Coye 4.13 (Patreon)

Chapter 13 - A Lovely Soak

Thanks to Suzette holding her hand, Byng could cross into the room where the steaming hot bath awaited them both. This room didn't have sand for flooring, unlike the others. Instead, it was a warm stone beneath their feet. In the center of the chamber was the square-shaped private tub, taking up a large chunk of the whole place. Byng thought it looked big enough to comfortably seat far more people than just the two of them.

There were stairs leading down to its none-too-deep depths, but the flowing high-pressure stream of bubbles jutting out from ArcTech jets built inside the tub caught her eye. These reminded her of the bubbling black pits of burning tar found in the Grurguhrohkan deserts of Van Galbragh- as if Byng needed any further reason to fear this dreadful place.

Suzette could see the hesitation increase several times over on Byng's face, but if she didn't remain optimistic, she'd fail the poor girl. "I know it might look intimidating, but it's quite nice once you hop in."

"Maybe if you like drowning," Byng replied.

"Come now," Suzette took one of the towels she carried into the room and crouched down, spreading it across the edge of the pool. She did this twice, fussing with the towels to get them just right and creating ample room for them to sit down. "I'd promise you it won't be that bad, but I'm sure by this point I've repeated myself quite enough."

"You know I appreciate how much you're trying," Byng frowned. "But... n-now that I'm actually here... and the water is right there, I..."

"Say no more," Suzette extended her hand, which Byng reluctantly took after quiet deliberation, allowing herself to be pulled to stand on top of the towels. "How would you like to approach this?"

"Does it look like I'm ready to take a dive...?" Byng laughed awkwardly.

"No, but I believe you're capable of much more than you realize. You're here, aren't you?"

Byng thought about why she came here today and nodded while shrugging. "Guess so. Let's take it slow for now and see what happens," she suggested.

"Very well," Suzette gave the girl a motherly smile and sat down on the towels. "Come." She patted down on the area next to her, awaiting Byng as she stretched her long, curvy legs out and dipped her feet under the water's surface. The sigh she let out and the comforting expression on Suzette's face indicated to Byng that it must've felt good, as hard as it was to believe.

Byng took her cue, joined the older woman by her side, and planted her butt. Rather than following Suzette's example, she sat cross-legged and made no indication she planned on changing this. Byng sat stiff as a board, stewing over her own vulnerability. She felt more exposed than she did during her first time with Coye, and without thinking about it, she leaned her head against Suzette's shoulder for support.

Suzette remained silent for a while, allowing the poor thing to adjust to this room, its humidity, and the sounds of churning water. Part of her was ecstatic to be relied on like so, and it took a great deal of self-restraint not to gush about how happy this little bonding exercise actually made her.

Once enough time had passed, Suzette suggested, "Why don't you try and dip your feet in like I'm doing?"

Byng thought about it, cringed, and resisted the urge to scoot herself further away from the water. "N-No," she mumbled. "Not ready for that yet."

"A finger, then," Suzette tried a more firm approach, taking Byng's hand and lifting it up.

"Just a finger...?"

"Mhmm. You can do it."

"But... what if I can't...?"

"You can," Suzette insisted. She was now guiding Byng's hand ever closer to the surface. When it hovered just over the pool, she slowly took her hand away to give Byng the option of doing it for herself or drawing back if she needed to.

Byng extended her pointer finger of her own accord, shut her eyes, and dipped it gingerly up to the first joint. "Ngh...!" She groaned from discomfort but didn't pull away.

Suzette observed how it played out. It was vital that she didn't smother the girl with praise, but she already felt a deep pride for her younger companion's small yet monumental success.

"Fuck!" Byng ripped her finger back as the mental toll increased its burden. Being inside the pool- even as much as a fingertip- made it all too painfully real that she was only seconds away from falling in, and that was something she never wanted to go through again.

"Sorry," Byng started gasping for air as she fought off the shades of her trauma. "I... I know it's stupid, I-"

"I didn't say anything," Suzette reassured her, running her hand along the girl's back like she was stroking a cat. "You did well."

"...Thanks,"

"Did the water feel nice?"

"Maybe a little," Byng admitted even as she nursed and rubbed her finger. "I-It's not like I don't see the appeal or nothing. It's just a 'me' thing..."

"I completely understand. As far as I'm concerned, that was a big leap forward, and you should be proud of yourself."

"It was just a finger," Byng scoffed, putting down her accomplishment.

"You have to start somewhere, dear."

Byng nodded meekly before it really settled how she could do what she'd just done. Nothing terrible happened to her, which made her curious about how much farther she could take it. There was much internal deliberation, but she eventually decided to push herself. She unfurled one of her short, stocky legs and slowly extended her foot toward the water.

"Careful, now..." Suzette extended a hand out of worry.

"It's okay," Byng muttered. "I think I can take it..." she declared as she dunked her toe into the pool. She didn't respond as smoothly as she did with her finger. "Gah!" Byng immediately shouted, recoiling as she jerked her foot back and caused a big splash in the water.

"Byng?" The older woman placed her hand on the girl's thigh, rubbing her as she settled into a new position further from the water.

"F-Fine," Byng whimpered with eyes shut tight, gasping for air. "I'm fine..."

"You certainly don't look it..." the poor girl's reaction filled Suzette with despair, but an alternate idea to make this more tolerable came to mind. "What if I were to fill this bucket with water and rinse you off? Would that be easier for you, dear? You mentioned doing as much before if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah. It's not like I never rinse off," Byng nodded sheepishly. "It's just obviously not enough for your liking, gahaha... we can try it that way, sure."

Suzette carefully sorted out all the bottles and soaps from the bucket she'd brought in with them until it was fully emptied, and then she leaned over to fill it with water. She positioned herself behind Byng and set the bucket beside them. Next, Suzette picked up a white washcloth, dipped it, wrung it out nice and tight, and slowly inched it towards Byng's back. There was intentionally plenty of time for Byng to get out of the way if she'd suddenly changed her mind, yet there was no movement on her part.

"Mmmn," Byng whimpered as the cloth made contact with her dirtied skin.

"There you go," Suzette cooed, dragging it down the flat of Byng's back and down the curve of her stiffened spine. "Nice and easy..."

Byng's posture began to relax. She let out a long, contented sigh and leaned back into Suzette's touch. "This isn't so bad," she purred. "Kinda... nice, actually. Think I could maybe get used to this."

"Oh, Byng, truly? I'm so happy to... hear... that?" Suzette paused as she removed the cloth from its first pass against the young girl's skin. It was white when she started, but now it was a heavy brown. The path she'd wiped clean on Byng's skin was now several shades of green brighter. Suzette wrestled with her revulsion. If she reacted to this, it would only make poor Byng feel worse than she already did. Suzette didn't want that, so she kept her grossed-out thoughts in check and paid the brown rag in her hand no mind.

"Uh, something wrong back there? Don't tell me you stopped to check out my ass or something, gahaha?" Byng asked in a poor attempt to try and make things less awkward.

"No, nothing of the sort. I was just... thinking to myself. That's all, dear." Suzette changed tactics. She wasn't about to wring the cloth out in the clean water, not with how dirty it was. Instead, she dumped the bucket dry and wrung the fabric out inside it, letting the dirty water accumulate there.

Unfortunately, Byng caught on to what this meant. Her head sunk as she whimpered out, "Gah, sorry... I, uh, probably didn't do a really good job the other day..."

"You're fine, absolutely fine," Suzette insisted as she continued and gave Byng a thorough scrub down. "I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to help you."

"In my defense, short-stuff wasn't complaining much at the time..." Byng smirked.

"Of course he wasn't," Suzette had a hearty laugh as she rolled her eyes. Then, she started to take her job much more seriously. For a couple minutes, Suzette subjected Byng to a full body treatment. Every stroke of the cloth continued the fight against the layers of grime Byng picked up throughout her many hunts. The result was an offense to Suzette's delicate sensibilities, but she vowed to see this through to the end and remained stoic, refusing to let on to even a little bit of her discomfort.

If Byng was willing to make an effort to meet her halfway, Suzette would do the same.

"We're good back here. Go on and turn around for me if you'd be so kind," Suzette requested as she admired the exotic green coloring of Byng's newly cleaned skin. Coye was going to love this, she realized.

"Huh?" Byng was feeling pretty good right then, and she had to snap out of the pleasant and relaxing trance Suzette had worked herself into. "Oh. Yeah, sure. Sorry... that just felt really nice, is all..." she said as she turned around.

Suzette almost laughed when she saw the clear distinction between the washed and unwashed sides of Byng's body. It was like she had two separate skin tones, and Suzette had never seen anything like it. Luckily she could keep it to herself, and she started working on Byng's front side.

Byng was now aware of how dramatically dirty her body actually was. Once that set in, her shame was evident on her face. Even as Suzette moved on to embarrassing places like her chest and thighs, Byng didn't have it in her to make teasing comments. She tried to apologize several times to Suzette, but the older woman wouldn't hear it and merely continued her work undaunted.

When they were done rinsing off Byng's entire body, Suzette had to pause and admire the results. "Goodness," she exclaimed. "You'll absolutely sparkle once we soap you up, dear. The difference is already night and day. You have no idea what this will do to Darling when he sees you."

Byng blushed bright red and awkwardly rubbed her arm. "You really think so?"

"I'd bet my entire store on it and every piece of gold to my name."

This brought a smile to the embarrassed girl's face and a new uptick in her courage. "Before you do the soap thing, do you think I can... um..."

"Oh, did you need a break, dear? You're doing wonderful but by no means do I want to push you further than you're comfortable with. Just say the word, and-"

"No," Byng laughed at how sweet and accommodating Suzette tried to be for her. "It's not that. I just wanted to try and dip my feet in again... I think that maybe after rubbing all that hot water against my whole body, I-I might be ready for it?"

"Of course," Suzette smiled. "I believe in you."

With her companion's support, Byng turned back toward the bubbling pool of her fears. After another sharp intake of the warm, steamy air, Byng extended her leg and dipped her toe beneath the unstable surface. Aside from a momentary wince at first contact, nothing happened. The water didn't swallow her whole, nor was there anything monstrous waiting for her within its hidden depths.

Byng smiled from ear to ear, showing off her pointed teeth in a display of genuine happiness and self-fulfillment. "Suz, check this shit out! I'm doing it- I'm actually doing it!" She exclaimed.

"I can see that!" Suzette replied with equal enthusiasm, clasping her hands together over her chest. As she examined the pride she felt over Byng's accomplishment, for a brief moment, she wondered if this was what it would feel like to raise a child and see them develop before her eyes. It wasn't a bad feeling, not at all. "I knew you had it in you, dear."

Byng had now seen firsthand that it could be a lot worse, and she felt emboldened by her success. "I'm gonna try a little more," she declared.

"Careful, now. You don't want to undo all of your hard work just because you got a little cocky."

"I'm good. Just watch," Byng closed her eyes and brought her other foot out as well as she submerged them both up to her ankles, resting on the pool's first stony step. "Ahhh..."

Suzette smiled with relief. "Feel nice?"

"Really nice," Byng stressed. She had a calm, catlike expression on her face as if she were napping in a warm beam of sunlight.

"I'm not surprised. Those poor things must be aching. I've never seen you wearing shoes."

"Just another cultural thing, Suz," Byng laughed, but her good mood only lasted another few seconds. Her smile became sadder and softer as she sighed, "Y'know, I'm still really embarrassed that things came down to this. I appreciate everything you're doing, but... it's just not in my nature to rely on others if I can help it. Especially not to this extent."

Suzette was rifling through the different options of soap they had at their disposal, but she set the task aside and looked at the dismayed girl. "You're an incredibly self-reliant girl, from what you and Coye have told me. More so than any other girl I've ever met of your age. You're nineteen, right? There's nothing to be ashamed of in admitting you need a little help, dear. No one can do everything on their own."

"I know," Byng shrugged as she stared into the water. "Back home, everyone contributed towards the good of the tribe. No one likes dragging others down with their personal problems. Makes you look weak, and the weak get left behind."

"That sounds rather, um..." Suzette paused as she caught herself from using the word barbaric. She didn't need to give Byng more opportunities to tease her about being an uninformed racist.

"Barbaric?" Byng asked, although there wasn't a hint of teasing or mischief in her voice.

"I was going to say concerning, but..."

"You can call it what it is," she shrugged.

"Well, all I'll say is that it's wonderful you thrived under such conditions. While I can't say what I went through was anything relatable to your experiences, I believe we both share a similar sense of ruthless individualism. I respect that about you, Byng, but it would do you good to learn things are different here."

"I know that. Honestly, I think you Humans go about things much better than Orcs do. Your societies seem more focused on helping each other out on an individual, personal level versus helping the 'tribe,' if you get what I mean. There is some of that with your Kings, Dukes, and Lords, but ordinary people don't care about shit like that. They just care about each other. I saw a lot of that when I wandered through Lillance and Arrark before finally settling down here. Little towns where everyone knew each other's names, farmlands run by tight-knit families, stuff like that. It's... nice. Really nice. But... I can't just shake off everything I was taught, y'know?"

"That's only to be expected. You've kept mostly to yourself before getting together with Darling, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Then of course you aren't used to this sort of thing. Give it time. You will be. Like it or not, the two of us are already on the fast track to becoming a family of sorts. You wouldn't feel ashamed of letting your family spoil you, would you?"

"N-No," Byng admitted. "But... gah, it's embarrassing when you put it like that!"

"That's too bad because it's the truth."

"I get it, I get it... I promise I'm not gonna let it bother me too much."

"Good. If you kept feeling sorry for yourself just because you had to rely on me, I would've dunked you myself." Suzette teased, earning vigorous laughter from the younger girl.

Byng was ready for the next step. Suzette had her sniff the different options available, but Byng predictably had no preference among the fruity smells meaning Suzette had to pick one out herself. They went with a light green, minty liquid soap that Suzette began pouring all over Byng's backside, starting from the top of her shoulder blades. The soap was cool, drawing a little whimper from Byng's lips as it made contact with her warm skin. The discomfort lasted only a few seconds before Suzette began spreading the soap all over Byng's backside, lathering up every inch of her with the stuff until she was bubbly all over. The bubbles amused Byng, but the real excitement was the feeling of Suzette's oily hands running across her flesh.

Despite the reservations and anxiety over water, Byng wasn't hung up enough that she couldn't enjoy her present situation. She made faces of pleasure as Suzette slid down the sides of her torso, her thumbs pressing into her spine, and she couldn't hold back the occasional moan when the woman rubbed it into her ass from behind. It was hard to ignore her arousal, and things came to a head when Suzette commented on her behavior.

"That just about does it for the back. Would you like to do the front yourself? I wouldn't want you taking things the wrong way... not yet, anyway."

"Mm, I think it would be fucking awesome if you kept going, Suz," Byng purred.

"How did I know you would say that?" Suzette laughed softly to herself and rolled her eyes before tipping over the soap bottle onto Byng's cute little breasts. This earned an even more noticeable reaction from Byng, pulling out a deeper moan from the depths of her throat want Suzette's hands found her tits and began spreading the soap outwards from there.

"W-Whoa," Byng gasped, her head lolling back nice and gentle-like. "I didn't think you were actually gonna straight up grope me and shit, mn...!" She closed her eyes, letting the relaxing yet sexual motions of the older woman's soft hands curve around her chest and spread across her shoulders and abdomen.

"I'm not groping. I'm cleaning. Believe me, dear. You would know the difference." Suzette stressed, all while trying to keep herself composed as well. She'd never touched another woman like this before, and now that she had, she found it both strange and exciting. It certainly helped that Byng was attractive, even more so now that she was free of grime by this point in time.

Byng sensed that Suzette was interested, and she began to purposefully moan on and off as a sort of running joke. It got the intended reaction from her, making Suzette blush and second-guess her actions, but the more Suzette slid her hands into places Byng wasn't expecting, the less of a joke those were. She was feeling hot. Very hot- and wet as well.

If Suzette didn't have the willpower that she did, things might've escalated then and there.

She proved to be made of stronger stuff, though, forcing herself to remind Byng, "I know you're having some fun, but it's important that you don't get carried away. We're saving ourselves for tonight, remember?"

"Huh?" Byng opened her hazy eyes and wiped some drool off her chin. "Oh, uh, yeah. Kinda forgot about that for a second, gahaha... I blame you. You're really damn good at this, Suz. Like, damn!"

Suzette giggled with pride even as she blushed. "Happy to be of service, dear. Are you ready for me to rinse you off again?"

"Do what you gotta do,"

"Alright," Suzette reached for the bath ladle that came included in the bucket. Ordinarily, she would've just filled the bucket full and dumped it over Byng's head, but that came with a sizable risk. She figured it was better to rinse it off a little bit at a time.

After dipping the ladle into the pool, she tipped it over and let the contents pour onto Byng's scalp. She did this to prep the girl's hair for the intense round of shampoo which lay in her future so the water would flow down both sides of her shoulders, cleansing a sizable portion of Byng's body from suds. As expected, there was a little bit of initial shock, and Byng jolted out of surprise. This was much more different than running a rag across her body, but after a few more passes of the ladle, Byng warmed up to it.

When Suzette finished and the last traces of bubbles were gone, Byng looked closely at her skin. She was stunned at what she saw. "Whoa, I can like... fucking see my own reflection! I didn't know I could be so shiny!"

"I'm so happy to see that you're enjoying yourself," Suzette giggled at Byng's childish admiration while feeling a little jealous of the girl's soft, youthful skin.

"Being shiny isn't the only neat thing about this, either," Byng said. "It also just kind of... feels nice to be all clean. Y'know?"

"Yes, Byng. That's typically how this goes. We aren't done yet, though. We still need to see to your hair, and then you've got to do me."

"Really? After how much you wouldn't shut up about waiting till tonight?" Byng smirked.

"Oh, shush. As if I didn't see that one from miles away."

"You set 'em up, Suz, and I'll knock 'em down!"

Suzette smiled at this girl and her antics. The mood between them was now relaxed, warm, even. Perfect for asking the question that had been burning a hole in the back of her mind this entire time. "Would you mind if I asked you something personal, Byng?"

Although taken aback, Byng was quick to respond. "Sure. I had something I wanted to ask you, too."

"In that case, you can go first," Suzette said. She was polite to a fault, even now.

"You sure?" Byng tilted her head, but when Suzette gave her the go-ahead, she relented. "Alright, if you insist..." The girl slid closer to the pool's edge, allowing a few more inches of her legs to sink. "I'm not good beating around the bush, so I'll just say it. I don't really get you, Suz."

"In what way don't you get me? I thought I was being fairly transparent with you."

"No, not like that... I mean... all that junk in the cabin? The porn? Those weird sperm balloon things? You said that place belonged to your dead husband, and he obviously wasn't very faithful. I don't get why you're so quick to jump on board with... well, me, I guess. Or rather, the lifestyle Coye wants to live. I'm all for him bringing home as much pussy as he wants, but I don't really get why you would be."

The more Byng rambled on, the further and further off Suzette's gaze trailed. The woman was far away now, but it wasn't in her dark and typical fashion. Her face was one of introspection. She was giving Byng's question some serious thought, which didn't seem to be a good sign.

"Shit," Byng cursed. "Shit, shit, shit. I'm really sorry, Suz. I told you I suck at this. I didn't mean to-"

"You're alright, dear. I was only thinking to myself... or remembering, more like. I haven't actually told you any specific details of my marriage, so I understand why you might think my behavior odd. Would you like to know the truth?"

Byng gulped, feeling she plunged into much deeper waters than she'd expected. "Only if you're willing to tell me, yeah. I... I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. Not this time, at least, gahaha..."

An empty smile appeared on Suzette's face. When she spoke, it was soft. Quiet. "Cheating was the least of that man's problems. At least when he was with other women, he wasn't with me."

"...Fuck, dude," Byng stared at the pool. "Did he like...?"

"Whatever you're imagining, it's probably the case. Physical altercations, years of manipulation, stealing from my family's store, and just about every other form of abuse you could think of. I'm only grateful he didn't bother with my body beyond the first or second time because everything else was bad enough as it was. I don't know if I would've survived had he possessed the slightest interest in my looks."

Byng found it harder and harder to breathe. She found herself scooting closer to Suzette out of a need to comfort her, but Suzette shook her head moment Byng tried to place her hand on the older woman's thigh.

"You're probably wondering why I stayed in such a relationship, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Byng admitted. "That shit wouldn't fly in Grurguhrohk. Well, at least not in my tribe, it wouldn't. If someone treated their woman like he treated you, he would've wound up dead. Hell, in most cases, the woman would do it themself!"

Suzette looked Byng in the eye, and although she remained silent, the implication spoke volumes by itself.

"Oh," Byng muttered. "So, you really did...?"

"This isn't about his tragic accident, dear. This is about why I stayed."

"Well, why did you?"

"It's simple, really. The worst thing that man ever did to me was the way he isolated me from my family. After I got married, they gave me ownership of the family store with the intention of living out the rest of their lives in retirement. It was an arranged marriage, and our relationship went south very quickly. Rather than divorce, though, he preferred to stay around and take everything he could. I don't know why he did it, maybe it was so that I couldn't tell them the truth about him, but he made it so I never had a chance to talk to them. He stole my chances to see them, and whenever I did, he was there to lie about how we were doing. I couldn't contradict him, not while knowing what he would do to me if I did. Worse than that, though? By some point, he wormed his way into my head so deep that... that... I believed everything was my fault, that the reason our relationship turned out how it did was because of something I'd done wrong or because there was something I could've done better. I wish it didn't take me six years to realize that it was the Realm's biggest load of horseshit."

"Suz..." Byng bit her lip. It was strange. Why was she the one crying when it was Suzette telling her sob story? It hurt knowing she was out of her depth here. Problems in Grurguhrohk were solved through gratuitous violence or angry sex, so the thought of emotional manipulation or abuse was something the Gengaggi couldn't wrap her head around. Despite her lack of understanding, Byng wanted to know even more in the hopes it would make them closer. "What made you finally realize it was... um... time for him to go?"

"It was shortly after my parents died in a simple accident six years ago. It'd been months since I'd last seen them, and their death made me take a step backward from everything. While I was on the outside looking in, I noticed that man took my family away from me long before death ever did. As for what happened after that, well. He was a lumberjack- a dangerous yet necessary profession around these parts. Dozens of them never make it back from the Gnarled Woods every year. What's one more?"

Byng was speechless. Her heart beat like crazy as she tried to think of something, anything she could possibly say to that. When something came up, it was more for her than for Suzette. "Can I... um... hug you, or something? You can say no if you want, but..."

"Of course, Byng," Suzette smiled had returned. Her genuine one. As soon as Byng saw it, she practically tackled the older woman and buried her face in her tits. Rather than anything in her story, this caused her to feel a stir of emotion. Almost without even thinking, she returned the embrace and smiled deeper.

Once Byng started feeling a little better, she asked, "How much of this does Coye know?"

"Nothing beyond vague hints I have no intention of elaborating on. That part of my life is over now, and I see no reason to let it haunt my current relationship like a shade. It's irrelevant to my love for him."

"What if he asks?"

"Then I'd tell him, but I don't think he will. He's sensitive, in that certain way boys get." Suzette laughed softly to herself.

Byng thought back to when she asked Coye how he would feel if she and Suzette slept with other men besides him, which made her crack a smile. He was pretty sensitive, and his jealousy was cute as cute can be. "I guess you're right, gahaha. For real, though, Suz. You're stronger than any Orc I've ever met."

"Well, I don't know about that," Suzette blushed as Byng finally let up on their hug. "Can you see where I'm going by telling you all this, dear?"

"Uh," Byng blinked out for a moment. When she actually thought about it, nothing Suzette had said tied into the question Byng asked in the first place. "No. Not exactly, sorry..."

"It's alright, I might've gotten a bit dramatic for a while, but I promise there was a point to it all. Let's circle back to your question. You wanted to know why I'm okay with my Darling having intimate affairs with you and likely other women in the future? Well, it certainly helps that our relationship started with me knowing he had a condition that I almost certainly couldn't take care of alone. Whatever in the Endless Hells is wrong with him, that boy needs to be thoroughly drained- routinely, at that..." Suzette sighed at the absurdity before continuing. "Even so, I was surprised that he had the nerve to ask another girl out on my doorstep, which is why I had to tease him a little about it."

"Gah, I'm sorry about that... there was this whole thing, and he asked me out, so-"

"Byng, Byng. Relax, dear. That boy is remarkably popular around town, even if he doesn't know it. If it wasn't you, someone else would've been next. There's no need to apologize for nature taking its course. I just so happened to be lucky enough that I was... well, second in line, strictly speaking, but you know how it is."

"Sure," Byng nodded. "So, what? You're cool with all this because it was inevitable?"

"No, I'm cool with all this because I have three main things I want out of life. Love, wealth, and... family. Wealth is something I'll never have enough of, so it might as well be irrelevant in this conversation. Regarding love, the Goddess above or whoever is looking out for me saw fit to answer my prayers. That leaves only family. Darling is still young, and I doubt he's ready to provide me with one of those. Not in the traditional sense, maybe. My heart is lonely for what it lost. It might be that I'm overly optimistic, but part of me hopes that you and whoever else that boy falls in with might become a family of sorts to me. Is that strange?"

"No," Byng replied without hesitation. "I think it makes a lot of sense... but then again, what you described is pretty normal in my culture. Mothers rarely distinguish between their own children and their mate's children with other women. They're all a part of the same clan, and that's more important than anything else."

"That sounds rather nice," Suzette smiled dreamily. "Harems are a staple of Karnallian culture as well, but many of them aren't as close as what you described. Granted, that's because the right is mostly practiced by the nobility and the rich, guaranteeing bloody disputes over who inherits what and so on. It would be lovely if we were an exception."

"I'd like that."

"You and I might not be terribly close yet, but I'm willing to make an effort. In time I'd love nothing more than to spoil you like one of my own."

"Really, Suz?" Byng blushed and looked away, an awkward smile on her face.

"Of course, provided-"

"That I bathe," Byng sighed and then laughed heartily. "I know how this goes by now."

"Good girl," Suzette teased.

The two of them were in an excellent mood, each feeling the effects of the intense bonding session. Suzette's troubled past couldn't bring them down, but Byng remembered that the older woman had a question of her own. There was really only one thing you can be, she surmised.

"So... I'm guessing you probably wanted to know what my deal is with water, huh?" Byng asked and slumped over.

"Yes, that was indeed what I intended on asking you."

"It's..." Byng paused and thought carefully about what she wanted to say. "I don't know. I feel like it's nothing compared to everything you went through."

"Just because I had a rough go of things doesn't mean your own experiences and feelings are invalidated, dear. There's always someone who had it worse than you. That's just how life is."

"Alright," Byng shrugged. She owed it to Suzette after being so honest with her. Now it was Byng's turn to look off sadly into the distance. "You know by now that Grurguhrohk is a Realm that's mostly one big desert, and it's full to bursting with monsters that want to kill and eat you if given a chance. You shouldn't be surprised when I say that extends to any big sources of water, too. My tribe mainly stuck to the deserts and the savanna. Lakes, rivers, the ocean? Fuck that. Monsters infest those places like you wouldn't believe. We got our water from cacti, or... eh, I'll spare your stomach that detail and just tell you we had to get creative."

"I... appreciate your consideration, dear." Suzette gave Byng a concerned expression prompting a follow-up from the girl.

"I'm not talking about drinking piss."

"Oh, thank the Goddesses," the older woman sighed. "But I have to say, it's not like Karnalle doesn't have its own abundance of aquatic monsters that terrorize our coasts and rivers."

"Sure, but you Humans still feel safe enough to go fucking swimming! For fun! Back home, you couldn't even dip your toes in the way we're doing right now. They'd get bitten off in seconds. Hell, you could throw a steak into the water, and a twenty-ton leviathan would pop up like it was just fucking waiting for it and gobble it down faster than you could see coming! Knew an Orc whose Dazhak went that way, actually. Didn't stop me from punching him in the dick for trying to guilt me into hooking up with him, gahaha!"

Suzette smiled on the surface, but she cringed at the thought of the horror beneath the surface of Grurguhrohk's waters. "I'm starting to see why you might be afraid, then. Is this a common cultural fear?"

"Uh, yes and no?" Byng gave the question some thought. "There are some tribes that live on the coast or on the lakes and rivers who make a life for themselves through fishing, but they're pretty damn rare."

"Reasonably so," Suzette thought. "If I understand correctly, though, your fear seems much more personal than one ingrained by your culture."

Byng frowned, stirring the water with her feet. "Sharp as ever, Suz. You're right. That's because it is. So there I was- four years old. Just picked up my first bow cause Dazhak tells me it's time I start learning how to hunt. It goes pretty good, I chase around a Borvarr for a few hours while he watched over me and explained the basics of tracking my prey. I was missing shots left and right, and every time I missed, it would run further and further away..." she laughed softly. "Didn't matter. We couldn't go home until I made the kill. Eventually, it ran up a ridge, and we got close. Real close. That bastard had nowhere to run, and I finally shot him right between his eyes! It was then that I knew what it felt like to take from the Lord of Hunters and Hunted, and damn, it felt good. I Couldn't hold back my excitement, and I ran straight up to get my kill only to slip on a stupid ass rock and tumble straight over the ridge..."

"And under that ridge...?"

"Was a river," Byng confirmed.

"Oh, dear..." Suzette shifted around uncomfortably. The story was starting to affect her.

"I wasn't kidding about how fast they'll be on you, y'know. Before I knew what was happening, a swarm of Rawxaws came in for the kill. Picture a fish about the same size as your entire body, only with a mouth full of teeth as long and sharp as swords. I would've died if it weren't for my Dazhak raining down arrows on the fuckers from the top of the ridge. Course, even after he cleared all of them out, I still almost drowned. It's not like I knew how to swim, gahaha..."

"Gods," Suzette sighed and shook her head. "That... would certainly do it, alright. No wonder you're as scared as you are."

"I dunno, I'm not so convinced anymore..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I have about a hundred stories of how I almost died back in my Homerealm. What makes that one so special? Why can't I get over it? Look at you. You've been through worse. Even short-stuff is trying to be a new person these days. What's my excuse?" Byng suddenly stood and took the first step into the pool of water. "It happened a long time ago, and I'm a full-ass adult now. I'm not a little girl afraid of getting wet..."

Suzette didn't follow along initially until it suddenly hit her what Byng intended to do. She stood up quickly and thrust her hand out, grabbing Byng by the wrist and holding her tight.

"Hold on a moment. Before you do anything too hasty, think about it a little more! You might undo all the progress we've made here today!" Suzette pleaded with emotion.

Byng wasn't hearing it. She only shook her head. "This isn't hasty. It's been fifteen years coming. Let go, Suz."

Her intuition told her not to. Again, Suzette imagined what would be the right course of action to take if her own child was in such a situation. If Byng wanted to jump out of the nest, wasn't it Suzette's duty to support her regardless of how things turned out? That was ultimately what convinced her. Maybe Byng would be okay. Perhaps she wouldn't. Whatever the result, they could try again and again for as long as it took.

"Okay, Byng. I understand." Suzette relented, letting go of the girl's hand.

Byng returned the gesture with a toothy smile filled with false confidence.

Then, she moved on to the second step, where the pool swallowed halfway up her calves. The third step was where things became difficult. She was up to her knee, and Byng locked up. The pace of her breathing quickened along with her heartbeat. She reaffirmed herself continually in her mind, telling herself she wasn't a little girl anymore and that this was okay. Despite that, all she could do was stand there and tremble.

Unsure of what to do, Suzette trusted her motherly instincts and approached Byng from behind. She wouldn't steer her one way or another, but she would still make her opinion known. "Don't rush this. Do it at your own pace, dear."

"I'll... I'll be okay..." Byng continually insisted as she shut her eyes tight, topping it off with another deep breath. Suzette might've said something further, but Byng didn't hear it. The entire world went quiet when she jumped, plunging the rest of her body into the water.

It wasn't a deep pool, only five feet, but Byng was half a foot too short to stand inside. She flailed, regretting her decision immediately. She splashed around like a fish, panic grabbing hold of her heart. Byng opened her mouth to scream, but that obviously didn't work in the land where up was down and mermen feast on starfish soup. Before she inhaled too much water, she was pulled to the surface by Suzette, who then backed onto the steps and sat down on the topmost one, hugging Byng to try and help stabilize the girl.

"Gah! Fuck! Fuuuuck! I'm sorry, Suz! I'm sorry!" Byng cried, clutching onto the older woman like a child.

"Honestly," Suzette sighed. "What were you thinking? I understand the appeal of an all-or-nothing approach, but it was too soon..."

"No... I... I only did it because you were there for me," Byng admitted, her body regaining enough energy to hug Suzette even tighter. "I knew if I did something stupid, then you would... have my back- gahk!"

Suzette blushed a little and pulled the girl closer to her chest. "You're damn right, I would," she said. Even as she found herself disappointed by Byng's rash decision, there was no way she'd remain mad after hearing that. "Are you alright, now?"

Byng had managed to cough out most of the water by now, and she evem managed a weak smile. "No, but... I will be. Think we can keep this girl-on-girl hug going for a while? Y'know, for... reasons?"

"I believe that can be arranged," Suzette giggled softly and gave the nervous girl a few straight minutes of coddling until she was ready to move on.

When Byng was finished coming down from that gargantuan high, she felt like she'd burned herself out for the time being. Suzette helped her out of the pool, and Byng soon returned to dipping her legs in and nothing more. "Did I do good?" She asked in an apparent attempt for attention.

"I wouldn't call almost drowning yourself in a shallow pool 'good' by any stretch of the word, but... that did take courage, I'll give you that."

"Heh. I'm still pretty scared right now, but... hey, the water feels great. By the way, I had a random thought. If you angled yourself up against those bubble blowing jets juuust right-"

Suzette rolled her eyes and smiled. "Seems to me you've made a full recovery."

"Gahaha! Something like that..." Byng shyly scratched the back of her head, savoring the strange sensation that came along with her hair being as drenched as it was. "Oh, by the way. Do you still want the do the thing tonight? You know, the other thing. Not that threesome- I fucking earned the shit out of that."

"That you did," Suzette blushed a little and laughed before her expression turned more serious. "But yes, dear. I believe it's in everyone's best interest if we confront Darling about it sooner rather than later. The longer this ruse continues, the deeper the hole they'll have to dig themselves out of."

"Guess you got a point there," Byng grumbled and frowned. "I just hate having to pull the rug out from under him, y'know? Especially when it hasn't really caused us any harm."

"Things will work themselves out, I hope," Suzette said. She still had doubts about what she wanted to say to him, but she wasn't the kind of person who could ignore things as they currently stood. Not when she had a suspicion as to the source of Coye's condition. "Are you ready to keep going, dear? Fair warning, but the shampoo will sting if you leave your eyes open. Try and keep them closed."

"W-Wait a sec, what? You didn't say shit about singing, Suz!"

"If you tough it out, you'll get to wash my body the same way I did for you," Suzette smirked playfully.

"Gah-" Byng didn't like the sound of whatever the hell this shampoo stuff was, but the reward was more than enough to compensate for a bit of discomfort. "Fine, but I'm not even going to pretend I'm not trying to grope you, dammit!"

"I think I can live with that," Suzette giggled and then got to work. Little did Byng know that shampoo wasn't the worst surprise waiting for her during her remaining time at The Mermaid's Cove.