Yvain awoke to a naked goddess squirming over him and caressing his sides, her cheek glued to his. Something felt different today. He couldn’t put his finger on what, but a wide grin threatened to split his face open as he hugged Nora deeper into his chest.

“Are we ever going to have normal sex?” she asked.

“Is what we’re doing not normal?” Yvain questioned back.

Nora rose to look at him, her captivating eyes making him gulp. “I guess I can’t really judge what’s normal or not. My only other partner was my late husband,” she said.

Yvain should have been relieved at her admittance. He might have before last night. At the moment though he was so out of his mind with contentment and joy that he couldn’t care less about Nora’s past partner.

“Did you ever call him master?” he asked.

Nora immediately covered his mouth with embarrassment.

“Forget I ever said that,” she said.

Her words told one thing, but Yvain could read the acceptance of her actions behind her reddening cheeks. Such a fact had him almost giggling as he said, “No way,” and pushed her hand aside easily by the wrist.

“Did you?” he asked again.

“No,” Nora said shyly.

Thank the stars, Yvain thought. He then spun along with Nora and lay on top of her, putting a hand next to each side of her head.

“Call me master,” he said.

“M-master,” Nora mumbled, looking away from him. It seemed that she didn’t notice how taken aback he was at how quickly she called him by such a name with a simple command. He expected at least some resistance.

Yvain held her chin and pulled her eyes back on him.

“Say it again,” he said.

“Master,” she said with more strength and a lovely sigh.

Yvain’s dick was already fully hard, but he didn’t want to move on to sex immediately.

“Why did you call me master yesterday?” he asked.

Nora wiggled underneath Yvain with indecision. She tested the limits of what she could do beneath him, but it was clearly futile. He had complete control over her body in face of her loss of strength. So, she bit her bottom lip and gave what could only be described as puppy eyes.

“Please don’t make me tell you,” she said.

“That only makes me want to know even more,” Yvain said with a laugh, “out with it.”

Seeing that there was no other option, Nora gave a sad huff and closed her eyes. Was it that difficult to talk about? Yvain had no way of knowing, and he was too enticed by the knowledge to care, practically holding his breath as he waited for her answer.

“It’s not that interesting or complicated really. I… I just prefer it when my lover takes control in bed,” she said.

Yvain waited for more, but the goddess didn’t speak further.

“That may be,” he said and playfully pinched one of Nora’s nipples, making her whimper, “but it doesn’t explain why you felt compelled to call me master specifically and keep doing so even now.”

Small, theatrical snores came out of Nora’s nose as she pretended to be asleep so Yvain entertained himself with torturing her chest.

“Come on, your master is expecting an answer,” he said with an impish grin as the goddess twitched and feebly moaned.

Nora peaked at him with one of her golden eyes.

“A truthful and complete answer,” he said with mock severity.

The redhead closed her eye and visibly struggled with words stuck at her throat until she finally relented.

“Fine!” Nora said and moaned with another of Yvain’s squeezes.

He released her breasts and patiently held her visage. More specifically her kissable lips.

“I’m an empress, I’m a goddess,” she began, “everyone is always expecting something out of me and more. I don’t fault them for it. I myself feel the need to offer guidance and leadership to the best of my abilities. But it is tiring. More importantly it is emotionally exhausting.”

Yvain could sympathize with her struggles. Nelimir had given him similar words; not from experience, but from casual conversation about his princely studies and their content. Words that came true as time passed, and his friend had to face challenges none of the other members had to even think about. That’s why Yvain had never been interested in any type of ruling or managerial post. The expectations that came with the position sounded overall like a hassle.

“I couldn’t even have repose with my ex-husband who was self-centered at the best of times and narcissistic at worst. Sex was just another job I needed to complete for my subjects,” she said sadly.

Nora then lovingly looked at Yvain. “With you though… excuse my wording, but you fuck me with seemingly no thought but the act. You don’t care for my titles and that in itself is liberating. I can just shut my mind off, allow you to take control, and have your way with me. There are no expectations other than our own pleasure.”

The goddess was turning herself on with her words and began to stroke Yvain’s dick.

“Last night though,” Nora said inside breathless thoughts, “I’ve never been so weak in my entire time here. No god or goddess is lower than Protos and the strongest are sheltered by outside powers from the very start. But you…” She had to stop and swallow, her eyes telling of a recounting of last night. “You took complete and utter control of me. I didn’t know how good it would feel. I wasn’t prepared for it. But in that moment, I wanted to offer every single string of my being to you and your glorious dick.”

Precum was already leaking out of Yvain’s enlarged head and falling on Nora’s stomach.

“Failure to do so felt like an afront,” Nora said as she scooped up some of the liquid and audibly licked it off her fingers while looking at him.

“When you slapped me, I had to do everything in my power to let you know that you owned me, my master,” she said and caressed Yvain’s cheeks.

He owned her? Yvain had to pause and try to absorb such a concept. Everything had been making sense up until the end. Nora wasn’t one to allow others to demean her. Her late ex-husband did so and paid for his actions. She was also highly regarded by her subjects. She would never let others simply ‘own’ her. Much less when her own daughter had been sold off as a slave.

Did she then mean that he owned her during sex and sex only? Which were the lines that could and could not be crossed? They were blurred in the undercurrents of the conversation and he was too afraid to ask. He didn’t want to risk offending her as her ex-husband had done countless times. There was one simple truth he could hold on to for guidance though. He just needed to keep being himself.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Yvain asked.

Nora’s hand, that had been on his cheek, recoiled by reflex and hung still in the air.

“I don’t… I mean, what do you…” With widened eyes the goddess made several attempts to speak but failed. Her body remained rigid as she stared at Yvain.

“Is that a no?” Yvain asked with a tightened chest. Nora’s broken words had all pointed at a negative reaction, but he had to make sure. It wouldn’t be surprising if it really was a no though. This was his first time attempting anything like this, so he wasn’t confident it was the correct way to do things. It’s just that… considering they had already proclaimed their love for each other he might as well ask.

“Yes,” Nora said in a barely audible whisper.

“What was that?” Yvain asked.

“Yes!” the goddess said as she fully burst into tears, completely bewildering Yvain.

“Why in the stars are you crying again!?” he asked.

Nora held her hands to her chest as she bawled herself hoarse. “F-forgive me,” she said as her shoulders shook, “I’m just so happy.”

Yvain scratched his cheek. “I guess I don’t need to worry then?” he thought and allowed the full joy of her answer wash over him.

Closing the distance between them, he kissed the lovable woman beneath him. Her hands remained pressed under him as he parted her mouth open and finally tasted her new tongue.

Nora for her part didn’t hold back at all and pushed her full appendage against him. Being careful not to go too far in and make him gag, she wrapped her tongue around his and mixed movements that felt like licking and sucking all at once with just the thin member.

It felt so good that it made the kiss almost taste sweet. Yvain violently tried to outmatch her in strength, if not dexterity, to some results and Nora began to pant along with him. She knew what he was going for and attempted to stop the inevitable.

A single stroke of the roof of her mouth is all it took to make her whole body rigid again; her nipples hardening against Yvain’s chest and eyes slightly rolling back.

The second stroke never came though.

“I can’t wait any longer,” Yvain said as he dislodged himself from Nora.

She confusedly looked at him as he got off the bed, pushed her head over the edge of the mattress, and aimed his dick at her mouth, immediately shoving the aching length inside.

“Show me what you can do with that tongue of yours,” he said.

Nora hummed happily, her lips beginning to constrict around his girth, when a loud berating banging exploded from the door.

Yvain tried to ignore it even though he already knew who it was. How nice would it be if that knocking went away on its own? He and Nora could fuck each other’s brains out all day.

He stood in place, dick inside Nora’s mouth, contemplating follies. The banging remained though. Only his lover’s taps on his thighs made him resign himself to his fate and pull back.

Nora righted her hanging head and sweetly looked at him while upside down with hands on her stomach.

“We’ll have more than enough time to explore each other later,” she said with a smile that reminded Yvain of sunflowers.

He took one last look at Nora from the tip of her toes to her horns and, dick hardening even more, went to answer the door.

“I will not be forced to cook break-” Elly began to say but stopped as she looked down and concealed all emotions, taking upon a deadpan expression that would give Roesia a run for her money.

“Just give me a minute,” Yvain said with exasperation. He had once more completely forgotten his duties in the guild due to the demands of Nora’s presence. It’s not like he enjoyed making others take over his workload.

Elly didn’t answer and just kept her eyes cast downward.

Yvain followed their trajectory, but only found his naked body. His dick was beginning to lose some of its hardness, but it was still glued to his stomach.

“Is something wrong?” he asked Elly.

His master shook herself, blinking away something in her eyes and spoke, “Just hurry up, I’m hungry.” She then turned for the empty table. None of the other members had left their rooms yet.

“I got it, I got it,” Yvain said and closed the door, intent on finishing his cooking as fast as possible and getting back to frolicking with Nora.

 

----------

 

The couple were now in the guild’s kitchen. Its cabinets and countertops, all sporting the same wood design as the rest of the headquarters, were arranged along the left and back wall of the room, offering an open wide floor in the middle. Between these, a lit stone oven quietly roared, and a cast iron sink held discarded dishes one countertop apart from the stove.  A door leading to the pantry was on the right with the trash compartment a bit farther away from it.

“She only eats vegetables?” Nora asked with intense curiosity as she watched Yvain set up an assortment of greens to be steamed—broccoli, carrots, potatoes.

“That’s right. It’s a wonder how she could be so muscular and tall while eating so little,” Yvain said as he also worked on a huge serving of pork that would be served to everyone else.

“Can you take the loafs out of the oven?” he asked.

Nora didn’t think about it twice and, sliding her tail against Yvain’s leg, turned for the magically powered contraption.

The appendage sent chills down Yvain’s spine, and then Nora sent the same cold waves by shoving her hands into the fires to grab the bread.

“What are you-!?” Yvain began, his heart jumping into his throat. But Nora calmly took out the baking pan with an innocent yet questioning smile.

“Where do you want me to put it?” she asked.

Yvain pointed next to him, scrutinizing Nora’s hands for any burns and blisters as she went to set the bread down.

“How is it possible for you to not get burned?” he asked. It had been the same back at the shower. Nora showed no discomfort when it came to heat.

The goddess didn’t show recognition at first and so Yvain pointed at her hands with a ‘that!’ jerk.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “It’s a trait from our race, we’re really good with fire.”

That’s an understatement, Yvain thought. Even Roesia needed to be careful when controlling fire. He couldn’t imagine someone being able to just touch it with no repercussions. But that just demonstrated how different things could become outside the walls.

“Just give the others a heads up before you do something like that,” he said with a tight-lipped smile.

Nora slithered up onto Yvain’s side and exhaled into his ear, “Yes master.”

Every limb on his body was sapped of strength and he almost dropped the skillet while Nora giggled at his predicament.

“Just go set up the plates,” Yvain said wistfully. He would have her screaming soon enough.

Nora almost skipped as she happily grabbed the requested items and utensils, setting them all up just as Yvain finished preparations, allowing him to quickly pour a serving for every member. The goddess then went to grab the bread.

“That one back there is for Roesia,” he said.

“How so?” Nora asked.

“It’s filled with chocolate,” Yvain said matter-of-factly.

Nora stared at the loaf, “Are any other filled with it?”

“No, the rest don’t really enjoy sweets in the morning,” he said, then finished filling the plates.

After he put more dirty dishes into the sink, he found Nora still staring at Roesia’s loaf.

“Do you want one too?” he asked, amused. “I can make one more for you next time.”

Nora shook her head, “It’s alright.” She then began to set up bread for every plate, moving a bit slower on the chocolate filled one.

The couple then grabbed a plate in each hand, Yvain balancing the leftovers on his forearms, and took them to the living room.

“Finally!” Selt yelled with arms thrown into the air.

Roesia, who had her head down on the table, twitched with the kid’s loud voice. With a sigh she straightened up on her chair.

After everyone got their food, along with water to wash it down, Nora and Yvain took their respective seats and began to eat.

“Nelimir hasn’t woken up yet?” Yvain asked. Their leader’s plate sat in front of his chair, waiting to be consumed.

Elly shook her head as she brought a piece of broccoli to her mouth with decorum.

“I checked up on him after waking up and he was still asleep,” she said.

“Sorry, I should have mentioned it before. He’ll most likely be up by the afternoon,” Nora said. “The closer to nighttime we get the stronger the starlight around us becomes. It’ll propel him out of his condition.” The goddess ate in a similar manner as Elly but faster. Every few bites she would eye the bread sitting next to the rest of Roesia’s breakfast.

The sorceress was almost done with her own plate. Yvain was the only one who would make her the chocolate filled pastry, so whenever it was his turn to cook, she would almost swallow whole everything else to get to dessert.

“Done!” Selt once again screamed, scaring Roesia.

The girl maliciously eyed the kid as he ran to his room. Elly stopped him by the scruff of his neck though, barely changing position as she continued to consume her meal and he struggled in her grasp.

“Clean up your mess,” she said after swallowing.

Selt had many times in the past created a scene over similar circumstances. He quickly learned though that it would be more of a hassle to fight Elly’s order than it was to pick up after himself. With a groan and a pout, the kid did as told and almost ran to the kitchen as he took away his dishes. He then disappeared into his room.

“Thank the stars you’re here,” Roesia said. It was mostly futile to get Selt to do anything when it was anyone but Elly who told him off.

“What exactly is Nelimir’s condition?” Yvain asked.

“It’s a fairly common one all things considered,” Nora said. She took a bite out of the almost gone pork and swallowed. “It has different names depending on who you ask. I call it Star Wonder.”

Roesia finished her breakfast and grabbed the loaf, bringing it up to her nose and smelling it before exhaling contently. Nora spaced out for a second as she watched the girl breaking the bread in half to reveal steam and melted chocolate.

“It… entails starlight poisoning,” she said. “Easy to occur when you can’t feel that you’re slowly dying. Even those with decades of experience have been known to fall prey to it.”

Roesia set one half down on the plate and blew into the other before biting down. The corner of her eyes became wet as the splash of colors hit her taste buds and she chewed in pure bliss.

Yvain and Elly were already done eating and waited for Nora to finish her explanation. The goddess remained enthralled by the delicious pastry though. Longing and dismay dueling as Roesia finished the first half.

“Can you share some of it with Nora?” Yvain asked the sorceress.

“Yvain!” Nora said as she swiveled her head toward him.

Roesia innocently looked at the couple and said, “Sure,” while still chewing her last bite. Her eyes then slightly widened, and she grew unnaturally still, opting to look to her side after swallowing and licking her lips.

“Sorry,” the sorceress said with a mild tremble as Elly gave her a sharp and warning look. Shacking off her nervousness, she grabbed the other half of the loaf and handed it to Nora with a smile.

“Enjoy,” she said.

Nora shifted in her seat uncomfortably and coughed into her hand as she grabbed the offered treat. It was still warm enough that some steam remained, the smell of chocolate wafting out.

“Thanks,” she said shyly.

Yvain looked on, amused at how modest his lover was being.

Nora took a tentative bite with eyes closed. Her brow furrowed as she slowly chewed the morsel of bread and chocolate.

“Oh stars it’s so good,” she said. When she opened her eyes, just like Roesia, they had tears accumulated on them. Actual tears then streamed down her cheeks. Small thuds came from her tail hitting the chair while swinging from side to side.

Is she a dog? Yvain thought.

“Don’t be so melodramatic,” Elly said with an eyeroll.

“She’s not!” Roesia said, and in an unusual display of violence hit Elly on the arm. Though it could be described as more of a tap. Still, the large woman raised an eyebrow at the girl which went on to be ignored.

“I’m happy you enjoy it,” Roesia said with a grin.

Nora nodded happily and said, “We actually don’t have chocolate where I’m from. Well, no sweets really. They’re forbidden.” The goddess went on to wolf down the whole thing in two or three bites, liking her fingers when there was nothing left.

“That’s no way to live,” Roesia said, looking horrified. She extended her hands and grabbed on to Nora’s forcefully.

“I’ll share all my sweets with you from now on,” she said emotionally.

At least they’re getting along, Yvain thought. Though Roesia wasn’t exactly difficult to approach. Elly of course wanted no part of the current bonding going on.

“If we’re all done here, then let’s get down to business,” she said. Nelimir’s food had already gone cold. Since their leader was out of commission, command fell on Yvain’s master next.

“Yvain and I will be training all day,” she said. “Roesia and Nora, you’re free to do as you please. Tomorrow we’ll be arriving at Triven, that is all.” Elly then stood and took her dishes into the kitchen. When she came back, she made a motion with her head for Yvain to follow her before going to her room.

Everything happened so fast that Yvain sat in place looking from his master to Nora. He had completely forgotten. Today was the beginning of the week. In other words, so did Elly’s and his customary routine start. Something inconsequential until Nora came into the picture. His dick almost twisted in anger at the coming depravation of her pussy and mouth.

“Stars damn all,” he said under his breath.

“Actually, Nora, I was thinking that we could start work on the potion,” Roesia said. “Care to join me?”

“Of course,” Nora said. She seemed to understand Yvain’s woes and with a sly smirk slid her hand over his rod, squeezing it before standing to leave with the sorceress.

It went without saying that Roesia was oblivious to all of this.

Yvain watched on in despondency as the two left with their own plates and glasses. Was Nora swinging her ass more than usual? He couldn’t tear his eyes off of the goddess until she was well out of view.

“Am I going to have to drag you?” Elly’s head appeared from behind her door before going into the room again.

Stars damn all, Yvain thought as he mentally prepared himself for the coming training.

 

----------

 

If Yvain only knew how much Nora currently needed him, he would have probably forced her upon the table face down and fucked her from behind. At least, that’s what she fantasized would happen.

Everything she had told him in the morning was true. What she didn’t tell him was how truly all-encompassing his hold over her had become. Or maybe she just didn’t know how to tell him. Would ‘I love you’ or ‘master’ be enough to have him understand the change that occurred last night? She doubted it. Either way, it was something she didn’t know how to put into words.

All that mattered was that Nora was glad it was Yvain.

Mitrel would have killed to have that sort of control over her, and she’d rather be dead before going through something like that. Her ex-husband would have never even done something like asking her to be his girlfriend.

Though to be fair that’s just a human costume, Nora thought with a warm smile as she reminisced about the events of just an hour or so ago. Yvain had looked so nervous.

“What do you think?” Roesia asked as she spread her arms, trying to encompass her room with her lean arms and pride.

This was the smallest room Nora had been to yet. Nelimir’s office was just a tad bigger, following the kitchen that was connected to it. Neither of which were bigger than Yvain’s or Elly’s rooms.

“I’m surprised it’s this small,” Nora said.

Despite its size though, it was very cluttered. A small bed rested in a far-off corner while mountain of books covered it and its surroundings. More books lay discarded across the floor along with papers containing writings and schematics. How the sorceress could walk through here was a wonder.

“I prefer it like this,” Roesia said. “Everything is easily in range.” She then walked to the back as Nora took in more details.

Unlike other parts of the headquarters, this one had a peculiar blue light that soothed her nerves. It wasn’t conductive to reading though, so how did the sorceress conduct her business? There wasn’t a desk either, did she just write on the floor?  Nora also felt compelled to see what was behind the door on the left that she guessed led to the bathroom but didn’t want to offend. Was it like the one in Yvain’s room?

A series of knocks brought her attention back to Roesia. A hidden door opened in front of the sorceress as she beckoned for Nora to follow her.

“Oh my,” Nora said. She wasn’t averse to hidden passages, but she didn’t expect to go through one in here.

“Don’t tell the others about this,” Roesia said as both women went down a flight of stairs.

“They don’t know?” Nora asked. “Why show it to me?” At the bottom, a bigger room awaited them. This one was organized and answered her doubt on the sorceress capability to operate.

It had everything one would guess a brewer of potions to have like vials and tools of all shapes and sizes that were set along a long desk and wall. The picture of a male and female human body was pinned in front of a separate desk which contained a comfy looking chair much too big for the woman in front of Nora.

Roesia turned to Nora with a rueful smile. “I’ll admit I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea at first. But as someone who can appreciate the delicacies of sweets, you have brushed away my misgivings.”

That’s it? Nora thought. Her words unexpectedly hit like a punch to the gut. A sudden wave of tears threatened to escape the starchild. She had to do everything in her power to stop them, lest another bout of all out crying began.

It was apparent that the sorceress had not been marred by the grime of life. She detested fighting, cried at the slightest push, sympathized easily with others. She probably held everyone in her eyes without questioning their nature. It was refreshing to say the least. But most importantly, those pair of eyes that held a clear sheen to them reminded Nora of Charlotte in the early years.

“How old are you, Roesia?” she asked.

“I’ll be twenty-one next month,” she said amicably. “You?”

Nora raised an index finger to her lips, indicating for the sorceress to not tell anyone, “I’ll be twenty-one next month too.”

Roesia’s mouth hung open as she dazedly looked Nora up and down. “But… you’re so…” the sorceress didn’t finish her words.

Nora knew what she was trying to say though and laughed. “I know. Starchildren don’t really choose their appearance or gender when they’re born.”

“I assume by starchildren you mean those Nelimir has become completely obsessed about?” Roesia said.

“That’s correct,” Nora said.

“Fascinating,” the sorceress said, holding her chin, “I’ll admit, I almost went down the same rabbit-hole as him, but as soon as I found out that these beings could be part of any race, be it human or beast, I lost interest.”

“How so?” Nora asked.

“It’s simple, they’re not a race in and of itself,” the sorceress said and moved to her workstation as if the question needed no more elaboration.

Nora didn’t disagree with the woman though, Starchildren weren’t a race. It was just easier to call it so for the sake of discussion. Even the word was just a defense mechanism given to them in order to fit in better with mortal society. It could be considered an inherent instinct. That Roesia could say something like ‘they’re not a race’ so offhandedly was incredible to her.

The sorceress grabbed a pair of scissors and came back to where Nora waited, becoming increasingly nervous the closer she got.

“Umm…” the sorceress began, “you don’t mind if I cut a part of your hair, right?”

“You need it for your work, correct?” Nora asked to which Roesia nodded with relief.

“Here,” Nora said and presented a tuft of her beautiful vermillion hair. The mane had been a point of pride in the past, but it was something far from her concerns now.

Roesia eagerly went for a cut, but before she closed the sharp knives together, she stopped.

“Maybe I should get Elly for this,” she said, her cute features turning to worry.

Nora looked at the sorceress confusedly.

“I don’t have any ability when it comes to styling hair, I’ll make a mess of yours,” Roesia said. “Elly always does mine perfectly. She might not seem like it, but she’s way more ladylike than I am.” The sorceress didn’t seem at all bothered by such a fact.

“I don’t mind how it comes out,” Nora said reassuringly.

“But…what about Yvain?” Roesia said. “I don’t have much experience myself, but I assume you want to impress him, right?”

Nora hadn’t thought about that. Her and Yvain’s relationship had felt so natural and had come so fast that she hadn’t given any thought as to how he might look at her. She knew for sure that he was attracted to her body, but from the beginning she had either been bloody, wearing someone else’s misfitting clothing, or naked. She hadn’t even worn make up in weeks.

Nora slowly pulled back her hair.

“You are correct,” she said.

Roesia nodded as if it was obvious and walked past Nora, going up the stairs.

“Come on, it’s just a simple cut, it won’t take even a minute,” she said.

Clashing sounds and grunts came out of Elly’s room. Master and apprentice were into the full swing of their training. Nora was curious as to what that looked like and how it compared to hers and her subjects’, but for now she opted to stand behind the sorceress, intent on letting her do all of the talking.

Roesia only gave a few soft knocks that should have been drowned out, but the fighting immediately stopped with footsteps following the silence.

A glistening Elly, wearing her usual skimpy armor, appeared. Yvain was standing between the row of dummies drying his sweat with a towel and Nora tried to get his attention with her eyes, but he was clearly too focused on what he was doing. It kind of displeased her, but she wasn’t going to interrupt.

“Did something happen?” Elly asked.

Roesia lifted the pair of scissors, “Can you cut some of Nora’s hair?”

“That’s what you’re bothering us for?” Elly asked with furrowed brows.

The warrior woman hadn’t been there when the sorceress offered her services to Nora. She most likely didn’t know what exactly it was that they were attempting to do. It was probably for the best, as Elly might take issue with helping the starchild.

 

“I need it for an experiment!” Roesia said.

At the mention of an experiment Elly only huffed out a breath and grabbed the sharp tool.

“Turn around,” she said to Nora with a motion of her hand.

Nora quietly followed instructions and stood still as more cuts than she thought necessary snipped out.

“I don’t need that much,” Roesia said, mirroring Nora’s thoughts.

“No, but it’s better if I make things even,” Elly said noncommittally and handed over hair and scissors before going back into her room.

Yvain’s muffled “What happened?” came flowing out as Roesia took stock of her items.

“I told you it’d be quick,” Roesia said with a grin which Nora weakly returned.

 

----------

 

Yvain had long ago learned everything that Elly had to teach him. She had said so herself. From then on their training had changed dynamics. It became two equals striving to hone their abilities past the hurdles of perceived perfection instead of a teacher guiding her student.

It also helped with keeping oneself sharp with a deadly edge. That was the purpose of their everyday routine and the battle they had been waging before Roesia came knocking.

The frustrations and need Yvain had felt as he entered his master’s room had trickled away with every swing of his and her weapon. Him dodging or receiving, her doing the same. Every vibration that came with the clashes tingled his mind into a different kind of excitement from sex. An excitement he could see in Elly which took over her usual grumpiness and turned the older woman into a giddy girl.

Yvain would have laughed at such an expression under any other circumstance, but moments like these were one of camaraderie.

“What happened?” he asked.

Elly moved back in-between the dummies. “Roesia wanted me to cut some of Nora’s hair for an experiment.”

Yvain perked up at the mention of his girlfriend.

“She was here!?” How hadn’t he notice? But more importantly, Elly cut her hair?

“You better not have made a mess of it,” he said.

“Do I seem that petty to you?” she said and took her stance.

Yvain took position, mirroring Elly’s posture, and said, “I guess not,” before jumping back into the fight.

He knew that Elly wasn’t small-minded. More worrying was the fact that the experiments were beginning. He had a mind to go to Roesia’s room and stop the whole thing. Stars know what she’ll have Nora turn into. Though the goddess herself was willing to drink the concoctions.

For all her genius, the sorceress did have her weaknesses in her line of study. Sure, she could create seemingly impossible constructs no matter their difficulty, but when it came to biology she was lacking.

Elly threw an obvious faint, yet Yvain fell for it halfway and had to scramble up a defense at the nick of time. Something only manageable thanks to becoming accustomed to his master’s patterns over thousands of hours fighting each other.

Maybe lacking isn’t the right word, he thought. She still managed to create ‘functioning’ potions. It was just that… they worked too well. An image of Nora turning into a frog formed in his mind.

Elly threw another faint. It was just as obvious as the last one and Yvain absentmindedly brought up his defense against it. In the next instant his legs were swept from under him, the sword his master had lent him was knocked out of his hand, and in one smooth motion she rose and connected her fist to his face with the full strength of her muscular back powering it.

His head snapped back to hit the ground hard, and Elly stabbed her sword close enough to the side of his neck that he could feel the cold steel slightly biting it.

“That’s it? A simple mention of that woman and you leave yourself completely open to me?” Elly said. Whatever enjoyment she was showing at the start of their training was completely gone.

“I’m sorry,” Yvain said with guilt and shock. When was the last time she had been able to best him so completely? She always kept herself a step ahead of him, but not like this.

“We’re done here, go do whatever you want,” Elly said as she lifted her sword.

Yvain sat up, blew out a glob of blood out of his nose, and checked his neck as his master went to put away her weapon. All the while he felt shame as never before. He wished she had screamed, berated, or beaten him more, rather than so dejectedly end their almost ritualistic training not even half-way done.

Elly didn’t acknowledge his presence anymore as she headed for the shower and Yvain racked his head for a way to rectify his mistake. Unfortunately saying sorry would never be enough. There was only one way he could mend hurt feelings here.

How about I try using the starlight I gathered last night? he thought. One of the things the handbook Nora read explained about starlight was how one could run the power through different parts of the body to enhance it. He and his master practiced the process countless times. It was just not practical in the past to try it during combat as there wasn’t nearly enough fuel. But as he looked inside himself, a vast pool of energy now eagerly waited for him and the tentative plan turned into an inevitability.

Yvain first ran the power through his eyes. He lowered his eyelids and laid his head back with a soft smile, focused on the invigorating drink pouring into his eyeballs. When next he opened them, Elly’s steps had become slower. To the point where they moved in slow motion.

Next came his every limb. Natural base strength, even having been innately enhanced by starlight, would not be enough even with better vision. And while he was stronger and faster when incorporating the energy into his body, it varied with the amount in use. Too little wouldn’t be enough to catch Elly off-guard. He needed a massive boost in speed and strength for an attack to work.

In other words, Yvain emptied the rest of his reserves with no hesitation into every string of muscle. His soft smile turned into a predatory grin. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t done this at the start of training. It could only be marked up to this being the first time he had so much starlight available to him.

She should have the same reserves as me though, he thought, and the excitement died down to lukewarmth. Even so, the first hit was all that mattered. He would repay her for what she had just done to him with a single, skull shattering, kick.

Yvain stood, the process being much faster than any act of standing he had done before. Years of arduous training allowed him to keep balance despite the change in speed, and as he watched his master slowly go for the bathroom, unaware of what was about to happen, he dashed toward her and jumped in a spinning motion.

As his body made a full turn, leg ready to explode on her head, Elly’s eyes slowly looked toward him.

This monster, Yvain thought with both respect and fear. She wasn’t using any starlight, she shouldn’t have been able to even hear him, much less look at him. Yet as his leg closed in, his master’s arm rose to meet it.

Yvain lashed out with no hesitation and put all his strength into the kick. She might have been able to see it coming, but there wasn’t enough time to do anything else but put up a last-minute guard. He would only hit her forearm, but by the stars he would take it with gusto.

The kick landed, and a satisfying crack caressed his leg as his master’s ulna or radius fractured and she shot out toward the far wall of the room. Roesia’s genius showed itself as the wooden wall didn’t as much as crack when Elly’s body slammed against it.

Yvain’s eyes still saw everything in slow motion, and as his master fell, she righted herself to land steadily on the ground before disappearing from view in a blur. He didn’t allow such a feat to fluster him though, enough times she had done something to surpass him in some manner. Yet, a calm mind could only do so much, and Elly appeared next to him almost instantly. She was already kicking out with vicious eyes consuming him.

Like her, Yvain only had time to bring up an arm. But his mental preparation paid off and he managed to react fast enough to jump back and lessen the damage.

He was sent flying, but unlike Elly, he immediately righted himself and brought up his arms. The muscular woman was already on him repeating the same maneuver, this time looking even angrier than before.

Yvain ducked and her leg whipped by him with enough force to whistle out and send a faint gust blowing against his back. She was definitely using starlight. They were back on equal ground.

There was a difference now though, another ace he was certain Elly didn’t know of that would serve him well in initiating hand-to-hand combat with an advantage.

Throughout the years together master and pupil had never been shy of one another. As a boy he would often bathe or shower with her after training, for example, and neither would bat an eye. That part of their relationship kept going well into adulthood, and even now they would often shower together after training. But there was an undercurrent. A slight adjustment in the way he comported himself around her that came to be from his transition from kid to teenager and solidified itself as an adult.

Yvain knew it was from the fact that his master was a woman and he was a man. Even if he wasn’t sexually attracted to her, the comfortable nearness he might apply with male friends didn’t come to be.

Elly had never shown the same misgivings. Nonetheless she respected his silent decision and always kept the socially agreeable distance without addressing the topic.

But… Yvain had never been sexually attracted to a woman before Nora. The feeling of her body glued to his, sweating and panting countless times, had broken down a wall he hadn’t known was there until now.

As such, with a roar Yvain full-body tackled Elly into the ground and the large woman gave a surprised squeak he had never in his life heard her make. The reason the move worked, besides the gender differences and years of conditioning, was so trifling it was almost funny. She never trained him in grappling skills outside of practice. Just as an unspoken distancing had occurred in places like the shower, the same happened in their training. Thus, an unconscious opening had been created in her defenses that she never bothered to cover up because she didn’t have to.

Some might have equaled it to incompetence from Elly’s part, and while they might be right in some regard, it didn’t matter since grappling had never been Yvain’s specialty or focus. But it was hers.

In other words, he had only one or two seconds before his master’s shock disappeared and she entered her true element.

Yvain didn’t waste time and got on top for the large woman, powerfully clamping down on her waist and throwing a fist at her face. The first one connected, the second missed its target but still hit, by the third Elly already had her defense up and thus began a rough and dirty clash of muscles and limbs all over the ground.

Trying to leave it meant free reign for the other to gain the upper hand. Not that Yvain had much of an upper hand to grab, but he was at least the only person in Empryon, besides Nora, who could match or closely match Elly in strength.

They were practically rolling across the ground as they tried to outmaneuver each other. Sweat, blood, and saliva mixed itself to such a degree than neither could tell where the liquids began and ended. The floor got covered in them and inside the storm they began to slip.

During those slips they would add more grapples, punches, or kicks in order to compensate. All clumsy, and each steadily, but effectively, ridding themselves of both their garments. It was a common incident in such fights, but usually a grappling battle happened during training, not real combat. Which meant the combatants could take a few seconds to put everything back in place. This was actual combat though. Neither of them held anything back.

Regardless, Yvain had lost all inhibitions toward manhandling his female master and Elly had never cared in the first place. And so the fight between them raged on while being completely naked, turning what could have been combat between experts an unseemly spat between friends.

And the fact that they were friends, and not just master and pupil, rang a bit truer to Yvain now.

As they violently trashed each other, gained an increasing number of bruises and wounds, ripped dummies from their stands, they laughed. Even when Elly winced, every time she’d put pressure or received a hit on the fracture Yvain gave her, she would almost giggle.

Yvain didn’t know who started, but it was something that had never happened between them. It filled him with joy to have someone as Elly as his equal. It was exhilarating to match her move for move and blow for blow. He could see in her laughter that she felt the same way.

Such a joyous occasion couldn’t last though. They could only absorb so much starlight and Yvain ran out first.

His body and senses went back to their usual level, only now exhausted, and Elly took the opportunity to do the same hold Nora had used on her. She didn’t even have to find or force an opening. His master laughed happily as she practically carried him onto her chest on his back and wrapped her body around his.

Elly’s muscular, tanned legs encircled his waist along with her arms on his neck. Yvain knew what was coming next and didn’t even bother fighting back as his master pressed down and cut his airflow. He knew she wouldn’t hold back even if he asked. So, with dimming consciousness he just looked on at her feet, intrigued at the blood-red color of its toenails, before fainting.

 

----------

 

“Does it look any different?” Nora asked Roesia as they went back to the room.

“Not really. You do have quiet long hair, though I shouldn’t be one to talk,” the sorceress said as she reached back and played with her blue mane.

Roesia’s hair was about the same length as Nora’s, albeit way smoother. Smooth to the point that the starchild wondered if she even had to brush it.

Nora’s own vermillion hair was a product of her vain pride. She liked how it almost glowed along her horns, and her eyes offered a nice counterpoint to it. She had always made sure to keep it in perfect shape, at first for her late ex-husband, and later for her subjects as a symbol. But right now, it was just a series of knots that were worsening by the second.

“Do you happen to have a brush?” Nora asked.

“Oh, of course,” the sorceress said. But the room was a mess, and as she looked around doubt crept on her expression. She moved books and papers around, some of the towers spilling across to make things more cluttered.

“I really need to clean up,” she said.

Nora didn’t believe she would ever do so.

Roesia hidden laboratory was impeccable. She didn’t lack tidiness; she just didn’t feel a need to clean the space she slept in.

Nora was about to tell the sorceress to ignore her request, when a particularly impressive tower of books and paper crumbled and something heavy rolled across the floor to bounced against her feet.

Roesia choked a fearful gasp as Nora found an ashy blue dildo calmly rolling back and forth to a complete stop.

The women stood transfixed on the item, the sorceress with bulging eyes and the starchild unable to figure out how to proceed without embarrassing herself or the other.

“That’s… frightfully big,” Nora said. It truly was. Maybe around the same size as Yvain’s penis.

When it came to her the size seemed just right. Big, but an outsider wouldn’t find it overly shocking to know such a beast entered her. Roesia on the other hand…

Nora took in the sorceress’s stature. She couldn’t be more than five foot five. How did such a thing fit her? Did she just use a small part of it? If so, why not just get a smaller one?

Roesia’s cheeks went ablaze as she stiffly walked toward the dildo without looking at Nora.

“If you tell anyone about this,” she began, her voice trembling.

“It’s just between you and I, like your hidden room,” Nora said.

The sorceress nodded before picking up the item.

Nora almost laughed as the sorceress stood, one hand holding her dildo, the other the brush she had been looking for. It seemed it was quite near the former item, resting between the mess.

“I really need to clean up,” Roesia said without looking at Nora and the starchild finally allowed herself to let out a chuckle, making the sorceress blush even more.

Roesia hid the dildo under the covers on her bed and both women headed down the staircase.

Nora felt relief as she unknotted her hair and brushed it. She hadn’t known how much she missed the preening and how good it felt to finally have the nest untangled.

Roesia headed to her workstation, cut hair in hand, and Nora sat at the big chair. The sorceress gave her a side glance but didn’t say anything as she got to work, moving vials, pouring liquid, turning small fires on with her magic.

Nora watched on in fascination as she brushed mindlessly.

“Why are you creating these shapeshifting potions?” she asked after a few minutes had passed.

“For metamorphosis,” Roesia said, never stopping her hands from moving.

Nora waited for more, but the sorceress remained quiet.

“Care to elaborate?” she said.

Roesia gave another side glance, but quickly focused on her work once more.

Nora thought she wouldn’t answer, but after a few seconds the sorceress spoke.

“I… I’m weak. Physically weak I mean. I have never trained as Elly, Yvain, or Nelimir, and even if I did, I don’t have the time to put as much effort as they do into the endeavor.”

“You could still gain strength as long as you offered up some time,” Nora said.

“Maybe,” Roesia said, “but I want to be strong enough to at least…” The sorceress went silent and debated her next words. “I have five older brothers, I want to at least be able to beat them,” she said in a small voice.

Ah, that’s how it is, Nora thought. She didn’t have older brothers herself, but she had witnessed the dynamic of such a relationship in her subjects.

Though this was also a problem every being who focused on magic or any other starlight fueled ability, which did not conform to physical ability and strength, faced. No matter how proficient they may be in their path, martial prowess would always be superior.

Thankfully for this specific case Roesia could find roundabout ways to maybe overcome a challenge with low stakes, set by her own family. But outside of that, she’d need someone proficient in magic to teach her. There were ways she could overcome her weaknesses if she perfected her strengths.

“How strong are they?” Nora asked.

“Stronger than I’ll ever be if I remain like this,” Roesia said with a laugh.

“And so, you want to be able to transform into another, stronger, race,” Nora said.

“Not just transform, but a metamorphosis. Then I can make them have a taste of their own medicine,” an evil, yet somehow innocent grin, formed on the sorceress lips.

Truly, so innocent, Nora thought with a growing ember of motherhood in her breast aimed toward the childlike woman.

“Isn’t metamorphosis the same as transforming?” she asked Roesia.

“Not exactly. You see, I don’t want to just change my physique temporarily, but to permanently change my inherent make up.”

Nora stopped brushing her hair. She almost blurted out how impossible such a feat was but felt like doing so would be a disservice to Roesia.

“You have a difficult road ahead of you,” she said instead.

“Tell me about it, I keep turning into actual animals. Thankfully such changes haven’t been permanent,” the sorceress said.

Nora hid her smile as an image of a tiny frog was conjured up in her mind.

“Is there a specific race you’re interested in?” she asked.

“That’s the impossible question,” the sorceress said. “Until you came along, I only knew of Nelimir’s ex-fiancée, but when she was still around there was a strict lockdown on information about her and her race. She wouldn’t tell us anything either, only that there were races out there much stronger than humans.”

“Ex-fiancée?” Nora asked.

Roesia’s hands froze while holding a vial with glowing blue liquid, a bucket of realization pouring over her. “You’re part of the beast races.”

“Um… yes?” Nora wasn’t used to being equaled to such a name, but wasn’t that already established between them?

Roesia looked at Nora’s unused hair and the starchild swore she saw a slight tremble run through the sorceress.

“Can you let me start over the process?” Roesia asked.

Did she even need to ask? Nora was the one troubling them and their goodwill. “Of course.”

Roesia immediately dumped the liquid she had worked on inside a large empty glass and took out a basket that was hiding under the desk before putting all the dirty equipment in it.

As if on cue a series of soft knocks came from the door upstairs.

“Let’s go, I need to wash these,” the sorceress said and almost ran up the stairs.

Nora was right behind her.

Is that Yvain? She pulled at locks of her hair quickly in an attempt to blindly make herself look presentable. It was a shame there wasn’t a mirror at hand, but the brush should have at least helped a bit.

Sadly, only Nelimir was standing behind the door, holding a somberness Nora hadn’t seen on him before.

“I would like to apologize,” he said as Roesia ran past, completely ignoring him. He seemed to be used to it though as his full focus remained on Nora.

The sounds coming from Elly’s room had become louder, almost as if they were throwing furniture around, and Nora tried her best not to show utter disappointment.

“There is nothing to apologize for, I’m the one that needs to ask for forgiveness. You depended on me as your teacher and I failed you,” she said. Nora found it funny how extremely business like she currently sounded. But it was the perfect way to hide her need to go knock on Elly’s door and see Yvain.

“You did not fail me. I had Yvain as an example. You told me the exact dangers of absorbing too much starlight.” Nelimir shifted uncomfortably. “I still let my emotions get the best of me and almost got myself killed.”

The chaos coming from Elly’s room was distracting, but Nora was forced to stiffly look at the leader of Draconian’s Tavern when he mentioned his emotions.

How could I forget? Nora thought as she did a mental face palm.

“Which is your paramount goal, Nelimir?” she asked.

The man obviously didn’t expect the question. He hid his emotions well, but Nora could see the slightly tense shoulders and tight jaw. She knew why such a simple question rattled him so. Star Wonder came about because of the promises made by starlight. It could range from anything like power to a mundane goal like being able to grow healthy crops in a field. Whatever made Nelimir almost destroy himself was his strongest desire, and he knew it.

“Can we talk in my office?” he said.

Nora nodded and followed him through the double doors.

“Do you mind if I sit?” he asked.

“Please do,” Nora said and took one of the smaller chairs facing the central desk belonging to the leader of Draconian’s Tavern.

 “You’re question,” Nelimir began once they were both seated but Roesia burst through the door to the kitchen while holding her clean utensils. She ran out the office and into her room.

Nora let her be. If the sorceress really needed her she would come calling. The starchild went to close the office doors before taking a seat once more.

Nelimir gave an apologetic smile but he had relaxed a bit more, “I guess you already know why I didn’t follow your instructions.”

“I know the technicalities of it, but not the reason itself,” Nora said. In truth, she didn’t have to know. But she was curious as to what pushed him to almost kill himself. As much as it bothered her to say it, Yvain’s mentality was not unique. He wanted to be stronger. That was something the majority of those who pursued the power of starlight wanted and it was often enough to warn against the pitfalls of absorption when it came to that wish.

Nelimir on the other hand didn’t seem like someone interested in strength. So far she knew that he wanted to break the silence with other races, but that was it. She didn’t think that was enough to kill oneself, could it? Maybe he just didn’t truly understand the consequences of his actions until it was too late.

The leader of Draconian’s Tavern pushed back against the back of his cozy chair and looked to the ceiling.

“It’s no secret,” he said. “Between the members of the guild at least, and some select members of my family.”

Nelimir rubbed his ring finger, “When I was still a teenager an unprecedented visit occurred; high ranking members of the race called elves came to visit Empryon. I never learned the reason for that visit, but I was suddenly told that I would marry the daughter of their leader. As you might suspect I vehemently opposed such a decision, not because of what or who she was, but because who wants to be forced to marry some random person? My family wasn’t too thrilled about it either, but it ‘had to be done’.”

The leader of Draconian’s Tavern smiled at himself, his eyes unfocused on his memories. “I think that’s the only time we were all in accord.”

Was this the ex-fiancée that Roesia mentioned? Nora’s subjects mimicked human culture in some ways, but for the most part it put more weight on actual physical strength and wisdom rather than political moves when it came to marriage.

“Unfortunate for them, and fortunate for me, Haradriel didn’t much care for rules, be they explicit or otherwise. And she took a liking to me,” Nelimir said with a warm smile. “I showed her around Allsworth, she told me of her trees and rivers, and in between we fell in love.” Nelimir paused. A frown between sadness and anger formed between his brow as he righted himself and looked at Nora. “Then nothing. She disappeared along with her people as fast as they had appeared with no explanation.”

“Is that why you’re doing all of this? To find her?” Nora asked as she attempted to sound sympathetic. Which she was, but her starchild side reveled in emotionally charged situations.

“I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t the biggest factor,” Nelimir said.

“Big enough that you almost killed yourself over it.”

Nelimir somberly nodded, “Yes.”

Nora found the idea fascinating. Dislike and rebellion turned into love and acceptance turned into longing and rebellion again. And through it a whole amalgamation of emotions fought each other over dominance of the mind. The outcome of the duel is a princeling turning into the leader of a guild set on changing the course of their country, each member joining for their own reasons.

Part of her wanted to abandon her subjects and truly join them on their adventure. Nora loved those that followed her and wished to protect them with all her being, but she was also only an emotionally charged being who happened to be immortal. It was difficult to deny the attraction she had toward mortal emotions, she herself being able to partake in them while ‘alive’.

Nora rubbed her temples, why in the stars did I have to be starchild and dragon. Hard enough to manage the obsessions of one without the responsibility of both.

Nelimir looked at her confusedly, waiting for a response.

“Tonight I’ll address these pitfalls during training in detail,” Nora said. “Don’t feel guilty over your actions. You’re not the first, nor will you be the last to almost kill themselves during starlight absorption. Many have actually managed it.”

“I promise you, it won’t happen again,” Nelimir said.

Nora didn’t believe him, but she nonetheless gave a smile. Absorbing starlight took monumental mental and physical fortitude. It was a tumultuous technique that took years of practice to safely control. That control came easier depending on the emotional make-up of the individual.

Yvain took pride in his own ability and while he might want strength, he also wanted to master himself. Elly was the same. On another perspective Nora understood that her own safety equaled the safety of her subjects. Dying by Star Wonder would serve no purpose. Yet Nelimir never had closure in his relationship with Haradriel. He should have dozens of questions as to her fate, one that most likely came about because of Empryon’s current state of affairs.

Those in the most danger when absorbing starlight were always the aimless ones, Nora thought.

She looked inside her Galaxia. Empty. She would need to be ready for when it happened again, yet she didn’t have any starlight left for when the accident did happen.

“I’ll need a few hours to prepare before we start the training tonight,” she said.

 “Of course,” Nelimir said with a curt nod. “And I hope I’m not being too forward, but when exactly did you take this form?”

It was Nora’s turn to be caught off-guard by Nelimir’s question. He had acted so normal throughout their interaction that she completely forgot that he hadn’t been conscious when she reverted back to her natural look while trying to save him.

The starchild absentmindedly touched her horns, “It happened last night. I had to use up my starlight in an attempt to bring you back, the same starlight that kept my human form in place.”

Nelimir’s eyes darkened even more than before, “I’m so sorry.”

“Again, this is all my responsibility,” Nora said, but it was obvious that Nelimir wouldn’t see it that way. “Roesia already offered to help me with her shapeshifting potions, but if you feel like you must do something to make things right, then just help me find my daughter.”

“I promise you; I’ll exhaust every connection at my fingertips to find her,” Nelimir said with determination as he looked Nora directly in her eyes.

How peculiar, she thought. Nora had met humans outside of Empryon in the past. Most of them had negative reactions to anyone outside of their race. Jittery movements, tense muscles, hatred, fear, or disgust in their stare, avoidance of eye contact. Who would have thought that the first ones she would meet inside their home would have complete opposite reactions?

“I’ll hold you on to that,” she said.

The door to Nelimir’s office was thrown open. Roesia stood in the doorway heavily breathing. A wide, almost maniacal grin split her cheeks as tears of pure joy unabashedly flowed down her cheeks from crescent eyes.

“I did it!” she yelled.

If the starchild looked behind her right now, she guessed Nelimir would have bulging eyes and an unhinged jaw. At the very least she heard his breath hitch inside his throat and his desk slightly scrape the floor.

The sorceress’s beautiful azure hair had changed into a vibrant red. Horns with soft edges grew out of her head which gave a sense of serenity, almost like staring at calm river water glide through its set path; they were almost identical to Nora’s in the ruby like insides that nearly glowed with an invisible fire. Her tail couldn’t be seen since the robes she wore had enough space to hold it in, but the cloth flickered as the long appendage brushed against it with its wild side to side movement.

Almost like a happy dog, Nora thought fondly.

Roesia was now one of the goddess’s subjects.

 

----------

 

Constant strings of warm water bumped against Yvain’s face and brought him back from unconsciousness. He tried to open his eyes, but the water stung his eyeballs, making him close them back up and remain in darkness. He knew where he was, Elly’s shower. But why was his head resting on her lap? It was easy to tell it was her with how hard her thighs felt against the back of his head. It wasn’t uncomfortable though.

The water source was suddenly cut off to be replaced by a shadow, the still flowing liquid now falling around his head.

Yvain opened his eyes and found Elly calmly staring at him with bruises marring her face and wet hair creating a curtain around the pair.

“Don’t say I treat you badly,” she said a bit awkwardly as a particularly colorful bruise on the edge of her mouth passed down some pain.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said that, neither have I thought it,” he said.

That being said, she has never treated me like this either, Yvain thought. What was up with her? His master stared at him for a bit longer before straightening her back, forcing him to close his eyes again as the shower water fell.

Yvain tried to sit up, but Elly’s hand pushed him back down by the forehead. He grimaced when the large bump on the back of his head smacked against her thighs.

“Sorry,” Elly said quietly but Yvain waved her worry away.

“That was new,” she said as she hovered her head above his again, letting his eyes open. “You’ve always been skittish around me when it came to getting physically close, what changed?”

“Nothing much, I just really wanted to beat you, and I knew you wouldn’t see it coming,” he said.

For a moment Yvain debated telling her about how Nora had aided him in his change, but just the mention of the goddess seemed to make his master irritated, so he decided against it.

That proved to be the right choice as a content smile graced Elly’s lips and she again sat straight.

Yvain grimaced and closed his eyes.

“It indeed caught me off guard,” she said. “Maybe you could have won if only you’d practice your grappling techniques more.”

Yvain scoffed, “That’s never happening. The way you move when you’re only using your hands is almost ethereal.”

Elly snorted, but didn’t refute him. Neither did she say anything else. She remained still as the warm water covered master and pupil.

“Umm,” Yvain began, “should we wash ourselves?”

“Do you hate resting on my lap that much?” Elly asked.

It isn’t a matter of love or hate, Yvain thought. He was itching to get back to Nora.

“Isn’t it almost time for lunch? It’s my turn to cook today, remember? I’ll need at least two minutes of preparation to feed your fat ass.”

Elly audibly sighed and in the next moment pushed Yvain off her lap and onto the floor. “I hope you enjoyed it because it’s never happening again.”

Yvain gave painful chuckles as his own bruises hit the floor. As he got on all fours, he ran his hand across his face to take the excess water off and punched out at Elly’s abbs.

She gave a satisfying grunt of pain as she pushed his fist away.

Yvain stood and stretched his muscles, “We really did a number on each other.”

Elly cradled her fracture forearm, “I’ll say.”

“Maybe we can find someone to take a look at it in Triven,” he said.

His master shrugged and grabbed the soap. She began to lather herself up, but was soon met with an obstacle when she tried to use her injured arm.

“Hand it over,” Yvain said and took the soap out of Elly’s hand. He then covered his own in the pleasant foam and got to work on his master’s body.

He began by rubbing her back, dragging his finger over every hill of muscle and noting how different she was from Nora. His girlfriend had a strong back that was just as soft. But not his master who took things a step further. It was almost like touching rock. The only indication of the opposite being the soft skin surrounding the object.

 He then moved to Elly’s abs. They were absolutely solid too. More so than Nora’s and maybe even his own.

The same couldn’t be said for her breasts though. They were firmer than Nora’s, but still extremely soft to the touch when compared to the rest her body. Massive too. Due to the height difference Yvain had to slightly stand on his toes to be able to reach the higher and farther parts.

“Am I that unattractive to you?” Elly suddenly asked.

Yvain stopped his hands, his crotch practically nestled in his master’s ass.

“Excuse me?” he lamely said.

Elly snatched the soap out of his hands. All that was left was her lower body and she washed it at lighting speed in silence before handing the soap back and leaving the shower and then the bathroom.

Only the sound of cascading water was left in her wake.

Yvain looked down to his completely flaccid penis. ‘Am I that unattractive to you?’ the words bounced back and forth in his mind. What was he supposed to say to that? Elly was… his master. She was someone he might even consider closer to a parent that his biological ones. They didn’t have a parental relationship of course, but she had been there for him when his parents weren’t ever since he was a child. He’d certainly choose her over them any time of the day.

But that wasn’t the real problem. ‘Am I unattractive to you?’ Elly was far from unattractive. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her sexually. His soft cock was testament to that, and she obviously noticed.

He never understood why he was like this. Plenty of women he objectively considered attractive had given him more than enough opportunities to be with them, yet none held his interest. In that void, his training took hold, pushing him toward heights he wouldn’t have reached had he focused on an intimate relationship.

‘Am I unattractive to you?’ stars, how should he treat her now? Should he just pretend ignorance? Address the subject? Rejecting random girls was easy, but this was Elly. He didn’t want to hurt her.

She doesn’t even know that I’m in a relationship with Nora already, Yvain thought as he rubbed the building stress out of his eyes.

He took some comfort in the memories of his childhood friend as he washed himself. She had had a massive crush on him. That conversation was rough, but at least they came out alive on the other side and with their friendship intact.

I wonder what she’s up to these days, Yvain thought as he left the shower.

Slightly opening the door to the bedroom, he peaked through and saw Elly under the covers in her bed. Only her wet hair was visible.

His clothes were in tatters, so he decided to just leave the mess they made untouched. He’d need to go grab fresh ones from his room.

Yvain almost tip-toed his way out, not wanting to handle the situation in that instant.

As he reached the door into the living room his master spoke, “Call me when lunch is ready.”

Yvain looked back part relief and part worry. It seemed that she chose to play ignorance. He could easily play that too.

“I’ll let you know,” he said and left the room.

Standing at the doorway he took a deep breath and exhaled roughly.

That was scarier than fighting her, he thought.

The doorway to both Nelimir’s office and Roesia’s room were wide open. No one was around though. He took that chance to go into his room and get dressed.

There was still no one out and about when he finished, but the voice of an excited Roesia was coming out of her room.

Yvain peeked in but no one was there except the sorceress’s usual mess and another entrance at the end of the room.

That’s new, he thought. The voices were coming from said entrance and as Yvain descended the new set of stairs, he managed to make out some of the words.

“So can you change back?” said Nelimir.

“I’m almost certain that I could, but I don’t want to risk it,” said Roesia.

“You could always move back to my home,” said Nora with a soft laugh.

Yvain was having trouble making heads or tails of the conversation, but the puzzle took shape as he found the trio standing over several liquid filled vials.

Roesia had become beautiful.

Beautiful? Yvain questioned himself.

The trio looked toward him, and Nora’s face lit up like a bright fire in the night before she ran and crashed into his arms.

“I missed you so much,” she said, her tail adorably swinging from side to side.

“I missed you too,” Yvain said somewhat weakly. He had missed her. Even now he was already eager to take her to bed and have her sweating under him. But… he looked to Roesia again. It was like looking at Nora’s younger, adorable sister.

“What do you think!?” the sorceress proudly showed herself off with her hands holding onto her waist and small chest puffing out.

“I think that we need to be careful here and thoroughly look at the implications before celebrating,” Nelimir said, greeting Yvain with a nod.

“Party pooper,” Roesia said with a pout.

Yvain just stood captivated. He was entranced by Roesia’s every move. The demure girl with a skinny, unassuming body, was affecting him as badly as Nora had and did. But he didn’t make any moves. He couldn’t. He already had Nora. And yet…

“Is lunch going to be ready soon?” asked Roesia.

Right, lunch, Yvain thought.

“I still need to get it ready,” he said absentmindedly.

“I’ll help out,” Nora said with a smile and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“We’ll need to have a meeting to discuss Roesia’s change,” Nelimir said.

Yvain quietly nodded and pulled Nora along with him, “Let’s go get things ready.”

His girlfriend happily stuck to his back, almost hugging him as they went up the stair in a position that probably looked funny to outsiders.

Yvain was far from amused though. How in the infinite stars did this happen? His cock was almost fully hard. Images of Roesia begging him to stop as she came on his length, strewn about her desks, books, and any other surface, screamed in his mind. Her small body beholden to his much larger and muscular one. Her eyes begging for more.

He needed to ravish her.

Stars help me.