Fuu bumps into a recent partner on the way out

The eight women were still on their way out through the hallways of Narissa’s grotto headquarters, when Fuu spotted someone she hadn’t expected to see. Though, honestly, she hadn’t really been expecting to see anyone within Narissa’s headquarters, save for the mermaids themselves and whatever guards she had on duty. The man she saw nearly brought her to a dead stop, though Fuu had the presence of mind to push her feet and keep moving.

“Huh. I guess I should’ve known,” his deep, resonant voice said. The man drew to a halt, and a moment later, the young man and young woman that accompanied him came to a stop as well.

He was a little over average height--a few inches taller than Fuu, though the pair walking next to him made the man seem short. Short cropped black hair lent him a military style which was only furthered by his broad shoulders and well muscled chest. It was the sturdy kind of muscle, like rough boulders crushed together, the sort of muscle which was built entirely for function and necessity with it’s appearance only being a side effect. In contrast with the slender figures on his either side, the man wound up looking blocky and powerful.

What drew Fuu’s eyes the most, however, was the mark on his chest. It was a large tattoo which covered most of his broad torso. Thick strokes of ink in a fading dark purple stretched nearly from shoulder to shoulder and worked their way down to the firm muscle of his stomach. It was a tattoo she recognised from this very afternoon, though when she first saw it she didn’t have the presence of mind to identify what it was.

The lines formed the rough hewn image of a falcon with its beak turned skyward and it’s wings held out in flight. Two talons stretched out beneath it, as though Fuu was staring up at it from above--a rabbit about to be snatched away in its claws.

It was the embellished tattooed emblem of a decorated officer of the Empire. And the same tattoo she had faintly glimpsed on the chest of the man who had so thoroughly claimed her earlier on the beach.

As she stood there, Fuu could feel a heat rising to her cheeks as memories washed over her. She could remember the feeling of that powerful chest pushing her roughly into the sand, pinning her beneath his powerful, pounding hips until she was nothing but a mewling mess of ecstasy beneath his thick cock.

“I’d heard rumors of ‘beach girls,’ but I didn’t think Narissa actually employed prostitutes,” the man said. A rough hand came up to stroke his stubbly chin and his eyes turned to look each of the Bravos up and down in turn. “So it was a ploy on her part, not just a clandestine encounter.”

“Fuck off--we’re not whores,” Liv said.

“Oh?” the man asked. He turned grey eyes to Liv and the weight of his focus bored into her. “I remember you back on the beach as well. You even set it up, stripping off your swimsuits and laying there naked. But you’re not working for Narissa?”

“Hm? No, we’re definitely working for her!” Robin said helpfully. “It’s about pregnancy.”

“We are working for her,” Fuu said, stepping forward before the others could get things too confused. “But not like that. We’re not whores.”

“Not all whores,” Liv corrected with a snide look at Emmaline.

“True. You do love spreading your legs, don’t you?” the acrobat shot back without a moment’s pause.

“We’re hired help,” Fuu said. “It’s a business arrangement to solve some private trouble for Narissa.”

“Adventurers?” for the first time Fuu turned to look at the figure to the man’s right. She was a tall, slender woman--nearly as tall as Kiera, though while Kiera was all broad muscle, this woman was lithe like a willow tree. Long blonde hair trailed loose around delicate features, olive skin and warm brown eyes. Her voice was heavily accented, even more so than the tattooed man.

“No,” Fuu answered plain. “Troubleshooters, problem solvers, helping hands. We’re not with the Guild.”

“I see,” the woman said. She drew back, disappointed.

“My Lady fancies the stories adventurers bring,” the tattooed man said. “She finds them entertaining. Wild spice to a safe and structured life.”

When he had finished speaking, Kellissendra took the opportunity to step forward. She spoke a quiet, “If I may?” and Fuu turned aside, allowing the dragoness to step before the group.

Kellissendra offered a deep bow, her long blonde hair trailing over her shoulders and falling forward before she pulled herself back upright.

“My Lady Ulyana, Lord Matvey,” Kellissendra spoke, her accent perfectly matching that of the ethereal woman before her. “It is an honor to see the both of you again. I am Kellissendra of the Mercian court, council to his Lordship the Prince.”

“Ah--yes, I do recall,” Lord Matvey responded. He was every bit as tall and slender as Lady Ulyana--his sister, if Fuu were to venture a guess. They were unfamiliar names to her, but Kellissendra’s intel was always solid, and so she followed in the blonde’s example, mimicking her bow.

“Though they are not adventurers as such, the Bravos Feminine are no strangers to adventure,” Kellissendra explained. “Perhaps someone could recount some of those stories--if that would be all right, Fuu?”

Fuu nodded. “Our first priority is the mission for Narissa, but if someone has enough time, I don’t see why not.”

“Perhaps your personal company is up for offer as well?,” the tattooed man said. His eyes stared directly at Fuu, unwavering. There was no doubt as to what he meant.

“General Markov,” Kelessendra addressed him. The man nodded, though his eyes never left Fuu. “A decorated officer in the Imperial military. Though, it is somewhat strange to see you out and about, rather than with your troops off to the east.”

“Even generals get a vacation every now and then,” Markov said. “Though, really, I think her imperial highness just sent me along to keep these two from getting into too much trouble.”

“And you’re doing an excellent job so far,” Matvey said.

“Right,” Fuu said. She shifted her stance, angling away from the imperial royals and Kellissendra took the cue, stepping back and separating the two groups even more. “We had best be going. We will all need a bit of rest before morning.”

“My door is open,” Markov said. He reached out and a rough hand callosed by years of labor and training wrapped just tight enough around Fuu’s wrist to stop the start of her movement. “If you decide you don’t need quite so much rest after all.”

Fuu could only manage a nod before he let go of her and she broke away to join the rest of her team.

“Smug imperial assholes,” Liv grumbled as the group made their way out into the night, where Koa was waiting, torch in hand, ready to guide them to their rooms.