AN: This chapter has been 90% done for over a week. Unfortunately serious home life issues cropped up and I haven't written anything, for any story in nearly a week. This was the most complete so I will update this story first. I plan to try and update Blackthorne tomorrow.

Chapter 3: A Honey Sweet Proposal

The sun rode high in the sky by the time that Cerene led her master out of the Ancient Forest. Scott stumbled a little when his seeing-eye angel helped him across a drainage ditch and into an area that smelled of tobacco and hummed with the buzzing of bees and other insects. Had Scott seen what was actually making the noise, his body might have undergone many other intriguing reactions.

The buzzing grew louder and Cerene called out. "Hello! My master needs help!"

The sound grew louder in intensity and soon the wind whipped wildly as the droning hum of insect wing-beats echoed through the air. "What's going on!" cried out Scott.

Cerene shouted toward him. "We stumbled out onto a tobacco field. Some of the field hands are coming over!"

"Field hands?" asked Scott. What was with all the buzzing? He missed his eyes. This promised to be an interesting sight.

The buzzing died down quickly, a concerned and overtly feminine voice cut through the air. "Oh no! Such wounds. We must get your master to the hospital."

"Thank you!" cried Cerene.

"It is no problem. Hopefully once your master is healed he will return the favor." said the newcomer. She was a statuesque demon of exquisite feminine architecture and the appearance of someone in her mid-twenties. She had a small carapace that bore the pattern of a bumble bee, but only covered her ribs below and beside her impressive breasts. A small bulbous stinger hung down behind her like a tail. She had bright pink hair and the wings of a giant insect. Otherwise she looked like an exceptionally human woman, an exceptionally nude human woman.

Cerene instinctively gripped her master's arm tight. While the new arrival had made no aggressive movements, Cerene knew that she was dangerous in other more intricate ways. The angel pouted slightly. "We'll see."

A slightly buzzing laugh echoed through the area. The new arrival called out orders and several other feminine voices cried out their acknowledgements of the commands given.

"I'm sorry, but I can't see. Thank you for helping me, miss...?"

"Sir, you may address me- as you see fit. However, my given name is Precious Darling. I am the queen of this hive. Please call me Precious."

Cerene gripped his arm a little tighter and made a slightly annoyed noise. Scott thought the name to be a little strange, but who was he to judge? "Thank you, Precious. I appreciate everything you are doing for us."

A warm laugh radiated through the air. The queen tilted her hips to one side and presented her chest in an overtly sensual manner. "You are quite welcome, human sir. While we wait for my cute subordinates to return, shall I aid in your healing?"

Cerene's cute little noise of discomfort grew louder. Scott tilted his head toward her. "Are you alright, Cerene?"

"Yeah, just... a little tired." She took a deep breath then released a sad little sigh. "You should let her help you. Her ability to heal wounds is probably better than mine at the moment."

"If you can do anything, I would appreciate it. Though, I can't really repay you..." said Scott. He highly doubted that the six dollars and bits of loose change in his pocket would be worth much in the way of compensation.

The warm buzzing laugh returned once more. "Do not worry. I am sure we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Scott laughed a little, the pain of his wounds were greatly reduced due to Cerene's presence, but he felt stinging pain all along his mouth and chest at the sudden movement. "That almost sounds like you're trying to seduce me."

"Almost? Have my skills become inferior since I have become the queen?" There was a petulance and mild disappointment in the town that caused Scott to come up short. Had she wanted to seduce him?

Surprise was not the right word to indicate his current thoughts. He was certain that he looked like a half-done hamburger at best. Who would want to seduce him in this state? Hell, he was not even used to that in his regular state!

"Ah, I suppose you are in no condition to be seduced, though? No?" asked the queen with a hint of both sadness, but a subtle undertone that bespoke interest in continuing her current actions.

"No." said Cerene before Scott could answer. She slipped an arm around his waist and propped her chin up on his shoulder.

The queen laughed warmly once more. "The more you try to claim him, the more intriguing he becomes..." said Precious.

She moved closer to Scott then took his right hand and placed it casually against her left breast. "I am a queen. If you seek to add a Honey Wasp to your battle harem please think of me. I cost only one hundred thirty-seven thousand crystal and have many skills that will please you both on and off the battle field."

Scott's mouth fell open. Had he really just heard her say that? More to the point, was his hand where he thought it was. It was out of an obscene fascination with the moment that his hand squeezed lightly.

Precious moaned softly and a loud buzzing sound echoed from behind her. Her wings had suddenly began to work at a rapid pace. She lifted off of the ground slightly before she calmed herself. "Oh, such confidence..."

The overcooked angel tamer managed to reign in his manly impulse after a moment and attempted to remove his hand from the queen's bountiful buzzing bosom. Precious gripped his hand tighter and leaned in further. "It is alright, there is no need to stop."

Before Scott could respond a honking sound caught his attention. "Is that a car?"

"It is one of our trucks. One of my cute subordinates will take you to the SCZ near Olde." said Precious, sadness in her tone.

Scott started to ask what an SCZ was, but he suddenly found himself in a strange and fragrant embrace. Cerene grumbled slightly, but said nothing. Precious pressed her breasts against Scott's bare and badly burned chest. She said.

"Before you go, let me give you first aid..."

"Thank you..." said Scott, at a loss for anything else to say.

He winced as the pain intensified slightly. The queen's gentle pressure was enough to overwhelm a bit of Cerene's aid.

"Play with my ass a little, sir. I need to be properly stimulated for my healing powers to activate."

"Ah... I don't know if..." Scott didn't know a single thing about the girl pressed against him. Worse, he felt a little bad about the situation since Cerene still clung to his arm and waist.

"You should do it..." said Cerene gently. Her voice held both sadness and a strange insistence.

"Alright..." said Scott, before he slipped his free hand down to gently cup the queen's ass.

She gasped softly then pressed against him a little further. "That's so sweet... But don't be shy..."

Scott's hand slid further but touched something hard that caused him to remove his hand in surprise. Previous kissed him softly on the ear then breathed out a throaty little sigh before she said, "Don't tease me..."

Uncertain, his hand moved back into position and he brushed against the hard thing once more. It felt a bit like a beetle's carapace. Precious wriggled her hips a little. "Careful, that's sensitive... treat a queen with a little respect..." The tone of her voice caused her words to sound like a lie.

His fingers slid underneath the hard carapace. He could not know it but her was now caressing the underside of her stinger. She began to wiggle and then to gasp. "No, no... I said that's sensitive..." Her tongue slipped along his ear in a sweet, but carnal, display of her true thoughts.

At a loss for how this was supposed to heal him. Scott continued to lightly stroke her stinger, eventually his fingers slipped down to the base. He gently caressed her where her stringer met the cleft of her ass.

A loud gasping moan erupted from Precious not long after. Her breasts began to express milk and at the same time a sweet aroma played on the breeze. Between the calming effects of that sweet scent and the milk that continued to occasional flow outward from the Honey Wasp's breasts Scott began to feel a strangely exhilarating feeling.

The worst of his torso burns faded away shortly thereafter, unscarred flesh began to peak through in various spots on his chest. Precious reached up and gently guided his head down to her breasts and allowed her honey milk to work its magic on his face. The terrible wounds began to heal at an accelerated rate. Burnt and blackened gums began to show red once more. The flesh of his lips became more pliant and the flesh that had been burnt away from his mouth began to regrow.

Scott felt considerably better after a few minutes, though the magic began to lose its effect not long after it had taken effect. The queen kissed him lightly on the cheek then sighed. "This is all I can do for you. My honey milk will stay in your system for a few days. The damage that you received from purely physical means will probably be healed before you reach the hospital. My milk cannot heal the magical damage further."

"Thank you..." said Scott. He could still taste the sweetness on his lips. The redness around his eyes had faded. His vision had recovered slightly as well, but everything was a blur. In his limited field of vision, the queen honey wasp was a foggy image with bright red hair, and what appeared to be an hourglass figure.

"I'm always happy to help a tamer in need. A queen has needs too, you know." said Precious before kissing him on the nose.

Cerene mumbled something that Scott did not quite make out then tugged on his arm a little. He took it as a sign that it was time to leave.

"How can I repay you for the help you've given?" asked Scott thoughtfully.

Precious laughed warmly then patted him on the cheek. "When you're healthy come back and I'll show you exactly what a queen expects as payment for services rendered."

"Sounds fair." said Scott. Cerene grumbled again, but didn't say anything noticeable.

"Ah." she said as an afterthought. "Keep my offer in mind as well. My services don't come cheap, but if you can afford me I will gladly become yours for a time."

"I will." said Scott, more as a polite gesture than anything else. He knew little about the world he was now living in.

Scott and his mumbling angel parted ways with the overtly friendly queen. They rode in the back of a beat up old farm truck. The engine was quiet, amazingly so, but the vehicle itself rattled and creaked.

Cerene snuggles up against Scott then sighed. He asked her what was wrong and she merely said, "Nothing really."

"You can tell me anything, Cerene."

The angel smiled slightly then slipped her hand down to lightly grip Scott's hand. "I just wish that I could have healed you more."

"Really? That's all?" He had expected her to be at least a little upset that some random insect woman's milk had been all over his body only a few minutes prior.

"Well, and that slutty wasp girl." muttered Cerene.

"She seemed nice... and she did heal me. Oh, and the ride to town... Don't forget that." said Scott.

"Yeah, but she wasted no time in telling you her going rate and shoving her tits in your face."

"Does it help that I couldn't even see them?"

"Yes, it does." said Cerene with a sweet laugh. She took a breath a moment later then said, "I'm still getting used to being a demon. Things like what happened back there go on all the time. It's normal... I just can't help wanting to be closer to you. That's all."

Scott reached over and patted the back of her hand. "Hey, you're closer to me than anyone else in the room."

Cerene snorted then laughed a little. "You're right. I am, aren't I?"

The truck rattled along in silence for a time. They felt every bump and turn as they continued on their way.

Unable to hide his thoughts any longer, Scott asked, "What really happened back there, Cerene?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"That woman, she was all over me despite the fact that I probably look like a burnt holiday ham." he said.

A sweet sigh escaped her soft pink lips. "I forget that you aren't from around here." She reached up and stroked his hair a little. "She thought that you were a licensed tamer. She wanted you to buy her services. Probably wanted to get the right to enter towns so she can make business deals for her hive."

"Enter towns? She can't go into town?"

Cerene stroked his hair a little more then said, "No. She is a free demon. That much was obvious. Without a master she can't legally enter a human town. Something to do with accountability."

Confused, he asked, "What's the difference between a free demon and a stray?"

"Free demons are just demons who don't have masters. They don't cause trouble and live their own lives. It's a crime to collar them without their consent." said Cerene.

"And strays?"

"Well, a stray demon is basically a criminal. She is usually wanted for a crime of some sort. Most of the time it's because she ran away from a bad master. That's why they call them strays."

Scott's eyes darted to the side then after a brief moment they slowly widened. "So, a tamer is sort of like a bounty hunter tracking down wanted demons?"

"That's one of the jobs, yes. They also take down bandits or monsters, raid old ruins, and compete in tournaments." explained Cerene.

He nodded twice then squeezed her hand. "Thank you for being so patient with me. I know this stuff is probably common knowledge for you."

Cerene smiled at him then leaned her shoulder against his. "Anything for my master."

"You keep calling me that... It's hot, but a little disturbing." said Scott.

"Hot is it?" she grinned at him then looked down at the bed of the truck. "Well, that's what you are. I'm a collared demon captured in the wilds. That's the lowest social class there is in this world. Even human prisoners are treated with greater respect."

"Seriously?" he asked her, confusion an anger writ upon his face.

Cerene shrugged. "Yes."

"That's complete bullshit! You didn't do anything to deserve that."

She snorted then shook her head. "I was born a certain way... That's all it takes."

Scott curled his free hand into a fist then began to grind his teeth together. "How can anyone put up with this sort of shit?"

"Put up with it? What do you mean?" she asked.

"This! All of this! What kind of fucking system sends guys out into the woods to beat up girls and wrap collars around their necks?" asked Scott heatedly.

"I don't know. It's always been this way." said Cerene.

"Well, it's bullshit." muttered Scott.

"I don't... Well there are reasons." said Cerene.

"Such as?" asked Scott. The dual sounds of a loud explosion and their ride skidding to a stop suddenly interrupted his thought. Both Scott and Cerene were tossed forward and landed hard on the bed of the truck.

"It's an attack!" cried a muffled voice from the front of the truck. The truck was rocked by another explosion that sounded suspiciously like lightning striking outside.

Feminine voices rose up outside. "Alright! Everyone out of the truck!"

"What's going on?" asked Scott, fearful and confused. He could barely see anything beyond simple shapes and a few colors.

"We're under attack!" exclaimed Cerene.

The tarp over the back of the truck opened suddenly. Two beautiful women with wolf-like ears appeared in the entrance. Each of them held an assault rifle, wore a cowboy hat, and offered a predatory grin.

"Everyone out of the pool kids." said the redhead on the right.

Scott and Cerene were forced out of the truck and then down onto their knees in the middle of the road. Commentary about his appearance started to pop up as the bandits checked the truck over. One wolf girl said, "Man, look at the melty-faced weirdo. Think he forgot how to microwave popcorn?"

The gathered bandits were quick about their work. There was little to take except the truck. Surprisingly, that was all that was taken. The bandits did not attack anyone, and simply left after they got what they wanted.

"I'm sorry about your truck." said Scott.

The honey wasps who had been riding up front nodded to him. "It happens. At least we didn't lose a harvest this time."

"You're pretty laid-back about this." he said

The blond honey wasp smiled, though Scott could not see it. "They'll probably just sell it back to us for a little food or some medical supplies when they realize it came from our hive. They usually do."

"This happens a lot?" asked Scott.

A surprisingly upbeat laugh split the air. "Once a month or so. They aren't bad girls, really. They just don't want to follow the rules and end up as some human's sex toy. The queen would probably just hire them to do freelance courier work if they could stand to go near a town."

While they were talking, something even more surprising than a bandit raid happened. The stolen truck returned to the scene of the crime and two wolf girls hopped out. One of them quickly asked, "It's still a good forty miles to town, do you want a ride?"

"Sure!" called out the honey wasps.

Scott tried to blink, but pain lanced through his skull. What kind of bandits were these people? With every passing moment the world made less sense. Who robbed someone, stole their truck, and then came back to offer them a ride to town?

The wolf girls opened up the back of the truck and one of them called out to Scott and Cerene. "Hey Burn Ward and Cutie Pie, get in back. We'll drop you off a few miles from town."

Uncertain what else to do, Cerene led Scott back to the truck. She helped him get on, and the redheaded wolf girl said. "Hey, sorry about this. No hard feelings, right?"

"Thanks for the ride, I guess?" asked Scott before he attempted a smile. He did not know what to think of the situation, but he was in no condition to argue.

The redhead laughed a little then nodded. "Sure... Say, you're a tamer right?"

"Sort of, I guess." said Scott.

Cerene rolled her eyes. Afterward the look in the vulf's eyes caused the angel to place her palm over her face and shake her head. It was about to start again.

The wolf girl flicked her ears and lightly swished her tail from side-to-side. "How'd you get burnt like that? Do you suck at your job or something?"

"No, he saved my life and got hurt in the process." said Cerene.

"Really?" asked the redhead. Cerene related the story to her, and the bandit looked at Scott in a new light afterward.

"That's so sweet." said the redhead. She sighed in a wistful manner. "Wish my master had been like that."

"Carlie! We gotta go!" called out the wolf girl's partner.

The redhead called back, "Right!" before turning back to Scott and Cerene. "Sit tight. We'll get you there soon enough."

The door slammed shut, and soon the truck took off. Scott could not help but note that the honey wasps were not in the back with them.

Cerene shook her head. "I don't know what's going on either."

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Cerene asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Confused, mostly." said Scott.

Her soft laughter split the air. "No, I mean your burns."

"Moving in and out of the truck hurt a bit, but that's faded." His body itched a little as his wounds continued to heal at an accelerated rate. He was still an overcooked ham, but he could tell that he at least a little better overall compared to earlier that morning. "How are you holding up?"

Cerene looked at him for a moment then smiled. "I'm doing great. It's weird, even with a couple of Vulf bandits driving us around I still feel safe when I'm sitting next to you."

Scott chose not to shatter her illusion of safety. He would be able to do precious little in his current state but be a burden. If sitting close to him and holding his hand made her feel safe, then he was glad.

Her sense of safety and desire to be near him was the most bizarre fact about his new life. He could accept fireball hurling witches and magical woodland rapists. What he could not fathom was the fact that she had not immediately made excuses to leave his presence. Even the few friends that he'd had back home only spent time around him in short spurts. Here in this world it was like everyone who wasn't a rapey-eyed asshole could not get enough of being near him. Hell, even that bastard had taken the time to whisper in his ear.

He made an effort to reach out and slip his arm around Cerene's waist. She made a sweet, happy, noise then snuggled into his half-embrace. It was hard to wrap his mind around what had happened since last night. Everything about his life had changed in an instant and due to a single choice. He had chosen to help someone who needed it.

They spoke softly to each other for a while. Scott learned more of the world, and Cerene learned more of his old life.

"Do you want to go back?" asked Cerene in a soft tone.

"No. I don't know if staying in this world would be any better than returning to my old one, but there's nothing for me there." said Scott. He did not even hesitate on the matter. Back on his world of origin, even a stray cat that he had fed for weeks did not want to be in his presence.

"Oh." she said. Scott could not see it, but he definitely heard the slight smile that must have occurred. Her tone had become a little more upbeat when she had said it.

A little more time passed before Scott spoke again. "What are your plans after you get me to the hospital?"

"Plans?" asked Cerene, confused.

"Yeah, I appreciate you taking care of me, but you must have something that you want to do?" he asked her.

"You don't want me to stay with you?" she asked in trembling tone.

Scott's eyelids trembled as he attempted to blink. Sometimes he could, but at other times the nerves did not work properly. "I never said that. I just want to know what you want to do."

"I don't know." she said in a soft whisper. "All I have is you."

The wounds of his body did not hurt much due to her presence, but the pain in his heart could not be soothed so easily. Cerene had just revealed the ultimate truth of her current existence. She knew what it was to be alone, completely and utterly alone. In many ways she was like him. She had become something wrong in the eyes of the world and had been rejected because of it.