DD3 -CH3-

- Make Up Work -

Ryker was looking down at the map everyone had been working on the previous day.

He’d ended up just sleeping in Marybelle’s bed after they’d fooled around. Coming from there, he’d wound up here. He was now trying to figure out what they’d decided and planned.

I mean, I gave up having any input in the plan the moment I decided to run off with Shirley.

Frowning, Ryker stared at the map. There were wooden tokens laid throughout a good portion of the map. They were small coin like tokens placed at almost even intervals across a good portion of the map.

There was an additional four tokens that looked like a vague humanoid shape.

Slowly, it began to make more sense what he was looking at.

It was the end state for what their plan was for the time being. Except it didn’t look like they were going for the entirety of the Queensland as of yet.

They were planning on taking everything halfway to Queensrest, and no further.

“What questions do you have?”

Lifting his head up, he looked over his shoulder and found Lauren standing there. She was wearing a white sun-dress that looked incredibly comfortable. It was also rather flattering on her. She looked to be dressed for comfort alone.

“You wearing anything under that dress?” Ryker asked, smiling at her.

Lauren’s eyebrows went up, and she took in a short breath. Then let it out with a smile.

“Maybe I’ll let you find out later,” Lauren said, walking over to him. “Honestly though, Hon. Questions?”

“A couple,” Ryker said, looking back to the map. “Looks like you’re planning your first phase of something. Taking over half the Queensland up to this point.”

Ryker pointed to wher it seemed the circular tokens stopped.

“That about right, Sweetie?” he asked.

“Mmhmm. By the way, I like you calling me that,” Lauren said, stepping up next to him. “Phase one is a good way to put it. This point right here is where Dale seems to be cut in half by the Churches.”

Nodding his head, Ryker suddenly got it.

“You’re going to carve them away from one another. Attack the one outside the capital first. Separate them, single out their armies, and then start to grind them down,” Ryker said.

“That’s more or less it, yes,” Lauren said. She reached over the table and indicated the token he assumed was the Light Church main army. “This is the main army from what ah… Charlotte, yes. From what Charlotte could tell me, this is their main army. There’s a second much smaller army over here.”

Lauren’s hand drifted closer to the wall and indicated a much smaller token that Ryker had missed.

Leaning in, he laid his hand to Lauren’s rear end and looked to where she was indicated.

“I see,” he said. He suspected that was also where Claire was holding out. “Alright. I’m following so far.”

Lauren sighed, shaking her head.

“Hon, I do love your attention, truly I do, but I don’t think this is a good spot for that. We’re not alone in the woods anymore,” Lauren said, giving him a warm smile. “If Adele were to walk in, it’d harm her.”

Ryker let out a short breath and let his hand fall away from Lauren. “Thank you. I do love her, and I don’t want to hurt her. Hard to not want to touch you is all.”

“Then just touch me idiot, you don’t have to grab my butt,” Lauren said, taking a step closer to him and putting her shoulder into his chest. “Stupid asshole.”

Chuckling, Ryker motioned with his right hand to the map. It did something for him listening to her curse. “Well, Sweetie? What else then.”

“First part of phase one is planting the cores,” Lauren said. “All those lovely circles. The Queen of dungeon has been infinitely patient with me and explained at length the limitations and what we could do with them.”

“Wynne’s pretty awesome, yeah,” Ryker admitted.

“She’s more than awesome. I’m glad to have her in our marriage,” Lauren said. “Now, to have all these planted, I’m thinking a small expeditionary force. At the same time, we’ll do what we can to hamper the church where they’re building their fortifications.”

“That’d… make sense, yeah,” Ryker said. He was suddenly thankful he’d missed the entirety of the strategy meeting. It wasn’t something he felt like he could add to, and he’d have just been… whiny.

Really… really need to thank Shirley for stealing me away.

“I promised everyone I’d talk to you about the plan and figure out how to use you,” Lauren said. She prodded him in the gut with her index finger. “And don’t respond with something flirty. I need you to be serious.”

“Fine. Whatever. Uh… what do you want me to do, Lauren? I mean… my… conviction-” Ryker grinned as he said the word. “Is to see your ass back on your throne. I’ll do what you need me to do, to make that happen.”

Sighing, Lauren’s head sunk. Slowly her chin dipped down until it rested on her chest.

“I was hoping you’d tell me what to do with you. That way I wouldn’t have to send you into danger and could warn you instead,” Lauren muttered.

“Oh, uh, ok. Send me with the expeditionary force. I’ll take Robyn, Shirley, Charlotte, and Tris,” Ryker said immediately. “That should be more than enough force to handle anything we encounter. Adele should be able to look after Al while I’m away I imagine.”

Lauren lifted her head up, and looked to him with a smile.

“Alright… just… remember to be safe,” she murmured.

“Of course. Can’t let you raise our kid without me after all,” Ryker said with a shrug of his shoulders, setting his hand to Lauren’s back.

“Uhm, what?” asked the Queen.

“You’re pregnant. Surprise,” Ryker said with a grin. “Apparently either I have super seed, or you’re just that fertile. Feel free to ask Marybelle or Wynne if you want, they’ll confirm it.

Nodding her head, Lauren looked confused and bewildered. Then she started shaking her head.

“I am?” she asked, a strange giggle bubbling up as she spoke.

“Yeah. You are. Like I said, I need to make sure I get back to you,” Ryker said. “Though, it’s kinda nice I got to tell you first, and in private.”

Laughing, Lauren bounced in place, then kissed him. Hugging him tight enough to actually squeeze the breath out of him

Releasing him, she shook her head with a grin.

“I have to tell Diane,” Lauren said, wiping at her eyes even as they teared up. “You go get your team together. You’ll probably need to leave tomorrow.”

Pausing to kiss him again, Lauren rushed off, practically running away from the room.

“I still wanna know about the dress later,” Ryker called after her. “Pregnant or not.”

Lauren flipped the rear of her dress up at him as she ran away.

Oh. Nothing.

Fun.

“Why aren’t I coming with you?” Marybelle asked. She sounded normal in his head, but he’d also seen her break down in tears after he finished inside of her “Fairy Avatar”.

In the end, she’d felt nothing from it. At any level.

When she regained control over herself, and the tears had dried up, she made her decision and quickly.

She cleaned her Fairy body up, put it back into it’s box, and then had the ground open up beneath it and take it down into the depths. With the rest of the Fairy and Imp bodies.

“Because I need you here, my mind-wife,” Ryker said as gently as he could. “I need someone here I can relay information with, and work out what we’re doing. Traveling through the dungeon space is nowhere near as fast as our own personal bond.”

“I don’t like it,” Marybelle said.

“I know, Baby-Bell, but it’s what I need. For me?”

“Okay. Only for you, Dear. Also… you’re going to have to take Meino, and you still owe her that conversation.

“Just be honest with her. If you’re not really interested in her, tell her that. It’s not like you can help what you are and aren’t attracted to. It’s just… how it is.”

Shit.

Fuck.

Shitfuck.

***

Meino walked into Ryker’s throne room.

He was waiting for her. Before he did anything else, spoke to anyone about what was happening, he owed her this conversation.

Owed it to her more than anything else he had planned on his calendar.

“Hey, Meino,” Ryker said, lifting a hand in greeting.

Meino frowned severely, looking at him.

“You’re going to tell me I should stop trying to become like Shirley, or Adele,” Meino said.

Truth of the matter was, she was right.

He’d decided in the end, that while he was attracted to Meino, he also wasn’t. It was a strange thing to look at a Minotaur and wonder how sex would be with such a thing.

She wasn’t Human.

She didn’t even vaguely resemble a Human.

On top of that, he already had more women in his life

In her pale blue eyes, he saw nothing but infinite hurt. Hurt, despair, and rejection.

For someone so non-Human, she was very… Human.

“Meino. I have… a lot… of women in my life,” Ryker said.

Turning her head to one side, Meino didn’t respond. She just looked at him, clearly unsure of what to say.

“Yes… you do. Nine, if you include Robyn,” Meino said.

“Ugh. I have more women than days in the week,” Ryker groaned, pressing his hands to the sides of his head. “How the fuck did that even happen?”

“Your almost insatiable appetite for women. You often eye Fairies and Imps, despite your clear overly loaded marriage certificate,” Meino said, her mouth slowly curling up into a smirk. “Adele made a bet with Shirley the other day that you’d eventually bed Benni.”

“Fuck me, am I that awful?” Ryker asked.

“I’d like to, and yes, you’re that awful,” Meino said deadpan. “It’s a very good thing all your women understand you, and love you. Though some take it much harder than others that you’re not only with them.”

Grimacing, Ryker moved his right hand from his temple to the back of his neck and began rubbing at it. He covered his eyes with his left hand.

“Shirley… Adele and… Tris?” Ryker asked.

“Yes. Adele most especially,” Meino said. “She’s doing very well with it though. She doesn’t cry at night by herself anymore. It seems she’s adjusting since she came back with Lauren and Diane.”

“I’m a fucking monster,” Ryker said, shaking his head.

“No. You’re not. Not really, at least. You’ve seemed to firmly put the brakes on trying to bed anyone else. Despite multiple opportunities. There’s no shortage of Fairies and Imps that try to seduce you after all,” Meino said.

“Shirley is a good example of me failing,” Ryker muttered.

“Not really. You were already wed to her on paper, and Lauren expected you to bed her,” Meino said.

“She said that to me but… wait, how’d you know?”

“I talk to all your wives. They talk to me about you, ask questions, try to figure you out. I spend all my time with you,” Meino said. “If I don’t know you, who would?”

The creepy Hob who lives in my brain. Like a ghost.

“Love you, too, Dear,” Marybelle said. “Adele only cried a few times. A lot of her problem was the alcohol dependence. She’s still recovering, but hasn’t had a drop to drink since she poured out her canteen in front of you.”

“And Tris?” Ryker sent directly to her.

“Young. It’s a much more keen love for her, as her experience is so limited,” Marybelle said.

“Alright,” Ryker said, letting his hands drop back down to his knees. He felt like scum of the earth, and yet he couldn’t imagine not doing what he had. “You wanted to talk. Let’s hear it. I assume you have something to say or… a topic… something?”

“I want to try being in a relationship with you,” Meino said.

Nodding his head, Ryker was unsurprised.

“I was kind of expecting that,” Ryker muttered.

“I’m not very subtle,” Meino admitted. “I talked to Shirley, Lauren, Adele, and Diane about it.”

“Uh huh,” Ryker said, pressing his head to his brow. “And what’d they all say?”

“Adele was upset. Told me to bug Lauren,” Meino said.

Yeah. No surprise from what I just found out.

“Lauren told me I’d need to get everyone else on board first. Diane said it was fine. And Shirley told me I was better off going for someone else,” Meino said.

“Uh huh. So… they’re saying no,” Ryker said, lifting his head up.

“They did, but that was to sleep with you. None of them had a problem with me trying out a relationship with you, or grooming you,” Meino said.

“Right. So… you’re going to start grooming me again, and see about getting me comfortable with the idea of you being more than what you are,” Ryker said, letting his gaze hit the floor again.

He really didn’t like what he was about to do to her.

“Yes,” Meino said, nodding her head sharply. “By the time they realize my grooming sessions with you are more than they think, I’ll have already gotten you to realize I’m just like they are.

“With you backing me, it’ll be that much harder for them to say no.”

Taking in a breath, Ryker shook his head and let it out.

I can’t do it.

“Fine,” Ryker said, throwing a hand up in defeat. “If they all agreed to that part of it, then I will to. I’m telling you up front. Right here and now. I’m not quite into this, Meino. It’s hard to see you as anything other than not Human.”

“I know. It’s why I did this,” Meino said.

Looking to Meino again, Ryker was shocked.

The face he’d seen for so long as Meino was gone. It was a far more human one looking back at him. The slight muzzle and small angular nose was gone. The fur that covered most of her body had vanished as well.

The features were still Meino in a way though. Her cheeks were narrower, but still high and sharp. Her jaw firm, but no longer so shallow. Her forehead gained a significant addition, making her head very human.

She wasn’t bad looking. She was actually kinda cute.

The neighbor girl you saw too much of, kind of cute.

Though nothing else about her changed. She was still big in every way. Her large black horns still came up out of the top of her head.

Her hair was unchanged with its signature mohawk like stripe, and her ears were long and hung out low on each side of her head.

“Do you like it?” she asked. Her voice hadn’t changed, but her pronunciation had.

He’d never even considered changing her pattern. He’d just seen her as any other person anymore. A living being.

She wasn’t though. She was created in the dungeon, with mana, and complex patterns. She could modify whatever she wanted of herself if she knew how to do it.

Peeking into the dungeon-sense, Ryker looked into her pattern.

Everything he’d built around her was there, but now there was a massive second layer around Meino. Full of swooping and looping curves and circles.

Shirley. Shirley modified Meino well above and beyond what I had done.

And she made her absolutely… frightening. Meino is… a shapeshifter now?

She can modify her own pattern at will, so long as she has the strength of soul to do it.

Impressed by the scope of the work, and grinning, Ryker looked back to Meino’s new face.

“Shirley put a lot of time into you,” Ryker said.

“Yes… I owe her considerably,” Meino said, sheepishly looking down. The gesture in it’s shyness made her look at the cuter. She looked back up to Ryker and gave her a smile, her wide, square, flat teeth quite prominent. “Wanna touch my chest again? They’re a little bigger now without the fur.”

“Uuuh… maybe later. I need to hold a meeting soon. We’re going to become an expeditionary force and head out into the Queensland,” Ryker said. “We’re going to be in charge of planting cores throughout the country-side. So the dungeon can grow and expand throughout Dale.”

“Mm, sounds dangerous. I’m going?” Meino asked.

“Yeah. I already planned on taking you. You, me, Robyn, Shirley, Charlotte, and Tris,” Ryker said.

“That’s a very strong force to take. You’ll be carrying Robyn, Charlotte and Tris’ cores with us?” Meino asked.

“Yup.”

“I’ll carry them then. We’ll put them in my pack,” Meino said. There appeared to be no room for argument in that.

“Okay then. If you insist,” Ryker said.

“Will you be sleeping with Shirley, Tris, and Charlotte on the trip?” Meino asked.

“I… don’t know? I mean… err… maybe? That’s a weird question I guess,” Ryker said.

“Bring tents. I can groom you in them, and you can sleep alone if you wish, or invite someone in,” Meino said. “I can also stand guard and repel anyone if they try to enter without your permission.

“Like the Paladin.”

Ryker blinked at that, and started to nod his head again.

Robyn would make a move, wouldn’t she?

“I’ll go prepare,” Meino said. “Is there anything else I should bring?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Ryker didn’t really know how to respond to that.

“You have… no idea what to bring at all, do you?” Meino said, her eyebrows drawing down low over her pale blue eyes. Then she sniffed the air twice. “Your women are drawing near. I’ll speak with Adele and Marybelle about this.”

Shaking her head, Meino started walking toward her alcove in the rear of the room. Only she could enter and exit from it, and she’d also taken to using it as a means to get around the city when she wished.

There was a clack from the far side of the hall, and the doors swung open.

In marched Robyn, Shirley, Tris, and Charlotte. He’d sent them a message for everyone to please come and join him here.

Tris and Charlotte looked particularly pleased. When he thought about it he understood why fairly quickly.

He hadn’t spent much time with them at all in the last six months.

Tris was of course, the same as ever.

The stoic beautiful Elven maiden. The picturesque alien beauty that Elves often were. Light skinned, lovely green eyes, and short white hair, wrapped up in a personality as straightforward as the longsword always on her hip.

Next to her was Charlotte, Ryker’s personal assassin.

Her midnight-black hair was pulled back with a tie, her pale skin making it seem all the darker. There were times when her hair, skin color, and eyes the color of pitch made her look like a piece of paper with burnt holes in it.

Then again she was also almost up to Marybelle’s figure and had a lot of athleticism on top of that.

Smiling, Ryker stood up.

“Hello! I’ve got an offer for you all that I think you’ll take me up on,” Ryker said.

“You’re going to push the Elf down in front of us and have your way with her,” Shirley said. “I mean, I’m interested in a way, but I’d really rather not.”

Tris choked, her head turning to stare at Shirley with a bright red face.

“What? You’re pretty,” Shirley said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Are your ears like… handle bars? Marybelle’s ears are like that. I asked her about it and she just turned bright red and wouldn’t say anything.

“So, when he really gets into it, does he grab’em? Hold onto’em? He gets grabby with me. Holds onto my sides or hips a lot. Does he with you? What about you, Charlotte? With that rack of yours I bet he can’t help it.”

Shirley looked to Ryker with a massive shit-eating grin.

She was already shit-stirring as fast as she could.

Going to be a… a fun trip. Yeah.

Fun.