DD 202 Ch 11 (Patreon)

Chapter 11

“You’ll bring him back in one piece?” Charlotte had her arms crossed under her chest and a frown on her face.

Honestly, it made her adorable, but I wouldn’t say that out loud because I knew she was trying to be fierce.

“Yep, yep.” Felin nodded. “I’m a good hunter. It’ll all be okay.” She glanced towards Crimson and then me.

It seemed the rest of my harem were giving her the third degree before she could take me on the date.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Secret.” Felin smiled. “But Crimson is making the portal.”

I glanced at our teacher.

“Alright, you two can both go. Ken, you have plenty of potions?” Crimson asked me.

“Yep. I’m fully stocked for the event. We can handle ourselves.” I told her.

“In three hours I’m making another portal. If you aren’t there, I’m flipping the floor upside down.” Crimson warned, hands on her hips, before turning her gaze to the Nekorian. “No funny business.”

“Geez.” Des broke out a big smile. “You’d think we were giving you away for the prom or something.” She snickered. “Go have fun. Don’t get too drunk and be back before dark.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go, Crimson.”

She opened up a portal without teasing Felin any more.

The Nekorian grabbed my shirt and jumped through like she was escaping for her life. “Phew, that was close. I thought they were going to skin me.” She stated as the portal winked out behind us.

“They are being a little protective.” I agreed. “So, where are we?”

“A 34th floor of the dungeon.” Felin rubbed her hands together. “It has boars we can hunt.” Her blue eyes gleamed like two sapphires.

I took a moment to look the Nekorian over. 

I was learning that she had a penchant for leather. She’d gotten a blue leather jacket that matched her tiger stripes and a pair of white leather pants that fit her like a second skin. It only made her white hair stand out more.

Like all the Nekorian’s I’d seen so far, Felin was fit. The painted on leather pants even showed off her thigh muscles as she moved.

She sniffed the air. “Nothing like the smell of a hunt.” Her cute little button nose wiggled as she turned back and forth, breathing in deeply.

“I think boars probably smell terrible until you skin them and put the meat on a spit.” I laughed. “Though, maybe ones in the dungeon don’t smell half as bad. Don’t think monsters poop and roll in it.”

Felin shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about anything but hunting together.” She pulled out a spear from her pouch.

“Not going to let me take the lead?”

She gasped. “I am the one trying to seek entrance into the pride.” She jabbed a thumb into her chest. “You shall see me in my full glory during the hunt. Please hang back and let me lead.”

I peeled my eyes off of her to look at our surroundings. The area was a densely forested area and we were presently on top of a treeless hill. It was almost enough for me to call it a jungle.

She must have picked this place on purpose.

“Alright then, lead on. I’m going to help you though, especially if there are more than one.” I nudged her forward.

“We need to be stealthy.” Felin said and then did a double take over her shoulder.

I activated [Camouflage] and crouched low, using every trick in the book that my grandparents had taught me.

The ears on top of her head weren’t just for show and a part of me had taken offense to her thinking that I couldn’t match her ability to move unnoticed by a bunch of monsters.

She smiled at me and moved forward. There was no direct skill involved, but she was silent as she moved through the jungle. Every now and then, she would check behind herself and squint to make sure I was there and keep moving.

It didn’t take long for her ears to twitch and her whole body shift that direction until she led us both to the top of a hill, overlooking three big boars snuffling about the ground.

It was a little comical to watch. There was nothing they could actually dig up.

Once again, the dungeon was a facsimile of life, yet it never went all the way.

“Three.” Felin’s voice was just a whisper behind her smile. “Do you think you can join me for the hunt?”

I had my daggers out as I came out of [Camoflauge]. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Felin huffed a few times. “I could handle three. It is just that you said you wanted to participate.” Apparently, this was a point of pride for Nekorians.

“Well thank you then. Humans hunt together.” I added.

Felin pointed down with her fingers in a V, “I’ll take those two; you get the other one. Let’s hope one drops some meat otherwise we’ll just keep hunting.” With that she sprang forward like she had springs in her legs, throwing herself high over the first boar, her spear glowing blue as she dropped on it.

I jumped down the hill, feeling the wind in my face and feeling a grin spread across it before using [Shadow Ambush] to teleport next to the boar. I stabbed both of my blades into its hide, yet it was tough enough that only one of them found purchase.

The boar squealed like a pig as it spun and tried to gore me.

[Dodge] slid me back a foot, just out of reach.

I used the boar’s miss to drive my daggers back into its other side and activate [Triple Breach]. My ability tore right through the boar and I jumped back before it tried to kick me.

Felin let out a roar as she hefted a boar up with the spear and slammed it into the third before ice erupted from the first turning it into a giant, gory spiked mace.

The Nekorian who sat around Fayeth’s grill with giant watery eyes looking like the epitome of cuteness was currently showing her fangs.

She looked badass as she crushed one boar with the bloodied body of another. To make it even better she had a wide smile that looked appropriately ferocious with her fangs.

I had gotten distracted watching her and my boar managed to spin around, getting one of its tusks against my chest and ripping it along my side. “Fuck.” I grabbed my side and made some space between me and the boar.

It dropped its head and threw its whole weight into a charge.

[Elemental Shield] popped up in front of me and the boar slammed face first into a net of lightning.

The shield cracked away a split second later and I followed up with [Earth Stomp] to prevent it from coming again. Then I danced my blades along its wounded side.

This monster was a little harder than I’d expected. Unlike the werewolves on the 28th floor that went down from a single burst, these were going to take a little more effort.

The boar swung its head at me. Missing its tusks by a hair’s breadth, I pulled myself away with [Shadow Arm].

“Get it!” Felin cheered next to two pillars of black smoke.

I grunted at being outdone and rushed back in, activating [Hydra] to help heal myself and tearing into the boar with a series of abilities. “Done.” I stepped back as it puffed into black smoke.

Felin was already at my side, poking the wound that was healing steadily. “You got hurt? I thought you could hunt with me.”

“I got distracted watching you fight.”

She paused, her tail went rigid. “You were watching me?” Her eyes were wide as she waited for my answer.

“Yeah. You had a sort of vicious beauty. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you when you stabbed the one and then used it like a mace.” I laughed at the vision again. “It was impressive and in a certain way, sexy.”

Her tail started to flit back and forth so fast I thought she was going to propel herself forward with it. “Really?”

I nodded. “Sorry for getting distracted. Won’t do it again.”

“No. No. You can watch. I want you to watch!” She got angry. “Yes, I’m hunting and you should watch me be an incredible huntress. Fine. You’ll watch; I’ll fight.” She made up her mind.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that so?”

“It is. You got injured. Your pride is already going to be upset with me. They’ll see the torn shirt and get all fussy. So, now you have to let me hunt, watch me hunt.” She gave a big toothy smile and gripped her spear. Her tail hadn’t stopped moving the whole time. “Alright, only one hunk of meat.” She lifted the slab. “We need lots more before we can make a good fire and eat it all, so come on.”

Without waiting for me, Felin started stalking forward, her tail curled around my wrist to pull me along.

I chuckled and shook my head.

No one had explained how Nekorians saw romance, yet it was becoming increasingly apparent that this hunt was important to her. Me watching her hunt was a part of it too.

Maybe they show off to each other? Or maybe it’s because she’s joining ‘my’ pride that she is trying to prove herself to me?

I put the tail curled around my wrist and Felin’s ears jerked up before she sheepishly retracted the tail. “What was that?”

“Nothing. Sometimes this thing has a mind of its own.” She looked like she was about to scold it. “Come one, be stealthy. wWe need to find more piggies to slaughter. I’m hungry and there’s no elf here to make my food for me, so we need to hurry.”

“Fayeth has her role in the party.” I told her.

“I will have a role too. You all need another support.” Felin argued.

“No doubt about that. Yet, the way you handled those boars, you aren’t a half bad fighter.” I continued to praise her. “You’ve certainly used a spear before, and the way you mixed your magic into the fight so easily makes you very strong.”

The Nekorian’s smile was incredibly wide as she preened under my praise. “Yes I am. All Nekorians learn the spear. It’s after I got my class that I had to shift to focus on magic. Shamans sit in the back both to protect them and because their magic is superior to their fighting.”

I nodded, remembering the ice and wind magic she often used. Activating [Eyes of Wisdom] I asked it where the closest boars were and a path lit up before me. “This way.”

“Your eyes glow.” Felin glanced at them. “Very pretty.”

“Crimson’s ability. Eyes of Wisdom allow you to ask The Great One a question and it will show you the path.” I explained.

“Ah.” Felin nodded several times. “She’s very favored by The Great One. Such an ability is a great boon. You took it from her?”

“Shared.” I clarified. “I… uh… my class allows me to share an ability with someone who I have harmonized my soul with and shared the bed with.”

Felin’s eyes were a little wide at that new insight, but she nodded along. “Truly another favored one. Your pride will be strong. Very strong. It is a very fitting pride for a Nekorian shaman. I’ll only make it stronger.”

While she was distracted, I stepped up next to her and laid a kiss on the side of her head.

Her ears twitched against me and she froze. “Ken?” Her body was coiled like a spring ready to explode.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Please. Don’t tease me.” She grumbled.

“Ah. Sorry, I just meant to encourage you.”

She turned slightly, her eyes hazy. “It has been a while. So… so my resistance is a little low.”

“Eh?” I backed off. “Right. I should probably ask about the heat thing.”

“Right. Every Nekorian woman has it. It’s a slow buildup. We can feel it growing and then when we get… amorous it can sort of explode.” Felin rubbed her boots in the dirt.

“Wait, do you have control over it?” I asked, suddenly worried that if I kissed her again it would end up being much more.

“Sort of. Like I said… it’s been a while. It is like holding back a dam by myself right now.” She looked up at me through her lashes.

Ah fuck. I had no idea what it would be like, but I didn’t want to trigger something like that until we were both ready. “Then you tell me what’s too much.”

“Ah. I’m ready now.” Felin closed her eyes.

I leaned back in and kissed her cheek.

She pinched her eyes closed and her ears did a cute little flapping motion while her tail coiled around my arm like an anaconda bent on crushing it. “Oh, that was alright.”

Her tail and ears gave me far more honesty than her mouth.

“You’re very attractive, Felin.” I cupped her chin.

Her nose flared and her cheeks turned bright red. “Ehem. We have a hunt. I need to show you that I’m a good hunter.”

“Right.” I nodded. “Show away.”

She picked up her spear, throwing it over her shoulder and marching forward. “You hold onto the meat. When we camp, I’ll cook for you like your elven lover. I might not make fancy meals like her, but I can cook meat!”

“I look forward to eating your meat.” My footsteps stopped as I replayed those words.

“What?” Felin asked, confused. “Let’s go so you can eat my meat.”

I shrugged. As long as she didn’t say that around Des or Crimson, I was probably going to be alright.

Felin’s energy redoubled and she tackled the next boar without a spear, thoroughly manhandling the poor monster into black smoke. With its death, another piece of meat was added to the pile.

We continued on until we had well over a dozen flanks of boar and circled back to where Crimson had made the portal.

“Alright. Let’s make a fire. Oh wait, how is your cut?” Felin moved to my side and lifted the cut in my shirt, poking and prodding at the flesh.

There was some dried blood, but no wound.

“We should wash it off before we head back. Don’t want Charlotte to see it.” I pulled the shirt off. Thankfully I had multiple in dark blue.

Before I could stuff it into my CID, Felin took it out of my hands.

“Don’t worry. I’ll hold onto this one.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“It’s special. You went on a hunt with me in this shirt.” She held it up to her nose and took a big sniff. “Smells like you when you’re watching my ass.”

“I wasn’t.” I tried to defend myself.

It was Felin’s turn to raise her eyebrow. “You totally were. Which is good. That’s why I wore these pants. They look great, don’t they?” She twisted around in the white leather pants that were like a second set of skin. “Sadly, I didn’t have time to dye little blue stripes on them. Then it would be almost like I was naked.”

Deciding that it was best to just compliment the Nekorian, I conceded. “You look great in them.”

“Ha! You were watching. I was a great hunter.” She moved about, pulling sticks out of the pouch on her hip while very purposefully bending over and wiggling her rear at me as she started stacking the wood for a fire. “Gonna let you eat my meat. It’s gonna be the best meat you’ve ever eaten.”

“Don’t say it like that.” I slapped my forehead. The way she kept repeating it, I just knew she was going to carry it over once we got back.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because… it has sexual connotations. It’s a euphemism.” That last word made her tilt her head like a confused cat. “A saying with two meanings. Eating meat could mean me using my tongue and lips to pleasure you.”

That clarifying statement only made her more confused. “Your tongue would not be comfortable.”

“Well, mine isn’t rough like yours.” I explained.

Felin got in my face, trying to stare into my mouth as I talked. “Really? First you say no barbs, then you say your tongue is smooth?”

“Yep. For the record, you cannot give me head.”

“I can’t eat your meat?” She clarified.

Sighing. “No, you cannot.”

“Aww.” Felin pouted and then suddenly stuck her finger in my mouth. My eyes went wide in surprise as she poked around.

“Oh my great one. It’s smooth and slippery like an eel!” She squealed.

“Do not compare me to an eel.” I said around her finger, before pushing it out.

Felin looked at me with a new interest before turning around and working on the fire again. “Gonna make you eat my meat~” Felin started to sing as she swayed her hips and worked on getting the fire going. I was so going to regret teaching her that phrase.

AN - No chapters this weekend. I've falling very behind and about to run out of chapters. This has been probably my worst writing output month in years. Apologies and I'll work on getting back up to 7 chapters next week.