The traditional morning meal was laid out on the long low-table, consisting of a wide range of culinary delights ranging from the spicy flavors of Infernal fare to the lighter tastes of elvish dishes to the hearty, vegetarian diet of the bunnyfolk. Small glasses of watered-down wine rested comfortably within reach of everyone at the table, paired with steaming loaves of dusk-hued bread.
Quiet conversation filled the air alongside the delightful fragrance of hot food.
Currently, including Autumn and herself, there were fifteen girls working in the House of Blooms. Eight of which were courtesans, three were guards – she included herself here, one cook, one secretary, and the madam. Autumn made fifteen, but her role was not yet defined, floating around instead as a private bard and consultant for now.
There was no assigned seating at the morning meal usually, however, as the madam was still in deep conversation with Autumn over her singing engagement tonight, Nethlia had been shuffled to the other end of the hall. She sat now between Saphielle’s bony elbows and the timid guard, Yarcia. The other guard, Wysalana, sat across from her compatriot while the lovely Ren sat across from herself.
Ren was a kitsune – a nine-tailed fox spirit. As kitsune were natural shapeshifters, as well as being gifted illusionists and tricksters, the yokai often took on the form of a fox beastkin while working at the bordello, only revealing her nine-tailed self in front of those she truly trusted. It said a lot about her faith in Nethlia’s judgement that she willingly shed her false form in front of Autumn’s curious eyes.
Right now, her nine tails were curled up behind her like a fluffy chair, framing her kimono-clad self. Her bright green, vulpine eyes were crinkled up in happiness as she munched on a selection of meaty bao-buns while her vixen ears flickered to and fro, listening to the conversations around her.
“A birthday gift, huh?” the kitsune mused over Nethlia’s request for advice. “Have you tried tricking her into marrying a kami?”
Nethlia buried her head in her hands. “How would that help?” she bemoaned.
Ren shrugged, munching on her pork buns. “It’d be funny? I usually find it hilarious.”
“I’m not tricking her into marrying a god, Ren.”
“What about just a bear then? Or a wolf? A badger would be just as good.”
“That’s not the part I was having a problem with,” Nethlia said, favoring the kitsune with an exasperated glare, earning her nothing but an amused giggle for her troubles. “I’m not tricking her into anything, marriage or otherwise. Now, please, help me think of a gift idea.”
Beside her, Saphielle perked up. “How about–”
“Nothing to do with sex!” she hurriedly hissed, cutting off the elf’s obvious suggestion. Notably, Saphielle didn’t continue, going back to munching on her elvish dishes while idly chatting at Nhilhilee on her other side, much to the dark elf’s annoyance.
Suddenly, another voice joined the hushed conversation from across the table, speaking in a low, cool tone. “How about you take her somewhere nice for a meal? Or just buy her an expensive gift? That’s what a lot of our clients like to do for us.”
Nethlia blinked at the actually good advice. Looking over to the source, she met eyes with the pale-pink orb of Calyphopheu, the albino vipera – a snake lamia. Her friends just called her Caly.
The vipera’s skin was as white and soft as fresh-fallen snow, utterly devoid of coloration. Delicate scales decorated her smooth collarbone, down her slender, silken-gown-adorned sides, and across the lines of her hips, growing denser as they merged with the scales of her long serpentine tail that was as white as the rest of her. Her face was handsome and sharp, adorned with cool eyes and thin seductive lips that parted to reveal a long, forked tongue and a pair of glistening fangs.
“Thanks, Caly. That was actually good advice,” she told the cool-faced lamia.
Calyphopheu nodded. “Then, once you’ve fattened her up, you can mate with her and consume her body,” she said, swallowing a tea egg whole. She looked up as she was met with only silence. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke in a cold deadpan. “...that was a joke.”
Silence.
Saphielle broke it first, snorting as she spoke. “Wow, it was so funny that we forgot to laugh. Ha. Ha. Ouch!” she exclaimed as the tip of a scaly tail struck her ankle like a whip.
“Now, now, no fighting,” said Indani, the only other demoness courtesan other than Nalaia, the house’s masseuse. She was seated beside the vipera and across from Nhilnilee. Her skin was a nice light-blue, and her hair was dark and neatly trimmed around her long, dark, swept-back horns.
“Sorry, Indani,” Calyphopheu apologized. She was swiftly followed by Saphielle when the vipera lamia narrowed her eyes at the unapologetic elf.
Shaking her head at their antics, Indani went back to her own conversation with Stacy, Lia, and the newest bunnykin, Varva.
Nethlia had yet to properly introduce herself to the new girl, or catch up with a few of the other girls, including Floriris, the song-harpy. She was currently sitting opposite Autumn, engaging her and the madam in talks about songs and other musical issues.
Beside herself, Saphielle shot her a cheeky grin before going back to bothering Calyphopheu seated across from her.
Rather than being drawn into that mess, and the tears likely to result from the elf’s ill-advised and often idiotically repeated actions, Nethlia instead grabbed another heaping bowl of spicy noodles for herself and dug into her breakfast with gusto. She’d used up a decent chunk of energy training this morning and needed a lot more for the day coming.
When the meal was over, and after she’d put away more food than several of the other girls combined, she approached Autumn at the head of the table. The human girl looked to have survived the meal without burning her tongue for once, and hadn’t been too browbeaten by the madam. “Ready to go?” Nethlia asked.
Autumn started slightly, shocked out of her satiated lethargy. “Whuh?” she made a cute noise of confusion before her memory kicked into gear. “Oh, um, right. We were going shopping today, weren’t we?” Standing up, she patted herself down. “I’m ready to go if you are?”
“Almost,” Nethlia said. Turning to the madam, she was about to ask for an advance when she noticed that Kharzina was already holding out a heavy-looking pouch towards her. Taking it, she saw that there was around fifty gold inside. More than enough to buy anything they needed.
Seeing her look of confusion, Kharzina let out a quiet laughing huff. “I thought you might ask. If you need more, just come to me and ask, Little Nethlia – you’ve got more than enough in your account to splurge very once and a while.”
Nethlia ducked her head. “Thank you, Ma’am.”
The madam brushed her off. Instead, she turned to Autumn as she stood up. “Remember what we talked about, Autumn. I expect a decent performance from you tonight.” With that, she nodded once before turning on her heel and stalking off towards her office. Floriris too chirped a goodbye before dashing out of the hall, likely to hide in her nest until she was called upon.
“What was that all about?” she asked Autumn. “With the madam, I mean, not Floriris’ flightiness – she’s always been like that.”
The other girl shrugged. “Not much, she was just talking about what kind of songs she’d like for me to sing tonight and going forward,” Autumn said. She took a moment to shake off from the madam’s lingering pressure that her prying stare had caused. “Anyway, where are we going?”
“Catherine’s Clothing Collections,” Nethlia replied as she tucked her bulging coin-pouch safely away. Waving goodbye to the scattering girls, she led Autumn out of the dining hall and down towards the front doors as she talked. “It’s the go-to place for adventuring gear and apparel, including some decent weaponry and traveling supplies. Most of it is second-hand, sometimes even third-or-forth-hand, but the quality is still good. Whenever local adventurers can afford to get something better than what they already have, or loot it, they sell their redundant gear to Catherine’s. Thus, those of us with money woes can afford relatively decent gear for cheap. If you don’t mind the odd bloodstains, that is.”
“Charming,” Autumn drawled as they stepped outside the bordello’s grounds.
This early in the morning, the red-lantern district was practically deserted, only occupied by those like themselves heading out for the day or stumbling home from a long night of carnal revelry. Of the few revelers occupying the streets with them, most gave the pair a wide berth, and sent wary and hostile looks towards the human.
Looking to Autumn, she saw that the younger girl didn’t seem as unbothered by the animosity directed towards her as she tried to convey – her shoulders hunched slightly forward while her eyes and lips tightened at the corners. While she’d known humans were hardly welcomed with open arms in the empire, seeing such blatant hostility in the light of day was a bit of a shock. She instinctively stepped closer to her friend to shield Autumn from their glares.
Autumn blinked in surprise before smiling shyly up at Nethlia, red sprinkling her cheeks.
By the gods, why was she so cute?! How anyone could see this lost girl as something to hate, she didn’t understand. Reaching down, she grabbed Autumn’s hand tightly in her own mighty palm and dragged her closer to the shopping district where Catherine’s dwelt.
It didn’t take them all that long to reach the shops.
The buildings here grew more orderly and tidy. The streets were swept of litter and were constantly patrolled by the righteous fist of the Duskguard. Bright silken banners hung proudly over the twisting streets and alleys, fluttering gently in the morning breeze. Beneath them, all manner of equally bright-skinned demonfolk wound and weaved their way through the myriad of shops, arcades, emporiums, salons, and boutiques that called the district home.
Catherine’s was located down a series of twisting alleyways and bends that terminated in a small cul-de-sac. The store itself had been converted out of an old warehouse and stood dominant in the courtyard. A grand painted sign along its front read: Catherine’s Clothing Collections! – your one-stop-shop for all your adventuring needs!
As they watched, several groups of adventurers, and some alone, entered and exited the store to buy and sell excess gear.
Nethlia stopped in front of the plaza. “Here it is!” she declared to a softly amused Autumn. “Excited to get your first set of adventuring gear?”
“A little,” Autumn admitted.
“I’ll take it!” Without further ado, Nethlia, still holding Autumn’s hand, dragged the girl into the building, passing through its almost perpetually open doors.
A vast space unveiled itself before their adjusting eyes, filled with everything one might desire to be clad by or carry for a grand adventure. Racks upon racks of outerwear and innerwear rested beside shelves of laundered underwear and bins of outerwears. Piles of boots sat next to scuffed and dented armors and threadbare robes. Reinforced dresses lay beside polished and chipped blades. Long coils of rope hung near sturdy packs that’d seen brave adventurers across land and sea, and had helped carry their loot home for them.
You could find damn near anything and everything within the store if you were willing to look.
Nethlia felt just as excited walking into this place now as she had the first time she did so, decades ago.
“So? What do you think?” she asked the wonderlost human beside her, who stood staring out at the store in bemusement. “I bet it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before! I doubt your human cities have anything like this!”
Wait, bemusement?
Autumn just gave her a wry grin, secret mirthfulness twinkling in her twilight eyes. “You could say that.”
The more time she spent with the human girl who’d stumbled into her lap, the more confused she got. Let her have her secrets then! Huffing, Nethlia gestured at the racks. “Do you want to explore together or do you want to look around on your own? I need to head over to the big-and-tall section – see if they’ve got anything in or around my size.”
“I’d like to have a look around on my own, if that’s alright?” Autumn asked her timidly.
Nethlia nodded. “Of course that’s alright!” Secretly, she was relieved, as it’d give her an opportunity to look around for Autumn’s birthday gift. “How about we meet back up here later?”
“Sounds good, butttt…,” Autumn stretched out the word, giving her a sly grin with pink-dusted cheeks. “I could really use my hand back.”
Her words provoked a jolt in Nethlia’s chest as she realized she was still holding onto Autumn’s hand. Hurriedly, reluctantly, she let go. “Oh, um, sorry about that! I just didn’t want to lose you in the crowd.”
“That’s okay!”
Lost for words, the pair stood awkwardly before one another for a long, pregnant moment. Unable to take the fond air anymore, Autumn wheeled about with ears bright red and scurried off into aisles like her tail was on fire…not that she had a tail. If she did, Nethlia bet would be it’d be a cute one that felt soft to the touch and liked to get into places it shouldn’t.
Nethlia clapped her hands to her fiery cheeks. “What am I thinking?!” she shook her head, sighing. “I really need to get laid.”
Chasing off her odd thoughts with practiced will, she wrapped her own tail around her waist to keep it out of trouble in the chaotic store, and made her way down the rows that Autumn had disappeared within towards the big-and-tall section near the back. It mainly catered to minotaurs and other larger races alongside any bigger demonfolk like herself. However, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t remove the smile that graced her lips as she browsed every time she thought of the witch.
Eventually, she found the section she was looking for. “Aha! Perfect!” Nethlia exclaimed, picking out a selection of apparel from the shelves and racks, quickly putting together her future adventuring outfit.
Like her sleep, she didn’t like wearing a lot of clothing while fighting. If she could get away with it, she’d fight unclad but for her rage, and maybe a belt for potions. However, as she wasn’t so shameless to flash all-and-sundry with her sex, nor did she wish to run afoul of the guard for public indecency, she needed to at least wear a minimal amount of covering.
A soft leather thong clad her groin, hidden beneath a leather partial-pteryges inlaid with hardened Angoroth bone that left her thighs exposed. Over the top of the attempt at a skirt, she’d donned a faded olive-green waist cape that came down to the back of her knees, held in place by a fur-lined belt that had a pair of hip pouches perfect for emergency potions.
For a top she wore only a fur-lined, calf-leather bra that was doing its damnedest to hold back her massive breasts. The bra was connected to a bone ring placed in the center of her chest, just below her collarbone. On her back she’d shrugged on a huge traveling cloak with a grand fur collar. One could never underestimate a good cloak, especially while traveling.
To cap off her attire, she’d picked up the only pieces of armor she was willing to wear – a pair boots and bracers. The boots were made of thick leather and knee-high, lined with fur and clad with armor platings of magically-molded Angoroth bone. The plates covered her shins, knees, and the tops of her feet and toes. The bracers were simple strips of leather wound around her forearms with another bone-plate insert.
Spoiler
[collapse]
Trialing on the gear, Nethlia bounced in place, and was pleased at how well it held on. Now, she felt, and looked, very much like the dangerous, hot-blooded, and ardent berserker she’d been once more. All that was left to attire herself with were trinkets and trophies from her future kills.
She was looking forward to it.
“Hells, I should’ve kept something from those redcaps,” she grumbled as she wandered towards the packs and ropes. Their deaths marked her reawakening, after all. Still, she doubted that they’d be the last greenskins they saw or killed.
As she grabbed a large and sturdy pack, alongside a couple rolls of hempen rope and a big bedroll for herself, Nethlia turned just in time to spot Autumn’s gay brain hiccup upon spotting her when she turned the corner of the aisle. The human girl’s mouth dropped open as her wide eyes roamed confused and ardently across what Nethlia was wearing, and what she wasn’t.
Nethlia preened proudly under the attention. “So, what do you think?” she said, flexing, causing her muscles to bulge around their new coverings. “Do I look like a proper warrior now?”
Her words hadn’t seemed to awaken the other girl from her gay-panic-induced trance. Instead, she just seemed to be mumbling the words “muscles” and “abs” under her breath along with the words “red” and “big.” She appeared to be unable to tear her eyes off of Nethlia’s body as if caught in a muscular, thirsty spell.
Alright, maybe Saphielle had a point that Autumn was maybe, somewhat, possibly, very attracted to herself, or at least her body. Not to be immodest, but that wasn’t an unusual occurrence for the demoness.
Waving a hand in front of Autumn’s eyes, she shocked the stunned girl from her trance. “Hello, Drekaætari to Autumn? Are you there?”
“Buah?!” Autumn blushed. “W-what are you wearing?!”
“My new adventuring gear! Do you like it?” Nethlia asked, showing off once more, gaining more attention to how her bra’s seams struggled for all they were worth. They’d hold, if they knew what was good for them. “Did you pick out everything you’d like?”
Autumn finally tore her gaze away from Nethlia to gesture down at her armful of clothing and things. She’s picked up a bunch of flattering, clean underthings alongside a few tops and tight pants, mostly in light grays for the soft tunics and dark reds for the calf-leather hide pants. Atop the pile, she’d placed a reinforced, red-leather, underbust corset to protect her stomach alongside a series of sturdy belts and colorful sashes. Like Nethlia, she’d grabbed a pair of pouches to clad her waist, as well as a set of book straps to hold her spellbook.
Also like Nethlia, she’d also grabbed a set of armored boots that came up to her knees and a pair of bracers. However, unlike her own, Autumn’s chosen forearm guards featured a pair of hidden sheaths on the underside, perfect for a pair of knives or a wand.
“Smart,” Nethlia said upon seeing the bracers. She’d probably just tuck a spare knife into her belt instead, even if only to use it as a fruit knife. “You’ll have to show it all off for me later, but you still need a cloak.”
Autumn blinked, confused. “But I have my robes?” she half-asked, half-stated.
“The north can get rather cold in the winter months, and you’ll be thankful for it when the icy winds and snows come calling. Besides, it can also serve as a blanket or a means to blend in with the environment if you need to hide for whatever reason. As you can imagine, red skin kinda stands out in the woods,” she chuckled.
Grabbing a cloak in Autumn’s size, if not a size larger, she chucked in onto Autumn’s pile, before doing the same with a pack, a bedroll, and a length of coiled rope.
Autumn groaned under her growing pile. “Is this all necessary?”
“Absolutely! Although, this is just the basics. You’ll still need a mess kit, a tinderbox and flint, a whetstone, a sewing kit, some soaps, and a couple of waterskins. We can stock up on rations if we need to leave the city at a later date, but it's always a good idea to have some preserved biscuits on hand. You don’t mind sharing a tent do you?” she asked as they stopped by the tent section.
“What? Um, sure?” Autumn said, hesitant.
Nethlia looked over the tents for one large enough for the both of them that wasn’t slashed up. “I can get you your own if you want. I’ve got enough coin for it.”
Autumn shook her head as frantically as she could without toppling her pile, desperate not to be burdened with anymore things. “I’m good! We can share as long as you carry it!”
“Alright,” Nethlia chuckled. From the shelf, she grabbed a three-person, waxed-leather tent, easily hoisting it onto her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied something that'd be a perfect gift for the birthday girl. “Hey, can you run along to the counter for me? I just saw something I forgot to pick up before. I’ll meet you there!”
Grumbling, but glad she wasn’t going to be burdened with anything else, Autumn shuffled off in the general direction of the front where they could pay for their things. She only bumped into a dozen things only the way, unable to see properly past her armful of things.
Nethlia herself turned towards the gift she’d spied, striding over quickly but uncharacteristically irresolute. A strange feeling curled in her chest as she stood there, raising a hesitant hand to take the item. She felt like she was standing in the deepest depths of the dungeon once more, unsure if the path she was taking was the right one. This could be a mistake. The other girl she’d come to admire, and dare she say it, like, might hate this gift for all she knew.
But nobody would ever dare call Nethlia, the Omenhammer, gold-rank adventurer, a coward. Not even herself.
Reaching out, she closed her hands around the gift, and took it from the rack.