Moriko did her best not to growl as she stalked into the dungeon, if for no other reason than to avoid breathing more than his was all that damn pervert dungeon’s fault. Soil, rock, and pnt samples? Sure. Capture some animals? Got it, even if the 30 lb wild cat tied up in her backpack had been iing to secure, despite being caught on a snare. She had to use her shirt belt to muzzle the damn thing though, its scream was ear-pierg. Get all sorts of bug samples? Eh, a little gross at times, but nothing that really bothered her. No, it was the gods-damned-bats.

  She khe basics, bats liked to tuck themselves away into small caves. Took some searg, but the dungeorance was against the foothills to a mountain range, so little caves weren’t too unon. No, what no one had warned about was the mess, and the smell. And it was on her, and permeating her clothes. Even if ed, she wasn’t sure if her uniform would ever stop stinking again. “MORDECAI! You owe me!” She yelled out as she turowards the tables he entrance, and pced the offending sack there. Despite her own annoyahe half elf was still gehere was no reason to abuse the creatures. It wasn’t their fault. No, she’d save any abuse for Mordecai.

  The bag and bindings disappeared, leaving two startled, wary looking bats that suddenly cocked their heads, as if hearing things. A momehey took off towards a small hole he top of a wall that Moriko retty certain wasn’t there a little while before. And why did she suddenly know that their names were Freya and Belle? Oh, they must be guests of the dungeon now.

  Well, they were paying attention, so she started unloading her bags and pouches as fast as she could, when she felt the air stir behind her, and Mordecai said “Here, let me help you with that.” As he took pouches and straps off of her, he gave no indication that he was affected by the smell, though he gave away the reality when he spoke to the air. “Kazue, could you do us a favor and draw her a bath? I think you should maybe alter her bathroom a touch too, a hot springs design to have stantly flowing water. And maybe give me a hand whe there?”

  Moriko gred at him. “Do you really think that’s going to be enough to soothe me?” Okay, it might help, but she wasn’t going to actually admit that dammit. She wao be angry at Mordecai. Oh by the nine hells, he was smiling at her – no, worse, he was slightly smirking. With his breadth of experience, he obviously already uood her well enough to uand that her anger simply did not run as hot and deep as the mo it should, and was certain he could just soothe it away. But she wasn’t giving in that easily!

  The backpack was the st to be unloaded. When it was taken by the dungeon, the angry feline inside bouo its feet, pointed ears sweeping back as it let off that shrill scream, only to stop as it adopted the same body nguage as the bats. The gracefully leapt from the table and walked over to a wall, where she s it a moment before deg to ehe newly opeunnel. Okay, the suddenly having names bit and knowing them was weird. None of the other small creatures she’d brought it got names, and most of them made their way out instead. Pnts and small is seem to be regarded as more ‘stuff’ thaures that could make a choice.

  Kazue’s voice came to both of them over the soul bond. “Ah, mm, Okay, I have the bath ready and stuff, but, for helping, you mean, like, directly bathing?” Moriko could practically hear the little Kitsune blushing and was going to wave her off gently when Mordecai spoke first, chiding a touch.

  “e on now, while this might be mostly my fault, it did be you too; also she is your wife as well as mine, which means you help take care of her whether or not it was your fault or if you are entirely fortable. You don’t have to be hough, just ge your clothes, they are part of your avatar and you use your own loot anyway, so long as you aren't leaving the dungeon. Speaking of,” He eyed Moriko critically. “Let’s just take those into iory, and give you a robe for the moment.” She could feel Kazue acquiesce, though the reluce just felt like more of her shyness and uainty than actually not wanting to.

  Moriko allowed him to strip her, as she hardly wao touch herself, and her clothing quickly disappeared. She shrugged on the offered robe, which he had jured for her in a nice pale green jade, gave him anre, then started stalking toward the back of the dungeon.

  “Let’s go take the challenge route, it’s still just a corridor on the sed level.” He said from behind her, and the doors were already reag to the dungeon’s will. Fihey walked in silence for a while, until he said softly. “Thank you for everything. And I think you should take tomorrow off from helping us. You’ve already done a lot, and you want to get going the day after I believe; so why not just have a rexing day first?”

  “Hmmp.” was her reply, though she did gnce back at him. The man was making it very hard to actually stay mad at him. That was mildly frustrating because she wao be angry, she didn’t like how she felt after that trip into the cave, and it was his suggestion to go find bats after all. “You still owe me a spar, so we’ll do that tomorrow then.”

  She heard him chuckle behind her. “Alright, I’ll be your pung bag ... though be warhis bag punches back. And I might have a few surprises in store for you as well.” That sounded iing, she wondered what he to. Well, she wasn’t going to ask him now, that would have to wait for tomorrow.

  Moriko’s determination to be mad didn’t st much longer, as they finally made it to her private room, where Kazue was waiting with various jured sers and perfumes. The younger woman was sweet, but cutely awkward when Moriko just simply let her robe slide to the floor as she walked into the now oversized and sunken bath. She let the hot water begin to wash over her and take the st and filth away. Mordecai showed his worth shortly thereafter, slipping in after her with a scrub brush and a floating board with a sele of soaps and lotions, though wearing small clothes, to not overwhelm the shy kitsune. Kazue was wearing a lightweight, dark-colored shift for her own modesty as she settled in behind Moriko, to focus on the monk’s hair.

  The two of them spent most of an hour pampering her, and making her world feel right again. She could almost pretend that the worst of the day had not happehere was ohing though… Moriko cracked her eyes open to give Mordecai a nguid look. “Oopic of keeping things fair and banced, I do believe I noticed something earlier, and I certainly don’t want to feel left out.” She turned lightly ier to face Kazue, who had been cuddled up against her back. “I think it’s my turn.” The half-elf said with a slightly wicked smile, pausing long enough to give Kazue a ce to escape or protest if she wao, then leaned in to steal a long kiss herself.

  Kazue felt Moriko’s shifting mood before she’d even moved, and knew what was ing even before their gazes met. Her heart pounded, and part of her started to panic again, but that part lost to the curious part of her heart: So she closed her eyes a herself get lost into the kiss. Still sweet and soft, but huhatle kisses they'd shared before, and it left her gasping when the kiss finally broke.

  She had trouble fog her eyes for a moment, but instinctively turo meet Mordecai as he murmured “I do think I should have aurn here.” Gods she was drowning iwo of them, her mind lost in a whirlwind of emotions and half-formed thoughts. The two of them made her feel like a toy being pyed with by a pair of wicked cats, and she couldn’t form anything resembling an obje as she surreo it.

  Then suddenly it was over, and Kazue grasped onto the side of pool. “What?” She asked, trying to figure out what had happened. Both of them had pulled bad were sitting a little bit apart, watg her. “I, um, why did you stop?” Part of her was beginning to panic at the thought she’d done something wrong, but she was colleg her thoughts and awareness enough to make out the gentle smiles they were wearing, and the hum of their emotions. They were waiting on her. On her for what?

  “Oh, you were quite fun and eager,” Moriko purred, “But I think the two of us are on the same page here love. You were surrendering, not deg.”

  Mordeodded, gng at Moriko and then back to Kazue. “Exactly. You needed a breather. And,” He paused while trying to find the exact words, then tinued slowly. “I am sorry, but you don’t get the easy out here. We need you to be a partoo much. You ’t just give in when we press. You have to decide with words. You have to be able to make it your decision, not just accept ours.”

  Damn it. And she felt a moment of guilt, her mind fshing back to certain books where the heroi to do exactly that. “I wasly saying no there.” She muttered, looking down at the water and spshing it about briefly. She gnced back up at them after a moment and found them sympathetid uanding, but unwavering. If she didn’t actually cross the line herself, her of them was going to carry her across it. And Kazue was beginning to suspect that it wasn’t going to get any easier than this moment.

  Fine.

  Taking a breath, she stood up as tall as she could, taking full advantage of her shortstack figure and the weight of her water-den shift. “Have it your way then.” She felt an ued surge of freedom and a touch of wiess as she swished her tail. “But I get to have a bit of my fantasy too. And it’s a shame how easily a wet dress could be ripped by a brute.” Oh goddess had she just said that? Her surge of freedom and ce tried to colpse, but she forced herself to stand there and did her best to not tremble.

  She saw Mordecai get it only a split sed before Moriko did. And it may have made her a bit more nervous that they g each other and exged nods before looking at her with predatrins. They looked like they wao eat her alive, but Kazue wasn’t going to run from them, or herself.

  It wasn’t quite as perfect a night as those books she’d enjoyed had suggested, but those kinds of books always exaggerate. It was still the best night of her life so far. Either of her lives

  It was a little over an hour ter when Mordecai maed his avatar ba the tral chamber. Most of that time had bee pying up to Kazue’s fantasy and givihe build-up she’d craved. He and Moriko had gently and pyfully teased her, taking their time to make it as best an experience for Kazue as possible, and now the two of them were curled up asleep on the bed.

  Well, only Moriko was actually asleep. Kazue was sleeping more out of habit. Internal avatars didn’t need rest, though ied ones needed food a even when in their own dungeon. Still, Kazue was emotionally exhausted, so he didn’t disturb her either. Time to get a bit of dungeon work in himself.

  Mmm, now he couldn’t reshape the dungeon at all yet, but the inhabitants and guests he could work with to aent. Let’s start with Menhit. The caracal cat had been a surprise; they normally preferred drier enviros, but there were scrub nds oher side of the mountain range. So, it wasn’t too improbable that petition had driven her here, especially as she regnant. He didn’t have a pn for her, but he offered her a ce to be an inhabitant, formuting a few cepts as best as he could for what her mind could uand. When the wild cat accepted, he fed her a gentle flow of mana to gradually ease and accelerate her pregnancy, leaving her with a litter of healthy cubs and maing a staeat for her to devour. The cubs would grow up only a little faster than normal and would have the ce to bee inhabitants ter.

  The bats he left alone for now. He had wahem for design purposes and to be part of the ecology, but didn’t have any iion of evolving them into something else, so he left them aloill, he reciative of how Kazue had instinctively made homes for everyohout really thinking about it. She was growing quite fast and he couldn’t be more pleased.

  There was quite the sele of lesser creatures avaible to them now; and even though some of those creatures had left, the core had been able to examihem first. Now he could use their physiology for fresh design pns for the dungeon inhabitants. So, he took his time s through what the core had learned, f a few ideas. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy this. And he could put the pns together himself, but it would be good practice for Kazue. Besides, he retty certain she’d enjoy making them.

  Mm, and he also wanted some input on his part of the sed level from Moriko. So he settled himself in to wait until they were both awake.

  Zagaroth