Chương 54: Entailments - Part 1

Kir groaned awake in an unfamiliar bed. In an unfamiliar room.

It was a finely appointed room, with quality furniture and tables that had polished marble tops. Everything had fine patterns and the shine of careful maintenance, but that aside the room was rather basic. Which meant he was likely in a hotel, and a nice one at that.

He was lying on his side, and his body felt warm in a way different from its usual heat. And he smelled of alcohol.

Searching his memories, he remembered remembering something about his old life, then the taste of some good wine, and then...

The nearby door opened, and a rosy-faced Rainier exited the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel.

"Wow, you are a lightweight," Rain said with a smile.

"What happened?" Kir asked, his voice a little raspy.

"Oh, wow, where to begin... You're really fun when you're drunk. Once we got out of the restaurant you were all over us. And then you took us to an adventurer's bar and we played some games. I won that sword-" he pointed with his thumb next to the door, and Kir saw a claymore resting on the coat rack, hanging by the strap of its sheath, which covered only three sides and had a breakaway buckle strap at the top for easy drawing.

"Where's Kordia?" Kir asked.

"She's still at the tattoo place you showed us."

Kir tensed. Had he led these two innocents astray?

"How long has it been since the restaurant?" Kir asked.

Rain sat on the bed right next to him, leaning back a bit over Kir's knees. "Uh... evening bell was a while ago, and out in the city they don't really ring them once the sun goes down, except for the midnight toll so... It's before midnight?"

Kir had timed the dinner for early evening, so he had potentially lost up to a quarter of a day to alcohol...

"I didn't... do anything inappropriate, did I?" Kir asked.

"Let's see... You ordered everyone a round of drinks. You danced on a table and sang a song in some weird language... Kissed Kordia and me in front of some adventurers who were hitting on her... Arm-wrestled a bearkin and won..." The list made Kir flinch with every event that was added to it. "Oh, and you got some new tattoos." Rain tapped Kir on the bicep.

"What?!" Kir immediately started unbuttoning his shirt, ripping it off to inspect his arms. Dark ink with an almost metallic sheen covered his arms, chest, and side now, ripples that were a match for the magical tattoos on his wrists that hid his weapons. "Are these magical?" he asked, wondering just how much he'd spent for something so large.

"Moshui says she 'doesn't ink magic for drunks' so they're the normal kind," Rain said.

"Wait... is Kordia getting-"

Suddenly the door slammed open and Kordia entered, a triumphant look on her face as she closed the door behind her with her foot.

"It'll work!" she declared, then saw Kir shirtless with Rainier.

"Aw come on! You said we'd wait until he was sober!" Kordia whined.

"I'm feeling pretty sober now," Kir said. Indeed, he didn't even seem to have a hangover. Thank the gods for youthful resilience.

"We didn't do anything yet, Kor, calm down," Rain said playfully.

Yet? "I don't remember anything after the restaurant," Kir explained. "Rain was catching me up..."

"Oh, wow, you're a lightweight," Kordia replied.

"I've heard," Kir said. "May I ask what will work?"

"This!" Kordia reached into her top and extracted the black stone Kir had given her. It was tied pendant-like with leather string. "Moshui catalyzed it for me and she says I can absorb its magic! I might even get a tail out of it!"

"That's great!" Rainier said.

"Even better, I talked her down from paying a large gold!" Kordia boasted proudly.

"I'm lost," Kir said. "Get a tail?"

Rain started to say, "She told you earlier-"

"Ugh, I hate repeating myself... You stink! Go take a bath!" Kordia said, grabbing a pillow off a chair and throwing it at Kir. "I'll yell for you when I'm ready."

Shortly, Kir found himself being pushed into the bathroom.

It was as well appointed as the room, and the bathtub in question was still steaming from Rain having used it, even though the water had drained.

Kir applied the stopper and fed a bit of magic into the pump, which produced a flow of cold water until the tub was full. Then he fed a bit of magic into the circle above the faucet, heating the water until it was comfortable enough for him to slip naked into.

He rubbed his fingers along his new tattoos, then noticed the mirror in the room. Once he was done scrubbing with the flowery soap, he washed himself before standing from the bath. In front of the mirror, he took a second pass over his body with some magic, cleansing himself more thoroughly than mere water could accomplish and drying himself.

He took a long moment to appreciate his tattoos, and how masterfully Moshui had blended the non-magic ones with his storage tattoos. They magic circles were no longer visible, and when he called his knives out of storage, he saw the old magic glow beneath the fresh ink. Turning, he saw the same was true for his back as he let his wings out for a bit of air, before storing them once more as he realized just how cramped the bathroom was with them.

When he was done checking his magic ink, he stared at himself in the mirror once more.

Kir wasn't a narcissist, but he had to admit, he liked what he saw. Toned, well-defined muscles. The gentle ripple of his abs as they led to his defined hip bones, his tail jutting from above his rear.

He paused to flex a little, admiring the way his arms bulged as he stared over them at his violet eyes, ringed in blue like the true heart of a flame. His swept-back horns framed his water-slick hair, and he tilted his head, noticing he'd need to refresh his undercut soon.

Almost unconsciously, he found his hand traveling downwards. Towards the slit of pink peeking out between his legs beneath the tuft of red at his groin.

Kordia sure was taking a while getting ready... Maybe it was the wine, but he wondered if he could get away with taking care of some urges while he was here... Seeing Rain naked had put thoughts in his head that weren't going to shake out by themselves.

One hand rose to his nipple, gently touching and squeezing it as he let the sensitivity permeate his body. When his other hand came up, it was glistening.

He blushed as he locked eyes with himself through the mirror-

"Kir! We're ready when you are!" Kordia suddenly yelled, making him jump and stub his foot on the drawers beneath the mirror.

Fortunately, his feet were half-digitigrade, so his toe claws protected him, but it was still a shock.

"I'll be right out!" he said, wincing as he realized how breathy his voice was.

A moment later, Kir exited the bathroom, clad in a towel in the same manner as Rainier.

He could feel his heart stop as he beheld Kordia, naked except for the stone she still wore on her neck. Her large fennec ears were twitching with anticipation, and her tail would not hold still. Beneath her uniform, she was lithe but soft-looking. Her chest was humble, with soft, pink nipples perked up by the temperature in the room.

There was only one word Kir could think to describe her.

"Beautiful," he said.

Kordia blushed a bit, "Oh yeah, it's your first time seeing me naked..." she grinned mischievously. "And my second time seeing you," she winked.

Second time? Oh yeah, the duel.

"So, um, what are we helping you with?" Kir asked. "You said something about absorbing mana from the stone I gave you."

"That's right! You were black-out drunk," she said with a snap of her fingers. "Okay, so basically I need at least one of you to hold my hands while I absorb the mana. Your job is to help me regulate my circulation while I'm concentrating and smooth out any potential irregularities. When I'm done, if the stone's got enough mana in it, I might evolve!" She looked very, very excited at those final words.

"What do you mean by evolve?" Kir asked, his mind coming up with imagery of her glowing white before turning into something almost completely different. An echo of some video game his past self played as a child.

"You evolved when you got your wings, didn't you?" Rainier asked. "I mean, it's kindof a big deal for a lot of people, especially beastfolk."

"My mothers didn't exactly put it like that," Kir said, remembering only the heat and pain that suffused his body the moment his wings burst from his back. If Kordia was about to go through a similar process, no wonder she wanted some help. "It felt more like I was dying. But I think I get the gist of it," he smiled.

"Alright, everyone on the bed, then we can begin!" Kordia said as she made herself comfortable at the head of the bed, sitting amidst the pillows like a naked, waiting goddess as she crossed her legs and held out a hand for each of them.

Kir shared a look with Rain, and they both crawled up to meet her, settling into a seated triangle before they joined hands together.

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