The Lost of the Marshes – Chapter 6: Pleasure
by Bad Manners

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... Despite being illegal, businesses such as bars, brothels, [...] function normally in places such as Kuir, when they are deemed useful to the authorities. But even the ones that the local government does not overlook and cracks down on, such as contraband, are still considered by some to be an essential part of urban life. ...

... Our society enforces laws and behaviors that disproportionately favor certain classes of people and punish others: men over women and other genders; man-and-woman relationships over same-sex ones; those without inabilities over those with; [...] This has been more prevalent under the unified rule of Kaati, but these accounts so far failed to mention how previous societies in the Two Rivers still enforced such a thing. ...

===

"Sorry for troubling you..." Nurta apologized to the young man loading stone tablets onto her cart. "If there weren't so many, I would have carried them by myself."

"It's no problem at all, ma'am." The goat explained to the red lizard. "You're not the only customer keeping multiple records here."

The Widow hadn't been to Kuir's library in decades, but the place was exactly how it used to look in her first visit – new staff notwithstanding. Still, she knew to come take the tablets she'd left here so long ago. This library, like any other in the country, served not only for public archival of Kaati's knowledge, but to safely store documents for later retrieval. Arriving on a cart wouldn't attract any attention; after all, people would come and go with these heavy documents written on stone all day.

As for what these records – six tablets, she counted – contained, it was unclear. What she did know, however, was that they pertained to her and her nature as a transformed dragon, among other things. Before relinquishing them to the library, she was careful to scratch out every name, and to pass it off as 'fiction writing' in order to avoid any suspicion from staff that could link this back to her.

But her chance encounter with Suugal had prompted her to seek answers. She thanked the young goat once again before setting off to find a safe place to read the tablets. With her next destination in mind, she let her thoughts wander off, focusing on the sensations of the 'gasham' emanating from inside of her crop, and the slight stirring of its occupant. Nurta was completely unaware of her small yellow-furred pursuer, following from a distance for quite some time now.

Quince didn't know where Nikili or Suu had gone to in this city, but they had found the Widow, who had been acting suspiciously. When they last met, she had pledged to help find the cat's draconic friend, but now she seemed to be doing something else entirely as she visited the library. At first, they wanted to confront her about her attitude, but the feline instead decided to stalk and figure out what her plan was.

It wasn't long until Nurta arrived at her destination, one of the brothels of the city. Prostitution was not legal in Kaati, but like many other services attended by the army's soldiers, the operation of these places was overlooked by authorities. This one especially was less frequented, and Nurta knew the owner well, so she knew that she could study undisturbed.

"Welcome, welcome!" A gray hare excitedly came out of the building as he heard a cart arrive to the front. "How may we be of service–"

"Unazu." The Widow smiled warmly at the brothel's owner. "It's been too long."

Unazu's salesman enthusiasm quickly faded. "Mrs. Nurta? Y-yes, too long... Are you in trouble again?"

She dismissed his worries. "Thankfully, no. I just need some privacy."

The hare scratched his gray arm. "O-oh, some 'privacy'...? A-are you waiting for someone?"

"Not that kind of privacy, mind. I simply have some work to do." She glanced over the tablets. "And if someone could help me carry these to a room, I'd be grateful."

"Carry these, yes... I can help you. I sent the girls away for the day, you see. It's a slow day today, barely any customers."

"Oh? So that's why you personally came to greet me." Nurta concluded, and Unazu nodded. "I'm sorry to hear it. I can pay a little extra to make up for your losses."

"E-Extra? Oh, that's so generous of you, Mrs. Nurta, so generous! Appreciate it." He sighed. "Normally we get a bunch of army fellows throughout the day, we do, but they're too busy today, I think. In fact, my first client for the day arrived just before you, he did, and he's waiting for his companion to arrive. I had someone call him back here, since we weren't expecting any more clients, you see."

So she was probably correct, the lizard remarked to herself. As she had theorized earlier, Kaati was planning on something big, and was organizing its army for something. Doubtlessly an offensive against a neighboring nation, but it would be the first military action in years...

"Anyway, a-are you waiting for someone, are you?" The hare repeated in a worried tone. "That cat's been watching you for quite a while."

A cat? She turned around, barely quickly enough to spot a small pursuer hide behind a wall with the corner of her eye. Although she didn't know who, Nurta still had a pretty good hunch, considering who she'd brought with her into Kuir.

"Quince?" She called out to the stalker. There was a moment of hesitation, but then the yellow cat came out from hiding. "Don't worry, they're with me." She tranquilized the hare, and turned back to the small scavenger. "I'm sorry for leaving you and Nikili behind."

Having their plan foiled, the feline approached the red lizard. Maybe in the marshes, a terrain which Quince was more familiar with, they would be skilled enough to remain undetected, but in a city like Kuir – a wilderness of its own with so many distrusting eyes –, it wasn't that simple. Nevertheless, with a pleading meow, Quince expressed their discontent as best as possible.

She couldn't understand the wordless cat as well as the mongoose or the other dragon did, but it was clear that they had their concerns to voice. Still, she didn't want to linger in these alleys. "Can we speak inside? It's safer than out here, I promise you... Oh, and I could use your help taking these tablets from Mugan's cart..."

***

Nikili sat at the edge of the hardened clay bed, staring at the ground. He felt at the brink of crying, but his eyes didn't water up. 'What have I done', he thought over and over. He assaulted an army official, but even if Ludama deserved it, that still meant his life was as good as forfeit. He knew well how he would be branded a traitor, or at the very least, a petty criminal, forced by Kaati to face consequences for his crime. And with that came the guilt of no longer being able to protect those he cared about. Quince, Suu, he had failed them both. Perhaps there was some justice in this; maybe he didn't deserve to be with them, after all...

"Excuse me–"

The mongoose's head darted toward the voice coming from the doorway. On this side of the reed curtain partitioning the entrance, there was another man; a tall desert gecko, his scales a sand-yellow hue, wearing only a skirt and sandals just like himself. Nikili clutched the axe's handle in his right hand even tighter at the sight of the stranger. Had him been found by the authorities already?

"Mister, could you put your weapon down? Otherwise I will have to cancel your 'service'." The gecko was standing in place, wary of any rash reaction from Nikili to make a run to the exit, but still trying to maintain a calm and composed demeanor.

"... Service?"

"Yeah, that's what you're here for, right? Unazu said you came running into the hall, asked if this was the whorehouse, gave him money, and when he asked you what kind of girl you wanted, you said, and I quote, 'I'm into guys'." The reptile explained. "So... here I am."

Did he do all that? The mongoose's mind was still in a haze. He remembered running away from Ludama, and following Nurta's recommendations of looking for a brothel whenever he needed to hide from trouble in a city. And the small portion of money that he was carrying with him – after the earlier sale of artifacts – had been spent. Still, he was a bit ashamed that he simply admitted his homosexuality during his stupor, because that could also get him in trouble with the authorities. Although a brothel out of places wouldn't be concerned about it, for profit's sake.

He dropped his axe to the floor, and the gecko sighed in relief. "Thank you for understanding. I've had a fair share of violent clients before, and I don't want any problems for any of us." He unconsciously ran his hand over a scar on his side. "And besides, it would only get in the way of the service..."

"In the way... of the service...? Wait, you're a– I didn't really–"

"What? I hope I'm not disappointing." The gecko apologized, if only out of courtesy. "There just aren't many clients coming in looking for another man lately, so I'm the best you can ask for right now. Unless you'd want a girl, then–"

"N-no, it's fine. I'm sorry. You can stay..."

The gecko took a few steps forward. "Just 'stay'? Well, you've hired my services, so we can do more than that, mister... Or would you rather I to call you something other than 'mister'?"

"Nikili." The scavenger paused. "A-and you're...?"

"Just call me Musdagura."

"That's a weird name." The mongoose wondered out loud. "S-Sorry, no offense."

"None taken, it simply means 'gecko' in an old tongue."

Nikili simply blinked in surprise at him. "That can't be your name."

"It isn't. But for privacy's sake, I just don't give mine out to clients, as I hope you'll understand."

"Hmm... Then, should you call me by whatever 'mongoose' is in that language?" He pondered.

"Well, 'mongoose' would be 'Ninka', but you just told me you're called Nikili. Unless you would prefer to be called that?"

"A-ah, true... Just Nikili is fine."

It wasn't hard for Musdagura to tell that the other man was pretty out of it, so he would have to lead for now. Despite his initial concern over his own safety, he could see in Nikili's eyes that he didn't mean any harm. "Is this your first time?"

"Y-yes– I mean, no...! First time in a brothel."

"Nervous?"

"A-a-a bit, kinda." He lied, as his mind slowly drifted away from his earlier thoughts. "Are you actually a postitu– a prostritut–"

"A whore, yes." The gecko blurted out, not changing his expression. "I like working as a prostitute on the side, although that depends on the place and the employer. And I was fortunate to meet Unazu here in Kuir." He looked down at the weapon. "From your axe, I take it you're a soldier."

"Oh, not anymore, not for a while now. That's just for self-defense."

So he -was- a soldier, Musdagura thought. He definitely didn't meet a deserter every day, as he'd known that Kaati armymen were pretty much set for life – or so he'd heard several times from them. But he felt that interrogating him on it would only make Nikili nervous again. Still, it was endearing to speak with a man with a bit more sensitivity and honesty than his usual clientele.

Surprisingly for the gecko, Nikili decided to bring up the subject instead. "You're familiar with Kaati soldiers, then?"

"Hm? Oh, definitely. Almost all of my male clients are guys from the army, who keep bragging about the combats, and the money, and the women; and at the same time, they come to meet me in secret. They are just too scared of expressing themselves as gay men, because of the consequences they would face. All that talk of power, and they're still worried about those with even more power... it's sad that–" Musdagura stopped himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble or be disrespectful."

"It's fine, really. I know how that is."

Nikili was surprised, most of all. He'd never really talked about sexuality with anyone, except maybe with his occasional partners – and even then, it was mostly a subject to be avoided out of shame. And this Musdagura seemed eloquent, self-confident, proud even. Jealousy would be an understatement, if truth be told. But there was something in what the gecko said that stumped him, about bragging of power...

"We can move along to the action, if you want." The gecko teased, moving his hands around the band on his waist, hinting at dropping his skirt.

But Nikili had a different sense of urgency. "You wouldn't happen to have had sex with a dog, a tall black and white dog? A loud guy who probably said he's a commander in Kaati?!"

"Whoa, where's that coming from? And besides, I'm a professional. I don't divulge information about other clients."

The mongoose looked down again, clutching his head in his hands. "But I need to know if– are we the same...?" He spoke to himself.

The gecko was worried that he had upset him with something he said, and moved to sit by his side on the bed. He placed a hand on his thigh, trying to comfort him. "Okay, just this once I'll– Listen. I think I know the guy you're talking about. Loud, annoying, loves picking a fight. Seen him in town a few times, know his type. He's not my client. I say this with the utmost certainty: he's straighter than any dick I've seen."

Nikili turned to face Musdagura, a small smile of consolation. "So he's not like me... Not with men, not with Quince... But then I– I still don't– Maybe I'm also a..." His expression was clouded with uncertainty again, and he retreated into his thoughts again.

The prostitute sighed. "Hey, hey, take a nice deep breath. Just like that. Whatever is wrong, you can talk to me about it. I won't judge. My job is to make you happy, after all."

The mongoose took some more time to organize his thoughts, and perhaps against his own judgement, decided to be honest with this stranger.

"I-I left the army after I met someone in a village that we raided. S-Sinipin, the place was called. They were scared, and I had to protect them. Because nobody else would. Because we had...– I would like to believe that I had a change of heart, that I've done better since that moment, but the truth is...– I was a soldier then; I helped to raze down villages for Kaati, and killed innocent people for that. I am no different from a monster – from -that- monster. Am I not? Why should I even deserve a second chance, when those I've killed don't get one?!

"And this friend I've saved... they wouldn't even need to be saved if we hadn't destroyed their village. I'm not a hero, I was part of the problem in the first place! I don't deserve their respect or their friendship, I only deserve guilt. But maybe if I could at least remember their faces... maybe if I had nightmares about the deaths... if it tormented me... that would be fairer, right? It might be delusional, but it would at least feel just, if I suffered a fraction of what I did in some way. But then... what does it mean that I live guilt-free after this? What does that make me?!"

There was a deathly silence. But before Nikili could regret his outburst, Musdagura uttered. "It means nothing. It doesn't have to mean anything." He thought a bit longer before continuing. "Well, let me put it this way... First of all, you said you didn't want to be like this other guy. But even if he had the same interests, that's totally unimportant. You are different people. You wouldn't say someone is bad just because they like men, would you?" His tone revealed a little offense at the mongoose's assumption, but he continued. "But more to the point, what choice did you have, really? You had to follow orders, or be considered a traitor. If it wasn't you doing the killing, someone else would do it. That blood would be on someone else's hands. And, at least, you have a conscience now, and you know that you did a bad thing. I wouldn't call you guilt-free from what you told me."

"But that doesn't make it better. That doesn't undo all the harm I've done!"

The gecko pondered for a bit. "You're right, it doesn't. I'm sorry, I'm not good at analyzing people. I only said it because I hoped you would feel better, since that's my job... But you know, life isn't about what's fair or not. Anyway, if you were to ask me, I -do- think you had a change of heart. If you were a monster before– well, I don't think you are now. But... maybe that's for your friend to decide, not me?"

Silence. Nikili tried to come to terms with the gecko's words and his own thoughts. Maybe this was a burden he would have to carry forever, after all, and no amount of amends could undo them. But if he could do some good, he would do it. For Quince, especially; whatever it took.

Musdagura was the first to speak again. "I'm sorry for souring the mood. And, you know, we don't have to do anything," he explained as he noticed that the mongoose's facial expression got better, "but we still have time if you want to do something with me, Nikili."

"Something with you...?" The scavenger repeated, watching as the prostitute stood up in front of him before slowly undressing out of his skirt.

The rest of the gecko's body was revealed, the upper part of those two legs with the same sand-yellow scales that covered the rest of his body. But of course, what drew Nikili's attention was in the center: a reptilian slit, no doubt hiding his male bits.

"Ahh... I'm sorry for the sudden shift, I was just tired of wearing that skirt." There was a mischievous smile in the man's face as he spoke.

He seemed unaffected by the whole talk, Nikili thought; or was he maybe willing to be more forward, since the mongoose had spilled his heart out?

"Uhh... Do you–... Is there–" He tried to find the most delicate words.

"Yes, I have two dicks, if that's what you're asking." He teased bluntly. "And yes, they both work. Maybe you're into that?"

Nikili could picture a pair of hemipenes coming out from that slit, and his mind instantly shifted to that night with Suu, when he had seen the kobold's unexpected erection. He blushed. Why did this guy also have to be a reptile?

"No?" Musdagura said, taking his silence as disapproval. "How about we play a little bit first and we go from there? And it's best if you get naked, too."

"O-okay..."

Likewise, Nikili started stripping from his own skirt while sitting down to reveal his own half-erect cock emerging from his sheath. The gecko kneeled to help him remove the crumpled fabric from his ankles, and tossed it aside with his own clothing before approaching the light-brown mongoose.

"Let me take the lead." The reptile whispered almost impatiently, before raising the scavenger's chin so that their lips could meet.

***

"Alright, that's the last of them." Nurta said, putting the sixth tablet against the wall of the room. "Now if you don't mind waiting, there's something I need to look into with these writings–"

A loud series of meows interrupted her. 'Waiting' was, in fact, the last thing that Quince wanted to do. It was now getting late in the day, and both Suu and Nikili were nowhere to be found. First the blue kobold had disappeared; then, while looking for him, the brown mongoose was 'abducted' by that brute, and never returned to where he'd left. The longer they took, the more scared they both might have been.

And now Nurta, who they had entrusted with locating the transformed dragon, was instead busy reading? In the cat's eyes, she had simply fulfilled her plan of eliminating Suu – and they wouldn't just sit by and let her.

"Look, Quince, these tablets have information about dragons. Hopefully something in there will show us a way to find Suugal." She spoke calmly, hoping to tranquilize the feline.

Of course, that was mostly a lie. The Widow knew exactly where the other dragon was – which was only made more evident as the transformed archaeopteryx now decided to wiggle inside of the crop in her body, hidden under her dress. The sensations from having the feathered reptile were not unpleasurable, but in fact quite arousing, and distractingly so. Still, she managed her best to keep a straight face, and Quince seemed convinced by her excuse.

She couldn't have simply told Quince about it. Either they wouldn't believe her, or they would've reacted poorly before she even had time to explain that Suugal was safe and sound. For now, these white lies would have to do until she could release him out of sight.

"I apologize for being so secretive, I didn't want anyone else to overhear us. Either way, you've been separated from Nikili, correct? Do you know anything of his whereabouts?"

He was last seen going away with an armyman, of course, but communicating that simple statement without words would have been an almost impossible task for the cat. Instead, they simply nodded and hoped that Nurta would take the hint.

"Right... I've never realized how communicating like this must be challenging for you and Nikili until now." She mused out loud, and Quince nodded again. "I think we should focus on this for now, and then find Nikili before he gets in some sort of trouble."

The room was very simple, and most of the objects consisted of blocks of clay with different heights and sizes, emulating other furniture such as beds and tables. Some expensive brothels would have reed and wood furniture, but those always were at risk of being broken by unruly clients, and then having to be replaced. It wasn't unusual for simpler places like Unazu's to stick to the cheaper alternatives. But for Nurta's purposes, the ones roughly resembling a chair and a desk would be enough, as she brought over a tablet and sat down.

"It might take a while to go over these, and I don't really know how you can spend your time meanwhile." The lizard muttered, her eyes not moving away from the tablet. The lettering was very small and condensed on all of these, so there was a lot of stuff to go through. But before she even started scanning the document, her concentration was broken by the arousal from Suugal's more intense wriggling.

« Stay still, please... » She urged to the dragon inside of her, using her feelings instead of words to communicate through his understanding of hearts, or gasham'sag. Nevertheless, he continued to tease her, even as she knew he must have understood her. But why? Up until this point, he had remained still inside of her crop, hidden and safe. Was it maybe to embarrass her, make her break her composure, as some sort of revenge? As tempting of an excuse that it was, no, that couldn't be it.

Nurta felt a moan nearly escape from her lips, and she coughed to cover it up. Maybe, then, he was trying to make himself known to Quince, if he sensed their presence. But he could have simply made some noise that the cat would be able to recognize. It was getting harder to think, much less focus on the tablet in front of her. She couldn't get any work done like this, so maybe it was time to let Suugal out. But then, she'd first have to come clean.

"Quince, I actually need to tell you something. If you would be so kind to listen–"

As she turned around, the Widow stopped herself to an unexpected scene. "Quince?" They were standing on the far edge of the 'bed', wearing a frightful face as they reached for the pocket knife in their belt. And right in the middle, another tablet also sat on the bed. The cat must have dragged it there while she was distracted, but it didn't explain their reaction to Nurta, unless...

"Why are you...?" Her eyes glanced over the inscriptions carved into the tablet. Several of the names had been scratched out, and this must have caught the cat's attention. But out of the upside-down words, she still managed to make out the sentence 'now lives as a red lizard', or something close to it. It was more than enough to figure out the reason for their standoffishness.

"You– You can read." She concluded, and Quince twitched in response, still frozen in alarm. "Why have you never told Nik– Never mind, that's not important now." The Widow sighed. "Whatever you've read in there, I admit that it's true. I am a dragon, just like Suugal. Or at least, -was- a dragon. I apologize for hiding it, but I feared that you would react as you are reacting right now."

The feline didn't seem any less afraid. Nurta knew that they would be unconvinced if she wasn't completely honest. "There's... something else I've lied about, too. It's about your friend, Suugal. I actually know where he is." She ran her hand over her dress, feeling the bulge in her belly of the now-still archaeopteryx. "And before you panic from what I have to say, I promise that he is safe, even if it–"

She didn't even have a chance to explain where Suugal was, but Quince had already darted to the other side of the bed, approaching Nurta at the height of her stomach. Even more surprisingly, their own paw replaced her hand over the fabric of her dress, pushing against her skin. They mewled softly, and a moment later, a happy chirp could be heard inside of the lizard's torso.

"I-I– It was his idea... He was overwhelmed b-by the city, you see, and–!"

But when the cat's face turned up to meet hers, it had a smile. From her simple unconscious gesture, Quince knew what their blue friend had done – and not only that, but they seemed -pleased- about it. It didn't take long for her to connect all of the last dots.

"You two have done this before, haven't you? And you e-enjoy it?" She stuttered as the archaeopteryx once again resumed squirming, more actively now. "Mmf...! I-I apologize, it's hard to concentrate with h-him moving in there. I should let him out now–"

"Mrowl!" The feline complained, having plans of their own. Still feeling over her bulge with one paw, they brought another to touch Nurta's lower jaw, mimicking Suugal's earlier boldness that she'd witnessed. She could now easily understand Quince's intentions, a far cry from their recent misunderstandings.

"You want to – huff! – j-join him?" She received a nod in response. "T-This is all very new to me, I don't think t-that's even p– hnnng – possible! I don't think I can handle you both in there... But perhaps there's another way to have fun–" 

She stopped herself, and gulped. What was she even thinking?! This lust was clearly clouding her judgement. To attempt something so kinky she'd never done before, that must have come from a dark place inside of her. And to even do something tangentially related to sex, ever since her husband–

But then, in a moment of clarity, she realized that her thoughts weren't private, not with whom she was carrying in her crop. The final piece of the puzzle.

« So this is what you wanted, after all. » Nurta directly interrogated the diminutive dragon over her thoughts. « To unearth some dark and hidden desire, that I didn't even know about... And to top it off, to realize it with Quince. » There was no response, but she could picture the small reptile smirking, as she did herself at such a realization.

And she turned her attention back to the yellow feline, resigned yet resolute. "There is one other thing that we can do, if you would like. But we need to hurry, before I realize that this is a bad idea." And her clawed hands reached to the fabric on her shoulders as she began undressing.

***

Nikili lied down on the bed, hands and lips locked with the gecko on top of him. Musdagura acted exactly as someone who'd had professional experience lying with men, the mongoose thought, but the action between the two didn't feel any less impersonal for it. And strangely, it wasn't made any more awkward by the whole conversation they've just had... It simply felt good, and raw. But he still felt that something was missing.

The sand-yellow reptile smiled comfortingly as he released his hands, looking into the mongoose's eyes – and amusingly remarking to himself how his pupils were slightly horizontal. He was glad that his client was feeling good now; it was the best part of the job, after all. He kissed Nikili on the neck, lovingly traveling down the scavenger's body with his lips.

As he approached the belly, Musdagura moved back a bit to look at his next target. He saw nothing unusual: there was a ballsack covered in brown fur, and above it, a reddish exposed penis with a few spikes emerging from the sheath. His maw approached the half-erect member, and he blew air from his nostrils onto it just to tease a bit more with suspense. The gecko's purple tongue emerged, and started to work on the tip.

It was a wonderful feeling, one that Nikili hadn't experienced too often. But it was also completely unfamiliar. The cold-blooded reptile's muscle was thin, not too warm, and relatively dry. Maybe it wasn't fair to compare Musdagura with the other mammals that he'd dated, but what about another reptile? He was familiar with Suu's tongue – maybe too familiar, more than he'd have liked to admit. Having been completely enveloped by it at one point, he was reminded that though it also wasn't too warm, it was pretty fleshy and flat and covered in saliva. Perhaps 'welcoming' could describe it best, for the lack of a better word. But a foray into the dragon's insides was probably something that Quince would have appreciated better than him.

He could see the gecko kneeling beside the bed in front of his legs, and he sat up to look at him. The prostitute closed his eyes as his jaws now began to envelop Nikili's cock, and while one scaly hand grabbed his furry thigh, another lightly stroked one of the two hemipenes emerging from his slit. They weren't too dissimilar to the ones that Suu displayed in his kobold form a few days ago, but these were dark purple instead of pink as well. The scavenger was intrigued to see how the reptile still stimulated a single dick, even if both of them got erect in equal measure.

Nikili wondered if they worked in the same way for the blue dragon, then... Even though he never had anything down there until he transformed into a kobold, that is. In fact, even Suu himself seemed surprised at their presence by his reaction that night. That look of shock, that light touch around his head, and that singular call still ringing in his ears: Ikky...

Suddenly, Musdagura's mouth withdrew from Nikili's cock. "Oh no, did I do something wrong?"

"Huh?" Nikili was confused at the gecko's reaction.

"You were cringing right now... I haven't hurt you, have I?"

"Hurt... me...? Oh! No, sorry, I'm– I was– We can keep going."

"But... you aren't enjoying it. Your dick is not even erect."

Nikili looked down, and sure enough, he barely seemed aroused. "I don't know what's going on... This never happened. Maybe I did something wrong?"

Musdagura stood up, and once again lightly grabbed Nikili's chin. He stared into his green eyes for a few moments. "I see... I know that look."

"W-What look?"

"Of longing. You've set your heart on someone else."

"What? You m-mean like, I'm in love? B-But there's no way, he will never–"

"I knew it." The gecko smiled sourly, and then sighed as he stepped back. "In that case, I'm afraid there isn't much I can do in the way of pleasuring you. Maybe only he can." He raised a hand. "And before you try to apologize for ruining it, don't. I was simply offering the service you've hired me for."

Nikili sighed as well, and shook his head. He was angry at himself, but somehow relieved? "It's all confusing..." He whispered under his breath, before he noticed that Musdagura was grabbing his previously tossed skirt.

"It's your friend, isn't it?" The reptile asked, looking away. "The one you said you saved. That's who you've fallen for?"

"N-Not really... But you remind me of him. The guy I've 'fallen for', I mean." He saw no point in being secretive with Musdagura anymore.

"Oh? So that's why." The gecko gave him a courteous smile as he turned around towards him and dressed back up. "Go tell him how you feel, then. There is no reason to not try. As for me... our time is up."

"Ah, right..." Nikili had lost track of time, but it didn't feel like it had been too long. Regardless, it'd be less awkward for them to part ways now than just wait together in the same room. "It might not have been that much of a deal, b-but it was good to have someone to talk to. Still, doesn't feel fair that I was the one rambling all along. I-If it's okay, maybe next time I can come here just to listen to your story instead... Musdagura, was it?"

He raised his arm to shake hands, but hesitated as he was unsure of the proper way to say goodbye.

"I travel the land a lot, actually, so I'll leave this city and take to the road in a few days. And I don't think I might return any time soon." The gecko cupped the mongoose's hand. "But you're a rare type of guy. If we do meet again someday by chance... We could go out for some beer. Then you can have my story and my name, Nikili."

The scavenger smiled softly at the opportune suggestion. "Y-Yeah... That sounds nice."

***

Nurta hoped that her better judgement would have talked her out from it by this point, but her thoughts were silent aside from her reignited lust. She sat on the bed, knees bent and legs spread, leaning her back against the wall. To her side, a text-packed stone tablet, partially covered by her thin tail; in front of her, an anticipating yellow-furred person, standing on the bed; and on her body, no clothes of any sort.

She had done away with her usual dress, revealing the rest of her slim body to Quince. While most of her scaly body was covered in a dull-red hue, the region starting under her chin, then in front of her torso, and going down between the legs, had orange plates. Being a reptile, her chest was flat, but the spot just below her ribs revealed a rather prominent writhing mass under her skin. But her attention was on how it made her a bit heated just further down, inside of her now exposed and increasingly wet slit.

The Widow just couldn't believe what she had suggested to the feline, much less that they'd simply accept it on the spot. It all felt like a sexy dream. And yet, neither Suugal nor Quince could have suggested what she wanted to do next. This idea was all her own, and it only made her more excited about it.

"O-Okay, I'm fairly confident I can do this." She said out loud, mostly to psych herself up. There was no more backing out. "If you are ready, we can start."

The cat, who moments ago was distrustful of Nurta, got closer between her legs. If the archaeopteryx was willing to trust her, then so would they. Even more as she not only deduced their fantasy of being inside of other living beings, but would herself grant that wish! Although the circumstances were not sexual in any way for their half, if the attempted act would be mutually beneficial to both parties, then all the better for Quince.

They placed their paws on the red thighs, and approached their head to the destination−

"Apologies," the lizard interrupted, "b-but I think you should go in with your feet first. It might – mmf, easy now, Suugal! – it might be safer for you to breath."

The cat pondered for a while, as they didn't expect any such danger from the previous antics with the blue dragon, but decided to comply, sitting down in front of Nurta with their legs up.

As an invitation, she brought a hand to her vagina and spread her lips, expecting this action to be clearer than any words she could utter. The pad of Quince's left foot made contact with it, pushing lightly against the slick entrance, and to test the waters, it drove deeper into the flesh, which parted effortlessly in response.

The lizard huffed from pleasure yet again, now from a different source. The rather impromptu task of fitting the cat in her vagina was proceeding smoothly, with the entire foot already inside, so they brought the other one to join it in the slightly warm insides.

Forgetting that their weight was resting entirely on the foot already inside the wet tunnel, the cat slipped and fell on their back, before managing to grab onto her scaly thighs for balance. But in that fraction of a second, their two legs had already almost entirely slipped inside effortlessly, at the same time that Nurta yelped.

"Aahh! Haah... A-Are you okay?"

Quince replied with two short thrills.

"... I assume that means 'yes'?"

They nodded instead, and then mewled as they pointed to the belt still on their waist.

"Oh, did you forget to take that off? I-I'm sure it's fine if it gets a little wet..."

The cat wasn't sure if Nurta was teasing or not, it was hard to tell from her tone of voice. Nevertheless, she seemed excited to get on with it, having gotten a taste of this feeling and wanting even more. Every tiny movement of the furry limbs inside of her quivering vagina aroused her, pushing and tickling the walls, but the lizard was far from over. She wanted more, and she would have it. The lizard brought a hand to their small shoulders while the other remained on her vulva, holding her entrance open.

"Alright, p-put your arms to the sides – mmfg...! Yes, like that. Are you ready...? Alright, stay still now, and... mmmmmnng–ah!"

Once again without any difficulty, the bottom half of the cat simply disappeared into her vagina. For Quince, not only was it fun and exciting to be gently handled by yet another dragon, feeling her slight warmth and fluids creeping up their body, but watching Nurta behave uncharacteristically showed her in a completely different light. She was normally composed, and poised, and... well, perfect to the point of seeming stuck-up. And learning that she was a dragon this whole time made her seem even less approachable. But knowing that, deep down, she still had carnal desires like this, it meant that she wasn't so different after all; just weird, like Quince themself.

Even if her birth canal seemed like a bottomless pit until now, and her belly distended outwards effortlessly with the mass inside of her, the cat's paw pads pushed against a wall deep away from the entrance, indicating the start of the cervix. Her gasp in surprise all but seemed to confirm it. The shoulders of the yellow cat were still visible, but most of the arms had sunk down. A good third of their tail, too, stuck out from the back. It seemed that this was as deep as Quince would go, and they growled lightly in frustration.

Nurta, however, was not deterred. "I-I t-think I can fit you i-if you bend your legs and curl up..."

Quince obliged, trying to bring their legs as close to their chest as possible by bending their ankles, while also pushing the paws against the top wall. Their tail also slipped inside, slurped up by her eager nethers. Between a series of moans from being distended so much, the Widow kept pushing onto their shoulders until they sunk in as well, and she had to move her palm to the feline's head while rubbing her clitoris with the other clawed hand. There seemed to be barely enough space for the cat to fit completely now, but they were both determined to see it through.

"Gods! J-Just a bit more...! Mnnnnnnnng!"

Her body writhed from the pleasure provided by the two small intruders. The cat did their best to squirm fully into her, and the archaeopteryx added his own movement to intensify her arousal before the climax. How tight and overpowering it must have felt for both of them. She looked down once more to see the last of the feline sticking out – their eyes and ears –, and with a final determined push, shoved the rest of the cat into her folds as her muscles clenched. They were inside! Before her lips collapsed around her fingertips, however, she screamed with an orgasm, squirting over the clay bed.

She was gasping for air for a few moments, staring at the ceiling, still doubting what she had just done. Nurta looked again at herself, sporting a large bulge in her orange-plated lower abdomen from the curled up Quince. There was no more external indication of Suugal's whereabouts, with the bigger cat taking up any attention and making her look pregnant instead. A part of her wished that she could have shoved them even deeper, into her womb, but this was still heavenly. How long it must have been since she last felt so much lust...

Her muscles were still largely responsible for holding the yellow mammal inside, and they would definitely be sore by morning. Still, she decided to enjoy this experience to its fullest. Although their head had been buried inside, Quince seemed fine enough to breath – and purr, like as not. What a strange, moist hug it must have felt for them, she wondered.

Wanting to experiment a bit more, she did her best to stand up, moaning every time she exhaled. Her finger still stroked idly at her clitoris. The cat was neatly held in place by her muscles, but the pressure inside shifted with gravity, and the large furry mass that naturally pushed downwards now brushed against her G-spot from a completely unique direction.

"Ohh–!" The sudden wave of arousal caused her to relax her muscles, and Quince shifted once more downwards, the top of their head crowning from her vagina. To an outsider, it would have looked that she was birthing a cat. But before they slipped any further, the lizard strongly clenched her muscles again, and the happy critter was slurped back up into her complete capture. She didn't even need to push them back inside with her hand!

The Widow decided to address them. "W-We have no – gfmm – reason to end this so soon... Haaaah– Half an hour...! I'll let you out i-i-in half an hour." She took the continued purring from her occupant as an agreement.

Not wanting to risk another slip up, she turned back to the bed. While sitting back down, she noticed the tablet that Quince had taken and placed there, still sitting by her side. Suugal's little stunt had made her almost forget about it, but with a cursory glance, her eyes spotted the words that she had been looking for: 'gasham'galga'.

« Yes, this is it. » Her wet finger traced the markings on the stone, with the other hand rubbing her bloated plates. In this small moment of clarity, she decided to channel her thoughts, so that Suugal could understand her as she read the relevant passage. « This is... weird. 'Skillful logic and deduction'... 'understanding others' reasons'... 'attention to details'? » She sighed out loud, disappointed. « I expected something more, but that's all there is in here. Does that sound about right to you, Suugal? Is this really what gasham'galga is? »

Through the differential of their gashams, the blue dragon could simply understand Nurta's nature by being close to her. A small chirp from her crop seemed to indicate that he agreed with the definition that she'd found.

« Well, I guess it's not all that bad. Maybe it helped me to find this way to communicate with you. And to understand what Quince wanted, after all. Maybe it didn't. But there's still more that I want to learn– »

Simultaneously, the cat and the archaeopteryx began moving again inside of her, each pleasuring a different chamber. She couldn't understand what the feathered reptile was doing in her crop – maybe he was spinning in circles around his own body –, but it really made her heat return at full steam. Even more so as the cat rubbed their front paws on her walls, causing them to shiver pleasurably over their entire body.

The Widow had her own needs to satisfy, and she wasn't done just yet. "Ah, Quince...! Can you rub a little closer to your head? Right over– ooohHH!"

The feline did as asked in return for her 'hospitality', and she brought her fingers inside of her vagina. The cat's head was barely within reach of her claws, but she removed her hand, imagining instead that Quince was lost deep inside of her. And the thought of taking full possession and control of the feline – as well as another entire dragon – brought her right back to the edge. She would make the most of the remaining time to fulfill this guilty pleasure.

"This is – ah! – what you wanted – a-ah...! – all along, Suugal, isn't it– gmmfphh-aaAH!"

She did not hear the chirp in response over her second yell of climax.

***

Nikili had much to ponder now that he was alone again. His chance encounter with Musdagura prompted him to reflect, but he was much calmer than after he'd fled from Ludama. Not that he'd ever compare himself to that brute ever again.

He's not a monster, the gecko had said, or at least it was for Quince to decide. Well, he wasn't wrong... The cat was the only reason why Nikili had a change of heart, after all. That image of the scared creature in the burning village, hiding inside a crumbling house, was seared into his heart. Even so, it was hard for them to get along initially. He couldn't understand the feline's gesticulations easily, and their interests were wildly different.

Despite the hardships, they stuck together. And he remembered asking Nurta for help back then. She was smithing for the army in order to raise money to construct a village – Logas, in fact. That's how they'd met, and after talking about it, one thing led to another and they ended up moving into their new home once Nikili retired. The lizard and the others – Ruunk, Liara, and so many people – had welcomed them to the village, and they could start a new life, leaving any regrets behind.

Just as quickly, they became artifact scavengers. Quince had quite a knack for it, and to see them so full of joy when they set off into the marshes made him feel–... He wasn't sure how he felt about it. But it was a good feeling. He would do anything to avoid those feline eyes from filling with fear and sorrow ever again.

And now, as suddenly as they had entered his life some five years ago, so did Suu. He still wanted to see him only as Quince's friend, but he couldn't deny it anymore. What happened earlier with the gecko was Nikili's first time not being aroused with the company of another man. And he knew it was because the dragon was entirely on his mind. But could they work...? Would he want him...?

It all revolved to that one night. Suu's blue eyes looking into his, calling him by name and soul. The peek he had at the reptile's erected hemipenes. He comforted him, but he wished he had done more. Spoken with him. He wished that he'd told him, 'I love–'

"Gmmfphh-aaAH!" Despite coming from a different room, a loud feminine moan crossed the thin walls, stunning Nikili. He had made his way into a brothel, after all, so the lewd sound wasn't out of place − he just didn't expect the lustful screams to be so loud and discernible. However, the interruption helped him realize that he was not only still naked, but getting hard thinking of Suu.

In truth, even when he was a dragon about nine times his size, he found him handsome. But nothing would really have worked between them – except for the sort of thing that Quince enjoyed. And yet, it was awfully convenient that he could transform into a normal-sized kobold, and even more handsome. But he was scared that Suu would not reciprocate his love. Nikili never had been this worried before for another man's attention, and he couldn't bear to hear a rejection–

No. There was no point in worrying about hypotheticals. His hand moved to his erect cock, and he closed his eyes. He remembered the kobold's face and voice when he called him 'Ikky'. Then he imagined himself running his hands over the chubby blue arms, pressing his hands against those scales. He wanted him. And he would confess to him. 'I love you, Suu', he mouthed to that imaginary, intense pair of eyes over the flat snout. And if he got closer, he would have felt their tummies touch, plate to fur. Only the two of them, in complete privacy, with each other to please.

His stroking was picking up pace. He would have Suu. In a blink of his mind's eye, the kobold was now behind the mongoose. Nikili's free hand grabbed one of his buttocks, imagining that it was a set of large reptilian claws instead. He wanted Suu to take him. His finger poked his pucker, teasing him for what was to come. Yes, he wanted to be fucked. And he would take both of Suu's hemipenes if he had to. He craved them. The mongoose relaxed to insert his own index finger, and it wasn't long until he was pushing against his prostate. It was just a fraction of the actual feeling.

His knees jerked as he tried to rein in his arousal for as long as he could. The tip of his cock was starting to leak, but he wasn't done yet. He would have held for minutes, maybe hours, as the transformed dragon rutted him. However long he could stand. "A-ah, Suu...", he moaned quietly to himself, every external sound falling deaf in his turbulent inner world.

What would Suu have done? Grabbed his torso, holding him in place... His t-tail, wrapping around his ankles... Yes... His heavy head, resting on his shoulder. The mongoose's body rocked. He would show Nikili that he was in control, that he was his. As he pressed his love button harder, his imagination ran wilder, and he even imagined the reptile lightly sinking his teeth into his shoulder... Blowing his b-breath on his fur...!

"I'm yours... I'm y-yours, Suu...!" It was getting harder and harder to keep whispering or controlling his breath. "I want you– I -need- you. I need you now! S-Suu! I love you– I'm y-y-cumming...–hhhaAAA!"

His orgasm arrived energetically with the scream, and with it, the end of his fantasy. He must have been extremely pent up to paint the floor and nearby wall with his seed. In fact, he didn't even recall cumming this much before from masturbating, and it was a bit embarrassing... No, he wouldn't allow himself to feel shameful about it. He knew what he desired, and he would tell Suu how he felt, no matter the answer.

Completely forgetting that he might still have been chased by a Kaatian commander, he walked over to where his skirt had been tossed, getting ready to find the missing kobold. He didn't want to linger in here any longer, knowing that Quince and Suu might be needing him.

When his skirt was back over his waist, however, a loud explosion could be heard, shaking the ground with it. Whatever it was, it seemed that it was causing a commotion outside with people crying out. Just what Manner of thing was going on?

The now dressed mongoose rushed outside of the brothel, seeing a bunch of people from Kuir rounding up on the street. In front, a familiar gray hare was cursing loudly, and the others bore awed or frightened expressions. Their gazes and fingers pointed roughly behind Nikili, and so he turned around, then nearly falling to the ground in shock.

Half of the building he'd just been inside of had collapsed, and in its place, a giant beast stood magnanimously. Its intense blue gaze turned to the brown-furred scavenger, and it greeted him with a familiar rumbling growl.

"Suu?!"

His confession would have to wait.
