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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 43 I Only See the Worst in People

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Chapter 43

I Only See the Worst in People

WOOSH! A beam of light comes from my eyes, as I feel my mind and body burn away an outer protective shell over the monster that was clearly visible to my eyes. Once the monster's shell and the dazzling light show from my eyes are over, a monster in black and burnt flesh appears before everyone. At least I think it appears before everyone, as suddenly everyone is silent as I hear a collective gasp from everyone breathing in, all in unison.

"RAWWRRR!" The monster that is now attached to my hand screams out angrily.

"What the Fuck is that?" Someone from the audience calls out.

As for me I try to move my hand, only to find out I am now attached to the charcoal-colored monster. How did I get here? I often wonder that myself. I want to chalk it up to poor life choices. When I was a kid, maybe I should have studied that much harder. Granted one could say that studying hard got me here in the first place. It was after all my studying to become and Endarian citizen that theoretically led to this mess.

Also, one could argue that my overpowered Psionic nature has made everyday life seemingly impossible. In fact, it is almost sad that the most normal part of my day is spending time with my partner, a literal space elf with metallic butterfly wings that work in space. Don't ask me how such a thing is possible, I just live in this reality, I didn't make it.

Yet, despite all the oddities in my life; from millennium old trees using me as a fertility clinic, to reintroducing Endar Rising to the Endarians (different universe, had to be there), to winning the lottery before handing over my winning ticket to a random waitress (there was a whole thing where I subconsciously knew I had to get rid of the ticket, but couldn't tell me that otherwise I would break the rules of the ticket transfer protocols), to piggy-backing a ride off of intergalactic and cross dimensional amoeba to a new universe entirely. Despite all of that, I dare say that this right here might be one of the oddest moments of my life. Definitely within the top ten.

The worst part is this is even odd compared to my previous lives. The worst part was this entirely random event could have been avoided entirely. It's not like I asked for a crazy alien to randomly appear at my citizenship ceremony, nor did I ever want to touch the slimy appendage of the alien creature. I didn't even want to shake the monster's hand, but here we are now.

All this races through my head, in the brief seconds when my mind is trying to catch up to what just happened. Some say your life flashes before your eyes before you die. I had a mini version of this, but in this case it was only the top highlights, thus far, of this life. After seeing the highlights, I have to say this life has kind of been a letdown.

Swish.

The massively overpowered monster of burnt muscles tries to pull its hand back. The only problem, again I mentioned how the original hand was slimy and is now no longer slimy. Well, it appears that slime when dried out becomes an adhesive, at least that is the case with this slime as our hands are now firmly attached. I say hands, in that I don't quite know what to call the dried lump of wiry tendrils, that have wrapped themselves around my hand as anything but a hand.

Blur.

The world spins wildly for a moment. I realize almost too late, that the monster I am attached to, is trying to wrestle its seared appendage away from me.

Crash! Boom!

I land with a pain filled thud, as I was literally whipped around like a yo-yo being used by an amateur. That's right, I got snapped up into the air, crashed into the ground, then he just stared at me dumbfounded when I didn't coil back up. I felt a lot of my bones break, which I quickly began casting Heal before my mind had a chance to register the offending complaints of pain.

My spell work apparently caused the amateur yo-yo enthusiast, and full time scourge of space to realize that it too apparently could cast spells. I was made fully aware of this, as I felt the air begin to be pulled in around me. My skin began to shiver as goose flesh appeared all around me. My hair began to stand on end, as I realized something exceedingly bad was about to come.

There, yep now, of all times my allegedly over-powered Precognition decided to finally show up. Now when even Captain Obvious was likely thinking to himself, this doesn't look good. Now, of all times, I get the warning I should have gotten before this whole day began.

Beginning in my gut and turning outward, I feel an intense fear and dread coming from whatever spell this creature is about to unleash upon the Endiarian planet we are occupying.

Zip. Zip. Zip.

What was everyone else doing currently? Simple, I don't really know. I could tell a few people including the General had drawn their hand blasters and were opening fire upon the beast. The only problem was that this didn't seem to do a thing as the monster had some type of protective shielding around it protecting it against such attacks.

As for me, I was somehow inside the protective bubble with the creature as we were still attached. My mind registered this, but that slight distraction was all the fearsome creature needed to manifest a Portal spell.

A surge of glowing green abyssal energy swelled up from the beast, and just before it launched the vortex open, I am acting on instinct locked the spell in place. This meant that I had to drop the healing effects I had been performing a moment ago on my body, and now had to focus solely on taking over the portal that this monster was trying to bring to the universe.

The beast looked up, to see that its spell had been stolen and sealed in place.

With that distraction, I went on the offensive. I needed to keep my full magical attention on keeping the portal shut, for I knew whatever was on the other end of that portal was not good. So magic was out, but fortunately for me magic was always my backup option anyways. I was just a Support Mage after all.

Realizing I only had two attack options available. I technically had three, but even now I could not feel the mind of this monster, meaning Mind Rend was out. That just left Telekinesis-X and Pyrokinesis-X, neither of which were particularly enticing options. Especially because I was still attached to the monster. But given that any throwing of the beast would likely mean I too would get thrown and slammed into the ground. I quickly dismissed that idea and went for the only remaining option.

WHOOSH!

I set us both on fire. Well really, I set the monster on fire while doing my best to control the flames and keep them off me. I breathed in deeply, as I set a raging inferno loose.

The glowing green sacs of glowing liquid the monster had for eyes ruptured and popped within a second. The charcoal wires that served as taught cords of muscles for the creature began to burn and tighten. Unfortunately, other than taking away some of the slimy nature of the skin, the monster's extremities were very resistant to the flames. At least they were at first.

I should have expected such resistance, especially as this creature like all its others, was likely somehow able to travel freely in space without any real restrictions. I had hoped that this monster, which was apparently a more evolved and powerful version of the scourge, was somehow vulnerable to something.

Blur.

Wham!

The world spun around me for a second, as I saw everything twist about at incomprehensible speeds. Then I felt my body wrestle with a different section of the stage we were on. This time I managed to put up somewhat of a fight, as parts of the stage crackled and broke underneath my body's inertia.

Whoom.

My mind blinked again. At least that is what I think happened. Just like battling the hive mind queen in outer space I lost focus for a second. The spell that I had previously locked down with fury was no longer in my mental grasps. The fire that I had been controlling so diligently and directing away from my shared arm with the monster was now traveling down the arm and coming dangerously close to me.

Still, I had no time to worry about the flames, as that was clearly the wrong choice. So, I went with option number two, Telekinesis-X. Realizing it would be very hard to be thrown about without the monster having leverage. I decided to crush the monster and make its body crumple under the pressure and strain of my enhanced Telekinesis. Honestly, I still didn't know how much power I could put into this attack. I didn't know how much more powerful my Pyrokinesis-X was for that matter, but it did feel hotter. At least before I was thrown like a rag doll into the ground.

Focusing on the monster I lifted its legs off the ground and began compacting the entire creature into one oversized magic eight ball. The only problem with this magic eight ball, I already knew what its prediction would read, "Outlook Not So Good."

Still, I crumpled and bent the wiry muscles into one compact form. Even without its glowing green eyes, it was still monstrous and scary. Likely made even scarier due to the fact it seemed to know where everything was, without need of its eyes. Or what I thought were its eyes. Clearly, they might have served an alternate function, but I was not aware of what they were if not the eyes.

Whoom.

Still being attached to the monster that was slowly being ground into a giant ball was tough. Especially as it tried to whip me around like a piece of tinsel at the end of a baton. There was one good thing about the monster being held off the ground by my Telekinesis-X, I no longer got slammed into the ground. Now the only problem was, my arm. My arm was still the only thing still attaching me to the monster. Said arm was likely the only reason I was able to directly interact with this creature, if what I was seeing about the attacks being directed at the overpowered shield around us were to be believed.

Basically, it was up to me to stop this monster.

Oh yeah, and about that portal I had locked. Well, it was still locked, but the monster was in the process of building a new one. I would have stopped this one as well, but a damn pesky preservation part of my brain was having me Heal myself, versus save the whole universe. I know, I know, selfish me. But something about having your arm ripped from its socket, then broken and shattering into hundreds of pieces due to violently shaking and being used a pendulum to waggle your whole body. Well, that kind of pain, caused by such an act, causes even the best of us to lose perspective for a moment.

Focusing on closing the ball into a tighter sphere, I feel like I am at the point of no return. I can't stop, because then the beast will get free. But I also can't crush the creature because its external shell is just too thick. That's when I reach down deep inside.

I feel the spark that is connected to me, the spark from Rayquel. Feeling that little spark pulse brightly inside me, I feel power. A tiny trickle of power, but power all the same. Latching onto that spark between us, I gather it up and add it to my already massive pool of overpowered psionics. Something that should be so simple for me, is still just beyond my grasp. Or at least it was.

The minute I add Rayquel's spark to my own source of power, there is a compounding effect as our powers aren't merely added. Rather our powers are multiplied together in triplicate.

CRUNCH!

Within seconds of using the joint spark between us, the space cockroach is crushed.

Squirt.

A satisfying squish is felt as the monster that had been getting ready to unleash more devastating attacks on me suddenly stopped. The tension in my arm relaxes slightly.

There is of course one problem with killing the main enemy that everyone was firing wildly at. Once the monster dies, and its massively overpowered shield falls, all the attacks that were being stopped suddenly find no resistance. That is until they find the fleshy human.

Murphy is a bitch. I think, as I remember one of his most accurate sayings. "Friendly fire is the most accurate fire."

Zip. Zip. Zip.

I am pelted with energy round after energy round. Fortunately for me, I was already channeling Healing magic into my body before these attacks landed. Unfortunately, they still burned and punched holes through my flesh and organs with ruthless efficiency.

High overhead I saw a giant green wave of energy wink out of existence. While falling to the ground from all my excessive shots received, I see the hole that had been opened high in the atmosphere suddenly blink out of existence. Hundreds of monsters that were caught in the tunnel when it collapsed are now falling to the ground in chunks. Off in the distance I can hear the cries of hundreds of people still screaming in fear, as many who were gathered here today were just civilians. Some of whom were also receiving their citizenship awards. I just happened to be the main figurehead of these proceedings.

I cast Healing on myself one more time. I could already feel my mind slowly beginning to fade, from both fatigue and from blood loss.

My last act, before I passed out was to set the bug that I was still attached to on fire one last time. I did not want to have to fight this monster again. Truth be told I didn't think I could survive a second encounter, especially not if it was prepared for me.

ZZZ!

A glowing vibro blade surged to life and sliced through the black arm that was still attached to me. I should have been frightened by how close the blade was to me, but at that moment all I could feel was the slight comfort of having my over extended right arm able to collapse in to my chest.

My vision was getting fuzzy, but I could still make out the form of the person who had cut me free. Her glowing silver wings were highlighted by the rising flames behind her. Either the fluids from inside the creature were particularly flammable, or the shielding the creature used protected its body from flames as well. Either way, the creature was going up like a marshmallow that had spent a moment too long in the inferno. Its exoskeleton shell was now melting and pooling into a flammable liquid.

Strong arms grabbed me, and began carrying me away from the flames I had created. Then for the second time I realized I was being princess carried to safety by my bonded partner. I almost said something about it, but I was so tired all I could do was see smile at her silhouette and say "thanks."

With that the world went dark. The last thing I heard was the sound of small arms fire and people shrieking in panic. We were being invaded by monsters, and I needed to do something.

"You've done enough." Rayquel said, almost as if she read my thoughts. "Sleep now, we will take care of the rest."

With her reassurance, I let my mind drift off into nothingness.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As always, thank you all for reading. Also please leave comments, they really are the best part of writing here on this interactive platform.

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 44 One, Three, and a Bit of Five

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A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As always, thank you for reading.

Chapter 44

One, Three, and a Bit of Five

Visions: First off, one might ask themselves how they know they are experiencing visions. Well good question. With practice one can begin to feel the tell-tale strain of energy being used to conjure such an event. Another great cue is that you cannot interact with the scenery. Sure, you can look around, change your point of view, your viewing angle, and so on. Still there is an undeniable quality that comes from visions.

I can now tell the difference in visions from this universe that I am currently residing in, and my own home universe. The key distinction is that Mel is in my visions of home. Each day that passes, I feel like I am beating a dead horse. That I am clinging to something that means more to me than it does to her. At least that is what I tell myself.

Then I see the visions. I see a blank face Mel being mind-raped by my brother. I see tears forming in her eyes. Now how can a blank face cry? Good question. Namely tears form where I think the eyes should be. Really the visions are tough to stomach. I can feel her pain, her mental screams for help.

Worse I even see Mave there, fully aware, but unable or unwilling to do anything. Seeing that, I wonder if my brother has done something to Mave as well. Something that lets him commit crimes right in front of people. I watch it all unfold. Then fortunately they end.

"Breathe." A gentle voice calls out to me. The voice sounds distant and like it is floating away. Still, I recognize it, that is the voice of Rayquel.

I hear the voice and the previously small spark inside me comes to life. Although now it is a burning heat lamp, bright and unavoidable. I feel like I could grow crops from the spark that is shared between us.

"He's back. I can feel him. He's coming back." Rayquel shouts out to someone in the distance. Her voice is frightened and at the same time ecstatic. She is relieved, no she is beyond relieved.

Sniff.

She is close enough that I can hear her sniffing me. I almost feel revolted by this, but I then relax slightly as I realize this is a way to make sure I am healthy.

"His pheromones are back, meaning his mind is once again active." A different voice. Only with this do I realize that the person that sniffed me, was not Rayquel. The doctor?

That is a weird way to check someone, but I guess it works for Endarians, which I apparently am.

"Oh wow, he is most definitely active." The female doctor says, as I can almost hear a hint of nervousness to her voice.

At this point I open my eyes, and the darkened room that I was in suddenly bursts to life. They had the lights set to dim apparently while I slept. Even when the doctor came in, they didn't bother turning on the lights, instead going straight to check on the lab equipment that I am strapped to.

"You've had a bit of a day. Can you tell us what you remember?" The doctor asks.

I turn my head to the doctor and realize almost instantly that this was a big mistake. The world spins. I take a second to focus, before the world slows down enough, for me to look at the doctor. "I remember my citizenship ceremony. Then everyone noting that I missed the Secretary of Defense question. Then there was a monster handing me a certificate…"

I am cut off by General Pouncing Tiger.

"So, you saw the Secretary of Defense as a monster before they handed you the citizenship certificate?" General Tigran asked.

"Yeah." I say, rolling my head back to nod, then I thought better of such an act. "I'm still a citizen, right?"

I ask, suddenly concerned that my status might be revoked. It would look kind of bad to renounce my human citizenship for Endarian citizenship, only to have to go groveling back to the humans.

Laughter.

Fortunately, all three people in the immediate area begin laughing at this comment. This is a good sign, and I immediately relax.

"No, you found a lurking Prolaxian right in the midst of our command structure. We are thinking about giving you another award ceremony."

"No more ceremonies, please."

More laughter.

Apparently, they think I am joking. I of course am deadly serious, but I realize this might not be the hill worth dying upon. At least it is not the hill worth dying upon currently.

"At first everyone was shocked to see that you had the ability to reveal such a creature." The General continued. "Rayquel even said that you had felt apprehensive when you first laid eyes upon the Secretary… I mean the Prolaxian infiltrator."

I turn to Rayquel, who just nods and smiles at me. I didn't realize when, but somewhere in this, she held my hand. Had she been holding my hand this entire time? I looked at the hand and could instantly feel that she felt flustered by the gaze through our bond. She was about to pull away. That is when I gripped her hand a little tighter, letting her know I didn't want her to leave. With this confirmation, she relaxed and let her hand stay. With that minor thing done, I realized I had to reply, as everyone was now staring at me.

"I could. I saw the monster from the other end of the stage. At first, I thought it was some sort of prank you were all playing on me. You know give the new citizen their certificate by a person wearing a hideous costume. Make sure they really want to be a citizen. Then the more I looked, the more things didn't seem to add up. I expected to see some sort of anticipation on your face, or at the very least through my bond with Rayquel. She might have a poker face, but it is hard to lie through the bond." I said, patting my stomach, where I felt the bond residing, with my free hand.

Hearing this the General nodded to herself. Then asked, "can you tell me again what your newest Psychic power is?"

I blinked, as I had forgotten. So, I had to look it up from my status again. "Revelation Sight, which is at ninety-nine plus percent."

Hearing this the General nodded to herself. "I think that might be the most powerful weapon in our arsenal. We were infiltrated by at least one Prolaxian. Intelligence has indicated that there are likely more involved in this. We have gone through the communications of the former Secretary of Defense and found that he had several odd communications with different people." The General began.

Hearing this I raised an inquisitive eyebrow, wondering if I should be privy to this type of information.

The General just waved a dismissive hand. "You and Rayquel, in addition to your temple training, will be part of a new task force to find other Prolaxians in our different governments."

"Governments as in plural?" I ask.

"Yes. Some of the communications came from human and Dwenvarian communication clusters. We think this might be part of why the Prolaxians were able to spread so easily on the Dwenvarian home world. This would also help to explain how the information on the two human labs were leaked." The General said.

"So, they have spies in our networks, and others as well?" Rayquel asked.

"Yes. Which is why we will have another award ceremony for the two of you. This time you will get both the Psionic of Valor, for your previous fight in space. Along with receiving the coveted Mage of Valor medal for your recent operation, where you revealed the Prolaxian infiltrator." The General said.

With that, I felt annoyed at the use of me getting awards to draw out other potential sleeper agents. This is a thought I fully intend to draw out by my next set of questions.

"To be clear, I am to be the bait to draw out, and then identify other Prolaxian infiltrators? Also isn't the Mage of Valor medal only for mages who use combat magic, while on the ground?"

The General chuckles. "That is one way to put your ceremony. While it might be a bit much to assume another Prolaxian infiltrator will appear, we can at least start whittling down suspects. As for your other comment, you did cast Magic spells during the intense combat operations. We clearly have evidence of you using your Mage Breaking spells to stop the opening of a portal. Then the use of Healing magic on an injured soldier on the front lines of combat."

I pause as I try to puzzle out what she was saying. Then it hits me. "Myself. I am getting an award for Healing myself while in battle?" I ask incredulously.

"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound selfish. But your blocking the extra-universal portal was enough for us to start scrambling forces. That alone would be enough for the award. Added to that, is the fact that you then took enemy fire."

"That was friendly fire."

"All fire during a battle is enemy fire." The General clarified.

"The infiltrator as you call it, didn't even have a weapon."

"Then why would you need to heal yourself so many times." After hearing the General's argument, I realized I needed to stop while I could. Still there was something odd coming from Rayquel's pair bond with me.

Wanting to change the subject, as I believed this current course of topic was only going to get me angry at a superior officer, I turn to Rayquel. Then locking gazes with her, I ask, "What?"

With that one question, I felt a surge of nervous emotions flow through our bond. Honestly it was a bit much, and more than I remember there being.

Rayquel breaks eye contact from me, then looks to both the General and the Doctor.

There is a moment, as I guess they are either communicating with pheromones, or telepathically. Maybe they are using that odd brain wave communication system that all women seem to possess. In any event, I don't know how they exactly communicate, but they seem to come to some form of consensus. With that the two, look to the Doctor, who then nods.

"Yes, you are no doubt by now feeling the increased bond of your connection to Rayquel?" The Doctor began. Hearing this, I did notice there was a change, a huge change. Before I sort of had to pay attention to the spark to see what she was feeling. Now it feels like I will be burned if I don't pay attention to the glow bulb. Again, it is a matter of magnitude greater than it previously was.

"There is some good news, and some not so good news to share with you." The Doctor begins.

Hearing this, I instantly feel flustered. I almost imagine the doctor saying something along the lines of "you have cancer, but it is treatable." Or something to that effect. I know it can't be something too bad, my own body scans would have told me by now if something was truly wrong with my body.

"See you have formed additional pair bond layers with Rayquel." The doctor began. "If I am to understand correctly, you somehow used the power of your pair bond to strengthen your final attack against the Prolaxian Infiltrator?"

Thinking back on the situation, I do remember this being the case. I remember somehow grabbing the spark that was between us, and then using that spark to generate more energy. Then next thing I remember the Prolaxian who had previously been able to withstand my Telekinesis-X powers, was squashed easily.

I didn't think much on it, at that at the time. I had just done what felt natural. But the way the Doctor was talking, it seemed I had done something wrong, or at least unheard of.

"Don't worry. You didn't do anything that is wrong, or detrimental to your bond. Rather you just went out of normal order. See…" The doctor began a long, LONG diatribe of how I messed up.

I like to think I take criticism well, wait, no I don't. Who does, right? Well anyways. Long story short I broke the pair bonding recommended steps. I had somehow managed to jump from level one, to three, and then almost managed to get to five. Apparently, I would have completed the fifth bond entirely, had the Prolaxian Infiltrator not gone squish when he had. That was both interesting and a little concerning.

Apparently, our skipping steps was nothing to worry about for the moment. As long as we took the proper steps to correct our foundation we should be fine. There was some weird, Endarian concepts that were thrown into the explanation. Best I could understand was the build your own furniture analogy.

What do I mean by build your own furniture? Well, that is simple. Say you want a bookshelf, you go order the parts and get a small package filled with all the parts that you will need to assemble a bookshelf. Once you have the parts, you can either be boring and read the instructions first; laying out each piece in the order you will need them. Then go line by line making sure to assemble the piece to exact specifications of the blueprint. Or you can take the more fun route of imagining how you want your bookshelf to look. You then go through, use the pieces that you want, assemble it how you think it should go, then leave it as is. There are merits for both.

While building a bookshelf to the instruction's standards might be the way to guarantee success, it is often dull. All this is to say that I built my own bookshelf, or in this case my own connection to Rayquel. The connection now leans to the side and can wobble if we put books on the shelf too quickly, but overall, it is in the shape and idea of what a true pair bond should be.

"So let me try to sum this all up. We," I say gesturing to Rayquel and myself. "We have what could be described as a tier three pair bond. We also have parts of the tier five pair bond forming. This means we are almost fully complete there too. The only problem is that we are missing a few pieces at the base to keep the whole thing sturdy?" I ask.

The doctor looks ticked. "Have you listened to a word I said?"

That is a fair question. I know for a fact I zoned out, or at least I tried to zone out during his long speech. Though Rayquel, the little narc, kept pulling me back in when my mind started to drift.

"What?" I ask.

Rayquel, feeling simultaneously annoyed and amused answers. "You are basically correct. Though using your furniture example, from earlier, does not even come close to how poorly our foundation is."

All right so maybe I wanted a second opinion on my furniture analogy. But still, she said there was merit to the analogy, so that must mean something?

"Basically, what you did was you assembled a bookshelf right in the center of the living room. This made the most sense as that was where all the parts were. But now you have an extremely shaky bookshelf that can't be moved, unless all the top portions shake free. Worse, you don't even know if you can put the books you wanted, on the shelves."

It was at this time that I realized my mistake. "Your right, why would we even let books out on racks anyways. They are so precious that surely, we should use humidors for them. Still a shelf to hold an e-reader seems a bit plain. But I think our shelf could hold an e-reader at the very least." I say.

Anger.

Rayquel is apparently angry. I look to her, trying to understand what she is thinking. Then I get the one-word reply.

"Moron!"

That is a bit harsh, but I am willing to let her continue. I was wrong for trying to assemble a bookshelf, I fully admit. Though I know for a fact, that I would need to use the instructions to assemble a humidor.

She apparently realizes I am about to zone out again.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in. We likely should have given you some time to prepare for this, but really, we couldn't let you make another mistake like you did earlier."

"Mistake?"

"Yes, what you did was extremely dangerous, not just to yourself but to me as well. If you are going to use the bond like that in the future, it is probably best that we have a firm foundation in place before continuing."

Hearing that, I relaxed a little. I understood her concern. What I had done not only affected me, but also the part of her that was in me.

"So, what are the next steps?"

"In order to have a full connection ready for where you two are. You will need to complete the tiers two and four of the pair bonds."

"Tier two, I know. That is the mind melding. What is the fourth tier again?"

"The body melding." The doctor says.

I blink. Then blink again.

"What?" I ask.

"It is a weeklong ceremony, where you two will be joined in the ultimate form of union." General Tigran says.

"Nope." My one-word response. Mind melding is one thing, but that? That is way more. "Especially not before I talk to Mel about everything."

Hearing that, the General lowers her head.

Fortunately, Rayquel is the voice of reason. "I know, and I understand. Frankly that loyalty and not wanting to hurt her is part of why I find you so endearing. That said, we are not asking you to do any of these steps. All we ask is that you don't try to use the pair bond like you did earlier, without these tried-and-true methods in place."

Hearing that and the concern in her voice I relent. That is a fair compromise. Truthfully, I didn't even know what I did in the first place. So not repeating something that I didn't know, didn't seem like too much of a commitment.

"Okay."

And with that one word the whole awkward topic of a weeklong sex trip with Rayquel was dropped and I was allowed to leave the hospital. This way I could prepare for my Gemini Temple run with Rayquel, while also preparing for an upcoming award ceremony where I would act as a litmus test to help identify Prolaxian infiltrators. Fun times all around.

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 45 Accessories, A Taboo Encounter, and Monogamy

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Chapter 45

Accessories, A Taboo Encounter, and Monogamy

Today is Saturday, or at least the Endarian equivalent of a Saturday. Rayquel and I needed to get a few things from the city, but we didn't want to be hassled. So of course, now is when we came up with the idea of Covering our abnormalities. For Rayqel it was super easy, she just had to take her wings and wrap them around her front in some form of super bustier. You know one that wrapped under her arms, and accentuated her curves, hoisted the girls up, then left a runway strip of flesh that showed off her stomach and belly button. Yes, Endarians do have belly buttons, and you guessed it, they look perfect.

How do I know this? Simple, my bonded partner is an exhibitionist. That or she finds a particular form of enjoyment from torturing me, with my morals. Still, metal bodices, such things should be illegal, even if they are just personal wings.

Finally, we came to an agreement. She would stop flaunting herself, if I would go into the city with her to get supplies and other necessities. We were getting closer and closer to the end of the year, and the time when we would need to make our Gemini Temple run.

We found out early on that hair dye would just get burnt away by the glowing effect of my hair. I guess this would be like painting a light bulb, then letting it burn brightly for a long time. The paint would evaporate and peel, hopefully. Otherwise, you could also see the paint catch fire and burn down your house. You know what, let's just assume it is a bad idea and leave it at that. I am not responsible for the painting of light bulbs, nor the subsequent electrical damage caused by turning on said painted light bulbs. There, I said it, be stupid at your own risk.

Once Rayquel helped me clean up the mess from a random electrical fire, don't ask, she also helped me whip up a disguise. In the end we went for a short wig, contact lenses, and shades. Why contact lenses and shades? Well simple, even with contact lenses my eyes still glowed brightly. In order to dampen the effect of the light still shining through, we went with shades as well.

Looking at myself, I had to admit that for the first time in a long time I felt and looked like myself. Well like the normal me, not the one all cooked up on Temple juice. I had to say, it felt sort of nice.

With that we, like most of the students on the base were out and about. Going here, checking out the sites there. Basically, just enjoying our time away from the Military Academy.

It was almost too easy to spot the other cadets who were out, at least the male ones. They all wore black shirts, jeans, and their military running shoes. Looking down I realized I was dressed in the same exact way. Then I realized this was exactly what I was going for, as I didn't want to stick out.

"See. No one can tell you are, you." Rayquel said.

With that I relaxed a little. As I began taking in all the different sites of the city. Endarian cities are simultaneously different, and the same as human cities. They both have traffic, shops, and intricate structures that all sort of blend into each other. Where they differ is on the types of items they sell.

"Oh, can we go here?" Rayquel asked, while pointing to a crystal shop.

I had seen a few of these types of shops back in human space, but to compare the two would be wrong. For starters, the human shops had buckets and troughs of specific polished gemstones laid out. In the Endarian shop, there was none of that. Instead, the gems were laid out in rows, based on conductivity and resonance rating.

The shop was divided into halves, the left half was for crystals that could enhance magical resonances. While the right side of the shop was for crystals and stones that could enhance Psychic resonances. The effects were minor, but they could be felt.

I picked one of the psychic stones up and was about to test it, when Rayquel put a hand over top of the stone.

"Don't."

"What?" I asked.

"Don't try it."

I looked from her to the sign on the wall that clearly said, "Feel free to test out each crystal."

Seeing where I was looking, she shook her head. "This is a base crystal. If you try even a minor event you will crack the crystal open, and we will have to pay for it."

Hearing that I lowered my head.

"That would also draw attention to you." She said.

It was with this statement that she won, as I sighed and put the crystal down. I felt a sort of smugness pass over our bond from her. Sad part was, she was correct so I couldn't refute her.

"You could always check out the mage stones and see if any of those resonate with you." She offered as an olive branch.

I looked to the other end of the store. There were a few other customers in here. For a shop that sold rocks, this place was surprisingly active.

The mage section of the store seemed to be a bit larger. In a way this sort of made sense as most crystals formed on planets where mages would be the most effective. That did make me wonder about the psychic stones, were they from space rocks? I would have to ask more, as some of the items that were up for display were wholly unique to me.

Even in the mage section there appeared to be a few different varieties that were not available on any of the human planets. Some were back lit by dark lights, while others seemed to be kept in dark corners so stones' natural radiance could draw people in.

I was so lost in checking out the different magical stones that I completely lost track of my surroundings.

"Got you." A feminine voice cried out in victory.

I paid the voice no mind, despite their proximity to me. Well, I paid no mind at first, until I felt a hand grab me by the shoulder and spin me around.

Not wanting to cause a commotion I went with the motion, figuring someone likely thought I was stealing a stone. I was touching quite a few of them, seeing how they all lit up to my touch. I didn't take any and was sure to make sure to leave the stones in place, but still I felt something like this was unavoidable.

The spinning caused the air to swim around me. That's when I smelt it, a smell that momentarily caused me to be paralyzed. The sweet smell of honey and vanilla. I took in that smell and my body froze as if on instinct.

Badump.

My body froze while my heart decided to speed up its pace.

"You know what that means." She said, then before I knew what happened, she lunged forward and kissed me.

Soft lips brushed against mine, and I felt my pulse racing as hormones that I had forgotten about all came alive with fire in my brain.

Badump, badump.

A tongue swept in, and I didn't fight the embrace. This felt right, this felt so right. For a second, I was lost as my body reacted on instinct, and pent-up regret. Only after a second did I realize what was happening, what I was doing. I pushed Jess away, that's who it was as there was no doubt.

"What?" She asked, then she looked at me and I could see the moment realization struck her as her eyes went wide. She too now realized what had happened, what she had done, what we had done.

From our bond I could feel Rayquel coming closer.

"HAH! Found you!" Me, or rather Wizard me called out from behind the startled Jess who just stood there. Wizard me spun Jess around and stared at her stiff body for a second. Fortunately, Wizard me was either unobservant, or just oblivious to the state that Jess was in. She was still caught in a moment of panic, her arms up in the air from when I pushed her away.

I made this moment to turn and make my own exit, only to find Rayquel right there. Her eyes seemed to glow with the rage that only women can muster. The one that speaks of muted violence. She looked from me, where our bond and my pheromones were likely giving me away even now.

My heart was still racing, though now more of the fact that I had been caught more than anything. This was of course worse, way worse than just getting caught in the act. This was effectively a self-confession, signed and delivered. Worse, I still couldn't settle down the parts of me that were suddenly alive with passion.

Rayquel looked from me, then to the two kissing, and I could almost see the moment a thought of what might have happened filled her. As her eyes grew wider and began to glow with malice. Just before she was about to say something, the couple behind us broke apart.

"What is it?" Wizard me asked.

"N, nothing." Jess stammered, though she must have turned back to me, as I felt not one but three sets of eyes staring at me.

This is one of those times when you are the victim, but you sort of enjoyed being the victim, if only for a moment. This enjoyment, something you couldn't even control on your own, was something that in turn paradoxically made you more of the culprit. Or at the very least made you a complicit victim? Complicit Victim? Hmm, that sounds like it shouldn't be a thing, but I think that is what I am about to be charged with.

"You, what are you doing?" Wizard me asks, me.

I turn, shake my head then try to leave. Though Rayquel is making my ability to leave tough, as she is staring at me angrily taking up a lot of the limited aisle space.

I guess my wanting to leave gave Wizard me confidence that he was stronger, as he grabs hold of me and tries to spin me around. I just hold my body still, not giving into sudden spins, lest he try to kiss me too. You know that whole game they were playing, it was one I remember playing with Jess all the time. Hide and go smooch, or something equally sickening like that. Just a game young lovers play, but still, it is sickeningly sweet to see them at it like this in public. Granted the Endarians would likely encourage such behaviors.

"Why do you look like me." Wizard me demands.

I turn to him, having a hard time seeing as I am still wearing my shades inside. That's when I take the shades off and look at him. The moment the glow from my eyes reaches him, he backups as if he had been slapped by my eyes. I wish such a power existed.

"I look like you, because I am you, moron." I said. Anger filling me as I have had just about enough of this.

It doesn't help that I feel hurt, betrayal, and jealousy as the three main emotions coming through from my bond with Rayquel. I know I will need to speak with her here too about this same thing. Still, I want to leave, before we cause a scene. Well, more of a scene.

A quick glance around shows that multiple sets of eyes are already upon us.

I make to leave again; this time Rayquel moves out of my path. But it is Wizard me that stops me. Or at least he tries to stop me. He is summoning forth a great torrent of energy as many of the crystals nearby begin to rattle and shake in their display cases.

The moment before his spell forms, I grab it and hold it tight. I turn to look at him and am mildly impressed. He created a wind spell that would have hurl me forward through several display cases. Would have been hard to pick up the fact that I had been pushed.

"You just can't leave well enough alone, can you?" Wizard me asks.

He is furious, furious.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I ask as I turn back to him.

He starts summoning another Air spell, again his form is good. The spell he constructed is much better than what I could manage. Though again my affinity with Air is severely lacking, in comparison to his affinity.

"You. You have everything. The power, the grace, the accolades, the Iron Butterfly, and now you are trying to steal my Jess?" He says, even gesturing to Rayquel when he said the Iron Butterfly part. Apparently, her iron bodice getup was not fooling anyone, at least it didn't fool people that saw her on a regular basis.

I just shake my head. "Wow, just wow." I pause trying to get my thoughts together. "Of all the things, are you complaining about how my great my life is? My life is a giant shit show, of one colossal fuck up after another. This, this is not my idea of grace." I say gesturing with my hand to my face and to the wig that is now starting to fall off my scalp. Seeing this I go ahead and pull it the rest of the way off, letting my silver hair shine like a beacon in the store.

There are gasps nearby, as people that were staring at the commotion, we were causing are now paying full attention to us. Still, I don't care. I wanted to tell this guy off for a while.

"You have it perfect. Literally perfect. The exact textbook life I would have wished for myself. And you know what, you are close to losing it. Right now, this right here, this…" I say gesturing between him and Jess. "This was a mistake, one that she clearly feels sorry for, but here you are barking at me showing your insecurities about me. Look I'll spell it out for you, I'm gone. I don't know when, nor do I know how, but I can feel it. My time here is short. I will go back to my universe. But you know what, you will still be here with her. So why don't you stop feeling sorry for yourself and start trying to do the things she cares about if you are so afraid of losing her."

Panting.

I am panting at this point, rage, and anger over how stupid he is being is coursing through me.

"Oh yeah, and what would you suggest I do to keep her?" He asks, as if I don't know.

"Simple, work out more. She likes muscles, almost all women do. Do some speed drills, yeah, they suck, but come on she is worth it. Also learn the violin, it will help with your Dexterity training and will show that you care. Ask her about how she feels. Like look at her, right now, she is clearly feeling guilty, but did you stop to ask what happened?" I say, pointing to her.

He looks back and sees that Jess, his Jess, is close to tears.

Seeing her and the state she is in, Wizard me's shoulders drop. The anger he had been holding onto a moment ago suddenly released.

"Go to her. Go to her and never let her go. Live the life I could only dream about." I say, pain filling my words, which somehow gives them more sincerity.

Wizard me, gives me one last look before going over to Jess. There is a brief quiet exchange, where Jess tells him what really happened. After a few seconds Wizard me looks back at me a bit sheepishly and gives a slight nod of thanks. With that the two lovers embrace and kiss.

"WOOO!" Several of the voyeurs who had been watching the drama play out cry out in delight.

"Only at the crystal shop, can you see true happiness like that." The Cashier calls out, as if this was some sort of everyday occurrence. Then thinking back to Endarian culture this might very well be the case.

Seeing their interaction, I relax a little, then begin to make my own way out of the store. I can feel several emotions flowing from Rayquel. We will need to talk about our own feelings, but I am just drained now.

The moment I make it out of the store, I turn to Rayquel and am about to talk to her about what happened when I hear the first person call out.

"Look it is Grippy!" The tourist says, pointing to me. Only now do I realize that my wig and shades, that had been doing a decent enough job of hiding my identity, were still in my hands. Cursing myself for my lack of foresight to put back on my disguise I turn to Rayquel.

I can tell she feels mostly uncomfortable with our relationship. Truthfully, I don't know where we stand, or where I stand as a person.

Feeling her discomfort, I sigh inwardly, and hold out my hand. Rayquel looks at the hand, then after a brief hesitation, she grabs hold of the offered appendage. The moment she holds my hand, a warmth flows through our connection to my hand.

People of course call out to us, but most give us our distance. By this point, even with her wings still coiled around her chest, everyone has clearly identified Rayquel as well. Thus, we had an impromptu photo shoot of the newest Endarian power couple roaming down the city streets, on a casual stroll.

"You know I wouldn't mind you having more than one lover." Rayquel said, after a time.

Hearing that, I felt a surge of emotions flow through me. But then I shook my head, I could only be faithful to one person. That or I felt I would favor one above the others.

Feeling my hesitation, she continued. "We could always share."

Hearing that, my mind basically melted as I had a brief image of Rayquel and Mel together. But I quickly squashed that notion. "No."

All of this was hypothetical anyways. I didn't want to start fantasizing about what-ifs, and what could-bes. Such lives were never for me. I knew deep down that I just couldn't do such a thing. Also, I knew that deep down, most humans couldn't healthily sustain such a lifestyle. Only Endarians and their open view on relationships could view relationships like that. This was partly why I knew Rayquel and I were not meant for each other. That was the unfortunate truth I came to on our brief trip to the city. Sadly, I think Rayquel also felt the same exact way. At least I think she realized my perspective on our status, we were bonded friends and not much more.

Finally, when we were well on our way back to the Academy, in an automated shuttle service she asked the ultimate question that I could not refute.

"So, if I win you over you will be mine forever?" She asked.

I chuckled. "Yes, so long as I knew you would only be mine as well."

I figured giving her that one comfort was not too much. This wasn't a lie, if she could prove to me that she was truly my match and that I had nothing to fear from fully bonding with her, she would be perfect.

Hearing my words and feeling my emotions through our bond she nodded to herself.

"Well, it looks like we have our work cut out for ourselves." She said, as we made a quick stop at the dorms to drop off our supplies we had gathered from our excursion. Then we went right back out to continue our relentless training program.

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 46 The Boy With The Butterfly Tattoo

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Chapter 46

The Boy With The Butterfly Tattoo

The next few weeks kind of went in a blur for me. Even with my forgoing sleep, my day was taken up with training, training, more training, and finally acting as a human translator. During this time, I shared with Rayquel my cheat method of removing all harmful conditions caused by over training the body, and how to avoid the negative effects of never sleeping by my judicious use of Cleanse. The only times we didn't train together were when I was either teaching a class or acting as one of the translators for the humans in class. Even during these times Rayquel stayed close, often going around with me as I interacted with the other students. We found that I received a lot less confrontation from humans and Endarians alike when she was by my side.

In the end Rayquel and I trained from sunup through sundown and beyond. We did night drills, combat drills, and speed drills. I will say it again, fuck speed drills, but we did them anyways. Of course, they were a lot easier to do since I was already past the fifteen-attribute threshold. With my spells and Rayquel's constant effort she too managed to break the fifteen-point threshold for Agility.

She still didn't have the cheat of playing an instrument to help with her Dexterity training. As for me, this meant I had to effectively serenade Rayquel with violin music, while she worked on catching up to my speed with her own speed drills.

During this time, I felt what was the start of a rash on my back. Despite how many times I cast different versions of Heal on myself, I could not get the itching sensation to go away. I persisted, knowing that scratching such an offending area would only worsen the effect. I dealt with it. I applied ointments to soothe the area, they did nothing. Well, they did make my clothes smell odd and make my shirts extra clingy to my skin.

I began to seriously wonder if I was having some sort of severe allergic reaction to the Endarian planet, or maybe some of the non-indigenous fauna that were brought from the home world. At one point I even wondered if it was my violin made from parts of the world tree. In the end I ruled out the violin as being the culprit of so much frustration, mainly since I didn't have a rash under my chin and on my hands. Those are the areas that were in near constant contact with the world tree wood violin, which if the wood was the culprit, those areas should also have the itchy rash.

Finally, one day when I had just about enough of the incessant itching, Rayquel asked. "Your back still itching?"

I had just spent the better part of a minute violently scratching at my back so hard that I knew I drew blood. I drew blood that I then healed.

Finally unable to take it anymore and knowing that Rayquel could feel the rising discomfort I was feeling through our bond, I finally decided to get her opinion on it.

"Yes, would you mind taking a look at it?" I asked.

Hearing this I felt several different emotions pass through our bond. The bond that despite being improperly made had seemed to stabilize quite nicely over the course of the last few weeks of training. Aside from us showering in different rooms, nearly every waking moment for the past three weeks had been spent together and it showed. We were much more formidable as a combat team, as an exfiltration team, and as a piloting team. Now that I was an official Endarian, it was acceptable for me to be a pilot with Rayquel as my support. This key point was also clarified in the media, as the military was just giving me a test flight to see if I was worthy of being a true Endarian pilot. I apparently passed, and the Endarian media-spin-team managed to get public opinion to change and accept what had happened. Of course, this made a few of the underground forums blow up with I told you so, but that was to be expected. There were always random people posting their thoughts and intentions on underground forums.

Bashful discomfort.

I was so lost in my own musings that I nearly missed the emotions that were coming through our bond. Then when I realized what they were, I turned to Rayquel who suddenly blushed. I was so confused for a moment, that I couldn't understand why she was feeling this way. Then I realized she was embarrassed to see me without my shirt.

"You know this thing has been plastered to me for most of our training sessions?" I inquired.

Hearing that, only caused more emotions to pour through our bond. At this I realized something. "Oh, wait. You already knew?"

Still more discomfort and nervous tension.

Finally, I got to use our connection like a weapon against the other, and I did just that. "So, what, you afraid you will like what you see?" I tease as I grab the shirt and begin pulling it up just showing my stomach.

I have an eight pack at this moment, along with multiple muscles that connect the different portions of my rib cage together are now prominent as well. Lean would be the word I would use to describe myself, lean and fit. I don't know what my body fat percentage is at this point, but I know it is pretty low.

Wizard Kyle is looking more and more like an unpolished sac of noodles. While at this point I more closely resemble the muscle-bound barbarian, if we are keeping with the old medieval character tropes. I've even noticed this Jess giving me glances. Glances that are often met with or intercepted by Rayquel. Hmm, thinking back on it, maybe there is a reason why Rayquel stays by my side so much during classes.

"Fine just do it." Rayquel says, as she inadvertently licks her lower lip.

She always has a way of realizing when I am about to space out. That is something I…

Mild anger.

Okay fine, she caught me again. This time I do take off my shirt entirely. She stares at me for a moment, like a fat kid eying down the candy shop. I just stand there for a moment. Then finally she shakes her head and angrily gestures for me to turn around. With that I remember what the whole point of my teasing her was about. Really, I am getting so lost in my own thoughts, recently.

"Turn already."

"Right." I say, as I begin to turn and expose my eczema back to her. At least I think it is covered in eczema, or somehow rotting flesh.

Shock.

"What? Is it bad?" I ask.

"When did you get a Tattoo?" She asks.

"Tattoo?" I ask as I try to stare at my back, but to no avail. It is nearly impossible, I bet you are trying so right now. My neck hurts from the strain and twisting, but I still can't see it.

I know what you are likely thinking, why not use a mirror? Well, the answer is simple, the Endarians don't believe in mirrors as they perpetuate bad self-images. It doesn't hurt that every Endarian is nearly genetically perfect, at least by human standards, as such mirrors for them are pointless. So of course, when you are a human, or half-human in my case, going to their planet, you don't get a mirror either. No point to compare yourself to the countless other perfect bodies around you, as it is what is inside that truly counts. You know at times like this, I realize that only those who are truly perfect would spout such nonsense and believe it whole heartedly. Makes me sick.

"Yes, you have matching butterfly wings on your back." Rayquel says, once again pulling me out of my own inner monologue and back to the moment. It takes me a second to understand what she said.

"Matching butterfly wings?" I parrot back to her.

Rayquel just nods. As if such a gesture fully answers the question, I was trying to pose to her. Truthfully, I don't know what question I was posing to her. The entire thing seems to be odd.

After a few more minutes of going nowhere in our conversation, we decide to go see the doctor. The one who spoke about our pair bonding to begin with.

I am so lost in what is happening that I fail to do a few things as we make our way across campus. The first thing is I didn't put back on my sweat-soaked black shirt, mainly because when I took it off, I dropped it on the ground and now it had grass sticking to it. I don't know about you, but the idea of dried grass stalks rubbing against my already tender skin is not one of my things to do. I carried my itchy shirt in my arms.

This caused multiple things to happen. First, I felt a gentle summer breeze blowing, which helped cool down my body from our long day of training. The cool breeze also seemed to have a calming effect on my otherwise burning skin. As such, I decided to let it happen.

By the time we got back to the major training yards I had completely forgotten why we were going to the doctors, as we had changed the topic to cover what we would do next. We both agreed a quick shower, followed by dinner would be the best course of action.

Wolf-Whistle.

"Nice tramp stamp." Wizard me shouted from across the field. Of course, he was behind us, which meant that turning back to deal with him would likely mean the doctor we were trying to see would leave for the day if we didn't hurry. As such I made a mental note. I owed Wizard me one.

We continued in silence. After a few minutes Rayquel tried to lessen the mood.

"From my understanding of human culture. That is not a tramp stamp, as it doesn't exist solely on the small of your back. Clearly, he doesn't know what he is talking about." Rayquel said.

I laugh, finding it funny how people from other cultures are trying to tell me about my own culture. "I know, he said it to get under my skin."

"Oh." Rayquel said, then I could feel her thinking deeply across our bond. "Well in that case I think he succeeded."

I stare at her for a second, before shaking my head. Today started off so well, too. Then you go and take off your shirt in front of someone who is not your girlfriend, and everything goes to pot. I think to myself.

"Doctor Ilova," Rayquel shouts at someone who is clearly wearing civilian clothing. I am glad Rayquel is here, as I would have totally missed the doctor. Yeah, she was pretty, but she was just Endarian pretty. Like all forms of aesthetics after enough exposure she just kind of blended into the background. In fact, one of the few reasons why Rayquel stood out so much was due to her butterfly wings.

"Oh, hello Rayquel. Hello Goldman." The doctor said, as she gestured for me as well.

"Are you off for the day?" Rayquel asked, a tone of desperation in her voice.

"I am, but what is the matter, perhaps I can help." Dr. Ilova said.

"Show her." Rayquel said and gave a quick gesture for me to turn around.

Sighing that I now felt like an exhibitionist, I did as instructed.

Silence.

I paused, waited for a second or two, then turned to see the doctor who had approached so that she was only inches away. Seeing my gaze, she suddenly got a bit flustered.

"Sorry I was just admiring the intricacies. At first, I thought this was a tattoo, but it is too perfect. Not even a machine could graft this to such an exact mirror image of Rayquel's wings on your back. The only difference is the coloring."

"Coloring?" I ask.

"Yes, while Rayquel's is uniform with the iron like color, allowing for only slight variations. Yours has your two primary colors in full force. Silver for the base, and purple for the eyes, or deep spots." The doctor said.

"So, what does it mean?" I ask.

Hearing that the doctor chuckled to herself. "It seems you took me up on my advice and finally completed the physical bonding portion. Congratulations, about time."

Hearing that I felt flashes of embarrassment come through our bond, as I no doubt felt the same. "Um, we didn't do that?" Rayquel says to my defense.

Hearing this the doctor's eyebrow shot up in surprise. "Oh, well in that case lets run some tests."

The next few hours were done with her taking skin samples, reflex checks, and all manner of other tests that ultimately showed what we knew before. Basically, the doctor was clueless of what happened and told us to tell her if anything happened. The doctor also hinted that at this rate I might be able to grow my own wings if we went through with the physical bonding ritual. That was a big, no for me.

Now I had two reasons not to go through with the physical bonding. First, I would get butterfly wings, and as cool as having butterfly wings might sound, no really there is no way to spin that. Butterfly wings for flight is probably the stupidest form of transportation ever, even if you could fly, they are still butterfly wings. Nope, not happening.

There was also the other reason not to go through with the process, at least not for the moment. That reason was probably more important than my sense of ego. The main reason I didn't want to go through with the process is that they would be a constant sign of my own infidelity. While I knew it was stupid, and we had now been apart longer than we were together, I couldn't do that to Mel. Basically, because it would almost be like admitting that every time my brother caused Jess to cheat on me, I somehow deserved it.

In the end, the tests took too long, and we ended up having to rush to the chow hall to eat before our showers. For whatever reason I was allowed to enter without my shirt. After all the tests, and some special ointment that I was to keep applying to my back every six hours, my back was extra sore.

I sat outside, while Rayquel went in to grab two trays of food. I thought about using this time to go back and get a second clean shirt, one that didn't have dried grass stalks to it, but decided against it. I would just deal with what came.

"Oh." A few Endarians seemed to say from far away.

A male Endarian walked up and asked, "is that from your pair bond with Rayquel?"

Hearing that, and thankful that it wasn't someone thinking I got a complementary butterfly tattoo on my back. I answered truthfully, "yes."

The man had a somewhat crestfallen face, but then continued. "Congratulations. Tell me if it isn't too much to ask." Then he paused.

"What?"

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"You know, sex with Rayquel?"

I looked at him like he was crazy, but then realized this is basically what the doctor also implied. That we had coupled together and thus formed this deeper layer of connection. But we hadn't, at least not in that aspect. We had spent every waking moment together for the past three weeks, which was three times longer than the weeklong act of debauchery that was originally prescribed to us. But was that all that was needed? Us just being close? Fortunately, I was saved by Rayquel who came out, and with a glare that would melt ice from the poles, the boy went away.

"Here," she said, while offering the tray to me.

"Thank you." I said, as I began digging in almost immediately. Food was still sadly, Rayquel and my only thing we could not overcome with magic. As such we made sure that we both ate whenever and as much as possible. I even forced myself to eat the nature bars, which weren't as bad as they used to be. I don't know if this is just Stockholm syndrome, or what, but I began finding that I didn't mind Endarian cuisine as much as I used to.

Finally, after a few minutes, and most of our trays clear of food, Rayquel asked what had been brewing on her mind. "So, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"That boy, he asked you something you didn't like?" Rayquel asked.

Then I realized she knew exactly how I was feeling from our bond. "Yeah, he implied that we had spent the week coupling, and then asked for details."

Hearing that, Rayquel herself let out several emotions as well.

"What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything. I did think he was an ass for asking such personal matters, but you showed up before I needed to say anything."

Hearing that Rayquel nodded to herself.

"You know people will likely assume that we have." I said, finally concluding that we should talk about it.

"So?"

"So? Wouldn't you be offended?" I asked.

She just smiled and shook her head. "You are worried about my modesty?" She asked, then I realized what she was getting at. Modesty was a human concept that the Endarians absolutely hated. In fact, monogamy was also considered a taboo, until one found pair bond. Even then, it was not uncommon for one or more of a pair bond to seek comforts from others. That was just the culture. Only now did I realize how much Rayquel was putting on hold for me. Not only did she accept my monogamy, but she completely cut herself off from the affection of others, on the off chance that we would grow intimate together. Realizing this, I couldn't help but feel grateful for our connection.

"Sorry. You are correct." I paused, then added. "Also, thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For all you've done. For all you've given up for me. It does mean a lot."

"Look at you, you get one little tramp stamp and all the sudden you become so weepy." Rayquel teased.

HHAHAHAA!

I laughed, I laughed hard at that comment. We had grown close over the past few weeks, the butterfly-not-tramp-stamp was proof of that. I realized that the doctor was right, I likely could get butterfly wings if I pursued this connection with Rayquel to its fullest extent. The proposition both enticed me and scared me.

With that, I decided to eat the rest of my meal in peace. Once we were done Rayquel returned our trays, then we headed out to continue our training. In the end we didn't shower, there was no point. Also, the shower would likely wash off the oils that the doctor gave me. Instead, we just continued to practice our teamwork and efficiency together. We had a Temple run to prepare for after all, and we were not going to waste the opportunity.

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Lykanthropy

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8/26/2022, 10:46 PM

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