubus has gotten a few bruises on the house. Also the rule is so easy, yet so many people keep forgetting it: never ever bet things you're not willing to lose. |
| Don't sweat the multiple rewrites, mugen. I do it all the time -- more so in my hopefully-soon-to-be-professional writing than here. |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
MetallumOperatur said: Welps, looks like Sonke is a Futa magnet :-P I assume that "subdue" meant the Succubus has gotten a few bruises on the house. Also the rule is so easy, yet so many people keep forgetting it: never ever bet things you're not willing to lose. Well, it's only the second, that hardly establishes a pattern, but let's see :P And well, it's a seedy establishment, so people that try to get out of paying their debts might not be handled too softly :) tygertyger said: Don't sweat the multiple rewrites, mugen. I do it all the time -- more so in my hopefully-soon-to-be-professional writing than here. Yeah, I know. For the most part it's not a big sissue, but when you rewrite it too often and your own opinion of your writing doesn't improve it's kind of annoying. Talking of which, how is it going with the writing career? |
mugen91 said: tygertyger said: Don't sweat the multiple rewrites, mugen. I do it all the time -- more so in my hopefully-soon-to-be-professional writing than here. Yeah, I know. For the most part it's not a big sissue, but when you rewrite it too often and your own opinion of your writing doesn't improve it's kind of annoying. Talking of which, how is it going with the writing career? Well, I recently added two more to my collection of rejection letters. So I'm back to looking for other markets to send those stories to. I'm only up to about 4-5 rejections each for those stories, though. A successful horror writer (Scott A. Johnson) once told me that he sent the story that was his first pro sale to 20 markets before he actually sold it. So I'm not even halfway to the point where I should consider giving up. |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
tygertyger said: Well, I recently added two more to my collection of rejection letters. So I'm back to looking for other markets to send those stories to. I'm only up to about 4-5 rejections each for those stories, though. A successful horror writer (Scott A. Johnson) once told me that he sent the story that was his first pro sale to 20 markets before he actually sold it. So I'm not even halfway to the point where I should consider giving up. Wow, that seems tough, but a good thing that you're staying on it :) |
| Chapter 28 Soaking in the bath gave me plenty of opportunity to consider what happened the previous night. The blasé way in which a man was kept in as collateral to cover an ill advised bet didn’t sit right with me. But I couldn’t exactly blame mamono for that, now could I? Much worse things happened on earth all the time. And did I really have all the information? Maybe it was ultimately no big deal? That was, if that succubus could get her hands on a suitable amount of coin. I had to believe that such occurrences were an exception and not the rule. Strangely enough, the fact that I was almost raped by that oomukade barely registered as significant in my mind. Perhaps this was also an indication that something about me had already changed since my arrival? I doubted that I’d have been this strangely relaxed about being drugged and almost raped back home, especially by a woman who was half centipede. The question was: Was something changing naturally as a consequence of my experiences? Or was there something more at work here? I opened my eyes and was startled. Kasumi was sitting in the water opposite of me. “When did you get here?” I blurted out. “I’ve been sitting here a while. You seemed to be distracted, so I didn’t bother you.” “I see,” I said, still having trouble believing, in spite of the evidence clearly in front of me, that she came in without me hearing a sound. “So, what do you want to do now?” “Whatever do you mean?” Well, if she wanted me to say it, I’d say it. “Do you want to have sex with me?” “Oh my, how forward.” She moved closer slowly and her tone turned seductive. “What do you want me to do? Do you want to feel my lips on you?” I narrowed my eyes. “I was mostly referring to what happened earlier.” She momentarily stopped edging closer and regarded me thoughtfully before replying. “I apologize for that.” She proceeded forward once more, edging closer until she was perched directly in front of me. “But I do want you.” H-Scene We remained in the bath a while longer after we’d both brought each other over the edge a few times. We had remained undisturbed throughout, owing mostly to the fact that the inn really didn’t see many visitors. Kasumi was leaning against me, her head resting on my chest. “If this trend continues I won’t be able to take a bath without getting an erection,” I noted. “What trend?” “Screwing in the bath. It has been… well, you could call it a recurring theme since my arrival here.” “I don’t mind,” she said, turning around and circling a finger on my chest. “What do you say we get out of here and find a keeper?” “What is a keeper? And why do you need to find one? ” I wondered. “So we may be bonded as mates,” she cuddled up closer again. Relative to her usually calm demeanor, she seemed quite excited now. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, don’t you think you’re moving a little fast here?” I said, trying to defuse the situation. After she had almost refused to do anything to me before, how come she was suddenly in such a hurry? “Why? I thought you wanted to be with me?” Her tone had lost its giddy note and she pulled away slightly. “Well, yes. I wanted to be with you. But I’ve only known you for three days. We should take some time first. You know, properly get to know each other?” I tried to explain. Her posture relaxed again somewhat. “Why wait? We can get to know each other after we’re bonded.” “Let’s… take it easy, shall we?” I tried to reason with her. She gave me a long, appraising look. “My impression was that it was normal for humans from your world to marry early.” “Not so much anymore,” I corrected her. “You might be thinking about a different place or a different time relative to where I’m from.” “And so, you wish to ‘take it slow’? You realize if we had met out in the wilderness, we’d have been as good as married already?” She demanded with a raised eyebrow. “I know. And I’m not saying that’ll never happen. But I just can’t marry someone I’ve only met the other day. I hope you can understand that.” She kept looking at me with that appraising look for a moment longer, then her expression shifted to a neutral one once more and she stepped out of the water. “If that’s what you want, I will practice patience.” And without another word, she left. I sat there, thoughtful. Had that been too harsh? Too uncompromising? It was fair enough, after all I knew well enough that expectations were different here. But had she really expected me to just get onboard with getting married all of a sudden? --- I awoke, alone for the first time since my arrival on Arcadia. A strange sensation in this new world. For the past two or three months, there had been someone with me every night. Perhaps Kasumi had been seriously put off by my rejection? But if she couldn’t understand my reluctance, then it would probably be for the better. A relationship in which one partner had to be afraid to voice their thoughts to keep the other happy was not something I was after. I got dressed and went down to grab some breakfast. I was just finishing up when Seba slithered up to me. “What are your plans today?” she asked me. “No idea just yet, why?” “An associate of mine wishes to meet with you to discuss a potential business opportunity.” I raised an eyebrow at that. Who would be interested in meeting me? Back home, that would have set off a scam alarm in my brain, but what could it be here? “What kind of proposal? You’re not trying to get me to go whoring, are you?” “No, of course not. Don’t worry, there will be no funny business. My associate, Lady Akeldama, is a respected woman. If you don’t like what you hear, there is no obligation. I would regard it as a personal favor if you could take the time,” she gave me one of her radiant smiles, one that suggested that this woman could think and do no evil. “Well, I suppose I can at least listen to what they want.” I said that, but a large part of me doubted that I would like whatever this was about. “Excellent, I shall escort you there later myself.” --- Seba escorted me into a different section of the city where we soon arrived at a rather big mansion, built mostly from a dark wood. I judged the inhabitant to be a woman of means, which further begged the question of just what they might want with me. The door was opened by an obviously undead woman, the tag on her forehead indicated her to be a jiangshi. She briefly looked over me and Seba before nodding. “Please follow me, the mistress will soon be ready to see you.” I was about to step inside when I noticed that Seba turned around and made to leave. “Where are you going?” I asked her. “My friend only wishes to meet with you, I need to be getting back to Jean.” I let my gaze wander between Seba and the jiangshi who was still waiting for me to follow her. Though her face betrayed no emotion, there was a hint of impatience in her posture. This did not seem like a particularly good idea. Then again, Seba had assured me that there was nothing to fear. And I figured that Seba probably didn’t have anything to gain from any funny business. With no small amount of reluctance, I stepped through the door, figuring that angering a rich and possibly influential person by refusing her invitation might not be a good idea. The most distinct thing I noticed about the mansion, aside from the rich decorations, was the rather dim lighting. One might go as far as to say that it was dark in there. The jiangshi led me into a midsized room filled with a large desk and two comfortable chairs positioned in front. Thick curtains hung in front of the windows, allowing no more than a hint of light to pass into the room. “Please have a seat, the mistress will be with you shortly,” the jiangshi said before exiting the room, leaving me to stir in my rising discomfort. The minutes stretched long as I kept waiting in silence. The only good thing I could say about my wait was that the chair was quite comfortable and my nervousness slowly turned towards indignation. After what felt like an impolite amount of time, the door behind the desk opened and a woman clad in a rich, purple dress stepped in. Everything about her appearance, her posture, bored gaze and her dress suggested nobility. Or at least someone who had grown up with a silver spoon up their ass. Her trained gaze scanning me gave me the feeling she was quite used to judging people’s merits. She stopped before the desk and addressed me. “You are the help Seba has secured then?” “Yes, I am.” “Mistress!” “Excuse me?” “I am an Akeldama, you will address me as Mistress Akeldama,” she said, enunciating every word painfully clearly. I only looked at her, taken aback by her attitude and already regretting coming in here. “Is that too hard to understand for you?” She asked me, a tone of mild pity and disdain swinging in her voice. “No.” Her gaze turned sharper. “…mistress?” I added reluctantly. Her frown turned into a thin smile, sharp fangs showing in her mouth confirming my suspicion that I was dealing with a vampire. Just play along, get out of here and you can set this whole affair behind you, I thought to myself. “You are likely wondering what someone like me would want with the likes of you,” her tone left no doubt that a lowlife such as I should indeed be thankful to be enjoying her presence. “Yes, I am wondering why you asked for me to come… mistress.” I reluctantly muttered the last part. “Capable of learning, how splendid,” she commented in a condescending tone. “Before we continue, you will answer a few questions.” I nodded for her to continue. “I wish to hear of your bloodline.” “Why?” She narrowed her eyes. “Mistress,” I added. She rolled her eyes at my inability to comply with her simple demands. “I need to know if you will be of use to me. I have no use for you if you are some mangy mutt.” I shot her an unhappy look, then looked around the room. As I remained obstinate, a crease between her eyebrows slowly formed and her frown grew deeper. Clearing my throat, I reluctantly shared what little I knew. As it had never been a topic of great interest to me, I didn’t really know much about my bloodline too far back. Even for some of my great grandparents, I didn’t know where they originally came from. By this point I had a good idea of where Seba knew this person from and what kind of business she might have in mind. “Hmmm,” she mused. “So you might be a mutt or might not be a mutt. I preferred it when you people stayed in your little corners of your world. So much easier to be sure of what is in there.” “People have always been moving about and intermingling,” I dared to interject. “Of course they have,” I couldn’t help but feel that the ‘you imbecile’ was implied, given the look she shot at me. “But your people’s intermingling is only getting worse. Before long, I shudder to think what manner of stock will be arriving from your world.” I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress the comment I was itching to make, but couldn’t quite suppress the petulant look. Her eyes narrowed, but then she continued. “I suppose you might be useful. Or you might not be.” Then she rose, rounded the table and walked toward me, mustering me from all sides. “Stand up,” she finally commanded sharply, her blood-red eyes staring intently into mine. I felt a strange sort of compulsion to comply and she started examining me closer, walking around me, prodding me. I was caught in a very delicate situation. On the one hand, her behaviour was outrageous as outrageous as her words and I had half a mind to tell her to fuck off. On the other hand, my brain felt a bit like it was wrapped in cotton candy and I wasn’t sure if I even had it in me to give her lip just now. I also had a notion that angering her, especially in her own home, was not a good idea, so I kept my mouth shut. “By now you should be aware of what I have in mind for you. If you are not, your subpar intelligence would disqualify you in any case,” she said as she prodded at my thigh. My head cleared just a bit and I managed to reply. “I’m guessing you’re a breeder, probably the one who sold Jean to Seba, mistress.” “Indeed, I am.” Suddenly and without warning, she stepped closer from behind and I felt her lips against my neck before a sharp prick broke my skin. I tried to protest, but as she started sucking, an entirely unusual and unexpected pleasure coursed through my body. Tension left my limbs and the vampire held me upright to continue drinking from my sanguine essence. As quickly as she started, she removed her lips and stepped back behind the desk. Feeling more than a little lightheaded, I fell back into my chair without much grace. Her tongue ran over her blood red lips to catch any stray drops that previously escaped her. I traced the wound with my hand and was surprised that the two small holes in my neck were barely bleeding. It had felt like quite a bit of blood had been removed when she was sucking on my neck. Loathe as I was to admit it, my feelings about the situation, by now, had shifted from indignation and caution to fear. My mind was trying to fabricate some escape plan. Was Kasumi nearby again? Was I a hypocrite for hoping for her assistance, given that I just rejected her proposal to marry this morning? “Not terrible,” the woman in front of me commented thoughtfully. “I believe you might be worth adding to the roster. Take off your garments. You will need to undergo a more detailed examination before I can allow you contact with any of my stock. Though I have one in mind already, I believe you two might produce a desirable result.” “I have not agreed to anything,” I reminded her, having had no intention from the start to go along with this. She raised an eyebrow, then continued. “You will, of course, be compensated adequately for your… efforts,” she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a purse jingling with coin. “A portion up front to secure your loyalties and perhaps more later, depending on the quality of the outcome. Of course that hinges on a more detailed analysis of your blood producing favorable results.” “I’ll have to decline,” I said steadfastly. “And why would you want to do that? There are no other respectable breeders in Bestallion that could make you a more attractive offer than I could,” she seemed not to notice that I didn’t title her as mistress anymore. “It’s not about the money.” She narrowed her eyes. “No? Then what is it about? I don’t suppose you’re going to say that it has to do with your pride?” A mocking note accompanied her response. “Some of you outworlders have truly quaint notions at times.” “Maybe I don’t want to make a child that I know will be a slave. Someone’s property,” I replied, indignation slowly getting the better of fear once more. She sighed and looked at me like one might look at someone whose inane idiocy made their head hurt. “My humans are all very well cared for. Certainly better than the average drivel in the gutter.” “A well cared for slave is still a slave,” I insisted. “My services are very valuable to many. Without me, many women of means would find it difficult indeed to secure a man of suitable quality.” “And I’m sure you’ll be able to continue doing that even without my help,” I said resolutely. She made an exasperated sound. “Hmpf, I see you are one of those imbeciles. Seba could have warned me I’m wasting my time on an obstinate insect.” Condescension was dripping from her voice once more as she let the purse disappear back into the drawer. She then clapped her hands twice and left the room. The jiangshi entered through the other door and quickly led me back out of the mansion and unceremoniously slapped the door shut in front of my face without another word. I shook my head at the attitude of the bitch and decided it was good to be rid of her. At least she hadn’t tried to kidnap me and make use of me against my will. Only now did I notice that I felt noticeably colder than earlier and I felt a little light headed still. How much blood had she even taken? Shouldn’t she at least have compensated me for that? I quickly dispelled the notion of banging on the door and demanding compensation, partly because I did not want to spend more time than necessary out on the streets in my weakened condition and partly because standing in one place for prolonged periods of time attracted more attention. Instead, I resolved to share my annoyance with Seba back at the inn. “You look like you could use a hand,” I startled as Kasumi materialized behind me, seemingly out of thin air. I blinked at her a few times before catching myself. “Yes, that would be nice,” I admitted. It wasn’t really all that surprising that she was following me, was it? She came up close to me and slung one arm around my hip, steering us back toward the Wet Scale. “You gotta show me how you do that one of these days,” I told her. “How do I do what?” She asked playfully. “It’s not that difficult to remain unseen by you when you don’t scrutinize your surroundings properly.” I gave her a sour look. I certainly didn’t feel like I didn’t watch my surroundings. When we arrived back at the inn, Seba slithered up to me, seeming mildly excited. “How did it go? Did you come to an agreement?” “No,” I said. “I told her I was not interested.” She seemed slightly taken aback, then Jean joined us. “I told you he did not seem very pleased with the idea.” “And I’m not going to make a child that I know will become someone’s property,” I added, somewhat sharply. “If you’d told me what it was about, I could have told you that right away.” “I see,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “Still, I promised to make the introductions if I came across a man that might be suitable to her needs.” “Well, now you know. I’ll be in my room,” I said, somewhat brusquely. I went up to my room and plopped down on the bed and closed my eyes. What was wrong with people? What normal person would’ve gone along with this? Was it me that was wrong? I was not on earth anymore and evidently, many of the local people did not think much of owning another person. Some, like Jean, even seemed happy with it. I shook my head. No, even if I have to change to adapt to this world, there are some things I’m not going to compromise on, I resolved. I reopened my eyes to see Kasumi looking down on me. “Are you alright?” She asked. “Yes, I’m just… annoyed. Bitches like that Akeldama lady piss me off. I guess with what happened yesterday and that woman that I met on the road that tried to buy me, it’s…. I don’t know, it doesn’t feel very good.” “I’m not trying to do anything like that,” she promised, then added. “I’m also sorry for pushing the brand, the keeper, I mean.” “It’s fine, I can understand why you’d want that.” I sighed loudly. “I just don’t know if I can just jump headfirst into something like that.” She laid down on the bed next to me and pulled my head against her breasts. I relaxed into her embrace, breathing in her sweet scent and wondered why I felt so comfortable around her. “I’ll just have to convince you slowly then,” she murmured. |
mugen91Mar 28, 2023 1:40 PM
| Yep, I'm definitely Team Kasumi now. I'm liking where this seems to be headed. And... Mistress Akeldama? Don't think you can slip a Gail Carriger reference past me, rafiq. :) |
| "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling |
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