Wild Wastes 5 -ch20- (Patreon)

Vince felt rather strange looking at Fes right now.

She was wearing a dress fit for humans, her hair was styled, and she was wearing makeup that fit and suited her skin tone as well. If he didn’t know it was his Fes, his wife, Berenga, than he’d honestly assume it was a different woman entirely.

Though she was wearing gloves that came up past her elbows to disguise her prosthetic arm. For her legs she’d put on some type of legging that was dark enough to make it hard to distinguish that there was something different there.

“What?” she asked, tilting her head to one side. “Is it too much? I figured if we were going to blend in a bit with the city, then I wanted to actually blend in. Where we’ll be going has a lot of women dressed like this and trying to go there in my mercenary gear just wouldn’t work.”

Lifting her hands up she looked down at the dress that fit her fit and athletic body very well. She spun one way, then the other, making the ends of the dress shimmy around her.

“Ynes gave me some help with all this. I just put it in the wardrobe at the inn we rented. It felt like she was giving me good advice, was she wrong?” asked Fes, sounding insecure and unsure now.

“No, no! Ah… no. You look lovely, Fes. Berenga Campbell. Lovely. I’m just… just wondering if I can somehow turn you into a Human-wife after all. You’re such a good looking Orc to begin with that it really… shifts things when you dress up. I’m a fan of this look in fact. I’m just wondering how much to say and- uh… you know what?

“Can I buy you an entire wardrobe of dresses, skirts, blouses and other human stuff that I’d buy for Meliae or the others? Maybe human… ah… human lingerie? Something in red and black? A lot of lace to it?”

Fes’ eyebrows moved up and she gave him a coy smile, one hand moving to cover her stomach while the other drifted up to press a thumb and fore-finger to her chin. She held that pose for several seconds and just watched him. Her finger moving back and forth.

“My, my. Ynes promised me this would win you over but I didn’t expect that kind of a reaction. Have I really forced you to completely don an Orcish way of life, when you really just wanted a home-maker in a dress?” asked Fes, her eyes boring into him. “Actually… I did, didn’t I. I know I did. You were perfectly happy to be at home with Meliae and I in Yosemite. I’m the one that wanted to do a few missions and you obliged me, made it seem like it was your idea.”

“I have no regrets about my life. About the choices I made and how I did everything. I have a couple regrets about stupid actions but those are everyday things or when I made an error. Like so,” Vince asserted firmly and taking a step towards Fes and holding up his wounded left hand. With his right hand, he reached up and tenderly laid it to her cheek. Bringing his thumb over he touched her lower lip with the tip of it and ran along the line it along the line of her mouth. “No regrets at all though for my life. My life is extraordinary.

“I’m just… caught up in how you look, Fes. You justt-you look really nice, Berenga. Really, really nice. I’m at a loss for words to truly describe it. I love you for the Orc Warrior you are, but I could have just as easily have fallen for an Orc house-wife who wanted only to butcher, cook, clean, and raise Orc children for me.

“So long as it was you, at least, I mean. Such a lovely an exotic woman that you are. I consider myself quite fortunate that you were starving to death and had no idea how to survive in the wild at all.”

Fes turned her head fractionally and caught Vince’s thumb between her teeth. Baring her teeth at him, and showing off her tusks, she rolled his thumb back and forth for a second as if contemplating biting the digit clean off.

Just as abruptly as she caught it, she wrapped it tongue around it and drew it fully into her mouth and began sucking on it. Sucking on it for far longer than she’d threatened it with her teeth before letting it go with a kiss.

“My funny and frustrating man. You’re a fortunate Human to have a Fes such as I. I knew my worth and refused to let it be dictated by men who wanted me only for a property.

“And you’re in luck tonight as well. You’ll be bedding your Orcish house-wife tonight since you’re so clearly being so overly flaterring and complimentary for how I’m currently dressed.

“I expect lots of tender care during our next love making, I’ll have you know. You’ll treat me like a wounded Dryad that needs your attention. All the affection you’d ever give to a sorely injured Dryad that needed you but couldn’t handle much at all,” demanded Berenga. “After that you’ll get your Orc Warrior back, then I’ll just keep alternating back and forth. I can be both for you, since you’ve been both for me. Thank you for letting me have my way for so long.

“Now… shall we go? We have a date to tour a number of high-end inns and eateries. All for the sake of reading minds and figuring out our target. Such a terrible mission for us,” Berenga got out with a chuckle and then leaned forward, moving her face toward him. Presenting him with a spectacular view of herself. “Now give your wife a kiss but don’t muss me. I spent way too long getting this damnable face paint right for you to ruin it.”

***

Holding onto Berenga’s hand, Vince felt rather happy. He hadn’t been able to walk around in anonymity like this in quite a while. Most especially with Fes at his side.

There’d never been an end to people with questions, stares, or just wanting to be around him.

While Fes certainly did get looks, they weren’t the same thing as what they’d gotten back home. These were men who were looking because she was indeed quite eye-catching.

“Well, given the look on your face, you’re not happy with all the glances I’m getting, and no one gave you anything useful,” Berenga said quietly in Draconic.

“It’s… hard. I’m not really a mind reader. That’s not exactly what I do. I get… impressions and emotions from people. I’m empathic, not telepathic. I can get some stuff if I push a bit but, not like a Dragon can,” confessed Vince. “I got enough from those we passed to know that none of them are helping the military.

“Honestly, I’m wondering if anyone is now. That’s the third cafe we’ve gone through with no results to show for it. It feels like their really is absolutely no sympathy here in any way for the troops,” complained the Orc followed by a sigh. Surprisingly a small burp escaped right after that. “I’m also stuffed to bursting. If I wasn’t sparring with you and… ah… sparring… with you, then I’d be worried about getting fat again.

“I can’t eat anymore. This plan sounded fun, now it sounds absolutely miserable. I can’t do anymore at all. I’m sorry, Husband.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I get it. My appetite is abnormal to begin with. I’m not the best person to ask too much is too much anymore,” relented Vince, patting the back of her hand. “That leaves us with trying to figure out who to hit to provoke another response.”

“I’m surprised the soldiery did nothing. I thought for sure they’d retaliate,” mumbled Fes.

“Could be because there was no proof that went anywhere or to any thing. Dead end trail with no leads at all. They have enough caution to not just blindly lash out. Much to our regret,” Vince conceded with a chuckle. “It is what it is. We’ll figure it out.

“Just have to wait for an opportunity and make it happen. I’m sure we’ll have something come our way soon enough. Though… often when I’ve said that I’ve come to regret it fairly quickly.”

Fes growled softly and then punched him gently in the arm with her free hand.

“You’re not wrong,” she said with a grunt. “Eating with the gloves on was annoying but my arm stands out too much. Was thinking of having Mr. White try and do something to make it look more normal.”

“If you want. I don’t mind either way. You’re still my Fes, Fes,” Vince argued and slowly came to a stop. Not far away was a group of people that were busily talking amongst themselves.

It wasn’t their conversation that interested Vince, but the feelings he was getting from them. Their sentiments, really.

A hostility for everyone nearby.

Hostility for every single person in the city.

Every individual in the country.

This group of six people wanted nothing more than the country of Francia to fall into absolute anarchy. That to them, nothing would be better than everything collapsing down around the Tribunal and it’s king.

A group of five that were sitting around a table and playing some type of card game in small off-set area attached to a cafe. They all had drinks that were full and were enjoying themselves.

At least outwardly.

Vince felt like they were waiting there for something.

“— do that instead,” Fes continued on, her gloves fingers moving back and forth across his forearm. “Not that I mind. Rather fun, really.”

“I see. That’s pretty interesting. I found it, you know. What we wanted,” he offered even as they moved away from the group. His eyes were sweeping back and forth for somewhere they could duck into, move to, or be, so that they could keep an eye on the group.

There was a small nick-nack store like off from the main street. Set up as a wagon that could be drawn or pushed by one person, it’d been opened up to display a number of what looked to be hand-made trinkets.

Well placed so that he could keep reading the feelings of these people and what they were about.

As well as give Berenga time to study them. With only the two of them, it’d be hard to follow them without arousing suspicion.

Vince needed to desperately get an idea of where they’d be staying at if only to make sure they couldn’t get away. Berenga had already caught on to the situation by this point and was moving with him to the display.

“Well, that’s actually rather lucky,” she muttered and reached out for a small crystal. As she lifted it up Vince realized the crystal had been cut into the shape and look of an Ash tree. “For our dear Ash. I know she’d love this. As to what you found… I see it.”

Berenga had turned to face him and held up the crystal, as if showing him. At the same time her eyes and flicked off to the side and stayed on the group Vince was interested in.

All the while he’d been trying to gather what he could from them, then realized he wasn’t going to be able to. There was no way to get into their thoughts without being obvious about it.

As well as significantly closer.

His gifts didn’t truly lie in reading people’s minds. That wasn’t really his forte, not exactly.

Not to mention I don’t have a good name for that. Needs to be a lot simpler but also complex as needed.

Like… Gus. Or Gustavus.

“Nothing otherwise stands out to me,” Vince murmured and tapped the crystal. He did like what Fes had grabbed as well. Then he turned to look at everything else. He wasn’t going to let something go past him if he could pick up trinkets for others.

A small wolf like animal had been made from a red crystal. It wasn’t large, but it held an imposing aura despite that.

Vince immediately picked it up and was determined to purchase it. With the promise to give it to Red when she got back to him. Because he had to believe she’d return.

“Well, let’s see if we can’t learn more. Maybe if we—ah, lovely,” Fes stated and then nodded her head to one side and gestured to a sign.

It was an inn that catered to mercantile types.

They’d killed and looted more than enough soldiers that they had the coin to spend. Not to mention Vince had robbed a paychest at the military camp he’d blended in with of an entire sack of heavy coinage.

Even if they only used an inn room for half an hour just to see which way the group went, it’d still be worth it.

“I have an idea that’ll make us both quite happy I think,” Fes said and pointed at the window. “If you treat me gently to the point that I can watch out the window while it’s going on, I’d say it’d work and we both get what we want. Think you can do it? Gentle and soft as could be?”

“Oh, I’ll manage. I’ll make sure of it one way or the other,” he promised. The idea of having a good bit of fun with Fes while on a watch sounded amazing.

***

“Hngh, ha… huh?” mumbled Fes from the bed. “Ugh… I… how long have I been asleep?”

“A bit,” Vince replied, as of yet he was still watching the men still playing cards. Every now and then, one would get up to get something or use the bathroom, but then come right back. They made no outward appearance of leaving any time soon. “You were tired and needed your rest.”

Vince looked over to her curiously to see how she’d answer that.

“That’s because you wouldn’t get off me. Kept coming back at me like a Dryad was ramping you up,” complained Fes who rolled over in the bed and lay still again. Her face pressed into the pillow and her body wrapped up in the blanket. “Was kinda fun though. Didn’t think I’d be the one to give up and ask for a break even with it being so gentle every time.”

“Weak old Orc that you are. Besides, it wasn’t like I was rough or anything. I just rode you into the bed for an hour or two as lovingly as I could,” Vince said with a hissing laugh. “Though… how will we explain to Berest later that you look like her younger sister because you’re immortal.”

Fes grunted and then her breathing slowed. It almost sounded like she was drifting back off to sleep.

“Not weak. Old though, but don’t look it,” grumbled Fes, snuggling around in the blankets. “You know… my mom thinks you’re the best thing to happen to Orc society. That you forced us all to embrace the good parts of what we are and cut the bad. Or you’d do it for us.”

Nodding his head, Vince agreed with that statement. He’d been prepared to do what he had to, to bring everyone in line.

Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Ogres, it didn’t matter to him. All would bend to Yosemite’s ways.

Or be bent by his will.

“I could probably bless your grandfather and mother. Give them back some youth. Did it to a Ratkin,” Vince remarked in an offhand way. “Was going to try it on the Duke of Denver, too.”

“Huh,” mumbled Fes.

Looking over he got a lovely view of a naked Fes sprawled out in the bed with the sheets only covering her shins. It was hard, but he pulle dhis eyes off her.

“No, it’s fine. They wouldn’t want that and-actually, nevermind. I’ll just ask them,” Berenga reasoned. “No change?”

“Nope. They’re waiting. For what, I don’t know. Given it’s past sunset they’re going to have to do something soon. Curfew is going to go into effect and that’ll be the end of that.”

“Alright. Mmm. This bed is so nice. Ugh, okay. I’m getting up. We’ll… just keep waiting, I guess. See where they go or what they do.”

“Huh. Speak of the devil,” Vince noted as the men all got up from the table. Except they didn’t head to the street. They went into the cafe, then the lights turned off all on their own after the door shut.

“Oh,” Fes remarked, standing next to him and quite naked. “That makes sense. We’ll just have to watch the cafe in shifts over night and go from there. See what they do.

“Rather strange though. If they hate everyone that much, but are running a cafe, that feels more like what Petra would call a front. Front for a clandestine organization. Maybe they were exchanging messages with people while they were there?”

Vince could only nod his head. He had no idea and Berenga’s guess was as good as his. Her solution was right though. They’d just have to take turns watching the cafe until the men popped back out.

“Alright, let’s have another go of it in the bed and then it’s your turn to sleep. Also… this time? This time I’m demanding to be treated as an Orc Warrior. You had enough of your Orc housewife for now. You loved me into that bed just like I asked and while it was fun, I want to switch it up,” Berenga said and slapped Vince in the middle of his back. “I’m going to be an Orc Warrior this time and I don’t plan on losing today. I’m going to win, even if I have to break the damn bed, beat you with it, and mount you in the wreckage of it.”