Chapter 4 - Aged and Chilled
It took a few days for Mels to realize that revitalizing the prince, visiting Caphina's underground, fucking the Novnis sisters, and finding that owlith, all happened on one day. And he even hadn't found time to sleep that day. He lay in his bed in their shared room at the Midnight Stallion, thinking over the past few days. Simply put, they were uneventful.
When he and Christi brought that second parasite to Aylala that night and explained how they retrieved it, he remembered seeing their mentor go through a variety of emotions. Pride, initially from their accomplishments, then a solemn worry for the two of them, and it only spiraled from there. She took the second parasite from them and combined it with the first. What once was a writhing bug turned into a spasming, outright violent centipede-like creature, banging against the walls of Aylala's golden bubble. She told the two of them that she needed to bring the parasite to a Church of Sage in order to properly trace its origin, explaining their collaboration with the House of Sorisancta. She instructed Mels and Christi to stay at the tavern while she was gone in order to avoid being detected by the king's men.
And thus, he and Christi spent the next two days catching up on sleep, chatting with Stotian the bartender, and debating whether or not it would be safe to visit the Lonely Nest again. Christi especially seem to pry more than usual, curious to hear the details of Mels' "encounter" with the kobolds, but he was reluctant to share, more than usual, and Christi was unafraid to point it out.
"What don't you want me to know, Melyssi?"
Mels was able to dismiss her by saying he never asked for details about her and the dancer group, but Mels still reflected on that night and the strange energy that seemed to take over his whole body. He told Christi that it wasn't like Corruption when it happened again with the owlith girl Yynos, but with time, he became less sure. He racked his brain with what could have triggered them but came up with nothing. Except...
Could it be because I was horny?
Mels was in two minds about what he did to Eonis. On one hand, he had never lasted that long before, and more than anything, it was a spectacle of pleasure and bouncing flesh. It was a fond memory. On the other hand, he barely felt in control of himself, and he's never been that rough before.
Not even with Eudosa
he thought with a bemused smile.
Though I bet she would enjoy it.
He decided to get up to prevent himself from finishing that thought. He walked downstairs and onto the first floor. As it was the morning, there were only a few customers, but to his surprise, there was still music in the form of a lute. Looking at the stage, he was almost shocked to see who the player was:
Christi sat on the stool while on stage, lightly strumming the lute. She was looking downwards so she couldn't see him stop at the first landing of the stairs. Taking a moment to lean against the railing, he noticed that she was once again dressed in her silver mage uniform. His eyes carefully trailed his eyes down from her blonde hair, down to the profile of her face and lips, to the curve of his breasts, to her smooth belly, then finally to her hands as she continued to play.
Mels didn't know how many minutes he stood there admiring her, but he eventually looked to the island bar and stood up straight as he noticed Stotian looking at him with a knowing smirk. Blushing with embarrassment, he climbed down the rest of the stairs and to the bar, taking a few more glances at Christi. He sat down, leaning against the bar, looking straight at the centaur as he cleaned his glasses.
"If you was expect'n I was going to make jokes at your expense..." he started.
"No its fine," Melyssi said. "I would have made fun of myself if I saw myself standing over there like an idiot."
Stotian sighed and paused his work. "Look, I ain't try'n to be your daddy, but you clearly like 'er. And from I've been see'n, she likes you too." Mels sat up straight and looked back to the still-playing Christi. "You's clearly not a shy lad, so I gotta ask, the pry'n bastard I am, what's hold'n you back?"
Mels looked back, awkwardly adjusted his seat, and leaned on the bar. "Well," he said "the way I met her, she and Aylala, the owlith, were building a mage tower in my town. Being a small, peaceful town, it stood out like a sore thumb. I had to see what they were doing, as I heard only of mage towers being in towns in need of protection. After introductions, Aylala told me that the House of Sorisancta was overflowing with members, so the 'delegation' of mages to smaller towns-
"You're stalli'n, kid," Stotian said, looking down with that familiar smirk. "I didn't ask about no towers or 'delegation.' I asked about you and the golden lass."
"Her name is Christi," Mels said, surprised to find more than a hint of anger in his voice. He took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's just that, I've... been with most of the other girls in my town. And I wanted to be with her too, so I decided I wanted to learn magic to get close to her. But the more I learned magic, and the more stories she shared as she mentored me, I became aware that I wanted to learn magic for my own sake. And over the next few years, I think that crossed a wire in my brain with my desire to sleep with her, and I began to admire her outside of... you know."
As Mels paused in his monologue, he looked up to find Stotian looking down with a kind expression, fully enraptured by Mels' story. And Mels continued, saying "Soon it felt, almost wrong to just fuck. Now I... actually wanted to be with her. And I've never felt that way about anybody else before. I know that's sappy, but-"
"Ain't noth'n to be embarrassed about, Mels," Stotian said softly. "We was all young once before, unable to explain why we was obsessed with a lad or lass. And I thank you for shar'n that with me, even though you didn't have to." He then placed a hand on Mels' shoulder. "Like I said I'm not your daddy, but take my advice when I say, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to confess."
With perfect timing, Christi's final note punctuated Stotian's statement. He, Mels, and the few patrons gave her applause. As she handed the lute back to the old nymphling from the other day, she looked up to notice Mels clapping and smiled. For the first time, he couldn't tell if it was an appreciative smile or a smile like she knew what he and the centaur were talking about, even though that was impossible. He stopped as she walked over and sat next to him, and Stotian took his cue to tend to another patron.
"Up earlier than yesterday I see," she said, leaning against the bar to meet Mels' gaze. "Don't know about you, but I could hardly sleep on those beds. They're nothing like the ones at the Lonely Nest."
"That's probably because they're made for..." he started, before trailing off noticing her smirk. He nervously scratched behind his pointed ear and cleared his throat. "Well, I could barely sleep because of Aylala. Don't you think it's a bit strange it's taking this long to visit a church?"
"Nice save, Mels. But you're right, it has been quite a while. I wish she told us when she'll be back."
"So do I," Stotian said, suddenly in front of them again with a grin. "Lass got more chest than most anyone I've seen walk up in here. I see how she be look'n at me. I can tell, she wants a ride on the midnight stallion for sure."
"Keep it in your sheath, Stotian," Christi said through laughter, and Mels found himself laughing too. When he saw the bartender wink at him, he realized that he was quite tense during that conversation.
Stotian's right, I've been getting more nervous around Christi lately
Mels thought to himself as the trio continued to banter.
I really should ask her about... us, sooner rather than later. I bet it would be easier with that strange magic from before.
"Ah, we were just talk'n about cha'!" Stotian suddenly blurted it out, and Mels turned around to see Aylala standing at the entrance. She was grinning with half-lidded eyes at the centaur, but Mels could see that she was fiddling with a pouch at her waist. Mels tried to remember a time he's seen her do that before, but couldn't.
Something's wrong
.
"Any part of me in particular, Stotian?" Aylala asked smoothly as she sashayed into the tavern, undeterred by how the centaur licked his lips at the sight of bouncing breasts in her skimpy mage outfit.
"Well, you can't blame any me or any other warm-blooded man for such a discussion, consider'n how you're flaut'n those funbags of yours."
"Now, is that any way to talk to a lady?" she quipped back, now right behind Mels and Christi. Before either of them could make quips of their own, she bent at the waist to whisper directly into their ears. It was almost too quiet for Mels to hear.
"Follow me upstairs, quickly."
" 'Lady?' I've met plenty of ladies," Stotian continued, seemingly none the wise as he talked directly to her mile-long cleavage. "You are a slut. And you know it."
Aylala said nothing as she stood up slowly, giving everyone there an eyeful of her mostly exposed bust. She walked around the bar and was tall enough to sit on it with ease, whispering in his ear. Whatever she said, Stotian clearly liked as he nipped at the fur on her neck as she moved away from him. Mels was so focused on the show the two put on as he nearly forgot her instruction, and got up to follow Aylala's wide, swinging hips up the stairs, with Christi slowly behind them.
They make it to their room in a few short moments, and the owlith wasted no time in igniting the ribbons along her arm to move the beds against the door. Mels and Christi got out of the way as she worked.
"Um, Aylala?" Mels was the first to ask. "Is something wrong?"
"We've been found out," she stated simply. "Stand back. We have to move fast."
"Wait, what?" Christi asks. "Find out by who?"
