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Odyssey

Written By: Skabaard

"So, what all have you got in there?" Valorie asked Dawn, pointing to the pack the apprentice carried over her shoulder. The pair of them walked casually through the gradually crowding streets of Southcliff. Or, at least, Valorie walked casually. For each of the equine woman's long strides, Dawn had to take more than two, and Valorie slowed her pace to a crawl to let the apprentice catch up.

Dawn gave Valorie an appreciative look, moving up to walk beside her. She slid the pack off of her back and tossed it up to the equine, who caught it easily. "Look for yourself. I think I brought everything we'd need though, why?"

Valorie shrugged, opening the pack to peer inside. "I was wondering if we'd need to stop by my place to pick anything up before we left Southcliff." She grunted with surprise when she stuck her arm in the pack, and it slid up to her shoulder. "Oh, it's one of those! I guess we don't have to worry about running out of room in here. I- what's wrong?"

Dawn had stopped in her tracks, and Valorie spun to face her, the sun glinting off of the mirrored surface of the armor she wore. The apprentice's mouth was hanging open and she stared at Valorie. "You have a house in Southcliff? And you never told me?"

"Of course I do!" Valorie said, leveling Dawn with an incredulous stare. "Where do you think I am when I'm not with you and Daryn or serving someone their ass on a silver platter?" She went back, taking Dawn's hand in her own and returning to her the pack. "It's nothing special, though. I'd much rather be with you than sitting around doing nothing." She started walking again, pulling Dawn along beside her.

The life poured back into the apprentice's legs, and she sped up, matching Valorie's pace. "Can we go see it before we leave?" she asked earnestly. "I... I'd really like to see it, if we could."

"I don't see why not." Valorie said blithely, "It's not as if we're in a terrible hurry or anything... what with world-changing events spiraling out of control and all that."

Dawn looked crestfallen. "You're right. Sorry. I just got excited, that's all."

"Oh, come on, Dawn." Valorie said amiably. "You can't give up so quickly. My place isn't too far out of the way; we can peek in for a minute or two. I think the world will still be there to save when we leave." She glanced down at Dawn with a smile. "But what do I know."

Practically squealing with delight, Dawn bounced giddily on the balls of her feet as Valorie took a short detour from the main thoroughfare, leading the ecstatic apprentice down a smaller side street, taking a few turns, eventually winding up in front of a sturdy-looking two-story structure. Valorie waved greetings to a several people she knew, a few of them equine morphs, like herself.

"Up the stairs on the right." Valorie said as she prodded Dawn forward. "I've got the second floor to myself." The equine practically pushed the apprentice up the stairs, leaving them standing before a large wooden door. "You know what?" Valorie said with a hint of embarrassment. "My key is a zillion miles away from here, under a tree I never want to see again... Um..."

Dawn chuckled and muttered a few short words under her breath. There was a gentle blue glow surrounding the lock on Valorie's door, then a soft rasping click. She turned the knob, and pushed the door open. "How fortunate, then, that it's unlocked." she said wryly.

"Cheater..." Valorie mumbled as she gently pushed Dawn into the dark room. The equine navigated the familiar space, moving to the windows and throwing open the heavy drapes, letting the morning sun pour into the room. The furnishings of the space were simple, but well made, and all sized for someone of Valorie's stature. The small fireplace on the outside wall was cold and dark, but a tall stack of firewood was stacked against its side. "Home sweet home... Sorry about the dust." Valorie said as she pulled a sturdy wooden chair from under a table and sank into it, her armor ringing as it rattled against itself. "I haven't been home to clean in a few months."

The apprentice couldn't wipe the excited grin from her face. She stepped lightly around the oversized room, glancing briefly at the mementos Valorie had hung from her walls. There was a small bookshelf, at least compared to the rest of the furniture, sitting placidly next to a simple desk. Dawn went to it, sliding a book at random from its shelves. "I didn't take you for an academic." teased the apprentice

Valorie scoffed. "I am most certainly not!" sniffed the equine in feigned insult. "But there are books that contain things other than spells. Most of those are novels, but the thin ones are my journals."

"You write in journals?" Dawn asked skeptically.

The equine shifted nervously in her chair. "Yes..." she muttered defensively. "Is there something wrong with that? I've been a lot of places and seen a lot of things, not all of them otherworldly horrors, so I started to write things down during my off time. I've been thinking that I should write a book."

Dawn gingerly opened the thin journal in her hands, flipping to the first page. "The Procedure..." she read aloud, "It's done! I finally went through with it! I was scared shitless half the time, but it was worth it! I feel so good, and the things I can do now I can hardly believe." Dawn glanced up at Valorie, but the equine just gestured for her to go on.

"I don't know why everyone treats the Archmage like he's some fire-breathing dragon that's going to bite their heads off. He's amazing! The feeling you get when he walks into a room, it's like he fills the space with just his presence, and his eyes make your insides turn to ice when he looks at you. I could understand it seeming intimidating, but he's so kind and gentle. All you'd have to do is talk to him and you'd know that he's the kind of person that would help you no matter what.

I get the feeling that he's lonely though. The way he was looking at me before I left, his eyes were practically begging me not to go. I don't get it. He's handsome... tall and confident. He's friendly, but distant, like he's afraid of something. Maybe it's a wizard thing; his apprentice looked the same way for some of the time." Dawn hesitated, but Valorie urged her onward.

Taking a steadying breath, Dawn read on. "Being absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous must also be a wizard thing. Every time that girl moved, I thought my heart would explode. She is, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature I've ever laid my eyes on. Ichor! What she must have seen me doing in that Gods damned bathroom! She must think I'm some sex-crazed slut. I was laying there in a puddle of who-knows-what with my hand shoved as far up my twat as it would go. I've never been more humiliated in my life!

But you know what? I am not about to let the stop me from going back there as soon as I can. I mean, fuck, I've already orgasmed in front of both of them, right? What else could I possibly do to embarrass myself any more than I already have? Maybe they both need to know that there is at least one other person in this world that is capable of calling them friends.

And I am definitely not going to go to my grave without talking to the Archmage's apprentice, Dawn, I think her name was, one more time. It breaks my heart to write this, but I don't think she realizes how completely breathtaking she really is. But don't worry, because if she lets me, I am going to explain it to her, one word at a time."

With trembling fingers, Dawn shut the journal. She sniffed as she wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Valorie rose from her chair, stepping quietly over to kneel next to the apprentice. "Don't worry." Valorie whispered into Dawn ear before she pressed her lips against the apprentice's cheek. "I just go on to say, in great detail, how I'll talk you out of your robes so I can show you how talented my tongue really is. I... I was still a little excited from my transformation when I wrote it."

Dawn laughed gently, and replaced the journal on the book shelf. Valorie questioned her sudden levity, and Dawn responded slowly. "It's just... you have such girly handwriting."

Valorie looked at her blankly. "Well, I'm glad that's finally been confirmed, my vagina has been doubting itself... what with its new upstairs neighbor and all."

Slipping away from Valorie, Dawn smiled and ventured further into the equine's quarters, walking through a door that led into another room. "Gods!" came Dawn's voice from around the corner. "This bed is huge!"

Valorie's hand went to her face. "I don't know what you expected!" she called in return.

"I mean... I expected a bed, but..." Dawn voice paused. "Gods, the things I could do to you in this bed!"

Letting out a flustered groan, Valorie returned to her booted feet and tracked Dawn into her bedroom. Dawn was lying spread-eagle on the blankets, her face buried in Valorie's pillow. "This might be getting a little bit silly." Valorie said to the prone apprentice.

"What?" Dawn replied innocently. "It smells like you."

Valorie chuckled and reached down, plucking Dawn from her bed in a powerful arm. "You know what else smells like me?" she asked. "Me. And I'm sure you'll get sick of the smell of sweaty horse while we're tramping through the jungle, so try not to burn yourself out on me too fast." Valorie carried Dawn easily back through her home and out the door, making sure to grab their pack before she locked it behind them, shutting it securely. "Now let's get gone before the sun sets and we're still in Southcliff."

"Alright, alright. Give me a minute." Dawn grumbled. "And put me down!" After Valorie had set her on her feet with some reluctance, she stepped up to the door, placing a hand on it and mumbling a long string of words that Valorie couldn't quite make out. Dawn paused for a short moment, then stepped back, giving Valorie's home a satisfied nod. "Okay, now I'm ready, let's go!"

Valorie gave her a suspicious look. "What did you do?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well it would have been easier to do from the inside, but someone wasn't having any of that." Dawn answered. "Relax, just a warding, to protect it while you're away." she grinned up at the equine. "I may have also copied all of your journals into one of the blank books in the pack. I need something to do while I'm waiting for you to get up in the morning."

Rubbing her temples with a thumb and forefinger, Valorie forced a smile onto her short, equine muzzle. "Okay then... I hope my internal monologue doesn't bore you to death."

As Dawn started down the stairs with Valorie in tow, she let out a pleased sigh, "What can I say. I must be easily amused. Besides, I want to find out what you would have done to me if I had gone to see you that night."

Valorie twitched, her footing faltering, and she stumbled down the last few steps to land heavily on her sturdy boots. "What's wrong?" Dawn chided, "Something breaking your concentration?"

Her dark green cloak swirled around Valorie's shoulders as she readjusted her balance. She shot Dawn an annoyed glance. "Hush, you. Or I'll show you what I would have done if I had seen you again that night."

At this, the apprentice raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Is that a guarantee?" she mused aloud with an impish smile. Valorie just rolled her eyes, taking Dawn's arm and hauling the still grinning apprentice behind her.

Nearly two hours passed before the pair made to Southcliff's eastern gate, the crowded streets of the metropolis slowing their progress significantly. Valorie had resisted the urge to shove herself through the dense crowds. Despite the imposing figure she cut, the sunlight glinting brilliantly off of her dragonsilver armor, and her towering stature, it still seemed that some people had nothing better to do than get in her way. She was fuming silently by the time she was passing under the massive arched gateway, being watched cautiously by the guards on duty at the gate.

Suddenly, a deafening crack, like a clap of thunder, split the air around them, powerful enough to leave Valorie's armor ringing dully from the shockwave. As one, everyone at the gate, both coming and going, stopped, some clutching their hands over their ears from the volume of it. One by one, each person that Valorie could see, guard and commoner alike, raised their heads to stair up at something behind her. She turned, tracing their lines of sight up to where the sound had originated.

Valorie gaped open-mouthed. Sitting like a slumbering beast on its hill, she had never realized how imposing the cold, grey walls and towering spires of the Archmage's complex really were. The silence following so tremendous a noise was equally deafening, and it felt to Valorie that the entire city had frozen in time, as if waiting judgment from an angry god.

When fire didn't fall from the heavens to strike everyone dead, people reluctantly began to move, life slowly returning to the stunned city. The guards shouted for people to move along, and the lines gradually started to filter through the gates once more. The guards looked glad to see Valorie leaving, as if pleased to see someone who looked like they were girded for war was taking the war elsewhere, and they eagerly waved her onward after giving her and Dawn a cursory glance.

When they were free of the press of people entering and leaving the city, Dawn stepped to the side of the well-traveled road, leaning down to Dawn's ear. "What the actual fucking shit was that?!" she asked the apprentice in a harsh whisper.

Dawn gave her head an innocent shake. "I don't know!" she answered in shocked awe. "That had to have come from the Sanctum, but an explosion strong enough to be heard so violently across the whole city should have been contained by the walls. Daryn himself spelled enough magic into that stone to contain an enraged elemental, and not one of the little ones, either."

Valorie looked worried. "Should we go back? Maybe he's in trouble."

"I promise you," Dawn said with another shake of her head, "if the Archmage got into unexpected trouble and couldn't find a way out of it, especially with the help of a dragon, there would be nothing either of us could do." She clenched her fingers around Valorie's with a worried look. "It's best that we go on. Daryn needs us elsewhere."

Swallowing noisily, Valorie nodded and returned the comforting pressure the apprentice was applying to her fingers. "Then let's move. We should be able to make better time on the road than in the city." Dawn smiled in reply and gestured for the equine woman to take the lead, adjusting the pack's slight weight on her shoulders.

The first few days of their journey were, unexpectedly, the easiest, with only one incident standing out in Valorie's memory. They had been passing through a small village when a particularly grabby lizard morph, his scales a muted, iridescent green, had made a pass at Dawn's ample rear as they walked by. Valorie had turned when Dawn had let out her surprised yelp, but had no more time to react when, with the apprentice's whispered word, the lizard's eyes had shot open wide and he had fallen over with a choked groan, visibly unharmed but unconscious.

The lizard was lucky Dawn had just put him to sleep. Valorie had not planned on being so gentle. It had taken several hours for the equine to quiet her indignant anger, and it had still been simmering in her belly when she and Dawn had made camp that night. But the next morning saw the dawn of a new day, and Valorie tried to put it behind her, still vowing to be more watchful from then on.

A total of six days passed since they had left Southcliff, and the road to the south had grown thinner and less traveled. Dusk was nearly upon them when they reached the squat walls of a small town.

Dawn groaned when Valorie slowed to a stop, the apprentice leaning down to rub her aching calves through her dusty traveling skirt. "Can we please, for the love of all that is holy, please get a room at an inn tonight?" Dawn begged. "Sleeping with you out under the stars is all well and good, but I really... really would like a bed... and a bath."

She nearly fell over when Valorie clapped her on the back with an open, but gauntleted, palm. "I was about to suggest the same thing." the equine said cheerfully. "There's a good inn in this town, and I know the keep. I think I can get us a room, but I don't know if I trust us near any amount of hot water."

"Too sore... for a witty retort." Dawn exclaimed between exaggerated gasps. "Just go, before I have to let you carry me."

"Right away, milady." said the equine with a deep bow. "If you would just follow me."

Follow her Dawn did, and before long, the pair of them were standing before the sturdy doors of what Valorie proclaimed was "the best inn in town." The quickly waning evening sun shone dimly on the hanging sign over the doorway, displaying the name of the inn, "The Friendly Drunkard." A stylized image of a clearly inebriated man in a chair sat next to the lettering, his hand raising a foaming tankard high in toast to something.

Grinning as she pushed open the door, Valorie said to Dawn over the sounds of song from inside, "This place has the best mead. You've got to try it." They stepped inside, a few sputtering torches and a roaring fire in the large hearth providing the only light in the large common room. Most of the patrons appeared to already be well into their cups, and were focused on several people standing on a makeshift stage, singing a particularly bawdy song about a lusty dragon and a not-long-virginal princess.

"Valorie! Long time, no see!" Called a deep booming voice from behind the bar. Dawn's eyes widened when she saw its source.

"Hells, Sheb, are you still alive?" Valorie called in answer as she walked over to the bar, sliding herself heavily into a sturdy-looking stool. "I would have thought your bones would have powdered by now, as long as you've been running this joint."

The man behind the bar shifted his weight ponderously from foot to foot, rolling his eyes. Dawn still stood by the door in muted surprise, moving only slowly toward Valorie when she finally regained the use of her legs. He stood head-and-shoulders above even Valorie's impressive height, and a pair of curving bull's horns jutted from the sides of his wide, bovine head. The parts of his body that weren't hidden by his thick apron and plain linen shirt were covered in a layer of smooth, black fur that shone glossy in the dim light.

The sheer size of the bull morph shocked Dawn. His broad shoulders were easily twice as wide as Valorie's, and his entire body was covered in thick slabs of muscle so deep they put Valorie's impressive musculature to shame. They bulged restlessly under his skin, threatening, if not ever quite managing, to shred his clean, white shirt to tatters as he leaned heavily on the bar in front of him. "Ah, I have missed yer bitin' commentary." he rumbled in a drawling country accent. "What'll it be, Val? Somethin' fer you and yer little lady friend back there? I just put a fresh batch a' mead on tap."

"Actually, Sheb," Valorie said, idly tapping a gauntleted finger on the bar, "I was wondering if I could get a room for the night, provided you're up for the usual."

The huge bull shrugged his massive shoulders, not with insecurity, but in preparation. "It's a busy night, but I got a room open, and I'm always up fer a challenge, Val. I'll fetch a table; I can't have you breakin' my bar again."

He casually untied his apron, hanging it on a hook behind the bar before he stepped out into the room, moving to grab one of the larger, vacant tables, lifting it easily to set it down loudly in the center of the room. The musicians abruptly quieted down, and the attentions of everyone in the inn were suddenly on the enormous innkeeper as he moved two chairs to the table. Dawn saw the bull's lower body was no less thickly muscled than the rest of him, and he walked on a pair of clumsy-looking, cloven hooves that thudded heavily along the wooden floor.

Dawn looked up with worry at Valorie as the equine watched Sheb make his mysterious preparations. "What are you doing?!" the apprentice whispered to the equine.

With an excited grin, Valorie answered, "Getting us a room, silly. Now watch and learn." She slid from her stool, moving to seat herself in one of the chairs the innkeeper was offering her. After she was comfortable, Sheb took the other, planting himself across from her. An uneasy murmuring passed through the room as Valorie coolly removed her gauntlets with feigned disinterest. She rolled her shoulder back and forth, stretching her right arm out to the side as the bull did the same, the tendons of both of them popping ominously.

As one, they both plopped their arms down on the table, clasping hands in preparation. "On three, Val?" the bull's deep bass vibrating in his mammoth chest. Valorie nodded. "Alright then... One..." Both contestants planted their feet solidly on the floor. "Two..." They sucked in deep breaths, and the room practically vibrated with barely suppressed tension. Everyone in the room, including Dawn, leaned in, waiting with bated breaths to see who would be the victor. The apprentice felt a knot of worry roil in her gut. "Three!"

The bodies of both equine and bovine tensed suddenly, their strengths contesting each other's. The seams of the innkeepers tortured sleeves groaned only for a split second before the bull's titanic arms bulged with strain, shredding the stitches nearly instantly. His lips pulled back from his large, blocky teeth in a ferocious snarl as he tried desperately to force Valorie's hand to the table. Sheb's whole body shook with the exertion he was putting forth, the tears on his sleeves slowly inching their way up his arms as he flexed harder and harder. Dawn could count his rapid heartbeats in the veins that were throbbing furiously to the surface of his overtaxed muscles.

He was throwing everything he had at Valorie all at once, hoping to overcome her with sheer, brute force, only it wasn't working. Before they had begun, Valorie had rolled up her sleeve, and Dawn could tell from the tension in her arm that Valorie was working to keep her hand motionless, just not very hard. The equine stared placidly ahead, her breathing calm and even as she let the bull tire himself out against her immovable limb.

Eventually, the colossal innkeeper began to splutter, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Valorie's eyes focused on his own as she gave him a predatory grin. "Gotcha." she muttered to him under her breath, and with a slow, steady exhale, she forced his hand back until it hovered a few inches over the surface of the table. She let it sit there for a moment, letting the tension in the room build, and the bull's grunting grow more impassioned as he struggled to no avail against Valorie's iron grip.

With a last, seemingly small impulse, Valorie slammed the innkeeper's hand down onto the table, and the bull collapsed, panting and insensate on the smooth wooden surface. Several bar patrons jumped to their feet, but no one said a word as the clear loser slowly recovered. Taking a moment to compose himself, he straightened in his chair, looking around at his guests with a morose sigh. "Alright fellas, Valorie wins..." he said, a small, sheepish grin betraying his false depression, "Again... Looks like drinks are on th' house tonight. Just try ta go easy on the mead, it's a fresh batch."

The room erupted in boisterous, thunderous applause, and, almost as one, they charged the bar, making the innkeeper have to wade through his own patrons to begin to take orders for more drinks. Valorie watched him, laughing lightly as she kneaded the tension out of her bicep with tender fingers. She graciously accepted thanks and compliments, several people giving her friendly slaps on the back as they rushed past her to the swamped bartender, until she sat relatively alone with the shocked apprentice.

Dawn dragged a smaller chair to the table, sinking into it with limp disbelief. "How... What..." she mouthed in surprised silence.

Looking down at Dawn with a pleased grin, Valorie had to speak up over the dull roar of the excited patrons to answer. "Old Sheb thinks he's hot stuff." she explained, "So a few years back, he threw out a standing challenge. Anyone who wants to can challenge him to a little test of strength, the winner gets a free room for a day, and bragging rights, I suppose, and the loser buys the whole place drinks for the rest of the night." She opened her arms in a gesture of smug pride. "According to Sheb, I'm the only person who's tried and beat him, so people really like it when I pass through."

"But..." Dawn stammered. "Valorie, his biceps alone are bigger than my whole torso. How? How did you even...? It's not... I... What?!"

Sniffing indignantly, Valorie retorted. "What, little old me can't handle a big angry bull? I may look strong, but even then, I'm stronger than I look. Come here and take a peek." The equine hooked a booted foot around the leg of Dawn's chair, dragging the apprentice closer. She leaned down, bending her elbow and flexing powerfully. "Feel it."

"As if I haven't before?" Dawn muttered with a curious glance upward at Valorie.

The equine sighed with stressed patience. "Don't fucking grope it, Gods. Just squeeze it, give it a feel." With a reluctant breath, Dawn did as she was asked, reaching her slender fingers up to wrap them delicately around the bulging mass of Valorie's upper arm. Valorie flexed again, her muscles standing taut against her warm, chocolate brown fur, begging to be used. Dawn squeezed gently. It didn't give at all. "That's right, don't be shy. Get in there. Really dig your fingers in." Valorie encouraged.

With an impatient huff, Dawn brought her other hand up and squeezed fiercely, trying to bury her fingertips into the solid cord of muscle that made up Valorie's bicep to absolutely no effect. "Like solid rock, right?" Valorie mused. "It's crazy, I know. I guess when I got this body, my muscles got... I don't know... denser or something. Sheb could use both hands, and he'd still probably have trouble pinning me." The equine grew pensive. "Maybe I should suggest that, it might even the odds a little, as if he'd be willing to make it "unfair."

During this time, the patrons had slowly filtered back to their seats, carrying fresh mugs of their preferred drink, and the innkeeper thudded back up to the table, once more wrapped in his apron. He tossed a brass key to Valorie, saying, "One of these days, Val, you'll be buyin' my drinks. But 'til then, yer room'll be waitin'. Let me or one of th' girls know if we can get you ladies anythin'."

Valorie politely requested mead, reclining in her chair as the bull plodded off to fill the order. "So," said Valorie, her voice chipper, "what are my "little lady's" plans for the evening?"

Placing a tired hand on the equine's knee, Dawn let it sit there for a moment before she answered. "First I'd like something to eat, something hot, preferably. Then I will go to bed, and maybe even sleep in later than you, for once." She paused to let a tawny-furred cat morph in a crisp white apron deliver to Valorie her drink, provoking an appreciative nod from the equine. "Although," the apprentice muttered intimately when they were alone again, "If a hot bath and a full-body massage were to work their way in between the two, I wouldn't argue."

Valorie let out a sigh, full of feigned defeat. "Damn." she grumbled forlornly, "I was hoping to get you hammered so I could just carry you up to the room and talk you into letting me ravish you."

"Oh no you don't." Dawn said in warning. "If there is going to be any ravishing done, I'm going to be in full command of my faculties, thank you very much."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Valorie said with a playful smirk. The equine beckoned to one of the white-aproned servers, inquiring jovially as to the availability of a hot meal. The familiar feline gave Valorie a low curtsy before sashaying away to the kitchen.

Dawn wasn't sure whether or not the dinner that was provided was delicious because it tasted amazing, or solely because it wasn't cold and dry, like much of what the apprentice had been living on over the past few days. "Maybe I am a spoiled city girl," the young woman mumbled around a mouthful of warm, yeasty bread, "but I thought I was going to shrivel up from malnutrition. I don't know how people do it."

With a mischievous glance over the rim of her cup, Valorie took a sip of her drink, washing down a bite of spicy potatoes. "I can confirm that," she assured the apprentice, "it's usually not because travelers like the taste of jerky, crackers, and stale water. And besides," she muttered confidentially under her breath, "You're hardly shriveling. If anything, you're just filling out. I for one like your new legs. They're getting even sexier." Valorie slipped a hand down to affectionately grasp the apprentice's thigh, which had grown marginally more defined after nearly a week of constant walking.

"And sore..." Dawn groaned. "Maybe if you didn't make me jog to keep up half the time..."

"Come on! It's good for you!" Valorie responded, pushing her empty plate away and resting her hands contentedly on her stomach. "But you're right, of course. Overtaxing yourself is unhealthy, and can hurt you in the long run. I... I'm sorry for being so inconsiderate." She sobered quickly, staring at nothing as she twined her fingers together, knotting them in concern. "I guess I just want to get this all over with. I'm afraid, Dawn, worried about what's happening, and not thinking straight. Please forgive me."

Dawn pushed her own empty plate toward the center of the table, taking the hand Valorie had laid on her leg up in her fingers as she rose to her feet. "It's alright, Val." she said soothingly, "I'm just complaining for its own sake; don't listen to me." She tugged on the equine's arm, urging her to her feet. "Come on, let's go see our room, I feel like I've forgotten what a real bed looks like."

Before she rose to her feet, Valorie gave Dawn's fingers an appreciative squeeze and favored the apprentice with a small, private smile. 'Yeah, hopefully we got one of the larger rooms, so I can really stretch out. Here, the stairs are down that hallway." Valorie nodded to the bull behind the bar as they walked past, and the equine led Dawn up a short flight of stairs and down another hallway until they found the room that was decorated with the same number that adorned the small, brass key Valorie held in her hand.

Opening the door, the two women stepped into the room. It was fairly large for a room at an inn, but cramped with equally large furniture. "Yes! We can both sleep in the bed this time!" cried the equine with excitement. A window covered with heavy drapes was set into the far wall, under which sat a table and a couple chairs. Against one of the other walls was pushed a low, sturdy bed that could have easily held a half-dozen people, and it looked like even Valorie would be comfortable in it.

Dawn walked past Valorie into the room, setting the pack on the table before letting herself drop heavily onto the edge of the bed. Hiking the fabric of her dark grey skirt up her legs, the apprentice began to unlace her sturdy boots. "Ah..." she sighed as she peeled the leather from her calves, freeing her dainty feet from their dark prison. "That feels so much better." She slipped her socks off, wriggling her delicate toes through the open air with another enthusiastic sigh.

Letting her feet rest weightlessly on the floor, the apprentice let herself fall backward onto the soft mattress. Valorie laughed, stepping forward to look down her muzzle at her, the equine's long ears swiveling attentively toward her. "You may want to at least make it all the way onto the bed before you give up entirely." she said with an amused grin.

"Who says I've given up?" asked the apprentice with innocence. "I'm just... mentally preparing myself for the ordeal of going back down there to ask for some hot water to be sent up here."

Valorie sank into a chair with a satisfied groan. "I would volunteer to go in your place, but I know you wouldn't trust me within a hundred feet of a tub of soapy water."

"Damn right I wouldn't, not without me there to keep you focused." The apprentice hauled herself upright once again, slapping her hands loudly on her knees as she stood back onto her abused feet. "I'll be back in a couple minutes. Just make yourself comfortable. I think I can manage to find my way back. Compared to where I live, this place is hardly a labyrinth."

Waving her away with a good-natured smile, Valorie ogled Dawn's swaying hips as she exited the room. Valorie didn't know how the apprentice managed it, but all the walking they had been doing had somehow made Dawn look even better. She couldn't wait to see what the apprentice would end up looking like at the end of their trip.

She pushed the lewd thoughts from her mind, heaving herself to her feet so she could more easily reach the buckles and straps that held her armor on. With the confidence of someone who had seen a lot of practice, she expertly divested herself of the shining dragonsilver plates, depositing them in a rough pile on the bed before covering them with the chain shirt she had worn underneath. With a casual tug, she straightened her light blue blouse on her shoulders and smoothed the wrinkles out with careful hands.

With a cursory glance, Valorie gave herself a once over, ensuring that everything was in its place. As she looked down, she suppressed an entertained chuckle. Past the impressive swell of her voluptuous bust that strained the buttons of her blouse, she couldn't help but see the intimidating bulge made in the black fabric of her pants by her flaccid, yet still enormous, member. The armored skirt she wore masked its presence fairly well, but without it, there would be no mistaking what Valorie hid inside her trousers.

She stepped over to sit on the edge of the bed with an absent-minded smile. It had been growing increasingly difficult to keep herself from a clothes-ruining erection over the past few days. Possessing genitalia-for-two had done very interesting things to Valorie's libido as of late, and Dawn's body so often pressed so tenderly into hers made her mind wander to thoughts of more carnal pleasures.

Valorie's hand drifted south to brush lightly along the strained fabric of her crotch, her sensual daydream causing the beast between her legs to stir sluggishly. Her nostrils flared around a forceful huff as she shook her head free from its fantasies. There would be time for that later, maybe she could talk Dawn into a quick morning roll-in-the-hay after they left the town. Valorie snickered. They certainly couldn't use the inn room, the sheer volume Valorie was capable of outputting saw to that, although Dawn might have a spell that could-

A rush of suspicious worry suffused Valorie's body. It had been some time since Dawn had left to see to her bath. The apprentice should have been back long before Valorie had the opportunity to slip into lewd daydreams about her. She may have just gotten caught up in a conversation with someone at the bar, but a knot of concern tightened in Valorie's gut. She stood and stepped lightly to the door, Dawn wouldn't mind if she were to check on her.

Valorie slid silently into the hallway, the tension in her body forcing her into a habitual battle-stance, knees bent, ears perked up and out. She took slow, careful steps as she listened, more than looked, for anything that seemed out of place. She froze when she heard it. Several rooms down from her own, Valorie's sensitive ears picked up a muffled sound seeping from behind the closed door of one of the smaller rooms.

Moving up to it and placing her ear against the wooden surface, Valorie listened carefully. Through the door, Valorie heard a muffled, wordless whining, punctuated occasionally by a frightened whimper. "Shut it!" Valorie heard a gruff, nasally voice exclaim quietly. "Or I'll dose you again and watch you cum yourself unconscious! I swear, if she didn't-"

The voice's tirade was cut short when with sudden violence, the locked door was splintered from its hinges and Valorie's huge shape loomed in the bared doorway. She rushed through the doorframe so quickly that the man, whose back was to the door, didn't have time to even begin to turn to face the intruder before Valorie reached out, wrapping her fingers around his neck and hauling him off the ground.

Then Valorie took the opportunity to look around the room, the man struggling weakly, choking and spluttering when Valorie's fingers tightened reflexively as cold rage filled her veins. Dawn was lying naked on the bed, trussed up like a rodeo calf, a gag shoved into her mouth. Her entire body trembled as she struggled against her bindings, but she relaxed visibly, practically going limp when her wide, amber eyes, shining golden in the lamplight, landed on Valorie.

When the man, a familiar, green-scaled, lizard morph, began to gurgle something around Valorie's fingers on his throat, the equine shook him like a ragdoll. "Quiet!" she seethed, her voice low with barely constrained violence. "I'm going to give you one sentence before I snap your neck." She squeezed her fingers for emphasis, making the lizard's thin, whip-like tail thrash through the air in terror. "I suggest you use it to tell me why I shouldn't snap your neck."

The lizard nodded fiercely, gasping in a breath when Valorie relaxed her fingers enough to allow him to wheeze, "I didn't... I-I didn't hurt her!"

Valorie glanced down at Dawn, who was writhing on the bed, mumbling something through the gag in her mouth. "If you didn't hurt her..." Valorie muttered dangerously, "Then what did you do?"

"It's just an aphrodisiac!" the lizard pleaded desperately. "I just needed her unable to cast spells! It'll wear off in an hour! I swear I wasn't going to hurt her!"

Valorie slammed her fist into the side of the lizard's face, his jaw snapping with a wet crack under the powerful blow. The lizard's body went limp in Valorie's hand, and she carelessly tossed his still body to the edge of the room, unconscious, but not dead. "I said one sentence!" Valorie spat down at him vehemently. She snorted, the tendons in her arms popping threateningly as she opened and closed her fists, considering finishing the job, but with some effort, she reigned in her fury, channeling it into concern for Dawn. She covered the distance between her and the apprentice in two huge strides and she knelt next to the bed to inspect Dawn's condition.

Electing to just snap the study ropes that bound Dawn's hands and feet behind her, rather than untie them, Valorie then pulled the gag from Dawn's mouth. The apprentice sucked in a grateful breath, giving the equine a wordless look that spoke of Dawn's relief. "I'm so sorry!" Valorie cried, "I should have gone with you! I should have been more careful! Oh Gods, I'm so sorry!" Tears shone wetly in the corners of the equine's eyes as she clutched Dawn's body to her chest, scooping the apprentice off of the bed to gently cradle her nude form.

Something was still clearly wrong, because as Valorie carried Dawn quickly back to their room, Dawn continued to writhe against her, each quick breath leaving her in a protracted whine. Valorie deposited Dawn softly in the expansive bed asking the seemingly pained apprentice what was wrong.

Dawn opened her mouth, letting out a long, amorous moan as she tried to answer. "He threw powder in-nngh!... i-in my face when I was in the hallway. It... it made everything s-so sensitive I couldn't think straight. It's just g-getting worse! Gods, my whole body feels like a giant clit... I-I'm going to cum just laying here." She twisted on the bed, rubbing her thighs together slowly, and Valorie could see that her skin was flushed a dark pink with lust and her nipples stood proudly erect as the apprentice grasped the sheets she lay on desperately. "P-please, Val... Please, just touch me. I-I don't-Ah... I don't want to cum alone."

Cursing herself for her stupidity, Valorie viciously tore off her blouse and peeled off the thin, gauzy material Dawn had given her to wear as underclothes. She forced herself to make quiet, soothing sounds as she lowered herself onto the bed to lie next to Dawn. "It's alright Dawn..." she whispered into the apprentice's ear. "I'm always here for you." Valorie laid a hand gingerly on Dawn's abdomen, and the apprentice moaned as if Valorie had pinched her clit. Dawn's eyes slid closed as Valorie cupped her hand under the apprentice's head to support it as she spasmed against her. "Just... just try to enjoy it." Valorie said earnestly. "Just pretend it's me, fucking you senseless. A stretch of the imagination, I know, but you're creative."

Dawn's hand slapped over Valorie's in a death grip, and with insistent pressure, the apprentice guided it downward. She dragged Valorie's fingers along the lines of her slender waist, and Dawn's breathing grew more excited as her full, soft breasts heaved on her chest. Eventually Dawn slid Valorie's hand into the cleft between her legs. The apprentice's thighs separated to allow her entrance, and Valorie suddenly felt the throbbing heat of Dawn's parted lower lips, slick and running with the apprentice's enticingly smelling lubricant.

"Why pretend?" said Dawn in a murmur, trying to keep her voice low despite how much she wanted to scream her release. "J-just go slow, please. Remember that if my skin is-hnngh! Is... is this sensitive, my-Hngk!"

With a ragged choking gasp, Dawn's entire body tensed, her toes curling with the first of many orgasms as Valorie teased her middle finger into Dawn's greedily pulsing folds. The apprentice bucked her hips uncontrollably, shoving Valorie into her up to the knuckle, and Dawn had to clench her teeth around a muffled, euphoric scream. Valorie grunted in surprise when Dawn creamed herself violently, steaming girlcum squirting into her hand. "That's new." Valorie said with a slowly spreading grin, glad Dawn was so enjoying herself. "But don't worry about it. I'm getting used to messy orgasms."

Groaning through her rapture, Dawn panted as the fires of the need that burned within her did not abate. If anything, they built higher, roaring through her mind, destroying any semblance of rational thought as she humped Valorie's hand wildly. With gentle pressure, Valorie held Dawn down, working her finger against the velvety lining of Dawn's dainty pussy. Dawn's arching back tried fiercely to lift her hips off of the bed, but Valorie's weight held her still as the equine reached casually over to plant a kiss on Dawn's rosy cheek.

Valorie's next kiss was marginally lower, and with slow, doting movements, Valorie worked her lips down Dawn's jaw and onto the apprentice's slender neck. Valorie had nearly made it to Dawn's shoulder before the blissed-out apprentice came again, harder than before, squealing wordlessly into Valorie's scalp as she buried her face in the equine's long, golden brown hair. Valorie ignored it, focused instead on covering every square inch of Dawn's body with kisses that left a burning trail of pleasure along the apprentice's burning, oversensitive skin.

Valorie savored the salty taste of Dawn's sweat-soaked skin as she began to work her tongue over the smooth lines of the apprentice's body between kisses, so that her mouth was never out of contact with Dawn's body. The apprentice twined her fingers through Valorie's hair for support when the equine's lips began to crawl up the slope of her breast.

They would have been merely large on another woman, but Dawn was shorter than most, and on her slight, slender build, they dominated her chest, plump and perky, and seemingly molded to fit perfectly in Valorie's palms. The soft, pliant flesh gave way under Valorie's tongue, jiggling pleasantly with each of Dawn's urgent, shuddering breaths as Valorie inched her way closer to the apprentice's ruddy, painfully erect nipples.

Teasingly slowly, Valorie eased her lips over the aching bud that capped Dawn's voluptuous breast. As soon as her lips met the fevered skin, Dawn tensed, pushing Valorie's head down with the hand she had buried in the equine's hair as she gritted her teeth, shaking in a third powerful, reality shaking orgasm. Valorie let herself be pressed down into the delightful cushion of Valorie's breast, using her broad tongue to work more of Dawn's nipple into her mouth and massage it energetically.

The finger that was buried in Dawn moved languorously, nearly forgotten, there more to give the frantically fluttering muscles lining the apprentice's slick passage something to contract around than to give Dawn any further stimulation as Valorie ravaged Dawn's stiff bud with her tongue. Valorie nibbled daintily on the flesh in her mouth, her teeth moving in concert with her tongue to work Dawn to a fourth orgasm, making the apprentice's shapely legs spasm wildly on the bed. Only then did Valorie relent, pulling from Dawn's nipple with an audible pop before letting her lips move onto greener pastures.

Valorie pulled herself closer to Dawn's body to allow her lips to trace a line down into the apprentice's cleavage. Beads of the apprentice's sweat had pooled there, and Valorie lapped them up eagerly, letting herself taste the strength of Dawn's exertions. Valorie's wide, equine nostrils flared as she inhaled the hot, humid air that was sitting close to Dawn's skin. The apprentice, even after days of exertion, still smelled fresh and enticing, like a field of wildflowers after a spring rain, but laced almost imperceptibly with something primal and animalistic, a dense, musky odor that hinted at raw, sexual aggression, barely contained and begging to be released.

She reluctantly left the sweet-smelling valley to begin the trek to the other mountainous peak of Dawn's bust. Valorie playfully traced a spiral up the impressive swell, keeping a finger on how close Dawn was to her next orgasm. Just as the apprentice was about to lose it again, Valorie latched her lips onto Dawn's nipple, pushing her over the edge with a long swipe of her rough tongue. Dawn's thighs slapped wetly together over Valorie's hand as her body stiffened in release. Valorie grinned around the bud between her lips, wondering how long it would take to make Dawn do that again.

She dug into Dawn's pinned breast, working her lips, tongue and teeth over every inch of exposed skin, and it was only half a minute later when Dawn let out a muted cry, signaling the crest of another orgasmic tidal wave crashing through her body. Valorie slowed down again, leaving Dawn's nipple to shine, wet with saliva, in the lamplight as the equine woman moved on. Six, six orgasms... and Dawn looked only to be growing more fervent. Valorie trailed her tongue down the graceful curve of Dawn's breast, tracing a meandering line of soft, gentle kisses to the apprentice's collarbone.

Through the walls of Dawn's quivering womanhood, Valorie could feel another wave of release build and threaten to drown the apprentice with more delirious euphoria. The equine growled against the ridge of bone beneath her lips, the vibration alone seeming to cause the apprentice to shudder with bliss. Valorie staggered her rhythm, working the finger buried in Dawn out-of-time with the movements of her mouth, trying to stimulate the apprentice as much as possible while staving off her next orgasm as long as she could.

Nostrils flaring around a heaving breath, Valorie slowed to a crawl, tracing her lips delicately along the length of the apprentice's collar until the equine's muzzle was buried in hollow between Dawn's shoulder and throat. Dawn's sweet, invigorating aroma was stronger here than it had been between her breasts, and Valorie sucked it down greedily, eagerly running her tongue through the sheen of sweat that coated the apprentice's skin as she let it play across the lissome muscle of Dawn's shoulder. Climbing up onto the apprentice's slender throat, Valorie gave the tendons that stood out starkly against Dawn's skin dainty, careful nibbles.

Whether intentionally, or because of her uncontrollably spasming muscles, Dawn's head fell back, resting lightly in Valorie's palm as she cradled the apprentice to her body. Taking advantage of the apprentice's vulnerable position, Valorie pressed her cheek against Dawn's jaw, pinning her head to the equine's hand and laying bare the entire expanse of the apprentice's willowy throat. Pausing for a moment, Valorie just watched as Dawn's artery hammered against her pale skin with each of her frantic heartbeats. She leaned down, letting her lips brush softly against the tender spot. Dawn's desire-heated blood throbbed eagerly under Valorie's lips. It was as if the apprentice's heart itself was returning Valorie's kiss, trembling passionately against the equine's accepting mouth.

Dawn let out a keening whine, and Valorie knew that playtime was over. She lifted her head, breaking mouth contact for the first time since her first kiss, and looked into Dawn's beautiful amber eyes, their pupils contracted into pinpricks. Valorie threw a thick, powerful leg over both of Dawn's, pinning them to the soft mattress, and with two thrusts of her finger, brought the apprentice to the edge of her seventh, but not final, orgasm.

As the apprentice hovered precariously on the precipice, Valorie leaned over, shadowing Dawn's small frame with her bulk, until her lips were a scant hair's-breadth away from Dawn's furthest ear. "I love you Dawn, more than anything." Valorie whispered, her voice shaky with emotion. "No matter what, I will always be there for you... always."

With brutal ferocity, Valorie slammed her finger once more into Dawn's depths, crushing her hand against the quaking lips of the apprentice's pussy and grinding her palm against the hard nub of Dawn's engorged clit. Dawn's body flexed as if it was one muscle, desperately trying to lift itself off of the bed, but Valorie kept it trapped between her and the cushion of the mattress. The apprentice's eyes rolled back in her head and she sucked in a huge breath, pressing her breasts into Valorie's own as her mouth dropped open in preparation. Moving quickly, Valorie locked her own lips around Dawn's as a furiously exultant scream ripped it way out of the apprentice's chest.

Valorie muffled Dawn's cry with her own mouth as she let the apprentice's breath fill her lungs. She broke lip contact to let Dawn pull in another breath, returning the contact to catch Dawn's next piercing wail. Valorie repeated the cycle until Dawn could make no more sound than a soft, wordless gibbering as the equine violently finger-fucked her. Orgasm after mind-breaking orgasm rocked through Dawn's petite frame, and Valorie lost count after twenty, deciding instead to focus her efforts on teasing out as many more as she possibly could. She returned her lips to Dawn's throat, careful to brace the apprentice's head against her hand to stop her from hurting herself in her aimless spasming.

After nearly an hour of constant, overwhelming, orgasmic bliss, Dawn gave one last whimpering groan before the strength left her tiny body, and she went limp underneath Valorie, panting wildly. Dawn shook only slightly when Valorie withdrew her finger from the apprentice's loins, soaked to her elbow in Dawn's feminine fluids, to say nothing of the mattress. Valorie pulled partway off of the apprentice's body, confident that Dawn wasn't going to start thrashing again.

Dawn's eyes were closed, and she gasped in ragged desperate breaths. Valorie leaned over, murmuring with gentle urgency. "It's alright, Dawn, but you're going to pass out if you breathe like that. You're overexerted and overheated, just do what I tell you okay? In through your nose, deep and slow... that's right, I've got you. Now out through your mouth... keep it even... good, good. Keep doing that. You have to work your way down after a workout like that."

With a calm, smooth voice, Valorie gradually coaxed Dawn back into a semblance of self-control. Still fighting to keep her breathing steady, Dawn raised a shaky arm to lay it heavily onto Valorie's shoulder. She pulled, trying to drag herself up onto the pillow at the head of the bed, next to Valorie, but was unable to summon the required strength. With a gentle hand, Valorie helped, scooting Dawn's body up until their faces were level with each other's, the apprentice's head sinking gratefully into the large pillow. Dawn's eyes gleamed a burnished gold in the dim lamplight as she stared into Valorie's own, the awareness and familiar, burning intelligence Valorie found so attractive slowly returning to them as they focused on her.

The hand Dawn had on Valorie's shoulder shifted to the equine's cheek, and it squeezed the silky fur of her face lovingly. "Thank you..." Dawn mumbled in a voice almost too low to hear, weak with exhaustion. With the help of Valorie's steady hand, Dawn rolled over onto her side, facing the equine, and sidled up to her body. Valorie likewise flipped onto her side, letting the apprentice press herself snugly against the soft, warm fur of the equine's bare chest. As Dawn made herself comfortable, Valorie reached behind her, extinguishing the lantern before she draped her powerful arm protectively around the apprentice's shoulders.

Dawn sighed in relaxation as she let herself melt into the comforting warmth of Valorie's full, heavy breasts. The apprentice wrapped her arm around Valorie, encircling as much of her thick torso as she could before clutching at the equine's well-muscled back, pulling herself bodily into Valorie's cleavage. With a soft chuckle, Valorie leaned over slightly to touch her lips to Dawn's forehead and threw the length of her long, golden brown tail over Dawn's form to keep her warm. The apprentice shifted slightly, snuggling even more intimately into Valorie's body, and in only a brief moment, was snoring softly, overcome by her fatigue.

With a thoughtful smile, Valorie gently ran her fingers through Dawn's smooth, auburn hair, letting the steady, even rumbling of Dawn's quiet snoring begin to lull her to sleep. Before she drifted off, her mind latched onto the last things it sensed, the warm softness of Dawn's body, the sound of her voice, and that intoxicating scent that filled the equine's sensitive nose. They all held the promise of sweet dreams, with her limbs entangled with those of her love.