NOVEL SIMPLE 93. Negotiations and Celebrations
The negotiations took hours and Bonny eventually curled up on Zeal’s back. She tucked her head in over one of Zeal’s shoulders and let her hooves hang off of Zeal’s ass. She slept.
The dragon girl’s wings had been pulled up, out of the way, allowing Bonny room to sit, but she lowered them now, bracketing and covering Bonny, stabilizing her. Zeal still knelt on all fours and wasn’t big enough for Bonny to stretch out, but with wings flexed out, she could hold the bunny in place. She shifted occasionally, to keep Bonny’s weight centered.
Most of the guards and council members left, taking the weasel ex-council member and the dead guard’s body. Only Cassius and Eris stayed to continue to negotiate with Freja and Eloisss.
Miu and Kanae settled down together beside Zeal, Adelina curled up near one of Bonny’s bunny ears, and Violet contracted into a blob on the other side of Zeal, her internal cavities vanishing, but the crown and bones remaining visible.
After Bonny fell asleep, Eris paused to ask, “Why are all of you with her? What has she done for you?”
“Sshe ssaved uss.” Eloisss pointed at herself and Miu. “I sswore to protect her. The fox followed the three of uss until Bonny invited her to join.”
“I’m here to watch her future.” Willowbelle spoke up. She had mostly remained quiet and stood near Zeal and Bonny.
“What about her future?” Eris watched each of them closely.
“It is tangled. Fate and other forces are moving.”
“What can you do? Any of you?”
“Maybe nothing.” Willowbelle shrugged. “Maybe help protect a city while she kills a dragon.”
“She brought me back to life.” Zeal spoke in a loud whisper. “And freed me from Wrath. I swore to obey her for a year and a day and I will protect her until then.”
The room went silent, knowing what Zeal’s protection looked like.
“The Goddess personally asked me to protect her.” Freja broke the silence after a minute. “She appeared to me the day I met Bonny.”
“Do you … see them often? The gods?” Cassius hadn’t spoken in a while.
Eloisss nodded. “Courage and Recovery, yess. Sseveral timess. Hope onsce, but they mosstly talk to Bonny and sshe tellss uss what they ssaid.”
“And you believe her?”
All of the companions nodded. Freja answered, “Were you paying attention? They’re here now. Probably watching and listening to us. Last night, Bonny tied up Courage and did something to cause those burns. The Goddess is scared of her, but still likes her. Still supports her.”
“Recovery wass burned ass well.” Eloisss added.
“Why? What happened?” Eris asked.
“I don’t know. The ropes used to secure Wrath were made from Bonny’s hair. And mine.” Freja said. “She made them last night. The Goddess infused them with power, I think. Bonny told me the story, but I don’t know why it burned her. Or Recovery. Or why they don’t heal. What can damage a god like that?”
No one had an answer, except Bonny, who started to snore lightly.
“Is she dangerous?” Eris asked it quietly, as if hoping Bonny and the gods wouldn’t hear her concern.
“No, nya.” Miu answered, not looking up. “She cried about killing goblins the day she saved me. Then cried about killing the assassin on the day we arrived. She'll probably cry about the one today later.”
“Sshe can be dangerouss to anyone, obvioussly. No one elsse could have ssurvived a duel with a dragon, much lesss defeated one.” Eloisss amended, pointing at Zeal, who still knelt passively, cradling Bonny between her wings.
“But sshe wantss to heal and protect people. By people, sshe meanss everyone: beast-kin, humans, animals, … dragons.”
They all watched at Bonny snore for a minute, then around at the room, at each other.
“What is the purple blob?” Eris pointed at Violet. “It looks like a giant slime.”
“Sshe iss. Sshe’ss ssmart, not like mosst sslimess. Bonny resscued her from Nesstor. He wass trying to harvesst her magic for hiss potionss. The boness are Nesstor’ss hand.”
“Oh.”
There wasn’t much to say about that. They went back to the negotiation shortly after.
In the end, four of Eris' fields just north of Colette’s place would be granted to Bonny. The rest of the land up to the forest would be hers as well, extending three kilometers to each side of the road.
Builders would be provided to build a house for the group and a wall along the length of the territory. Several gates would be installed, for animals to access the plains and forest. Another gate would cover the road, with Freja and the companions acting as a checkpoint. They would receive a small salary for it.
Willowbelle would plant and grow a variety of trees for the beaver craftsmen and builders. She could accelerate wood growth by a factor of ten, meaning they would be available to harvest in two to four years for most species. Until then, they would try to pacify the forest and start replanting the area already cleared. The beavers that were currently harvesting wood from the forest would need to pay for the new tree farms, but it should be cheaper overall since they wouldn’t need to hire guards or pay for wrongful deaths.
Before Bonny fell asleep, she asked for a school. The burned and smashed buildings outside the north gate would be cleared and rebuilt. That would become a school for training new healers, hunters, and warriors, taught by Bonny, Eloisss, Freja, and Miu. The students would join the patrols and help clear any crazed beasts or monsters that remained in the area.
They also needed to agree to start wearing clothes in the city, including while teaching. No mention was made of Bonny’s anatomy overview in the healer’s temple, so those in the know assumed Rafael never reported it.
Bonny woke near the end. She reached an arm around and hugged Zeal, then sat up. She agreed after hearing a summary of the discussion and plans. “That sounds good. Thank you. Do you have clothes we can use?”
Bonny, Willowbelle, Violet, who assumed her Bonny form after Bonny woke up, and Zeal were all naked. Adelina was as well, but since she used light and mist to hide her body, no one insisted.
Robes were found for each of them. Violet loved hers and swore to wear it all the time.
“Is there anything else?” Cassius asked, finally.
“How many people died? Or are injured?”
“We don’t have an accurate count.”
“What time is it? We should have a celebration. Can you send runners out to bring anyone wounded or poisoned to the plaza?”
“It’s late. After dark.”
“That’s fine. Violet can provide light. I’ll heal everyone that shows up. If possible, I also want a count of everyone who died in the attack.”
Cassius and Eris looked at each other, then agreed.
“Great!” Bonny clapped her hands together. “Let’s get to it.”
Runners went out, informing everyone that the city was safe and a healer would be available in the central plaza.
Bonny and her friends visited the Healer’s temple, where Rafael, Altha, and Helem were lying down, recovering. There were a number of patients there as well, including Iolana, slowly recovering due to the three overlapping regeneration auras.
Bonny hopped around, touching the wounded and casting “Mending!” She went to the three priests and cast “Sacrificial Mana Restore!” transferring her own mana to them, then touched Kanae and restored her own. During the process, she explained that she asked the Council to bring wounded to the plaza.
“I’ll do most of the healing, but I would like you to stand by as backup. Also, our auras should all work together to help passively heal everyone.”
Priests in tow, she headed back out. Violet cast several [[Arcane Light!]] spells around the area, leaving it bright, but tinged purple.
Bonny stood in the middle of the plaza as people started to gather, wondering what was happening. “Courage. May I use your spear?”
The goddess appeared, in her small, personal visage. “Why?”
“I need a pole. I promised Lust an erotic dance if I survived the fight with Zeal. I need it big, like eight or ten feet tall, and set it into the ground, so I can climb on it.”
“You want to dance on my pole?”
“Yes. Just like you hung on mine last night.” A moment passed before the two started giggling together.
“I’ll will allow it if I can watch.”
“Of course, you can. I assume you’re always watching.”
Courage blushed, her golden fur darkening. “I do. When I can. Will you give me a private dance?”
“You know I will. Anytime.”
Courage shimmered into view, translucent and huge, a dozen feet tall, her spear equal to her height. She stabbed down, the spear crashing into the ground beside Bonny, cracking and piercing the cobblestones. Then she vanished, leaving her spear standing straight and tall, quivering slightly with the force.
“Thank you.” Bonny grabbed the spear shaft and pulled. It flexed, but held firm.
The oversized spear shaft was just under two inches in diameter, which was slightly larger than most stripper poles. It was also made of wood, not steel, but Bonny was experienced and thought it would work. She didn’t have to be perfect, just entertain the crowd with something new, while her auras both healed and harvested life.
She pulled out the Sword of Justice to remove the sleeves from her robe, cutting deep a deep vee along both sides. The robe was thin and fell to mid-thigh, fastening in the front. Bonny wore it loose, ties open to her abdomen, leaving another deep vee that displayed her cleavage. She started to dance.
The crowds thickened as people flooded in. The priests healed who they could and pointed the rest to Bonny. Two lines formed, one for the sick and one for those who wanted to dance with Bonny.
Eloisss and Freja stood guard, monitoring the lines. They required payment for the dance, a small silver squares for a few seconds of contact, or a large silver square for slightly longer dance and a kiss.
Her other companions spread out, forming a circle about ten foot across. They sat, so that the audience had a clear view.
A few people tried to cross the line, but a burst of light or flicker of flame were usually enough to dissuade them. The few that tried to push further met Eloisss, Freja, or Zeal, who picked them up and physically threw the back out into the crowd. Many of them joined the healing line after.
Bonny danced back and forth between the lines, touching the injured to cast “Mending!” and the others more intimately. A caress on the cheek, a hand on the shoulder or lower back, nails grazing lightly down their forearm. She gyrated around them, delighting and charming, darting in for a quick peck on the lips for those who paid. They all left happy and dazed.
Most were men, but when the rare woman joined the circle, Bonny added a flourish. A bite or nibble, on the neck or ear. She would allow the women to touch her, to slide a hand up her leg or in the open neck of the robe. Her kisses were deep and tantalizing.
More than once, she saw Eloisss glare as the woman left and she grinned at the lamia and shook her head in warning.
Occasionally Bonny took to the pole, twisting and flipping, floating around it like liquid magic. Her robes flew open, flashing and thrilling the onlookers. She wore no underclothes and when she spun around it with legs open, the crowds went wild.
Bars sent wagons with alcohol, and other, less savory, characters offered stimulants or depressants near the edges of the plaza. Bonny ignored them and trusted the guards to manage what they could.
Desire budded and flowered. Bonny skimmed the peaks of desire, pulling essence from those most excited, most lively.
Other women, and more than a few men, danced at various other places around the plaza, drawing their own crowds.
Tension, sexual and other, grew stronger. A fight broke out and Bonny found she could pluck their anger, like overripe fruit. She caressed the crowd with her aura, harvesting both wrath and lush. Power flowed toward her and she drank it in.
Her own desire rose, the thrill of being watched, the touch of the dancers. As she danced, it slowly rose to a peak, started to crest, and died. Her need, her longing, the ache in her core, drained away, leaving her unsatisfied, unfulfilled.
Bonny searched through the links she made, the bonds. Power streamed in, swirled around her, then withdrew. She followed it and found the connection to Lust. The bond was a steel cable, pulling at her essence, taking power and desire from her, repayment for the succubus form and flight power, but leaving her wanting.