Chapter One Hundred - Edibles

"It'sa gift to do what ya wanna do, boy. It'sa blessing to do what ya need to do. It'sa fresh breath to rid yerself offa burden, boy.

It ain't evil to tell a man to shove off. Yer life ain't his, boy. Not even if ya'a Listener. If he won't work with ye, ya don't hav'ta waste yer time on he."

– Aunt 'Auntie Care' Carroll, giving advice to her young shadow, April 2056

 

***

 

I studied the dead Three inside the pantry, holding back my bile with some difficulty. I'd opened up all the jars and poisoned them, dragged one of the two wriggling aliens down the stairs right up to the pantry, and carefully unwrapped it while leaving it suspended in the air so it couldn't find any leverage to jump me.

The things really were nasty and single-mindedly occupied with eating me. Seriously, I'd have considered buying a blast suit to protect against it biting me if I weren't naturally armored.

Then, silk all unwound, I cut the last tether holding it hanging from the ceiling, and kicked the thing in the arse on the way down so it flew into the pantry instead, snapping and flailing all the way.

I'd considered closing the door, but figured that marks of it trying to break out of the pantry, instead of into the pantry, were just a dead give-away for something hinky. So instead Tynea unlocked Class 0 Building Materials, five points, and teleported in a nice, slightly-larger-than-door-sized sheet of corrugated steel, one point, right into the pantry. I'd quickly affixed it to the door frame with silk and then fucked off to where the beast couldn't smell me, just as it recovered.

It had kept banging against the sheet for a minute or so, before it finally snapped up the bait. Tynea gave me a countdown for how long it would take the beast to succumb to the poison, and fifteen minutes later I was back downstairs, sheet and silk-glue removed from the room.

The Three looked horrible. And stank horrible, too. The phages attacked and liquified its muscles internally, so they'd left a partially emaciated, partially bloated mess of green…juice contained by green skin and a few black armor plates around its shoulders, head, and torso.

Uncanny to the power of three.

The gasses inside the skin, which were turning the thing into a balloon and rendering its dermis nearly transparent with strain, were slowly seeping through the pores. I wanted to puke from the smell covering my sensilla in an ugly, oily film that put a grimace on my face.

My stomach really, really wanted to evacuate itself. But I held it in. Couldn't afford letting them know we were here after the break-in of the Antithesis.

At least it looked effective. I didn't doubt that whoever got here first would see a phenomenal opportunity at an Antithesis-killer.

Time to finish things.

I turned away from the pantry with one of the food jars, checked through the cells one last time to make sure Leah and I had cleaned everything up, then made myself scarce. The smell chased me all the way up with how sensitive my antennae were, but it got a little more bearable so far away and with not a lot of air-movement down there to…stir things up.

The second Three I glued to the top of the stairs on its feet and then carefully fed it from the jar while keeping myself just out of its reach.

I waited for its heart to give out and for it to stop moving, then placed the jar so it looked like it'd been carrying it between its jaws when it died, unstuck its feet, and moved away before the bloat and stink properly started.

With yet another look around the room to find nothing but a few empty, useless plastic boxes, I finally, for the last time, left the facility. I stepped outside and a weight lifted from my soul.

Leah, standing next to a huge, awesome, spider-looking mech, eating a bar that smelled heavenly, looked at me and her eyes sparkled the moment she saw my bright grin. Joy rushed through me as the gorgeous woman stuffed the rest of the bar down her gullet, and came to me without delay.

Free. We were free, and Leah wanted me.

 

***

 

Leah turned around when she heard a noise behind her, and there was Tinea with a huge, open smile on her face. The raw happiness of it mingled with a powerful satisfaction of some sort, and the potent mixture reached out towards Leah and drew her in.

Before she knew it, she was already choking on the admittedly delicious bar of nuts and grains, had crossed the few meters to Tinea, and had lifted the giggling girl up and pinned her against the wall in a big, squeezy, huggy hug.

Didn't hurt that the hella curvy woman was wearing only a thin, fuzzy tube for a top that didn't hide much at all, and an equally thin and fuzzy tube around her hips that made her brain short out and picture herself ripping it off to reveal the secrets it kept hinting at with its translucence.

Wonder what she'd look like in a properly tailored miniskirt? One that really, really emphasized her hips?

The imagery kind of had her go weak in the knees with a flash of heat in her abdomen and further down. Tinea was a bottom-heavy bombshell, and gently swollen breasts or not, those curves were still her deadliest…assets.

Heh. Pun intended.

Leah enjoyed having a giggly and touchy girl with all kinds of soft pillows in her arms, but the drive to get home also needled her, kept pricking her to just move already. So she figuratively grabbed her own nose and yanked herself back to work.

Well, maybe not work. A shared meal might not be as…fun as certain other shared activities, but it was no less engaging. So she put Tinea back on her feet, traced a pretty blushing cheek, and summoned a new pair of nutritious bars and another bowl of savory broth to drink.

Then she sat down against the wall and pulled Tinea onto her lap to be her little spoon, before picking up the new polymer box and placing it on the girl's legs. She opened it up and a rich aroma assailed her nose.

Tinea's antennae twitched, one jumping away and almost smacking into the wall, but the other dove down to let the sensitive bundle of extra-long fluff at its tip tease along the surface of the broth. Pieces of meat floated half submerged, with a variety of other ingredients, including nuts and vegetables suspended in the slowly swirling liquid.

Leah's lap-lady shuddered a little from the intense experience, and squirmed against her thighs and belly while groaning. The antenna lifted away, all brothy residue just sliding off of it due to the sensilla's hydrophobic nature.

"Oh crap, that smells amazing. What's all in there?" She asked, turning to look up at Leah, who felt the corners of her mouth kick up at the hunger on the woman's face. "I can taste nuts, beef, carrots, onions, and I think some other green stuff? Not sure I've had it before, and my sensilla are just giving me the make-up of some kinda fiber?"

"Mm." Leah nodded. "Ypsi just called it a beef stew. Very filling. Don't know what everything in there is, to be honest. Wanna try?"

She lifted the bowl to Tinea's lips, who happily guided Leah's hands in feeding her. More vibrating groans and moans that settled in her gut as comfortably as the savory nourishment did in Tinea's.

Leah's one hand freed itself from the bowl and softly stroked the uncovered belly of the girl as she drank the liquid dinner and caught the occasional bit of solid food, which she chewed on with more pleased noises. Tinea's gaze jumped to catch Leah's at the gentle caress, and Leah smiled at her as she kissed her ear.

After she'd eaten half the broth, Tinea handed the bowl to Leah to finish off, and got busy enjoying one of the bars instead. Comfortable silence accompanied the shared meal, until eventually both were sated. Leah's eyes wandered to the discarded cap of one of those food jars and her thoughts shuddered at their—literally—distasteful content.

Never again, she thought with relief. Never taste that shit again. Not even to save on points.

Tinea's tail had wandered up to give Leah's chin some fluffy support as it rested on the smaller woman's shoulder and she sighed in relaxation as she breathed in the woman's scent, her eyes drifting closed and her mind floating in the sense of total peace, allowing herself to ignore the little pricking thought of get home already.

But eventually, they opened again when Tinea kissed her on the side of her mouth, popped a big piece of the second bar in Leah's mouth, and asked her a question.

 

***

 

"Leah, Tynea told me you've still got that flare going up there." I said, pointing vaguely in the direction of, uh, the universe as I sat on Leah's warm and comfy lap. "Did you have any specific plans for it?"

Leah made a beautiful impression of a surprised chipmunk with her cheeks stuffed. Then she hurriedly chewed, swallowed, and answered. "I'd forgotten! I was gonna tell my friends and Littles that they can track it. See me moving closer to home."

"Okay." I nodded, kneading Leah's thighs a little by alternatingly squeezing my glutes until the tall, protective valkyrie's eyes blitzed with amusement at my antics. "Want another call home?"

"Yes. I'll keep it short though. Get us moving soon. Actually, I'll take care of that while we're traveling. Say, do you think the flare will be useful to further convince the kidnappers that we're gone and they can sniff around this place?"

"Probably. We still need to make sure there's nothing that'll make them think we've booby-trapped the facility…"

I fell quiet and nibbled on my thumb's pad as I thought about it. Would it be enough to just leave the place clean, other than the dead aliens and the mess in the pantry? Ah! Should I make it look like I sealed it off so no critters would come in here? And that would work beautifully with making it seem like the Threes had broken in. Cover the entrance with a thin silk sheet, then rip it like a Three would while trying to get in.

That would also make it obvious that any traps would've already been triggered by the Threes I'd prepped…

Except they'd be samurai traps, which might be smart enough to distinguish Antithesis from humans?

"Ah, fuck," I grumbled under my breath. "Doesn't matter how we twist or turn things, there's always something suspicious. No way will they think the place isn't trapped."

But Leah heard me and said, "Sure, but they're greedy enough to risk kidnapping samurai. They might be smart, but they're also stupid enough to risk their grunts against any possible traps. They'll come."

"Huh." I nodded. "That's true, isn't it?"

My attention was stolen by Leah's hands as they moved from stroking my belly down to my hips, squeezing my plush, and then wandered up to knead my thighs, dipping to the inside just high enough to plunge my imagination into steamier territory.

But before I could even really get a blush going—much less turn fantasy into reality—her hands clapped the top of my thighs lightly, and Leah booted me off her lap.

I pouted with big puppy-dog eyes as we stood up, stepped close to Leah placing my chin on the swell of her boobs, and let my hips shift against her like liquid honey even as my hands captured hers.

"Leaaah…" I moaned quietly, letting that understated rasp play with my voice.

Her reaction was instantaneous. Her full attention snapped to me, eyes wide and glistening, fingers tightening on mine, twitching to explore my hips, and lips opening on a strangled gasp.

I smiled with smug satisfaction, letting my heat pool in hooded eyes and spark at Leah as I slowly, so slowly, rose onto the tip of my toes to steal a kiss.

Part of me giggled with possessive glee, as I stepped back and enjoyed the hot mess I'd made of Leah with a seductive chuckle.

Yup. Leah was mine.

 

***