56 - Reconvene; Move-In

Before heading down into the burrow, Ari and Renna stopped by the hungry vines seed they'd planted.

Ari would have preferred to keep the plant in a safer location, but it wouldn't have sunlight down in the burrow, obviously, so they had needed to plant it on the surface. In the future, when Ari obtained rather expensive equipment that produced magical sunlight, she could bring it down to where an adventurer wouldn't stumble on it.

Which, Ari thought, might be rather important, considering the origin of the seed, and the name. Ari might be fascinated by what kinds of things a 'hungry vine' plant would do to her when grown, but other adventurers? It wasn't so guaranteed that they'd be okay with being molested by writhing plantlife.

The plant had grown a surprising amount for having only been in the ground for a day. It had sprouted, already, a bright green stalk shooting up from the dirt almost to mid-shin. At that rate, it might be full-sized in a matter of days … though that was entirely a guess on Ari's part, since she had no idea what the end result would look like. How big would it get? And when would it start needing feedings?

Cece's guess to what it needed to be fed had been … well, seed, of a different sort. Though, Ari didn't know what that meant, specifically. Was her Menagerie supposed to just … crank one out into the soil? That felt weird. Ari assumed that once the plant had grown, it would extract its own food—that Renna, or someone else, would simply need to provide their tool for it to pleasure.

Ari was honestly a bit fascinated to see the plant develop—and what it would produce for their efforts nurturing it.

Secretly, she hoped it didn't only want to play with her Menagerie members who had a cock. Ari wouldn't mind some more vine action, and getting to Cece would be a challenge, now that the dungeon had become public knowledge.

The dungeon. She still hadn't figured the dungeon out, and all its complications. It was on the docket for discussion, today.

"It's coming along," Ari nodded, leaning back up after inspecting the plant. "What do you think it'll give?"

Renna gave the question a few moments thought, then shrugged. "Couldn't begin to guess."

That was fair. Ari was a bit stumped, too.

They headed into the burrow. Their footsteps announced them, because Ari heard her friend's voices cut off, and they were all looking toward the entrance when they took the last step down.

It was the slightest bit awkward, returning from what everyone knew to be Ari's thorough extraction of Renna's essence. But they were getting over that sort of thing. It was a fundamental aspect to their lives, and Ari had done the same to each of them in turn. Sure, Ari'd just fucked Renna's brains out, and the reverse, and everyone here knew it, but that also wasn't anything unusual.

More legitimately awkwardly, though, Ari noted the three of them were dressed, and she and Renna weren't. Ari supposed they should have made themselves modest before coming down. While all of them were mostly comfortable with each other's bodies, that didn't mean it was standard to go around naked all the time.

Which sucked! Why couldn't they? Maybe Ari could institute a no-clothing-in-the-burrow policy. Abuse her authority just a bit. Would they mind?

But no, Ari really shouldn't.

"Ari," Lori said, nodding. "Welcome back."

Plus, Ari kind of liked the way their eyes lingered on her body. If she made a no-clothing policy, some of that titillation might be lost. Would it be worth it, when it meant she got to see her friends naked all the time? It might be.

Ari shook the thoughts away. "Thanks. We'll, uh, get dressed. Forgot to."

Was she imagining the disappointment in their eyes? But either way, it should be done. She rummaged out a change of clothes from her backpack. She and Renna had cleaned off in the lake, and dried off with towels. Clothing and towels … Ari suspected she carried more of those around as part of her adventuring supplies than just about any other adventurer.

She talked as she got dressed. There was some awkwardness in whether they should look away, which Ari thought a bit funny. After everything they'd done together, getting dressed had their eyes shying away?

"So," Ari said. "Renna's substance gives strength, and confidence." The second part was less important, but she hadn't addressed it. "The first part is obviously super helpful, but I'm worried it might make you over confident if you take too much. That's risky, out on an adventure."

"And the third part?" Claire asked.

"Third?"

"Everyone's substances, um, had three effects."

Ari nodded; she'd noticed that too, but hadn't thought anyone else would.

There seemed to be a trend in the effects. The first was a mental, the second, a 'useful' effect, for a lack of a better term, and lastly, the third, a miscellaneous, sex-related effect.

She'd brushed past the last of Renna's substance's bonuses because she was trying to move to practical matters—which there was plenty—but since Claire had asked outright, "It, uh, makes you bigger."

"Bigger?"

Ari looked down, pointedly, between her legs. Then, she paused, considering something else. "Or maybe our boobs, too? Just says size, and we haven't tested it yet. I guess there's a possibility it means actual physical size, in a general sense—" which would be weird, "—but the third effect's been sex-related on everyone else, so I think the first is more likely."

"Huh," Claire said. "I wonder … I wonder what that's like."

"And how big we can get," Silvana added. "How much do the effects compound?"

"If you kept drinking it and drinking it? Been wondering that too." Ari tugged her shirt on, finishing getting dressed. To her side, Renna was shrugging her pants on, a bit slower than her. "But I actually want to talk about more practical things, right now."

Not that Ari wouldn't experiment and find the answers to all those questions later. Ari was obviously interested in extracting more of her Menagerie's substances, and playing with the effects they provided. But, like she seemed to be scolding herself constantly for in the past few days, Ari had practical goals, too. She wanted to be a famous adventurer some day. And fucking her monster girls into oblivion was fun—so, so fun—but she needed to stay focused.

Hence, more important matters to address.

"Moving out," Ari said. "I want to get out of the Guild by tonight. Sorry to drop this on you guys, since I'm sure you're all tired, but can you all help me lug it back?" That had already been the plan, but Ari felt the need to ask again, regardless. However much her Menagerie deferred to her, she would keep reminding them they were equals, here. Her friends, and teammates, much more than her subjects.

As she expected, a series of confirmations, in their own unique ways: Lori, a shrug, Claire a smile and an, 'of course!', and Silvana, an absent nod, Ari's request an absolute given, even with how tired she was from working all day. And … tired from their other activities.

"Okay," Ari said. "Then let's handle it while the sun's still out."