A/N: Happy Monday everyone! In the wake of the orc attack, an Angelina POV just feels right.
-x-X-x-
"We're leaving."
Angelina can't help but grimace at the tone the Destined Hero takes. His words brook no argument, and yet… and yet…
"… I don't think that's the best idea, Sir Hero."
Marcus' head whips around to stare at her from where he'd sat down on the edge of the bed and begun putting on his boots. It was the first step in equipping the armor provided to him by the Church, but if Angelina had her way, he would be moving no further in that direction. She needed… she needed to convince him not to go running off.
"Is that so? And why not, Priestess?"
Angelina feels a hot flash of shame at hearing him address her by her title, rather than her name. She wiggles in place; a small part of her enjoying being talked down to like this by the half-orc Hero. More than a small part, admittedly. But there was a time and place for giving in to her fetish, and now was not it.
It had been a full twenty-four hours since the orcs attacked the border town. After slaughtering them to the last, the Destined Hero had gone on to prove his undeniable nature as a stalwart defender of the weak, namely by throwing himself into helping the town recover. They'd collected up all the slain for a funeral pyre, as the town had neither the resources nor the time to have a funeral for every single one of the dead. Then, they'd begun doing what they could to repair the damage caused by the rampaging orcs.
Marcus had been there every step of the way this past day, until Angelina and Erised finally got him to return to their room at the tavern and rest. Now it was the next morning, however, and Marcus seemed to have only one thing on his mind. Revenge.
She supposed she should have been ecstatic that the orcs had blundered so effectively that Marcus couldn't think of anything but charging forward to stop them in their tracks. Admittedly, the Holy Priestess had begun to wonder how she would possibly navigate things if the Destined Hero did end up meeting with the Dark General Roka-Ra on amicable terms, resulting in them teaming up.
The worst case scenario was that he took up the mantle of Dark Lord altogether with all the evil that entailed… but Angelina hadn't truly believed such a thing would ever come to pass. She had faith in her Hero's valorous and courageous soul, and she wanted to see Marcus succeed, no matter what form he decided success would take.
That said, yesterday had been harrowing. Not just because of the attack, but the nature of the attackers. For a long time, Angelina hadn't been sure how she would react if she ever came face to face with a true orc. A part of her had feared she wouldn't be able to help herself. That she would drop to her knees before such a specimen and begin masturbating furiously while begging him to take her and do as he liked with her.
Even… even after joining the Destined Hero's Party, Angelina had worried on how she would respond in the presence of other green-skinned creatures. She loved Marcus with her whole heart. She was loyal to the Destined Hero above all else. But lust made fools of them all. Would her fetish overwhelm her good sense, now that she'd dared to even slightly indulge in it with Marcus?
That was why… as horrifying as it was, Angelina had frozen up for a moment when she'd first heard calls of orcs attacking. Sitting up there in their room, the Holy Priestess had gone still the moment the sounds of fighting and the cries of the villagers had reached her ears. Orcs. Orcs were in the village, and Angelina had become paralyzed. Not with fear of what they would do to her… but the fear of what she would WANT them to do to her.
She should have leapt up immediately. She should have gotten Marcus his halberd at the very least. She was a failure of a companion. She was a waste of space. But at least she hadn't failed him entirely. It had taken hearing Marcus' roar and then his voice sound out through the streets, but Angelina HAD finally moved to the window. The moment she'd feared had come to pass as she'd beheld a multitude of orcs, all focused on the Destined Hero she'd sworn to protect.
And yet, her fear that she would not be able to control herself proved unfounded. She ONLY had eyes for Marcus as the orcs charged him. The others paled in comparison to his glory, to his majesty. And from her vantage point at the window, Angelina had even been able to help, she'd been able to heal him and bolster his strength. Even without his armor and his weapon, Marcus had destroyed the orcs. He'd slaughtered them all.
… But while his prowess in battle was unmatched so far, that didn't mean he was ready to face a hostile Dark General.
"Sir Hero, I caution patience. Were we not waiting for more information? We do not even know where to go quite yet. If the orcs are attacking in greater numbers now… we would only be harming ourselves by running off into the wildlands, leaving settlements such as this one undefended."
Angelina feels a slight pang of guilt as she lies to him. It is not totally a lie, of course. Everything she's said is… accurate, to an extent. But her real reasoning is that she's afraid for him. Yesterday's battle was the first time Angelina saw Marcus bleed. She has no desire to see it happen again any time soon.
Blue eyes narrowing as he stares at her wordlessly for a long moment, Marcus finally responds with a grunt. Then, he looks over at the other member of their little party.
"And you, Erised?"
The disguised demon stands all the way on the other side of the room with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes on the floor. Angelina looks to her, feeling a pang of pity even if they are often at odds with each other. Angelina, at least, had managed to overcome her indecision and help Marcus in his battle against the orcs, even if she was filled with self-loathing over how long it took her to come to his aid.
Erised, on the other hand, had slept through the entire thing. It wasn't until afterwards that the lithe demon had woken up, and upon hearing that Marcus had nearly died, she had been beside herself ever since.
Upon finally being addressed directly, Erised immediately drops to her knees, prostrating herself before him.
"My Lord! I-I am not worthy of your attention! I failed you. Please… punish this one for her inadequacy. Let me make it up to you and-!"
"Erised!"
One look at Marcus tells Angelina that he hadn't even consciously realized he'd been snubbing the young demon for the past day. This was indeed the first time he'd spoken to Erised since the attack, but from the grimace on his face, it wasn't intentional. Angelina had thought as much. The Destined Hero was too kind-hearted for an intentional snub like that. He was also too forthright to not just say outright if he was mad at either of them.
Erised freezes up as Marcus cuts her off, the half-orc growling for a moment before sighing.
"Come here."
Slowly, she lifts her head to look at him before shakily crawling over to his feet, not daring to rise from her hands and knees. Marcus isn't having any of that though. The half-orc reaches down and yanks Erised up into his lap before the lithe demon can do much more than squeak. One moment she's on the floor, prostrating herself and begging for forgiveness, and the next she's being held.
Angelina softly smiles at the sight, even as Marcus brushes some hair out of Erised's face.
"You can make it up to me by telling me your opinion. What do you think I should do next, hm?"
Under different circumstances, Angelina would be tensing up right now. Marcus often asked for both of their opinions on things in an attempt to keep it fair. And their opinions often differed, all things considered. They were two very different beings after all. Most of the time, so far, Marcus tended to listen to Angelina over Erised. However, it was abundantly clear to the Holy Priestess that this time around, her Hero didn't want to hear what she had to say. He wasn't just seeking a second opinion from Erised, he was looking for an excuse to ignore Angelina's advice.
Fortunately…
"Your Lordship… I don't think we should be so hasty. I think we should wait a little while longer."
Fortunately, Angelina and Erised had talked while Marcus was sleeping off the events of yesterday. And though Angelina still didn't fully understand why Erised was in agreement with her desire to counsel patience, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Marcus jolts in shock at Erised's advice, looking incredulous that she was willing to agree with Angelina on… well, anything really. The Destined Hero also looks quite put out that both of his party members are advising the opposite of what he clearly wants to do.
"… Truly? You too, Erised?"
Licking her lips, Erised wrings her hands together.
"From what I've been told of the battle, this might have been an isolated incident. A single group of orc raiders acting of their own volition. The Dark General might not even know what they did! We should wait and see what happens next… and hopefully things can still be resolved peacefully…"
Marcus' jaw clenches at that, and he shakes his head.
"I'm not so sure they can be, Erised. I told you already, that last orc had quite the message for me. The Dark General wants me dead and might not let me get close enough to explain before she goes for my head. Besides… I won't let them keep hurting innocents. Especially for sport like yesterday."
Ducking her head, still clearly feeling guilty over how she slept through the previous day's battle, Erised's voice is quite but nevertheless pleading.
"Please, my Lord. Just a little bit more time… that's all I ask."
Seeing an opportunity to pop back in, Angelina clears her throat.
"All WE ask, Sir Hero. I know your heart yearns for justice but rushing off into the wildlands now will only do more harm than good. Especially if this town is in further danger at all."
Eyes blazing, Marcus still looks disinclined to agree for a moment… before ultimately his shoulders slump and he sighs with a nod.
"Very well."
His tone is weary even after his rest. Angelina smiles and meets Erised's eyes, giving her a little nod. It was time that they… do what they could to relieve the burden on Marcus' soul. Immediately, the little demon wiggles and shifts until she can part her thighs and reach down to begin rubbing at the half-orc's crotch. Marcus' breath hitches as Erised licks her lips and gives him a wide-eyed, beseeching look.
"I know you don't blame me, my Lord… but please, I beg of you… let me make up for my failure all the same. I need to earn forgiveness… one way or another."
Marcus can only groan as Erised slips out of his lap and onto her knees, working his large, green cock out of its confines in record time. As she begins to suckle at the tip, Angelina stares at the sight for a moment, admittedly drooling. But then Erised's disguised cat-like tail flicks into Angelina's field of view, pointedly jabbing itself towards the door.
Blushing, the blonde nods and rises to her feet. With Marcus' eyes drifting shut and his head tilting back from Erised's actions, the Holy Priestess leaves them to it for the moment. Slipping out of the room, she heads downstairs, to where only one person waits in the closed tavern's main room.
"We're ready for you now, Beth."
The busty brunette barmaid that had so effectively caught her Hero's eye these past several days startles before flushing and wringing her hands together in front of her.
"You… you're sure? He… he wants me?"
Well, Marcus didn't even know she was coming, but Angelina doesn't feel like she's being the slightest bit deceptive as she smiles widely and nods her head.
"Yes, Beth. He wants you."
It was the truth, after all. But Marcus, being the good natured man that he was, would never have sought Beth out on his own in the wake of her father's death. He was still young. He didn't yet understand that sometimes… all a woman needed in the wake of tragedy was to be comforted. More than that, sometimes what a woman truly wanted was a chance to take her mind off of her grief.
This was something else Angelina and Erised had talked about while Marcus was asleep, with Angelina then going on to talk to Beth about it. The barmaid might have lost her father… but that had not diminished the amorous torch she was carrying for the Destined Hero in the slightest. If anything, watching Marcus defend her fellow townsfolk from the orcs had made the ardor she felt for him grow even greater.
Offering Beth her hand, Angelina carefully leads the brunette upstairs, until they've reached the room she left Marcus and Erised in. Slipping inside, they return to find Erised gurgling and doing her level best to swallow as much as Marcus' green cock as her tight little throat will allow. The disguised demon's cat like ears are even twitching in a lifelike manner as her furred tail swishes and flicks back and forth behind her.
"Glughk! Glughk! Glughk!"
Beth stops dead in her tracks when she sees this, staring with wide eyes as what looks like a collared Beastkin gleefully and eagerly sucks off the Destined Hero right in front of her. Smiling, Angelina carefully and quietly shuts the door behind them, before moving up behind Beth. The barmaid… or rather, the tavernkeeper now, squeaks as Angelina begins to feel her up, starting to remove her dress bit by bit right then and there.
The squeak is what does it, Marcus' lidded eyes flying open, his gaze snapping to the two of them even as Erised redoubles her efforts in a vain attempt to keep him from realizing what they've set up for a little while longer.
"B-Beth?"
The young half-orc looks flabbergasted and horrendously embarrassed, so Angelina hisses into Beth's ear quickly.
"Tell him."
She also bumps into the mousy, busty brunette from behind, forcing Beth to jolt as she takes on step and then another forward.
"S-Sir Hero… I have longed to feel yer touch s-since shortly after ye and yers arrived. Yesterday… yesterday ye saved my life. Ye s-saved the entire town. Today… please allow this unworthy soul to give back."
Angelina beams, proud that Beth remembered all the words she'd coached her to say. More than that, she's proud of how heartfelt Beth sounds as she says them. She doesn't doubt for a moment that the young woman means every last word.
"… I failed your father though. I wasn't fast enough to save him…"
Marcus sounds morose, and down below the gagging noises coming from Erised make it clear she's working triple time to keep him hard in the face of his depressed mood. Angelina winces, having expected something like this to come up. She's not, however, expecting Beth to suddenly pull free of her grasp and lunge forward.
"H-He was dead even before I knew it, Sir Hero!"
The brunette stumbles up to him, her skirts disheveled, her top pulled down so her breasts are almost popping free. Nevertheless, she grabs Marcus by his shoulders, looking him in the eye.
"There was nothing ye could have done for my Da, Sir Hero. But he would have been grateful for all ye did for me and the town. And he would… he would understand that I have to make it right…"
Beth was going off-script, but standing there, Angelina quickly realized her script was flawed. Love… love wasn't something you could plot out. Love had to be natural. It had to be from the heart. Even still, Marcus can't look Beth in the eye at first.
"… I would never ask such a thing of you, Beth. You don't have to… do that for me. You don't owe me anything."
Of course, there was still room for SOME scripted lines, heh.
"I see. If I'm not worthy, Sir Hero, I understand."
THAT was something Angelina had coached Beth on saying, and the blonde feels a surge of pride as Marcus finally makes eye contact with the barmaid-turned-tavernkeeper a moment later.
"What?! No, you're perfect! I don't-mmph!"
Seizing the initiative, Beth wraps her arms around Marcus' neck and is kissing him heatedly a moment later. With Erised still down between his legs, the barmaid is having to bend over rather awkwardly… but as they begin making out, the disguised demon slips free of her spot, coming off of Marcus' cock with a pop and doing what she does best… sneaking out right from under their noses.
Indeed, neither Angelina's Hero nor Beth notice a thing as Erised comes up to stand beside Angelina. All that happens is Beth moves in closer, before ultimately climbing into Marcus' lap. Her skirts are rapidly bunched up in Marcus' hands, and it's obvious to Angelina's practiced eyes that they're joined together a moment later, with Beth sliding right down the Destined Hero's throbbing green phallus. Their actual copulation is somewhat hidden by the brunette tavernkeeper's skirts, but even still, there's no denying what's happening.
Angelina can't help but be a little jealous as Beth lets out a lewd cry and begins to ride Marcus for all she's worth. However, as much as she wants to join in immediately, she finds herself blinking and glancing behind her…
"Erised? Where are you going?"
Keeping her voice down to avoid disturbing Marcus and Beth now that the half-orc is finally letting himself relax and enjoy the spoils of his efforts, Angelina nevertheless finds herself wondering why Erised is making for the door. Stopping, the disguised demon glances at her and then to the bed for a moment.
"… There's something I have to do. I'll be back soon."
For a brief moment, the Holy Priestess feels a spark of suspicion. She wants to question Erised further. But at the same time… they actually worked together on something for once. They managed to keep Marcus from running off into the wildlands in an ill-advised attempt at hunting down the Dark General Roka-Ra before he was ready.
And so, Angelina pushes away her suspicions and gives Erised an honest smile.
"Alright. Don't take too long."
Erised nods and slips out the door, while Angelina disrobes and makes for the bed. She was always going to join Marcus and Beth anyways, and as Beth continues to ride Marcus with all of her strength, Angelina happily takes up position behind her Hero, rubbing her now-naked tits into his back and moaning into his ear in a way that makes him thrust up into Beth all the harder.
The two of them working together are more than good enough to distract Marcus from his thoughts of failure and not being 'good enough'. So much so that he doesn't ever even notice Erised is gone. The disguised demon returns by the time he's finished fucking Beth anyways, prompting the two of THEM to team up to continue exhausting their inexhaustible lover.
Whatever it takes, Angelina knows she has to keep Marcus safe. She would not fail him again. She expected similar thoughts were currently running through Erised's mind as well. Still, they would see just how long she, Erised, and Beth could keep him busy…
-x-X-x-
A/N: Angelina and Erised working together? Say it ain't so! Meanwhile Marcus definitely feels guilty over jumping into bed with Beth so quickly, but the heart wants what the heart wants...
Next chapter is a fun one. Another Roka-Ra POV! We'll be back to Marcus' POV in Chapter 21 though~
As always, let me know what you thought! Appreciate any and all feedback for this work especially!
Chapter 20 will be up on Wednesday as usual, or you can read six chapters ahead over on the P atreon!