It'll be secured. NON-Sexually.

You twist her wrist a little harder and **** her backwards. "We are NOT doing this. And I forbid you offering yourself as a way to so solidate anything else. Understand?"

Mikko's eyes go wide. Your firm voice has seemed to slapped her across the face. Gwendolion back away next, looking equally surprised. You stand up and give them each a hard glare. "Listen to me. I'm not touching any of you. I'm not forcing any of you. You're my tools and I intend to use you as such. If you ever offer that to me again, I will punish you accordingly."

Each of the girls, including Arabella, all give each other a somewhat confused glance. Clearly, they weren't so used to something this commanding. Mikko stammers something, as well as her sister. Arabella steps into the light of the fire and nods. "I'm sure the twins won't do it again, Master."

The way the word "master" rolled off her tongue seemed to more out of respect, not so much as a small title or name. You sit back down and run your hand through your hair. "We should all get some rest. We aren't out of trouble yet. I'm going back to Tiny's Tavern. The three of you will assist me on the journey back. I expect nothing more and nothing less."

Mikko goes to her sister, who has made space for her. They both look at you a little differently now. It isn't fear or worry, but more confusion or wonder. "We will do just that then." Mikko offers, making you sigh.

"Good."

...

...

The way back to Tiny’s Tavern was done in silence. Not even Mikko said anything. Arabella seemed to have something on her mind, but of course, didn’t say it. Gwendolion certainly didn’t do anything to break the silence. It was just your horses and the sounds of the forest. Gradually, however, chatter started to bleed between the three girls behind you when you broke within the mile range of the little town that was your temporary homestay.

Enter the threshold of the first few buildings, though, the chatter stopped, and all three of the girls rode closer to you. You noticed a few stares from the common folk. Some questionable, others twisted by disgust. The deputies of the local law enforcement spat and adjusted their rifles. Your breath steams when you exhale. With all these stares, it felt like you were gathering undesired attention. You planned on returning the horses with everyone else around, but now that everyone is looking at you…

You stop in front of the tavern and turn your horse around. “You three should go inside,” you tell your companions. “I’ll be right back with ya’.”

Arabella starts to protest, but you interject yourself with a little more **** behind your words. “I need you to watch over the twins. I’ll be back in 10 minutes...15 at the max. If you can’t do that, then you deserve whatever happens to you.”

Arabella straightens her back and sucks in her lips. “Never said I couldn’t do it,” she manages.

They hop off and guide horses to you. You look at Arabella hunch down to talk to her. “Stay in the lobby and don’t talk to anyone. Don’t even look at anyone. Don’t talk to anyone unless they talk to you. Don’t-” You stop to look at her. She’s listening very intently. “I probably don’t need to tell you any of this, do I? Keep to yourselves.”

She nods before turning to the others. She simply tells them to follow her inside. All 3 of your new...slaves? Companions? Whatever-they-are, filter inside the tavern, not saying anything.

As promised, the task you gave yourself only took a few minutes and made it back in time before the 10-minute mark. You were kind of rushing yourself to get back to the rest - you didn’t enjoy the idea of leaving any of the NSH’s alone for too long. When you push the doors to go inside, someone stops you.

It’s Delilah. You smile at her and wink. "Hey there, Delilah."

She looks incredibly annoyed for some reason; this time, you're pretty sure it isn't because of your comment, though. “You have a minute to talk?” She says, hinting that there’s only one answer to her question.

You dart your eyes up and see all 3 of the fox girls. They’re just talking to each other, and no one is around bothering them. So you tell Delilah, “yes.”

Even though she’s just wearing her dirndl, Delilah ignores the cold. She crosses her arms and then shakes her head in disgust. “We have like, 3 of the gross mutants inside of the tavern right now, can you believe that?”

“I know,” you begin. “They’re mine.”

Delilah gasps. “Warren, what the hell? Why would you bring them here?! You know I don’t like any of those sub-humans! And what do you mean they are YOURS??”

“Delilah, listen. I know you’re kind of...not a fan of the new sub-humans, but my hands are tied here right now, OK? I can’t...I wasn’t in a position to leave them in the forest.”

“They are better off dead!” Delilah stomps her foot down with her hands balled into fists. However, she seems to process quickly enough to realize that maybe a little too dark. “W-well, I don’t really mean that, but I suppose-” she trails off, mumbling something under her breath.

Delilah looks up at you; her expression is one you haven’t seen on her before. Distrust. “If you think that’s the best thing to do, then I guess I have no other choice but to believe you have a plan and a purpose for them.”

“Thank you,” you tell her. “Now, can we go inside?”

Delilah nods and then pushes the doors open, walking towards the fox girls.