“This is not what I imagined when I said I’d like to get handsy with you,” I say as I prod at the nail-bed of Vivian’s recently-reattached hand. “Nerves reconnecting properly? Can you feel this?” I press down with my nail, Vivian lets out a little hiss, and I feel satisfaction flow through me - my magic is doing its work properly. The undertone of sadistic glee I feel is just a nice little bonus. 

“Yes, Mads, I can feel that.” Viv says with a little scowl that doesn’t entirely cover her blush. “Ow.” 

I grin and kiss her nose, my big floppy witch hat getting pushed to the side as I press in. “My little meatshield. You took down that big burly bandit so well. Shame what he did to your poor arm.” 

“You know, most healers use barriers for this kind of thing.” Viv grins as she says it, and brings her lips up to meet mine. “But I guess you get a pass, little miss sadistic.” 

“What can I say,” I say, stroking my hand along the recently-sealed join of Vivian’s wrist. God it’s good to tease her. “It’s more efficient. All the raiders do it. And you make the best noises when I patch you back up again.” 

Viv giggles, and our lips meet again. “Alright, alright. But please tell me we’re going to get a DPS once we get back to the city. I can’t keep taking this many hits if we’re going to make decent progress.” 

“What my darling meatshield wants, my darling meatshield gets.” I scratch her behind her little nubby dragon horns, and she ducks her head, her freckled cheeks turning slightly red.

“H-hey, what did I say about dommey stuff in public -” 

“Shhh. We’re in the middle of the wilderness, and if you really want to get technical about it this totally counts too,” I say, gesturing to her wrist. “But if you really want me to, I can knock it off.” 

Vivian looks away, and my cheeks crease in a wide smile. We’ve had this little argument a dozen times over the past week and she always stops objecting as soon as I start taking it seriously. It’s really very cute of her, though I don’t doubt that if I brought it up she’d deny it totally. 

“Fine,” she humphs. “I’ll deal for now. There’s still the rest of the encampment to deal with, so don’t start thinking you can get out the tent and make an excuse to - you know. I know you get in the mood when you have to heal me seriously, but just for once keep it in your pants -” 

“Wish granted,” I say, looking up sharply as I catch a sound of footsteps. “They’re after us.” 

Viv’s sword rings free of her scabbard, and she raises the shield on her other arm just soon enough to catch an arrow that would’ve taken me in the eye. It vibrates in her shield, and she breaks off the haft of it quickly with her sword, clearing the foul. 

“Yeah,” she says. “Let’s deal with this rabble first.”

And she explodes off the ground, moving far faster than certain rpgs would have you believe is possible in plate armor, (not that I’m bitter or anything), her sword out and seeking blood - 

The bandit archer aims for her, and I raise one of my weak barriers around Viv. “Hey!” I call. “Not the eyes!” 

The bandit fires, and the arrow deflects slightly off my barrier, then continues on - but the deflection is enough to angle it so it skids off of Viv’s armor rather than penetrating it. 

He doesn’t get a second shot off; Viv’s monster of a hand-and-half sword catches him in the shoulder as he tries to nock a new arrow, and he’s smashed to the ground with a cry of pain. 

A moment later, though, there’s a rustle in the bushes next to me, and a bandit woman with a mace in her hand tries to make my head into one of those watermelons you crush during summer beach fun. I block with the haft of my staff, and dance backward. “Viv!” 

She wheels, but I’m hard-pressed. I don’t have time to cast with Ms. Mace trying to turn me into a shredded potato, and with the ragged footing in the forest it’s only a matter of time before I miss a step.

I fall back blindly, trip over a root, and scramble backwards - and that’s when Viv interposes her body, taking the heavy mace right in the chest for me. The blow catches her in the ribs, and she lets out a heavy grunt and coughs up blood, staggering as she falls back - 

“Anlei vermos cura!” I spit, raising my staff, the short incantation for a flash heal rattling out of my mouth by rote.

And in the next moment, Viv’s sword comes in and takes off the bandit’s head, new vigor surging through her as she exhales out the pain, her body instantly renewed. “Fuck you!” she whoops, and it’s all I can do not to pinch my nose - girl has a potty mouth - but there are bigger concerns. There’s a whole group of three bandits coming this way, swords drawn. They outnumber us, and I’m on the ground - 

I lever myself up, and focus. Enemy infantry moving in the open - 

“Varlog sha’drak emnos darg’vei -” The mantra for Holy Artillery comes to my lips, and Viv interposes herself. She knows the drill: hold off the bandits until the spell goes off, and we win. 

She throws herself at them like a wrecking ball, and they scatter, letting her put herself in their centre. She strikes at the leader, but one of his flunkies stabs at a joint in her armor with a spear, and she’s forced quickly onto the defensive. 

“Get the witch!” the leader calls, but Viv falls on the bandit that breaks off to target me and forces him away lest he lose his head - 

Damn, they’re all scattered now, only way to catch them all in it is to catch Viv in the radius - 

Eh, she’ll live. 

“INDOMINUS REI!”

Holy light lances down from the sky, and blasts a crater in the forest floor, stones turning to deadly shrapnel as vicious light shreds everything in the area. The bandit that catches the brunt of the blast is totally vaporized; the other two, further out, catch shards of stone that tear through their leather armor and pockmark them with holes. Stones rattle off of Viv’s armor, and she gasps as light catches her. I can only imagine how much pain she’s in right now. I hope it’s a lot.

“Anlei vermos cura!” 

And my beautiful meatshield lets out a heavy breath, straightens to her full height, and puts the wounded bandits out of their misery. Between her skill and their injuries, it’s nothing like a fair fight. More like clean-up. 

Viv walks back over to me, and discards her ruined shield, its wooden form torn to shreds by shrapnel. “You know,” she says to me conversationally, “You can be one scary bitch when you try to be.” 

I grin. “I try.” 

Now it’s the most fun part of any combat: looting the bodies! The VR interface means I don’t even have to go rifling through their pockets like some kind of robber. Just tap on the body, say “take all”, and we are good to go. I’ll sort through my inventory back in camp. 

“Think that was all of them?” I ask. 

Viv strides across the clearing, and finds the bandit camp totally abandoned. “If there were more of them,” she says, “They’ve scattered to the four winds by now. Let’s keep moving.” 

I kick open a chest of stolen valuables, rifle through it, and turn up a shining gold ring. “Ah, good, the mayor’s daughter’s ring. That’s one more quest down.”

“Bloodthirsty as ever,” Viv says with a grin. 

“Eh,” I say. “It’s a living.” But I grin back. “Maybe more of a dying thing for them.” 

Viv chokes back a laugh, comes in, and kisses me with bloody lips. 

God I love this game. 

~*~ 

An hour’s walk later, and Viv and I are back at our secluded campsite, settled in among a shady grotto near the water. With the river at our side there’s less area to be attacked from, and of course water is the source of all life - not going to get very far if we die of dehydration. Well, we’d just respawn, but you drop most of your stuff on death, so…

We’re still set up for a longer stay - the proper big tent with the rug floor is set up, our cookpot’s still over the ashes of the fire, and Viv is shooting me the kind of glances that tell me she’s in the mood for some celebration of the whole adventure. She deserves it, the shit I make her go through - though she is a masochist, so, takes one to know one I guess. 

The big tent’s set up in a vaguely arabian-seraglio looking style - lots of cushions, lots of places to lounge - and the stuff we’re not hauling is still all here, which is good. Having your camp robbed while you’re out is a horrible feeling. 

“Hey,” Viv says. “Can you get me out of this shell? I’m feeling like a lobster in a pot, god it’s hot.” 

“For sure,” I say, and I set about getting Viv out of her full plate. It’s a bit of a laborious process, but it’s one I’m quite familiar with at this point - all the pieces come apart a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, only the reward at the end is a girl who’s soft and snuggleable, so I’ve kind of memorized the process out of sheer pavlovian conditioning. It goes pretty fast. 

“So,” Viv says, draping herself across my lap with a soft smile. “I think someone owes me a reward.” 

I grin, and stroke my hand up her belly to rest two fingers between her breasts. “Oh really,” I purr. “What was the arrangement again?” 

“An orgasm for every blow taken,” she chirps quickly. 

“Gosh, that’s so many orgasms.” I make a show of counting on my fingers. “First there was that arrow - that doesn’t count. The mace hit definitely does, though. That spear stab skated off your armor, but of course detonating the artillery on you definitely counts…” 

“So that’s two for today,” Viv says with a grin. “You’re totally pavloving me, you know that?” 

“Yep.” I grin and kiss her, then meet her deep amber eyes. “Sorry, but healing’s just so overtuned in this game compared to shields that I can’t help it.~” 

She sighs out, pliable in my hands, and presses into me. “Well then, Mistress, you had better take care of me properly…” 

“Always,” I say, and my hand slips in below the belt of her breeches, feeling her up blatantly beneath the cloth. She’s wet already, and I feel predatory intent coming over me; Viv’s just so wonderful and protects me so well that I can’t help but want to play with her lots and lots… 

She kisses me again, her eyelids fluttering, and I slip two fingers into her, grinding in against her g-spot just how she likes. After five years of VR dating, I know all her weak-spots like the back of my hand, and the shivery gasp she lets out lets me know that I’ve still got the technique down. 

“Mads…” She leans her head against my shoulder and breathes slowly, clearly overwhelmed by the pleasure. “Fuck…” 

“That’s Mistress Madeline to you,” I say, but my heart’s not in it. I just want to hold this delightful creature close to me and keep her forever, and if being a little sharp helps me keep her longer I’ll be as sharp as a thousand daggers. 

My other hand comes in and slips under her shirt, digging my nails into her right nipple and twisting sharply, and she lets out a harsh gasp. “Madeline -” 

“Good girl,” I purr, and dig my fingers in deeper against her g-spot, making firm and steady motions along the roots of her clit. “So good. Just listen to your heart and listen to the sensations… Drift and feel that slow tension, building towards ultimate release…” 

She nuzzles her head into my shoulder and closes her eyes. “Madeline…” 

“Your Mistress.” This time the words are a little sharper. That’s twice she’s forgotten my title. It makes me want to dig my nails into her breast again, then maybe she’ll remember better. 

“My Mistress,” she murmurs, and presses in harder, her breath shaky as she builds towards the edge, her hips rocking in against my hand, her thighs tensing around my fingers. 

“Good girl,” I say. This time she’ll get away without another pinch. This time. 

I rock my hand in, putting a little more of my forearm into the motion, and Viv lets out a heavy moan, her body flushed with sweat, her arm wrapped around my back and her fingers digging into my skin. “Mistress…” She bites her lip. “I’m close…” 

“Then come for me,” I whisper in her ear. “Come for your mistress.” 

Vivian closes her eyes, and her hips rock in harder as she fucks herself on my fingers, her whole body tense and quivering. “A-ah… Yes… Ah, fuck -” 

She tenses one last time, and then relaxes, a heavy sigh slipping from her lips. “Mistress…” She puts thankfulness and release into the word, her whole body turning limp against me. “I love you…” 

I kiss her nose. “I love you too. My precious, delightful meatshield. Now, let’s go turn in this quest, shall we? And we’ll see if we can find a DPS in town…” 

“Don’t you owe me another orgasm?”, Vivian says with a small blush. 

“Consider it a promise for later,” I say with a smirk. And I kiss her firmly on the mouth. “Mine.” 

“Yours,” she murmurs, and an answering smile comes to her lips. “Your meatshield.” 

“Forever and ever,” I echo. And I lay her down, and pull her hard in against my body, and spoon her closer.