Chapter 22: The Unexpected Mouthfeel

Ash stood, circling the table as the latest Direwood Syndicate’s voteholder moved past Issac’s girls and down the stairs into The Lodge’s lower levels. “One more down.” He let out a satisfied sigh, staring over the untamed ruins through the lodge’s third-story window while Issac shuffled into the vacated seat across from him.

The book of contracts clicked shut, then slid it from the table into Issac’s shoulder bag. “Not just any one, the last.”

With his daydream broken, Ash’s eyes turned to his friend’s smug grin. “Really?”

Issac nodded, dramatically folding one leg over his knee and extending a hand. “You officially have enough votes to become a substandard supplier. Welcome to the family.”

Hesitantly, Ash shook the outstretched hand. “T-thank you. I owe you, so, so much.” Much more than you possibly know.

“Damn fucking right,” Issac said, leaning back with a widening grin. “We got this done in, what, three weeks? No one gets a position in the syndicate that fast. You make sure your union remembers where their loyalties lie if I ever need them for a vote.”

“We get a vote?” It was almost comical; apparently three weeks and a few ‘shipments’ were all it took to get voting rights in a global powerhouse on the world stage. Granted, when people realized the UNI was made of smoke and words, those rights would vanish, but it was still funny.

“One vote,” Issac clarified. “Substandard members only get one, along with a few other perks you can reward your employees with... although, since Tythic refuses to let us work there, those’ll be hard to redeem. No matter. Perch!” Issac snapped his fingers, drawing his Whip to his side.

“Yes, Master?”

Issac barely turned his head. “It’s time for celebration, fetch the things we discussed.” After Perch moved away, Issac’s full attention fell back on Ash. “Now, if you’ve recovered from the last time, I seem to recall you promising me a hunting trip.”

“Hold up,” Ash said, raising a hand. “I’m still confused about how we’ve got enough votes. We haven’t met anyone from that block of buildings at the far end of the strip, the ones with the golden birds with big horns on red flags.”

Silence fell over the table while Issac raised an eyebrow. “Big horned... You mean owls? You don’t recognize the flag of the Dusk Empire?”

The Dusk Empire was here? Ash’s stomach sank as he struggled to hide the shock behind a faint smile. “My sisters usually handle dealing with other countries, and the Dusk Empire is so far south their ships never come to my islands. They’re part of your syndicate?”

“Our syndicate, Ruari, you hopelessly sheltered cinnamon roll.” Issac rolled his eyes and playfully shook his head. “They don’t have votes because they’re not part of the syndicate. The syndicate and the empire have a mutually beneficial arrangement, but we stay out of each other’s affairs. That means you too. Don’t get cute with them, understand?”

Ash had only narrowly escaped the frying pan; he didn’t need any extra incentive to stay out of the fire. This did present an opportunity, though. Deianira told him he’d naturally master two spells, Dawn and Dusk. Ash had easily mastered the former, but no matter how fervently he tried, the latter eluded him. Somehow, he doubted the Dusk Empire shared a name with that second spell by coincidence, and if there was any information that helped unlock the remaining half of Sturm’s power, he needed it. “I promise… can you tell me about them, at least? That Via girl said they had a bounty out for me.”

“Even if they did, they don’t interfere with us,” Issac assured. “The Direwood Syndicate is fiercely independent, and as strong as the Dusk Empire is, their soldiers are a continent away. All that’s over there, aside from housing, is a currency exchange, an embassy, and a brothel.”

Considering how much money the Dusk Empire was willing to drop, the assurances did little to calm Ash’s nerves. A currency exchange meant they had plenty of money to pay for him, and there wouldn’t be an embassy unless the syndicate was open to negotiation. So long as the possibility of Via contacting them remained, the noose was still around Ash’s throat, only looser than two weeks prior. Then, the third building piqued his curiosity. “A brothel? What’s the point of opening a brothel and not letting syndicate’s people in?”

Issac snickered, uncrossing his legs before leaning in conspiratorially. “The Dusk Empire is what you get when men run society. Their entire ruling class are perverts. Seriously. The. Horniest. People. Ever. Every hunting season they send a ship with nearly every species of slavegirl you can imagine.” He smirked, returning his voice to normal as he moved back. “Between us, I think the entire reason they kept expanding was to fuck their neighbours.”

Ash’s cheeks burned, but his blood ran cold. For a moment he squeezed his eyes shut from the effort of processing that. Sex. Of course it was sex. The entire reason the pervert goddess made this world, the literal meaning of life, was to indulge her lust. His stomach churned as disgust turned inward. Making sex the prerequisite for Dusk would basically guarantee whatever dim lantern Deianira reincarnated into would eventually seek out exactly what she wanted.

Across the table, Issac broke into a fit of chuckles. “Holy shit, you’re blushing aren’t you! Be honest, under that fur you’re, like, tomato red, admit it.”

Ash's eyes clenched tighter, ears folding behind his head even as they felt like they’d catch fire. “Shut up...”

“No, it’s fine! It’s fine!” Issac’s giggles came out in sporadic bursts between muffled mirthful breaths. “It’s just, you’re always so… confident. I never took you for… You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

Ash sunk into his chair, opening his eyes to see Issac looking out the window, the back of his hand pressed to his mouth as he visibly settled. “I just… back home...”

“It’s fine,” Issac repeated, simmering into a wide grin as he caught Ash’s eyes. “Really. The last thing a royal needs is a bastard growing in an island girl’s belly.” He looked about, leaning in. “You know, what happens here stays here, and deer can’t get dogs pregnant. If you’re coming every hunting season anyway… you could be coming every hunting season, if you get my meaning.”

The image of Khukri, soaking wet and kneeling on marble in a cloud of steam, looking up with Ash firmly locked between her fingers reignited the furious burning in his skin. Maybe if he explained himself, she’d let him try to cast Dusk? Or maybe he was trying to find justification for something he already knew was evil. Sturm was as a god should be, and he’d never force himself on a girl, even a slave. “Do you do that with girls up here?”

Issac pursed his lips thoughtfully before replying. “I don’t come here to sleep with girls.”

“That makes sense.” Back home, Ash worried about girls trying to get with him because his mother’s farm was a bit nicer than the rest. With Issac’s masculine charm and a hundred times that much money, this trip was probably his chance to get away from girls’ constant advances. “I guess you get enough of that the rest of the year, eh?”

The dog’s maw fell open, hanging while he collected himself before releasing a resigned sigh. “Yes, Ruari… Back home I’m extremely popular and practically drowning in pussy.”

Ash nodded, shifting uncomfortably. Unsure what he was stepping into. “Do any customers find it difficult not to… I mean, your hunters are very fit and accommodating and uh… unconcerned with clothing… What?”

Issac narrowed his eyes, demeanour hardening. "You're thinking about fucking the wolf, aren't you?"

"No!"

The spotted dog said nothing, lips tightening as he leaned on the table, letting seconds tick by.

"...Yes."

Issac's hand sprung up, clearing the table and knocking Ash's muzzle sideways with a limp-wristed backhand. "No! Do not break the horny rules."

Ash rubbed his nose gingerly. There wasn't a lot of force behind it, but the speed and placement left quite the lingering sting. "Ow..." he mumbled, knowing it was better than he deserved. "What’re horny rules?"

"There's eleven rules to follow when you’re horny. And they're very serious!” Issac hesitated, gesturing dismissively “There used to be ten, but two years back, Petrov walked off with a bottle of tequila and this cute little hyena and we needed to add an eleventh rule specifically covering hyenas."

"So, it's like a list of eleven species not to sleep with?"

"Don't be racist.” Issac jabbed a finger at Ash, making him flinch and cover his nose. “It's just eleven rules, and rule one is 'don't stick yer dick in crazy.’''

"Just because she's a wolf-"

"Wolf's got nothing to do with it,” Issac said, standing as his speech got more urgent and frantic. “Dealing with these girls is my job, Ruari. I know how they’re trained, how they’re supposed to act. I’m telling you, that one’s got a screw loose. Crazy ones might feel intense and passionate and make you feel alive, but as soon as you send the high hard one over the wild rapids, things start to get weird. Everything spirals out of control, and you’ll end up a thousand kilometres from home, fucking in a big pit on two hundred grams of peyote while strangers toss coins at you and bet on who’ll cum first!"

Ash stared into Issac’s wild unblinking eyes. “You did that with a girl?”

“It was a guy I knew. Haven’t seen him since.” Issac swallowed, breath slowing as he glanced sideways at Perch, who was waiting patiently by the tableside with a covered silver tray and a bottle of wine. “Look, if you need it that bad, I’ll find you a girl. Just…Stay out of that wolf.”

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“Okay, I promise. Relax,” Ash said, lifting his hands in surrender. Forcing Khukri into that wasn’t right in the first place, and if Issac was getting this worked up, there couldn’t be a clearer signal that Ash’s darker impulses were trying to push him down the wrong path.

“Sorry,” Issac mumbled, smoothing his fur and dropping back into his seat. “Just a bad memory. I didn’t mean to kill the mood. We’ve got a partnership to celebrate… and I prepared something special.”

The tray clicked on the table, settling for a second before Issac dramatically grabbed the handle on top, giving Ash a sly grin.

With a wild flourish, the lid sprung free, revealing two white buns. “Oh,” Ash said, quickly shedding the intensity from earlier as he stared. “You know, after all that buildup I wasn’t sure what to expect… but I’m okay with this. I haven’t had bread since I left home.”

The grin stayed on Issac’s face. “Ah, but it’s not just bread. It’s… a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“Oh, great,” Ash groaned. “Do I have to?”

Issac flicked the lid from one hand to the other, then handed it off to Perch. “I just made your union a supplier in three goddamn weeks. Best believe you’re gonna sit your heathen ass down and eat my sandwich. Then I dare you to look me in the eyes and tell me it’s not freaking delicious.”

Ash sighed, gingerly lifting the sandwich, eyes flicking back to Issac briefly. “If this is gross, I’m not going to pretend it isn’t.”

His friend lifted a hand, pointing two fingers at his own eyes. “Look right here when you apologize.”

The bread crunched under Ash’s teeth, sloshing the mixture of ground peanuts and sugary jelly into a fine paste before he swallowed. After the first bite, Ash grabbed the top layer of bread and pulled it back. “This is peanut butter and jam. I thought you said jelly.”

A look of confusion crossed Issac’s face. “That’s… Jelly and jam are the same thing!”

“Why would you have two words for the same thing?” Ash demanded, letting the bread flop back. “Jelly is that wiggly stuff you get after mixing sugar and the water from boiled aibax bones!”

Issac lurched forward, covering his mouth and retching as he tossed his sandwich onto the tray. “Ugh! Ruari! No! Just, no! Jelly is jam, and it’s, like, fruit, or whatever. It’s delicious.”

Ash dropped the sandwich onto the tray, throwing up his hands. “I mean, fine. If that’s what you want to call jelly, then yeah, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are delicious. I prefer them fried myself, but I can appreciate a classic.”

For a moment, Ash suspected he’d overstepped, watching Issac stare at him in stunned silence. “Wait...” Ash said, catching on. “You’ve never had a fried peanut butter and jam sandwich, have you?”

“I- I haven’t. You mean like a grilled cheese? But with...”

“Oh!” Ash stood, grabbing the tray fast enough the nearest girl went for her weapon. “Oh, you have to try this. Come on, we’ll see if they let us use a stove!”

“What?” Issac chuckled, eyes sweeping over the squad of girls awaiting his orders. “Just, go to the kitchen?”

“We have sandwiches.” Ash lifted the tray, then jerked his head toward the stairs. “They have stoves and butter. It’s a pretty simple problem.”

Issac’s mouth twitched upwards as he looked Ash over. “And the solution is… simple?”

Ash nodded.

“Why not?” Issac smiled, pushing to his feet. “It’s hardly the most degrading thing I’ve done with a man. Lead the way, partner.”

***

Ash cranked the hand drill, chiselling strips of black chitin into an ever-growing pile on the bowed velkammer scale. A bark of triumphant laughter escaped him as he punched through. Ash blew the debris away and lifted the piece, watching the flickering gaslamp through the series of holes.

Khukri lay on her stomach, watching him from the bed, lifting her head as he moved. “You’re done?”

By the time Khukri came home, he’d already been deep into his project, sitting in only a pair of pants and struggling without his father’s workbench. She’d opted to wait patiently for him to finish. “Yeah.” Ash groaned as he stood, a stiff ache running down his legs and back. “Oof, I think I sat there a bit too long.”

Khukri chuckled, rubbing the spot beside her. “You’ve been at it for hours. Didn’t even look up when they locked us in.”

A sheepish grin crossed Ash’s face as he stretched. “I guess I got a bit excited. Look.” He grabbed the shoulder bag, returned the tools and removed a second scale, shaped and fitted with metal. He put a new one behind his head, carefully sliding it between his antlers, then clipped the drilled piece in place over the front, watching Khukri’s amused expression through the mass of holes. “It’s a helmet! And...” he grabbed the bottom, lifting it until it tapped against his antlers. “I added hinges!”

Her head cocked, tail flicking languidly as she offered a curious grin. “If you wear that in a fight, won’t it be hard to see?”

The faceplate clacked back down, and Ash swivelled his head, surveying the room. “Uh, yeah, I’m basically blind. But compared to your eyes I’m practically blind, anyway.” Ash carefully disconnected the pieces and stowed them in his bag. “Anyway, you need to get some sleep. We’re going hunting tomorrow.”

Instantly, Khukri was behind Ash, making him yelp as she clapped her hands onto his shoulders. “Really? No meetings?”

The thrumming in Ash’s heart settled as he tossed the bag beside the bed, then turned to play with Khukri’s ears. “Yes, really. I know you need to keep your value up, and I’m sorry it took so long. Today was my last meeting, we can spend the rest of the hunting season preparing you to go back.”

Her smile faltered but returned when she pulled away. “I actually have a gift for you, Master.”

“A gift?” Ash smiled, trailing her to the bed. Well, that was new. In all the time he’d known her, Khukri hadn’t done anything without instruction, and now she was getting him presents?

Khukri knelt for a moment, then retrieved a sabre wrapped in a worn sheath attached to a leather belt. The handle was dark wood surrounded by a simple steel handguard. Despite the many scratches, the guard still shone with a polished gleam.

“Holy crap, Khukri,” Ash muttered, accepting the weapon with both hands. “Where’d you get this?”

“I tricked Issac into giving it to me.” Khukri’s lips spread into a mischievous grin. “It’s the same one issued to security. It’s pretty old, but I’ve been maintaining it.”

Ash slid a foot of steel from the sheath, admiring the shine as gaslight reflected across his face. This was it, a real warrior’s weapon. If only his childhood self, running along the rocks and playing with sticks, could see him now. “Thank you, this means a lot.”

Khukri nodded, sitting on the bed. “After you leave, I won’t be around to protect you. I think you’ll probably need a better one once you become a knight. But you can practice with this.”

The blade slid back into its sheath as Ash’s blood ran cold. “Who told you about that?”

Khukri winced, slinking backwards onto the bed. “No one, Master. You’re building a knight’s suit of armour and traveling to Sibir. I thought that might be your purpose. Was I bad?”

Ash hesitated, stomach tightening as he watched her cower. When she put it that way, it was pretty obvious what he’d been up to, and he only had himself to blame for underestimating how sharp she was. Ash circled the bed, gently leaning the weapon against the wall before climbing on. “No, no. You’re a good girl,” he assured, running a hand under her chin. Still, now that Khukri knew where he was going and what he planned to do, there wasn’t much point in hiding it. As long as Via died and Khukri couldn’t identify his family, there wasn’t much point in hiding anything. “If I tell you my purpose, you’ll think I’m insane, but if you want to know, I’ll tell you. I mean, you saved my life. I kind of owe you.”

Her body uncoiled, pressing into Ash and nuzzling his neck. “I’m yours,” Khukri reminded him. “You don’t owe me anything.”

A long sigh escaped as he curled his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. He’d have to tell someone if he wanted any hope of becoming a knight, and if he couldn’t get the stones to admit it to Khukri, of all people, who could he tell? “A year ago, Deianira appeared to me.”

Ash’s jaw tensed while he waited. “Go on,” Khukri urged, nuzzling him closer.

“She told me the books I’d been reading since I was little were real. That she chose mortals to be her avatar, and Sturm was one of them. That she chose him and gave him power so he could save the people of Sibir.” He swallowed, losing confidence as each word felt more uncomfortably arrogant than the last. “Then she said that I… uh. I was… next.” He sighed. “Okay, I know how that sounds-”

“What did she tell you to do?” Khukri squirmed against him, freeing her arms and folding them around his neck.

“She wouldn’t say, directly,” he admitted. “But she could’ve picked anyone, and she chose me. She chose a kid who grew up idolizing Sturm, then told me to become her avatar and use my power to help people. There has to be something she wants me to do in Sibir, something only I can do.”

Khukri lifted her head, sliding her hands to his shoulders and playfully looking him in the eyes. “That’s why you make plants grow so fast?”

Oh. Apparently, he didn’t just underestimate her intelligence a little, but by orders of magnitude. “You noticed that?” he asked sheepishly.

Her tail flicked, nodding as her sly grin grew. “And why her symbol on your back isn’t fading?”

“...Yeah,” he muttered.

“And why your dick is so big?”

“Yea- wait. What?” Ash straightened, swallowing as he tried to pull away, only to find himself locked tightly in her grip.

Her muzzle came an inch from his as she leaned in, blinking curiously. “Your dick,” she repeated. “It’s longer than both of my hands combined. Was that from Deianira too?”

Ash’s mind raced, running through any memory of his life before a year ago. Somehow, he couldn’t remember ever seeing his private parts before that night, which he knew was impossible. Unbelievable! Another adjustment that damn pervert goddess made, even after complaining about her statue! He swallowed, struggling to relax even with Khukri pressed against him. “Uh... how much bigger is it, compared to other guys?”

Khukri perked up, leaning forward and tipping him into the mattress. “It’s been two weeks, Master,” she reminded him. “I’ll need to see it again to be sure.”

“Never mind!” he yelped, struggling to sit as the naked wolf writhed atop him, easily forcing him into the pillows as she repositioned. “It’s not important!”

Her legs swept over his head as she crawled on him, pinning him in place as she settled her head over his crotch. Khukri’s fingers easily slipped beneath his pants, massaging the area sheathing his member. “Don’t be silly, Master, I don’t mind,” she said, playfully teasing. “Don’t be scared, I won’t bite.”

Ash started to struggle again, opening his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut and pressed his head hard into the pillows. Her hips sat inches from his muzzle, swaying slightly and tickling the top of his head with her tail. The correct answer was ‘no’ or ‘stop,’ both of which Khukri would be bound to obey, but somehow all that came was “Uuh?”

His nethers stirred, stiffening as he stared into the glistening slit between her legs, gently drifting with each movement. He breathed her in, disgust at himself washing away with the intoxicating aroma of her arousal. “That’s better,” Khukri said, dragging her thumb up the underside of his emerging length. “But I’m pretty sure it was bigger. Here, let me help.”

A moan caught in Ash’s throat as Khukri’s tongue pressed against his stomach, then slowly dragged up the length of his cock, revealing more as a rolling wave of lust coaxed him into the open. “Oh, that’s how big it was.” Khukri rolled her thumb over a bead of precum and rubbed it down his shaft. “I think...” Suddenly Khukri tensed, looking at the door as her hips dropped so close he could feel her heat on his nose. “Someone’s coming.”

With one head swimming in wildly unfamiliar emotions, and the other urging him on, Ash opened his mouth. With a deep shudder, he steeled himself. “Okay, I’ll try.” Then he buried his muzzle into her, exploring her slit with his tongue.