Going on as she had up to then appeared to be working even in this new position, so Tomoe kept her steady pace up, earning some gentler treatment which managed catch her off guard a bit. Somehow she had not quite expected that. Not before long it got back to how it had been though, which brought the miko back to the reality of the situation. The the imminent climax caused her to back off, which only served to get one side of her face sprayed with love juices, a humiliating shower that was only made worse with the onlooking fey. While the priestess did not like them being there to look at the ongoing barrage of shame, she could find some comfort in it as who knew where Kei would go with the abuse if someone was not looking at her doings.
Taking the opportunity to wipe her face as Kei retreated to her pack, Tomoe found herself facing the next phase of the assault as she got her face up again. The nature of what was being prepared for her was still hidden away from her sight, not really making it any easier to prepare for the terrible ideas that the redhead had planned for her. Considering how flamboyant she was being about the whole thing, it could not be anything good. And as expected, the miko was required to carry on the act, starting with going over to the other Easterner. With no real excuse to try and get herself out from the situation, the shrine maiden did as she was being told to, crossing the gap between the two of them while keeping herself on all fours and stopping once she was at the proper spot.
Tomoe: HP = 0/107, PP = 51, EP = 61/76, Status = Defeated
NPC Stats
Shenron: Fine
Ryuji: Fine
Kei: Taken 114 damage and spent 10 EP.
Despite that she put no effort into making it any more appealing than it naturally was, Kei would watch Tomoe crawl toward her with her hunger naked and constantly growing. The flush present on the cheeks and breasts of the pale redhead became even more pronounced, and as Tomoe drew nearer she licked her lips and used the hand she had beckoned the miko over with to begin slowly sliding her fingers back and forth over her sex. The two observing faeries would also be unable to hide the allure they felt at watching the busty miko crawl toward Kei, Rhoswen adopting a blush like Kei's despite the frown on her face and the gruff healer watching with a slight smile as something stirred within the fur of his crotch.
"Makes you jealous, doesn't it?" Kei said as Tomoe stopped at her feet, tossing a glance towards Rhoswen and her companion. The former scowled in response, but the other casually nodded in agreement, "who wouldn't be?" Rhoswen tossed a scandalized look at the gruff, who merely shrugged while Kei turned back to Tomoe while chuckling aloud. "Don't look down on him... Who wouldn't want a taste of that, watching her crawl on hands and knees? So perfectly compliant.... I could order you to crawl right over there and please him however he liked, and you would do it, wouldn't you?" Kei said, grinning maniacally.
The hand hidden behind her back would come forward, displaying a black leather strap and something long and crystalline attached to it. The leather portion was quickly applied to Kei's crotch, straps tying around her waist and causing the crystalline section of the odd belt to jut forward. The object was long and round, made of a pale blue, transparent, crystalline material, and decidedly phallic in shape. It was extremely well carved, having hardened lines that would mimic the veins on the real thing carved into its design, ridges that could only feel wonderful against her insides, and a rounded, domed tip with a pronounced ridge followed by a dip where it met the shaft. "Lick it," Kei commanded, "get it nice and wet, just like the naught pussy that I'll be slipping it into within the next few minutes!"
Should Tomoe obey, she would perhaps be surprised to find that the crystal phallus possessed an oddly sweet taste, like the hardened candies pedaled in the candy shops of the wealthier cities to the East, now abandoned after the aliens emptied them of life. It was an innately appealing flavor, and the more she had of it the more her taste buds would begin to crave it. "Mmmmm, look at that? You're practically made for this," Kei remarked disdainfully while gazing down at Tomoe with ever increasing lust, "I'll bet you're getting wetter with every little taste, aren't you? Why don't you suck on it for a while? Show the faeries what they're missing by not taking more advantage of that body of yours!"
Having made her way across the gap between them, Tomoe settled down at Kei's feet, not having any will to look at the others as they had their exchange about her. The idea of having to go and serve the gruff did not appeal to her, even though she had nothing against him or any of his kind, just the fact that she would have to do something so lewd. The whole event with her doing the redhead had already been enough to bother her immensely, and now this was being suggested. "Please stop thinking about such things... This is not getting any easier..." the miko said in a low voice as her attention turned to the now revealed item that had been taken out from the other Easterner's pack, something that she found strange for anyone to be carrying about during a serious journey across the land. But it was another sign towards the not-so-nice nature that the redhead had been hiding up to now.
And as luck would have it, the next thing to be expected from her was to lick the strange crystal fake penis. After giving it the first awkward lick, Tomoe found out that the thing was something far more than a simple piece of handicraft made into a sex toy. It was a really devilish piece of work, having some kind of addicting quality to it as the taste was really nice and all kinds of nostalgic as well, taking the shrine maiden back really far into her childhood and the stores that sold those candies back then. While candies were pleasant on their own right when enjoyed once in a while, this mineral dick pushed that kind of thinking away and made anyone tasting it develop an obsession towards it somehow. And the addiction was strong enough to make the miko switch from simply licking the thing into using her mouth and taking it in as she mentally cursed Kei for possessing something this devious and actually using it on her like this.
Tomoe: HP = 0/107, PP = 51, EP = 61/76, Status = Defeated
NPC Stats
Shenron: Fine
Ryuji: Fine
Kei: Taken 114 damage and spent 10 EP.
"Hahahahahaha..... Not think about it?" Kei replied to Tomoe's pleading disdainfully while the miko obeyed her lewd command, running her tongue over the crystalline shaft that she had produced. She would wait until the priestess had obeyed her second command and taken the sugary shaft between her lips before adding, "Not think about what? Making you crawl over to him... And wrap your lips around his cock, just like you're doing to my little toy now?"
Her fingers once again laced through her silky black hair as Kei reached out and grabbed the top of Tomoe's head, and with a fairly gentle touch began to urge Tomoe to take more and more of the crystalline shaft into her mouth. She wouldn't need any greater force, however, as the sweet taste quickly disseminated throughout her mouth as she took it in. The harder she sucked, the more the alluring taste would fill her senses, as if the crystal rod was melting in her mouth, and for a moment Kei would be content to allow the priestess to do as she liked with it. Another few moments later, however, the hand on Tomoe's head would begin to urge her to bob back and forth, the shaft of the fake cock sliding in and out of her mouth.
The taste would redouble again, prompting an automatic urge to continue, and if Tomoe bowed to that urge Kei would remove her hand and smirk down at the miko. "You like it don't you? I know you do.... Answer... Moan if you like it. Moan like a whore that loves sucking cock~" she would purr after watching Tomoe demean herself for a minute or so, but regardless of the warrior miko's reaction she would make no further comment and simply watch as Tomoe was forced to suck on the redhead's fake cock. The intoxicating taste produced by the thing wouldn't stop, and even though Kei seemed to take no physical pleasure from the miko's actions she would watch with obvious enjoyment as Tomoe's pointless efforts to please the fake phallus rewarded her with a constant supply of the alluring taste produced by it.
"Mmmmm, I think that's quite enough, I think! You're certainly an eager student, aren't you? I'm sure you'll enjoy practicing that on your pet hunter later.... But for now, turn around and raise your ass. It's time for you to find out how good my toy feels when it's in your pussy!" she would announce suddenly, and then gesture with a circle of her finger as she commanded Tomoe to turn around, as if she were nothing but a dog being taught a trick.
For some reason, Kei held back on commenting further until she had Tomoe in a position where she would not be able to answer, only doing it once the miko had already accepted the devilish crystal device inside her mouth. As that damned sweet honey taste came to her again, the only thing that she could manage to come back with was a particularly hateful look, not something that the priestess usually gave to anything besides the most foul and degenerate villains. The look could not last long though as the suggestive hand came down onto the miko's head again to prod her onwards with the candy crystal and not just stick to the top like she was at the moment. It was the most comfortable that way, but it looked like she would have to go further down to please the redhead. Doing her best to take in as much of the phallic object as she could, the shrine maiden found herself being aided in the task by that wonderful taste that just did not let go, as distressing as it was. Only once the tip of the false penis poked at her throat did Tomoe stop trying to advance any further, seriously fearing that she might choke herself on the thing while sucking on it.
After coming back to the tip, there was another urge to action from the guiding hand in Tomoe's hair, this time prodding her towards starting a full blowjob on the magic phallus. Even though the whole idea seemed like an exercise in futility, the addicted miko was not caring all that much, not wanting to rid herself of the wonderful taste as it was the only good thing she had for herself in the entire episode. Going along with what was being asked, the priestess slid up and down on the strange artifact as it kept coating her tongue with the sugary stuff over and over again as long as she kept on sucking as good as she could. And as efficient as she was with it, taking in as much of the strange sex toy as she could with each thrust, there always appeared to be more need to humiliate her further as Kei came in with another few derogatory lines, which there would be no positive reply to. Even in such a degenerate state, Tomoe would not lower herself to the level of some sex-addicted slut, and kept her focus on the task at hand while ignoring the remark to the best of her ability. While she did think like that, the sounds of her sucking on the thing would still not be much better though.
Spending a while on sucking in as much of the sweetness as she could, Tomoe was eventually removed from the experience as Kei had her fill of the humiliation theater, which brought the miko out from her sucking period as she pulled herself away. It still did look like the redhead had more plans ahead, not surprising at all. And for some reason, she just had to bring Shenron up again, managing to push the priestess' buttons with that one line. "Pet... Just why does everyone think like that all the damn time?! HE'S NOT A PET OF ME OR ANYONE ELSE! SHEN IS MY COMPANION AND FRIEND, NOT SOME BIRD IN A CAGE OR A LAPDOG!" she broke out in a small fit, beginning to have enough of this farce as all the verbal abuse was starting to drive her towards an anger limit. She would probably have little in the way of actual defense, but the miko was not going to co-operate as easily now. "Do what you want. I'm through with following your orders, so go and do what you have planned by yourself. If you think hurting me is going to get you anything, you'd be wrong." she announced her denial against the redhead's plans, standing her ground and not following through with that was being ordered right then. The shrine maiden would not try to resist the assault in any way, glaring at her fellow Easterner again with that hateful look from before, almost daring her to do her worst.
Tomoe: HP = 107, PP = 51, EP = 76, Status = Fucked Silly
NPC Stats
Shenron: Fine
Ryuji: Fine
Kei: Fine
Tomoe's outburst following the redhead's remarks about Shenron actually seemed to surprise Kei somewhat, though her arrogant smirk didn't disappear from her face despite the quirked eyebrow. "Oh ho ho, so that's what it takes is it?" she asked with a mildly derisive laugh, "you take all of my abuse, but when I call the lizard what he is, you get angry? That's almost adorable~ He can barely talk, barely functions on his own when you aren't around, and listens to everything you say religiously! He's as close to a pet as a creature capable of speech can be!"
The angrier Tomoe appeared, the more amused Kei would seemingly grow, and her refusal to cooperate so easily would only amuse the woman more. Still heavily battered from their sparring match, Tomoe wouldn't have been able to put up any real struggle even if she had intended to fight the redhead's next bout of abuse. Kei would stroll around the defiant miko until she was standing behind her, place a foot on the center of Tomoe's back, and push until her face was down in the dirt. "Lucky for you, I have no plan on hurting you.... Much~"
The redhead swiftly dropped to her knees and reached over her to grab Tomoe's wrists, pulling them back so that the priestess was stuck in that position, and without even using her hands she aimed her fake cock at the priestess's sex. Despite her anger, the arousal left over from her earlier orgasm and the natural arousal that occurred with the oral antics she had been forced to do left her wet enough to permit the tool to slide right in, and whatever Tomoe's efforts to keep herself quiet the pleasure produced by her inner walls being spread apart by the ridged, stone-hard crystalline member would draw a lewd moan from her lips. Her body would naturally clamp down on the intruder once it was about halfway into her, letting her feel every contour of it against her soft folds, intensifying the sensation as Kei shifted slightly to slowly drive herself forward inch by inch until she could feel the tip nudge lightly against her cervix.
"Nnfff, tight fit~ Your slutty pussy likes it even more than your mouth did!" Kei grunted as she held mostly still for a moment, even the tiny shifts producing bursts of ecstasy in the miko's sensitive folds. Still holding her wrists, Kei would slide back with excruciating slowness, sending a wave of pleasure crashing through Tomoe's body that was matched perfectly by the second wave that crashed through her when the redhead slowly slid back in. Helpless to do anything other than moan against the ground, Tomoe would have to endure the slow assault for only a few moments before, despite any efforts she might have made to resist it, the priestess would feel the waves of pleasure suddenly clench inside of her as a pressure that had built up. A white hot explosion of raw physical sensation that blotted out all of her senses other than touch burst through her body, the intense pleasure of the sudden orgasm again forcing Tomoe to release it through a lewd outcry accompanied by the uncontrollable shuddering of every muscle in her body.
"Well, aren't you easy to please?" Kei purred once Tomoe could experience her senses other than touch once again, but she was hardly done with Tomoe with only one. She continued to thrust, now going slightly faster, and that only led to an increase in the intense pleasure wracking through Tomoe's body. Merciless as ever, Kei's steady thrusts would quickly build Tomoe up towards another peak, and her second orgasm was even stronger than the first. Her second peak again caused Kei to start to take her faster, the redhead now panting softly as she thrust her crystalline tool in and out of the miko's sex, and again she would go through an intense build up followed by another even more intense orgasm.
Kei would finally release her wrists, letting her do as she liked with them, but at that point the pleasure was too intense for her to offer any real fight. Her body could barely move besides (and because of) the intense shuddering induced by the pleasure wracking through her, and soon enough Kei would be thrusting hard and fast enough to add wet smacking noises to the chorus of moans being ripped from Tomoe's throat and the soft panting of the woman causing all of it. Orgasm after orgasm would wrack Tomoe's body, so many and so close together that it was impossible to tell how many, but the physical sensation caused by the hard tool only kept on growing more intense as Kei's thrusting came faster and faster. It was impossible to tell actually how long the redhead abused her, but it would take a long while, and by the time she was finished and finally pulled out she had cum so many times that she could barely even move.
"I think you liked your punishment," Kei would say heavily between panting breaths, before her hand was descend to deliver a stinging blow to the miko's upraised backside. "Too bad we didn't have a bigger audience~ I'd have had a bit more fun humiliating you if I could have done it in front of Shenron!" she continued as she slowly crouch walked around so that she was in front of the fully satisfied priestess. Kei would grasp her by her hair and drag Tomoe's head up so that she was again level with the kneeling redhead's toy, "clean it!" Too weak to resist, Kei would force the crystalline toy into her mouth once again, shoving it all the way down her throat and thrusting a few times, forcing Tomoe to gag on the mixed taste of her love honey and the toy's sweet taste, before pulling out and leaving the fake cock glistening with her drool instead of her cum. With that, Kei would simply release her, unbuckling the belt and casually strolling away.
Within a few moments the redhead's clothes were back on, and her things were packed away again, though Tomoe was given no help in returning to a state of decency. "Thanks for the match. It was.... Interesting~ We'll have to do this again sometime!" she said brightly, and then gave the nearly comatose miko another smack on her upraised rear, "I'll go and collect Shenron and your new one, shall I? We'll be leaving shortly, so hurry up and get dressed~" And with that, she simply walked off, leaving Tomoe alone with the faeries in the small clearing. Rhoswen and the healer were beside her almost immediately, healing magic from the gruff easing away her pain and some of her exhaustion, and the priestess quickly asked, "are you alright? That was... Ridiculous! If it weren't... What do you want to do about that?"
Doing what she had just done got Tomoe a view of a brief surprise, the sudden back talk managing to delay Kei's actions for a bit. It was of little comfort though as she still proceeded with her plan while sharing what she thought about the relationship of the miko and her hunter companion. Regardless of what she said, the priestess herself would never agree to such a shallow view towards other beings, especially ones likes Shen who went on going against his instinctual behavior of his species and tried to live as good and decent beings. "That doesn't matter one bit to me, he will still be much more than a pet, no matter what you or anyone else might think. The time we've spent living together is proof enough." was the reply that Tomoe gave the other Easterner as she was getting pushed down, eventually finishing up with her cheek down against the dirt and grass of the glade they had been having this encounter in. It looked as if the main event was going to start any second now.
Trying to follow what was going on from her uncomfortable position, Tomoe saw Kei drop down into position behind her, obviously going for one of the more degrading positions there was to humiliate her as much as she possibly could. It turned out to be a bit more than that as the redhead reached for the shrine maiden's wrists and forced her to bend her up and backwards by pulling on them, which only served to make the ongoing act a few degrees less pleasant as it put the miko's back under constant strain. Even without her hands to guide her, Kei appeared to possess enough skill to guide the devilish toy into it's target, no resistance slowing her this time around. Surely there was some magic at work as the crystal dick worked like it was made for specifically for the priestess' womanhood, sliding right in there without any hindrance and breaking the stoic barrier of silence that she had been trying to maintain in one simple poke of the hips. No matter how much she tried to think about this, it just felt too good to be penetrated by this thing, and Tomoe's body reacted accordingly, going completely against what the brain was trying to do. Even the tiniest movements inside her folds created heavy amounts of pleasure, completely driving out any half-hearted attempts to make any resistance that the shrine maiden tried to put up. In only a few slow and methodical thrusts, the first of what was undoubtedly going to be many climaxes, an intense one that easily overpowered all the ones that the miko had been subjected to in the last few days. Once she had come down from the moaning high that had whited out her senses, Tomoe came to realize that she might have been correct about there being magic or at least drugs of some kind at work here, which only served to further her growing fear towards the object that was being used to violate her.
Even as Tomoe tried to gather her thoughts about this whole situation, Kei was pushing it onwards, the pace of her thrusts starting to pick up some pace. It only served to make the situation more intense as the feelings of pleasure began to build up in the priestess' body and unleash ever stronger waves that coursed through her form, causing her rational thoughts to slip further away with each one as she started to revert towards a primitive state of being that was being dominated by these feelings and expressing them. Just like before, the build-up to a climax was fast, almost scary. And the release itself was easily more intense than the one before, throwing the miko into another bout of sensory deprivation as everything went blank for a quick moment. It did appear that the redhead was getting worn out from this as well, but it was nothing that would stop her from going on as much as she possibly wanted. The long thrusts worked as expected, and again the miko went over her peak in yet another noisy release, somehow managing to top the intensity yet again with the third one in row. After that, Tomoe could feel her hands being released and dropping to her sides, allowing her a tiny amount of freedom which she could not really do anything with as the assault just went on to further degrade her mind even deeper into a blank state. Barely managing to position her arms near her head, the priestess gripped the grass like her life depended on it, trying to find some method to help maintain her thoughts as they were threatened rather seriously at the moment. As the violation progressed ever onward, the frequency of the climaxes began to get so rapid that Tomoe lost herself completely, going completely blank as there was no break for her. It was almost as if she had died and gone off to some strange afterlife where there was only the carnal pleasures that she was experiencing and nothing else, her own lustful moans and the sloppy voices that the ramming of her pussy was causing being the only things that could be made up in this strange dimension of ecstasy. The flow of time seemed to stop, and it was as if the miko had been there for hours, if not days as the pleasure messed her mind up.
A sharp sting on her rear returned Tomoe back to reality, where she realized that Kei had stopped raping her, now most likely leering over her as she spoke again. The ideas of this happening in front of more people was not something that she would want to happen, especially not around Shenron as there might be a whole hell of a lot of rage happening if he saw this being done to her. Even though the shrine maiden wanted to express herself, there just was nothing as she was still fairly messed up from the violation, both physically and mentally. While the worst was over, it would not end until Kei added the final part to complete the assault. After getting picked up by the hair, a painful experience by itself, the miko had to endure a brief bout of throat fucking as the supposed "cleaning" was forced upon her. There appeared to be little reason for this as it certainly did not do what it was supposed to, only really resulting in a whole lot of gagging as Tomoe had troubles breathing with all the liquids and the toy in her mouth. She did manage to get a tiny amount of that sweet taste again, which gave a miniscule bit of something pleasant to the whole thing. After being used for a bit, the priestess was discarded like a broken toy, which she basically was at that point. Kei moved away from the scene, going back to her gear as Tomoe tried to gather herself but not quite making it as the effects of the brutal violation still lingered within her. Only once the second spank on the butt came in did she manage to get herself somewhat coherent, hearing that the redhead still intended to travel with her and the hunters after all that she had done, simultaneously suggesting that she too get prepared to leave. Somehow, the miko was not sure that she could agree with that.
Once Kei had departed, Tomoe collapsed on one side, the fairies coming to her as soon as that happened as well. Thankfully the gruff knew to use his skills to bring relief to the miko as she was quite beat up both mentally and physically, desperately needing that healing power to fix her up into working condition again. While the question that Rhoswen posed was quite a valid one, the priestess was not sure how she could answer. Once she was operational again, Tomoe started to gather her equipment and get dressed again, even though she wanted to lie down for a few hours and think everything over. "You don't need to do anything about it... this is my problem. I was the fool who agreed to do this in the first place... So... I'll have to live with it..." she replied as the re-dressing started. "And we do have places to go, so we can't linger around much longer."
Rhoswen scowled at Tomoe's outspoken desire to deal with Kei herself, but the faerie would offer no argument to the priestess's assertion. After the miko was dressed and armed again, she would be led by Rhoswen back to her companions. Ryuji was nearly as large as Shenron by that point, though he was thinner and more lithe than his father. The two hunters were waiting around, not really doing anything, but both looked to Tomoe expectantly when the priestess approached them. Kei was there as well, wearing a cocky grin that happened to be a little bit wider than usual, no doubt thanks to her recent defeat and violation of the miko. Rhoswen shot the redheaded traveler a dark look, but allowed Tomoe to be the one to address the situation, however she wished to.
Gathering all of her belongings from the pile where they had been discarded to earlier, Tomoe made herself presentable again, spending a few tedious minutes getting everything back on. From the bandage underwear to her robes and sword, the items eventually all found their places again as the miko dressed back up. After giving her messed-up hair a quick tidy-up, she would take off from the glade to seek the others out with Rhoswen's guidance helping to take her to them.
Seeing Shenron and Ryuji was a relief as Tomoe had thought about something possibly happening to the two, even in this place that was a sanctuary. The priestess was not sure about the relations between the various alien races and the fey, which could have been one that was not good, and there were rogue types even in this particular forest. The encounter with that one fey a few nights back had been particularly telling about this fact. The growth rate of the hunters appeared to be a feature that the whole race shared as it had been only a day, yet Ryuji stood equal to his father now in height, though it was still easy to tell them apart by using body thickness. The shrine maiden would pick up details to tell them apart soon enough, especially if the hunter son decided to put his weight into the future fights that were waiting for the group, which would certainly bring some scars onto him.
Looking over to Kei next, Tomoe saw that smarmy grin on her face, the reason for it being known to her but not for the hunters, which was probably a good thing. Had Shenron known about what had happened, the two of them could be crossing blade and claw at the moment, considering the hunter's temper. Despite her earlier thoughts, the priestess had considered her options, deciding to allow Kei to remain with them for now. She would have to keep a closer eye on the redhead though, just to make sure no further attacks could be made against her or the hunter companions. The miko did hope that the victory and the follow-up assault would have served to give Kei enough satisfaction to keep away from doing such things anymore, though she somewhat doubted it. "We should get going."
"Yup~" Kei agreed brightly, even that tiny bit of speech earning her a dark scowl from Rhoswen. Shenron simply nodded, casting a brief look with his beedy black eyes towards the offending redhead but saying nothing, and Ryuji for now simply followed the stoic lead set by his father. Rhoswen, still fuming at Kei's treatment of Tomoe, would silently turn and beckon for them to follow, leading them on the winding path that no mortal could ever have traced without a guide out of the faerie demense.
The shift from the faerie woods to simple jungle was a dramatic one that was marked immediately by the assault of a small swarm of mosquitoes, which Shenron clipped from his hide irritably and which Kei seemed completely immune to for some reason. "This is as far as I go," Rhoswen intoned solemnly, "I will keep a watch upon you for as long as you are within lands under my control, but beware, Tomoe. As you have seen, not all of my kin are so enamored with mortals, and some of them may waylay you upon your journey. I am afraid that the Court is not what it once was. Safe travels to you, regardless, and if I can offer aid to you, I will do all in my power to see it given." With that, the faerie priestess would bow slowly, and when she straightened she would simply vanish as if she had never been.
"Dramatic," Kei remarked, before looking to Tomoe. "Well then... Where to now?" Ryuji and Shenron likewise looked to the priestess, who was left to decide their direction.
The perky response from Kei did little to bother Tomoe as she saw it in a more positive light than the others in the current group, though she could understand as to why it was this way. Shenron's reaction did cause some slight concerns, the possibility of him actually having some knowledge about what had happened being a very real one if this was any indication. But since he was not doing anything about it, the miko decided to let the matter be, not wanting to spark any conflict to make things even more difficult for them all. Taking Rhoswen's lead, she would follow the fey mistress on her way in silence, the path being a particularly roundabout supernatural one that she could not probably have managed to follow with her basic survival skills.
The departure from the sanctuary area in the forest was easily noticeable, the atmosphere changing to a less safe one that brought with it a bunch of mosquitoes, the little bloodsuckers going straight for them as soon as they were within reach. Even someone as heavily clothed as Tomoe herself had some trouble with the diminutive insects, and she gave them gentle swipes with her hand whenever they tried to harass her. For some reason, the bugs troubled Shenron and his scaly hide too, which should not be too tempting a target for them considering the natural toughness it had, but left Kei alone for some god-forsaken reason. "Maybe they have more sense than I, not wanting to deal with her..." the shrine maiden thought about the whole thing, considering the fact that these insects appeared to have a better eye towards people than she did. Rhoswen eventually stopped for her announcement, which the miko listened to with all due attention. The warning about the darker side of fey did not go to waste, the previous experiences having driven that in quite firmly already. "Thank you for the protection, I'll try to see that there is no need for me to call upon any of you or your subjects. Farewell." the priestess told the fairy nobility, bowing back at her as the other did. By the time she raised her head again, Rhoswen was gone, leaving the strange group to fend for themselves once more. Just like it had been before.
Once the group was by themselves again, a question that she had not expected to hear was presented to Tomoe. "Weren't you going to Acheron to settle down? Or was that a lie that you made up for some ulterior motive?" she questioned the redhead back, starting to find more and more suspicious things in her as time passed. Unlike her, the priestess herself had not forgotten about the reason of the traveling, why she had left the cottage in the woods for the demon city instead of going home. "It is still a long way there, but we'll make it eventually." she announced her intentions to start the trip again, hoping that the group could get moving as soon as possible.
Kei seemed surprised that Tomoe had remembered, but then shook her head and shrugged all at once. "That was my eventual plan," she stated, "but I enjoy wandering around with you, Tomoe~ Acheron will still be there whenever I decide to head there.... Probably! For now, I'm... Happy.... To continue wandering around wherever you happen to lead~ You are simply too much fun!" Shenron's reptilian visage darkened at Kei, but he said nothing for the moment.
If Tomoe insisted on being rid of Kei at the demon city, they could just as simply start in that direction again. As they traveled along, however, Tomoe would notice a bush with an odd protrusion with a very familiar looking white flower on it, which at a closer look included a pair of eyes that were watching Tomoe intently. And giggling. There was definitely giggling.
"So you did have an ulterior motive. That certainly doesn't make me trust you any more than I already do." Tomoe voiced her disapproval towards such an explanation. Somehow, it was starting to feel like she was being followed around by a stalker, though Kei was not hiding herself in any way. Going to Acheron might not provide her any answer to the crisis that she thought humanity was facing, having heard about it so much from other travellers in the past few months before departing. But if it got Kei off from her back, going there might be worth it as the miko was not sure she'd have the power to achieve that by force, the fight earlier telling her as much. Closing this discussion for now, the priestess decided that they should get going. There was enough distance between them and the city, so it would take some time to get there.
The group managed to get some distance covered, another event soon catching Tomoe's attention as she saw someone observing them, or rather her, from the nearby bushes. As the flower came into view, the miko knew right away what they were dealing with, and the giggling put any last doubts she might have had about it being someone else to rest. Considering her options, the shrine maiden decided to adress the situation. "Yes I can see you there in the bushes. If there's something you want from me, come out."
"Oh?" Kei replied lightly to Tomoe's continued distrustful attitude toward her, seeming merely curious about it. "But we got along so well before, what could have changed? Are you a sore loser, perhaps? I had thought the fairies would take care of that for you~" she continued in the same tone, grinning confidently. "Why, you were always so quick to take my advice before.... I can't imagine why you wouldn't trust me now!" Shenron, his visage darkening further, began to look a little bit too curious about the implied double meanings in Kei's wording, so perhaps it was good that Tomoe opted to get them moving rather than continue the conversation at that point.
Kei, Shenron, and Ryuji all stopped beside Tomoe as the priestess paused to center her attention upon the hidden alraune, the redheaded human woman looking confused while the hunters simply watched the indicated bush carefully. Spotted, Wistaria leaped up out of the bushes with her arms spread wide and high, as broad a smile on the alraune's face as the miko had ever seen. "Amaryllis-chan!" she cried joyfully, prompting her companions to look even more perplexed, and that feeling would only increase as the alraune lunged forward with obvious intentions.
Unless Tomoe refused it, she would be grabbed up into a hug by the alraune who had for so long stalked her, and swung around in a circle as the grinning plant woman held her and spun in place. The embrace would be brief, and she would be placed back on her feet in short order, at which point Wistaria would take a step back and return her personal space. "Oh how I have missed you! I haven't laid eyes on your for weeks, it feels like! How have you been?" she continued brightly, assuming that Tomoe's demeanor toward her hadn't spoiled her good mood of course.
Once she had called out the alraune, Tomoe saw Wistaria bounce out from the bushes and dash towards her like a wife to a long-gone husband or something equally touching, though she doubted that the feelings in this situation were not that kind of genuine warmth. While the miko had her share of reservations towards this plant lady after how the previous encounter between them had gone down, she did not want to prevent her from performing this silly gesture of greeting, somewhat surprised by the fact that she actually got twirled around. Thankfully she was let down pretty fast before Wistaria tripped or they got dizzy from all the spinning. Back at her feet, the shrine maiden tidied herself back up as the spin had left a few spots out of place on her. "Could be better. Things have happened, and not many of those things have been pleasant, but I've learned something new as well." she replied to the question presented to her before going back to the one she had posed herself and gotten no answer for despite doing it. "And just what did you want from me? If it's a picnic, I'll refuse."
Wistaria looked shocked at Tomoe's announcement. "Oh, but what could possibly have happened dear Amaryllis-chan!? Surely you weren't hurt!" she said, eying Tomoe up and down before her gaze landed squarely on the miko's bosom, which had grown since she had last seen her, and then just lingered there for a few minutes. It took a moment more for Wistaria to acknowledge that Tomoe had repeated her earlier question, but when she did answer she still kept staring at Tomoe's breasts even though they were hidden beneath her conservative clothing, "mmmm, oh me? Why, to lay eyes upon your lovely bre.... Self, of course!"
She covered up fairly lamely for her gawking, and Shenron scowled a little bit more darkly than usual at the alraune's antics, an expression that Kei mirrored almost perfectly. "And to guide you on your way!" she added quickly, "as much as I would love another picnic, I shall for now content myself with memories of our last one~ You are a busy woman, no? And I happen to know these roads quite well~"
Getting the answer out from Wistaria proved to be as tedious as it had been before, all the staring going that happened not making it much easier. Tomoe would take it, though she did not particularly like the whole thing, especially when the alraune had been the cause of the bust increase as a result of their previous encounter in the first place. "Hey... a little too low. My self can't speak from there." she remarked at the stare, which did not appear to interest the flower lady too much. Only after a few minutes of analysis did Wistaria return to a state where she could actually be spoken to.
Somehow, the look on Kei's face managed to brighten the situation for Tomoe. After what had happened between them, it was strange to see her look like that, considering the general smug confidence she had been showing for most of the day. All things considered, the shrine maiden could actually imagine that it would be jealousy that was causing that scowl on the redhead's features. Maybe she could use this situation to get back at her in minor ways, and maybe even benefit from the alraune's knowledge of the land. "What you are saying is that you want to go with us, hmm? We could use someone who knows the land. Alright, you can come." the priestess agreed without asking any of the others about it, mentally apologizing to the hunter companion. She did not want to bother Shenron, but messing with Kei was all fine with her at this point.
"Sorry~" Wistaria apologized completely dishonestly for staring at Tomoe's chest, still smiling. She gave a cry of delight and suddenly began dancing in place when the priestess offered no objection to her presence, spinning in a circle and bouncing up and down, ensuring that her fairly generous assets bounced quite energetically in the process. Tomoe quickly found herself wrapped in another spinning hug when Wistaria finished her little dance, complete with a quick peck of the alraune's lips just before she was again set on her feet.
Shenron did not look pleased at this decision, nor did Kei, but neither of them spoke up about their thoughts. Ryuji, still inexperienced in many ways, simply stared on blankly while Wistaria took a step back and returned Tomoe's personal space, having watched the alraune's bouncing and the kiss she planted on the priestess's mouth with some intentful curiosity. "You won't regret this, Amaryllis-chan!" she said formally, her bubbly enthusiasm detectable in her voice even if she was making an effort to suppress it, and then offered Tomoe a low bow that was surprisingly formal.
"Sooooo..... Where are ya going?" she asked brightly, still bouncing on her heels slightly.
Knowing what was coming after the first time it happened, Tomoe braced herself for the spinhug as soon as she had finished accepting the alraune's proposal. The initial dance did little to disguise the fact that it was coming, though it certainly provided some entertainment for the young Ryuji, who was still much more reliant on his instincts than the father. The quick kiss was not something she had been expecting though, and the miko warded the plant lady back with a hand a little too late to prevent it from happening. "I sure hope I won't be regretting this. Try to control yourself a little, alright?" she told Wistaria, already regretting the decision just a little bit. The alraune had to be kept in check so she would not start taking liberties now that she was a part of the group. The bow was a slight indication that she actually could be proper if she wanted.
The answer to Wistaria's question would be same as it had been to Kei earlier in the day, though the miko was beginning to doubt her chances with a whole city of demons. It could also be completely useless, even if she managed to get help from Acheron as the state of humanity was somewhat unknown to her. But she had started this trip already, so giving up would serve no purpose. "We are going to Acheron, the demon capital."
"Of course, Amaryllis-chan!" Wistaria readily agreed when Tomoe demanded that she control herself, though it was clear enough that actually keeping that promise would be difficult for the alraune if one were to judge her prior actions. The alraune quirked a surprised eyebrow at the priestess's announcement of her destination, "really? There? I'd had no idea! Well, I can certainly lead you in the right direction at least, even though I've never actually been there myself. I hadn't realized you were into that sort of thing~"
Turning in place, Wistaria stuck her hand into the air, one finger pointed up, and then stood for a moment before pointing down the road they'd already been traveling on. "It's this way!" she said delightedly, prompting Kei and Shenron to both scowl at her back. Ryuji was too busy staring at her ass to notice much of her antics.
"You're entering marginally nicer country here than most of Badaria!" the alraune declared, unperturbed or simply ignorant of the distrust with which Tomoe's companions viewed her. "There's a nice little village or two, but nearest is a farm where some of my, ahhhh, friends will be happy to put you up for the night! It's quite lovely there!" Whether Tomoe trusted that assessment or not, she had best speak up now, as Wistaria seemed intent on leading the way from then on unless the priestess asserted some authority over the situation.
