Authors note before chap: I am experimenting some with this chapter. I am trying to make it funnier while writing some of it in past tense. Might be a little rocky.

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We leave the main perimeter of Gorge's base with almost no possessions. My obelisk molded with me after my last transformation which helped create the thorns lining my shoulders and back now. Allure doesn't seem to mind surprisingly enough. If anything, she's pleased.

She makes it out like I'm an evil ruler or something of the sort. It's a good set up for what is to follow once we reach my hometown. I get the feeling I won't be welcomed with a triumphant return, but regardless of my families reaction, I have a goal I need to complete.

This is by no means the first mission I've been given. Fighting The Fog assaulted me with far greater qualms and problems than any amount of social whiplash, but the gravity of this mission involves far more than a mine or a handful of lives.

If I fail here, this world may burn under the fury of Gorge's flame. I can't imagine her wasting any opportunity that may present itself for the Melotic Empire's destruction. The words I say here will likely decide the fate of many more than just myself.

And I are no good with words...

Joking aside, Allure enjoys our travels with a profuse and beaming happiness that brings a mile to my face. We end up avoiding the ice form for transport because allure mentioned she hated seeing me pass out last time. A reasonable excuse for sure, but it slowed us down by at least two weeks.

What a two weeks it was though. We slept under the stars. She saw the sights this world had to offer, and we ugh...yenno. Messed around a lot. Like an amount I didn't believe possible, but her libido is insatiable. surprisingly, so is mine.

The days swim by at the blink of an eye before I rhyme in my thoughts. This causes me to pause for a second and remember an old author on the home world named Dr. Suehss. The journey wears at my mind which instigates these lapses in thoughts, but whenever I voice them to Allure, she expresses a profound joy at each word. Either that or she's mocking me. Hard to tell.

We reach mount Fera that lies around 15 miles from Bigel before we run into our first bout of trouble. A horde of steelfs attacked us. Their bodies remind me of wolfs, but due to the excessive amount of minerals in their diet from attacking us, a thick, bulky layer of stone grew on the outside of their skin in jagged plates.

The minerals of silver and iron give them a blue and gray coloring while giving each of their corpses a solid value. Their fangs snap constantly due to their brittle composition, but that same composition gives them the option to handle many dozens of sets of teeth.

Before they opened their mouths, Allure said, "Wow. Such a noble and bright creature. Can we have one as a pet?"

I used two tentacles for holding her before I snapped my horns into position for combat by unraveling their smooth patterns into long, sharp daggers. My actions changed her mood so that she said,

"Are these dangerous?"

As if to answer her question, the leading alpha of the pack hobbled from between two boulders before he roared revealing the thousands of teeth in his mouth. I rasped my words with the full intention of instilling confidence and honor in my voice. I spoke them with a profound clarity and precision for the situation. They were perfect in a sense.

"Fuck yeah they are."

The cold wind chomped into my skin while the dryness sapped the moisture from my lips. The overcast clouds offered no picture of escape. The sound of snarling grated against both our eardrums as the steelfs dripped their acidic saliva they used for predigesting their prey and stone. As I bit my lip, a copper taste leaked into my mouth before the alpha leaped towards me.

In a rather disappointing anticlimax, my three left tentacles balled together creating a sort of spiral tentacle that whipped the giant creature into the ground splattering its intestines and bones across the entire area. The blaring boom crushed the other creatures assault while fresh blood and the sour smell of ruptured organ fluids filled my nostrils.

That scent caused allure to gag as I backed away from the impact on one foot while blocking my face in what I believed was a noble fashion.

Perhaps it was more akin to a girl....perhaps not. Regardless, the other steelfs tore their claws as they gripped the stone running away from me while howling in terror. I scared myself, so who was I to blame them.

Allure whimpered after a minute or two of stunned silence, "you said they where dangerous, not big sacks of gross mush."

I pulled her towards me before I said, "Uhh...this red stuff is kinda like water. You like water right?"

She whiped her tail across my face singing me with pain before I rubbed where she smacked. I deserved that. I'll admit it.

I said after a moments thought, "Let's get you cleaned up. I'll give you a special meal tonight."

She looked up at me as she said, "What kind?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I said, "Well...it's going to involve a lot of meat."

she squinted her eyes before she said, "So to make up for covering me in the goop of a monster, you're going to feed it to me?"

I raised my hand flat before I tilted it back and forth as I said, "Meh...I mean you could look at it like that. That is a possible explanation but I mean...kind of not really?"

She grinned before she said, "Whatever. I love the taste of meat anyway. We'll both need to wash up before we get back to your home town regardless."

I nod as I say, "Yeah, I'm filthy at the moment."

She grabbed the collar of my shirt before she pulled me closer saying, "Care to get even more filthy later?"

I pushed her away as I said, "It doesn't work whenever your covered in all this stuff."

She frowned before she said expressing her disappointment with a limp tail and hanging arms, "Hmmm...Do you still not want to though?"

I started jogging across the stone path in front of us in search of a pool of water while using my tentacles for support as I said, "I'll have to wait till we're clean. I can't imagine doing anything like that like this."

"It was an awkward evening," I say as I sit back from my chair while Gorge purses her lips. She says, "That was intensely awkward Pyrex. Why did you tell me that?"

I grin before I say, "I was just fuckin with you."

Allure pops out the water splashing water on the side of Gorge's face before she says, "Well how do you intend to engage a dialogue with the Empire?"

I open my hands as I say, "I was hoping I could use my father. He works as a higher up in a trading firm involving all kinds of exotic antiquities. He's always been open-minded, so I think re-establishing some sort of ground with him would be a good start."

allure says, "I wonder if he'll like me?"

I raise an eyebrow at her as I say, "It's hard not to."

Gorge rolls her eyes before she says, "Alright then. Try it out. After your plans fail, we should establish a connection using my more forceful and active method."

I grimace as I frown while saying, "Ugh. Trying to start a diplomatic relationship with force sounds like it's destined for failure."

Gore snaps, "And your parents must have thought the same thing when you where born. It didn't occur in all respects though did it?"

I nod saying with a deep respect and admiration, "Alright. That was pretty solid."

Allure leans against the edge of the stone pool as she says, "Yea, I would give that a solid 8."

Gorge leans her head against her hand as she says, "Why are you guys so goofy now?"

I frown as I say, "Because living with your worst enemy, while your body morphs in front of your eyes, and starting your first serious relationship with a siren would make any man go insane if he took all of it seriously."

Gorge nods for a second before she says, "hmm...Could you tone it down while we speak of serious business?"

I blink for a moment before I say, "Alright...I seriously meant to speak with my father however. I can't see anyone else even recognizing me anymore."

She shakes her head for a moment before she says, "Alright then. I warned you. Be ready for your first crucifixion at the hands of your own family."