Conversations with Foreign Languages

You cum around Eve's full-body job, long after she's fallen into a trance. She really knows what she's doing... You pull your tentacles out of her as you pull the rest of her off your softening member. Setting her down against a tree, you pull her fur dress over her the best you can. "I hope you enjoyed that Eve. It's not something we should do every day."

"...nnooooo..." Eve's giddy grin momentarily shifts to a frown.

"Don't worry. Think of it like a reward for a good job." You lift her off the ground as her smile returns. Better get her back to her tribe, too. You take a final glance at the barn, only now noticing a possible voyeur: Torch.

She approaches you, and you see she has a rod in her hand. You recognize it as the blue-gemmed one you spotted in the rafters of the barn. She closes the distance to the tree line in seconds, now holding out the rod to you. She says something, but quickly realizes Eve's dazed state. She squints, concentrating on her next words. "Chief...help...human..." She once again holds out the rod, seemingly for you to take.

Not quite sure what she means, you take it from her. It's not heavy, but has a heft to it you weren't expecting. You're unsure how to continue, but realize that Torch seems to be expecting something out of you, as she hasn't left yet. Without thinking too much about it, you hold Eve close to you with one arm and use the other to wrap Torch in a hug. She stiffens, clearly unsure what to make of the situation. You release her from the hug and switch the hand that you're holding the rod in so you can rub the top of her head. She saw me do it with Eve, so she should probably be able to grasp what it means...maybe. "Thanks, Torch."

Her eyes are wide, so she might not understand yet, but it's a start to developing the relationship. She takes a moment to comprehend the situation, before nodding to you and turning and walking back to the barn.

"I've got to get Eve to teach me..."

You land back in Riverbend, happy to finally be able to rest. You'd dropped off Eve at the southern tribe, much to her dismay, but there were only a couple more hours till dusk and you really didn't feel like making another round trip. After briefly checking in with Gilford, you decide to try to get a meal at Garth's. You have the feeling you've been butting in more often than not in Camilla and Kara's relationship, so giving them the night away from you might help.

That was the plan, anyway.

Immediately after you step foot in the tavern, you spot a familiar pair of brunette women against the bar. Kristhyra and Camilla...I guess they met up at some point?

Camilla coincidentally spots you as she turns her head. "Private! 'Bout time you show up again." It's not quiet loud enough for her to need to shout, but she nearly does anyway.

You walk up between them as the captain switches seats, giving you access to the middle stool. "I see you two are getting along."

"Yes, hero." The elf struggles to reduce her bright smile to a more subtle one at your appearance. "The captain shared your exploits."

"Has she now?" You share a curious glance to the buzzed captain.

"Yes. It amazing you fight off invasion."

You go pale for a moment before the captain claps your shoulder. "Relax, Dusk. I didn't tell her the...details. Can't have her spreading rumors, after all."

"Not I have not tried learn. Such as why wield no weapons or armor." She looks you up and down.

"I'm...actually a Magic Swordsman, so I don't need a sword, since I use magic." You come up with the quickest excuse, even if it doesn't explain why you don't have armor. I should really get some though...

Camilla nudges you with her elbow. "Speaking of, does that mean I get to keep the queen's sword?"

"I don't see why not. I've got loads of mana to fuel my own. Oh, Garth, do you think I can get a meal?"

The passing barkeep nods before meandering through the open back door.

"Sorry, mana?" Kristhyra ponders.

Must be a translation error? "Magic energy? Please tell me I'm using the right word." You turn to your resident magical 'expert'.

She nods. "Mana is what most people use. I think I've heard chi once or twice from Kara, though."

The elf nods understandingly. "Ma-na..."

You nod along. "Oh, speaking of mana, I ended up finding your focus. I didn't know where you were, so I left it at the church." You motion behind you, toward the door.

"I... Thank you." She smiles, but it's a pained smile. She must be remembering her party.

"Hey Dusk, since you're here, I just remembered you never told me anything about your visit to the hive this morning." Camilla takes a sip of her water.

You pause. "Well, um... Part of me was hoping you wouldn't ask, but...we were right to be worried. The Empress decided to take it over. What's worse is that she's due to give birth to some kind of wolf hornet hybrid any day now. The father's a wolfen therian, I think. She demanded that I head back in the morning for...checking in."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to try to spare my feelings..." Despite that, she seems...agitated by the news. "Doesn't want to waste any more time before churning out another queen. And with your 'blessing', I doubt we'd have much time before we have two hornet hybrids to deal with."

No need to spare her feelings? I was just trying to be subtle for Kristhyra's sake, but okay. "We do have something, though. Remember the nursery room? It'll take time for the new queens to mature enough to make more of their own. I don't know how long, but I imagine it's longer than normal. If wolf therians are anything like wolves, I remember it takes them about a year to fully mature, and insects are normally...I don't remember, but definitely not a year. If things average out, the new queen should take a few months to mature to the point where she's a threat, and even then, her own hornets need to take time to mature, too." You feel relatively confident in your explanation. "We have time, is what I'm saying. We don't have to rush our strategy."

"Good. That's the one thing we need. Maybe one of us can follow up on that letter I sent my brother. He's gonna do his best to bring the issue to the lord of Recuan. We're hoping for some help from the army here, but if I didn't know that the impossible follows you like your shadow, I wouldn't believe anything about this, myself." The captain sips her water again.

"Excuse me, hero, captain. You speak...casual each other." Kristhyra draws the conversation to her query before gesturing to Camilla. "You not his captain?"

The two of you share a glance before she takes the lead. "We... A lot has happened the last few days. Despite his secrets," Camilla nudges you playfully, "we've shared a lot with each other we normally wouldn't."

"And I can say the same. Granted, I'm realizing now the exchange has been pretty one-sided, but Camilla is the first person from this wor-town, that I could consider a friend." You side-hug the captain, pulling her toward you before releasing her to settle back in her seat. "Do elves normally refer to people by honorifics, or titles, or something else? I noticed you call me 'hero' and her 'captain'."

The elf nods. "Yes, titles. Captain, hero, others. Only...friend, yes, friend, and family, names. Ava, lovers, as well."

"W-we're just friends!" Camilla waves her hand in front of her. "Besides, I told you, I have a girlfriend already."

"Cap, are you-"

"Anyway, I've got to get back to training the newbies." She hops off her bar stool and begins heading to the door. "Have fun, you two!"

"...okay?..." You watch her leave. That's not weird at all... You activate God's Eye, confirming that she's still infatuated with you, at least according to whatever system this world operated on. She's 'confused'? That doesn't seem like something she would normally feel about a person...