novelnext 32. Let’s Go Home
32. Let’s Go Home
32. Let’s Go Home
“You keep’n that?” Dura asks me, pointing to the naked wolf girl prostrating herself at my feet.
Suka snarls viciously at Dura’s implication, radiating heat. The Cinderwolf in girl form has bone ash hair and fur, otherwise looking similar to her previous evolution, except for her new grey ash eyes with flecks of burning red embers.
“I’ll have you know, Dura, that I’m extremely pleased with my latest acquisition.”
It wasn’t the fight I signed up for, and the duel was a lot tougher than I expected, but the reward was everything I wanted and more. Suka has basically offered herself to me body and soul, so there’s no question whether I’m taking her home.
Dura’s eyes switch over to Gabby. I guess, in Dura’s mind, Gabby wears the ‘pants’ in our relationship.
“As I said, I’ve already resigned myself to this outcome.” The little green shortstack approaches Suka, the two of them at eye level with the Cinderwolf kneeling, and she strokes the wolf girl’s hair. Suka even leans into the gentle head pats. “Alex will continue pursuing other monsters; it’s the very nature of her magic. If I want to be her wife, I need to accept a few additions to the household. Every couple needs a pet... or three.”
Don’t stop counting, Gabby... I think to myself.
“M’kay. Dura go Ogre Fen. See how Dura stack ’gainst Bruke. Nice see Gabby, meet Alex. Come ’morrow, Dura fill promise.” She waggles her eyebrows at me. I waggle right back. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
“Wait, Dura,” I call as the Ogress turns to leave. “Can you get me through the Ogre Fen? I need to visit the human Town.”
She laughs as she walks away. “Alex no get through Ogre Fen, ’less Alex beat Bruke.”
I frown.
Gabby puts a hand on my shoulder. “She’s not defeating Bruke today, but don’t worry about her. Dura can take a beating. If anything, we should be worried she’s the last Ogre he needs to defeat to earn his third-tier evolution.”
That’s a bucket of cold water down my back. “I thought you needed to beat third-tiers to become a third-tier?”
“No, you can substitute second-tier monsters to meet your requirements, but the conversion is abysmal. An Ogre needs to defeat Ogres to become an Ogre General, though. Or maybe he’s going for Ogre Patron? Either way, I’m surprised Bruke hasn’t gotten there already. Maybe I should be more surprised the Wolf Lord hasn’t declared war to stop him yet? Hmm, I suppose we have firsthand knowledge of how easily a region can erupt into war after today.”
Damn, even after getting stronger, I feel like I’m a long way from being able to protect my hometown.
“Ready to go home?” Gabby reads my soured mood and suggests we retire for the day despite it being early afternoon.
“Yeah.” I admit I’m more than a little wrung out after everything that’s happened. A quiet evening sounds nice.
We orient ourselves by landmark and head in the hut’s direction. As Gabby and I stride forward, Suka slinks far behind us with her tail between her legs. I motion for my Goblin wife to hold up while I deal with this.
I double back to stand before the Cinderwolf girl as she cringes away; unwilling or unable to retreat as if I’d leashed her. I frown.
“How... are you doing?”
She eyes me suspiciously through her bangs. “I have Mistress’s permission to speak my mind?”
“Yes, always, and call me ‘Alex.’”
“Alex...” Suka shifts from one paw to another. I see her hands are quite human despite being fur-covered. “I was humiliated in front of my pack, then elevated to a prestigious evolution before being further disgraced by becoming a human’s bitch. Today has been a lot.”
“And you are shockingly not unpleasant, for a Gobbo.”
“That's our word!”
“Shit, Suka, you can’t just say the ‘G-word.’ My mom is an Orc, and I'm not allowed to say it!”
“Your mother’s an Orc?” Gabby asks with a raised eyebrow. “I knew I had good taste when I picked you, Alex.”
Suka looks a bit disconcerted by the revelation, but rallies after leaning in to catch a fresh whiff of me. “Doesn't matter. You smell human.” She turns from me to Gabby and says, “I overstepped.”
“There, see, it's all friendly teasing here. Nobody is trying to start a fight, right?” They both look away, slightly abashed. I approach to put a hand on Suka’s shoulder, but she retreats. Her heat aura crisps another patch of grass, reminding me she's dangerous to touch in this state.
“Suka, you need to cool off.” I spray her with water magic, resulting in an explosive cloud of steam. The Cinderwolf girl howls in protest but doesn't retreat from her mistress. Gabby does an admirable job of keeping the smug expression off her face.
I leave Suka with enough heat to dry herself. Seeing the once-proud wolf's pout, I lay a comforting hand on her head. Rubbing behind her ears elicits a blissful expression and a stomping foot as if she were a dog trying to scratch an itch.
I kiss her cheek and hug her. I can't help but giggle when her soft fur brushes my skin. “I'm going to cuddle you all winter long.”
Suka turns scarlet as I enter the hut and my monster partners follow me inside. Gabby somehow looks down at the wolf's inexperience despite being shorter.
“It's a dump,” Suka comments upon seeing the Goblin Apprentice's multitudinous scattered experiment covering every surface except the bed.
Gabby tsks. “As you know, getting a good evolution isn't easy until someone special enters your life. I've been trying for months to force my way through to Goblin Alchemist with no luck.”
“Hmph. Well, no one can accuse you of being a slouch.”
That's what passes for camaraderie here at the moment; though I am grateful they're getting along this well despite their clans being mortal enemies. I sigh and sit on the bed.
Gabby sits next to me and puts her hand on my thigh. Suka sits on my other side and puts her furry hand higher on my thigh, scant inches from my crotch and Mole-man cock. I roll my eyes at the thought of sex being turned into a competition, then reconsider maybe I do want to see them 'fight' over me.
Hmm...
My tattoos itch and burn.
I feel abdominal pressure as I stand and look down to see what's going on. Flou's Slime core is on the move, dislodging from my uterine liner and descending through my not-so-secret passage. Considering Olindia is still dormant, I had no idea Flou would be due so soon!
I squeeze out the marble-sized core into my open palm. Flesh-colored slime encases the core as it swells in volume to around three gallons in my arms. I drop it on the floor. It then seems to turn inside-out, revealing a coat of auburn fur.
The Fuzzy Slime quivers on the floor as Gabby and Suka show their claws. The Slime rolls forward tentatively, senses my feet, and leaps for my chest. A warm, soft weight lands on me, though my companions both move to rip the monster away.
I raise my arms in the nick of time to stop them. I'd realized the Slime's quivering were silent sobs. “She's scared.” Cradling a cowering Flou in my arms, I head for the door. “Let me talk to her.”
“Is it safe to leave her alone with that thing?” Suka says.
Gabby nods. “It's supposed to be 'Subjugated,' for whatever that means.”