NOVEL SIMPLE 2.13 – Mythier
Maple also fled, face on fire. If anyone had seen that—what would it have even looked like? Two young women join each other on a bench. They hold hands with their eyes closed for a few minutes, until suddenly, one of them wets herself in a shuddering orgasm, and then runs away.
"Aaaaaaaaaa—"
She sent all of her panic to Thera while fast-walking down a random street, carrying the bag of beans and pot with her. How could she have let that happen? She was supposed to stop the half-elf, not become an accomplice! Thera laughed in their shared mind, but Maple felt some concern leak through.
"Hey, it felt good at least. And no one saw you, did they? You're probably fine, right?"
"I—"
Maple glanced around, and took a turn down an empty alley. She put her back against a wall and breathed, put a hand over her chest and felt her racing heart. No one had followed her.
"Yeah, I think we're good."
"Good."
Her nipple was hard beneath her fingers, and she looked around again. Her other hand twitched toward her crotch—no, you silly slut. Control yourself. Maple chided herself and stopped.
"She didn't even get me off before leaving so suddenly."
Which was understandable given the circumstances, but still. It left Maple all hot and bothered when she had things she needed to do.
"Oh yeah? How bad off are you?"
Maple showed Thera the full extent of her arousal. She was on the verge of getting herself off in an empty alley. She wouldn't actually, but...
"Ooh, well I am here at the inn without a ton left to do."
"Agh. I need to get dirt still, for our baby."
"Well...go do that."
Maple sighed, and checked herself. She was wet, but that wasn't too big an issue thanks to the rags this world used as pads. Maybe that could be her big business venture. No, she had no idea at all how she'd go about that.
Her bigger concern was whether Thera was at all squeamish; they might be limited in what they did today, if she was. Soon Thera would be off to get the rest of their loot, and after that, off to do even more adventurer things. They had to make the best of their time together while they could. She sent one last thought on the matter, along with the sensation of a lewd smirk.
"You know, now that I'm not fully human, we probably don't need need to worry about...you know."
Thera laughed with feigned disapproval.
"Go do your things, you mental temptress."
Putting that aside, Maple exited the alley and got her bearings. She knew vaguely where she was going, and luckily didn't have to backtrack. She'd always felt weird if she did, as if she'd look lost or something. Seeds and Soil was the shop she was looking for.
When she found it, she discovered smaller text above the name on the sign making the full title: Ma and Pa's Seeds and Soil Nursery. The thick smell of dirt permeated the air even outside the shop, and Maple noticed it had a large backyard kind of area full of plants.
When she entered, a bear beastkin with reddish-brown fur greeted her. She assumed this must be 'Pa'. He was more bear than human, wore a thick set of spectacles, and—looked absolutely adorable. He was like a giant teddy bear. Something activated inside Maple's brain, replacing her arousal, and made her grin at just how cute he was.
"Welcome, welcome. Are you here for dirt or plants, Miss Human?"
His voice was gruff, like she'd imagine a bear's would be, but he also sounded friendly. A spicy-smoky smell almost overpowered the smell of dirt, and she noticed the pipe on the counter next to him. Maple stammered her reply, and rather than grin like an idiot with no explanation—she explained. For better or worse.
"Um, dirt—ahhh, you're so adorable. I'm sorry, that's really rude, maybe, but you're like a—a giant teddy bear. Sorry, I've just never seen anyone like you before, I—"
He let out a booming laugh, and rested a clawed hand on his stomach. A sweet woman's voice called out from another room.
"What's so funny, Pa? Do we have a customer?"
"We do, Ma. She's here for some soil. And I, apparently, look like a giant teddy bear."
He guffawed again, good-naturedly, and wiped at an eye beneath his glasses. Maple blushed, regretting her lack of self-control. The woman entered the room, and wrapped an elbow around the bear beastkin's.
"She's not wrong, dear. What am I always telling you?"
"I thought you were the only one who thought so!"
Maple did a double take, because—rather than a bear, the woman was some kind of rabbit beastkin. A rabbit woman in overalls, with long fluffy ears. A weird pairing, but one that was absolutely adorable. Maple gawked and blushed harder while they had a small conversation between themselves, as couples did.
Eventually, Maple tried to recover.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. Ohmygoshbothofyouareadorablethough."
She blurted it out, and Pa chuckled and squeezed Ma closer to him. They were like something from a storybook.
"The human's smitten with us, Ma."
"We'll take it as a compliment, won't we dear."
"Of course we will. Again, welcome to our little shop. What kind of dirt are you looking for, Miss Human? And how much?"
Maple set the pot on the table and took a deep breath.
"Enough to fill this pot. It's for, um, a very important plant. A seed. Pat recommended I come here..."
"Oh, a VIP, Ma. And Mad Pat himself recommended us? Hah, he gave that name to himself. How is he? Friendly guy. Oh, and look at this. Fine work, as usual."
Maple nodded, agreeing that Pat was an amicable fellow. Pa picked the pot up and examined it, sticking a hand in to check its depth. It had enchantments for both space and weight, as without the latter, it would be immovable once filled with dirt. Ma also gave it an appreciative look, and then turned to Maple.
"What kind of plant is it for, Miss? Soil composition matters a lot if you want the best results, which I assume is the case with a pot like this."
"Um...I'm not sure exactly. It has vines. And leaves?"
One of Ma's ears folded over questioningly. She glanced at Pa, and then gave Maple a look like she thought she might be a bit...slow. Maple blushed harder. To be fair, she had walked in here with most of her blood still not quite in her head. Ma spoke slowly for her.
"Most of them do have leaves, don't they, sweetie? We could give you a generic soil mix that should be more than fine, but if you want something suited for it specifically, then I'd at least need to see this seed."
"Ah...I could go get it."
"Mhm, you do that. We'll be open until dark."
Maple nodded and made for the door. She could have accepted a generic mix—but Emma wanted the best. And frankly, she was too embarrassed to stay any longer. She heard Pa chuckle in his deep voice one last time on her way out.
"A teddy bear—"
Maple rubbed at her face, carrying the pot and bag of beans in one hand. This day just kept getting longer. Pat's snacks at least meant she wasn't hungry. She sent a summary of events to Thera.
"You do have a penchant for embarrassing yourself. No rush anyway, I'm not quite done with my things."
"You mean you didn't want a quickie before I head back?"
Maple teased and found herself smirking as she made her way to the Copper Butterfly.
"Heh, no. I'm out too, at the moment."
"Oh, what are you up to?"
"Committing violence if this dull-edge doesn't start being reasonable."
Ooh, Thera was angry. Or just allowing herself to vent some frustration, because she didn't feel angry in their shared mind. Her abnormal willpower meant she likely could bottle things up forever—but that wouldn't be very healthy.
Maple happily listened to her vent about the increased wagon rental prices because it was 'short notice'. Plenty were available, but if you wanted one tomorrow they would charge more. It was a money grab, purely because they could get away with it.
The same went for renting spatially enchanted chests, bags, and so on. It was a citywide conspiracy! Maple found Thera's anger kinda hot. She remembered her saying earlier 'if it were you provoking me,' and couldn't get past that.
Maple calmed down by time she'd dropped the beans off, grabbed the seed, some extra coins just in case, and headed back.
The rabbit beastkin examined the seed, and used a Skill. Twice.
"[Appraise Plant Needs]. Hm. It's strange, Miss, but it would prefer to have something I've never seen before. It's not a nutrient I've handled, nor is it mana—I've dealt with my share of magical plants, you know. You don't have any idea what kind of plant this seed came from? That would help with my appraisal Skills."
"Um. Not really. It uh—it's a long story but it gave it to me itself, and then wilted. Its vines could move, um...It could kind of communicate."
Maple felt her face heat up as she tried to avoid unnecessary detail. She cooperated this much because they needed the best dirt. Ugh. Ma nodded, her ears stiff with interest.
"Ah, how odd. So it may be some kind of..."
Her eyelids covered her beady black eyes as she thought. Maple waited patiently, hoping she wouldn't ask for more detail than she'd already given. Pa put an arm around her, and she leaned into him automatically with her eyes still shut. Maple had to gush again.
"Oh my gosh, you two are the cutest couple. Would it be rude to ask about, um..."
"Aw, you're not so bad yourself. A bear and a rabbit is an odd combination, we know. We're used to it. In short, Ma here grew the tastiest berries."
"And Pa's berries weren't so bad either."
Ma said it as if part of a script, with a smug smile, while Pa shook his head and grabbed his pipe. He lit it with a match, and took a puff before speaking.
"Oh, you. Always embarrassing me in front of our customers."
Maple smiled at the interaction. It was so—well, somewhat lewd now, but—adorable. The rabbit beastkin opened her eyes after a few more seconds.
"I think, Miss Human, the best we could give you is our standard potting mix. Once it sprouts I may be able to discern more, so do come back at that point if you want, but for now..."
She turned to her husband to let him finish up the transaction. He took a puff from his pipe, and examined the inside of the pot again.
"That's about five silver's worth, I reckon. Assuming you want it filled?"
"Um, yeah. That's fine."
Maple nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. She'd expected worse, honestly, but then again it was dirt. Five silver was still a lot. She did have a hunch about what the mysterious nutrient it wanted was, and it worried her, but she'd deal with that if it came to it.
She paid, and Pa filled the pot from some kind of enchanted sack. Then she said goodbye to the cute teddy bear and bunny, and left with a pot full of dirt. She waited to plant the seed, figuring Emma would want to be there for it; Emma liked that kind of thing.
