Skinning the Boar

A thin fog fills most of the grotto. Water gently streams in from the dozens of skylights high above, each turning into a spray of mist long before they hit the ground.

Krvavy scowls at that sight.

But her sour mood doesn’t last long at all, as two little hands reach up and grab onto one of her own, softly squeezing her fingers.

“Guess this is what we get for living underground.” The Drakling sighs out, descending down the switchback path with Adeline by her side. “We can’t see the sky, so we don’t know what kind of weather to expect.”

“D-d-did it l-look like r-r-r-ra-rain l-last night...?” The bunny-mouse girl nervously asks, shivering as the cool and humid air clings to her bare skin.

“Uh... Not really.” Krvavy shakes her head, idly channelling some fire magic through her body. The Halfling all but clings to her warm leg. Which makes walking just a bit more awkward. “But it was pretty windy... So I guess it came blowing in overnight...?”

“Eeep!” Adeline squeaks in surprise as she is scooped up into Krvavy’s arms with absolutely no warning.

“Come on, lets hurry up so that we can find somewhere a bit dryer.”

A deep red blush fills the bunny-mouse girl’s face as she curls up into a ball and hides her embarrassment behind those wonderfully soft and floppy ears of hers.

With the Drakling’s significantly longer stride – her legs are longer than Adeline is tall, after all – it takes the two of them no time at all to reach their destination.

The boar carcass is exactly where Krvavy and Khalia left it. And it is about as dry as something surrounded by thick fog could hope to be.

“Tsk.” With a great deal of ****, the barbarian lowers her bunny-mouse girl back down to the ground. “I don’t think I’d be able to carry you and this thing at the same time. It’s just too big...”

Adeline shivers but doesn’t protest. She simply stands by Krvavy’s side, awkwardly shifting her weight between her bunny paw feet as the carcass is lifted off the sturdy stone hooks.

“Nghf...” Krvavy grunts as the boars considerable weight presses down into both her shoulders at once. Even after being gutted and hollowed out, this giant pig is still so heavy... “There.” Her fingers tighten their grip on the carcass’ legs, holding it firmly in place. “Lead the way.”

The Halfling’s big hazel eyes go wide in surprise. A blush colours her cheeks as she scurries on ahead, hurrying back up the path they just came down.

Krvavy easily keeps pace with the shivering mouse, even with the cumbersome carcass strewn over her shoulders.

Both barbarian and bunny-mouse girl ascend out of the foggy mist, but the air around them doesn’t get any warmer. It actually gets a bit colder as they head deeper into the cave, heading towards the parts where sunlight doesn’t reach.

“Mn.” They pass between the two stone columns that mark the top of the switchback path, turning left towards Inanna’s workshop. “Here, this looks like a good spot.” Krvavy grunts out, stopping before the steadily flowing river.

As expected, Adeline is completely fine with that choice.

The heavy carcass thumps onto the ground.

Krvavy’s Soulbound weapon manifests in her hand, startling the timid Halfling. “Sorry.” The barbarian apologizes, placing her axe on the ground. Its crystalline spearhead begins to glow, using the mana stored within itself to illuminate the immediate surroundings. “Not quite as good as the lantern... Can you see alright?”

“Y-yes.” Adeline quickly nods her head, blushing intensely as she sidles up to the barbarian, basking in the warmth still emanating from the giant dickgirl.

“Alright...” Krvavy loosens the belt strapped around her waist, pulling it and the various tools free. “You have more experience with this kind of thing than I do, isn’t that right~?”

“N-not with an-anyth-thing so b-b-b-bi-big...!” Adeline stutters out, staring at the boar carcass with an increasingly nervous expression. Her little hands grasp at the Drakling’s leg, wrapping around the bigger woman’s knee as she all but hides from the already dead animal.

“Neither have I.” Krvavy smiles and gives her adorable and anxious Halfling a reassuring pat on the head. “So this’ll be a bit of a learning experience for both of us.”

Adeline audibly gulps, reluctantly letting go of her lifeline.

The barbarian lowers herself to the ground. She is still taller than this tiny blonde, even when resting on her knees. But only by about a head. Her head. Which is closer to two of this Halfling’s heads...

“Have you ever seen this kind of boar before?” Krvavy curiously wonders, grabbing a short knife with a stubby curved blade.

The bunny-mouse girl’s gaze trails over towards the large, bristly quills covering the carcass’ back. “No...”

“Yeah, I suppose this isn’t something you could keep on a farm.” Especially not a Halfling farm: this boars head is about the size of Adeline in her entirety. An animal of this size would be quite difficult to control, to put it lightly.

“I-I have hel-helped butcher s-some p-p-pigs though...” The tiny blonde taps her fingers together in an adorable display of nervousness.

“That’s good.” Krvavy warmly smiles, sinking her knife into the meat at the edge of the beasts emptied belly. “I’m pretty sure that this is still a pig after all. Even if it’s a pretty weird one.”

Adeline doesn’t seem to know what to say, so she simply stands around awkwardly and begins to fiddle with the silvery bracelet around her wrist. Her thumb brushes across the smooth black gem that encircles the metallic band.

“So...” The Drakling breathes out, ever so slowly skinning the massive carcass. The already rather torn up side makes that easier and harder at the same time: Krvavy has more places to start cutting from, but also quite a few thick ‘ribbons’ of flesh to deal with “Beryl’s been keeping you busy the past few days, huh~?”

The bunny-mouse girl jumps slightly, her back straightening up as she freezes in place. “Y-y-y-y-ye-yes...!” She stutters out after a few uncomfortably long seconds, sounding a little panicked despite the Drakling’s playful tone.

Krvavy stops what she is doing. She glances at the girl standing by her side with an eyebrow raised.

Adeline turns her gaze away.

“She... hasn’t been making you do anything... weird... has she?” A note of worry enters the barbarian’s voice. Beryl usually does her best to make Adeline feel quite comfortable, so this response is... concerning.

“N-no-n-n-no!” The Halfling hastily shakes her head, causing her floppy ears to fly back and forth.

Krvavy isn’t particularly convinced. “Look, if she’s making you do something that you’re uncomfortable with, I’ll talk –”

“N-no!” Pure panic fills the tiny blonde’s stuttered tone. Her little hands grasp onto the barbarian’s buff arm. “It! I-i-it! It-its! S-s-s-se-sec-cret! Su-up-s-s-surp-prise!”

Krvavy can’t help but frown a little.

Adeline recoils as if she had been slapped.

“Is it... at least a good surprise...?” The barbarian hesitantly asks. A part of her knows that she really shouldn’t keep pressing the Halfling like this, but she just can’t help but worry about whatever ‘secret’ that her Elf is hiding. Beryl doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to surprises. Krvavy is still a little bitter about being bound and restrained by those vines...

Tears well up in Adeline’s big hazel eyes, collecting on her thick eyelashes and threatening to stream down her cheeks. “Eeeeeeee...” The devastated girl turns her head down and weakly squeaks out rather than respond with words.

The Drakling’s shoulders slump and a sigh escapes past her lips. “Sorry...” She wraps an arm around the tiny blonde, pulling Adeline into a tight hug. “I... I know that you wouldn’t do anything bad. So... I’ll stop prying.”

The bunny-mouse girl shudders and trembles. She makes some quite sniffling sounds and does her absolute best to not cry, but she just can’t stop the tears from rolling down her round face.

Krvavy’s comparatively giant hand gently pats and rubs the back of Adeline’s head. Her strong fingers glide through dark-blonde hair, unintentionally undoing the loose bun as she comforts her Halfling.

“P-p-pl-ple-please...” Adeline’s weak voice is hardly audible as she speaks directly into Krvavy’s chest. “D-d-don’t t-tell M-m-mi-mis-ss Ber-Beryl...!”

“Shhhh... Shh...” The barbarian softly presses her lips into the Halfling’s big forehead. “I won’t say a word, okay? We can just... pretend that this didn’t happen. Alright?”

“Th... thank y-you...”

It takes a few minutes for Adeline to fully recover, but eventually she does pull away from the barbarian’s warm hug, rubbing the tears from her eyes.

Krvavy wants to ask if the Halfling is feeling better now, but decides that it is probably best to just... move on. So she grabs her little knife and gets back to skinning the carcass.

After a few minutes, Adeline steps forwards and begins helping as best she can. Her little hands grab at the coarse and bristly fur, pulling the pelt back as Krvavy cuts it away from the boars tough meat.

The sheer size of this dead boar, especially compared to a girl as small as this Halfling, makes this a rather difficult job. Krvavy needs to lean forwards to reach across the car-sized carcass, and Adeline has to awkwardly walk around the giant thing to keep peeling the pelt away.

But, eventually, the two are able to successfully skin an entire side of this oversized pig.

Which is when the job gets difficult.

The large quills that line the boars back extend through its thick skin and into the muscly meat around its spine. And each one is just a little too tough for this sharp knife to cut. Not without using a fair bit of ****, at least, which is easier said than done with their awkward position...

“Okay... Here, let’s just...” Krvavy takes the edge of the pelt from her adorable helper, draping it back over the meaty carcass. “Looks like we’ll have to pull out each and every one of those things.” She sighs, rising to her feet.

Adeline awkwardly steps aside, letting the Drakling walk around the half skinned pig.

Krvavy kneels down near the mass of quills, carefully grabbing onto one of them. “Mnnn...” It takes a bit of effort, but the long bristly needle can be plucked out of the carcass.

Now she just needs to do that... a few hundred more times...

There isn’t much for the Halfling to do but stand around and wait for Krvavy to finish pulling out quill after quill after quill. And that lack of purpose clearly gives her mind the chance to wander, as she speaks up after only a couple painfully long minutes.

“Uhn... K-kr-va-Krvav-vy...?”

“Huh?” The barbarian glances at the nervous bunny-mouse girl. “Yeah?”

“C-c-can...” Adeline shudders violently. “Ca-can-an... I-I-I...!” Her breaths become shallow and quick, leaving her on the verge of hyperventilation. “A-ask...! A-a-a-ab-b-abou...!” She seems to give up trying to speak, slumping over and collapsing in on herself. “Eeeeeeeiieee...”

Krvavy blinks as her Halfling crouches down and curls up into a ball. “Uhh...” The barbarian’s brow furrows in concerned confusion. “How about... How about we try using these things?” She taps the Far-Speaking ring clinging tightly to her lower right horn. “That might make this a bit... easier... for you.”

Adeline’s big hazel eyes stare up at the Drakling for a few long seconds, before darting down to the bracelet on her wrist. “Ok-k-ka-ay...”

The smooth black gems encircling both pieces of jewellery pulse in unison.

<H-hello...?>

<Hey.> Krvavy accompanies her mental with a warm smile, trying to ease the tiny blonde’s nerves. <What was it that you wanted to ask me?>

<Y-your past.>

Krvavy’s smile drops from her face in an instant. Though, luckily, Adeline doesn’t see that, as she is already hiding behind her floppy bunny ears. <What... what about my past?> The barbarian struggles to keep her tone even and free of hostility. <You should already know the gist of it.>

She doesn’t do the best job.

“Eeeeeeeeeeiieeee...” The Halfling gently rocks back and forth. <Y-y-your f-f-fa-aml-ly...!> Adeline’s mentally projected voice cracks and wavers, causing her nervous squeak to warble as well.

Krvavy slowly sighs out.

<If you d-do-don’t –!>

<No,> the barbarian interjects. Choosing to have this conversation through these magical pieces of jewellery was a good ides. It’ll make this easier for the both of them. <It’s... alright. What do you want to know?>

Adeline shudders and lifts her head slightly, peeking past her soft ear. She skittishly stares at the Drakling with those big watery eyes of hers. <An-anyth-th-thing y-you want t-to tal-ta-talk about...>

Krvavy grabs onto another quill and tears it from the boars back. <I had a mother and a sister. That’s all.>

<N-no dad?> The Halfling sharply inhales, wincing at her own question.

<No. Not one that I ever knew.> The barbarian bitterly replies. <He left, or died – I don’t even know – before I could walk. Before I could crawl. For all I know, I might not even have the same one as my sister.>

Adeline remains utterly silent for over a minute, hardly even breathing during that time.

One by one the quills are plucked out, giving Krvavy an outlet for her unpleasant emotions.

<And... what about her? Y-you sister?>

The Drakling’s jaw clenches. <Dead.> Hardly any emotion makes it through the connection.

<H–?> Adeline stops herself, taking a long and deep breath. <What was she like...?>

<I... hardly remember.> Krvavy’s fingers grip onto a bristly quill, though she can’t quite work up the strength to pull it out. <Kind. Gentle. Caring. Everything our mom wasn’t.>

<And...> The bunny-mouse girl hesitates. <Her? Is she... dead too?>

“Hah!” A single, rueful laugh rings out. <I wish.>

<W-why?>

“Adeline,” the Drakling turns to look at her Halfling. “My family was nothing like yours.”

“I-I kn-ow...” Adeline shakily breathes out, resisting the near-overwhelming urge to hide behind her ears.

“Which is why you’re asking these questions.” Krvavy blankly states.

The Halfling nervously nods her head.

“Has anyone in your family died? That you remember?”

“Y-yes.” Adeline nods again. “A-ab-bout f-four years ago. My g-great-grandpa.”

“Did he have a funeral?” The barbarian turns back towards the boar carcass, though she doesn’t do much more than stare blankly at it.

“Y-y-yes.” The bunny-mouse girl tries to steady her breathing, gasping quietly to herself.

Krvavy trails a single finger along the length of one random quill. “My sister didn’t get one. Her ashes were put in a metal can. My mom threw it out.”

“What?!”

Krvavy jumps slightly as she feels her Halfling’s body press against her back, those little arms wrapping around her shoulders.

“Why would she do that?!” Adeline all but demands to know, her outraged voice wavering just a little as her anger quickly burns out.

“She didn’t want it in ‘her home’.” Krvavy simply shrugs. “I dug it out of the trash anyway. My mom never found it. If she did...” The barbarian weakly shakes her head. “That can was hideous. Still... it was my sisters home for years. I was able to get her a better jar eventually. One nice enough that... that whoever scavenged my apartment probably dumped her out and resold it...”

“I... I’m s-s-sorry...” The timid blonde whimpers out, burying her face into the Drakling’s shoulder. “I sh-shou-shouldn’t h-have...”

“No, it’s... not your fault.” Krvavy tiredly sighs back. “You just want to know more about me. And that’s... fair. It’s completely fair. Really, I should be the one apologizing. I’m the one making this conversation... difficult.”

Evidently unable to think up a proper response, Adeline simply squeaks in a somewhat uncertain tone. “Eeeeie...” She quivers faintly before abruptly stepping back, giving Krvavy a rather forceful poke. “W-wo-woul–! Wouldyouliketorubmyears?!”

The barbarian blinks and glances back at her bunny-mouse girl. It takes her mind a couple seconds to decode that hastily stuttered request.

An intense, red blush fills Adeline’s round cheeks. Her big hazel stare down and off to the side, unable to meet the Drakling’s gaze. Her hands shake as she holds her soft, velvety ears out.

Krvavy smiles weakly, knowing exactly what this sweet girl is doing. “Sure.” She turns towards her Halfling. And immediately pauses. “Oh. Maybe I should clean up a little first...”

Adeline’s blush grows even deeper as Krvavy gets up and heads towards the nearby river. She awkwardly shifts her weight back and forth between her bunny paw feet, rubbing her thick thighs together. Her fur-tipped tail sways around behind her body, swishing across the solid stone ground like a tiny broom.

“There.” Steam rises from Krvavy’s now clean hands. “It would have been a shame if I got those beautiful ears of yours dirty~.”

The bunny-mouse girl audibly gulps, quivering as she quite clearly resists the urge to hide her face. “Hhhhh...!” She gasps out in relief as the Drakling kneels down and takes hold of her offered ears. Her palms quickly press down onto her flushed cheeks, fingers covering her big eyes.

Krvavy graciously ignores that embarrassed reaction, even acting like she doesn’t see those little fingers part as Adeline peeks past them.

“Hhhha...” The Halfling’s shoulders slump slightly as she slowly begins to loosen up. Bit by bit, tension leaves her bottom-heavy body.

Each slow stroke and relaxing rub calms both barbarian and bunny-mouse. Krvavy relishes in the feeling of luxuriously soft fur gliding across her scaled skin, indulging in this simple pleasure. Adeline loses herself in serene bliss, enjoying everything about this intimate and loving massage.

A content smile spreads across Adeline’s face, just barely visible in the gradually growing gap between her hands.

A warm, fuzzy feeling fills the Drakling’s head. Her ever-present idle thoughts peter out, leaving her mind pleasantly blank. She could, honestly, spend all day doing this.

And, if it was up to her, she may very well do just that.

But eventually, after who knows how many satisfyingly long minutes, Adeline gasps and breaks the spell. Her fingers grasp at the Drakling’s upper horns as she leans in and plants a quick kiss on Krvavy’s lips.

“Mhhmm~...” Krvavy hums happily, still stroking her Halfling’s soft ears. “Suppose we should get back to work on this thing, huh?”

“Y-yes...” The tiny blonde smiles nervously, though does nothing to stop the calming massage.

“Thanks.” The barbarian breathes out, reluctantly releasing the sweet girl’s velvety bunny ears.

“F-for what?” Adeline genuinely asks, blushing a bit at her fairly forward response.

“For being here. For being you.” Krvavy plainly returns, patting her adorable girl on the head. “We may not have had the best conversations, but I’m still happy to have been able to spend some time with you.”

Adeline’s lips twitch with embarrassed joy as she turns her gaze down. “I-I... I’m hap-happy to be h-here with you t-t-too~...” Her little hands clasp onto the barbarian’s much bigger ones.

Krvavy grins and leans forwards, planting a soft kiss on her lovable Halfling’s big forehead.

Adeline’s blush spreads down to her shoulders as she smiles happily.

“You are such a sweet little thing~.” With great ****, the Drakling pulls her hands free from her bunny-mouse girl’s embrace. She just barely resists the urge to kiss or hug her Halfling again, instead just giving the tiny blonde another affectionate pat. “Now... There are only a few more quills to pluck out, and then we can get back to skinning this thing...”