Chapter 82

<~> Chapter 82

Things had been rather stressful since we had gotten back from the dungeon with Mimi and since this was the first time she was actually walking with us outside of her sword sheath it felt appropriate to splurge a little. We walked around and ordered a good amount of everything nearby. Amusingly, I had to repeatedly promise we were still going to get ice cream after, I think the twins were worried the cost would add up and I would change my mind about the ice cream. Frankly with all the shit we've been dealing with, a splurge on food feels appropriate. At this point I'm kind of excited to get out of this town.

It's not that I dislike any of the people here, it's more that this place has turned into one issue after another. Not that none of it is my fault, I was the one who ultimately decided to go into the dungeon after all. Considering the mimic sitting across from me sampling all the different kinds of foods came from that decision, I was rather happy I made it. Dumb as it may have been at the time. Dungeons aren't a trifling matter, I learned that first hand and the implications I've received from everyone said that I got off easy.

Morrigan was taking the opportunity to joke around with Bella, feeding her bites of different foods. Mimi has been mostly glued to Bella's other side, they had a strong connection already. I'd say a sisterly bond but the three of us had already slept together so maybe that was weird. Torien was mostly focused on food since she wasn't really involved with any of our party members the same way but was still laughing and joking around with everyone. I was just happy she didn't seem to have an issue with the whole thing.

"Hey Torien, how are you holding up?" I asked.

She finished the food in her mouth and shrugged. "I'm in a pretty good mood considering everything that's happened to us lately. The trip back to the dungeon had been a bit harrowing in the moment but it ended up being good experience for something that didn't put us in a ton of direct danger. I guess it would have been a different story if they had broken the barriers everyone set up. It was pretty quick thinking from Bella to pull up thorn bushes using her nature magic."

Bella's ears perked up at the mention of her name. "You think I did the right thing there?"

Torien raised an eyebrow. "You don't think that was a good idea?"

Bella turned her face away looking a bit self-conscious. "It was Lilith's idea to light them on fire though..."

Torien shrugged. "She probably wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't summoned them in the first place."

I joined in, "Yeah Bella, you were the star of the show there. This time I was just following your lead."

She smiled looking relieved. "Well okay, if you guys say so."

I finished a few bites of the kabob I was holding before continuing, "Is there anything else we need from the city? I'm hoping those papers we brought the guild master will be enough for us to get paid so we can go to the capital like we were talking about." I looked at Torien. "Do you need arrows again after that last fight?"

"No, I was able to replenish my stock from what they had at the dungeon camp. Don't worry, I asked if it was alright before I refilled my quiver. Plus Mimi's still holding onto that second sheaf we bought from the mousekin."

I turned to Bella. "Anything you need? We haven't really bought you any new equipment since we started."

She shrugged. "I haven't even been able to work all the way through my nature spellbook with everything we've been doing lately. I've been passing out as soon as I hit the pillow almost every night. Everything else has been mostly just getting to know each other better."

"It might be better to see what's available in the capital before we spend all of our money anyway." Morrigan added.

Ah, that made sense. Selection and prices for books and equipment might be cheaper in the capital.

I scratched the base of my horn idly, "Is the road to the capital dangerous? The guild master said she would set us up with transportation but I'm not really sure what that entails."

Torien made a so-so gesture, "There's unlikely to be bandits but since we're so far out and close to the frontier there's more monsters than normal on the roads. Did she say she was going to pay for a carriage or put you on a guarding job to the capital?"

"She said she would pay for me to learn cartography and 'pay for my travels' whatever that means."

"Ehh... That implies that she'll pay for a carriage but she might want us to guard it too."

I shrugged. "Well more pay and another guild mission under our belt then. Going up in rank will be necessary if we want to ever get out of the guild's grip any time soon. From what everyone's been saying, we'll need their support since the titles we gained from the dungeon are dangerous apparently."

Torien scratched her chin in thought before turning back to me. "You seem to talk about money and getting paid often, despite us being decently well off from what I understand. Is there a reason for that?"

I hesitated. "It's not that I'm greedy or anything but with as little memories or understanding of the world I have, money is one thing I do understand."

I looked down at the table and collected my thoughts. Am I being greedy? Is that why I keep bringing it up? It's not like I am stingy, I've probably wasted more money than I should have on rush orders and food.

I scratched the base of my horn again as my thoughts crystalized. "There's leverage in money. I'm pretty vulnerable right now all things considered. Sure it's dangerous to carry around a lot of it but a bribe here or a nice tip there and we can put ourselves out of harms way or make the right person look the other way for us. I'm not hoarding it because there's anything in particular I need or want, more that I just want the security of it."

Torien nodded. "Makes sense. That kind of explains the kind of person you are." She cracked a grin. "That puts you into the pragmatic noble category rather than the frivolous one."

I laughed. "I'm never going to escape being called a noble am I?"

"What can I say, you make it easy," she said with a chuckle.

I looked over at Mimi again who was happily eating the last of some kind of noodle dish.

"Hey Mimi, is there anything you want from town before we leave? Any clothes of your own? Books or anything?

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm okay with sharing clothes with people if I need to wear them. They're kind of itchy though."

Bella smiled. "I suppose they are with the fur. It's no wonder so many beastfolk go without."

I looked around at the beastfolk in the area, all of them nearby were properly clothed.

"Not here silly," Bella said with a laugh. "Some Beastfolk in small towns or in Zarcuda sometimes barely wear clothes at all. It's one of the things the Tamin church complains about all the time. Most people who travel or adventure know better than to go nude where people will have a problem with it."

"Lilith, we're nearly done with the food. Can I go get the ice cream now?" Morrigan's tail was flicking with excitement.

"Sure. Bella do you mind going with her? I would feel better if no one went anywhere alone."

Bella nodded. "Sure thing."

I transferred 30 silver to a separate pouch for her, a little more than it cost last time just in case, and handed it to Morrigan. "Here's 30 silver, make sure you bring back one for each of us."

"Okay!" Morrigan, Bella, and Mimi all started walking over towards the ice cream stand.

After the three of them were out of ear shot Torien cleared her throat and spoke to me quietly. "H-hey Lilith... The stuff you do with Mori and the other girls... How does it feel?"

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "It feels good, it feels intimate in a way few other things can. Are you... interested in joining us some time?"

Torien looked away embarrassed and squirmed in her seat before responding. "I've never really felt... interested before. I don't really know if I'm interested now, or if I just... feel left out. Before you ask! No, I don't want to do anything with my sister, that would be weird. I'm just curious about how it would feel with you or Bella... Or even Mimi. The thoughts are confusing though, I don't know if... this is how everyone else feels normally or not... Some of the other people I've known have talked about how it feels to be in love with someone but I don't think I've ever felt that way before. I still don't... but you make some of the other stuff seem... fun."

I waited for a moment to see if she would continue. Part of me wanted to say something snarky and tease her but the bigger part of me recognized that now was not the time for that.

"It doesn't have to be about love. I know that usually it comes with the territory and for some people one often leads to the other but it can just be about enjoying yourself with someone else. And trust me, there's no such thing as normal when it comes to this stuff. I would be interested in exploring things with you if you want to but up until now I have been trying to respect your boundaries since you didn't seem interested in that. If we were to do something though, both Bella and Morrigan would have to agree that it was okay. The promise I made to them is that we would all have to agree who we're allowed to sleep with."

"Y-you would tell Morrigan first?"

I nodded. "That's the deal. All of us have to agree that it's okay. Since I'm a succubus, sleeping with others is going to be a necessity. So all of my girlfriends, and anyone else who we agree will join us on a more permanent basis, will have to come to an agreement about it first."

"...Can I talk to Morrigan about it first? I... I don't know if I'm ready for her to know how I feel about this."

I rubbed her back with one hand. "That's fine. This conversation will stay between us, I promise. I would be open to it though, I'm almost positive Bella would be okay with it too, or even interested in joining. Morrigan is the only one I wouldn't be so sure about. She was pretty self-conscious about you knowing about her initially and I don't know if she would be happy or jealous about me sleeping with you as well."

"I'll... try to think of a good time to bring it up to her. Sorry if... if this whole thing just makes everything weird."

I smiled and patted her back. "Don't worry so much about it. None of it has to make much sense. Just do what you enjoy. There's no need to get washed away by shame or guilt if you're not hurting anyone else by having a little bit of fun."

Torien smiled. "You sound like you would make a good follower of Morkinnen."

I laughed. "You think so? Oh! You know that elf, Tarklin? He told me he was a follower of Morkinnen and asked if me and 'my harem' would be interested in sleeping with him."

Torien laughed in response. "No way. I didn't think that guy would be the type. I guess it makes sense why they would send him to guard us from the Tamin church then, no love lost there."

"We're back!" Morrigan said excitedly. "The same nice lady was at the stall again and she gave me a little discount!"

I took the bowl of ice cream from her and pictured the very well endowed cow beastfolk woman.

Some things are going to take longer than others to get used to. I took a bite of the tasty ice cream.