Dappled sunlight played across the grass and along the thick tree trunk next to Arwin and his new companion. The delicate sound of feminine laughter and giggling voices carried easily through the fresh air.

“Go ahead,” Yaz motioned towards the forest glade before them. “You play with the beauties over there and I’ll take a nap while I wait.”

Arwin looked at the playful nymphs and wanted to go, but hesitated. This should be an easy decision. But it wasn’t. “I don’t know…”

“From the way you’re staring at those lovely ladies, I think you do know.” Yaz laughed.

Arwin shrugged. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go over and talk to them,” he admitted but made no move to do so.

The skeleton shook his head. "Oh no, you can't do that. They'll just disappear on you. They're nymphs. You have to chase them down and catch one before you can do anything else. It’s how things are done.”

"And then?"

"What do you mean and then?" Yaz raised a figurative eyebrow. "You're a virgin? You don't know what to do with a woman?"

"Of course I do!” Arwin sputtered. “But you mean to tell me that I just chase her down, jump on her and have my way with her? Sexually? Just like that?"

"Yep."

“And it’s not, you know, rape or something?” He blushed.

“Nope.”

Arwin gestured wildly, completely confused. “No talking, no introduction, no foreplay, no courting rituals, no dinner and a movie first, no bribery of any kind, like with money or chocolate or flowers or designer handbags? I don’t have to pay them? We just have sex? For fun?”

“Yes.”

Arwin blinked, his mind gone totally blank. “I don’t understand.”

Yaz looked at him as if he were broken. “For them, the chase is the only foreplay they require. They want to be chased. Just look at them. They are perfectly well aware that we're watching them. I’m sure they’re laughing a little louder so that we can hear, prancing a little more often where we can see, all to get our attention. Notice that they’re very much looking in every direction except for ours and that they’re smiling, flinging their hair, touching themselves and each other suggestively, bending over at alarmingly sexy angles, all in a way that someone standing exactly where we are would appreciate. They're attracting sexual attention, and it’s exactly the kind of attention they want. Attention makes them excited. And when you chase them down, they’ll get even more excited because they've successfully garnered a man's lust and are about to consummate that desire. Teasing is their passion. Sex and mutual happiness is the fulfillment of that passion.”

Arwin shook his head doubtfully. “I’m used to there being more to it. Maybe it’s just my own experience trying to pick up girls but most of them seem to want something more than just pleasure. Like sex is often just a means to some other end. Maybe it’s a way to trap someone into a relationship or it’s a commercial exchange, though not many admit it out loud. Not many girls seem to want to have sex just for fun, with no strings attached, despite the easy availability of birth control and STI protection.”

“That might be the way with some human women and females of many species. But there’s no hidden agenda here,” Yaz explained, “there’s no worry about being trapped in a relationship. They’re not exchanging sex for favours or goods. They are nymphs. The act itself, the happiness it brings both parties, that’s the whole point.”

“They look and sound like a dream come true.” Arwin hesitated again. “Are you sure I wouldn’t be crossing a line? I don’t want to hurt anyone by physically taking advantage of them.”

“Trust me,” Yaz assured him, “with nymphs, you chase, then you have sex. Very simple. You don’t have to think too hard about it. If they don’t want to be caught by you, they won’t be. And if you do catch them, they’ll be plenty excited.”

Arwin snorted. “I’m pretty fast. And I don’t see those slight creatures out-wrestling me. How could they possibly escape if I wanted to have my way with them? I’m sorry, it’s just a little hard to believe this situation is real.”

Yaz snorted back. “I don’t think you’re quite understanding this world yet. These are magical creatures and magically fast. Those nymphs are perfectly well aware of anyone approaching their home. They are being seen and heard because they wish to be. If they didn’t want to play with you, they’d vanish from sight. Instead, they are here, they are frolicking loudly, happily and entirely nakedly, waiting for you. They are actively trying to entice you. Trust me, this means that you have their consent to approach. Once you do, you will still have to chase them down. That’s a lot of the fun, the foreplay. It’s very exciting.”

“What if they don’t want to be chased by you?”

“If, during that chase, they should, for some reason, deem you unworthy, they will let you know and skillfully put an end to things or simply disappear on you if you become aggressive. These are not timid, fragile creatures; they are rarely victims of the men they entice. They are strong females and confident in themselves, and quite capable of dealing with trouble. So trust me, if you manage to get your hands on a nymph, it’s entirely because she allowed it and wanted it to happen. There’s no need to worry.”

Arwin rubbed his chin, lingering doubt warring with desire. “I dunno…”

“Only one way to find out.”

Arwin looked at the nymphs. He was tempted. Really tempted. He almost got up then, intending to enter the nymph glade. But, as happened far too often recently, unwelcome thoughts of Kelli started to worm their way into his brain. It sickened and twisted his excitement, mixing his feelings up.

Yaz seemed to notice a change in his facial expression. “What’s wrong?”

Arwin cursed the unwelcome return of his depression. “Thinking about my ex. I just got out of an intense three-year relationship a few weeks ago. I was crazy about her. We lived together. I even thought about marrying her. She decided that money was more important than love, so she cheated on me and hooked up with some rich guy, then set me up to find out about it in public in order to permanently destroy what we had between us.”

“That’s heinous!” Yaz spat. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He put a hand on Arwin’s shoulder to comfort him. “No one deserves to be treated that way. Especially not by someone they loved.”

Arwin felt himself choke up a bit. He nodded briefly. “Thanks.” He looked down at the ground, trying to wrestle his feelings under control. He normally thought of himself as even-keeled, but ever since the breakup he’d been emotionally fragile. Looking back up at the nymphs, his lust had sunk under a swell of pain from his broken heart. More than sex with fabulously beautiful women, he wanted love, specifically Kelli’s love. And he wanted the opportunity to love her again. He laughed darkly in his head. So many women wrongly accused all men of being mindless dogs, slaves to their lust, but here he was, presented with any man’s dream and he couldn’t help but pine after the woman he’d lost. Men had hearts too.

Yaz spoke gently. “This seems like the perfect opportunity for you. Go over there and enjoy experiencing a nymph or three. It’ll be good. Wash away those bad memories with some new mammaries. And then maybe you can stop worrying so much. Feel a bit better about yourself, and about life. Regain hope that other women are out there and that you have a chance of meeting someone new.”

Arwin slowly nodded. “Yeah, maybe.” He chuckled ruefully but made no move to leave. “It’s weird. Kelli wasn’t faithful. And she’s already with someone else. But it almost feels like it would be cheating on her to be with someone new.”

“That’s probably because you’re still in love with her.”

Arwin sighed. “Probably.”

Yaz looked Arwin in the eyes. “That’s not going to change overnight. But I promise, it’s a lot easier to get over someone when we have someone new in our life. Or at least new people, new experiences. A breakup like that will absolutely destroy your ego and sense of self. That is probably a big part of why you’re still sitting here, reluctant and unsure of yourself, instead of running right over there and having your way with a half dozen nubile nymphs. I think it’ll be really healthy for you to go and get some positive attention from a member of the opposite sex. After how your ex betrayed and hurt you, you need it.”

“Ok.” Arwin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He pushed his negativity and depression away. He told himself that he deserved this. That it was ok to move on from the past. He consciously let himself come around to the idea. To his surprise, he felt the darkness drift away. It didn’t vanish completely, it still sat there in the pit of his stomach, but his excitement for the nymphs once more rose to the forefront. He clapped his hands together, feeling more himself again. “Ok. So, I just run over there and catch one?"

"She'll be just as excited to be caught as you are to catch her,” Yaz assured him.

"Awesome. Ok, I’m going.” Arwin straightened up and a smile bloomed on his face. He faced the glade and dancing girls. They had ceased using the disrober and now splashed in the edge of the pool, water droplets and bare skin sparkling in the warm sun.

One of the nymphs looked up, seemingly secretively. Her eyes locked onto Arwin’s, even from that distance, and she bit her lower lip while running a finger down between her nude breasts. Then she was laughing and playing again with the others. It had been only a moment, but it had been a hell of an invitation.

He felt a rush of excitement flood through him. “Holy cow. I’m going to catch a real, live nymph. And then have hot sex. This is wild!”

"Oh, and just so you know, generally speaking, with nymphs, anything goes."

Arwin's head whipped around and he looked as if he were seeing Yaz for the first time. "Anything?"

"Anything — hey, are you crying?"

"I — I'm just so happy all of a sudden.” Arwin sniffed with a smile, then wiped away a single, joyful tear. Then, with a deep breath and, with increasing anticipation, he cautiously made his way into the glade. He angled towards the disrober, putting it between him and the ladies, screening himself from view.

Hidden by the hut, he watched as a nubile nymph came bounding by him, apparently oblivious to him, all her bounteous curves jiggling and bouncing and heaving in all the right ways. He’d never seen a girl with naturally green hair before. Hers was light, like the leaves of an elm tree, and it flowed in a thick, wild tangle to her hips. He noticed that the small patch of hair below her belly was the same colour, proving the authenticity of the hue. No hair dye here. Just as the nymph walked by the disrober, Arwin stepped into view.

The nymph shrieked prettily, turned on her delicate toes and showed two round, perfectly proportioned lower cheeks to him. She cast an inviting glance and sly smile over her shoulder to make sure he was after her, then took off across the grass.

Yaz had been right! They did want this!

Arwin grinned and raced in pursuit. She shot towards the group at the pool and everyone looked up, pretending to be surprised. Other nymphs squealed and laughed and darted in all directions as the pair shot through their midst.

They went in crazed circles all over the grassy meadow, Arwin hot on her heels but unable to get close enough to get his hands on her. The other nymphs likewise kept out of reach. When he came close to other nymphs during his chase, Arwin reached out this way and that but, always, they escaped him. He knew that he should ignore the others and focus only on the one directly in front of him, that the others were only coming close enough to distract him on purpose. Yet they were so close and tempting that he just had to keep trying for them too, even though it diverted him from his original target. He couldn’t help himself.

He chased the girl with green hair across the grass. He reached for her. He almost had her.

The nymph cut sharply to the left.

Arwin spun after her without thinking and found himself running through the disrober. He burst out the other side and felt an unbearable itch flare up all over his body. He couldn’t ignore it; it completely dominated him. He stumbled to a halt and immediately started shedding clothes. He tore his shirt off and felt cool and free once it was gone. But that only made the itch below the waist even worse. He shucked his shoes and climbed out of his pants, even tossed away his underwear in a frantic need to be free of all clothing.

He stood there, panting, the itch vanishing, feeling free at last. He smiled. Then he looked down at himself. He was naked! Wow, that disrober really worked.

A nymph with black skin and white hair, her breasts and the crevice of her buttocks coloured crimson, ran by. She stopped and admired his naked body, mouth forming a slow smile. “Oh. Oh my…” She licked her lips.

Arwin dashed towards her.

She laughed and fled.

His fingers managed to caress the very firm and round backside in front of him, but that was all. Her skin was slippery with sweat and the smell of jasmine lingered in her wake.

She led him right up to the edge of the pool then sharply changed direction. Failing to pay attention, Arwin couldn’t do the same fast enough and went tumbling into the water with a splash.

He came out wet and refreshed but alone.

The nymphs gathered in a cluster not far away and laughed at him.

He laughed at himself and couldn’t help but ruefully appreciate their athleticism and speed. How could any girl outrun him this way? And so effortlessly? Especially ones with such weighty assets? He’d never met a girl back on Earth who could outrun him. Magic definitely had to be involved here.

He came out of the water, dripping and nude, and made his way towards the nymphs.

They let him approach. The moment he dug his toes into the grass and lunged for them, they all burst into motion once more.

This time Arwin found himself in pursuit of a nymph with long brown hair filled with dark green leaves. A pink calla lily poked up from behind her right ear. Her legs were green, the colour fading naturally, like on a calla lily, to pure, milky white above the hips. The skin of her loins was smooth and bare. The areolae of her large breasts were dark, rich pink, her nipples yellow like the stamen at the heart of a flower.

He pushed harder and gained on her. He reached out and his fingers brushed her breathtaking backside and she squealed delightfully, then turned away and again he just missed her. The next time he came close to grabbing her, another nymph weaved into view and passed by so closely that he just had to try for that one too. He missed with a curse and lost another step on the original prize. Yes, they were definitely working as a team.

This was so much fun!

Scolding himself for being tempted, he put his head down and ran even faster after the calla lily. Heart pounding, excitement taking over his brain, he laughed and his whole world shrank down to the thrill of the chase.

The exotic nymph evaded his best efforts, gracefully leaping over a tiny streamlet and swerving so that a fallen log came between them and tripped him up. Then she giggled and threw him a seductive glance, full of promise, before dodging his grasp one more time and vanishing between two bushes.

Arwin blindly plunged in after her and found her hemmed in on all sides by foliage. She came to a halt, “trapped”. She turned to him and screeched playfully as he caught her and happily bore her to the grass. Then the exhilarating chase was over and both parties were suitably uncontrollable for each other because of it.