Chapter 52: Skill Check

Ann stood, looking sheepish as she tried to do her best to control her cock as she shuffled over to the stone wall. Pressing herself as close to it as she could, she peered around the side. Bren was sitting there, reading. Just reading.

Had he not heard? There’s no way. Kat wasn’t quiet at all, and Rosalyn was caught by enough surprise she’d been pretty loud too. Everything pointed to him having heard.

“Hey, Bren,” Ann called, waving nervously. “I’m really sorry, we just got caught up in the moment, and I really, really don’t want you to be mad and sorry,” she rambled.

Bren sat there for a moment, then looked up from his book. A look of surprise crossed his face as he quickly shut it and set it aside. He then reached up to his ears and pulled wads of cotton and wax out. “Forgive me, did you say something?”

“You… you didn’t hear anything?” Ann asked, eyes widening at his actions.

“Annita, I figured something was going to happen. I planned ahead. I did not hear whatever happened over there, and I would appreciate as few details as possible,” he said simply. “Is anything wrong that would need my attention?”

“No,” Ann answered simply, blushing deeper than she thought possible.

“Then I will return to my book. Let me know when you are prepared to leave,” he said, placing his makeshift ear plugs back in and returning to his book.

Ann stood there for a moment, dumbstruck by what had just happened before returning to her partners. Noticing the thousand-yard stare, Kat and Rosalyn tried to get her attention, shaking her slightly.

“Ye ok? He’s not pissed, is he?” Kat asked urgently.

“No. No. He’s fine. He was prepared? Had earplugs in and everything. I… huh. Good on him? But I feel embarrassed that he could tell we’d get up to something.”

“We do kinda take whatever opportunity we get,” Kat said, grimacing. “Not really a stretch tae figure out when we’re gonna be gettin’ busy.”

“Still not sure how I feel about being that predictable,” Ann murmured, staring straight ahead.

“Predictably unpredictable? Predictably lecherous and licentious? Or just that he knows you well enough by now that he knows you and Kat will jump each other at the drop of the hat? I mean. I’ve only been with you two a short time, and I’m starting to get the idea of when you two are going to be busy. At least the general timing. It’s fun how often it is. Even if I’m not included, I guess, for now, but still,” Rosalyn said, words beginning to ramble.

The bubbly Druid’s words were enough to knock Ann out of her funk, drawing a giggle from her lips. “Yeah. Guess it’s not too bad a thing. Especially if it helps his sanity,” she admitted, long arms reaching over to pull Rosalyn close, enjoying the skin to skin contact as she buried the smaller woman’s face in her breasts. A delightful shiver ran through the smaller woman’s body as she was enveloped, but Ann left it there, trying to be comforting despite her instincts telling her to do otherwise.

“So, ye have a good time, little lamb?” Kat purred, pulling closer to the pair.

“Yeah. Definitely,” Rosalyn said, words muffled by mounds of boobs.

“Think ye might want more?” Kat prodded, hands reaching out to massage the Druid’s back, which had tensed up as she was drawn into Ann.

“Later? Not here. That’s for sure, not here. Maybe somewhere more comfortable and stable and less open? Private for sure,” Rosalyn admitted.

“And after a date,” Ann reminded her. “We’ve got to go do something together, the three of us, that isn’t killing Warped.”

“But it’s so much fun!” Kat complained sarcastically. “Gets yer blood pumpin, feelin’s all on edge. Gods, nothin’ like it.”

“You two definitely share that,” Rosalyn giggled, turning herself so she was facing out of Ann’s breasts, horns nestled in soft flesh. “I’ve watched you spar. Seems like you’re courting each other the whole time. Even when you get all angry that you keep losing,” she poked Ann in the ribs with an elbow. “I can still see your admiration for Kat. That bar to reach and that pride in your partner. It’s cute.”

“Don’t think many people would call that cute,” Ann laughed, wrapping her arms around Rosalyn’s chest, hugging just under her breasts. “But if you think it is, then that works for me. You’re pretty damn cool when you’re fighting. Watching you cast that lightning and those thorns from inside the Guardian was intense.”

“Aye. Crazy feckin’ move tae get up close like tha’,” Kat agreed. “Especially fer someone wit’ as low defensive stats as ye’ve got.”

“It worked!” Rosalyn grumbled, pouting.

“It did. And it was fucking awesome,” Ann agreed, planting a kiss on top of the Druid’s head. “Just try to dodge next time.”

“Guess we’ve all got a little crazy in us. Maybe not Bren, but he did great during that Otter fight, despite getting absolutely wrecked,” Ann observed.

“Gotta have one o’ us wit’ all their screws tightened,” Kat laughed, leaning forward and sandwiching Rosalyn between them as she kissed Ann gently. She pulled back with a grin, goal achieved, and rolled to lay shoulder to shoulder with Ann. “Keeps us from an early grave. Least until we can do some really stupid shite wit’ higher levels.”

“Oh, speaking of, I leveled off that Guardian. Just the one this time, but still. Two levels from a Seed is good. Did you two level too?” Ann asked.

Both nodded, eyes losing focus as they checked.

“Odd level, new skill. Let’s see what crazy shite we get this time,” Kat said with a grin.

Ann pulled up her silvery screen and took a look herself.

Congratulations! Your Path has advanced!

Warrior of Orenous (15)

Please choose from one of the following:

Love Beam: Cost: 10-60 Desire. Charge the beam by holding your firearm with both hands. The longer it charges, the more desire the skill costs. Deal 100-400% of your Faith in a straight line. If the first target dies, it will deal the remaining damage to any targets behind it. User must remain still for the duration of the charge.

A Fistfull of Love: Focus your desire in your fist. Spend 80 Desire to enhance your next strike to add 400% of your faith as damage.

“Well, that’s… a choice,” Ann stuttered, reading over her skills. “Sounds like some magical girl bullshit.”

“Magical what? Like a witch?” Rosalyn asked, perking up.

“No, no. Just a type of story from my time. Teenaged girls would be given magic by some entity to fight evil. They all had moves that used the power of love or friendship, or something like that. Listen to this,” she chuckled as she read out her skills.

“Huh, those’re two really strong attacks,” Kat said, blue eyes glinting as she thought it through. “Interestin’ that one o’ ‘em is limitin’ ye tae punchin’. Don’ think that’d work wit’ yer sword.”

“I was thinking about that,” Ann admitted. “The first one is just a big fuckoff ranged attack, but we’ve got enough ranged firepower with Rosalyn for now. I’m our only melee damage, besides your basic stuff, Kat. Plus, making me stand still, and taking both my hands? That’s really vulnerable.”

“Yeah. Even my skills that deal considerable damage don’t force me to stand still,” Rosalyn said, still nestled in Ann’s chest. The woman had gotten surprisingly comfortable there, and showed no sign of leaving.

“Plus, my falchion’s kinda fucked,” Ann grumbled, remembering the chipped, broken blade. “Not sure if that’s even worth repairing. Ugh,” she sighed, hugging Rosalyn tighter, causing the smaller woman to squeak adorably. “That’s gonna be something I need to think about. Just changing how I fight is kinda weird. All around a skill.”

“I’d say hold on tae that choice fer now,” Kat advised. “Figure out what ye wanna do wit’ the ore ye got, an’ ye can choose from there.”

“Yeah, I can do that. What’d you two get?”

“Got a good skill fer me Resilience. Arcane Fortification. Not flashy, but gives me a good five tae me Resilience. Puts me even at thirty per defence stat. Can’t ‘ave me fallin’ over if a mage looks at me funny,” Kat said, dismissing her sheet.

“I got something a bit more interesting,” Rosalyn said, finger manually flicking her sheet away. “Recirculation. It lets me take my Storm Winds points and put them back into Mind. Basically, I can use Storm Winds as a second pool of Mind, or if I’m running low on Mind and don’t have enough for Unleash the Storm, I can put those points back in so I can use Thorns. It’s really versatile.”

“Gods damn, that’s actually really strong,” Kat whistled.

“It has drawbacks. I only get half the amount of Storm Winds I channel back into Mind. Also, those points can’t be used to gain more Storm Winds. Makes sense to me. It’s got its uses when I get into awkward spots with resources. Smooths things out.”

“Wonder what Bren got. I’m sure it’s something interesting,” Ann sighed, relaxing again in the water. Having Rosalyn’s added warmth and weight on her only made the siren’s call of a nap stronger. She felt her eyes drifting as she actually relaxed. For whatever reason, Rosalyn and Kat let her, and she drifted off.

She was roused when Rosalyn, stretching, wrapped her hands around the back of the larger woman’s neck, pulling her head forward.

“Hey, it’s been a bit and we should get going before too long. Probably shouldn’t camp on the edge of a Seed if we can help it, ya know?”

“Mhm, yeah,” Ann murmured, blinking sleep away before leaning down and kissing the Druid. She stretched languidly, long limbs shaking slightly with the intensity before she grabbed Rosalyn around the chest and lifted her as she stood. The smaller woman kicked futilely before accepting her fate. Ann laughed before setting her on her feet.

“So, where’s Kat? Figured she’d be relaxing too,” Ann asked as she dried herself off.

“She went walking for a bit. Apparently, it got a bit hot for her taste, so she just wandered around. Said she’d be back in a few, but it’s been a few and she’s not… oh wait, there she is!” Rosalyn pointed out over the ice before waving enthusiastically. The way the woman bounced when she did distracted Ann for a moment before she got back to getting dressed.

Kat joined them shortly, just wearing her casual clothes. “Ye lovers didn’t get frisky without me, did ye?” she grinned at them, taking a seat on a stone and crossing her legs.

“Honestly, just woke up,” Ann said around a wide yawn, lips curling back over her sharp teeth. “This was as good a reward as any loot.”

“Well, hope ye didn’t get too much sleep. Still gotta travel, then rest at the normal times,” Kat reminded her.

“Oh, I’ll be fine. Can always find ways to tire myself out,” Ann laughed, pulling on her kilt and settling her chest armour on, working on the straps.

“Are you all decent over there?” Bren called from the other side of the stone divider.

“Yup! Come on over!” Rosalyn shouted back as she draped her robes over her underwear clad body.

“That was certainly a treat. Enjoy your walk, Katlyn?” Bren asked as he sat down by his all but sister.

“Aye. Was gettin’ overheated an’ just needed tae cool off, literally,” she chuckled, winking at the raised eyebrow Ann was giving her.

“So, I assume you all have discussed your level, correct?”

They took a few minutes, packing up their things while they filled Bren in on their choices. He nodded along, noting things down in his journal as he went, before snapping it shut.

“Well, for your information I have picked up a rather lovely healing over time spell. It costs fifteen Mind, but heals for triple of my Intellect over two minutes. The skill itself is called Delayed Reconstruction. It will help keep Katlyn up passively and free me up to focus on everything else happening during combat.”

“Slap that on me at the start o’ a fight an’ I can build up a buffer o’ Tenacity without worryin’ too much. Makes sense,” Kat said, nodding as she thought over strategies.

A brief quiet fell over the party as they mentally took in the information. “Oh, speaking of skills,” Ann spoke up, “we never tested my Burst of Speed. Do we want to give it a shot here? We’ve got a nice wide open space for me to run.”

“Oh my Gods yes!” Rosalyn exclaimed, clapping excitedly. “I’ve been wondering how it’d work. Your body is different than most, but I’m not sure.”

“Speed increases are not unheard of,” Bren said, shuffling on the rock to face Ann. “It could be magical, it could be an increase in your physical state. Really, both are magical, but one doesn’t have a physical side effect.”

Ann stood, stretching, feeling her foot claws extend and dig into the snow and frozen dirt at the edge of the lake. “No time like the present. I’ve got six seconds until I, well…”

“Have sex, yes,” Bren finished for her, nodding along. “Let us just have you try to run as far across the lake as you can. Once you slow down, make your way back. Pay attention to the feelings you experience. Not just in your legs, but in your chest and mind. Many factors can be considered when the Gods give a skill like this.”

Nodding, Ann turned toward the open lake. It had taken them a good amount of time walking around it. She’d expect maybe half an hour to cross at a walk. “All right, let’s go.”

She activated the skill and took off at a jog. The first thing she felt was her legs tensing. Every muscle felt like it was taut and working well past its normal capacity, which made sense. The second was the wind in her ears. Her hair and the fur in her ears was damp, but was quickly drying at the speed she was travelling. Lastly, she wasn’t having any trouble keeping up with the terrain. Yeah, it was a wide open lake that was mostly flat, but she tested herself. Seeing a bit of snow that had piled up more than the rest, she dodged around it, making a perfect diversion before continuing her course. It felt as natural as if she was just jogging past it at normal speed. Six seconds ran out fast, and she skidded to a stop, paws eventually catching and sending her toppling over herself.

She sat up, rubbing her head and shaking snow off before looking back. She’d gone what she guessed was over, what, a few hundred feet? Maybe more? In six seconds. Double wasn’t lying. That was an insane distance for that time. Standing, she heard Kat and Rosalyn whooping, the latter jumping up and down and waving at her. Bren was applauding her as well, and she thought she could see a smile.

After walking back, Kat just about tackled her, with Bren buzzing with questions. She described her sensations the best she could, doing her best to satisfy the Scholar’s curiosity. It was only the first time she’d used the skill, but damn, she hoped she’d get more uses of it in an upgrade or something later. Six seconds of super speed was insane.

“That’s gonna change some feckin’ fights,” Kat laughed, swinging her taller girlfriend around with ease in a bear hug. “Imagine ye takin’ advantage o’ a weak point at that speed. Ye can get so many hits in.”

After she was released, Ann looked down at Bren, who’d fallen into contemplation. “Thoughts?”

“Not many at this point. You definitely have the physically altering variant of the skill. Knowing your other unique traits that makes a level of sense. Having the increased reaction times and mental speed to keep up with yourself is a blessing. Some of these skills require the user to train their minds to keep up with their bodies, and can be incredibly disorienting. You are fortunate in this regard. How are your legs feeling now?”

“Uh, normal? Maybe a bit tired, like I actually ran that distance the normal way, I’d say,” Ann said, taking a moment to take stock of her body.

Rosalyn was already down around her calves, poking at them. “Don’t see any signs of overexertion, or anything else that could be a downside to it. Cool! Free speed boost!”

Ann grinned as she watched the Druid examining her legs. The woman was adorable when she was investigating nature, be that a creature or something else. Swiftly, she dropped into a squat and kissed her before she could react. The spluttering sheep fell back on her heels, much to Kat and Ann’s enjoyment.

“So, ready tae get headed back home? We’ve got a long walk, and who the feck knows what time it is outside? Damn timeless magic bullshite.”

“Cursing the Gods in their own domain. I thought you wiser, Katlyn,” Bren admonished her playfully.

“At least they can’t normally listen while we’re in here,” Ann sighed, standing and checking her equipment.

“Just when you poke at the Cores. Which totally doesn’t have some concerning implications at all, by the way. I don’t know where that’s all going eventually, but I can’t imagine you being able to siphon some of the black gunk is healthy for you,” Rosalyn rambled.

“Nope, probably not, but I’m apparently the only one who can do it, so I guess we keep going until we figure out something else? Or Orenous comes up with a better idea,” Ann sighed, hiking her pack’s straps over her shoulders.

“Yup. Stay the course. Keep an eye on what we can see. Regardless, let’s get some drinks when we’re back,” Kat said as she faced down the perimeter barrier. She caught Ann’s hand, then Bren’s. Rosalyn took Ann’s other hand and they stepped out of the Seed.