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The Escapist Ch. 01

By: HammerGod



[Author's Note: Well, my non-erotic fantasy story "Blades of Cairndale" doesn't seem to be too well-received, so let's get back to what I'm good at, shall we? More monster girls, and different ones for once! You'll notice that these lovely, rapacious ladies resemble already established monster girls from works like the Monster Girl Encyclopedia. But I've renamed them so that I can use my own desired designs and specifications without messing up any pre-established stuff. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this short tale. I assure you, there is much more to come with this story. I just wanted to post the first bit of it so you all wouldn't forget about me, hahaha. As always, comments are much appreciated. And since I'm posting this in December: Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, or in my case, happy Yule to you all. May your holiday season be filled with mirth, merriment, and monster girls!] 

*

My name is Devlin Silvermane, and I am going to be the greatest hero that Thuralia has ever seen. Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to be a hero, a warrior who slew monsters without mercy. When I was ten years old, my father was devoured by a monster before my eyes. She'd come after me, but my father leapt in her path and she'd grabbed him, pulling him away from me as I turned and ran like a coward. I've never forgiven myself for that, even if I was ten. I could have tried to fight, I could have died with my father.

I spent the next several years training with my father's sword. I lived alone in our house, and was taken care of by family friends. They never let me roam beyond the village gates, lest I go hunting monsters. I kept my father's old sword from his days in the military, and I did my best to teach myself to fight. I'd like to think I'm pretty damned good now. I practiced for years, and now I am eighteen and I can go forth and avenge my father's demise by raining steel upon those evil monsters.

Thuralia's monsters are an interesting lot. Firstly, they are all female. They take many forms, but they are all women. Some are shy, some aggressive, some timid, others sadistic, but they are all women, and they all crave men. All of these monster girls require males for procreation, and most of them absorb life-sustaining energy from male semen. Some, like the Slime Girls, can also gain nutrition from sweat, blood, and saliva. Monsters are also known to consume males for food instead of or in addition to taking their semen. But men are not the only ones in danger of being raped or eaten by monster girls. If some monster girls capture women, they can feed off of them by eating them, violating them, or in certain cases, they can convert women into new monster girls. Thuralia is a strange, dangerous world. The wilds outside of settlements are not to be traveled without protection. My protection is my sword, and I intend to set out today and carve my name into the world, one monster at a time.

The guards at my village's wooden gates look me over as I stride past. I'm wearing soft leather boots, cloth pants, and a simple cloth shirt. I have a pack slung over my back and my father's sword at my side. The guards look confused and a bit concerned, but they have no reason to refuse me passage.

"You always said you would venture off this way," noted one of the guards. "Go on adventures, kill monsters, and all that. Only none of us ever thought you would do it, boy."

"I am and I will."

"You aren't too big," noted the other. "Be careful, Devlin. Fight with finesse, not brute force."

"Thanks."

It is good advice, even if totally unsolicited. I've found in my training that quick movement and swift strikes are more my specialty. I'm strong enough, but brute strength has never been my forte. So, keeping the guards' wisdom in mind, I leave my little village behind. I'm off to see what this world has to offer to a young man with great aspirations and nothing much to lose.

* * *

The dirt road leading to the northwest cuts across the rolling hills and green plains of Thuralia's southeastern region. Short trees dot the landscape and the sun shines high over my head. I'd hoped to get an earlier start, but saying goodbye to my old friends was difficult. I'd grown up in that little fishing village, it was hard to leave, but there was just nothing for me there anymore. Thuralia is so much more than just one little town, and I'll have to learn all about it if I'm going to be the greatest hero our world has known.

I know this road cuts through a forest a few days' march to the north. We trade fish for timber from a small outpost on the forest's southern border. What I'll meet between then and now I do not know, but I'll soon find out. My boots crunch on the dirt and gravel of the roadway, a rhythmic pulse set by my stride. My hand rests idly on the pommel of my father's sword. It is a short-bladed katana, razor sharp, and it will be the bane of any monster I encounter. Just as this thought crosses my mind, movement catches my eye.

Up ahead, in a stand of trees off to the right of the road, I swear I see something moving about, but I can't tell what it is. A direct approach could quite possibly get me killed or captured, so I move off the road to the left, covering behind the sparse trees and moving as quickly as I can from one to the next until I've come level with the little copse on the right. And there amidst the trees I see her, the monster who is fated to be my first kill. And how much more perfect could it be? This monster is of the same sort that consumed my father. My vengeance will be swift and brutal.

They call these monsters Entanglers. She is, like many monster girls, entirely naked. She is a head taller than me, with pretty fair skin and dark brown hair. Her arms, head, and torso are normal in appearance, but where a normal human woman's legs would be, instead a mass of long, writhing tentacles supports her. The tentacles end in suction cups, which I've heard can be used to cause great pleasure and pain. The Entangler is a sadistic creature, raping men into submission before devouring them with her razor-like teeth. It pains me to think what my father endured to save my young life. Now, eight years later, I'll claim one Entangler as the first of many lives to repay the debt the monsters owe me.

No sooner do I see her than the Entangler spots me, her eyes flashing with excitement and her smile exposing her meat-rending teeth. Abandoning any pretense of stealth, I draw my sword and stride into the road, ready to meet my foe head on. Her tentacles squirm as she glides toward me across the grass, though she keeps her distance from my steel blade.

"A boy," she sneers. "And you carry the scent of a virgin."

"That's no business of yours," I reply, trying to sound imposing.

"Cute," she taunts, "the boy thinks he's a big tough man. Oh, but I'll treat you like a man, don't you worry. It will feel so good at first, I promise. Then, it's going to hurt, a lot."

Without warning she surges forth, and two tendrils shoot out for me. I barely avoid them, hopping back and swiping with my sword. She avoids the blade and comes in again, forcing me to duck under a high pass of one tentacle and then trying to trip me with another. I skip sideways, stepping over the prehensile limb and dart in to stab at her chest. That is my mistake, and I realize it instantly.

"Mine," she cries, and three tentacles whip around my legs, knocking my feet from under me.

"No!"

I fall flat on my back and the Entangler moves over me, her tentacles draped all around me as she stands over my hips. Two tentacles restrain my legs and with alarming ease she knocks the sword from my hand, pinning my arms out to my sides. Already, more of her long tendrils are undoing my pants and pulling them down. I feel the caress of her smooth tendrils, and the gentle tugging of her suction cups on my most sensitive, personal regions. Though I frantically try to pull away, the Entangler is stronger than I am, and her soft touching starts to stimulate my penis until it is standing at attention. My face burns with shame and anger. This can't be happening, not so fast. I can't fail!

"Now comes the part where it hurts a lot," the Entangler maliciously giggles.

A tentacle squeezes tight around my shaft, the suction cup bruising my skin with painful force. Another begins to twist around my balls, flicking its tip painfully against them. I grunt in discomfort and try to pull away when the Entangler leans in so our faces are almost touching. It looks like she's about to kiss me, when instead she gives my face a long, thorough lick. I recoil in disgust.

"You taste good," she says over the sound of my pain.

"Get off me!" I roar with indignation.

"I'm not letting my meal go," she informs me. "But how about I make it more interesting."

My eyes go wide with horror when I feel a tentacle slide under me and start working its way into me from behind. The limb is just thick enough to hurt as it eases its way deeper and deeper inside of me. It makes my stomach hurt, and I let out a loud groan. The Entangler takes this as a cue to continue licking my face hungrily, occasionally giving my ears a playful nibble, which due to her sharp teeth, hurts quite a bit.

"Want to try and fit some more tentacles in there?" she offers, sending two more of her limbs to prod at me.

"Stop it, please," I beg, humiliated and revolted at this situation.

"Huh," she says suddenly, pausing, "you taste kind of familiar, and you look familiar too."

I'm about to ask what she's talking about when she gives me another lick, making me shudder in displeasure. My face is dripping wet with her saliva, its running into my eyes and mouth, much as I try to stop it. She looks me over and nods her head.

"Do you have a dad?"

"I did," I grumble, sighing when she eases her tentacles from my ass. "He was eaten... by an Entangler."

Could it be? This can't be the same monster girl who stole my father's life. Then again, why couldn't it be. So long as a monster has a steady supply of male life-force, she'll outlive any human. I redouble my efforts to escape, struggling against the Entangler.

"I carried off your father," she recalls fondly, "I raped him for days. But then he escaped from me."

"What?"

"He's an Escapist, you know," she adds casually. "But I tracked him down before he got back home, and then I ate him slowly, and kept him alive for as much of it as I could. You should have heard him screaming. I'll make sure you die slower, boy."

An Escapist? What in the Nine Hells is an Escapist? How could my father have escaped at first? The fact that he tried to get back home, but failed due to the Entangler, just makes my sadness more complete. Painfully so. It's like having a renewed hope, a burning candle that is snuffed out by a fresh gust of bitter wind. I go limp in the Entangler's clutches, not caring that she's now licking my neck, not caring that she's lowering her body down onto me, ready to rape me. Maybe it'll feel good before I die, who knows. My father's fate sounds miserable, and if he couldn't get away, how could I?

Without my struggling, the Entangler relaxes her hold on me. I feel the heat of her most intimate area as she readies to impale herself on my shaft. Then, as if struck by a burst of lightning, I come alive with power, my body reacting of its own accord. I wrench my arms free of her grasp and in the same motion sit up and heave her off of me. Not bothering to stop, I roll sideways and grab my sword, somehow ending up on my feet and charging down the road before I realize what I've done. I've escaped! I hear the Entangler screaming behind me.

"Come back here, male! I'll catch you and I'll make it hurt twice as bad now. I'll skin you alive!"

How did I do that? How did I just escape like that? I have no idea, but I can't stand around and think about it right now. I keep running, not stopping until I'm out of breath and far up the road, so far in fact that the Entangler is out of sight. I stop for a much-needed rest in the shade of a tree by the roadside, never letting my guard down. I take a moment to refasten my pants and sheathe my sword in its scabbard at my side. Then, I pull a handkerchief from my pocket and proceed to wipe the Entangler saliva off my face and neck.

"Had some fun, did you lad?"

I whip around at the sound of the voice, my hand flying to my sword. I half expect the Entangler to erupt from out of nowhere and then carry me off like some spoil of war. Instead, a middle-aged man is leaning casually on a walking stick. His clothes look battered and his face is bruised, but he doesn't seem particularly tired or upset.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"You're a Silvermane, aren't you?" he asks. "You look like your old man. How did he not tell you about me, about us?"

"You didn't answer my question."

He chuckles at that and paces for a moment before stopping in front of me.

"From the look of you, you're following in your father's footsteps," he notes. "I was worried when the Entangler grabbed you, she's a tough one to get away from."

"She killed my father," I mutter bitterly.

"Did she? When?" he looks genuinely shocked.

"Eight years ago," I say flatly. "For someone who knew my father, you didn't keep up with him very well."

"Ah, I assumed he was keeping a dragoness company," he admits sheepishly. "You know how possessive they are. Even an Escapist has a hard time evading dragonesses. I'm sorry he's dead, he was the best of our lot."

There's that word again, Escapist. What is it and why have I never heard of it?

"What is an Escapist?" I demand.

"You mean you don't know," he incredulously inquires. "I'd not have left you to the Entangler if I'd known. My apologies, lad. Escapists are... well we're men with an inate ability, a reflexive power to get ourselves out of bad situations, particularly captivity. And we're men who uh... rather enjoy the affections of the world's monster girls."

"What?" I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"You see, lad," he goes on, resting again on his walking staff, "if monster girls could only rape the men they caught, men would just stay inside and the monsters would attack them en masse. Chaos would ensue. We, the Escapists, are a balancing force, we let ourselves get captured, have a little fun, then slip away. Carnivorous monsters are tricky, but we still manage to evade their hunger for flesh while still satisfying other needs. Usually anyway."

He looks sadly down the road, in the direction from which I'd escaped the Entangler. He's thinking of my father, as am I. This can't be true. My father would let himself get captured by monster girls? He was some sort of pervert, who enjoyed these creatures' affection. That can't be the case.

"It's not so bad as it sounds, my boy," the man assures me, "Escapists are a good lot. We keep the world stable and, believe you me, those monsters appreciate us even if we get away from them. Though I know plenty of Escapists who've fallen in love and let themselves stay captive. I know this fellow named Marcus, not an Escapist mind you, but he lives in a mansion far to the northwest, with three monster girls, and he's a happy young man for it. A tired one too, I'd imagine."

I'm at a loss for words. Could I have my father's Escapist blood? Is that how I was able to shake off the Entangler? And I have to admit, even the painful parts of what she was doing to me felt kind of good. I still hate her for trying to attack me when I was young and forcing my father to give up his life for me, but that Entangler was fairly pretty. Gods, what's wrong with me?! She's a monster, how can she be pretty?!

"If you're going to start being an Escapist," offers the man, "I'd recommend starting with Slimes or harpies, as they won't try too hard to keep you captive. I know of a little cave to the east of here where some Escapists practice there stuff, trying to get away from the indigenous critters."

"I uh... I don't know what to do," I murmur.

"Well," he offers, "take this, just in case you decide to go for it."

He hands me a book from his pocket, a small volume embossed with the title "A Guide to Thuralia's Monsters." I pocket the leather-bound tome and am about to thank the man when I realize he's already gone a good way down the road while I was glancing over the book's cover. He's fast! He's also headed straight for the Entangler. Eh, whatever gets him off, I suppose. I'm not about to go after him. Would my father have gone toward the Entangler? I don't know what to make of all of this. It sounds odd, and perverse, to have willing sex with monster girls. But why should it be so? It's a perfectly legitimate idea, satisfying them to keep the attacks on innocent men to a minimum.

I straighten up and get back on the road. About a mile north, the road forks northwest and directly east. At that point I pause, considering what I can do. The left-hand path will lead me to the forest, where I can bloody my sword with monster girl blood. The right will take me to the aforementioned cave, where I can test my Escapist skills. I make my decision after a few moments of silence. I never knew this about my father, this life he chose to lead before my birth. Now, I will try my best to find out more about it...

* * *

It's late evening when I reach any sign of a cave. A small, dirt path led off from the main road and through the trees, leading me to the mouth of the cavern. It looks pitch dark in there, and I'm more than slightly nervous. What if I'm not an Escapist? What if my father wasn't, and that man was just some deranged fool? I can't be certain, but I still can't explain how I eluded the Entangler earlier. This is my only clue to knowing more about my father, it's all I can do to feel closer to him. So I rummage through my pack for my hand-lamp--a small lantern with a focusing lens to narrow and amplify its beam of radiance--and step into the blackness of the cave.

The gloom of the cavern engulfs me in its dank ambiance. My footsteps echo in the gloom and the air smells of musty earth. The focused beam of light from my lantern marks a clear path for me amongst the dirt and stones on the cave floor. The wide entrance chamber narrows into a small tunnel with a ceiling so low that even I have to duck down. So far, no signs of monster girls that I can discern in the near-blackness. But I push on, coming into a room with wide walls and a vaulted ceiling dotted with stalactites. A pool of water off to one side makes a soft babbling sound as it is fed into by a tiny waterfall up the wall. And there, in the center of the room, is a large wooden treasure chest.

I can't believe my eyes; a treasure chest, just like out of one of those old adventure stories. Surely this one won't be full of gold gems or magic rings, but still! Maybe other Escapists left items of use in there for curious adventurers like myself. There's only one way to find out. With a last glance around the room in search of lurking monsters, I stride briskly to the chest and reach for the lid.

The second my hand touches the lid, the box flies open and a loud scream of excitement assaults my ears. A female torso erupts from the box, which is far too small to have contained a full person. The woman, a red-headed girl with pretty green eyes and noticeably pointed teeth, wraps her arms around me and pulls me down toward the chest. I don't know how it happens, because the chest is far too little to contain one body let alone two, but she easily pulls me into the chest, letting the lid fall closed behind us.

"Finally, a new snack," she squeals. "I'm going to play with you, boy. It'll be great!"

"Hey, let go of me," I protest, more out of surprise than anything.

"No," she says in a cute, pouting tone. "You're mine now, and I'm going to rape you until I'm tired. Then I'm going to eat you, but I promise I'll make it quick. First, I'll bite off your balls, then your penis, then I'll eat your throat so you don't have to suffer anymore."


The Escapist Ch. 01



"That's uh... hardly very generous," I say, trying to sound casual as I squirm against her naked body in the confines of the oaken box.

The monster girl--whom I now know to be a Concealer--wraps her legs around me and pins me on my back. To my dismay, much like the Entangler, she begins licking my face, tasting me. Based on the persistent fervor of her licking, I apparently taste good. In no time at all, my face is dripping wet and the Concealer is panting in excitement, thrusting her hips against me. Her hands reach down and unfasten my belt, sliding my pants down to expose my erect member. Taking it roughly in her hand, she guides it between her thighs and slides it between her lower lips, impaling herself down to the base of my shaft.

I let out a low moan at the feel of her hot, wet inner walls tightly squeezing down my length. The Concealer continues her licking, moving to my neck and collarbone, thrusting her hips down on me all the while. Her body slides down to the base of my shaft, then all the way up to the tip, and back down again with every movement of her hips. I lean my head back and moan loudly, not caring that I'm dripping with Concealer spit, or that I'm in danger of being eaten. This feels amazing! Her legs squeeze my waist, her soft breasts press into my chest, and her tight depths squeeze against every nerve-ending in my throbbing erection until, with a pulse of energy like nothing I've felt before, I climax deep inside her. The Concealer squeals and clutches me tight, crushing me with her legs and sinking her teeth into my collarbone. I scream in a glorious mixture of pain and pleasure, crying out to the gods as her pulsing vaginal walls milk every drop of semen from me.

After several long minutes, the Concealer sits up inside the chest, which seems to shift in size to accommodate her. I make to sit up, but she pushes me back down. I struggle a bit, but I'm much too relaxed and tired to do anything while she resituates her position so that she's sitting on my chest, facing toward my groin.

"Sorry about this," she says in a cheerful tone, grabbing my balls in her fist, "but I've got to eat."

She leans down, I feel her hot breath on my balls, her lips slide over my scrotum, her teeth scraping my skin roughly, and then my mind comes alive with a jolt of power and energy. With a fluid movement, I sit up and lean forward, knocking the Concealer's head into the wall of the chest and simultaneously getting my feet under me. I thrust my hands above my head and leap upward, pushing the chest's lid open and springing out of the impossibly large prison. The Concealer makes a grab for my legs, but I'm out of her reach long before she can do so. The lid slams shut behind me, and I am free once again. I pull up my pants and take a minute to catch my breath. It must be true then, I'm an Escapist, just like my father. How else could I have done that so perfectly without training? And, much as it feels odd to admit it, it felt good! The rush of being captured, the passionate sex, the imminent danger, and the thrill of evading it. I can see what my father found so appealing in this career.

Now much more careful, I creep onward into the next chamber, holding my lamp out to light my way. The cavernous walls stretch out far beyond my sight, and the echoes of my footsteps tell me that this chamber is far larger than the previous one. I almost stumble over a rock and curse silently, looking down to better mind my path. I almost don't register the faint hissing sound until it erupts into an excited cackle and a whip-like appendage knocks my feet out from under me. I roll with the blow and come up on my feet, holding my lamp out in front of me.

A Serpent Girl, it seems, has found me. Like the Entangler, her upper body is that of a beautiful woman, but where the Entangler had a lower-body of tentacles, this monster girl's lower-body is that of a long, scaled serpent tail. She sways sensually before me, the lamp light glimmering on her white hair. Her eyes shine bright and I feel a tugging at the edges of my thoughts, another presence trying to force me out of my head, pushing in, invading. I harden my mind against it, mentally shutting heavy doors against this intruder. The Serpent Girl hisses unhappily, forked tongue flicking across her full lips.

"Stop being difficult, male," she chides. "I'm going to be gentle with you, and I won't eat you, I just don't want you struggling."

"I won't struggle," I hastily reply, mesmerized by the entrancing sway of her curvy hips and immaculate breasts.

"Oh really?"

She slithers forward and cups my face in her hands, her chest pressing against me. She feels cool to the touch, but inviting nonetheless. I close my eyes, not resisting when she pulls the lamp from my hands and sets it aside. Her mouth moves to meet mine, our lips locking and her tongue slipping into my mouth. I moan openly and relax, reveling in her embrace.

Snap! Fast as a whip her tail is coiled tightly around me and I'm falling down onto my back, the Serpent Girl on top of me, kissing me fiercely, groaning ecstatically into my mouth. Her tail, twisted around me from the hips down, squeezes me tight, rendering me immobile. Her arms lock around me, pinning my arms to my sides. I can't even cry out, save for into the mouth of my ophidian lover; I am thoroughly trapped. A sensation at my crotch catches my attention: the Serpent Girl's tail has worked its way into my pants. It feels cool on my lower extremities, slithering against me. I feel then what I can only describe as a hole opening in the tip of her tail and sliding over my manhood, sucking my whole shaft into her tail. It feels warm, hot even, and wet inside her tail, and I can't help but arch my hips up toward the sensation, which excites my serpentine captress.

"All mine now," she hisses, squeezing me so tight I can hardly breathe. "My little male."

Before I can reply, or beg for her to release her constricting grip so I can breathe, she ensnares my mouth in another relentless kiss while her tail sucks vigorously at my shaft. Ripples run along the length of her tail's inner walls, squeezing up and down the length of my shaft, massaging it with almost enough force to be painful. Even though I've only just climaxed inside the Concealer, I feel an orgasm building up in me. My hips move faster, harder, pushing ever upward. I climax hard into her, my whole body quivering in her clutches, shivering and shaking until my last drop of semen has been forcefully sucked out.

"I'm not done yet," the Serpent Girl taunts in a lustful tone. "Let's go again, lover. And we'll keep going until I get to climax first, understand?"

"I'm exhausted," I pant, trying hard to draw breath while the Serpent Girl crushes me in her coils. "Please, give me a few minutes to rest."

"Selfish boys get punished," she chastises in a patronizing tone, as if she's talking to a child, all the while tightening her grip. "You'll do as I say, and it will be great for us both. But disobey me and I'll make you plead for mercy."

"I... can't... breathe," I stammer. "Please."

"Bad boy!" she scolds. "Stop arguing with me."

I squirm desperately, writhing and wriggling with all my might. Stars dance before my eyes, my ears hum with a loud, rushing sound as the dark cave recedes to a blur in my vision. I give one final thrash of my body, a final act of desperation. No luck, the Serpent Girl holds me tight, her tail as immobile as stone. All that happens is that my pack falls open and some of my food spills out onto the floor. And in that same moment, the white-haired Serpent Girl's tail releases me and she dives for my food with a ravenous cry. I'm free once more, just like that, and I run, lest my captress satiate her hunger and come back for me.

Already I hear her slithering after me, and in my haste I realize I've left the lantern. I hold my hands out before me, running blindly in the cavern chamber, stumbling and slipping over slick rocks and the soft clay floor. I run until my hand strikes a wall, and then I trail along it, keeping the wall at my side, never stopping, despite my body's pleading for oxygen and rest. The sound of slithering draws nearer, I can practicably feel her breath on my neck. She'll have me in a moment. Then my hand moves from trailing a wall to groping in empty space, and I dive in that direction, tumbling in a blind sprawl down a steep incline and just out of the Serpent Girl's grasp. For whatever reason, she doesn't follow me. It would have been easy for her to pounce on me, drag me back up the natural slope, and wind me back up in her tail for an eternity of mating and punishment. Yet, she's left me alone, as if I've crossed out of her territory. And perhaps that's exactly what has happened, perhaps that room was her dominion and now I am beyond it, thus beyond her reach. But the question remains then: Whose hunting grounds have I walked into now...???

[Author's Note: So, what sort of monster girl do you want to see Devlin encounter in the future? Just curious.]



The Escapist Ch. 02



Without my lamp, the going is slow, and I'm jumpy at every sound. Every flutter of wings, resonant screech, or faint shuffle could be the next monster girl ready to satiate her lust. And what if I run into one who just wants to eat, not rejuvenate her life-force with sex. I'll be devoured unless I can get away fast enough. I can't count on my newfound skill to save me from everything; it was, after all, only luck that got me out of that Serpent Girl's coiling grasp. Had my bag not spilled some of its contents, I'd be screaming in her crushing embrace, gasping for air and writhing as she raped me into a state of mindless servitude.

In the pitch darkness, I grope along blindly, shuffling my feet so as not to step straight into some yawning chasm lurking unseen in the blackness. My hands follow stone walls, leading me around wide chambers and through narrow passages. Once, I think I hear a monster girl giggling, a faint and disturbing sound, and I swear I can hear the quiet, animal-like whimper of a man in incredible discomfort. I want to help him, but how can I in this darkness? I'll likely get myself killed in the process if I try. So I pretend to have heard nothing, much as it goes against my every instinct, and press on through the seemingly endless subterranean labyrinth until, far in the distance, I see a light.

With a cautiously measured haste I pick up the pace, darting forward toward the light, eager to be out of this place. The tunnel widens as the light grows brighter, opening at last onto a wide room. High on the vaulted ceiling is a hole, through which a patch of moonlight shines. Off to the left, a burning pile of wood crackles invitingly, spreading warmth across the room, which would be otherwise quite chilly. And directly across from this fire, off to the room's right side in a natural alcove of stone, is heaped a pile of shining treasure: gold and silver coins, rings, keys, assorted gems, necklaces, and sheathed blades with jewel-encrusted hilts.

"My Gods," I murmur in awe.

How did this all get hear? Who would have left such a magnificent horde alone, unguarded in this dismal place? I can't help but stride briskly toward it, running my hands over the knee-high pile of valuables. It is so broad that I could throw myself down and sleep in this trove were I so inclined.

The sound of beating wings sends a shiver down my spine. I hear then the soft-yet-solid thump of something landing behind me and I turn slowly to face it. My heart goes cold. A dragoness.

She stands half a head taller than me, her build is athletic and beautifully muscled. She is a bipedal being, her long, shapely legs ending in feet with three toes. Each toe has a shiny black talon which digs into the floor. Her three-fingered hands have similar claws. All of her skin has a shimmer to it, caused by the presence of fine, iridescent scales. Her face is framed by raven-black hair, and a pair of horns protrude from her head just above her ears. Leathery dragon wings extend from her back, as does a long tail, scaly like her skin, and terminating in a keen barb. She wears armor which covers her ample breasts and more sensitive regions below, like a bikini made of solid metal. I wonder, if she is a reptilian monster girl, why she has breasts at all. Perhaps to entice males? Maybe they serve some function I can't yet fathom, but it's hardly important to contemplate now.

"A new treasure for my trove," she says in a sultry yet energetic voice, moving between me and the chamber's entrance. "And a pretty one, too."

"Thank you," I blush at the compliment, "but I'm afraid I can't stay."

"Ha, you think you have a choice, silly treasure."

Thus begins an interesting game, the dragoness edging toward me as I try to side-step her, moving about the circular room to get a clear shot at the exit. But she keeps putting herself in front of the passageway, forcing me to back off. She could just stand there in the natural doorway, but I think she enjoys toying with me, like a cat with a mouse. Eventually she does take up a position in the mouth of the passage, her feet braced apart, hands on hips, her tail casually swishing across the ground behind her. Her expression beckons a challenge, her eyes--with their vertical pupils--locked on mine. Very well then, I decide, challenge accepted. I can't evade them all.

I draw my katana with the metallic hiss of steel being freed to strike, and charge my opponent. At the last second I feint to the left as if I'm about to try and squeeze past her. But instead I direct a stab of the sword toward her mid section. The dragoness just stands still, tensing slightly, the claws of her three-toed feet digging into the clay floor, and takes the blow. The impact of sword on dragon-scales jars the weapon from my hands and sends it flying end-over-end through the air, falling just short of the fire opposite the treasure horde.

"Now that that's settled," she laughs, "you are all mine."

She throws an arm around me and pulls me in close. Her scaled skin is cool to the touch, but not unpleasantly cold, and despite the fact that it felt like stone when my blade struck, it feels surprisingly soft against my body, though I can very plainly feel the power of her muscles. Even with one arm, she keeps me effortlessly pinned against her voluptuous body. Her other hand easily tears away my clothes, tossing them aside. With no discernible effort, she lifts me up with one arm and slides off my boots, throwing them aside as well, leaving me entirely nude and at her mercy.

"Let go!"

"Dragons never release their treasure," she explains, carrying me over toward the fire. "Now I have you, so you will never leave me alone, boy."

"My name is Devlin," I snap, struggling now as she cradles me in both arms against her armor-clad bosom.

"Devlin, my little treasure," she repeats. "And I am Akaria, the prettiest dragoness in all of Thuralia."

"And the most modest," I quip.

"Of course," she laughs. "Dragons aren't modest, silly boy."

"Well, Akaria," I offer, "you certainly are lovely, but I can't stay with you forever. I have a life."

"And now that life involves me."

There will be no reasoning with her, best to just humor the confident dragon girl and escape while she sleeps. Akaria lays me on my back by the fire, taking a moment to sheathe my sword and tuck it away safely against a far wall. On her way back toward me, she begins to unfasten her scanty metal armor, casting both pieces of mail onto her pile of treasure. She adopts a sensual gait on her approach to my prone body. Firelight dances off her scales, accenting the gentle sway of her hips and the perfect quiver of her large, perky breasts. I cannot help but stare.

"Never seen a dragoness before?" she teases, batting her long eyelashes.

"I saw dragons in my story books as a child, but none like you," I admit in a mesmerized tone.

"Oh, you mean the gigantic, four-legged reptiles," she offers. "I could take that form if you want, but I'd still want to rape you and that would probably crush you to death. To be honest, you're already pretty scrawny, even in this form I could break you on accident. But if a big dragon is what you want..."

She stops her walking and adopts a look of intense concentration, her wings extending to reveal their majestic span.

"No, no!" I hastily insist. "For the love of the Gods no!"

"Good," she laughs, "because that would be creepy, and I can't do it anyway."

I gawk at Akaria. Her sense of humor is... admittedly pretty funny. I laugh along with her while she joins me by the fire. She sits cross-legged near the flames and pulls me into her lap. I lay in relative comfort, staring up at her and trembling when she runs her claws over my flesh. An excited hum escapes her lips, and that only makes me shiver with greater anticipation. Her claws move over my chest and find my nipples, with which she begins to play, lightly squeezing and tugging at them. She very gently twists them back and forth at a slow rhythm, squeezing gradually tighter and twisting harder.

"Ouch!" I exclaim at last. "Akaria, those are sensitive. Be gentle, please!"

"Gentle?" She looks genuinely confused. "But Treasure, I wasn't even trying to apply much pressure at all yet. That wasn't even a fraction of a fraction of my strength."

"Firstly, my name is Devlin, not Treasure," I remind her, "and secondly, I'm not a dragon. I'm softer than you, breakable. Like a... uh... like a fine jeweled necklace," I add, playing to her inherent love of shiny things, "I could be broken very easily."

"I'll call you Treasure if I want to," she answers sternly. "But, you're right about being breakable. I'll be careful. But, I apologize in advance for this, because it will hurt."

"What?!"

Akaria pins me down on the ground with relative ease, moving to sit astride my torso, facing away from me. I sit up immediately, kicking and struggling in every way, yet she is as immoveable as if she were made of stone. Two of the three fingers on her left hand circle around the base of my scrotum, squeezing tight enough to make me whimper, and completely trapping my testicles. As I sit up and lean forward, desperate to get away, I see her hold up a claw on her right hand and blow a tiny stream of concentrated heat onto the sharp digit until it is glowing blue with heat.

"I have to brand you as mine."

"Akaria, no! Please."

Like a whip made of rock, her tail lashes against me, knocking me to my back and pinning me. I don't stop screaming, pleading with her for mercy, but the words dissolve into shamefully high-pitched shrieks of anguish when her blazing hot talon touches my trapped scrotum. She works slowly, intricately, the searing pain making me thrash my head about wildly, as its the only part of me I can easily move. My eyes roll back in my head and I mentally plead with myself to pass out. But I remain conscious, aware for every second of Akaria's work as she applies just enough pressure with the talon to break the skin, the supreme heat immediately cauterizing the incision so that there is no blood-loss while she works: reheating her talon periodically and continuing her diligent work. Even through my pain, I eventually realize what she is doing, tracing the pattern of agony her talon at once carves and brands: her name, in small but elegant script, etched and burnt onto my scrotum.

"There, done."

I am a whimpering wreck, lying still on the floor, my eyes streaming tears. Akaria adjusts her position so that now she is laying upon me, her face mere inches from mine. Tenderly, she licks the teardrops from my cheeks and cups my face in her hands. Her eyes show a sensitivity, a genuine concern not displayed in her cruel treatment of my most personal area.

"I t-told you I'm soft, I can feel p-pain," I stammer weakly, my throat sore from screaming. "I begged for mercy."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she coos in a soothing tone, "but this is how we dragonesses are. We see a male we like, he becomes ours like any other treasure, and we brand him. Now you are my mate, forever."

"Forever?"

"I can sustain you," she chirps excitedly, "with dragon's milk. You'll live forever, and you'll sustain me, so we'll be together forever."

"Forever?" I repeat, my mind reeling.

"Unless you get away," she sneers, but in a friendly, joking manner. "How about a little treat, my love."

"A treat?" I'm still shocked from the pain, and the realization of my captivity.

"Your first dose of sustenance."

It takes me a moment, in my confused and still pain-addled state, to understand what Akaria means. She moves up slightly, bringing her ample breasts level with my face. How could I not stare? Her nipples stand out firm and erect with excitement. Akaria lowers her body down until her right breast is pressing into my face. I cannot resist the urge to part my lips and take her nipple into my mouth. I suck slowly, gently at first.

"Harder," she half-orders and half-moans.

I clamp my lips harder on her nipple, holding it with my teeth, and suck harder, putting more force into it. The liquid substance that streams forth into my waiting mouth is the most refreshing, cool, invigorating, and most outright delicious thing I've ever tasted in my life. I suck harder, swallowing one mouthful after another of the sweet milk. Each gulp gives me more energy, flooding my body with a cool invigoration, as if I've just had a good long nap and then drunk a glass of ice-cold water. I can't stop drinking, it's just too damned good. After a while, Akaria pushes my head away and sits up, still astride me.

"You're a greedy little love-slave," she teases, patting my head affectionately. "That's more than enough for now. But if you're a very good little boy, momma will let you feed again later."

My ears burn and my face goes scarlet at her turn of phrase, and this only incites a wave of laughter from the dragoness. I blush and try to cover my face, but Akaria pulls my hands away so she can see the look of embarrassment on my face. She leans in and kisses me on the mouth, letting her tongue slide between my lips. I know she can breathe flame, but despite that, her mouth and body are all very cool. Not cold, just cool, in an appealing way. I let her tongue explore my mouth, murmuring a wordless sigh of contentment when her legs encircle my waist and one of her clawed hands guides my manhood between her thighs.

"My mate," she growls before covering me in eager kisses.

The invigorating effects of the dragon's milk have taken their hold. My shaft goes hard, stiff and erect as it eases between Akaria's lower-lips into her tight opening. I let out an exuberant cry, thrusting my hips sharply upward, plunging deep inside the dragoness' warmth. Akaria's hands fly to my wrists, pinning them to the ground above my head. I can't move but to arch my back, pushing up and into my mate; otherwise, I am immobile in her clutches. Immobile and perfectly happy. Our hips slam together, her's with enough force to hurt. That, added to the crushing force of her thighs squeezing my waist, and I'm in a wonderfully mixed world of pleasure and pain.

"Love me," she pants eagerly, nuzzling my neck. "Love me forever."

"Forever," I gasp eagerly, as a powerful orgasm erupts from me, tingling in my every nerve, making me shudder like a leaf in a hurricane.

* * *

I don't realize I passed out until I wake up. Warmth washes over my naked body and I open my eyes to see sunlight streaming through the hole in the ceiling. I try to sit up, to stand, but my body responds with a twinge of soreness throughout my every muscle, which sends me sprawling to my back with a painful moan.

"You're awake," Akaria calls, striding over to me and sitting down by my side. "I kept raping you for a few hours after you passed out, I hope you don't mind."

I forgot, monster girls can keep men erect constantly if they so wish it. This must be how my dragoness was able to keep me hard while I was unconscious. Whatever she did to me, I can barely move. I sit up shakily, my core muscles screaming in protest. Akaria pulls me into her lap and cradles my head against her chest.

"That's right," she soothes, stroking my face, "come to momma."

"Stop saying things like that!" I blush brightly at her words, but Akaria is not phased.

She eases my head against her breast until I take her nipple in my mouth once more and drink deeply of the sweet dragon's milk. Every swallow courses through me, relaxing my muscles and washing away my exhaustion. By the time Akaria pushes my head away from her chest, I'm feeling alive with power and energy, ready to take on anything. But Akaria does not let me go quite yet.

"I saw the book in your pants pocket," she says quietly, "the book that Escapist use. You really do want to get away from me, don't you?"

"Akaria," I say in a meek tone, "I really like you, I think anyway. I don't know right now, everything is so confusing."

"I know how we'll figure this out," she offers, a smile crossing her lips. "Fight me, if you lose, you will be punished for trying to escape. If you win, you can come or go as you please."

"Fight you," I exclaim in total shock, "I can't fight you."

"You're all powered up with dragon's milk," she reminds me. "And if you won't fight, I'll have to assume you came here to steal my treasure, fuck me, and then leave. And for that, I have a special punishment in mind. Maybe I was lying when I said I couldn't transform into a big dragon, want to see?"

"No, no! I'll fight you," I insist with great urgency.

This is madness, I know I'll lose a fight with her, but it is obvious from the look on her face that my status as an Escapist has hurt her deeply. Do dragonesses really fall in love that quickly? And would being her mate really be that bad? She's sweet, she's beautiful, she makes me laugh, it could be a lot worse. I could be tied up by the Entangler and flayed alive, devoured slowly by the Concealer, or still being raped endlessly by that demanding Serpent Girl. Of all of them, the dragoness is the best fate.

I stand in the middle of the room, opposite Akaria. She nods for us to begin and we start circling each other, moving lightly on our feet. She feints an attack and I dodge backward, leaping over a swipe of her long, barb-ended tail. With a desperate cry, I step in and strike at her bare chest with my closed fist. Despite her softness when we interacted intimately, when I strike her it is as if I've punched a stone wall. My arm tingles with a jolt of throbbing pain that reverberates through my wrist and up all the way to my shoulder. I clutch my injured hand and Akaria takes that moment to strike. She shoots in low, encircling my waist with her arms, lifting me up, and throwing me over her shoulder. I kick and struggle while she carries me around the room, more so when she begins playfully smacking my backside with enough force to make me grunt.

"Bad boys get punished," she taunts, smacking me harder. "And you are a very bad little boy."

With that, she throws me to the ground and I land on my back, sprawled before her. She plants her right foot on my chest, her sharp claws pressing into my skin.

"Admit defeat," she encourages, cracking her knuckles and staring down at me.

"Okay, Akaria, you win," I relent, humiliated at the ease of my loss.

"Good," she smirks, kneeling over me. "Now, for your punishment. I'll take one of your fingers in payment for your Escapist trickery."

"What?!"

Without a further word, Akaria grabs the little finger of my left hand and raises it to her lips. She gives me an apologetic look before opening her mouth and placing my digit between her teeth. A wave of nausea, panic, and sheer desperate savagery washes over me like a tidal surge. Inexplicably, I slip my hand from her grasp and, with a fluid sliding motion, worm my way out from under her. I'm up in a flash and darting for the far side of the room where the only exit lays.

"Wait!"

I don't know why, but I stop and turn in time to see Akaria leaping toward me, arms open, a broad grin on her face. She wraps me in a loving embrace, enfolding me with her wings as well as her arms, and practically smothers me in kisses. Now I'm more confused than ever.

"I knew it," she proclaims, whirling me about. "You like me, Devlin, you can't deny it now."

"I'm so confused," I cry, still being spun about by my ecstatic dragoness.

"Escapists can only escape when they really want or need to, when they fear for their lives," Akaria explains, "or fear an undesirable fate in captivity. You escaped other monsters, and me when you thought I was going to hurt you, which I wasn't by the way. But yesterday, even when I branded you, your mind didn't trigger your escape tendencies."

"I... how do you know all this?" I stammer dumbly.

"Monster girls know a lot about Escapists," she replies. "But this settles it, you are all mine. My property. Okay?"




The Escapist Ch. 02



I think about this for a long time before I speak again.

"Okay," I relent. "But, I still have an adventure to go on, a world to see."

"You can do and see whatever you want," Akaria tells me. "But I'll be keeping my eye on you and all your encounters, and when it's all over, you'll come back to me."

"Yes," I agree, my heart thrumming with excitement, "yes, I like the sound of that a lot."

Akaria greets my agreement with a bone-crushing embrace and a relentless barrage of fierce kisses that leave me moaning, laughing, and gasping for air all at once. We eventually curl up together by the gently crackling fire, our bodies snuggled close to each other. Akaria rests her head on my chest, and her right hand drifts casually down between my legs and idly plays with my balls: stroking, squeezing, and manipulating them. When my shaft comes to full mast due to her careful administering, Akaria plays with that too, lightly running her claws up and down my full length.

"This belongs to me now," she contentedly sighs. "All of you is mine. Other monster girls may rape you, but you are mine."

"All yours," I agree, and I somehow feel quite alright with that. "Do with me as you will."

"Anything?"

"I am powerless to escape you after all."

"Alright, you asked for it."

Akaria puts two fingers to her lips and blows a long, loud whistle that echoes far up the cave. I look confusedly at her until a rather odd sound emanates from up the passage. I cannot make out what it is, but it sounds like something heavy being dragged across the ground. Akaria giggles with glee, throwing her arms around me.

"You'll be exhausted tonight," she warns with a devious grin.

My eyes go wide when the source of the sound makes itself known. There in the doorway, swaying sensually, is the white-haired Serpent Girl, dragging a very familiar wooden treasure chest behind her.

"Hello there, male," hisses the Serpent Girl. "Your knew owner says we get to slay with you today. A dragoness, a Serpent Girl, a Concealer, and one helpless little male."

"I wonder how long he'll last," the Concealer adds, poking her head out of her treasure chest.

"Now, who goes first?" Akaria asks, still holding me tightly in her arms.

I start to squirm in the arms of my dragoness lover, but I can't seem to get free of her grip. I know she won't let anyone hurt me, but still!

"Now, hang on a minute," I protest.

"That's cute," laughs the serpent, "he thinks he has a say in the matter."

"No one will hurt you," Akaria whispers in my ear, nuzzling against me, "this will be so fun for you, I promise."

"Can't we talk this over?" I inquire, trying to wriggle free.

"Just trust me," she urges. "If you wanted to be free, your Escapist skills would have taken over, so you want this. He's all ours, girls."

The Serpent Girl slithers over to me, her tail flicking up my leg playfully. The sensation of her light, furtive caress makes me laugh and try to pull away.

"What a treat," she sneers, "our male is ticklish."

"Oh are you, now?" Akaria inquires, moving one clawed hand down to my stomach and running her nails across my skin lightly.

I let out an embarrassing shriek of laughter and slip out of Akaria's grip, though I feel as if she just let me go for her own amusement. I leap away from the two women, who advance on me as I back toward the rear of the room. They move to flank me, both giggling excitedly. The Serpent Girl strikes toward me, lunging forward. I weave around her, duck under Akaria's grasping claws and dart forward. The two monster girls growl in frustration and dive after me.

"Quick, in here!" the Concealer beckons.

I weigh my options: If I stay here Akaria and the snake-woman will catch me, torture me with endless tickling, and have their way with me. If I hide with the Concealer, I'll just have wild sex before she lets me go again. She can't eat me, Akaria said that no harm will come to me. So I leap toward the wooden chest and into the Concealers's arms. She pulls me down into the box and pins me on my back.

"We're going to have lots of fun before I let you out," she growls in my ear. "And if you don't cooperate, I'll let the dragoness have you."

"Okay okay," I hastily reply, "just do what you want with me and then let them have me, I guess."

"Oh it's what you're going to do for me," she smirks lustfully. "You got away from me last time, you're going to pay for that now, and make me feel very good."

"W-what do you want me to do?" Now I'm nervous, and rightfully so.

"I'm going to sit on your face," she casually states, "and you're going to tongue me, from behind, just as deep as you can."

"What?! No, that's disgusting." I begin to struggle under her.

"We monster girls are naturally clean," she counters, moving to sit down on my chest, facing away from me. "Now you tongue extra deep, or I'll make you scream, boy."

"No!"

"Yes!"

She lifts herself up and eases backward so that her pretty, round ass is hovering in the air above my face. Much to my relief, she was quite truthful: her ass is immaculately clean. She lowers herself down, settling her full weight onto my face. She's not particularly heavy, but I still can't move out from under her. Grudgingly, I extend my tongue and begin to lick, first up and down, sliding the tip of my tongue over her soft skin. This makes her laugh and wiggle with excitement at the light touch of my tongue.

"Get in there!" she growls eagerly.

I decide to follow my captress' direction and extend my tongue further, letting it slip inside her tight ass. The Concealer lets out a long, low moan of ecstasy and begins to rock her hips back and forth, letting my tongue go deep within her and stimulate her sensitive flesh. She cries out and rocks faster, harder, back and forth on my face, while I continue to tongue her, now in rhythm with her quivering body, working in as deep as I can until she comes to a powerful orgasm, screaming with pleasure as her sweet nectar erupts from between her lower lips and spills onto my skin.

"Alright," she pants, climbing off of me and pulling me roughly up by my hair, "I've had my fun, boy-toy. Now, you're all theirs."

Without another word, the Concealer throws me out of the chest, into the Serpent Girl's waiting arms. She smiles down at me, appraising the state of my being, before leaning in to kiss me.

"You might not want to do that," I cut in, "after where my mouth just was."

"Monster girls are always clean," she says, brushing my concern aside and smothering my mouth in a passionate kiss.

Akaria joins the Serpent Girl and the two women proceed to lick the Concealer's sweet, climactic juices off of my face. I lay in the serpent's arms and let them have their fun, licking my face and tickling my body with their hands and tails whilst I giggle and struggle like a madman.

The night goes on in a wild blur of passionate, depraved sex. Akaria holds my head between her thighs and forces me to lick her to several long, slow orgasms, which I gladly swallow. The Serpent Girl seems to love restraining me, just to watch me struggle, and then raping me with the opening at the tip of her tail. After several long hours, I start to fade in and out of consciousness. I'm dimly aware of time passing, of being passed around between the three monster girls, and the relentless raping. But eventually, my body can take no more, and I fade into darkness.

* * *

My dreams are full of treasure chests containing wicked seductresses, ravenous snake-women, and strangely-charming dragonesses. My eyes come open slowly and I try to sit up. I can't move at all, something is weighing me down. The ground beneath my back is cold and uneven, hard too, like it's made of metal. My eyes readjust to the semi-darkness, and I realize that I am laying atop Akaria's pile of treasure, and she is laying atop me, sleeping soundly. Little wisps of smoke curl up from the dragoness' nose when she exhales. She is so adorable, I can't help but lean down and kiss her. Her eyes come open immediately.

"Good morning, Treasure," she chirps. "That was fun yesterday, wasn't it?"

"It was exhausting."

Akaria nods and guides my head to her chest. Once again, I drink of her glorious milk, and soon am feeling refreshed and comfortable. Akaria climbs off of me and let's me rise from her pile of treasures. I pad across the room and start collecting my clothes, pack, and sword. Akaria follows after me, putting on her skimpy, metal bikini-armor. I have to say, impractical as it is, that armor looks unbelievably sexy on her. She notices my staring and flashes a seductive smile.

"You looking for another day of love-making," she inquires, stepping up close to me and stroking my chest. "I can make you scream my name like never before."

"Oh, that sounds great," I have to admit, "but I do need to get going, after all."

"Of course," she replies, wrapping her arms around me. "Let me take you back to the surface and say goodbye, okay?"

"Okay."

Keeping me locked in her arms, Akaria beats her leathery wings and we rise up into the air. I cling to her as we rise, afraid to let go, though I know she'll never drop me. We rise higher and higher still, until the tiny hole in the ceiling is revealed to be quite large enough for us both to pass through. Akaria alights on the grass outside the hole and sets me on my feet again.

"Be careful," she commands, "and don't forget I'll be watching you, so don't go falling in love with anyone else."

"I'll be very careful, Akaria," I assure her, then with a momentary pause I add, "I love you."

"I love you too, my little Devlin," she responds, kissing me hard before descending back into her lair.

I look around at the surrounding countryside, my eyes dazzled by the midday sun. I can't believe all I've endured, all I've discovered about myself and monster girls. I've found a mate, and I do really like her. In her own way, Akaria is an incredibly sweet girl.

I start to walk away when I find myself stumbling over an object in my path. I look down, and there is a small pack, which I open to find a folded piece of paper, weighted with a rock so that the wind won't carry it away. I unroll the note and read: "Did I say the practice cave was to the east? I meant west. My apologies, lad. Seems you've found yourself a dragoness though, and she's a pretty, buxom lass. Have fun, and may your adventure go so well as your night seems to be going."

I can't believe it: that odd old man gave me the wrong direction to the cave. If he had not, I'd have never met Akaria, or learned that my Escapism only triggers when my heart genuinely wants it to do so. By his mistake, I benefited greatly. I smile and tuck the note into a pocket, striding off on my way, leaving Akaria's cave behind me. I'll be back of course, how could I ever want to leave her forever?

I make my way north from the cave's exit, through a stand of trees. There's no road to speak of, so I orient with the sun and set a northeastward course, hoping to strike the main road eventually. Trees grow tall and undergrowth is thick in this undeveloped area. I beat past tangled branches, kick gnarled shrubs out of the way, and push on through tall, waving grasses. The going is slow, but I trudge ever onwards, keeping my path and my pace as steady as I can, until a woman's frantic scream breaks the stillness of the woodland air.

The scream comes from up ahead, directly northward. I charge through the brush, slapping branches aside and avoiding trees until I break through the edge of a clearing and stop still. Zombies. Zombies in Thuralia are not in fact the living dead, they're not even dead, rotted, or anything of the sort. They are women who have either fallen under the spell of a succubus, or been turned by another zombie. They've lost all higher thought, all awareness. All they want is to mate, endlessly with any man or woman they can get a hold of. They have some unknown way of keeping their victims conscious throughout it all, and will rape a person to death if given the chance.

"Please, someone help me," screams the panic-stricken girl being hauled roughly into the clearing by four zombies.

The zombies are all attractive women, tall and well-endowed, and completely naked. They drag their helpless victim to the clearing's center and hold her down on the grass, ripping her clothes away from her with ecstatic moans of pleasure.

"No," she begs, "please, you can't do this. I'm a virgin, have mercy!"

The zombie girls just moan lustfully, licking and kissing her bare flesh. I can't let them do this, so I stalk out into the clearing, not making any attempt to conceal my presence from the zombies. They look up from their current prey and all lock their eyes on me, licking their lips and practically drooling in anticipation of a male meal. While they're distracted, their female captive leaps up and runs off into the woods, sobbing hysterically. The zombie girls rise and walk slowly toward me, making excited humming noises, or moaning in blatant sexual need.

The first one reaches me and I dart around her easily, ducking her slow-moving limbs without much effort. The second two try to grab my arms, but I pull away, only to have the first zombie girl throw herself onto my back, knocking me forward in a sprawl. The zombies cackle with glee, a wild chorus of lust that echoes throughout the woods. They begin to strip off my clothes, save for one who cannot wait and straddles my head, pressing her lower-lips against my face. She holds my head still with her thighs and twists her fingers into my hair, pulling hard while moving her hips back and forth. She rubs her warmth against me, using all of my face to pleasure her intimate region. I gasp for air, but get none, only the sweet taste of her juices when she climaxes, drenching my face in her hot nectar.

The zombie girls have by now pulled off my clothes, and are fighting roughly over my manhood. I writhe under them, trying to pull away, but the four of them lay upon me, lapping at my body with their tongues, covering me with kisses and bites, and trying to claim my shaft as their own. Finally, I get my legs free and manage to stand, twisting out of their grasp. But just as I pull free, a new sound reaches my ears: the rustling of the trees, accompanied by more moaning. Confused, I look around, just in time to see a wave of zombie girls burst from the tree-line at every side of the clearing, all naked, all surrounding me, and all coming closer.

"Oh shit," is all I have time to say before they drag me to the ground...

*

[Author's Note: A cliff-hanger for what I do hope is an interesting story for all of you. Please leave your comments and feedback and I'll do my best to update soon.]



The Escapist Ch. 03



[Author's Note: Hi everyone, I am so sorry about the long gap between updates. I've been going through a lot of very personal difficulties as of late, and that coupled with my final semester of college has left me with very little free time. I'll try to be better in the future, I promise. I hate keeping you all waiting. So, when we last left our intrepid young escapist, Devlin Silvermane, he had just departed from Akaria, his dragoness lover, and almost immediately was attacked by a mob of monster girls. Let's see if he survives, and if so, if his journey will teach him any more about his father's secretive life, shall we? Hope you enjoy the tale. Reviews are always welcome.] 

*

For hours I'm caught in a wild tangle of limbs, my pleas for mercy drowned out by the ecstatic moans of my zombie girl captresses. Their bodies press in around me, they fight to gain positions closer to me. One after another pushes her sisters aside and straddles my hips or my face, riding me with ferocious vigor, thrusting their curvaceous hips against my helpless, trapped body. I try to pull away, but they hold me down, lustfully scratching and nibbling on my every inch of exposed skin. This is it, I'm going to die here, trapped under this mob of sex-crazed monster girls. Akaria isn't here to save me, I'm going to be raped to death! Then, with a startling suddenness, silence falls.

A slightly larger zombie girl, who has taken several turns astride my hips, despite the efforts of her sisters to push her aside so they might take me, stops her rhythmic thrusting and merely sits still, my manhood still clenched in the tight grip of her inner walls. Hastily, the zombie girls begin to rise, darting from the clearing as fast as their natural gait will allow. A few make an attempt to drag me after them--for more prolonged mating, I assume--but whatever sudden panic has beset them causes them to leave me be. And so I lay, panting and exhausted on the grass, my body aching with physical exhaustion, unable to force myself to sit up and acknowledge my new threat until I see her. And then, I laugh. I laugh aloud. It's only a pink Slime Girl. 

"Stop laughing," pouts the Slime, a beautiful woman whose entire body is composed of translucent pink slime.

She is of a shapely, curvy build, very attractive, though her slimy body might turn some folks off. I struggle to sit up, exhausted from the mass rape I endured at the hands of the zombie girls. The Slime giggles and extends her arms, pushing me to my back and falling with me so that she lands on top of me. Her body feels light, yet still heavy enough to keep me trapped. She is soft, squishy, and a bit sticky, but not unpleasant at all. She presses her gelatinous form against me, engulfing my lower body completely inside herself, surrounding me from the hips down in cool slime.

"See," she taunts, "I may look cute, but now I've trapped you. I could eat you up, just pull you into me and absorb you."

"Why did the zombie girls run?"

"I eat them too, for nutrients," she casually explains in that same, chipper tone.

"Are you going to eat me?"

"No," she answers after a moment of thought, "I think I'll just rape you, boy. But you look exhausted, I'll take care of that first."

I open my mouth to protest. She's very cute, in a slimy sort of way, but I am just drained, and I don't think I'll survive another bout of feverish love-making. But when I open my mouth, the Slime Girl engulfs it between her lips, letting her wet tongue slip deep into my mouth, exploring and leaving a trail of sweet slime in its wake. When I swallow the slime that slowly starts to fill my mouth, I feel a cool invigoration wash over me, it's like Akaria's dragon milk. She keeps her mouth planted firmly over mine, even as my manhood grows stiff inside her soft, membranous body.

The Slime Girl contracts her body around my shaft, sending vibrating ripples through herself to course up and down my full length. I feel a sucking sensation around the head of my manhood and it drives me wild, coercing me to thrash about wildly in the tingling throws of pleasure. The Slime Girl continues invading my mouth with her tongue, moaning in ecstasy all the while. My hips quiver inside her body, my shaft strains in the squeezing, massaging grip she holds upon it. I let out a long, low groan as an orgasm washes over me, enveloping me in a wave of pleasure which renders my manhood all the more sensitive to the slimy caress of my lover.

"That was fun," she says, freeing my mouth at last, "let's go again, cutie."

"Ah, I can't," I gasp, still breathing heavily, "I'm exhausted, I think I'll pass out if we do this again."

She thinks about this, humming to herself as she ponders whether to leave me alone, rape me, or carry me off to some unknown fate. I'm still trapped inside her, held in the squishy prison of her body's mass.

"Okay, cute boy," she chirps, "that felt really good, so I've decided to be nice and let you go. If I keep you, I'll either have to eat you or share you with my sisters. It would be fun, I love the look on your face when you're all helpless with pleasure. But my sisters won't stop when you're tired, they'll hurt you."

"So..."

"So I'll let you go, sweetie," she concludes. "But I'll catch you again one day, and we'll have even more fun."

The Slime Girl stands up and helps me get to my feet. I stand shakily, leaning on her for support. The Slime holds me up until I'm steady and then throws her arms around my neck and presses her lips against mine, leaving me with one final, slimy kiss before she wanders off into the forest, leaving me to gather up my clothes, pack, and sword once more.

"More fun, eh?"

I know that voice, and turn about to see the middle-aged man who I'd first encountered, the man who'd set me on this strange path of mine.

"Sorry again about the cave," he said sheepishly, "I get a bit turned around with all my traveling."

"Where did you come from? Are you following me?" I demand.

"Keeping an eye on you," he replies, "just until I'm certain you've got this Escapist thing down. Your father would never forgive me if I let you get hurt."

"Well," I relent, "I can't really be too mad about the cave, I did meet Akaria after all."

"Your dragoness?"

"That's her." I say with an inadvertent fond smile crossing my face. "She's branded me as her eternal mate."

"Are you happy with that?"

"I'm certainly not unhappy with it."

I move to the edge of the clearing and hear the footsteps of my companion following at a decent pace. He appears to be in reasonable shape for an older man, but still I'm impressed that he keeps pace with me as we move through the woodlands, pushing through thick undergrowth and picking our way through the occasional dried up creek-bed.

"So your mate let's you wander, then?" he quips.

"I'm free to do as I will," I retort, feigning defensiveness. "Akaria doesn't own me."

"She's just branded you, is that all?"

We both chuckle at that. There are some very gentle, even submissive monster girls, but dragonesses are not counted amongst them. At last, I tire of walking and sit down on a flat rock. I open my pack and retrieve some dry rations, nothing special but more than sufficient to satiate my hunger. My traveling companion sits across from me on a tree stump.

"Tired, are you?" he asks.

"A bit," I must confess, "traveling by foot is not really something I'm used to, yet."

"You could have asked your dragoness to carry you around," he suggests.

"I suppose I could..."

But the man's attention has wandered elsewhere, he's not meeting my eye. He's staring off into the distance with a vague expression, his head tilted as though listening to something I cannot hear.

"What, what is it?" I ask, my voice dropping to a whisper.

"Time for me to leave," he says. "If my guess is right, this should work out well for you."

"What should?"

He stands up on his tree stump, not answering or even acknowledging my question. Instead, he retrieves an object from his pack: a round, shiny metal disc on a short pole, and holds it above his head. The sunlight glints off the metal, reflecting so brightly that it hurts my eyes. Yet, I cannot look away, for no sooner does the sun strike the metal of what I assume is some sort of signaling device than I hear a piercing shriek. Like an arrow from the sky, a harpy descends, shooting through the tree tops and landing on her clawed feet beside the man. She has the body of a woman, though her shapely legs end in bird-clawed feet, and her arms are merged with beautiful bird wings. Multicolored feathers cover her torso, the top of her head, and her wings; they look soft and alluring.

"Hello, husband," she says in a chipper tone to the man. "Are you ready to go home?"

"I am," he says, stepping close to her.

"Are we taking that one too?" she asks, pointing at me with a wingtip. "My sister would probably like him for a mate."

"Oh no, he's promised to another," the man says. "Farewell Devlin, I think you shall be most pleased with your journey in the near future."

With that, the harpy flaps her wings and rises into the air, then grips my companion by his shoulders, holding him firmly in her talons as she flies upward through the canopy of leaves. And just like that, he's gone. I never even got his name, and now I don't know when, or if, I'll be seeing him again. He knew my father, he set me on this path, he helped me meet Akaria, and I didn't even ask his name.

"Gods, I'm an idiot," I mutter sheepishly.

"But a cute one," says a light, cheerful voice from behind me.

I whirl around and see exactly what my departed benefactor must have heard in the trees, a Fox Girl, or kitsune as they're properly called. She stands about a head shorter than I, with little fox ears poking out from her brown hair, which is pulled back in a ponytail. Besides the fox ears, she has a thick, fluffy tail that swishes back and forth. She is clad in what appear to be soft boots, a midriff-baring top, and tight-fitting pants. I must admit, she's a cute kitsune, though the two short-swords slung across her back add a bit of menace to the picture.

"Are you going to come along quietly, male?" she asks, stepping closer. "Or will we have to drag you, kicking and screaming, back to our den? Because either way works for us."

"Us?" I inquire, still finding it altogether hard to be threatened by this short, adorable little Fox Girl.

"That would be us," says another, slightly more stern voice from behind me.

I swivel about--getting snuck up on is becoming a bit old--to see two kitsune blocking any options for retreat, closing in upon me. In a moment, the three have me in their midst, and each has a hand to one of their weapons.

"So, what will it be?" asks the brown-haired kitsune.

"If you struggle a little," offers a black-haired one, "we can tie you up... wouldn't you like that?"

"Well, I... I'll go peacefully," I relent.

Really I have no other options. The kitsune have me surrounded, they have weapons, and to be perfectly honest, they're quite an attractive bunch. My heart belongs to Akaria, but she was willing to let me go experience what the world had to offer. Then again, the zombies and Slime Girl both had me captured when I couldn't put up a fight. Should I at least try and resist the kitsune's for Akaria's sake? She had no qualms with sharing me with her fellow cave-dwellers, but what would she think of these sneaky little Fox Girls trying to spirit me off to their den?

"Get moving, little boy," urges the stern-voiced, dark blue-haired kitsune. "We've got a long night planned for you."

"Give me a minute to think," I murmur, shrugging off the hands of my captresses.

They look about ready to leap on me or draw their weapons, or both, when a noise catches all of our attention: flapping. Not the light flap of bird wings, something much larger winging its way through the air. A shadow falls over us and the kitsune scatter, each performing a perfect evasive roll to get clear of what now descends. I stumble out of the way just in time to avoid being landed upon by none other than a very familiar dragoness. Akaria found me!

"Akaria," I exclaim, moving closer to her, "I just got captured by these kitsune. I wasn't sure what to do, what would make you happy."

"Captured," she teases, "by these cute little foxes?! Oh they must be so very tough and scary," she chides, much to the kitsune's collective chagrin.

"We caught him," the black-haired one insists. "He's ours to play with now."

"He's branded," Akaria points out. "See."

Akaria drops to the ground and drags me with her. Realizing what she's after, I squirm with embarrassment, which my dragoness lover ignores while stripping away my pants to expose the brand she placed on my scrotum. She holds my genitals in her clawed right hand and presents my branding to the three kitsune, who all gather close to look, giggling with excitement. I wriggle in Akaria's grasp, but the dragoness has a firm hold on me, and apparently I don't "want" to escape enough for my powers to trigger and get out of this humiliating predicament. Worse still, the attention of Akaria and the three kitsune seems to be inadvertently stimulating me. My manhood grows stiff, standing upright at its full, erect length, which from the looks on the faces of the kitsune, is fairly impressive.

"Oh," pouts the brown-haired one, "it's a shame he's your property. He looks like he'd be a lot of fun."

"Well now," Akaria replies in a sly voice, "I never said you couldn't play with him."

"Did you not say he was yours?" the blue-haired kitsune counters tersely.

"I did," Akaria affirms. "So, you can't keep him. He is mine. But you can certainly drag him off to your lair and enact whatever you wish upon him, so long as he's set free in one piece... and alive."

"Akaria!" I protest, struggling in her arms.

"Oh hush," she teases, kissing my forehead, "you know you think they're cute, I can tell. Plus, they caught you fair and square. Girls, he's all yours."

"Wait, Akaria," I object as the kitsune draw close and begin binding me with ropes procured from their pockets, "why are you even here? Were you following me?"

"I saw the zombie girls swarm a clearing," she explains, "so I waited to make sure you were safe. Then I saw the Slime Girl, and then you wandered off with that man; a friend of yours, I guess. When the harpy carried him off, I decided to stick close and see what happened next."

"So, you watched everything?"

"I did," she smirks deviously.

By now, the kitsune have my wrists and ankles tied together and are hoisting me up between the three of them. Akaria is standing back, watching them with an amused look on her face.

"So what will you do now?" I ask her.

"I'll follow you at a distance," she explains. "I like to watch. Then, when they let you go, we can continue your adventure together!"

"And what will you do?" I ask the kitsune.

"Carry you home," the blue-haired one says, "take turns with you, offer you to our chieftainess, and then share you with our whole tribe. Now, let's get moving."

"He likes it rough," Akaria calls after us as they carry me away.

* * *

"And then," concludes the black-haired kitsune, "once I climax a third time, I'll move from your hips to your--"

"Arva, that's enough," says the blue-haired one. "You have spent the last half-hour talking him to death."

"What Raen means," cut in the brown-haired kitsune, "is that it'll be more fun if you surprise him. He'll react more if he doesn't expect what you're planning."

"Oh, like that thing you do with your tail, Reska?" Arva asks the brown-haired Fox Girl.

"Arva!" Reska flushes. "Don't spoil the surprise!"

Even Raen, the more sullen, blue-haired Fox Girl cracks a smile at the back and forth between Arva and Reska. I lay still in their clutches, letting the three monster girls carry my body between them through the trees. They seem to know just where to go to avoid tight clusters of trees and treacherous footing. It is almost as if they can see, or perhaps smell, a path that I cannot perceive. That, and they surely know the woods better than I do. They likely grew up here. If I'm reading the sun correctly, they carry me north and west for a way, then take a turn to follow their invisible path more directly north, moving around a rise in the land and down a slope until I hear the faint trickle of a river.

We come out of the thick foliage onto a riverbank, which we follow north. I offer to walk, but the kitsune insist that I'm light enough to carry. I forget how strong monster girls are. The river continues north, but also branches off to the northeast. We follow this offshoot to where it terminates at a natural pond of sorts, flanked by low hills. On and around these hills are small but sturdy little houses, built in clusters.

"Welcome home, sweetie," Reska purrs in my ear.

"Let's take him to my hut," Raen offers. "We'll have our fun with him there before we share him with the others."

"You know," I say, my heart beating a bit faster, "Akaria was kidding, I don't like rough sex all that much."

"That's too bad," Raen says, "because we do, and you have no choice in the matter."

This resolute response silences me, but my nervousness is mounting. They could do anything to me. Sure, Akaria would save me, but what if she's not fast enough? What if they decide to hurt me, just for fun? Kitsune aren't like that though, are they? 

"Relax, little one," Arva soothes. "It'll be fun, I promise. Especially if you're good with your tongue," she adds with an eager little fox-noise of anticipation.

"Kitsune don't torture," Reska explains as the trio carries me through the door of a waterfront hut, "not in the extreme sense anyway. A little scratching and biting, maybe a spanking if you're a bad boy, but nothing like an Entangler might do to you." 

"Speaking of which," Raen asks, "shall we get to it, then?"

The hut is not lavishly furnished. A small fireplace below a smoke-hole in the ceiling, a table and two chairs, a wooden chest, and a bed of furs comprise much of the adornments. I'm laid on the fur blankets of the bed and my clothes are pulled away, ripped apart so they might be removed while my limbs remain bound. Unable to contain herself, Arva lets out an eager growl and seizes my manhood, holding it in a tight grip and pumping her fist up and down furiously. I throw back my head and moan with the sudden and unexpected pleasure.

"Arva," protests Reska, "I caught him first, I get him first!"

"He has other means of pleasing us besides that one," points out Raen, now a bit more visibly excited than her earlier mood suggested.

Arva squeals with glee and disrobes in a hurry. The other two kitsune do the same, revealing their athletic, attractive bodies. Reska moves astride my hips, straddling me and smiling down at my captive form. Free from her shirt, her large breasts sway gently when she breathes. It is mesmerizing. Reska seizes my erect shaft in her right hand. Her fist wraps around my erection, squeezing it tight. She raises her left hand to her mouth and runs her tongue over her fingers, thoroughly moistening them before lowering her fingertips to the head of my shaft, lubricating it with her saliva. I let out a little whimper, the light caress of her wet fingertips feels fantastic. She moves her fingers down my shaft, lubricating every inch.

"By the Goddess," Arva giggles, "I love to watch you work, Reska."

"She does certainly have a way with the males," Raen observes.

"We all have our way with the males," Reska laughs, before slowly easing my manhood between her thighs.

At the same time, Arden comes forward and steps over me, positioning herself astride my face. I squirm a bit, mostly from excitement, but she easily holds me in place with her thighs, encircling my head with her strong legs. Her hands seize fistfuls of my hair and hold on as if my hair was reins while she begins to thrust her hips against me. I open my mouth and gently lick between her lower lips, tasting her sweet nectar. All at once, Reska stops the slow process of sliding my erection into her in favor of suddenly impaling herself down its full length, squeezing it in her hot inner depths. I let out a wild scream of ecstasy, my tongue plunging into Arva, who begins thrusting her hips even faster.




The Escapist Ch. 03



It's as if the two kitsune are working in tandem, thrusting their hips in a perfect synchronization to keep my hips arching and my tongue plunging upward, flicking back and forth inside Arva. Reska lets out a loud growl that turns into a howl when she climaxes, and I feel the warmth of her climactic fluid wash over my manhood. It is a welcome heat. Arva is soon to follow, and I taste her sweetness with eager lapping of my tongue, licking her clean. The tired Fox Girl staggers off of me and curls up contentedly on the blankets. For all her talk, she is soon asleep, curled up in a ball, her tail twitching on occasion.

"My turn, boy," Raen all but hisses, crawling over me. "Reska, if you would, do that thing with your tail that will make him squirm."

While Raen sits astride my hips, Reska runs her soft, fluffy tail over my left thigh, then down between my legs. I wriggle in my restraints when her tail brushes against my testicles, but I let out a full-on laugh when she twitches the tip of her tail against me, just behind my scrotum. This makes Raen smile and encourages Reska to continue switching her tail back and forth, tickling me ferociously. I laugh long and loud, writhing under Raen, who pins me down with her hands on my chest whilst simultaneously thrusting herself down onto my shaft. The multitude of sensations is overwhelming: the tickling in my most sensitive area, the tightness of Raen's inner walls, and the helplessness of my restraints. I erupt to a climax inside Raen, panting and gasping in wild desperate lust.

"Yes, that's a good boy," Raen coos, gasping in her own pleasure.

Reska reaches her tail up and flicks it across Raen's breasts. The blue-haired kitsune shivers and giggles, letting out a howl of pleasure when Reska continues her efforts to tickle Raen's sensitive breasts. I lay still, catching my breath as the two female kitsune collapse into a heap together, kissing feverishly and fondling each other with lust-fueled vigor. Reska ends up laying on top of Rain, their legs entwined, their tails flicking across each other's exposed, naked bodies. As I watch, Reska kisses up Raen's neck and at last presses her lips to her fellow kitsune's mouth. Their mouths open, their tongues battling, the two monster girls moan eagerly, their breasts pressed firmly together.

"Cute isn't it," mumbles a sleepy Arva, cuddling against me. "They get to going at it like this all the time."

"It's... certainly a show," I chuckle.

"Yes," Raen cries out when Reska sinks her teeth into the blue-haired kitsune's collarbone, "oh by the Goddess, yes!"

"Should we uh... keep watching?" I ask.

"They like it when we watch," Arva replies, snuggling up close with me.

I curl up with the excitable kitsune and we watch her two companions ravish each other. My manhood stiffens, pressing against Arva's backside. She wiggles against me, only succeeding in making me harder. She gives an exited, fox-like "yip," pressing herself back against me. I normally don't take the initiative, but in this case, how can I help it? Arva lifts her tail and I guide the head of my member into her, pushing in slowly, listening to Arva's "yips" growing louder. Soon, I'm all of the way inside her and she is laying flat on her belly, and I begin to ride her, slowly at first, driving my shaft deep inside her. She is so tight it borders on painful, but it is just the perfect mix of pleasure and pain. I gather speed, growing faster with each thrust until I'm pounding away at Arva's ass. She is clawing and biting at the blankets, arching her hips up against me until I reach a climax inside her, one wave of pleasure after another coursing down the length of my shaft, nearly debilitating me with the tingling sensation of orgasm. I pull out of Arva and collapse back on the bed, ready to get some sleep, only to be pounced upon by Reska and Raen.

"You got Arva's ass," Reska whispers, her soft lips brushing my ear, "now we get yours, boy."

"Please be gentle," I manage, before Raen envelops my mouth in a violent kiss.

Reska nuzzles at my neck as her right hand eases under me, moving down my back. I tense up in anticipation, not certain I'll enjoy this next part.

"Wait," Reska exclaims, withdrawing her hand.

"What is it?" Raen asks.

Reska nuzzles at my neck again, sniffing my skin. Raen does the same and Arva, though once again exhausted, is soon to follow.

"He smells like Lady Murara," Arva exclaims.

"Who?" I demand.

"Our chieftainess," Raen explains.

In no time, the trio is clothed once again and hurrying me out the door, allowing me only the decency of a blanket wrapped about my waist. I'm confused, and more than a bit alarmed as the three kitsune hustle me through the clusters of huts, up a low hill toward a larger house. By now, a clamor has risen and my three-person escort has become a rather large mob of Fox Girls. Yet none of them will tell me just what is going on. Am I in trouble? Have I done something wrong? My palms sweat, my steps falter, and Reska has to push me the last few steps up the hill, where their chieftainess stands to meet us, drawn out of her home by the sound of our approach.

"Male," Reska addresses me, "I present you to Lady Murara Silvermane, ruler of this clan."

My mind freezes for a moment at that. Silvermane... my surname. I stare at the kitsune before me, taller than the rest though still shorter than me. She wears sandals and an elegant robe, tied at the waist with a cloth sash. Rather than one fluffy fox tail, this kitsune sports three. Her hair is long and silver, and her eyes... are familiar. I'd know them anywhere. I see them every time I catch my own reflection in the mirror or in the surface of water. Murara sniffs the air, eyes me, and smiles.

"You found me at last," she says in a calm, tranquil voice.

"I did not know I was meant to be searching, but I'm happy to find you... Mother." The last word struggles over the rising lump in my throat.

"You have many questions, I'm sure," she observes, beckoning me forward with a wave of her hand. "I'll do what I can to answer them, little Devlin."

"Thank you, Mother," I say, and follow her into her home.