“Now what?” asked Friska as they watched Annabelle sail away in the sunset.

The five of them stood together on the beach: Porco, Terry, Friska, Chio and Arabella. They had a couple of backpacks and haversacks with them. The fairy gave up on some of her stuff, such as her bed, about half of her clothes, a couple books, and her chest itself, but she still had enough belongings that it filled a human-sized backpack that Iesha gave her, and that currently Terry carried. The boy did not have a lot of things himself.

“Let's go inland!” the succubus suggested.

“Where to?” asked Porco. His eyes were a little dreamy still, he just spectated his succubus-crush being fucked without him getting relief, after all. But now that they were left here for real, the reality of their situation hit him too.

“I don't know,” the redhead shrugged. “Let's look around, I guess.”

“Should we find a place to settle down?” asked Chio. “Maybe we could build ourselves a nice house somewhere.”

Terry remembered helping rebuilding an old man's house in his home village after it collapsed in a storm. He honestly enjoyed the process of putting a building together.

“I think we should keep wandering,” said Friska, looking at a fairy-sized map of hers. It was quite a detailed depiction of the southern continent. “We have hammocks, and it's not gonna get too cold around here. I wanna visit some places.”

“It will be slow to just travel around on foot,” said Porco.

“We have time, don't we?”

“Aren't there some dangers here?” Chio asked.

“With a succubus and a fallen angel, we should be fairly safe. I can also defend myself if it comes down to that. Besides, it's not like settling down somewhere would guarantee our safety.”

“Do we really wanna walk around all day every day though?” asked Arabella.

“We would obviously take breaks,” the fairy retorted.

“Are there interesting places here to visit?” the angel inquired.

“You bet. So much has been lost here ages ago. Ancient, abandoned cities, ruinous palaces, fragments of forgotten cultures... who knows what we could discover.”

“Would be nice if we could get some horses, or wagons even,” Porco was thinking out loud. “Maybe we should have went with the pirates to Murky Bay first.”

“We really should have discussed this before we got here, to be honest.” Friska stated.

“But we didn't,” said Arabella.

“How about Newchance, Ike Lazarus' place?” asked Porco. “We were gonna go there to begin with, it shouldn't be far from here to the west.”

“But it doesn't sound that promising, does it?” Chio objected. “We learnt that Lazarus is against Murky Bay, so his town might not be the most welcoming to strange people like us either. Maybe we should just avoid folks, now that we really can.”

They all fell quiet for a minute.

“So, now what?” asked Friska once more.

Porco reached for his pocket almost instinctively, to grab that coin of his that he liked to flip. But then he realized that right now this dilemma is not just his. “Let's vote!” he suggested. “Who wants to check out Newchance and try to get some horses there?” He raised his hand, Friska almost did too, but she changed her mind.

“How about walking to Murky Bay to the east?”

“That would be kind of awkward, the pirates just dropped us off,” said Friska. Nobody raised a hand.

“How about looking for a place nearby to build a house at?”

Terry almost raised his hand, but seeing that nobody else did, he changed his mind.

“So should we just start traveling south on foot?”

Chio raised her hand, and so did Friska. Terry joined them too.

“I guess it's settled, then,” Porco stated.

“How about you, Arabella?” Chio asked. “What do you vote for?”

“Whatever,” the succubus turned around, and began walking.

 

Leaving the ocean behind, the terrain turned barren. It was an empty land covered by scarce, grey grass and some trees here and there. There were smaller slopes, rocks laying about, and a hill straight ahead. Their journey began at sunset, right after a quite emotional orgy, and so their first goal was to find a place where they can hung up their hammocks for the night. As they soon admitted, it was unclear whether that's a realistic goal, but from the top of the hill, they would at least get a better view, so that's where they went.

The hour of dusk did its final colorful display on the clear sky, giving way to a gradually darkening world. Below, the land was grey, dusty, monotone but wild at the same time, untamed. It somehow felt old, like it was left here from a different era. It was intriguing, but there was something otherworldly and unsettling about it too. The knowledge of the brutal Warren Crown roaming free again definitely added to the allure of going south, away from the water. Still, walking through the vast wasteland that had nothing in it but an occasional dark, lean tree or thorny bush, it was a little creepy.

“It's just a desert,” Arabella said.

Chio chuckled. “I'm just a tiny bit worried, that's all. But I'm very much happy.”

“Yea?”

“You finally have your secure food sources, and a man to have sex with. We are together, and we can do what we want! However long it will last, at the moment I'm very much happy. It's almost like... I have butterflies in my stomach.”

“Cute.”

At this point, they have been walking for an hour or so, and they just began their ascension up the not-too-steep hillside. It was fairly dark now, there was just a stripe of red on the western horizon, the sun was almost gone. Currently, the succubus and the angel walked in front, Porco and Terry a little behind them, and Friska in the back, working her bug-like wings.

Porco was initially spectating their environment determinedly. His eyesight was pretty good, and he was trying to spot a smaller group of trees in the distance, for their hammocks. Or perhaps a river – Annabelle carried plenty of freshwater so they were given enough for days, but it would have been reassuring to find a natural source this early on. Eventually though, he gave up on looking around and instead just discreetly watched the backside of the pair of bisexual women ahead.

He abstained from touching Arabella long enough that she found Chio pretty attractive now too... he wouldn't have minded fucking her either. I shouldn't. Of course I won't, he thought. He was already over it, and he promised Terry. Still, he kissed the girl before, with passion. And he could definitely tell she was a bit embarrassed around him, which was kind of charming. But Arabella... He was horny, and he was going to fuck Arabella, that's what was about to happen. Just like how Owen said, he remembered how being with her was. Even if he wasn't directly affected by her charm at the moment, every glance he took at her, every time he heard her voice, it all reminded him of that overwhelmingly intense power of hers which he fell head-first into before. She was just mere meters away from him, walking casually, with the confidence of a sex-demon. He already fucked her twice. Just twice. Holy fuck.

He almost didn't even notice when Terry slowed down and left him alone with his perverted thoughts.

The boy waited for Friska, who glanced at him a bit absent-mindedly as she reached him.

“Excuse me,” he said.

“Huh?”

“What dangers are here?”

“Oh. How much do you know about the Scorched Lands?”

“Just a little. I know there were demons here.”

“There still are some, for starters. You see, around three thousand years ago, this continent was where the portals from hell opened. Back then it wasn't called the Scorched Lands, it was known as Merigea. What 'scorched' it was the fires of hell, so to speak. This is where the great demonic invasion started. The continent was quickly overran, its kingdoms fell in months, and then the demons began their attack on the rest of the world from here.”

“So... there are still demons?”

“Not too many, but explorers and outcasts have ran into some old ones that were left behind in this realm, there is good evidence for it. The souther you go, the more likely you would be to meet one. There are also undead here, the souls of some of those fallen kingdoms, like orc-ghosts. They are said to be rather... unwelcoming. Then there are exiles, bandits, desperate opportunists. Half-mad barbarians, fabled monsters, grey-mane lions... the list goes on.”

“Oh.”

“That being said, this is the biggest continent, it goes quite far south. There is a lot of space here, and a lot of it is empty. With caution, I think a group like ours should be fine here. If worse comes to worst, we will fight for our lives. I'm honestly more worried about not being able to drink for who knows how long.”

The boy instinctively reached for his flask hanging on his belt.

“I meant alcohol. I only have a bit of rum, and that's it,” Friska tapped her own flask. For a fairy, it was a pretty big liquid-carrier.

“If we have to fight,” Terry shyly glanced at the two women walking ahead of them, then lowered his voice, “I can maybe poke around with a stick. I don't have a sword or anything, so I don't know...”

“Men...” Friska shook her head. “You know very well that we have Arabella and Chio with us. Chio in particular is probably our biggest strength, although she isn't supposed to use her full power if it's not absolutely necessary. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve too. Tomorrow, I'll show all of you my potion collection. You are carrying it on your back.”

“Oh, yea.”

The sky was fully dark by the time they reached the top of the hill. On the moonlit wasteland, they could spot a river down south, and it seemed to have some trees around it too. They all agreed that it's a little too far away though, and that they should rather camp down here on the hilltop for the night.

They pulled out their blankets and set up their sleeping spots next to each other. As they were done with that, Porco took a deep breath, and approached Arabella, wanting to ask her for sex at last. But Chio was quicker.

“Arabella, would you mind making a fireplace?” the girl asked. “We could sit down around it and talk a bit.”

“A fire would be nice,” Friska said, and Terry nodded.

Fuck, Porco thought.

“What to use as firewood?” asked the succubus.

“How about that?” Chio pointed at a thorny bush a little further down on the slope ahead of them.

“If only we had an axe or something,” said Porco.

“You all already know that i'm an angel, so me doing this should be fine.”

The girl walked a bit closer to the bush, and extended her arms towards it. There were some snapping sounds, then the plant started to levitate. Chio even shook the whole bundle in the air, getting the dirt off its roots before she carried it over to them, placing it on the ground.

“Wow,” Terry blurted, and even Porco nodded approvingly.

“All right, then,” the redhead hovered her hands over the dry wood, shooting fire out of her palms. Just like that, their fireplace was made.

“Wow,” said Terry again, while Porco ogled at Arabella for a few seconds. Friska lay down on her side comfortably, close to the flames, on her small blanket. For how warm the days were around here, nights were surprisingly chilly.

As everyone sat down, Chio cleared her throat. “Now that we are here, I thought we could go around in a circle and all share how we feel. Only if you want to, of course. So how is it to actually be out here? How are you guys right now?”

Friska unplugged her rum-bottle and began drinking.

“I guess I can go first,” the girl said. “I'm feeling very excited... and a little bit anxious. But mainly excited, fired up. You know, I have been longing for this kind of freedom for so long now, and so was Arabella. It's almost hard to believe we are finally here, it's still sinking in. But I'm sitting side by side with the love of my life, peacefully in this remote place, surrounded by friends. All of you know what I am and what Arabella is, and it's all okay with you. Or mostly okay, at least. I just...” she clenched her fists and closed her eyes, letting out an adorable little excited scream. “That's how I feel.”

“Cool,” Friska chuckled. Arabella looked at the girl endearingly, and patted her head.

“And I want to pay attention to every one of you,” the girl added. “I want to make sure you all enjoy yourselves as much as possible, that your needs are met. I appreciate that you guys are here with us. It's nice to be part of a group.”

“Uhum,” Terry nodded.

“Who wants to go next?”

“I agree and all,” said Porco. “But at the moment, my head is kind of full with one thing. I really want to... fuck.”

“Cool,” Friska rolled her eyes, and drank up.

“It's been so long... and I just watched you do it with all those guys, Arabella. Could we just... go there?” he pointed towards the other side of the hill, where they came from. “We descend a bit, get out of sight of everyone else... aren't you hungry?”

“Don't get carried away! I wanna hear out the others first, then we can go.”

“Sure thing,” Porco gulped. “Uhm... aside from that, yea, being here is pretty cool and exciting.”

“Friska, how are you?” asked Chio.

“I'm fine,” the fairy replied.

The fire crackled softly in a light breeze.

“Are you?” Arabella asked, staring into the flames. Friska was right at the opposite side of it. “I'm not gonna lie, your little remarks are kind of annoying.”

“Is that so?”

“We talked about it already, you are the one who chose to come with us. Why?”

“Arabella...” Chio grabbed the redhead's hand, but she pulled away.

“No, Chio, I wanna ask her why. I still don't get what her deal is.”

“But...”

“It's okay, Chio.” Friska stood up, and walked around the fire so that she could see the redhead. “You wanna know my deal? I'm a snarky fucking ex-librarian with a drinking problem, and I don't know what to do with myself. That's my deal. You people are at least interesting. And challenging to be with, yes. I can't help not getting grumpy about obscenity, but I'm trying to keep that to myself, goddam I'm trying. But one can only hide their feelings so much, I guess. If you all really dislike me, I can fuck off.”

“I don't dislike you!” Chio declared. “I think you already progressed quite a bit in accepting our... strangeness. I know it's a process for you, and that's fine with me.”

“Arabella, compared to herself, she is being very tolerant with us,” Porco said. “She is getting there.”

“Hey now, don't expect me to come around to getting involved in your perversions,” the fairy crossed her arms.

“We won't!” Chio promised quickly.

“I just don't like people condemning my needs,” shrugged the succubus.

“Then be grumpy at me being grumpy,” shrugged the fairy. And drank. “Hick!”

“It's called bantering,” Porco grinned.

“Okay, whatever,” said Arabella.

After a moment of silence, Friska walked back to her blanket.

“I like being with ya guys,” Terry said suddenly.

“Aw!” Chio's eyes lit up, and she smiled at the boy.

“I'm just... a little sad about me family. I hope they're doin' fine.”

“Oh. I suppose out of all of us, you are the one who was the most attached to his past life, right?” the angel asked. “Well, it's not like you won't ever be able to see them again, being with us for now doesn't have to mean that. If you ever want to go back, please tell us!”

“Yea... but I'm fine. It's no big deal.”

Friska stared at the boy with a raised eyebrow. All she really knew about Terry was that he was a timid young man who was used by Chio and Arabella on their voyage as a sperm-source.

“So... if Porco goes there with Arabella,” Terry pointed towards the other side of the hill, where they came from, “can I go somewhere else with you, Chio?”

“Yea, of course!” the girl said.

“Shall we go, then?” the succubus jumped to her feet.

Arabella and Porco walked over the highest point of the hill's ridge, and disappeared on the other side. Friska lay down on her side by the fire, hugging her bottle. Chio held both of Terry's hands and looked into his eyes. There was a moment of hesitation, then she materialized her white wings. An angel...

“I'm sure there is no one out here... would you like me to pick you up?” she asked, smiling warmly.

“Huh?” Terry blushed. The fairy was still close to them, the little grumpy woman who just looked at him with a raised eyebrow for some reason. Terry was kind of self-conscious.

“Do you want to fly together?” Chio asked softly as she leaned closer to him.

“Y-yes.”

The girl hugged him, asked him to hold on to her body, then she launched themselves into the sky.

Friska turned to watch them, sighing. “Freaking angels...” she unplugged her bottle.

The air was cool, the angel's body was pleasantly warm, but the ground was getting away from under their feet damn fast. Terry gasped, Chio tightened her grasp of him, even wrapped one of her legs around him. They made eye-contact, and she giggled. She looked so happy. Even through such a forceful physical act, her touch was tender and loving.

She slowed down a bit, and maintained their altitude. The stars above their heads were pretty, her face was prettier, but the boy forced himself to look down. The fire was behind them on the hill, below them was the darkness of the barren land. Terry felt that his palms are getting sweaty, and he also felt Chio's tits pressing against his chest. They kissed.

“How is it? Do you like flying with me?” the angel asked.

“Yes!” he answered honestly.

And they kissed again, and spun around, and the boy was less and less scared of the height, until all of a sudden he found himself trusting this girl with an overwhelming sense of euphoria. For some blissful moments up there, she was his everything, her embrace triumphed over the coldness of the whole world, making him feel completely safe. He knew he was all hers, his entire being. Nothing ever felt quite so “right” before.

Eventually, they landed. Chio suggested not to have sex as of right now, and Terry reluctantly agreed: he already orgasmed this day earlier, at the gangbang. Besides, everything was so open around here, it would have been a little difficult to loosen up, especially with the knowledge that the fairy is around too.

Arabella and Porco returned soon after, and then they all lay down in a line. Chio was next to the drunkenly snoring Friska. On her other side, there was Arabella, then Terry, and lastly the succubus-struck Porco. The angel turned to the redhead, and savoured the after-taste of Porco's semen in her mouth. Slowly, everyone stopped fidgeting.

Good night my loves, Chio thought.