Chapter 30, Ease of tension

I blaze towards the huge western city gate, one of the four gates in each cardinal direction, with even more speed than I managed this night. Spending all this time running forced me to refine my technique and application of telekinesis if I wanted to go faster without drawing on more than my mana regeneration can support.

What I settled on was using less power on my belt and more on my boots. I have to work on each object individually as there can’t be a unified velocity applied to all of them at once. I also have to apply the telekinetic force in ever changing directions to keep myself from being toppled over and I got quite a few nasty scrapes against the ground to figure it all out.

It isn’t pretty but it works. Well it’s only ugly in my eyes as I don't even think the arcane mana structure connecting to the kinetic mana is visible to anyone else. Maybe people who have figured out what I did can see what I’m doing but that probably won’t be many in this region, or maybe even this world. It doesn’t matter as long as I’m faster than anyone who wishes to criticize.

I slow down to a more reasonable pace as I approach the huge gate and decide to simply run without any enhancements or telekinesis the last few hundred meters. I have no reason to cause a scene by scaring the guards by rushing at them. I also need to fix my breasts now that I slow down enough to focus on anything else. They’ve popped out of my crop top and are in full view to the archers on the walls. I hope I made someone's day at least.

Taking a closer look at myself I realize that the dirt and dust from the road and my tumbles have made me positively filthy and I throw all thoughts about not making a scene to the wind as I disperse all my clothes and hair tie to let Ari scrub away before manifesting everything back again.

Many of the traders, adventurers and whoever else in the intersection 50 meters ahead the gate stare as if spellbound but I can’t be bothered to care. They’re also lucky this morning I suppose. I’m not entering the capital after over 60 years away looking like a homeless stray. I’ve got some standards.

Most return to their dealings when I’m clothed again and I start jogging towards the gate while styling my hair but some eyes refuse to leave even as I pass them by. I’ll have to make sure I don’t go into any sketchy neighborhoods or I might need to kill someone not being able to keep their hands to themselves.

After standing in the queue dedicated to people going in without wagons for a few minutes, luckily I’m early or it might have been an hour, I reach the gate guards taking the entry fee and asking their routine questions.

“Reason for entry?”

The monotone question reminds me of Ari’s earlier days.

“Traveling and looking for postings.”

“Entry fee is 20 copper.”

I summon the coin on the table in front of the guard and he swiftly counts it before swiping it up into a storage ring and waving me through.

I walk through the 15 meter tall and 10 meter wide gate, breathing in the familiar air of the capital's outer district. It smells as bad as I remember and I’m honestly thrilled. My head swivels to look at everything at once as mutilated memories sluggishly try to break through the veil of time and make me notice them.

I instead choose to push them down and take it all in once again, this time with Ari at my side.

“Wow, Zel. This city’s absolutely enormous!”

White walls of stone, 70 meters high and 10 meters thick, encircle a city with a diameter of perhaps 10 kilometers. 1 kilometer inwards from the outer wall stands the inner wall, the wall separating the low and middle class from the rich and those of noble birth, the so called high society of the Riverflow kingdom.

The inner wall is also made of white stone and stands at a height of 50 meters but the natural elevation towards the center of the capital makes the top of the inner wall peak 30 meters above the outer wall. Just barely visible from all this way out is the top of the central palace, standing at the heart of the city and showcasing the king’s wealth with gold-encrusted towers and mosaic glass

Surrounding the palace grounds are the central wall and only those personally invited by the king may set foot in there and it’s not visible from the outer district. I think I remember something about the distance between the inner wall and central wall being twice that of the inner wall to the outer wall. I don’t know if it’s true though as I never had the coin to spend on entering the inner district in the past.

The outer district has both nice and seedier parts. It’s not strange that those of the middle class band together in their own neighborhoods while the lower class make do with living wherever there’s space and the rent affordable.

The nicer areas tend to be located alongside the straight streets heading from each of the four gates towards their corresponding inner gates as well as the circular main street going in a circle around the whole outer district, located in the middle between the outer and inner walls. This isn’t strange at all since those areas see the most traffic and are highly desired by both merchants and common folk.

Carriages drawn by horses travel through these main veins of the outer district and hiring a carriage is usually the fastest way to get anywhere since no one dares purposely block them as it's against the law. On the straight street going up towards the inner wall in front of me I can see close to 50 different carriages using the middle of the street to go back and forth. The streets themselves are 15 meters wide, the central 5 meters reserved for carriages and wagons.

Not wanting to stand in place gawking and draw unwanted attention to myself I start walking down the right side of the street as I take in the buildings around me. They are mostly constructed of wood of different quality and origin but a few shops and houses are made out of stone. These are really the best buildings in the outer district and they’re definitely not bad by any standard I’ve seen.

A luxurious carriage trundles past me to my left and I study it. It’s made of black, lacquered wood with gold enameling depicting stallions and dragons. An odd combination but what do I know. There’s probably some rich prick inside anyway. My sideways glance however draws my attention to someone not so subtly following me on the other side of the street. I think it’s one of those lecherous younger men that watched me freshen up outside the gate but I can’t be sure.

It doesn’t really matter anyway since I’m not that frail and can handle myself against most would-be assaulters. I still remember a few of the tricks I used when I lived here at level 0 and looked almost identical to my current self. It was even more of a problem back then since a simple identification told everyone how powerless I was.

I stop at a bakery on my way that has delicious smells wafting out of it. Walking in and hearing the customary tinkling bell I’m happy to only see one customer browsing and no one at the counter where a middle aged man is cleaning the flour off a wooden rolling pin with a white towel. I decide to skip the line since the woman browsing the different baked goods acts undecidedly.

“Good morning, miss. What will you have?”

“I’ll take 2 of whatever sweet buns you think I’ll enjoy. Just pick your own favorites if you’re unsure.”

He nods before getting me a simple bun topped by a sugar and cinnamon mix with vanilla cream filling. The other one is shaped in a swirl, coated in chocolate with golden glaze painted to depict roses. They look delicious and I gladly pay the 48 copper for both of them before sending them into my storage ring.

“You don’t know of any reputable businesses for renting a place a little more luxurious than a room at an inn, do you?”

I could just go looking for it but why waste time when Ari and I have an appointment.

“Hm, sure I do. Follow the main vein north and keep to the left side and you’ll come across the Hullinger establishment after half a kilometer. The Hullinger family owns and rents out almost a quarter of the outer district's nicer parts. They’re good as far as I’ve heard.”

I thank the baker and follow his directions. I can’t run here in the city as there’s just people all over the place going seemingly everywhere. I’ll accidentally kill a child by running into it if I do it here.

I take the time to enjoy the walk though as I look upon the different peoples and stores, tasting the simple bun with vanilla cream filling. It’s very good. Finishing my snack I go left at the western main crossroads, heading north. There are apparently quite a few inns and bars in this part of the city as many drunk whistles and catcalls drift my way as I pass by.

Feeling like embracing my charm in a slightly playful way I catch the eye of a young adventurer that probably only got his class this year. He’s staring openly at me and I give him a confident wink as I bite my lower lip, making him blush and his female companions sniff disdainfully.

“Honestly, Zel.”

I only laugh at Ari’s pretend jealousy and I can feel her own amusement as an undercurrent.

The Hullinger establishment is certainly quite grand as befitting a family who surely makes enough money to live in the inner district. It is five stories tall and towers over the other houses lining the street with their measly 3 to 4 stories in height.

It looks really well made and well maintained and no one passing by should be able to say that they don’t take care of the building. Probably the best advertising they could ever do to lure in people willing to cough up gold in rental fees.

As I enter I’m immediately escorted to the third floor by a clerk who takes note of my desired specifications and budget. There I sit for perhaps five minutes before another clerk beckons me to a private room where we get down to business.

It’s quite straightforward as they use a magical device working like a map, showcasing different locations available for rent and displaying their information when prompted. It can even show a basic sketch of the property.

The clerk helps me find what I need and I pay 7 gold up front for renting it a week. In return I get to bind a magical key to my mana signature that I won’t be able to reattach without the help of the Hullinger family if I break the binding. This helps them make sure that it's me using the rented location and that a possibly lost or never returned key won’t be able to unlock the property ever again.

Ding! You have bound [Hullinger Key 43B] to your mana signature.

[Hullinger Key 43B]

Rented time: 0/7 days.

Return key to the Hullinger establishment 24 hours after expiration at the latest.

The property is close to the southern inner gate, quite a luxurious area and I move towards it as soon as the paperwork, payment and key are taken care of. It’s quite a long walk from the Hullinger establishment but I manage to get directions to the best store for pipeweed on my way there according to an older looking man smoking something that smells exotic and intoxicating.

It is probably the best shopping experience of my life. Ari and I whiff enough varieties of grass to make us lightheaded and we find some really good ones that we both like. In the end we spent 3 Gold and 36 silver purchasing 4 types of the more luxurious pipeweed the store offers and it should be enough to last us a month of constant smoking at the very least.

Candied Peach is my favorite strain of pipeweed and I must have shocked the solemn store owner with my jubilant shrieks of glee when finding it. Ari’s favorite is the Devil’s Haze strain and it’s very sour, smelling like a lot of different exotic fruits with a crisp undertone. It apparently got its name from the way people seem to continue smoking it even if they’re already really high, only realizing their mental state after everything is gone and then freaking out. It smelled nice though.

After the short shopping trip that left me with under 50 silver to my name, I set off for the last stretch towards the southern inner gate. It’s already late afternoon as I reach our rented property. It has a marble foundation and white marble stairs leading up to wide large wooden doors hidden behind majestic columns that draw attention towards the gold plated sign displaying its purpose.

Luxury Bathhouse

I haven’t rented the actual bathhouse but the property located above it. It’s also constructed out of marble and dark quality wood, a single glass window looking out over the front entrance.

This is supposedly a quite popular place for the wealthier middle class to relax and it costs 20 silver to bathe here. As I inspect the building, a young woman exits the bathhouse with slightly damp hair and newly reapplied makeup. She comes up to me as I look at the property above the bathhouse.

“You should just pay the price they’re asking. It’s well worth it in my opinion.”

“You come here often?”

It wasn’t everyday someone came up to you and gossiped about your new neighbors as soon as you moved in. I study her a little closer and notice that she's a stunning blonde with pretty facial features, long hair with natural locks and blue eyes glinting like sapphires in the evening sun. Her bust is on the smaller side but tight fitted leather pants showcase a heart shaped backside to rival or perhaps eclipse my own in perfection and size.

“Yes, I come here every day. I haven’t seen you here before so I thought you must be indecisive in whether to go in or not. It’s the best bathhouse in this part of the capital and you should give it a try at least once in my opinion.”

“I was just idly studying the architecture of the property above. I might see you around in the coming week if we ever happen to bathe at the same time as I’ll be spending most of my time here. I’ll be happy to chat then. Name’s Zelaria.”

“I’m Alvysh. See you around then!”

She gives me a brilliant smile before strutting off, clearly in a good mood after her bath.

“Well she was friendly, and absolutely gorgeous. I can tell you want to fuck her as badly as I do.”

I’m not sure if Ari’s sensing my overflowing tension but I can’t really deny it.

“Definitely. We’ll have to spend an afternoon or two in the public bathing areas and see if we can catch her.”

I walk into the bathhouse reception hall and instead of going to the counter I only wave at the clerk and approach a door to the right, using my bound magical key to open the door. Locking the sturdy door behind me I walk up the marble steps towards the upper floor landing and take in my rented property.

The 4 rooms are placed together in a square with doors leading to both adjacent rooms. The room I’m standing in is a living room and I can see a kitchen to my left through the open door made of the white and crimson blood birch wood, lacquered in a glossy finish.

There is a comfortable looking sofa against the living room wall just beneath the window with a bookcase to its side and a fireplace in the inner corner. There’s also a few chairs and a low round table with a crystalline chandelier above.

I disperse my daggers, boots, socks and pants, stepping onto the slightly warm marble flooring with bare feet. I guess the heat from the bathhouse below carries through the flooring, making it comfortable and not like the usually chilly stone flooring found in dungeons.

I walk towards the closed door in front of the entrance stairs, made from the same blood birch wood, and open it to check the next room. It’s the bedroom as I suspected and it looks perfect. A large and well made double bed is the centerpiece of the room with a few marble side tables and dark wood wardrobes for storing clothes to the sides.

There’s also a few scented candles, smelling of lavender and honeysuckle standing on another table in the inner corner with a chair covered in some sort of beast leather. It feels soft but not as soft as the bed. I’ll look forward to testing both later.

Opening the door towards the next room I find the anticipated bathroom with a large and steaming pool of hot water. It’s supposedly 1.5 meters deep and has ledges for comfortable sitting around the sides. There are also various salts in different colors standing on a shelf with labels.

Magma Orange

Spring Flowers

Ocean Breeze

Eucalyptus

They all sound interesting and I’ll have to try them out later. There are also white towels hanging from bronze bars inscribed with runes for heating, probably to dry them faster in this humid room.

I open the door to the kitchen I saw on my left when I first entered and it’s what I expected. Marble countertops, comfortable chairs, dark wood cabinets and a good amount of space to cook on. I’m not really interested in this room and I close it off from the adjacent bathroom and living room.

“What do you say, Ari? 7 gold well spent?”

“Definitely, now go to bed.”

Chuckling, I go back to the bedroom and disperse my shirt as I jump into the soft silk bedding, bouncing on the springy mattress and almost tumble head first into the bedrest. Luckily the feather pillows save me from that indignity.

Laying on my back I manifest my pipe, keeping it aloft with telekinesis and summon the Devil’s Haze pipeweed. I lean my head back on the soft pillows as I watch the dark brown and red streaked grass pack itself into the bowl without me having to lift a finger.

“You sure about starting with this one, Zel? You must remember what the store owner said about it.”

“Yup, and if he’s right then it’s the perfect strain to kick off our stay here. We won’t be able to smoke it while out traveling if we can’t keep track of how high we are.”

“Alright. It’s my favorite aroma and I won’t disagree with using it now.”

Sitting up with pillows against my back and bedrest I light the pipe, taking a long pull. It tastes like I had expected it to but it's somehow cooler and less harsh than what I’m used to smoking. I guess the quality of the grass has to make something better and it was indeed expensive.

It isn’t long before I find my bowl packing itself once more and I’m already on my way to lighting it. I can’t even tell that I’d smoked the first bowl yet and it feels like I’ve been smoking for less than half a minute. It's quite curious but I’d been forewarned by the shopkeeper about this and I simply ignored my doubt, smoking the next one.

“Zel, that’s our 7th bowl without pause, I think. It’s hard to keep track of but it can’t be any less. Just look at how much of the pipeweed is already gone from the pouch.”

I do as Ari says and nearly chokes on my next pull as I see the pouch missing nearly half its original contents. A pouch meant to last a week of smoking a bowl every hour. I put the half empty pouch into storage, finish the last bowl in seemingly no time at all, scatter the ash on the tabletop on my right and disperse the pipe before sinking down onto my back in the soft silk.

I simply lay there for a bit breathing and trying to figure out how warped my sense of time must have been while smoking. Then it hits me like a wagon going full speed. Reality seems to buckle and warp before a euphoria more potent than anything I’ve felt washes over me a second later, or was it at the same time? Even time is acting strange and I don’t even realize my mind slipping away from my body, mental defenses nonexistent.

The next thing I feel is soft, velvet smooth lips lightly pressing into my neck, heavy breathing against my skin sending a tingle running through my whole body that’s noticeable even through the almost overpowering euphoria.

Turning my head to the left in bed I look into my lover's dilated and hungry silver eyes, taking in the lack of clothing and the flush covering her cheeks, neck and bust. Rock hard nipples press into my left side as she pulls me closer and I meet her passion with my own. I drape my arms around her waist pulling her close, chest to chest and our tongues entwined as my thigh places itself between her legs against her slick sex.

Ari’s holding the back of my head with firmness suggesting I’ll never be able to move away, I don’t mind as long as she stays as well. I bite her lower lip and enjoy the hot moan of pleasure hitting my face, smelling like the sweetest fragrance I’d ever known.

An unknowable time later Ari pushes me onto my back, holding my wrists locked above and against the bedrest while she sits with legs splayed on my stomach, sucking on and massaging my breasts. The euphoria coupled with the high tension of the past weeks make the long overdue climax wholly unsurprising to both of us as I shudder and moan beneath her.

Not wanting to be outdone and feeling her sex dripping pleasure in anticipation all over my stomach I raise my splayed legs up and around her waist from behind, yanking her down on her back with enough force to make her release a yelp and the steely grip on my wrists.

Releasing my legs from her stomach I sit up on my knees, bending her back inwards as I place her thighs on my shoulders and lean down to grab each nipple between thumb and forefinger. Her thighs lock hard around my head and her splayed hands grip the sheets with white knuckles as I twist both nipples violently, eliciting a scream of pleasure and flooding release from her sex against my mouth.

I keep my eyes locked on hers the whole time as I bring pain with my hands and pleasure with my mouth. Her shuddering gasps, moans and sweet taste on my tongue bring me over the edge as well. Seeing her like this I can’t help sharing in her delight as I take her to heights unknown.

“Fuck me, OOoh FUCK ME! Yes, just like that. Aaaah FUCK. I love you, I love you, I love you, love you, love, love, you, FUCK ME, ZEL!”

Her half incoherent ramblings end in another high pitched scream and release as I rake my nails against her soft thigh while gripping her left breast hard in one hand, splaying the softness between my fingers and leaving a red imprint after removing it.

I place her gently back down as I feel her trembling thighs growing unable to grip my head and stay on my shoulders. It doesn’t hinder her from pouncing on me the moment I let go of her and her lips greedily press into mine as I’m forced onto my back once more.

“Don’t think you can treat me like that and get away without me retaliating, my love.”

Her breath is still quivering from her own high but her words are punctuated by action as slender fingers press against my clit, releasing a moan from me that’s immediately drowned out by Ari’s lips and tongue doing a comeback.

I don’t know how long she plays me like an instrument of carnal desire but she’s skilled enough that I never want the performance to end. It might have gone on forever had my desire for seeing her shudder under my own administrations not grown with each climax.

Breaking apart and throwing her down underneath me I give her something to play if she wishes to continue her performance. I place my sex in her face with my own between her legs and it seems like Ari’s quite eager to play me with her tongue as she dives straight in, almost making my legs spasm at the sudden influx of sensations.

I taste her sweet softness in return while running my nails softly across the insides of her thighs. We both moan and tremble as we enjoy each other and for a seeming eternity there is only the two of us, locked together with chains of love and lust we willingly put on.

My mind is in a fog of sensations and the only thoughts making it through are those related to my lust. One of those thoughts stands out to me and I take note of it because it’s not an image of my lover's alluring form or bewitching silver eyes, drawing me in and begging me to forget everything else.

No, it’s the image of Howard’s member, throbbing in his pants as he looks at my bust and legs with unconcealed want. It’s not really Howard I’m focused on though as all my attention is on the memory of the visible veins pulsating through the fabric of his right leg. The entrancing visage showcases the rock hard cock the length of my forearm.

Not really caring about how to do it I just will that cock into existence in front of my face, hovering above Ari’s dripping slit. I can’t say it's a replica of Howard’s as I haven’t seen it but I wasn’t going for one anyway. It was the size and texture of throbbing veins that had captured my attention and my will manifested it exactly as I wanted it to.

Bringing it towards my mouth I delight in feeling the warm tip against my mouth and I bring it deeper down my throat as I enjoy the texture and feel of it. It’s warm and throbbing like I’d imagined it to be and pulling it out with a gasp for air, trailing saliva, I smile.

“Love? Are we changing positions?”

Ari’s curious question reverberate against my sex and instead of answering I bring it forcefully back down on her mouth, covering it up, before shoving the giant dick straight into her.

Ari rocks, spasms, shudders and moans at my sudden action and my own release is just around the corner from Ari’s renewed vigor at eating me out. Gosh, I love this woman.

“Good girl.”

“Oh fuck yes. Make me yours.”

“You already belong to me, and only me. Get back to work.”

She shudders beneath me.

I send Ari over the edge again and again by thrusting the cock into her and her legs just splay out and stop moving altogether after a while. Only small muscle spasms can be seen under the soft skin of her thighs but they’re clearly too exhausted to even move anymore. It doesn’t stop her upper body from returning the favor though.

A sudden and most unexpected jolt of sensation almost has me falling off Ari’s face. My half scream of pleasure and suprise at being penetrated through my backdoor by another cock I didn’t know existed is only the beginning however.

Ari continues licking my pearl and exploring my insides while ramming a slightly smaller but still large throbbing cock in the previously unexplored area of anal penetration. I take the cock out of her and deepthroat it in delight, licking off all the Ari I can taste on it before ramming it back in, eliciting another loud moan from my other half.

We continue playing with our new toys and each other while changing positions intermittently until we can’t move a single muscle and our world goes dark.

I wake up feeling groggy and tired like I haven’t been in a long time. Curious as to why I can barely move and the pleasant warmth against my chest I open bleary eyes. My vision is covered with raven black hair, smelling sweet and familiar. There’s also an underlying scent to everything I know well as it’s the smell of sex. Our sex to be exact.

I move a few locks of hair away from her face and look at my lover's face in wonder. She’s as beautiful in sleep as I’ve ever seen her before. Her lush, red lips are parted slightly and I feel her calm breath brushing against my left nipple. Had she been sucking on it as we fell asleep?

Wait. Fell asleep?

I take in my surroundings in confusion as my mind slowly catches up to my current situation. I’m in my bed in the rented property, bedsheets laying in a crumpled mess all over the place and with Ari sleeping on my chest. Ari, my other half who shares my body is lying on top of my body. What’s going on?

“Darling, wake up.”

I jostle her slightly and only get a cute sleepy grumble in response. Her thigh pulls up higher over my legs and her right arm grips me a little tighter around the waist, as if afraid I’ll disappear.

“Babe?”

“Love? Wake up, please.”

As I don’t want to scare her by waking her by shouting in her ear I instead settle for poking her breast with a finger, enjoying the softness as a slight huff escapes her at my touch. When she only twitches a little and still sleeps on I move on to her nipple, pinching it lightly and rubbing it between my fingers. It grows hard fast but she only starts slowly grinding her moistening sex against me instead of waking.

Honestly? She’s still this horny even after, well, everything?

Growing tired of being gentle and wanting someone else to share my confusion with, I pinch her nipple hard. Her silver eyes snap open, head jerking upwards as she moans in pleasure and coating my side with her juices. She looks as confused as I feel when my grip on her nipple relaxes instead of increasing.

“Morning, darling.”

Hearing my voice and seeing my face she relaxes her taught neck and lowers her head back onto my bust, a smile on her face.

“Mhm. Morning, love.”

“I’ll never want to wake up without seeing your beautiful face and feeling your skin against mine again after this. I’m however very confused at the moment on how you’re here.”

That gets Ari’s lowering, sleepy eyelids to snap open once more and she looks at me again before taking in our bedroom. Clearly just realizing the impossibility of what our senses are telling us.

“Whaaat?”

She frantically looks around for a few seconds before her eyes seem to gloss over and she stays completely still, only breathing. I’m about to question if she’s alright but she suddenly turns my way while beaming at me, her eyes glowing with happiness that actually seem to manifest as a slight silvery luminescence.

“Oh, Zel. This is wonderful!”

Before I can even get a word in she pounces on me and gives me a long and deep kiss. Only backing off after half a minute of displaying her joy.

“What is it, darling? I’m still very confused.”

Ari giggles.

“Silly, Zel. Open your notifications.”

Even more confused I do as she says.

Ding! General skill [Identify] has leveled from [41] to [42].

Ding! General skill [Aerial Acrobatics] has leveled from [59] to [68].

Ding! General skill [Running] has leveled from [87] to [95].

Ding! General skill [Sprinting] has leveled from [94] to [100].

Ding! General skill [Jumping] has leveled from [124] to [131].

Ding! General skill [Smoking] has leveled from [20] to [37].

Ding! General skill [Throwing] has leveled from [19] to [24].

Ding! General skill [Small Blades] has leveled from [167] to [168].

Ding! General skill [Dual Wielding] has leveled from [191] to [192].

Ding! General skill [Arcane Spatial Ring] has leveled from [84] to [86].

Ding! General skill [Basic Arcane Telekinesis] has leveled from [93] to [134].

Ding! Skill [Passive Power] has leveled from [477] to [489].

Ding! Skill [Arcane Manipulation] has leveled from [504] to [524].

Ding! Skill [Capacitor] has leveled from [286] to [294].

Ding! Skill [External Modules] has leveled from [163] to [177].

Ding! You have learned the general skill [Mental Space].

[Mental Space]

You have willingly lowered your mental defenses to create a mental space shared between two minds and held it stable for a long period of time. Skill aids with entering and exiting shared space. Skill Level determines maximum size of mental space and occupants' ability to manipulate it according to their will.

Ding! General skill [Mental Space] has leveled from [1] to [24].

I stare at the skill description in wonder before leaping onto Ari’s lap, legs curled around her waist and her lips pressed firmly into mine, aided with my hand against the back of her head. I need her to head to stay put so that I can display my happiness in return.

After another long moment of kissing and hugging I separate our lips with a smack and panting breath before opening my eyes to stare into hers. Her love and excitement showing through them makes my heart skip a beat.

“This is wonderful, Ari.”

“Yes! I’m looking forward to spending so much more time here with you.”

“We’ll now be able to fuck or just cuddle with each other even if we ever run out of pipeweed. It’s perfect! Or at least I hope that's what it means. Maybe we'll still need to lower our mental defences before entering but we get more control over it?”

“Mhm, I hope so. No more waiting for months to build up tension. It clearly made this session a lot more satisfactory but I would probably prefer fucking you each night before settling in to cuddle and maybe fall asleep.”

I sigh but can’t hide the smile at the corner of my lips.

“My horny darling, what will I do with you?”

“Fuck me?”

We both laugh before kissing a bit more. As we separate I stretch my mental legs before standing up on the floor.

“I’ll try using the skill to exit this place now. I think I could still force my mental defenses up against you manually but there’s nothing pulling them up by themselves anymore. I guess we could stay here forever if we ever grow tired of the outside world.”

“Alright, I’ll see if I remain behind after you exit or not. I’ll join you a few seconds afterwards if I remain behind.”

Giving her disheveled appearance with morning hair sticking out in a mess, sitting in a swirl of jumbled fabrics, a final fond look I activate the skill, returning to the material.