Dungeons and Dalliances

Thank the Heavens, the civilians were fine.

It was standard practice to have panic rooms constructed when building on the outskirts of any town or city. In this case, it was a basement.

The heavy trapdoor leading down was barred on the other side. An axe was embedded into the thick wooden slab, splinters covering the ground. The goblins had clearly been trying to get in, chopping wildly. She wasn't sure how successful they'd have been, even given time, but Natalie was immensely relieved she and her team had been able to respond quickly. That they'd been positioned to come to their help. Though that'd been the Baron's planning more than her team's. Natalie and they had just done the dirty work.

There were no corpses in the house, another great relief. Overall, everything had gone swimmingly.

But Natalie knew she needed to brace herself for the eventuality that someday a quest of theirs wouldn't be so neat. They'd gotten lucky.

"Hello?" a voice called from inside, muted by the trapdoor. They'd been alerted when Natalie had walked in and pried out the axe.

"Stay in there for a bit," Natalie called. "We're gonna go double-check they're all dead. Is there anyone that needs help?"

"No. We're all in here," the man's voice replied, sounding relieved. "Thank you for coming."

"It's what we do. Give us a few minutes."

They went and did as she'd said, clearing the premises. The barn was an especially gruesome sight: the goblins inside had gleefully murdered every farm animal they could reach, hence the screaming noises she'd heard upon arrival. It was a gory sight, even for Natalie, who was accustomed to slaughtering monsters for a living. Still, she didn't let herself become squeamish and scoured the barn thoroughly for any other living goblins.

Unlike dungeon monsters, the goblin's corpses didn't evaporate into black smoke; they stuck around. And were strewn all about the farmer's front yard. Clean-up wasn't going to be fun. She didn't envy the farmer, or perhaps whatever assistance from the city came to help.

Before encouraging the farmers to leave the secured basement, Natalie pulled Malice back into the [Capture Core]. The fewer people who saw her, the better. Even if she had fake explanations ready for anyone curious.

When the time came, four people piled out of the trap door: the farmer, his wife, and his two children, one a scared-looking toddler and the other a boy in his teen years.

It was strangely gratifying being thanked by them. Natalie could tell by her teammate's faces they felt the same. They'd been through much harder fights as a matter of routine in the dungeon, but their efforts had always been … well, selfish, she guessed she could call it, down there. For loot and experience. Here, they'd gained no reward except potentially saving a family's life. And saving future lives by putting down the goblin raid. Those filthy creatures wouldn't be able to terrorize anyone in the future, either.

There were still plenty of the monsters left, though, in some hidden base in the 'Duskwood,' the forest to the south. But that was their goal for tomorrow.

After handling the rest of that brief crisis, the enchanted wagon ferried them back to the inn, their mission accomplished for the night.

***

Back in her room, Natalie called Malice out of the [Capture Core].

After orienting herself to her surroundings and finding nothing to kill, Malice frowned and faced Natalie. "No monsters. I take it that means this is one of those summons, then?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. When she'd enlisted the wolfgirl's help, she had underestimated just how insistent the woman would be. Fighting and fucking. Natalie was hardly a woman known for refraining from either of those, but she didn't bring it up literally every time she saw someone.

"We need to talk," Natalie said, exasperated.

"Again? About what?"

"How you acted back there."

"Huh?" Malice's long black wolf tail swished in confusion. "I thought I performed well. You disagree?"

"Not that." Natalie considered how to phrase it. "You were amazing in that fight like you always are."

Malice preened under the praise. She admired her nails, turning her hand back and forth to look from different angles. "Of course I was."

Definitely not a woman afraid to take praise. Natalie laughed.

"But," she said, "I meant how rash you were. It was fine in that situation, but it still worried me. And there are a few other things we have to talk about. I was too tired to hash out our situation properly the other night."

Malice crossed her arms, a frown appearing.

Again, Natalie rolled her eyes. At least Malice wasn't hard to read. "This isn't a scolding, Malice."

Malice's wolf ears twitched.

"Explain yourself, human."

"I will." Natalie flicked her eyes up and down Malice's body. "But first, I want you to take your armor off."

"O-Oh?" Malice asked, the command catching her off guard.

Natalie waved impatiently for her to get going, not offering her an explanation. Heat rose on Malice's dark-gray skin, the blush obvious despite her coloring. Orange eyes skittered away from Natalie's—made timid by the unexpectedness of the request—before she huffed and reached behind her back, unclipping her metal bra.

"I was wondering when you'd take advantage of your victory," she grumbled. "I still can't believe I lost to you."

It was hilarious of her to play reluctant, considering how many times she'd all but demanded Natalie hurry up with taking advantage of their arrangement.

Malice slipped out of her upper piece of armor, baring her chest. Natalie drank in the sight, arousal rising as Malice's nipples stiffened under her gaze. The wolfgirl was bustier than anyone else in her party—giving even Natalie a run for her money. Though not quite winning.

"Bottom too," Natalie said, waving impatiently. "Why are you taking so long?"

Malice's breath started to come faster at the commanding tone. Natalie had to fight away her amusement, keeping a serious, bored face. This girl was too easy to play with.

Malice obeyed, stripping her other key piece of gear off, leaving her standing naked in front of Natalie. She stood with her arms at her side for a second before, unable to help it, she covered herself up, one hand slipping between her legs, the other covering her breasts.

"I'm not exactly shy," Malice grumbled, glancing away. "But with a look like that on your face…"

Natalie laughed and stood from the bed, where she'd been enjoying the show.

"Before we have that discussion I mentioned," she murmured, approaching the naked wolfgirl—still fully dressed herself. "There's something I want to do to you." She settled her hands on Malice's hips, drawing their faces close. Malice's breathing became even more ragged, chest heaving up and down. "Can you guess what it is?"

"I … don't know."

"I have a suspicion you won't like it," Natalie murmured. "But my pup will do what I tell her, right? Because she's mine. To do with what I please. My wants come first."

"That's true," Malice breathed.

Natalie kissed Malice, briefly and teasingly. She lingered there for a few seconds, their lips barely brushing. "Good. Because now that I have you nice and naked, vulnerable for me, submitting to my will, I'm going to …"

She let the words hang in the air. Malice clung to them, her orange eyes wide, enraptured and unable to look away.

"I'm going to …" Natalie murmured.

"Yeah?"

"Give you …"

Malice waited, tense, desperate to see how the sentence would end.

"A bath," Natalie finished.

The words took time to register. Finally, orange eyes blinked rapidly in confusion, the brief spell breaking.

"H-Huh? What, human? A bath?"

"You're filthy, Malice," Natalie laughed. "Look how much blood is on you."

She stepped back and took the sight in again. While the bits of her that her armor had been covering were mostly clean, the rest was covered in the grime and gore associated with fighting monsters.

Much less in the enthusiastic, up-close-and-personal martial artist style that Malice preferred.

Amusingly, the only clean-ish parts were where her armor covered. She was effectively wearing a bikini made of clear skin. Like tan lines.

"So come on," Natalie said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Malice's hand. "It's time to teach my puppy how the shower works."