34 - Future Base

The eponymous body of water central to the Forest of the Golden Lake wasn't, in fact, golden. Which, in Ari's opinion, was kind of a scam.

It was a good thing Silvana's specialty was with underground structures—in burrowing out a space, rather than building, say, a wood cabin—because keeping her Menagerie a secret seemed like a prudent decision. She hadn't yet settled on how she wanted to handle their introduction to society—if she would at all. None of them were interested, at least, in visiting Molehill.

They might if Ari specifically asked them to, but weren't especially motivated by their curiosity. Claire seemed to be the only one half-way intrigued, perhaps being the most social of the monsters she'd transformed, but she still had higher priorities: the Hive, and hunting with Lori.

"What do you guys think?"

Ahead of them, the Golden Lake sprawled out, flat as a pane of glass. It stretched thousands of feet, the ant-like trees barely visible on the other side. White sand encircled the body of water, sparkling in the sun, dotted with wildflowers where sand met dirt.

"It's pretty," Claire said.

"It's close to hunting grounds," Lori said. "So it'll suffice."

"The lake'll make burrowing difficult. I'll have to dig at least," Silvana's eyes scanned the surroundings before she continued, "A couple hundred feet out."

"That's fine," Ari said. "I just figured being near water would help." Both to drink and for bathing in. Until she'd gotten the necessary supplies from town, they were living without modern amenities … or even bronze-age amenities. Fortunately, her Menagerie was used to roughing it. Not that Ari would use that excuse to neglect them; she'd work on getting a habitable home up as fast as possible.

"Okay. Well. If this works for everyone … I should be heading back." Like usual, the idea of parting from her newest friends sucked. Maybe I should move in with them. Though, Ari wasn't quite as willing to do without running water and a warm, comfy bed as them. Plus, what would she say to the Guild, or Elise? That she'd decided to start camping in the woods? "You three need anything?"

"What time will you be back?" Lori asked.

"Early morning," Ari said. "Like usual."

"Dungeon, again?"

She chewed her lip. That was tricky, because they'd almost certainly bump into other people. But dungeon delving was probably the most efficient use of their time. "We'll figure it out later."

###

Ari woke to pale morning light trickling in through her window.

She rolled over and groaned, tossing the sheets off and stretching her limbs. Gods, everything is so sore. Which, yeah, was expected, considering the extremely thorough activities she'd been up to. It wasn't even her muscles so much as … well, the parts of her body that had been most 'involved'. She rubbed her knees together, fighting off some of the ache.

Not that the soreness was really a bad thing. It hurt in a very satisfying way. A way she could get used to.

She lay on her bed for a few minutes before groaning a second time.

Gotta get up.

Daylight was burning, and much as she'd like to cozy up in her bed, let herself slip back to sleep, she had a schedule. She'd told her Menagerie she'd be back early in the morning.

And considering what she had to look forward to—more adventures—how couldn't she roll out of bed with some energy in her step? However nice staying wrapped in blankets sounded, it didn't beat a full day of vigorous monstergirl encounters, did it?

She turned the shower knob, and hot water poured across her skin. Steam filled the tiny bathroom, and Ari lathered herself up with soap. I know it's a ridiculous way to think about it, but what's the point? With how filthy she'd be getting—and how quick—was there really much point to freshening up? And yeah, that was the logic toddlers used—why get clean when I'll just get dirty again—but Ari felt like it was a little more relevant in her situation.

At least she'd smell nice for the first encounter. Though, the sweaty musk on Lori and Claire after a hard day's work was intoxicating in its own right. Maybe there was a benefit to not washing up.

Her stomach squirmed with desire, but she fought it away. Not the time—plenty of opportunity for that, later.

As she let the water pour, she considered her schedule for the day. She'd done some restocking shopping yesterday and snagged, notably, a few stamina potions, but she had a lot more shopping to do.

A suspicious amount, likely, to the locals. Because why would Ari be carrying off all kinds of home supplies into the forest? A small amount was normal, but Ari needed legitimate home items—stuff like a water conjurer and fueling crystals for it, so her Menagerie had a functioning shower. And pillows, sleeping bags, so on. One wouldn't draw attention, but multiple? Why would Ari need three sleeping bags?

But Ari would rather be looked at strangely than leave her friends without shampoo, rations, and other necessities.

Even if they didn't seem to see them as necessities. Ari would be introducing them to civilized life whether they wanted it or not.

So much to do.

She paused at the mirror after drying herself off. Short, red hair splayed out, two shades darker than normal and drooping from dampness. Ari inspected herself, turning side to side. She'd never been a huge fan of her messy red hair and her green eyes—it made her stand out too much. The freckles dotting her cheeks, too, though at least those were muted, and not as bad as some redhead's.

She hadn't ever particularly worried over her body, either—beyond the amount everyone did—but she frowned as she turned, checking out her figure. Before, her leanness and hints of muscles had been a good thing. She'd been in fighting shape, ready for adventures.

Now, though, she thought she could afford to put on a few pounds. Not many—just enough to fill herself out a bit. Staying lean took its toll on her curves. Especially her chest. She cupped herself, frowning. Would Lori, Claire, and Silvy prefer if she had more up top? Or did they like her how she was?

Ari blushed, remembering their very enthusiastic use of her. Clearly, they weren't not attracted to her. And Ari didn't care about Claire's small chest—or Silvy's totally flat one—so maybe Ari was just being insecure about things. But it was hard not to be, when her entire profession revolved around using her body, now.

At least I have a nice butt. For how skinny she was, she had no complaints there.

And her skills. Those would definitely help with satisfying her partner, even if her body wasn't perfect.

[Long Tongue]. That'd been the skill she'd received shortly after her fight with Cecile. She'd played with it once or twice, of course, but not to any depth.

She opened her mouth and let her tongue stretch out. Where normally it'd reach down to her chin at its maximum, she felt no resistance as it dipped to that point, then lower. She let it stretch and stretch, the powerful muscle dipping almost all the way down to her collarbone

Woah. It was weird, seeing her tongue unfurl from her mouth so far. But also … kind of sexy. As was the point. The things she could do with this skill—it had a flush covering her face.

I could go all the way in. Literally. A feat normally reserved to especially impressive cocks, Ari could have her tongue wiggling against a girl's cervix. And without much effort, no less. And all the way down their throat. Maybe a week ago, the idea would have weirded her out, but instead, her insides clenched up in excitement.

Ari suspected her tastes would be becoming more and more adventurous as the days ticked by. Vanilla was a whole lot of fun, of course … but if she got some weird skills, she'd be happy to try them out. Like this one.

She wanted to test the skill. Desperately. Against one of her teammates—Claire, Lori, or Silvy. But obviously she couldn't, right now. But soon. She focused back on practicals and got back to her morning routine.

Down in the Guild's lobby, Ari stared with wide eyes.

It's so … so busy!