What's That Ruckus?

Mark woke once again to his dick being pleasured. Hilde’s mouth felt fantastic around his dick as she gently vibrated her throat and tongue. Mark reached out and gently placed a hand on the top of Hilde’s head, as his hips quivered from pleasure. He felt himself climax rather quickly down Hilde’s throat, but she didn’t let up. After recovering from a second climax, Mark sat up, reached under the covers, and pulled Hilde up off his dick, holding her in the air. A loud popping sound could be heard as her lips left his dick.

Hilde complained, “Master! I haven’t had my fill yet.”

“You’re really that insatiable?”

Hilde pouted, “I guess I’m mostly full, but I’d really like another two or three servings.”

“That’s more than twice what you’ve had this morning,” Mark replied, still holding Hilde in the air.

“So? It is now literally my favorite meal. I already told you, Sir, I’d have it exclusively if I could, but I realize that isn’t feasible.” Hilde looked at Mark’s hands. “Master, would you mind setting me down? I promise I won’t just attack your dick again.”

Mark pulled Hilde into a tight hug. Then he began to pat and stroke her hair affectionately. Hilde quickly started squirming. “Sir… if you keep this up.”

“I like pampering you. Is that a problem?”

Hilde kept silent as she couldn’t object even the slightest if it were simply about Mark’s personal preferences. Instead, she just leaned into him. “Master, if you keep this up, a lady might expect that you would finish the job,” Hilde said, because thanks to the various fetishes she had picked up, she was getting turned on just from cuddling and the headpats.

Mark pulled up under her arms, bringing her head closer to his own, and started to nibble her ear. One hand slipped into the pants she was currently wearing. She let out a whiny of pleasure at his gentle touch.

She squirmed as she moaned out, “Master… OH!” She guided his other hand up under her shirt. He pulled it up as he went and teased her small breasts. Mark stopped playing with her ear and moved lower and nibbled at her neck. She leaned her head to the side, exposing her neck to him. “MMMMMM… yeah, right there, Sir. Please… may I cum?”

Mark was surprised by her actually asking permission. He wasn’t sure why she had even asked, so he simply whispered. “You’ve been a good girl, so yes.” Hilde fell limp a moment later as her entire body relaxed from pleasure.

+1 VP Fingered By Master to Completion

The two lay there for quite some time when Hilde asked, “So what are you doing to me?”

“Hmmm?” Mark said, not sure what she was talking about.

“I mean for the upgrade. You should get one.” Hilde replied while clearly basking in the afterglow.

Mark thought about it. “I guess I do, but it seems tiny. I guess because you didn’t really resist. In that case, I guess let's make your breath smell nice.”

“My breath? Really? Why, Sir?”

“You're going to be sucking my dick a lot. Do you really want cum breath? Plus, it’s a small upgrade; I can’t do all that much with it.”

“Fair point.”

Mark asked, “I'm curious, why didn't you get to upgrade me? You definitely got me off before I got you off.”

“Oh, that's simple. That only works if you are attempting to get me off when I get you off.” Hilde slipped out of Mark’s arms and off the bed. Hilde started to pull her hair back into a ponytail to match the one right above her butt. As she put up her hair, she looked over her shoulder at Mark and asked, “So, do you have any updates on helping my sister?”

Mark started to get up and get dressed, taking a moment to think over his answer before responding. “I can tell you that I’m fairly certain we will be able to help her. I’m also likely going to upgrade my staff again.”

Hilde frowned slightly. “I was hoping you could solve this with just me.”

“Doesn’t look like I’ll be able to, but I’m confident I’ll be able to help her.”

Hilde looked at Mark and saw his confidence on his face. Hilde gave him a sad smile. “I’ve heard that before.”

Mark walked over to Hilde and rested a hand on top of her head to comfort her. Hilde let it remain there for a long while before she said, “We should get a move on. Things to do. People to punch.”

The two proceeded towards the lounge.

---

Entering the lounge, Hilde and Mark found it buzzing with activity. Orcs were raiding the bar and crowding the room. Mira, Merida, and Ellen were trying to manage the massive group. Ellen was walking past the two, and Mark reached out and grabbed her by the arm. “Ellen, what the hell is going on?”

Ellen groaned, “The orcs are demanding shelter after something that happened up north. Aubrey is currently getting milked, as she wasn’t really able to decide what to do since she wanted your opinion, and the orcs won’t listen to anyone else. We don’t have room for them here either. Petra has managed to keep them from wandering further into the lair and setting off a lot of the traps that have been put in place. It’s a mess, and we’re barely containing it; any help would be appreciated.”

Mark asked, “Where is Kitty?”

“With Meribelle, getting her brain up to speed. Hopefully she’ll be here soon.” Ellen then pulled away to stop a rowdy orc from smashing open a keg against a wall.

Hilde sighed, “Well, this is annoying. Sir, mind if I resolve this my way? I’ll have things under control in a second or two.”

Mark shrugged, “I don’t know enough; it’s your call.”

Hilde brought her thumb and index finger to her mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle that rang throughout the room and over the noise. Hilde then zipped over to stand on the bar, knocking an orc that had started dancing on it off. “ALL RIGHT YOU FUCKING CUNTS! I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU ARE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN CONSCIOUS, YOU WILL ALL CALM THE FUCK DOWN AND BE QUIET UNTIL WE GET THIS SORTED OUT!”

There was silence for a moment before one random orc started to laugh, causing other orcs to join her. This poor, stupid orc stood and said, “What’s a pipsqueak like you—” She doubled over unconscious as Hilde blurred across the room and punched her straight in the groin.

Silence once again filled the room. “Are there any other cunts I need to punch? Because I could punch cunts like you all day.” There was silence in the room. Hilde then turned to two other orcs who looked like they were about to talk back. “You two. Take this stupid bitch and toss her in the infected pits in room eight.” Several orcs went wide-eyed and snarled. Hilde just glared. “If she isn’t out of this room and on the way to the pits before I count to three, both of you and anyone else who objects will be tossed in there with her. NOW MOVE!”

The pair of orcs looked around the room for support and found that there were definitely some who would back them.

“ONE!” Hilde shouted loud enough for the entire room to hear.

“TWO!” Several orcs stood prepared to fight.

“THR—”

“HILDE! Stand down!” Aubrey exclaimed, cutting her off. Chloe and Chief Slevia entered behind her.

Hilde looked at Aubrey. “Orcs only respond to strength, not restraint.”

Aubrey nodded, “I know that.” She turned to the pair of orcs Hilde had told to move the downed orc. “You two were given instructions by one of my lieutenants. I expect you to carry them out.” Aubrey activated the warchief’s crown, causing the orcs to immediately obey and drag the unconscious orc away.

Chief Slevia glared at her fellow orcs and shook her head at the ruckus. “All of you go muck out the stables while we get this sorted out.”

The fifty or so orcs packed into the room sagged as they trudged out, leaving only Slevia, Freya, Petra, and Maja as the orcs remaining. Aubrey motioned for everyone to sit at the large dining table. Slevia just swept the entire mess on the table off of it onto the floor with the haft of her ax.

Chief Slevia said, “I apologize for the mess. I’ll make sure they clean it later.”

Kitty had joined them while Meribelle had returned to being Merida’s tail.

Merida asked, “Why are ye a' here? Ye warena supposed tae actually get here for anither wheen o' days.”

Maja answered first. “Let High Shaman Maja explain. A grand working of magic was seen in the north. The Cowgon you unleashed, along with the hordes of infected, and even the idol of sin you activated up there, have all been destroyed.”

Merida frowned. “Ye mean they've already reclaimed an' cleansed the idol?”

Maja shook her head. “No. They destroyed the idol. High Shaman Maja is sure of it. According to our scouts south of the region, they saw a swarm of pink balls of energy appear to blanket the sky and rain down like meteors. After consulting with High Shaman Maja’s fellow shamans on various divinations, High Shaman Maja is certain that this was the wrath of the goddess Laura. Upon High Shaman Maja’s recommendation, Chief Slevia moved the encampment here early. It was feared that the goddess Laura would use the same spell again and completely eradicate us.”

Slevia continued, “We moved during the night and believe we managed to get here undetected, but we will only be able to assist in defensive preparation from now on.”

Merida’s frown deepened. “That doesna change the fact that we dinna have the space tae house a' o' yer folk for a wheen o' days.”

Chloe replied, “We probably could, but it would take a lot of my time today. Which I don’t fancy.”

Merida held out her hand, palm up, to Chloe. “Explain.”

“Well, there is a barracks option to construct. If we use two of the rooms to defend the lair, we should be able to house them. That does mean two fewer rooms the other team will need to go through.”

Merida asked, “What use are they gaun tae be? If Laura could sae easily eradicate them without oor protection?”

Aubrey replied, “Well, for starters, while on the same battlefield as me, I literally can’t be incapacitated while there is a single orc remaining in combat.”

Merida’s eyes went wide. “Bide, whit?”

Kitty nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I made a point to make sure we kept the crown of the warchief while I was in charge. It’s super powerful. Also, the definition of battlefield is rather loose. I think that, even if Aubrey wasn’t literally fighting particularly close to the orcs, if they were all fighting to defend the lair, they would count.”

Chief Slevia nodded. “That’s correct. It’s actually stronger than you make it out to be. We all share an HP pool while connected by the crown. Meaning none of us can go down until all of us do.”

Hilde said, “Doesn’t that mean it also has a major weakness for the stronger fighters? That they could simply hammer on the weaker ones to damage the strong ones?”

Slevia shook her head. “No. Any orc can sever the connection if they believe they are a detriment to the force.”

Aubrey said, “You’re all missing a separate thing.” Aubrey raised her braided hair into the air and pointed at it.

Time stopped, and Cassandra appeared a moment later. The four orcs were frozen, but Mark and the contestants were not. Cassandra said, “Okay, so… like I said, I’m normally fine letting broken things play out once. Except you’re planning to use this in the end fight, and it crosses a line that I can’t allow. I stopped something similar when Laura managed to give Talia infinite mana for a day before she could use it, so I don’t want to hear complaining. Aubrey, I’m capping the healing from your hair. It can’t affect more than ten people connected to you by that helm. I’m sorry, but even at the rate of 1 HP every few seconds being recovered from the passive version, if you have 200 orcs within the radius, that’s an absurd amount of recovery for you personally. I will allow your aura to affect more than ten orcs, same with your song, just not while also giving you a stupid amount of HP recovery.”

Aubrey deflated, “Well, damnit.”

Cassandra turned to Aubrey, “Okay, maybe you didn’t hear me when I said earlier I stopped something a lot worse with Talia having infinite mana for a day. You know the time witch. Who could have turned that day into something like months with that kind of mana? She would have been able to simply walk the entire area of the challenge to find your lair. Literally just a brute force search for it and succeeded, so again, no complaints from you about keeping things balanced.” Cassandra vanished, and time resumed.

Aubrey said, “Well, my healing should still provide some serious longevity to our forces. Plus, I can keep these four and some of the other elites under the passive effects.”

Merida sighed, “Fine, we’ll build the barracks. I think we need tae get at least anither idol, though, or we arena gaun tae have enough rooms tae build in. Everyone but Chloe an' I will gae tae the temple o' Envy today. Chief Slevia, I assume we can count on yer assistance in construction while we shelter ye?”

“To some degree, yes.”

Merida said, “Guid. Noo I dinna want yer troops in here or the personal areas again. The fower o' ye are fine, but no the rabble.”

Slevia nodded her understanding.

Merida sighed with relief. “Right, wi' that handled. Food an' then get tae work.”

---

Chloe pulled Merida aside after breakfast and after making sure to give Mark their panties. “I think it’s a mistake to send Kitty to the envy dungeon.”

Merida just stared at Chloe placidly.

Chloe continued. “I know what she and Hilde said yesterday, and maybe I was wrong about Hilde. I’m definitely not wrong about Kitty, though. Haven’t you noticed how she’s been staring at everyone’s breasts and judging them? I asked Hilde about it, and one of her temporary transformations is called Size Envy. There’s no way that won’t be exploited.”

Merida frowned, “What dae ye suggest then? It isna like she’s particularly guid at craftin'. I’m certainly no sendin' her aff alone.”

Chloe sighed, “I don’t know. I just feel like her going to that dungeon is going to bite us in the ass.”

Merida nodded, “I get that, but we were an' a' wrong aboot the greed an' sloth dungeons. If Kitty an' I had gane tae the sloth dungeon, we probably wad have been fine. Kitty certainly wad have been. After Mark put the safeguard into Kitty, we tested it tae mak' sure it actually worked. Nae wan can put her into a hypnotic trance without her consent. At least at the moment. Maybe bein' envious will be helpful in the dungeon.”

Chloe frowned at Merida. “You can’t seriously believe that.”

Merida just shrugged. “Aubrey had tae consume quite a wheen o' candies an' sweets in gluttony. Takin' a' the coins in greed got us mair rewards. It isna black an' white. She’s gaun.”

Chloe sighed again, “Alright, also, if you want that dirty bomb, it’s essentially done except for the payload.”

Merida nodded. “How lang will ye need tae develop the payload?”

“Depends on what sort of material I have containing the new plague. I technically have a payload with the first three we got off ready. Should take maybe thirty minutes to load everything for transport.”

Merida nodded. “Guid, we’ll likely need it, wi' what happened wi' the orcs.”

Chloe replied, “I want to let you know that if Cassandra’s rule is removed, I’m not finishing it if we plan on using it such that it could hit anyone on the other team. I’m just not.”

Merida considered that. Hmmm… that could be an issue… maybe I should tell Hilde tae hold aff on fixin' the rulebook until after the challenge.

Chloe frowned. “You’re thinking about telling Hilde not to fix it, aren’t you?” Chloe growled out her name, “Merida, have some sense, please. These are our friends. I know Ellen said she was fine, but we don’t know exactly how these work. Maybe she was fine because of Symbietta.”

Merida nodded. “Ye’re right. I was thinkin' aboot tellin' Hilde that. I’m no gaun tae, but ye also shouldnae mention yer intentions tae Hilde. I’m pretty sure that if ye dae, she’d no fix it herself. Hell, I really am tempted tae tell Hilde because I want tae win, an' we need it. I wonae, though.”

Chloe's shoulders sagged in relief, and she stuck the white pen Mark had given her on their date night into her mouth and started to suck on it, putting it to the side of her mouth. “I guess you’re doing your best with your transformations?”

“I’m tryin'. Hilde made it a wee bit easier yesterday. She adjusted the temporary transformation, decreasin' the boost tae my competitiveness. What aboot ye? I see ye got somethin' new frae the store for yours.”

Chloe shook her head and, while keeping the pen in her mouth, said, “No. Mark bought it for me. A set of these, actually. They’re helping quite a bit.”

Merida looked a little down. “How was Mark on yer most recent night wi' him? I mean, wi' him upset wi' a' o' us?”

Chloe considered just what to share while flicking the pen around in her mouth. “He was… annoyingly understanding. He wasn’t happy about what we tried to do, but he honestly didn’t seem to hold it against me. If I were you, I’d expect a lecture. Especially since you’re the one who can actually mess with people’s minds and force them to do things.”

“I canna dae that,” Merida said defensively. “Aye, I can get ye tae dae things, but only if ye’d actually be willin' tae dae them under some circumstances. It isnae mind control.”

Chloe seemed unconvinced. “I’m not sure I believe that. Which is also part of the problem. Your boon means that since that’s what I view it as, you likely can do that.”

Merida shook her head. “Nae. No at a'. After… well, after Hilde an' I started datin', I got her alone for a wee bit tae examine my Boon, as I wanted tae ken how it works. The reason I can cloak mysel' an' fly is that those are things I could dae wi' my Kitsune magic. I wadnae be able tae dae those things otherwise; my boon just made it sae that it was trivially easy tae dae those things. I also checked that mind control isnae part o' my Kitsune magic. Illusion an' suggestion are, but it isna the same.”

“Suggestion sounds a lot like mind control to me.” Chloe countered.

Merida shook her head. “Hilde assured me it wasnae.”

“Fine, not interested in getting into the nuances of this anyway. I just thought you should be prepared.”

Merida nodded. “Right, thanks.” Merida got a little hopeful. “But he was understandin'? Like the issue didnae weigh down the entire evening?”

“Not really. I mean, he told me he loved me for the first time.” Chloe’s mouth turned down at one corner as she bit down on part of the pen.

“Why daenae ye seem happy aboot that?”

“Because I’m not sure I believe that he’s serious.” Chloe took a moment before continuing. Sighing, she continued, “I’m also a bit scared. Things have never gone well for me in relationships after the guy says ‘I love you’.”

Merida put her hands on her hips. “Is it possible that would be because ye never said it back?”

Chloe shrugged. “Sometimes I did.”

Merida activated her Red Threads and then picked out the threads between Chloe and Mark. Even with Mark not in the room, Merida could tell the state of the threads. Merida asked, “Ye say ye’re no sure if ye believe Mark. I can give ye a definitive answer one way or another if ye’d like.”

Chloe felt anxiety rise up in her chest. “I’m… I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Because ye’re afraid o' the answer? Because ye think it wad be wrong? Or because ye daenae want the debt tae me for tellin' ye?”

Chloe considered that. “All of them, I think.”

Merida nodded. “Right, well, I think yer second reason is stupid. I promise ye he wasnae lyin'; I can see his thread tae ye. It’s complicated, but it’s lovin'.”

Chloe felt something well up inside her. At the same time, she felt the weight of the debt she owed Merida now. A weight that vanished a second later. Chloe looked at Merida, confused.

Merida said, “No gaun tae hold somethin' like that over ye. Plenty o' things I’d make ye pay me back for, but no that. Noo we should get tae craftin'.”

Chloe nodded wordlessly, grateful to Merida, and supremely confused in her heart.

---

Aubrey dragged Mark to the BP store as her promise to Chloe would prevent her from buying something without Chloe’s or Mark’s approval, but she also had to spend her rewards. Mark wasn’t sure why she was dragging him there, as she didn’t explain. Ellen was not thrilled by the fact that Aubrey was dragging him away, and therefore she had to fork over their panties, while Kitty didn’t seem to mind in the least, having gotten quite used to being nude already. The cat girl Slevia was near the entrance of the lair, still on a cloth mat. She gave them the usual greeting. “Khajit has wares if you have coin.” Then she continued in a more normal voice, “So you know I’ll be closing up shop this afternoon. So if you have something to buy, do it before then.”

“So that’s why Cassandra wanted that deadline,” Aubrey said, scowling.

“What are you talking about, Aubrey?” Mark asked.

“I made a deal with Cassandra to spend my rewards from the greed dungeon by noon today.”

Mark frowned. “In exchange for what?”

Aubrey looked away from Mark. “I’d rather not say.”

Mark looked down at her critically and put his hands on his hips. “Aubrey, I want to know. I assume you dragged me here because you need my approval to spend those rewards. I’m not going to give it to you if you don’t tell me.”

Aubrey let out an exasperated sigh. “It really isn’t important! Please, just drop it. It was a rather small favor she did me. I apparently had to spend these by the end of the round anyway. So all it did was move up the timetable slightly.”

Mark clearly wasn’t budging.

Aubrey closed her eyes in frustration. “Mark, please… I don’t want to fight with you, but I don’t want to tell you either. I could go get Chloe to give me permission instead. I simply would prefer it be you.”

Mark nodded. “Fine, I’m not dropping this entirely, but fine, let’s find something for you to spend your rewards on.”

Aubrey let out a long, relieved sigh. “Thank you.” Aubrey turned towards Slevia. “Now, do you have any recommendations?”

Slevia blinked in surprise. “My gods. Another one. I can’t believe it.”

Mark asked, “Can’t believe what? Another what?”

Slevia glanced up at Mark. “A smart one.” She gestured towards Aubrey. “Actually asking. Not simply searching herself.” She then turned her head towards Aubrey. “And yes, I do.” Slevia waved her arm out in front of herself, and three options appeared on the mat. “Here are the transformations.”

Aubrey began to read over all three with Mark, then frowned at Slevia and said, “Seriously? I specifically said just a few days ago that I didn’t want Mark to buy me Bound in Gold or A Magic Touch, which hasn’t suddenly changed either. As for the last one, why would you recommend something to make my milk production go up more?”

Slevia shrugged. “You asked for recommendations. Didn’t give any criteria. So I went with standard policy.”

“And what is the standard policy?” Aubrey asked while glaring.

“Things the Master or Audience would like.”

Aubrey took a deep breath, as she knew Slevia wasn’t trying to tick her off on purpose. “I would like something helpful to ba.” Aubrey clenched her fists in frustration from already baaing so soon after being milked. “Something positive. I know I can’t get a baaa with this, but I certainly don’t find having my hair trussing me up randomly to ba a reward. Is that enough criteria to work with?”

Slevia nodded, considered the options for a moment, and then waved her hand again, and three options appeared before them.

Part of the Flock: As a sheep, it’s only natural for Aubrey to find a flock to be a part of. She’ll find herself wanting to be around others far more, and others will find themselves accepting her presence as long as Aubrey is going along with the rest of the flock, which she will be more inclined to do. [Mary has a little Lamb (Hitsujimusume)]

Black is the new Pink: Goth Aubrey tickled Mark’s fancy, and we want to encourage it. So now anything Black will count as Pink for any TF Aubrey has. [Tickled Pink]

Bound In Gold: Aubrey will find that her hair will wrap around parts of her body, unless she actively controls it. While she can unbind herself, it can take some effort. Mark/Mary can actively cause this binding to occur, and it isn’t possible to undo while Mark/Mary are actively present and wish for it to continue. [Rapunzel]

Aubrey glared at Slevia after reading the last option again. “Care to explain why this last one is still on here?”

Slevia shrugged. “You wanted helpful. You’re having trouble with Mark. He and Chloe would both enjoy it. I think you would too.”

Aubrey clenched her fists in annoyance as she closed her eyes. She let out a slow breath and unclenched her fists. At least the other two seem like actual suggestions. I wonder what Mark would prefer… Aubrey let out a long sigh. Great, that effect is already kicking in. Aubrey turned towards Mark. “Ba, what are your thoughts?” She held up a finger to stall Mark and continued. “Before you answer, please remember I’m baaaaa… likely to accept your recommendation more readily than baaaaa.”

Mark nodded and considered the options carefully. “I personally wouldn’t have an issue with any one of these.” That earned him a glare from Aubrey. “I know you aren’t a fan of the last one, which is fine. I think Chloe and some of the others might have issues with Part of the Flock. Also, based upon your reaction to Chloe eye fucking Mira, I don’t think you would like it much either.”

Mark’s words caused Aubrey to scrunch up her face in confusion. “Wait… why baa?”

“It will almost certainly lead to you being included in group sex, which may or may not include Chloe.”

Aubrey frowned. “So you think the other one is better then?”

“It would certainly be helpful right now, and it doesn’t seem inherently problematic at the moment, but what if you got something that affected you negatively based upon how much pink you were wearing? That would also include anything black.” Mark rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly though, I think we should talk with Chloe about this.”

Aubrey frowned, “Baa, I want to know baaa you think is the baaa.”

Mark replied, “If you want my recommendation between these three, it’s to go ask Chloe. If you simply want my approval, then I’m okay with any of them.”

“Baa, I want your opinion, baa hers.”

“What I want is something that you’d end up enjoying, but considering I didn’t realize that you would owe Chloe for the promise you made her about this, I clearly don’t know you well enough. I’m aware enough to know I’m not knowledgeable enough to make a selection and achieve my aim. So, either select yourself, or go ask Chloe.”

Aubrey grimaced as she looked over the options. Why does he have to be so stubborn? I want his recommendation, not Chloe’s. Aubrey took a deep breath. That’s my breasts being full talking… maybe talking to Chloe wouldn’t be a horrible idea. Aubrey sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll go talk to her.” Aubrey hurried off towards the workshop. Mark pursued the shop, looking for possible alternatives while waiting for Aubrey to return. She came back a few minutes later with Chloe in tow.

Chloe asked the waiting Mark, “So, what’s this about Aubrey needing to buy a transformation and select an upgrade right now?”

Mark replied, “It’s the rewards from the greed dungeon, and then she made a deal with Cassandra to use them today instead of by the end of the round.”

Chloe groaned, “Okay… what are we looking at?” Mark gestured to the options on display, which he had added to while Aubrey was away. Chloe looked over the options and frowned as she turned back to Mark. “I was fairly certain that Aubrey made clear she didn’t want several of these options. Why are they in consideration? You weren’t trying to unduly influence her, were you?”

Mark frowned at the accusation. “Chloe, if I had wanted to do that, why would I have told her to go talk to you? I specifically refused to give her a recommendation for a reason.”

Chloe turned towards Aubrey. “You didn’t say Mark asked you to come get me.”

Aubrey looked away, very deliberately refusing to meet Chloe’s gaze, while pushing her lips to the side.

Chloe just shook her head and turned back to Mark. “That still doesn’t explain why there are several options pulled out here that Aubrey indicated she didn’t want.”

“I was just picking out anything that I thought might wind up being a positive.”

Chloe gave Mark a disbelieving look. “Even if I might find the idea of Aubrey tied up in her own hair intriguing, it most certainly isn’t a positive.” Chloe scanned the rest of the options. “Were you trying to keep her goth?” Chloe asked.

Mark said, “That was Slevia’s recommendation, not mine. I would point out though that it doesn’t actually mess with her preferences at all.”

Chloe considered the options with an eagerly waiting Aubrey hovering over her shoulder. Chloe asked Aubrey, “Which of these were you considering the most?”

“Ba baa baaaaaaa…” Aubrey scowled as she was baaing continuously. “I… was thinking… abaat…” She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “Black is Pink… ba… ba ba…” Aubrey took a good ten seconds to compose herself before continuing, “Or A New Dream from the last TF vote. Baa, I really baaa Baaa’s opinion.” Aubrey gestured towards Mark with her hand.

Chloe pursed her lips in thought and eventually said, “Of the options here, I think Black is the new Pink is likely the best option, but it’s really up to you, Aubrey.”

Aubrey nodded and went over to Slevia and tapped on the shop interface. She hesitated for a moment, looking over her shoulder at Mark for guidance. Mark just shrugged and said, “Your call. I think most of these are ultimately fine.”

She made her choice and selected Black is the new Pink. She felt her wool become immediately softer, while her armor seemed to shimmer for a moment as her boon enhanced it. She then turned to Mark and Chloe and asked, “Which ba ba TFs should ba upgrade?”

Slevia chimed in behind Aubrey, “Just so you know. Coupon is for normal TFs only. Not boons.”

Aubrey seethed at hearing Slevia say that. Through gritted teeth, she slowly said, “How, exactly, is that a reward?”

Chloe pulled Aubrey into a hug, which only slightly helped.

Mark said, “Well, upgrades have been beneficial so far, generally speaking.”

Aubrey knew this wasn’t Mark’s fault, and so she took a few deep breaths before speaking further. “So? Recommendations?”

Mark said, “You won’t like my recommendation, but all three of your options are decent.”

Aubrey pouted, “You want BAAA-Vine… don’t you?” Mark nodded.

Chloe nervously bit her lip and said, “Sweetheart… I think that one is the best to upgrade as well.”

Aubrey just sighed and picked it, as she knew she wasn’t looking forward to any of the options. She was given her three choices for the upgrade.

Upgrade 1: While definitely funny, Aubrey’s inability to communicate with full breasts is a problem. Now anyone in the harem or part of Mark’s staff will be able to understand her even while baaing. Which is good because her rate of milk production and her maximum capacity will also increase.

Upgrade 2: Aubrey is Mark’s little lamb, but she hasn’t really asked Mark to milk her that much. As an incentive, any time Mark milks her dry, she will gain an intelligence boost for a period of time based upon the amount milked, and it will take longer for her breasts to refill, but if anyone else milks her, her breasts will become extra sensitive until they refill with milk.

Upgrade 3: Aubrey’s milk will become an aphrodisiac, including to herself, so she best not let it build up too much in her breasts.

Aubrey frowned, reading over the options and glanced towards Mark. Chloe chimed in before Aubrey could ask anything, though, “These aren’t actually that bad.” Her words caused Aubrey to whip her head around and glare at Chloe. Chloe held up her hands and defensively said, “Really, they aren’t. Yes, they all have trade-offs, but there are positives to all of these.”

“How exactly ba ba milk being ba aphrodisiac ba positive?” Aubrey replied in a monotone.

“Well, I think it’s a positive. I can think of plenty of things to do with my horny girlfriend.” Chloe retorted. “As for the other two, which are the ones I actually think you should consider, both are real contenders. Being able to understand your baas would be useful even if it means you would likely be baaing more. While getting you to let Mark milk you is probably for the best, long term.”

Aubrey glanced towards Mark expectantly. Mark said, “While I agree with Chloe about both of them, I think the second one is better than the first one simply because only those in the harem and my staff would understand your baaing. Meaning you would need to get milked more frequently anyway.”

Aubrey nodded her agreement and selected the second upgrade option. “Well, that’s baaa… baaaaaaaa? Ba baaaa… Damnit.”

Mark slid his hand into Aubrey’s. “How about I help you out?”

“Baaaaaaa,” Aubrey groaned out, while nodding.

Mark leaned over and gave Chloe a quick kiss goodbye as he led Aubrey away. Chloe watched her partners leave together and touched her lips in thought, considering what Merida had just revealed to her.