“I-I haven’t eaten anything other than some sunflower seeds since this morning.”
Her voice was ashamed, as if it were somehow her fault.
Ophelia made a noise of displeasure in her throat, but quickly smiled.
“Well that just won’t do at all! Stay right here and I will get you something?”
“O-Okay. Thanks.”
Neru’s voice was little more than a whisper: she wasn’t used to people taking care of her.
But the experienced Flutterby at her side had spent a great deal of time around wounded children and she easily predicted everything the young Katje was feeling.
“Dearheart, you are so very welcome. And just so you know, those women there?” She gestured to the wild-looking Amazons surrounding the tent, one or two met her eye and offered her warm smiles through painted faces; “Those are Saenga Amazons, some of the fiercest warriors in the entire world. And every one of them has the same mission: to protect the girls in here, so you are safe. I promise.”
Neru nodded.
“Yeah, that’s what… uh, William? Nameless? Said. He said that.”
Ophelia smiled slightly.
“He would. And he was right.”
She leaned in and gave her another side-hug and another quick ear scratch before fluttering away to get her something to eat.
She returned shortly afterwards with a decent sized pitcher and several cups, which she began to hand out to the other girls in the tent before filling them.
Neru was a bit puzzled by this given that she said she was hungry, not thirsty, but she wasn’t about to complain.
Especially once she sampled the creamy deliciousness that was in her cup.
She gasped in a breath after greedily gulping down the beverage.
“What is this?” She asked in wonderment, mouth watering for more.
“Minotaur milk dearheart.” Ophelia smiled as she refilled the hungry cat’s cup; “And don’t hesitate to drink your fill! The Minotaur who gave it would be heartbroken if you held back.”
Neru didn’t need to be told twice.
As she watched the young Katje drinking her bond-sister’s milk, the smile drifted off of Ophelia’s face.
How many more girls just like her were still trapped somewhere, desperate for rescue that might never come?
__________
Once he had delivered his Katje charge to the capable hands of his bond-mate, Nameless went to speak with his commanding officer.
For her part, Miranda quickly realized that they weren’t going to get anything out of Leland any time soon, so after dragging him out of the building she sent her girls off to dump the fat lump with the other prisoners.
And when she saw Nameless approaching, she figured it was as good a time as any to debrief him.
“Okay then, now that the doe-eyed Katje isn’t watching, here is everything you did wrong.”
Nameless frowned but stood at attention in front of her, since she outranked him and clearly expected it.
“While Mister Brown was unconscious, you had no way of knowing for how long, or even whether or not he was faking.”
He opened his mouth to protest but she immediately snapped at him.
“Stand at attention probie!”
His spine straightened and his chin tilted up again, she glared at him for a good five seconds to make sure he was following orders, and then continued.
“You have no medical training and are thus unqualified to make that call, and as such ‘very unconscious’ just isn’t good enough. Not in the field, when things can go from ‘all clear’ to ‘life or death’ in a second. So while your priority was keeping Neru safe, you left behind a potentially dangerous situation for the people clearing the building. You should have stayed put and waited for help.”
She paced in front of him, her arms behind her back as she lectured him.
“Furthermore, and as much as Nina might disagree, there is such a thing as excessive force.”
This time he kept his mouth shut but she knew he wanted to protest and so she headed him off.
“In this instance you are in the clear. Volka explained the defensive nature of the charm she utilized before we sent you in, so it’s Mister Brown’s own damn fault for taking a swing at you. That being said, it’s something to watch out for in the future, more than a few of the higher ups have expressed concern over Nina’s behaviour.”
His ears turned a bit red at that; his Gigas had just suggested killing everyone in the whorehouse, and it wasn’t an idle thought.
“Finally, and most egregiously in my opinion given how many times we went over it, you forgot the most basic thing when exiting the building...”
She turned on her heels to face him like a whip cracking, staring at him expectantly while he puzzled over the leading nature of her statement.
Then he closed his eyes and had to suppress a groan.
“Identify myself and sound the all-clear with ‘sunrise.’”
She nodded.
“When coming out from undercover you speak the codeword so you don’t get lumped in with the bad guys. The Amazons know you on sight, but they weren’t the only ones clearing the building. If I didn’t see you first you might have ended up naked and kneeling in the dirt with the other perps, though I’m sure the ladies would have all enjoyed that immensely.”
She waited until she was certain that he had taken the lesson to heart before continuing.
“Other than that, you did fine with the sneaky stuff, you kept your wits about you for several hours with little actual experience, and most importantly you kept your charge safe and calm throughout. But you still get a ‘B minus’ from me for failing to follow protocol in handling your suspect and in the basics of clearing a building.”
He nodded his understanding so she continued.
“Good, now for the boring part. Run me through it.”
Nameless spent the next five minutes filling her in on the night’s activities, her interest mainly on his interactions with the still-unconscious Leland Brown.
“Gotta say kid, I actually am impressed. Still not changing the letter grade though.”
He fought back a smirk: the letter-grade was meaningless, an arbitrary measure she was using to give him a general idea of how he was doing.
The Aegis probationary period was very much pass or fail.
“This was the last of the intel from Sinclair’s people so the task-force is officially wrapped up as of tomorrow morning. You might end up working with Semper again when we get back to Garland, but that isn’t my call. Anyways, get some rest. We’re moving first thing.”
The task-force was a fraction of the size it had been when dealing with the arms crisis in Algrade, at least in terms of official Aegis personnel, but it had been bolstered by the Saenga Amazons to make up for the shortfall.
Though they lacked formal training, Miranda had argued that they would be following Nameless anyways, so they might as well get put to work.
After the massacre at Lipton Falls, nobody objected.
Chapter 3:
Roll in the Hay
The farm folk in the small community nearest to their operation were shocked to discover the existence of the whorehouse, and were eager to help in any way they could, fully willing to lodge the Aegis personnel and the rescued girls.
But given that the task-force and the girls, not to mention the prisoners, more than doubled the population of the tiny hamlet, sacrifices had to be made with regards to what one would consider lodging.
Naturally as the youngest member with the lowest rank Nameless got the barn, though the red-faced owner was kind enough to lend them a number of thick woolen blankets to add to their own.
They set to work to try to get comfortable in the hay pile below the loft, the dusty smell of the place filling their nostrils whenever they moved.
Nameless, having never slept on a pile of hay before, stood uncertain at the edge, blanket in hand.
“Here Master.” M
illy took the blanket and gave him back Erica’s dagger; “You need to fold them nice and thick, or it’ll be too pokey.”
She’d been safeguarding the knife while he and the Katje were undercover, and he was glad to have it back on his belt as he stood beside Ophelia and watched while his cow made up their bedding.
“You’ve slept in hay before?”
“Yeah. When I was really little, I remember it being so cozy, so long as the hay didn’t poke through the blanket.”
“Dearheart, was this before you were… taken?” Ophelia asked delicately.
Milly paused in her work, a thoughtful look on her face. After a few seconds she shook her head.
“I don’t know, maybe? I just remember this smell, and feeling warm and safe.”
The Flutterby shot Nameless a worried look.
Not liking the melancholy that came from the Minotaur’s heartstone around his neck, he broke through it by kicking off his boots, tearing off his uniform and leaping into the middle of the blanket pile, landing with a comfortable whoosh and an exaggerated whoop.
It had the desired effect.
The horned girl giggled as he flopped onto his back and put his hands behind his head, wiggling his hips and crossing his ankles to get comfortable.
“See anything you like?” He waggled his eyebrows at her ridiculously.
He was clad in nothing but his briefs and the bulge of his junk was clearly visible.
“Maaaybe.” She clasped her hands together and twisted side to side coquettishly as she eyeballed his wiry frame.
Before he could say anything else Nina landed on him, thankfully she left her hammer behind before she jumped, but she still drove the wind out of him.
“You’re a dork.” The tiny red girl said as she nestled in beside him.
Erica pulled her shirt off before stepping gingerly onto the edge of the blankets, naked save for her familiar black panties.
“He really is. But that’s wha- wha-”
She stopped speaking as her head tilted back and her eyes welled. Finally she let out a huge sneeze at the dust in the air, her head jerking forwards and shaking side to side rapidly with the involuntary movement.
“-Why we love him. Gah, sorry Milly but hay kind of sucks.” She finished as she wiped at her nose.
She crawled forwards on all fours and began to knead the spot beneath her rhythmically with her hands to ensure maximum comfort, while Ophelia considered their impromptu bed.
“Perhaps you should crawl in first dearheart? I’ll fly in once you’re comfortable.” She said to Milly who was giggling at Erica now.
“Okay!”
The enormous Minotaur tried to step onto the pile, but her weight was clearly an issue as the blankets bunched together beneath her hooves.
“Whoo-oaa!” She exclaimed as she tilted forwards precipitously.
Nina’s eyes widened at the off balance girl.
“Oh not this again.” She cursed.
It wasn’t the first time Milly had toppled onto one of her bond-sisters.
The cow-girl fell chest first and caused the tiny giant to disappear beneath her considerable bust.
Nameless managed to roll to one side out of the way before she landed and now he and Erica were howling with laughter.
At first Milly was embarrassed by her clumsiness but she joined in the laughter after the initial shock of her accidental tumble.
“Sorry Nina.” She said while trying to contain her amusement.
Even without her hammer the Gigas had a great deal of strength, but with the Minotaur’s weight on her combined with the cushioning effect of the hay beneath the blanket, she was unable to shift the cow.
She gave up after a few seconds.
“Okay, haha.” Her words were greatly muffled by Milly’s huge tits; “Off now.”
Her bond-sister’s lip jutted out at the direct tone and she looked over at Ophelia as she settled next to her, having merely fluttered her wings to carry her over the hay before setting comfortably in, her negligible weight not shifting the pile in the least.
The Flutterby raised one eyebrow, her lips twisted in a mischievous smirk.
“Say please.” The Minotaur said with a pout, not looking away from the dark haired beauty.
There was a long pause as they all waited on the giant’s response.
“…What?”
Milly’s eyes hooded as she settled her face on her crossed arms and wiggled her chest to get settled, showing every sign of staying put.
“You should say please.” She repeated; “Because I’m reeeally comfortable.”
Nameless and Erica sat up a bit, curious to see how Nina would react to the Minotaur’s uncharacteristic stubbornness.
They could see the cow-girl’s shoulders shifting upwards a bit as Nina once again tried to lift her.
“Come on, get off.”
“I will. Just as soon as you ask nicely.” Milly responded with aloof indifference.
Nameless had never seen his devoted cow act so superior, and apparently neither had Erica as she was just as rapt as him.
Ophelia’s smirk widened.
“You’re the one that fell on me!” Nina objected with exasperation.
“Yes, and then I said I was sorry. Now it’s your turn to say please.”
A breathless silence filled the cozy barn, until finally Nina muttered a sullen response.
“…please.”
Even through the muffling flesh of the Minotaur’s tits they could hear her gritting her teeth.
Milly smiled wide, but she wasn’t about to push her luck, so with some effort she rolled off of the sullen Gigas, who in turn scrambled out from under her.
“Hay sucks.” She repeated Erica’s complaint.
With yet more rustling Milly pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it in the direction of the rest of their clothes, then pulled the pouting giant’s naked back close to her breasts and pressed her face tight to her dark red hair as she kissed and licked at her scalp in a conciliatory gesture.
“I love you.” She breathed out.
The words were as honest and open as the girl saying them.
Another long pause as Nina squirmed a bit in the Minotaur’s embrace.
“Love you too.” She finally grumbled as she got comfortable in her bond-sister’s arms.
Staring up at the beams supporting the loft above their heads Nameless drew in a deep breath.
Erica purred as she crawled over and nuzzled against his hip.
They were all set to go to sleep like that, with Ophelia nestled in against Milly’s back, but perhaps inevitably Erica’s purring stopped and they all heard a familiar sound of suction as a sharp spike of arousal came from their bonds with Nameless.
“E-Erica?!” He gasp as she bobbed her face rapidly on his cock; “We shouldn’t, the blankets…” He trailed off as she swirled her tongue around his cockhead, the slick smoothness of it causing his breathing to stop.
“Come on baby, you know I swallow.” The Katje teased.
“Great, now look what you’ve done.” Nina grumbled as she worked herself around in Milly’s arms to face the larger girl, her face just below her chin with her small breasts pressing against the Minotaur’s upper chest; “Now we all have to fuck.”
She tilted up and pressed her bow like lips to Milly’s mouth, surprising her with an earnest kiss.
Meanwhile Ophelia let out a sigh and pulled Milly’s hand around behind her back.
“Sorry dearheart, but I’ll be borrowing this.”
Nina’s insistent tongue in her mouth kept the cow from responding, so she just let her arm go limp so Ophelia could do whatever she needed.
With a little fumbling the Flutterby helped the Minotaur’s fingers find her pussy and pressed them deep inside. The position was really awkward for Milly though, so the Minotaur rolled onto her back with her other arm holding Nina on top of her.
Once the angle was right Ophelia did all the work, slowly grinding herself agai
nst Milly’s fingers and palm.
There was another wet pop as Erica’s mouth came off Nameless’s cock again and he groaned.
“You hear that lover? We started something, you and me.” She teased with her seductive voice.
“Then you better damn well finish it.” He growled and gripped her hair between her cat-like ears to press her mouth back over his raging erection; “Naughty kitty, I don’t want to hear another word out of you until you make me cum.”
Her answering moan was muffled as he pressed harder on the back of her head, his cockhead at the back of her throat and demanding entry.
Meanwhile on the other side of their little nest, Ophelia had abandoned her attempts at satisfying herself with Milly’s fingers, instead rolling over so that she and Nina were shoulder to shoulder on top of the Minotaur’s chest, her arms wrapped around them both as they shared a luxuriously passionate three-way kiss.
“Sounds like Erica’s having fun.” Ophelia murmured as her lips trailed down Milly’s jaw while Nina suckled on her tongue.
“Mmmph. Ahm a wittle ‘ealous.” The cow murmured with her eyes hooded from pleasure.
Ophelia traced kisses all the way from Milly’s chin to her floppy ear and horn, then lathed her tongue across her forehead to tap into the girl’s social grooming instincts.
“Yeah? You wish that was your mouth on Master’s cock?”
She drifted down her body and her hand forced its way into the Minotaur’s shorts to palm her mound.
Milly let out a deep low into Nina’s mouth, and the Gigas echoed it with a grunt of her own as the cow’s fingers slid into her cleft from behind.
The warm air of the barn turned warmer as their lovemaking began in earnest, but it wasn’t just about sex: it never was anymore.
They needed each other, more than ever before, because outside the cozy barn true darkness stalked the night.
Shortly Nameless was biting his lip to keep himself from being too loud as he gripped Erica’s hair and ears tight, his cum filling her mouth in spurts as she placidly accepted it, her bond-sisters moaning as they felt his pleasure.
The two of them played this game a great deal, so Erica was no stranger to having his cock lodged in her gullet and spurting out his wad as she swallowed around it.
The Heartstone Saga Page 3
