No Need for a Core?

Moriko did her best not to growl as she stalked into the dungeon, if for no other reason than to avoid breathing more than needed. This was all that damn pervert dungeon’s fault. Soil, rock, and plant samples? Sure. Capture some animals? Got it, even if the 30 lb wild cat tied up in her backpack had been interesting to secure, despite being caught on a snare. She had to use her shirt belt to muzzle the damn thing though, its scream was ear-piercing. Get all sorts of bug samples? Eh, a little gross at times, but nothing that really bothered her. No, it was the gods-damned-bats.

She knew the basics, bats liked to tuck themselves away into small caves. Took some searching, but the dungeon entrance was against the foothills to a mountain range, so little caves weren’t too uncommon. No, what no one had warned about was the mess, and the smell. And it was on her, and permeating her clothes. Even if cleaned, she wasn’t sure if her uniform would ever stop stinking again. “MORDECAI! You owe me!” She yelled out as she turned towards the tables near the entrance, and placed the offending sack there. Despite her own annoyance, the half elf was still gentle, there was no reason to abuse the creatures. It wasn’t their fault. No, she’d save any abuse for Mordecai.

The bag and bindings disappeared, leaving two startled, wary-looking bats that suddenly cocked their heads as if hearing things. A moment later they took off towards a small hole near the top of a wall that Moriko was pretty certain wasn’t there a little while before. And why did she suddenly know that their names were Freya and Belle? Oh, they must be guests of the dungeon now.

Well, they were paying attention, so she started unloading her bags and pouches as fast as she could, when she felt the air stir behind her, and Mordecai said “Here, let me help you with that.” As he took pouches and straps off of her, he gave no indication that he was affected by the smell, though he gave away the reality when he spoke to the air. “Kazue, could you do us a favor and draw her a bath? I think you should maybe alter her bathroom a touch too, a hot springs design to have constantly flowing water. And maybe give me a hand when we get there?”

Moriko glared at him. “Do you really think that’s going to be enough to soothe me?” Okay, it might help, but she wasn’t going to actually admit that dammit. She wanted to be angry at Mordecai. Oh by the nine hells, he was smiling at her – no, worse, he was slightly smirking. With his breadth of experience, he obviously already understood her well enough to understand that her anger simply did not run as hot and deep as the monk felt it should, and was certain he could just soothe it away. But she wasn’t giving in that easily!

The backpack was the last to be unloaded. When it was taken by the dungeon, the angry feline inside bounded to its feet, pointed ears sweeping back as it let off that shrill scream, only to stop as it adopted the same body language as the bats. Then Menhit gracefully leapt from the table and walked over to a wall, where she sniffed at it a moment before deciding to enter the newly opened tunnel. Okay, the suddenly having names bit and knowing them was weird. None of the other small creatures she’d brought it got names, and most of them made their way out instead. Plants and small insects seem to be regarded as more ‘stuff’ than creatures that could make a choice.

Kazue’s voice came to both of them over the soul bond. “Ah, mm, Okay, I have the bath ready and stuff, but, for helping, you mean, like, directly bathing?” Moriko could practically hear the little Kitsune blushing and was going to wave her off gently when Mordecai spoke first, chiding a touch.

“Come on now, while this might be mostly my fault, it did benefit you too; also she is your wife as well as mine, which means you help take care of her whether or not it was your fault or if you are entirely comfortable. You don’t have to be naked though, just change your clothes, they are part of your avatar and you can use your own loot anyway, so long as you aren't leaving the dungeon. Speaking of,” He eyed Moriko critically. “Let’s just take those into inventory, and give you a robe for the moment.” She could feel Kazue acquiesce, though the reluctance just felt like more of her shyness and uncertainty than actually not wanting to.

Moriko allowed him to strip her, as she hardly wanted to touch herself, and her clothing quickly disappeared. She shrugged on the offered robe, which he had conjured for her in a nice pale green jade, gave him another glare, then started stalking toward the back of the dungeon.

“Let’s go take the challenge route, it’s still just a corridor on the second level.” He said from behind her, and the doors were already reacting to the dungeon’s will. Fine. They walked in silence for a while, until he said softly. “Thank you for everything. And I think you should take tomorrow off from helping us. You’ve already done a lot, and you want to get going the day after I believe; so why not just have a relaxing day first?”

“Hmmp.” was her reply, though she did glance back at him. The man was making it very hard to actually stay mad at him. That was mildly frustrating because she wanted to be angry, she didn’t like how she felt after that trip into the cave, and it was his suggestion to go find bats after all. “You still owe me a spar, so we’ll do that tomorrow then.”

She heard him chuckle behind her. “Alright, I’ll be your punching bag ... though be warned, this bag punches back. And I might have a few surprises in store for you as well.” That sounded interesting, she wondered what he was up to. Well, she wasn’t going to ask him now, that would have to wait for tomorrow.

Moriko’s determination to be mad didn’t last much longer, as they finally made it to her private room, where Kazue was waiting with various conjured cleansers and perfumes. The younger woman was sweet, but cutely awkward when Moriko just simply let her robe slide to the floor as she walked into the now oversized and sunken bath. She let the hot water begin to wash over her and take the scent and filth away. Mordecai showed his worth shortly thereafter, slipping in after her with a scrub brush and a floating board with a selection of soaps and lotions, though wearing small clothes, to not overwhelm the shy kitsune. Kazue was wearing a lightweight, dark-colored shift for her own modesty as she settled in behind Moriko, to focus on the monk’s hair.

The two of them spent most of an hour pampering her, and making her world feel right again. She could almost pretend that the worst of the day had not happened. There was one thing though… Moriko cracked her eyes open to give Mordecai a languid look. “On the topic of keeping things fair and balanced, I do believe I noticed something earlier, and I certainly don’t want to feel left out.” She turned lightly in the water to face Kazue, who had been cuddled up against her back. “I think it’s my turn.” The half-elf said with a slightly wicked smile, pausing long enough to give Kazue a chance to escape or protest if she wanted to, then leaned in to steal a long kiss herself.

Kazue felt Moriko’s shifting mood before she’d even moved, and knew what was coming even before their gazes met. Her heart pounded, and part of her started to panic again, but that part lost to the curious part of her heart: So she closed her eyes and let herself get lost into the kiss. Still sweet and soft, but hungrier than the little kisses they'd shared before, and it left her gasping when the kiss finally broke.

She had trouble focusing her eyes for a moment, but instinctively turned to meet Mordecai as he murmured, “I do think I should have another turn here.” Gods she was drowning in the two of them, her mind lost in a whirlwind of emotions and half-formed thoughts. The two of them made her feel like a toy being played with by a pair of wicked cats, and she couldn’t form anything resembling an objection as she surrendered to it.

Then suddenly it was over, and Kazue grasped onto the side of the pool. “What?” she asked, trying to figure out what had happened. Both of them had pulled back and were sitting a little bit apart, watching her. “I, um, why did you stop?” Part of her was beginning to panic at the thought she’d done something wrong, but she was collecting her thoughts and awareness enough to make out the gentle smiles they were wearing, and the hum of their emotions. They were waiting on her. On her for what?

“Oh, you were quite fun and eager,” Moriko purred, “But I think the two of us are on the same page here love. You were surrendering, not deciding.”

Mordecai nodded, glancing at Moriko and then back to Kazue. “Exactly. You needed a breather. And,” He paused while trying to find the exact words, then continued slowly. “I am sorry, but you don’t get the easy out here. We need you to be a partner too much. You can’t just give in when we press. You have to decide with words. You have to be able to make it your decision, not just accept ours.”

Damn it. And she felt a moment of guilt, her mind flashing back to certain books where the heroine got to do exactly that. “I wasn’t exactly saying no there.” She muttered, looking down at the water and splashing it about briefly. She glanced back up at them after a moment and found them sympathetic and understanding, but unwavering. If she didn’t actually cross the line herself, neither of them was going to carry her across it. And Kazue was beginning to suspect that it wasn’t going to get any easier than this moment.

Fine.

Taking a breath, she stood up as tall as she could, taking full advantage of her shortstack figure and the weight of her water-laden shift. “Have it your way then.” She felt an unexpected surge of freedom and a touch of wickedness as she swished her tail. “But I get to have a bit of my fantasy too. And it’s a shame how easily a wet dress could be ripped by a brute.” Oh goddess had she just said that? Her surge of freedom and courage tried to collapse, but she forced herself to stand there and did her best to not tremble.

She saw Mordecai get it only a split second before Moriko did. And it may have made her a bit more nervous that they glanced at each other and exchanged nods before looking at her with predatory grins. They looked like they wanted to eat her alive, but Kazue wasn’t going to run from them, or herself.

It wasn’t quite as perfect a night as those books she’d enjoyed had suggested, but those kinds of books always exaggerate. It was still the best night of her life so far. Either of her lives.

It was a little over an hour later when Mordecai manifested his avatar back in the central chamber. Most of that time had been spent playing up to Kazue’s fantasy and giving her the build-up she’d craved. Moriko and he had gently and playfully teased her, taking their time to make it as best an experience for Kazue as possible, and now the two of them were curled up asleep on the bed.

Well, only Moriko was actually asleep. Kazue was sleeping more out of habit. Internal avatars didn’t need rest, though invested ones needed food and rest even when in their own dungeon. Still, Kazue was emotionally exhausted, so he didn’t disturb her either. Time to get a bit of dungeon work in himself.

Mmm, now he couldn’t reshape the dungeon at all yet, but the inhabitants and guests he could work with to an extent. Let’s start with Menhit. The caracal cat had been a surprise; they normally preferred drier environments, but there were scrub lands on the other side of the mountain range. So, it wasn’t too improbable that competition had driven her here, especially as she was pregnant. He didn’t have an exact plan for her, but he offered her a chance to be an inhabitant, formulating a few concepts as best as he could for what her mind could understand. When the wild cat accepted, he fed her a gentle flow of mana to gradually ease and accelerate her pregnancy, leaving her with a litter of healthy cubs and manifesting a stack of meat for her to devour. The cubs would grow up only a little faster than normal and would have the chance to become inhabitants later.

The bats he left alone for now. He had wanted them for design purposes and to be part of the ecology, but didn’t have any intention of evolving them into something else, so he left them alone. Still, he was appreciative of how Kazue had instinctively made homes for everyone without really thinking about it. She was growing quite fast and he couldn’t be more pleased.

There was quite the selection of lesser creatures available to them now; and even though some of those creatures had left, the core had been able to examine them first. Now he could use their physiology for fresh design plans for the dungeon inhabitants. So, he took his time sorting through what the core had learned, forming a few ideas. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy this. And he could put the plans together himself, but it would be good practice for Kazue. Besides, he was pretty certain she’d enjoy making them.

Mm, and he also wanted some input on his part of the second level from Moriko. So he settled himself in to wait until they were both awake.