April Pinup #2 - Drink Responsibly (Patreon)

A few years ago, Aaron “Daring” Mayfield was a simple crew member aboard the notorious pirate ship, The Ginger Swan. With flaxen hair and a broad chest, he made for a particularly ravishing ship-jack and was particularly popular with the ladies and the occasional gentleman wherever The Ginger Swan docked after its many long voyages across the Realm’s south seas. On those summering waters, they would smuggle or steal expensive goods like precious metals, magical components or on one life-changing excursion, fine Orcish mead.

The Orcs were famous for many things, magical prowess, fantastical cities, their otherworldly beauty and of course their skills at brewing liquor. Unlike the savage Elves who clung to their primitive craft of making fermented berry juice, Orcs made an art form out of refining beers into whiskey or scotch. But the prized jewel of their culture was their skill at collecting only the finest golden honey from preciously-tended-to apiaries, and letting that honey turn into a sweet but mild drink that they further refined into more potent forms. Genuine Orcish mead was strong and rich in its flavor, often catching the other races by surprise when they first encounter it. As was the case for the pirate, Aaron Mayfield.

The redwood cask was marked with a stamp none of the pirates knew how to read, Orcish was overly complex in its written form after all. And out of the entire crew, all but Aaron found it palatable, most being too overwhelmed by the intensity of it. But Aaron marveled at its complexity and lovingly savored the drink. By virtue of being the only one who liked it, he was given the cask all to himself, which he happily took to his home in the port city of Shellside when next they docked. The women and men of The Ginger Swan had been at sea for a good few weeks by the time they tasted the mead and were happy to return to their homes. A nice and long leave had been earned and their captain told them to enjoy themselves for another few weeks.

Aside from the mead, the crew had acquired a handsome amount of coin which most of them spent quickly. Most did so on quick pleasures in the many nighthouses of Shellside, but Aaron remained in his home, sipping slowly on cup after cup of his prize. As he drank, he began to truly appreciate the complex combinations of flavor notes within the liquor. Recognizing not only the sweetness of the honey and the added spices, but even what flowers the bees had drunk nectar from. Over the days he found himself getting less affected by its intoxicating effects as well, which was all for the best because he discovered how truly beneath him it was to pour spirits and beers into your gullet only to lose what was most precious to one’s self, which in his mind was his mind.

Days turned into weeks and Aaron decided to use his pay to improve on himself in ways he had never thought of doing before. He was known for being a jovial type with more street than smarts, but he was bored with his usual affairs and sought out a bookstore. Shellside was not in any way known for harboring a rich reading culture, but it was the epicenter of trade in that part of The Realm and so there was enough of a market for books that Aaron had plenty of alternatives. And what he had expected to be a small purchase of a handful of books on naval history became a veritable library instead. He was now the proud owner of dozens, if not hundreds of books. And he devoured them with the speed that he used to devour shrimp at the local food stands.

Over the course of only a couple of days, he consumed the full history of The Realm, tens of books on poetry and classical theatre. He read fiction and non-fiction and coupled his new hobby with drinking more of his precious mead. And as his mind was expanding, so were other things…

On the first day after having bought all those books, Aaron began to feel an itch in his jaw while he was reading. Feeling around with his tongue, he could indeed feel how his lower canines were sharper. But he paid no mind to it. After all, he needed to know more about the conquests of the Turians.

On the second day, he could feel his lower canines be noticeably larger than he remembered them, and what’s more was that his hair had begun to darken. Aside from a few strands, his flaxen hair had taken on a deep auburn color. And it was definitely a dashing look, he admitted to himself before continuing his deep dive into the Orcish philosopher, Vierensis, and his fascinating treatise on morality and ethics.

On the third day, spots of green had begun to appear over his body. Or that’s what his visiting friends had told him after also commenting on how small his frame had become. He could not really remember if that was true, to him it seemed fairly normal to have a light and slender body. Same with his tusks. When did he not have tusks?

Looking in the mirror on the fourth day, Aaron felt a lot calmer. The odd pale blotches on his skin looked like they were shrinking and fading even as he was looking at them. Quite a strange skin condition, but he was happy his normal green skin was returning. Still, he lamented as usual at how small his breasts and butt were. Not a day went by where he did not feel envy at the other ladies for being more well-endowed than he. Alas, he thought, at least he could imagine himself as the protagonist of his more passionate books. And with a smirk he began reading one of his favourite romance authors, the one he had grabbed seemed promising, some tale about a gorgeous lass melting the stern heart of a pirate captain.

The fifth day had come, and Aaron began it as she usually did, by admiring herself in the mirror, making sure that she looked presentable before taking her books out to enjoy outdoors. She need not worry of course, she looked stellar! Her purple eyes shone like gemstones, her smooth green skin was impeccable and her long tusks gave off a royal air that was well-recognized in her people. Not to mention her fine figure. Long and slender legs that culminated in a shapely but tight bottom. Her torso was a finely balanced hourglass and although she could admit that her bosom was wanting for some, Aaron believed strongly that her modest size only accentuated her refined nature and nothing else. She turned many heads while walking the streets of Shellside and letting her stunning locks of hair flow in the wind. Eventually she found a spot in the harbor where she found the ambience perfect for a calm read.

She had been deep into “The Applied Sciences of Alchemy vol. VII” before a man approached her. He showered her with compliments that she drank up like mead, calling her a goddess incarnate and a rare jewel in this city of thieves and scoundrels. And although she agreed with him on all counts, she suspected he had an ulterior motive for chatting her up like this. The gentleman admitted to this and presented her with an offer to work at an establishment named the Pyreside Guesthouse.

“Why should a fine Orc lady such as myself choose to accept thine offer, my dear?” She asked.

“There’s just sumthing about ya that tells me you’d do real well there, milady.” The man replied. “But first things first, what is your name, gorgeous?”

She smiled and said “Aristhea Bravehart.”

The end.