Only one day in and three strangers have already become close friends, bleeding for eachother and growing as people in their own ways - but in a world of strife, what is the next disaster to occur?
Pomella, Bio, and Selena are back after time to recover and are ready to continue their adventure, but who knows what will happen next in this world of strife and horror? This story is a sequel to Dreamless world Sexual/romantic scenes can be skipped as a warning will be given
(this will be redone soon, it will be nothing like this except for the same main cast and same "past", you'll know it's close by soon to be written backgrounds for never characters being introduced)
Bio awoke with a long yawn, stretching her arms high overhead as she partially sat up. Selena slept silently a bed away, hugging a large pillow to her chest. Pomella was to her left, snoring loudly as she laid partially on the bed, hair just brushing against the floor. Bio allowed herself a small smile, before slowly getting out of bed and heading for the wardrobe they had been supplied with. A moment later she heard a soft thunk as Pomella's snoring hitched, Bio glancing over her shoulder to see the bird-girl had fallen completely onto the ground now, her eyes sleepy and confused.
The sound woke up Selena who slowly cracked open an eye, gazing to Bio as one of her small smiles shown from behind the pillow. "Morning sleepy heads, today we continue the journey," Bio called softly, nodding her head towards the door of their room.
"Mm... five more minutes..."
"Mhm sure, five more minutes last time turned into an hour - no more sleep for you Pomella, time to be productive," she chastised softly, Pomella groaning audibly from the floor where she still had yet to move from. Selena yawned from her own spot on the bed before sliding onto her feet as well. Grabbing her clothes from the wardrobe - which she preferred to her usual clothes a fair amount in all honesty - a nice journeyman's coat and leggings, modified a bit to be a bit more stretchy to account for any mutations. They were a nice shade of sepia brown with turquoise lining, with a nice bit of fluff on the inside. She was glad that the townsfolk had provided her with these clothes as well as a few other pairs, as well as the hotel room they had stayed in for the past few days.
After the events of the black ocean, Bio had to take a day simply to recover and slowly mutate the broken bone of her hand back into an actual hand, as well as replace the skin and blood she had pushed out in the process of creating her weapon. She had also just been exhausted in general, Pomella and Selena having shared a similar problem. For the first day, they had all practically slept for twenty-four hours, only getting up for food or restroom needs. It turned out that curing a town of madness also made the hotel rooms absolutely amazing, although she had to guess that was Fobus' doing.
It had a small kitchen in the corner that also served as a dining area, as well as a separate bed for each of them. A small part of her had felt disappointed that she wouldn't be sleeping next to Selena, but she had needed the space to recover and Selena hadn't been much better. She had talked to herself occasionally while she slept - not that she had been watching her or anything - and her face had almost constantly been twisted in pain. Despite that pain though she turned out to be an excellent cook - ingredients supplied by the ever-helpful townsfolk.
"Come on Pom, didn't you say you were getting bored?" Selena asked playfully, walking over to the stubborn bird-girl to lightly tap her with her foot. "Maaaaybe..." Pomella grumbled, pouting slightly.
"Well, I'm sure we'll have plenty of excitement ahead," Bio commented, glancing toward the door. One of the townsfolk - she thought his name had been Jackson - had mentioned another town they could stop at due south of Innsmouth, but had warned them dangers would lie ahead. While slightly curious, Bio found herself mostly apprehensive of what would come next, considering their experience in curing Innsmouth. She could only imagine what would lie ahead, what craziness awaited them through those doors...
"Will you get up if I promise bacon in today's breakfast?" Selena persuaded, heading toward the kitchen while shrugging on a t-shirt she kept next to her bed. Pomella perked right up, nearly falling over in her rush to stand. "Yes mam!" she cried, snapping a hand to her forehead in a salute.
Bio and Selena both laughed softly at her eagerness, and Selena began to begin her cooking as Bio attempted to herd Pomella towards the wardrobe to actually get some clothes on the troublesome girl. "I don't understand why you can't even wear underwear..." Bio grumbled softly, helping Pomella with a back-clasp.
"It ruffles my feathers and then they take forever to get back into place!" she huffed, beginning to pout again.
"I think your constant turning in bed is what does that," Selena called from the kitchen, laughing as Pomella shot a betrayed look in her direction.
"You say you're a woman yet you act like a child, get some sense girl," Bio commented, playfully bumping Pom's hip with her own. "Fiinnee, but I won't promise anything," she proclaimed, and Bio chuckled softly. A few minutes later the rich aroma of cooking bacon began to waft from the kitchen, and Bio's mouth began to water. Pomella wasn't much better, her feet taken her towards the smell as if she were hypnotized, although that did make Bio's job of putting a shirt her a bit harder.
A light knock came from the door to their room, and after a second to check who it was she opened the door to give the man on the other side a small nod. She believed this one's name was Jose, a slightly stocky man with jet black hair and playful amber eyes. He had checked up on them each day, checking to see how the three of them were doing and providing them with most of their necessities. "Hey Jose, any news from the town?"
"Indeed there is, we sent Miguel ahead to check the trail you three had been planning to take to see what you should prepare for, he should be back within the next hour," Jose answered, smiling his usual jovial smile. "How are you three doing? Everyone holding up in there?"
"Yes, despite a certain trouble maker," Bio responded with a small smile, speaking loud enough to get a barely audible 'harumph' from the kitchen table. Jose laughed and waved past her at Pomella who gave a little wave back. "That's good to hear, it will be a shame to see you three go, I had just been getting used to seeing you around," he commented, and Bio gave a small smile.
"We may come back to visit, counts on the circumstances..."
"Well I do hope so, you three sure have done a lot for this town, and it was all in so little time," he praised, looking through the window towards the lapping blue waves. Bio looked out as well, memories of the black waters causing her to almost immediately look away again. "Yes... it had been quite the hectic night I will admit,"
"I'm sure, well I'll be taking my leave, you know where to find me if you need anything," Jose declared, then with a final nod gently closed the door. "Hey, Bio! If you want any bacon you better hurry over before I eat it all!" Pomella called from the table, causing her to quickly turn and sprint to the table. Missing out on bacon was simply not something she could tolerate.
For the next ten minutes, the three sat together, joking and talking as they enjoyed their separate plates of bacon and eggs - Pomella sneaking a few extra pieces onto her own plate - their worries forgotten. Whatever lay ahead of them waited in the dark, while they enjoyed a meal in good company. Good company, and some especially good bacon.
Not much time later Pomella was cleaning the dishes, grumbling all the while, while Selena and Bio went to check-in at the town hall. Jose had sent them a notice that the scout had returned, and that they had some important info for what lay ahead. So leaving Pomella to her work the two went out to the streets, walking side by side down the road.
"Selena, if you had to guess what would you say is next?" Bio asked casually, glancing south with some amount of trepidation. She couldn't say she wasn't worried, especially after the rocky start. If she had ended up dead only a few hours into their first day in this world, she could only imagine what would lay ahead of them.
"Hmm... well I would rather not imagine what's ahead, I'm crazy enough with these gloves," she commented, turning her head in the same direction as Bio. "But if you insist - which I know you will - if these scenarios are based on some personifications nightmares and phobias, then we should probably expect something that could fit in a cramped space..." she went silent for a moment, rubbing her chin idly. Bio watched her as she thought, fascinated at how she could almost see the gears in Selena's head slowly spinning before beginning to speed up more and more. "I mean, from what we've seen it's a narrow passage between two cliffs with something unknown at the other side, so I wouldn't be surprised if we had some kind of insect..."
"Ugh, I know as a personification of mutation - something akin to nature - I should like all life on this earth to some extent, but bugs still creep me out..." Bio shivered the sensation of a millipede running down her neck - she decided it would be better to cut off that thought before it got worse. Selena laughed softly, and gently bapped her with her right hand.
"Oh come on nobody can love everything, well... except maybe Pomella when she's not tired,"
"Nah she hates work and anything that isn't fun, she doesn't qualify," Bio joked, and Selena nodded gravely. "How much you want to bet she stopped washing the second we left?"
"Hmm... ten dollars,"
"Deal,"
The two approached the front door of the town hall, which turned out to be the same building Selena had gone into to find the man in the wall. She could tell from her expression the memory was still fresh for Selena, lips stretched into a tight line. Without much thought, Bio gently reached out and took Selena's hand in her own, and after only a second Selena squeezed gently. She gave a small squeeze back, then the two walked into the building side by side - or they tried at least, they had to walk sideways.
"Let's call this meeting into order, shall we?" the old man at the table, Bio believed his name was Frederick, called as those gathered slowly went silent. "Micheal, what do you have to report?"
"Well I'm no expert, but from what I saw something is living between those cliffs," Micheal responded softly, his foot tapping on the floor with nervous energy. "I didn't get a good look at what it was, I just heard clicking and ran,"
"Probably a smart move, all the other scouts we had sent in the past never returned," Jose commented, a small smile on his face as the color drained from Micheal's face. Bio had noticed Jose had a sort of morbid humor. "S-so you sent me to scout out an area you knew was dangerous!?" Micheal stuttered, staring at Jose in horror who only shrugged. "Everyone else we sent was starting to go insane, so it's not like we knew it was inhabitants of the cliffs," he reasoned, resting his hands on the table. Micheal simply glared without responding, his fingers tensing a bit.
Selena, as if sensing the building tension, called to Micheal, "You said you heard a clicking, what do you mean?"
"It was a really disturbing sound, it echoed off the walls as if it came from the walls themselves," he began to speak, his anger seeming forgotten in the memory.
"Was it something from... behind, the wall perhaps?" Bio questioned softly, tilting her head curiously. "Could there perhaps be a cave system in the cliffs?"
"It would make sense for this region, a lot of caves formed from when the ocean was still high so it wouldn't be surprising if something made a home," Jose responded, nodding in confirmation. Those gathered at the table began to mutter among themselves, most of the talk on what could possibly in the caves. Bio had to admit, most of their guesses were not friendly and she had to agree with them.
"Well, does anyone have anything else to add?" Frederick called, and the murmuring went silent. After the silence had stretched on just long enough to become awkward, he nodded. "Well then, the council is dismissed,"
Selena had her head tilted to the side as if listening to someone speak into her ear. Bio had seen her do it every now and then, noticing how her jaw also moved just behind her lips as if she were speaking. She had done this every now and then while they recovered, it seeming to be a side effect from what the gloves had done to her. The weird part was how she often had information to share that Bio knew she didn't have before, so she had simply chalked it up to it being the gloves. A small part of her did still worry if Selena was actually going insane though...
"We should probably head back and see if Pomella behaved," Selena sighed softly, bending partially backward in an attempt to re-align her spine. Bio could faintly hear the popping sounds as she nodded, and the two quickly headed back to Pomella to tell her the news.
"Pomella, did you behave while we were going - dammit Pom!" Bio called as the door opened, only to cut herself off as a surge of annoyance washed through her. nearly all of the dishes Pomella had been supposed to clean were still sitting in the sink, while the bird girl slept on her bed... in the nude, again. Bio nearly jumped on top of her the second she was close enough, causing her to shriek in surprise. While Bio began to chastise and wrestle the girl out of bed Selena simply sighed, grabbing out her wallet to get the ten dollars she had bet.
Not long after the three stood in front of the cliff faces, facing the deep crack that ran through the seeming wall of stone. "How did they say this was formed again?" Selena mumbled under her breath, staring at it with some level of awe.
"Mmm... Jose told me about it a little bit ago, supposedly this is where the river that formed the sea had traveled through, cutting through the rock after a very long time..." she grumbled, still all pouty that she had been forced to actually do her chores. Looking as far into the ravine as she could, Bio groaned as she noticed the edges of a large white splotch that lined one of the walls, nearly out of sight. "Great, I think we found out what lives in those caves..."
"Oh my dear babies, I hope none of you have arachnophobia!" a voice called from just behind the three, the sudden weight of an arm resting across Bio's shoulders. "Oh hey Fobus!" Pomella called cheerfully, waving to the tall personification of fear that was currently leaning on Bio and just asking to get smacked. Pomella and Fobus had talked sparingly while Selena and Bio had recovered, the nosey guy having nothing better to do he had claimed. "Hello darling, I heard this meanie forced you to work - how dare she make you productive!" he cried in mock horror, pulling at one of her cheeks.
"Fobus, I'll warn you just once that my left foot is awfully well placed for me to trip and just... 'fall forward'," Bio warned, glaring down at the dark blue hand still pinching her cheek.
"Yeesh, so prickly," he grumbled, pulling his hand away from her face as well as taking a step back.
"Not to everyone, you just get special treatment..."
"Oh stop, my heart can only take so much abuse!" he moaned, clutching at his chest before almost immediately dropping the act. "In all seriousness though good luck you three, arachnophobia exists for a good reason and I can tell you giant spiders only makes it worse,"
Then with that ominous statement, he vanished, leaving the three staring into the ravine... before beginning to treck forwards to find what lies beyond.
She knew that as a bird person that something like mountains shouldn't scare her, technically. But they were just so... huge! She looked up and up and all she saw was more and more grey stone, she couldn't help but find it crazy how they were formed! Bio and Selena seemed pretty nervous next to her - or at least, she though Bio was nervous? It was always hard to tell what she was feeling, but she thought she had gotten the hang of it by now. Selena, on the other hand, was like an open book, eyes darting around and casting constant glances over her shoulder.
Pomella was a bit scared, but that was only because of how much the mountains seemed to press in too close, but it wasn't like she could ask for personal space from stone - ooh now that would be a cool power to have, 'I am Pomella I speak to the mountains, they say they want tea'. Pomella had a feeling she should be more scared of what they would encounter next then a pushy mountain, what they had seen in the past had certainly been the scariest moment of her life. She couldn't help feeling more confused than scared though... what was arachnophobia?
The white splotches - they looked kinda like webs, which was weird - were getting more numerous and bigger the further they went in, Pomella reaching out to touch one curiously. Her hand was suddenly stopped by a black glove, Selena whispering softly, "Don't touch the webs, it will send vibrations down the threads... plus, you'll get stuck,"
"Wait, so these splotches are actually webs!?"
"Well yes, what did you think they were?" Bio asked, tilting her head to look at Pomella.
"er... mountain acne?" she guessed, shrugging flippantly. Selena visibly held back her giggles with a hand, clutching her stomach with her hand. Bio on the other side rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically, rubbing a hand on her face. "Pomella... never change," she conceded, a tiny smile forming on her face as she faced forward to begin walking again. Pomella preened at the sudden praise, but her good mood shot down as an ominous clicking began to echo off the mountain's sides.
"What was that?" Selena whispered fiercely to Bio, eyes going wide as her body dropped into an instinctual crouch. Bio put a finger to her lips, not that Pomella was saying anything. Her usual bounciness had been pushed into the corner the second an actual threat became evident, glancing forward to see if she could make out anything. She thought she could just barely see a crack in the stone, where a fair amount of web was covering the wall... and the path they were walking on.
"Bio, you said something about cave systems right?" Pom asked softly, nodding to the crack. Bio squinted, frowning slightly to try and see what she saw - she forgot she had eagle-like vision at times - before giving a slight nod. "Yes, we had guessed that was where the creatures had taken up home..."
"What creatures?" Pomella asked, feeling like she was missing something big. Then, she saw movement in the cave, barely a shadow flickering off the dark stone. A large, fat bulbous body being carried on long, spindly legs. Eight, legs to be exact. "Oh... that's what arachnophobia is..." she mumbled weakly, feeling dizzy. Of course there were webs, this path was infested with giant spiders! She knew some spiders could eat birds and those were normal-sized - her lithe but small frame would only be an appetizer to some giant creepy crawly.
"T-there is webbing on the ground, if we step on it they will know we are h-here," Pomella stammered softly, and Bio's frown grew deeper. "I'm trying to think of some mutation I could use on us to get us past, but I'm drawing blanks..."
"Couldn't you just give us all wings?" Selena asked quizzically, looking up as if checking for webs higher up.
"Oh sure, I'll just grow us all wings for an hour while suffering through the bone altering and muscle growing experience to then divebomb into a web because we don't know how to fly," Bio responded wryly, glancing up as well.
"Spoilsport..."
"I could maybe... no that wouldn't work... hmmm..." Bio began to think out loud, and it was as if Pomella could see all the possibilities flying through her brain at lightning speed. She, on the other hand, had only one idea, an incredibly simple one. "What if we just... tried to jump it?"
Bio looked to her with a skeptical eyebrow while Selena openly frowned, but neither denied the idea immediately. "If we all jumped we could probably make it halfway, our shoes would get stuck but..."
"Our shoes would get stuck but we would be able to jump the rest of the way," Selena nodded, the frown still not lifting.
"But I just got these boots..." Bio complained softly, glancing down to her shoes that the townsfolk had given her. "Plus, if we miss the jump then we will get stuck to the web, and then we won't be able to run..."
"I can't think of anything better though, I don't think we can get past that without going undetected," Pomella began to argue, gesturing to the cave.
"If we found some way to climb across the clean wall then maybe - "
"But we would be traveling directly in front of them, even if we didn't trip the web they would still see us -"
"Hey guys, I think its time we just run..." Selena cut in, pointing to the crack in the wall. Pomella suddenly froze as she locked eyes with a red glowing pair shining from inside the cave... 4 pairs of eyes. All focused on her.
Biovera
"This isn't good, we only have a few minutes to react before we're swarmed," Bio explained quickly, mind racing to think of a solution.
"We just have to run, we can't take time for a complicated plan and if we don't go now we will run directly into them instead of them running after us," Selena breathed, stretching back her left foot and leaning heavily on her right. Pomella, after a second, did the same, and with a sigh Bio followed suit.
"Alright, on my mark..." Bio cautioned, and the two nodded. "Three..." multiple red eyes began to appear in the distance. "Two..." the clicking began as spiders began to move. "One..." the tip of one leg emerged from the crack. "Go!" and with that one word the three were off, sprinting down the path as fast as their legs would carry them. An ear-splitting shriek sounded from the cave as the spiders became excited by the movement. Within seconds they were to the crack as the first spider fully emerged, as long as a person and just as tall with large fangs that dripped with a green liquid. A large white skull marking adorned its back, but Bio didn't have much time to observe anymore. She had already jumped alongside her companions.
The three sailed through the air over the web, their momentum carrying them nearly across the entire web before their feet touched the ground again. The web's effect was immediate, Bio nearly stumbling as it gripped tightly to her boots and nearly ripped them off before it tore and came with her boot instead, tearing from the rest of the web. It still took her a second to balance, but a cry turned her attention back to the web wear Pomella was stuck, not having enough weight to have gotten free of the web. Her eyes were wide and panicked as she desperately pulled with her feet, trying to get free as another of the spiders emerged from the crack, closing in on the poor girl.
Before Bio could reach out to help her though Pomella let out a shout and the web under her feet suddenly froze, a hard wrench letting her pull her feet free and catch up to the others, panting from the exertion. "I-if you could have frozen the web, why didn't you say anything?" Bio panted beside her, the three running side by side down the path as the sound of clicking and whistles grew louder behind them.
"H-hadn't crossed my mind?"
"Now isn't the time, another crack is up ahead as well as a couple spiders!" Selena shouted, snapping their attention forwards again. Sure enough more spiders were approaching from ahead of them, causing Bio to curse under her breath. Selena and Pomella seemed equally worried as both forces moved in on them, the three still running as fast as they could. As they approached the nearest spider flexed its fangs, a single drop of the green liquid dripped from its fang and hissed on the ground as it prepared to latch on to whatever presented itself first.
Bio was already preparing her power to create her bone spear again - which, would like last time, hurt like hell to make - when a new sound came from ahead. Then without warning something large and scaley lept up and onto the back of a spider, biting down with sharp fangs as hooked claws dug into its sides for balance. The spider shrieked in agony as it died, and the spiders which had been focused on them turned to the new intruder, raising their front legs and hissing menacingly at the new... creature.
Bio could have sworn she heard it scoff before it simply leaped off of the spider carcass' back and onto the next, repeating the same motion it had done to the first. As the second spider died the third, racing ahead from behind the group - much to Bio's relief - attempted to bite at the creature's thigh. Before the fangs could even touch the softer scales on the inside of its leg it simply hopped and kicked the spider in its beady eyes, sharp claws digging in and wrenching a few out with the motion. The spider didn't even get a chance to make a sound before it was dead. The fourth spider, seeming to be at least somewhat intelligent, retreated back towards the crack it had come from, baring its fangs.
The new creature watched it go for a while, then with a slight nod, it hopped off the spider and faced the three of them. "Easy there, nice... dragon?"
The creature blinked, confused, then with a start, it began to laugh, some kind of combination of growls and hiccuping sounds. It began to shrink, becoming more and more humanoid as time passed before the sound of laughing was much more natural. "D-dragon?" the figure guffawed as the tail she had grew much smaller, similar to what you might expect a snake hybrid to have. "My name's Delta, I'm a dinosaur hybrid - nice to meet ya!"
Bio couldn't help but watch as the black mane the dinosaur sported, a tuff of black spikes along part of its neck and on its head softened, looking strangely like hair while the figure continued to shrink. The claws on its hands and feet shrunk along with the hands, two more digits growing from the hand while the feet sported a similar change. The tail thinned even more till it had a whip-like tip, the rest of her body finally becoming mostly humanoid.
Bio was fascinated with the rapid changes, her mind cataloging the changes in the background, part of her hoping she could reverse engineer the transformation to make herself into a dinosaur. The hair pooled on top of her head, forming a pixie cut while her snout began to contract into her face. Her body became more vertical than horizontal, her chest beginning to grow out to what Bio could only guess to be a double D, to her surprise. She would expect a hybrid that could transform to sport a smaller set for convenience if nothing else. In the matter of a minute, the dinosaur that had stood before them was now a lithe, fairly tall female.
Her skin was purple with small patterns of rose pink along her arms and stomach. Her eyes were gold - the kind of gold you would see in golden coins people would kill for. Vertical pupils stared back at them as well as a small, toothed grin. Gold patches of scaled were scattered randomly along her body, a few of them just under her eyes almost like freckles. Bio couldn't help but stare at the evident muscle on the girl, especially the six-pack she was sporting... which she could see quite well since she was naked.
"O-oh o-o-oh my - " Pomella stammered, seeming unable to comprehend Delta's appearance, and promptly fainted. Selena and Delta looked to her with surprise, although Delta seemed more confused. "Uhm, is your friend there alright?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side a bit.
"Yeah she'll be fine, she naps enough... I think your... lack of clothes, surprised her," Bio commented, turning her head to the side slightly as to not stare. Selena seemed unable to take her eyes away, although Bio couldn't tell what she was staring at - the muscles or the assets.
"Oh, really? I forgot that happened - my mistake!" Delta laughed, then she noticed Selena's gaze and her smile dampened a bit. "Hey uh, mind if I put something on without an encore?"
"R-right, sorry!" Selena stuttered, quickly turning around and staring straight ahead, a small blush on her face. Bio felt a strange emotion well up from her chest upon seeing the blush, but... she couldn't put a word to it. It didn't feel like the nicest of emotions though, so she did her best to simply ignore it while the sound of shuffling feet came from behind them. Then, a minute later Delta called, "Alright, you can turn around now,"
Bio and Selena both slowly turned together to glance at Delta, who still wasn't wearing much - only a pair of panties and what appeared to be... a chest wrapping? It made her body look a bit better proportioned in Bio's opinion, her chest looking more like an average B much like her own size, although she couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the girl.
The binding meant it must have gotten to a certain point from wherever she was from, but she could only guess the exact reason. Selena also seemed a bit shocked, yet she also seemed sadder then she was shocked. She had just opened her mouth to say something when a shuffling sound caused her to look back, seeing Pomella slowly get up. She grumbled something to herself before looking back up again, seeing Delta - but she didn't faint as she had before.
"Wait, what happened to your - "
"So, I'm guessing you guys are heading to the town right?" Delta spoke over her, eyes flicking to Pomella with a hint of nervousness before taking them all in, smiling wide. Selena was looking slightly worried and Pomella was frowning in open puzzlement, so Bio decided to take lead again while they figured themselves out. "We weren't aware there was a town, we had heard there may be one but that nobody from where we came from had been there,"
"Ah, I see! Well, you're lucky I came along, giant spiders aren't something to play with," she commented, kicking a nearby corpse without thought. Bio nodded and gently nudged Selena's shoulder. "I can see that now, we probably could have handled them though,"
"Well if that's the case why did you need my help, hmm?" Delta teased, the smile seeming much more genuine this time.
"Hmhm, who said we did?" Bio joked, and Selena sighed softly shaking her head.
"We thank you for the assistance, even if not completely necessary," Selena conceded, smiling at Delta who returned with a grin of her own.
"Wait, where did you get clothes? where could you have been hiding them during all that..." Pomella pondered softly, and Delta chuckled while Bio frowned softly. She could tell this was Pomella's attempt to ask about the binding indirectly, which she found... clever, but not appropriate for the situation. "A girl never tells her secrets~ Now come! We should get to my village," Delta proclaimed, beginning to walk forward as her tail flicked from side to side behind her. After only a moment's hesitation, the three followed, catching up to her fairly quickly.
It took them another hour of walking before they reached the village, grassy plains stretching as far as Bio could see to either side of them, small holes spotting the terrain here and there with peaking furry faces. It was nice to see such a peaceful place after the claustrophobic walls of the ravine, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath of the fresh air as they neared the village. "I'd like to welcome you three to my village," Delta called to them proudly, gesturing ahead. "This here is Grassy Cross, my home town,"
Selena
She couldn't believe her eyes! Hybrids of all types roamed the pathways and played in the park, she could hardly name them all. She saw lizardfolk, arachnids, a couple centaur, lamias, she even saw a couple of cat and dog people scattered around. Although as the began to enter she couldn't help but notice that Delta seemed to almost stiffen as they entered the town, legs going just the tiniest bit more rigid as she walked ahead, keeping a small grin plastered to her face. Before she could think about it more though the villagers began a commotion as they saw them enter, many walking or slithering up to them with large smiles.
"New people! they're all so pretty!"
"I wonder how they got here - "
"They have a hybrid with them - "
"Maybe she'll join us here - "
The voices clattered for attention, everyone speaking over each other in their excitement. Pomella took one step closer to Selena, seeming slightly nervous from all the attention. Selena felt for the poor girl - it was like half of the villagers were focused on her alone simply because of her bird-like features. The crowd was getting so loud too, Delta seemed to be having trouble progressing as it grew thicker and thicker, seeming to surround them. Selena began to feel a slight bit of panic, remembering the fishmen of Innsmouth, imagining them pressing on in them to sacrifice them...
"Man, your such a pushover," a voice scolded in front of her, seeming to speak directly into her mind. She glanced up to see Gemini frowning at her, then at the surrounding crowd. "Honestly, you have the power to subdue all this yet you do nothing, not used to it eh?"
"Not exactly, plus it's not worth the pain just to stop some yelling..."
"your new... 'friend', seems to be getting uneasy," Gemini nodded to Delta, who indeed seemed to be growing tenser at the second from all the attention. Selena had a feeling Delta was actually an introvert, which meant this probably wasn't one of her favorite situations - especially when she had gone through the trouble of helping them.
"Ugh... fine, what do I do?"
"hmhm I found your trigger~ anyway, you can use those gloves to decrease all this noise for starters, and probably make a couple of them loose interest," Gemini explained, Selena looking down at her gloved hands. The metal in them was still digging into her flesh...
"Alright I'll try, not much point to question these things since they make no sense to begin with," she sighed, raising one hand.
"Oh they make sense, what your doing now is just round-about logic of preventing sanity," Gemini dismissed flippantly before vanishing, Selena focusing on her goal. A spike of pain like a hot iron seemed to jab itself into her wrist and she gritted her teeth against a yelp of pain, but then a small amount of magic flitted through the air. It pulsed out from her hand in a sphere, every villager it touching suddenly going silent as if they had seen a ghost. Some even seemed the slightest bit spooked, before deciding it wasn't quite worth it and walking away.
Bio and Pomella glanced to her nodding and she nodded to Delta, causing them both to glance at the dino-girl. Bio gave a slight nod while Pomella seemed worried as they noticed the tension, all three remaining silent. About half the villagers walked away, losing interest just as she had hoped while those that remained seemed much more orderly, and a lot quieter - thank god. With a note of satisfaction, she noticed Delta become less tense, turning to look at them with confusion evident in her eyes.
"Anyway, come come we must throw a celebration for these visitors," an elderly cat man called, the remaining villagers cheering in agreement. While they started to usher Selena and Bio towards the picnic tables they had set up Pomella split silently from the group, going to Delta's side. She looked at her with some confusion and nodded toward the retreating group. "Shouldn't you be going to celebrate?" she questioned, tilting her head slightly.
"I was hoping to stick with you actually, I can't imagine I'm exactly a familiar face but still," Pomella piped up, giving her a small smile. Delta seemed a bit taken aback before giving a slight nod, eyes glancing back at the party. "Is everything alright?"
"Mmm? Oh yes of course! just... thinking," Delta responded lamely, rubbing the back of her neck self-consciously. Pomella slowly raised a hand - hesitating for only a moment - before gently placing it on the small of her back. Delta stiffened, but Pomella could tell - or she at least hoped - it was mostly in surprise. "If you want me to remove my hand simply say so..." she murmured softly, patting gently. Delta didn't say anything, only giving a small nod in appreciation.
Selena and Bio found themselves in some giant celebration for the next three hours, it only ending once the sun began to descend slowly across the horizon. Bio found herself completely exhausted, the earlier small chase in the ravine and the festivities leaving her drained, her brain feeling as if it were swimming in molasses. Although, the shots the villagers had coerced her to down weren't helping either.
With a glance, she saw Selena wasn't faring much better, seeming even drunker than Bio was. Not that she was drunk of course - only tipsy. Selena was openly swaying, a smile plastered to her face under half-lidded eyes. "Excuse me for tonight, it's about time me and my companion caught some sleep, it has been a long day," Bio excused herself softly to the nearest villager, who nodded and made small shooing motions with his hands, smiling just a bit.
Bio slowly swayed - walked completely naturally towards Selena, resting a hand on her shoulder. Selena looked over to her, a dopey smile stretching wider upon seeing her as she slurred, "Hey beaautiful, wher' did you come from?"
"B-bea- beautiful?" Bio stammered for a moment, face flushing before she got ahold of herself. "a-ahem, Selena it's me, Bio, remember?"
"Oooh yeah... hey Bio!" she chirped happily, and Bio could only sigh with a smile of her own - drunk Selena acted very similarly to energetic Pomella it seemed. "What's up?"
"We should be getting to bed, although I'm not sure where..." she faded off as she noticed the villager she talked to - finally taking notice it was that same elderly cat man - nodded his head towards a large building off to his left, resembling a hotel much like the one from the previous town. "Think you can walk straight hu - I mean uh - Selena?" she asked, tripping up halfway through. Maybe that alcohol was affecting her more than she thought...
"But the drinks are sooo gooood," Selena practically moaned, reaching a hand longingly towards... a jug of what appeared to be scotch... how much had Selena actually drunk to get to this point?
"Okay... you're going to bed missy," Bio grumbled softly, gently tugging her along behind. Selena struggled as much as she could to get back to her 'glass' - which, consisted of a few weak wiggles - before her head slumping in a mix of exhaustion and defeat. "Fiiine, mom..."
"Hey now, if you're going to make me a parental figure at least make it mommy - I mean uh, whatever," Bio stuttered again, slapping a hand against her forehead. Forget tipsy, she might as well be knockout drunk - at least that would save her some humiliation. Pomella
"So... I take it you don't like parties?" she asked quietly, glancing at Delta's still form. The dino-girl appeared to be partially asleep, eyes half-lidded even as she responded softly. "I love a good party..."
"Then, why not be out there with them?"
"Mmm... you're good at asking personal questions..."
"S-sorry, I don't mean to pry," Pomella mumbled softly, looking down. An uncomfortable silence fell over the two, Pomella feeling guilty while Delta simply sat there, breathing softly. Then, after what felt like an eternity Delta whispered, "Apology accepted... I know you meant well,"
"mm... you don't have to keep up the mask if you don't want to, I'll understa - "
"Yoo what's up Indigo!" a voice called, causing Delta to jolt fully awake while Pomella looked ahead in confusion. A lizard man, green scales twisting along his pitch-black arms and legs, emerald green eyes sparkling with mischief. Whoever it was, they were currently jogging over, waving a hand above their head. Delta tensed beside her again, making Pomella almost immediately dislike whoever this guy thought he was. If he made her tense just by walking over then he couldn't be anyone good.
"Hello, razor..." Delta called in a monotone, not even attempting to smile as he slowed down.
"Woah! who's the new chick, some friend of yours?" he smirked, reeking of arrogance as he propped one hand on his hip barely inches away from Delta - way to close for him not to be in her personal space and he knew it. She could just tell by how his smirk twisted just a bit more than before. "Pomella is..." Delta faded off, looking to her with conflicted eyes. Razor noticed her hesitation, and turned his head to leer over at Pomella, eyes... roaming... she could not vouch for his immediate safety, if she had to she would say her foot made her do it...
"Well if she isn't your friend then is she... 'open for market'?" he asked, simply oozing self-confidence as if it were his lifeblood.
"Razor, just because she is new to town doesn't mean she wants... 'you'," Delta grumbled, and Razor turned toward Delta with anger flickering in his eyes, slowly taking his hand off his hip to raise it threateningly over his head. "I don't remember anyone asking you, Indigo... or should I say - " his hand descending quickly towards her face "- town who- "
The resounding 'slap!' cut off the rest of his words as both he and Delta stared at her in shock, her cheek slowly turning red. "Y-you don't hit someone for no good reason, ya ass..." (It's not a swear if your talking about donkeys - and let me tell you he smells the part - Fobus).
"How dare you! Do you know who you are talking too!?" he roared, raising his hand for another strike. Before his hand could even descend an inch Delta's own shot out and easily caught the descending palm, Pomella noticing how only her thumb had turned into one of her claws. It was digging into Razor's hand, purple blood welling up to slowly trickle as he screamed like a baby from the simple wound. "If you hit me, that's fine..." Delta hissed, her slitted eyes practically glowing in the low light. "But if you dare try to hit one of my friends... you. Will. Be. Sorry,"
She let go of his palm as he reeled back, clutching his hand as he stared at her with wide eyes. "Y-you can't say that to me! I'm the son of the mayor and your just the town - "
"Shut your drawer Razor - oh wait, I mean 'toiletry," Pomella snapped, putting a hand protectively in front of Delta. She looked at her in shock for a moment, before she burst out laughing, doubling over as the joyful sound bubbled up from within her gut, Pomella smiling sweetly at the sputtering Razor, eyes wide in shock. "Now how about you go call for daddy? I'm suuure he can help with all your problems~"
Razor's eyes flicked from Delta, then to Pomella, before his forked tongue darted out to lick his dry lips. Then, only a moment later, he ran off screaming at the top of his lungs, "Dadddyyy!! Save meee!"
At that Pomella joined Delta in laughter, her laughter only seeming to double as Razor ran off screaming. The two laughed for a good while before both ran out of air and started coughing, but even that couldn't completely stop the laughter. It took them a solid five minutes before the two could breathe properly again, the two sharing a smile. Nothing brought people together like calling someone toilet ware.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hellloo everyone! Fobus here to warn you that the following content will be gooey, mushy, involving 2 drunk girls and some roomance~ no sexual intercourse will happen *cough* sadly *cough* just some kissing and cuddling, but if you'd like to skip all that then simply move to the next chapter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Sooo... 'mommy' huh?" Selena teased, poking Bio's cheek with a drunken smirk.
"O-okay, sleepy time let's go..." Bio spoke in a rush, cheeks hot as she sped up her pace. Selena stumbled as she tried to keep pace. "H-hey! Wait a minute... 'let's go'? As... a-as in both of us?" she finished with a small stammer, her cheeks turning a deep shade of purple.
"Well yeah I mean - o-oh uhm I-I mean - "
"I-its okay, I think we are both too drunk for this," Selena chuckled softly, shaking her head as she took the lead, holding onto her hand. (I know, public hand-holding - how scandalous - Fobus) "Just hold onto my hand if yer serious, kay?" she commented softly, and Bio nodded slightly. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest, sure she had held hands with Selena or been this close regularly but this time it felt... different. Maybe it was just her being a bit loopy from the drinks, but she could have sworn her cheeks were heating up even more as Selena tugged her along.
It was only minutes later till they were in the hotel, the two gravitating towards one of the nearest rooms - Bio was pretty sure it was empty - grabbing the handle and giving a twist. The door clicked, then swung open as Selena gave it a light push, letting go of her hand and taking a step in. Bio noticed as she swayed slightly walking in before she stopped, turning to look back at her questioningly. She could swear she saw hope glimmering in her eyes, but maybe she was just...
"So... you're not comin in?" Selena asked softly, sounding... sad, sending a pang through Bio's chest. She only hesitated for a moment, heart skipping a beat as she took in Selena, standing alone in the room - then imagining herself standing next to her, holding hands and maybe even...
"Of course I'll come in, I couldn't say no to that face..." Bio mumbled quietly, stepping into the room as her heart betrayed her true reason, speeding up as she walked into the room and shut the door behind her. The light from the main hall faded as the door moved, leaving only a thin bar that seemed to illuminate Selena's eyes perfectly - the excitement and joy that played within them. Then the light was gone completely as the door shut with a satisfying 'click'. (Grab your popcorn, this is when it gets good... operation intense cuddling is a go - Fobus)
Only moments later Selena and Bio were laying in the bed together, Selena's arm draped over her side as Bio lay awkwardly next to her, unsure how to proceed. She laughed softly, eyes playful as she gently tapped her nose. "Have you never laid down with someone befor' silly?" Selena teased softly, and Bio felt her face turn red as she shook her head silently. "Well, usually the first step is we undress..." she faded off as she sat up - Bio heart panging as the comforting weight of Selena's arm was off her - as she slowly reached down to grab the bottom of her shirt, noticeably puffing out her chest as her hands rose, Bio watching the lip of her shirt rose, heart quickening.
She watched as Selena slowly exposed her stomach, shimming just a bit as if she was trying to get Bio to look. She did look away once Selena got to her chest though, if her face was red before now it felt like it was about to burst into flames. Her new view did let her watch as Selena's discarded shirt was tossed through the air, landing on the ground not far away in a heap. Bio, feeling her throat dry up could only gulp as she slowly turned her head back. Selena wore a playful smirk as their eyes met before flicking them down, then back to Bio's own.
Bio feeling no small amount of apprehension slowly looked down - okay, her face was actually on fire now she swore - as she took in Selena's half-naked form with wide eyes. Her stomach was smooth and shiny from a small amount of moisture, flowery bra containing her sizable chest admirably. "Like what ya see Biovera~" Selena purred softly into her ear, a shiver running down her spine. A small part of her brain noted that Selena became a giant flirt when she was drunk - the rest of her brain was melting. "U-uh... u-uuhmm..." Bio could only stammer, at a loss for words at what exactly she was feeling.
Selena giggled, then rested her forehead against Bio's. "It's impolite to stare... especially when I have nothing to stare at myself~ Now let's get that coat off you, I can only imagine your steaming in there," Selena teased softly, which Bio couldn't argue with, she was feeling quite... hot. Selena's gentle finger sought out the front of her coat as Bio silently put her arms back and wiggled a bit, sliding the heavy garment onto the floor next to the bed. Next came the undershirt, Bio starting to feel unconscious as she grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, unable to put on the same kind of show Selena had.
She could practically feel her eyes as she slowly looked Bio up and down - but she could only imagine the... disappointment that must be in her eyes as they got to her own chest, nothing impressive compared to Selena or Delta's bust. Her gut wrenched a bit as she slowly covered her chest with her arms, looking away from Selena in embarrassment. "Sorry I don't have anything impressive... I could make them bigger... if yo - "
"Bio, what are you talking about?" Selena's question caught her off guard, looking to Selena's eyes which only showed confusion... none of the disappointment she had expected to find there. "U-uhm..." Bio began softly, interlacing her fingers above her stomach as her eyes turned downcast. "I saw how you looked at Delta's bust and I thought..."
"You thought I only liked them big, hm?" she asked softly, Bio giving a slight nod. Then her eyes widened in surprise as Selena's warm lips pressed against her own, seeming to take her breath away. After only a moment she melted into the kiss, fear of rejection draining out of her as Selena's warm arms wrapped themselves around her, holding her close. Eyes flickered closed as she enjoyed the warm embrace, feeling... calm, happy and... safe. Completely and utterly, safe.
They must have stayed like that for a solid minute before Selena pulled away ever so slightly to breathe, breath warm against her lips. Bio's ears strained as Selena whispered softly, opening her eyes to look into Selena's own, finding love shining there, bright as the swelling feeling was in her chest. "I don't care about size silly... I love you... I love everything about you..."
"Y-...you do?"
"Mhmmm..." Selena mumbled softly as she leaned in again, the two locking in another kiss. Bio's arms wrapped tight around Selena's back, pulling her ever closer. Selena only held her tighter as they squished together, Selena wrapping one leg slowly over Bio's own. Their chests pressed firmly together as they drank in each other's embrace, Bio feeling full as a starved part of her came into the light, making her feel truly and utterly... complete. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aww... I wonder if I was the only one hoping for a bit more action, but I guess things are only just starting hm? I hope you all enjoyed their little moment as much as I did, they work well together in my personal and utterly humble opinion My only complaint is I ran out of popcorn... - Fobus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Pom, it looks like your friends are hittin the hay" Delta pointed out quietly, nodding towards their retreating forms.
"They are?" Delta watched with a bemused smile as Pomella squinted, having a feeling it was only for show. "Oh yeah, they are! Wait a minute are they... finally, it took them long enough," Pomella chuckled, shaking her head.
"Oh? Did I miss a funny detail?"Delta looked back at them, tilting her head curiously.
"I mean its sorta funny in the way it hasn't happened yet or the fact they had to be knockout drunk," Pomella commented, smiling wide. "It seemed those two have had a crush on each other since they met, at least to some extent... if you look closely you can see they're leaning on each other and holding hands,"
"Oh yeah, you're right... well good for those two," Delta mused, watching the hotel door close as the two disappeared inside. "So are you not going to bed? Planning to join the party?"
"I mean, I am starting to feel tired... but," she faded off, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.
"Buuut, what?" Delta pressed curiously.
"I was... hoping I could sleep with you tonight? Maybe? Possibly?" Pomella asked softly, pulling her legs up to her chest as her voice wavered. Delta couldn't help but stare at her though, not able to fully comprehend the request. Her head was spinning, trying to come up with reasons why Pomella shouldn't - couldn't stay with her, but she knew it would be like trying to break a wall with a spoon. The bird-girl was stubborn, and while she was worried about how Pomella would react to her home she had to admit some company would be nice.
Despite her own reasoning, she did still try at least once, protesting softly, "I'm not sure that would be the best idea, I mean we barely know each other and - "
"You know, you became a lot more bashful with me once you started to consider me a friend," Pomella chuckled softly, smiling at her.
"Mmm... we should head to bed before the town gets too drunk, I'd like to avoid more Razors," she reasoned, trying to change the subject. Pomella chuckled again, her cheeks turning just a bit hotter than they were before, before standing up and popping her back into place. Pom stood up next to her, gesturing ahead of them. "Lead the way, and thank you,"
"Yeah yeah, let's get going," she dismissed softly, heading east towards the outer edge of town, her house being sandwiched between two larger ones. One of those, annoyingly, was the mayor's house - which meant Razor was a daily problem - who had decided to keep her close. She actually didn't mind the town that much, most of the inhabitants were polite to her, even if their eyes did wander. It was more the mayor and his son, the former working her like a dog while the latter seemed to think she belonged to him - no matter how many times she 'tripped' and her foot landed in exactly the 'wrong spot'.
Her only real problem was how crowded the town seemed at times, and while they were usually polite to her face she could tell they were staring, either at her binding or just her as the most 'unique' hybrid in the town.
"Hey Delta, can I ask you a question?" Pomella asked, Delta turning her head to see the bird-girl practically skipping behind her.
"Ask away,"
"Why do you wear so little?" she noticed as Pom subconsciously looked her up and down before looking away, her cheeks tinted with color.
"Man, you know just the wrong questions huh?" Delta teased a bit, causing her to rub the back of her head awkwardly.
"S-sorry, you don't have to answer I was just curious..."
"I'm joking, mostly, so don't worry," she chuckled softly, keeping a track of her mental map while they talked. "Well, the official reason is that when I transform my clothing doesn't transform with me, so the mayor instructed for me to wear the bare minimum so I didn't waste anything,"
"Does that mean you transform daily?"
"Ah and we come to the unofficial reason - you see, it's actually related to my... bust,"
"Your chest? How could that be a problem?" Pom seemed genuinely confused, head tilted as she thought.
"Hehe... well you see, my... size, isn't actually very normal for hybrids - in fact, most cold-blooded hybrids have relatively small sizes, the mammals tend to come in a wider spectrum but stick to the middle ground and arachnids have sizes like my own - but they create their own clothing so its not a problem,"
"Oooh... I know I made that sound but I still have no idea why its a problem," Pomella admitted, Delta chuckling softly. A quick check of her mental map showed they were close to her home before she turned her attention back to the bird girl.
"Well, there is very little clothing to accommodate my size, and back then I had no way to manage it," Delta continued, glancing down to her chest with a frown. (It's sad really, they have underwear for arachnids and centaurs that include pockets, yet nothing for 'larger' girls - Fobus) She remembered those times, it had always sucked since any time she tried to workout they went everywhere completely throwing her off and making everything a pain.
"A few Arachnids were kind enough to lend me a shirt or two, but then..." she sighed softly, picking at the top of her binding.
"You had to transform and ripped the shirt... why didn't you just take it off before transforming?"
"E-eh, I have a bad tendency to forget when I'm wearing something - anyway, Razor had been going through puberty at the time, so he convinced his dad to limit what I could wear and the shirts stopped coming in..."
"Ah... I see..."
"I was left with no way to contain it all, I had to deal with Razor and other guys constantly ogling me while I tried to work, and even girls had a tendency to stare... it had been pretty humiliating, and it made me dislike my own chest more and more as time went on,"
"I'm sorry to ask but, is that why Razor called you the town w - the thing he said?"
"Mhm, then a stranger from Innsmouth visited before the spiders had moved in, and when he met me I had seen confusion... then he mentioned binding and I've been doing it since,"
"I see, so it's both to keep people from staring and so you can actually do your job, right?"
"Yep! It took me a while to get used to it, but once I did I was a lot happier then I had been before - plus I got to rub it in whenever I saw Razor which is always a good thing,"
Delta jumped as a sudden weight rested on her shoulder, turning her head slightly to see Pomella's hand there, her sympathetic smile not far behind.
"I think I see the picture after so long of getting stared at you started to hate crowds - aka a lot of eyes - right?"
"Yeah... it's also why I tend to react how I do when I see someone staring, brings back memories..."
"Sorry about that I hadn't meant to at the ti - "
"I know I know, and it's fine really," Delta soothed softly, reaching up to gently rest her own hand on top of hers. "Oh, by the way, we're here,"
The two looked up to see Delta's home, a small one-story building tucked between the mayor's much larger house and a much more moderately sized house, belonging to some Arachnid who had been one of the first to give her shirts all that time ago. After a second to adjust the binding and roll her shoulders Delta headed inside, closely followed by Pomella. The door opening triggered a small wire, turning on the light illuminating the two figures as they entered the house, Pom covering her eyes from the sudden light. Then just as quickly the light turned off, and the door closed behind them with a click.
Golden morning light cascaded into Delta's room through the clear window, illuminating her and the small bed she slept on. Her mind seemed to swim in lazy circles as she awoke, scrunching her eyes up and adjusting her arm to cover her face in an attempt for shade. Her face felt hot, which meant it had been daytime for a while which was strange - usually, the Mayor or Razor would be bumping around, and she would wake up as people working in the kitchens and their alarms went off. Her attention drifted to her arm instead though as a weird riggling feeling seemed to worm its way up her arm, staring at her wrist and ascending up.
Cracking an eye open to look at her arm, her body went rigid with shock as she saw the flesh of her arm bulge out slightly, taking in the situation all at once. A small hole in her hand, dried blood around the puncture - about 2 inches in diameter - as well as the thing currently... wriggling, up through her arm, nearing her elbow...
"Gyah!" Delta cried in surprise, quickly reaching up to clamp her hand onto her arm, blocking... whatever it was' path, causing it to go still. A second passed as she watched, her brain trying to catch up completely just as it began wiggling in her arm with even more intensity, pressing against her grip as if trying to slip by. Her hand only tightened, cutting off the blood flow to her hand completely as she did her best to keep whatever it was from going any further. Her hand was just starting to turn a strange shade of purple - even for her - when a hand as white as snow reached over to gently touch the bulge in her arm.
"Everything alright Delta...?" someone yawned softly from behind her, although Delta didn't really pay attention to that. She was too busy watching as the bulge convulsed in her arm under the hand's touch, the spot searing as if a laser were shooting directly into her bone, before it suddenly stopped and began shrinking, leaving her arm normal only seconds later. After a second to make sure, she slowly released her death grip on her own arm letting the blood flow back to her arm - resulting in instant pins and needles, causing her to tense as the sensation filled her arm. The hand which had touched her arm slowly retreated to her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake - seeming to shift to a light blue color.
"Mmm... Delta?" that voice called again, Delta only just realizing who it was.
"P-Pomella!? Why are you in my bed!?"
Last night...
"Welcome, make yourself at home... sorry, it isn't much," Delta called behind her softly, waving her arm at her small home. A kitchen situated to her left containing a mini-fridge, stove, drawer with a few sets of cooking utensils, and a cupboard for her cooking supplies. Directly ahead is her bedroom, a bed in a corner with a set of nearby underwear and bindings - if nothing else, her restriction let her save money - with a single-window directly behind her bed. She had placed her bed there so the light would help her wake up, although in the mornings she always regretted that choice.
"Ooh wow... it's nice!" Pomella chirps beside me, taking it in with wide eyes. I notice one of the first places she looked was the kitchen - closely followed by the living room, with its couch and table, as well as a small TV someone she knew had gotten for a birthday present some time ago. Her bathroom was in a separated room between her bedroom and the kitchen, someplace easily accessible.
"Thanks, sorry there is only the one bed though - you're going to have to sleep on the couch," Delta points out awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head with some level of embarrassment. She swore she could see a mischevious glint in her eye before Pomella shrugs, smiling a bit. "It's fine, I'm sure I'll be comfortable!"
"Mhmm... well I'm off to bed, not sure about you, but I'm tuckered out," I comment tiredly behind her, taking a second to stretch my back.
Pomella nods, smiling a bit before walking over and plopping into the couch, looking over at me. "Goodnight Delta! Sleep well!"
"G'night Pom, sleep well," Delta responds before heading to her bed, slipping off her binding and letting her chest breathe a bit. Then, without a sound, she slipped into her bed, tail curled up next to her, pulled the covers over her body and fell asleep, just like that.
Present...
"Weeelll... I did say to make sure I'd be comfortable," she teased softly, pressing against her ever so slightly. She was... warm, the feathers of her neck tickling Delta's back as she moved, her arms around her stomach as she felt her bare chest press lightly against her. Delta's face turned a deep shade of purple as she turned slightly to see that, for the most part, Pomella was nude, the covers low enough for her to see her collarbone...
"W-why are you naked?!" Delta yelled with equal parts shock and embarrassment, quickly pulling away... only to fall out of the bed and onto her face. Her chest absorbed most of the impact - the only advantage they really gave - but the end of her tail ended up under her, pain shooting up along the scaly limb. "Gah!"
"Are you alright!?" Pomella called above her, Delta turning her head to see the bird-girl looking down at her with some amount of worry.
"Y-yeah fine, why are you in my bed and naked!?"
"Oh well, I sleep in the nude and I kept hearing noises from you constantly turning and twisting in your bed, so I figured you might be cold..."
"Pomella... tell me honestly, how much of that was preplanned compared to situational?"
"... fifty-fifty?"
"Uh-huh... well thanks I guess, I've always been a bit... mobile, while asleep,"
"I could tell... your tail was shaking as if you were part rattlesnake,"
"Hehe, yeah... could you, er, hand me one of my bindings please?"
"Mmm, sure... by the way, you have a very beautiful body..."
"...thanks, that's... it's nice to hear from a friend," I murmur softly, taking the offered binding before sitting up to set it in place.
"Now uh, I only have one question..."
"Yes Pom?"
"Can you cook? I'm hungry," she remarked, Delta looking up to see her rubbing her stomach - doing her best to keep her eyes only where indicated - and chuckled.
"Yeah... Yeah, I can cook, but go put some clothes on first ya miscreant!"
Selena
Slowly coming to consciousness, the first thing that hit her was a splitting headache, causing a soft groan to escape her lips as she pressed closer to the warm thing in front of her, slipping her head into a soft crook of the thing. Next was the foggy haze over the events of last night, the last clear event being that first shot the town had offered her...
"Mmm... warm..." the thing she was currently snuggled up against mumbled, Selena's eyes opening wide as one hazy memory came to the forefront of her mind. The feeling of lips pressed against her own, warm bodies pressing against each other... specifically, Biovera's warm body.
Her eyes only widened in shock as she took in what she was currently doing, headache forgotten as she heard Bio's soft breathing... the rise and fall of her chest... her steady heartbeat...
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she squealed as quietly as she could manage, tightening the arms she hadn't realized were around Bio until now. "I admitted to Biovera!"
"Yep, ya got so drunk ya convinced an also drunk Biovera to sleep with you, then made out with her," a teasing voice called from behind her, Selena going rigid as she felt Gemini's eyes on the both of them... she could practically feel her smirk pressing into her back. "I won't ask you to say anything, in all honesty even as a spirit of... basically insanity, this is too adorable of a scene to break up... that and I'm excited to watch Bio's reaction when she wakes up... so enjoy yourself - and make sure to 'actually' make out with her next time, I felt like I got gipped!"
The eyes on her back seemed to vanish, but Selena still found herself blushing, face heating up as she buried it into the crook of Bio's neck. Making out with Selena... doing... 'that' with her... the more she thought about it, the more it felt like her face was just going to burst into flames. The headache wasn't really helping either, but she was too distracted to notice the pounding in her head.
So, deciding it would be better to simply go back to sleep - she was still feeling pretty tired for some reason - she closed her eyes, and simply listened to the rhythmic beating of Biovera's heart.
Thump thump... thump thump... thump... t h u m p... and just like that, she was asleep.
The sky was a pleasant blue that framed the bustling town perfectly, hybrids of all kinds hustling to their respective jobs. An elderly lizard man, his scales a dulled green while his yellow eyes shone with intelligence stood upon a pedestal, finger waving and vocal cords straining as he directed the activity of the town. Delta felt the sun's kiss upon her face as she looked up, closing her eyes and simply letting the heat envelope her like a warm blanket. An equally warm hand took her's in its grasp, clutching gently as a feather tickled her bareback as Pomella pressed closer.
"Yo Clint! Sorry I'm late, I had to make some breakfast for a house guest!" Delta calls, jogging forward as Pomella 'harumphed' from behind.
"You could have told me it would make you late!"
"Yeah but... I was hungry too..."
Clint, the lizard mayor of Grassy Cross turned his yellow gaze upon the two of them as his mouth curved into a toothy grin. "Good to see ya two up and about! I hope Delta made a good host?"
"Mhmm! She made me bacon!" Pomella chirped happily, Delta smiling a bit.
"I figured I should bring out the good stuff for a guest, although I'm low on my food supplies,"
"Well, that's some good timing! I had been planning to assign you to hunt as soon as you were up anyway - the arachnids requested a special meal for lunch,"
"Really!? Wow, I haven't seen that happen for years!"
"Why? Are requests really rare or something?" Pomella puzzled, glancing between the two of them with confusion in her eyes.
"Oh well you see miss, a racial request is a unique benefit this town offers for its inhabitants where one race of hybrid can request a special meal to be prepared for them particularly," Clint explained, gesturing to a nearby Arachnid as he hurried by with a basket.
"The thing about requests is that they require at least two-thirds of that races' population to agree with the request, so they can be hard to organize," Delta finished, glancing from Pomella back to Clint. "So, what's the special request? We just had a party last night so I can only imagine - "
"They're asking for another party funnily enough, specifically something along the lines of 'brunch' as they put it,"
"E-ehh? But why would they want another party after we just had one!?"
"Good question, but the majority of them agree and it's not like anyone is complaining about good food... well, none of the ones only eating,"
"Yeah... it's gonna be a pain to do... time limit?"
"Well its 9 am at the moment and the occasion is planned for 11, so you have to hours to find what you can and bring it back here,"
"Oh oh can I come!?" Pomella asked excitedly, feathers puffing as she looked up to Delta with hopeful eyes.
"E-ehh... as much as I would appreciate the help your a guest and - "
"Pleaaaase!?" oh boy, now she was begging. Delta even saw the beginning of puppy dog eyes, causing her to look away.
"Alright alright! Sheesh, anyway if your coming mind grabbing a basket for any veggies or nests we find? Oh - and just in case a change of clothes for me?"
"Mhmm!" and with that the bird girl was off, quickly sprinting to Delta's house to grab the clothes. Only moments later she remerged, sprinting over to Clint to whisper something in his ear. Delta watched in amusement as he chuckled, then pointed to a nearby storehouse before Pomella charged into the storehouse, practically leaving a dust cloud in her haste. Delta herself was going to a nearby weapons store to grab a spear for herself and Pomella - only resorting to her dinosaur form if necessary - before meeting her panting companion at their original position.
"You ready to go twinkle toes?" Delta teased softly, trading Pomella a spear for the extra pair of clothes.
"M-mhm! Whenever you're ready!"
With that, the two ran off in pursuit of whatever lay ahead of them - although, Delta hoping that included a couple of fat pigs and some chicken nests. Despite her nature omelets were her favorite food, and while she enjoyed bacon she preferred said bacon inside some well-cooked egg. Oh, with a couple peppers and seasoning of course.
Sixteen minutes later they were deep into the forest, Delta taking a moment to admire the sight. No matter how many times she saw the vibrant green of the leaves paired with the mahogany wood she never got sick of it - quite the contrary. It was as if the forest were alive, the buzz of yellow-striped bumblebees humming in the air. Fragrant flowers emitted enticing aromas as the trees stood tall and proud, housing all types of wildlife in its bark and among the branches. A small black nosed twitched from within a nearby bush before an orange and white blur with a bushy tail exploded from its leaves.
Delta, having been able to pick up on the slight rustles of the bush and preparing, launched herself forward spear extended to perfectly skewer the fox on its blade, piercing its heart and killing it instantly.
"Poor little thing..." Pomella mumbled softly from behind her as Delta approached her kill, gently easing the spear out of its side before tying its feet with a small rope and handing it off to the bird girl.
"Yeaah but we need the meat for the party, believe it or not, I don't enjoy hunting all that much even if I'm good at it," Delta commented idly, wiping the blood on the ground. "Its never fun to see cute animals die even if its for a reason - spiders and other dangerous creatures I don't really feel remorse for though,"
"Hey Delta, would you mind if I ask a random question?"
"Nah, ask away Pom,"
"What exactly are the hybrids living in Grassy Cross? I remember seeing at least four to five when we first got here, and I can't help but be curious..."
Delta reached down to pick a few edible mushrooms from a nearby tree, taking a moment to consider the question. "Well... the town is composed of four primary races, while there are smaller amounts of other - hey can you grab those veggies by your feet - hybrids, there being about four not including me,"
Pomella reached down to grab the nearby veggies, face screwed up in thought. "Okay... so nine races total including you... what are the main four?"
"Well we have Lizardfolk, Arachnids, then some cats and dogs," she listed off, counting on her fingers as she went. "Then we have a couple centaur... some lamia, a couple Dragonborn and even a few bird people,"
"Are they like me?" Pomella gestured to herself, fluffing up her feathers a bit.
"Similar except a bit more bird-like, some have beaks others have feathered arms that sorta thing,"
"Okay I think I get the picture... but if you don't mind me asking, what are you exactly?"
"Ah... well, I'm a hybrid of hybrids... you see, species are confined to their own race when it comes to reproduction for simplistic reasons - things get too complicated when races start mixing and even more hybrids join the town - which means I'm sorta 'illegal',"
"Ohh I see! But wait, then what are you a mix of?"
"I'm a mix of a dragonborn and lizard girl... she died giving birth, and my father ended up dying from breaking his neck... it's, funny actually - a dragonborn with wings ended up tripping on a set of stairs, wings got tangled up and well... yeah,"
"I don't think its funny... sounds awful..."
"It could have been worse - but thanks, Pom - anyway, the hypothesis is that his ancient blood mixed with her reptilian blood, and as such, I was a dinosaur hybrid... although the transformative abilities are still a mystery,"
"Ohh, huh I didn't expect - Delta, look!" Pomella cut off, crouching down and gesturing to Delta's left. She instinctually crouched down next to her before peaking over the bush they had taken cover behind, eyes widening as an evil smile curled the edge of her lips. Three huge, fat pigs were lounging around in the sun, one even on its side soaking up as much of the light as it could with its ginormous body.
"Now that... that is going to be a good hunt..."
Biovera
As she slowly clawed her way to the loud and bustling world of... awaked...ness, the first thing she noticed was a comforting warmth currently pressed against her chest. Something soft was pressing against her, and she couldn't resist the temptation to reach out and gently pet the top of whatever it was, her eyes still shut tight.
"Mmm..." the thing pressed against her murmured, and Biovera's eyes shot open as she looked down to see Selena hugging her tight, her head resting directly against her chest - over her heart, in fact. Instead of finding herself pulling away - which was what the rational part of her brain was screaming at her to do - she pressed a bit closer, a hand slowly gliding along Selena's back as she tried to remember last night.
"I was... drunk - tipsy, I mean - Selena asked me to join her in the room... then... t-then..." Biovera began to stutter as the memory slowly came back to her, face flushing. "H-hey Selena... you wouldn't happen to be awake, w-would you?"
"Mmm... five more minutes..."
"Ehh good enough... sorry for this," Bio apologized in advance before reaching up, grabbing the back of Selena's bra, pulled back then - SNAP!
"Gah!" Selena cried out in surprise, eyes flying open as she pulled away from Bio, looking around in confusion. "W-whaa? What's up?.. What time is it?"
"Sorry, but I thought we should talk abo - er, nevermind... I think its probably 10 am based on the sun," Bio commented softly, looking out the window at the rising sun.
"Wait a minute..." Selena rubbed at her eyes before looking back to Bio, a small smile creeping onto her face. "So... did you sleep well?"
"Y-yeah, you're... very warm,"
"Aaaaand~?"
"... And we are sleeping together again tonight, understand?"
"Oh, with pleasure~" Selena purred softly, giving Bio something akin to a side hug. She leaned into the hug, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips before disappearing as a blue figure appeared in front of them. She was struck silent for a moment, a mix of embarrassment and confusion holding her tongue. Fobus slowly looked her up and down, before raising an eyebrow.
"I honestly thought they would be bigger..."
"Y-you! W-what do you want!?" Bio yelled suddenly, grabbing a nearby pillow and chucking it at him. He chuckled, easily catching the pillow before tossing it back with a small grin. "Sorry to interrupt lovebirds~ but I thought I should warn you to keep your eyes peeled, things are starting to go awry - honestly, you always seem to come at the worst possible times..."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Selena asked cautiously, glancing at the window which the covers still blocked the sight of.
"Just be wary little ones, you never know what will happen... now chow!" and just like that he was gone again, leaving Bio confused and worried - although, it was mostly confusion. Apparently, something was going down in this town - something they weren't going to like...
Delta "Gah! why is something so... so fat able to move so fast!" Delta's feet, claws extended ever so slightly, upturned the soft dirt as she chased after one of the pigs, the bulging pink mass squealing in terror as it ran. For something so huge it ran with surprising speed, stubby legs propelling itself forward across the soft ground even better than Delta could. As her claws dug into the loose gravel with every step the pig simply pounded on top of it, not only propelling itself - but also spraying dirt into her face! "This is just so... frustrating! Get over here you stupid pig we need your meat!" The only response was another faceful of dirt accompanied by a few small stones. She felt like screaming but it wasn't like that would do anything - she had to transform. She never particularly liked transforming completely, it always felt weird - her bones stretching and changing into a new shape. She could change specific body parts as well, but that always wore at her joints - unfamiliar bones rubbing in just the wrong ways. If she wanted to actually catch this damn pig though she had to change, so she sucked it up, closed her eyes and... breathed. The patches of gold scales began to expand, skin hardening and changing color till her body was streaked with golden stripes, the purple carrying a black tint as her skin became scales. Her bones began to stretch, hair spiking into a mane - until she was into her dinosaur form, keen eyes tracking the prey's movements. The ground didn't matter anymore - when you could leap five feet into the air without trying, it was hard to worry about loose soil. Within a moment she was in the air, claws outstretched as she sailed through the air, tail whipping behind her excitedly. Her brain was more animal than human, all thoughts on how to best skewer this meat on her claws. Time seemed to slow as she descended onto her pray, its' frightening scream echoing off the trees as its beady eyes watched her. She could see the fear in its eyes, in its movements... in its smell. Tear... rip... maim... destroy... devour. Her own roar overpowered its fearful shriek as she landed on its back, the claws on her feet digging into its shoulder and back as blood welled from the cuts. She bent down, mouth opening wide to snap shut on the animal's neck just as it suddenly stopped, sending her flying from its back. She didn't go alone - a good chunk of its flesh came with her, blood splashing onto the bark of a nearby tree as the pig squealed once again. She slid on the ground, head snapping up to watch as the creature began to run again - but unlike last time, it was injured. Its sprint was more of a quick limp, and after only a second to shake off the bloody meat still stuck onto her feet she continued her chase. Within a second, the only sound left in the forest was a loud, sickening snap. "Well... that was fun," Delta commented idly as she began to transform back to normal, cringing at the feeling of her bones shrinking and contorting back to normal. She would never, ever, get used to that. The pig's head was snapped at a 180-degree angle, eyes staring wide and mouth agape from fear even in death. Its limbs were still spasming a bit, legs twitching and its ear even flicked, leaving Delta feeling more than a little disturbed. Giving her head a quick shake, she crouched by the pig to try and get a good hold, not wanting to drag it all the way back to the village - before she felt the usual uncomfortable jiggle. "Mmm... I need to find Pomella, she should have that change of clothes still..." she murmured softly, picking the pig up with ease despite its size before pressing it close to her chest. The feeling of cooling flesh on her own bare skin didn't really bother her, nor did the feeling of the wound on its shoulder bleeding onto her. What did bother her was the lifeless stare that the pig was able to give her thanks to its new 'view on life'. With a disgusted frown, she slowly pushed the head back in place, able to hear the broken bones as they ground together until the head hung limply. "Alright then... she should probably be done with her pig by now, so I'll go to the meeting spot..." Pomella
"Hi piggy! Aww, your so cuuute," Pomella cooed as she gently rubbed the top of the pig's head, spear discarded as both hands dedicated themselves to forcefully shoving love into the pig. (Oh my, that sounds a lot worse than it is - Fobus) The pig, rather than running - which, it had been doing for the past five minutes - simply snorted and leaned into her affection, whatever fear it had felt having left a while ago. five minutes earlier... Delta darted out of a nearby bush and with brutal ease hilted the spear's head into one of the pig's heads, the poor thing only managing a soft squeal before it was silenced forever. Pomella couldn't help but feel bad for the little piggies, but it was necessary - although, the two remaining pigs reacted quite quickly, crying out in fear and sprinting in opposite directions. "I wasn't accurate enough, it got a sound off... no point crying over spilled milk, Pomella can you get the one that went right? I'll go left, and when we're done we'll meet here," Delta explained quickly, not waiting for an answer as she sprinted off down the left path as if the wind itself had possessed her feet. Pomella only stared after her, processing what had been asked of her, before turning right with a sigh. "Poor piggy, it must be so scared..." The pig seemed to already have been hurt, Pomella easily able to catch up as it panicked, left leg wobbling as if it had been broken long ago. Sympathy for the creature flooded her senses, and she could feel her power react to her feelings - which it seemed to do fairly often. When tired she had much greater control of her power, bouncy personality dulled giving her greater focus. Normally though her power did what it wanted based on what she wanted - and right now she wanted to soothe the poor beast. Light began to emanate from her body, reaching towards the fleeing animal like grasping tentacles. One tendril wrapped around the limping leg, and with that simple touch, the pig stopped running. Fear still shone in its eyes as she approached, yet it did not run - not because it couldn't. She could tell what the light was doing, even if only at a basic level - it was soothing the pain and discomfort, even fixing the wound to some degree. She laid her spear to the side, and approached with open hands, smiling just a bit. Delta never said she had to kill it immediately... Present
"Such a good boy, yes you are!" the pig nuzzled her hand at her praise, and her lips stretched into a gentle smile. The light now fully enveloped the pig, giving an overwhelming sense of... calm, peace. There was no pain - only a fuzzy good feeling, like the gentle rays of a sunset setting behind tall mountains, sky-colored in shades of purple and violet unique only to a day's end. It was kinda funny - they both knew that she was here to kill the pig, yet it didn't feel any fear. Perhaps it was because it knew it would be back - in another life. "I guess I should be heading back huh?" Pomella sighed sadly, but to her surprise, the pig gently nudged her forehead with its snout. She looked up to see it glance to the spear, then back with a flick of the ear. She smiled again, reaching back to wrap her fingers around the shaft before slowly bringing it forward, giving a questioning look. All she found was a bowed head, and with a deep breath, she gripped the spear with both hands and drove the tip through its skull and into its brain, killing it instantly. The thing was surprisingly heavy, and Pomella was forced to drag it behind her, lifting it off the ground as much as possible. It took her another three minutes before she was back at the meeting spot, a smile stretching her face to see Delta already there, pig held to her chest as she patiently waited. "There you are! Honestly, I had thought you would get here before me," Delta called, a smile of her own plastered to her face as she approached. "oh, by the way, you still have that change of clothes right?" "Mhm! Why do you as-" her question was left short as Delta lowered the pig, Pomella only just realizing she was naked. "It uh, feels a bit weird to just... 'hang out'," Delta joked, smile faltering a little as she took in her own chest. Pomella silently walked forward - well, silently except for the sound of a pig being dragged behind her - and looked into Delta's eyes. Her face blushed slightly, golden eyes seeming confused before she looked away, uncomfortable. "Just to say... I think you're beautiful both with and without," Pomella whispered softly, her blush only intensifying as she was handed the binding and underwear. "T-thanks..." was all she could say, murmuring softly as she put the pig down to put on the clothes. "B-by the way, why did it take you so long? the pig couldn't have been that fast..." "Oh! Because I took a second to pet it of course!" Pomella chirped happily, glancing back at the pig with a small smile. When she looked back, Delta had the most 'wtf' face she had ever seen, and she just couldn't help but burst out laughing. "I-I managed to calm it down so I could g-get a few pets in," she choked out between her laughter, Delta only managing to slide a hand down her face. "You are one strange girl Pomella, you know that?" "I'm not strange, I'm unique!" "... Uh-huh," was all she could get out, smiling despite the sigh that escaped her lips. Pomella smiled back, although it flickered as a strange smell found its way into her nostrils. "Hey Delta... you smell that?" "Mmm... it smells like somethings rotting..." Pomella began to walk forward, gently laying her pig at Delta's feet as she walked towards the very first pig they had killed, the smell only getting stronger as she approached. She started to breathe out of her mouth, closing off her nose as the smell began to exceed what she could handle. Spear still in hand she slowly tilted the blade and opened the pig's side, causing her to suddenly regret opening her mouth - she could taste the stench. "Ugh! What in Clint's name is that smell?" Delta yelled, covering her mouth as she jogged up next to Pomella, staring along with her at the pig. It was filled with worms, pig, wiggling purple ones that burrowed into its flesh and organs as if it were a feast. They almost resembled leeches, Pomella unconsciously taking a step back. The pig's intestines and liver had already begun to rot, and she swore she could somehow see pus mixed in with the exposed blood. Some of it was even coagulated, floating on top of what was still mostly liquid. "Its... the pig only recently died... it looked so healthy too, this has to be new..." "But that's impossible! It's as if it decomposed at an extremely fast rate, and how could an infestation like... like that happen in only thirty minutes?" "I... I don't know, but whatever it is it's not natural..." "We should get the other too to the town as fast as we can... if it is something that can happen spontaneously, then keeping them here is a bad idea..." "Yeah... let's go," Pomella murmured softly, jogging back to her own pig only for Delta to beat her too it, grimacing as she lifted both of them onto her shoulders. She nodded, grabbed Delta's discarded spear, then the two were off - running back to the town with their haul, and a report of disturbing news.
Selena, Bio "... You ever have one of those moments you don't feel important?" "Yeah... as if something big is happening and you can't do anything?" "Mhm... when's lunch?" "They said eleven, only a half-hour to go..."
"Hey Evelyn, sorry if we're a bit late..!" Delta called out, still lugging both pigs on her shoulders and full-on sprinting, Pomella not far behind both breathing heavily. Evelyn, one of the town's well-known cooks was an arachnid, long black legs clicking softly as she turned to look from the pot she was currently stirring to look at the two with a neutral gaze.
"Don't worry you got here just in time... although you were cutting it close, getting here only half an hour till a town meal..."
"eheheh... sorry, we got distracted and had a few problems procuring these fine specimens," Delta explained sheepishly, laying the two pigs before Evelyn, enjoying as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Well with something like this I think it could certainly be excused..." an eyebrow lifted slowly as she looked up at them, her blood-red eyes - all six of them - seeming skeptical. "Although for something so big, it will take more than thirty minutes to cook them..."
Delta's cheeks tinted with color as embarrassment welled up from her chest before she shook her head, simply shrugging. "Can't be helped now, can it? Is there any way we could assist to possibly speed things up?" Delta asked, changing the subject while walking forward to peer into the pot that Evelyn was still stirring slowly. It smelled like a meaty stew, and she swore she could smell freshly baked bread from another nearby cooking station, her mouth beginning to water.
"Yes, actually... if you could start to cut off strips off the meat for cooking it would help speed up the process a fair amount..."
"Alright, we'll get right too it! Right Pom?"
"Mhmm!"
Selena
Selena sat at one of the long tables next to Biovera, head resting on her propped up arm as she impatiently waited for the food, foot tapping under the table in a quick rhythm of its own. Bio seemed a lot more patient, hands intertwined in front of her as she stared up into the sky, seeming deep in thought. Selena could only guess she was trying to figure out what Fobus had warned them about, she herself feeling the tiniest bit worried about his words - although she was currently a bit busy.
"Rock, paper, scissors..." both her and Gemini chanted, Gemini having been just as bored as Selena herself, suggesting they play the simple game to pass the time. Since Selena could talk to her without being considered a freak by everyone else sitting with them she agreed, and so they had started. So far the score was 2 to 5, Gemini starting to get annoyed as she fell further and further behind.
"Rock!"
"Scissors!" Gemini crowed confidently, only for the smile stretching across her lips to falter as it turned into a grimace. "Rrgh, you must be cheating somehow!"
"All I hear is a sore loser~" Selena sing-songed happily, smirking over at her double as Gemini stomped not unlike that of a small child. Then, as if a switch had been flipped she smirked evilly and put her hands out, one clenched on an open palm in the usual style.
"I am going to do rock," Gemini declared confidently, staring Selena in the eyes as doubt immediately sprung up in her mind. If she was telling the truth then Selena would have to do paper, but she was so shifty she could easily be planning scissors to cut the paper she tried to do - but she was also clever, so maybe she was even ahead of that and would actually do paper to cover the rock I could do instead. That, or she would actually do rock. Selena felt some Deja Vu at the thought, a vague memory of an assassin and 'wise man' discussing poison flashing through her mind as she began the usual chant.
"Rock, paper, scissors..."
"Rock!"
"Scissors!" Selena exclaimed, before smacking herself in the forehead as Gemini began to laugh.
"Haha! I knew I could get you with that one!"
"Well yeah, your too clever to do what you actually said you would do!"
"But what If I knew that because you knew I was clever that you would plan a step ahead and therefore make what I said I would do the clever move?"
"Ehh... that was a step ahead of where I was," Selena admitted, turning her head to pout over at Bio who was looking at her slightly strangely. "My subconscious is being mean to meeee!"
"Mhm I'm sure..." Bio chuckled softly, Selena getting the impression she sounded like a whiney child - but she didn't care.
"Could you maaaybe hold me and comfort me? Protect me from my evil mind?"
"Oh? And how would I do that, helpless princess?" Bio teased softly, raising an eyebrow as Selena's cheeks turned a bit red.
"W-well, I'm sure your arms would protect my quite well noble knight..."
"Say no more..." Bio purred, Selena perking up as Bio's arms gently wrapped around her, resting her head on Bio's shoulder. "Are you safe now?"
"Mhmm... my hero~"
"Oy, everyone! Food's ready and I hope yall's stomachs are too!" Clint's voiced boomed across the town square, eliciting a cheer from those gathered my own voice joining in. Before long a few assistants were dishing out food, the aroma of freshly baked bread and meaty stew reaching their nostrils. Both she and Bio breathed in deep, her mouth already watering from the scent - wait a minute, it couldn't be... was that the smell of...
"Bacon!" Selena cried out happily, squeezing Bio tight in her excitement. "I smell bacon!"
"Mmm, your right - it smells great too..." Bio commented, breathing in even deeper only for a wide smile to stretch across her face. In a matter of minutes, everyone was digging in, utensils placed before each town member before some of the helpers began to run along, bringing people drinks - either a light ale or simple water it seemed. Selena personally asked for water when the cat lady came by, head still aching slightly from the previous night and watching as Bio took the same.
They were already well into their first plates when a voice caught their attention, looking up to smile - cheeks still full of food or she would have called back - and waving wildly as Pomella and Delta jogged over, the two joining them at the table. "Hey you two! Where have you been all morning?" Selena asked happily, watching the two as they sat down on the opposite side of them.
"Oh ya know not much, just a bit of hunting... some nice, big, meaty pigs," Delta explained slowly, a smile stretching across her face as Selena's eyes widened.
"Wait, are you who we have to thank for this?" she held up one of the many pieces of bacon stashed onto her plate, both Delta and Pomella giving a proud nod. "Ohmygodyoutwoarethebest!" Selena squeed happily, reaching over the table to give the two a crushing hug.
"G-glad to be of s-service - urgh! U-uhm, air please!" Pomella choked out, pawing at Selena's grip.
"Oh right, sorry," Selena apologized sheepishly, touching the tips of her fingers together.
"More importantly... how was your night?" Pom asked innocently, although her smile was anything but innocent - her young seeming face wearing an expression that did not fit her features. Selena felt like her cheeks suddenly burst into flames, and a quick glance to her left confirmed her suspicions that Bio was in a similar state.
"U-uhm, well it was..."
"Steamy?" Delta supplied with a small smirk, only causing her to blush harder. She swore any minute and her head would turn into a bright red tomato.
"N-not so much steamy as just hot..." Bio murmured, her own face a mirror of Selena's.
"B-bio!"
"W-what? It was really hot in the room..."
"I don't think it was the room," Pomella commented with a devilish smile before stuffing a piece of bacon into her face. Delta only laughed as the two glared at the small bird-girl, starting on her own plateful of food as she began to tell the story of their hunt.
It was eleven-thirty when the town finished the feast, Clint standing in front of a table especially dedicated to the Arachnid folk who had requested the meal in the first place. "Are all of you satisfied?" he asked formally, looking into the eyes of one of the larger arachne. She simply nodded, Clint breaking into a smile. "Then with that, I declare this feast officially finished! You may all return to your daily duties, thank you all for participating," he called loudly to all those present, the tables almost immediately beginning to disperse as everyone went to complete their own individual jobs.
"Aww, you're leaving already? But we finally just got a chance to meet up again!" Selena complained loudly as Delta and Pom stood up, an apologetic smile on their faces.
"Sorry, but we have to tell Clint about something disturbing we found out in the woods," Delta explained, Bio looking up sharply.
"Something disturbing?"
"mhm, one of the pigs we killed had become suddenly infested and rotting without warning, we want to let him know just in case he has any knowledge on the subject,"
"I see..." Bio murmured softly, she and Selena exchanging a look as Fobus' words came to the forefront of their minds. "Well then you two should be off, we will most likely retreat back to the hotel since we lack anything to really do..."
The two nodded, then both groups split off in their separate directions, Selena's mind racing at the implications. Something was, without a doubt, going on. The only question was - what?
Delta
Delta finished her explanation of their discovery quickly to Clint who stood silent, a hand slowly rubbing his chin as he thought.
"Well I have never heard of something like this happening before, it is quite disturbing news indeed..." he murmured just loud enough for the two of them to hear, Pomella simply nodding.
"That's what we thought, although we had been hoping you might have some idea as to what the cause is?"
"No, no idea honestly... I just suggest you two be careful just in case though. A mystery is afoot in my town of Grassy Cross, and I don't like it - not one bit..."
A sense of boredom fell upon the two as they began their walk back to the hotel, Fobus' words of warning and her friends' discoveries carving grooves in her mind as her thoughts fell into a cycle of worry and confusion. Bio couldn't help but think of all the ways it could possibly connect with his warning - maybe the virus would get into the villagers and everyone would start dying? Or maybe the wildlife would all start dying and cause a great famine. Oh or maybe -
"Bio - Bio!" a voice shouted almost directly into her ear, breaking her chain of thought.
"H-huh!? What is it? Is something wrong?"
"No, it's not like I've been trying to have a conversation with you for the past five minutes... not at all..."
"S-sorry Selena, I just can't help but worry about everything that's going on... or for that matter everything that isn't happening,"
Selena huffed indignantly, a frown stretching her features. "It's fine... I'm worried about it too, but still worrying about it isn't going to help anyone - we don't even know what the problem is yet, and I'm not up for brainstorming every possibility..."
"Fair enough, sorry it's just a bad habit when I start worrying about something," Bio apologized softly, tentatively putting an arm around her. She still wasn't used to... initializing contact, but it felt like the right thing to do so she did it - even if steam would plume from her head in a mix of embarrassment and worry that she shouldn't be doing this right now. To her relief though Selena leaned into her side, sighing softly.
"It's alright I guess... man I wish there was something we could do to relax, take our minds off things for a while..."
"Yeah... something that we could both focus on completely..." she couldn't tell why, but her face was slowly starting to heat up.
"Mhmm... someplace warm and comfortable, perhaps just the two of us..." Selena's face was also slightly flushed - the heat must be getting to them. Wait, when was it so hot?
"That does sound pretty nice... any suggestions?"
"Well how about you two head to the town's church?" a cheery voice suggested from behind them, both Bio and Selena's heads whipping around to look at the cat-man who was only a couple feet behind him, an oblivious smile plastered to his face. Bio felt... annoyed for some reason, as if something had just been interrupted... wait a minute what had they been talking abou -
"How in the world would the church be a relaxing place? Neither of us are religious so it's not like divine peace will befall us or anything," Selena scoffed, drawing herself up with an annoyed expression. Wait, was Bio's face as bright red as hers right now?
"Ooh right! I forgot you two were new around here, silly me~" the man recalled, although he didn't seem surprised in the slightest.
"Yeah right... you just wanted to interrupt us..." Bio couldn't help but mutter under her breath, although her curiosity was outweighing her annoyance.
"The church here is to our great lord, the one who rules this entire land!" he continued obliviously, arms wide towards the sky as he proclaimed loudly, "Hypolos!"
Biovera felt like she was struck by lightning - remembering when they had just saved Innsmouth. Fobus' information on the one responsible for what was going on with this world - Hypolos, who was apparently both the ruler and god of this land. Glancing to her right Selena's confused expression showed she hadn't come to the same realization, her head cocked to the side as she stared at the cat-man as if he were crazy. "Hypolos? Soo he who 'rules this entire land' is a god or something?" Selena asked, Bio gently nudging her arm with her own.
"Hypolos is a personification, remember? The one who's causing all this?" Bio murmured softly into her ear, Selena's eyes widening as her memory kicked in.
"Yes, indeed! In his benevolence not only does he keep these lands peaceful (Pfft! what a load - Fobus) but he also blesses us with his gift when we ask!"
"His... 'gift'... riiight..."
"You see, Hypolos has control over the dreams of those who come to him for help," he began to explain, undeterred. "He provides sleep for those unable and bestows the sweetest dreams upon those who ask! If you're looking for someplace peaceful to relax, there is no better a place,"
"I... see... well then, Selena we may as well check out this church, right?" Bio asked carefully, shooting her a meaningful look. If they were going to learn anything about this guy, visiting someplace dedicated to him seemed like a good start.
"Yeah, that sounds fine by me - although, that alone time better happen later..." Selena responded happily, her voice softening into a teasing purr that set Bio's face on fire. Then with a small smile, she walked off in the direction the cat-man was pointing, Bio following close behind. It didn't take long for the large building to come into view, although it wasn't anything spectacular.
The church was painted white with spirals of turquoise, some places the paint was even falling off, revealing the red brick underneath the white coating. A single tower protruded from the top in a smooth arc, a small golden moon at the very tip of the pillar. Then as they got closer, it suddenly hit her - she was exhausted. It was as if the second she got close to the church all the energy from the meal she had only just eaten was leeched out of her. She felt like curling up and sleeping on the soft, comfortable dirt, a yawn escaping her lips at the very thought.
She barely registered as Selena yawned at the exact same time, rubbing at her eyes sleepily as she stared up at the church along with Bio.
"Honestly, I can't leave you two alone for even a moment..." Fobus, who had suddenly appeared in front of them sighed dramatically, turning up his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You look like... like..." he paused, trying to think of an analogy. Bio didn't really care what she looked like - she just wanted to sleep. "You look like bears about to go into hibernation... oh well, guess it's up to me!"
The world came into sharp focus as pain blossomed across her left cheek, head snapping to the right as Fobus slapped the both of them... hard.
"Hey! What in the bloody hell was that for!?" Bio exclaimed, putting a hand to the spot on her cheek - she could already feel it bruising - while glaring daggers at Fobus who merely chuckled.
"Welcome back my lovelies~ Can't have you falling under his influence so easily, or I wouldn't see the two of you up for the rest of the day - good thing I'm here hmm?" Fobus preened, smirking playfully as Bio noticed she indeed wasn't so tired anymore. It was still there, at the edges of her mind slowly trying to creep in, but it wasn't as bad as it had been only moments ago.
"So wait... the church makes people sleep?"
"Yep! Did you not notice all the people just laying around?"
He was right - a quick glance showed that there were at least seven people randomly scattered around the ground in front of the church, some even snoring loudly. "Wow... that's a surprising amount of influence considering we haven't even entered the church yet... I suppose that guy was right,"
"Indeed, the distortion in that church is just dreadful!"
"Wait... distortion? What distortion? It's a completely normal-looking church..." Selena puzzled, then after a moment, her eyes widened as if the church had suddenly become an amusement park. "What in the...!"
"Ah so you noticed! Hypolos is a personification of sleep that has gained more power through worship... you see in this world personifications are often considered gods, and their strength depends on how deep their following is - Hypolos in the old world was one of - if not the largest - personification, but one day he had a bad night..."
"A bad night? Are you telling me the entire world got like this because somebody had a bad day?"
"Well of course! You see his girlfriend broke up with him, he got mad, went to bed and his dreams were so powerful it changed the entire world!"
"That... that's just..." Biovera was speechless, mind unable to find the words to express her feelings.
"You know... it's still a better love story than twilight," Selena commented, arms crossed over her chest as she glared up at the church. Fobus gave a solemn nod, then looked to Bio with a small grin stuck to his face.
"You have good taste - anyway, so basically in his dream, he was the only 'god', the dream started off good then got bad - soo here we are,"
"So if he's the only personification - sorry, god - then how are you here?"
"Oh it's simple! I'm not from this dimension the same as you!"
Both Biovera and Selena were silent for a moment, staring at him before letting out a defeated sigh.
"Honestly, I'm not even surprised..."
"Ditto... no way a weirdo like him could be native..."
"You realize I can hear both of you right? My heart is practically shredding itself at your harsh words~" Fobus complained, clutching at his chest dramatically before holding out a hand. "Listen, I don't like to break my character but this is serious - I'm a personification of horror and I get stronger from people being afraid, yet my job is to reduce fear and help people with their problems - so if you could work with me on fixing this world, that'd be great,"
Bio hesitantly reached out her own hand before taking his, shooting him a confused look.
"Alright, but haven't we talked about this before..?"
"Shh, just let it happen~ anyway I'll be off now, watch your backs lovelies!"
With that he was gone, vanishing in a puff of blue smoke before their eyes. The two stared at where he had stood only moments ago before looking to each other, a question dangling in the air between them. What now?