A Week Passing By

“Hhhah...” The Drakling brushes the back of her hand across her forehead, wiping away a few beads of sweat. “Is this right?”

Adeline nervously shifts her weight back and forth between her two little bunny paw feet. “Y-yes.” She lightly stammers out, trying to find some point in the garden to stare at.

The sheer cuteness of this girl causes Krvavy to smile against her will. “Good.” She casually states, trying her best to avoid bringing attention to how utterly naked the both of them are. Well, technically she is a bit more exposed than the timid blonde, but not by much. “Just need to do it a few more times, yeah?”

Adeline hastily nods her head, causing the loose bun on the back of her head to bounce up and down.

The bunny-mouse girl is getting more and more accustomed to the constant nudity in and around their home. Sometimes she can treat it fairly casually, other times she is much more embarrassed. Today seems to be one of her more timid days.

The fact that she is wearing nothing but a pair of gardening gloves probably isn’t helping either.

It is honestly kind of funny how small things like that or shoes can make a naked person look even more completely exposed than if they were truly nude.

“W-w-wait!” Adeline suddenly shouts out in panic, causing the distracted Drakling to jolt upright. “N-not there...! Dig h-h-ere...!”

Krvavy sharply sighs out, her heart rapidly drumming away in her ears. “Right. Sorry.”

The sturdy wooden shovel stabs into the stiff soil, scooping up a sizable mound and shifting it aside.

“Eeeeie...” The heavily blushing Halfling quietly squeaks out, shivering a little as she shifts her weight around. Her gloved hands quiver and shake as she uses her arms to cover those adorably tiny tits of hers.

“You don’t need to be naked if you’re cold.” A note of worry fills the barbarian’s tone as she gently and reassuringly smiles at her beautiful bottom-heavy bunny-mouse. “Thea wears clothes every now and then, so you wouldn’t be the only one.”

Adeline’s already rather red face gets a little brighter, her blush spreading down her neck and to her shoulders. “I-I... I’mnotcold...!” She stammers out. Her fur-tipped tail twitches, flicking to the side and, for just a split second, uncovers her crotch. A slick wetness is trickling down from her flushed and puffy pussy. Each little movement she makes causes her thick thighs to rub against each other, spreading that glistening arousal over her flushed skin.

That sight both excites and concerns Krvavy. Without a second thought, she stabs her shovel into the ground and steps towards the Halfling, dropping down to her knees in front of the tiny girl.

Adeline’s breath catches in her throat as the Draconic giant gently grabs her gloved hands.

“Are you feeling okay?” The barbarian’s gentle words cause the timid blonde to tremble and nod. “Is it... your heat?”

“N-n-n-no!” The bunny-mouse girl nearly chokes on her response, hastily turning her head away. Her thin tail twists and turns, wrapping itself around Krvavy’s waist. The paintbrush like tuft of fur at its tip brushes over pale skin and black scales in an almost loving way. “I... I j-just...” Adeline’s words almost immediately fail her. “Eeeeeeeiieee...!”

Krvavy’s fingers glide over the coarse fabric of Adeline’s gloves, trailing towards the one part they leave uncovered. “Its alright,” she softly whispers out, delicately stroking the tufts of hair on the back of the Halfling’s hands. “There is no shame in getting turned on while naked like this.”

Adeline’s big hazel eyes go wide. “N-no!” She hastily denies that assumption, shaking her head back and forth. Her floppy bunny ears nearly slap Krvavy in the face. “It...! Y-you!”

“Oh. You’re getting turned on from seeing me naked?” That question gets a shaky and incredibly embarrassed nod. “Well, there’s no shame in that either. It’s only natural. And, uh, I don’t mean that in an arrogant way, or anything.”

The bunny-mouse girl quivers and audibly gulps as her eyes drop down to the Drakling’s mostly soft dick. It twitches slightly, as if aware of her gaze.

“Poor thing~.” The Drakling’s voice purrs as she leans in, bumping foreheads with her adorably timid girl. “I can’t just leave you like this, now can I~?”

Adeline immediately tenses up. The little nubs of her nipples stiffen as her breathes grow more ragged and rapid. A hesitant excitement fills her wide eyes as she nervously meets Krvavy’s gaze.

“Well~? Would you like some help with that~?” The barbarian gently gives her timid Halfling’s hands a reassuring squeeze.

Adeline audibly gulps again, struggling to push her embarrassment aside. “Y-yes...!” She blurts out, gasping for air. “Yes p-please!”

Krvavy grins widely, her lips brushing over her bunny-mouse girl’s flushed cheek. “Don’t worry~,” the barbarian softly whispers, “I’ll take good care of you~...!”

The Halfling’s whole body shudders with anticipation as a meandering trail of kisses dances over the slight swell of her breasts and travels across her soft olive skinned belly. “Eeip!” She jumps slightly as the Drakling’s mouth reaches its destination. “Hhhh~!”

A needy heat soon surrounds the tip of Krvavy’s inhuman tongue. Adeline’s soft thighs squish at the sides of her face, engulfing Krvavy in a lovely warmth. Her upper horns press into this adorable girl’s soft belly.

“Hhhnhh~!” The bunny-mouse girl’s little finger cling tightly onto the barbarian’s hands, refusing to let them go.

Joy swirls through Krvavy’s mind as she tastes her tiny blonde’s delicious juices, basking in the girl’s gasps and moans.

What a good way to pass the time this is~.

Thunk.

Krvavy rolls her shoulders and steps back, feeling a hint of pride as she looks over her work. It may not look like much, but a lot of time and effort has been spent down here.

This tunnel used to be open and broad. A river passed through its center, cascading over a fairly short cliff-like ledge.

But now it is almost entirely filled in, with the river reduced to what is effectively a rather wide pipe.

The once widely spaced walls angle inwards, funnelling the vast space into a narrow passage that winds through the looming stone. Inside of that passage are dozens of slits and holes connected together via a maze of access tunnels. Anyone walking through there will be **** to attacks from nearly every single angle at nearly every single moment.

Though, technically speaking, it isn’t entirely finished just yet. There is nothing to stop someone from just walking from one end of that narrow passage to the other. No gates or portcullis’. Not yet at least. A few spots have been marked out for those sorts of things, so it won’t take much work to install them when the time comes.

Still, the important thing is that Krvavy is finally done constructing fortifications. For now.

Going by Inanna’s plans, this is supposed to be just the first line of defence for their home. But Krvavy can worry about building the other half-dozen some other time.

“Haahh...” The Drakling sighs out in relief. Her brow slowly furrows, lips twisting down into a frown.

Now that she is done down here, what else is there for her to do? There are still a few days until she’ll need to leave for Raseyne again. A few days until...

Krvavy shakes her head.

She doesn’t want to sit around and do nothing that whole time. She needs something to keep her busy. Preferably something other than getting to work on the ‘second’ line of defence.

The barbarian’s eyebrows shoot up as an idea pops into her head. There is something that she can do, something that has been put off for quite some time now...

“Mmm. I would say that there are still more important things for you to do, but if you insist.”

“Come on, this is plenty important.” Krvavy exaggeratedly sighs out, meeting her Dwarf’s gaze with a faint smile on her face. “No need to downplay your work like that.”

“I am not downplaying anything: what I have now serves me well enough, my Ushumgal.” Inanna plainly states. “But, as I said, if you insist on doing this, then I will not protest.”

The Drakling gently shakes her head. “Alright. Where should I start?”

“Since you are already here, the interior walls. The exterior of my workshop is more malleable in design, so if changes have to be made I would prefer it to be out there.”

“Changes?” Krvavy tilts her head and quizzically stares down at the grey-skinned shortstack. “I thought you were mostly done building the place and just needed all of the bricks to be merged together?”

“No, no, my Ushumgal. If you are going to help me finally finish off my workshop, then we will make a whole job of it.” Inanna replies, reaching behind her neck to untie the leather strap holding her thick apron in place. The corners of her lips and eyes shift slightly, letting an echo of amusement enter her otherwise neutral expression. “Worry not, it won’t be as ambitious as the various fortifications I would have you build.”

“Okay...” Krvavy narrows her eyes and stares at Inanna with a healthy amount of skepticism and suspicion. “Anything specific then, or should I just get to work...?”

The Dwarf places her apron aside, exposing her distractingly large tits in front of the Drakling. “Yes, in fact. My workshop is, for the most part, a freestanding building. Thus, your usual method of turning everything into what is effectively a singular stone structure will not be ideal. Brick and mortar is preferable on account of the mortar functioning as a sacrificial element, ‘forcing’ any cracks to appear in between the structurally stronger bricks, thus making it easier to repair and for any damage to be less catastrophic. And yes, I am aware that your magic makes that redundant to a degree, but I would still prefer the certainty of a properly constructed workshop. You will not be around all the time, ready to fix any cracks as they appear.”

“Alright...” Krvavy slowly nods her head. “So you want me to try and replicate mortar then? I suppose that if we had some sandstone, or something like that, then I could squish it into the gaps? Or maybe I could leave lots of little bubbles inside of the ‘mortar’?”

A proud smile plays at Inanna’s thick lips as she reaches out and holds one of Krvavy’s hands between both of her own. “Wonderful, my love. That is precisely what I had in mind. Here,” she pulls back after a moment, stepping towards a shelf across the room. “I had Beryl gather some river rocks a while back. They will now serve their purpose.”

The barbarian frowns faintly, but her mind is quickly dragged back to the present. She just barely catches a smooth and round stone before it hits her in the face.

“Are you familiar with... [with pumice or scoria]?” The Dwarf resorts to using her native tongue to ask that question.

“Uh... pumice... ahem, [pumice],” Krvavy repeats herself, so that Inanna knows just which one she is talking about. Not So Cunning Linguist is such an odd trait... “That is the kind of rock that can float in water, right?”

“Yes. It is highly porous with numerous ‘bubbles’ trapped inside of it. [Scoria] is similar but much denser.” Inanna explains, before getting straight to the point. “If possible, I would like you to replicate such a structure when filling in the gaps between these bricks. The very fine grains of that rock interspersed with very, very small bubbles should replicate proper mortar well enough for our purposes.”

Krvavy gently nibbles on the inside of her cheek, thumb glancing over the surface of the smooth greyish stone in her hand. “I should be able to do that. The bubbles might be a bit tricky to recreate at first, but I’m sure that I’ll get the hang of it after a few tries. I wonder how much mana I’ll save by ‘making’ them...? Probably not enough to be noticeable...”

“Good.” The grey-skinned Dwarf smiles and gives the Drakling’s thigh a pat. “Now, before you begin, may I make another request regarding the walls?”

Krvavy slowly blinks. “Of course.” She replies, almost incredulously. “This is your workshop.”

Inanna respectfully nods. “My people do not usually build with such small bricks, but instead use much larger slabs. So, if it is not too much trouble, could you fuse them into larger blocks before adding the ‘mortar’ in between? I will help mark off suitable bricks,” she states, grabbing and holding up a stick of charcoal, “to ensure that the end result remains relatively evenly sized.”

“Okay...” The barbarian gently shakes her head. “Anything else before we get to it?”

“No.” Inanna calmly replies, the corners of her lips curling upwards slightly. “Not until we’re done with the walls, at least.”

“And here?”

“A rock garden, of sorts.” The Dwarf’s copper-orange gaze sweeps across the isolated ledge nestled behind her workshop. An area mostly cut off from the rest of the cave. “For growing the rarer Ore Seeds, and perhaps a crystalline equivalent.”

“Speaking of...” the Drakling idly drums her fingers against the freshly finished wall she is standing beside. “Do you want get some more of those?”

A conflicted expression quickly fills Inanna’s face. “Getting more Seeds sooner rather than later would be ideal... They require nothing but time to produce pure metals, and appear to do so with no limit to the number of harvests...” She mutters out, thick brow furrowing in thought. “But the output is not the greatest in volume or frequency, especially for the more valuable materials...”

“So is that a yes or a no~?” Krvavy replies with an almost teasing smile. She doesn’t often get to see Inanna acting so uncertain. It is honestly kind of cute.

The grey-skinned shortstack takes a deep breath, causing her more than bountiful bust to rise and fall. “Do you not have something better to spend your Favour on? If not now, then in the future?”

“Kind of, yeah.” Krvavy plainly shrugs. “But I’m getting two points from each level up now, and I levelled up twice the other day, so... I can afford to spend a point or two here. And remember, a single point can get six seeds from the assorted box. Random ones, but still.”

“Mmn. I loathe relying on chance...” The Dwarf grimaces, lips pressed firmly together. After a few long seconds, she sighs out. “Alright. Just one assorted box though. Let us... try our luck.”

“On it.” The barbarian quickly brings up her points shop, easily finding what it is she is looking for. A moment later, an unadorned wooden box pops into existence, balancing precariously on Krvavy’s hand. Getting a better grip on it, she holds it out towards Inanna. “And... here you go.”

Inanna takes another deep breath as she reaches out and unceremoniously opens the rectangular box. Just as with the previous ones they’ve opened, six dull metallic bulbs are inside of it, resting atop a bed of simple grey fabric. “Copper, silver, and zinc. Repeats, but not unwanted. Nickel and tungsten. Both new. And...” The Dwarf pauses, her thick eyebrows slowly rising higher and higher. “My. We were incredibly lucky already, but this... My Ushumgal, this is the first inherently magical metal we have acquired: Dark Iron.”

“Oh?” Krvavy leans her head in, staring down at the ore seeds. They just look like plain balls of metal. Of course, Inspect would tell her otherwise if she bothered to use it. But that would rob Inanna of the chance to explain it herself. And that would just be cruel. “What’s so special about it?”

The busty shortstack brims with excitement. Well, compared to her usual near-emotionless demeanour. “It is a manasink. Quite useful for dealing with excess mana in runic arrays, dissipating the energy out of the matrix and into the air. Not ideal in all circumstances, but crucial when it is needed. Of course, that is a Runesmith’s view of Dark Iron. Its pseudo anti-magical properties can also be leveraged for use in weapons and armour. Primarily weaponry, as it is quite adept at leeching mana from whatever it comes into contact with. Not an ideal trait for armour, unless you intend it to exclusively protect against magical attacks without care of your own mana being drained.”

Krvavy smiles as her Dwarf’s normally neutral tone grows ever more animated. Though obviously she isn’t quite as lively as, well, any of Krvavy’s other girls. But still, there is passion and excitement in this adorable Dwarf’s voice. Not much, but it’s there.

“Additionally,” Inanna gently grabs the assorted box, taking it from the Drakling’s hand. “Dark Iron in its purest form – which this Seed should produce, as the others do for their metals – is exceptionally good at draining mana from living beings. And that effect even lingers for a while in the flesh, making wounds inflicted by pure Dark Iron difficult to heal via magic. This has led to some viewing it as a counterpart to Cold Iron, as it has similar effects on the living as Cold Iron has on spirits. Though I should point out that the comparison is in effects, not nature. Dark Iron is not a type of iron, it only has this name due to similarities in appearance and other more mundane aspects. On the other hand, Cold Iron is a type of iron, created through specific and intensive metallurgic processes.”

“Sounds like it’d be a good thing to add to my axe.” The barbarian comments, peering down at that unassuming metal bulb. It looks a lot like the iron ones did. Just a bit darker. “Being able to stop enemies from healing is always useful, especially if Blood Magic is involved.”

“Mm. Perhaps.” Inanna shrugs almost dismissively. “Your Soulbound Weapon should already contain a small amount of Dark Iron, for it is an important, if comparatively minuscule, component of Tenebrine Steel. Were your weapon not so unique, then I would say that keeping what you have now is the better choice, for Tenebrine Steel is stronger and more reliable. But perhaps pure Dark Iron would provide a better boon than the additional twenty percent magical damage that Tenebrine Steel provides? We would need to grow and harvest the Seed before being able to find the answer to that question. And for that, we first need to plant it.”

“Right. Guess you want to build this ‘rock garden’ first?” Krvavy asks, looking over the empty space ahead of them. “This does seem like an important enough ore to grow back here.”

“Mm... I would prefer to improve upon my forge first...” Inanna tilts her head to the side, thick brow furrowed in thought. “I suspect that the planted Ore Seeds are something which we can relocate simply by ‘scooping’ them out along with enough stone beneath them. We should test that theory on one of the copper Seeds, for they are the most expendable.” The Dwarf lightly shakes her head, causing her voluminous mass of coal-black hair to bob around, before looking up to meet Krvavy’s expectant gaze. “Can you first check your Points Shop to see if there is a crystalline variant available?”

“Yeah, sure.” The Drakling nods and brings that window back into focus. “Let’s see... Uh... No... not that... maybe...? Ahh, this looks similar.”

Assorted Box of Geode-Tree Seeds: 1 Divine Favour. A carved wooden box containing four (4) random Geode-Tree Seeds, the rarity of which depends on the abundance and value of the crystals within.

Geode-Tree Seed: A magical geode that, when planted in solid stone, will spur the growth of an earthen tree which, when matured, will produce geodes along its branches. The rate of growth of the geodes depends on the type of crystals within, each with a random degree of variation that resets upon each harvest.

“Interesting...” Inanna slowly comments a few seconds after Krvavy had finished reading out those descriptions. “Not entirely what I expected, but that does appear to be what I requested. If you are still willing to spend another point of Favour, then could you purchase one of those assorted boxes? The random chance matters not when we do not yet have a single such ‘tree’.”

“Yup, here you go.” Another wooden box abruptly appears in Krvavy’s hand. It is completely identical to the one containing the Ore Seeds. It even has the same plain grey fabric inside of it. But the ‘seeds’ are different: rather than metallic bulbs, they are large round rocks with crystal veins scattered across their surface.

“Predictable. It appears that we got two quartz Seeds from this. Perhaps they can flank the main door to my workshop...?” The Dwarf clicks the Ore Seed box shut and fully turns her attention towards these new Geode-Tree Seeds. “The third is... [Mineral corundum]... Mm... Curious. Quite curious.”

“How so?” Krvavy’s eyebrows knit together ever so slightly as she lifts her gaze up from the seed to her Dwarf’s face.

“There is no singular type of crystal that comes from what this Seed claims to be, my Ushumgal.” Once again, restrained excitement fills the shortstack’s expression, if not her tone. “For this is the category in which rubies and sapphires of different colours reside. They are all varieties of [mineral corundum]. So does this imply that the ‘Geode-Tree’ doesn’t produce a single pure material like the ore seeds, but a range of crystals that fall into a greater category? I wonder if that is the case for the quartz Seeds as well...?”

“Huh. That’d be cool.” The Drakling breathes out, almost salivating at the thought of having a functionally endless supply of shiny gems. “What’s the last one?” She asks, almost impatient enough to use Inspect.

“Beryl. So emeralds and aquamarines if my theory is correct.”

Krvavy frowns, her excitement cut short by the mention of her missing Elf’s name. It actually takes her a moment to remember that Beryl is named ‘after a rock’, as the Elf herself put it when they first met. Because of her beautiful blue-green eyes...

“Come now, my Ushumgal. My love.” A gentle smile plays at Inanna’s lips as she reaches a hand out, resting it on the Drakling’s wrist. “Soon. Only a couple more days.” She softly states, before lightening her tone. “And while this Seed will almost certainly not be fully grown by that time, do you not think that she would find this situation funny? As she is getting her own tree of wood and nature, we are getting one by her name made of rock and gemstone.”

“Heh, yeah...” Krvavy admits with a sigh. “She would probably laugh at that.”

“Good, now how about we get to work on making a ‘garden’ fit for this ‘tree’ to grow?”

“Haahh...” Krvavy slowly sighs out, staring down past her dangling legs at the trickling river below. If she sat like this over a week ago the water would have been just below her knees. But now it doesn’t even reach her clawed toes.

And most of that water is coming from the hot springs right next to her home, not the ones deeper in the cave. This part of the river is almost flowing backwards... Not quickly, it is pretty much stagnant, but the few small tributaries over here are overpowering the runoff of over a dozen hot springs ponds. The runoff that isn’t being swallowed down and drained by the massive cocoon of thorny vines...

The Drakling’s shoulders slump as she rests her chin in her hand, elbow digging into her thigh.

It has been a week. A long week.

Krvavy has done her best to keep busy in that time. She has done a pretty good job. But she can’t keep her head empty all of the time. The complete absence of her sweet berry is hard to ignore at times. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Night, when they should all be in bed together...

A puff of misty steam slowly rolls by the barbarian. She shivers despite that warmth.

The sun fully set over an hour ago. Just the faintest bit of light emanates from the hot spring water, and her home gleams like a lighthouse up on its ledge. But other than that, darkness fills the entirety of the cave and the grotto below.

Krvavy should be in bed right now, trying to fall asleep. She needs the rest.

If she wants to make it to Raseyne in time to take Rina’s job offer, then she’ll have to leave first thing in the morning. And the whole journey will have to be rather rushed. She’ll be... cutting it close.

Warm water laps at her feet.

Krvavy has already pushed back the date she was supposed to leave by a day. She can’t do that again.

Maybe... maybe she can not leave...? Rina will be disappointed, no doubt, but Rina isn’t one of Krvavy’s girls.

No, the others would be disappointed as well. Everyone is expecting her to leave as well. She can’t just chicken out and miss this opportunity...

A faint rustling sound reaches the Drakling’s ears, just barely audible over the waterfalls behind her.

Strong, rushing water pushes against her calves.

Krvavy’s heart freezes as she stares down into the river below. It isn’t stagnant. It isn’t a trickle. It is almost back to normal.

Her head snaps to the side. A faint glimmering light shines through the darkness far off to the right, upstream from where she is sitting. It is gentle and soft. Flickering and shifting through a thousand pinholes.

A single leaf bumps into her leg, before being carried further down the river.

Krvavy slowly rises to her feet, almost in disbelief. Her throat is dry and her heartbeat is almost deafening.