2.05 – Russy?

Passiveish lewdness?

"What are you saving it for? What's it like? Could I have some? Or, should I? By the way, there's uh, a meteor shower thingy coming up—because apparently that's a thing, maybe you know of it already—and Bailey and Emma and me and whoever else I manage to invite, were going to go, uh...somewhere. If you wanted to go with us? I'd have worded this better if I didn't feel a little loopy."

Maple was a couple steps away from sober reality. She felt—airy? Spacey? Giddy? Silly? Comfy?

"Oh, Eruvia's? Where are you going? I'd maybe be interested. That's one thing I was planning on saving it for. And I don't know. I'd give you some if you showed an interest, but I don't recommend it to people anymore. I think if you're the type of person who'd like it, you would seek it out. It's an intense, introspective experience. And some don't take to it well."

Maple nodded sagely, and then semi-jokingly pointed an indignant finger at Rachel.

"Listen, you. I—I once had an orgy with half this city. I've met an actual goddess in her—her realm, and, and so many TENTACLES—so, yeah, I could handle whatever it is. If it'd be fun? And it's not dangerous or addictive?"

She was open to it. She liked intense introspective experiences, if all of her [Telepathic Orgasms] were anything to go by. Rachel laughed and nodded.

"Sure, we can see how you feel about it when the time comes. Where, though?"

"Oh, uh, some hot springs place? And there's a, uh...space observation thingy nearby—what's the word...you know. It sounded like a loooong walk away, but I'm stronger now. I'll even be able to fly eventually, you know."

Maple gestured for another puff of the thingy, but Rachel cut her off from it and put it away in her bag of holding.

"I think we've had enough for now. But yeah, I think I know where you mean. I'd be down. Are expenses being shared or something?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, something like that. I don't know...ask me tomorrow. Or! Ask Bailey. He'd know. It's his scheme, that silly gnoll. I'll uh, we'll work it all out someday. It's like, a whole month away, so. Hey Rachel, could I...could you carry me again?"

Rachel nodded along, but then tilted her head in confusion.

"What, why? Here? People might get the wrong idea..."

Maple had the sudden urge to be close to her friend. She wanted to rub up against her and hug her. What better way to accomplish that, than by mounting her? Actually, it made sense now, why Rachel once said it was seen as an intimate thing.

"So? No one's around anyway. Look, [Detect Gaze]!"

Maple cast it on both of them, using mana because she wasn't so out of it as to risk her prana use being noticed. She felt no gazes on herself, so the same was likely true for Rachel.

"Carry me like you used to. For old time's sake? I think it'd be fun, if you wanted to."

"What do you mean 'used to', we only ever did that once. But alright, fine."

Maple hadn't expected it to work, but Rachel lowered herself so that she could climb on. Maple whispered a yesss and giggled while putting a leg over her. It took a few seconds to stabilize, but then Maple threw her arms around her and squeezed, rubbing her cheek against Rachel's back.

"Gotcha! Hehe, you're so warm."

Maple basked in Rachel's body heat and the softness of her sweater before eventually remembering herself. She pulled away and made to let go.

"Ah, sorry. I couldn't resist."

Maple pulled back to put space between them, but Rachel grabbed her arms and pulled her forward again.

"I don't mind. Stay like that if you want."

"Mm."

Maple settled in against her and Rachel leaned back with her body weight until they found an equilibrium. Maple's legs dangled off the front of Rachel, while her arms wrapped around her waist.

I'm so comfy. The thought repeated itself a few times. Rachel seemed to agree, because neither said anything for a time. Rachel continued down the paved trail, her motions smooth enough for Maple to feel only Rachel's heartbeat and breathing against her.

Maple relaxed with her eyes closed and listened to Rachel's heartbeat, mixed with the sounds of the river. Every so often, she affectionately rubbed her cheek harder against her back. She was comfy.

After a few minutes of this, she noticed that her and Rachel's heartbeats fell into sync. A thought came to her.

"Do you ever get lonely, Rachel?"

Rachel glanced behind her.

"Where'd that question come from all of a sudden?"

"I don't know. You're always at work all the time, and everything...And I think Sasha's giving us our own room soon. I don't want to lose touch with you, you know?"

Maple had Emma—even Thera, now—but did Rachel have anyone? Just someone to hug from time to time? Rachel took a bit to answer and her voice came out stilted.

"Well, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who never felt alone. I do spend most of my time in a lab, but that's fine with me. Good though, you two could use some space to yourself."

"Yeah, it'll be nice. But you'd better still hang out with us."

Maple squeezed Rachel tighter; one of the first three people she'd met in this world. Rachel patted her hand.

"I will. We'll still be at the same inn, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Hey, I wonder how this would feel with [Enhanced Pleasure]. That's one of the spells I got now. I could cast it on you, too."

"Try it."

"Alright, let's see. [Enhanced Pleasure]."

Maple cast it only on herself first, and for good reason, it turned out. While it was true not all pleasure was sexual, Rachel's movements weren't as smooth as she'd thought. With her legs wrapped around Rachel, crotch pressing against her, and the chemical comfiness of Rachel's smoke blend being enhanced by the spell—the slightest movement sent pleasure arcing through Maple's body.

In only a few seconds, her nipples hardened enough that she worried Rachel could feel them pressing through the fabric of both their shirts. Maple cancelled the spell, and took a few heavy breaths.

"Okay, nope. No good, actually."

"Why not? Too strong? Let me try."

"Uh, are you sure? I don't know how to explain it, but I don't think you'll like it..."

Maple buried her face between Rachel's shoulder blades as if that might hide her embarrassment. She could have explained it as: 'it feels way too sexual'. But that would be far too revealing, so better to just let Rachel see for herself?

Right, because what if Maple's reaction to it was just weird? Better not to reveal too much. Rachel put a hand over Maple's, making a few butterflies go through her, and laughed.

"You're just a lightweight. Let me see."

"Okay, you asked for it. [Enhanced Pleasure]."

Rachel stumbled a step, reminding Maple to ask about the intricacies of arachnid locomotion sometime, and tensed up. Her breathing and heartbeat quickened, and Maple took the opportunity to adjust how her arms rested around her. She made sure the fabric of Rachel's sweater rubbed against her plenty.

"Well, how is it? Am I just a lightweight?"

Rachel's prana had begun to rise as soon as Maple had cast it on her. It hadn't gone down by much since Maple had caught her in the act earlier, but now it was higher still. Maple knew Rachel was having a similar reaction to the spell, and she rather enjoyed putting her on the spot about it.

The effect was likely even stronger for Rachel; Maple had loads of experience with enhancing pleasure and dealing with overwhelming stimulus. She was ready to cancel it, just as soon as Rachel said so. Rachel's voice came out quieter when she finally answered.

"Ah—I think I see what you mean. It's not that bad. So yes, you are just a lightweight."

She sounded so smug about it. Maple rubbed against her, hoping it would—make her feel lots of pleasure. Rachel had only her sweater on since it was just a late night walk. At the very least, it'd be rubbing against her nipples from Maple's movements.

Maple had expected her to want it canceled, but even after a few seconds of her second-hand attack, Rachel remained silent. Maple felt a little defensive.

"No I'm not, I just...do you know what I meant? I didn't want to—while you're carrying me, you know..."

She didn't want to feel that much sexual pleasure while being carried platonically. They were on the same page, right? Surely they were; Rachel's prana was up, and she'd said she knew what she meant. But if there was a misunderstanding...

Rachel calmed her breathing. She was feeling something. That much was certain.

"Pretty sure I do. It feels good, right? I don't mind, so cast it on yourself again. If you're not a lightweight, that is."

"Now you're taunting me. I don't know if we're talking about the same thing, but fine, I'm not gonna back down. [Enhanced Pleasure]."

Maple held Rachel tight against her, preventing any too-pleasurable light touches from occurring. Rachel would definitely be able to feel her nipples against her now. Her hair brushed against Maple as she nodded.

"See? It's fine. Oops."

Rachel messed up a step, making Maple bounce hard against her. Maple grimaced and suppressed a gasp.

"Hey, you did that on purpose—umf. Jeez, okay, you definitely know what I meant."

Rachel did it again while Maple was speaking, sending another jolt of pleasure through her.

"Do I? You'd better describe what you're feeling in detail so we can be sure."

"Yeah? How about you tell me what you're feeling."

Maple repositioned one arm, moving it to rest across Rachel's chest instead of her stomach. She brushed past Rachel's nipples in the process and through her shirt felt them—they were as pointed as her own.

Rachel kept walking, hiding any reaction she may have had. She kept the bounce to her step, which Maple repaid with subtle arm movements against her chest. [Enhanced Pleasure] did most of the work to make all of these actions...more.

What were they even doing? To an outside observer, nothing untoward was going on. Few others were on the trail, and it was dark between the lampposts. [Detect Gaze] showed nobody was looking, but it was a secret battle—a game of secretly lewd chicken? The first one to put a stop to it was a lightweight?

Maple didn't think about it much, and instead focused on winning. Or, at least not losing. This battle would be one of attrition. If it was a battle at all. The reality seemed to be that her cute arachnid friend wanted to play a little, and how could Maple say no to that?

Rachel was extremely cute. She wore glasses, enjoyed chemistry and science, was a bit of a loner—Maple could almost say she was a little nerdy. If she was, then that would have been an endearing quality that added to her attractiveness.

Yet rather than nerdy, Rachel managed to wear those traits confidently, in a cool way. Maybe her stoner-like hobbies offset what would have otherwise been nerdiness. Or maybe it was her mysterious past, and the combat Skills she'd displayed before they left for Syber.

Physically, she was attractive too. Be it from the lack of processed sugar to put in everything or the necessity of physical activity in this world, but most people Maple had met thus far had been pretty fit.

Rachel was no exception, and after living with her for so long, Maple had even grown used to her spider-half; something that had frightened her at first. That had changed, but before coming to this world, she'd also never looked at other women in the way she did now. She'd really...grown?

Maple settled back into how she had been, comfily nuzzled against Rachel's back. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the mild stimulation of Rachel's bobbing steps. She passively rubbed Rachel's nipples with her forearm. That wasn't a very subtle thing, but she was hesitant to do more. She wasn't sure what Rachel wanted out of this exactly, or what they were even doing.

After a few minutes of this, she realized Rachel had gone off the main trail and into the dark wooded area surrounding the river. She perked her head up.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular, but somewhere a little more private."

"Oh?"