Hour after hour passed, and the Lady of Falling Stardust -- as she had been referred to euphemistically by late Elvish scholars of the Caldonian Empire -- had eaten all the stew-- not that she truly needed to eat, but it was something to do while she waited for her mate to return. She was beginning to get frantic, worrying about all the ways she had seen people die, and she hid under the covers completely and curled up, trying to get some sleep, but then ended up peeking out at the door again.

She wondered if it was a mistake to let her mate go without her... maybe she didn't want her anymore... or maybe she had died... she bit her lip and tried not to cry... she was so scared she'd lose her mate, who she had just only started to get to know, but the scaredness and sadness went on so long she was getting bored of it... but there wasn't anything much she could do.

She buried her head in the covers and sniffed, taking in her departed mate's scent, which she might never smell again... when the door started to open, shining the light of the late afternoon past her beloved mate. She immediately sat up.

Eoforhild stepped in, hauling a heavily loaded sled in to grate against the stone floor and scatter snow and bits of ice across the floor.... then smiled, relieved, as her eyes adjusted to the darker room, she saw her cute pet -- still completely naked -- rise out of the covers and rush over to her.

Mercy was too excited and unable to stay in place as she smiled up at her with all her heart and paced around her and started to tear up. "You came back to me!"

"Of course I did, this is my home after all... and you are my cute little slave." Seeing that the girl seemed uncertain what to do, Eoforhild wrapped her Little Mercy in a hug and pulled her close, and the young woman eagerly snuggled against her, shivering a little at first at the cold on the outside of her clothes. "Now please stop crying... that's not a command, but I'd prefer to see you smile."

"Yes, my lady!" Mercy hadn't really stopped smiling, but she wiped her tears away and sniffled a little.

Eoforhild laughed softly and stroked Mercy's head. "Such an eager girl... why don't you kneel on the floor while I get out of these clothes?"

Mercy kneeled obediently, watching with wide eyes and a slight smile as her mate slowly and carefully removed her outer and inner clothes, folding them all up, and then walked over to bathe herself with a rag and a bit of water... it had been a long walk outside, after all, and a heavily loaded one on the way back.

Still naked, her skin glistening with the slight wetness in the light of the fire, Eoforhild strode towards Mercy and took hold of her head, guiding it to her crotch. "Now, lick me... start with licks along the surface, and then start slowly thrusting your tongue in, getting it deeper and deeper, until you're getting it as deep as you can."

Mercy obediently licked Eoforhild's pussy lips, tasting the other kind of wetness that was already forming down there, and she decided she didn't particularly care for it, it was a strange flavor she was utterly unfamiliar with, after all... but Eoforhild's little gasps and breathy moans, on the other hand, her hand petting and sometimes clutching at her head, made it more than worth it. She started thrusting her tongue as deep as it could go, but it wasn't very deep, so she started making her tongue longer and longer, until Eoforhild's muscular hips were trembling as she plunged it deep inside her and nuzzles her face against her crotch, rubbing her mate's clit a little in the process.

Eoforhild tried to gently push her head back, but Mercy was having none of it, eager to make her mate feel as good as she had been made to feel, and Eoforhild panicked for a moment, wondering if she'd have to use force, if Mercy was some sort of monster, and pushed a little harder. "Mercy, stop!"

Mercy stopped immediately, pulling back and pulling her tongue back into her mouth, and looked up at her mate quizzically. "Was I doing it wrong?"

Eoforhild laughed a little at the release of tension as she realized Mercy had just been being as obedient as possible and following her words. "...not wrong persay, but when I push your head away like that, it means to stop."

"...oh. Yes, my lady!"

Eoforhild stroked Mercy's head adoringly. "Open your mouth and stick out your tongue."

Mercy obediently did so, showing off her absurdly long pointed tongue, and Eoforhild examined it... that had definitely not been there when she kissed her deeply.

"...how did your tongue become like this?"

Mercy tensed a little, but her first response was entirely incoherent, giving she was still sticking out her tongue, and Eoforhild giggled. "Good girl, being so obedient... but you can pull your tongue back into your mouth first."

Mercy could no longer avoid the question by being intelligible. "Well... you said to thrust it deep inside, and I couldn't thrust my tongue very deep, so I wanted to have a longer tongue, I guess, and... then I did?" She tried to make it sound as if she didn't properly know how to shapeshift, before looking up at her mate with concern. "Is it bad?"

Eoforhild's eyes widened at the explanation simultaneously impressed with two things-- apparently Mercy had some sort of inborn talent to shapeshift, but more than that, she had altered her body, possibly permanently, just to make herself closer to what Eoforhild wanted. A possessive joy danced through as she stroked her captive's head ."No, it's perfect... you're such a perfect girl for me, my Little Mercy."

A little shiver of happiness ran through Mercy's body as she smiled up at her mate with utter devotion... even her worshippers asked her to move on to other lands, albeit politely, but Eoforhild wanted her to stay, and it felt so strange and good to have someone to obey and love.

"...perhaps that's why you were able to survive in the cold. Unconscious adaptation." Eoforhild pressed a couple of fingers against Mercy's lips, at which Mercy obediently opened her mouth. Eoforhild gently slid her fingers inside, softly stroking her tongue, causing a little moan from her kneeling slave. "Do you think you can keep your tongue like this?"

Mercy started to respond incoherently -- it wasn't really easier to talk with her mate's fingers in her mouth than her tongue sticking out -- before shrugging. She certainly could, but she was trying not to give herself away, so a noncommittal answer was better... but if it would make her mate happy, she totally would.

Eoforhild laughed softly, and took hold of Mercy's tongue, wanting to show her dominion over her Mercy. "Okay, don't worry about it too much."

Mercy practically swooned... her mate was keeping her fingers right in her mouth under her teeth, showing she trusted her... maybe it was a bit like the licking the inside of her mouth that the wolves did... did her mate think herself inferior to Mercy now? She felt a little disappointed.

Eoforhild, noting her look of disappointment, slid her fingers out of her mouth, and stroked her cheek with her hand that wasn't covered in saliva. "Something wrong, my cute little slave?"

"Oh... I just wanted you to order me around more," admitted Mercy plainly.

Eoforhild laughed. Either the girl was so used to being ordered around that she expected it, or she knew it defined her relationship with Eoforhild specifically. "If you like, prostrate yourself on the ground before me."

Mercy eagerly did so, laying her body down on the cold floor and shivering a little... the sensation didn't feel good, but she had asked to be obedient.

Eoforhild stroked her head with her bare foot. "Turn your head to the side." Mercy complied, and Eoforhild pressed her foot down gently against the side of her head-- surely this would remind her of the absolute power her lady had over her.

"Your foot's warm," said Mercy softly, relaxed, focusing on that heat in her foot, thinking about how her mate had brought warmth into her life and put her into heat, wanting to mate with her again and again and again.

Eoforhild nodded slightly, as her suspicions were confirmed... for whatever reason, Mercy felt relaxed when she made their dynamic clear... the threats frightened her, but knowing she was Eoforhild's possession just seemed to make her relaxed and happy, as far as she could tell. "Back up to your knees, my darling," she said gently as she removed her foot from her Mercy's head.

Mercy quickly slid back up into kneeling position, and sniffed at Eoforhild's crotch, taking in the scent of her arousal happy -- and her guess for her next activity was right, because Eoforhild pressed her lips back against her crotch. "Kiss, my Little Mercy, and then use your tongue again."

Mercy kissed Eoforhild's outer lips reverently, then slowly dragged her tongue, pressing it against her folds, before thrusting it inside her again and again, eager to drive her mate to orgasm.

After a moment, Mercy felt her head being pushed gently, and pulled her tongue out, and looked up to see Eoforhild smiling down at her as she petted her head. "I forgot how good you are at this... I'll have to sit down." She walked over to the bed and spread her legs, and patted her own crotch. "C'mere."

Mercy crawled over quickly -- it was hardly the first time she had been on all fours -- and then lowered her lower body back down into a kneeling position, and moved her head up against her mate's crotch, starting to lick and thrust as she felt Eoforhild hold her head in place, and was reassured she was doing the right thing.

Eoforhild clutched at Mercy's head, wondering how the girl was so good at this despite her lack of experience, and had so much stamina... well, if she had slept with other women before and lied to try to change herself into who Eoforhild wanted, she didn't really mind.

In truth, Mercy could barely remember any attempts to sleep with others -- she had tried, but for some reason men didn't often seem pretty cute or pretty to her, and even though she could admire women from afar, once she was up close she was inevitably dealing with overpowered or awed women, who had always seemed uninteresting to her in a sexual or romantic sense-- that was before the latest "moral test" trend among deities... she had been known as a cruel but honest goddess, as she had never really tried to deceive anyone as to her nature before.

But at the moment, other people were the last thing on her mind, as she was utterly focused on lavishing Eoforhild's pussy with pleasure, her long tongue she had created just for her mate's pleasure thrusting inside her energetically and tirelessly.

"Yes, that's my good girl... right there... harder... harder...!" Eoforhild was getting off on her power over Mercy as much as her tongue, really, certain that her Little Mercy's utter obedience stemmed from doing her best to survive with her life in the palm of Eoforhild's hand, and soon enough she was cumming hard on her tongue.

Mercy utterly devoted herself to Eoforhild, holding her breath even when it became a bit uncomfortable, needing to satisfy her mate and prove her worthiness to her. She didn't stop at Eoforhild's cries of pleasure, nor when her mate released her head, but at a slight push, pulled her long tongue out of her, eliciting another moan from her mate. She looked up at her happily, she had done what she was supposed to do.

"Good girl," she petted Mercy's head, and pulled her up for a kiss, wondering if it was time... she could hardly imagine Mercy disobeying her, as much as she might hate it, so... "on the sled there's a box about this big," she said, gesturing with her hands. "bring it to me."

"Okay!" Mercy stood up, ran over to get the box, ran back, handed it to her, and then kneeled without even being told this time, only to be rewarded by another stroke of her head.

"Now, you're such a good girl from me, I'm going to make you my officially mine, okay?" Eoforhild held the collar up.

"Okay, my lady!" Mercy raised her chin to present her neck proudly... humans gave each other rings, and they gave their dogs collars, which was much the same thing, right? It was a proof she belonged with Eoforhild, of their bond.

"But that means I'll be much harsher with mistakes... are you ready for that?" Eoforhild slowly moved the collar towards Mercy's neck, smile widening.

Mercy pulled back immediately, her eyebrows rising as she saw her mate's smile fold into an expression of disappointment, and a soft whine came from Mercy's lips... she didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry, my lady, I'm not that confident... I messed up just yesterday... I'm trying my best... I don't feel like I know how to live without you." She had become emotionally dependent on her mate quickly and intensely, and very much did not want to give that up, and looked up into Eoforhild's eyes pleadingly, tearing up a little.

Eoforhild smiled brightly and a little cruelly as she saw Mercy panicking, and set the collar aside, letting her new property sit there in that for a moment. "...Hmm... it would be a shame to lose my cute little mate...."

Mercy whined needily at her words. "Please, my lady...." Her voice was soft and desperate.

"As long as it's not intentional, deliberate disobedience, I can forgive my mate anything... if she submits to punishment when she messes up." Knowing how desperately her Little Mercy wanted to be recognized as her mate, she held it out as a temptation for her.

Mercy blinked at that, looking confused rather than scared. "But I said I'd do whatever you asked... naturally that includes letting you punish me."

Eoforhild blinked a few times too-- then slapped Mercy all of the sudden, and looked down at her, watching her reaction.

Mercy's head had moved with the slap, of course, but otherwise she seemed unphased, looking up at her mate curiously, waiting for more punishment without judgement or fear-- that light slap barely stung.

Eoforhild suddenly got a feeling of mixed fear and guilt... just what had happened to the girl that she could take a slap with hardly a reaction? No, it was like she expected to be treated this... the only thing she was afraid of was being abandoned into the cold to die... like her family did to her. She forced her lips into a smile. "That's all this time... I don't really feel like hurting my Little Mercy today... but do your best to behave better, okay?"

Mercy smiled at that. "Yes, my lady!" Her smile widened further as her mate patted her lap, and she climbed up into it, pressing her naked body close against her mate's without any sense of shame.

Eoforhild clicked the collar around her neck. "There. You're mine until the day you die," she said softly.

Mercy buried her head in Eoforhild's shoulder and was sobbing uncontrollably at that... she was that relieved.

Eoforhild stroked her new slave's hair. She would let her Little Mercy go in the spring probably, if she really wanted to leave, probably... she was more of a catch and release type girl... but she didn't want her to be afraid of abandonment, and the words of Idronath echoed in her head... That she was always the one running from relationships. Not this time. If her cute little slave could endure being hers... "You're clearly doing your best to be mine, so as long as that's the case, I'm not going to threaten you with putting you outside again... but I do want you to fear me as well as love me, so we're going to find other ways to make you scared of me. Understand?"

Her slave nodded against her shoulder, still crying shamelessly...a sadistic part of Eoforhild wondered if there was some shame buried deep within her that she could dig up... she wondered if her Little Mercy would willingly suffering embarrassment so bad she felt like dying just to please her lady... although she had no idea what that would look like.

Well, they'd have plenty of time to figure it out together.