-Morgan Wootten

John opened his mouth to speak but found himself taking Seras in one last time. For all he remembered of her appearance, seeing her in the flesh was different. Not that he wasn't used to that part, of course, but what surprised him was seeing her now. While he had been busy eating, she'd donned one of the many outfits that she'd picked out. John couldn't see which shirt she was wearing, but she'd chosen a formal gray pair of dress pants that looked at home in either a military lineup or an office setting, and John wasn't sure which it leaned toward more. The jacket was what surprised him - Seras had picked it out of a sporting goods store's hunting section… and despite him having never shown her any page out of the Hellsing manga, it looked alarmingly similar to her jacket from the series. The only differences were two extra pockets above the waistline, the lack of a logo of any kind, and the collar which was not nearly so distinctive.

"I wonder if I could convince her to let me do a little Crafting to add some features…"

John noticed Seras staring back at him then, her cheeks slowly coloring, but refusing to look away despite John's intense gaze.

"Uh… you alright there?"

"Y-yeah, you ready, Seras?"

"Always!"

John nodded and then sent them spiraling through the place between worlds. John had given Seras plenty of time to try on her outfits, for his mana to regenerate, and for his mother to return, if she planned to that night. Even by the time that he'd fully recovered his hitpoints with Lesser Heal and then let his mana come back up again, she still wasn't back. A part of John found that worrying, but a larger part of him found it extremely convenient.

The campsite was almost as they'd left it. This time, Maera and Mithra were awake, but rather than playing, they were lazing about the non-existent fire. There was still a pile of firewood, but it must have gone out while Lunaya was asleep. Thinking about it, John realized that he hadn't actually taught any of them how to re-light it if it did go out. Lunaya probably knew - despite her illiteracy she seemed to know a great deal about things compared to the Nekos - but that didn't alleviate him of his responsibility to ensure it. Between that and his lack of preparation lately, he was really letting things slip.

"We're back!" John shouted with open arms. His greeting was mostly ignored by Mithra and Lunaya, who barely spared him a glance, but he got what he was hoping for out of Maera - in more ways than one.

"Master!" Maera shouted, leaping forward and wrapping her arms firmly around him. So tight John could clearly feel her unclad breasts, small though they were, pressing against his midsection as she fervently nuzzled herself into him.

"There's my affectionate little Neko," John praised, gently rustling her soft hair and scratching behind her ears, earning a soft moan and even more intensive snuggling for his efforts. "Were you a good girl while I was gone?"

"Maera was best girl!" Maera shouted, smiling gleefully as she pulled back just far enough to gaze ecstatically at John's face. "We played, and we napped, and then we played some more!"

"Good girl," John said, patting Maera one last time before extricating himself from her arms. She looked sad for only a moment before shrugging and returning to Mithra, nuzzling against her instead. The less sociable Neko merely glanced at her before seeming to pretend the nuzzles didn't exist.

"Did everything go okay while we were gone, Lunaya?"

Lunaya nodded but didn't do much more. John frowned but realized he hadn't exactly given her a good method of communication. Other than simple yes and no answers, he didn't have much of a way to speak with her. He had a plan for that, but that would have to wait until he'd taken care of the rest of his errands for this trip.

John opened his menu and immediately slammed Team Player on his Lesser Heal to Rank 4 with his new Skill Point. He wasn't likely to get any more Skill Points for a bit, since he wouldn't receive new ones until Level 11, and he wanted to make sure he could keep his friends alive. His healing powers had already saved one life.

The Talent Point was a bit trickier. John still only had the Master of Darkness Talent Tree unlocked, which presented two problems for him to consider. The first was that after his conversation with Lord Brighton, he was still rather wary of placing points into anything so precariously named. Considering that none of the abilities seemed to hold the same weight and possible consequences as Feast though, that was a bit reduced. The bigger issue he had was what to pick.

He had little interest in the All-Natural Monster Enhancement ability now that he had a weapon, but since John was planning on finding ranged weapons that didn't cost mana, Handloading 101 seemed like a promising way to add magical effects to ordinary ranged weapons. His recent interest in Agility and enhancing his own speed also made Shadowform promising, since he might actually see the attacks about to hit him coming with a few more points there.

"I've only gotten a point every five levels, so far… if I get another one at 15 that won't even be 'til my next Reincarnation. I need to think long-term."

John hesitated only a moment before pressing the Shadowform icon. His new ability popped up immediately, though it mostly read the same as the description.

Shadowform: User can temporarily convert their body (in part or whole) into a thick, black mist. Any attacks which strike the affected part(s) of the user's body are negated and pass through harmlessly. This must be consciously activated and is not effective against attacks which include Fire or Light damage, attacks of a Divine nature, or attacks by an ethereal being or which can hit ethereal beings. While this ability is active, User cannot use any other channeled abilities, and the part of their body which is converted to shadows cannot affect any physical objects it was not already in contact with. Mana Cost: 25/second

"It's a huge cost, especially when I'm low on levels, but it's a huge gain if I can just get fast enough to see attacks coming."

Ordinarily that wouldn't have been enough, since John assumed anything he could see coming he would be able to dodge most of the time, but Shadowform could be useful as he leveled up more and more and mana became less of an issue, and unlike dodging it could be done pre-emptively. Hopefully by the time he was level 15, he would have more options, but until then more damage mitigation seemed like a wonderful idea, especially since his mana regenerated so much faster than his health.

Meanwhile, the ability branched into two more talents - Shadowstrike and Third Eye. Taking a glance at their descriptions he noted that one allowed him to use Shadowform to bypass non-magical defenses, and the other allowed him to see through illusions. They seemed to have pretty specific uses, but John could definitely see both being useful if he eventually came into contact with specialists in armor or illusions.

"Right, that's just about done," John whispered to himself, checking over his menus. The only things he had left that he could spend immediately for a purpose were the various materials he had acquired and the Zone Customization Points. He had intentions of farming for the former, so he didn't want to spend those just yet, and the latter were basically useless in terms of combat, so he wasn't rushed to spend them. That meant he could finally get down to the meat of today's events.

"I'm going to be going into another Dungeon. Who wants to come? This one will be a lot easier than the last one."

Maera immediately raised her hand, and Seras nodded enthusiastically. Mithra remained impassive, which was fine with John since it meant the rest of them would be getting more experience, but what surprised him was that Lunaya practically leapt out of her seat in order to slam Maera's hand down. The Neko looked offended but only half so much as John himself did.

"Lunaya, you don't have to go - but what has gotten into you to try to influence Maera?"

Lunaya shook her head fiercely, undeterred by John's words or his harsh glare. She simply stood, unwavering, as John tried to read her body language. She had her arms crossed and one foot in front of the other, clearly annoyed yet almost ready to fight him, or so it seemed. John grunted, shaking his head in disapproval at her defiant and oddly controlling behavior.

"Seras, take Maera and Mithra and go for a walk. We need to discuss this."

Seras gave a simple affirmation and was shortly thereafter busy corralling the Nekos away from the campsite. John waited until they were far enough away that he thought that they stood a chance at solitude, even from the enhanced hearing of a vampiress and two catgirls.

"I don't mind if you don't want to fight - it's completely your choice, and I won't **** anything upon you. But why are you trying to stop others from fighting?"

Lunaya huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing away from him. John had failed to give her a yes or no question again, whether she would have answered or not was fairly irrelevant. John sighed as he rubbed at his temples.

"Okay, okay… so, you don't want to fight, right?"

Lunaya nodded her head, and John mirrored the motion in hopes of reaching an understanding.

"And… you don't want Maera to fight?"

Another nod. John almost reflexively asked why but thought better before the words had even touched upon his lips. John did his best to access the full muster of his Charisma and Wisdom scores and to think about what little he knew about Lunaya. The Canid Reaper, despite her intimidating class name, had only ever fought him. She'd never even properly accompanied him on a dungeon run, and even when fighting him she'd been thoroughly annoyed and given up almost too easily.

"You… you don't like fighting, do you?"

Lunaya shook her head, glancing away as if ashamed of that fact. John smiled at the first step toward understanding his stoic companion. Remembering something from his thoughts when he created Lunaya, he wondered if he might have an idea as to her insistence that the Neko not be allowed to fight with him.

"When I Purified you, I was thinking about a guardian - a calm, reliable person who would protect Maera and Mithra. They were rambunctious, and Seras was always with me, so I wanted someone to look over them while I was gone. I know I really messed up, but… you still want to protect them, don't you? But you hate fighting, so you don't want them to go. Is any of that pretty close to the truth?"

Lunaya was silent for a long moment, her eyes glued to the ground. When she looked up it was with a smile, although a sad one.

"…Well, I won't let you stop her."

The smile vanished. John continued, undeterred, stepping forward toward Lunaya as she stood up to meet him.

"I won't **** anyone to go with me. I know it's dangerous, and I know that there are risks. But Maera wants to go. I don't know if that's because she wants to help, because she likes me, or because she wants to get stronger. Whatever the reason might be, it's not my place to stop her, and it's certainly not yours."

Lunaya narrowed her eyes. A tension came between them, and their gazes met in a way that held no illusion of peace. Lunaya straightened her back, and John sensed a feral sort of challenge in it. Her canine features seemed to almost glisten as they stood out more and more, and he could find only one way to react - only one thing that had worked in the past.

John threw his hands out and at Lunaya's shoulders abruptly, catching her off-guard enough to send her stumbling. Her eyes widened with shock at the sudden motion. John used the instant of hesitation to follow her forward, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling them both to the ground. Lunaya's claws appeared on her fingers as if fading into existence, forcing John to adjust his grip on her.

"Listen here," John said, growling the words out as he held Lunaya by the wrists now instead of the elbows. His legs pinned her ankles, preventing her from making any attempts on the sanctity of his nether regions. She struggled furiously, and when John's Strength proved just a little too much for her, she merely continued to wiggle. Her claws gently scraped against John's arms as she did so - though she didn't have the distance to get any **** behind them, her claws were sharp enough that they would've easily drawn blood if she'd used her full strength. Similarly, she was still more than free to headbutt John, or to try biting him. Her struggles seemed almost friendly, using her full power but avoiding harming John in any serious way in spite of his aggression and her disagreement with him.

"You will never physically **** any of the others to your will again, do you understand me?" John continued, glaring at Lunaya's still defiant face. "This is how that feels. This is unacceptable. I care about the Nekos too, and I will protect them with my life. But the fact you feel the same does not excuse your behavior. I'm in charge here, and the Nekos are free to do what they want."

John waited, uncertain of what to expect. The last time they'd been like this, Lunaya had immediately backed down, as if she couldn't stand confrontation. He didn’t want to frighten her, but the way she had treated Maera-

John flinched as Lunaya opened her mouth and shot forward, thinking for a moment that he'd angered her enough for her to start truly fighting back. Instead of a bite, he got a nibble - teeth grazed the skin across his neck but never broke the surface, gliding with pressure just strong enough to make John tense up and send a chill down his spine. When her mouth closed again Lunaya leaned forward even farther, until her ears were tickling John's chin and she was grinding her soft skin against the area she'd just bitten. Her struggles had stopped entirely, and she actually seemed to be grinding her crotch against John's.

"You… you like this, don't you?" John whispered, trying not to sound as surprised as he was. Lunaya didn't seem to buy it, pulling back and cocking one of her eyebrows. All the same, she nodded, keeping careful watch on his reaction. John froze for an instant, and just as he felt her struggles start to resume, he realized his error.

"Then I'll have to find some other way to punish you for your insolence," John said, trying to sound half as serious as he had before. He didn't think it came through, but it seemed enough for Lunaya, who blushed at his words and stopped the minimal resistance she had begun.

"You aren't supposed to enjoy this, after all… ready yourself, Lunaya. When we come back from this, I'm going to make sure you are thoroughly punished."

John was a bit surprised at his own words and at the fact that he was now erect, his cock not-so-gently grinding against Lunaya's midsection as he continued to pin her to the ground. Lunaya nodded, despite the fact he hadn't asked a question. Her cheeks were rosy, and her smile was all-too-knowing, a sharp contrast to John's expression, he was sure.

John extracted himself from Lunaya wordlessly, unable to think of anything to say he didn't think would ruin the illusion of dominance he'd conjured for the moment. Lunaya stood shortly after he freed her from his grip, dusting off some dirt and broken shards of grass from her backside.

"We'll have a further… discussion when I return," John decreed, straightening his own clothes as he turned in the direction that Seras and the Nekos had traipsed off to. With no way to signal them, he'd have to track them down, and once they reunited he could finally begin this farming trip he had in mind.

Although now he was almost more excited to see what treasures he might find upon his return…