I sighed for the millionth time that day, watching the cars trundle past. Life sucked. It sucked, sucked, sucked. Fuck Cheri and her financial report. Fuck Leia and her feedback for my proposal. Fuck Harris and his annual evaluation. Like I cared, I just wanted to live. But the world was all about money and I didn’t get any. Punished because I didn’t care about stupid jobs. Yes, Harris, I don’t want to fucking be here, but I prefer this to ending up homeless where who knows what will happen to me.
Working myself up, I let out another sigh. The lights changing, I started walking across the road, still stuck in my head.
And I missed the shouts to stop, brushing off the person who tried to grab my sleeve. Then I was dead. Dead with a capital D. I sighed, almost feeling relieved. Almost.
“You have regrets?”
I turned around, but there was nothing, no one, just an expanse of emptiness, a void. “Who are you?” I asked.
Tinkling laughter came from all around me. “I suppose, God?”
But it wasn’t a masculine voice and there was humour in it. “Come on, I’m already dead, don’t tease me,” I said.
“Ah, very well. I am a goddess, but of a different world, one with a loose connection to yours.”
I frowned, confused. “Why are you talking to me? Where’s, well, this world’s God?”
“I sort of snatched you up.”
For a second, I just blanked, not expecting that answer at all, then waited another second for the goddess to continue before giving up. “And….”
“It is something of a long explanation, but the short answer is I am capricious and I took a fancy to you, or perhaps it is better to say I pitied you.”
Wryly smiling, I dryly said, “Thanks.”
A tittering laughter sounded this time, not helping the matter. “I mentioned the loose connection to your world. It is that, by coincidence, some people of your world once managed to worship me. Think of it like… one person making up a story, but the story just happening to be true. Because of that, I have a little power over those that pass on.”
“That’s great and all, but, like, so what? You’re taking me to your heaven?” I asked.
“Not quite. In my world, it is not unusual for people from your world to turn up, so I thought you might like to make up for your regrets.”
Finally, she said something worthwhile. “You mean it?” I asked.
“Oh yes.”
I almost begged her right then and there, but hesitated, nothing this good coming without a catch. “What regrets do I have?”
“Why, you are clever, aren’t you?” the voice said, pausing for a few notes of laughter. “To put a name to the core of your regrets… love.”
After waiting for her, that was it. “Love?” I asked, deadpan.
“Love. You regret that, all your life, you were told to prioritise other things. To focus on your education, to perform well in your job, to gain marketable skills, to eat freshly prepared meals, to exercise. You regret that never in your life was there someone who asked nothing of you.”
It was only now I heard that be said that I felt the ache, coming from deep inside my soul. She was right. Well, she did miss something. Not sure if me being a lesbian mattered right now, though, but it didn’t help either. A lot less fish in my sea.
“I can make up for it?” I asked, quiet.
“Yes.”
One word, the final nail in the coffin. “Okay.”
“Wonderful,” she said.
And everything turned white. It wasn’t like black turning to white, more like turning on a light in a dark room. There was nothing, then there was white, blindingly bright. I shut my eyes, covered my face. It didn’t feel like I was moving, more like the universe was, kind of like wind blowing against me instead of my stomach dropping.
Then silence. I lowered my hands, opened my eyes, squinting, everything so bright. But I quickly adjusted and saw I was in a room. Not a normal room, more like an old castle room, walls made of huge, grey stones, the window just metal bars, no glass, and the people were dressed like, well, medieval people. Even the men were wearing robes with a belt, browns and beiges, stockings underneath, high boots made of leather.
I wanted to ask what the fuck was going on, but one of the men grabbed my hand, yanked it painfully and then stared at it.
“A lover, sir.”
With that, he let go and I jerked it back, holding it against my chest. I glanced down, seeing what he looked at: a heart on the back of my hand. It was the icon kind, not realistic, and it was pretty artistic, the black outline loopy and with some flourishes, the inside a glittery salmon pink. Over the top were two female symbols—the one that looks a bit like a key—and their loops were joined, like two rings that couldn’t be separated.
Another man spoke up, said, “Ah, another whore, and a foxkin at that.” He spat on the ground. “Throw her out.”
I didn’t have time to think any more, all of a sudden lifted by two men, carrying me by my armpits. Still in shock, I just stared at the ground, watched the rugs turn to stairs to rugs again to stairs again to dirt. Behind me, a giant door slammed.
Until the shock wore off, I stayed there, then picked myself up. Obviously, the castle was no good. I followed the dirt road towards a distant town.
Maybe I should’ve been more upset or stuck in shock for longer, but, honestly, I just felt so free knowing I never had to go back to that stupid job with those fucking arseholes. Worrying about where I would live or how I’d afford to eat, well, I had already been doing that for years. One bad performance review away from unemployment, one unexpected bill away from living on industrial-sized bags of frozen veggies and potatoes for a month. My old university stir-fry special.
So this wasn’t really that scary.
The dirt road went downhill, not much around to look at. I idly inspected my hand some more and noticed more details on the heart. Well, around the heart. It was in the middle of a circle and the circle had a seven points on it, which were all linked to the top one by a line that went around the heart. Not just that, each point had a Greek letter? Most were α’s, two β’s, one γ.
Eventually, I reached the outskirts of the town. It was surrounded by a serious stone wall, maybe actually a city? Whatever it was, the guards looked at me, looked at where I’d come from, then let me through.
“If I was you, I’d go see The Shepherd. It’s an inn for, well, your people, over by the church,” the one guard said.
“Thank you?” I said. Never hurt to be polite. Probably.
The city wasn’t bustling, maybe the hour, but there were a lot of people. Very quickly, I noticed only half were humans. The other half, some were huge and green, some were tiny and blue, but not like children, and some had tails and ears like animals, some tanned, some not exactly peach, other pale colours. They all pretty much looked human from what I could see.
It was pretty surprising, but the goddess had said she was taking me to another world.
The church was easy to find, spire sticking out, most of the buildings only two storeys tall. Opposite it was a pub, no, an inn, the sign out front a shepherd’s staff… probably. I only sort of vaguely knew shepherds had staffs in the old days.
Anyway, I found it, I went in.
Tables, chairs, a counter for the bar, everything made of wood. Simple designs, the legs blocky, seats and table tops just squares with the corners rounded a bit. Small windows didn’t let in much light, a candle on the bar, the person behind reading by the soft light. Only a few other people, all of them with animal ears and, presumably, tails, their cloaks kind of loose at the back.
Everyone looked at me when I came in, then quickly went back to whatever they were doing.
Except one person.
Over to the side, she stood up and scuttled over, eyes wide and smile wider, pinching her cheeks. With small, grey ears sticking out to go with her puffy cheeks, she looked like a squirrel. Maybe she was, I thought.
“New here, ain’cha?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Ooh, Aphrodite brought another one over, did she?”
I frowned, thinking. “She’s the goddess I met?”
“You came from that other world, right? She’s the one who brings over beastkin and aren’cha just the cutest foxkin?”
Pouting, I thought for a second, then carefully brought up my hand and patted my head.
….
Ears? Fox ears? I turned my head, looked behind me…. A fox’s tail. My fox tail.
“I guess I am?” I said.
She giggled, almost sounding like she was nibbling on something. “Well, my name’s Churoosa, but everyone calls me Roosa. What about ya?”
“Yew,” I said.
“I just told ya! I’m Roosa,” she said.
I rolled my eyes, definitely not the first time someone had done this to me. “Y-E-W, Yew—that’s my name,” I said.
“Ooh! I see,” she said, nodding, then clapped her hands together. “Pleased to meet ya, Yew! Now, I don’t wanna be pushy or nothin’, but, since you’re new here, want me to tell ya some important stuff? I can answer your questions too! Seriously, I’ve helped tons of people like you before.”
No one else was paying us any attention. If she was, in some way, evil, I felt like someone would’ve been watching the show. “Okay,” I said.
“Great. Want to come up to my room? Nice and comfy,” she said, eyes bright.
She didn’t sound like she had any funny ideas…. “Sure,” I said.
Taking my hand, she tugged me over to the staircase, passing the bar on the way. As we did, my ears twitched and I could’ve sworn I heard the woman behind the bar mutter, “Slut.” But I probably misheard because Roosa just gave the barmaid a grin before continuing to tug me upstairs.
Her room was small, barely big enough for a bed and a side table. It was more comfortable to sit on than just wood, though, so she wasn’t wrong about that. I looked around, but there wasn’t anything to see. Just a cloth sack with a sleeve sticking out—where she kept her clothes, I guessed. Not like there was a wardrobe or anything.
“So, Yew, let’s get started,” she said.
I nodded.
“Can I see your hand?” she asked, so I showed her the strange heart. She looked over it closely, tutting. “I see, I see. Well, you’re the lover class, and these numbers are your attributes and rank.”
I already knew about the lover bit, but the other half—“Attributes and rank? Am I really good then? Alpha is good, right?”
She laughed, patting my hand. “Oh sweetie, alpha is the worst,” she said.
“Oh,” I mumbled.
“Don’t worry, though, it’s the same for all you otherworlders. Well, mostly.”
I tried not to pout, but it was hard, feeling like Aphrodite had bullied me.
“Anyway, so you’re a lover. Guess the castle threw you straight out, huh?” she said, pausing to chuckle. “Putting it simple, ya gain skills to do with sex quick and easy.”
I heard what she said, but couldn’t help say, “I’m sorry, what?”
She smiled at me, but it was a different smile, her eyes a little narrowed. Her hand holding mine moved, her fingers sliding between mine.
“There’s a similar class called entertainer. They can learn to play any instrument in a day, and be masters after a month if they have a good teacher,” she said.
Her gaze flicked down, back to my hand.
“A lover can, well, learn… how to please people. Kissing, touching… fucking,” she said, quieting to a whisper by the last word.
I swallowed, salivating for some reason that I didn’t want to acknowledge right now.
“It’s a bit complicated. I’m a labourer, so I can’t teach you any skills, but I can help you learn them yourself. What do you think?”
She punctuated her question by squeezing my hand, staring into my eyes again. It felt like she was closer, but I didn’t see her move, maybe being pulled in by her gaze.
I could’ve sworn I heard Aphrodite laughing at me.
Heart thumping in my chest, I felt my self-control breaking down a little more every second I looked into her eyes. Thump, thump, thump—
I leaned in and kissed her.
It wasn’t my first time, but I’d always been drunk before, a kiss and maybe some groping in a gay bar on ladies’ night. That was why I thought kisses weren’t really that special. Now, though, I was completely sober, yet still melted. Mind blank, heart beating faster, louder, already feeling weaker.
She was good too. Her lips kept moving, opening up to let me in, then squeezing me out, our lips rubbing, and sometimes her tongue teased me. It felt so good, like I couldn’t explain. Like seeing colours for the first time. It was just touching, but the feelings, warm feelings, swallowed me up in a haze. No confusing it for the alcohol this time.
I didn’t think. Kissing her felt good, so I kept kissing her. My hands felt jealous, so I touched her. One hand rested on her thigh, the other kept me up. But touching wasn’t enough. I squeezed her, felt how soft she was, then rubbed up and down.
She did the same to me: a hand on my thigh. As soon as I felt the touch, my breath hitched, tingling, the feeling running up from where she touched, pooling below my stomach. Then she gently ran her nails up and I shivered, my pussy clenching.
Like she knew what happened, her hand moved to the outside of my thigh, her fingertips just about on my butt, and broke away from my lips to whisper, “We’ll just teach you kissing today, okay?”
“Fucking tease,” I muttered, then kissed her again, ignoring her giggles that tickled my lips.
| Name | Yew |
| Race | Foxkin |
| Class | Lover (Sapphic) |
| Rank | α |
| Strength | α |
| Dexterity | γ |
| Constitution | α |
| Intelligence | α |
| Wisdom | β |
| Charisma | β |
αβγδεϛζηθ
why no λ?
That's 30, which does come up in the last chapter
Interesting system