<~> Chapter 165

I woke up a while later feeling refreshed. It was hard to tell how long I'd been out without any windows but based on where everyone was at in the Brothel, it hadn't been too long. Oh! Sibyl and Raya were back though, they were hanging out in the common room.

"Looks like you're awake," Morrigan said while gently trailing her fingers through my fur.

I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "I am. I had a good nap."

I glanced at Bella who had also fallen asleep. She was breathing softly and looking rather peaceful.

"I feel a little bad she's been feeling neglected. A lot of things have been going on so it's been hard to split my attention between everyone. ...I haven't even had any time to draw since we've come to Goldenhearth either." I turned to Morrigan. "How are you feeling? You haven't been feeling neglected too have you?"

Morrigan smiled and gave me a kiss. "No. I'm still elated that I've found a kind and loving mistress to share their love with me. Not to mention my two other girlfriends who have been more than accommodating to me. I've told you this many times and I'll probably have to tell you again before long, you've given me more than I could have asked for. I'm happy." She paused and tapped her chin. "But if it'll make you feel better, I promise to tell you if something's wrong. I won't bottle my feelings up like she has a tendency to do."

She sat up and looked at the deer girl on my other side. "I get the impression Bella has a bit of trouble with other people. She's shy, quiet, and has trouble speaking her mind I think. Telling you how she felt was pretty brave of her, she's really trying to be honest and she trusts you not to react too negatively. ...You make me want to follow you but Bella makes me want to protect her. I've quickly grown attached to her in the short time all of us have gotten to know each other."

"I'm glad," I said with a smile. "How are you feeling Mimi?"

"I'm doing great. I've been enjoying meeting everyone and showing my new sisters how to use their powers. ...Maybe I feel a little bad that I didn't notice that Bella was feeling this way but that stuff is hard for me to understand." Mimi's brow furrowed as she looked at the wall.

I slid my hand down her smooth back. "None of that is your fault Mimi but now that she's told me about it, I can make sure to give her a little bit extra attention to make sure she's happy."

"Okay." Mimi nodded her head against my chest which kind of tickled.

"I think we should get up now, Sibyl and Raya are back downstairs."

I sat up and gently shook Bella awake. She blinked up at me with bleary eyes before sitting up and yawning.

"Mmm, how long was I out?" she asked.

"Not sure, I think it's probably still daylight out though based on the number of people in the lobby and common room right now."

She nodded. "Let's get going then. Can I have my clothes please Mimi?"

Mimi placed three separate piles of our clothes on the bed. "It'll be easier if you get dressed yourselves. It's a lot harder to put your clothes back on than it is to store them, I've been trying to practice that though."

"Like the time we were running from the hell hound."

She nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't sure if I was going to do it right but I managed it. It's a little easier with the breastplate because it's kind of a simple shape but it still takes a lot of concentration so I can't do it very easily."

"That... wouldn't have hurt me if you messed up right?" I asked as I started dressing.

"No... probably not. I um, didn't want you to be unprotected though, so I gave it a shot. If I messed up it would have just broken the armor, you would have been fine... I think..."

Man, that would be a scary thought. Telefragged by my own lover.

"Well, I suppose the situation called for it. I'm glad nothing went wrong."

Once the four of us were dressed we headed down the stairs. Through the bond, Sibyl had advance warning and waved us over to where a familiar face was waiting for us. Cecilia, a woman who worked with Tarklin from the merchant's caravan we traveled with. She showed me how to file the paperwork for our mounts at the stable in Norta.

She was a human with dark hair and eyes. She looked muscular compared to most of the women I've seen lately, I guessed she had to have a strength build. The other hint was the large axe in a leather sheath that she had leaned up against the table. I could tell our relative levels were around the same now but I may have hopscotched over her since we arrived in town together.

She stood up and grinned at me when I approached. "Lilith! I thought it may have been you when these two were asking around for Uuna riders. They said they were looking to hire someone to pull a carriage to the capital for their friend, a beastkin ram woman. I'm glad I followed my gut and volunteered myself, it will be good to travel with someone else that can handle the uunas well again."

I smiled and held my hand out. "Cecilia! It's good to see you. You still have uunas with you? I assumed all of them went north with Tarklin."

She took my hand as she replied, "Most of them did but Landa and Nikka are mine. I still have business in the capital so I had to split off from his usual group. Been looking for people to travel with ever since."

I couldn't help but brighten. "You're saying I'll be able to ride Nikka again?"

She chuckled, "Well no, because she'll be helping you pull a carriage, but yes, the uuna you were riding is one of the two I have with me." Cecilia sat down and motioned to the seat across from her. The four of us sat down and got comfortable.

Her eyes trailed along the four of us before stopping on Mimi. "Picked up another girlfriend already? Man, you must have some energy to keep so many women entertained."

Bella looked away, her ears instantly turned red as she became flustered.

"Oh hush," I said jokingly. "But yes, you could say that. Cecilia, this is Mimi. Mimi, Cecilia."

Mimi sat up straight. "Nice to meet you!" Mimi had actually been around her before but that was when she was still masquerading as my necklace or sword all the time.

Cecilia nodded before turning back to Sibyl. "So, when are we leaving and how many people? I saw the wagon you picked out, it's a good deal but it makes me think there's gonna be a lot of ya."

"Seven—" I started.

"No, nine," Sibyl interrupted. "Raya and I want to come with you."

Cecilia raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

"You do?" I asked.

Sibyl nodded. "Since Raya... unlocked her new class, she wants to travel a bit, maybe become an adventurer. I want to help and I think it would be good for her to travel with you for a while. With a carriage, all of us will be able to travel together and contribute to watches. Morrigan can tutor Raya if she's willing, and I can be another front-line fighter for the group while we travel. I don't know if we'll follow you into dungeons or anything, but while traveling we should be a lot of help."

I motioned to Cecilia. "So you helped us with this task to make us more likely to agree? That's a bit underhanded don't you think? You could have just asked."

Sibyl grimaced. "I don't think I made the greatest first impression, I wanted to show you that I can be helpful."

I glanced at Raya who was sitting there quietly, a rush of emotions stormed inside of her right now, eagerness and anxiety being near the top.

I sighed and looked at my friends. "We're already taking Theo along, does anyone have any objections to Sibyl and Raya? As you know, Sibyl's a decent level but Raya is basically fresh. And Morrigan, are you still open to teaching Raya magic?"

Everyone traded looks before Morrigan raised her hand. "I wouldn't mind them coming with us and I wouldn't mind showing Raya more magic as we travel. It will be easier to teach her more practical things while camping on the way to the capital. Not sure if you would rather do that than stay at inns though."

Raya perked up at Morrigan's words, right now she reminded me of a kid who was hoping her parents would agree to take her to get fast food. She was hanging onto every word, hoping we'll all agree.

Torien shrugged. "I don't mind. Raya's our friend and Sibyl's been okay so far."

Silva just shrugged and Mimi enthusiastically nodded her head.

Bella sighed but smiled. "I don't mind but you two will need to keep to your own tent. I don't want to have to fight off orgies every night to cuddle with my girlfriend."

Morrigan grinned and poked me in the ribs. "This one has been neglecting her deer girl and now Bella's gotten possessive. Not that I blame her with the number of people in our room lately."

Cecilia coughed in surprise as her face went red. "Oh shit, orgies? I knew that, well, er, never mind."

Raya visibly switched modes and scooted closer to Cecilia. "Oh? Does the thought of other women intrigue you? Have you ever been seduced by a fox?" she finished with a whisper.

Cecilia shifted and looked away from Raya who was grinning like the Cheshire cat over there. She cleared her throat. "I uh, wouldn't be opposed... assuming there'd be no issues..." Cecelia looked over at me practically begging for help.

I laughed. "Raya, stop teasing her... even if you're serious." I glanced across my friends again to make sure things were settled. "Alright, you two can come with us to the capital. We can head out the day after tomorrow, we'll need to finish purchasing the carriage and buy supplies for the trip. I've finished all of my other business in Goldenhearth for now. Other than that we can take tomorrow to relax before we get back on the road again." I looked over to Cecilia. "Does that all sound fine to you?"

She grinned after recomposing herself. "Sounds great! Sibyl promised me 6 gold for the trip as salary and fodder expenses, half payable when we agree to terms. Does that still hold?"

I looked over at Torien and Silva who nodded to me.

"Sounds like we have a deal. It'll be nice to see Nikka again. I didn't think I'd get the chance again for a while." Under the table, Mimi handed me the gold pouch from my backpack she had stored. I pulled out three gold coins and handed the pouch back to her. "Three gold," I said as I placed the coins on the table.

"Thank ya kindly. I'm sure the big girl will be excited to see you again as well. She seemed to quickly grow on you during our trip up here." Cecilia slid the coins off the table and put them in her own coin pouch before standing up. "Make sure to have the carriage purchased by tomorrow morning. I'd like to make sure the fittings are attached correctly ahead of time so it's easier on us when we leave. Last thing I want to do is leave late because I need to make last-minute adjustments to straps and fiddly carriage fittings."

Sibyl nodded. "Of course." She turned to me. "We should go tonight, I know a guy in town who got me a good deal on a lightly used one. I've already seen it and it's in good shape, it can carry all of us no problem. Only ten gold."

Cecilia smiled and slapped me on the shoulder. "Great to be working with ya again Lilith! Your friend there knows which stable I'm at. Get the carriage delivered sometime tomorrow morning and I'll have it ready to go by the day after. I'll handle the uuna fodder but I'll be counting on you to get the rations for the trip. Please pick something good. I'm sick of dried meat all the time. See ya then!" Cecilia laughed and left the brothel.

Sibyl leaned over. "I was surprised you knew each other. I suppose that explains why she was so interested when I said you were a sheepfolk and gave her a description. I was actually assuming she'd be put off by it but she just grinned and said she'd love to meet you."

I nodded. "As you heard, we've worked together before so I think that helps. Most of the people who were working with our friend Tarklin didn't seem all that interested in the friction between races. All the problems kept coming from the people we were escorting. It'll be nice not to worry about making too much noise, I have a feeling that kind of thing isn't something that would bother her."

Raya put her head in her hands and grinned. "Yeah, she'll be too busy making noises of her own."

Saine

Hello! Looks like we aren't getting rid of Raya and Sibyl yet! Raya ended up being a fan favorite right from the get go and I've had nearly an entire book to decide what I wanted to do with these two. Well, looks like they're going to be tagging along! Some of you will likely want to point out that this conflicts with how Raya was talking about the brothel early on, don't worry, it'll come up. This development isn't completely out of nowhere. I hope people are happy with their addition. I know I am, those two are pretty fun characters to write.

In other news, my new story Umbral Feast has been going up this week. It'll only be up to chapter 3 by the time this chapter goes up but I've been happy by the responses I've gotten so far on here and on the patreon about the new story. If you're interested I'd be happy if you gave it a try! Here's the link: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1075410/umbral-feast

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