"So, you don't want to talk about it."

There was no reply.

Nico chewed the inside of his cheek. He thought about it, then added, speaking louder as the wagon's clanking and clacking rose while cresting a bumpy patch of gravel, "It's just that you seem a little... on edge."

Snatch grunted.

Nico hesitated. "... see, usually, when someone is found covered in salt on the shores of the Misty Lake, there's a story behind it."

"Is there."

"And you're on your own." Nico scratched his head. "Lady Nuptuel off on another errand?"

Snatch stared balefully at Nico, eyes as dark and glittering as coal crystals. "How should I know?" he snapped at last. "She goes where she wants. We only worked together on a couple jobs, for fuck's sake."

Nico blinked. He glanced down and started tapping his fingers, silently counting.

"Stop that!"

"I thought you two were—well—" Nico scrambled a moment, searching for a synonym for 'partners' that wouldn't get Snatch up in arms. He'd known Snatch for a few years now, and the thief was always sore about something or other, but ever since he'd started working with that Lady Nuptuel, he'd been a little easier to deal with. Maybe because it was harder to take his gruff attitude seriously with the sunshine-and-daisies druidess prancing about beside him. "What about the catgirl?" he managed at last.

Snatch glowered. "What. Catgirl."

"Easy does it, Nico," murmured Morgana beside him, as the cart hit another bump. In the comfortable coach, she and Nico were mostly cushioned from the worst of the turbulence, but Nico winced in sympathy as Snatch bounced up and hit the floor of the back of the wagon hard. The thief did not even shift his folded-arms stance.

Nico glanced at the goblin maid, whose eyes were concealed beneath her wide-brimmed straw hat. He looked back at Snatch. "You know what? Nevermind. So you needed a ride to the nearest town, right?"

"Just wherever you're going through first." Snatch turned and gazed at the passing foliage. "Ideally outside of this damn forest."

"Well, we're hanging a gentle southward turn," Morgana said lightly, pastel-blue fingers delicately tugging the two dire goats out of the path of an evidently tasty-looking thistle bush. "That will land you in the Western Plains. Then I'm afraid we have to turn back around."

"Is that by a town?"

"It's by the... oh, I forget the barony." She sighed. "It's the barony with the flying mules. Very precious. Slightly famous, too, I believe."

"Hm." Snatch looked dubious. "How long a walk?"

"It's a safe walk, Snatch," Nico said, giggling. "I've taken it myself. And honestly, we'd take you the full way, but this is already well out of our way. We're just not so cruel to leave a lone traveler in the Evergreen."

"I can handle myself."

"You'd be surprised how much extra trouble being alone here can get you into." Nico gestured up at the canopies above. Unlike the Greatest, Darkest Forest, the Evergreen Forest was lush and well-lit, positively glowing in the morning light. "Plus, there's only one Ranger's Lodge along the whole path, right in the middle of the wood, and they charge arms and legs for basic necessities like water. It's expensive to maintain a Lodge this far in."

"Expensive in... human resources," Morgana added with a sly smile, licking her lips.

"Hm." Snatch stared dully out into the woods. "Never gave us trouble before."

There was a long silence.

Nico bit his lip. "Snatch, where is Larya?"

The thief did not answer.

~ ~ ~ ~

"So, he was... fun." Morgana's voice was as light and feathery as ever—the goblin witch had a way of whispering her words no matter how loudly she spoke, and in his reverie, it took Nico a moment to even register what he was nodding along to.

"Mm. Yeah." He sighed, resting his chin against the backseat cushion of the wagon coach. "Sorry, I wouldn't have told you to stop for him if I'd known he'd be... like that."

"He insulted my goats." Morgana sniffed. "I take it he's normally quite a lot nicer?"

"Yeah. Well, no, not... exactly. But he usually doesn't smell so briny, at least."

"Nico, darling, you are too forgiving for your own good." Nico turned to see her flashing him a sly grin, showing her ever-so-slightly sharp teeth. Her soft pastel-blue skin stood out against dark, fulsome cobalt lips, and her deeply-shadowed eyes were heavy-lidded. "I insist you stop making friends who take advantage of you so."

"Aw, Morgana, you're not so bad."

She tsk'ed and swatted his arm. "I don't know why I bother with you! All you do is mock me, Nico." She pouted. "Won't even let me wed you. Honestly."

Nico gave a nervous little laugh. Morgana liked to joke, but he'd been her friend long enough to know just how far she was willing to take a 'joke' if pushed the wrong way. And the coach was a little snug at the moment, and in the morning chill, she'd wrapped him in one of her fur coats—big and fluffy and smelling like her—and was leaning against him as she drove. "I appreciate you very much, Morgana." He patted her hat.

"Ooh." She smiled and wriggled slightly, eyes half closing but staying on the road. "You're lucky I can't stay mad at you. More trouble than you're worth, honestly."

Nico turned and regarded the forest around them. "This place really is pretty in the morning. I don't often get to see it like this."

"Nice and safe?" Morgana suggested, a little too flirtily. "From the comfort of my coach?"

"Mm." Nico nodded unconsciously, then blinked as he spotted something. "Say! Pull up, Morgana!"

The goats brayed as the goblin tugged on the magical spirit guiding them. The spirit gave a nasty mosquito-like whine of complaint, but the cart came to a stop. "What is it, little deer?" Morgana teased him.

Nico flushed. "I told y—nevermind." He pointed at what he'd spotted: a patch of dark blue amid the bright green bushes. "Look at that!"

Morgana blinked, following his gaze. "Oh, those are some pretty flowers!"

He shot her a wry look. She smirked up at him. Morgana was an expert herbalist, and Nico knew his wildlife well enough. "It's shadowfoam, you imp."

He hopped out of the cart and crunched over to the patch. They weren't flowers at all, but very fine and dense-growing fungi only casually similar to meadowfoam. "I haven't seen a patch of this stuff in years!"

"Careful, thee," Morgana called. "We don't need you all dizzy and vacant." A pause. "On second thought..."

Nico rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm going to inhale it. But aren't you curious..."

"Oh, Nico, little deer, no."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Nico."

"You don't wonder where it's..."

"Little deer."

"I mean, it doesn't usually grow in..."

"No.'

Nico glanced back at Morgana. The witch's arms were folded, and she was pouting. He gestured toward the shadowfoam, which he'd noticed was growing deeper and thicker off the path. "Don't you want to see where it leads? Shadowfoam always has a source point. Usually something fey-related."

"All the more reason." Her nose wrinkled. "Nico, you are too curious for your own good."

He walked back to the cart and hoisted up his backpack. "I just wanna check it out."

She huffed. "I still remember the time I had to wait two hours while you tried and failed to extract yourself from conversation with a single chatty waiter. You're going to get caught up!"

"I won't."

"I'm going to go and finish the errand without you if you get caught up!"

"I won't get caught up!"

"You will! You'll lose track of time and I'll be sleeping out here!" She made a show of clutching herself and shivering.

"I will not, Morgana." He rolled his eyes. "You've got to trust me a little here. I'm a lot more assertive these days."

She stared across at him, eyes narrowed. Then something entered her eyes—a faint spark. "Oh, fine," she murmured. "I'll just... kiss you goodbye, then."

He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, or the look that had entered her eyes.

A pleasant humming started to rise around them. He blinked slowly. Then again, Morgana did have... rather pretty eyes.

She curled her finger, the corner of her lips creeping upwards. "Come here, Nico."

"I won't..." He leaned in obediently and let her kiss him on each cheek. His eyelids fluttered. "... okay, Morgana."

She smiled brightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico vaguely noticed something wispy and almost mosquito-like flitting around his head. "And wouldn't you rather come back with me?" she cooed, tickling under his chin.

"Um." Nico blinked rapidly, finding himself smiling back at her. "Huh?"

She beckoned, curling her finger—not unlike the gesture she'd been using to steer the goats. Her eyes shimmered. "Come along, then."

Her words poured like honey into him. He nodded dreamily, feeling as if a leash was tugging him along. "Mm. Um... okay."

Morgana giggled. "You look a little sleepy." She gestured behind him. "Tell you what, little deer... why don't you go and get a good, long, closeup look at the shadowfoam first?"

"Ooh. okay." He giggled and obeyed. Morgana knew best. The pretty humming in his head reminded him of that. He wasn't sure why he'd been disagreeing before.

He stumbled back towards the shadowfoam and bent down...

"Remember to take deep breaths!" the goblin witch called sweetly. Of course, he thought, smiling and nodding. Why wouldn't he? "That's right. Nice, long, deeeeep—shit! Cut tha—ACK! GIVE IT BACK!"

The humming suddenly turned to angry mosquito buzzing, and Nico flicked his head irritably. The blissful calm suddenly left him as he turned to see Morgana fighting with one of the goats over her hat. Without the controlling spirit helping her with the ornery animals, the little goblin appeared to be in the fight of her life.

He stared at her, consciousness trickling back to him. "Really?"

"Oh, poo." She yanked the straw hat back and huffed, stomping her foot. The buzzing faded, and the goat seemed to instantly calm and return to its post. She put the hat back on, a significant bite taken out of it. "It's for your own good, Nico. You know this can't end well!"

"I'll be fine." He rolled his eyes. Morgana wasn't evil, exactly, but to put it nicely, he was one of her only friends who wasn't. He tried to be a good influence. "Thanks for your concern, but you have to let me make my own choices."

"Not if your choices are dumb," she retaliated, pouting. "How many choices will you be making when you're some nymph's whimpering boytoy? Or chattering away the hours about the weather with some airheaded cotton dryad?"

"I'll be fine." He waved. "Back in five!"

She folded her arms and sat back. "Five minutes," she said reluctantly. "I'll be back tonight if you get caught up."

"I won't!" he called, as he ventured off into the woods.

Morgana meant well. Honest.

~ ~ ~ ~

Shadowfoam was hardly unheard of in these parts, but Nico had never seen it growing this thickly. Normally, it only took root near rare fey treasures or certain fey concoctions—for whatever reason, the fungus could only grow near fey magic. Nymph nectar was a common catalyst, but it normally only created little patches of shadowfoam, nothing like this.

That said, Nico's attention had been largely diverted by the other creature following the trail.

It had taken him a moment to recognize it, and when he had, he'd almost called out in excitement. The bird was about the size of a somewhat plump robin, and its feathers shimmered a silvery gray that would be practically invisible set against a misty morning or cloudy sky. A proud crest jutted from atop its head. It was called a silver cardinal, and Nico wanted to see if it was nesting near here. He knew a few Rangers who would love to know that there were silver cardinals in the Western Evergreen.

He kept his eyes trained on the bird, glancing down only occasionally to mark that he was still on the path of the shadowfoam. One benefit to following the false flowers was that the Evergreen Forest would be hard-pressed to get him lost if he had an obvious trail to follow back. The Evergreen liked to cheat, but it hated cheating when it would get caught.

The bird flitted from branch to branch, occasionally swooping down some ten meters ahead of Nico to peck at a particularly tasty-looking clump of shadowfoam. Occasionally it glanced back at Nico and made a menacing warble, and Nico would pause for a moment and step back. Once it was assured that it was receiving the proper respect, the bird would continue its path.

Nico followed the bird for a few minutes, mentally trying to calculate whether he would have to run back to catch Morgana before she gave up on him. She was a worrywort, but she was right about one thing—one did not want to spend any extended length of time alone in the Western Evergreen. Nico knew firsthand that its catgirls could be merciless when they found prey foolish enough to travel on his or her own.

Morgana was also right that Nico had a bad habit of getting caught up and carried away with stupid things. Conversations that went nowhere, interesting wildlife that went in circles...

The steel cardinal appeared to be in no hurry at all, though, and Nico had to suppress the urge to rush the bird. Come on, now, he thought, biting his lip. Pine needles crunched under his feet as he hurried after. Just go home, bird!

The steel cardinal looked up from its meal, a clump of shadowfoam in its beak. With a warble, it fluttered up into the air—and to a nest high above. Nico heard the eager complaints of several hatchlings.

His face split into a relieved smile.Okay. Now I know. Now, let's get back before...

As his eyes left the nest, he finally registered the forest around him.

And it suddenly hit him just how thoughtlessly he'd wandered.

"Oh," he said quietly, looking around at the suddenly very dark woods. "Where... where is this, Nico? Where've you wandered to now?"

The Evergreen Forest was almost entirely deciduous, belying its name, but the thick scent of pines hung as heavy as the dark green curtain above. Despite the darkness, the forest floor was lush and verdant, the soil soft and blanketed with moss—and a little marshy. Nico's shoes sank about a centimeter into the ground with every step, but the moss and flowers just sprang back up when he was gone.

The shadowfoam grew thick as ever here, and bright blue, slightly luminescent mock-blossoms bloomed all around. The bulk of it, however, was leading onward—just a few more steps, beyond a curtain of hanging lichen.

Nico swallowed. He glanced back at where he'd come from. He knew the way back.

Surely he could... He started to take a step forward, then stopped himself. No, he told himself firmly. No more Curious Nico Gets Himself Into Trouble. Morgana won't leave the path to save your ass. The memory of the catgirls teasing him over that curiosity still hung heavy in his mind—one of his first encounters a couple years ago, when he'd still been a green adventurer at the age of 19.

But now he was 23, he was a sensible, seasoned adult, and he was only going to take one damn peek before heading back. He nodded resolutely and resumed his careful creep forward.

And as he carefully brushed the lichen away with the back of his hand and peered beyond, his eyes widened.

A dense ring of brilliant blue shadowfoam grew in the middle of the clearing, casting a pale periwinkle light against the hot pink glow coming from the ring's center.

In the center of the ring grew a most curious flower. Superficially, it resembled a cupid's cup waterlily, except it wasn't in the water, apparently hadn't bloomed, and was even bigger than Nico. Though the outside of the petals was alabaster white, the rosy glow creeping through the cracks spoke of a brilliance unspoken. Blinding, overwhelming, and probably hypnotic. It was a good thing the flower was closed.

Nico had a visual way of observing the world, but the second thing he noticed was the smell. It was sweet and floral, like a sugar-rose bush in full bloom, and it complimented the nutty, liqueur-y smell of the shadowfoam wonderfully. Nico tried not to breathe in too deep, realizing with a slight buzz of unbidden delight just how strong the shadowfoam's fragrance could be when there was this much of it and you were totally surrounded by it. And something about the lily's sweet scent just made his mouth water, even what little of it he was getting. It was a good thing the flower was closed.

Nico was quite observant, and even distracted as he was by the smells and sights, it wasn't long before he noticed what he could hear a sweet, gentle humming coming from the blossom. It had a high-pitched, feminine lilt, and seemed to echo in Nico's head, as if a pair of lips were right next to each of his ears, humming a soft, intoxicating lullaby. Even from this distance, with the petals muffling the song, Nico felt a nice, warm glow, and he couldn't help but nod his head absently for a moment before he snapped out of it. It was a good thing the flower was closed.

Nico stared at the lily, wide-eyed. It almost... looked like...

The lichen kept tickling his face, annoying him and obstructing his view. He scowled and took just one little step into the clearing.

The humming stopped for just a moment, then resumed.

And at the same time, the white lily's petals opened.

The petals unfolded quickly, but delicately, peeling back before Nico could even react. As they did, a warm pink glow flooded the clearing, accompanied by the sweet scent of roses—more overpowering than ever, even stronger than the shadowfoam's ever-present heady aroma. The lily's petals only opened part-way, leaving a deep 'cup' that rose to just about waist-height, but did little to conceal its contents.

Instead of a stamen and pistil, and normal, well, flower parts, glowing sunset rose-colored nectar sloshed over the sides of the flower. And at its center, standing in the nectar, were two women with pastel green skin, brilliant thickly-lashed sunset-colored eyes, flowing emerald-green hair—one had her hair done up in pigtails, while the other's hair cascaded all the way down to her wide, luscious hips—and massive, positively decadently bouncy breasts. Aside from hairstyle, they were positively twins in every regard

They beamed at him, liquid delight in their gaze. And then they began to speak, and Nico found it a little difficult to keep up at first, overwhelmed by the sudden outpouring of sensations. Their voices were sweet as sugar, filled with happiness and welcome, and as they spoke they finished each other's sentences—even more confusingly, while one spoke, the other would nod along, smiling, continuing to hum the tune.They didn't miss a beat.

Nico bit his lip and focused, forcing his gaze on the base of the flower to avoid any... distractions.

"... so nice to have a visitor!" the one with pigtails gushed. "What's your name, cutie? I'm—"

"—Mai-Mai," continued the other, giggling. "And this is Bell-Bell!" She pointed to herself. "What's your name, cutie?"

"I..." Nico blinked rapidly between them. Despite his best efforts, it was hard to keep his gaze off of the creatures. Rude, too. "Nico? I'm Nico. It's really nice to meet you." He bowed, feeling a little nervous—and a little dizzy as he accidentally breathed in with his head bowed and got an extra dose of the shadowfoam.

They both cooed. "Ooh, so polite!" Mai-Mai fanned herself. "He is a good boy, isn't he?"

"Ooh, yes!" Bell-Bell licked her lips, running her fingers through her long hair and twirling a strand around her finger. With her other hand, she rubbed Mai-Mai's shoulder. "It's so rare we find—"

"—good boys like you," Mai said sweetly, batting her eyelashes. "The last boy we saw wouldn't even talk to us! Just—"

"—drew his sword and started chopping." Bell pouted. She blinked big eyes at Nico. "But you wouldn't try that, would you?"

They were talking so fast. Nico opened his mouth to reply, but they didn't wait for an answer.

"It didn't go well for him." Mai winked, nuzzling Bell. "Well, like, it went really well for him... once he saw sense. Teehee!"

"I—" But they wouldn't give him a chance to speak.

"Fighting is so exhausting," Bell agreed, shaking her head sadly. "And... well..."

"... breathing in is sooooo easy," they cooed together.

Nico swallowed, looking between them nervously. "Listen, I jus..."

"Yes?" they asked in tandem, cockling their heads adorably in opposite directions.

"I mean no offense at all," he said, choosing his words with utmost care, "but I, um, kind of need to get back to the path. I don't want to keep my friend, who is a very powerful witch, waiting." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

They blinked at him, very slowly.

Then they both giggled. Mai kissed Bell sweetly, her pigtails bouncing as she ground against her companion. "Don't... mmm worry," Mai slurred, giving him a dizzy smile. "We're liliraune, silly!"

"Lily..."

"Liliraune." Bell smirked slightly as she slipped nectar-coated fingers past Mai's plump ruby-red lips, Nico's mouth watered as he imagined the flavor of that no doubt delectable ambrosia. "Silly boy. We're, like, like alraunes."

Mai mumbled something as she diligently sucked and slurped at the fingers. Her own hands slipped down, and Nico watched Bell's eyes widen, then flutter. He couldn't see what she was doing to Bell, but... he could guess. He gulped.

"That's right," Bell squeaked, giving Nico a slightly wild-eyed grin. "But we're better!"

"Mmnly... mmm.. mmmneeeed... one..." Mai moaned, her lips at last sliding off of the fingers with an audible pop. Her eyes seemed to have adopted a shade of lovesticky magenta even more brilliant and glossier than before.

"One m-mate," Bell finished, squirming at Mai-Mai's attentions. "Ooh. Ooh! Yes-yes-pleeease!"

Nico slowly realized that it wasn't humming he was hearing at all. It was moaning. And he could feel his cheeks going very hot as he realized that they were both fucking each other right in front of him. The lily blossom held them tight—though not tight enough to keep them from turning around to watch him as he slowly circled the flower, careful to stay on the very edge of the clearing. Just in case. "I... I see!"

He'd never heard of a liliraune before, but he knew a little from reading about alraunes—not exactly educational texts, but... informative. And he had heard that alraunes only wanted a single mate most of the time. Did liliraune get to skip the process of seducing one? That would explain why they'd never made it into his... ah, picture books.

"Mm, yessss..." Mai-Mai hissed, grinning wickedly as Bell wriggled and whined, bouncing on her fingers. "See how happy I make little Bell-Bell? See how easy she—MMmm!"

She was cut off as 'little Bell-Bell' grabbed her by her pigtails and pulled her into a ferocious, passionate kiss. She 'struggled', but only for a moment.

For a long moment after, only their musical lullaby moans filled the clearing. Nico watched in rapt fascination.

"I... I see!" he repeated, swallowing. "Well, that's... good to know!"

"Good to know?" Bell smirked as she pulled back, tickling under Mai's chin. Mai giggled and whined, staring at her in pure devotion. "This pet knows how good it feels to know nothing, doesn't she?"

"Ooh! Yes! Yes!" Mai nodded eagerly.

Nico was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He wasn't a voyeur, usually, and this felt... inappropriate to be watching. Like the world's most oblivious, most public-displays-of-affection-happy couple was right in front of him. "Well, um... it was nice meeting you. Mai. Bell." He nodded and turned to go.

"Mm... ooh! Wait!"

He heard a sloshing, followed by a sound like the crack of two whips, and quickly turned to see that the two gorgeous women had just risen from the flower. He realized now that they had... well, not tails, but in the place where tails would go, bright pollen-gold tendrils that were connected to the center of the flower.

Suspended from these long and sinuous tendrils, Mai and Bell rose up into the air, still cuddling each other, and came to hover right by Nico.

Nico swallowed. They were dripping with that sweet-smelling nectar and still bore the rosy-pink glow about them. Their breasts were bouncing wildly from the rapid motion. "Y-Yes?"

"We wanna talk to you!" Mai said urgently. She reached over and wrapped an arm around Bell in a half-hug.

"We're new," Bell added, pouting. "We just got reborn a few weeks ago!"

"R...really?" That actually gave Nico pause. He'd never met fey that 'young' before—though 'young' was, perhaps, the wrong word for it. All fey were ageless beings, but they had some sort of spontaneous generation, he knew. Something to do with ley wells and spirits. They were 'born' as adults, generally, and had the minds and spirits of adults—but not quite the same experience, or something like that.

"Really!" Mai frowned. "It's all very disorienting. We haven't been 'real' for, like, years, I think!" She squeezed Bell's ass.

"Well, I—"

"Decades!" Bell agreed, squirming slightly. She kissed Mai on the neck. "What's going on in the world? What did we miss? Surely you can—"

"—take a moment to help us get caught up!" Mai finished, giggling at Bell's little kisses.

Nico blinked, and waited to be sure they were done talking this time. He took a step back—less out of fear and more out of just wanting some personal space. To his relief, they didn't press it. Maybe they were telling the truth about the 'one mate per liliraune' thing. It made sense, considering how clingy they were together. "Well, I should thi—"

"Can you do that for us?" they cooed as one, fluttering thick, dark lashes down at him.

Nico scowled. Okay, they did that one on purpose. "If you promise not to interrupt me, sure."

"Of course!" Mai said, beaming innocently.

"We would never!" Bell insisted, with a light, airy giggle, as if the very thing was absurd. Nestled in each other's arms, the liliraune bobbed in the air before him... and waited.

Nico thought for a moment. Decades. What would fey even want to know about? He bit his lip, watching the two openly fondle and kiss each other. Part of him wanted to beg them to please, please cut down on the indecency so he could focus. Part of him was just glad they weren't focusing that kind of attention on him.

He could already imagine how easily they'd be able to draw him in. Bell's delicate fingers, so adept, so mischievous. Mai's plump, panting red lips, quivering as she was again given the chance to suck with such sweet eagerness, to lick and lap up that intoxicating nectar that smelled oh-so-good...

He only realized he was staring when Mai caught his eye and giggled, her pigtails flouncing as she tossed her head airily. "How about we do questions?" she asked, giving Bell's finger one last lick. "You can ask us questions, we can ask you questions."

"Does that... sound fair?" Bell murmured, kissing Mai-Mai's breasts worshipfully.

"Y-Yeah." Nico nodded nervously. It actually did. He realized how many questions he had, and he blurted out the first that popped into his head just so he could do something other than gawk like a horny fool. "Are liliraune as common as alraunes?"

"Ooh, good question!" Mai beamed. "Nope! We're very—"

"—very rare," Bell finished, as Mai's words dissolved into squeaks at Bell's ministrations. Nico couldn't help but notice how she was tenderly suckling at Mai's breasts—drinking something no doubt even sweeter and more intoxicating than the flowers normal nectar. "We only manifest in very, very strong ley points, too, 'cause, like—"

"—cause of how powerful we are," Mai said with a giggle. She batted her eyelashes at Nico. "A liliraune is pos-i-tive-ly..."

"... irresistible," they said together, moaning the word as they squirmed in each other's arms.

Nico gulped. He was starting to notice a dizziness he hadn't felt before. He knew Morgana was waiting for him. She wouldn't wait much longer. "W-Well, I should..."

"Your turn!" Mai sang. She giggled and pulled away from Bell, and her tendril brought her to hover on Nico's right side. He turned and stared up at her, his heart racing.

"T-Turn?" he managed to squeak. He glanced at Mai's bouncing breast—they looked decadently soft, indulgent, smooth, and she smelled so good... "That's, um... I think I'd better..."

"My question, silly," Bell said, slipping over to his right side. Nico found himself sandwiched in—not that they were touching him, or doing anything untoward, in fact. They just hovered slightly above him, making googoo eyes at each other over his head. Gods, they stared at each other with such adoration.

"Oh. Right." Nico felt foolish. He'd forgotten the terms of their arrangement. He definitely needed to get on the road—it was lucky for him that these two blossom bimbos only had eyes for each other, and that his will was strong enough not to immediately crumple and beg to be caught between them anyways, because this was unbearable. "Go ahead."

"Weeeell," Mai said, putting a finger to her lips and thinking, "gosh, I guess I'm wondering what... ooh." She brightened. "Do you know what happened with the Cagaarians?"

"What?"

"Cagaaria. Up north." She pointed up toward the sky, tittering. "Y'know, up in Dembiga?"

It was hard to think about landmasses outside the Lacratian Continent with those two masses bouncing right in his face. Nico blinked. Of course he knew Cagaaria—the nation on the Northern Continent. All he really knew about them was that the jungle people had invented gearworks and perfected bureaucracy. "What... what about them?"

Jiggle. Bounce. He swallowed as Mai hummed. "Ummm... well, like, they were having trouble..."

"... with those Thriae, y'know?" Bell finished.

"Oh!" Even distracted, Nico realized they weren't talking about something decades-old. That had happened about fifteen years ago. Maybe these two hadn't been spirits for as long as they believed. "They won. Kind of. The hive got trapped between the Emerald Jungle demons and the Cagaarian militia." He frowned, very vaguely remembering talking to a Dembigan trader about it. "Both sides took a lot of losses, though. The demons took a lot of captives."

"Oh, that's so sad," Bell murmured in his ear. She giggled above him at Mai, leaning over. "Good thing we missed that! Like, could you imagine?"

"Being corrupted?" Nico heard Mai purr, leaning in as well. His cheeks were ablaze as he heard them wetly, noisily kissing and groping above him, moaning as if the mere kiss was enough to make them come. "Being... mm... turned into slutty, yummy... mmmm..."

"You're being naughty, Mai-Mai," Bell scolded, and he heard Mai squeak as Bell did something he couldn't bear to look at. Gods, their tits were practically smooshing him between them. "It's very bad what happened."

"Ooh! Yuh-yes! I'm bad!" Mai squealed. More wet sounds. More moans. "Uh-huh... Mai-Mai... bad..."

Nico closed his eyes, trying desperately to keep his calm and not look up—or look at the bouncy, warm boobies around him. Unfortunately, their kissing and groping and whining and moaning formed an intoxicating soundtrack, and closing his eyes made him focus even more on the way their scent made his head spin, on how hot he was staring to get in his clothes...

"Was that the entire question?" he asked, keeping his voice very steady, marshalling his willpower and focus to keep from squeaking the words. "Ladies?"

"Mm... oh!" The pair broke apart and, looking flustered, reappeared in front of him. Mai brushed a loose lock from her eyes and gave a bashful grin. "Uh-huh! Now you ask your question!"

Nico hesitated.

He knew he really needed to get out of here. Sure, the liliraune said they only needed one mate, and Nico believed them—he was very good at telling when people were lying to him. Besides, it matched what he'd read about alraunes, and these two were very clearly satisfied with each other. Sure, he really, really wanted to know what it was like to be 'newborn' fey, as these two apparently were.

Really. He really wanted to know that.

He chewed the inside of his cheek.

Curiosity killed the cat, he remembered the catgirls cooing as they'd brought him to his knees.

But satisfaction brought him back, he remembered them purring in his ears as they'd started tying him up.

Damn it.

Maybe just one more question, he told himself, looking uneasily between the two affectionate fey. He couldn't help himself. Maybe he wasn't thinking totally clearly—the sweet smells and sights and the warmth and the moans were really starting to get to him—but he'd never had the chance to talk to 'newborn' fey before. Just a couple questions before he left couldn't hurt! Besides, Morgana was used to him getting caught up with chatty fey. She'd be fine waiting a little longer. "What's it like?" he asked, swallowing. "Before, I mean? Do you remember?"

"Ooh," Mai said breathlessly. She and Bell exchanged looks. She ground against Bell, biting her lip. "Th-That's such a good question!"

"Two questions, honey," Bell murmured with a smug smile, smooshing her massive, heavenly tits against Mai's—gods, the were so squishy—and planting several little kisses along Mai-Mai's jawline. "Three, actually! Silly boy can't count."

They both giggled. "Ooh, you're right!" Mai beamed down at him. "He's cheating!"

His heart quickened. "You know what I—"

"Naugthy boy," Bell teased. Her fingers traced spirals along Mai's ass, giving the cheek a playful squeeze and pulling Mai even closer. They were so soft. So curvy. "But we'll indulge him, won't we, Mai-Mai?"

"Indulge him," Mai moaned, her head bobbing, lower lip quivering with delight. "Ooh, Nico, I don't... remember m-m-much!" She squirmed and writhed as Bell's caresses continued. Nico tried to keep his eyes on hers. Her lashes fluttered. "When w-we were last... alive... I think we were in the E-E-Evergreen!"

"But not near here," Bell purred. She stroked Mai's cheek, smirking. Her long green hair, Nico noticed, seemed to move of its own accord, wrapping around Mai's wrists and quelling her 'struggle.' "Somewhere else. It's all blurred, though, like—"

"—a dream that came before a dream that came before the dream that woke us up," Mai breathed. She giggled. Nico saw a wicked glint enter her eye, and she twisted in midair, her 'tail' lifting her and taking her in a circle—to wrap her arms around Bell from behind. Suddenly, Bell's glimmering emerald locks had been effortlessly tied back around her own body, and she blinked in apparent surprise.

"I think I was called Mimi then," Mai-Mai purred.

Nico gawked. He couldn't help it. Mai-Mai's and Bell's tits were bouncing, their supple bodies twisting in each other's grasp. They were literally tied to each other! Squished against each other, so soft, so slick, positively glowing. Mai's eyes half-closed with glee, Bell's fluttering with sudden awareness of her new helplessness.

"Mimi," Bell sighed, nodding. She bit her lip, suddenly looking a little less certain and squirming as Mai-Mai kissed her neck hungrily. "I-It's all... all very... hard to think about."

"Hard to think!" Mai beamed down at Nico. Bell beamed too, sleepily, as the hair binding Mai's hands loosened and Mai's hands started groping and playing with Bell's tits.

"H-How so?" Nico asked, before cursing himself for asking a fourth question.

The plantgirls didn't seem to mind. They were too caught up in each other to notice. In fact, they seemed a little... too caught up in each other to even notice his question. Bell was writhing in place helplessly, boobs jiggling and luscious ass swaying with every motion, eyelids fluttering, plush lips quivering with every kiss Mai planted on her. With an indulgent coo, Mai-Mai twisted a nipple, and Bell whined in glee.

They were so soft. So bouncy and squishy, smooshed up against each other. So slippery and sweet-smelling. So fragrant. So beautiful. Their moans and coos and wordless teasing and pleading filled Nico's head, as if it was being whispered with in his ears...

He cleared his throat nervously. He noticed they were starting to drift to the left, circling around their flower—so he took a small step closer.

Bell's eyes shot to his. Her eyes shimmered with pleasure. "Hard to thiiiink," she moaned, wiggling in her confines. "... 'cause it's... so... foggy..."

"And feels so goooood to not think," Mai cooed, giggling. Her fingers slipped inside Bell's slick, visibly tight pussy. "Trying to think... makes you all dizzy, dizzy, dizzy." She sang the word in Bell's ear. Bell's lashes fluttered. "Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy..."

"Bouncy," Bell bleated, head bobbing.

"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy," Mai sang happily, nodding along as she bounced Bell's tits together. Bell nodded eagerly. Was she helping to hypnotize... herself? "So hard to think about what came before... and sooo... easy..."

Nico watched the bouncing breasts, mouth dry. They kept circling around their flower, and he carefully followed—very careful to keep the same distance from them at all times. He's sort of noticed that as long as he walked in the same rhythm as their humming and moaning, they didn't seem to notice what he was doing at all.

They were so oblivious. So immersed in each other. Smothered in each other, in each other's intoxicating scent and sounds and sight—so beautiful—and taste and touch...

"So easy..." Bell whispered, and out of the corner of his eye Nico saw her hand slip free of her bindings, start to slide over Mai's thigh. "... so think... about... who comes next..." She giggled.

Mai-Mai was totally oblivious. Nico's heart was racing. Gods, it was like... it was like the sprite den shows he'd heard some people paid to watch, but the best show ever, a show that involved every single sense. He couldn't help but feel a tiny pang as a part of him lamented that liliraune only needed the one mate. It was torture to watch them. Torture to imagine slipping between them, being subjected to that... that overwhelming affection...

... squished between the two buxom plantgirls, letting them bounce and grind and kiss and moan, make him taste them, suck their fingers, fucking his brains away...

But it was good, he told himself, as his hand, unbidden, started to ever-so-slightly graze over his growing tent, as he stared open-mouthed at the lewd display. It was good that they didn't need him.

If they wanted him, they would have him. Because how could anyone resist these two?

"Who comes next," Mai-Mai breathed, giggling. Her pigtails were bouncing as she bobbed up and down, continuing to jiggle Bell-Bell's tits together. She beamed down at Nico as she drifted around in the slow, lazy circle, not appearing to care about the hand sliding up her thigh. Not appearing to realize how close she was to being ensnared. Nico almost felt sorry for the poor thing.

He stroked himself faintly, barely aware he was doing so, practically drooling at the sight.

That poor, needy toy had no idea how much trouble they were in.

He stroked a little faster. But gods... they were positively asking for it!