“S-So, is he still mad?”

“About that…”

Savile stopped to ponder as she watched the panicked demi twitch and shiver at the slightest noise Joe made.

“Well, he is furious. You just got us into another mess. Some new fancy quest I gather. Best stay out of his sight for a while. Oh, and you got yourself guard duty. Congratulation.”

As if to confirm her companion’s words, a message popped up in her head.

“A whole month?!”

Neira screamed in panic, her fur standing up, doubling her dimensions.

“No! mastah! Please, everything but the boink-boink! Pwe-e-e-e-eese! Not the boink -boink!”

Disregarding all her previous fears, Neira run up to her master and cried hugging his leg.

“You can take away my everything but not the boink-boink! Pwheety-Pweeese! I’ll be a good girl, I’ll do whatever you say, just don’t take away mah boink-boink!”

Joe looked into her teary eyes. Whatever this was it seemed genuine. No! He made his mind!

Neira’s sad eyes grew even larger. Her lips trembling.

Oh, for fucks sake. He already knew he’ll regret it.

“Tree times. You can have it three times while you’re under probation.”

“Whaaa?! Noooo, mastah pweeeese! Anything but that!”

“Enough. You fucked up. You have to shoulders the consequences. I’m putting you on three months’ probation. Be on your best behavior and I’ll consider you’ve learned your lesson. Until then, Patchwork gets your spot.”

Neira’s ears suddenly perked up. He could swear he heard cogs roar inside her mind as she came up with a plan. A plan that… fuck. Given her, abilities, that plan could work on him.

“No.”

Joe clamped her mouth shut before she could instigate anything.

“Don’t burn through your allowance without a reason. Save it for when you’ll need it. You’ve only got three nights and right now I’m not in the mood. Oh, and I have a headache. Yeah. A headache.”

The demi’s ears fell flat. She was ready to start crying again.

“Enough. That’s my final word. Off you go. You’ve got guard duty.”

With her head hung low and her arms slumped, Neira dragged herself into the night.

Content of himself, Joe went back to fiddling with his screens.

“You done playing asshole?”

He turned to see Savile standing behind him, her arms crossed and waiting.

“Depends on what do you want.”

“Were you telling the truth?”

“Hm? About what?”

“About me taking her place for the next three months.”

Wait a minute, was she blushing? A shiver went down his spine.

“Why do I get a feeling I won’t like where it’s going?”

“I-its nothing. R-really. You just f-forgot to set it up.”

“Forgot what?”

Okay, a blushing demi is an odd sign. A blushing perverted demi is bad sign.

“The skill…”

Trying not to look his way, Savile mumbled.

“You fo-forgot to s-set the skill. You know, so she won’t cheat.”

Ah, that. Eh, whatever. He flicked trough the options just to get rid of her. A moment later, the bedwarmer title switched its owners.

“Done. No piss off I have work…”

With a flick of a wrist, Joe found himself slung over the shoulder of a grinning demi. She dumped him by the fire, awaking the other women.

“I got the title.”

She informed their sleepy places.

“You can either join or get lost.”

The two looked at each other then patchwork grabbed the saint by her sleeve and dragged her away.

“Your loss.”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Joe tried to get up, but a muscular leg held him pressed against the ground.

“I am invoking my newfound privilege. And you better do your best because I intend to scream. Let her hear what that sounds like. Every night.”

Joe’s eyes suddenly filled with horror. Savile grinned at him and unbuckled her armor then tossed it away.

“Lokaaah masta, noh panties.”

“Oh for fucks sake…”

***

“Be merciful o mother of healing for this sinner!”

Lae cried at the top of her lungs when long leather whip once more bit into her skin.

“Be merciful o mother of healing for this sinner!”

With her wrists bound above her head, she hung limp from a chain in the temple’s dungeon.

“Be merciful o mother of healing for this sinner!”

An iron pole spread her legs apart while chain held them anchored to the floor. Barefooted, she stood in a puddle of her own making.

“Be merciful o mother of healing for this sinner!”

Something wet trickled down her tights. At this point, she wasn’t sure anymore what it was. Her tears? Her sweat? Her blood? Something much more humiliating?

The whip once more bit her flesh.

“Be merciful o mother of healing for this sinner!”

“Stop. That was fifty lashings.”

Hanging within her restraints, Lae raised her eyes at the old matron.

“Sinner, have you realized your sin?”

It took a moment before Lae found her voice among her rasping breath.

“This sinner used her skill without regard for just payment!”

Cold and unmoved, the matron’s eyes drilled into the girl’s soul.

“No. You have rendered your services free of charge. A blasphemy against the true goddess. None shall be given my grace, but thou deemed worthy!”

The matron roared inside the reeking cell.

“Again! Fifty more until she learns! In the name of Aidane, thou shall repent!”

And again, the sound of whips hitting against flesh filled the night. In that night. In the darkest corner of this dingy cell, a strange solitary eye appeared, surrounded by several wiggling tentacles. It was a tiny eye from which tiny tears fell on the gore covered ground.

Wading through that field of filth, the eye reached the crying woman.

“Be merciful… o mother… of healing… for this sinner…”

The girl stammered through her rasping breaths. Unbeknownst to all present, the tentacled eye climbed the girl’s leg then spread itself over her back.

The whip fell again but this time its impact sounded a bit different. Not that much for anyone to notice.

“Be merciful o mother of healing for this sinner…”

I must be hallucinating from the loss of blood. The priestess thought while no more pain came to her.

Yet, the whip fell again. Have they gone so far as to make her loose all feeling in her body?

Persist child.

She could swear she heard between her lashings.

Soon he shall come.