Rules of nature

Lin was so grateful he managed to find a quiet spot to hold up in. He knew, ok? He knew the best way to play this game was to get constant interactions with the girls, make sure everyone had a decent amount of points, and give special attention to those who were slacking behind. All of that without making the audience think he had any favorites, because if they smelled favoritism it would either spell doom for the girls he didn’t spend much time with as they’d be forgotten, or be endless headaches for the girls he did select, as they would be branded anything from spotlight huggers to pity cases who are taking the Master away from who the public really wanted to see.

Knowing all that, Lin couldn’t help but feel glad when he found a quiet library to spend his morning. After the chaos that had been the previous night’s date, he still felt some second hand embarrassment for Hyppolita. Even if it had been incredibly hot, he couldn’t bear to look her in the eye even today (nor could he bear to admit that to her face either), so he just left before she even woke up and hopefully would be back only after she was gone. Should he feel bad for this? He didn’t know, he had never had a one night stand before. And that’s why he was glad he’d found a place out of the main areas of the space station to spend his day, as he wouldn’t have to confront this shameful situation, or the repercussions of it, for a while.

And it’s not like his surroundings didn’t offer distraction either. Even a library in this place was highly… enticing to say the least. Every girl who worked there wore short skirts and tight sweaters that emphasized their forms, they also had cute glasses and hairstyles, all putting them sharply in that sexy librarian look. He had trouble selecting books when they would just walk around flaunting their assets like they were runaway models. And the worst part of it all was that they were actually pulling it off.

Anyway, after taking an above average amount of time to select a few books, Lin started looking for some nice place to sit, when he spotted one of the librarians up on a ladder reaching as high as she could go to store some books. Her skirt riding up her leg, threatening to reveal what else it may be covering, was enough of a sight to divert him from whatever his previous destination and train of thought were.

Making a sharp turn to take a better look at the display, he couldn’t have noticed that the woman had another admirer, who just like him had abruptly turned around to appreciate the view, and that also inattentively crashed onto him as much as he crashed onto her. Indeed, both of them collided and landed butt first on the ground after ogling a sexy librarian. All their books scattered on the floor and each looked at the other in surprise.

“Ow!”

“Careful!”

“Wait, Sunny?”

“Lin?”

“What are you doing here?” They both screamed, wondering how they each had managed to locate the other here.

“How did you find me?” Sunny asked while trying to disguise the blush on her face and her furtive looks at the oblivious librarian who was still performing her duty.

“Find you? You mean you didn’t figure out I was going to be here?” He recovered from the surprise first, got up and extended his hand to help her up. He had a hard time resisting the temptation to look at the librarian one more time, but he managed it. Sunny had barely interacted with him so far and he didn’t want her to have any bad impressions. Or, well, any worse than they already were. He was also completely oblivious to her looking.

“I, uh, no. I’ve been hitting the books since I got here.” Sunny reluctantly accepted his hand, but quickly dropped it once she got up. She tried to look for the librarian once more, but she had seemingly finished her task and gone somewhere else.

“I see. The environment actually seems pretty cozy here, even with all the eyecandy, hehe.” That was Lin’s poor attempt at clearing the air between the two of them.

“Oh, you like to stare at the eyecandy, do you?” she accused.

“I, hang on, I’m sorry, what did I do?!”

“You really like staring at women's bodies, huh, mister harem master?” Sunny pointed her finger at him.

“Excuse me, I’m not in this place voluntarily, in case you forgot.”

In the span of a few short sentences, they had entered a full-blown argument.

“But I’m sure you aren’t complaining about having all these women to sleep with!” she shouted.

“I haven’t slept with anyone yet!”

“Oh, ‘yet’? You haven't slept with anyone yet? When do you plan on doing it, huh?!”

“I’m not going to do anything against anyone’s will, I told you I’m not here because I want to!” he shouted back.

“But you have touched yourself thinking of us, haven't you?”

“I… haven’t touched myself in this place at all.”

“Oh, but you have touched yourself while thinking about me, haven’t you, pervert?”

“I…”

“You sure would like to **** us all into your bed, wouldn’t you?!”

“And look at who’s talking: you hypnotized women into sleeping with you!”

That sentence was the one to shut both of them up. The two nerds each stood, breathing heavily and thinking about what they had done before even entering this show. How far had they gone down the rabbit hole of corruption before Chrissi had even gotten her hands on them?

“Shhhh!!!” A librarian passed by and angrily enforced her opinion about their screaming match.

“Sorry…”

“Sorry, miss.”

They both looked sheepishly at the woman, who just silently huffed and stormed off.

“I’m sorry.” Lin tried breaking the tension again. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you are right, I did those things.” Sunny was shy, barely whispering. “Every one of the girls wanted to do it though. I never **** anyone to do anything against their own will.” She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. “I think I was just too scared of rejection to ask them to their face, so I had a way to make them forget if they didn’t want me. It all just snowballed out of control after that, heh.” she reminisced, adding a small laugh in the end, realizing the absurdity of her own situation even before she had come on the show.

“You’re right. You are someone with integrity, that’s what drew me to you in the first place. That and the way you deal with all that is very funny.”

“Haha! You’re laughing at other people’s bad luck are you now? That’s not much ‘good guy’ of you.” She chastised him, but there was a laugh in her voice now. He had broken the tension. I did it! Third time’s the charm, I knew I was great at this!

“And I’m sorry for… those things I did about you.” He felt weird saying it, but he knew he had to do it. Lin hugged his own arm and tried to look anywhere but at her.

“You touch your… yeah, I get it, don’t, just don’t worry about it.” She was back at not being able to look at him again. “Look, I was just scared of you. A guy holding so much power over me, over us in this place, who I assumed was used to jacking off to me back home. But we have been arguing for a while now and you haven’t used any of my transformations against me at all. And you have apologized, so I’m willing to listen.”

“And, ya know, I didn’t know you were a real person.. If I’d known, I would have never done those things.”

“As much as I wanted to feel angry at you for it… I kinda get it.” she sighed. “What do you say we forgive and forget? We both did stuff some people might call ‘reprehensible’ but we understand each other now. We both know why we did what we did and we can either look past it or forgive it. I mean, I feel bad just for saying it, but if I read a story about the Alves sisters getting hypnotized and fucking each other, I’d be jilling myself to it too.”

“Jeez Sunny, you don’t have to say it like that!”

“What? We can talk openly about you fantasizing with the girls that are here, but the moment I talk about myself jilling it off, it’s suddenly off topic?”

“We are not talking about me and the other girls either!” Lin shrieked. He was blushing now.

“SHHHH!!!” another librarian reprimanded them. Strongly, this time.

Sunny whispered so only he could hear:

“C’mon, tell me what happened with Hyppolita last night.”

“We are not talking about that!” he whispered, but there was a noticeable smile at the corner of his mouth.

Lin made his way out of the library as Sunny pestered him with questions about his first night in the show. He remained adamant about his secrecy.

***

“Can this get any worse?”

Ariadne laid face down, feeling sorry for herself. More accurately, she was laying face down right on Valleyr’s thick thighs. The elf had carried the sad rogue to a more calming place, a small arboreal park right next to a gigantic window that let you see the vastness of stars outside, it rested in the passageway between some of the main areas of the hotel. As the duo of new found friends tried to sit on a bench, Ariadne scrambled over her own legs and landed her body perfectly aligned with the bench, with her face shooting down on the elf’s lap, who had already sat down.

Valleyr found herself combing her hand through the young girl’s hair, humming a soothing melody she heard a lot when she was little. If you had asked the elf only a day ago, she would have told you she had absolutely no idea how to calm someone down, how to be there for them, she had spent most of her life tending to animals, not people. And yet, here she was, taking care of this child like it was second nature. Not only that, but it felt like it was her obligation to do so. How weird.

“It’s alright, don’t be too hard on yourself now.” The words flowed out of her mouth like she somehow knew what to say already. Uncanny. “You are not defeated, you are not trash, you are none of those things! You are a brilliant young woman who figured out those secret passage things existed in one day!”

“... I guess so.” Ariadne sniffed. Valleyr felt the tears that had dotted her legs stop completely.

“Not only that, but you figured out how to use them in even less time. How amazing is that?!”

“I guess that was pretty cool.” Ariadne brought a hand up to dry her tears. It was kind of an awkward movement as her face was still facing down the elf’s legs, but Valleyr didn’t say anything of it.

“And you are brave too! You were one of the very first people to stand up to Chrissi when we arrived. You even did it when I showed how badly it could go.” Valleyr heard the rogue chuckle down there. “You had the courage to fight for yourself and the others, that’s not nothing.”

Ariadne motioned to finally turn around on Valleyr’s lap. She was now laying sideways, looking at the beauty and the vastness of the stars outside. “Yeah… I did that too.”

“You are smart, you are brave and you are super capable, because you did all that in less than 24 hours.”

The rogue didn’t answer, too absorbed in watching the stars.

“Ariadne?”

“Hum…?”

“I’m gonna need you to repeat that.”

“Why?”

“To make sure you believe it.”

“You know that’s not how this works, right?”

“Can you just…” Valleyr made a ‘move along’ gesture with her hand.

“I am smart, I am brave, and I am super capable.” Ariadne did it in a mock annoying tone, making sure it was clear to see she was glad to be here regardless. “There, happy?”

“With you? Very.”

Both women now just enjoyed the quiet for a while, the silence and the beauty of the stars. Valleyr tenderly ran her hand through Ariadne’s hair and the small of her neck over and over, slowly calming the young woman.

“You… may just need to adjust your strategy.” The elf said after a while.

“What?!” Now Ariadne truly turned around to look up at Valleyr.

“I mean, I get it. You were reacting, fighting like you knew how. But this is a social game now, making enemies will get you nowhere.” Valleyr suddenly felt fear of looking down, as the rogue looked at her with the true intensity of someone who did not like having their plans questioned. “Why don’t you try being a little more friendly? You may find it opens opportunities you hadn’t *gulp* considered before?”

“You may have a point.” Ariadne galvanized the elf with her look.

The rogue sat up so she could look at her companion on the same eye level. Her look softened a bit as she continued.

“You did help me today, I am feeling a lot better. There may be some value in what you’re saying.”

“I knew you’d get it.” Valleyr friendly punched the girl in the arm, hoping the gesture would mask the relief in her voice that the girl hadn’t decided to kill her with just that look right then and there.

“Thanks Valleyr, I owe you one.” Ariadne genuinely smiled for the first time in a while.

“Oh I’m so glad you said that because I’m in a bit of a financial situation.”

The rogue shot her a look of ‘Girl, seriously?!’

“Hey, it probably isn’t what you’re thinking. It’s about my shapeshifting situation.”

“I’m listening…” Ariadne said, with a look that showed she was still disappointed.

“I love changing shapes, but it’s fucking awful when it’s totally out of my control, and just to please everyone around me, except for myself. Harley told me I just have to upgrade my trait for it to be more manageable, except I don’t have the funds at the moment.”

“Girl, I don’t either!”

“Well, that’s wh—”

“WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?!” a shout came from behind the girls. Susie came careening down the path while holding her phone out. “It’s almost time for your date!”

“Me?!” Ariadne asked incredulously.

“No, Valleyr! Did no one watch the video I sent out this morning?!”

Both girls sheepishly apologized to the redhead.

“It was really cute, ok!” Susie continued. “But it doesn’t matter, the time for your date to start is almost here, and both me and Chrissi are pretty sure you had nothing planned.”

“Hey! Don’t go around assuming stuff about people!” Valleyr tried defending herself.

Both Ariadne and Susie looked back at her incredulously.

“Ok, fine, I have no idea what I’m gonna do.”

“Thought so.” Susie answered, vindicated. “Don’t worry, Chrissi came up with a date for you, she has everything set up. I have sent you the directions on your phone, just follow that and you’re golden!”

Valleyr motioned to get back up, but she looked back at Ariadne and hesitated.

“Just go, I’ll be fine.” the rogue told her. “And besides, if you get eliminated, we won’t be able to have any more chats like this.”

“Yes, she’s right, go go go!” Susie urged her on, practically pushing the elf out of the small park area. How she managed enough traction with those rollerblades on, the girls could only guess.

“Wait, one last thing.” Valleyr turned around.

“What is it now?” Susie asked, exasperated.

“About that money issue…”

“Fine, we can talk on the way.” Ariadne got up to follow the two of them.

“Great! Tell me, are you opposed to cheating on cassino games?”

***

Lin walked to the pont Susie had directed him to. It led to a crossroads sitting on the dead center of the entertainment district, packed with hotel crew. He was standing in front of a building with a big neon sign of a pink flower with intricate petal design. That street was full of similar neon designs, but the light of this business’ name dwarfed them all, the name illuminated the entire sidewalk with its dark pink light: The Lotus Beds. He walked in, not knowing what to expect from the place. The dark foyer contained a waiting line and a receptionist collecting everyone’s names. Knowing Susie said he had an appointment at this place, Lin shyly walked up to the woman and gave her his name.

“We have the Master here, how wonderful!” the brunette receptionist greeted him. She was wearing what could only be described as a mix of professional modern wear and a greek toga. She had professional heels and pants, even if those pants were maybe too form fitting in certain places, but her upper torso was expertly wrapped in a white toga that left her arms exposed and went down her legs as a long braid. She was also wearing golden and dark pink accessories to accentuate the greek vibe, as well as a discreet headset, which she used to communicate the arrival of their guest.

“If you would kindly follow me, I will take you to your bed.”

Lin didn’t know what to expect from this place, so he followed her curiously. As they passed through a door leading to the main floor, Lin saw rows and rows of booths illuminated in dark pink lighting, on the other side of the booths’ glass doors he could see metallic pods placed at the center and, around these pods, there were holograms, or maybe illusions, of people doing the most random of things. “This is one of the most popular entertainment spots in the entire hotel, Master. Once you enter one of our Lotus Beds, we will put you in a trance and transport your mind to wherever you want to go.” Some of those illusions around the pods showed the people inside fighting dragons in full armor, some were shown watching live concerts of famous dead musicians, some were even engaging in ravenous orgies. Most of these people were alone in their dreams, but not an unusual number of booths contained more than one pod.

“You can partake in these journeys alone or with companions, we have booths with multiple beds. In your case, there is a booth already reserved for a two person dream.” Other illusions shown however, were tamer in nature: a man visiting his parents and getting emotional, a woman alone in her booth was in passionate and romantic sex with an illusion of another woman who was not there, another woman had taken a form that looked nothing like her current self and was hiking up a trail with her dog. Dozens and dozens of booths filled the space. Any dream, anywhere, with anyone seemed to be within reach.

“Here we are! We have reached your particular booth, your dream has been pre-programed in according to the host’s parameters and everything is set to go. All we have to do is wait for your dream partner.” Indeed, the woman had brought him to a booth that was currently turned off. Without any of the lights or fancy images like the others, it seemed much more lifeless. The woman unlocked the glass door, approached a small console near the entrance and began typing on it, checking if everything was truly good to go.

As if on cue, they both hear a scream from down the hall: “Wait! I’m here! Don’t start without me!” as Valleyr sprinted towards them. As she reached the booth, she put her hands on her knees and began to catch a breath. Very loudly.

Lin couldn’t help but admire the body the woman had received that day. She had maintained her long ebony hair and her tan skin, but her body itself had certainly gotten an upgrade. It had gained more curves, enough so it would be noticeable in contrast to her previously thin frame, her breasts were fuller, perkier, and her ass was more toned, but what really called his attention was the focus her muscles had received. The elf still sported a figure one could call lean, but her muscles were more defined and eye-catching, framing her sexier curves in a very attractive way. In so many words: she was smoking hot.

“Wow, Valleyr, you look hot.” he whispered.

“Thanks. Just, let me catch a breath here for a second.” she gasped out, amid her heavy breaths.

“Wait, I said that out loud?!”

“Sure did!” The elf bumped the flustering Master in the arm. “Hey, lady, do I get any points for getting complimented by the master himself?”

“No, unfortunately not.” The receptionist said in her best customer service smile. “You would have gotten some points if you’d planned a date he really enjoyed.”

“Message duly noted.” Valleyr got back up to her full height and stretched out, fully aware of the shy pair of eyes on her figure. “Speaking of which, why don’t you tell me what we’re doing here today.”

The woman launched herself on the same speech she had given Lin a few moments earlier.

“Alright, so we’re experiencing a dream or something like that.” was Valleyr’s simple response.

“Yes, it is usually short handed to that. That’s why the business has ‘bed’ in the name.”

“Hang on, I have a question.” Lin piped up, still with rosy cheeks. “If this place can create any place anywhere, why don't all dates take place here?”

“Great question!” answered the smiling receptionist. “Well, one of the main reasons revolves around the fact that these ‘dreams’ we create do feel fake in some sense, the person experiencing them does know in some level that they’re not real, that their experience isn’t what it could be, and we fear this feeling may creep into the show as a whole if every date a Master has with a girl feels fake.”

“Wait, so I’m getting the short end of the stick here?!” Valleyr was pissed off.

“That answer is twofold. In short terms, maybe. Perhaps you angered the host by not having anything planned and she stuck you with a slight penalty. A slightly longer answer is that we instruct our clients to purposely choose fake or impossible scenarios, so the feeling of false reality can be anchored on the otherworldly event, and not on the people in them.”

“Oh… ok, so first of all, you’re telling me to go say a big fuck off to Chrissi…”

“We all know how well that went on the first day.”

“... second of all, you’re telling me to imagine something fantastical to be a part of our date? Yeesh, talk about indecision, lady!”

“Actually, no I’m not. Chrissi already selected the place for your date: it is a quaint elven village that you’d recognize. You could take the Master around, show him some traditional elven stuff, it’ll be fun. She even provided me with the exact coordinates for me to put in the machine.”

“Oooooh I get it. It doesn’t matter if it feels fake to me, as long as Lin over here can have fun and not feel weird about me, we’re game.”

“Yes, you got it right.”

“Cool! C’mon Master Lin, let’s get you some traditional elven snacks… including this one.” Valleyr purred as she ran her hand over her thigh and hip on her way to lie down.

Lin was too flustered to answer and was almost stuck on the spot, had it not been for the ever helping receptionist to give him a little push towards his destination.

“Just lay down and relax. Your dream should be starting soon.”

After making sure both of them were properly positioned inside the comfortable pods, the woman gently closed the lids, temporarily trapping them in darkness. Lin waited only a few seconds before he felt a pleasant sensation on the back of his skull. It made him relax his whole body and before he even noticed, he was now standing in a dark void with Valleyr at his side. Both of them heard a female automated voice speak from the void.

[INITIALIZING DREAM SEQUENCE. PLEASE WAIT A FEW MOMENTS]

“Looks like they’re loading the dream.” Lin commented absentmindedly. He curiously analyzed his surroundings and himself. “I sure do feel real. Do you think we’re standing in solid darkness, or on literal emptiness?”

“So, Lin, you liked this body I’m rocking, hum?” Valleyr changed the subject, her mischievous smile extending to her words. “I got it especially for you.”

Lin was extremely thankful he was facing away from her at the moment, examining how the darkness transformed into a clear blue sky. “I mean, I said you’re hot before and… wait, did you just say you got it for me? How?!”

“Yes! I managed to upgrade the transformation, so now I can somewhat control it, check it out!” She showed him her phone screen, which read:

Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder (Upgrade) - The contestant can now choose whose ideal of beauty they wish to embody. Additionally, the contestant themselves is now eligible to be the inspiration for the beauty.

“That’s awesome, Valleyr! I’m so happy for you.” As embarrassed as he was that she kept flaunting herself to him, Lin couldn’t help but flash a smile at the elf, seeing her regain some of her independence from this place was always something to be happy about, given how little of it it usually offered.

The environment around them was almost fully loaded, they were walking among the high treetops of an ancient forest, before any ground loaded below them.

“Hang on, weren’t we supposed to be in an elven town?” Lin asked. He couldn’t see any signs of a city nearby.

“Yeah, that woman said something like that, but I don’t see it anywhere.”

“Unless the buildings haven’t fully loaded yet. After all, how do they expect us to deal with being released mid—”

[LOADING OF SPECIFIC COORDINATES COMPLETE. ENJOY YOUR DREAM.]

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Valleyr and Lin entered freefall as the invisible surface beneath their feet gave out. Both of them flailed around as the wind rushed through their ears and the leaves and branches scratched their skin, trying desperately to hang on to something, anything. Valleyr dug her fingers into the bark, she tried holding on to the trunks, but didn’t manage to maintain grip. Lin mostly flailed around trying to grab anything, but the thin branches he managed to reach all snapped as he passed by them.

As the ground fast approached the duo, Valleyr screamed through the whipping air:

“Hold on, I have an idea!”

She transformed her fingers into tiger claws and buried them into the bark of two nearby trees. The weight pushing down was strong. Valleyr scratched her skin while holding on, but she managed to stop her fall. As for Lin, he managed to grab something thick and strong too: Valleyr’s leg.

“Enjoying the view from down there?” she mused, nonchalantly about it all.

“Haha, please don’t let me fall to my doom.” he answered, feeling a comforting safety in the hug, but also a permanent dread as he looked down.

“Relax man, I am an expert at this.” She was so chill about it all.

“Sure, sure. Just, ahm, making sure.” he answered, half terrified for his life, half excited at everything going on.

“And besides, look over there!” Valleyr gestured towards the horizon. Lin’s human eyes struggled to see it at first, but soon he spotted it: a huge shape in the distance, large enough to be seen hundreds of meters away, it was unmistakably the sight of an elven village atop the trees. “Chrissi missed her mark by a few. We just have to get over there and we’ll be fine.”

“And you’re sure we can make it?”

“I told you, I’m an expert. Not to mention, we’re in a dream.”

“Well, I have watched a lot of movies where if you die in the dream you die in— Aaaahhh!” Lin didn’t have time to finish his sentence before Valleyr was swinging her body out of the middle of the trees and into a series of branches, where she swung from one to the other, trying to find a strong enough spot that could support both their weights. Lin, meanwhile, was hugging that thick leg for dear life (and not in the way most Harem Hotel audience members were used to seeing).

“Will you please stop trying to kill us?!” He screamed through the rushing wind.

“Relax, you’re talking to a druid. I’m the expert here, just enjoy the view.”

The elf passed by branch after branch. As strong as the trunks of the trees were, the branches themselves were all thin and frail, not nearly strong enough to hold the weight of two people together. Worse, the number of branches was dwindling as they moved forward.

“Hang on, there’s not enough branches around. Can you hold yourself on my torso instead of my leg? I could use the extra mobility.” she shouted over the wind.

“I-I’m not sure. I’m afraid I’m gonna fall if I do anything.”

“Lin, look at me. Just look up at me while you do this.” she answered loud enough to be heard, but now in a reassuring tone.

Valleyr slowed her pace and dug her claws into a trunk as she stopped. She arched her back to make it easier for Lin to climb up her body. He was only looking up, at her and occasionally at the canopy, slowly moving his weight around her, supporting his feet and hands on her body or on the tree.

Both of them were taking deep breaths. The scare of the fall and the sudden surprise of the tree swinging had taken their breaths away, in more ways than one. With the noise of the swinging and of the piercing wind subdued, both of them were keenly aware of the silence surrounding them, a couple birds singing here and there, but beyond that, all they could hear was the drumming of their hearts and each other’s breaths. Lin could hear Valleyr’s breath coming from such a short distance away, It was long and deliberate. Valleyr could feel Lin’s breath on her skin as he climbed her, it was fast, quick. Both of them could feel the heat emanating from each other’s bodies like a tension you just can’t ignore. Body close to body, hugging the other tightly. Both of them could feel each other’s heartbeat, their hearts drumming in their ears and in their chests, now that Lin was hugging Valleyr from behind, they had two heartbeats in their chests. They could feel each other’s bodies at work.

“Lin,” She managed to say between breaths “hug me with your arms and with your legs as well. Put your legs around my waist, you’ll be safer.” She felt his breaths on her shoulders as he adjusted. Her skin prickled. She shivered and hoped he wouldn’t notice.

Lin had been almost running out of breath. He didn’t know if it was because of the scare, the sudden swinging, or… something else. Feeling her body on his after all that was exhilarating, this pause from the action should be calming him down, but he couldn’t control his heart, or the way he was feeling. This woman sculpted her body for his desire. She could have chosen not to, being late to the date and all, but she did it anyway. And now he was seeing this body at work. Part of him was flattered by it. Part of him was still scared. And now part of him was excited. He didn’t know what meaning of the word was more appropriate, but he was definitely feeling a rush right now.

“Are you holding tight back there?” she asked him. Her breath was more steady now. Maybe she could actually do this.

“Yeah, I just have one question.” His breath was shaken.

She shivered where it touched her skin.

“W-What is it?” Her voice shook for less than a second. She really hoped he didn’t notice.

“Your body right now, this form you took… is it my preferred one?” He couldn’t face her right now. He couldn’t face anyone after asking a question like that. He was glad she was facing away from him. A heart was now beating faster, but he couldn’t say if it was his or hers.

“Y-Yeah, of course it was.” Valleyr steeled herself. There was no way she wouldn’t get through this simple conversation. “I snagged the transformation minutes before I came to see you. As soon as I knew you were close, I let it happen.” she said it all in one go. The faster you say it, the less chance you have to mess up. “Anything else?”

He hugged her tighter. He could feel the rush through her skin. He also felt safer there.

“No, that’s it.”

Damn it, he’s gonna make me… do something!

Valleyr jumped off the tree without another word. A couple vines were hanging from the canopy so she went off on that. Her hands turned into strong gorilla hands and she swung them effortlessly over the forest. Lin was no longer screaming in abject fear of ****, he was now quiet, looking at the horizon and at her. Valleyr could feel every breath on her neck, she could feel how hard he was hugging her and, if they weren’t literally swinging through vines right now, she knew for sure there was no way he wouldn’t notice the way her skin responded to his touch.

Lin was no longer scared, he was excited. He didn’t open his mouth to let out any sound because he didn’t need to. He just wanted to enjoy the moment with Valleyr. Soaring through the air. Hugging her. He hugged tighter. The beating of heart grew faster.

It was a few minutes of this, of close body to body touch, of breaths a few inches apart, of hearts beating together. A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination, a quaint elven village built near the tree tops. They landed on an elevated platform near a central plaza. Neither of them wanted to let go, but neither of them could admit that either. A couple people populated the plaza, so Lin slowly climbed down from her back until he was standing next to her, still silent. As his hands drove down her body, one of his hands touched one of her elven ones on his way down. He didn’t let go at that point. He looked up at the tall elf. She looked down at him.

[YOUR TIME LIMIT HAS ENDED. FINISHING DREAM SEQUENCE.]

“Motherfuc—” was all Valleyr could say before the darkness took her again.

***

The pods opened to sore eyes, tense muscles, and quiet mouths.

“Welcome back! How was your dream experience? I hope it was to your liking.” The same receptionist *slash* technician who put them to sleep was there to wake them up and welcome them back to the world of the awoken.

The first thing Lin noticed after the blinding light, and some stiff muscle, was that his pants felt tighter than usual. He looked down as he was leaving the bed and saw a boner pointing up. He hastily covered it up, desperately wishing for it to not be noticed by the two women there with him. Valleyr got up from her bed and did some stretching, but the moment she looked his way, he noticed her face had shades of red and she immediately looked away.

“Well, this is a bit awkward. I hope nothing bad happened in there, it’s not like I could have seen inside your dream to check." The employee of the Lotus Beds lied, though none of the two people present with her had the emotional knowledge to pick up on it at the moment. “I also hate to be the bearer of possibly even more bad news, but it is my duty to inform you that you two still have to spend the night together in the Master’s suite. It will be my pleasure to escort you out, but you will still have to spend a lot of time together tonight.”

The woman led the silent couple back to the entrance, both of their minds going a mile a minute, filled with possibilities and sweet nothings at the same time. They were so distracted that neither noticed as Lin’s boner receded by the time they reached the entrance.

After the employee closed the doors behind the couple, they found themselves back at the crossroads, side by side, still silent. None of them knew how to break the silence, hell, neither could even look each other in the eye at that moment. So, after a couple more seconds of silence, Lin began walking back to his room. After a few steps he felt something reach for his hand. It was Valleyr, still red faced, still not being able to look him in the eye, she grasped for his hand and he didn’t let go of hers.

Hand holding - 1 VP

First! - 1 VP

Cute point! (Susie) - 1 VP

The silent couple remained that way all the way up to Lin’s room, until they reached his bed. At that point, both people jumped into the mattress and stuffed their heads in the pillows like the rest and comfort they provided was the most sacred thing in the universe. Lin at least had the sense to quickly put his glasses on the nightstand beforehand.

Both stayed there, splayed on bed, eyes closed, ready to rest, relax, and release all the tension they gathered through the day. Before too long though, Lin also had the sense to ask:

“Hey, Valleyr?”

“Yeah?” she answered groggily.

“Do you wanna…” One could feel his eyebrow raise by his tone alone.

“Hells no! Today was exhausting, I just wanna sleep!”

“Thank God, me too.”

And so, the couple, still holding hands, drifted off into sleep for the second time that day.

***

Later that night:

Cuddling - 2 VP

First! - 2 VP

***

Author’s Note: This one was a doozy to write! With multiple instances of writer’s block, and more than one scene taking over a week to write, it sure took its time, but it has arrived. Hope y’all like it!