NTR Quest 55 - Demonkine - Polite Decline (Patreon)

“As tempting as the offer is...” You trailed off as thoughts of desecrating either of the small 'wholesome' creatures before you filled your mind. They both looked to be in anticipation. Their wound together tails were wagging back and forth together in a vague show of tug-of-war and the woman especially leaned forward intently. You exhaled all of your bad thoughts and shook your head.
“No. You're both very nice, but I can't commit to anything like that right now.” You had committed to being diplomatic with these people and you had no idea what the implications of fucking either of them would be in the long run. The safest thing was to decline.

They stared at each other in disappointment, then turned their resigned gazes upon you. “We understand.” The Imp leader spoke first. His wife looked at him and he added.
“It's just that we probably can't make any special exceptions for someone that we aren't 'close' to.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration. “Of course.” A thought entered your mind as you reeled from the obvious answer; they wanted something from you and you did not offer it, in either sense. You thought to try and offer something else. You were not powerless. You had avenues open to you to try and mediate between the Kingdom and Demonkine. You had the 'Prince' after all.
“What if I could open up the free flow of goods back and forth between Demonkine and at the very least, one kingdom of Trysk?”

They gave that offer some thought. The wife broke her husband's meditation by whispering something into his ear. After that the man offered a light shrug.
“It doesn't make much of a difference except that, if more Pillars were on board we'd consider it. At the end of the day we got commitments to all of them, too. If we went back on those it'd seem like a betrayal.”

“Reasonable. Alright. So it sounds like you're saying that if I can convince more Pillars you might go along with it.”

The man nodded and said. “That's right on the-” He then turned to his wife and the two performed more Eskimo kisses in front of you. The oddly unsexual act somehow managed to be more disturbing than if they had just done something explicit, especially once you knew what they actually wanted beneath their chaste exteriors.

* *

Cerius abstained, which functionally felt as though it was a vote against. If it came down to it you could talk to him and you felt it might be fairly simple to convince him to stop the war. Next to him, however, was Rannighast. He was a curious case, as he seemed wise and had some connection to Jeane based on how he wanted to speak to her. You were curious about that, and his reasoning, so you chose to seek him out next.

The dark elf delegation was dressed similarly to Raithe when you first met her. Their clothes were leather or fine cloth tied together with thin vines. Their ash-colored skin was wound with jet-black tattoos of spiraling wood, roots or animals. Even if some of their attire was skimpy, the feel you got from them was quite the opposite. Their demeanor almost made it seem right; dignified, even. You could understand, however, how an observer would have gotten the impression that they were lustful. For you, with proper context, the impression was simply calmness and patience. They allowed you to enter into the sitting room that had been claimed while Rannighast was present for the meeting. There were rooms for all of the pillars and their delegations. The large Den beneath the broken World Tree served as a government building of sorts. Something crossed between a palace and a town hall.

The man was sitting with Jeane across from him. They were sharing a hot drink and talking up until you walked in. Despite your intrusion, Ran smiled as you entered and motioned next to Jeane.
“Please. Sit.”

You nodded and graciously took a seat next to Jeane. She was your friend and perhaps something a bit more, so you did not mind at all.
“So-”

“I know why you came.” Ran interrupted, wiping his lips after taking a sip from his tea. Despite being old, the man showed very little signs of aging. He was an adult in appearance, for sure, but not an old man by any means. IT gave you the idea that even dark elves could grow to full maturity at some point in their long lives. Jeane, as old as she was, still carried something of a youthful charm about her that gave you the impression she was a young adult like you.

“Jeane convinced me that it would be be unwise to start a conflict. With the main reason for my desire for war no longer an issue, it's main purpose on my end would be spite.” He paused briefly to take another drink before continuing.
“Which is tempting.”

“Father...” Jeane sighed. She said uncomfortably with good reason. It was a new and awkward word that she had never truly spoke before in earnest.

He waved a hand at her and relented. “But... If I were a swaying vote to decide whether or not to go to war I suppose I would say no at this point.”

That was quite good for your goals, but they glossed over something quite important that you could not help but dwell upon.
“I'm sorry... Father?”

Jeane nodded. “It all came together once he told me. My birth date being very close to the last war, my heritage and status as the only d-” She stopped as Ran cleared his throat abrasively. She corrected herself
“Only 'Ciar.' in the Kingdom, basically.”

“When we had lost, the Tryskans exacted a toll on all of us. With my kind being the closest in custom and appearance to them, they demanded to uphold the barbaric human tradition of taking hostages from the defeated. My only daughter was the obvious choice for them. My only request was that she gain adequate training in magic.” He smiled seeming able to put those awful memories behind him quite easily with his daughter sitting right in front of him.
“But she is here now and I am grateful, despite some of her more barbaric tendencies she adopted due to her human and elvish upbringing.” He placed his cup down and spoke forwardly at you.
“Jeane was just telling me that you and her had made quite a connection. I approve, and if you would be willing to accelerate any plans to join you two together I would be willing to go off on my own to try and convince the other pillars, as well.”

You were shocked. It was an incredible offer. By all accounts it felt as though the dark elves, or 'ciar' as Jeane had been forced to call herself, were heavy players in Demonkine society. Rannighast was ancient and likely had a lot of pull. As those promising thoughts swirled around in your head you directed your attention to Jeane, who was blushing deeply.

“F-father...” She uttered slowly and annoyedly. The woman stood up suddenly and took your hand. She moved to leave the room quickly.

Ran chuckled. “I understand. Take as much time as you need.”

You allowed her to pull you out of the room, past the delegation. It was clear that she did not know exactly where she was going at a point so you eventually stopped and pulled her back. She rebounded  back into you and gulped. Her pale cheeks were still filled with colour.
“Sorry about that. He really does not understand what he is talking about. I know that you and that other woman likely have something now that you are...” She trailed off as her eyes trailed up your form. They moved from your bushy tail to you long, crimson-tipped ears.
“May I?” You shrugged, signaling that it was okay for her to reach up and touch them gently. They twitched as her fingers slid over them. It was faintly ticklish, but a nice feeling overall. It was like the equivalent of a soft blanket being passed over your skin when you were a human.

“You aren't completely correct.” She was at attention once you let her in on that fact.
“Kara... Has a chance. She needs to prove that she is capable of being a normal lover.”

“So there is a chance?” She said sincerely.

“Well... If I can have your father's support then maybe it's a really good chance.” She at first seemed quite pleased, then slowly grew more and more distant as she sunk into thought.

“What is it?” You asked.

“Do you actually like me?” Jeane Questioned.

“Of course I like you.” It was not a hard question to answer but the sentiment behind it was definitely not as clear as you made it out to be. Jeane was a figure that you found attractive and smart and interesting. Kara was all of those things, as well. Either woman could fill the roll of partner very effectively, but you had the history with Kara. You performed much of what you were doing for Kara. In a way it had all been for her. If she could truly change, you felt she would be perfect and ideal. But then you would not have Jeane's father. Not his direct assistance, anyway. That was pertinent in the next week or so and could mean the difference between many thousands living or dying on either side. There was no stalling. If you made that choice, however, it would be the same as refusing to give Kara a chance to change.

Jeane appreciated your answer but felt the implication behind it. She was not dumb, to say the least. “It would be a bit cynical. It feels unfair. I am not going to say I would refuse. I would be extremely pleased to say yes right now if we wanted to do this, but I...”

You gulped and felt yourself getting a bit choked up. You asked again. “What is it.” You turned her chin up so that both of your gazes were locked.

“I would not complain, but to have that over my head and yours... Doing it for political reasons. I just feel as though I would feel more satisfied to know that I beat her. Not that I was as good, and also the most logical choice.” You smirked as Jeane's ego leaked through even in that moment. She truly believed that she was as good or better than Kara. She just wanted to be able to prove it. You felt similarly to her in many ways. Choosing Jeane was logical, but not necessarily fair to Kara.