[MSG] StayVector&#039;s Story - Kiss of Death

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Apr 2020

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee."
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

[EPISODE 1: RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE]

[HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN. PRESENT DAY.]

I was fucking exhausted. There was no simpler way of putting it… 16 hours of work is a lot to demand from the human body, especially in an environment such as this. We were on our way back from the off-site emergency landing one of our Ospreys had made due to a malfunction, and I had been tasked as the mission recovery team leader. That, of course, was -after- having worked my normal 12-hour rotation.

It was early morning, as all our operations took place under the cover of darkness, and the sun was making its lazy ascent up over those barren Afghan hills. I sat on the floor of the CV-22, rather than in one of the jump seats, mostly because I was too tired to care. With my headset on and plugged into the intercoms, the shudder of the aircraft’s engines was little more than a dull droning that, oddly enough, served to only lull me even more. As I leaned against the interior fuselage, my body armor doing well to keep me from stirring, I stared out beyond the open cargo ramp where, 10,000 feet below, the barren Afghan countryside drifted by. We’d be back in Kandahar Air Base soon, and I could finally pass the fuck out for good…

At some point I had drifted off until the downward conversion of the engines caused my sore eyes to crack open from the realization, we’d be on the ground soon.

{Is that right? The altimeter seems too high… I think we’re lower than that?}

The chatter of the aircrew over the intercom was something I’d often tuned out. Well, at least when the normalcy of flight was unconcerning. This; however, caused my eyes to lull back open again, just in time.

[STALL, STALL! STALL, STALL!]
{We’re way too low!! Holy shit, we’re WAY TOO LOW!}

The warning voice of the aircraft followed shortly by the sudden exclamation from the pilots left the pit of my stomach heavy before the sensation of the sudden and sharp pull-up had done so. I was -very- much awake now, but all too disoriented in the sudden chaos which followed. All I knew was we were in danger.

{We’re too short!! BRACE! BRACE!}

But it was far too late to do so, especially considering I’d not been strapped in. The sudden impact with the ground bounced me painfully off the wall and onto the deck, tossing a plethora of military hardware around with me.

{WE’RE FLIPPING OV-}

I can’t recall whether the panicked cry was cut-short or was simply drowned out by the sudden groaning of the twisting frame of the aircraft. Everything inside, myself included, tossed over in that deafening and frightening sensation of crashing. All I remember was being launched from the deck with the ceiling of the fuselage rushing to meet my face.

“OH FU- “

And that was it. That was the last thing I would ever remember from a “normal” life, in a normal world where everything was familiar to me…

All I knew was that I had not yet perished, or so the realization seemed when consciousness began to tickle my senses once more. When rationality hit, the next instinct was the sudden and sharp intake of breath, flinging myself awake to the sensation of it as though my lungs had been robbed of air for time unknown to me. My wide-open eyes stared straight up at a night filled sky, littered with clouds from which the obscured moon struggled to shine its light through. It’d be raining soon by the looks of it… This wasn’t Afghanistan.

As the air pulsed heavily and painfully through my panting chest, I spared the time to take in my surroundings or at least what I could make of it from this terribly dark night. I had to be dreaming. There was no wreckage of twisted metal and shattered composite. There wasn’t even the trace of dusty sand I’d seen for the last six months. Instead, I lay amidst what appeared to be an old and dilapidated graveyard of sorts, if it could be called such. If I were dreaming or had truly passed on from the incident, it felt all too real here and now. Especially when the sudden trickle of rain upon my skin alerted me that I was relatively… Well… Naked. The only scrap to adorn me was the simple modesty of my ABU pants which themselves looked to be in a state of utter disrepair, frayed below the knees and dotted with tears.

“H-Hello??... Major? Senior?... Fuck! Anybody?!” With a degree of care, I’d managed to get to my feet. A strange feeling, considering my body only felt stiff, as though awakening from a hard sleep rather than the remnants of a plane crash. But as I cupped my hands above my eyes to shield it from the steadily growing pour of rain, I could find no trace of the disaster. It forced me to wander forward through the dreary field before me. From the corners of my eyes, I could make out the silhouette of forest trees which seemed to wreath this odd cemetery. But I’d dare not yet venture into such… I was too busy dealing with the tightness in my chest that was surely a result of the emotions of shock and awe which now weighed heavily on me. Where in god’s name was I?

The thought was put aside when, through the blink of my rain kissed eyes, I lifted my head to the sight of flickering flames… Odd BLUE flames… Some short distance ahead. My feet smacked across the wet ground as I made brisk pace for the source of light, only to soon find myself standing before the entrance of something that seemed far more ominous. A crypt? Mausoleum? Tomb? I couldn’t really tell, for aside from the haunting burn of the hanging lamps alight with blue flame, the old structure had long since been weathered by any former glory it may have once had. And while any saner man might have been about venturing within, the sudden crack of lightning and thunder was like a slap on the ass to usher me within.

At the very least, I was out of the rain. But the chill of the water upon my flesh was made more apparent by the dank, dark, cold air of the stairs I cautiously descended. The burn of the hanging braziers cast that haunting glow of azure upon stone walls, and only served to further muddle my mind from all that had transpired. None the less, with nowhere else to go and no understanding of where I now stood, I tucked my hands beneath my pits to preserve warmth and pressed on deeper within. Perhaps I’d find something to salvage.

But I’d have no such luck. It was nothing but dust, cobweb, and bone… Yes, bone. What was perpetually little more than a stretch of underground soon gave way to the chill that it had once been occupied by living denizens, now expired. Rightly, I should have turned away, but curiosity killed the cat as they say, and my steps shuffled onward… Until the dull crumble of stone behind me caught my ear. I’d turned quickly enough to regard nothing more than the dark expanse from which I’d came, where the flicker of haunting light did not touch.

“…Hello?”

That was how all horror movies started, and that thought of internal monologue gave me the solace of humor, especially when it seemed I’d receive no immediate answer.

“….Gaaaauuuuuuh~”

Or well, I had hoped it wouldn’t have. It took several precious moments before something responded and the sound of a growing shuffle in the darkness drew near. My chest once more grew tight and my breath had all but ceased in that tense moment when -something- soon emerged into the light I was in. There was no other way to describe that chalky paleness of dead skin and the glaze of hollow eyes obscured by ragged hair. She was a zombie! Yes, she. But the aspect of gender on this shambling corpse was of little cause of concern over the fact she -was- a walking corpse.

“Whooooakay! Ah! Shit! Stay… Stay right there!”
“Waaaauuuuh… Ma… Maaaaaaaale~”

If I were dead as well, I’d surely not know it, for my heart pounded so hard it outright ached before my breath had caught up. Natural instinct bid I retreat with every step of her advance… Until the curl of something cold, thin, and firm ensnared my shoulder. Ripe with fear and adrenaline, I spun in place to behold a face that was just as horrifying as my current pursuer. It was skeletal, or at least half-patched as such, with that same hollow stare which made one’s blood run cold. And she was, likewise, distinctly female from the sharpness of what undecayed features I could ascertain in that briefest of moments before instinct once more kicked in.

Fight or flight had now kicked in, and without second thought or delay I reeled back my left hand to deliver an overhanded hook with a most unmanly cry of fright. And while my knuckles felt the crunch of impact across this unliving atrocity’s skull, the result was less than satisfactory. Bony fingers had released my shoulder, but the cock of her head from the strike mere rectified itself not a breath later to stare me “dead” in the face once more… But I was free. Free to run. And let me tell you- Run. I. Did.

If I had truly died in that crash back upon that god forsaken war-zone, then it seemed I’d quite literally gone to hell for my sins. For having broken free of the skeletal grasp and taken off down the grimly lit corridor, I was not unwise to the fact that all around me… the dead were rising. They pushed free from old cracks in the walls, up from the dislodged floor, and some even stirring from where their bodies lay. Not once did I stop to pay them a moment of awe, for I was overcome with a panic just as severe as realizing we’d been about to crash before. As I left each one in the dust of the hall behind me, I could hear the unnerving cacophony of their rapid approach behind me. A terrifying chorus of shuffling and stumbling bodies mixed with raspy groans and utterances that raised the prick of goosebumps down my arms and then some. The only sanctity to be found were the large stone vault-like doors which finally gave end to the decrepit hall.

I damn near crashed into it without stopping in my fevered attempt to open it. But if they’d budged, I’d not felt it. “OPEN! OPEN! F-FUCK! OPEN UP!” Someone or something out there had to be listening to my hopelessness. Thankfully, it seemed so, for having ignored the bruising pain in my shoulder the stone doors finally grinded upon their ancient hinges, relenting at long last to some degree. It took several more frantic attempts of pushing, shoving, and crashing before they’d given away just enough for me to slip my thin body through. And just in time… For the shuffling horde of the dead had caught up to me. I’d not even given pause to regard just where I slipped into entirely. Instead, I was more so intent on shutting those vault doors with what feeble strength I had. But would such really serve to keep these goddamned monsters at bay? That, again, soon became another fleeting thought…

They had, by now, reached that vault door, and from the other side I could hear their moans, their mutterings, and the sound of their appendages clawing to get within. The grip of fear within my chest was unreal as I once more backed away, only to find a single step misplaced. Thankfully, it was only a mere number of stairs I’d found my body tumbling down but, devoid of much else upon my poor self, it was none the less a painful one. I’d been left sprawled upon my face at the bottom with much of everything throbbing, though thankfully still in working order. Pain could be brief when emotions overruled the sensation, and such was most certainly the case when I lifted my head saw HER there…

She hung there… Her posture half crumbled and draping from the shackles which held her at bay, looking not unlike the dead herself… Slumped and lifeless in her eternal slumber. I wasn’t sure if calling her female was a courtesy or not, for I was wrought with both majesty and horror at her appearance. She was, at the very least, half-human in figure… But the monstrous oddities which adorned her made her anything -but- human. There was no mistaking the way those limbs ended in plate-like bony structures of something inhuman, tipped in claws upon hands and feet alike. Black horns rose free from the veil of silvery hair which shimmered in the same azure light setting the chamber aglow. Lastly, I’d have been a fool to miss the lifeless drape of black wings and segmented tail akin to the same bony plated structure as the rest of her. Indeed, as much awe-inspiring as it was haunting to behold as I lifted my sore face from the cold stone floor to behold her… Moments before she moved.

That face of pale flesh, an almost smooth bluish green tint I could not entirely discern currently, lifted from where it hung. And from between the locks of hair framing her face, I could not miss the sudden pulse of rose hued eyes which settled upon me. Any sense of awe I might have previously held was washed away when those confining chains rattled as she came to life.

“G…Guh… R-Rrr… RRRRRUAAAAGH!!”

The sound she made was just as equally inhuman, and it rattled me to the core of whatever shell of me was left in this world. Those rosy irises were thin, almost non-existent upon a face that looked almost feral in expression, baring fangs at me with each sound she made. Like me, she was soon rising upon those feet of thick and heavy bone claws. Those eyes bore into me with a similar intent I’d seen in those who pursued me just beyond the door, albeit oh-so-much more hauntingly fierce. By now I’d come to a shaky and unsteady stand weak in the knees from all that had occurred and was likewise occurring now. She, in turn, made several attempts to close the distance between us but had been barred from doing so by the shackles encircling her forearms. “RRRRAAAAAH! AAAARRRAAAAAW!!”

What could I do now? And where I could run? Behind me I could hear the loud and heavy grating of stone as the vault doors threatened to give way. And before me this female monstrosity struggled to reach me with the same look and tenacity as a desert madman would a drop of water. Of which, the sudden metallic snap of the old rusty chains was unmistakable upon a particularly trembling pull she’d give against them. She was freed… Catching herself in a stumble toward me once that old metal had finally gave way. Her slumped frame lifted her head to peer at me with the fierce glow of rosy eyes in the faint light… And for what seemed like awoken dead, she was frighteningly spry in that instance.

With bone claws outstretched for the pounce, it was all too easy for her to close the distance in a single leap unlike the others and seize hold of me in a crash that brought us both once more to the cold stone floor of that crypt in a cloud of dust. And for as frighteningly fierce and feral as those bright and hollow eyes stared down at me, I must have appeared as equally and fiercely frightened. I’m certain that my breath had been held despite my gaping mouth and pounding heart. Those claws curled a tight hold against my flesh so threateningly close to my neck that I was powerless to move, let alone rationalize her weight upon me. They were almost enough to encompass my neck and shoulders entirely. And just when I thought myself about to expire from this awful place I’d awoken in… She touched lips to mine.

Yes, you read that correctly… In one swift motion she had leaned down upon me and pressed her lips tightly to my own, traces of silvery hair tickling my panicked face. And while shocking, the experience was… odd but not unpleasant. Her lips were as soft as one might expect had she been truly “alive”. I was just as surprised by the traces of warmth upon them, and the alarming fact her breath seemed… sweet… alluringly sweet upon my senses. But the longer she held me there in that oddly intimate gesture, the more I could feel the sensation of something being pulled from me. Whether it was my own breath, or something more, I could not say just yet… It was only when the kiss began to quite literally tingle upon my lips did she break the intimate embrace. Her figure arched sharply where she straddled upon me while taking a mutually deep inhale of breath herself. It was then I could see, from over the soft panting of her breasts, that some sense of rationale overcame those eyes which stared down at me. She would blink, and each time it was as though traces of consciousness touched upon her features. It was too bad… For the tense and awe-inspiring moment was shattered much like the door which did the same as it came crashing down from off its ancient hinges.

They poured inside steadily now… Bodies of skeletal and zombie-like dead, reanimated through whatever means my human mind could not yet comprehend. I’d stretched my head back from where I lay to behold what was likely an encroaching demise, the monstrous female figure straddling me glancing up to do the same, before she looked back down at me.

“Stay… Stay here…”

Her voice touched my ears in an oddly pleasant albeit breathless sort of tone. But before I could rationalize such, much less even consider a response, she brought herself to stand from me. First one strong foot, then the other, followed by a spread of those great dark wings and a crack of her tail against the ground. Then, with the same sudden gusto with she had launched herself at me with, she had suddenly dashed towards the oncoming horde as clawed feet launched her into a flurry at them!

What I witnessed thereafter will forever be a memory imprinted in my mind no matter how long I “live” from here on out. Her ferocity was unmatched as she clashed with the undead filtering in through the door they’d managed to breach. I couldn’t tell if the skeleton she clutched was the same I had first encountered, but the patchwork of a monster woman was lifted clear from her feet by the hold my apparent savior had upon her skull. In one fell swoop, the winged and silvery haired monster woman brought that skull of the other crashing into the stone wall. Whether or not the skeleton’s exposed skull had shattered to bits, I could not tell, for once the splintering of stone had settled I could only witness half the body dangling from within the debris… It did not stir again.

As the savage display continued to unfold, I took the precious time to roll over and once more bring myself to mostly unsteady feet. Not once did I dare look away from the scene… The mindless dead, despite the droves in which they attempted to enter in, were utterly unmatched by this hellish beast of a female. If one dared touch her, they were soon buried into the stone like the rest, little more that twisted heaps of once shuffling bodies. There was no scarcity of brutality in her either, for those who didn’t yield to blows and maiming were instead lifted to be torn asunder. I had -never- witnessed anything like this… A proverbial train wreck in which one was utterly shocked but too enthralled to look away. Until it was finally over when the masses had finally quit moving and the others… retreated? I had no way of telling, there was simply too much to behold by the time the dust had settled.

My previously chained savior now stood with her back towards me atop those stairs, a statuesque figure looming over the disaster of bodies, bone, and stone she had single-handedly put an end to. I didn’t want to utter a word, but for lack of else to do, I compelled the tightness in my throat to yield in order to do so.

“H-Hey? I ah… Th-Thank you! I had no idea what was-“

Voicing my gratitude had apparently been a mistake, for the moment it seemed to touch her ears there came an arch to her wings before she peered over her shoulder towards me. Much to my dismay, the ferocity was still present in the rosy glow of her eyes. She turned to face me completely, and in a manner I almost found deliberate, she stalked steadily down the stairs back towards me.

“Hey! HEY! NO! PLEASE!”

[WARNING: H-SCENE]

It was foolish to think my words would once again fall upon anything but deaf ears. Each step she took towards me grew hastier until I was within arm’s reach. Much like those she had just slain, my throat soon fell victim to the sudden clutch of her outstretched claws. Taking hold of her own naturally armored wrist with my hands was a futile thing, for her strength proved just as inhuman as the rest of her as I too was taken from my feet. Before I knew it, my back met the cold floor of the crypt yet again as she unceremoniously plunged me there. Granted, the intent to kill was clearly non-existent. Instead, I’d found myself effectively and unmovably pinned by the throat by her.

“St-Stop! PLEASE! I DON’T WANT TO- “
“Don’t…”
“Wh… What?...”
“Don’t… Move… DON’T. MOVE.”

My writhing struggle had ceased the moment I had first heard her voice in that instance. But the way she continued to utter those words left my skin pricking once more, for it was spoken through the clench of her teeth and underscored by a guttural growl of something unnatural. And although I held fast to her wrist at my neck… I complied.

But it seemed fate was only going to tease me with the edge of demise again and again, for what followed was anything but… Though none the less alarming. Her free hand wrenched claws into what remained of my utility pants, and I felt the painful pull of fabric as she twisted those sharp digits into the cloth until it yielded. Just like that, I was soon bare beneath her only to find my naked loins straddled by her once more. At first, she merely sat there atop me with both clawed hands once again clutching dangerously close and firm to my throat. That long silvery hair veiled the features of her face, but I could see the clear panting upon her lips as much as I could hear it issuing forth from her. When she finally lifted her head, it was at that same moment she shifted her hips to grind her leather clad (or what I assumed was) crotch against my own bare one. If it felt pleasant, I cannot initially recall, for the sight of her above me in such a manner was something else altogether.

She continued to grind against me, and each undulation of her hips was met by a hoarse gasp from her aimed towards the ceiling of that crypt. There was little I could do aside from squint, grit my teeth, and brace myself for the ride. Those claws holding fast and sharp to me would occasionally twitch and shiver, a clear indication she indeed felt something from this stimulation… And soon enough, so did I! For when she pried her grinding hips from atop me, I’d found that I’d both risen to the occasion and there was no shortage of viscousness left between our barely covered sexes. A factor which changed soon enough when she freed one hand to slip claws into the band of that fabric about her waist and usher it slowly from her hips, soon to reveal the smooth and rather abundantly glistening lips of her nethers.

But I hadn’t the luxury to gawk or even admire if I had so chosen to do so, because she made little effort in positioning my member with her claws before that sudden and initial plunge robbed us both of our breath as her hips came crashing down. She appeared just as shocked by the sudden sensation as I was as she again peered heavenward with wide glowing eyes and bared fangs. To say she was ready for me was an understatement, for I was within her all to easily despite the clutch of her flesh with how wet I’d found this… monster! She was steady at first, if not slightly uncoordinated as she lead us on this domineering act. Her hips lifted only to meet my own again firmly, and any degree of hesitance soon gave way into a steady rhythm underscored by the slap and ripple of flesh. Our voices were something else altogether, for while I could only choke and grunt between what she wrought upon me, she herself seemed to grow… savage… once more.

The skyward panting of her breath gave way to wavering cries of her voice which soon enough hardened into some more feral again. By that time she was feverishly beating her hips against my own, her head tossed about and she all but roared out through her bared fangs, letting that animalistic voice echo off the walls in the chamber I was trapped in. It was, once again, as majestic as it was frightening… Yet try as I may… Twisting, writhing, and tensing… I could not help the build of an orgasm that, after countless minutes, finally burst forth! But the lurch of my hips up against her own in that final throe was met with an odd sensation. Things seemed far more intense than the situation warranted, and the feeling was once again the sensation of something being pulled directly from me, making my body shiver to the point it as felt as though my very spine tingled. To be sure, it seemed utterly euphoric to her, for my orgasm seemed to choke her savage sound as she straddled atop me, mouth and eyes wide, shuddering… We stayed like that for some time, as though both somehow silently wondering what had come to pass.

[END H-SCENE]

“Ahah… Hahaha… AHAHAHAHA!”

The ordeal had left me as something of a weak and panting mess beneath this inhuman, unliving, female creature. But as we both took the time to catch our fevered breaths, it was she who elected to finally break the silence as her voice trickled into jubilant laughter.

“AHAHAAH! Y-YES! FINALLY!... Finally,~”

“Wh… Who are you? -What- are you?...”

My words fell passed my lips breathlessly as I stared up at her through squinting eyes. But I shall never forget the look upon her face as it leaned forth to peer down at me once more. I could never be sure whether it bordered between something wicked, endearing, or both. But I would likewise never forget the first words she ever spoke to me in a more civil tone as she loomed above, eyes aglow and dark wings fanning out to frame her figure.

“My name is Laguna… And I am your mamono~”

[EPISODE 1 – END]

StayVectorApr 7, 2020 1:48 PM

Apr 7, 2020 7:52 AM

Offline

Jan 2015

1576

Welcome to the MSG. it is good to see a new writer trying their hand at their own story in this setting!

With many of the most recent stories taking place in Elizabeth's domain, it is good to have one that starts on the other side of Atalantheis. Get a bit more varied picture of the known world, so to say. Also your choice of first companion is a unique one. I believe this is the first dragon zombie we've seen so far. Though it being one of the "newer" MGE entries also plays a big role in that. Curious to see how this is going to pan out.

You have a unique and entertaining writing style, and you are definitely not the only one here who is a sucker for details. That does bring me to the two remarks I have for you, though: I know from experience that too much focus on the details and wanting to tell your readers everything that happens can bog down a story quite a bit. So that is one thing for you to watch out for. The other remark I have for you is about the use of coloured text for dialogue. While it is a nice way to make it clear who is saying what, it is also prone to create confusion if you make a mistake with the colours. I eventually decided that it was not worth the hassle and abandoned the coloured text. You are, of course, welcome to go with whatever option you like, but it is something to keep in mind.

MetallumOperaturApr 7, 2020 7:57 AM

Apr 7, 2020 12:35 PM

Maku_The_Blue

Offline

Apr 2018

260

Ditto to welcoming you to the MSG fellow writer and monster girl lover! XD

I too am very curious as to what your MC will choose to do now, as well as what obstacles he may face.

He shouldn't have too many problems keeping safe with a zombie dragon at his side, but that doesn't mean everything should be a cake walk for him either...

Like Metal said, you have a pretty engaging writing style. So it was quite a nice read.

Looking forward to seeing how your story unfolds! XD

Apr 7, 2020 1:16 PM

Offline

Apr 2020

Thank you to both of you!

I much appreciate the feedback. The first chapter/episode was some 4000 words, and the next one is thankfully only half that. I'll keep post length in mind in the future for sure and, at worst, try to break it up into parts.

Having read other stories on here from many years ago, I picked up the idea of coloring individual speech. Granted, my first post alone proved what a chore it is to properly BBcode it, lol. I'll stick with it for now to the best of my ability for the sake of presentation.

As for Laguna, the Dragon Zombie, I'd like to keep her reasonably balanced with room for growth and development like proper characters in a story. Things will come to light very soon~

Thanks again!

Apr 7, 2020 1:47 PM

Offline

Apr 2020

[EPISODE 2: I SAW YOU FIRST]

“…What?...”

Everything was one surprise after another, to include the utterance which fell from my lips in response to her proclamation. I’d like to think she heard me, but any response on her part was delayed by the post-climax stretch of satisfaction she gave while still straddled on top of me. With an arch of her back which thrust the restrained bounty of her chest forward, she stretched both arms above her head and fanned those frayed black wings out. Like waking from some long slumber that I could only imagine, she gave a wide fang ridden yawn along with the sound of several dull pops inside her flexing body.

“You heard me~ I saw you first, so I am yours and YOU are MINE…”

It wasn’t the most settling of revelations at first thought, and it was a point I would have rightly argued in any normal state of mind, given the fact that a glance beyond us revealed the heaps she put to rest. She hadn’t seen me first, she just did a damn fine job of taking care of the “competition” as it were. Either way, everything was an absolute mess to take in. And speaking of messes, Laguna was now making a steady effort to pull herself off from on top of me. She seemed not to pay a lick of heed to the act which had just occurred or the aftermath thereof. Rather, when the claws of her feet touched the cold stone floor of the crypt in her motion to stand, she brought me up with her with a pull of my arm.

“What’s your name, oh human of mine?~”
“M-Matthew… Look, uh, Laguna? Where AM I? And what the hell is going on?”

I was on my own two feet by then, albeit unsteadily given that I’d just had my pelvis pounded in my current state. My body was presently just as painfully sore as my mind. Once I was sure my knees weren’t going to buckle beneath me, I turned to Laguna to look upon her face-to-face. It was then I noticed this “monster” woman naturally stood taller than me, at least a good six inches if not more. Not a surprise, really, given that her legs and feet ended in that claw-tipped boney plating below the knee. Also, I wasn’t particularly blessed with height genes. I had likewise noticed the more civil demeanor in her, NOT the growling and snarling wild-eyed creature I had first landed in front of. She was looking at me with some degree of confusion written on her features given the tilt of her head and the quizzical quirk of her brow.

“You… You don’t know? This is Arcadia… Where are YOU from?”
“…Earth?”

I answered her in the most tentative voice ever, because judging by the last twenty minutes, I had a PRETTY good idea this wasn’t Kansas anymore, Toto. At least I was starting to get somewhere in all this mess. Or so I thought. What followed was a quiet little stand-off of simply staring and blinking at one another.

“Y-You don’t know where that is, do you? Earth? America? Home of the free, land of the brave, yada yada?”
“No… No, I don’t… None of that makes any sense.”
“Well THAT feeling is mutual!”
“In fact, I… I don’t entirely recall where in Arcadia we are, or for how long I’ve been-…”

Dead? Laguna’s words trailed off like the wilting of her voice, and I watched as she lifted a hand to regard it, flexing the sharp and jagged claws which adorned her oversized appendage. It became clear that she too had questions as to the current predicament we were both in. Questions that, by her own decision, would ultimately have to wait. She didn’t contemplate long on things before looking back up to me sharply and seizing hold of my wrist. “Come. We’re going.”

“Going? Going where?!”
“It doesn’t matter right now. We’re not staying here. I want out of this prison.”

While I could easily agree with that sentiment, I had other concerns as well. “Hold on! I can’t just go out into the world selling hot dogs!” I said, stumbling after her in dismay over my presently NUDE state, courtesy of her doing. But my protest fell on deaf ears. Laguna held strong to my wrist as she led us upstairs, through the unhinged crypt doors, and passed the… bodies and pieces… that she’d put down not moments ago. The clack of her claws upon the floor echoing off the now silent walls. What was a careful placement of my own bare feet around pieces of monsters torn asunder was far less reserved by my “savior”, who held no qualms against kicking them aside or crunching them under foot altogether.

Either way, I continued with Laguna stomping her way down the halls illuminated with that strange blue lit flame, and me doing my damndest to keep up… Until there came a literal light at the end of the tunnel! The same decrepit old entrance from whence I had previously come was now awash with the promise of daylight. We came to a pause as we emerged, for we both clearly needed a moment to take in the sight of it all, simple as it might have been. The storm that had brewed before upon my awakening in this strange place had since passed, and although the sun was still obscured by clouds, enough of it had filtered through to see the land around in what was presumably mid-morning by my best guess.

The foliage of surrounding trees was thick, though not untraversable if we so chose. But aside from the sight of the surrounding forest of thick trees and the slight stretch of crypt before us, there was little else to be discerned of whatever world this was.

“HahahaHAHAHA, YES!”

Laguna’s sudden laughter was as startling as it was a touch maniacal in nature. I flinched at her strange excitement. When I glanced in her direction, she was casting a wicked and sharp grin at the expanse of the open world before us.

“I’m FREE, and I LIVE again!!...”

That, of course, was an arguable term. For despite standing upright, I was pretty sure there was plenty about her that was not “alive”, cognitive as she might have been. The touch of her bony claws closed around my forearm tightly once more, and before I could make any protest, I was hauled off with her out into the open!

“Hold on! I can’t go out there like this! What if someone sees me?”
“Then I’ll protect you from them. Simple…” She stated quite matter-of-factly.

It was that very peculiar notion which my thoughts hinged on. Protect? Exactly how dangerous WAS this place? It was what finally prompted me to put a halt to this dragging around, jerking my arm against her grip on me and making her pause in her strides to look back at me curiously.

“I’M not going any further until I get some damn answers!”

For better or for worse, I got them.

-------------------------------------------------------

“So let me get this straight…” I said, with my bare ass perched upon the stony architecture. I wasn’t entirely too concerned with the cool texture of it as I was presently trying to wrap my head around everything. My fingers upon both hands were busy rubbing at my head and eyes as I processed the audacity of what I’ve been told.

“I’m on a continent called Arcadia or Atalanta-whatever in the middle of gods-knows-where. It’s inhabited entirely by these “mamono”, or “monster” women. And being a human male I’m a hot commodity because I’m in short supply and high demand?”

“Yes, but remember, I saw you first!”

Laguna had given me the abridged details, mainly because that was the extent of what she claimed to know presently, and I wasn’t up to hearing the long-winded history of it all. I didn’t want to believe a word of what I’d been told, but the living (unliving) proof was currently standing in front of me, looking quite eager to move on from where we still lingered… Oooor she just wanted a piece of me again, judging by the absurd “social dynamics” of this world I’d been enlightened to. If felt just as crazy as it sounded.

“And those monsters, er, mamono back inside the crypt where we met?”
“They were going to rape you.”
“Before you did, that is.”
“I SAVED you from them! Besides, I-“
“-You saw me first. Yeah yeah, I get that part... Oooh my god, I really DID die in that crash, didn’t I?”

I buried my face into my hands and let out a rather exasperated sigh. None of this was really settling in my brain at the moment as it was just too wild to comprehend. For the time being, however, I’d have to accept the circumstances and go along with whatever game the cosmos was playing with me.

“Welcome to the club?...” Laguna’s voice was, for once, mirthful, and as I glanced up to meet her gaze I could see that same sense of coy deviousness on her features that she had in the afterglow of, well, riding me to that peak. Her clawed hands found their way to her hips, and she leaned forward towards me, closing her eyes briefly to take a sniff of the air in front of me before they opened to a half-lidded stare. “No~ You’re very much alive, actually. Otherwise you wouldn’t have been nearly as delicious as you were~ Besides, I can hear your heartbeat from here.”

“Alright!…” I said, lifting my face from my hands and pushing up to stand, quick to brush off whatever notion was about to overcome her just like I was brushing off my tush. “Now that THAT’S out of the way, what do we do from here?”

Laguna blinked and stood full once more. With a flick of her wings reflecting some measure of inner thought, she glanced first to the tomb from where we emerged before deeper into the forest. It was there her gaze seemed to harden. “We can’t stay here. Those others in the crypt won’t stay down for long…”

“They’re not dead?!” I exclaimed, genuinely surprised by this based on her earlier ferocity towards them. “That depends on how you look at it. We should go…” Having the decency NOT to jerk me around this time, Laguna pointed a claw to the forest. I didn’t put up any argument this time as I followed her into the expanse of it.

We walked in relative silence, likely because we were both distracted by the world that slowly drifted passed us as we went. For the most part, it seemed unremarkable. Thick trees, soft moist grass, the occasional patch of flowers, and the more uncommon sight of floral I simply wasn’t familiar with. Maybe we’d have a chance to truly speak at length once we’d gotten our bearings and settled somewhere, but for now it was just us and the breeze through the trees. That in itself was something more to think about… No sound of wildlife.

How long it had been, I couldn’t be sure, perhaps somewhere close to an hour in a direction I could only surmise was East judging by what glimpses of the sun I could get through the canopy. At long last, however, the tree line had given way into a clearing. It was the first time I had truly seen or felt the sun here as I stepped into it, with the cloud coverage having dissipated further into what was otherwise a beautiful day now... And I noticed Laguna had neglected to follow, still lingering in the dark of the forest as she stared out at me.

“What’s the matter?” I said, turning to look back at her. The rosy hues of her eyes inclined up towards the open sky, and when she spoke next her words came hesitantly. “The sunlight… It… Weakens me to be out in it for long…”

It was an almost logically cliché thought for a creature like her, but one that hadn’t occurred to me. For all her might she previously displayed, it should have come as no surprise she had an Achille’s heel. Oddly enough, it was concerning for me to think about as well. “You won’t… burn up or something in it, will you? Can you at least make it across the clearing?”

Laguna’s answer came in the form of her slow and steady steps into the sunlight. Sure enough, she didn’t burst into flames, but it was obvious the warm glare of the sun upon her was uncomfortable. Her eyes squinted, and she raised both an arm and a wing to shield herself from it. Still, I had to admit… With the unabashed sight of her in all her glory in the brightness of the sun, she WAS a sight to see. Her pale skin held some sort of sheen of turquoise or teal, and the unending length of silvery hair absolutely shined in the light. Altogether it meshed beautifully against the ebony texture of the rest of her; those horns, wings, and claws… It was as majestic as it was intimidating… Especially because she was now barreling towards me!

In my moment of awe, I’d lost my situational awareness. Fortunately, Laguna had not, and her body collided with mine in a sudden tackle which brought us both to the ground. Just in time, too, for I could hear the dull ping of something sharp striking the dirt nearby. It was followed shortly by a shadow which passed overhead and the rustle of someone, or someTHING landing nearby!

“HA! Look who moves pretty smooth for a DEAD girl!”

[EPISODE 2 – END]

Apr 9, 2020 8:40 PM

Offline

May 2013

1528

A new story! YAY! Welcome to the fold, StayVector!

I see good stuff in this story right out the gate. There are a few grammatical issues, but none of them are rookie mistakes. They are, in fact, the kinds of mistakes that even experienced writers sometimes make. So I can see that you're rather skilled at this... that, or unusually talented.

Congrats on the first use of the dragon zombie -- I like reading firsts, especially when they're well done.

Two things in particular I must comment on.
1) The action scene -- kudos on avoiding the temptation to get bogged down in details. Action irl goes too fast to notice many details, and being sparse with the details helps maintain that pace. Another tip, one I admit I'm still struggling with myself: You can also increase the pace of your action scenes by using shorter sentences.
2) The H-scene -- this is surprisingly good. It's not sensual like we usually see in h-scenes... but it's a rape, and fairly violent at that, so it shouldn't be. This was not two people in love expressing that love with their bodies. This was a powerful being with an appetite using that power to satisfy that appetite. The MC's fear in that situation could've been communicated better, but that fear was conveyed, and it was entirely justified in the situation.

Lastly I'll mention that you seem to have been infected with whatever disease causes writers on this list to end chapters in cliffhangers. For shame... such an annoying habit. ;)

I look forward to further chapters!

"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling

Apr 9, 2020 11:09 PM

Offline

Apr 2020

Much thanks for the welcome and the enthusiasm!

tygertyger said:
So I can see that you're rather skilled at this... that, or unusually talented.

I guess you could say I'm just practiced in it? Been a textual role-player for a long time, and I'm used to writing scenes and details for everyone. I use that same basis plus the ideas swirling in my head to help with the story.

Good advice, though, and thank you! I would agree on those points as well. For me, I feel that pertinent details in an action scene should be described if they have any relevance to something else. IE: describing a character getting choke-slammed in order to purpose have them get pinned down. Outside of that, I might just try to loosely describe how it is flowing. Is it graceful or ferocious? Is one character struggling or curb-stomping the other?

As for the H-Scene, I might have delved into the MC's fear of the situation further had I not already been pushing well over 4k words with the first chapter. But hopefully I drew enough emphasis to the fact that he's clearly shaken by where is and what is transpiring to warrant it seeming at least semi-realistic.

And the cliffhangers? Well, how else am I supposed to keep readers coming back? :) I'm kidding, they won't always have such but at least in some instances I feel they make a great lead-in to another chapter.

Apr 10, 2020 7:12 AM

Maku_The_Blue

Offline

Apr 2018

260

Nice summery of getting your MC up to speed with at least most of what he needs to know!

And sunlight being her kryptonite is a pretty good choice for limiting her, so that she isn't completely OP all the time.

If I were a betting man, I'd say that means the desert region of Umbra is a no go zone for her with that kind of vulnerability. Unless the MC has a damn good reason to try convincing her to go there...

(Could be interesting to see how she'd cope in a desert if she was forced to though...)

Which probably means the pair of them will probably try going to Alnor instead, if they decide to go to the mainland.

Right after they deal with their uninvited guest...

Who might not have a very good aim... If the one who threw that spear was a MG, then I don't know why they'd want to hit the MC. 😂

Looking forward to seeing what happens next nevertheless!

Apr 27, 2020 6:02 PM

#10

Offline

Jan 2015

1576

Yeah, leave it up to the undead girls to be tough as nails and survive a trashing by a zombie dragon.

Curious to see who these girls are that you seem to have run into so quickly. I sure hope though that the arrow wasn't meant for the MC, you'd say that he has more than enough to worry about even without someone trying to shoot him.

TsunamiSeeker said:
...the desert region of Umbra is a no go zone...

There are more reasons to avoid the desert than just not liking the sun there. Also as a technicality; the capital of the desert region is called Umbra. The region is either Ahmose's domain, or Charisse's domain depending on when the story takes place. Might be an idea to give the desert a proper name, though. @tygertyger do you happen to remember if it has been named already, or has it always been referred to with something generic like Charisse's / Ahmose's desert, or the great desert?

Apr 27, 2020 6:14 PM

#11

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May 2013

1528

There is no proper name for the desert itself; it has always been referred to simply by the name of the realm. I think that's largely because it's the only desert on the island, or at least it was when I joined.

"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling

Oct 19, 2021 12:11 AM

#12

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Apr 2020

HELLO AGAIN EVERYONE!

I suppose, given the present state of the world, that I needn't explain my ridiculously long absent from posting. A lot has happened, plain and simple. All is well though, and while I haven't quite caught up with everyone and everything, I sincerely hope the same can be said for everyone else's well being. I'm back in the swing of things though, and immediately following this post I'll be uploading the next Episode (heaven help me if I can remember how to do it right, I already had to reset my password just to get here). Hope to catch up with everyone and their own stories here soon as well! Happy reading, everyone!

Oct 19, 2021 12:36 AM

#13

Offline

Apr 2020

[EPISODE 3: MONSTERS ARE TALKING]

The voice which taunted us was female, to no surprise. It sounded mature in tone and held a subtle coarseness to it which underscored her words. But it was not until Laguna pried herself from her protective huddle atop me that we both got a look at our assailant. Like Laguna, she possessed a plethora of monstrous features, and plenty of fur to go with it. Curiously, she was adorned with bat-like wings upon her back, and a tail tipped with a bulbous end wreathed with spines, contrasting the rest of furry appearance… It were those very same spines which gleamed through the blades of grass nearby where they had been flung into the ground in an attempt to strike me just seconds ago.

“What is that?! What IS she??” I spoke the words in a hushed though no less worried tone towards Laguna, who spared a glance of her eyes down towards me. “A manticore… Stay here and stay down…” Laguna pushed herself up from over me, though I could see the discomfort on her face with the sun still pouring down from overhead. Once upon her feet, she gave a flick of her wings and tail, no doubt readying for the confrontation that was sure to come as she spared a few steps away from me towards our aggressor.

“I saw him first…”
“And you have my thanks for finding him! Even if he’s a bit on the scrawny side.”
“Hey! Excuse you!” Not that she was necessarily wrong, especially when compared to those I had encountered thus far.

“Quiet, little man!” The manticore cut her sharp gaze towards me and pointed a claw from her large paw in my direction. Beneath those narrowed eyes, however, was a wicked smirk. She was awfully confident of herself. “You sit tight! Right now, the “monsters” are talking…”

Fair point, and one that I was not ready to argue with my naked ass in the grass. The manticore soon turned her attention back to Laguna and crossed those large furry paws of hers under the healthy swell of her leather restrained breasts. “I take it you’re not going to play nice, and hand him over?”

“Ask me a real a question…”

“Tch, it was worth trying, for YOUR sake…” The manticore hadn’t lost that wickedly smug expression on her face, even as she pointed a claw up to the sunny sky as they confronted one another. “Normally, I’d not really consider tangling with the likes of one of your kind, but I heard EVERY word just a moment ago! What luck that it’s such a nice beautiful sunny day today~ I’ll bet I can take you!”

“You’ll die trying…”

“And YOU can tell me how it feels to die TWICE!...” The manticore readied herself for a fight, widening her stance and flexing her claws as she unfolded her arms. Laguna mirrored her stance, and together between the two of them it looked rather… feral and unorthodox. There was no other way to put it, they looked like a pair of animals ready to pounce. And pounce they did!

I wasn’t sure who sprung first in the sudden burst of action that erupted, perhaps it was the manticore as Laguna merely awaited her move. Either way, they seemed to meet half-way as they locked claws and grappled about with one another. Laguna looked more calculated, more conscious of her actions than before in that crypt. It was clear, however, that the gentle glare of the sun overhead made her fight most uncomfortable. The manticore seemed to juuuust barely have the upper hand given the circumstances, and it was a measure Laguna wasn’t willing to give her, either deflecting or tossing her away when a particular strike grew too close. Laguna’s opportunity to turn the tables came when the manticore attempted a blow by swinging the thick bulbous end of that odd tail of hers around. It was caught in Laguna’s arms in a rather smooth effort from the dragon zombie, who simply continued the momentum and took the manticore sailing through the air with it, much to their surprise… Smashing her right into the ground!

“Hell yeah!!” For whatever reason, I couldn’t help my excitement. The scene was both frightening and awesome to witness just as it had been before. Either way, I’d jumped up from my spot in the grass as I shouted and pumped an arm… I REALLY should have listened Laguna’s instruction. “That was awe-UUUACK!!”

The sound of a whip-crack hadn’t even registered to my ears before I felt it! The leather damn near burned as it dug into my neck, coiled around it, and all too quickly and effectively threatening to cut off my air supply! It brought me to my knees as my hands instinctively raised to try and pry it free, but its owner had a rather firm grip on it. They likewise kept me subdued by placing a foot, or hoof in this case, between my shoulder blades.

“Hohooo, Vesper~ I thought you said you could handle this one before we shared him, but it looks like I have to dirty my hands after all~” The voice was rich and melodious, a contrast to that of the manticore. The struggle to turn my head and look back over my shoulder revealed what I initially believed to be my first look at real centaur. She had long flowing silvery hair like Laguna’s but more radiant, probably because of how immaculate this one kept her overall appearance. Sure enough, she was a mamono like any other here thus far, with the upper torso of a woman and the lower body of an ebony pelted horse. My initial assumption she was a centaur was perhaps misplaced by the sight of two horn-like protrusions which seemed to spiral up from her head. Honestly, it was a little difficult to tell in the moment through the squint of my eyes because she was presently CHOKING ME.

“Matthew!!” Suffice to say, the sudden presence of this one surprised both myself AND Laguna. Amid her struggle with the manticore, I heard her gasp and shout my name. It was the first time I had seen her look genuinely alarmed as well. How strange it was to have her seem so concerned with my well-being. So concerned, in fact, that it proved unfortunate when the manticore took the opportunity to sucker punch her!

I couldn’t voice my own shout with the constricting bite of the leather around my throat. All I could do was watch through wincing eyes as the blow to her abdomen was enough to lift Laguna off her feet briefly only to crumble upon all fours before the manticore. A mamono’s body really belied their raw strength. The red-haired beast looked somewhere between smug and miffed as she huffed and wiped the back of a paw across her mouth with a grin.

“I’ll admit. *huff* She’s pretty tough for a dead girl even in the sun, but I almost had her! It’s too bad that now… ah… n-now…” The manticore’s triumphant words were trailing quickly, and a look of concern was steadily growing over her face as she looked upon Laguna. In fact, I’m sure the feeling was mutually felt by her companion because the leather whip slackened enough for me to breathe and see for myself. I could see Laguna’s shoulders and wings quaking with the beat of every hoarse breath she was taking. Breath which she clearly didn’t need, but when her head lifted from where she was wrought doubled-over, I could see why. Her face looked… crazed! Her expression was absolutely wild and monstrous with eyes wide and pupils sharp, just like when I’d first awoken her in the dark of the crypt. Something had triggered a near feral state in her, and I could only guess that had something to do with me.

But it was, unfortunately, short lived… For as the pitch of her breath heightened, to which the rest of us were surely awaiting some crescendo of action from her, she merely hung her head once more with a hoarse and raspy cough. Whatever was to be expected from the display, it left the manticore Vesper blinking before she spoke with a tentative laugh to her voice. “Y-You can’t transform… Can you?”

Whatever she meant by that; I had no clue. I had A LOT to learn about this new world still. Regardless, it prompted Vesper and her companion to both break into mocking laughter.

“You’re either too weak or too dumb that you’ve completely forgotten how! Hahaha!”
“Oh my! How embarrassing!~ Heeheehee!”
“Here lies one of the most frightening mamono in existence! Beaten in broad daylight! Ahahaha!”

As they laughed and taunted over this matter, Laguna’s expression steadily regained civility, if only because she was weakly looking in my direction now. Her face, along with the droop of her wings and tail said it all, even if the words “I’m sorry” never left her mouth. There was a bizarre feeling in me in that moment… I shouldn’t rightly pity a creature who had taken the liberty to possess me like some kind of luxury. But aside from her seemingly uncontrollable urge to satisfy herself with me back in the crypt, Laguna had done me no wrong thus far. Especially when compared to the undead before or the pair who were presently tickled with their easy victory… So was this it then? I’d have to suffer watching the manticore dismantle my only saving grace savagely before they turned their instinctual “savagery” on me?

Nope! It just happened to be the moment for player three to enter the fucking game!

Laguna and I held one another’s gazes, and although I could not see my own expression, I’m sure the distress in it mirrored her own. All the while the manticore and her equine friend were bubbling with wicked laughter, which served perfectly to drown out the incoming whirl of a bola until it was too late!

*THWACK!~*

The dull though no less deep sound of the weapon had likely been an indicator that it clocked the manticore silly upon impact shortly after ensnaring her. Either way, she had crumbled into a startled, dazed, and restrained heap right in front of Laguna! What followed was the thudding of deep hoofbeats upon the ground as the wielder of the primitive device came charging full speed into the clearing! Now -this- was a centaur! She bore a blue roan pelt upon which sat a rather firmly built torso of a woman, clearly no stranger to either heavy labor or a physical regimen. Golden eyes were narrowed unkindly through the mess of her raven hair upon the one who held me chokingly captive. In her hands, she brandished what looked to be a simple polished quarter staff, but it was wielded like one might a lance or spear in her charge!

Whether she meant to strike the dual-horned equine mamono with it or not, my aggressor didn’t stick around to find out! Clearly outmatched in terms of physical size, she broke from me after her initial gasp of surprise, moments before the gallop of the centaur would have likely trucked her smaller frame over! Her whip was abandoned, left to slacken around my neck as she cleared the distance between us towards her companion in single delicate leap.

“Vesper??...”
“Let’s go, Estelle! Get us out of here!... WE’RE NOT DONE! DO YOU HEAR US?! That human is FRESH MEAT!”

The manticore, having not quite recovered her footing with arms and wings restrained, wormed about on the ground while barking the venomous words! Her counterpart, heeding her with a narrowing of her own eyes, gave a wave of her hand across towards us. Her fingertips shimmered with an otherworldly haze of violet before I bore witness to something my simple human mind couldn’t presently comprehend yet (y’know, amongst everything else already)… Magic!

Whatever forces she weaved caused the earth between us and them to erupt with twisting overgrown brush just high enough to briefly bar closing any gap towards them! And then… Just as abruptly as it had sprouted from the ground, it fell away to nothing more than the gentle grasses of the clearing once more, as though it never existed. To no surprise, they had used it to cover their escape and had retreated by the time things were normal again.

Still upon my knees and having witnessed a logic (or lack thereof) which I couldn’t wrap my head around, I began feverishly prying the whip loose from my neck. I’d only managed a few breaths before Laguna’s form overshadowed my own, having crawled to my side and seized the offending leather in both her clawed hands to rip it free. “Thank y-!!...” I hadn’t even managed to finish the words between my coughing before her arms were around me and I was squeezed both to the comfort and protection of the bounty upon her chest. I say protection, because the reverberation of guttural, baritone, inhuman growling was something I could both hear and feel. She was shielding me from our apparent savior, who gently trotted to a halt close by despite the clear warning from a weakened dragon zombie.

“Calm down, both of you… I’m not here for the male, nor to fight you.” Came her voice, as firm and precise as the very features on her face, from what I could peer through the clutch of arms and breasts… “If it wasn’t clear already, I came to help you with those two miscreants. My name is Maxeen. Now then, who are YOU two strangers?”

[EPISODE 3 – END]

…
…
Elsewhere…

…In the wake of their exit out into the wide open world of Arcadia, the dragon zombie and her human companion had left a clear scene of destruction within the crypt… The light of day filtered only so far within, but the azure glow of witch light cast a soft, subtle, eerie illumination to the scene. Laguna’s words had been true, the dead do not stay down for long, and already what masses weren’t torn asunder were beginning to twitch awake…

But it was a single, ever burning, iron wrought brazier which hung from the decrepit walls that suddenly sparked to “life”, where the flicker of blue flames within leapt wildly for the ethereal beauty within to spring forth with a flourish of pale hair before regarding the scene below.

“Oh~ They are going to loooove hearing about this!~… Heeee~…”

StayVectorOct 26, 2021 12:19 AM

Oct 19, 2021 5:08 AM

#14

Offline

May 2013

1528

Oho... now I'm wondering who "they" are!

"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling

Oct 25, 2021 11:54 PM

#15

Offline

Apr 2020

tygertyger said:
Oho... now I'm wondering who "they" are!

Sometimes, when you lock something away deep inside a long forgotten underground vault in the middle of the forest, you probably intend for it to STAY that way...

Stay tuned~

Nov 2, 2021 12:24 PM

#16

Offline

Jan 2013

503

Great to see you returning to this story.

Your experience in writing is definitely noticeable and your style is quite engaging.

You also did the exposition dump quite well by mostly skipping it I think.

Definitely looking forward to seeing how Estelle and Vesper will try to claim their price and, of course, who "they" are and what they'll do :)

Nov 19, 2021 5:01 PM

#17

Offline

Jan 2015

1576

Was wondering where you had went. Good to see that the story was not lost and forgotten.

So many questions. Was is going on that the opportunistic couple of "miscreants" were around so quickly? Was Maxeen tracking them that she was so quick to arrive to the action too? And indeed, who are "they"?

I'm not entirely certain, but this might be the first will-o-the-wisp making her appearance in the MSG.

Reading this chapter made me curious, so I looked up the MGE entry of the dragon zombie and it does not really say anything about whether they can still enter their ancient form or not. So plenty of room for you to decide whether it is something Laguna simply has lost since she turned into a dragon zombie, or whether it is something she can only use conditionally, or whether it is something she needs to "regain" one way or another. Curious to see which direction you are going to take this. Also since she is weakened in daylight, could it be she might have somehow obtained some vampire traits?

All in all, an enjoyable chapter with plenty of cliffhangers to be looking forward to the next chapter.

Nov 20, 2021 8:52 AM

#18

Offline

May 2013

1528

MetallumOperatur said:
So many questions. Was is going on that the opportunistic couple of "miscreants" were around so quickly?

It has never been explicitly stated, but it has been implied in several stories that the transfer spell always places new arrivals close enough to locals to be discovered quickly if not detected immediately. I certainly write as if this is the case. That makes sense, since there are plenty of hostile environments on the island and bringing in humans only to have them drown or die of exposure would be a huge waste.

I'm not entirely certain, but this might be the first will-o-the-wisp making her appearance in the MSG.

It is! I look forward to seeing how she is portrayed moving forward.

"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling

Nov 20, 2021 4:51 PM

#19

Offline

Jan 2015

1576

tygertyger said:
It has never been explicitly stated, but it has been implied in several stories that the transfer spell always places new arrivals close enough to locals to be discovered quickly if not detected immediately. I certainly write as if this is the case. That makes sense, since there are plenty of hostile environments on the island and bringing in humans only to have them drown or die of exposure would be a huge waste.

Well that might also be due to writer's bias. After all many are eager to introduce the first companion.

But on the other hand it would also make a lot of sense that the spell would place new arrivals near locals to prevent them succumbing nearly immediately to the environment if it is particularly hostile like the desert or the open seas. Or maybe the inhabitants of such places have much better warning systems in place to quickly find and save the arrival should they be lucky enough to have one appear near them.

May 3, 2022 12:13 AM

#20

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Apr 2020

[EPISODE 4: CRAZY TALK]

“HmMfmHm?...”

There are very few times in a man’s life in which he is likely to complain about a pair of tits in his face. For me, this was one of them. Laguna’s death grip (pun intended) upon me kept my face smooshed protectively against the restrained bounty of her chest… All while I tried to answer our hero of the day.

“We don’t need any help…” Laguna’s words escaped through her teeth, underscored by that warning growl. “YeffMeefDmmf!”

“That isn’t what I asked…” Maxeen the centaur spoke again to us, digging a forehoof into the ground in what could only be construed as mild annoyance, while giving a thump of her staff as well. “I asked who you were, strangers. What are a bare bottomed human and a dragon zombie doing out in the wilderness like this?”

With a bit of wriggling, and a bit of pushing, I managed to pry my face up enough from Laguna’s chest to finally address Maxeen properly… And breathe!

“I’m going to be honest; the details are pretty sketchy to me too right now! This isn’t what it looks like!... …I mean, maybe it is. Look, I don’t know right now! One minute, I’m in the middle of a warzone flying home before our aircraft went down. NOW, I’m here in this where-ever-the-hell-we-are world, and the past few hours have consisted of me trying NOT to get murder-fucked!” My eyes glanced up to Laguna briefly before darting back to Maxeen. “…Also, she apparently saw me first.”

Laguna nodded in affirmation, and the hard-bodied centaur appeared to take my words with as much sincerity as she did confusion. There was a blink in her gold eyes, and a flagging of her equine tail behind her. After another stamp or two of her hoof, and no shortage of looking as though she were trying to work out a differential equation in her head, she finally cocked a brow at us.

“Is this true?”
“It’s true, I saw him first! He belongs to ME!”
“Not you, dragon. I’m talking to the human.”

I nodded feverishly in response. “It’s true, I swear!… I’m Matthew, and the clingy one is Laguna. I, uh, suppose we owe you a big thanks for saving our bacon.” I managed a sheepish grin, but despite it all Maxeen appeared wholly unphased while her face remained firm in consideration.

“Can you stand?”
“Can I? Yes. Currently able to? No.”
“Let him up, dragon. He’s yours, as you say. I’m not here to challenge you for him. As for you, human, put this on…”

Maxeen reached to her side and fished around in a pair of saddle bags that were more conveniently adjusted to her humanoid hips. From them she pulled a neatly folded, plain section of cloth which was tossed on the ground before us. “I typically keep this for the rain, but you can’t very well go around these lands naked least you run into more of the same sooner rather than later… Now, come with me. You and your territorial undead beast.”

Laguna didn’t take kindly to Maxeen’s choice words for her, which prompted her lips to peel away from her fangs in a miffed display. But whether by the debilitating sunshine, her recent scuffle, or perhaps plain rational sense, she let me go. I’d wasted no time, despite a slight unsteadiness, in reaching for the cloth upon the ground. Make no mistake, I was grateful for it. Even if it was old. And scratchy. And it smelled like a musty barn. Whatever, it kept my ass covered as well as other important bits as I folded it around myself. Forced to keep it clutched closed with one hand I pushed myself to stand with the other hand before offering it to Laguna. She had since softened from her mean little display but stayed otherwise narrow-eyed. At the very least, there was a genuine look of curiosity in her features when she regarded my hand, accepted it firmly in her strong claws, and brought herself to an equally unsteady stand… She probably didn't need the courtesy of my help.

“Are you alright?” I wasn’t sure if I -should- care, but I no less felt inclined to. “I’m fine…” I was unconvinced given the subtle sharpness to her words. Whether it was still due to the discomfort of the sun or a hit to her pride, I wouldn’t know. “…Why didn’t you do as I say?” My mouth opened to respond but was briefly stunned for a reply. It was an accident? Was I sorry? I got excited? Why? My brief hang-up for words was saved by the call from Maxeen who was now some distance away heading out of the clearing. “If you wish for more aid, off-worlder, then make haste! I’ve no time to be wasted frolicking in the forest!”

Her hint for more help certainly piqued my interest, and it was my turn to now take Laguna by the wrist. “I’ll make it up to you.” Always think before you speak, kids. Especially here. Sound advice I might later regret. “Right now I, or WE, need whatever help we can get…” Laguna’s lips parted to speak, but if she meant to protest then it was left unspoken as -I- now pulled her along. After a slight catch of her footing, she’d lift an arm and wing once more to shield herself from the day until we were back within the canopy of the forest, following Maxeen.

Vesper and Estelle. Those were the names of our two aggressors given to me by Maxeen as we made our way through the forest once more. The manticore and bicorn (as Maxeen explained she was) were a pair of local troublemakers. Mostly, they never caused any real harm, but I guess that notion went right out the window when a pure flesh and blood human male was involved. Or… Maybe that really was just a mild level of mamono nuisance here. Either way, I continually expressed my thanks for saving us from what could have been a fate worse than death (again, pun intended). Maxeen seemed indifferent and dismissed it just as equally so each time. What she was more interested in was my previous explanation of how I came to be here. I told it to her again, in much greater detail this time, and while she never interrupted me as we walked, her face did tighten into further confusion. My occasional glances towards Laguna, who kept expectedly close enough to touch me, found her face awash with interest as well. Granted, every time I looked to her, she immediately focused on the path ahead or our surroundings. She, too, stayed quiet all the while.

“So… You believe me, right? I mean, I know this all might sound like bullshit to you, but I’m just as thoroughly confused.”

“No, I believe you. Strange and bizarre as your words might be, it’s their foreignness which gives them an air of credibility. Besides, you are far from the first human off-worlder to arrive here as well. Also, mind your language.”

PRAISE whatever powers that be! I wasn’t the only human, let alone male, to grace this world bare-footed and bare-assed! Of course, that prompted my inevitable question: “Then how do I get back home?”

“You wish to return home?” There was a subtle, mutual, albeit mild surprise in this by both Maxeen’s words and Laguna’s stiff glance towards me. And while I wondered if such a retort by the centaur was rhetorical, I suppose my silence spoke volume enough to prompt Maxeen to continue. “That… Is a question of which I am rather unqualified and unable to answer. For now, let us make for my village before the day is done. We can make better sense of your circumstance once you’ve had a moment’s reprieve.”

I was soon to learn another valuable lesson: never take a mamono’s words lightly. For what sounded like a casual stroll to some nearby refuge of civilization ended up being an all-day affair. I had to surmise that miles were something Maxeen could have quickly and easily covered on her own, given her centaur nature, but I was now severely retarding the process. You couldn’t blame me, really. I was bare-foot and covering ground both Laguna and Maxeen could have traversed with barely a breath of effort. If Laguna and I had escaped from that tomb and had our scuffle with Vesper and Estelle somewhere around early morning, then we had since been travelling ALL damn day… And it was a painfully long one as well. All I knew, by way of a casual inquiry to Maxeen, was that were we headed south out of the forest. When noon finally bared down on us in the gentle warmth of what felt like spring weather, we had finally broken through the brush of forest and into the vast openness of Mediterranean-esq fields. It was warm, sunny, with a sparse dotting of clouds, but the constant subtle breeze made it feel tolerable for someone with only an itchy drape about their shoulders. Laguna, it seemed, could tolerate it for the time being judging by the slight cringe to her eyes.

“Not much farther…” Maxeen spoke passively to us which proved to be, yet again, another relative term for someone like her. At the very least, through the ever so gently rolling grass, the telltale signs of overgrown dirt-ridden paths that had halted at the forest were becoming all the clearer. It was a far cry gentler on my now aching feet! I’d been horribly reluctant to either beg a ride from Maxeen or look like a bitch and ask Laguna to carry me, but whatever struggle in our travel I may have made, thankfully there were no remarks to be made.

And then, finally, upon cresting the slope of gently rolling landscape, we were greeted with the sight of something I’d have sworn was straight from the pages of a fantasy storybook! If, you know, everything up to this point hadn’t been already… Either way, I was gazing down upon the village Maxeen had spoken of which spanned across the entirety of the grassy slope. What might have been simple to the eyes of a mamono was no doubt a bit impressive to me. Cobblestone houses and structures, crop fields, paddocks, and even vineyards… Even the smell that had begun to tickle upon my nose was every bit the daydream of such a place with its mix of wood and coal fires, of spices, foods, and other exotic fragrances. Yeap, I’d died and arrived in Middle Earth. Curiously, for as much village as there was, there was equal parts expansion upon the opposite end of it where new dwellings were rather hastily being constructed from logs and thatched roofs. It clashed somewhat with the existing settlement, but then, what the hell did I know about these things.

“You’re falling behind again!” Called Maxeen, who had now managed in a soft trot down the path. Behind me, I was greeted by the sensation of an ever so closely looming Laguna. She was leaning subtly over my shoulder to peer down at the same sight, enough so that the wispy ends of her bright hair tickled upon me.

“Mmmm...” Came the sound of undoubtedly suspicious thought from her.

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t recognize this place…” Her admittance was equal parts honest and equal parts wary. I couldn’t fault the girl for her ignorance, either. If the dilapidated tomb I found her in was any indication, she’d been “dead” for a time far greater than I could guess. Like waking from a hellishly long nap, she probably had A LOT to catch up on… If she could remember much at all! Regardless, it was Laguna who took the first few tentative steps down the path leading towards Maxeen’s home. Soon enough, we were following behind the centaur side by side.

If I’d been uncomfortable at all before in my oh so brief time here, and it was now tenfold when the three of us came strolling through!

MAMONO… MAMONO EVERYWHERE…

Rest assured, I’d never received SO MUCH attention from those of the female persuasion in my entire life in so short amount of time… Even if it amounted to nothing more than a plethora of wide-eyed stares and hushed mutterings as we tried to meekly make our way through. Well, -I- did at least. A glance to one side saw both a rather busty mamono with holstein features and a demurely shorter fleece-laced one give pause to their conversation with a caprine woman at her window to stare at us like schoolgirls seeing a boy for the first time. And so, our walk through town went… Horns, fur, feathers, scales, claws. You name it, for I didn’t know any better what the hell I was looking at it! And at some point, despite my overwhelming curiosity, my gaze had diverted to the walkway beneath us. My reservation must have been noted by Laguna, for she took the liberty of bringing me in closer to her by way of a possessive curl of an arm and wing around me. That, or she was very clearly staking her claim to the point it was hard to tell if the mutterings around us were for me, her, or both of us. It was every man’s wet dream and now, I actually wanted to be OUT of it for the time being.

Thankfully, I needn’t embarrass myself more as the heavy dull creak of wood hinted we’d arrived. Just in time, too, for the sun had begun to touch the horizon of the land in its descent. Hearing the door opening I lifted my head to behold what I can’t rightly say I expected for a centaur’s abode… But it made perfect sense at a glance. The entrance was a set of double-doors which swung open akin to some old barn. The cobblestone structure of Maxeen’s apparent home was round with close to half of it residing into the sloping landscape we’d descended, not unlike a good ole Tolkien hobbit shire house just… bigger! To the left, it was open in what appeared to be some manner of workshop like one might do with their modern age garage. My wonder at so simple yet so foreign a place would have to wait as the jaded centaur now stood by the door she held open. “Inside, if you please…”

I was the first to eek my way into Maxeen’s home carefully, followed by the still ever wary Laguna. But the brief glance I was sure to take was IMMEDIATELY interrupted by the sound of an overly joyous and sing-songy voice within.

“Maaaxeeeeeen~ Welcome hooooome-*gasp* OOOOOOOH!~”

Ah, another centaur-OH MY GOD, SHE HAS A PENIS.

[EPISODE 4 – END]

StayVectorMay 3, 2022 1:52 AM

May 3, 2022 7:38 AM

#21

Offline

May 2013

1528

"Ah, another centaur-OH MY GOD, SHE HAS A PENIS."

Heh. In Arcadia horsey rides you.

"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling

May 4, 2022 8:08 AM

#22

Offline

Jan 2013

503

Whew, had to re-read the previous chapter to remind myself of who those two miscreants were, exactly.

I really don't envy the guys feet after tramping barefoot around for the whole day.

Looking forward to the next one.

tygertyger said:
"Ah, another centaur-OH MY GOD, SHE HAS A PENIS."

Heh. In Arcadia horsey rides you.

That might be a bit much, but let's see what happens :P

May 11, 2022 4:57 PM

#23

Offline

Jan 2015

1576

Gotta say, our hero could have run into more considerate companions. But perhaps they were testing his mettle.

I like that you put thought into how a centaur's home would look like.

tygertyger said:
Heh. In Arcadia horsey rides you.

Yeah, the horse races in Arcadia are no joke :-P

Aug 8, 2022 5:32 PM

#24

Offline

Apr 2020

[EPISODE 5 – STAY AWHILE AND LISTEN]

“Put that thing away, Justine!!”

I heard Maxeen scold the other centaur as she herself now finally entered. Justine seemed utterly oblivious to Maxeen’s words as the slightly shorter centaur now trotted her way excitedly towards us… Or me, rather. The look in her eyes seemed ecstatic to behold me and she held no reservation in taking my hand within both of her own once she was close enough.

“Hello! How are you?? WHO are you?? Where did YOU come from?? Who is your friend?? Is she your wife?? Do you have one?? Maxi and I don’t have a husband!”

Nothing like laying all your cards out on the table from the start… Her bubbly happy attitude might have been infectious… If it weren’t for the fact my eyes were feverishly bouncing between her stupidly grinning face and the… Ah… “Endowment”… Which she was sporting between her hind horse legs. Were it not for that DISTRACTION, Justine would have otherwise been an adorable creature. At a glance, I’d have placed her close to the same age as Maxeen, looking as though to have just broken into her twenties by human standards. But the similarities ended there for she contrasted Maxeen quite a bit. For starters, her physique was far leaner to include the small perky bounty of her chest. Even her equine features differed from Maxeen as well in that she possessed a tri-colored pelt of brown, black, and white. Her wavy hair was reminiscent of her pelt and tied back into a haphazard ponytail that reflected her tomboyish aesthetic. Oh, and if I hadn’t mentioned already, she had a horse cock…

“Uh… Hi…”

Charming~ But I was presently too dumbfounded to think of what else to say. Look, it’s not my fault. I’ve had a doozy of a day. Luckily, I needn’t say anything else as my brain-fart was saved by both Laguna and Maxeen. The former of which was back to growling behind me as Justine had taken my hand (make no mistake, the centaur was oblivious to that too). But before things got any further out of hand, Maxeen had made her way around to us while making her best attempt to stifle an exasperated sigh. It was the first I’d seen the hardy centaur mare crack that stern resolve.

“This… Is my sister, Justine. And yes, I use the term loosely.” Maxeen began to explain, all while running her fingers through her hair in further chagrin. “We’re not directly related, but we were raised together. As you can well see by her excitement, she’s a… Uhm…”

“A futanari!” Justine finished her sister’s sentence rather proudly. And it was upon this day that I learned more than I honestly wished to know.

“Justine…” Maxeen began again with a huff of her breath. “This is Matthew and-…” “Laguna…” Laguna muttered her name with an obvious tint of annoyance as the centaur had clearly not committed it to memory. “Yes, Laguna… I found them both in the forest today not far from that old place, being harassed by Vesper and Estelle. Matthew, here, is an off-worlder…” Maxeen seemed a touch reluctant to mention such as her words grew hesitant towards the end. Rightly so because it triggered renewed excitement in Justine.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!...” Justine clapped her hands to her cheeks, and I was almost certain her eyes sparkled. More so, that daunting rod of flesh I did my absolute damndest not to look at jumped. “A REAL human male from across the stars?! Oh. My. GODS! I thought I would -neeeever- see one for myself, let alone touch one! Come here!” Justine began to close the distance, I probably looked mortified, Laguna looked ready to strike, and bless poor Maxeen because she intervened AGAIN. “AND he’s had one hell of a day already!” Said Maxeen, intercepting her confused sister by taking her by the shoulders and steering her around us towards the door. “So be a good girl, and run down to Mae’s home… See if you can’t scrounge up anything for the poor man to wear, hmm? I smell the stew, so we’ll all eat as soon as you get back, okay? Okay, bye!” Maxeen didn’t give Justine a breath of a moment to respond while she was ushered out the door, leaving our savior for the second time today to lean her human half against the now closed door and huff. “One way or another, she’s going to be the death of me…” The woman’s stern resolve didn’t take long to return now before she focused upon us once more. “Now… Where were we?”

----------------------------------------------------

It was only during the latter part of our journey to the village that my body had caught up with my mind and made me aware that I was both hungry and tired. Thus, I would have hardly complained to anything offered to me. To that end, dinner was spent sitting upon cushions around a low wooden table, as doing so logically accommodated the equine bodies of both Maxeen and Justine… The latter of whom had discreetly inched her way closer to me as the night went on. Laguna, of course, was acutely aware of such and had done much the same until the undead dragoness was practically draped upon me. I, however, was too busy to care.

Back home on good ole mother earth, one of my favorite meals had always been a good beef stew. In my first shred of luck in this new world, Justine had spent the day before our arrival preparing something deliciously similar. It was simple but oh so filling, with a gravy-like meat stock filled with vegetables I wasn’t immediately familiar with. Unlike beef stew from home, this one had a strangely sweeter taste to it. Not that it mattered to me, for it sopped up nicely with bread all the same!

As we ate, to which I readily demolished two helpings, I once again retold the story of my circumstances in greater detail at Maxeen’s request. I had to dumb down a few things, for if it hadn’t been apparent already, Arcadia was severely lacking behind in technological development compared to earth. As such, inquiries as to where I was from, what I did, and what it was like were met with equal amounts of intrigue and confusion. Nevertheless, it held my audience of all three rather captive. Laguna, however, had been relatively quiet, and when offered the same stew and bread, she refused… More for me!

“So… You are a soldier… But one who aids those in battle rather than fights directly? And your purpose was to ensure the capabilities of these flying machines, as you say?” Maxeen was doing her best to piece together some picture of the modern human world that I had verbally painted to them. It was difficult enough to describe a modern military aircraft much less how my job consisted of maintaining one. She seemed to be the only one present who cared for as much, though, because both Laguna and Justine had become enamored the moment I mentioned being in the military.

“More or less.”
“And so, when one of these flying machines you were in crashed, you awoke here?”
“More or less.”
“Huh. That makes sense now…”
“It does??” I had given pause to polishing off the last of my second helpings to look across the table towards Maxeen hopefully.
“Of course. They would most certainly not use one of your size and stature for actual combat.”
Ouch…
“Wow!... I’m… Not sure which hurts worse; the commentary or the crushing of my hopes that goes with it.”

Maxeen dipped her head and raised her hand in an apologetic gesture. “My apologies, I meant no offense by that. But while it’s well known across our land that your situation is far from the first, I’m afraid there’s little help I am capable of providing to fix it…” While I slumped noticeably over this unenlightening bit of news, Maxeen raised her head again and pointed her gaze towards Laguna now. “And what of you, dragon? There are few enough of your species to be seen wandering about, and less so that of the dead…”

This had served to pique my own interest for Laguna had not been able to tell me much beyond showing how overly protective of me she was. True, she had given me the brief details of Arcadia, but claimed to recall nothing beyond such. Having resumed nibbling at my dwindling stew-soaked bread, I turned my gaze up towards Laguna. She closed her eyes for a moment, and the longer she held them there the more her face grew concentrated, her brows furrowing as if thinking all too difficultly on something.

“I don’t know…” She finally admitted, reaching a dark claw up to gesture by swirling it around next to her head. “It’s there… But I cannot reach it. Like a thought that just won’t come to me. Stuck in some vast emptiness.”

“That is to be expected for the dead, particularly the newly awakened, or those that have long been such without a supply of demonic energy. However, the fact that you are this rationally conscious must mean-“ Maxeen cut her own sentence short by looking squarely back at me along with everyone else. Apparently, there was something EVERYONE in the room was keenly aware of… Except me.

“Huh?”

“Ooo! Ooo! Maxi! If they’re both lost like this, why don’t they travel to Noctis Sempiterna and go see Dahlia?!” Justine was all too eager to quip in as her bubbly demeanor allowed, while simultaneously having shimmied close enough during dinner to begin caressing my leg. Rest assured, it had not gone unnoticed by my territorial caretaker, whose ebony tail had slinked over to smack the offending hand away before curling about my waist.

“Noctis Sempiterna? That… Sounds kind of awesome!” I said, attempting to pay the confrontation beneath the table no mind.
“It is the city of vampires.” Maxeen bluntly stated.
“Nevermind!”

“It is honestly not a terrible idea…” Maxeen’s retort was followed by a thoughtful scratch to her chin before she waved a hand dismissively towards me and my clear reservation at the idea. “Contrary to your blatant concern, not everything in this world is hostile by name and nature alone. True, yes, you’ve plenty to be concerned about when it comes to… Well… Instincts.” To which she briefly darted eyes to Laguna before back to me. “But the vampire city of Noctis Sempiterna is not an “evil” place. It is merely a suitable habitat for the likes of undead mamono, namely vampires. More so, Justine is correct, strangely, for as far as anyone here on this island is concerned, Dahlia is your nearest and best chance for any resolution.”

“Soooo, a city full of blood-sucking mamono are NOT going to eat me alive, then?”
“I never guaranteed that, but you DO have… Well….” To which Maxeen gestured stiffly to Laguna, implying I’d be well protected.

I looked to Laguna then who returned my gaze, and her expression was admittedly difficult to read now. She did not smile, but she did not seem displeased by the idea either. If anything, I could have only guessed at some sort of subtle reservation in her about going there on the pretense that this Dahlia could somehow find me a way home… Which would ultimately separate me from Laguna. Then, as if some sudden thought had occurred to her, Laguna’s wings gave a single flick as she tilted her head, all while a rather devious looking smirk crept over her pale blue lips.

“…I suppose I have no objections.”
“To Noctis, then?...”
“To Noctis~…”

It was upon reaching this resolution that Justine suddenly broke the stiff air by clapping her hands together in excitement. “Eeee! We’re going to the vampire city!” She exclaimed, to which Maxeen immediately shut that idea down sternly. “WE are not going anywhere. We have more than enough work to do HERE…” As Justine pouted, Maxeen would promptly ignore her sister with yet another exasperated sigh before elaborating further. “South of here there is a developing port, it’s where some of the trade ships sail through to and from the mainland to pick up our agricultural goods. As luck might have it, they’re expected to arrive within a few days’ time. After which, they’ll make the careful trip up to the city. I would suggest seeking passage there as it is the swiftest route unless you are somehow mad enough to trek through or around the mountains.”

“Sounds like fun~ I’ve never been on a ship before, actually!”
“And yet you’ve sailed through the sky on these flying machines of yours? How strange the human world must be… I suppose I need not mention to be wary of seafaring mamono. They are undoubtedly a rougher and hardier bunch.”
“Color me surprised at this point.” That was sarcasm, which Maxeen fortunately read into.

“Well!” Maxeen started once more with a smack of her hands on the table. It was intentional, of course, because both Laguna and Justine were getting amorously close to me and consequently playing cat-and-mouse with one another. Maxeen had thankfully snapped their attention. “If everything’s settled then, how about a bath before we all retire for the night! I’m sure you’re exhausted!”

“Yes, please!” Before I end up spit-roasted between two mamono…

----------------------------------------------------

The wooden washtub, as it turned out, ended up being lengthy enough for the likes of a centaur. I’m not sure why I honestly expected less… To much less surprise, the room was little more than an alcove within their small home and cordoned off by a fabric drape. With this having been my first venture into a mamono’s home of relative dark-age design and architecture, it was interesting to see what they were capable of doing with limited space. Everything had a purpose, and nothing seemed wasted. It was likewise the first moment in all my time here that I was afforded some measure of privacy. Oh, believe me, it took ample amounts of convincing from Maxeen, Justine, and myself to have Laguna part from me… But the three eventually left the confines of the home to afford me some quiet time to bathe.

Justine had indeed scrounged up some spare clothes from neighboring mamono. They lay folded on a simple wooden stool nearby along with a small pouch of “sand soap” as it was described to me. I’d closed the simple fabric drape, shed that burlap blanket I’d been given earlier, and very carefully slid my way into the foamy water of the tub. It was warm, somewhat. Certainly not hot or fresh from any faucet as it had to be drawn elsewhere logically. Regardless, the further I sank into it, the more I was immediately reminded of all I’d been through this day. My feet burned from the barefooted travel I’d endured, and my core muscles along with my lower back were soon throbbing with soreness. I had not been in the bath but for a few moments before a million thoughts began to flood me as my mind struggled to rationalize… well… EVERYTHING.

Best not think about it long least it put me into a state of mental crisis. Instead, I’d sat up, fetched the sack of sand soap, and dumped it into my hand. Somewhat gritty, the tan colored powder held the faintest hints of essences akin to sandalwood or patchouli. It wasn’t overpowering though, just enough to wash away the stink of the day while its subtly abrasive texture would do the scrubbing. Not but a few minutes into washing before I heard the doors to the home open and the gentle clopping of hooves upon the floor.

“Ahem!~ I trust you are doing well? Do not mind my instrusion! I have come to merely wash your back!” It was Maxeen, who was being rather loud in her announcement and held absolutely no reservation in barging right in on me passed the curtain.

“Wh-Whoa! Hey! Occupied! I’m, uh, I’m not finished!” I was quick to sit up and cover my twig and berries with my hands, undoubtedly looking mortified at the centaur who I was dead certain had come to finally get a taste for herself!

“Silence.” Maxeen spoke by tossing a sponge in my direction. “For despite my, erm, curiosity, I am sincere about my presence… That, and I must speak to you privately about a matter of importance. Mainly, that dragon zombie you’re cavorting around with whom my sister is currently distracting.”

I cleared my throat then, and immediately faced forward, trusting Maxeen’s intent by exposing my back to her… stiffly. “L-Laguna?... What about her?”

Maxeen filled the space in the small alcove behind me, “kneeling” down in a quadruped fashion and, indeed, taking both the sponge and the sand soap to begin scrubbing at my back… She could have also been a little gentler about it, but I assumed very little about her ever was.

“What do you know about this creature? What has she told you?”

“No more than I already told you. I found her in the crypt I had fled into where she awoke and… ah…”

“Fucked you.” Well now, that’s the most bluntly profane thing I’d ever heard from her yet! “And this does not alarm you?” I shot a narrow-eyed look from over my shoulder then towards her that was hopefully rhetorical enough. There was A LOT that was alarming to me right now. “Ah, yes. My apologies. It’s just that there are a great many concerns over your particular circumstance.”

“Such as?”

“Well, to begin with, mamono of her ilk are not all too common. Rarer than rare, in fact. She is the first undead of draconic kind that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. Which leads me to my next concern – what do you know of the dead here?”

“They take a licking and keep on ticking?”

“Cute, but no. As far as you are concerned it is the manner in which they “feed”. Had you not noticed that she did not partake in any form of food this evening? Where do you think, then, that one such as her finds their sustenance?” I had a sneaking suspicion, but my silence let the notion hang in the air with enough prompt for Maxeen to continue. “YOU, of course. Human men, despite being worth their weight in gold as desirable husbands here, are conduits of the energy that resonates across this world. Many mamono derive their power, strength, and even their life force from it… And it is most potent when sapped from humans in the form of-“

“Fucking?”

“Ehm, more or less.”

“So I’m a meal ticket to her then? A walking battery?”

“I have no idea what that is, but sure. Alas, should you harbor any reservation against such a union, the dragon has already “sunk her teeth into you” so to speak. It would be both an unwise and unlikely endeavor for you or anyone else to deter her from you.” Maxeen wasn’t telling me anything that I had not already suspected. More so, she was just confirming it. Again, I met her with no response save for a slight droop to my shoulders and a bite of my lip as I mulled over this fact. Only a few seconds later and she began again. “My concerns do not end there.”

“Of course not, why would they?” What else do you have in store for me, God?

“This crypt you discovered her within… It is a place we actively avoid disturbing, let alone trespassing.”

“And why is that?”

“To be entirely honest, I could not tell you… It is something that has long since been lost with time through the centuries or millennia for which it has stood. Long before I was born, even. But for as long as we have resided here in this village, we have been told to leave it undisturbed.”

“Heh, yeah. Whoops.”

“What is done is done. But I’m afraid the responsibility is in fact now yours to bear. Make no mistake, it would be wise to be discreet in whom you confide about this. It is likewise why Justine’s suggestion to go see Dahlia makes the most sense. As an Echidna, she is the “mother of mamono” as it were and is a highly regarded seeress in Noctis. There are many that make the journey there to seek her wisdom.”

At first, all I could offer Maxeen was a nod and a small grunt of acknowledgement. Again, it had been a lot to digest, and the plethora of thoughts were indeed finally catching up to me in the calm and quiet moment. “…Thank you.” I finally blurted out at last.

“Thank me when you are well on your way.” Maxeen responded, having apparently finished her scrubbing of my back by placing the sponge now square upon my head. “For you have some time before your departure and I expect you to make yourself useful during which. Tomorrow, try tending the vineyards with the others. It’ll do you some good and adjustment. Til then, it’s in your best interest to get some rest.” Picking herself back up upon four legs, Maxeen stalled in her departure.

“Now then… A peek if you please…”
“I’m sorry, what??”
“A peek, I said! The number of human men I have witnessed in all my life have been so few I can barely count, let alone a naked one.”
“OH Y-“ Still a mamono at heart…

----------------------------------------------------

WELL. She got her peek. And while the stone-faced centaur turned red in the cheeks, that had been the end of it. Minutes later and I was now settled in front of the smoldering glow of the hearth in the main expanse of her home, given a heavy spare blanket, pillow, and dressed in a pair of loose-fitting capri-style pants from that which Justine had acquired. Maxeen and Justine had retired for the night, the former of which had to drag the latter away as they were insistent upon spending the evening with a “poor lost and lonely soul!”, as she had so dramatically put it. This, of course, left me to sit and stare across at Laguna who was doing much the same… With the weight of everything Maxeen had told me still fresh on my mind.

“SO, time to call it a night then!”
“I don’t need to.” Go figure.
“Well, I mostly certainly do! And believe me, I’m exhausted!”
“Then go ahead and rest, my human~”

Aaaand for about a good thirty seconds thereafter, we continued to sit and stare. Finally, I relented. After all, there was no way I was going to beat her in a game such as this. I’d die before she, well, you get the picture. That didn’t mean I was quick to close my eyes and drift off either, for as I lay over before the hearth with its dying embers casting the faintest of twilight glows upon my face, I waited. It was upon bated breath that I knew, alone with Laguna, that something was going to happen… And so, it did.

I could hear her shifting about in a heavy drag of movement from her monstrous body, her silhouette slipping from my vision as I dare not lift my head. But undoubtedly, she was drawing closer… And I’d have been a fool to assume her target was anything other than me. Apparently, when you have a big strong dragon girl hounding you, you’re the little spoon in the relationship. For Laguna’s frame soon descended upon my own from behind, and I steadily found myself ensnared by her as legs, arms, wings, and even her tail entwined around me… It rather effectively blanketed me from just about everything and left me consumed in her grasp. And in some strange fucked up way that only the savagery of this world knew, the sensation was just as much terrifying as it was… Relaxing… My poor mind couldn’t decide which. And while I knew well Laguna need not breathe, she none the less exhaled a dull raspy breath against the back of my neck that was not unlike her more feral sounds back in the crypt.

“You’re not sleeping~…” She spoke quietly and coyly to me. You don’t say! All things considered; it was hard to do. Especially when someone’s ebony claws were snaking along me to clutch gently at my chin and my… crotch. “Your heart is beating faaar far too fast for such~…” Knowing this, her hold upon me tightened, and I needn’t look over my shoulder to know the sensation of her lips peeling into a grin against me.

“Are you scared?~…”
“No.”
“You’re lying~…”

Laguna nuzzled close then against the back of my head while her claws upon my chin broke free just enough to trail touches over my cheek and neck. She released another one of those deep raspy breaths of a sound before speaking once more. “Your scent and the sound of your heart betrays all too much to me… You’re scared… Scared… And excited~” Damnit. “So tell me, what did you and the centaur discuss?...” How the FUCK did she know?! Whatever spike in my nerves her revelation had caused, Laguna was all too aware of it as a husky chuckle breathed out against the back of my neck.

“She told me how the dead here survive on the essence of men…” I omitted the rest.
“And do you hate me for it?... For needing you?... For claiming you?…”
“…”
“Hee~… Now the truth comes out at last…”
Damnit.

I couldn’t be sure if Maxeen’s words to me earlier had been a warning… Or a revelation. Either way, in that moment, I could feel my sensibilities lose a touch of their grip and allow me to begin falling down a proverbial rabbit hole. If Laguna knew this, then she was intentionally slow and methodical with me as her claws took their precious time roaming over me. Eventually they inevitably landed beneath the waistline of my pants and begin ushering them from me. I had plenty of opportunity to make any effort to stop it. And yet… All I did was allow her the luxury. She needed only to drag the garment as far down as my thighs, because just like in the crypt, I had risen to the occasion despite my better judgement. By then, the embers of the hearth had faded, and the only light in the room now was the otherworldly glow of Laguna’s eyes which teetered dangerously between their subdued rosy, violet hue… And a sharp crimson. They now hovered over my bare crotch where I soon felt the drag of her tongue. But before any sound could be uttered from me, her claws clutched over my mouth.

“Shhh~ Don’t go waking our friends~…”

And before I could finally sleep… She fed.

[EPISODE 5 – END]

StayVectorAug 8, 2022 10:54 PM

Aug 8, 2022 7:48 PM

#25

Offline

May 2013

1528

Yikes. Laguna is still more scary that sexy. But such consistency in characterization is a good thing. I am also kinda jazzed about Dahlia; I believe this is the first use of an echidna in a story.

One note on writing technique -- every time you change speakers it should be a new paragraph, even if the speaker only says one word.

"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling

Aug 9, 2022 1:25 AM

#26

Offline

Apr 2020

tygertyger said:
Yikes. Laguna is still more scary that sexy.

Good~ >:)

tygertyger said:
One note on writing technique -- every time you change speakers it should be a new paragraph, even if the speaker only says one word.

Edit - I wanted to edit this comment since, after rereading it, it seemed a little dismissive of me to make. What I WANTED to say was thank you for the advice, as I had a bit of a struggle with this chapter/episode. The lengthy dialogue proved cumbersome and unfamiliar to me and I had to go over it several times to get it to flow properly in my head and on here. Going forward, I'll keep your advice in mind for sure!

StayVectorAug 12, 2022 2:28 AM

Aug 9, 2022 11:32 AM

#27

Offline

Jan 2013

503

Awesome, another update!

I really like Laguna and am excited about where you're going to take her character. She seems more like a source of anxiety for the MC than reassurance. It'll be nice to see whether that will change eventually or become even more so the case.

Maxeen briefly breaking her facade to get that peek was a funny moment to me and the antics between the centaur "sisters" were entertaining.

tygertyger said:
I am also kinda jazzed about Dahlia; I believe this is the first use of an echidna in a story.

I believe Em's story featured an echidna (Risa's mother), though she certainly didn't have a lot of "screentime".

mugen91Aug 12, 2022 3:53 AM

Aug 10, 2022 4:42 PM

#28

Offline

Jan 2015

1576

StayVector said:
“It does??” I had given pause to polishing off the last of my second helpings to look across the table towards Maxeen hopefully.
“Of course. They would most certainly not use one of your size and stature for actual combat.”
Ouch…

Oof indeed. Sooner or later the MC might learn that simply calling himself a tinkerer could be a much easier concept for the locals to grasp than trying to explain the aviation industry, its military applications, and the need for airplane maintenance.

Must say bubbly Justine is quite persistent in her advances, curious to see if it will eventually pay off for her and her "sister". I especially liked that part where the mask Maxeen is putting up briefly broke. Will she become his second companion, I guess I'll have to tune in for more... Nevertheless, I firmly believe he should have traded the peek for a flash.

Now the MC having inadvertently disturbed a grave site for which the locals have been explicitly drilled by the previous generations not to disturb it, might have some interesting consequences. Quite harsh though that Maxeen was like, "You disturbed it, so whatever comes from it is going to be your problem."

I am curious to see if we will learn a bit more about the village he is currently in, or whether they will almost immediately continue onwards to their newly determined short term goal of visiting the seeress. I wonder what she will have to say about a potential "ticket back to Earth" and what it's price is going to be. That is, if there is going to be a ticked back at all, seeing how it was a plane crash that brought him here.

Lastly, I really like the thought you put into how a home of a pair of centaurs with the technology they have available would look like, even something as mundane as a bathtub would need to be quite different

mugen91 said:
I believe Em's story featured an echidna (Risa's mother), though she certainly didn't have a lot of "screentime".

Don't forget your own story either with an echidna who is the rectrix magnificus of the Westholm University. Though again, a character who has not seen much "screentime" (yet?).

MetallumOperaturAug 10, 2022 5:20 PM

Aug 11, 2022 8:51 AM

#29

Offline

Jan 2013

503

MetallumOperatur said:

mugen91 said:
I believe Em's story featured an echidna (Risa's mother), though she certainly didn't have a lot of "screentime".

Don't forget your own story either with an echidna who is the rectrix magnificus of the Westholm University. Though again, a character who has not seen much "screentime" (yet?).

That's very true, kinda goes to show how long it's been :P

Aug 12, 2022 2:24 AM

#30

Offline

Apr 2020

mugen91 said:
I really like Laguna and am excited about where you're going to take her character. She seems more like a source of anxiety for the MC then reassurance.

My desired effect is thus achieved! Sadly, I won't be spoiling anything here~

mugen91 said:
Maxeen briefly breaking her facade to get that peak was a funny moment to me and the antics between the centaur "sisters" were entertaining.

MetallumOperatur said:
Must say bubbly Justine is quite persistent in her advances, curious to see if it will eventually pay off for her and her "sister". I especially liked that part where the mask Maxeen is putting up briefly broke. Will she become his second companion, I guess I'll have to tune in for more... Nevertheless, I firmly believe he should have traded the peek for a flash.

Admittedly, both Maxeen and Justine are NOT my original design, but rather characters developed/drawn by DapperCat and given permission to use! I tried to keep them as true to their design as possible, and DC proofread and approved! I would have even linked their reference pics but unfortunately they got lost to time in a hardware crash long ago. It's been said, though, they'll be drawn once more! There will be a few others introduced down the road that were created by DC as well, but all the major players in this story are by me. She's happy everyone enjoys them!

MetallumOperatur said:
Now the MC having inadvertently disturbed a grave site for which the locals have been explicitly drilled by the previous generations not to disturb it, might have some interesting consequences. Quite harsh though that Maxeen was like, "You disturbed it, so whatever comes from it is going to be your problem."

It's going to have A LOT of consequences. Again, no spoilers~

MetallumOperatur said:
Lastly, I really like the thought you put into how a home of a pair of centaurs with the technology they have available would look like, even something as mundane as a bathtub would need to be quite different

Giving credit where credit is due, I got the idea from YOU. That, and while looking up ideas on how best to describe a scene, I came across suitable images that were ideal enough to link.

Here's hoping to almighty bejeebus I can pull off a proper Echidna matron since everyone seems so stoked for this one :P

StayVectorAug 12, 2022 2:30 AM

Aug 14, 2022 4:17 PM

#31

Maku_The_Blue

Offline

Apr 2018

260

Wow, I fell behind quite a bit, needed to catch up with the previous chapters first before I could read this one.

The plot is moving along nicely! Next destination decided! Looking forward to seeing the vampire city being explored in your story. The nightlife there must be next level. Might be an idea for Matthew should probably get some practice being nocturnal in while he can before he gets there.

And the theme of literal dependency is one that isn t often used/focused on with monster girls, good job with thinking of that as a way to give a convincing reason as to why Laguna is so protective of MC.

Aug 14, 2022 11:35 PM

#32

Offline

Apr 2020

Maku_The_Blue said:
The plot is moving along nicely! Next destination decided!

Much thanks! I'm trying to keep the pacing relatively smooth. I've plenty of ideas for scenes and scenarios I want to get to without jumping there too quickly.

Maku_The_Blue said:
And the theme of literal dependency is one that isn t often used/focused on with monster girls, good job with thinking of that as a way to give a convincing reason as to why Laguna is so protective of MC.

Oh how deep the rabbit hole may go~

Nov 20, 2022 7:09 AM

#33

venomwolf

Offline

Nov 2019

103

Seriously enjoying this one- I especially like the zombie dragon actually feeling powerful and imposing- every time she'd described with him she seems to be moving slow and lumbersome, as if she may hurt him if she moves too fast- I really like that angle.

I also like the introduction of characters and the way they interact to form this band- each one seems to actually have their own goals rather than the tendency to all converge into the writers will like some people do.

I'm excited to see what else comes of it for sure!

Mar 30, 2024 1:41 AM

#34

YummyLunches

Offline

Jul 2008

4321

Your experience with roleplay really shines through. The descriptions are kinda rolled into the sentences in a natural sort of way, and as a reader, I felt really present. So Justine is all sorts of intense. Smiling like an idiot really is a way of life.

Jun 3, 2024 6:08 PM

#35

Offline

Apr 2020

[EPISODE 6 – SKULLDRUGGERY]

~BRA, 2-3-5 for 40 nautical miles at 8,000, hot~

I don’t dream as often as I’d like, especially in my adult years. Or at least, I don’t really recall many dreams that I DO have. There are, however, instances when I’m sure they’ll stick, and I dream my deepest – either when I’m terribly exhausted or terribly stressed. No doubt, the one I found myself having was a product of both…

It was a familiar dream, one I’d had on occasion before, but always juuuust slightly different each time. I sat in the cockpit of an F-16, an aircraft which I had worked on early in my military career. It was night, and the interior was gently aglow with that green hue of backlit panels and controls. The fighter jet was screaming across the landscape at a relatively low attitude, and I was “in control”. Rest assured; I am NO pilot. I’d never flown, and likely never would have. But as a technician, I’d worked upon it enough for my mind to piece the rest together and fill in the blanks to live that fantasy in a dream. That’s how dreams work sometimes, I guess… That, and its utter surrealism. Don’t ask me how I knew to fly it, I didn’t. Everything just worked, and everything felt just real enough. The vaguest sense of lucidity even made me aware of my breath being obscured by the oxygen mask upon my face. It was quiet, save for the faintest radio chatter, my steady breathing, and the ever so dull droning hum of the engine.

And then? And then it all changed without thought or awareness. That’s how dreams work sometimes, I guess… There was no cockpit... There was no jet… There was no radio… Now I was aloft in the night sky. I was still upon that same cruising course within the gentle banking motion of a turn. But now that air blew crisp and cool across my face as I rode along. Instinctively, I was clutching against my unseen ride to anchor myself against the rushing open air. But I was unafraid in this newfound state, just as I had been before… … …And then?

And then I was awake… I hated that sensation when it happened in dreams. When consciousness began to take over and the realization you were dreaming began to swiftly strip the bliss of it away. That’s how dreams work sometimes, I guess…

I was immediately aware of why the “oxygen mask” felt so real – my face was pressed against Laguna’s breasts... AGAIN. I froze when I realized where I was, both at the audacity of having my features pressed against her so questionably and the simple fact my entire situation had not, itself, been a dream. I was still very much trapped in this strange and fantastical world. Apparently, at some point during the night, I had shifted in my sleep to clutch the undead dragoness. She, in turn, had remained huddled in that protective and possessive cover around me. Every limb was wrapped against me and the claws of one hand were what had clutched my face against her. In my unconscious state, I had at some point rolled over to return the favor as I found myself hugged against her…

The truly alarming part?... It wasn’t really all THAT bad… If I could somehow disregard everything else thus far.

“You twitch and mutter in your sleep…” Laguna had been so utterly unmoving that I had falsely assumed her to be asleep as well. As she had mentioned before she need not sleep, but apparently even my subtle stirring was enough to alert her that I was awake. Her words were calm and hushed but held the faintest touch of dangerous mirth to them as just they did last night. This time, however; they were joined by the petting and gentle scratching strokes of her claws through my hair. I’m not going to lie; it was honestly relaxing enough to keep me subdued… Why? I don’t know, and I was a little afraid to think about it at length as well. Laguna’s “hunger” for me had been more than enough to rouse goosebumps of fear I’d likely never felt before in my life. If Maxeen’s words about her had indeed been a warning, then Laguna was indeed just a little wicked…

“I should get up…” I should, yes, but I didn’t necessarily want to.
“You should do as you please…”
“I agreed to help out today by tending their vineyards.” I never verbally did, but I wasn’t about to go taking our hostess’ good graces for granted.
“Your good nature is endearing… It is also dangerous.” Laguna’s words were joined by a flick of her claw against the back of my head by the same hand that had been petting me. “Besides, the centaurs have already departed to go tend to their morning.”
“I slept through that??” I lifted my head enough in my subtle surprise to glance a single eye up at her, to which the sting of daylight now touched upon it.
“You slept quite heavily through the night and into this morning… I was not apt to having them bother you as well.”

I felt the slightest tinge of shame then at having slept in later. I wasn’t going to argue that I no doubt needed it, and I was grateful both Maxeen and Justine had left me undisturbed… Even if it was likely because I was caught within you-know-whose clutches, who would likewise have bitten a few heads off had they had gotten too close. Either way, I was awake now with only a slight sense of grogginess and reluctance to rise. I took a deep breath, and it was then I noticed a peculiar thing. It was the first time in which I had taken the luxury to put my hands upon Laguna myself. For all appearances, the zombie dragoness had a rather sturdy body. She wasn’t etched with muscle, mind you, like I recall the hard-bodied manticore Vesper possessing, or even Maxeen for that matter. But she likewise did not possess some petite and delicate figure. When I drew my hands and arms from around her body, I found it to be pleasingly soft to touch. Maybe that was why I’d found myself in so questionable a position through the night, for I could have easily slipped into a “cuddly” embrace and… stayed that way for some time. Strangely, Laguna did not resist my efforts to get up, though all she honestly did was simply “allow” me to slip free from her rather than unwind herself from me.

Yeap, everything was certainly NO dream. I became acutely aware of this when, upon sitting up where I camped out in the middle of a centaur home, my body was still sore in places from the ordeal thus far. I sat there for a good long moment, thankfully undisturbed, and mentally prepared myself for heaven knew what the moment I walked out the door. It was then I fished around nearby for the rest of my newly acquired clothing. To Justine’s credit, she had fetched some decent hand-me-downs: a breezy cream-colored shirt and a pair of leather slip-on shoes, the latter of which were a liiittle tight on my feet. I was under the impression that they were more fit for petite, or at least feminine, mamono feet.

Once dressed and upon my own two feet once more, I turned to look at Laguna. She had risen more lazily than me, despite not having the need to sleep as I did. I watched as the great dark zombie dragoness sat up, stretched a single arm to the sky, and proceeded to give her back the loudest pop that it likely needed ever since she was, well, y’know, dead.

“So… I take it you’ll be coming with me?”
“I’ll be nearby~” Such was obvious and said with no less hint of devious coyness to her voice
“You’re not going to bare your teeth at anything that looks my way, are you?”
“If they’re smart, I won’t have to~”

I don’t know what I expected and need not honestly expect anything else, for the moment I opened my mouth to speak, the front door damn near crashed open with the gusto with which it was flung. I flinched comically.

“Good MooOOOoorning~”

If you guessed it was anyone other than Justine, shame on you.

“Sleep well?? You needed it! Are you ready for today?? I hope you’re hungry! Breakfast is ready and everyone’s waiting for you! C’mon! Hurry!”

The bubbly centaur trotted forward and was preparing to take my hand in both of her own to lead me away when the dull crash of Laguna’s tail against the floor, clearly an unspoken warning, halted her just before such. Justine folded her hands in front of her instead, cleared her throat, but clearly didn’t lose her innocently dumb composure as she rocked on all four hooves like a child. I finally met her overly jubilant morning greeting with an awkward chuckle and a scratch of my fingers through my hair.

“I suppose I could eat...” Oh believe me, I could. I was just more focused on one particular thing- “What do you mean 'everyone'?...”

Apparently those were the magic words, because Justine was practically prancing on all four hooves as she lead me out of her abode. I tried to ignore the bounce of her, uh, “extra” features in the process. Before taking my leave, however, I spared a glance towards Laguna. Oddly enough, she waved me off with her claws, but kept a rather chillingly wicked little smirk upon her features.

Outside, there was barely a cloud in the sky, leaving the mid-morning sun free to rain down bright and warm upon the land. To make the weather more beautiful; the heat of the day was kept at bay by the crisp breeze which filtered through the village. It was also the first time I was able to get a clear look at civilization in this bizarre world. The mamono village was built into the sloping side of a hilly land feature. Somehow, perhaps in some primitive fashion, they'd managed to layer it into tiers with either natural or stone steps intersecting the narrow dirt roads spanning the length of each row. For the life of me, I couldn't rightly identify the style of architecture for both its seemingly middle-aged and fantastical style. Perhaps because different abodes, shops, and other such dwellings belonged to different species of mamono... Something I was about to learn real soon.

Justine lead me down the hard-packed dirt path towards the wide steps to descend the flat tier of land they lived on. There was a prancy little bounce to her step that I couldn't be sure was due to excitement... Or just her typical attitude. There weren't exactly a wealth of mamono to see out and about, and as we descended down towards the vineyards, I found out why...

At the entrance to the vineyards, through which a large wooden archway was erected, a rather expansive looking thatched-roof pavilion stood. It was here that the majority of mamono townsfolk were gathered, for across the large table beneath the shade of the pavilion was stretched an elaborate display of breakfast. It was impressive, but not NEARLY as impressive as the host of eyes that were now upon Justine and I as we came forth to join... Or more importantly, the eyes that were upon ME.

I'd barely been introduced to mamono and even if I was well versed, I don't believe I could accurately keep track of the multitude of “flavors” gathered before me. There was fur, feathers, scales, claws, horns, wings, tails, antennae, hooves, and shit that I just didn't even WANT to try and identify presently. And not a man in sight...

“Aha~... Hi...” I finally uttered out, realizing that I'd been standing there staring for longer than necessary. My timid little greeting roused a chorus of excited responses.

“Marnin' handsome! Come get yerself a drank!” Said a caprine looking woman judging by the curling ram horns on her head, her speech subtly slurred and eyes no less lecherous.

“Maybe some milk instead!” Cheered a girl with cattle-like features who stood WELL above the rest of the crowd.

“Zzzome honey to go with your sweetzzz?” Buzzed a bashful looking girl with the telltale features of a bee as she hovered with the others by the dull drone of her wings.

There then came a small tug on my shirt, to which my attention was brought to a small, brightly smiling, but ever silent girl whose features melded strangely into the body of a caterpillar. Her pointy little digits for arms were offering up a bowl of unidentified fruit to me.

It was a lot to take in much like everything else thus far, and as the signs of panic surely began to overcome my features, the day was saved YET AGAIN by Maxeen who earned the attention of all with a clap of her hands and stomp of her hoof. “Alright, alright! Everyone! Give the poor man some space and a moment to breathe! He's an off-worlder after all, and there's a lot going through his poor mind!... ...If we haven't broken it already.” She muttered the last part before making her best attempt at turning a welcoming smile to me. “Matthew, if you'd please – Once you've had a moment to gather yourself, do come join us. Word spread quickly I'm afraid and everyone here wanted to give the best, ah, “welcome” that they could think of...” Maxeen was a poor actor and I knew her literal translation meant something akin to flies on a piece of meat... And I was the meat. Thankfully, however, other than the openly suggestive stares the likes of which I'd never witnessed in my life, everyone conducted themselves... Somewhat.

Y’know… If you didn’t dwell upon it too much, things here really weren’t so bad. The hardest part of course being the NOT dwelling part. But never-the-less, I managed a deep breath, another awkward laugh, before speaking up to the lot gathered.

“Alright then! Someone pour me a cup of a coffee and let’s get this day started!”

“…What’s coffee?”

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFU-

----------------------------------------------------

Woe is me... Lost in the cosmos and the fates saw fit to punish me without a drop of precious joe! Surviving the near meltdown that Arcadia was void of my priceless hot bean water, breakfast was still something else entirely. Mainly because the moment I planted my rear on the benches to partake, I had more food shoved in front of me than I could possibly have consumed in an entire day, let alone for breakfast. Despite it all, I had settled on what at least seemed familiar in the form of some manner of porridge, fruits, and thin slices of cured meats. At one point, there was a cup of “milk” slid my way, and as my hand reached for it the entirety of the table fell silent with what seemed like bated breath....

I'd get no such joy however for before I could reach it, I found it plucked up rather quickly by the dark claws of Laguna. When and how soon she'd gotten behind me, I'll not know, but she poured the liquid out onto the ground much to the collective groan of disappointment from everyone else present. Apparently I'd narrowly avoided disaster... Or so I'd thought.

Breakfast had concluded and there was a genuine reluctance from everyone to depart and work the vineyards, at Maxeen's behest. This included myself who now stood at the entrance to one of the tall rows with a pair of shears and a wooden bucket to make good on harvesting. I spared a glance back at the pavilion, where Laguna stood leaning against one of the wooden pillars with arms and wings folded. Her tail tip gave the slightest lashes in what I could only surmise was annoyance as she was forced to keep watch from a distance least she subject herself to the light of the day.

“Ho-kay, Matty boy... You've got a full belly and some sleep in you. We're gonna harvest us some grapes! Nothing to it, right?” My rational self had to pep-talk the rest of me. The more I thought about it, the more Maxeen seemed to be right. The simple and menial task was repetitive enough to put my mind at ease with the great deal it'd been through so far.

Snip... Snip... Snip... This was easier than I'd thought, or so it'd seem. Not thirty minutes into the calm and quiet of the task than did I hear a breathy little voice pipe up behind me.

“Ah! No, no~ You're not doing it right, good master~”

To a slight startle, I turned to behold a lithe mamono who wandered upon me as I worked. With hands clasped gently behind her back, she was leaning subtly towards me as she regarded my handiwork, or lack thereof, in her apparent opinion. A mop of golden hair on her head fell no further than her chin, and nearly obscured the fact that two curling horns of equal hue were emerging from such. Of course, the dead give-away were the fleecy ears and matching tufts of wool which laced her neck, hips, wrists, and ankles over a pair of cloven feet – perfectly, strangely, and yet cutely sheep-like. Her skin had a radiant little glow to it likely from being outdoors in the vineyards most days.... Or just because she was a mamono. Either way, she smiled at me with an overabundance of sweetness beneath a pair of lazily lidded emerald eyes. In recognition of me appraising her mamono features, she gave an adorable little squirm in response. It brought me immediately back to her face.

“I, uh... I am?” I said tentatively, giving a chortle of chagrin at the tail end of my words. “I'm sorry. I've actually never had to do something as simple as this before.”

“Oh no, that's all wrong, master!” Came yet another voice of similar soft pitch, from yet ANOTHER sheep-like girl who had snuck up opposite of us now. Not surprisingly, I'd flinched. I mean CHRIST where the hell were they all coming from? This one appeared not all that different from her counterpart. Sisters? Part of the same flock? Hell if I knew, because the first one took the helm before I could part my lips to speak.

“It's alright! We'll show you how~”
“Just like this, here~”

I was flanked by both as they spoke in turn with their gently lilting voices. Neither one held any reservation in getting oh-so-close that our shoulders brushed. Even still, each one gently seized a hand of mine and guided them to the trellis upon which the grapevines grew. Their movements were slow, soft, much like their voices as they lead me to cradle grapes with one hand and cut the stems with the other.

“Theeeeere, see?~”
“You've got to leave enough of a stem~”
“So that the fruits will last until they can be made into wine~”
“Or sold in bunches as they are~”

Right... Right... I think I gathered what they were saying. But more so I found myself oddly and keenly aware of the milky scents of their bodies pressing in on my own. So much so that the warm titter of their breaths could be felt caressing my cheek. How long had I been at this task, again? Was I too full on food? Maybe... Something... Eh, honestly, I just wanted to excuse myself for a nap right then and there...

“Poor master~”
“He's put in so much effort in so little time~”
“He deserves a break already~”
“Mmmm, let's get him out of the sun for now~”

A rest sounded GOOD, because I could swear the rich and gentle scent of those who were cradling me as much they themselves practically were. Oh. We were walking. It was hard to tell through the blur of my closing eyes. Wh... Where was Laguna?... Was that her... Distracted... At the... P... Pavil... … …

----------------------------------------------------

“Wakey, wakey!~ Time to get nakey!~”

The pleasant sensation of being lulled to sleep was met with a rude awakening as I awoke to the sound of a familiar gruff voice and the flick of something hard against my nose. What had to have been some manner of magical or mamono-induced drug-like sleep that I had previously succumbed to was now the worst imaginable scenario thus far. I snapped awake, blinking and squinting through my blurry vision to find myself before the notorious Vesper and Estelle. Behind them, the pair of sheep mamono were shivering in fear as things became clear.

“Wh... Wha?... Where... Where am- Oh. OH! OH NO! HEL-” The moment I thought to cry for help, Vesper's furry mitten clutched firmly over my mouth. The instantaneous struggle from me found no success as I quickly came to realize I was hanging by my wrists, the pair of which were restrained by vines descending from the tree I hung beneath. The grin upon the bicorn Estelle's lips and the misty shimmer of violet drifting from the fingertips of her upheld hand hinted she'd used such magical means to secure me. By the grace of whatever powers that be, my clothes were still on! Perhaps they wanted to see my face for this entire ordeal...

“Poor little human~ Caught unaware by a pair of weresheep and nooooo big dragon around to save him now!~”

[EPISODE 6 - END]

…
…
Elsewhere…

Laguna stood beneath the Pavilion where she leaned against one of the log pillars that supported it. Her arms were crossed tightly beneath her breasts, and her tail lashed endlessly in a clear sign of agitation. The look of pure annoyance upon her tightly wrenched features was unmistakable because she’d been subjected to the endless prattling of Justine once more. All at once, however, her eyes snapped open sharply and she stood as her nostrils flared gently, drawing in the scents upon the air.

“What is it??” Asked the confused bubbly centaur.
“Silence!... … …I smell a WISP.”

Jun 3, 2024 6:59 PM

#36

YummyLunches

Offline

Jul 2008

4321

Oh man, how do you even defend against the sleep-stuffs? With no coffee either.

Jun 3, 2024 7:16 PM

#37

Offline

Apr 2020

Reply to YummyLunches

Oh man, how do you even defend against the sleep-stuffs? With no coffee either.

@YummyLunches

Jun 4, 2024 7:56 AM

#38

Offline

Jan 2013

503

Coffee is for the weak!

That said, I doubt it would have made much of a difference.

Nice to see an update to this story after so long.

It does make you wonder whether Justine was involved in the plot by distracting Laguna or whether she was solely being used as a distraction, like just Maxeen did before. The weresheep do appear like they may have been threatened into cooperating. I suppose now Laguna will need some assistance getting him back, at least during the day. Maybe, once she notices his absence, she'll wait for the night to kick some ass? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Looking forward to the next entry!

Jun 4, 2024 4:17 PM

#39