I crunched around the forest looking for more of the kinds of plants that Violette had identified for me. 

From the mystery basket, she’d produced a tiny trowel that I was now obsessed with. Even more so, since I got to be the one using it. 

I dug around the telltale red flower that signified the root vegetable that I had been shown. I had sliced the first one I found by digging too close to the flower, so I came in a little wider this time. 

Out popped a long, blue carrot shaped tuber. I brushed off my prize proudly, admiring the fatness of it. 

Huh. Maybe I could really survive in the woods. It might be a nice life, in a lot of ways. 

I replanted the top of the plant in the loose earth, as instructed. Apparently they were quite robust, and left alone, it would regrow without trouble. Which was pretty sweet. 

The soil around here felt like it had traces of some kind of mana running through it too. Lorna might have been able to identify the affinities, and explain how it affected the plant life. But I was content to just appreciate it. 

I wandered for perhaps half an hour, collecting several more blue tubers, some red ones, and some white ones, along with a few handfuls of a very poisonous looking purple berry that grew in plump clusters the size of my thumb. Violette's assurance that it was good had proven reliable, and I had eaten a nice handful as I wandered to hold me over til our meal.

I carefully steered clear of an extremely poisonous vine that Violette had warned would make me too itchy to continue our date. It was quite pretty, and I was glad I had been warned. I would definitely have stuck my face right in it for a whiff of those pretty yellow flowers. 

Plants up here were tricky little rascals. Flowers that didn't look like food were yummy tubers. Berries that looked absolutely deadly were great. And the friendliest little vine in the world was trying to itch me out of a very nice date with my favorite fox.

A shrill whistle rose and fell from the direction of our waterfall, and I obediently returned to the picnic site. 

Yeah. This could be a nice life. Living off the land. Not taking more than we needed. Regrowing and replacing and cultivating. No cults, no mysterious threats from the depths of the Dungeon. No destiny that I didn’t understand, or know how to carry. 

I sighed. 

The weight of my Chimera Summoner Class was feeling heavier lately. I had been given so much. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything, ANYTHING. It had given me the loves of my life. But that made it feel even more dangerous. 

I could not shake the feeling that there was a cost coming due any moment. And I was more than happy to pay. But not knowing…. I had a lot to lose, now.

Breathe, Eir. 

Today is for today. Today is for Violette. 

I tramped back into our little camp, and was surprised to find myself alone still. 

Violette had made the return call, but hadn’t come back herself. 

Though… as I placed my satchel of forage foods down and set about building a fire, I noticed Violette’s clothing, folded neatly on top of our basket of ‘dirt’. 

A prickle ran up my spine as I realized what that meant. 

I was suddenly glad that we had come so far out of town. 

I had a large, crackling blaze going by the time that Violette’s happy whistling reached my ears. It was a playful...no...wistful tune that I didn’t recognize. But it made me think of wide open fields of grass that you could just run and run in. A walking song, if I'd ever heard one. 

I turned over my shoulder, and nearly fell into the fire. I even knew she must be nude. But some sights you just couldn't be fully prepared for, no matter what.

Violette was completely naked, totally covered in what looked like dried mud, leaves, and a LOT of blood, and hauling a cleaned and butchered deer over her shoulders. It was what I thought was a rather large buck, with a respectable rack of antlers. 

Even her precious hair was laced with foliage and doused in mud. It looked like good camouflage, especially compared to her natural color. But I missed the pink.

Even if the look did make her look like a follower of a wild hunting goddess, whose hunt was a sin to witness, and whose form was death to look upon.

You know. Pretty. Hot girl. Wow. .....Wow. ...........WOW.  

Close mouth, Eir. You can do it. Close...mouth... around those full, smirking lips and show her exactly how much you appreciate her skills by-

"You look so dumb!" She giggled happily. "Are you thinking dirty thoughts?"

I nodded. Dumbly.

"Good." She hummed, tail lashing her satisfaction. "I got one!" she hefted her prize.

“So I see!!” I said, admiring the kill and the killer, trying not to imagine how it would be to let her hunt ME for a change .... Rawr! “He’s huge!” 

She dropped the buck with a thud, and selected two large cuts for us. I was grateful for the generous portions she picked. I was REALLY hungry, by now. 

“Did you get some veggies?” she asked, setting a big flat stone across the fire to start warming it. 

I tried to stay focused, with the mesmerizing, wild, dangerous beauty before me. 

I held up my little contribution. 

She brightened. “You did good!” 

“You did good!” I said, indicating her huge kill. 

“Yeahhhhhh.” She said, preening happily. 

Then she stretched her supple form in a long arc, arms high over her head, before marching directly into the icy cold stream. She laid down, and let the stream run over her. It was just a little too deep though and she kept either getting her face wet, or starting to wash downstream. It was quite funny, but I went to help anyways. 

Her eyes popped open as I splashed up next to her. 

“You’re naked.” She said, blinking soggily. 

“You’ve been naked this whole time.” I countered. 

“For hunting. You’re just naked for naked.” Violette scoffed. 

“Want me to get dressed?” I asked. 

“NO.” She coughed, then in a casual tone, “No, thank you.” 

“Lay down and let me hold you.” I instructed, grinning. 

Her eyes dilated instantly, as her nostrils flared.

I had gotten kind of accustomed to letting her boss me around over the course of our morning. She did it so naturally, and it fit her personality so well that I could always forget how much she loved to be told what to do. 

I cupped my hands just under the water. “Lay your head in my hands.” 

She scooted to get into position, and carefully laid down. 

I held her in the water, but she wiggled and I nearly dunked her on accident.

“Don’t help. Relax.” I ordered sternly. 

She went utterly, completely limp, except her eyes which widened and fixed on mine.

She became an arrow, flowing through the water of the stream, held in place by me. 

Her matted hair slowly released its camouflage and sent the debris down the stream. I ran my fingers through it over and over, until her long pink hair fluttered with each swirl of the stream, its gossamer fine strands parting and weaving together like a living thing. 

Dried blood flowed from her pale skin, staining the stream bright red before it was swiftly washed away. Her pink and black tail trailed far below her, waving in happy, unconscious wags as she gazed up at me patiently. 

She was nearly weightless, floating in the water. I moved her next to me, so that I could gently scrub the last of the blood from her skin. She was completely relaxed, trusting me with her body completely. I had ordered her not to help, and she obeyed, staying limp and relaxed under my care as I carefully cleaned her. 

A minute, maybe two. 

I was getting cold, as the cold water washed away blood and body heat. But she seemed unaffected. From our bond, and her slowly blinking eyes, she was getting more and more relaxed as I tended to her. 

“Stone should be ready to start our steaks.” She murmured.

But she made no move. Not the slightest flutter of intention to do anything that I hadn’t ordered. 

I nodded in acknowledgement and finished cleaning her. 

It was oddly non-sexual. Not intentionally…and I was acutely aware of her beauty and her nakedness as I ran one hand over every inch of her, while holding her head above water with the other. As I stroked my fingers through her long, long hair, splaying it out to the side to catch the current and free the last bits of mud and leaves. But the act of washing her. Of holding her. Of her complete abandonment of herself to me. It was intimate. It made me feel protective of her. 

If I had let go, I was positive that she’d just let herself get washed underneath the stream until I picked her back up. 

So I was careful with my burden, finishing by ever so meticulously wetting my hand and wiping off her face, and repeating over and over until she was finally pristine. 

“Good girl.” I said tenderly, kissing her forehead. “Are you cold?” 

She shook her head minutely. 

“Do you want to get out, or stay a little longer?” 

She closed her eyes. “A little longer.”

I knelt, and placed her head in my lap, tangling both hands in her hair, right to her scalp and gently massaging. 

She shivered a little, her tail made some tiny splashes as she wagged it, before she relaxed again with a long, soft, whiny growl of satisfaction. 

I ran my nails from just over her human ear, up through her hair to the tip of her fox ear in a slow, luxurious motion. Then grabbed a thick handful of hair and pulled gently. Then a little harder, until I sensed what she liked the best. Then repeated on the other side. Thus, I worked my way over her whole scalp, and finished by holding my hands under her neck and gradually massaging out the tension in her strong muscles. 

Her right shoulder was a lot more tense than her left, which was peculiar until I realized that was the arm she drew her bow with. Following that logic, I found several more knots in and around her shoulder and back, and gently coaxed them into relaxing. 

Violette’s eyes fluttered open when I started shivering. 

“You’re cold.” she accused, blearily. 

“A little.” I admitted. 

She stirred, then went limp again. 

“May we get out?” She requested. 

A huge smile ran across my face. 

“Good girl.” I murmured, squishing her cheeks softly, causing her to squint. “Yes, you can stand up now.” 

A few minutes later, I was huddled by the fire drying off and getting some feeling back into my legs, while an extremely relaxed looking Violette seared us two steaks, and boiled our vegetables with a bunch of wild herbs she’d also found. 

She got everything situated to her satisfaction, refusing assistance citing her desire to be the one that fed me. Then she plopped down next to me, resting her face against my shoulder as we warmed up, and waited for the food to be ready. 

The morning chill, huddling into each other and the fire for warmth that we not only wanted but needed, even the hunger gnawing grumpily at my belly–it all had a kind of primal...sacredness to it. Something about it felt… very human. Very right. And sharing it with Violette was… It was everything. 

“Thank you for this.” I murmured, nuzzling into the top of her head. Her hair was still super wet, but I didn’t care. 

Violette hummed, satisfaction and peace radiating through our bond.

Another long moment of peace just listening to the fire and the sounds of the woods and the trickle of the stream.

“I’ve gotta know. What the fuck is with this basket of dirt that doesn’t sound like dirt?” 

“After breakfast.” She grumbled. “I’m so hungryyyy!” 

“Me too.” I nodded, settling down.

Herb crusted steaks, severe searing to give it a tiny crunch, perfectly cooked on the inside, cut nice and thick to satisfy our ravenous tummies. The veggies came out magnificent, soft and tender roots along with a splash of sourness from the berries. 

We wolfed it down hungrily, fairly stuffing ourselves. Violette had seen no need for utensils beyond a couple of sharp knives, so we ate off of those, slicing, and spearing it into our mouths with gusto. It made for a slightly more perilous, and messy dining experience than I was used to. But it was fun. And silly. We fed one another the tastiest morsels, dripped juices all over ourselves, and giggled at our own messiness as we enjoyed a ravenous face-stuffing feast in the woods. 

Belly full at last, I lazily plopped one more berry into my mouth and leaned back against our mossy boulder. 

Violette eyed the remaining quarter of my steak intensely. 

“Have it.” I chuckled. 

She lanced her knife out with unerring accuracy and tossed it in the air to fall into her waiting mouth. Her cheeks bulged as she chewed with fierce enthusiasm and reclined next to me, patting her slightly rounded belly happily. 

“MMFFFGGff?” she asked, amiably. 

“Yeah. It was amazing.” I said, “How do you do that, by the way?” 

SukiSays

Someone on patreon called this a wilderness survival picnic and I think that's exactly the vibe for a date with our girl Dynamite. ALSO! Hey! If you want to go ahead and read all of the dating sequence, and even get into the next act, my patreon is half off for new folx for the rest of the month! Use the code GREENBEAN and you could read either five or ten WEEKS ahead of scribblehub! Woo! That's like twenty posts early!