Looking at Dirt & Discussing Elvish Insecurities

“Just gardening?” Krvavy curiously asks, as she feels like there is more to it, considering her elf’s tone and all.

“Yes, but not really~!” Beryl giggles to herself. “There isn’t all tha’ much we can do wit’ what Ah’ve planted right now. We just need ta wa’er them, make sure there are no weeds, and wait fer them ta grow. So don’t worry, it won’t be anythin’ like last time. Ah’m not makin’ ya dig around in the dirt again~!”

Krvavy nods, as it sounds like Beryl just wants to show off her work, and that is completely fine with the barbarian. She is curious what exactly the elf has done in the week that she had been gone.

“But first thing first,” The tomboyish wood elf claps her hands, catching Khalia’s attention. “Lie down! Ya can ‘ave a rest now! Oh, good girl~!”

The Orc yawns out as she does exactly what the elf asked of her, settling down on the ground and curling up on a patch of moss.

With that settled, Beryl gently grabs Krvavy’s hand and quietly leads her off towards where she planted her garden. The elf’s smaller fingers interlock with Krvavy’s as they walk, and a light blush colours her tanned cheeks during the short walk.

“It... doesn’t look like much, does it?” The elf almost sighs out as they arrive. The garden is little more than a plot of tilled dirt with a few sprouts just starting to poke up through the soil. “Ah’m sorry, Ah–”

“Don’t apologize.” Krvavy firmly tells her elf, squeezing Beryl’s hand in her own. “Plants take time to grow. Even I know that.”

“But Ah could’a used my magic ta make them grow faster fer ya. It’s just...” Beryl hesitates, taking a deep breath before continuing in a slightly more defeated tone. “Ah’m not very good at growin’ food wit’ magic. They always taste a bit wa’ered down and are less fillin’. Ah’ve had well over a century ta practice, but Ah never really applied myself... Ah just let my skills advance as Ah naturally used them...”

Still holding onto the elf’s hand, Krvavy brings her other one up to Beryl’s face to gently lift her chin. “There’s nothing wrong with that.” The barbarian reassures her saddened elf. “You don’t have to spend every minute of every day trying to better yourself. Besides, growing food with magic seems like a pretty niche thing. You’d only really need to do it in emergencies, so it doesn’t really matter if you can’t do it perfectly. Can’t really complain about it being a bit watery if the only other option is starving.”

“It... it isn’t just tha’.” Beryl sighs out tiredly. “Ah was only level twenty-four a few decades back, before Ah lost my last love. Ah pushed myself as hard as Ah could trying ta find her, gaining over a dozen levels in weapon proficiencies and a whole bunch more scattered throughout my other skills. But it still took so long fer me ta level up ta where Ah am now... Ah just...”

The tomboyish wood elf moves in and hugs Krvavy, burying her face between the barbarian’s breasts. “Ah just don’t want ta be useless...” She quietly mumbles out.

Krvavy furrows her brow and stares down at the top of Beryl’s head. “You are not useless.” She firmly states. “You are anything but that. Seriously. You are great. I know that there isn’t all that much to do around here, but you do more than I could ask. You’re way better at hunting then I am, and once your garden is set up we’ll have a nice steady source of fresh food too. And don’t forget that the other two rely on you too, though that is mostly because Thea can’t cook...”

“Aye, if ya say so...” Beryl sighs out. “But tha’ doesn’t change the fact tha’ it is only a matter o’ time until ya leave me behind in the dust. Ah am gettin’ ever closer ta reachin’ my full potential, but ya will keep growin’ stronger and stronger...”

“That is what you’re worried about? Why?” Krvavy questions, bringing a hand up to rub the back of Beryl’s head. “I don’t care about that. Not one bit. Really, just look at the other two. Sure, Thea’s new sex magic gives her a chance to grow stronger, but I don’t expect her to become all powerful or anything like that. And Khalia, well, I’ll be happy if we can even teach her how to speak again.”

Beryl’s head tilts back and her big blue-green eyes gaze up from between Krvavy’s breasts. “Ah want ta stay by yer side fer the rest o’ my life. But there’ll come a day when Ah’m just a... liability ta ya. When worryin’ about keepin’ me safe would only distract ya.”

“That... To be completely honest, I’m already worrying about that.” Krvavy sheepishly admits. “I can come back to life if I die. You cannot. So I would easily throw my life away to save yours. And how powerful you are or aren’t will never change that. You could be strong enough to kill me with a single flick of a finger and I would still jump in front of a sword to save you.”

Beryl frowns ever so slightly at that. “My dearest love, ya can only die so many times. Ya–”

“And you can only die once.” Krvavy interrupts her elf, staring firmly down into her eyes.

“Y-yes...” Beryl buckles ever so slightly. “But... Don’t waste yer lives. Please. Ah... It was bad enough learnin’ tha’ ya died after the fact, even wit’ ya right in front o’ me and bein’ the one sayin’ it... But Ah don’t know what Ah’d do if ya just didn’t come back one day...”

Krvavy deeply sighs out. She completely gets where Beryl is coming from, but the elf isn’t going to change her mind. Krvavy has never dealt with loss well, and she doesn’t want to lose what she has now. Whether it is real or not, she is happy for the first time in decades, perhaps even her whole life. “I don’t want to die either. I really don’t. But if it means that I won’t lose you, or the other two...” The barbarian leaves that hanging for just a moment. “You don’t need to worry though. I’m not going to be reckless and needlessly throw my lives away.”

“Tha’ is all Ah can ask fer.” Beryl breaths out, before burying her face into Krvavy’s breasts once more. “Ah’m sorry fer bringing this up here...” She mumbles out. “Ah should be showing ya my garden...”

“You don’t need to apologize so much, and definitely not for that.” The barbarian reassures, stroking her elf’s hair. “You are just worried, I get it. Don’t feel bad about talking about how you feel. I want to be there for you when you need me. And I definitely need you to keep advising me, keep me from doing something stupid.”

After a few moments and a deep breath, Beryl pulls herself back from Krvavy. “Thanks.” She says with a sweet smile on her face, before her eyes begin to twinkle mischievously. Trailing a hand down Krvavy’s abs, Beryl grasps onto the barbarians softened cock as she teasingly smirks. “Ya’re goin’ ta take responsibility fer takin’ yer brat’s virginity, yeah? Ah think tha’ ya should take responsibility fer what ya’re doing ta me~! Ya already gave me a ring, albeit a large one fer my neck, so Ah’m already like yer wife~!”

Krvavy is momentarily stunned by the sudden and abrupt change in tone. She opens her mouth to respond, but is cut off as Beryl’s hand slides up her length and off of it.

“Nuh uh~!” The elf teases with a giggle, skipping back a few paces. “Don’t ya get excited just yet~! We still have all day until ya can bed me~! And right now ya’ve got a garden ta tour~!”

Beryl almost dances over to the plot of tilled earth, leaving Krvavy standing alone.

The barbarian sighs ever so slightly. Of course her minx of an elf would take the opportunity to tease her! Even now the nymph’s hands are trailing across herself, putting the tanned and toned body of hers on full display for Krvavy to see!

“Oh~! Don’t just stand there~!” Beryl happily teases as she reaches an arm out and slowly curling her fingers in, gesturing for the barbarian. “Come here~!”

Krvavy knows that Beryl is just messing with her, but damn if it isn’t working. Her cock is painfully hard, **** for release, and a part of her just wants to bend the elf over and take her right now. But... she needs to keep herself in control. Beryl would absolutely love for Krvavy to ravish her right here and right now, no question about that, but she can’t just give into these elvish wiles so easy.

Loudly exhaling through her nose, Krvavy walks towards her elf.

Beryl’s seductive act abruptly comes to a stop as soon as Krvavy is within grabbing distance. She quickly turns towards the garden and points a finger down at a group of sprouts. “These are the wild onions Ah planted. They’re growin’ rather well, and Ah think ya’ll like them. Ah didn’t have many options fer what ta plant here, but Ah’m happy tha’ Ah could find some o’ these growin’ in the area.”

Crouching down and gently poking the sprout, Beryl begins her suddenly serious tour of the garden plot. “Very versatile plants, these wild onions. Each and every part o’ them is edible, and rather tasty. This little bit o’ green growing out o’ the soil is the scape, or stem if ya want ta call it tha’, which can be eaten raw or diced up to be used as seasoning, and it tastes a bit like an onion does. These scapes also sprout beautiful blue-pink ball flowers which make a good garnish if ya cut them up when they’re just buds. From what Ah’ve seen bees also really like the nectar o’ these flowers, so if we had a hive we’d have a lot o’ honey. Just somethin’ ta think about.”

“And then all the way back down, under the soil, ya’ve got the bulb.” The elf says, moving her finger down to the dirt. “It tastes like a more standard onion mixed wit’ a strong garlic. Surprisingly good fer a wild plant. The only problem is tha’ it’ll be quite some time before we can eat them: it’ll take at least a year fer the bulb ta grow. But in the meantime we’ll be able ta harvest the scapes, as those’ll just keep sproutin’ up once the plant gets settled in. And it’s pretty easy ta know when tha’ happens, as it’ll grow some wider leaves around the base. But those aren’t good fer much more than salads, so its better ta just leave them on ta help the bulb grow better, especially since there isn’t all tha’ much sunlight down here...”

Wiping the dirt off her finger and standing up, Beryl turns back to Krvavy. “It’s not the best thing ta grow, but it’s about as good as ya can get from a wild vegetable. Give me a few years, half a decade at most, and Ah’ll be able ta cultivate a better variety fer ya. Mostly ta make it bigger and grow quicker, but maybe Ah’ll refine the taste a little too.”

“You know quite a bit about these things, huh?” Krvavy says, sounding a little impressed.

The tanned wood elf flushes slightly as she brushes some hair behind her long pointed ear. “Well, Ah’ve lived out here fer quite a few years now, and while Ah’ve never grown any o’ my own Ah still harvested more than enough wilds ones ta pick up a thing or two. And don’t forget, Ah am the daughter o’ a couple farmers. Granted, they ran an orchard, but still.”

“And you can breed, or whatever, a better version in just a few years?” Krvavy curiously questions. “Didn’t you say that you aren’t very good at growing food with magic?”

“Aye, but it is a lot easier ta slowly influence the plants growth rather than make it fully grow right away. It’s like selective breeding, only wit’ magic involved.” Beryl gently smiles back. “And it’s somethin’ almost every Wood Elf does. Most families have their own unique varieties o’ fruits or vegetables growin’ in their gardens, which get passed down from mother ta daughter. They get changed a bit each generation, ta better fit the Elf and ‘er husband’s preferences, but not by much. People tend ta like the taste o’ what they grew up wit’.”

“Ah don’t have any o’ my mothers’ plants ‘ere though, not tha’ they’d grow well this far north anyway...” The tomboyish wood elf frowns ever so slightly, before her face lights up with a wide smile. “But tha’ means we can start our own ones from scratch! Feel free ta give me any input ya have on them, from taste ta size and shape ta colour! Wit’ time Ah can grow the perfect food fer ya!”

The excitement that Beryl has for her garden is infectious, causing Krvavy to smile back as she leans down to give the elf a quick kiss.

“Oh! N-no gettin’ frisky now~!” Beryl exclaims as the barbarian pulls back, her face flushed red. “Ah still need ta show ya the rest o’ my garden! And the berry bushes tha’ Ah planted around yer grotto. Ahem. Now, as Ah said, Ah didn’t have a great many choices on what ta plant here, so Ah just have some wild carrots and tubers fer now.”

Crouching back down to point at a different sprout near the wild onions, Beryl continues. “These wild carrots are... not the best ta be honest. Ah’ll definitely be cultivatin’ a better variety, as they’re just too small and not as fillin’ as Ah’d like. At least they grow quickly though, so we’ll be able ta harvest them fairly frequently.”

“But even if they weren’t good food Ah think tha’ Ah’d still plant a few.” The elf states, glancing up at Krvavy. “See, Ah’ve noticed tha’ both they and the wild onions seem ta grow better when together, so they’re companion plants o’ a sort. Though Ah don’t know how much they’ll benefit each other or even how many pests’ll be down here...”