A plan for morning

The letter seems to shrivel up before turning into smoke and dissipating. A silence fills the room as Camilla returns the ink and quill to their resting place. She returns to her chair, crossing her arms as she sits. It's an uncomfortable few moments before the captain sighs. "We need more information, which means we're heading back to that hive in the northeast. We can't confirm it, but the swarm from today probably came from there."

"I actually can confirm it." You interject. "I'm not sure how, but Ariel said something about it earlier today."

"That still brings up their behavior. I've never heard of hornets acting in retribution like this. Neither have Gilford or Garth. What's more, toward the end of the fight today, those hornets were definitely targeting you. That could be due to the fact that we were the ones who killed the queen, but that doesn't explain why I didn't get the same treatment. We're sure to find out more about everything if we return to where this started."

Kara's concerned nature begins to show again. "You're going to go without your armor? And what about your child?"

"We're only scouting this time, I promise. I can't guarantee when we'll hear back from the lord's forces, if at all, but if we do, we'd better have more information for them." Camilla maintains a cool head throughout her explanation. "With Dusk's speed, we'll be there and back in an hour."

"And it'll be better if I go alone. I'm more resilient than you are, and I'll be even faster if I'm not carrying you around."

"What about me, Chief?" The goblin in your lap looks up backward up at you.

"You...huh..." You think, unsure of how things should go. "I still need to return to the tribe. I'll drop you off there tonight, and I'll pick you up after scouting the hive tomorrow."

She pauses to think, her ears drooping. "You're not staying with me tonight?"

"Uh...no. Probably not." You blush a bit, but manage to hide the beginnings of an erection. "I'm going to be sticking around here. Feel free to take the old chief's tent, though."

"Oh...okay..." She looks down, physically and emotionally.

You quickly try to backtrack, patting her head. "Hey, this situation is only temporary, okay? You're still my cocksleeve, if you want it." You don't dare look to the other two in the room when you speak those words.

Eve brightens up, giving a toothy (if slightly disturbing) grin to you. "Of course I do, Chief!"

Kara chuckles, but something's off about how it sounds. "I guess she's earning her namesake again."

You scratch the back of your head. "Yeah, sorry. We'll try to make it a bit more private in the future."

"A little late for that..." Camilla sighs heavily, tapping her foot. "But I guess I'm outvoted on whether I'm going tomorrow. You sure you're going to be alright by yourself, Private?"

"I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure we all just saw I can handle myself if a fight breaks out."

Camilla shakes her head. "That's not the point. We have to assume a worst-case scenario right now. Hornets don't normally go for ****, so long after the queen dies, which means it wasn't ****. We need to assume they have a new queen, maybe even put there by the Empress itself, and they're scouting out exactly what they're up against. They'll know your strategy, and they'll know your power. Even with most of their hive taken out today and yesterday, they can recuperate their numbers fast, and they're far more prepared for combat than we are, right now."

You nod. "Information only, got it. In and out, no dawdling. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Camilla sighs, relieved. "Good."

You land in the center of the goblin village, startling some of your new 'subjects'. Not much has changed, but now there's two four-legged, skinned corpses roasting over fires nearby (the smoke making it much easier for you to find the village again), and a handful of extra goblins, which you assume are the hunting party. You wish you could say you didn't recognize them, but you don't recognize most of them by their appearance alone, so it wouldn't be saying much. Eve says something in the goblin tongue, and some of the goblins share looks with each other before looking back to you in your admittedly tight clothing. Why didn't I grab men's clothes before I left?

You drop the lance with three hornets barely on it, and tell Eve to let the 'makers' know to harvest what they can and cook the rest to eat, and that there's more where that came from over the next few days. You and her sit nearby, her on your lap, so you can try to integrate yourself better with the tribe. Some of them are more inquisitive than others, asking more questions than earlier today. Eve does her best to translate, but some words don't translate well, and she has to take her time.

You're surprised when one of the goblins, a bit heftier than his(?) brethren, hands you two large drumsticks, while most of the rest of the goblins, him(?)self and Eve included, receive much less, maybe the equivalent of a handful of chicken nuggets. You lean down to whisper in Eve's ear. "What's with the food portions here?"

"Well, the chief gets the most, then the hunters, then the injured, then the pregnant, and then everyone else." She begins wolfing down on her slightly bigger portion of meat.

You sit there for a moment, dumbfounded. This makes a bit of sense, but it also seems a bit unfair...I'll have to think about changing that in the future. You bite into one of your drumsticks, tearing off some of it to chew on.

"He really is beautiful, no matter what form he takes, isn't he?" Kara silently sighs as she prepares another meal for Camilla.

"What? I mean, I guess, but that's a weird way to say it..." The captain sets down the pot of river water she just returned with.

"I saw how you reacted when he was talking to Eve." The blond calmly continues chopping ingredients.

"Care to elaborate?" Camilla raised an eyebrow as she started the fire underneath the pot.

"You were upset, but not in your usual way."

What is she even going on about? Camilla rolls her eyes as she fans the tiny flame. "Well why wouldn't I be upset about the degradation of someone right in from of me? She may be a goblin, but she's more human than the rest of her kind."

"Even if she weren't willing to be degraded, that's not the point." Kara sighs. "That's not what you were upset about."

"Oh?" The brunette stands, before leaning against the counter to look at her girlfriend. "Enlighten me on my own emotions, why don't you."

Said girlfriend sets down the knife. "You were upset...that he didn't want you." Kara looks to the captain, with a vague mixture of emotions on her face, but seemingly not upset. "You were jealous."

Camilla was taken aback. "Y-you really think I'm jealous of her?! Someone whose name before today was literally 'cocksleeve'!?"

"I do. I only realized it recently, but you've never quite been jealous before. You decided to be with Dusk two nights ago, and you still want to be with him now." The blond sounds...almost sad.

The temporary futa feels her member twitch. She touches her forehead to Kara's. "Look at me, Kara. I'm not with him. I'm with you. I choose you, okay?"

Kara purses her lips as she tries to avoid her girlfriend's gaze. "I, I know. But, I...am still underage. If you want to...you know...I ca-won't stop you. A girl needs her release, after all..."

The brunette slaps her, much to her surprise. "Stop thinking that way. I've made my decision. Now, let me help you with dinner..."

The two had an uncomfortable silence while they finished cooking their meal and ate it, but when Kara is packing up to leave, she stops at the door, as if she wants to say something. She turns, silently kissing Camilla on the cheek before leaving just as silently.