NOVEL SIMPLE 2.20 – Flier
"Ooh, okayy, one more time. Hit it as hard as you can!"
"Are you sure? You're looking a little faint, Maple..."
"I'm fiiiine. One more, one more."
Bailey sighed and wound his arm back. Each time his fist impacted the barrier, it gulped down more of Maple's mana. The amount correlated with impact force. She wasn't sure what this meant for her free airship plans, but it'd gulped down quite a bit as the practice session had gone on.
It could likely be more efficient, if she just...did it more efficiently. Her head felt a little fuzzy, but she'd figure it out later.
The anchor is what she was stuck on. It kept breaking and sending the barrier flying into the wall. She only wanted to figure out how to make it not do that. Was that so much to ask? Bailey hesitated.
"Last one for real this time, okay?"
"Okayyy~ Just hit it already, with your muscles, you silly gnoll."
Maple stumbled back a step and leaned against the wall. She watched Bailey with bated breath. She'd done her best this time, formed the anchor perfectly—just like the other times.
Bailey swung, and his fist hit the barrier. The anchor snapped, and the barrier was sent flying into the opposite wall. More of her mana was drained through the connection to the spell. Just like the other times.
But this time it was like having the wind knocked out of her. Maple grunted and slid down against the wall into a crouch.
"I think—I maybe overdid it."
Some part of her knew that as she stared blankly ahead. She should do something now, but what had it been? Magic. Right. Magic. Her brain froze there, stuck. Someone was talking, and she tried to make out the words.
"—you okay? Suck your mana back in. I'm going to go get help if you don't—"
Maple's mind latched onto the thought and she replied automatically.
"Wait, I'm okay. Don't..."
He couldn't go get help. She didn't have insurance, and just the ambulance would bankrupt her. She was still in school, and couldn't afford that—focus.
"Are you sure? Maple? Suck your mana back in."
Right, suck her mana in. Where? What, actually? Focusing was excruciating. She grasped for the thought, like yanking a word from the very tip of her tongue.
"My mana..."
The words were there, but the concept wasn't. She couldn't remember how to do that, or what it really meant. Her other energy system was full by comparison. A trickle of prana empowered her body. She urged it to give her more.
If there was any technique to enhancing her body with prana—all she could do at the moment was beg it for assistance and pull. The trickle became a burst, and for a few seconds the cloud in her head lifted. Enough time to pull the mana construct back into her.
Maple gasped in relief. She was drained, loopy, panting—but she could think again. Bailey was crouched next to her, concerned. She patted his leg.
"I'm okay, now. Really, this time. Wew, that was scary. I overdid it, a little."
A wan chuckle escaped her lips. She'd been confused enough to think an ambulance would be involved. If not for the small boost her prana gave, she may not have figured out what to do.
It was similar to—hypoxia? She'd never experienced that before, but had once watched a video of pilots training for oxygen deprivation. Confusion was a major symptom, and it would of course ultimately lead to death. Maple wasn't sure if mana drain was as dangerous, but Bailey sounded worried enough.
"That was more than a little, Maple. I told you we should have stopped after that last one. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Sorry. Just give me a minute."
Maple closed her eyes and focused on reabsorbing what mana she could, as well as empowering her body with prana. The prana was no replacement, but rather felt like chugging an energy drink after being awake all night. She felt loopy.
Bailey was sat next to her though, and she leaned into him. The fur beneath his clothes made him feel like a kind of pillow. He put an arm around her, and she felt safe. Small. He always made her feel so small in comparison.
"You're comfy."
Bailey hummed a response, and Maple let her hand wander. It eventually grabbed something, and Maple gave it a light tug.
"Hehe, what's this?"
"You know what that is..."
He didn't stop her, so Maple stroked it gently through his pants. The door didn't have any kind of lock, but being closed indicated that the practice room was occupied. They shouldn't be disturbed by anyone.
"Yeah, I do. Do you wanna...?"
"Here? I don't want to get banned from the Sybrarium, Maple, and—I'm a guard."
He shifted against her, and Maple stopped moving her hand. Those were good points. Consequences. But if that was the only objection he had to the idea—
"Oh. I could just...suck you off?"
"Eehhh, I don't know..."
That one rhymed with no, and it wouldn't have done much for her anyway, so she jokingly suggested plan C.
"You could just suck me off?"
"Oh? Maybe."
Maple felt him look down, and his tone was actually interested. This was doubly surprising because—his mouth had little resemblance to a human's, and was full of sharp teeth. It was not his face that Maple would admit attraction to, but...
"Wait, would you? Can you, even?"
"Hey, I pride myself on—that particular skill."
Maple smirked and looked up at him. She hadn't expected these circumstances, but here they were.
"Then, prove it?"
Bailey glanced at the door.
"Hrr. Fine. Be quick about it, if you can."
"Sure thing!"
Maple laughed and pulled her pants down, scooting her butt a little further from the wall. She cast [Phallic Transformation] using her prana, and Bailey watched with plenty of interest as her clit grew into a cock.
"Uh, how should I—"
"There's fine."
Bailey got on all fours in front of her, mouth agape. So many teeth, any one of them capable of tearing through her flesh like it were lettuce. She tried not to imagine that, but the danger was there.
Bailey wouldn't harm a fly, her silly gnoll boy, but it wasn't his intent she doubted. Maple winced as he took her cock into his mouth. He did it gently and with his tongue below acting as a guide.
The bulk of her cock made it in without a single tooth scraping against it. Maple chuckled nervously.
"So far, so good."
Bailey moved his eyes up, locking them with Maple's. His face seemed to say she hadn't seen anything yet. She whispered a moan as Bailey started to move. There wasn't much sucking, but his tongue slid against her entire length.
Maple put a hand on his head. He got into a rhythm, and then let his tongue hang out from his mouth and lap at the rest of Maple's parts. He really was good at this. It was like nothing she'd felt before, and his gaze never left hers. He was completely focused on her.
"Mmf, good boy."
She silently cast [Enhanced Pleasure] on herself, and didn't last much longer after that. When the shuddering orgasm came, she pulled Bailey's head down with both hands and shot it down his throat.
He gulped down all of it, and before Maple cancelled the spell, happily licked her cock clean.
"Hrr, wait a minute. Doesn't that Skill use magic now? I thought you were out."
Maple tried to think of an excuse while resting against Bailey. Nothing came to mind, but he sure was comfy.
"It does, and I am, but uh...that's also part of the secret. Sorry, but don't ask please. Um, did you want to do anything else though?"
She ran a hand along his thigh, and thought that this time, surely, she'd been suggestive enough. Bailey shifted.
"Alright, secret, got it. Uh, maybe at home?"
"Sur—wait, what time is it? There were other things I wanted to do today before it gets dark."
If he was disappointed by not receiving any pleasure, then that would be his own fault for not taking her original offer before they'd left. He didn't sound disappointed.
"It's getting a little late. What else were you going to do today, if that isn't also a secret?"
"Aw, don't be upset about that. It literally might be dangerous to share, so..."
"I'm not upset about it. You don't have to tell me everything, but now you're talking about danger again. I am a [Guard], you know. I could help if you're in some kind of trouble."
Why was he being so—overprotective? She didn't hate that about him, but today it was becoming annoying. What was he going to do, change succubus society as a whole if they ended up not being okay with a half-erogel existing?
"I know, and it's not something you can help with. Anyway, I'm starting a dairy. To fill the gap SuQ left. Probably, anyway. I'm still kind of on the fence about it, but If I am, then there's a ton of stuff I need to do."
"Wait, you're what? Do you have the experience to do that? Enough gold?"
Maple sighed. Overprotective even in business matters.
"No, but it's fine."
She briefly explained everything, and Bailey expressed even more doubt. Fear and uncertainty, too. Maple shook her head.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Look, if you want to help—a logo would be nice. I don't even have a name yet. Maple's Dairy? But maybe I shouldn't use my name. Or, I wonder if like, collectible pin-up posters with some of the girls on them would work for advertising..."
"Well, sure, I could draw something if you needed it. I don't know if I could come up with a logo myself, though."
Maple nodded in thought, and stood up. She still felt a little woozy from burning through all her mana, but she could walk. She straightened her clothes and gave Bailey a once over, making sure both of them were free of bodily fluids.
"Yeah, I'll let you know I guess. Thanks Bailey, today was fun and productive."
"Any time, but what are you doing now exactly?"
Bailey followed her out of the practice room. He looked around the Compendium with clear anxiety, but none were the wiser. Maple returned the spellbook to the golem, and answered while walking towards the exit.
"I think the most important thing right now is finding...breast pumps. I have no idea where to even look for that kind of thing, so, ugh."
She whispered it, though it wasn't even lewd—not inherently. Still, where would she even find such a thing? At some kind of market stall selling enchanted farm equipment?
"Hrr. I could accompany you, if you wanted? I meet lots of [Merchants], thanks to my rounds."
"Sure, if it wouldn't bore you. Hey, what's all this?"
Maple stopped next to the door to leave the Sybrarium. There was a cork board full of fliers; ads for local businesses, events, and whatnot. One caught her eye immediately, because it literally had her name on it.
"Was it fun? Do you miss it already? Join the Tree of Maple and become one of Her leafs once more. Entrance fee: 2 silver. What the heck is this, Bailey?"
An address and date was with it, but the flier was otherwise, cryptically short. Maple tapped it and looked at Bailey. She asked again, as if he'd somehow know.
"Hrr, I don't know? It's your name on it."
"Yeah, but I don't know what it is. Why are they using my name? Go arrest them."
Bailey scratched his head uncomfortably.
"For what? It's weird, but it's not illegal to use a name."
"Yeah, but they're using my name, and they're clearly capitalizing on the whole thing that happened. It's—fraud, isn't it? And it sounds like a cult."
"Still...there's nothing on the flier that the city watch would do anything about. It might be a civil issue if you wanted to sue or something."
"Oh..."
That deflated her sails. What was she, the next Karla? The thought disgusted Maple, but that didn't make whoever was behind the flier any more right.
"But if anyone should be starting a cult and charging people money—it's me. I'll be going down there, and then—I don't know, but—"
A crack of thunder from outside interrupted Maple. The sound of rain had yet to follow, but Bailey pulled the door open for Maple.
"Guess you were almost right about the rain. We should hurry, if you wanted to get your shopping done."
They left the Sybrarium.
