TTE Vol. 9 pt. 3 (Patreon)

“You’ll be fine,” Eva said as she walked out of the town’s entrance with a pouting Fenrir by her side.

With everything that happened recently, and considering that Eva was already a few months late to reporting back to the Scholars like she was supposed to, she figured it was finally time to return to exchange information. Unfortunately, there was no way of doing that without leaving everybody for a little bit.

Everybody else already said their goodbyes, but Fenrir decided to walk out with her since he had nothing better to be doing. He also might have felt a little bit clingy and didn’t want her to go yet.

“Besides,” she continued, “I have a secret plan that should make you happy.”

Fenrir immediately perked up. “I’ll stop whining if you let me know what it is.”

“Nope. That’s classified information.”

“Come on, please?”

“Nope. Not telling.”

“You know that one of the most sadistic things somebody can do in the world is to tell them that they know of a secret, but then not actually say what it is, right?”

“I guess you could say I’m trying out S&M then. You know I’m all about experimenting.”

“But isn’t that supposed to involve consent? I don’t consent to having secrets teased to me!”

“Hmm. You drive a hard bargain. But… no.”

“You’re so fucked up.”

“Thanks.”

“So, how long is this going to take?”

“It’s going to take me a couple days to get down there if I’m careful, then I’ll probably hang around to catch up on everything, and then I’ll come right back. So, about a week in total?”

“A week?” Fenrir sighed. “Well, if that’s how long it takes, alright.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ll miss you.”

“You know you can still talk to me over Fiscord, right?”

“But I can’t hug you over Fiscord.”

“There are other games we can play together where you can hug me.”

“It’s not the same. Your avatar isn’t the one I’ve come to know and love in those.”

“The same could be said about real life but that didn’t stop you.”

“Well… alright, you’ve got me there.”

Eva smiled and poked Fenrir’s nose. “It’s okay. I’ll miss you too. Maybe not as much since I plan on harassing you over Fiscord, but I’ll miss you at least a little bit.”

“You could have left that last part off.”

“Hmm. Alright, I know.” With a mischievous little smile, Eva walked around to Fenrir’s rear and dug her hands into the fluff of his tail. “I’ll miss this! Even if we talk over Fiscord or in other games, I can’t play with your tail like I can here.”

“Exactly! That’s why you need to be quick, so you can return to play with my tail as much as you want.”

“And these ears.” Eva leaned up, pressing her chest against his back for support as her hands found their way to his ears. “Can’t play with these cute little things if—actually, you know, they’re pretty large ears. I shouldn’t call them little.”

“Size doesn’t matter. Only fluffiness does.”

“Ah, I see. Is that how it works? Well, in that case, I’ll miss these fluffy ears, too. I suppose that’s a good enough reason to try and be extra fast during the trip.”

“You said it would take a couple of days if you’re careful. Why do you need to be careful? Is there something that might happen if you’re not? I mean, you can fly.”

“Well… you see, the Scholar HQ is so hidden for a reason. It’s really hard to get there in one piece. It’s carved into a giant rock sticking out of the water—like a sea stack. Imagine a series of valleys going into the mountains full of water with sea stacks spread throughout it. One of them is especially large and where the HQ is carved into. Now, first off, getting to the actual entrance is impossible unless you can fly or they know to expect you. Secondly—wait, that’s not the actual problem of getting there, just getting in. Uh. Alright. Let’s start over. First of all, the top of these valleys is home to dangerous monsters who are happy to chase after you, so you have to travel within the valleys themselves. A lot of weaker monsters travel through them that way, too. So, some other monsters are aware of this. They’ve evolved to specialize in hunting within the valleys by clinging to the walls, camoflauging themselves while waiting for prey to fly by, and then jump out to latch onto their target when it flys by.”

“So, you’re gonna have to be careful and keep an eye out for those to make sure you don’t get randomly pounced on while flying?”

“Right. The other problem is that the big guy in charge down there developed a special spell that he’s used all throughout the valley. It’s like a massive illusionary spell that only affects players—well, and non-monster NPCs. He wanted something that wouldn’t disrupt nature but still messes with players. Don’t ask me how he did it. Anyways, the spell basically creates an illusionary labyrinth of sorts in the way that… it turns the valleys into a maze. The only way to get through the maze is to look for special markers that tell you the right way to go, and only members of the Scholars know how to identify them. Unfortunately, even if that’s already really secure on its own, the big guy likes to hide them and change them every now and then. He figures that if we’re not able to figure it out on our own using context clues while knowing the basic information about their existence, then we’re not worthy of being Scholars.”

“What happens if you go the wrong way?”

“You walk—well, you either fly or sail straight into a trap that has a high chance of making you, you know, stop doing the existing thing.”

“So, you have to be careful because of the previous reason and because you might just straight up get zapped if you don’t.”

“Right. If I didn’t want to be careful and make sure I’d survive, I could get there in just under a day. Going through the valleys the proper way is what will take an entire ‘nother day.”

“The life of a Scholar is more dangerous than I would have thought, apparently.”

“I mean, we’re a bunch of crazy people who do things like dip our limbs into lava for fun just to see what it feels like. If we weren’t suicidal with the dangers we throw ourselves to, we wouldn’t be the Scholars.”

“Fair enough. And what about the secret?”

“Nice try. You won’t get that out of me just by randomly asking it while I’m answering all your other questions.”

“Dang. You know, that tactic was actually pretty useful back in the day. A lot of people gave up information they weren’t supposed to when asked at the right moment. Just had to get them comfortable with talking and answering questions first. Then you slip in the question, and… you get exactly what you want and they often don’t even realize the importance of what you asked before it’s too late.”

“Sounds like classical social engineering. Hacking in TV shows and movies, and games sometimes I guess, always makes hacking look cool and badass when it’s actually just spending spam emails most of the time and hoping the target is dumb enough to fall for them.”

“Pretty much. Good thing email filters have gotten so good at filtering those these days. I’m not sure people are any smarter than they used to be, so there’d probably be a lot more hacks without them.”

“Right? Anyways, if you’re trying to lower my guard again, it’s not gonna work. And I’ve got to get going since the sooner I’m back, the sooner we won’t have to miss each other.”

Fenrir sighed and held out open arms. “Can I at least have a hug before you go?”

Eva was happy to oblige with a smile, wrapping her arms around him. She raised her eyebrows when she felt his hands reach all the way down to her ass, though. “Where do you think you’re touching?”

“I’m hugging you.”

“You’re groping me.”

“Nobody said that those things are mutually exclusive.”

“How long do you plan on squeezing it for?”

“A while. I don’t think I’ve appreciated your ass enough. Now that it’s going to leave me… I want it. I want your ass, Eva.”

“You’re so weird.”

“What? You have a really nice ass.”

“I thought you were more of a boobs man?”

“I’m a sweaters man. Now, I will say that boobs have an unfair advantage over asses because they can benefit from sweaters whereas asses can’t really, unless you get one of those super long sweaters that reach down over the ass. In that case, they both take advantage of the sweater and are on an equal playing field.”

“I see. There could be some experiments done with that.”

“Experiments? Like what?”

“Like seeing which sweater setup gets you the most excited. One that emphasizes the chest or one that emphasizes the butt?”

“Would you… would you do that for me?”

“Obviously. It’s for science and my boyfriend. Why wouldn’t I? Plus, it sounds fun.”

“You’re the greatest chimera mad scientist girlfriend that a man could ever ask for, Eva.”

“I know. You still have to let go of me.”

“One more minute.”

“Fine. You have sixty seconds.”

Fenrir’s time was limited, so he made sure to enjoy her ass with his hands to the full potential while he could.

“Alright. Time’s up,” Eva said before swatting his hands away.

Fenrir whined at her with a dramatic pout. “You didn’t have to smack me away.”

“I knew your hands weren’t going to leave if I didn’t.”

“That might be true, but you still didn’t have to do it.”

“You’re so silly. Alright, will you feel better if I send you a special picture tonight?”

“A… a special picture? What kind of special picture?”

“I’m not giving you any more information than that.”

“The kind that you send Cass?”

“Y-you… you know about those? Not that it was supposed to be a secret, but…”

“I’ll admit that I’ve peeked at her phone while she’s on it before. I’ve seen her open up her DMs with you and the pictures were right there, though she did try closing out of them immediately.”

“I… feel oddly embarrassed.”

“It’s okay. I’ll pretend I have no idea what you’re talking about. Gee, I wonder what sort of special pictures you could potentially be talking about. I guess I’ll have to wait and find out while thinking about all of the non-lewd possibilities.”

Eva smacked his arm and laughed. “Enough, you. Alright. I’m gonna go now or else we’ll be here all day.”

“Kiss first.”

“You’re so needy.”

“Trust me, I’m holding back as much as I can.”

As they both smiled, the two pressed their lips against one another’s for a gentle, loving kiss. One that lasted just long enough to temporarily satisfy while leaving them with anticipation for more upon reuniting.

“Love you, Eva. Have a safe trip,” Fenrir said.

“Love you too. And I’ll try,” Eva replied. She then took a step past him, smacked his ass, and lifted off with a strong flap of her wings to gain distance from him before he could retaliate in any way.

The last thing Fenrir saw was her winking at him before waving.

“Damn,” Fenrir said before rubbing where she smacked. “That actually kind of hurt, but… it was also kind of nice. I hope something isn’t awakening in me.”

Back in town, the first sight to catch Fenrir’s attention was that of Azalabulia sitting outside one of the new restaurants at a wooden table and bench. She sat on one side of the table with her elbows on the table and hands on her chin, her overwhelming chest resting atop the table taking up all the space between her arms. Sitting across from her, as she happily kicked her feet while grinning at her partner, was the tiny dragon she adopted. All the dragon was doing was drinking water from a bowl while nipping at a slab of meat, but that was enough to send Azalabulia into fangirl mode as she watched him.

“I don’t know whether you look like you’re on a date, or like you’re a clingy parent obsessed with how cute their child is,” Fenrir teased as he took a seat next to the dragon. He could have sat next to Azalabulia, but he was more interested in looking at her rather than the dragon.

“I-it’s not like a date!” Azalabulia whined. “I wouldn’t be like that with anybody but you! Or the others, but that’s not the point!”

“How defensive you’re getting is awfully suspicious. You don’t plan on leaving me for a tiny little dragon, do you? Is it because he’s cuter than me? Do you like his hard scales more than my soft fluff?”

“I—I like them equally! But I love you! I also love him, but not like that! They’re different kinds of love!”

“I see. You love me as somebody who’s pitiful, like an abandoned, homeless puppy on the side of the street, while you love the dragon as your one true lover who you wish to spend the rest of your life with. You love me enough to take me to a shelter, but you love the dragon enough to have human-dragon hybrid babies with while forgetting the rest of us ever existed in the first place.”

“It’s not like that at all! You’re making me feel bad!” Azalabulia actually looked like she was about to cry from the teasing.

“Alright, I’ll stop. I’m sorry.”

“You better be…”

“I am.”

“I’d never think about leaving you for a dragon!”

“I know.”

“But… if you turned into a dragon…”

“I don’t think I could.”

“You can. Eva told me.”

“I—well, considering everything else that’s possible, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s actually a thing. I mean, look at her and what she’s turned into.”

Azalabulia nodded along with growing excitement in her eyes.

“But I’m not going to turn into a dragon. Probably.”

She sighed a little. “I know.”

“But if I ever do by some chance, I’ll make sure that you’re the first who sees me. Deal?”

“Deal!”

Fenrir smiled and looked at the dragon. “So, how’s he doing?”

“Death is good!”

“That’d be a fun one to take out of context.”

Azalabulia giggled a little from that one. “True. But, he’s doing alright. He actually went hunting on his own yesterday!”

“Did he? Where and how?”

“At the beach.”

“At the beach?”

Azalabulia nodded. “He hunted for fish that others caught.”

“So… in other words, he was flying around stealing fish from people after they did the hard work of fishing them out?”

“It still counts because he’s trying his best!”

Fenrir looked down at the little dragon who apparently had no shame about the situation as he rolled over onto his back to enjoy the sun shining down on him. “What a carefree little dragon. He’s got a seriously pampered life here thanks to you. Just… please don’t let him piss off the fishers or anything. If he causes a problem and people start complaining, we might have to do something about him. Can’t let him get a free pass just because he’s your pet.”

“I-I know. I’ll train him! Just you wait! I’ll train him so that he’s the most well-behaved dragon no matter what it takes! If I can teach children, I can tame a dragon!”

“I just thought of something horrible. I think Nell is rubbing off on me.”

“Wh-what?”

“I imagined that if I was the dragon and you wanted me to behave, I would train you by always trying to get sexual favors in exchange for behaving. So every time I misbehave, you’d try and teach me to behave, and I’d let you think you’re training me to behave by talking me into it with your body.”

Azalabulia turned bright red before reaching her hands up to cover her face. “Wha-what kind of fantasy is that?!”

“A Nell-inspired fantasy.”

“Fenrir!”

“I’m sorry.”

“I—I wouldn’t fall for something like that in the first place! I’d catch on to what you’re doing!”

“But would you be able to resist if you know it’s the only way I’ll behave?”

“I…”

“Imagine. Me as your cute little dragon boyfriend who purposely misbehaves and then only behaves in exchange for lewd favors. You would totally give in to me.”

Azalabulia’s cheeks turned brighter and brighter until she reached up to grab her hat and pull its brim down over her face. “This isn’t fair!”

“Alright, do you want me to tell you what would more realistically happen then?”

“Ye-yes… but… b-but keep your voice down so that nobody else can hear us.”

“Of course.” Fenrir lowered his voice to almost a whisper, just loud enough for Azalabulia to hear from across the table. “Alright. What would really happen is that I’d be so in love with you that there is no way I’d ever misbehave because I’d want you to be happy and stress free. Plus behaving all the time would probably be an even better way of getting to enjoy your body, and you would do it to reward me and have fun with it instead of doing it out of pressure to make me behave.”

“That… that does sound nicer.”

“Reminds me of a manga I read before. Guy living inside of the body of a tiny cat monster in a fantasy world. The more behaved and cuter he was, the more everybody around him loved him and wanted to pamper him. Basically every single woman around wanted to put him between her boobs. But not in a sexual way.”

“G-good. That would have been weird with a cat.”

“But is it alright to be in a sexual way if it’s with a dragon?”

“Change of topic!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll change the topic, Miss Dragon Fucker.”

“I’m not a dragon fu—fu-fu…scr-screwer?”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard you swear before. I feel challenged to try and get you to swear now.”

“I don’t swear!”

“That’s exactly why I want to hear you swear.”

As the two carried on their back and forth at the table, Azalabulia was constantly being put on the defensive against Fenrir who remained sitting across from her. He looked much like she did before he went over to interrupt her time with Death. With his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin, he leaned forward and continued his relentless teasing while wearing a smile on his face the entire time. He even reached his legs out underneath the table to tease her feet with his own, practically playing footsies with her. Well, that couldn’t even really be called teasing her considering what competition it was up against.

Footsies was child’s play compared to teasing her about sleeping with a tiny dragon version of himself.

“Speaking of riding dragons,” Fenrir said, “we need to try and grow him up faster. I want to see you flying around on his back blowing things up with massive explosions.”

Azalabulia let out a sigh of relief since the teasing finally seemed to be over.

“Then you can ride me.”

And just like that, she was back to blushing and stuttering.