Hooked on a Feeling

John awoke on the crowded couch still inside Jenny… though he couldn’t remember when he had switched from Houndiira to her. His dick was incredibly sore, and he slowly slipped out of her. A rush of his seed followed, and he shifted so that it hit the couch instead of him. His head pounded from even the slight noise of Houndiira shifting next to him, and he bolted up, opening up his sheet to look at the time. This made his head throb, and the lights seemed much too bright. He used Move to flip the switch and turn them off, knowing he could still see his character sheet easily. He didn’t expect the pop-up that came with it.

You are hungover!

Hangover, Status Effect
You have consumed too much **** before going to sleep and now feel the adverse effects. This inflicts -5% to all stats except Libido and Charisma and -10% to Charisma. This will eventually wear off on its own, though instant cures are said to exist.

Alright… I didn’t sleep through the tryouts. We’ve still got ten hours to sleep and be ready. Maybe I’ll grind while Jenny sleeps. Then again, I doubt I could get to level nineteen between then and now. I want to spend my points on one of my stats below fifty… and it’s certainly tempting, two of the skills I got are really good off the bat… but I can’t get any of them to fifty right now anyway. I should start playing to my strengths more. Agility it is, John thought, raising his Agility to sixty one. He put two of his skill points into Jump and the other into Fist.

I can barely feel the difference anymore, even with such a big point increase, John noted, tossing a crouton sized cube of Mana Construct into the air and catching it. I guess that’s to be expected. Still, the burst of speed I got every time I raised it before it hit twenty-five was exhilarating. I should’ve savored it more.

“Johnny,” Jenny whispered, not opening her eyes, “can ya do me a solid and not think so loud? Your thoughts clogging up my head make me want to throw up.” Jenny stretched, and Houndiira woke up last, yawning slightly. John noticed how the mostly terrifying biker drow looked cute when her bleary eyes stared up at him. Sometime during the night, probably before she fell asleep, she had put her panties back on. Her look of adoration at him slowly turned to horror as she slowly remembered the events that had happened an hour or two previously.

“Alright, alright. Before you freak out, can we please get over our hangovers?” John whispered to her, and she nodded. She was the first one to disentangle herself, walking into the connected bathroom and slamming the door, causing all three to recoil.

I cannot believe I did that last night. I had never desired someone so much. I should not have taken the human woman’s… Jenny’s… offered drink. I cannot blame her for this. But thinking about what happened. Thinking about him. She retched into the toilet, the **** and the bile burning her throat as she held herself over the porcelain receptacle.

She punched the mirror above the sink just to watch it shatter and punched it again the moment it reformed. It would have gotten to that point anyway if his mate had let it… but this is too much. Too much too fast. Suddenly these tattoos that have helped me from exploding with the magical potential I should have feel tight on my body. I can feel that without them I would be stronger. The feeling of channeling my magic through them was so comforting… now I can’t bear to imagine what it will feel like.

To test this, she filled her hand with water and tried to channel a sheet of ice into her palm. Typically, I wouldn’t even need to have a base of water… but this might help. A pale blue magic circle appeared above her hand, and the liquid slowly froze over but… it felt wrong. That was not normal. Usually when I use magic it feels like it’s rushing through my tattoos to pool into a place where the spell can be cast. That was not what just happened. If anything, it was the opposite. Everywhere in my body except my tattoos overflowed with magic. That was overwhelming. I didn’t think magic could be felt through the body. This must be what other people feel. This must be what creates the auras my… properly developed sisters can see.

“Hey, I heard you throwing up in there. If you’re done, I’d like to have a turn,” Jenny’s voice murmured through the door. The moment the ice left Houndiira’s hand, it melted, and she sighed in frustration. She opened the door and Jenny spilled in. Apparently, she had been leaning on it for support.

After Jenny had finished in the bathroom, she had disappeared back into the club, which had mostly been abandoned. Only two dozen guests and three visible staff remained. Robert had disappeared, and as she walked up to the bar to ask for three empty glasses, the male elf behind the bar was all too happy to oblige. He handed her three double-sized glasses on a small tray.

She returned to the room and dug in her bass case until she found a small metal flask. She shook it to make sure it was filled before taking it out and uncapping it. A black, viscous liquid flowed out when she overturned it into the three glasses. John stumbled out of the bathroom, shirtless. He had one arm against the doorframe as he looked down at his girlfriend. “What’re you doing there?”

“Here, drink this,” Jenny said, handing him one of the glasses full of the liquid from the flask.

“Jenny… we’re all hungover. I only had two drinks and I’m hungover… at least I think. No more tonight.” John rubbed his eyes, his face still wet from the water he had splashed on it. It hardly helped.

“This isn’t more liquor - look, just use that info ability of yours on it,” Jenny replied, handing him the concoction. He did as she said, using Advanced Spy on the glass in his hand.

“It worries me that you drink enough to necessitate this,” John said, looking through the glass at her. “Jenny Hudson’s-

“Hangover fixer elixir. I dream of it someday being sold commercially for all of those who need it,” Jenny replied, eyes sparkling. She had already downed hers and already seemed fully recovered.

“I thought your dream was to play in Madison Square Garden?” John question, peering at the thick liquid intently.

“A girl can have more than one dream,” she replied, handing the last one to the drow lying on the couch. Houndiira had been rubbing her temples throughout the conversation between the two and drank the offered solution without hesitation. She choked but managed to get it all down.

Bottoms up, John thought, drinking the cure. He had read the description but hadn’t been expecting the **** sweetness of it. John followed Houndiira’s example, **** due to the taste. He kept it in his mouth, partially because he had trouble getting it down, partially because he wasn’t sure if he could at all. Finally, he swallowed it, and gagged from the licorice taste. “Did you choose to give it a licorice aftertaste? Nobody likes licorice.”

“I threw stuff together until it worked,” Jenny shrugged, taking the cups back from her company. “Be glad it doesn’t taste like hot garbage, some mass produced potions do.”

“Alright. Time to have that talk.” John said, causing Jenny to give him a questioning look. He pulled up the achievement window and showed it to her, specifically the last two.

“Right… and both of these are her… well, I’m leaving. I’ll be at the apartment when you’re done here. Good luck with that,” her mood totally changed upon reading the achievements, and John could guess why. He wanted to go after her, and he got up to… but she had already left. He had no idea if he would be able to get back in after he left - moreover, he had never seen such a detailed, fleshed out barrier before.

One problem at a time, John thought, turning to the noblewoman on the couch. “Alright. Let’s talk about what-”

“I don’t regret it,” Houndiira interrupted, speaking at a normal volume now that neither of them were hungover. “I wish it took more time… but I wasn’t finding anyone in Jarako. In a few more decades, I’d have been incapable. This is for the best. I know it’s too much to ask that you abandon that girl for me, even if that’s what I want.”

“What does all of that even mean? That you’re bound to me?” John asked, sitting down next to her.

“It means that I won’t take on any other lovers. It means that my loyalty is to you and our family above all else. It’s also important for proper development… though I’m nearly past that point anyway.” Houndiira answered, fidgeting in her seat. “I’m in a situation where it was either be alone and improperly developed for the rest of my life or have a chance at happiness and proper development, even if the former is only in small periods. I’ve grown to realize how cold my own race can be, and I know I wouldn’t be happy with any of them. Neither of those two options are particularly enticing, but I’d take the second one every time. I’m truly sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. Take this,” she said, putting a slip of paper into his hands, “and go comfort the one you truly love. Just promise me that we’ll see each other again soon.”

“I promise,” John resolutely confirmed, slipping the paper into his inventory and exiting the barrier. It collapsed behind him, and the night air of the forest was cool even in August. Alright, back to the apartment to talk to Jenny. Hopefully she meant ours and not Keith’s.