Don't Split the Party - Act 01

CW: Impregnation

--

"Alright," Mai said, glancing around the trestle table. To her right, Sophie was spinning a pair of d20s in her fingers, and also playing footsie with Mai under the table. Across the table Tegan was biting her lip as she waited to see what came next, and Rick was looking at the map. Tegan and Rick might also have been playing footsie but Mai couldn't see for certain. "You drop down the chimney into the hag's lair. She turns, an uneven grin across her violet face, and points a gnarled hand towards the three of you."

"I draw my sword," Tegan said.

"See, I never put my knives down in the first place," Sophie said.

"I have quick draw, so I put my axe away and then draw it a second time just to flex," Rick said.

"The hag doesn't seem that intimidated," Mai replied. "A bit confused, but she shakes it off. She cackles, and she says-"

***

"More meat for my stewpot!"

Tan'ka bared her fangs and raised her blessed sword, her muscled green skin almost glowing in the firelight. "You'll pay for your crimes, fiend!"

Raf didn't bother with words. He roared, the spirit of the wolf overtaking him as he charged at the hag. He knocked her cauldron onto the floor, then swung his axe in a wide arc, the blow glancing off of her iron-hard skin.

Stray vanished into the shadows, circling to put herself opposite her friends. She lunged out from the darkness, her daggers slipping beneath the hag's ragged robes and sinking into her flesh.

The hag cried out. She raised her arms, and every candle in her lair burst into unnatural green flames at once, the light driving away the shadows and casting a sickly glimmer across the three friends. They readied themselves--Tan'ka's sword casting a pure radiant glow across the muscular frame that no amount of armor could entirely conceal, Raf's bloodied axe and bare torso glinting in the weak light, and Stray's knives and tiefling horns and slender, leather-clad body blending into what shadows remained. Then, as one, they dove towards the hag's flashing claws.

***

"Does a 22 hit Raf?"

"Yes," Rick said.

"The hag's claws rake across your chest. 13 damage."

Sophie bit her lip. "On a scale of 0 to 50, how are you feeling?"

"Boo," Mai said. "Stay in character."

"Well, I've been worse," Rick said. "But *five* been better, too."

Mai rolled her eyes, but she was grinning while she did it. "Terrible. Sophie, you're up."

***

Stray dashed in, plunging her daggers into the hag's side. The hag backhanded her, sending her sprawling back, but she rolled and came up effortlessly.

Ignoring his wounds, Raf rushed in and brought his axe down. The hag cried out as the blade bit in and forced her to the ground.

The hag winced, raising a wavering finger to point at the party. "My sisters will have your hearts!" she gasped, then slumped to the floor. As she fell still, the candles around her guttered out, leaving them all standing in the pale moonlight.

Tan'ka looked around her, watching as her friends caught their breath. They were both beautiful, in their own way. The moonlight glinted off of Raf's muscular torso, which he never covered up no matter where he went. He turned, and gave her a grin. Stray leaned back for a moment, her lithe body drawing Tan'ka's eye. She smirked.

Tan'ka knew that her friends had the same thoughts that she did. She'd seen the way they both looked at her, in her armor and out of it. And yet, none of them had acted on that desire, for reasons that she couldn't quite explain. As she watched Stray search the room for treasure, she decided that she could do something about that. She was about to remark on the way Stray's ass looked in her leather armor when an unexpected voice broke her reverie.

***

"'Let me out!' the barmaid says. She's trapped in a cage at the back of the room."

"I've got this," Sophie grinned. "Tegan, you touch your boyfriend and make him feel better."

"It's called 'Lay On Hands.'"

"Yeah, lay him. I pick the lock and free the barmaid. And then I see if she'll kiss me."

Sophie leaned closer to the GM screen, and Mai blushed. "Do you say anything, or..."

"No, I just go in for it," Sophie said. Mai was about to tell her to roll Charm when Sophie's lips reached hers.

The kiss was longer than Rick would have expected given the audience. He grinned at Tegan, then noticed a flicker of determination in her eye. Not knowing what she intended, he nodded his support.

***

"Who taught you to rescue someone, Stray?" Tan'ka said.

Stray stepped back, grinning, as Tan'ka stepped forward. "Just making her feel comfortable."

Tan'ka reached into the cage and slipped one muscular arm behind the barmaid, then lifted her out to freedom and set her gently on the ground. The girl stood, but kept one hand on Tan'ka's bicep, glancing between it and Tan'ka's face with a deepening blush.

"I think she's more comfortable now," Tan'ka said softly. She couldn't exactly say whether she or the barmaid leaned in first - all she knew was that in a moment they were kissing, the girl's breath hot against her lips as Tan'ka held her close and felt their hearts racing.

***

"Oh," Mai said.

Tegan, suddenly blushing, backed away from the kiss and slumped into her seat. Sophie looked stunned, more than anything else, and Rick's hand on hers felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

"Unfair," Sophie said. "A, she's my girlfriend, and B, I'm supposed to be the one with high charisma."

"That was smooth as hell," Rick agreed. "But I'm sure you'll have plenty of characters we can flirt with next game, yeah?"

"We...yeah, probably," Mai said, shuffling her notes in a way that felt intensely unnecessary. "I, uh. Do you want to do anything else in the hag's lair?"

"Maybe we should burn it down?" Tegan asked.

"It's the only way to be sure," Rick said.

"Fire," Sophie agreed.

"Okay," Mai said. "It burns a sickly green behind you as you walk back to town. And, uh, that's as much adventure as I have for tonight."

"Great," Rick said, glancing over at Tegan. "Thank you."

"Sure," Mai said, and Rick caught a smile beneath all of her blushing. "Happy to."

--

"I'm sorry," Tegan said.

They'd returned to their apartment, and put the character sheets and dice away, and climbed into bed, but the memory was still vivid in Tegan's mind - the exultation and the embarrassment jostling for position. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep if she kept silent.

"It's okay," Rick said.

"It doesn't have to be okay," she replied. "You can be mad at me."

"I know," Rick said. "You wouldn't want me to lie to you. So..." he took a deep breath. "When I tell you that I loved it, believe me. You were so into character. And you were being the hero."

"Okay," she sighed.

He set a hand against her belly and pulled himself close, admiring for the thousandth time the firmness of her abs. He leaned against her, his mouth close to her ear, and spoke softly.

"You being happy is never going to make me sad."

"You can't know that."

"Maybe not," he said. "But I believe it."

He held her, his breathing falling into the evenness of sleep, and she decided she'd try believing it too.

--

"Is this going to be okay?" Mai asked.

A week had passed since the last game session. Sophie had watched, with slowly increasing worry, as Mai's usual planning and worldbuilding had been repeatedly derailed by anxiety.

"Yes," Sophie said.

Mai frowned. "How do you know?"

"Because you love D&D, and you love our friends, and everybody in the game loves the stories you build."

"I'm afraid it's going to stop being a game about friends triumphing over evil and turn into a game about kissing," Mai said. "Like, what if I already broke it that way?"

Sophie hesitated. "The game has always been about friends triumphing over evil," she said. "But, we've also been flirting a lot, yeah?"

"I - I didn't make it go that way on purpose."

"Well, do you want it to stop? Because if you're unhappy with how flirty the game is, we can kick down the door and save you."

Mai took a deep breath. "But...what if I do like it?"

Sophie wrapped her arms around Mai and pulled her close, until their lips were inches apart. She stayed there for a moment, holding Mai's gaze.

"Then we will kick down the door and save you," Sophie purred.

Mai blushed, and let Sophie's fire warm her even if she wasn't sure if she could carry it herself. "Alright," she said. "Let's see."

Rick and Tegan arrived at the house not long after, books and character sheets in hand. They smiled at Mai as they stepped inside, and it felt like the beginning of an encounter - carrying danger but also excitement and, possibly, the promise of loot.

"Come on in," Mai said. Her adventure for the evening had a gap or two, but she could figure it out. Her friends were there for her, after all. "Grab a drink and we can get started."

--

"There is an assassin in the palace," the princess said.

Raf nodded. The princess didn't seem particularly worried, and he couldn't tell if this was elvish conviction that justice would prevail, royal overconfidence, or some sort of scheme. Whatever it was, he meant to spare her from the risk. Everyone they'd spoken to on their way into the elvish enclave had spoken of the princess' generosity and kindness, and judging by the way her people lived it was true.

It didn't hurt that the princess was strikingly beautiful. She was tall and slender, with striking amber eyes and wavy brown hair pinned up in an elaborate pattern that Raf would enjoy getting his hands tangled up in.

"We will help you, your highness," Tan'ka said.

"Of course," Stray said, stepping past Tan'ka ever so slightly. "We'll keep you safe."

Raf sighed. Ever since they'd fought the hag and rescued the barmaid, Tan'ka and Stray had been trying to one-up each other, in ways that they thought were subtle. Judging by the princess's sly smile, she'd noticed too. Hopefully once they found this assassin they'd get it out of their systems.

"Tell us what you've learned," Raf said, "and we'll find them."

***

"Wait, you said the princess was smiling, right?" Tegan said.

"Yes," Mai said.

"Who's she smiling at?" Tegan grinned.

Sophie rolled her eyes as Mai spoke. "She seems bemused at the way you're conducting yourself."

"Did she mention a reward?" Rick asked. "I'm not gonna ask, but I'm curious if she said."

Sophie grinned. "I'll ask," she said, and something in her tone made Tegan's heart race. "If we find this assassin and keep you and your kingdom safe, would you give one of us a kiss?"

Mai blushed, but kept herself in character. "That's rather unusual."

"Forgive us for asking for the greatest treasure in your kingdom," Sophie added.

"You're a brat," Tegan muttered.

Mai looked torn, but only for a moment. "Far be it from me to deny a hero their just reward."

"Alright," Tegan said. "Let's start searching the lower levels. I think the storerooms have a lot of hiding spaces."

"You can if you want to," Sophie said. "I think they're probably upstairs."

"We should stick together, so you have somebody to hide behind."

"I can't hear you, I'm already going upstairs."

Rick gritted his teeth. He looked at Mai, intending to silently commiserate with the only person who seemed to understand that splitting the party was a bad idea. She was smiling, though - a smile that had nothing to do with devious GM schemes, and everything to do with two PCs determinedly chasing her character at once. Rick sighed with a smile; he could understand that.

***

"I don't understand," Raf growled.

"We need to find the assassin," Tan'ka said, "and I think they're down here."

"You know damn well what I mean," he sighed. The royal wine cellar was large enough that Raf was certain they could camp comfortably inside. Instead of being constructed of stone blocks by human or dwarvish masons, it was nestled into the caves that naturally occurred beneath the palace's roots. And unless the assassin was hiding inside of a wine barrel, it hid nothing.

"Why are you fighting Stray for a kiss when we owe each other our lives?"

"I'm not," Tan'ka insisted. "I'm trying to do the right thing. Kisses are nice but that's not what this is about."

"And why aren't we doing the right thing together?"

"Because I think she's wrong."

Raf was about to smack Tan'ka upside the head in a strictly educational way when a sharp cry of anger and pain pierced the quiet, the voice unmistakable.

"Stray!" Tan'ka cried, and pelted towards the stairs, Raf running at her heels.

***

"The changeling assassin drops their crossbow and picks up two daggers, dripping with poison," Mai said.

"How close are we now?" Rick asked.

"Another round before you can enter," Mai said. "Don't roll initiative yet. Sophie, it's your turn. Remember you don't have advantage."

"Shit," Sophie winced. "Okay. I attack with my daggers, and...shit. A fourteen doesn't hit?"

Mai shook her head. "The assassin lunges at you, their first blade biting into your torso. Nineteen damage-"

"Shit!"

"And make a con save against poison."

Sophie threw a d20 onto the table, only reluctantly looking at it. "Thirteen?"

Mai shook her head. "Take another six."

"Are you up?" Tegan said, her voice loud enough to fill the dining room.

Sophie didn't say anything - only shook her head. Tegan took a deep breath, as if she was the one facing death.

"Okay," Mai said. "Now you can roll initiative."

***

Tan'ka leveled her shield and ran, knocking the door off its hinges. Stray lay near the back of the room, one hand covering a bloody wound in her torso. The assassin turned to see what new threat had arrived, their face shifting unnaturally between a human and an elvish disguise. They narrowed their flickering green eyes, and Tan'ka charged.

The assassin dodged to the side as Tan'ka ran at her, flipping across the room towards the window. Tan'ka knelt, throwing her gauntlet aside to set her hand on Stray's face. Healing energy flowed through her hand. Stray took a breath, and Tan'ka let herself take one too.

Raf roared, rushing at the assassin just as they darted for the door. His axe nicked their shoulder and they staggered back. Stray had wounded the assassin, judging by the silvery blood on their tunic, and rather than leaping into another fight they were looking for a gap in his defenses.

"Here's your opening," Raf said, and ran forward enough to give them a sudden shove. They stumbled back, pitched over the elegant elvish windowsill, and fell screaming into the palace garden three stories below.

"That'll do it," Stray gasped, still catching her breath.

"You idiot," Tan'ka bellowed. "You could've died! Hells, you almost did!"

"I'm fine," Stray insisted.

"If you had stayed with us instead of galavanting off in search of a kiss, I wouldn't have..."

"Wouldn't have what?" Stray challenged, one eyebrow arched. She likely would have said something else, if Tan'ka hadn't reached down and picked her up, lifting her by the shoulders until she could pin her against the wall, her delicate feet hanging a foot above the ground.

"I wouldn't have been afraid that I was going to lose you," Tan'ka growled. She'd leaned in close enough that Stray could hardly do anything but look into her eyes, and rest her hands on the tense muscles in Tan'ka's arms, and try to think of a clever rejoinder that never quite occurred to her. Tan'ka didn't wait for it, anyway - she leaned in close and pressed her lips to Stray's.

It wasn't just a kiss, really, as far as Raf could see. It was an admission from Tan'ka that she wanted more from Stray than she'd ever said, and a bit of an apology from Stray for the hurt she'd caused. Stray pulled herself close, her tail swishing as her lips danced across Tan'ka's, hoping to bury their pain in pleasure. Tan'ka reached down and lifted Stray up, and Stray responded by wrapping her legs around Tan'ka's beautifully muscled hips. Tan'ka growled in anticipation.

Raf, noting that the room had a bed and didn't seem to contain any other assassins, stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.

***

"This is not how I expected things to go," Sophie said, panting.

She was, by then, sitting on Tegan's lap, the chair pushed back so that they could kiss as deeply as their characters had been. Sophie's arms were wrapped around Tegan's shoulders, and Tegan held Sophie's ass with both hands to keep her from slipping.

The other members of the group looked almost as excited. Mai was blushing deeply and biting her lip while Rick watched intently, Tegan's every triumphant motion bringing a smile to his lips.

"We're derailing game a bit," Tegan admitted, before kissing Sophie's neck.

"No," Mai said. "You're in character."

"This does explain why Tan'ka and Stray have been sparring," Rick agreed.

"Do you want to, uh..." Mai blushed more deeply, her words refusing to come for a moment. "Do you want to take a short rest?"

There was a moment of quiet as everyone processed what she was suggesting. Sophie leaned back a bit so that she could look Tegan in the eye, seeing her own desire reflected, then looked over at Mai.

"I could really use the hit points," Sophie admitted.

Tegan glanced over at Rick, who said nothing, only raised his eyebrows and gave her a thumbs-up. She grinned at Sophie.

"Let me gather my party, then," Tegan said. She adjusted her footing, then stood, still carrying Sophie against her chest.

"Oh," Sophie grinned, running a hand along Tegan's bicep as they turned the corner and marched towards Sophie and Mai's bedroom.

"Wow," Mai murmured.

"Yeah," Rick agreed. "I'm really lucky." He glanced over at Mai, who had settled back behind the GM screen. "Are you ok?"

Mai nodded, a shy grin on her face. "Yeah." She glanced at her notes, then tried to gather her wits. "So what is Raf doing?"

***

"The assassin was a changeling," Raf said. "We dealt with them, but we...weren't able to question them."

The princess nodded. "Because you punted them out a third-story window."

Raf shrugged. "'Boot first, ask questions later' is my usual approach," he admitted. "But my first goal was to keep everyone safe."

"Except the assassin," she grinned.

"That goes without saying."

"So did the assassin."

Raf smiled. "They did say 'aaagh' as they fell, but your majesty can decide whether that counts."

"I'll have to consider it," she said, smiling. "But, there is also the matter of your reward."

"I..." Raf glanced at the stairway leading up to the guest hall where Tan'ka and Stray were making up for lost time. "My companions are busy."

"That's fine," the princess said, grinning cheekily. "I can give you the reward, and you can distribute it amongst your friends."

Raf hesitated, if only because he wasn't sure how his friends would feel about that. It wasn't much of a hesitation, though. Tan'ka and Stray were getting a reward, even if it wasn't bestowed by the princess. Besides, her knowing smile was beautiful, and he wanted to feel it pressed against his lips.

"I'll deliver it," Raf said, watching as the princess stepped around her writing desk and approached him. "You can trust me."

"Can I?" she asked, her grin broadening, and she took his shoulders and pulled herself close.

***

Rick tried to keep his breath from getting away from him as Mai's lips touched his. She'd stepped away from the GM screen, perhaps so that he wouldn't see anything behind it - not that he could focus on anything but her. He could feel the princess' smile, and feel her calm control in the way Mai caressed his neck with one hand, and he wondered how much of the kiss was Mai playing a role.

If she was still in character, Rick wanted to carry her as far as she wanted to go. Her immersion in the universe she'd built was lovely, her imagination carrying it all higher, and he was not about to shoot her down. So, rather than asking how much of her passion was elvish, he wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her close.