him,
and she couldn't even remember telling him no. And she enjoyed almost every moment of it. Her smile fell away and her expression grew troubled.
The young adventurer had no idea how long she stared into the dark, trying to think and wrap her mind around the reality of the situation. For all her effort, she managed to do very little thinking.
Eventually, something interrupted her. A few feet ahead of her, flint and steel clicked and then her lantern flared with new life, making her gasp in surprise and reflexively squeeze her eyes shut against the sudden change. Her heart began to rapidly thunder away in her chest, nervous and afraid, sure that something terrible was about to befall her, or perhaps that her party had found her and would kick her out of the guild on the spot. Then she heard
his
voice, and found her tensed shoulders starting to relax. Elea's body had already come to a decision, but it was one completely at odds with her mind and the reality of the situation. She quickly tensed up again. "Did you sleep well, little woman?"
***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***
Elea felt so much more comfortable and at home in the cave after he lit a proper fire. A half hour later, she was kneeling across from the Bloodshroud's sitting bogeyman, the low flames burning in their stone circle between them. Her cloak was draped over her shoulders, partially covering her and providing some semblance of modesty. In retrospect, the young adventurer realized it wasn't the most practical cloak for her to wear in the field, barely going past her hips and only loosely clasping around her upper body.
Unfortunately for her, the clasp broke last night. Try as she might to close it around herself, any slight movement caused it to slip open. Each time, she hastily shifted it to cover whichever breast it exposed, flushing redder and redder.
Even with everything that happened last night, Elea was embarrassed over the thought of Chrysus seeing her tits and how stiff her nipples were -- back home, getting caught with telltale peaks poking against your top was a giant scandal. She was just adjusting her cloak again when the grinther finally stopped trying to hold back his laughter and openly chuffed at her. "Throw it here," he said in his low growl. She could recognize the amusement in his voice now. "Allow me to fix the problem for you."
Elea froze, hesitated, then rose to her knees. She wasn't about to throw the cloak at him. What if it fell in the fire? Hugging it close to her body, she stepped around and knelt beside Chrysus, facing him, only then sliding it off her skin and passing it over. Naked again and in proximity to her first lover, she could feel her heartbeat begin to pick up again - and she could feel herself begin to slicken, a realization that had her face turning beet red with shame more than arousal. She squeezed her thighs tight and tried to ignore it, wishing she could just will her body to be reasonable. "You found the clasp?" Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel a bit impressed that he knew how to fix --
Chrysus took the cloak and promptly tore it in two half, then four lopsided squares with another flex of his powerful arms, feeding the smallest one to the fire. "There," he said with a smug satisfaction, setting the rest aside. "The problem is solved. You have no need of a cloak, little woman. If you
must
cover yourself, I will provide something befitting your new position."
Elea's jaw fell open, her sweet lips forming a small 'o' as she stared at the fabric, her bluish-purple eyes widening with disbelief as her stomach sank. That cloak was a gift from her sister. It took her a good moment to find her wits and then another moment to find her voice. "My... my new position?" she all but squeaked out, slowly taking her wide eyes off the burning piece of her cloak to meet her abductor's eyes once more.
"Yes," he rumbled as he turned to face her. "As my wife. As the mother of my young. A great honor," Chrysus told her, without a hint of humour. That was the decision he came to while stalking Elea's party while she slumbered. She was young, nubile, and there was no reason for her to waste her life delving into dungeons, fighting monsters and performing other missions. Though he told her it was a great honor, his words almost immediately had her stammering.
"Y-your... your y-young?" Elea asked, her voice far higher than she would like it to be. "U-um... I don't think... women and, um..." Some small part of her hoped that he would interrupt her and finish the sentence, and an even smaller part of her hoped he would do so, slap his forehead and come to the conclusion she
wanted
to voice.
"Oh, dear, of course, grinthers and humans can't make children. How silly of me," Chrysus would ideally say, going so far as to slap his forehead and smile good-naturedly at her before launching into a full-fledged apology. He didn't say that, though. He didn't say anything at all, simply watching and waiting. Elea got the distinct sense she was caught digging a hole for herself and had no option
but
digging it deeper.
"We... um... I don't think..." Elea squirmed in place, curling her hands into nervous fists in her lap. She swallowed and finally squeaked out, "I don't-- don't think we can, Mister Chrysus, b-but I'm very flattered." To be frank, she had no idea if that was true or not. She had never met a half-grinther before. Saying those words gave her a sort of second wind, helping her find
some
part of herself that wasn't all frayed nerves. She drew a deep breath, her breasts rising and falling with it, then spoke as firmly as she could. "And I'd like to go back to my party now, please."
Chrysus chuffed again. He didn't expect her to say yes, but he spoke his honest thoughts to her in reply nevertheless. "If you continue down this path with the Bloodshrouds," he said, leaning in closer to her, face to face and eyes level, "you will die. You will die nameless in one hole or another, Elea," he said, intoning her name powerfully and making her flinch. "The Bloodshrouds will not remember you. Your village will forget you. And years from now, another party of adventurers will find your remains in that hole. They won't stop to consider who you were or what happened to you," he carried on, his warm breath tickling her face. "Before they trample over your bones, they'll stop long enough to see if you had anything worth taking, and then they'll carry on. And they," he growled, "will simply be the first of many to do that, until your remains are nothing more than dust. And unlike ash, no one will care to scatter it. Is that the life you want, little woman?"
Elea shivered, closing her eyes. In spite of his dire words, in spite of the outright horrible fate he laid out for her, she found her body getting aroused even further by his closeness. The heat she felt in her pussy spread through her body in the wake of that shiver, goosebumps raising on her pristine skin. It wasn't fair that he could do this to her. It wasn't fair at all. He was being so cruel. "P-please," she whispered back, her fists loosening, her nails digging into her thighs as she squeezed her fingers into them instead, trying to focus on that feeling instead of her growing need. "Don't be so mean."
Silence, and then he spoke again with far greater emphasis. "Is that... the life... you want, little woman?" Elea ducked her head, drawing in a shallow breath. And for a moment, Chrysus was certain she would lift it and tell her what he wanted to hear: 'no'. Whether or not she stayed with him, he wanted this girl to live and remember him.
Then she lifted her head, squared her shoulders and set her jaw stubbornly, her furious blush beginning to fade. Elea had a dream, and she wasn't about to abandon it because of this grinther. Not his words, not his babies, and certainly not his cock. "Yes," she told him without a hint of stammer in her voice. "I want to see the world. I want to map it, and learn every language of every nation, and prove that I'm stronger than I look."
For the first time in what felt like a long time -- she couldn't have been with Chrysus for more than one day and one night now -- she felt like her old self. Polite and sure of herself, even if she was sheltered, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And then the boar-man laughed at her and she became what he turned her into again, his little woman, blushing and nervous and eager for him as much as she knew she shouldn't be. Elea ducked her head, humiliated. "Fine," he said as his laughter died. "Allow me to make my argument against your rationale, and if you still want to go when we finish, I'll return you to your party."
"R-really?" Elea perked up, a fresh smile brightening her face and the room -- if one could even call the little cave a room. There was nothing that the grinther could say that would make her abandon her dream and stay here to raise his young. Her fingers relaxed, no longer digging into her thighs. "Thank you, Mister Chrysus. I appreciate it," she told him earnestly, so sure of how everything would surely proceed from that point forward. She bowed her head to him. "I'll hear whatever you have to say!"