While the goblins stared out the Watch Officer's window and waited for the sun to rise, Yule was being shown the door of a tavern where he had outworn his welcome.
'Lissen, I did not mean to grab her,' Yule said to the burly doorman. 'Well, I guess I did, but it's all in good fun, right? She waddles her way round giving blokes drinks, waving her tits about in our faces. She should expect a cheeky little grab on the dumplings, eh?'
With that, Yule was ejected from the tavern. He found himself outside, the late-night air cooling his face. His drinking buddy for the night, Kern, was already outside, having been tossed out moments earlier.
Kern spat on the ground. 'Who needs'em. The bar 'round the high street's better anyway. Probably be open another hour. Keen to check out the bawdy lasses serving up drinks at that 'stablishment, friend?'
Yule mimed grabbing an ample chest. 'Like picking out the best pumpkins, mate. And I do know how to pick 'em!'
The two laughed riotously and started walking. Both men stumbled a little as they went, but they were still sober enough to keep some of their wits about them.
They walked down a series of dark alleys, taking what Kern had called a 'shadowy shortcut'. Lamps on long poles lit their way, but even so it became harder to tell where they were. Almost like the shadows were causing everything to blend together.
Just when Yule thought to ask Kern if he really knew where they were going, the men spied a set of figures up ahead. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but they looked like young women.
As they got closer to the group, Yule's breath caught. The young maidens were not wearing any clothes. Bare naked. More, they were rounded in all the places he enjoyed.
All three of the women could have been sisters. They each had short-cropped auburn hair and skin that was tanned a rich brown. They even looked to be about the same age, late teens or early 20s.
'See that?' Kern asked.
At Kern's words the women fled down a pathway. Their movements as they ran were inhumanly graceful. Yule was reminded of a group of deer in flight.
Then Kern was after them, running full pelt into the darkness. Yule called out to stop him, but it was no use. Kern had disappeared down the pathway.
Yule gave chase. He turned down a corner and stopped. Ethereal giggling filling the air, buffeting him from all around.
Suddenly a woman was beside him, emerging from the shadows. She looked like one of the fleeing maidens. Yule found his gaze drawn down to her nipples. They were large and soft-looking. He could not take his eyes off them. They were so wonderfully inviting.
His hands reached out, fingers poised to wrap around her beautiful breasts. She slapped his hands away. He reached out again with the same result, a hard slap. The woman frowned at him and waggled a warning finger in his face.
Teasing me, Yule thought, she runs around naked like that and she does not want me to feel her up? Nah, she expects at least a little touch...
His hands shot out quickly, his fingers grabbing clumsily at the perfect flesh of her bosom. The woman let out an indignant cry and pushed away from him. Yule moved with her though, laughing gleefully as he took a few more squeezes of her perfect breasts.
In a flash she knocked him arms away, grabbed his collar, and tore off his shirt. Yule giggled delightedly. This seemed like confirmation that he was going to be a lucky man tonight. She surprised him though by pulling herself close to him, putting her mouth up to his left nipple, and biting hard.
'Oww!' he cried, trying to grab at her.
She darted across to the other side of his chest and did the same to his right nipple. One hard, protracted bite that dug into his flesh without breaking the skin. He reached for her again futilely. She had already slipped his grasp and was now skipping down the pathway in a manner that led him to believe she was pleased with herself.
'You bitch, get back here!'
Yule followed. Somehow she was able to maintain her pace so that he could not catch up to her. She was always just a little way ahead, the gap between them never closing no matter how hard he ran.
The whole affair was reminding him of something. A story from his Grandmother. The story of the faun. A creature that could appear human, but was really a beastly amalgam of natural creatures in a human-like form. Something about the way this woman moved caused him to think of that story.
Yule made it to the end of the path and found himself in a small courtyard. A score of naked maidens strutted about in the cosy space. They all looked vaguely alike, but not quite the same. Each and every one was so amply endowed that he would not be able to pick out a favourite if he tried. He thought he might have entered heaven, or a wild dream.
He scanned the crowd but could not see the woman he had been following.
Yule rubbed absent-mindedly at his nipples. They felt swollen from the bites. There was a kind of ache in them. Rubbing helped somewhat, but was ultimately unsatisfying.
A noise off to one side drew his attention. It was Kern. He was standing amongst four of the women, who were all lightly touching him and humming in an odd primal way. Despite how strange this whole affair was, Kern seemed as happy as could be. The bulge in his leggings proved that he was having a good time. He kept his hands to his sides and simply allowed the woman to do what they would to him.
Yule was soon set-upon by three of the maidens as well. They closed ranks with him and fluttered their beautiful eyes, mesmerising him. The three sniffed at him, taking in his scent. They paid special attention to his nipples and giggled between themselves. Yule could sense they were laughing at the bites he had been given.
Just as Yule was beginning to get angry at the thought of being the brunt of their joke, the three women reached out and started fussing with his belt and leggings. They undressed him, pulling away his remaining clothing until he stood among them naked. The drink must have been doing something to him though, because his cock was leaking precum and yet it hung flaccid. He had never had problems staying hard while drunk before, but tonight he could not become erect.
He was hard when he was chasing those girls though, wasn't he? He had been stiff right up until that little terror bit his nipples. The ache in his chest must have been the cause of it.
He became aware of a strange ache in his rear as well, and his balls. His mouth also felt strange, as if it was pillowy and somehow numb.
The three women cooed at him sweetly. One reached out with her finger and batted at his limp, dribbling cock. A part of Yule's brain snapped awake and he realised that he was not actually seeing what he thought he was. The skin of these women looked silky and soft because they were covered in a short, dun-coloured fur.
He looked around and saw them all as they were. Their tan skin was in fact a layer of silky fur. The creatures had the same pointed, furry ears and little bushy tails that one might see on a deer. Some had little horns atop their heads, others complex antlers. The only thing that remained human about them was the face. Each one bore a human face with smooth, tanned skin, set inside a ring of fur.
More of the maidens encircled him now. Yule tried to step away from them, but they were everywhere. He also began to notice a smell in the air. It was musky and delightful.