Vol 3, Ch 8. Boundaries
Time resumed, the goddess vanished, and the noise from the crowds almost overwhelmed them after the quiet pause they had experienced.
“Gloria may have my blessing.” Hope's words still lingered in the air between them.
Bonny pulled Gloria into a long lingering kiss. As their lips met, she called upon Hope’s power and directed it into Gloria. A brief golden light flashed around them and feelings of optimism and anticipation infected the crowds watching.
Gloria’s eyes were wide when Bonny pulled away. “Wha-what did you do?”
“You’ve been blessed. I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with Hope before, but I get the feeling it wasn’t great. Besides work with the school, talk to her and try to help out around the city. Spread hope among the poor and desperate and I’m sure your relationship will improve. Did she give you access to the Cornucopia?”
Gloria's eyes unfocused for a moment, then she nodded.
“Then you can start by summoning it and helping to feed the hungry.” Bonny pointed to the crowds then winked and whispered, “If you’re a good girl and boost morale around the city, she may visit you in your dreams. Good luck with that, by the way.”
A disturbance to one side caught their attention and a glance showed Freja pushing her way through the crowd, carrying Iolana in her arms. Bonny could also see Zeal, Eloisss and Willowbelle, but none of her other companions were tall enough to see over the throng. Except for Zeal, of course, who was still in dragon form and caused the crowds to part before them. No one complained though, at least not loudly enough for any of them to hear.
“I, uhm, thank you.” Gloria blushed. "It looks like your friends are here."
“You’re welco… EEK!"
A yip sounded and a cold nose touched Bonny in a sensitive spot, reaffirming the priestess' comment.
"Kanae, no.” Bonny jumped and reached down to push Kanae’s nose away. The large canine form of Lupa stood nearby, tail wagging violently, and she seemed to want to follow the fox's example. Bonny pointed at her and shook her head. "Also, no."
Bonny’s companions all smelled of blood and smoke and she greeted each of them with a kiss and bursts of both healing and purification. All except for Willowbelle, of course. The dryad still received healing, but Bonny didn't want to disrupt whatever magic was at work with her sapling.
Iolana’s feet and legs were very sore after all the walking, something she wasn’t used to, which is why Freja had carried her. Most of the rest had already received healing after the fight and at most had minor cuts or burns acquired during the cleanup.
Freja did have Bonny's robe, but when she offered it, Bonny declined. Zeal morphed back into a human form, also naked. They ignored the stares and comments from their audience as they went about healing and serving food.
Zeal and Eloisss received extra kisses and a whispered, "Thank you." Zeal for ferrying the group to the fight and burning the remains, Eloisss for her combat skill and management of the cleanup.
With Violet and Kanae nearby, Bonny's healing sped up, but it took a couple more hours to finish feeding the poor and healing the survivors.
While Bonny and Gloria worked, Bonny's companions each took turns helping and taking time to rest and eat their own dinner. Miu stepped away for a few minutes to find a stall with meat that she brought back for herself, Eloisss, Zeal, Iolana, and Lupa. The rest of them were happy with the same magical vegetables, fruit, nuts, and berries that they were handing out.
As the sun set, Bonny finally pulled on her robe against the chill of the evening. It seemed cooler than it had been. They headed back to their room at the brothel, exhausted. When they arrived, Bonny pulled Miu and Eloisss aside to voice a thought she had earlier.
“Do either of you have a way to communicate with your friends or family? Do you know how they’re doing?”
“No.” Eloisss answered. Miu just shook her head.
“Are you worried? Do you think Wrath might have hurt them?”
“No.” Eloisss sounded certain. “The Rhumba can take care of itsself. We ssaw no lamia in the horde that attacked the scity.”
“Good. Miu?”
“I don’t know, nya.”
Bonny pulled her into a hug, then continued with her thought. “The guards are doing patrols, right? Should we go out as well? The attack today showed that they can’t handle everything. Is it just me or are they weak?”
“They are weaker than exspected.”
“Freja.” Bonny called and motioned for their local expert to join them.
She trotted over. “Yes, Bonny?”
“Why are the guards so fragile? Most of them went down with one bite from the spiders.”
“They are tier one, for the most part. Few of the guards leave the city. The centaur patrols keep the area free of monsters. Or did, before you arrived.”
Bonny nodded, remembering Freja’s patrol meeting them at the edge of the forest. “I talked with Gloria about starting a school. Do you think we could give them challenges? Train people to pass, uh, tier one? Is that what you call it when your stats change?”
“Yes.” Freja thought for a moment, then nodded and continued. “And yes, we could capture monsters for them to fight. Some would probably be injured, but if we’re there, we can intervene to protect and heal them.”
“Great! I want to go back into the forest and check up on their families.” Bonny gestured to Miu and Eloisss. “And see Grandma Oak. We could help clean up any monsters near the edge of the forest on the way.”
Freja turned to Eloisss, “The lamia have metal, right? Can we trade for some?”
“Yess. My ssisster iss a metalssmith. Sshe can put uss in contact with the mining factionss.”
Eloisss and Freja had come to an understanding over the past week and were no longer as distrusting of each other as they had been. Bonny felt a warm glow at seeing her friends get along.
“Elss, could your sister come back with us? Maybe help with armor and the school?” Bonny asked.
Eloisss considered for a moment, then nodded. “I think sso. We can assk.”
“Yay! Miu, what about Callie? You like her, right?”
Miu was less certain. “We were lovers, but not close friends, nya. I don’t think she will leave.”
“Okay. Did you have any other friends? Anyone you want to see or check up on?”
Miu shook her head. “Fluffy, the lion, nya. I hope he’s fine. He was always nice to me."
“Okay. I need to check on the other artifact tomorrow with Brooke. If that doesn’t take too long, then maybe we can do a patrol and plan for a trip into the forest in a few days. What do you think?”
After the other three agreed, Bonny called the rest of the group in and broached the next important topic she want to cover.
“Hey all, uh, it’s time that we discuss our relationships. Sorry it’s taken so long, but I’m learning along with the rest of you.” Bonny said as they gathered around. “Most of you already know, but I'm from a different world. In my world, I was a stripper, an erotic dancer, but I had only slept with two people. Both boys. Miu was my first, uhm, lesbian experience.”
Everyone looked over to see the cat girl blushing. She stared at the ground, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.
Bonny continued, “My original world had no magic and I didn’t have a penis and I had never done anything kinky. Now we all have weird fetishes and I’m struggling to adapt. I'm sure all of you are as well. None of this is normal.”
“It’ss okay, Bonny. We can sslow down.” Eloisss put an arm around Bonny and pulled her into a hug.
“No. I mean, yes, but no.” Bonny shook her head and sighed as she leaned into the lamia. “We’re all intertwined with magic, lust, and the demoness Lust. I need it. I need you. All of you. I suspect you’re all getting twisted by being around me.”
“Yes, Bonny. The Fates have tangled us around you.” Willowbelle said.
“See? I wonder if the other Champions are being warped as well.”
Bonny paused, but none of the gods or demons answered.
“Anyway, lets talk this out and try to set some boundaries. Willow, lets start with you. Before today, I would have said that piss was too much, but it was a turn on having you kneel and beg." Bonny grinned at her. "You apparently like and need it, right? Is your sapling doing better?”
The dryad nodded. “I do. And yes, she is.”
“How often do you need it?”
“Daily, at least. Twice a day would be better.”
“Okay.” Bonny sighed. “I’ll take care of you after the discussion. Is there anything I should avoid? I know you don’t want sex as much as most of the others.
“Thank you, Bonny. Just, don’t hurt me, like some of the others want you to.”
“Okay.” Bonny smiled at Willowbelle, then nudged Zeal, who was kneeling beside her. “Speaking of, what’s up with you?”
The dragon girl had started kneeling beside Bonny after meeting up at the temples and morphing into a human form. She didn’t answer.
Bonny bent to grab one of her horns and pulled her head up. “Answer me!”
“I want to be useful to you.”
“Don’t give me that crap. There’s more to it. You wanted me to piss on you too, that wasn’t 'to be useful.'”
Zeal didn’t try to avoid Bonny’s gaze or make excuses. “I like it. I like your attention. I like it when you look down on me.”
“You like it when I look down on you?”
Zeal tried to nod, but Bonny still held onto her horn, held her head motionless.
“I can feel that you want me to shame you, but you don’t get embarrassed. Why? What do you really want? You’re a fucking dragon. Why do you want to be shamed?”
Zeal sighed and climbed to her feet. Bonny let go of the dragon girl’s horn and stepped back to give her room. In human form, Zeal was slightly shorter than Bonny. She lifted her chin and met Bonny's eyes.
“I have always been the strongest. Everyone is afraid of me. Everyone but you. You’re the first person to defeat me, to force my respect.”
“Wrath beat you, didn’t she?”
“She tricked me. Trapped me. It was not honorable and I owe her nothing. You faced me in combat, a rabbit against a dragon.”
“You were impaired. It wasn’t a fair fight either.”
“Nevertheless, you defeated and resurrected me at a potential cost to yourself. I’ve already sworn to serve you for a year and a day. Use me as you will. Everything is permissible as long as you do not cause permanent harm or death. Even then, you’ve already given me life and I will not begrudge you taking it back.”
“Zeal, you don’t have to do that. You can be normal. Have friends.” Bonny pulled Zeal into a hug and rubbed her back. “You don’t owe me anything. You’re worth more than that.”
“No. I am nameless and prideless.” Zeal leaned into Bonny.
“Fine. At least accept a safe word. We can use the colors again. Say ‘red’ three times if you need me to stop. Stop anything. Or ‘yellow’ if we’re about to cross a line you don’t want.” Bonny looked around at her other companions. “That goes for all of you. ‘Red’ or ‘yellow’ three times and I’ll stop and check on you. Anytime and anywhere. Okay?”
There were nods around the room.
“If you can’t talk, you can tap me three times, or knock on the floor or something that makes noise.”
More agreements.
“Does that sound okay, Zeal?”
She nodded against Bonny’s shoulder.
“You’re not alone anymore. I’ll try to do what you want, but you need to talk to me. Okay?”
“Yes. I … I want you to sit on me more. I like it when you touch me and I like the way you smell.”
“Fine.” Bonny sighed and released the hug and pulled Zeal to one side of the room. “ Let’s do something else though. I'm going to challenge you. Do you know what an invisible chair is?”
“No.”
“It’s when you lean against the wall in a sitting position.” Bonny demonstrated, placing her feet shoulder width apart and leaning back into the wall. She slowly slid down until her knees and hips were both at ninety degree angles. “This works the legs and it’ll probably burn after a minute.”
Bonny stood back up and directed Zeal into the position, then added another restriction.
“Keep your elbows against the wall and arms out straight, parallel to the floor.”
Zeal did as asked.
“Great. I'm going to call this the throne position. Anytime I ask for a throne, I want you to do this. Either on the closest wall or where I point. Okay?”
Zeal nodded.
“You’re strong, so let’s see how long you last. You need to ask for permission to move. If you don't and you collapse, I’m going to spank you with the hairbrush. Okay?”
“Yes.”
“And call me mistress. If you’re going to insist on being used as furniture, you don’t get to use my name.”
“Yes, mistress.”
"Good girl."
Bonny could feel Zeal's happiness and contentment along their bond. She sighed again and sat, sliding all the way back, until her ass pressed against Zeal’s abs. She could feel the dragon girl's soft breasts on her lower back and Zeal's chin and nose between her shoulder blades. She leaned to one side, putting most of her weight on one of Zeal’s arms.