Stay Here

“Nah, I’m right where I want to be,” I said, staring her in the eye. She blushed lightly before calling for another drink from the barmaid.

“Then get ready. I’m not gonna let you leave here sober!” She said, her tail starting to wag.

“Fair enough,” I chuckled. “So what do you normally do when you’re off duty?”

“Aside from occasionally drinking with my men, I quite enjoy hunting, though I’m not any good at cooking my catch,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. I was picturing her chasing a deer on all fours like a normal wolf.

“I’d like to join you sometime,” I said.

“That sounds like fun. You have any experience hunting?” She asked.

“I went a bit as a kid,” I said sheepishly, recalling being traumatized for a week after my first kill.

“Well, I can show the ropes as a refresher, then. Next time we’re both free, then?” She said, taking a new mug from the barmaid.

“Sounds great,” I said, taking another drink.

“Oh, yeah, just remember to bring along your own bow. My spare broke last time I went hunting,” she said. “Long story.”

“I’ve got time,” I said, intrigued, but slightly disappointed at the mention of bows. She sighed.

“So I was hunting a pair of deer, right? Sneaking up on them, trying to get a good shot in. That’s when my shirt gets snagged on a branch. So I turn around to try and free myself, only to see a giant fucking manticore behind me. Naturally, I sprint away full speed. My shirt was still caught though, so the branch ripped the entire bottom half of my shirt off. I looked like I was wearing a bra with sleeves!” She laughed off her embarrassment. I did the same, liking the direction of the story.

“When I noticed it wasn’t chasing me, I went back to see why. The damn monster stole my deer! It had already eaten one and was getting ready for the second. I was angry because I’d been hunting them all day, so I climb a tree to get a shot on the manticore,” she said. Nice to know we weren’t the only people inconvenienced by Minerva’s ‘pet’.

“It’s only after I draw my bow when I notice my hand’s super slick from something, and by then it’s too late to stop the string slipping out of my hand and firing. The arrow nicked its tail and landed in a nearby tree. I figure I oughta get ready to run again, so I put my bow back onto my back. Then, I see that it just picks up the deer in its jaws and wanders off!” she said, her past annoyance creeping in.

“I’m so relieved, I nearly slip out of the tree, so I grab onto the nearest thing for support. Turns out, I grabbed onto a beehive, and my hand was slick with honey from climbing the tree. A bunch of angry bees come flying out at me and I panic, letting go and falling out of the tree onto my back, snapping my bow in half under me. The bees are still giving chase though, so I run until I find a river and I jump in, hiding underwater until they go away. By the time I got out of the water, I gave up trying to hunt something. I was just happy to be unharmed,” she said.

“And that’s when I realized I was wet and only partially clothed,” she said. “So...I may have kinda sorta maybe stolen a shirt off of a farmer’s clothesline on my way back to town. And...I kinda sorta haven’t given it back,” she said, embarrassed.

“Ya know, you’re really cute,” I said.

“Wha!? Am not!” She blushed.

“The blush just makes you cuter,” I teased.

“Oh yeah? Well two can play at that!” She declared. She rubbed my arm with one hand, twirling her hair with the other as her ears drooped and she stared into my eyes. I could feel my cheeks burning. “See, you’re pretty cute when you blush too!”

“That’s not fair! No guy can resist something like that!” I exclaimed.

“Oh? Why not?” She asked, smirking.

“Beastgirls are every man’s dream!” I declared. Her smirk faded entirely, being replaced by a look of surprise and a crimson blush.

“Wha? You can’t just say something like that so suddenly!” she said.

“Oh? Why not?” I asked, smirking.

“Don’t steal my line!” she exclaimed. “You just can’t okay!”

“But I wanna,” I said. “Seeing a flustered cute beastgirl is among the best things in life!”

“S-stop,” she muttered, her tail wagging and high ears giving away her true feelings.

“I don’t think I will,” I said, launching a full on offense. I leaned in, extending my arm fully, before bringing it down to pat her head.

“Kyaa~” she squealed, shifting in her chair as I rubbed behind her ears. Her blush grew fiercer, but she leaned into it, granting my hand easier access.

“I told you you were cute,” I said, patting her once more.

“Hey! You’ve gotta take responsibility now, alright!” she said, latching onto my arm.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Oh...um...my ears are...really sensitive,” she said quietly.

“Huh?” I asked.

“It makes me really horny when someone rubs behind my ears! After that and calling me cute, you have to take responsibility!” she said, standing up from the table and dragging me outside.

“Yeah, alright, but shouldn’t we find somewhere, uh, private?” I said, looking around the outside of the guild hall.

“Ugh, fiiinnee. Cmon, the guard barrack should be empty about now,” she moaned, shifting her legs together. She grabbed me by the hand, dragging me along, nearly running with how quickly we were going.