Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1. Beginnings

Jeeka’s foot hurt, but still she trudged.

It had been bad when she stepped on the flint and it had cut deep, but her mother had examined and cleaned the injury, and pronounced it healable, and then had given her a hard time about ruining a perfectly good moccasin. That had been some time ago. The wound was healing, although she was supposed to stay off it, but the job of food gathering was a never ending cycle... and among goblins, one could only spend so long lying down before it was said that you were a "burden to the tribe"... and no one wanted to face THAT.

That, and she didn't care for the way Mirk kept sniffing around. He hadn't pronounced any actual intentions yet, but he seemed awfully interested, particularly when she'd been laid up and couldn't get out and around, and she didn't like the way he had trouble keeping eye contact when they spoke. His eyes kept creeping down to her bosom. And that told her plenty, right there.

Jeeka had no rings in her ears; males tended to want a bit more than a peek and a grope before they’d offer you rings, but she took pride in the fact that she could have men’s rings, any time she wanted them. Or at least she thought so. They all wanted to see her tits, now, didn’t they?

Jeeka wasn't in a hurry to have children, far from it, and particularly not with Mirk, who was handsome enough… but far less attractive or capable than he thought he was. And if she kept convalescing, it was only a matter of time until he suggested proving her "value to the tribe" in a manner that didn't involve getting out of her sleeping furs... rings or no rings.

So she'd wrapped her foot in several rabbit skins to cushion it, and had gone out with the other goblin girls to gather whatever they could find. Mushrooms, carrots, nuts, eggs, whatever. She didn't care. As long as it took her away from the huts, and from Mirk. Even for just a while.

And so it was that they'd found the open heath with the mushrooms in the forest, down far from the river, up by the crags. The goblins hadn't explored up here since the most recent relocation of the village, and it often fell to the women to do the actual exploring. But what a find! The little heath was ringed with trees, faced a tall rocky crag, and the open field was thick with mushrooms, the edible sort that were so tasty as snacks, and worked so nicely in a stew! And Jeeka, Roopa, Grilki, and the others wasted no time in scuttling into the open space to gather as many as they could.

And in the excitement, it never occurred to anyone to post a watch. Their first hint of danger had been Roopa's shrill scream.

Jeeka jerked her head up, looked around, saw nothing, and spun in a way that made her foot HURT horribly, and finally spotted the problem. A HUMAN, huge and horrifying, had appeared out of NOWHERE on the side of the heath near the rocks, not twenty feet away from Hamki, who was bolting away from it in terror. The other girls were dropping their bags and baskets and fleeing as well. Jeeka tensed, and prepared to run--

--and someone plowed into her from behind and to her left, HARD! Her feet left the ground, and she hit the ground face down, and her vision went gray—

--she struggled to breathe. Wind knocked out of her. She choked, and GASPED, and promptly inhaled a breath full of dirt and grass, and gagged. Jeeka coughed and choked and spat, and shook her head to clear it. HUMAN! Where WAS it? She rolled over to get a look—

--her friends were long gone. And the human creature was standing right over her, no more than two feet away. Jeeka scrambled to put distance between herself and the monster, and upon putting her right foot on the ground, she promptly screamed at the pain. She'd done SOMETHING to the foot, and now there was no chance of running. She was doomed.

She looked up at the human.

WAS it a human? It had the thick coat of fur on its face, around its mouth and under its nose. Was it a dwarf, maybe? No, too big for that -- dwarfs were no taller than goblins, but this thing was considerably taller. Certainly male, though, judging from the face fur.

It held a cloth bag in one hand, and some sort of wooden weapon in the other. It hadn't raised the weapon, though; another reason it couldn't be a dwarf, who always killed her kind on sight. It studied her, head cocked, like it was deciding what to do. Jeeka realized that if it made up its mind to kill her, there was nothing she could do about it... and thought, "What can I do to take its mind off killing me...?"

It was MALE, after all...

Jeeka promptly grabbed the lapels of her blouse and ripped them open, exposing her breasts.

The human froze. It raised its eyebrows, and blinked, twice. She'd apparently confused it.

Jeeka struggled to remember the man words. She'd learned a few. "Ah, hello, hi!" she said, hoping these were the right words. "No hurt me! I make fuck! I fuck good! Make you feel good in man parts! No hurt me! I fuck good! No hurt!"

The human stood there. Jeeka couldn't read its expression through its face fur, but guessed it was certainly confused. It certainly didn't LOOK like it was thinking about killing her. Had the words been right? Jeeka arched her back, licked her lips, and caressed her breasts, pinched the nipples. Was this considered seductive to humans? Arousing? Her tits were large and full, certainly her best feature, she'd always thought... would they get her out of THIS?

The human looked at her... and bent down over her. Cautiously.

Jeeka squeezed her breasts and did her best to look undangerous. "Fuck?" she said. She didn't particularly WANT to be raped by a human, but running was out of the question... and it was certainly better than dying...

The human reached -- slowly -- for her wounded foot. Jeeka froze.

The human lifted the foot, and carefully began to remove the rabbit skin wrappings. Jeeka saw blood on the furs. "Shit," she thought, "I've torn the stitches out..."

The human examined her foot critically. Then it turned its head to look at her face. Jeeka looked back at it. Humans had strange eyes, white, and full of circles, unlike the yellow eyes and slit pupils of goblinkind. Jeeka had no idea what the human was thinking.

"No hurt me?" she didn't quite whimper.

The human looked at Jeeka with his strange circle-eyes... and then stood. It hung his bag on its belt, and slung its wooden staff-thing across its back, and then crouched, and leaned forward to slide an arm under her back and another under her knees. It hoisted her off the ground, close to its chest, and stood up, holding her.

Apparently it wasn't going to kill her. At least not right away.

It looked Jeeka in the eyes. And then it glanced down at her tits, still fully exposed, her blouse lacings still all awry.

Males!

Still, Jeeka's terror began to subside. Perhaps this could be turned to her advantage. "Fuck?" she said as sweetly as she could manage.

The human thing cocked its head. Its expression was still unreadable. But it turned and began to march towards the rock formations at the edge of the heath, carrying her with it.

Chapter Text

Jeeka closely observed the path they took. It would be necessary to know exactly how to backtrack when she made her eventual escape. She tried not to think about her painful, throbbing foot while she considered escape.

The human carried her into a gap in the rocks, and took a path leading gradually upward. Jeeka noted each turn and twist as the path went onward, and at one point, noted they took the right fork at a branching.

And shortly afterwards, the human turned right, again... and walked into a wall.

And rather than smacking into the rock face, they were moving into a cave. Jeeka craned her neck backwards, and saw that they'd come through a triangular entrance in the rock, a sort of natural doorway; carved around it were a number of symbols. It had looked like bare rock from the outside, but from inside, the path was clearly visible outside.

An illusion.

This wasn't just any human. This was a magic human.

Ohhh, shit, twice!

Jeeka knew little of humans, aside from the fact that they'd fought wars with goblins in the past, and were generally regarded as enemies. She knew that humans regarded goblins as stupid, a thing she fully intended to take advantage of when the chance arose. She knew they held the secret of forging iron, and a variety of other technologies goblins lacked... including the use of spells and wizardry, unlike the more primitive goblin shamanic magic. Wizards were rare among humans, but legendarily regarded, being powerful adversaries who rode dragons, built floating castles, and could wipe out entire armies with sheets of fire...

...although she'd also heard stories of wizards who lived in little huts in the woods and sold potions. Perhaps this human was more of the second category. She glanced around to examine their surroundings, just as the human lowered her onto a wooden table.

Low ceilings. Light was low, but quite adequate, although she couldn't figure out where it was coming from; holes in the walls? Somewhere, an echoey sound of running water, like a stream. Square cloth things hanging on the walls, providing color. There were several tables, the largest of which she was now seated upon. A few chairs. Assorted bric-a-brac of unknowable human uses. A rack of odd flat blocklike objects on a shelf, and another shelf with various bottles and such, which the human was now approaching. It flickered through her mind that now would be a perfect time to run, with his back turned and a clear shot at the door, but the way her foot felt, she knew it was pointless. She also thought about the flint knife on a thong under her skirt, but it wasn't much of a weapon, and even if she cut its throat with it, he'd still have plenty of time to kill her, even if it couldn't somehow heal itself with its wizard powers, so that wasn't much of a plan.

Best to wait and see what happened. It hadn't done anything hostile so far. Although it occurred to her that if a human was spread out on a table in HER village, they'd have opened it up and be cutting up its liver by now for frying...

The human opened a stone box off to one side, and she saw the flicker of orange light, smelled the smoke... and a whiff of cooked meat. She felt a drop of acid fear against her heart. Did humans eat goblins?

But when it turned, it'd filled a stone bowl with little... things. They steamed and sizzled. They smelled meaty and delicious. Either she would be fed, or the human would eat something other than her, and both of those were all right with Jeeka. It approached and put the bowl on the table next to her... and paused.

Jeeka looked at the human and its strange circle filled eyes. And then she looked in the bowl.

It was filled with what looked for all the world like little dark red penises.

Is this what humans ate? Admittedly, she'd eaten WORSE things, but... well, they did SMELL good...

The human reached into the bowl and took one, and popped it into its mouth and began to chew, looking at Jeeka.

Jeeka looked back at the human, and back into the bowl. There seemed to be a great many penises. She reached out and took one, glancing back up at the human, who did not stop her. The thing, whatever it was, was hot, but not too hot. Experimentally, she bit it.

It wasn't a penis. It was meat of some sort, ground meat, cooked in a sheath with pepper and herbs, and it was delicious. Jeeka shrugged, and ate the rest of it and reached for another. The human did not stop her. And the corners of its mouth turned up. Was it smiling? And was it smiling because she was eating, or because she was eating something that looked like penises? Why did humans make meat things that looked like penises, anyway?

Did humans have penises?

And the meat things were good, and she was hungry, and she decided to consider these issues later; surely, whatever sort of escape she could string together would be easier after a good meal...

The human ate another of the penises, and seeing that Jeeka was eating, kept his strange human smile on his face, and went and got a cup and a bowl and left the room, going deeper into the cave.

Jeeka blinked. She wasn't going to get a better opportunity to run like hell. And she also knew that even if she could, her foot wouldn’t support her, it would be a filthy infected mess before she could even think of getting back to the village. She was just flat stuck. She was already in the trap. Nothing to do but eat the bait. And so she ate several more of the delicious peppery penises before the human returned with cup and bowl and several cloths. It put the cup next to the bowl of penises; plainly, she was meant to drink it. And then it went to the end of the table, put down the bowl (which was full of water) and the cloths, and began to peel the rabbit fur off her injured foot.

She braced herself for the hurt, and stuck a penis in her mouth to bite down on, if needed.

The human was surprisingly gentle, though. It washed the foot carefully, working around the cut, and then began blotting and wiping the wound itself. It seemed to be going out of its way not to hurt her. That was good. Jeeka also noticed that the tip of its tongue protruded from its mouth as it focused on her foot. The tongue was pink, a most unusual color for a tongue!

Jeeka sat there, foot in the human's hand, waiting for the pain, with a penis sticking out of her mouth.

The human glanced up and noticed this, and made an unusual sound, somewhere between a snort and a chuckle. Was the human laughing? Was she ever going to figure out what it was thinking? Suddenly it occurred to her that sitting there with her tits hanging out and a penis sticking out of her mouth was something SHE might well laugh at, and she sucked the penis into her mouth and swallowed it. After a moment's thought, she also pulled the sides of her blouse in to cover her breasts.

The human observed all this and smiled again. Yes, it was a smile, albeit a smile without showing teeth. And it chuckled. Yes, it was chuckling. And it got up and went over to the shelf with the jars again... and came back with a clay pot. And a needle. And thread.

Ohhh, shit. Jeeka grabbed another penis to bite on.

But instead of threading the needle, the human opened the little clay pot and dipped a finger into it, and came up with a dab of white cream, and began gently dabbing it onto the wound. Jeeka bit down and inhaled sharply, waiting for the awful bolt of pain to come—

It didn't come. Instead, she felt the human's fingers rubbing the wound, and suddenly, the pain was GONE, wiped off her foot like you'd wipe mud off your skin! Gone! The bottom of her foot felt nothing at all!

She stared at the human, bug eyed. After a moment she sucked the penis into her mouth and began to chew it.

After observing this for a moment, the human threaded the needle and took hold of her foot. Jeeka closed her eyes and waited. She felt no pain. After a moment, she felt a slight tugging sensation on the sole of her foot. She opened her eyes, and saw the human stitching the sole of her foot. It took almost no time, far less time than her mother had spent sewing her foot up originally. Perhaps not all of the stitches had broken. Perhaps it just took less time without the writhing and screaming.

Or perhaps it just felt quicker when you weren't in pain. Jeeka swallowed the meat thing, and craned her neck to see her foot. The human saw this, and cut the thread and let go of her foot. Jeeka bent her leg, looked at the sole. Yes, the human had only put three stitches in. The rest of the wound was still secure, and the re-injury was nowhere near as bad as it had felt. It would heal. And the cream had made the pain go away. Her foot felt better than it had in a week.

Jeeka glanced up at the human. The human was studying her, waiting to see her reaction. So Jeeka studied him right back. She'd never been this close to a human before, and frankly hadn't expected the situation to work out for her this well. The human had cleaned her injury and repaired her stitches, taken the pain away, and given her meat and drink. Plainly, he cared about her suffering, and wanted to do good for her. He didn't ACT like an enemy.

Experimentally, she smiled at him.

He blinked, suddenly, and the corners of his mouth turned down. Had she done something wrong? She'd thought that smiling worked the same way for humans as for goblins...

But he looked back at her, and then he smiled back at her... but he kept his mouth closed. Perhaps that was how humans did it. They didn't show their teeth when smiling? Jeeka tried smiling back, but kept her lips together.

This seemed to please the human, and his smile relaxed, seemed more natural. He examined Jeeka's foot again, got up and went to the shelf, and came back with a white thing, from which he unspooled an endless line of white strip cloth, which he used to wrap up Jeeka's foot. And then he smiled at her again.

Jeeka smiled back, careful not to show teeth. Perhaps this going to be all right.

And then the human spoke, the first time he had done so since their meeting.

He said, “Fuck?”

Chapter Text

Jeeka felt her stomach fall off a cliff. Reflexively, she clutched her blouse tighter over her chest.

The human did not seem disappointed or put off. He merely looked at her with those damned circle-eyes.

Jeeka looked back at him through yellow cat slits. Well, she HAD offered… but largely just to take his mind off murder. And somehow, she'd expected, that if the human had taken her UP on it, he'd go after it in the GOBLIN manner, which generally wasn't FAR from selecting a partner, peeling her like a banana, pinning her down, spitting on his pecker, and stuffing it in there. Goblins weren't big on foreplay or the study of sexuality. The HUMAN, on the other hand, had spoken the word with a rising inflection... like he meant it as a QUESTION.

Was he ASKING her?

Is that what humans did? They ASKED you to fuck them? Gods, how had they ever managed to perpetuate the species?

Jeeka took a deep breath. The human broke eye contact to look down at her bosom, and she realized she wasn't necessarily doing herself any favors, deep breathing like that. Shit, what to DO?

"Um," she said. "No hurt me?"

"No hurt you," said the human. "Fuck you. Make you feel good. Make us feel good."

"Um," she said. "Fuck now?"

"#### #####," he said, glancing at the passage that led deeper into the cave. Shit, she was out of words.

"Um... yes," she said, hoping he at least had some grease or something. If his dick was as big as he was, this might be painful. Still, not as painful as making him angry. Perhaps if he fell asleep afterwards... And she let her blouse fall open again. And licked her lips, hoping this was seductive to humans.

Jeeka had no way of knowing it, but what the human was thinking was something along the lines of Gods, a tongue shouldn't be chartreuse, even if the woman was green to start with. But those tits....

And the human stood and skinned out of his own blouse.

And the first human Jeeka had ever had a good look at was... well, surprising. He had light coatings of fur on his arms and chest, unlike a goblin male, but she could live with that. His chest and arms were as pink as his face and hands had been, perhaps a little paler. He had strange colored markings on and around his shoulders, and another on his chest; they seemed to be drawn there, somehow. Writing of some sort. Wizard symbols? Or did ALL humans have such markings?

He seemed to be waiting for something.

So Jeeka shrugged out of her blouse and let it fall to the tabletop. Her breasts were quite full, jutting outward, with thick olive colored nipples, the envy of several of her peers and friends, and the object of desire of any number of goblin males, and here they were, on display for a human. She very much wanted to cover them, but realized this might not be the best time to conceal her assets. After an awkward moment, wondering what to do with her arms, she crossed them under her breasts. After another moment, it occurred to her to push them UP slightly with her crossed arms.

It had the desired effect. The human blinked twice and took a deep breath. Jeeka, in spite of her nervousness, resisted the urge to giggle.

The human then reached out and peeled off Jeeka's left moccasin. Dropping it on the floor, he stroked her foot. The sensation wasn't unpleasant, although she felt the fear begin to tighten as his hand moved up her leg... but then he reached behind her and untied her skirt strings, and lifted the skirt over her head, and dropped it to the floor.

Revealing the thong around her waist that had her breechclout, her pouch... and her knife. Involuntarily, she glanced at the knife, and then looked up at the human...

The human didn't seem angry, or even bothered. Instead, he simply untied the thong, and took thong, clout, pouch, and knife, and dropped it on top of her skirt, on the floor. Jeeka was now completely naked, except for her bandaged foot, her only weapon gone.

Jeeka glanced up at the human, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn't seem displeased. Indeed, he seemed appreciative. Well, shit, she thought, time to see what I'm getting myself into, and reached for the leather strap securing his breeches.

And then couldn't figure out how the belt buckle worked.

After a moment, the human made that weird chuckle-snort of his, and unfastened the buckle himself, and Jeeka pulled the belt away, and pushed down on his trousers, which obligingly dropped to the floor.

Well. It sort of smelled. But it didn't look much different from a goblin prong. Then again, it wasn't very stiff. Would it GET stiff? It seemed likely; his anatomy was goblinlike enough, despite his sheer size, and all that hair everywhere.

And suddenly, the human scooped her up, and lifted her from the table. Stepping out of his trousers, he kicked off his shoes, and began advancing into the shadows, deeper into the cave. The sound of running water grew louder. Jeeka noticed a number of side passages, but the human kept advancing down the passage as the sound of water grew louder still.

They emerged into a larger room with a higher ceiling. Jeeka looked around. Three different waterfalls were erupting from cracks in the walls, flowing into separate pools in different parts of the room. The floor was wet, and the atmosphere humid, almost steamy. Jeeka noticed that the far pool was steaming; plainly it was hot. And that was the one the human seemed to be advancing towards.

A bolt of terror shot through her heart. Was he going to COOK her? Of course not, don't be silly, he'd have left his clothes on if he'd meant to do that. Still, Jeeka suddenly desperately wished she'd understood the words the human had spoken before she'd said "yes" to all this....

And the human walked INTO the pool. It was shallow, but got deeper, the further in he went. And at just above waist deep, he experimentally dipped Jeeka's ass into the water, and looked at her face. "### ###?"

The water was hot, but not TOO hot. But again, Jeeka didn't understand. "Uh?"

"### ###?" he repeated. "Water hurt?"

"Water no hurt," said Jeeka. "Is... good."

The human smiled again, and suddenly sat down, taking Jeeka with him. She gasped as she was suddenly neck deep in hot water. Fortunately, the human had arranged for her feet to be at the pool's edge, and her bandaged foot remained on the lip of the pool, high and dry. Jeeka gasped again and tensed, but the human was holding her, her head wasn't under the water, and her ass seemed firmly positioned on his knees. She relaxed a bit. Unless the human was going to suddenly drown her, she could live with this. Perhaps it would improve his smell.

From nowhere, the human produced a small block of yellow something or other, and began rubbing himself with it. Where he rubbed it, bubbles appeared. Was this some sort of magic? And if so, what was it for? The human seemed to be scrubbing himself with it, the way a goblin would use sand... and suddenly, the human was lifting Jeeka clear of the water, and rubbing HER with the strange little block. So slippery! And it foamed! Plainly, this was something humans used to wash themselves, and this was just a bath, as opposed to some sort of blood ritual or something, and Jeeka began to relax and enjoy the hot water. This wasn't bad at all—

--and then, the human licked one of her nipples, and Jeeka stiffened.

So did the nipple. Traitor, Jeeka thought.

And she looked at the human. Who was looking back at her to see her reaction. Not knowing what else to do, Jeeka smiled, with closed lips, and licked her lips again. He seemed to like that last time, she thought, and sure enough, he seemed to like it this time. His hands moved beneath the water, first with the bubbles-block, and then without, cupping her tits, running through her floating hair... and toying with her pubic thatch, stroking on either side of her pussy with his fingers...

He's going to fuck me, some part of her mind gibbered, the human is going to fuck me, and he probably wouldn't even have thought about it if I hadn't waved my tits at him and SUGGESTED it! He said he wouldn't hurt me, he said, he SAID...

The human didn't seem hostile at all, though. He did seem mildly aroused, though, although he sure seemed to be taking his time about it. Were humans this slow about fucking? A goblin male would have been done four times by now, but the human hadn't even started. Did humans mate in water? There were just too many unknowns about this situation! And then it occurred to her that there was one thing she DID know... at least she thought. Time to check out the theory.

She twisted slightly in the human's arms, and reached between his legs, and grasped his cock.

And managed not to scream.

H'sh'ivok, the thing is HUGE! It's HUGE! It's STIFF! It's HARD! GODS, HE'S GOING TO FUCK ME WITH THAT! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! And abruptly she realized that she was stiff with terror, and what would the human do...!

But the human had stiffened as well. And Jeeka realized she still held his cock in her hand.

The human didn't seem displeased so much as surprised. But he had also noticed Jeeka's fear. She was staring at him with eyes wide. And still gripping his cock. Gods! The thing's so big, I can barely get my fingers around it! He'll tear me apart!

The human gasped. Jeeka let go of his cock. "I can't," she said. "You're too big. You will hurt me!"

The human looked at her, confused. Shit, she'd spoken in goblin. What were the man words? Shit, shit, shit! "You hurt me with your man thing," she said. "Um... fuck hurt. Hurt much."

The human's face went back to normal. "No hurt you," he said.

"Yes hurt me," she said. "Much man thing. Hurt!" Shit, what was the human word for "grease," or "lubricate?"

The human smiled, and hoisted her clear of the water, and set her on the edge of the pool. Oh, shit, was he going to jam it in NOW? She stiffened and wondered whether to fight him...

But he didn't just jam it in. Instead, he smiled, and gently touched her pussy, with that strange human hand, with too many fingers. He's going to try and fuck me! she thought, and tried to bring her knees together—

The human took hold of her legs with great hands, and parted her thighs, and Jeeka stifled a scream—

--as the human leaned forward and LICKED it.

"Guk!" said Jeeka, partly out of terror, and partly out of confusion. What the hell?

The human's head was situated directly between her thighs, now, and he reached beneath her ass, and lifted her pelvis slightly. He licked again, and then again. He made a point of running his tongue from bottom to top of her vagina, gently parting the lips with the tip of his tongue, and briefly ticking the clitoris before going back to the bottom again.

"Uh!" said Jeeka, utterly discombobulated at the sudden turn of events? What the HELL? Was THIS how humans fucked? Well, it was better than having that enormous cock shoved in, dry... it wasn't BAD...

Goblins had no real concept of oral sex. Why would you put your MOUTH down there? This being largely because "hygiene" was another thing goblins had a sketchy grasp on; females did wash periodically, but males generally only did it when they were particularly filthy or couldn't stand their own odor. But both Jeeka and the human were clean now, and with each wet lap of his tongue, Jeeka was starting to come around as far as new sexual horizons were concerned. She'd learned how to masturbate as a child; she knew what orgasms were, and how to achieve them. She simply wasn't used to the idea of having them inflicted on her by someone else.

But as the human's tongue worked its magic, it began to dawn on her that perhaps the Kzing was a thing you could do with someone else in the room. And maybe all she had to do was lie back and wait for it.

Kzing!

As the orgasm built and grew and crested and washed over her, she trembled, and bit her lip to keep from making noise. And the human, feeling her twitch and spasm, paused... and then began to lick faster. Jeeka gasped and spasmed. This was... this was totally unlike sex! Did ALL humans do this, or just wizards? Was THIS why there were so many of them...?

Without realizing it, Jeeka shifted and tilted her pelvis, hanging her knees over his shoulders, giving the human the best access to her pussy. And now that his hands were free, he took advantage of this, running his hands over her body, fondling her breasts, cupping her nipples. And if that wasn't bad enough, he was rubbing his face fur against the insides of her thighs, and GODS, they were sensitive now... he was caressing her thighs, he was lashing her pussy, he was touching her sides, her belly, her tits, he was all OVER her, all at once... And now he was licking in a CIRCLE, a circle, like the circles in his damn human eyes, and gods it felt so good so good so good she'd never managed this with her own fingers, this was magic, it HAD to be magic, the fucking wizard was witching her...

And she didn't care. She reached down and grabbed him by the hair and forced his face into her pussy. And he didn't stop her. He just kept licking, while she howled like an animal.

And it felt like a thousand years later when she called out, "Zok!"

"Urr?"

"STOP!"

The human's head came up. "No good?"

"Uhh," said Jeeka, panting heavily. "Good, yes. Good MUCH. HURTS, good. You stop..." What Jeeka wanted to say was, "Gods, that's too intense, take a rest, give me a break, I can't take this, don't humans breathe?" But again, she didn't have the words. But the human stopped.

And rose from the water. His cock was quite stiff. And it didn't look quite like a goblin cock; it was considerably bigger erect, and it seemed to have a knob on the end, but it was still unmistakably a cock, even if it was quite pink rather than the green she had heretofore taken for granted. Gods, I can't take that... or can I?

Jeeka reached between her legs and fingered her pussy. Gods, she was sopping. She didn't know she COULD get that wet, even when masturbating. And her pussy did feel very relaxed... could she do this?

"No hurt me?" she said, looking up at the human.

"I hurt you, you SAY. You say… I stop," he replied. And pressed the great cock knob against her pussy lips. Rather than just jam it in, he rubbed it up and down her pussy, coating the tip in her juices. Jeeka gasped. It felt far better than she expected. Experimentally, he slid the great knob into her. "Hurt?"

It felt huge. But it didn't hurt. "No hurt," Jeeka said. "More."

Far more gently than she'd expected... but in line with what she was starting to expect... the human pushed in... then pulled out slightly... then pushed further in. His cock was getting coated with her juices. "Hurt?" he asked.

"Nooooooo..." said Jeeka. Her cunt blossomed to accomodate the human, she could feel it. Blissed out on two orgasms and the discovery of cunnilingus, Jeeka was no longer afraid in the least. The worst had happened. She was getting fucked by a human, and it wasn't bad. It was in fact amazing, and she was beginning to hope that a third orgasm might not be out of the realms of possibility.

Emboldened, the human pushed forward... pulled back, and pushed forward... in and out. Jeeka felt his balls slap against her ass. The human was balls deep into her, and she didn't hurt at all. "You FUCK me, YES!" she cried.

And the human did. Enthusiastically. And hard. He'd taken hold of her ankles at some point, and holding them apart, he stood there in the pool, fucking the goblin for all he was worth as she writhed and massaged her clit with her fingers, fishing for that elusive....

Kzing!

And for what seemed like a long time afterwards, they gyrated together, his balls slapping her ass with each thrust, and both of them making noises like beasts, and not caring who might hear.

And eventually, Jeeka discovered that humans had orgasms, too. The human grunted gutturally and exploded wetly deep inside her. And KEPT exploding; he was big enough, and she tight enough, that she felt every pulse and spasm as his great pink cock unloaded into her. The amount seemed greater than goblins generally managed. Jeeka didn't mind. She'd discovered she was capable of far more than she'd thought she was when she'd awakened that day.

As she lay there, blissed beyond blissed, she idly wondered if a human could make a goblin pregnant. Could it happen? She'd never heard of such a thing. And she decided that if it could happen, it would be an issue to worry about later. WAY later.

They lay together on the wet stone for a time before the human finally sloowly pulled out of her. He staggered out of the pool and went and got drying cloths, and wrapped both himself and Jeeka in them. He dried her hair for her, a thing she found charming, and then began to comb it for her, a thing she found curious and a little disturbing. Still, the calming power of multiple orgasms is a tremendous thing, and combing one's hair for them is a far less disturbing thing then devouring them alive.

Or licking a cunt until they scream. Jeeka was starting to question her ideas about "normal."

And when they were dry, the human carried her to a dark room with a great soft thing in it, like a bed, covered in furs and great thick cloths, and lay her down in it, naked. And then climbed in WITH her, a thing she found both surprising, and rather intimate. And then covered them both up with the furs and cloths, and he was still.

Jeeka lay still and wondered how long it took humans to fall asleep. She could slip out of the bed, get back to the main chamber, and get her clothes. She could wrap her foot in cloths, and steal the pot of numbing cream, and make her escape. Maybe steal anything else that looked interesting. She wouldn't even have to kill the human, if he stayed asleep...

And while she was thinking this, she drifted off, herself.

Chapter Text

Jeeka woke up, warm and comfortable. And then remembered where she was, and froze. She could feel the human curled against her back, wrapped around her. Snoring gently.

Caaaarefully, she straightened one leg, and then another. The human did not awaken. She scooched carefully away from him and rolled onto her back, and breathed deep, but silently. Was the human insane? Or were his defenses so complete that he could cheerfully fall asleep without fear of being murdered by his bedmate?

A hundred thoughts ran through her mind. All right, he fucked me, and he didn't hurt me. What's he likely to do next? Eat me for breakfast? Oh, stop it, he could have killed you a dozen times already. But maybe humans don't like to kill before they fuck. Maybe they don't like to fuck dead things. Get up, go get your clothes and anything else he has, and beat feet before he wakes up.

Instead, in the dim light, Jeeka examined his hand, the one that had been wrapped around her waist as she slept. Five fingers, as opposed to a goblin's four. It looked freakish, but it seemed to work for him. She shifted her gaze to his face. Brown hair, but she heard that hair colors in humans came in a variety, same as goblins. His ears were small and rounded, utterly unlike her own long leaf-shaped ears. A miracle he could hear anything. Thick fur on his chin, and a stripe of it under his nose, sparse fur on his chest and belly. Pubic hair not unlike a goblin's. His cock looked decidedly different, but it had CERTAINLY seemed to work for him. Idly, she wondered if fucking felt the same to him as it did to a goblin male... were the sensations any different? He certainly seemed to want to TAKE longer with it...

She glanced at his face again. His eyes were closed, so his weird circle patterns were unexaminable. But then she saw his mouth was slightly open... and she saw his teeth.

His front teeth were square. Freakish!

But then she remembered when she'd smiled at him, and he hadn't quite recoiled. He'd seen her own front teeth, which were spade shaped, like any goblin's, and she realized that she must look as freakish to him as he did to her. To him, I must look like I have a mouthful of broken crockery, she thought, and she was surprised to feel dismayed.

Oh, stop it, she thought, he was happy to stare at your TITS now, wasn't he? And while she still felt a little put off, she did take pride in her tits. Apparently, big tits worked the same for human men as for goblin ones, even if they were green. And why do you care what a human thinks anyway, hah? Or is he right? Are goblins stupid? Because you're sitting here counting his teeth when you could have been halfway home by now!

Or was that the best option?

Was he a tracker? He was a wizard, he could probably find anything. And now he knew there was a goblin camp within walking distance of his home. Now she had to kill him, for the sake of the tribe.

But how stupid would he have to be to fall asleep with a GOBLIN in his bed? No. He had done this because he was quite sure she couldn't hurt him, pointed teeth and little flint knife or not. And he either didn't think she could escape... or didn't care if she did. What sort of wards and defenses kept his home safe? Would she suddenly burst into flames if she tried to walk out past those weird symbols over the door?

Jeeka lay there amidst cloth blankets and furs, hopelessly confused about what to do. Ultimately, all she had to go on was what she'd seen him do up until then.

He hadn't hurt her. He'd fixed her foot. He'd fed her. He'd bathed her. He'd given her an amazing sexual experience, the likes of which she'd never thought possible. He'd brushed her hair, and put her to bed, and curled up and kept her warm, when he could have just raped her and killed her without a second thought.

He'd said he wouldn't hurt her, and he’d kept that promise. So far.

The snake of fear in her belly slowly uncoiled and dissolved. He hadn't hurt her at all. Although her foot was starting to hurt a little; the cream had apparently worn off in the night.

And she drifted off again while trying to think about what to do next.

Chapter Text

Jeeka awoke again, warm and comfortable, and froze again, upon remembering where she was, all over again. And this time, the human was gone. But she herself was all right, although she was still naked, and her foot hurt.

She sat up and looked around. The room, still dimly lit, was as it had been, although the blankets and furs were disrupted on the human's side; plainly, he'd gotten up and wandered off. She wondered where he had gone, and if there was a latrine somewhere handy; she had to pee. Sniffing the air, she smelled smoke, meat cooking somewhere... and an oddly familiar odor she couldn't quite place. Was the human going to feed her again? She could live with that. Carefully, she climbed out of the bed thing, and pulled various sheets of cloth and furs up to look at them, until she finally decided on a square blanket and draped herself in it.

And then she rethought the problem, and then took it off, rewrapping it around her like a sarong, squeezing her breasts slightly and making sure there was plenty showing. If tits and sex appeal was what had saved her yesterday, she was happy to take advantage of it today, too. Jeeka shook out her hair, brushed it out with her fingers, and fluffed her cleavage, before carefully poking her head out into the hallway passage.

Seeing no one, she slipped out silently, glancing into each of the branching passages. Thankfully, the first one across the hall seemed to be some sort of privy; it was a stone chair with a hole in the seat that smelled of recent use and had a basket of dried leaves handy. She made quick use of it, dressed herself again, and limped back up the hallway towards the main room; she heard sizzling sounds and smells from there that hinted at breakfast.

She found the human there, wearing a long, loose brown robelike garment tied at the waist, and no pants, tending a black metal pan over the stone fire box. He noticed her, and gave her one of his closed-lip smiles. She smiled back and stood there, wondering what the right thing was to do. The human noticed this, smiled at her, and pointed at a chair. Obligingly, she limped to the chair, and climbed up into it. It was much too large for her; her feet swung freely, three inches off the floor.

She looked back at the human. He'd found two round plates, and was scooping something out of the pan onto the plates. Picking up a couple of small tools, he brought the stuff to the table, and put it down in front of her. The tool seemed to be some sort of little trident. The food seemed to be scrambled eggs and some more of those little red penis things, and mushrooms.

She was a little surprised. Scrambled eggs and mushrooms. She might have been eating that in her own tent, or her mother's hut. Apparently, humans ate them too, although they seemed to prefer their mushrooms cooked.

Jeeka glanced up at the human. He'd sat in the chair next to her, and was merrily spearing eggs and penises and mushrooms on his little trident and conveying them to his mouth. Jeeka glanced at the little trident, gave a mental shrug, and picked it up. She speared a great lump of scrambled egg and stuck it in her mouth. Perfectly good scrambled egg, although she would have liked more salt.

The human smiled at her again, and they ate in silence. Until abruptly, it occurred to Jeeka to look for her clothes. They weren't where she had left them, and her belt thong with pouch and knife were nowhere to be seen. "Uh," she said, and realized she had no idea how to say "Where are my clothes?" in human.

The human saw her distress, and observed her glancing around, and seemed to get the gist. He got up and walked to the shelf with the odd flat blocks on it, and she realized her belt thong was hanging from the corner of it; he retrieved it and put it on the table near her. The pouch was still tied, and her knife was still there, but her breechclout, skirt, and blouse were nowhere to be seen. "#### ######## ### ## ### ####," said the human, who promptly realized that she hadn't understood.

"I'm sorry," said Jeeka. "I don't know many of your words. I'm just not getting what you're saying!" And her heart fell; she still couldn't read his face well, but she could see he hadn't understood her any better than she'd understood him. But he went to the shelf and gathered a few items, and put them on the table. "You eat," he said clearly, as he drew out some colored powders and some herbs and a piece of chalk and did incomprehensible things with them. Jeeka took a deep breath and speared another penis. Apparently, some sort of magic was going to happen, and she felt that it would probably be more bearable after a decent breakfast. "Hurt?" she asked.

"No hurt. Make talk good."

Ah. So it would be some sort of language magic That probably wouldn't hurt. Much. Jeeka finished her breakfast. Idly, the human fetched her a cup of water, anticipating her next question, and she drank deeply.

And when she put the cup down, he made a gesture. With forked fingers, he pointed at both her eyes, and then pointed to his own. Look into my eyes, the gesture seemed to mean. She looked into his strange circle filled eyes and tried not to blink.

The human dipped a finger into the colored powder, and drew a symbol in the air with it, painting on thin air as if it were a solid surface. Jeeka gasped and stared at it. The human showed irritation, and made the forked finger gesture again. Look me in the eyes! it said. She locked eyes with him again, determined not to break eye contact THIS time!

The human wrote several more symbols, and began speaking aloud; the words, of course, made no sense, although at one point, he seemed to change languages; the words sounded almost elvish, with their sibilance and their soft vowels, and switched thereafter to something with a great many hard "k" sounds in it. Jeeka wondered what was going on, but was determined not to break eye contact again. She fought the urge to blink or glance at the strange floating symbols in the air. Did her head feel … foggy?

The human smiled at her. He stopped talking. He slowly reached out with his hand, careful not to break eye contact, and touched her in the middle of her forehead. Nothing happened. He made the forked finger gesture again, her eyes to his eyes. Look me in the eyes! And touched his own forehead with his middle finger.

"Amech," he said, whatever that meant. And then he reached out and touched her forehead again, with the same middle finger.

And something happened.

Jeeka blinked hard, and blinked again, eye contact broken. What HAD happened? It was like the mental equivalent of a flash of light, going off inside her head. It hadn't hurt, but it wasn't quite comfortable. SOMETHING had happened...

The human smiled. "You understand me now?" he asked.

Jeeka blinked again, and shook her head, not to say "no," but to clear it. She HAD understood him, perfectly well, but she was vaguely also aware that the word "understand" shouldn't have three syllables. Not in the goblin tongue, anyway... what in the hells HAD happened?

"What did you do?" she said slowly. Her voice sounded like it always had, but the words sounded... off. She realized that she was hearing one voice, but was thinking in TWO voices, inside her head. The two voices were saying the same thing, but the other voice wasn't speaking goblin!

And neither had she. With something between horror and wonder, she realized that she had spoken in the same language that HE had.

"I cast a spell/made magic," said the human. "Now we can talk, and understand each other."
Jeeka shook her head. The human had said one thing, but her mind had reacted as if he’d said two different things. What was HAPPENING?

"You cast a spell on me?" Jeeka asked, feeling the fear seep back into her belly.

"I put a spell between us," said the human. "Goblin language in my head, from you. Human language in your head, from me." Her head seemed to be settling down, and the odd duality and double voice in her head was fading as he spoke.

"This is... weird," she said uncertainly.

"Does it bother you?" he said. Oddly, she seemed to be able to understand his facial expressions better, all of a sudden. This was a good thing. It would help her to know what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry,” said the human. He seemed to mean it. “I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to talk with you."

"It's getting better," Jeeka said. "Not so bad... now. But it was strange... at first... I ... didn't know… what I was thinking."

"Yes," he said. "I should have thought of that. Thinking in two languages is strange at first. But I didn't know how to warn you."

"Now we can talk... and ... I don't know what to say," said Jeeka.

The human gave her a wry grin. She realized that five minutes earlier, she wouldn't have known it was a wry grin. Apparently, communication magic covered more than mere words. And she suddenly knew what she wanted to say.

"Do ALL humans fuck like that?" she asked.

And the human burst out laughing.

Chapter Text

That afternoon, Jeeka limped back into the goblin encampment, to the amazement and consternation of her tribemates, who had been quite sure they'd never see her again. They had been pondering whether or not to move the village; scouts had prodded further in the direction of Jeeka’s disappearance, and had found human farms and a human village, no more than six miles from the goblin encampment. Jeeka's sudden reappearance promptly upset the discussion while everyone pelted her with questions about what had happened.

Jeeka had come up with a story about how the human had dragged her back to its hut, where she had taken advantage of its gullibility, and killed it with her knife. She'd taken a long time returning because of her bad foot, and who had knocked her down when they were running from the human in the mushroom field?

Everyone promptly looked at Grilki, who looked back, and then glanced down. "You had a bad foot," muttered Grilki. "It wasn't like you were going to escape anyway."

"But here I am now," answered Jeeka, in a tone of voice that said, The matter is tabled for the moment, but it isn't over.

"Do the other humans know about us? Do they know he is dead?" interrupted Morr, headman and lead hunter.

"No," said Jeeka. "His hut was nowhere near the village. I think he’s an exile or something. I dumped his body in a ravine, where animals will eat it. No one knows anything, no one but us. But I have seen the village. They are... strong. I don't think raiding is a good idea."

Morr frowned. This wasn't a decision a mere woman should make, or an opinion any woman had business having. Still... the more information, the better. "Strong how?"

"They have many warriors. And... a wizard."

THAT got everyone's attention. Wizards were nothing to trifle with. "That changes things," said Morr. "You are sure they don't know about us? Might they trade, if we show ourselves?"

"I don't know," said Jeeka. "I saw the village in passing. None of them saw me. But I saw their warriors, and their wizard. The warriors had metal armor and swords and spears, and the wizard did great magic, right in my seeing."

(This was, of course, almost complete buffalo droppings. Jeeka hadn't seen the village, and had no idea if they had any warriors or not; the wizard, Ben, had told her about it, and remarked that he would regard any goblins who tried to attack it... or his own home... as enemies, and that he would likely deal harshly with known enemies. Jeeka took the hint, and had wondered how she'd convince her people to leave the humans alone, until Morr had dropped the opportunity in her lap...)

"This is very bad," said Mirk. "We should move the village away, then. Look for hunting elsewhere."
Jeeka suddenly felt odd, at the idea of leaving. She didn't WANT to leave. "It is bad, that I returned alive?" she said archly to Mirk, who abruptly realized that perhaps he could have phrased it better.

"I am glad you came back. Very glad," said an orange haired goblin nearby, shyly. Jeeka turned, and saw that it was Tolla who had spoken, a tall slender female of the Fire Clan, who were said to be unlucky because of their orange hair. Jeeka smiled at her... with her lips closed. Tolla smiled back, showing lots of teeth. She's being very nice to me, for a near-total stranger, thought Jeeka. What's up with this?

"We should move the village," repeated Mirk.

"We don't know that they're a threat," said Jeeka. "We might trade for metal--"

"You should be silent," said Morr ominously. "But for a woman, your words are not bad ones. I will think about this. In the meantime, we stay here, and we do not approach the humans." Morr drew himself up to his full four feet six -- tall for a goblin, taller even than Tolla -- and spoke again. "If anyone sees a human, report when and where. Do NOT let a human see YOU, and if they DO, report in IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT kill any humans unless you have to defend yourselves."

And with that, Morr turned and headed back to the headman's hut. Meeting was over, which was all right with Jeeka, who was still a little shaken by her weird experience with the human, and wanted to go be in her tent and be a goblin for a while. Tolla looked like she wanted to say something, but Jeeka turned and returned to her own tent and flopped on her sleeping furs. She knew she should go spend some time with her mother, who'd likely spent the night weeping for her lost daughter, but Jeeka had far too much on her mind at the moment. She would go to her mother before the end of the day, but for now, she needed to think.

“What is your name?” the human had asked, in the human way.

“I am Jeeka. Who are you?” she had replied, in the goblin way.

“Call me Ben,” he had said. Jeeka had realized immediately that he wasn’t quite telling the whole truth; she also realized that he was doing this because real names had power, and he wasn’t quite ready to give that up yet… and she also had no idea how or why she knew that.

"What are you going to do with me?" Jeeka had asked.

"I don't know," Ben had answered. "You asked me not to hurt you, and you offered to fuck me. I didn't hurt you, and you fucked me silly, so I guess we both kept our promises. What will happen if I let you go?"

And after a brief discussion that boiled down to "Don’t attack the village, and I won’t attack yours," an agreement was reached and Jeeka had dressed herself, and Ben had picked her up again, and called the wind to them, and a whirlwind had lifted them clear of the ground and carried them through the air, from the rock crags, and he had left her in the woods, within easy walking distance of the goblin village. He had already known where it was. He smiled at her... and gave her the little pot of no-pain ointment!

And then he had kissed her. On the mouth. And this had been a shock! And not knowing what else to do, she had run away.

Ben had no way of knowing this, but goblin males did not kiss. The embrace was the typical goblin male way of showing affection. Kisses were how goblin females showed affection -- to their children, and to family, and to each other. Jeeka knew that goblin women sometimes became affectionate with each other, and she could see why -- surely it was more satisfying that doing it with males!

With a jolt, Jeeka realized that she could see that now. Now that she knew fucking could actually be... well, good.

Ben had fucked her. But then he'd let her go. And at the last moment before she left, he had showed her affection.

What did this mean? Was this normal for humans? This COULDN'T be normal for humans; how often did they meet goblins? Or fuck them? This didn't make any sense at ALL!

Jeeka's foot hurt. THIS at least, she knew what to do about. She unwrapped her foot, and critically examined the wound, which already looked worlds better than yesterday, although she hadn't done it any favors when she'd run away from Ben. Sighing, she took a fingerful of ointment and rubbed it on the wound, instantly erasing the pain. She wished she'd thought to ask him what it was made of...

"Jeeka?"

Jeeka glanced up. Her mother was standing in the tent opening, tears running down her face. When Mother saw her, she threw herself at Jeeka, embracing her, holding her tightly, and Jeeka wrapped her arms around her mother, as well.

"I thought you were dead..."

Chapter Text

A week later, Jeeka was still unsettled.

Someone had hung the tag "Jeeka Manslayer" on her. It made sense; they believed she'd killed a human. What bothered her was that first of all, the males didn't bother with the tag. Epithets, particularly warrior epithets, were for MALES, not silly females, and that burned her butt.

Second, there was the nagging knowledge floating in her head that the word "man" meant "human" in the goblin speech... but that it merely meant "male adult human" in the human tongue, despite being the same word. She also knew that "boy" was the word for "young male human, not adult," and that "woman" meant "female man," and a great many other words that she'd never even heard before. The spell the wizard had cast wasn't wearing off. What's more, it seemed to bring with it greater awareness of other forms of language... body language in particular. Facial expressions. Movement.

She knew, without quite realizing how, that Tolla, of the orange hair, had developed an interest in her. Jeeka wasn't sure what to do about that, or precisely what Tolla's interest WAS, but it seemed definite. Had Tolla been interested before, and Jeeka just never noticed? Or was this a result of having killed a human? There was no telling, short of talking to Tolla, and Jeeka wasn't sure what she wanted to do about that, either. It didn't pay to get mixed up with Fire Clan; the orange haired ones were bad luck. And yet, for some reason, she wasn't sure she believed that as firmly as she had a week ago, either.

And then there was Mirk. Mirk was still interested, too... and his mannerisms were surprisingly similar to Tolla's in a rather more masculine way. And Jeeka knew that sooner or later, Mirk was going to show up and take what he thought he could get away with, unless someone else was going to protect her. On the other hand, Mirk's attitude seemed to have undergone a shift; he was less pushy than he had been. Was this because she'd killed a human? Or because he'd lost face with that remark about it being bad that she'd come back? Jeeka wasn't sure, but she also wasn't sure that Mirk's deference would last. Sooner or later, she'd have to do something... or submit to Mirk's attentions, and accept his protections.

And somehow, the idea of sex with Mirk was far less appealing than it had been a week ago. And it hadn't been thrilling even then. Jeeka’s entire idea of sex had changed. She'd had sex three times in her life. The first time had been unpleasant. The second, blah, but bearable. The third, utterly unbelievable... and she was starting to realize that she wanted to try it again. The "unbelievable," that is. And she wasn't going to get it here. It had occurred to her to try and convince Mirk to try it the human way, but the knothead wouldn't even acknowledge her epithet; how likely was he to try a hot bath and pussy licking?

She was going to have to go find the wizard again.

And she wasn't sure she was ready to go and do that, either. Things had turned out nicely once; that guaranteed nothing about a second encounter…

But circumstances were coming together in a way that were going to make Jeeka go and do SOME damn thing. Sighing, she stepped out of her tent into the light, and went into the woods, down to the stream. Sitting down on a large flat rock, she dipped a cloth into the stream and took off her moccasin and washed her wounded foot. The wound had closed and scabbed over completely, days ago, and parts of the scab were starting to flake off. She'd snipped and pulled the stitches, then, and the foot seemed happy enough with it. She'd pretty much healed. The foot was still a bit sore, but she could walk with no difficulty, and even run without much pain... not that the ointment didn't STILL help. She wondered if it had sped up the healing process, in addition to its pain relief ability; it seemed to be so.

"Jeeka?"

Jeeka glanced up. Tolla had walked up behind her. Sitting down beside her, Tolla crossed her legs and smiled. Jeeka smiled back, wondering what to say.

Tolla spared her the trouble. "I have a rack of rabbit haunches, smoking, back at my hut. I have merik sauce I made last night, and I have pickles that are ready. Would you like to help me eat them tonight?"

Jeeka opened her mouth... and paused. This almost felt like more than an invitation. She barely knew Tolla, and it seemed a bit much as a pretext to friendship. "I don't mean to seem rude," said Jeeka, "but... why? You barely know me."

Tolla smiled again. Jeeka got a weird feeling of ... desperation... about Tolla. Something about facial expression, or demeanor, she wasn't sure what, and damn that wizard and his spell anyway.

"You killed a human who was going to kill you," said Tolla. "You escaped alive from its lair, even with your foot wounded, even after Grilki knocked you down and left you for dead. I thought someone should be nice to you, help you celebrate your victory."

"My mother was very happy to see me," said Jeeka. "We celebrated into the night with plum rumba and salt bread. I mean, I'm not saying NO, it just seems odd that --"

"I need someone to visit me tonight, and to stay late," said Tolla tightly. "Someone with a knife, someone who has proven they can kill if they are bothered."

"You expect trouble? What about your brother?"

"Prum has said that he wants me tonight," said Tolla, still tightly, smile gone. "He says he'll be my protector, and that brother Drin can stay out of it, if he knows what’s good for him. And we're Fire Clan; no one will come charging to our rescue. But if you are my guest for supper, and you have your knife, Prum will have to respect my guest. He isn't invited to eat, and I can tell him so without worrying , if there is a witness. There isn't enough food for three."

"And you don't WANT Prum," said Jeeka.

"Prum likes it when I hurt," said Tolla unhappily. "It's part of the fun, for him. He likes to fuck me dry, to hear me cry out. He fucked me the night before last, and I'm still sore. I need one more night before I can do this again, and he doesn't want me to have it." Tolla looked miserably off across the stream, into the trees. "I just need one night's rest."

Jeeka said nothing for a moment. She thought, Dry fucking. Dry fucking because he likes to hear her suffering. Here I am with a male I want and shouldn't want, and here she is with a male she doesn't want and shouldn't have to put up with. "Well," Jeeka said, "I do like pickles..."

Tolla's face lit up immediately. "Oh, that's GREAT!" she said. "Thank you SO much!" and suddenly embraced Jeeka and squeezed. Surprised, Jeeka hesitated, but then hugged back. Tolla leaped to her feet and scampered back down the path to the village. "Just come over anytime before dark!" she called back.

And Jeeka was alone again. Well. Dinner invitation. Social life is looking up. Guess I'll go wizard hunting another time...

Chapter Text

Prum was short for a male, but carried himself as if he were taller.

He spent much time on his mane of hair, which was thinner and wispier than it might be; he seemed to think that his grooming concealed this fact better than it actually did. He wasn’t well liked among many of the tribe. He was a mediocre hunter, and prone to excuses, and tended towards rather transparent lies, as if he assumed everyone was stupider than he. Prum thought he was clever, but was frankly more cunning than he was bright. About the only reason no one’s put a spear in his back yet, Jeeka thought. If we weren’t understrength for a good tribe, surely Morr would have made him cold by now.

Because Prum, in addition to his other unpleasant traits, was known for a mean streak a mile wide, which he was known to indulge upon those who couldn’t fight back. And, for some reason, he seemed to have a knack for getting people to believe his lies.

Prum had arrived all smug smiles, and had left with a dark expression on his face. Jeeka didn't like that expression, and suspected that Prum was going to make someone pay for his disappointment, and suspected Tolla might be in for a bad time at some future date. But tonight Tolla was all smiles after Prum was gone; tonight at least, he was someone else's problem.

The rabbit legs were delicious, the merik sauce was tangy and wonderful, and the pickles were splendid. Jeeka did have to admit that Tolla was going to make someone a fine mate some day; her skills were far beyond Jeeka's own. The conversation was good, too; Jeeka had needed to get out of her own head for days, and just being able to talk about things going on in the village was a relief, particularly since Tolla didn't seem interested in pestering her about whether she was interested in any young males... unlike her mother, who had a knack for that particular topic.

And over time, the night fell, and the silences grew longer. "It's late," said Jeeka. "I should go. Thank you for the supper. It was way better than I could have done myself. And I'm glad you get a night's relief from Prum's attentions."

"Do you have to go?" asked Tolla. "Is someone waiting for you?"

"Well, no," said Jeeka. "But I have to sleep sometime."

"You could stay here," said Tolla with a smile.

Ah. It begins to make sense, thought Jeeka. "I don't think so," she said. "I still have a lot to think about..."
"I thought you were enjoying not thinking about the way your life is going," said Tolla. "I know there's plenty of things I was enjoying not thinking about, over dinner."

"How do you know what I'm thinking about?"

"I don't," said Tolla. "But you've been weird and solitary ever since you killed the human. I hear your mother is worried about you, and you won't tell her about what happened, at least not in any detail. Everyone knows Mirk wants you, but you won't give him the time of day any more, almost like you're mad at him. I don't know what you're thinking about, but it's plain you have heavy thoughts on your mind. And I could help you forget about them, for a night."

And suddenly, Tolla was sitting a lot closer to Jeeka than she had been.

"Uh..." said Jeeka. "I... appreciate the thought... but... I... don't do... girls."

"You've never done a girl yet," corrected Tolla. "And you don't have to." A hand caressed Jeeka's thigh, down her knee, and back up, brushing the hem of her skirt. "I can do the work. And you can decide for yourself." Tolla's hand slid under the skirt, only an inch or so, and slipped back over Jeeka's knee, back into the firelight.

"Is this why you don't like Prum?" said Jeeka, trying to control her breathing. She realized that a week ago, she would have said no, gotten up, and walked away. But now, she'd had good sex for a change... and she wanted more... and now, dammit, sex was tempting, as opposed to something to avoid. How did females have sex with each other, anyway? Did she have a wooden penis somewhere?

"I don't lilke Prum because he's a sadistic shit," said Tolla. "And you're not saying no." Tolla's hand slipped back up under Jeeka's skirt, much further this time, up where Ben's face fur had brushed her to orgasm not all that long ago. Jeeka took a DEEP breath; the feeling was electric. If she was going to say no, it had better be soon...

"Uhh..."

Tolla reached out and took Jeeka's chin in her hand, tilted her head up, and locked eyes with her. "I'd really like it if you would stay with me tonight," Tolla said.

Jeeka let go of a long breath. "All right."

Jeeka smiled happily, and rose to her feet, offered a hand. Jeeka took it and rose, and together, they went into the tent.

Where Tolla embraced her, and kissed her on the lips.

The taste was faintly pickle-and-merik-sauce, but her immediate thought was of Ben, and Jeeka jerked with surprise.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" asked Tolla

"I'm sorry. I'm just not used to ... kissing," said Jeeka, apologetically. "I wasn't expecting it."

"Is it all right... if we try again?"

Jeeka was surprised to find that she was feeling antsy, anxious... and hot, the way she'd felt in Ben's cave. It was a strange feeling, fearful, and yet exciting, and she realized that she might not mind if they did try again. "All right," said Jeeka, and this time she was the one to lean in and press her lips to Tolla's.
Who kissed back.

And for a time, they stood there, just inside the tent flap, doing just that. Jeeka realized that Tolla was undoing her skirt with one hand, and decided to help; she opened Tolla's bodice and let Tolla's breasts flop out. It was strange, looking at another woman's body with lust, but no stranger than anything else she'd done lately. Jeeka decided to just let it happen, and see what came of it all. After all, the last disaster hadn't worked out so badly...

It didn't take long before there were two nude goblins standing in a puddle of discarded clothes. Tolla had moved from kissing lips to kissing chin, and was now nibbling at Jeeka's neck, leaning in, pressing her breasts against Jeeka's, hands traveling up and down Jeeka's back, caressing and gently massaging. It wasn't unpleasant. Downright relaxing, really. But Jeeka had no clue what she was supposed to do. "I... (ooh!) ... um... "

"Don't worry," said Tolla into the side of Jeeka's neck. "Relax and let me do the work. I owe you this for saving me tonight." She began steering Jeeka backwards, and they promptly collapsed onto Tolla's bed furs. And while Jeeka was getting oriented from vertical to horizontal, Tolla took prompt advantage, and began nibbling at Jeeka's right nipple, while drawing little circles around the left one with her index finger.

Meanwhile, Tolla's knee was leveraging Jeeka's legs apart.

It wasn't like it had been with Ben. Much quicker, more active. More goblin. But it was considerably better, more pleasant, than it had been with other goblin partners. Jeeka had heard about girls who carried on with other girls. It was a thing you didn't talk about, but there wasn't any particular stigma associated with it. I guess everyone needs a vacation from the guys from time to time, she thought.
Tolla had moved her head from one nipple to the other, and was now moving her body up over Jeeka's, stroking her fingernails gently down under Jeeka's breasts, across her belly, down her sides. Jeeka was suddenly aware that one of Tolla's knees was gently pressing her crotch. And one of Tolla's hands seemed to be headed in that direction, while her tongue flicked and teeth nibbled at one nipple, then the other.

Jeeka reached up and began to caress Tolla's sides and back the same way. Tolla groaned and arched her back, then suddenly jerked her head down, kissed Jeeka on the lips, then went back to nibbling on her nipples, one, then the other, quickly, passionately.

Jeeka grinned in spite of herself. This was... fun.

And Tolla began drawing a wet trail with her tongue from one nipple to the other, and then blowing on it, to make goosebumps. Jeeka giggled. Tolla giggled back, and then began drawing another trail, this time to Jeeka's belly button, stopping every so often to blow on it, as if she was announcing her travel path.

And then, after circling the belly button twice, Tolla began to draw a trail yet further south.

This got Jeeka's attention. What is she going to...

And Tolla tenderly licked Jeeka's clit.

Jeeka gasped.

Tolla responded by wrapping her forearms around Jeeka's thighs, and lapping at her cunt some more.

H'sh'ivok, did EVERYONE know about this but ME? Jeeka thought, as her pussy lips parted like flower petals, and Tolla drove her tongue forward...

Chapter Text

Jeeka woke up, warm and comfortable. And then remembered where she was, and froze. She could feel Tolla's breath in her hair, arms wrapped around her. Snoring gently.

She opened her eyes and looked over at Tolla. Tall, perhaps the tallest female in the tribe. She was taller than most males, a thing they tended to dislike. Slender, but not skinny; she was eating all right. Breasts not as big as Jeeka's, but softer, more pendulous. They moved around a lot during sex, which wasn't a bad thing. Her fiery orange hair was reflected in her pubic thatch as well; a strong contrast with Jeeka’s own thick black mane.

A week ago, she had barely known Tolla existed, and now she was looking at her with… desire? Lust? Appreciation? This was all too much, too quickly. And Jeeka wasn’t even sure she was unhappy about it or not. Her world had gotten a LOT bigger, very suddenly… and it didn’t seem to be a bad thing, even if it was a bit frightening in spots.

Jeeka wondered. Hm. All right. Now I've been fucked four times. Does that last one count as fucking? After some thought, Yes, it counts. It sure FEELS like it counts. So. Do I like females now? I liked it last night. I liked it better than I liked males. But then there's Ben. I liked Ben. I liked Ben better than I ever liked anyone before. So. males are… okay. I like females. I like wizards. Or do I just like wizards? Maybe I like humans.

And that last thought was weird enough that she had to stifle a giggle.

She shifted to a more comfortable position, and rolled onto her back, careful not to wake Tolla. Tolla murmured, without waking up, but reflexively pulled herself closer to Jeeka, and then drifted back to wherever she'd been before. She was breathing in Jeeka's ear. Jeeka didn't mind. Jeeka was finding a lot of things she didn't mind these days, and things she'd like to explore further.

This was twice in eight days she'd slept with someone in the same bed, a thing she hadn’t done since she was a child, sleeping with her mother. And she'd rather liked it. It felt warm, intimate, and more comfortable than it should, even if she was still wondering if Ben was extremely well protected, or just stupid. Did those symbols on his shoulders and chest protect him? Had he been horny enough not to care? Or was he just crazy?

She remembered her time with him in the water cave, though, and wondered if maybe a little crazy wasn't a bad thing. And then she remembered what had happened last night, and wondered again if everyone had known about cunnilingus all along, and just forgotten to tell HER. Was that it? Was this the thing that took "sex" from chore to celebration? Pussy licking? Snuggling? Sleeping together? Kissing? Or just taking the time to make each other feel good?

And why didn’t more males seem to know about this? Jeeka thought idly back to her first experience with Randig… her first “lover” … who’d been nice enough, but had no more idea than she did about how sex worked or how to go about it. It had started out exciting, but had quickly degenerated into a less than pleasant chore. From what Jeeka had been able to get from her friends, this was what sex WAS.

There was so much she didn't know. Who was there to ask about these things? Why hadn't her mother filled her in on any of this? All her mother had told her was that one day, males would come sniffing around and want to stick it in her, and she'd best choose one who treated her well and could defend her. Had her mother even KNOWN? Possibly NOT; her mother seemed to go out of her way to stress that Jeeka’s father had been “a fine warrior and a good provider,” while making it obvious that the marriage had been entirely one of convenience.

With a start, Jeeka wondered if her mother really loved her… or if she, Jeeka, was simply a manifestation of her mother’s duty to the tribe, to have babies and grow the tribe. It was a new thought, and an uncomfortable one, and Jeeka’s mind promptly scampered back to the much more comforting prospect of sex.

Tolla seemed happy enough to teach her last night... but the idea of trusting another goblin that far didn't sit well, particularly one she barely knew. Goblin society was such that trust didn’t come quickly.

That left one person that she could, perhaps, talk to. The person who'd been kind to her, and kept his promises, and let her go when he hadn't had to. She barely knew him. She wasn't even the same species.

Are you insane? thought Jeeka to herself. He’s a human. He’s the enemy. He is the LIVING EXAMPLE of a THREAT. And you want to go crawl back in his nest with him because he was nice to you, once?

If he was a threat, he’d have killed me after he took his pleasure, said the other part of her. And possibly flown over and fried the entire goblin village, if he’s so worried about the humans. He didn’t. He let me go. He left us alone. He’s not a threat. Not unless provoked. And the LAST thing I mean to do is PROVOKE him. Hello, wanna fuck and talk some more?

Jeeka giggled at the thought. How threatening could he find THAT? She glanced down at her breasts and smiled. They’d gotten her out of a jam more than once… and apparently their appeal crossed species lines. Would they hold his interest a second time? Why not? Something about HIM certainly seemed to have gotten HER interest…

He'd been horny, sure. Horny enough to want a goblin. But he’d wanted to do more than just fuck; he’d wanted to talk. And they HAD talked, if only to work out a deal not to attack each other. She wasn’t interested in attacking him. Perhaps he could be counted on for straight answers. If nothing else, he might lick her pussy again. The whole idea of pussy licking and then fucking was a revelation in and of itself. And at least, this way, she'd learn if she liked males or not...

ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY? screamed the goblin within.

And the new, not-goblin part of her thought about it… and thought, Maybe I am.

Chapter Text

Jeeka examined the rock face. It seemed solid enough. But she was half convinced it wasn't.

She'd been able to find the field of mushrooms easily enough, but her trip up the trail into the crags hadn't been as easy as the previous time. She was quite sure the previous trip had been fairly short and linear, but this time, it was as if the trail had changed. After some confusion, it occurred to her that if he could use wizardry to make a cave opening look like solid rock, making a simple trail into a confusing maze wouldn't be any harder. So she backtracked back to the mushroom meadow, and then tried walking back into the trail.

Sure enough, it looked different, felt different, and curved back on itself in ways it hadn't, the previous trip.

Jeeka backtracked to the mushroom meadow again. All right. He's making it hard to find his cave, but easy to leave. How can I work around this?

She picked up a rock in her left hand. And this time, she closed her eyes, and started the trail again, THIS time keeping her right hand on the right wall face, stepping carefully to avoid tripping or stumbling while blind.. And THIS time, the path went straight, and after a while, veered off to the right, the way she remembered it from the first time. And after a few more steps, she opened her eyes, and looked to her right. It looked very much like the rock face where she'd remembered Ben's cave being.

Was it always witched like this, or did he do this after he let me go? wondered Jeeka. Does he not want me to find him again? Then again, I ran away from him, last time we saw each other. He shouldn't be expecting me. But then, maybe he thought I'd come back with a raiding party, and didnt want to make it easy for us. But surely, he knows I'm here, NOW...

She brought up the stone, and rapped it on the rock face. Clack, clack. Solid.

She took two steps to her left, and rapped it on the rock face. Clack, clack.

She took two more steps to the left, and rapped it on the rock face. Or tried to; her hand vanished into the rock face up to the elbow. Startled, she jerked back, staggering, lost her balance, stumbled backwards, and felt her butt hit the opposite wall of the pass.

Ah! Well. Found it! Now what?

The rock face was a smooth rock face. No doorway, no opening. Then again, it had looked like that LAST time… She glanced at the rock face, at the pebbles along the path, the path itself, the markings around the area. She would not forget this spot again. And now that she had it memorized, what to do? Would he be happy to see her? Was he even home? Would his defenses burn her to ash if she stepped through the door? She glanced at her hand, still holding the rock. Her hand seemed all right.

She stepped forward, and reached out to touch the rock face. Her hand vanished into it up to the wrist. It didn’t hurt. She withdrew her hand and looked at it. It seemed fine. But the rock face was still there.

She took a deep breath, dropped the rock, and leaned towards the rock face… as if to kiss it. Closer, closer, closer… and when her nose should have touched stone, it didn’t, and she leaned forward still, closing her eyes…

Suddenly, it felt a little cooler, the air on her face, as if she'd stepped into shade. And what was that smell? Some kind of fruit?

Jeeka opened her eyes. She was neck deep in the rock face. Her entire head was inside the front door, and ten feet in front of her was the familiar room with the shelves and tables and chairs and the colored tapestries…

Ben was sitting in a chair, looking at her.

She was stunned a little at how young he looked. She knew the spell was working in her mind, filling in gaps and teaching her how humans communicated, but she’d also been working on a lot of preconceived notions about humans and wizards in general. It didn’t help that goblins didn’t grow facial hair until they were well into middle age, but now she just knew, somehow, that humans could do it not long after their pubic patches came in. Jeeka had just assumed that wizards were all a hundred years old or more.

Ben was no old man, not at all.

And somehow, his strange circle-filled blue and eyes didn’t look anywhere near as alien as they had a week ago. Strange, yes. Certainly ungoblin. But not alien at all.

“Are you coming in?” asked Ben.

“Ah,” said Jeeka, taking a deep breath. “Is… okay… if I come in?”

Ben frowned. “Part of me thinks I should be worried. You found my home, despite my illusions and wards. If you could do it, another goblin could. That could be a problem. But another part of me wonders why you’ve come. And unless you come in and talk to me, I’ll never know. You want to eat?”

Jeeka blinked. Ben’s speech would have seemed rude to a human, but seemed oddly goblin flavored, particularly the bit about the security of his home. On the other hand, “You want to eat?” was a perfectly polite goblin invitation, the equivalent of the human “Would you care to join me for dinner?” Apparently, Jeeka wasn’t the only one feeling the results of whatever the language spell had accomplished. Jeeka had struggled with human thoughts and knowledge; Ben was apparently thinking along goblin lines.

“I’d like that,” said Jeeka. She stepped cautiously through the doorway, glancing up at the symbols around the doorway. Nothing happened. Jeeka walked into the room, and Ben got up and went over to his stone cooking box. Jeeka climbed into one of the giant chairs and waited. After a moment, Ben came back with two plates and a handful of knives, forks, and spoons.

Jeeka looked down at her plate. A slab of some sort of meat, probably venison; that was good. Cooked mushrooms. A mess of fried onion circles. Toe beans. Three large strawberries. And the biggest pickle she had ever seen.

Enormous. Green. And phallic.

Jeeka’s mouth dropped open. And she immediately snapped it shut again. And glanced up at Ben.

Ben was standing there holding his own plate. He saw Jeeka’s consternation, and looked puzzled.

Jeeka looked down at the pickle again.

Ben looked down at her pickle, too.

And then they looked at each other.

And this time, both of them burst out laughing.

Chapter Text

They laughed for a long time. Jeeka was finally reduced to covering her mouth with both hands, giggling furiously and muttering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Ben shook his head, and said, “What are you sorry for? It was MY pickle.”

And they looked at each other, and went into gales of laughter again, and Jeeka brayed and Ben laughed himself into a cough, and Jeeka covered her mouth again. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I know you don’t like my teeth…”

“That’s why you’re covering your mouth?” laughed Ben, wiping tears from his eyes. “Your teeth are fine, Jeeka, wonderful goblin teeth. Eat your pickle.”

And this launched another round of hilarity. And this time Jeeka didn’t cover her mouth. And Ben laughed anyway.

**************************************************************************

“Every time I come here, it seems like I’m eating something shaped like dicks,” said Jeeka, crunching a bite of pickle. “These are really good. So were the sausages.”

Ben snort-chuckled and then pressed his stomach, which was a little sore from all the laughing. He’d brought a couple of cups and poured something from a bottle, which seemed to be some sort of fruit juice, hence the fruity odor of the room. “Is that why you came back? To try more penis shaped foods?”

“Not exactly,” she said. “But I wouldn’t turn down a free meal.”

Ben smiled and sipped his fruit drink. Jeeka looked at him, at his human eyes, and this time she could read him perfectly: why DID you come back, Jeeka? said his eyes, but he was trying to be polite in the human way, and so he didn’t ask. A goblin would have asked any number of questions during a meal, about anything, and it wouldn’t have occurred to him that he was being rude. So he’s still human in his head, just like I’m still goblin, but he’s having the same problems between the ears that I am. What has he learned about goblins with this spell of his, I wonder?

“I came back,” she said, “because I have… questions. You don’t owe me any answers, but you’ve been nice to me before, and I thought you might be nice to me again.”

“I was nice to you once because you threw your tits at me and took me by surprise.”

“Well, I thought you were going to kill me,” said Jeeka, cutting a slice of venison and popping it into her mouth.

“Well, your stratagem worked,” said Ben, through a mouthful of onion. “I haven’t killed you yet, but I’ve fed you three times now. They’re beautiful tits, by the way.”

Jeeka felt her face get hot, but smiled anyway. That was a thing that might have been considered rude for a goblin to say, but she wasn’t offended. At least it was a compliment, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t had a good view of them for quite a while.

“Do human women have tits?”

“They do. Many of them would envy yours.”

“Do they have – are they made like goblin women – like me?”

“Pretty much. The colors are different, and human women are bigger, of course, and the – er, but everything seems to work pretty similarly.”

Jeeka paused and began cutting up what remained of her meat into bite sized pieces. She wanted to work her way up to the next question. Ben noticed the sudden silence but said nothing. After several bites, she said, “Last time I was here, you didn’t quite answer my question. Do ALL humans fuck like that?”

“I don’t know,” said Ben with a smile. “I haven’t fucked all the humans.”

“Have you… licked … very many… cunts?” said Jeeka, putting her fork down.

Ben blinked, then looked bemused, and took a drink. “A few.”

“But only one goblin cunt.”

Ben nodded. “Only one.”

“Did you like the taste?”

Ben blinked, and put his cup down. “Yes. I did. It … I don’ t know how to describe it. I liked it very much.”

Jeeka picked up her fork again, speared and ate the last of her meat, and swallowed. “Do it again?”

Ben looked a little surprised, and then smiled and did a very passable impression of Jeeka herself speaking the same man-words she had used more than a week earlier: “Fuck NOW?”

Jeeka said, “Are you making fun of me?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

Ben’s tone was sincere, and she felt better; the joke, rather than being funny, had kind of hurt. “Last time I was here, I thought I was going to die,” said Jeeka. “I thought you were going to rape me, and kill me, and maybe eat me. It’s what goblins would have done to a helpless enemy.”

“Are we enemies?” said Ben. "I've wondered about that. When I found you in my field, I didn't think you were a threat. Since then, though, I've had reason to wonder. Are you my enemy?"

“No,” said Jeeka, putting her fork down. “But last time I was here, I was scared to death and couldn’t think about anything except how I was going to escape alive with my torn foot. Now, I’m not scared… but I’m also not in control of everything going on around me. You and your spell and your pussy licking and your kissing gave me a lot to think about, and I still don’t know what to do with it all.”

“I appreciate what you’re saying,” said Ben. “I’ve had goblin words and goblin thoughts rumbling around in my head, too. They tell me I was crazy to sleep in the same bed with you.”

Jeeka giggled.

“There’s more,” he said. “When I saw you first time, your eyes struck me as strange, unhuman, like a beast. Your teeth surprised me too. You’re not human. But… since the speech transfer spell… your teeth… are just… teeth. There’s nothing weird about them. And even before that, your eyes seemed different.”

“Different how?”

“You don’t look like a beast to me,” said Ben. “Your eyes are… your eyes. And I have seen your yellow eyes in my thoughts more than once, over the past week.”

Jeeka’s heart pounded, and now she sort of wished she hadn’t eaten that whole pickle. She knew what he meant. His alien blue eyes were now… just… his eyes. And now, she could read what they said to her.

“Fuck now?” she asked.

“Wash first? he answered.

Jeeka beamed a great goblin toothed smile. And Ben beamed his square human teeth right back at her.

Chapter Text

The yellow block was called soap, and it was slippery, but it was much easier on the skin than sand was, and equally effective at cleaning it. Jeeka learned that it tasted awful, and not to get it too far inside her; it stung a little. She settled for running her fingers rapidly in and out of herself; she wanted to be clean for the main event.

“It’s really good to be excited… instead of scared,” she said.

“You’re not worried about the great monster human ravishing you and eating you?”

“Looking forward to it,” said Jeeka, leaning in and rubbing her soapy breasts across his chest.

Ben looked at her for a moment… and then reached out, and wrapped his arms around Jeeka. He leaned in to kiss her… and paused.

Jeeka slipped wet arms around his neck, pulled him in, and kissed him. And the kissing went on for a moment. Jeeka kissed him like a female would kiss another female, and he certainly seemed to respond. He didn’t seem to kiss quite like Tolla did, taking longer, and almost nibbling on Jeeka’s lips, as opposed to Tolla, who used much more tongue. Idly, she wondered if there was some sort of regular method, or if everyone had to make up their own. Or was there a special human method?

And after a few months, Ben broke the kiss, and took a deep breath. “Whoof!”

Jeeka smiled. And took a deep breath herself, her heart was racing. Was that part of the process? Whatever, it was perfectly workable. She felt his penis pressing against her leg. And this time, she wasn’t afraid of it.

“Last time I kissed you, you ran away,” said Ben. “I didn’t want to startle you this time.”

“Goblin males don’t kiss,” said Jeeka. “A man kissing me was… weird, unexpected, and I was … well, different, a week ago. Kissing is something only goblin females do.”

Ben got a distant look for a moment, and blinked. “Goblin women kiss each other,” he said, “and sometimes they get … romantic with each other.”

“Yes,” said Jeeka. Plainly, Ben’s goblin-knowledge worked the same way her own human-knowledge did.

“Have you had this? With a goblin woman?”

Jeeka was caught flat footed. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, not quite sure how to answer the question. Humans … had weird ideas about that sort of thing, didn’t they? Yes, they did, sometimes…

“Never mind,” said Ben. “None of my business.”

“No,” said Jeeka. “But… you answered my questions. I’ll answer yours. And the answer is yes.”

Ben looked at her. He didn’t seem upset, or disgusted. More curious, than anything. “Was she good for you?”

“Ben,” said Jeeka, “I have had the sex four times. Twice with goblin men. Then with a human. Then a goblin woman. And soon, a human again. At least, I hope soon again. That will be five.”

Ben smiled. All right, thought Jeeka, he’s not disgusted. So let’s take it up a level.

“Goblin men… at least, the ones I have … had sex with… haven’t been very good at it. I didn’t think I liked sex much. And then, I was raped by a human.”

Ben bit his lip. He looked like someone had stabbed him. Plainly, the thought had occurred to him as well.

“The weird thing? I didn’t think of it as rape until after I was back among goblins. A goblin man would have found me helpless and done whatever he wanted to me. That’s why I showed you my tits and offered to fuck you. That’s what a goblin woman does. Submission is the safest choice. This is how goblins are.”

Ben’s face was unreadable. “I’m … sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry. What I expected was to be fucked raw and then either killed, or perhaps a chance to escape, or kill you. That’s what goblins do. Instead, what I got was something completely different. I confused you when I threw my tits at you? You confused ME when you took care of my foot, and you confused the HELL out of me when you licked my pussy.”

Ben blinked twice. “That’s what… humans do.”

“Not all humans,” said Jeeka. “And we both know that.”

“Well, that’s what I do,” said Ben.

“Yes. And that’s why I forgive you,” said Jeeka.

Ben blinked again. Jeeka looked at his eyes, and could see the wheels turning. Forgiveness wasn’t a thing lightly given among goblins.

“What happened to me was a best case scenario,” said Jeeka. “I didn’t suffer, I had a terrific time, escaped with some loot, and I got back to my tribe and told outrageous lies about everything to raise my status. Worked out GREAT, if I were just a regular goblin.”

“And you’re not a regular goblin.”

“No,” said Jeeka. “Not any more. Now I have human thoughts in my head. Now I have different ideas about what sex is. Now I’ve learned that goblin women lick pussy, too. Now I know what rape is, to a human, and now I wonder why a man who is so kind would rape a goblin.”

Ben’s face fell. “Is that why you came back?”

“One reason. Another reason was to know if I could refuse. Or if the pussy licking and the fucking would be better if I wasn’t scared to death. Or if I would LIKE it again,” said Jeeka. “If I was the same goblin I was a moon ago, I’d still be lying and celebrating my escape. But now, all I have is questions. About you, and about myself. I don’t hate you. Far from that. I said I forgave you. But I still want to know.”

Jeeka leaned in and laid her head on his chest. And for a time, all there was was the sound of the falling water.

“You can go, if you want,” said Ben. “I won’t stop you.”

“Don’t want to go.”

More waterfall sound, for a dozen heartbeats and more.

“The wards went off,” said Ben. “There were intruders, lots of them. The signs said that a horde of goblins was at my front gate.”

Jeeka listened and said nothing.

“I came here a year ago,” said Ben. “I’d spent the last year creating this cavern, tapping the hot springs, building my life all over again, almost from scratch. I wasn’t about to lose what I’d worked for. And I didn’t know much about goblins … still don’t, really… but what I’d heard wasn’t good. “

“Goblin horde, hm?” asked Jeeka.

“What I found was a dozen goblin maids raiding my kitchen garden. Not really what I’d call an invading army. And then one of you saw me and let out a scream, and ran away for all she was worth. The rest of you bolted. You jerked your head up, looked around, and then one of your own blindsided you, and trampled you while she ran with the rest.”

Jeeka said nothing. She listened to Ben’s heartbeat; it was pounding.

“I thought you were knocked out, but you twitched and coughed as I approached you. All the others were over the horizon practically before I moved. That suited me. I hadn’t wanted to kill anything, although I’d heard that goblins could be nasty. You finally caught your breath, rolled over, and saw me, and about lost your mind.”

Jeeka said nothing. She remembered that terrible moment, and thought about how much had changed since then.

“You tried to get your feet under you, and failed, and I saw that one of them was wrapped in a bloody rabbit skin, and… well… that’s where I was sort of two minds. One of them was ‘this is a goblin, a yellow eyed monster, a thing that would kill you if it could, but it can’t.’ ”

Jeeka stiffened a little… and then relaxed. It wasn’t like it wasn’t true.

“And the other mind said, ‘this poor thing can’t hurt you, and it’s scared out of its mind. Just let it go; it’ll never come back, you’ll never see it again.’ “

He thought of me as “it,” thought Jeeka. Yellow eyed monster. But I didn’t think anything better of it… of HIM… when I was lying there in the dirt.

“And then,” continued Ben, “while I was pondering what to do… the little creature took a third option, and yanked its blouse open, and said, “Hello, hi! Wanna fuck?”

Jeeka snorted. “Confused you, yes?”

“Confused me to no end,” said Ben.

Jeeka giggled.

“You see, I thought of goblins as beasts, monsters,” he said. “But when a yellow eyed monster SPEAKS to you, that’s one thing. Greets you. And offers to have sex with you, and shows you a very pretty pair of large pointy tits. That tends to confuse the idea of “beast,” if you know what I mean. I didn’t know WHAT to do when you did that.”

Jeeka noticed that Ben’s heart wasn’t pounding as hard as it had been… but that it was starting to speed up.

“So I picked you up and carried you home. I figured I could look at your foot; at least THAT, I knew how to do. I was worried that as soon as you were close to my neck, you’d try to tear my throat out, but you didn’t. And I took you home, and cleaned your foot. Noticed someone had stitched it up, but you’d popped three stitches, so I put pain cream on it and restitched it. And the whole time, you’re sitting there, staring at me with those big yellow eyes, and gobbling sausages. By then you’d forgotten your tits were hanging out, and you were putting on quite the show for me.”

Jeeka leaned back and looked at Ben. “And?”

“And… well…. I … don’t have a lot to do with the town folk,” Ben said lamely. “They won’t regard you as a neighbor until they’ve known you for ten years, in these lands, and they don’t much like magicians at all. I haven’t been home for more than a year, and I won’t be going back any time soon. I haven’t been with a woman in a long time. And here YOU are, sitting on my table with your tits out. And … eesh, you didn’t speak more than fifty words of man speech, and about half of them were “fuck,” and I didn’t think you were much more than a beast, anyway… and I decided to see if you were serious. So I said, “Fuck?” and damned if you weren’t serious. I’m not proud of it… but… yes… consent doesn’t mean a whole lot when given under duress.”

And again, there was a long moment of the sound of water, falling.

“Not rape,” said Jeeka, finally.

“Rape,” said Ben.

“I should know, I was there. I offered. You took me up on it. I’m going to be a goblin about this; the human way of thinking about it bothers me. Not rape. Nothing to forgive. And if you’re smart, you’ll listen to the goblin way, inside your head, and quit feeling bad about it. “

“You’re awfully generous, for a goblin,” said Ben.

“I got more from you than I gave,” said Jeeka. “Questions. Answers. Why did you leave your home to come here?”

Ben looked stricken, to the point where Jeeka regretted asking the question. “That’s another story,” said Ben. “It’s a long one. And I really don’t want to think about it right now.”

Jeeka studied Ben’s face. He didn’t look guilty, the way he had when she’d asked him about rape. He looked… mournful. As if being made to remember a great loss… “I’m sorry,” she said. “Forget I asked. I didn’t mean to be hurtful.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. It’s a good enough question. I just … will talk about it another time, is all.”

“Fair enough,” said Jeeka. “I’d rather talk about happier subjects, anyway. About the things I want from you.”

Ben looked bemused again. “And what more do you want?”

Jeeka pressed her cheek against Ben’s chest. As an afterthought, she pressed her breasts against him as well, and was rewarded with a twitch from beneath her ass, on his lap. “I want to know if I like men,” she said.

“Goblin men, or human men?”

“Either, though I already have an idea about that. And I want my pussy licked. And I want to learn how to lick pussy. And I want to know if I like women. At least, one woman in particular. And I want to learn more about fucking, because I thought I knew, and I really don’t. And I want to not think about things that hurt me or scare me, for a while.”

Ben took Jeeka by the shoulders, and looked her in the face. Jeeka looked back at him. And then he kissed her, or perhaps she kissed him. It’s not like anyone was keeping track.

And the waterfalls roared on.

Chapter Text

Ben flopped back on the bed, and Jeeka scampered up onto it, and then onto and over Ben, and snuggled close to his side. They’d dried and combed and groomed first, to Jeeka’s mild irritation; she was impatient. On the other hand, it was nice to have someone else comb her hair; Ben seemed to enjoy grooming her thick black mop, and it felt good; the only other person who’d ever done that was her mother.

“Shall I lick your pussy now?" Ben said with a smile.

“Too late,” said Jeeka. “You took too long. Now I’m bored,”

"Are you teasing me?" said Ben.

"Maybe," said Jeeka, who made a show of boredom by twirling Ben's nipple hairs with her finger. "Or maybe I'm waiting to see if you'll get frustrated and take me, if I make you wait."

"Don't know that I'm that desperate yet."

"I don't excite you?"

"Didn't say that."

Jeeka gave him a look of mixed amusement and irritation. "Now who’s teasing who?" she said. She noticed his cock, semierect, and reached out and took hold of it, glancing back to see Ben's reaction. He was indeed reacting; his eyebrows were raised. But his cock was reacting much more interestingly. It throbbed, and grew larger in her hand.

“So,” said Jeeka. “You lick a woman’s pussy to make her feel good, to make her… kzing, and to make her wet for fucking?”

Ben took a minute to translate; he was having a little difficulty with thinking all of a sudden. “Kzing, orgasm, cum, yes. And the wet part is a bonus, certainly.”

Jeeka tightened her grip slightly, and began stroking Ben’s cock up and down. It throbbed again, and became fully erect. “Cum,” she said. “Kzing. I like those words. You like to make the woman cum with your mouth, before you fuck her. Maybe she’ll cum again, with you inside her? That’s how it works?” Jeeka noticed with delight that a little bead of moisture was beginning to ooze from the tip of Ben’s cock, which pulsed excitedly in her hand. You can’t fool me, with your blah expression!

“That’s… how… I like it to work,” he said, with a slight strain in his voice. “I like her to cum. It’s more fun when she cums. When you cum. Kzing!” As he spoke, he began walking his fingers up Jeeka’s thigh, turned it into a caress, giving Jeeka goosebumps, and then slipped the hand down the side of her rump, and underneath, towards her—

“Aht!” said Jeeka, twitching her behind away from Ben’s fingers. She scooched down his torso to kneel beside him… over his cock… still maintaining her grip on it, but slightly out of his reach. “So… does a woman do something to the man, something like that? With her mouth and tongue? Is that a thing, too?”

Ben stared at Jeeka. She knelt beside him, nude, green, and beautiful, stroking his cock. Some part of him still wondered how he’d gotten into this with a goblin, of all things. But she knelt beside him, stroking him, the picture of a woman, despite her short stature, large yellow eyes, slit pupils (open wide in the dim light) and her pointed teeth. She’d got comfortable enough to smile at him with teeth. Some part of him gibbered that she was going to bite his dick off. And some part of him wanted her desperately, so much that he did want to leap up and just take her. And for the hundredth time, he wondered how much of human and goblin nature had crossed over with the language transfer spell. But he was a man, dammit, and he’d make love to her in his own way.

He closed his eyes, and shifted his weight to a more comfortable position. Jeeka responded by bringing her other hand up and stroking his cock with both hands. With her left, though, she wrapped her hand around the head, and coated her palm with his pre-cum, and began moistening his shaft with it. Up and down, up and down.

Ben opened one eye and looked at Jeeka accusingly. “You’ve done this before.”

“Yes. You make a goblin man cum, he gets a soft pecker, and he can’t stick it in you. He loses interest. It’s easier that way. I’ve heard there are goblin men who will rub a woman off, to make her excited, so she wants him to take her… but I never knew any like that. Until you.” Jeeka beamed happily, and then suddenly looked irked. “You didn’t answer my question. Does a woman do something to a man? Is there cock licking, or something like that? Something that makes him feel good… something that makes him cum… something that makes him want to take his woman?”

“Ah… if you… want a straight answer… you’re … gonna have to slow down…”

Jeeka stopped. And squeezed. And grinned.

“Ahmm!” said Ben. “Uh. Yes. There is a thing… where the woman puts her mouth on his cock…”

“I knew it!” said Jeeka. “Like this?” And suddenly, she bent over and engulfed the top half of his penis with her mouth, still maintaining her grip on the lower half.

“GUK!” said Ben, partly out of ecstasy and partly out of startlement. “Watch the teeth—”

“Mo keef,” said Jeeka, around his cock. No teeth. Experimentally, she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, and was surprised at how salty he was. Did humans taste like this normally? She sucked gently, sealing her lips against the skin of his shaft, still gripping the lower part in her hand.

“Uhhhnnn…” moaned Ben, his legs stiffening. Jeeka began stroking the shaft again. “Wike isss?”

“Ohhh… like that, yes!” he said. Ben wasn’t a virgin by far, but his last experience with having his cock sucked had been a long time previous, and he’d already been a tad overexcited when Jeeka had begun on him. “Mmm. Move your head up and down… the head in and out…”

Jeeka took his cock out of her mouth. “You mean… my mouth is like a pussy for your cock?”

“Um… yes…

“Oh, I can do that!” she said gleefully, and promptly swallowed his pecker again. Experimentally, she took as much of him as she could into her mouth, and began bobbing her head up and down, stroking his cock with her lips the way she had with her hand. Feeling the throbbing increase, she promptly reached down and gripped the base of his cock with one hand, bracing herself with the other, and began sucking in earnest.

Ben made a noise like a beast in pain, and gripped the blankets he was lying on.

Jeeka suppressed a giggle. Is this why he does it? she thought. The one using the mouth has all the power; the other one has to lie there and take it, and it feels so good… but the other one is the aggressive one, the one with the power…

Ben gripped the blankets and tossed his head back and forth.

Jeeka relaxed the suction slightly, but continued to move her head up and down, up and down. Experimentally, she began to stroke the shaft with her hand. His cock reacted by pulsing… and pulsing again…

“Ohhhh, STOP!”

Jeeka stopped immediately, jerking her head back and releasing his penis. “I’m sorry,” she said guiltily, “did I hurt? I kept my teeth away…”

“Oh, no, no, no, no hurt,” said Ben, sounding a little unhinged. “ANYTHING but hurt. Jeeka, you’re too GOOD. You keep that up, I was going to kzing in your MOUTH…”

Jeeka hadn’t thought that far. “Really? What does it taste like? You said I didn’t taste like a human woman, but you liked it. Would I like the taste of you?”

Ben took a deep breath. “I don’t know,” he said. “I could never reach. But I know what I want to taste now…”

Jeeka laughed and kicked her legs out from beneath her, and rolled onto her back. She hoisted her legs into the air, and hooked her hands behind her knees, and spread her thighs … offering herself. “You know,” she said, “this is why I came back.”

Ben shook his head and rose to his knees on the bed, and crawled over towards Jeeka. Her eyes were wide and bright. And Ben looked her in the eye and said, “You know, that’s one of the reasons I do this. I just never thought it would work on a goblin. Or that I would enjoy it so much.” And with that, he stroked his beard down the inside of her left thigh.

Jeeka gasped.

Ben stroked his beard up the inside of the other thigh. He touched her labia with a finger; she was wet already. This was going to be fun. He growled, and dipped his face suddenly into her crotch.

Jeeka shrieked and giggled…. and promptly moaned, as he began to work her labia with his tongue, flicking occasionally at her clit.

And, again for a while, they made much noise, and cared nothing for who might hear.

And finally, Jeeka said, “MmmmmmSTOP!”

“Mmmm,” said Ben, raising his head. Jeeka looked at him. The first time they had done this, she’d been shocked at the look on his face when he raised up; he looked like a beast. But now she could read the expressions on his face. Now, he was a man consumed with lust, bright with desire… and with a strange undertone of goblinish determination….?

“Fuck me,” said Jeeka. “Put it in me. Take me. Do whatever you want with me.”

Ben breathed deeply. He was having to work a bit to remember that he was a man. And the invitation to take her wasn’t making it any easier. But he was going to take her like a man. And shifting forward on his knees, he stroked his cock a few times to bring it to full erection, and dipped it in Jeeka’s pooling juices.

Jeeka squirmed, and squeaked a bit, but said nothing.

He rubbed the head between her labia, coating it with her juices, and his own, and began gently pushing it in and out. His every instinct screamed at him to slam it in there, but he forced himself to take his time, coating it in her slippery juices while she wriggled invitingly beneath him. And gradually, he slid it all the way in.

Jeeka purred and hooked her legs around his hips. And grinned, showing sharp teeth.

And Ben leaned forward, and fell on her. Jeeka gasped, startled. Ben caught himself with his hands, and slipped them around Jeeka, resting himself on his elbows, cock buried deep in his goblin lover.

Jeeka, realizing what he was doing, shifted herself comfortably under him, and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, her arms around his neck, feeling gloriously full of him, eager for him to start.

She looked into his strange blue eyes with her own of lambent yellow, and said, “You, human, you fuck me now. Fuck me.”

Stifling a feral growl, Ben lowered his lips to hers, and began to thrust into her.

Chapter Text

Jeeka woke up, warm and comfortable. And then remembered where she was, and grinned, a great sharkish goblin grin of glee and satisfaction. Wrapped around her were Ben’s arms, furry human arms, and pressed against her torso was his own, furry and warm and utterly delightful. He was asleep, snoring gently. Well, that’s at least one question answered. I like males. I like human men. At least, I like this human man. Do I like girls? Maybe. Maybe I need to go talk with Tolla some more. Are all human men like this one? Probably not. I bet some are more like Prum. But this one is a good one. I know more now than I did yesterday. Life is good.

Shifting to a more comfortable position, she noticed the light trickling in through the front cave opening, down the hall. Dawn, then. But no hurry to get up. Jeeka lay back and replayed the night’s events in her mind.

After the first go round, they’d snuggled under the furs, and touched and caressed and talked. Jeeka had a great many questions, and Ben had answered them as best he could, and asked a few himself – mostly about goblins, goblin life, goblin sex, and so forth. And at one point, he had gathered her close to him and began fingering her pussy, delightfully.

“Mm. Why are you doing that?”

“To see if you’re wet.”

“Why does it matter if I’m wet?”

“Because I want to fuck you again.”

“Again? Now?”

He’d stopped. “Um,” he had said. “Is that bad?”

Jeeka had stopped to think about that one. She’d never heard about anyone having sex more than once in a night. On the other hand, there was LOTS she didn’t know. Was this done? It was already so strange, to be snuggling and talking and kissing, and sharing a bed with another person…

“No,” she’d said, opening her legs. “Not bad. Make me wet.”

And he had. And there had been a third time, but then, she had asked him to lie back so she could try something. She’d straddled him, and sucked him hard, and then furiously wagged his hard cock back and forth, up and down her wet slit until she was sopping… and then she’d lowered herself down on it, gradually, until she could descend no more. And then she’d done the work herself, furiously flexing her legs, riding up and down on his cock until he could stand no more, as he’d thrust upward, again and again (which was good, as her legs were growing tired) until finally, she’d cum, howling her pleasure, and he’d not long followed her. THAT had been an experience that she could stand to repeat!

Three times in one night. Had a goblin ever done that before? How would she ever know? At this point, most of her personal experience was with a human. On the other hand, it was so wonderful to be able to simply ask questions, to experiment, to play, without fear or judgment.

“How is it different with a human woman, than with me?” she had asked at one point.

“Hm,” he had answered. “You taste different. Not bad, just different. You’re less patient, and more active. You get excited quicker. You … you’re easier to make kzing.”

“Easier than a human?”

“It seems that way. I’ve known women that took a long time. I knew a woman who couldn’t cum at all, it seemed like, no matter what I did. But with you, it seems like all I have to do is try, and you’re off like a shooting star.”

Jeeka had giggled at that. “You try, hm?”

“You make it easy for me,” Ben had said. “You make it easy to make it good for you.”

A shadow crossed Jeeka’s thoughts, a thing she’d been trying to stay away from… but it was here now. “Do you think… I could… get pregnant from… you?”

Ben had blinked. “I don’t think it’s likely,” he had said. “Not sure it’s even possible. We aren’t the same species. At least, I don’t think we are.”

“Has there ever been a human and a goblin who fucked, before?” she asked.

Ben had looked thoughtful. “Truth is, I don’t know. But I can recommend it from experience.”

“I liked it too. It is SO good to be able to TRY things," said Jeeka, stretching and snuggling close. "Does it bother you… that I want to try things with a woman?” she’d asked.

“I don’t own you,” he’d said. “It’s natural, that you should be curious. At least I think it’s natural; you’ve said you’re no typical goblin, not any more. But I can’t be a part of your tribe, and your place is there,” he said.

And he took a deep breath.

“But I hope you’ll come back some time.”

Jeeka had looked at him, and felt… something. Something sweet, and sad, and indefinable. “You’re lonely,” she had said.

Ben looked at her wryly. “I didn’t really know that until I found you. Not really even until I cast the talking spell. Sure, I wanted to fuck you… but I needed to talk to you even worse, really. I didn’t know that until afterwards. And I didn’t want to let you go afterwards, not really. But I can’t keep you prisoner.”

Jeeka lay amidst the furs and blankets and pressed herself against her sleeping human, and watched the line of daylight in the hallway grow longer.

Chapter Text

“I have a ham,” said Jeeka. “and I have toe beans. Do you have anything else that would go with a ham? I’d like to share it with you sometime.”

Tolla looked up from tending her fire, surprised. Jeeka had been gone a day and a night and most of a day, which was quite a time for a lone goblin, especially a female, to be missing; the last time this had happened, the tribe had been sure she was dead. But here she was, as if no time had passed at all, and she carried a bag of … something.

“Where did you get a ham?” Tolla asked. “No one’s killed a pig in weeks. Is that … smoked?” she said, sniffing the air.

“Got it from the humans,” grinned Jeeka. “They’ll never miss it.” Which was technically true – a certain human had given it to her as a gift, and he certainly wasn’t likely to complain about its absence. “I’m going to give some to my mother, now, but I thought I’d ask if you wanted some, too. Will you eat with me?”

“What goes with ham?” thought Tolla, aloud. “I have some sweet apples, and some mulberry crush. I’ll have flatbread by tonight. Is tonight okay?”

“I don’t know,” said Jeeka. “Is it? I’m free tonight. Come to my tent?” And she’d smiled a wide smile.

Tolla paused, flattered, and smiled back. “All right,” she said. “I’d love to. Can I stay late?”

“Looking forward to it,” said Jeeka. And she’d turned, and headed for her mother’s hut.

Well, what was THAT all about? thought Tolla. Last time they’d been together, Jeeka had been hesitant, not quite timid. This time, she was all cheer and backbone! Perhaps she had more fun last time than she let on. What surprises might tonight hold in store?

Jeeka’s mother Adii was less pleased; stealing from humans was a risk that didn’t need to be taken, and hadn’t Morr ordered everyone to stay away from them? But she didn’t say no to the thick slab of ham, and she and Jeeka talked at length while they sat and shelled the toe beans that Jeeka had found while she’d been “out.” Mother was curious to know how Jeeka had found them when the foragers had managed to miss them; Jeeka had replied that she perhaps went further out than the foragers, or in a different direction… and didn’t mention that toe bean patches were surprisingly easy to spot from the air.

Jeeka wanted to talk about Ben, or humans in general, but didn’t dare. Her mother was firmly of the “avoid trouble as hard as possible,” school of thought, and as far as she was concerned, humans were just another word for trouble. Even a successful raid resulted in dead goblins, or so the proverb went. Humans weren’t a fit topic for polite discussion. Jeeka enjoyed spending time with her mother… but was becoming aware that she couldn’t talk freely with her. Or with anyone, really.

No one except Ben. Or maybe Tolla. She’d slept with Tolla, but their conversation hadn’t been terribly deep. What would Tolla say, to learn that Jeeka hadn’t killed a human, but fucked him, instead? Multiple times? And that now they were eating his ham? And toe beans that he’d helped her find and harvest?

When you put it that way, you make it sound like a bad thing, thought Jeeka. Plainly, humans were not a topic that would be discussed tonight over dinner.

Another thing Jeeka found to be concerned about while beans left the pods and fell into the wooden bowl was Ben’s loneliness. He’d been happy. At least he’d seemed happy, with her in his house, in his bed, eating at his table. At one point they’d even exchanged songs; he’d been humming some human ditty, and she’d insisted on hearing it, complete with words, and then he'd wanted to hear a goblin song, and she promptly sang him a wonderfully profane song about a drunken party and a case of mistaken identity; he’d thought it was hilarious.

He'd been happy. Now he was alone again, while she was back among her people, and planning a completely different seduction. And now she knew he was lonely.

Why did this bother her? Why was she thinking about him so much? Was that much of him still in her head? Perhaps she should go visit him again sometime. But when? How long was too long? Or not long enough?

“Is something wrong, sweetling?” her mother asked.

“Um, no. Why?”

“Because that’s the third pod of beans you’ve shelled hard enough that they completely missed the bowl.”

“Urg.” Sure enough, there were easily a dozen beans on the mat on the far side of the bowl.

“Want to talk about it?” Mother said.

“Um,” Jeeka had replied. No, Mother, there is no way in the ten hells I could tell you what was on my mind while I’m shooting beans all over the place. At worst, you’d denounce me as a threat to the tribe, and at best, you would think I’d gone insane, and found a human even crazier than I am, and I’m not even sure you’d be wrong… Jeeka got up and collected the beans, dropping them into the bowl.

“It’s Mirk, isn’t it?” Mother said.

“Uh,” Jeeka said. Huh?

“He’s been worried about you, Mirk has,” Mother said, expertly slitting a pod with her thumbnail and teasing out the beans. “He suffered when you were missing, when you killed the human. He told me so.”

Jeeka arched an eyebrow. “Suffered, hm? He had little to say to me when I returned. Others were happier to see me than he was.” Returning to her seat, she picked out another pod of beans and split them.

Mother looked at Jeeka strangely. “You should be happier that he noticed at all,” she said. “You’re in your prime, and you’re pretty and plump, but you’re growing no younger, like a batch of merik sauce; it’s a tasty treat, but one day, it spoils, and no one wants it any more. Mirk has prospects. He’s high in the ranks. He might not make headman, but he’s a catch. Playing like you’re not interested is good for a while, but sooner or later, he’ll lose interest… or simply take you. You’d do better to negotiate.”

“I’m NOT interested,” said Jeeka, propelling a spray of beans into the bowl. “Mirk is nowhere near as tough or as smart as he thinks he is.”

“You could do a lot worse,” said Mother. “Dornuk is looking, and even his own mother thinks him ugly. Or that Prum, who takes with muscle what he can’t get with lies. Would you rather have such as them sniffing around you? You’re going to have to make a decision sooner or later, and no one of higher status than Mirk has expressed an interest.”

Jeeka’s lips curled in a snarl. “Prum’s going to wind up dead soon enough, with his habit of making enemies, and I’d rather fuck a human that submit to Mirk.”

Mother’s eyes narrowed, as another pod of beans spilled into the bowl. “Keep everyone at arm’s length like this, and a human may be the best choice you’ll get, Merik Sauce. Although I hear you’re pretty hard on the humans, too.”

The last remark took Jeeka by surprise, and she stifled a giggle.

Mother frowned. “What’s changed, Jeeka?” she asked. “You used to be unenthusiastic about Mirk, but at least I understood that. I wasn’t wild about your father, either, but he treated me well and protected me from those that would do me wrong. Did Mirk say or do something to make you hate him? Or does this have something to do with that human?”

Jeeka glanced at her mother a bit too suddenly. “What human?”

“The one you killed. You’ve never killed anything that big before, have you? You’ve been acting a little funny ever since you came back from that.”

“Funny how?”

“Well, for one thing, your eyebrows are all OVER the place,” said Mother. “You never used to move your eyebrows Now you raise them, or you raise ONE of them…. and you talk a little different, I’ve noticed. You pause sometimes, in midspeech, like you’re trying to think of what to say. You arrange your words differently. It’s almost like you’re THINKING differently.” She stopped suddenly. “You SWORE the human didn’t hurt you…”

“He didn’t,” said Jeeka. “I didn’t give him the chance.”

“How do you know it was a male?” said Mother suddenly.

“The males have hair on their faces,” said Jeeka, a little too quickly. This conversation was growing less comfortable and requiring more quick thinking on Jeeka’s part than she liked. It didn’t help that she was quite aware of her differences in speech, as well as the reason for them. It bothered her to think that anyone else had noticed. And Jeeka realized that her ebullient mood from this morning had largely evaporated in the face of her mother’s probing and her own self-consciousness.

“It’s all right, you know,” said her mother. “Whatever he did, he’s dead now, and you’re alive. You did the right thing. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jeeka blinked, and blinked again, hard. She knew she had nothing to be ashamed of. No goblin would have been ashamed at the way things had turned out. No ordinary goblin, anyway. Why was it that she was less comfortable in her own village, among her own people, than in a handmade cave with a human exile?

Chapter Text

Jeeka had left perhaps a third of the beans with her mother, and dropped off the remainder at her cache with the ham and the bottle of wine. She had a new errand to run before making dinner, tonight, and she expected it to eat up some time. She ran into the forest, toward the creek, hurdled the creek, and kept going at a steady trot, headed more or less south, not completely sure where she was going, but with a general idea of what she was looking for. After a few miles’ walk, she began to take precautions – fouling her trail, and moving as silently as possible. She continued due south, until ahead, she saw what had to be a large clearing.

She approached silently to the edge of the treeline …and saw the farms beyond it. Human territory. Sure enough.

Jeeka scanned the fields in the distance. The late summer crops were approaching harvest, and she could see plenty of opportunities for hiding. Fixing her eye on a house in the distance, Jeeka crossed the open zone between the treeline and the edge of a grainfield, and slipped into cover, and began moving more or less in the direction of the house.

She knew one human. She wanted to know more. Firsthand, not just through Ben, or through whatever part of him lived in her head now. She wasn’t feeling crazy enough to try talking to any, but she knew that a goblin who kept her head down, her mouth shut, and her eyes open could learn a great deal. Particularly a goblin who knew the man speech.

It was risky. If anyone saw her, they’d know there were goblins in the vicinity, and promptly conclude they were spying preparatory to a raid. On the other hand, all she really had to do was not be seen, and no one would be the wiser. Stealthily, she moved between the rows, towards the house.

She was a little surprised to look through the plants growing in the rows, even as she used them for cover. Maize. It grew tall and sweet, and the ears seemed bigger than what goblins could forage in the wild; how did the humans do that, she wondered? If goblins could grow crops in big land areas like this, they wouldn't need to move around so much to forage...

As she approached the edge of one field, she was amused to see toe bean stalks growing in the next. She’d known humans liked toe beans, of course, but it confused her to see them growing in such neat rows. Still, it was convenient; it left room for her to creep between the rows. She continued forward towards the dwelling she’d seen in the distance…

…to find herself in luck. There was a whole family group of humans at the back of their house, within fifty feet of the field’s edge, right there to observe. And no dogs; she’d worried about that. Dogs would bark at anything out of place, and she was certainly that.

She was a little amused to see that two of them were sitting and shelling toe beans into a bowl. A male, naked to the waist, had his back to her and was pounding on something with a hammer. He turned around briefly to speak to the other male, and Jeeka noted that THIS human seemed to lack the odd writing and symbols on his chest and shoulders that Ben had, confirming her idea that they were some sort of magic. As the man hammered, another male, beardless, watched him, but didn’t seem to be doing much.

The two with the beans seemed to be females. Jeeka felt the strange duality that came with the speech spell; her goblin side could barely tell the humans apart, but her human side could identify the women as being a teenager and a woman in her late thirties; the beardless male, although large as the other, couldn’t be more than fourteen. Jeeka hunkered down to observe. The wind was right, and she could, on occasion, make out what they were saying.

Jeeka was surprised at how… normal… their conversation was. The big male was repairing something, something made of metal, and he was cursed if he was going to pay a blacksmith to mend a thing when he could do it himself, and the women were talking about people they knew and what was going on in the village, and after a short time, Jeeka realized she wasn’t going to find out much other than she’d hear outside her own tent flap. These people really weren’t that much different from her own, it seemed.

She looked at the women. She’d never seen a human woman. She wished they were closer. For that matter, she wished they’d take their clothes off; it was hard to tell much through their loose blouses and skirts. Human women did seem to have breasts, though, and these seemed to wear their hair long; the two males kept theirs cut short, unlike goblin males, who prided themselves on their long locks. Human hands and feet seemed to be smaller in proportion to their size; Jeeka had noticed that her own feet were nearly the same size as Ben’s, and although his hands were bigger, her fingers were longer.

But so thin. The younger female got up to go inside, and Jeeka realized that she didn’t have much of an ass at all; both women were built more like Tolla, long and slender, but even Tolla had bigger boobs and a fairly generous backside, at least in proportion. And she realized that she herself might look a bit heavyset next to these women. Not fat, but not as willowy as they seemed to be. Was this good or bad? A plump goblin was a well-fed goblin, and a plump female was generally more desirable sexually. To a goblin male, at least.

Were these women sexually desirable to a human? Was this the way humans were supposed to be?

If Ben had a big woman like this… would he want me? Am I too… thick? Is this what human men want? But Ben said he liked my tits… and my yellow eyes…

It was a sudden, surprising, and uncomfortable thought, and she did not like it. But it was here now, and it was on the rampage, inside her head. She looked at the human women, observed their eyes. Smaller than goblin eyes. Before the language transfer, she’d thought they looked malformed, particularly with the colored circles their eyes contained. It was only afterwards that she’d begun to see beauty in them.

But these women, with their human eyes, were not Ben. They didn’t look as alien or as monstrous as humans had before… but she couldn’t even tell if these women were pretty or not, by human or goblin standards. He said he liked my yellow eyes… goblin eyes…

Tolla looks a little like these women. She’s taller than most goblins. Skinnier. Big ass, big boobs (but not as big as mine, she thought with some satisfaction)… would Ben like Tolla? Not that it matters; she wouldn’t like HIM. She’s got little use for males, and less for humans. Or is she just tired of Prum? Does she like men at all? And why do I care what Ben would want? I don’t belong to Ben. He hasn’t claimed me. What would happen if he did claim me? Maybe he only wants me because he can’t get a big woman, one of his own kind…

All of this settled into the pit of her guts and sat there like an angry rock. In the distance, she could still hear the women talking, the ring of the man’s hammer. Jeeka stood up and turned back, into the grain field, away from the human house. She’d wanted more answers, but instead all she’d found was uncomfortable questions. She didn’t want uncomfortable questions. She wanted to feel good about herself, and about someone else.

And Tolla would make her feel good. Time to head home and see about supper.

Chapter Text

Jeeka made it back to the village by late afternoon, and promptly set to work, getting wood, building a fire, and gathering the necessaries. Soon, she had the beans simmering in hot brine with a rind of ham fat and some dak leaves for savor, and another pot held melting ham fat that, with the addition of fine ground wheat and a little milk, would be gravy. The precious bottle was squirreled away under some rocks in the stream; Ben had said it was best when served cold. Nearby, a flat rock awaited its chance to be a griddle, serving up delicious ham steaks.

Tolla showed up carrying a basket as the shadows grew lengthy, not long before sundown. Jeeka smiled at her arrival. “Come! Glad you came. We’ll eat well tonight! Did you say you had mulberry crush? Ooo, and flatbread? Oooo, it’s still hot! Did you make this special just for us tonight?”

Tolla smiled, too. “I was going to make it anyway. I just delayed a bit so it’d still be hot when I got here. Can’t have mulberry crush without flatbread. And there are sweet apples, too.”

Jeeka squatted near the fire, levered the flat rock over the flame, and promptly slapped two thick ham steaks onto it. Soon, they sizzled deliciously as Jeeka stirred a handful of fineground into the hot fat and milk mix and stirred, careful to see that it didn’t burn. Meanwhile, Tolla used a small wooden paddle to cut up the flatbread into little segments and to toast them crisp, the best way to enjoy mulberry crush.

“I saved a couple of big ones to eat on,” Tolla said. Jeeka took them from her, and promptly slapped a sizzling ham slab onto it, and spooned gravy over it, and handed it back to Tolla, served up another for herself, and the two women began dinner without further ado.

“So how’s the Mirk situation?” asked Tolla. Seeking Jeeka’s face, she promptly added, “Forget I asked.”

“It’s a thing I don’t care to think about now, much less talk about,” said Jeeka, spooning up beans from a steaming pot. “Mother was asking the same thing earlier, along with a lecture about how I should be thinking about settling down.”

“Mmm,” said Tolla disdainfully. Jeeka didn’t have to ask why. “So perhaps you would rather tell me where you got the ham? Kill any more humans?”

Jeeka smiled. She had a story ready for this one. “No. I was near the trail when a man cart came down it, and something fell off the back. It was a bag, with a great ham in it. Oh, and something else. Watch the fire!” And she leaped to her feet and ran to the stream, retrieving the sunken bottle.

She had only been gone two minutes, but was dismayed to find, upon returning, that a third person had joined them at Jeeka’s fire.

“What is Tolla doing here?” said Prum, standing before Jeeka’s fire as if he owned the place. Tolla’s face and posture was impassive, but Jeeka could tell she was shaken.

“I invited her to eat with me,” said Jeeka evenly. “You don’t like it? I didn’t know you’d offered her protection.”

“You invite Fire Clan to eat with you? Surely, you fear bad luck,” Prum said, never taking his eyes off Tolla, who sat looking at the fire with a frozen expression.

“I fear less than I used to, since a human died under my knife,” Jeeka said. “Do you have business with me?”

“I was looking for Tolla,” said Prum with a smile. “I am pleased to join you—”

“I don’t remember inviting you,” interrupted Jeeka, slipping a hand into her skirt, to her hip, a gesture Prum did not miss. “In fact, I distinctly remember forgetting to.”

“But I see plenty to eat,” Prum said, as he began to sit down.

“And I see dinner for two, not three,” said Jeeka, with an edge to her voice. “But I graciously give you permission to leave in peace, before you spoil my dinner with your presence.”

Prum froze… and then rose back to stand. “You are rude, and ungrateful. I offer to allow—”

“And you’re the fruit of an ogre’s asshole,” snapped Jeeka, unhooking her knife from her belt thong. “And you will allow nothing, not around MY fire. But I’ll give you one more chance before I scream and cut your eye out, and then everyone will see that Prum lost a fight to Jeeka Manslayer. To a female.”

“You think I won’t beat you?” hissed Prum. “I can beat you without a knife.”

“Big talk, ogre-fruit. The human thought likewise, and now he is dead,” snarled Jeeka. “Do you think you can do better? You’ll lose an eye, at least, I promise you that.” She braced herself, drew the knife, bared her teeth, and inhaled deeply to scream—

Prum stepped back. “You should be more mannerly,” he said, turning to leave. “It doesn’t pay to make enemies.”

Hypocrisy wasn’t a word goblins used, but they would have understood the concept. Doesn’t pay to make enemies, Ogre-Fruit? Have you listened to yourself lately?

She watched Prum hurry away to the far side of the village, and out of sight. Jeeka noted with satisfaction that a couple of her neighbors were out, and hadn’t missed the exchange. Good. He didn’t lose much face, but I have witnesses if he wants to make anything out of it. Glancing over at Tolla, Jeeka was surprised to see that Tolla was pale, and shaking.

“Are you all right?” Jeeka said, putting down the bottle and stowing her knife. “He won’t do anything. He’s big talk, but he won’t risk being humiliated in a fair fight. It’s okay, Tolla. Breathe. Here, have some of this,” she said, picking up the wine bottle, and biting the cork.

Tolla lifted her eyes from the fire, looking to Jeeka, and took a deep breath. “I’m… sorry,” she said. “I didn’t think he’d come here looking for me, and I never dreamed he’d try to invite himself to eat. He did that just to ruin my … evening….”

Jeeka wiggled the cork loose, and popped it free, and spat it into her hand. “And I refuse to allow that. Here, drink some of this. It’ll help.”

“What is it?”

“Human drink. It fell off the wagon along with the ham.”

Tolla examined the glass bottle with some interest. “Well, the container is pretty…” she said, glancing in the direction Prum had gone.

Jeeka settled down next to the fire. “Drink it,” she said, picking up her unfinished dinner and taking an unladylike bite.

Tolla examined the bottle a little longer, and then smelled it. “Smells like strawberries,” she commented, and then took a gulp of the contents. Her eyes got big, and she swallowed. “Strawberry rumba!” she said, delightedly. “This is good!”

Jeeka grinned. “Drink up. You’re staying here tonight.”

Tolla, bottle still at her lips, glanced at Jeeka and took another swallow. And another. And put the bottle down. “Whoo! Is this one of those human things where it tastes like fruit juice but an hour later you do something stupid?” She sat down next to Jeeka, bottle in hand.

“I hope so,” grinned Jeeka.

Tolla grinned, too. And took another swallow.

And the sun set, and the fire burned low; Jeeka added the last of the wood to the fire, somewhat unsteadily. One jug of wine can go a long way among goblins, and there were only two working on this one.

“Do you even like males?" asked Tolla.

“Yeah. I guess,” said Jeeka, taking a pull from the bottle.

“You guess.”

“I know one I kind of like,” said Jeeka. And before Tolla could ask, she continued, “But what about you? You seduced me last time. Do you do a lot of that?”

“Not exactly,” said Tolla, taking the bottle. “I just… tried it with you, because I wanted a break from… everything around me. You’re pretty, and you seemed willing, and, well…”

“What made you think I’d be… seduceable?” said Jeeka. “Do I seem like I don’t like males?”

“Does ANYONE really like them?” said Tolla, drinking deep. She put the bottle down, smacked her lips, and said, “I don't know. Are there really any men out there that care if you kzing or not?”

“I know some that do,” said Jeeka. “Bek and Del are mated, and happy with it. And I don’t know what they do together, but you can hear them when they gets good and wound up. Surely there has to be some kzinging in there somewhere. Is there any wine left?”

“Wine?”

“Um, human juice. Rumba.”

“Wine? Is that what they call it? How did you hear that?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Jeeka. “I heard it somewhere. It’s the stuff that makes you silly. Probably shouldn’t drink any more, but I’m going to, anyway.” And with that, Jeeka took the bottle and drained it.

“Save the bottle,” said Tolla. “It’s glass. It’s pretty, and it’ll be useful.”

Jeeka set the empty bottle well away from the fire.

“What happened to you, Jeeka?” asked Tolla.

“Humm?”

“It’s like you changed when that human attacked you.”

“Not this again,” said Jeeka.

“Well, it’s not a bad thing,” said Tolla.

“My mother would argue with that.”

“No, really,” said Tolla. “A month ago, would you have called a male hunter ‘ogre fruit?’ Or threatened to cut his eye out for annoying you?”

“Ogre fruit,” said Jeeka, and burst into giggles. Tolla tried to keep a straight face, failed utterly, and the two goblins giggled and cackled and fought to get their breath and stop.

“Ogre fruit,” said Tolla, and the two of them burst into giggles again.

“All right,” gasped Jeeka, after a while. “I think maybe it’s time to go in the tent.”

“Suits me,” giggled Tolla, rising from her seat, losing her balance, and falling on her behind. And amidst much giggling, staggering, swaying, and mutual assistance, both of them got to their feet, put out the fire, collected the remnants of dinner (and the precious glass bottle) and got into the tent, where Jeeka, after some effort, remembered how to secure the flap. And both goblins crawled into the pile of sleeping furs, and almost immediately began undoing one another’s clothing.

“That’s another thing, said Tolla. “A few days ago, you were tight as a bowstring when you slept with me. Now all of a sudden, you’re wanting to do all the work. Was I that per… pwer… persuasive?”

“Kind of,” said Jeeka, skinning out of her blouse. “You were really very nice to me. You cared about how I felt, and whether or not I got any pleasure out of the experience. I’m not used to that. I’m not used to sleeping in the same bed with anyone. I’m not used to kissing. I’m not used to being held, and between the two of you, I’m developing a taste for it.”

“The… the two of us?” said Tolla. “Who’s the other lucky one? Should I be jealous? Is there a man? Wait, you SAID there was one you were ‘kinda interested in….’ ”

Shit, Jeeka thought, that was stupid. “Um, there is, um, someone…”

“And no one has heard about this yet? No wonder you’ve been disappearing for days at a time. What’s his name?”

“Don’ wanna talk about him. Not while you’re in bed with me. Seems like we have better things to talk about. Or maybe just do,” said Jeeka, peeling Tolla’s skirt off and fumbling with her breechclout.

“Whoo!” said Tolla. “Eager, are we?”

“Yes,” said Jeeka, kicking off her own undergarments. “I wanna try some things.”

“Slow down,” said Tolla. “Come up here and kiss me. Don’t be in such a hurry. We have all night.”

“You sound like him,” said Jeeka. “Slow down, don’t be so impulsive…”

“F’r someone who doesn’t want to talk about it, you’re talking about it,” said Tolla. “And ‘don’t be so what, again?”

Jeeka, despite her warm and fuzzy mental state, felt a flicker of fear. She’d used a human word. Again.

“Never mind. You’re right. Totally right.“ Crawling up towards Tolla’s upper half, she flopped on the furs next to her, and began nuzzling at her cheek. “Kiss you. I like to kiss. Kissing is great. Kissing is wonderful…”

Tolla rolled over on her side, and kissed Jeeka on the lips, and for a while, the two of them spent time involved in the play of lips on lips and tongues on tongues, and hands in hair and across backs, around bodies, and cupping and teasing breasts, back and forth. Until Jeeka lowered her mouth to Tolla’s breasts, and began licking a nipple, trying to make it stand up. Tolla mmm’d appreciatively, and Jeeka licked the nipple in circles and blew on it; it stood to attention immediately. Tolla giggled, and Jeeka moved to the other nipple in response.

Tolla made the mmmm sound again, and remarked, “You feel like you’ve done this before.”

“Mmmm… no… just that one time with you… and I didn’t do much, then. I feel like I kind of owe you.”

“Mmmmmmm. You don’t owe me anything. It was my pleasure, too.”

“I hope to make it more so, this time,” said Jeeka, running her fingers down Tolla’s front, and gently scratching her pubic patch.

“Ooo!” said Tolla in reaction. “I tasted you once, and now you’re an expert?”

“No,” said Jeeka. “But what you did was wonderful…. and you made me kzing… wanna make you kzing… wanna see if I can do it… wanna see what a woman tastes like….”

“MmmMMMmmm,” smiled Tolla, taking Jeeka’s hand and pushing it further down her pubic patch, brushing her labia with Jeeka’s fingers. “You don’t have to do that… this is fine, this is great…”

“I want to,” said Jeeka, levering herself up on one elbow, and caressing Tolla’s pussy lips with her other hand. “I want to know if I can do this. Make you kzing. Give you pleasure.” And Jeeka began to move her head down Tolla’s torso, dragging her tongue down the middle of her front, circling her navel, and finally stopping with her head above Tolla’s crotch, shifting her weight and scooching to a comfortable position. Tolla opened her legs.

“You really don’t have to do this,” said Tolla. “It’s enough for me to be kissed… held… app’r’ciated…”

Jeeka responded by running her tongue up the length of Tolla’s vagina, starting at the bottom and slowly moving to the top, parting the lips gently with her tongue. Tolla stiffened. “Ohh…” Tolla said.

Jeeka smiled. And lapped at Tolla again. It didn’t take long for Tolla’s juices to start flowing, and before long, Jeeka had relaxed and stretched herself down at the foot of the bed, head between Tolla’s legs, Tolla lying at the top, biting her lip and wondering what might come next.

Okay, this’z kind of fun, thought Jeeka fuzzily as she tongued Tolla’s cunt. Sure enough, Tolla began to relax. Instead of hanging her legs over Jeeka’s back, though, she simply spread them wide, doing the splits, inviting Jeeka to tease and feast as she might. And Jeeka smiled inwardly and drove her tongue deep into Tolla, making her gasp, before withdrawing and running her tongue up and down one lip, then the other, nibbling at her, licking, exploring, and savoring the myriad reactions Tolla was having to this unexpected pleasure. Tolla was breathing hard now, and twitching and squeaking when Jeeka hit a sensitive spot.

Jeeka was mildly irritated that she lacked the long arms of a human. She remembered how wonderful it had felt to be caressed and touched all over, while one was getting a pussy licking, and wished she could do that to Tolla…. but with short goblin arms, all she could do was caress the sides of Tolla’s ass, her hips, and, with a stroke of inspiration, she reached around Tolla’s legs and began gently stroking the insides of her thighs, on either side of Jeeka’s head.

Tolla whimpered.

Upon sustained lapping, Jeeka began to realize that Tolla’s clit was swollen, like a tiny cock. She knew better than to focus on it, but wondered what might happen if she licked the area below it, and stroked up toward it?

Tolla bucked and howled, her legs suddenly bent. Ooo, THAT was fun, thought Jeeka, stopping to draw circles around Tolla’s clit with her tongue tip, never quite touching it. Tolla’s head rolled back and forth, her great yellow eyes rolled back in her head. Jeeka giggled inwardly, and began slowly licking upward on the area below Tolla’s clit again.

“Uhhnnnnot so hard,” said Tolla. “(gasp) … yeah…. There…. now… a little quicker…”

Wait a minute, thought Jeeka, you can just TELL them what to do? Why didn’t I think of that? This will change the game a LOT… Obediently, Jeeka licked with less pressure, but sped up the pace…

Tolla began whimpering in short bursts, and began to move her hips rhythmically, and Jeeka realized the kzing was starting to move. She stiffened her tongue a bit and lapped at Tolla’s cunt, matching her rhythm, careful not to throw anything off.

“Harder nowwwww,” said Tolla, and Jeeka increased the pressure of her tonguestrokes. Experimentally, she also picked up the pace a little bit… and Tolla reacted by increasing the pace of her pelvic movements. Jeeka was delighted. I can make her kzing faster… can I make her kzing harder? But I don’t want to spoil it for her… don’t want to be impulsive. Maybe just settle for kzing on my tongue this time? Maybe get creative next time…

…because by now, Jeeka was sure there would be a next time.

Tolla braced her hands on the bed, her hips moving faster, grinding her cunt against Jeeka’s lapping tongue. “Don’t STOP,” she said. “just like that… don’t stop… dooon’t stop….” she crooned.

Jeeka happily obliged her. She leaned her head to the left against Tolla’s thigh, keeping her tongue in constant motion, and moved her hand up to Tolla’s belly, which was stiff as a board… and spasming. It won’t be long now… she’s already….

“MMMmhmhmmmmmm!” growled Tolla, furiously jerking her pelvis up and down, to Jeeka’s delight. Tolla’s cunt spasmed, her legs twitched, and she rolled her head back, continuing to move her pelvis to the rhythm of Jeeka’s eager tongue. The last thing Jeeka wanted to do was to spoil it, and so she kept pace with Tolla, relaxed her tongue a little, pressing a hand against Tolla’s belly, the other keeping fingertips on Tolla’s inner thigh, while Tolla bucked and spasmed and felt the wonder wash over and through her…

…and finally, slid a hand between her cunt and Jeeka’s happy tongue. “Ohhhh, enough,” Tolla said, finally relaxing. “That was … ohh! Where did you learn that?”

“From a very good teacher,” said Jeeka, straightening up to a kneeling position, and caressing Tolla’s legs and thighs with both hands. Tolla grinned, splayed wide, as Jeeka lowered herself atop her, to nibble at her breasts yet again, and up to kiss her. And Tolla slipped her arms around Jeeka, raising herself, and kissed her, hard.

“Mmm,” said Tolla. “Wipe your face. You have my juices all over you, sloppy.”

“If I wipe my face off, I’ll just have to wipe it again later,” replied Jeeka. “I’m not finished with you.”

And she leaned down for yet another sloppy kiss.

Chapter Text

Two days later, Jeeka made up her mind to go visit Ben again.

She’d had a lot to think about. She’d had doubts. She’d had questions, and she’d had fears. It had occurred to Jeeka that she had very much enjoyed Ben, and that he seemed to like it, too. It had occurred to Jeeka that she’d very much enjoyed Tolla, and vice versa.

Jeeka had concluded that she really, REALLY liked sex with goblin girls… and sex with human men… and had no real enthusiasm at all for the one kind of “normal” sex: with goblin males. Was there something wrong with her? Was there something wrong with Ben, who avoided his own kind, but enjoyed Jeeka? Would this change if he got a human woman? And what would happen if Tolla accepted Prum’s protection, or that of another male? Would they still carry on in secret? How long could this be kept a secret? Not very, considering the nature of goblin society and nomadic tent living.

Jeeka had learned so much, experienced so much, in such a short time. She didn’t want to lose it, any of it. But… should she want it? Was this normal? Surely, it couldn’t be normal. A gobliln girl who found pleasure in other goblin girls, and human males could NOT be normal.

And if it wasn’t normal… did Jeeka want to be normal?

She’d tried talking to Tolla, who assured her that she had no interest in Prum’s protection, and that she, Tolla, was interested in pursuing her relationship with Jeeka further, if only to see where things could go. But Tolla also knew that she herself wasn’t normal, and never would be, as a member of the Fire Clan who didn’t want a male. She had no illusions about herself. But she was happy to carry on with Jeeka.

Jeeka was interested, certainly… but if and when the word got out what was going on, what would the tribe think? Jeeka was quite sure what her mother would say, and suspected the tribe would judge her likewise… even if Tolla hadn’t been a member of the unlucky Fire Clan, they of the orange hair, marked by the gods. A goblin woman’s job was to make more goblins, for the strength of the tribe. How she felt about that wasn’t important.

And she couldn’t tell anyone about Ben at all, not even Tolla, no matter how much she wanted to. The potential risks were just too great. The only one she could talk to about Ben was Ben. And she was interested in what Ben might say about her experience with Tolla. And… it bothered her to think of Ben, alone, lonely, in his cave in the rocks. For all that she wondered if her ass was too fat, her tits too heavy, her limbs too thick to appeal to a human, she knew that he’d welcome her presence. It was time to be off to see the wizard.

And having made the decision, she smiled, and felt a little better. He’d be good for a pussy licking and a wonderful fuck, and a couple of delicious meals, and who knew what else? He was always full of surprises.

Idly, it occurred to her that she ought to bring him something. She’d never brought him anything, and yet she’d eaten his food and accepted his gifts. True, she’d paid him in sex, but she still felt like the exchange was a little uneven. What would he like? What did humans like? Aside from fucking, that is. What did humans eat?

…and it thundered down upon her that she didn’t have a clue.

She’d eaten meals with him, certainly. He’d eaten meat sausages, mushrooms, scrambled birds’ eggs… he seemed to like meat… he’d had a ham (and where had he gotten that ham? Did he have a smokehouse, somewhere?) and vegetables … wine … humans ate bread, but their bread was thicker and fluffier, and she had no idea how that was made… there was cheese, whatever that was (delicious, but on what bushes did the stuff grow?) Wait, PICKLES! Humans liked pickles! Although it also occurred to her that human pickles were made differently, and how would he react to goblin pickles?

She realized that she had no idea what she could bring him.

No, this can’t be THAT hard. What is there that everyone likes? Aside from pickles? Surely, he’d like flatbread… what goes with flatbread? Mulberry crush… and toorih…

Toorih. That was it. Honey, the humans called it. EVERYONE likes honey. And honey was hard enough to get that even a wizard would appreciate a gift of honey. And Jeeka had an idea where to look for some. Just need to find a good wide mouthed jar…

******************************************************

It had taken longer than she’d expected, but a beehive had presented itself near the humans’ fields. Humans didn’t venture far into the woods, for some reason, and the goblins tended to avoid the humans, and with all the plants the humans grew, surely there would be bees nearby, right? Jeeka’s guess had been a good one, and after some searching, she’d seen bees, and followed them back to their hive, high in a tree… and literally hanging from a branch was a thick golden comb, heavy with honey, with the sun shining through it.

Jeeka had wrapped herself in cloth and furs, and covered her eyes as best she could, and had climbed toward the comb, and knowingly aroused the bees’ wrath. I’m going to be angry if it turns out humans don’t like honey, she thought, as she waved one arm to keep them away from her vulnerable eyes. She’d been stung three times, but it was a more than fair price to pay for the hefty chunk of comb she’d cut and stuffed into the jar. With sticky fingers, she’d shinnied back down the tree, snatched up the jar lid, and run beyond the bees’ revenge. She’d have to remember where the bee tree was; honey was good trade goods among goblins, and she’d profit from having honey when no one else had any.

The evening had been spent making flatbread. Lots of it. Better too much than too little.

And when she awoke, not long before dawn, she took a sack with a large jar and a pile of flatbread, and headed for the meadow of the mushrooms, before anyone else was awake.

Chapter Text

Daylight peered over the horizon as she entered the crag trail, and closed her eyes so as to feel the path instead of seeing it. She’d only been here twice before, but she found the place with the magic rock face illusion quickly enough. Testing the rock with a finger yielded results after only two touches. Still, she should announce herself… and realized she had forgotten a rock to knock with. “Um…. Ben?” she called. “Ben?”

“Jeeka?” said the rock face, distantly. “Come in!” And Jeeka stepped confidently through the stone, and into the welcoming confines of the cave… where she was a bit put off to see Ben fully dressed and shod, as if he was about to leave.

“I’m glad you came,” Ben said, stepping forward, arms out; and then he hesitated, seeing that Jeeka was holding a bundle in burlap.

“I brought you some things,” Jeeka said uncertainly. “Are you going somewhere? You have shoes on.”

Ben smiled. “I was about to go, yes. I’m glad you got here when you did; if you’d been a little later, the door would have been solid, and we would have missed each other. I’m glad we didn’t.”

“Um… I brought you these,” she said, proffering the bag. Ben took the parcel and placed it on the nearest table, and opened it.

 “Oh, flatbread!” he said. “Mm, fresh, too. And… HONEY?”

Please like it, please like it… thought Jeeka.

Ben promptly tore off a strip of flatbread and dipped it in the pot, then bit off the end of the strip, and chewed. He closed his eyes for a moment. Jeeka looked on with some interest. Well, he doesn’t hate it…

She was surprised to see him sit down suddenly, eyes still closed, still chewing. All right, apparently honey affects humans like wine affects goblins?

Ben opened his eyes. Jeeka noticed he’d slopped a little honey on his beard. “I haven’t tasted honey since before I … um… I… in a very long time,” he said lamely. “This is a fantastic present. Thank you so much! (My tongue tastes with pleasure!)” he added in Goblin. With that, he dipped the remainder of the bread strip in the pot again, and ate it with obvious relish.

Jeeka smiled cautiously. “Where are you going?”

Ben chewed and swallowed and licked his lips, and found the dollop of honey in his beard, and began wiping it with his fingers, and then licked his fingers. “I have an errand to run,” he said. “I’m glad you came when you did. Would you like to come with me?”

“Uh,” said Jeeka, who was feeling a little taken by surprise, “come with you … where? The human village? I don’t think – “

“Oh, no,” said Ben. “No, no people, no humans there,” said Ben. As if his hand was not under his control, it dipped into the bag, and came out with another piece of flatbread, which he tore another strip off of and dipped it into the honey. He looked at the strip as if just noticing it. “This was very sweet of you,” he said. “You didn’t have to do this.” And he ate the strip.

Jeeka felt rattled. She was pleased that he seemed to like the honey so much, but didn’t know what to think about going somewhere with Ben; she’d been thinking about a pleasant day indoors, talking and happily molesting one another. “You’ve fed me more than once,” she said. “I wanted to give something back. Where is it that you’re going, that there are no people?”

“A long way away,” he said. “I need to get some things there. Would you like to come? I’d be happy for your company.”

“I don’t know if I should be away from the village for so long…”

“We can be back here by tonight,” said Ben. “You were planning on spending the night, right? At least, I had hoped…”

“Yes, I want to spend the night!” said Jeeka, with a bright grin. “We can be back here by tonight? We – we won’t encounter anyone on the way?”

“No encounters,” said Ben. “I guarantee it. It’ll be just you and me and a day at the beach.”

“Beach?”

“You’ll like it,” said Ben with a smile. “And it will be much more interesting with you along. Let me find you a hat; you’ll want one.”

***********************************************************

Half an hour later, Jeeka stood by the table, wearing a great widebrimmed wizard’s hat big enough to serve her as an umbrella. She munched a section of flatbread spread with honey. She watched Ben setting up what appeared to be a doorframe from a human house, like the one she’d seen amidst the grain fields. It stood in the middle of Ben’s main room, standing open, with no door in it; a number of wizardly symbols were painted across the sidebars and lintel. He’d gone and got two large bags, one full of what appeared to be firewood, and another full of cloths of some sort, and some sort of box with a handle, then began putting together the doorframe. Ben finished its assembly, tested it for sturdiness, and stepped back with a look of satisfaction on his face. “Done. Are you ready to travel?”

“I suppose. Are we walking? Or will we ride the wind, again?”

Ben laughed. “It’s a long way from here, but only a few steps for us. Orace ke muvovum!”

The light in the little room suddenly grew much dimmer. Jeeka’s mouth fell open; the cave opening leading to the trail outside was gone; the wall of the cave was now solid and unbroken. She looked at Ben, a little fearfully.

“Can’t be stepping out for the day and leaving the front door open,” he said. “I’ll reopen it when we get back.” Focusing his attention on the doorframe, Ben began moving his right hand in a series of circles, while his left drew markings in the air, and his deep voice began to drone in a language Jeeka did not understand. In spite of herself, she found herself growing nervous.

Ben continued to chant, and made square gestures with both hands, at the doorway. It responded by becoming… foggy, then opaque … in the gap where the door would have gone. Why didn’t I ask him what this was for, thought Jeeka. I should have asked him what he was going to do. When did I get so trusting? But it was too late now; the space in the doorway was dead gray now, and as opaque as the stone around her.

And Ben quit chanting. The silence was sudden and surprising as thunder. Ben glanced left and right and snapped his fingers.

And the gray of the doorway exploded with light.

Startled, Jeeka barked, and squinched her eyes shut. So bright! What was happening? She opened her eyes a smidge, and waited for them to adjust. Was this daylight? It looked for all the world like daylight, streaming in through a doorframe in the middle of the room. And not the reflected light that came in the front door; this was direct sunlight from… where?

Jeeka stood up, and cautiously approached the doorway. She glanced at Ben, who smiled. A breeze caressed her face. It was warm. And what was that smell? It was wonderful and fresh and inviting, and yet totally unfamiliar, unlike anything she’d ever smelled before. In the distance, she heard a soft, distant roar, and the screech of what sounded like some sort of birds…

Ben picked up the bags and took the box by its handle, and stepped through the doorway, into the daylight. “Are you coming?”

Jeeka stared at him, silhouetted against the daylight in the magic doorway. Prudently, she wrapped up the bread and put the lid on the honey… and followed him into elsewhere.

And once through the doorway, she looked around.

She was standing on a sand dune. Her mouth dropped open. She’d never seen this much sand in her life. And so soft! She fell to her knees, put down the bread and honey pot, and ran her fingers through the fine sand, a light brownish gray. She felt a sudden urge to bathe; to bathe with such soft sand would be such a delight!

Her attention was called to the distant roar; she looked to her left…. and saw more water than she had ever seen in her life, more water than she’d ever dreamed existed, a luminous blue, crashing up on the sand in waves, some fifty yards away. The breeze was blowing in off the water, and it smelled utterly heavenly.

Jeeka rose to her feet, and spun around. The doorway was still behind her. In the relative darkness within, she could still see the table and chairs. Between her and the doorway, off to one side, Ben stood, with a great smile on his face, enjoying Jeeka’s reactions. Perhaps two hundred yards away, there stood trees, tall and curving, with great feathery leaves near the top, and some sort of strange oblong green fruit on it, fruit as large as a goblin’s head.

“Where the fuck ARE we?” she breathed, and Ben laughed, not unkindly.

“We’re roughly a thousand miles due west of my cave,” he said. “On an island, off the western coast. I come here every so often to get supplies I can’t get anywhere else. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Jeeka slipped out of her moccasins and dug her toes into the sand. So soft…. “Is there anything dangerous here?”

“Nothing more dangerous than you and I,” said Ben. He skinned out of his shirt and shook out his hair.

Jeeka looked around. No forests. No crags. Flat land as far as she could see. There did seem to be a grove of trees back to the east, some sort of treeline. She turned to the west, and looked at the great water, crashing in waves on the shore. White birds circled, making shrill bird noises.

“EEEEEEYIYIYIYIYIYI!!!” shrieked Jeeka, She slapped the hat off her head, and yanked her blouse off, and furiously shed her skirt as well. Glancing at her belt thong, she slipped out of it as well, and ran naked towards the water.

Ben jumped a bit, startled; he hadn’t been expecting that reaction. Jeeka ran furiously down the beach and into the surf, and bellyflopped into the water, thrashing and howling the whole time. Ben, unsure of what she was doing, trotted down to the water in her wake.

The next big wave dumped a naked Jeeka back on the wet shore, where she rolled over twice, laughing hysterically. Ben relaxed a bit. As long as she was enjoying herself…

“SALTY!” screamed Jeeka, gleefully. “The water is SALTY! It’s a whole giant lake of SALT WATER!”

“Not a lake,” said Ben. “Ocean. Bigger than any lake. And yes, the water is salty. That’s one of the reasons I came here, to get salt.”

“OCEAN!” shouted Jeeka. “SAAAALTYYY!” Leaping to her feet, she flung herself back into the water, thrashing around, and finally dogpaddling a short ways out before a wave began to build before her. Laughing, she plunged into the wave, and washed back up on shore, still laughing. “The water fights back!” she cried.

Ben grinned. Jeeka sat up, saw, and grinned back at him. “Why do you still have clothes on? Take them off!”

“Why?”

“Because I want to look at you. Come and swim with me! Come and swim in the salty water! It’s been YEARS since I had enough water to swim in!”

“Let me get a fire started, first,” said Ben with a grin. “Then, I think I just might come get wet.” Ben strode down the beach to what looked like a pile of rocks at the top of the slope leading down to the beach. Finding a length of driftwood nearby, he used it to dig out the sand just below the rocks, revealing more rocks beneath… and charcoal, and ash.

A naked dripping Jeeka padded up to see what he was doing.

Using his shirt, Ben whipped the sand out of the opening, revealing a shallow depression that seemed to be lined with burnt rocks. When he had the sand and ash mostly fanned or dug out, Ben dumped the bag of firewood out, and began constructing a little lean-to of sticks and dry leaves in the fire pit, then surrounding it with larger sticks. When he was done, he said, “Kackalorum,” and struck fire from his fingers, flicking it into the structure, which caught immediately. Within a few moments, he’d arranged some bigger sticks over the little fire, and at least one good sized log.

“That should do it,” he said. “We’ll come back in a bit to add more wood, get a bonfire going. We’ll want it later.”

“Take your clothes off,” said Jeeka impatiently.

Ben smiled, and began to undo his belt, and within minutes, he’d left his clothes and shoes not far from the fire. Pausing, he bent to add another log to the fire. Jeeka took advantage of his distraction to bite him on the butt.

“Whoaw!” shouted Ben, jerking upright suddenly. Jeeka laughed uproariously and ran to the water’s edge, pursued by a laughingly indignant Ben. She flung herself into the water and paddled away, with Ben in hot pursuit; then Ben vanished beneath the water. Jeeka looked around, nonplussed, until Ben erupted from the water behind her, and seized her in his arms. Jeeka shrieked and laughed and kicked and Ben laughed and drew her close and bit her neck gently…

…and the next wave knocked them both down and flung them back up on the beach. Undaunted, they rose to frolic again in the splashing blue water, again and again.

“This is the best thing ever,” said Jeeka, after a while. “And you were going to come here without me?” She retrieved her borrowed hat, and put it on her head, glad for the shade.

“I had no way of knowing when… or if… you were coming back to see me,” said Ben, donning his own widebrimmed hat. “If I’d known you liked to swim so much, I’d have brought you here earlier.”

“I love to swim,” said Jeeka. “I used to go swimming in the river all the time, in other places we’ve had a village. The last two places, though, we had a creek and a stream, one deep enough to go knee high, and now barely enough to wade in. This is great.” Thinking about it for a moment, Jeeka asked, “Why did you want to come here today?”

“Supplies… mainly salt. I can bargain in the village with powdered salt. Speaking of which, it’s about time to see about gathering it. Want to help me?”

“Do I have to put clothes on?”

“Up to you.”

“Do YOU have to put clothes on?”

Ben opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Shouldn’t I?”

“No,” said Jeeka. “You should go naked. I like to look at you.”

Ben smiled. "I didn't think I was as pretty to your eyes as you are to mine."

"Pretty?" said Jeeka. "You think I'm pretty? You don't think I'm fat?"

"Fat?" said Ben. "You're not fat. Where did you get the idea that you were fat? Someone said you were fat? What, was this that goblin woman you were going to see?"

"No, not her," said Jeeka. She was suddenly acutely aware of her nakedness, and crossed her arms defensively over her breasts, which seemed, for the first time, to be too big. "I sneaked down to the human places. I spied on the humans there. I watched the women. They're tall, like you, and they're ... thinner than I am, and their tits are smaller, even though they’re bigger than me, and..."

And then it came out. "Ben, if a human woman came along and wanted you... would you still want me?"

Ben's face fell. He looked at Jeeka for a moment. "Jeeka, sounds to me like you were looking at some mighty skinny human women. Why were you bothering with them?"

"Answer the question," Jeeka said tightly.

Ben approached Jeeka, and abruptly fell to his knees in the soft sand, and looked her in the eye, and reached for her. Jeeka flinched. And Ben froze... and let his hands fall to his sides.

"Jeeka," he said, with pain in his voice, "The humans... in the village... they're human... but they're not my kind."

Jeeka cocked her head, not understanding.

"The village folk can barely stand the sight of me," he continued, "and frankly, I'm not crazy about them either, or their ways, or their methods of doing business. They sell to me partly for profit, and partly out of fear. When you came... I hadn't spoken to anyone in something like two months. I had reached a point where I'd hold conversations with chairs, shelves, the walls... I was starting to go crazy."

Jeeka looked at him. "You don't want a human woman?" she asked skeptically.

"When you came," said Ben, "well... you asked why a kind man would want to fuck a goblin. You weren't DEALING with a kind man. You were dealing with a half-crazy man who was hanging onto his sanity. I wanted to fuck you, but what I needed was for you to talk to me. For me to talk to you. You were water to a man who was dying of thirst. And you are still the closest thing I have to a friend, here. Are we friends?"

"I want to be," said Jeeka, uncertainly. "Pussy licking is a great way to make friends."

Surprised, Ben made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a cough.

"But I ... need to know where I stand." said Jeeka. "I need to know if ... you would rather have a human woman."

"I don't know how human I am any more," said Ben. "A lot of me died when I crossed over to here, and now I have goblin thoughts in my head. I don't know what I am, any more. And if a human woman with big tits showed up and wanted to sleep with me, my first thought would be "what do the villagers want from me," and my second thought would be "are they trying to kill me again?" "

Jeeka's mouth dropped open. The humans had tried to kill him?

"What do you mean, you died when you crossed over?" said Jeeka. "Where... did you come from?"

Ben's face grew pained. "A... long way from here," he said. "My..." he waved his hands around, struggling for the words, "My... tribe is gone. Doesn't exist any more. Dead. I came here because I had nowhere else to go. I left... a lot of myself... behind."

Despite herself, Jeeka felt for him. "And you ... lost everything you knew?"

Ben nodded.

"And the humans here... don't like you, they aren't your tribe," Jeeka said, trying to understand.

"Because you're a wizard. And naturally, you don't trust THEM..."

"What does it say, when I'll trust a goblin before I'd trust a human?” Ben said, sadly. “They say you can't trust a goblin. But I know what you are, to me. To me, you are my first friend after I came here. My ONLY friend, after a year, and more." Ben switched to goblin speech, and said, "To me, you are Jeeka Before-All-Others. You are Jeeka Who Touches My Heart." After a pause, he added, "And Jeeka Who Touches My Pecker. And--"

And it was Jeeka's turn to cough out a surprised laugh.

And Ben reached out again, and this time Jeeka didn't flinch, and Ben folded her into his embrace. And she held him, as he knelt in the sand, and there they stayed for a time.

“So,” said Jeeka, her face pressed into Ben’s hair. “There was something about salt?”

And shortly afterwards, the two of them (still naked, at Jeeka’s insistence) stood before a row of circular depressions partway down the beach, each something over two feet wide, and each containing a large tilted glassy dish of some sort. Ben had retrieved a bag from his supplies. Jeeka saw that a white crust rested in each glassy dish in the sand. “I think I get it,” said Jeeka. “You fill the dishes with ocean water, and then the sun evaporates it and leaves the salt behind?”

“That’s it,” said Ben, handing Jeeka a knife. “Scrape the salt crust free of the dish, and into this bag.”

“There’s sand in it,” said Jeeka.

“Yes. When we get it home, we’ll melt it in water, and strain it through a cloth to get the sand out, and then evaporate it again, and put it through the grinder. We’ll keep what we want, and sell the rest to the villagers. They always need salt in autumn, for curing meat, among other things.”

“The villagers tried to kill you?” asked Jeeka, who immediately regretted asking; Ben got a grim look on his face.

“Twice,” said Ben. “Once when I first got here, and once a couple months later. They don’t like wizards in these lands. They sure tolerate them when they need one, though.”

Jeeka wanted to drop the subject, and flailed around mentally for another subject that would take his mind off the other humans. "So I had dinner with Tolla again," she said. "And this time I was the aggressive one."

"That's right," said Ben. "Tolla's her name, mm? And you wanted to try..."

"Mmhm," said Jeeka, chiseling at the salt crust in the dish. "It worked, too. I found myself thinking about when you said that it was easy to make me kzing. I expected to have to work harder with Tolla, but she absolutely melted. It was fun." After a moment's thought, she added, "And this doesn't bother you? Talking about it? Me doing it?"

Ben swept a handful of salt rinds into a bag. "I have you with me now," said Ben. "I'd like to have you with me more often. But your villagers seem to like you better than mine like me, so who am I to tell you not to spend time with your people? Besides, you still want to see your mother from time to time, and how would SHE feel about me? And it sounds like you and Tolla are good for each other."

"You're good for me too, you know."

Ben looked at Jeeka with a look she couldn't quite interpret. "Should I be worried that you'll stop coming to see me? That you'll set up house with Tolla?"

"No," Jeeka said. "Some will turn a blind eye to it, but if we were to openly set up house as mates, someone wouldn't be able to stand it, and there'd be trouble. Females are expected to pop out babies to grow the tribe, whether they like it or not. The fact is, I wish I could talk about you with Tolla. She wonders if I am seeing a male, if I am interested. And I am, but it's not one whose name I feel comfortable spreading around."

"Mmm," said Ben. "The humans already want to burn me for being a wizard. And if I wasn't, they'd want to burn me for being friendly with goblins. They're quick to judge, these people."

“Goblins, too,” said Jeeka. “I’d like to think Tolla could be … open minded… enough to not go aazaak if she found out about you. But I don’t dare try it. She might just denounce me as a threat to the tribe. You’re really the only person I know that I can talk to about… well, pretty much anything. I never had that before. And now I don’t know what I would do without it.”

"That's ... kind of funny," said Ben. "I know you loved having your pussy licked. And I worried a little that when you had a goblin who could do that for you, that I'd never see you again. But you came back anyway. And now I know it's not because of my tongue or my cock, but because of our conversations."

Jeeka looked at Ben, a little shocked. "So... I was afraid you'd lose interest in me if you had a human woman with big tits, and you were afraid I'd lose interest in you if I had a goblin woman with a clever tongue?"

"Seems like that's about the size of it."

Jeeka thought for a moment, and used the butt of the knife to crack more salt loose from the dish. "Well, that's it, then," she said. "That transfer spell of yours has plainly driven us both insane."

And the two of them looked at each other, and giggled.

Time went by. Ben went back to add wood to the fire, and spread coals around a few times, and in the meantime, he and Jeeka chiseled salt from the dishes.

"That's about it," said Ben. "Now the hard part is done. High tide will fill the dishes again, and the salt will evaporate, and we should find more crusts waiting next time we come here."

"This is a lot of salt," said Jeeka, weighing the bags in her hand. "Can we split this? I could bargain well with goblins with bags of powdered salt."

"Split it halfway," Ben said agreeably.

"And as long as I'm asking you for things, can I have a couple more empty bags? I want to take some of this sand back with me, too. Goblins use it to bathe, and this is the softest sand I've ever felt."

"I could give you some soap."

"And then I'd have to explain what it was and where I got it. No thanks. Plus, it's great enough that everyone would want some, and the next thing, I've got someone following me next time I try to sneak off to see you, so they can find out my secrets. I'd just as soon explain that I found a sand pit at a bend in the creek."

"Point taken, I guess," said Ben. "I hadn't thought about other goblins trying to figure out what you were up to."

"You have a safe place," said Jeeka. "You have a house, made of stone, and you can make the doors disappear if you want. You have a place you can go where no one can hurt you, no one can attack you, no one can make you feel bad... except maybe me.”

Ben looked bemused. Jeeka continued. “Goblins don't have safe spaces, Ben. Everyone keeps an eye on everyone else, looking for an advantage or a way to advance in status. There's a man word... oppa...oppor-tu-nist. Goblins are born opportunists. We live together, but we also judge each other, manipulate each other. The best of us can form alliances and trust each other to watch each others' backs. That's as good as it gets. That's what I meant when I said that I didn't know what I'd do if I lost you. Now that I have someone I can talk to, it would hurt, if I didn't have that."

"But you do have that. Let's go put the salt away, and see how the fire is looking." Ben rose, and the two of them walked nakedly back to where the fire was.

"Why are we building a bonfire?" asked Jeeka. "It's not cold enough to really need one, and it's too big for cooking. Speaking of which, is there food? I'm hungry."

"The fire is indeed for cooking," said Ben. Reaching the firepit's edge, he picked up the driftwood staff and stirred the coals. With satisfaction, he fanned the smolder into flame, and tossed the last wood onto the coals. "That's it, then," he said. "Let's go get lunch. We'll eat light, and when we get back, the wood will have burnt down enough that we can set to work on dinner."

"What sort of dinner do we get that needs a bonfire to cook it in?" asked Jeeka. "Are we going to roast a buffalo?"

"Patience, o green and beautiful one," said Ben. "Lunch first."

***********************************************************************

An hour later, Jeeka said, “So these are nanas, those are coconuts, and those are bladefruit.”

“You’ve got it,” said Ben.

“Let’s try the nanas,” said Jeeka, eyeing a coconut dubiously, and wondering what sort of fruit was made of wood. Ben showed her how to peel the yellow skin. "And once again," she said aloud, "Ben has served me a meal of things that look like dicks."

Ben laughed. And with that, she took a bite of the white fruit. Light, sweet, creamy. Coconuts were filled with delicious juice, and when split, revealed crunchy white nut meat. And bladefruit looked dangerous, but inside was filled with wonderful juicy wet pulp that was oh! so sweet….

"Can I take one of the bladefruits back with me?" she asked. "I want to feed Tolla one of these."

"We have two others," said Ben. "Help yourself. Would you like to take her a coconut and some nanas, too?"

"I'm not sure if she'd like anything shaped like dicks," Jeeka said. "And I'd be sort of embarrassed to serve them to her..."

*********************************************************************

After lunch, Ben set Jeeka to work gathering the wet seaweed from the shore, while he went hunting around in waist deep water fifty yards away. They met back near the fire, Jeeka with a heavy bag of wet seaweed, Ben with a heavy bag of … something.

He began slathering the smoldering coals with a thick layer of damp seaweed; the fire hissed angrily and steamed wetly. “Are you trying to put the fire out?” asked Jeeka.

“Nope. The heat from the rocks is going to boil off the wet into steam,” he replied, “and that’s going to cook our dinner.” And with that, he emptied his bag onto the steaming seaweed and began spreading out what he’d collected.

“We’re going to eat rocks and giant bugs?”

“Patience, o emerald treasure. Although I don’t know for sure if you’re going to like clams and prawns. I also brought potatoes and corn, though. Tip that other bag out onto the seaweed.”

Jeeka dimpled at being called a treasure; it made her stomach feel fluttery. She emptied the other bag, the dry one, and dumped a few potatoes and ears of corn onto the seaweed. “I like some bugs,” she said. “but I generally don’t eat them unless I can’t find anything better.”

Ben shoveled the remainder of the seaweed over the sea creatures and vegetables. “If you don’t like them, well, I’ll feed you your own bread and honey,” he said. “Or whatever else I can find to eat that’s shaped like dicks.”

Jeeka giggled.

When the wet bag was empty, Ben draped it over the steaming pile of seaweed, and weighted the edges down with rocks. After a short time, tendrils of steam could be seen escaping from the mound here and there. But not much.

“Now what?”

“Now we relax and amuse ourselves until dinner. It’ll be a few hours,” said Ben. He spread one of the bags out on the beach, and stretched out on it, putting his hat over his eyes to protect from the sun. Jeeka spread another bag next to it, and lay out as well.

Perhaps two minutes went by before Ben felt a hand on his cock.

"That didn't take long," he said.

"You said we'd amuse ourselves," said Jeeka. "I'm amusing myself. Are you not amused?"

"Didn't say that," Ben chuckled. Jeeka responded by climbing atop him and taking his cock into her mouth.

"Mm, he said, "more amused by the minute."

Jeeka took him out of her mouth, licked the head, and began to stroke his engorging cock with her hand. "Lunch was good, but it was all sweet fruit," she said. "I want something salty. You're all salty."

"Mmmmm," said Ben, grinning.

Jeeka's hand continued to stroke his slippery cock. "I like it when you call me a treasure," she said. "If you were a goblin, I'd think you were courting me."

"Mmmm," said Ben. "I can't court you openly. But I want you to come back. Always."

"When goblins court, they give each other presents," said Jeeka, squeezing and stroking harder. He was fully erect now, pulsing in her fist. "You give me presents. But I never gave you anything."

"You gave me everything," said Ben. "You gave me my sanity back. You gave me long talks, and you gave me green sex. And you brought me bread and a pot of honey. Mmmmmhhh... is there more honey where that came from? We could make mead."

Jeeka’s head jerked up. "Humans make mead?"

"They prefer wine and beer. But I like mead, and I know how to make it into something stronger... rrrrrhhhh... come here, so I can lick you... come straddle my face..."

"No," said Jeeka. "I want to taste you." Stroking his cock, Jeeka began licking around the head.

"Uhhn," Ben grunted. "Keep that up, and you're going to taste more than you expected..."

"Good," said Jeeka. "I want to know what you taste like. You've tasted me when I kzing. I want to taste yours. I will have your kzing in me. If I can't have your blood, I will have your kzing." She stroked his cock harder, licked the head.

Ben pushed the hatbrim back and peered at her. "My blood?"

"Goblin mating involves blood, Ben. We aren't mates... but we are more than jeterrh, I think. More than just casual, more than just fucking."

Ben's head swam. Jeterrh, jeterrh… that meant… boyfriend/girlfriend? He racked his brain for his goblin words. More than sweet friend, but way before mates… and thinking did NOT come easy while Jeeka stroked his cock.

"You have said that I mean a lot to you, Ben. I believe you,” Jeeka said. “You have come to mean much to me. I am not ready for your blood. You aren't ready for mine. But I want your kzing, Ben, I want it." Stroke, stroke, lick, suck.

She is NOT making it easy to think, thought Ben. He racked his brain trying to think about what blood and mating was to goblins. She hadn't told him anything about goblin mating rituals, but some part of him, the damned language transfer, told him that blood was important, somehow. But oral sex wasn't a thing, to goblins. What could she mean? "You want to taste my kzing..." he burbled. "Jeeka... sucking cock isn't... that big a deal... with humans… it’s jeterrh, like groping and touching--"

"It is to me," said Jeeka. Stroke, stroke, liiiick, stroke. "We are something completely different, Ben, you and I. We don't fit the established orders. We make up our own as we go along, you and I, yes? And you are more to me than jeterrh."

"Uhhhhhrrrgh," said Ben. She was squeezing him hard, stroking him, and stopping to lick the head periodically with a long chartreuse tongue.

Jeeka wondered what she was doing. She’d originally just come here to enjoy Ben, the very definition of jeterrh… but … somehow… things had gotten out of control. She continued to stroke his cock, and to speak, her heart racing, her mind slathered with passion.

"I want your kzing," she said. "And I will take it, in the goblin way, like you took me, when we first met. Like a goblin." She looked at him with her great yellow eyes. "You could stop me, if you wanted to."

He looked back at her with his blue circles in white. He took a deep breath. "Take... what is yours," he said.

She immediately fell on him with her mouth, furiously sucking, bobbing her head up and down, while stroking with her hand and supporting herself with her other. "Aaahhnnnnn!" said Ben. He hadn't expected her to be so savage about it. Should have known better, he thought. Goblin. He lay back, and dug in his heels, and fought to keep from cumming. Jeeka stroked and sucked hungrily to force him to give. And for a time, they struggled.

And in time, Jeeka won, as they both knew would happen.

Ben cried out.

Jeeka sucked hungrily. And pulled back in surprise. "It's SALTY!" she cried. She burst out laughing. "SAAAALTY!" A jet of cum struck her face. Jeeka laughed. And fell to on his cock, furiously sucking and stroking, trying to get more.

Ben howled. But he did not stop her, as she milked his cock dry, and swallowed greedily.

With a light pop, Jeeka broke suction and looked up gleefully into Ben's eyes. Tears streamed down her face. Ben was taken aback; he'd never seen her cry before, didn't know goblins COULD cry. But her face was joyful. "You're salty," she cried. "You gave me your salt..."

Ben made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a whimper. "Most human women don't like the taste."

"Human women are fools," said Jeeka vehemently. She released his cock and moved up to straddle him, and laid herself down on his torso, wrapping her arms around him, her head upon his chest.

"You are my beautiful green treasure," said Ben, wrapping his arms around her.

"And you are... my... great, great magic," said Jeeka. "And I will come back to you."

At that, Ben felt his own eyes grow wet. “I want to taste you, now,” he said.

“Wait a while,” said Jeeka. “Just lie here with me in the sun. Your pecker is all limp now. In a while, it will grow strong, and then you will lick me until I scream, and you will have my kzing. And then you’ll stick your pecker in me and fuck me till I scream again. And you will give me your kzing, again. And it won’t even be nighttime.” Jeeka giggled maniacally. “Dinner won’t even be ready, yet…”

And they laughed, and held each other for a time.

“So,” said Jeeka. “What was this about mead, that you mentioned?”

Chapter Text

Jeeka looked dubiously at dinner.

The afternoon had been spent in sunning, in swimming, and in creative exploration of each other, and it had been glorious. Jeeka felt better about the world than she had in weeks, perhaps ever. She remembered her mother saying to her, "Jeeka, remember: when you feel your heart sing for a male, remember that the louder it sings, the stupider it makes you."

What her mother hadn't mentioned was that it also made you not care. The afternoon had been a wonderful affirmation, an erasure of all the cares and worries around her... all the way up to the point where Ben had uncovered the steaming rock pit and swept the seaweed off the food. "You can eat the seaweed, too, if you want," said Ben. "It's actually pretty good for you. But the taste isn't thrilling. Ah, clams!"

The gray flat rocks had grown and split open, revealing some sort of white meat inside, pooching out where the rocks had split. The giant bugs, too, had swollen, and were no longer gray and translucent, but puffy and white and orange and pink. But the spuds were spuds, and the corn was corn. "Grind up some salt," said Ben, who had picked up a knife and was prying one of the clams open. "We'll see if you like these or not."

Jeeka ground some salt in a seashell with a rock. "It's meat, right?" she asked cautiously.

"It's meat," he replied, prying it loose from its shell, and proffering it to Jeeka on the point of his knife.

"It's salted already, from the steamy seawater, but we'll soon know if you like it or not."

Jeeka looked at it. "So then, Ben finally ran out of dick shaped food," she recited, "so he offered his Jeeka something to eat that looked like a pussy. But Jeeka liked to eat pussy, too, so she tasted the strange meat." And she leaned forward and snapped it off the knife, and began to chew. "Mmm," she said. "Okay... mmmm ... smoky... you're right, the seawater did salt it... mmm... okay, this is good. I like this. It's like snails, but more tender!"

Ben, still standing there holding the knife, blinked twice. "Snails?"

"There are the ramoss, these big freshwater snails that breed in streams. Sometimes you find a stream without big fish that's thick with them. You gather them up and steam them, and then you just pull them out of the shells and gobble them down by the dozen. It takes three to make a mouthful, but they're delicious."

"So... clams are good?"

"Clams are great. What about the bugs?"

"Prawns," said Ben. Picking one up, he pulled the head off, and carefully shelled the creature, which was almost the size of a nana, removing its many legs as well, and its tail. He examined it, and peeled a strip off the back as well, removing a black string that ran down the creature's back, and swished it in a coconut shell of water to clean it. Then he offered it to Jeeka.

Jeeka took it and looked it over. It looked less like a bug than it had. She smelled it; it smelled distantly and vaguely of fish, but not unappealingly. And with a mental shrug, she bit off half of it and chewed.

"This is good," she said. "I've never eaten meat like this. It's ... fluffy!" Swallowing the mouthful, she promptly ate the other half. Ben grinned and began shelling clams in earnest. Jeeka picked up another prawn, and imitated Ben's cleaning process, stopping to shake her fingers occasionally to cool them from handing the hot prawns. Soon, they had respectable piles of shelled clams and prawns, and Ben produced butter from somewhere, and the potatoes and corn were pulled from the seaweed, and supper began in earnest.

“These prawns are amazing,” said Jeeka. “Meat with so little effort, no bones or anything. We should make dipping sauce for next time. Mustard, or merik sauce, maybe.”

“Merik sauce,” said Ben, tossing down an oyster and chewing thoughtfully.

“It’s a sort of fruit sauce, but it’s tangy AND sweet,” said Jeeka. “Tolla makes very good merik sauce. She fed me rabbit meat with merik sauce, our first get together.”

"I'm starting to get jealous of her," Ben said. "She gets you when I don't. And she makes you dinner, too."

Jeeka looked crestfallen. "I am a very bad treasure," she said.

"Rrrr?" said Ben.

"You've made me lots of dinners. And breakfasts. And I've made Tolla a dinner. But I've never made you a dinner," said Jeeka. "That has to change. What do you like to eat? Besides honey, that is."

Ben thought a moment, and raised his eyebrows. "Lots of things," he mused. "Part of me wants to try goblin foods. Part of me thinks, "And if you don't like them, Jeeka's dinner falls flat, and you eat it anyway to spare her feelings." "

"Oh, don't do that," said Jeeka. "Be truthful with me. I want to know what you like."

"Well," said Ben. "Tomorrow, before you go home, we should find that hive, and tap it for honey to make mead, and for you to trade. So there's honey... I like all kinds of fruits. I'm kind of curious about these snails, if they're cooked, and if they taste like clams. Humans eat meat cooked, generally. All sorts of breads are good. I'm curious about this merik sauce, and about goblin mustard, and about dipping meat in sauces, like you were talking about. Pickles are good--"

"But goblin pickles are different. Goblin pickles are made with brine. Human pickles are made with what do you call it, the sour stuff--"

"Vinegar," said Ben. "but humans use brine to pickle things, too. I use both to make pickled mushrooms."

"You can pickle mushrooms?"

"I love pickled mushrooms. Boil them in a mix of brine, vinegar, and honey, or sugar if you can get it. They're wonderful. I need to make you some."

"We need to do this. I want to make you a feast," said Jeeka. "But I also want to try these mushrooms."

"Want to do this in... I don't know, three or four days? How long will it take?" said Ben.

"I don't know. I need to do some thinking about it. And it's going to be dark soon. Are we spending the night here?"

"No," said Ben. "We need to pack up our stuff and take it and the leftovers back through the door. I don't like to leave the door open for too long, especially after dark; the energy flux builds up, and there's more chance something can go wrong. But I want to show you one last thing before I close it."

"What's that?"

"It'll be here soon enough," said Ben. "Help me with the bags."

Bags of salt, sand, fruit, and dinner leftovers were taken up the incline and back through the doorway, as well as their clothes. "We're getting sand all over your floor," Jeeka said.

"It'll clean up," said Ben. "It always does. Give me something to do when you're gone and mead is brewing. That everything? Good. Let me light up the glows.... and... back to the beach."

The sun approached the horizon in the distance. Ben noticed with satisfaction that there were ribbon clouds off in the sky, over the sea. "Now what?" said Jeeka.

"Come stand on the sack, here. Good. Face away from the ocean, off to the treeline. Sit down. Good!"

"Am I looking for something?"

"No," said Ben, sitting down behind Jeeka. "But now I comb your hair, now that you're dry." And he sat and combed and brushed Jeeka's mane, to her satisfaction (and slight confusion).

After a while, Jeeka noted that it seemed to be getting fairly dark. "Is the thing we're waiting for going to show up at night?" she asked.

"Just before it," said Ben. "About right now. Turn around, and look over my shoulder."

Thoroughly mystified, Jeeka rose to her feet, and turned... and saw. Her mouth dropped open in wonder.

Ben smiled a great wide smile. Jeeka never saw it.

Over and behind Ben, Jeeka saw the great western sunset on the ocean, as the sun shrunk to a fiery orange ball to kiss the horizon. The sky ranged from dark blue at the water to a strange purple as her gaze grew higher. The scudding ribbon clouds glowed yellow and orange. In the distance, the sea birds wheeled and cried. High overhead, the stars had begun to come out.

Jeeka stood there and stared. She’d spent her life in forests, and had never seen such a sight.

Ben reached out and gathered her to him, brought her into his embrace, and she stepped forward and draped her arms around his neck. And he slipped a forearm under her behind, and pulled her weight onto him, and there they sat for a while, Jeeka's chin resting on Ben's shoulder, her arms around his neck, as she stared off over the sea, watching the sun go down.

As the light faded, she finally spoke. "You... are... my great, great magic," she said softly. Ben held her close and said nothing.

And after a while, they rose to their feet, and gathered up the sandy sack, and headed up the incline to the doorway. They stepped through, and a moment later, with no one to see, it winked out of existence, leaving the beach alone in shadow.

Chapter Text

Jeeka woke up, warm and comfortable. And then remembered where she was, and felt quite pleased with herself. Ben snored softly behind her. She thought about breakfast, and then thought about perhaps some more sleep, and perhaps a snuggle. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around him and settled her head pleasantly on his shoulder, and closed her eyes again.

And then thought: my nipples hurt.

And then thought: does Ben feel... feverish?

Rolling onto her back, she felt her nipples. They were tender, and a little sore. Peeling the blanket down, she was surprised to find that they were the wrong color, a darker green than their normal olive tone, and a bit swollen. And for that matter, her arms looked wrong -- admittedly, the light in here was dim, but ... was her skin the wrong color? And was Ben feverish?

She sat up and looked at Ben, and stifled a scream.

H'sh'ivok, what's wrong with him? He's all red! Gods, is he sick? What happened?

"Ben?"

No response. He was breathing, though...

"Ben?" She reached out and touched him, tentatively. His skin was hot.

"Ben, please, TALK to me..." she pleaded, and reached out and shook his shoulder as gently as she could. His skin was HOT!

"Ow," said Ben, opening his eyes. He smiled, and then looked puzzled, upon seeing Jeeka's face. "Wha?"

"You're all red," she said, with a slight quaver in her voice. "And your skin is hot, you're feverish, are you all right? Should I fetch cold water? What happened? Did we eat something bad? Are we poisoned? Is there some beach disease?"

Ben looked at her a little blearily; he wasn't quite awake yet, and was having trouble processing. Abruptly, he raised his arm and glanced at it, and said, "Oh, damn."

"What's happened? Is there something I should do?"

"It's all right," said Ben. "Sunburn. I should have known."

"Sun burn?" said Jeeka, puzzled.

"You've never had a sunburn? No, I don't suppose green skin burns too easily. How do you feel?"

"My nipples hurt," she said. "And... on my back and butt... my arms, chest, and upper legs, my skin feels... wrong. Tender. And too tight, somehow. My face feels wrong, too... like my skin is on too tight. The sun did this?"

Ben sat up and grimaced. "Mmhm. It does when you spend a day running around on light colored sand and frisking in the water, all of which reflects the sun back at you. Particularly when one spends the whole day running around naked. I'm an idiot. I should have thought of this." He glanced over at Jeeka and smiled wryly. "Of course, when you're running around naked, I get stupid quickly."

"How long will this be this way?"

Ben gingerly swung his legs out of bed. Jeeka was horrified to see that his back looked even worse than his front. And his front was quite red. "Oh, my toorih... oh, your poor pecker!" She reached for it, but then stopped, fearful of hurting it.

Ben glanced down and looked at Jeeka with a sad smile. "I'm afraid it's out of action for a day or two," he said. "Yes, my skin is on too tight, too. It will go away in two or three days, but we can make it better in a few minutes. Let me get the pain cream."

And a few moments later, after generous application of the cream, Jeeka felt better. Her nipples didn't hurt, and her skin felt proper again. "What happens when the cream wears off?"

"You might be a little sore tomorrow. I know I will be. It doesn't seem like it hit you as bad," said Ben, rubbing cream on the red spots on his face, and wincing. "Could I get you to rub some on my back?"

Jeeka obligingly rubbed cream all over his sore back and butt, and made quite a production of applying it to his penis. "I'm glad you care about whether or not my pecker is wounded," he laughed

"Well, I like it," Jeeka replied. "The poor thing looked hurt. Still does. Cream makes the pain go away, but you're still angry red all over."

"It'll be better, but LOOK worse day after tomorrow," Ben said. "That's when I'll start peeling."

"Peeling?"

"The burnt skin dies and starts peeling off in bits and strips, and makes one look like he's falling apart, at least in the burnt spots. Looks awful. There's fresh new skin underneath, but the dead skin doesn't come off all in one piece."

It occurred to Jeeka that this might be hard to explain to her tribe. "Will I peel?"

"I have no idea. You say you don't hurt except your nipples--"

"My cheeks and nose hurt a little, too..."

"Sounds about normal. I think your skin color protected you, mostly, but the areas that hurt now will be the ones that peel. How likely are your people to give you a hard time about it?"

Jeeka shrugged. "I'll think of a story," she said. "I'm not sure if this has ever happened to anyone in the tribe before. I've never heard of it. But when I come back with sand, salt, and honey, that will quiet a lot of possible questions. For that matter, I don’t show off my nipples a lot…"

"Mm," said Ben. "Right, we need to see about that honey. And then we'll get you home. When will you come to see me again?"

"Three days," said Jeeka. "Maybe four. I want to think about things I can make for a goblin feast, something you'll like."

"All right," said Ben. "And I want you to have some things, if you'll take them..."

***********************************

Ben bent beneath the stone fire box, and said, "kackalorum," and snapped his fingers, and pointed. A little fluff of fire spurted from his fingertip and ignited the fire, and breakfast was toasted flatbread with honey. Jeeka smiled to see the pleasure he took in it. And after breakfast, he took from his shelf of unidentifiable items a parcel wrapped in cloth and set it before her. She looked up at him; he nodded. She unwrapped the package.

"Jewelry?" she said with a smile. "The necklace is pretty. What's the other thing?"

"An ear cuff," said Ben. "Here, let me put it on you." He adjusted the metal ring and slid it over the lower ridge of her ear, down close to her head. It wasn't quite like an earring, but it had a lovely blue stone in it, and Jeeka felt a little thrill at being given gifts. Next, the necklace descended over her head and dangled between her breasts.

Jeeka smiled blissfully.

"Now here's the secret, Jeeka. Sit there and wait for me." And at that, Ben turned and left the room, heading down the hallway and into a side room. And for a moment Jeeka waited, and almost screamed when she heard Ben's voice, literally right next to her head, saying, "Can you hear me?"

Jeeka sat there, paralyzed. She'd seen him walk down the hall.... "Yes... I can hear you," she called out. Looking around the room, she said, loudly, "Did you turn invisible or something?"

She heard Ben laugh, literally as if he were standing right next to her, talking into her ear. "I'm in the dressing room down the hall. You're hearing your new ear cuff. Take the necklace, press on the triangle with your thumb, and while you hold it, talk to it. I'll hear you."

With some excitement, she took the necklace, and pressed the stone with her thumb. "Can you hear me?"

"You don't need to shout. Just talk normally."

"Are these magic?"

"We call them speaker stones," said the ear cuff. "With these, we can talk to each other when you're in the village. You can let me know when you're coming, so we don't miss each other." A moment later, Ben reentered the room, and laid a sheathed knife on the table. “This is for you, as well.”

Jeeka’s eyes grew big, and she picked up the knife, drew it from its sheath. Shining metal, real metal, with a blade easily eight inches long.

"You give me presents," said Jeeka. "You give me magic presents."

"Is this bad?"

Jeeka looked wonderingly over the knife, and the strange stone medallion. It looked a bit like a beetle’s shell. "I have now stopped worrying about human women with big tits," said Jeeka with a great goblin grin.

******************************************

It took much of the morning to gather the honey. Ben had said that they needed to leave at least half of it in the hive, so the bees could weather the winter, and Jeeka agreed; better to have more honey later than all of it now. More time was spent in dividing up the salt and honey and finding containers for the latter, and sealing them for travel. But, at last, Ben and Jeeka touched ground no more than a mile from the goblin village.

"You know," said Ben, "The first time we did this, I didn't want to let you go. A little voice in my head told me to chain you to the bed, to keep me from going completely crazy."

"But you let me go anyway."

"Yes. And the more times we do this, the happier I am... but the more it kind of hurts to let you go."

Jeeka turned to him and reached up and grabbed his collar and tugged until he bent over. And when he bent over, she kissed him. "The first time you let me go, you kissed me," she said. "And I was confused and ran away. I am not confused now. I will come back to you. And your pecker had better be healed when that happens."

And with another kiss, she turned, shouldered her bag, and began the walk to the village. Ben watched her go.

The walk was more arduous than she suspected; she was, after all, carrying no small weight of sand, salt, and a hefty jar of honey. But she made it, and upon entering the perimeter, noticed with some discomfort that her tribesfolk were staring at her as she passed. When she tried making eye contact, though, the looker would invariably look away. What was going on? She hadn’t been gone THAT long…

Upon arriving at her mother’s hut, she rapped at the doorframe, and called, “Mother, bring me a jar! I have a present for you!”

A moment later, her mother opened the door, and didn’t quite drop the jar she was holding. She stared in shock, and said, “Jeeka, what HAPPENED to you?”

“I don’t know. Did I grow extra ears or something? Everyone is staring at me.”

“I can see why! Have you LOOKED at yourself lately? Come in, come in.”

Jeeka entered the hut, wondering what could possibly be wrong. “Do I look different than the last time I was here? I brought you some honey, and I have salt for you, and the best sand you ever had..”

“Your COLORS are wrong, Jeeka,” said Mother, opening the jar. “I wish I could show you. Next time you’re down at the stream, LOOK at yourself. Your face is… you look like you’re blushing, but it doesn’t stop! And your HAIR…”

Self-consciously, Jeeka touched her hair. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

“I…. you’ll have to see that for yourself. It SHOULD be black. It still IS, but… I don’t know. I see streaks of color in it. It’s probably even more obvious in sunlight. What happened to you?”

“I was out gathering honey, and I found a salt lick. I had to stop and chisel it out. I spent all day in the sun, working on it, and the sun burned me a little. It’s no big deal.”

“I didn’t think the sun could shine that long and hard.”

Jeeka grinned wryly. “I guess I lost track of time,” she said.

The conversation moved to gossip and tribal happenings, and Jeeka was glad to catch up on the happenings while she’d been elsewhere, and a pot of honey and a pound of salt was measured out, and Mother was astonished at the smooth fine quality of the sand. “Two days you are gone, and all this,” she said. “And the ham before that. I’m still eating on that ham. When did you become so productive?”

“I’ve been lucky,” said Jeeka. “I think I’m luckier than I used to be.”

*************************************************************

Before visiting Tolla, Jeeka decided to take a detour to the stream.

Finding a spot where the sun and reflection was right, Jeeka bent down and looked at her reflection... and realized what her mother had been talking about. She did look like she was blushing; with some amusement, she saw that her skin was a somewhat darker green on her face in the same places that Ben's had been red -- upper cheeks, chin, bridge of the nose, forehead... and her upper chest and the tops of her breasts. But the greater surprise lay in what had happened to her hair.

The hair at the top of her head and down the front was... different. Rather than the usual shiny black, her hair had lightened where the sun had bleached it; she could see streaks of dark green, and a great deal of what appeared to be deep blue, shading to black where her hair hadn't been so exposed to the sun. Was this normal for sunburn? She hadn't noticed it earlier, and Ben hadn't mentioned it. Idly, she wondered if her hair would return to normal or if it would stay this way.

A few moments later, the first words out of Tolla's mouth were "Negoksa, what happened to you?"

And after a repetition of excuses, Tolla was surprised and delighted at the gifts, and frantically began digging through her possessions for a pot or vessel to put honey in. And Jeeka wondered how to bring up the subject of Tolla's bruised face; she'd noticed almost immediately. She finally decided to simply be blunt. "How is there a bruise on your cheek, now?"

Tolla sighed, and put a clay pot on the table. "What do you think?"

"I think perhaps Prum is getting pushier."

"Good guess," said Tolla. Jeeka opened her jar of honey, and began pouring into Tolla's pot. "Jeeka, it is far too sweet of you to gift me like this. Salt or honey either is a rich gift, but both... and I've never felt sand like that before. You make me want to bathe, just to feel it! What have I done, to deserve such treasures? Or are you trying to seduce me?"

"More than one good answer to those questions. What has Prum offered you?"

Tolla frowned. When Jeeka tipped the vessel back, Tolla ran a finger along the edge of the jar to save the last drop and stuck it in her mouth. Smiling, she put a lid on the pot, and sat back on the bed, and took a deep breath.

"He says he's offered me protection," she said. "He's spreading this around the tribe. But he hasn't. Not to my face. Prum offers no protection, not even from himself. He just wants to take. And lie about it. And I'm... not willing to give, not any more. I can't stand him. He enjoys spreading hurt almost as much as he enjoys fucking, and to him the two are the same. And if he's going to hurt me, then why should I let him stick his dick in me?"

"So he hit you," said Jeeka somberly.

"Knocked me down. Took me by surprise," said Tolla. "But then I took out my knife, and told him that he could have whatever he could take before I split his cock in half."

Jeeka said nothing. Tolla continued. "He made his big show, said he could take my knife away, cut me so no one would want me. But I remembered when you confronted him. And I told him that cutting me up wouldn't put his cock back."

"And what did he say?" said Jeeka, tightly.

"He said that his story would be believed over mine, and that I had no choice, and that I would suffer less if I put down the knife," said Tolla. "I didn't put down the knife. And he said he'd make me regret my arrogance, and then he left. Have you noticed he really doesn't like it when you fight back? But he's a bully. He has no guts for a fair fight, even one he's likely to win."

Jeeka's face was grim. "This HAS to STOP. I could talk to Morr..."

"And Morr will weigh the word of a hunter, even a joke like Prum, over the word of a Fire Clan female. Who's likely to come out on top with that?" said Tolla.

"Prum's a turd," said Jeeka. "And there are plenty of people who know it, and would speak up, if it came up in a group council."

"Ogre fruit," said Tolla with a smile. "But now that you're back from your foraging, surely we have better things to talk about than Prum. Where have you been? Where did you get this amazing sand? And where did you find a whole pound of salt?"

And the conversation turned from Prum to happier subjects. Jeeka rankled at not being able to talk about the amazing trip to the beach. And the subject of Prum never completely left her mind, for all that she did not speak of it again.

***********************************************************************

The next couple of days were alive with activity. The sand was traded off quickly, the salt and honey was traded dearer. Jeeka's status climbed a bit, and obligations were noted, and barter was brisk. It was noted that the bags that the sand and salt were in were of human made fabric, but no one wanted to ask questions that might affect the prices of the goods. Besides, human fabrics were repurposeable...

Pickles were obtained. A jar of snails were gathered, kept alive in a jar of water, until they could be smoked. Frog legs. Mulberry crush. A variety of nuts. Spikeroot, for savor, sweet potato, roasted smoked game fowl, wild onions (raw and pickled), leeks, river tubers, the small tart jelly fruits she liked so much... a bag of salt bought a substantial cut of smoked venison... a request to Tolla produced vessels of merik sauce, mustard sauce, jelly fruit sauce, and sour twist sauce, which goes well on greens... oh, POKKAMEEN, there HAD to be pokkameen! Surely, Ben would like pokkameen, EVERYONE liked that!

Jeeka looked at the food samples, carefully decided which were to go with her, and how they could be transported. And she desperately hoped Ben would like them. She'd experienced so much since she had met him, and she very much wanted to offer him the sort of surprise and wonder that he had provided for her.

Chapter Text

“Of course I like it,” said Ben. “Who doesn’t like venison? And I really like the idea of cutting bites and then dipping them into the sauce. We never did that.”

“It’s great for blending flavors and trying them around. What did you think of the snails?” asked Jeeka.

“I didn’t expect to like them,” said Ben, grinning. “but I did. Sort of like the clams, but chewier. I expected I was going to have to choke down a bunch of snails so as not to hurt your feelings, but I like them, even without the sauces. Have you tried smoking them? I bet they’d be fantastic that way.”

Jeeka grinned. “We smoke them sometimes on skewers, but you have to baste them or they dry out,” she said. “I’m just not that good a cook—what’s wrong?”

Ben had a stunned look on his face. He reached for a jelly fruit, picked it up, grabbed a knife, sliced it open. “It is,” he said incredulously. “Tomato. Oh, Jeeka, this is GREAT! Can I keep one of these, for seeds? I never thought I’d taste a tomato again…”

“Of course,” said Jeeka, a little surprised, but pleased at his reaction. “You like those? Jelly fruits? They have them where you come from?”

Ben looked at the jelly fruit like a miser looks at gold. “Yes. You can do so much with these. Hey, wait, isn’t one of the sauces made with these? I’m an idiot; I should have realized that.”

Jeeka giggled. “How did you like the frogs’ legs?” she asked, reaching for the jar of pickled mushrooms.

Ben looked a little chagrined. Jeeka’s face fell. “Didn’t like?”

“Not so much,” said Ben.

“I shouldn’t have left the feet on.”

Ben reached into a bowl, picked out a fluffy looking white thing. “And what’s this?”

“That’s pokkameen,” said Jeeka around a mouthful of pickled mushroom.

“Pokkameen,” said Ben, looking thoughtful. “Meen, that’s grain… pokka is… noisy? Angry? Explosive? Tantrum? Shouting?” He held the white thing up to his ear and listened. It was silent.

“In this context, it just means loud,” said Jeeka. “Try it.”

Ben obligingly tossed it into his mouth and crunched it. “Doesn’t taste a thing like corn,” he said.

“Crunchy, salty, good. Delicious, actually. What is it, really?”

“It really is corn,” said Jeeka. “Looks and tastes like any other corn until you dry it, and then put it next to a fire. When it gets hot, the kernels go BANG! And go flying, and turn into those white bits. You need a special pot to cook it in, or you just take a whole ear of it and put it on a stick and hang it over a fire and turn it slow, and wait. Keeps the kids amused; they’ll go chasing after the bits and eat them. I loved it when I was little. Loads of fun at parties.”

Ben had taken a handful; he now paused and looked at it. “Seriously?”

“Seriously, no joke. There’s a story about the first goblin-wife to find this out; she was apparently not too bright, and tried to cook it without soaking it back to life first, and she and her man ran screaming out of the tent because devils had attacked their dinner,” Jeeka giggled, and then paused; she rotated one ear until it was facing directly behind her. What had that noise been?

Ben goggled. “Your ear,” he said. “How do you do that?”

“Shush,” she said. “I hear something. Someone yelling.”

Ben glanced at the wall behind Jeeka, stood suddenly, and walked over to a wall tapestry, and touched several of the symbols embroidered on it. The noise got louder. “…help! Help me, wizard, I need you! We need you!”

Now it was Jeeka’s turn to goggle. “What is that thing?”

“Part of the wards system. This is how I knew you and your friends were in the mushroom field, that one time.” Ben touched two more symbols, and rotated a third, as if it weren’t actually embroidered into the fabric, and an image appeared across the front of the tapestry. Jeeka could barely make it out, but it seemed to be a picture of the mushroom field, facing the crags where Ben’s cave was. It was dark, though, and hard to see.

“Why can’t I see in the dark?” mused Jeeka, walking over for a better look. “I should be able to see what’s there…”

“Because you’re not out there, you’re standing in my living room,” said Ben. “Your eyes are adjusted to here, not there.” Touching a fourth symbol, he dragged it upward, along a line, and the image grew brighter. Jeeka could make out the clearing, the trees… and what appeared to be a middle aged woman in a hood and shawl, standing over a second person who lay on the ground. “Wizard!” she bawled.

Ben sighed. “Don’t say anything; when I do this, she’ll be able to hear us. If you do say anything, speak goblin speech,” he said. Touching yet another of the symbols, he pitched his voice deeply, and, speaking in the man speech, he said, “I hear your call. What would you have of me?”

The woman reacted as if she’d been shot. She frantically looked around to see where the voice was coming from, and failing to figure it out, began speaking to a point about two feet above her face, dead ahead of her. “My son! It’s my son, my son is sick. He’s dying.”

“And you wish me to bury him?” said Ben, in his weird deep voice. Jeeka stifled a giggle.

“NO!” she shrieked. “I want you to save him!”

“What is wrong with him?”

“He was gored… by a bull…” said the woman. “We sewed him up, but… he has the fever… he’s sick… he’s … dying. His breath smells of death, but they say you can save him. Please. I’ll give you whatever you ask. Just save him,” she said, her voice breaking as she stopped.

Ben looked thoughtful, and touched a symbol. “We can talk now,” he said. “She can’t hear us. She offers anything she has, doesn’t bargain, doesn’t offer. She’s desperate.”

“Or it’s a trap,” noted Jeeka.

“Could be,” said Ben. “They did try that once before. It was after that that I set up the scrying tapestry, so I could see what was going on out there.” Ben made a series of three gestures, and spoke a short sentence, and pointed at the image on the tapestry. The woman collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Rrr! Did you kill her?” said Jeeka.

“No. Sleeping spell. I’m going out to have a look.”

“Are you sure this isn’t a trap?”

“There’s no one within a hundred yards of her, and if there’s anyone outside the range of the wards, he’d have to be a hell of an archer to hit anything in the dark at that range,” said Ben. “Should be safe enough. Just keep an eye on the door, and you have your knife? If anyone who isn’t me comes in, kill them.”

And with that, Ben stepped out the door.

He returned fifteen minutes later, with the unconscious woman and a young man with him, floating horizontally behind him. He strode to the bedroom, and the unconscious pair floated with him. Jeeka followed, and watched him maneuver the pair over the bed, where he spoke a word and pressed down on their torsos; both of them gently descended until they touched the bed. Satisfied, Ben strode back into the living room and began looking around on what Jeeka was starting to think of as the Magic Junk Shelf until he found a little tube, and returned to the bedroom.

Peeling the young man’s clothes open, he observed the injury on the fellow’s stomach. He frowned and made a tch-tch noise, and then aimed the tube at the would and looked through into the end of the tube.

“Well?” said Jeeka. She had recovered the jar of mushrooms, and popped one into her mouth.

“It’s actually not too bad,” he said. “They sewed up the intestine, and his belly, didn’t do a bad job, really, but the damage is done. Intestine opened up, and shit in his abdominal cavity. Peritonitis. He’ll be dead in two days, unless I do something.”

“You have healing spells?” said Jeeka, chewing a mushroom.

“Not a one. I’m not a doctor. All I can do is use some germ killer in his belly and blood, and hope it kills the infection before the infection kills him.”

“So you don’t have spells to do this,” said Jeeka. “You’re going to use your own medicines to do this?”

“It’s that or let him die.”

“You said these people would kill you if they could.”

“They’ve tried a couple of times.”

“So why are you prepared to use your own treasures to save one who’d burn you alive if he could?”

Ben sighed. “Because… I’ve seen enough death,” he said. “I’m done with that. No more. Not if I can help it.” He turned and walked back into the living room to the Magic Junk Shelf and began poking through some little bottles. “Maybe if I help enough of these people when they really need it, then someday… they’ll get over wanting to kill wizards when they find them.”

Jeeka ate another mushroom. “You’re not counting on that.”

“No. But I’m going to do it anyway.”

“Fine. At least you’re not so much of a fool as to believe it. You’re just enough of a fool to hope.” said Jeeka.

“And goblins don’t hope?” said Ben sharply.

“Of course they do,” said Jeeka with a smile. “And a fool who has hope is a fool I can side with,” she said.

************************************************************

Rieka woke, and looked around. She was in a dark place, out in the open, a starlit sky far above. There seemed to be enough light to see… like moonlight… but there didn’t seem to be a moon. Where was the light coming from? She looked to her left, and saw her son Jon lying beside her and immediately rolled over and touched him. He seemed better. His fever had broken, and he was still hot, but not feverish like he’d been. Still asleep. She resisted the urge to wake him up. Wizard! Yes, she’d taken him to the wizard, but the poor boy had keeled over two thirds of the walk up to the crags, he was so sick, it was all he could do to walk THAT far, and she’d had to drag him! What had happened? She’d heard the wizard’s voice, and then…

…then she’d awakened here…

She looked over the edge of the pile of furs and blankets, and realized she was several hundred feet up from… something. It was so far down, she couldn’t see WHAT was down there. Rieka gulped hard and rolled back to the middle of the bed, up against Jon, as far from that awful drop as she could get.

And realized that she and Jon were no longer alone. The wizard was near the foot of the bed, floating in midair. And he wasn’t alone. A goblin hovered there with him, a hideous green apparition with its knifelike ears, its thick black mane of hair, staring at Rieka with its great yellow catlike eyes. It wore what seemed to be a cowled robe that allowed Rieka to see no more than its face. The creature, not quite shoulder high to the wizard, looked up at him and said, “Sheh markass vek man-vargar ai booru op ess kessalek, vess? Nokk aiair te boo goro esste, I hope.*” The monstrous thing looked back at Rieka. It didn’t look happy.

The wizard looked at the creature indulgently. “Patience, Jeeka,” he said. “Be polite.” And he turned to face Rieka, who took a deep breath, and fought terror in her throat.

“I have done what I can for your son,” said the wizard. “His fever is broken. By daylight, you should know whether he will live or die. I am sorry, but I can do no more.”

“A-all right,” said Rieka. She put her hand on Jon’s head. He wasn’t even as hot as he had been a moment earlier. He seemed to be breathing all right. “What… price must I pay?”

The wizard and the goblin looked at each other, and then back at Rieka, and the wizard drew a glowing sigil in the air. Rieka fought back her fear as the sigil floated towards her – and dissipated into nothingness.

“Someday, I will come to you,” said the wizard. “Or perhaps I will not. But if I do, I will ask for my price then. I will not ask you to kill, or to betray one who trusts you, but if that time comes, I will ask you for a service. And as I have served you, I will expect you to serve me. Is this not fair?”

Rieka averted her eyes… and after a moment, she nodded.

“My sigil is on your heart,” the wizard said. “If the boy dies, then you owe me nothing.” The goblin looked up sharply at this, but said nothing. “If the boy lives,” the wizard continued, “then the debt lives, as well.”

Rieka looked down at her chest, but saw nothing there. She looked up at the wizard and the goblin. “I … will remember,” she said. “And if my boy lives, when you come, I will pay.”

The wizard opened his mouth to speak, but the goblin interrupted. “Ai su aiair te boi vekkse goro esste? Op ess kessalek?*”

The wizard looked irritated. “Lae su boo*,” he replied. “Te tebbe gobli entekka nok vamestra en amesste.*”

The goblin gestured at the immense vast star spangled emptiness around them. “Vooma arara, Ben. Hobke hakkes tempu gobli ka te va ta eh treenla*?” The goblin then pointed at Rieka.

What did it mean? The wizard looked at Rieka, and looked concerned for a moment. And then he made a series of three gestures, and spoke a short sentence, and pointed at Rieka, and then she knew no more….

22 ½. Translations From The Goblinese

“Sheh markass vek man-vargar ai booru op ess kessalek, vess? Nokk aiair te boo goro esste, I hope.*” (You realize these human people are lying on OUR BED, yes? They’re not going to be there all NIGHT, I hope.)

“Ai su aiair te boi vekkse goro esste? Op ess kesselek?*” (Are they going to be spending the NIGHT here? In our bed?)

“Lae su boo. Te tebbe gobli entekka nok vamestra en amesste.*” (Leave them be. That poor woman probably hasn’t slept in days.)

“Vooma arara, Ben. Hobke hakkes tempu gobli ka te va ta eh treenla*?” (Look around you, Ben. What happens when she has to go to the bathroom?)

22 2/3. The Bed Is Not In The Sky

Jon’s head swam. He did not feel well at all. But at least his stomach didn’t hurt.

He remembered that his mother had wanted him to go somewhere, and had levered him out of bed, wrestled trousers and a coat onto him, and had muscled him staggering out the door into the night. He remembered stumbling down the street with his mother tugging at him, passing the blacksmith’s shop, and wondering where they were going. His stomach had hurt terribly, and he had thought about throwing up, and decided he didn’t have the energy. All he had wanted to do was go back to bed and sleep, but his mother was frantic and seemed to think it was very important to go somewhere, so he had done his best, which even he in his addled condition, realized was far from his best. Or even adequate. Because somewhere in there, he had fallen asleep again.

He had awakened somewhere in a glorious place in the sky, with a universe of stars overhead, and he could hear his mother talking, so he decided it must be all right, and he fell asleep again.

And now he was awake again, sort of, and wrapped in a blanket, which was good, but he was lying on a hard surface, which was not. Where was he? He wasn’t in bed. He opened his eyes just a bit. It was dark, but there was enough light that he could see his mother lying beside him, snoring softly. She was wrapped in a blanket, too, so that was okay. If only the bed wasn’t so hard, he could fall back asleep again. And someone was talking. Who was talking? It didn’t sound like Papa, it sounded like a man and a woman, and for some reason, he could only make out about half of what they were saying…

“Su fine,” the woman's voice said. “Su booru here in the middle of the village vek te mans will find them, if su nok get up and go home themselves. Ess va home. I kova kessa ara es great-great magic. Kova essa kzing…”

“Mmm,” said the man, who sounded like he was smiling, though Jon couldn’t see his face. “Patience, ess green treasure.” There was a pause. “Oma kel be right, though… I have no idea which of these houses could be su-ess, emta nok arikkas, nok nokkestra.”

“Lae su boo, toorih,” said the woman. “Ess va home. Dinner is kind of vok, anyway. Can ess save at least part of the esste? Takka om te kesselek, and lick om veema, and make om kziiiiiiiiiiiing? I can emjay your ekkska till you kzing so hard you pokka….”

There was a pause, and the man said, “I really can’t argue with that at all.”

What were they saying? It made no sense. And then the man sang a strange short segment of song, and the wind picked up suddenly. What was going on?

But when Jon found the strength to roll over, the wind had passed, and there was no one there. He rolled back over and went back to sleep. Plainly, it had just been a dream. Including the part where he and his mother seemed to be asleep in the street in front of the blacksmith’s shop.

Chapter Text

Jeeka walked into the living room and shed the robe, while Ben removed his cloak and hat. “I still don’t understand why you put that illusion in the bedroom,” Jeeka said. “What was it supposed to do, aside from scare her to death? I thought you were trying to be kind.”

“I was,” said Ben. “But I also didn’t want her waking up and wandering around the place if I wasn’t paying attention. If she thought she’d fall, she’d stay in the bed.”

“And it never occurred to you that she’d have to go to the bathroom at some point or another?”

Ben looked chagrined. “No, it hadn’t,” he said. “I was more concerned about her boy. Him, at least, I figured I could count on to stay put. At any rate, your helpful suggestion solved that problem.”

“I wanted the bed back,” Jeeka said, skinning out of her top. Ben looked on appreciatively as Jeeka's breasts bobbed free. “And what was that ‘sigil on your heart’ thing? Did you MARK her or something? Can you even DO that for real? And now she HAS to pay you back, or she’ll melt, or something?” Jeeka’s skirt hit the floor, and her belt thong was hung on the corner of the Magic Junk Shelf, where it was coming to belong. Alongside her little flint knife, her new metal one hung proudly.

“Another illusion,” said Ben, peeling out of his undergarments. “Just another trick. I don’t want anyone telling me, ‘oh, we forgot we owed you anything, and you have no way of enforcing your debts.’ I just drew a little cartoon in the air and dispersed it. If she wants to think it’s a death curse or something, well, that’s on her. We need to clean up the leftovers.”

“It’s late. I want to have some fun. Leave dinner where it sits, and we’ll deal with it in the morning. “

“Vess,” said Ben, scooping Jeeka up and carrying her, giggling, to the bedroom. “Questro allo de—” he began.

“Zok,” said Jeeka. “Don’t dispel it. Leave the stars where they are. I want to look up at them while you… do your thing,” she smiled.

*********************************************

Tolla’s eyes got huge. “So SWEET!” she whispered. “What IS it?”

“It’s called bladefruit,” said Jeeka, who was down on one knee, building a little tent of twigs in the fire pit in front of her tent and filling it with tinder. “It grows a long way away from here. My friend gave it to me.”

“This friend of yours is truly a thing to talk about,” said Tolla, stopping to suck juice out of the fruit rind. “To give you presents like this, he must want one of your legs and both eyes in return! What’s his NAME, Jeeka?”

“He is Ben,” said Jeeka, and abruptly realized what she had just said. Her stomach plummeted.

“Not from around here, is he?” said Tolla. “I know of no one by that name. Tell me more!”

Jeeka swallowed hard. “Well,” she said. “He’s … smart.” Except when he forgets that women need to go to the bathroom, she thought. “But… well, he’s antisocial. Not much of a joiner. He has no tribe.”

“Is he good looking?” said Tolla.

Well, his hair is long and brown and beautiful, and runs down the side of his face and down his chin and under his nose, and his eyes are bright and shining and filled with circles, and you’d run screaming from the very sight of him, but aside from that, he’s a real looker… “I’ve known better looking,” said Jeeka. “But he has other good qualities.”

“Such as?” purred Tolla.

Jeeka struck her steel fragment against her flint knife, but it wasn’t happening. Dammit, if I wanted to waste time, I’d have got a bow out… strike, dammit! “Well, he's very sweet. We have amazing conversations. He knows a lot of interesting things and gives wonderful presents. You’ve already tasted the bladefruit, and wait till you taste prawn, even reheated. And he licks a cunt like the very devil of temptation.”

“Oh,” said Tolla, with an odd sound to her voice.

Jeeka looked back over her shoulder. Tolla had a frozen look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” said Tolla. “I’ve… never known a man who licks pussy,” she said.

“From the look of your face, you could have gone the rest of your life in peace and contentment without knowing,” said Jeeka. “Are you all right? Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” said Tolla, suddenly. “I’ll get the merik sauce,” and with that, she stood and headed back to her own tent, a bit too quickly.

“We don’t need it yet, the fire isn’t…” said Jeeka, but Tolla was gone.

“Well, shit,” Jeeka said. First she’d blown the secret of Ben, and now she’d upset Tolla. Was she upset that Jeeka had found a man who could use his tongue to pleasure her? Would she be back with the merik sauce? Would they be able to talk, or would Tolla suddenly be giving her the silent treatment? Shit.

Jeeka looked down at the flint. Nothing wrong with it, but the steel wasn’t all it might once have been. A stolen fragment, handed down through the years, probably generations, it had been handled smooth, to the point where the only thing keeping the rust at bay was the constant handling of the thing. She would have liked to use the butt of her shiny new knife, but that was a secret she didn’t care for anyone to notice just yet, and she didn’t know who might be watching. She hunkered down again, and holding it near the dry flower fluff on the fire, struck the flint and metal again. Not a spark. Again, again, again. Nothing.

“Fuck. Kackalorum,” she snarled, snapping her fingers, and pointing.

A few sparks flicked from her finger, but missed the fluff.

Jeeka was so shocked, she promptly lost her balance and fell on her ass. Did I just SEE that?

She carefully got back to her feet, and glanced around, being careful not to move her head. Only two or three other goblins were in her line of sight. None were near. No one paid her any attention. Jeeka hunkered down again, and tried it again. “Kackalorum,” snap, point.

A spark flew, and landed in the fluff. Jeeka blew on it, but it went out.

Jeeka looked at her finger as if it were a weapon. Do I have magic? Did it rub off from Ben or something? Is this what happens if you fuck a magician too much? Or is it just that I’ve seen him do it and I know how… but ... I don’t. He strikes fire. All I get is sparks. There must be something more to how he does it… think, Jeeka, think and remember…

She glanced around again. No one was even looking in her direction. “Kackalorum," she said, slightly louder, with more emphasis, snap and point. Three sparks and a wisp of smoke. No, Ben never shouts or gets loud… what DOES he do?

He does it like it's nothing. He believes he can do it, because he can, and he does. And I will do this, because I am Jeeka ... Jeeka the wielder of the steel knife ... Jeeka who is called Before All Others, the Green Treasure, the one who has done what no other goblin has done with a passion like fire in the night…

“Kackalorum,” she said firmly but quietly, and snapping and pointing. A jet of yellow fire played out from her fingernail, instantly igniting the flower fluff before flickering out. The fluff blazed, and the twigs arranged around it popped and crackled, and Jeeka almost forgot to start arranging them over the little flame. It grew, and the larger kindling began to catch.

She glanced around. No one was paying her the slightest attention at all.

I am Jeeka. “Kackalorum,” she said, snap and point, straight up. A spurt of yellow flame fluffed upwards, like she’d been doing it all her life. It shrank, slowly, and went out, without burning her fingernail. It didn’t hurt at all.

And across the encampment, Jeeka saw Tolla coming back from her tent, carrying a basket.

“I am Jeeka,” said Jeeka to herself, and hoped she was up to whatever came next.

***************************************************

“You got the fire started, good,” said Tolla, sitting beside it and unpacking the basket.

“Did I … say something wrong?” asked Jeeka, squatting down beside her.

“No,” said Tolla. “It’s my own fault, really.”

“What’s your own fault?”

Tolla sighed. “I’m a redhead, Jeeka. No male wants to offer me protection. Or much of anything else. They’re happy enough to fuck me, but that’s all, and that’s if I offer, or just don’t fight back hard enough. And… well, I tried something different. With you. And I liked it. And you seemed to like it too. And … I let myself hope, is all.”

“Tolla… I do like you. And I like… something different. WITH you. Because of you. You and… my friend… opened my eyes… to a LOT. You’re not… losing anything, really. I’m still here. And I still want to be your… friend? Lover? I don’t even know. I’m still sorting my way through all this. I’m still… making discoveries. And I don’t want you to think that I’m turning my back on you. Red hair or no. It’s pretty hair. On a pretty girl.”

Tolla looked up. “Seriously?”

“About the hair, or about us?”

“Both, really.”

“I’m serious. I mean, I’m not offering okshiff, or anything, but surely jeterrh is … not too much or too little?”

Tolla looked at Jeeka with an indefinable look on her face. “But you want to keep seeing your Ben friend, too.”

“Do you want me to stop, Tolla?”

Tolla turned away. “No,” she said. “Not if he’s good for you. It’s not like I can offer you anything like a real okshiff. Or much of anything else. I won’t ask you for more than you can give.”

Jeeka sighed. “Tolla, don’t be like this. I do want you. And for all that I barely knew you more than a month ago, I feel close to you. Think about this: I took food presents that Ben gave me and brought them here so I could share them with you. What does that mean to you?”

Tolla stared into the fire. Then she gave Jeeka a sidelong glance and smiled a little. “It means that you hate this sweet fruit and strange meat so much that you thought to pass it off to someone else? To get an advantage? To get your pussy licked, mm?”

Jeeka grinned. “I ought to spank you.”

“Maybe you will,” laughed Tolla. “But first you must buy the privilege. What was this meat you were talking about?”

“Be right back,” Jeeka said, stepping into the tent, and coming back out with a wet bundle. She deftly unwrapped the prawns, stuck them on a green twig, and wedged the base of it in the rocks around the fire, leaving them dangling over the flames. The wet began to sizzle off. Tolla looked at the thick pink and white crescents with some confusion.

“This is meat?” she said “I’ve never seen the like of it before.”

Jeeka grinned again. “It’s good. It’s weirdly fluffy meat, and no bones, and I’ve been dying to try them with sauces. Ben serves great food, but he doesn’t know sauces from your mother. Or even his mother. I also want you to try this,” she added, drawing another item from the wet wrap.

Tolla’s eyes went wide. “What creature did that come off of? And did your friend eat the entire rest of the animal, and leave only its penis for you? I don’t know if I should be impressed by his generosity, his audacity, or his appetite!”

Jeeka looked at the sausage, and then burst out laughing. She’d gotten so used to them, she’d forgotten her reaction the first time she saw the little breakfast sausages that Ben liked; this one was a good deal bigger. Jeeka thought about Ben’s sausages… and pickles… and nanas… and realized that she was doing the same thing to Tolla.. and laughed harder.

Tolla looked at her, bemused, and a little mystified. And Jeeka lost her footing and fell over, still holding the sausage. And laughing.

Jeeka lay there and laughed. Tolla waited. Finally, Jeeka caught her breath. She sat up, picked up another stick, and impaled the sausage on it, and hung it over the fire, and rotated the prawns so they wouldn’t burn. “Perhaps, for Tolla, I should have brought clams,” Jeeka said aloud.

And then she fell over laughing again, while Tolla, bewildered, looked on.

And despite the unintended hilarity, dinner was something of a success.

“I have never tasted anything like those before,” said Tolla. “Well, except for the sossaj, and that was definitely a new way to serve pig. Whoever would have thought of doing it THAT way, with bits and scraps? Especially when you consider what it looks like afterwards? This Ben of yours has some very odd ideas.”

“I felt the same way the first time I saw a sausage. They’re not so strange when you get used to them, and the first ones he ever served me were a lot smaller. If I’d thought about it, I wouldn’t have brought you this one. Perhaps clams instead,” Jeeka giggled.

“Clams. Whatever they are, they certainly seem like a funny food,” Tolla said, cleaning up the sauce containers and putting things back in the basket. “Will you bring me some clams?”

“I’d love to. I’d have done it this time, except, um, they don’t keep well, and I didn’t think of it. You have to eat them pretty much the same day you cook them. Ben says they can make you sick if they’re not fresh. Next time, though, I’ll make sure to bring you some. They’re good.”

“And this is – oh! It’s COLD,” said Tolla, picking up Jeeka’s wet wrap. There was a clatter as several slivers of melting ice fell out of the cloth. Tolla’s mouth fell open. “Ice? Where did ICE come from?”

Jeeka opened her mouth, and then closed it again. From Ben’s coldbox, of course, she thought. I took some ice to keep the prawns fresh; he suggested it. And how am I going to explain this one?

Tolla nudged the mostly melted ice with a finger. “Where did you get ice? It’s still a month at least until we get a freeze…”

“Um… I don’t know. Ben gave it to me. He said it would keep the meat fresh.”

“It does do that. Where did HE get ice?”

“He, um, said that he didn’t want me poisoning my pretty orange haired girl friend if I was going to go and share his kills…” Come on, take the bait…

“He knows about me? About… you and me? He gave you this exotic food to share with me … knowing… what we’re doing? When you’re not with him?” said Tolla, surprised.

“…yes?”

Tolla looked bemused again. “And he doesn’t mind?”

“Well, he knows I am unlikely to bear your children…”

Tolla snorted. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You can’t make me pregnant.”

“I MEANT that he… doesn’t mind that we’re….”

Jeeka sighed. “He’s a little jealous that I won’t stay with him full time. He… won’t come down to the village. He feels safer in… the forest. He’s said he envies you the time that you spend with me, but he doesn’t begrudge you. He said that if it makes me happy, then it is good. He does want me to come back to him every so often… and I promised him that I would.”

“A man who can share,” said Tolla, wringing out the wet cloth, and grimacing slightly at the cold. “A man who can pleasure a woman. A man who finds strange and wonderful foods that no one has ever heard of, doesn’t insist that you stay and wait on him hand and food and doesn’t mind if his woman makes kzing with other women. This one sounds too good to be true.” Tolla looked up at Jeeka. “No wonder you want him.”

“Ben is… special.” said Jeeka. “I’ve never met anyone like him,” she said truthfully.

“You’re sure he doesn’t mind you being with me?” said Tolla.

“You have reason to question it?” said Jeeka.

“Well,” said Tolla, “it occurs to me that if I didn’t want my woman seeing another woman, a good way to accomplish that would be to send her to feed the woman foods shaped like ekkskas.”

The remark caught Jeeka by surprise, and she laughed. “Weirdly enough, sausages was the first food he offered me.”

“And still, you fucked him? Now I question your judgment, not his.”

“You ate the sausage I brought you,” smiled Jeeka. “Would you share my bed tonight, if I asked?”

Tolla’s mouth fell open. “I … pffft. Okay,” she said, licking her finger and marking a tally on an imaginary score board. “One for your side.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Jeeka decided to go see Ben.

Jeeka had felt better about having worked out details with Tolla, but now there was the issue of magic. She’d practiced lighting her finger up dozens of times. It worked. It ALWAYS worked. It got to the point where it was automatic: Kackalorum, snap, and point. Just like Ben did it. The problem being that she didn’t know HOW Ben did it; she just … did what he did. How DID Ben do it? Was it really that easy? Would it be possible to learn more spells? And was it dangerous?

Goblins were not magicians. Jeeka had always assumed that they couldn’t be magicians. She knew that shamans could wield magic, but her tribe hadn’t had one in her memory. Not that she wanted to be a shaman; she was fairly sure the job involved responsibilities that she probably didn’t want… but… magic!

Jeeka fished the speaker stone out of her blouse and looked at it. It had occurred to her to use it to talk to Ben, but it was only good for voices; she wouldn’t be able to show him what she was doing or ask for demonstration. And there was always the possibility that someone would walk past her tent, and wonder why she was in there talking to herself… in man speech.

No, she’d just head back to his cave a day or two early. Surely he’d be happy to see her. She hoped he’d be happy to see what she could do now. Surely, he would have some answers.

*******************************************************************

“Ben?” she said, poking her head in the doorway.

No answer. And what was that sound? And why no answer? He wouldn’t leave the door open if he was gone…

Jeeka stepped in through the curtain of illusion and looked around. Ben was nowhere to be seen, but her hearing was sensitive, and she heard… something, some odd combination of little noises, back down the hallway leading to the waterfall chamber and the back storage room. It occurred to her that she’d never actually explored all of Ben’s home before.

“Ben?”

No answer.

Jeeka followed the sound to one of the side doorways off the main corridor, and she found him. It was a largish room, with several tables and several more shelves; another workroom of some sort, full of unidentifiable magic junk. Ben sat at a chair, his back to the door, his head down on his arms on a table, asleep.

To his right was a glass bottle, empty. To his left was a little boxy device of some sort, which was where the noise was coming from. It seemed to be singing. Jeeka picked up the glass bottle and sniffed the mouth of it. Whew! Whatever it was, it smelled potent. Jeeka bent her head and sniffed at Ben’s face; sure enough, he’d been drinking whatever the stuff was, and apparently had gotten quite a bit of it into his beard. Well. Not likely to get much in the way of answers tonight. Should I leave him like this? Curious, she walked around him to his left and looked at the little singing thing. She recognized it as being similar to the speaker stones, but larger, and with more little gem-controls. Was someone talking? No, more like singing, and she recognized the sound of musical instruments; at least one stringed instrument, probably more. Drums. Something that sounded like bells. What was the song about? She cocked an ear and listened.

And abruptly, felt the strange duality of the transfer spell again. But this time, it was different. This time, she realized, the language the singer spoke… was not man speech. If not man speech, what WAS it?

And then she realized that she understood it. It wasn’t goblin speech, or man speech, and yet she understood. The song seemed to be about a man and a woman, together far away on a winter’s night, and two hearts, singing in accord….

Ilric. The name of the language was Ilric. And it was the language Ben had grown up speaking and thinking in.

Jeeka shook her head. She felt a tremendous sense of déjà vu. She knew this song, for all that she’d never heard it before. She knew it because it was one of Ben’s favorites. An old favorite. She didn’t know how she knew this, but she did. It came with the transfer spell. Once, long ago, Ben had been struck with the beauty of the song, and had remembered it, and carried it with him…

The song slowed, came to a crescendo, and played out, and ended. Silence. After a moment, it started over again.

Jeeka wondered how she could not know what this device was, but she could know how the song was a meaningful favorite of Ben’s, sung in the language he spoke before coming … here… and learning the speech of men.

She listened to it, from the beginning, this time. Complex harmonics. Full orchestration. There seemed to be at least three stringed instruments (one providing rhythm), a series of drums, something that made various pitches of… humming… and then, the thing with the bells…

…and a voice, a voice sweeter and richer than any singer she’d ever heard.

Her eyes were brimming by the time the song ended. And then it began again, and she found herself weeping without really understanding why. Why was she melancholy? Wasn’t this a happy song? A song about two hearts in accord? Then why did it make her sad?

Because it would have made Ben sad? Because it had?

Jeeka looked at the device, and pressed the large central stone, and the song stopped. After a moment, Ben snored. Jeeka pushed up his right arm, crawled under it, and slapped Ben on the thigh. “Come on, you big stupid thing,” she said.

“Mmm… Jeeka?”

“No one other. Come on, get up, it’s time to go to bed.”

“Mmm. Bes’ off’r I’ve had all nigh,” mumbled Ben. He tried to stand up, and promptly wobbled; Jeeka muscled him under the armpit, and got him to his feet. “Mmm. Green tressher,” he muttered. “Beau’ful green.”

“That’s very sweet of you, my great and drunken magic,” said Jeeka, maneuvering him in a pivot and aiming him at the door. “I hope to take advantage of that when you’re sober enough to find your dick.”

And with wobbles and veers, Jeeka steered him to the bed. She managed to get him into it before his head hit the pillows and he was instantly out again.

Jeeka looked down at him. She didn’t know how she felt. She wanted him. Did she love him? She knew that he meant much to her, and she wanted him to be happy… but that he seemed profoundly wounded by something. Something that happened before he came here, something he didn't much want to talk about. Wounded enough that the sound of a song from long ago had driven him to drink himself stupid.

Song from long ago.

Long ago. The Before Time. The Time Before Here.

What did she know about Ben, anyway? Where HAD he come from?

**************************************

Ben slowly ascended through the mist and fog towards consciousness. He didn’t much want to be there. He was awake enough to be aware of what awaited him. He’d drunk far too much the night before, he’d been listening to the old songs (never listen to the old songs!) and feeling stupidly sorry for himself, and the feelings had taken him, the way they always did when he read certain books, listened to certain songs, or even dwelled on certain memories too long. He’d only been able to stay sober and alive for any extended period of time by learning to divert his mind to the here and now, learning to obsess on little things in front of him.

Too much free time was the enemy. And last night, he’d let his guard down, and the enemy had come for him. For the hundredth time, he’d thought about clearing the recorder’s memory, and for the hundredth time had chosen not to… because as far as he knew, they were the only surviving recordings of them. It’d be like killing someone. And just thinking about that brought on a reflection of despair--

STOP it. Now. Open your eyes, fool, and go bathe and wash out your mouth before the flavor of your own stupidity makes you puke. Drink some water. Make some breakfast. Brew some tea. And get through the next few days until Jeeka comes back and reminds you what it’s like to not be alone.

Ben opened his eyes. A pair of familiar green tits stared back at him. The tits rather surprised him. He hadn’t expected them.

Jeeka lay next to him, arm propped up on one elbow, her head resting on her hand, looking at him.

Ben blinked. And closed his eyes again. Waited a moment. Opened his eyes again. Jeeka was still there.

“Well, this is unexpected,” Ben said.

“You really shouldn’t leave your door open if you’re going to get that drunk,” said Jeeka.

“No, I guess I shouldn’t,” Ben said. “Hadn’t planned on it, but by the time I realized how drunk I was, I’d already passed out.”

“What WAS that stuff? It smelled like bottled death,” said Jeeka.

“Corn liquor,” Ben said, sitting up. He immediately regretted sitting up, but he’d known he was going to before he sat up. “A farmer not too far from here makes it. Looks like water, tastes like liquid fire, and hits you like a rock in the back of the head. It’s useful for when you don’t really want to feel anything for a while.”

“Looks like it worked,” said Jeeka, getting out of bed. “How do you feel now?”

“Wretched,” said Ben, wondering if he could stand up without becoming ill. “I’ll feel better after a bath, about a quart of water, a mug of tea, and something to eat. Care to join me?”

“You’re not curious about why I came back so soon?”

“I’m fascinated with why you came back so soon. I’m just tabling that question until I decide whether or not I’m going to throw up.”

Jeeka opened the clothing chest and pulled two robes out, and slipped into one. It was much too large for her, but she’d decided she liked it after the weird night of the sick boy and his mother, and had confiscated it for her personal use, last visit, and Ben hadn’t complained. She tossed Ben the other one. It fell across his lap. He ignored it, continuing to focus on keeping his stomach contents in his stomach.

“What was that song?” she asked.

“What song?”

“The song playing on your little music box when I walked in last night and found you out cold.”

Ben closed his eyes. That song.

“Because just listening to it… made me feel sad and wistful inside. I don’t know why. And I understood the words… and they aren’t man speech. They’re Ilric, aren’t they?”

Ben opened his eyes suddenly, and turned and stared at her, shocked and alarmed. “How did you know that? You understood the song?”

“Yes. It’s a song about two people whose hearts sing for each other. It’s a happy song. And I don’t know why it made me sad, and I can only wonder if this is something I got from you, from the transfer spell. I seem to have gotten Ilric as well, or at least enough to understand the lyrics.”

Ben’s stomach no longer felt sick. It felt cold and stony. The transfer spell. What had he done to Jeeka and himself with that stupid, desperate gesture? All he’d wanted to do was talk to her…

“It’s a happy song,” said Jeeka, “but it makes ME sad because it makes YOU sad. Why? Is there a woman you left back where you came from? Or is it … what’s the word, nostalgia? Homesickness? The song reminds you of home?”

“Yes,” said Ben, closing his eyes. “I shouldn’t listen to the old songs. They just bring back memories that I … just shouldn’t mess with.”

Jeeka walked around to Ben’s side of the bed, and reached out and touched his cheek. “You told me once that you’d tell me where you came from, and why you left. Could this be that time?”

Ben opened his eyes again. Jeeka saw pain in them.

“Yes,” he said. “Just let me bathe and wash out my mouth. Could you start the tea and dig something up for breakfast? Something unlikely to fight too hard on the way down to my stomach?”

“Scrambled egg,” she said. “And I think there’s flatbread.”

“Great,” he said.

Chapter Text

Two hours later, they were dressed, and the tea was drunk, the eggs consumed, and they seemed unlikely to return suddenly to seek daylight.

“You’re stalling,” said Jeeka. “If the time isn’t right, it’s okay. I can wait.”

“No,” said Ben. “You’re right. You deserve a real answer. I’ve held you at arm’s length long enough.” He took a deep breath, and slumped slightly. “I … just don’t know if I have the strength to give you the answers you deserve.”

Jeeka looked him over, read his body language. “You’re… scared.”

“Yes. I’m scared. I should have fought. Instead, I ran. I spent months reliving the fall of Speculon and the siege of the Great University, every fucking night, waking up screaming, again and again and again. And then I spent more months learning to obsess over everyday things like hunting a deer or picking carrots or growing potatoes, just so I could keep the memories away and get through a day without the sounds in my head. And then I spent more months going quietly insane because I had no one to talk to.”

“So how drunk do I have to get you before you can talk, but not pass out at the table?” said Jeeka.

“There’s another way. Here, climb up in my lap,” said Ben, and Jeeka did so, sitting in his lap, straddling him, facing forward. “That’s good. Now rest your head on mine.  Are you ready?” With one hand, he drew two sigils in the air, in glowing blue lines.

“Ready for what?” said Jeeka. Then it hit her. “You’re going to do another transfer spell.”

Ben took a deep, sobbing breath. “I’m going to remember,” he said. “And I’m taking you with me.” And he spoke the spell words, and pressed his temple to Jeeka’s, and she fell instantly asleep.

Or, rather, didn’t.

Jeeka didn’t feel asleep. Although she was aware that she wasn’t sitting on Ben’s lap any more. Or seem to exist, in the real sense. She was a disembodied viewpoint, floating free. “Ben?” she said. “What’s going on? Am I asleep? Is this supposed to be a dream?”

She didn’t hear him so much as she felt him, but his words were clear. “It’s helpful to think of it as being asleep,” he said. “In the real world, we’re sitting in a chair together, our arms around each other, asleep. What you’re seeing and hearing now is… like a dream. Think of it as the waiting area, before things really get started….

And then, so suddenly it made her head spin, she was walking down a hallway, a wide hallway with dozens of humans in it, humans everywhere, and she was Bene Harson ru-mak Hallister, the newest researcher in the Department for Transdimensional Gateway Physics, where she would be working while she wrapped up her Master’s studies and applied for certification. Apparently, some highly placed people had been impressed with her paper on transdimensional harmonics and how they could be used (theoretically, of course) to predict what one might find on the other side of a given Gate, assuming that the sixteen main Gate variables were in place and in the proper valence relationships to each other…

She was drowning in Ben, and in words she both understood and didn’t. “This is you, isn’t it?” she called to Ben. “That was your NAME! Your name is Bene Harson roo something-or-other, and you worked in a place where they made and studied magic doorways…”

“Yes,” came Ben’s answer in her mind, which was also Ben’s, at the moment.

“And these are your memories, of the time before you came to …my world?” With a shock, Jeeka realized that this place… was not her world.

“Yes,” came the reply. “Listen. I can’t do this more than once. And for anyone but you, I would not do it at all (bitterness/terror). Pay attention. You can ask questions afterwards.”

And she was Ben, and she lived in an apartment, far up a tall tall tower, and the view out her living room was unimaginable to a goblin; the skyline bristled with spires, towers, and slender shining castles made of glass and silver and other things, with beautiful green park spaces scattered here and there in the city below, and she knew that this was Speculon, the Capitol of the Central Alliance of Incorporated States, and that this body of rulers, justicars, and magicians ruled over two of the five continents; they were the most powerful, enlightened, and envied civilization on the planet.

And she who was Ben worked at the Great University. Her sister had come to live with her/him recently, from the country, and she/he delighted in showing her the sights of the City of Spires and Magic, the shining jewel of the whole world.

The Great University was a tremendous center of learning, with departments and branches all over two of the five continents, with outposts in several of the neutral countries and research bases in the polar regions and even in the savage land of Yar!

Ben spent too much time and attention on the news, though; he was way too involved in politics, and it upset his digestion, because there was the Great Von of Nosylrap, who was an arrogant bugger and sought to increase her council representation apparently for no other reason than to cut funding to pure research, godsdammit, and Ben’s sister was always telling him that he shouldn’t get all lathered up about things he couldn’t control, just cast your vote and speak out and be done with it, loved one, I hate to see you like this…

…and he hadn’t paid attention to this one article, this one news piece about a professor named Barg, who apparently headed the Department of Necromancy in the branch in Eidan City, far to the west, and was supposedly working on a new project to address the manual labor shortage…

… but he paid little attention, that Barg fellow was just showboating, the reanimated dead had way too much going against them to be of any use, they stank, they decayed, they were unsanitary, they were flat outlawed in some places, and the new department head in the Department of Transdimensional Gateway Physics was an absolute marvel, and a joy to work with and for, there was so much to be done…

… and he wondered if he was really interested in that Tessyria girl, but it would be kind of fun to go dancing tonight, and have dinner at Sabodor’s, unwind a bit from the week’s business…

… and was his sister going to put the screws to that guy to propose already? They’d only been seeing each other for six months, slow the hells DOWN …

…and Barg announced a stunning new breakthrough in undead engineering: the installation of a functioning metabolism in a dead body…

…and that bitch Von had failed in her bid to increase council representation, but HAD managed to get an injunction against increased funding for pure research until the next meeting of the Research Board, and that utter scum would certainly use the delay to lever her political allies into better positions to support her bid …

… and gods be praised, his theory had WORKED, they’d successfully predicted and passed into a transdimensional Gate to a parallel world that matched their own to ten decimal PLACES, even some of the same animals and plants! The Zoology Department lost their MINDS over that, because that one Grand Master Nivlim, the parallel evolution guy, was now in a position to test his theories, and it was looking like he was RIGHT, and funding was no longer an issue, and BEN HIMSELF had turned up on the NEWS, and they wanted to ask him to explain his theories, even though he hadn’t INVENTED transdimensional gate theory, he was just building on other people’s research…

…and Tessyria had been wild when she found out, and they’d skipped the evening’s plans to go to her place, where they had rolled and pleasured each other on silk sheets until well into the next day…

…and a report: in Eidan City, one of Barg’s undead had gone feral and attacked one of its handlers. Feral! Imagine that. The undead were mindless, how could they possibly go feral?

…and the following week, the department had penetrated three new dimensional Gates, and each one seemed to support Ben’s work, and his star was climbing fast…

…and there was some sort of disease outbreak at the medical center in Eidan City…

…and one of Tessyria’s friends, Bellamine, was all of a sudden wanting to meet him, and Tess was frankly sort of nonplussed about that…

…and Eidan City was suddenly under martial law, and the army was landing troops, and several nearby urban centers were suddenly under lockdown…

…no one could find Professor Barg…

…”installation of a magically based artificial metabolism in a corpse is inherently unstable, and reactivates the parts of the brain based on instinct…”

…”I’m Bella, and I’d REALLY like to have dinner sometime, and talk about your work…”

…no further reports from Eidan City, and air traffic is being rerouted away and around for a two hundred mile radius…

…”introduction of the artificial metabolism into a living organism is infectious. The magical metabolism attacks and replaces the organism’s own biological functions with its own, killing it in the process…”

…no further information from Montagar district, but fires can be seen in the distance in Eidan City…

“…the destruction of Eidan City seems to have eradicated the animal test subjects, thank the gods, but there are still known to be human undead roaming loose…”

And it was then that Ben had borrowed the foldbox from the equipment room, without telling anyone, and had taken it home with him. In it, he’d put several important books, his tool box, the spare bedding, his spare staff (the one with the weapon enchantments), and as much sealed food and water as he could reasonably spare, in its cavernous extradimensional spaces. And he had begun taking it to work in the morning, and back again to home. Each day. Just in case.

And the dream spun on, and Jeeka watched in horror, and felt sick. This was unimaginable. This was a living nightmare on a scale she’d never dreamed of.

The days passed like seconds, each day with more news, more fear, more death, more madness. The undead massed in the streets, and moaned their hunger, and sought victims. And each victim joined the ranks of the undead. Cities burned. Districts fell. Entire regions went quiet and dark, denied even the peace of the grave.

The contents of the foldbox grew more voluminous. Ben’s entire library of books. The sensorium. A shaping unit. A hand excavator. Portable water distillery. Lab equipment. A full sized coldbox. A power accumulator. All the Oon stones he could borrow. No less than four portable Gate doorways. And it went to work and came home, every day.

…”This news outlet has been ordered to cease communications, by order of…”

Jeeka wanted to scream. “Ben, BEN, STOP this, just STOP, it’s MEMORY, right? I UNDERSTAND now, you can STOP…”

Ben didn’t answer. The memories flicked past, faster, more fragmented. Ben worked feverishly in his office. A formula had been written, worked out, checked and checked and checked again. Ten decimal places. Just in case. If they needed a back door, there’d be one.

“We’re reinforcing the gates, and sealing the entrances and exits. Air travel will still be permitted, for the duration, but don’t expect that it will last.”

“Tess? This is Ben. Listen, get to my place as fast as you can, NOW, just grab whatever you can carry, and GET there, by AIR, don’t try to do it by the streets…” And he’d tried to call home, but the speaker stone was dead in his hand…

And Ben had made it halfway across Speculon, half frantic from the smoke trails in the distance, and the panic of the people in the streets and was waiting at a stop when, in the distance, he had seen the airship veer out of control, drop laterally, and slam into the Tower of Nevinyrral, which had creaked ponderously, toppled, striking another spire, which struck another, like dominoes, tick tick tick, until one had struck his own skyspire, two thirds of the way down the base, and the glass tower had shattered… and begun to lean… and fall… and he had no idea if Tess and his sister and her husband had been in it or not…

And Ben was back at the University. Jeeka realized that he didn’t even remember how he’d gotten there, even now. “BEN!” she screamed. “BEN, STOP THIS! STOP IT!”

Ben was in the Gate room, with nothing but his foldbox. He shouldn’t have been. He should have been manning the walls. Even in the Gate room, he could hear the fighting, the screams of the hungry dead. Speculon was gone. The world was gone. Outbreaks on every continent. Even the polar bases had gone silent.

And the University’s walls were breached. Fighting building-to-building. The Seers were holding the Great Library, and would, until the last defender fell. As far as Ben knew, he was the only person in the building. He would have taken others with him, if there had been any. Now, at the end, when it was too late, he had come to realize how small and unimportant his department really was. Could he contact anyone? Save anyone? Could anyone get here in time?

Or would he succeed simply in spreading the infection to a whole different world?

The Gate was open. Wherever it was open to, it looked peaceful, pastoral. A green field facing some rock formations. Air pressure was equalized, everything matched. The predictions had said it was similar, to ten decimal places. There might even be people there. Ben had set a weapon, a “bomb,” beneath the tertiary keystone. One minute after triggering, it would go off, and the Gate would be scrap. Ben did not trigger it. Instead, he went to the windows and looked out.

“GODSDAMN YOU BEN! WAKE UP! WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

The city was burning; the sky black with smoke, the horizon an ugly and sour orange. The streets below swarmed with people. There were flashes of light here and there.  There was fighting, here and there, against the dead. Not Ben, though. Ben had thought instead to run. Like a coward.

Ben stood there and watched his world dying.

“GUUUAAAAAAAAAAH!” shrieked Jeeka, part gasp, part scream of agony; the thoughts, the MEMORIES, too MUCH! She looked around, frantically. She was awake. She was sitting on Ben’s lap, her arms no longer around him; she’d leaned back far enough that she had to grab his tunic to avoid falling off his lap and out of the chair.

Ben sat and twitched, his eyes rolled back in his head. Mnemonic lock state, he’s in a mnemonic lock state, Jeeka thought. What the fuck is a mnemonic lock state, and how do I know about it? Who CARES? Gods, I have to get him out of there! “BEN! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!”

Ben twitched. He didn’t respond. H’sh’ivok, I can feel him, he wants to die, he wanted to die… “BEN!”

No reaction. Eyes rolled back. Twitch. In Jeeka’s mind, she felt a flicker of memory. The bomb had been triggered. And Ben stood there, wondering if he wanted to pick up the foldbox and go through the Gate, or just stand there next to the bomb…. and wait….

Jeeka grabbed his collar and shook him. “BEN!”

No reaction. Twitch. What the fuck did you do for a mnemonic lock state? Apply 12-15 gd. of Kerodone, based on body weight, to relax body function and cushion the shock, recite the Second Annic Mantra, and then gently stimulate oh, fuck, fuck FUCK ALL THIS!

“HRRAAAAAAAAAARRRH!” screamed Jeeka, and sank her teeth into his shoulder.

And Ben reacted. His eyes opened, and he screamed.

Jeeka let go, and looked him in the eyes. His eyes were open, his breath gasping and rapid, his cheeks wet with tears. He blinked, and looked around, and focused on Jeeka.

Jeeka yanked him forward (or herself closer to him, she wasn’t sure which) and screamed in his face, her lips still wet with his blood, “DAMN YOU, I SWORE I’D COME BACK TO YOU! NOW YOU COME BACK TO ME, YOU SON OF A TROLL!”

Ben blinked, and blinked again. He seized Jeeka with both arms and buried his head in her hair and sobbed. And Jeeka burst into tears, and they clung to each other and cried, for a world gone, and for a man who had died with it, a man Jeeka had only now met.

Chapter Text

After the bleeding had stopped, Jeeka had coated the wound with pain cream and a bandage. Well, that’s a shirt that won’t see use again, she thought, examining the bloodstain. The tooth wounds weren’t bad, but he’d bled copiously. Ben sat in the chair while she worked, staring dully into space.

“You said I could ask questions, afterwards,” she said tentatively.

“I did.”

“You didn’t die,” she said. “You got here. What happened then?”

Ben got up and went to the shelf with the glass bottles, and took one and drank from it. He looked at it, shrugged, and drank again, stoppered it, and went and sat back down, and looked at Jeeka. He waited a moment more, and then his eyes unfocused for a moment, and then snapped back.

Jeeka waited.

“Unf,” he said. “There we go. All right. The Gate opened on top of one of those rock formations outside, facing the mushroom field. I picked up the foldbox and stepped through, and then stepped to the left, because I knew that half the explosion was coming through the Gate after me, and I wasn’t wrong. Shockwave knocked me on my ass, even though it cut off after the first split second when the Gate went down. You can still see the burn marks if you climb up there.”

“And then?”

“Well… apparently, the flash and noise drew some attention from that human village, the one to the south of here. It’s only about six miles, as the bird flies, but I didn’t know that at the time. Me? I just sat there. I didn’t care if I lived or died. And after a while… I don’t remember how long, but it was the same day… a group of people showed up. One of them was wearing a helmet and some sort of leather outfit, and he shouted something at me. I had no idea what he was saying, and I called, ‘I don’t understand a word you’re saying,’ back down to him.”

Jeeka pulled a chair up to face Ben, and climbed into it, close enough that her knees almost touched his. “Keep going,” she said.

“Well, he was one of those fellows who thinks that he can make himself understood to anyone if he just speaks loudly and clearly enough, right? I think he wanted me to come down, but I had no idea, so I just sat there, and finally, he starts climbing up, and he squats down in front of me and begins barking at me in whatever his language is, all sharp loud words, drawn out slow: Caaaan Youuuu Heeeaaar Meeeee?”

Jeeka stifled a smile; now was not the time. “But you still didn’t understand.”

“Of course not. And I still wasn’t thinking clearly. But I knew I was going to have to be able to talk to the locals. So I looked him in the eyes, and—”

“—cast the transfer spell…” said Jeeka, suddenly bringing her hand to her mouth.

“Right. Like I said, I wasn’t thinking. And the first words I heard in my new language were ‘By all the gods! A sorcerer! I will end you now!’ and he suddenly stands up, steps back, and draws a sword.”

Jeeka bit her hand.

“And you know what? If I hadn’t touched his mind first, if he’d just drawn his sword and swung at me, at that point, I would have let him. But I touched his mind, and … Jeeka, this man had made a life out of the word “arrogant.” He was pushy, he thought he was entitled by right to anything he laid eyes on, and he thought he was doing me a favor by talking to me like I was an infant, and he went straight from there to thinking he was perfectly justified in murdering a complete stranger.”

“You WERE new around here, weren’t you?” said Jeeka, levelly.

Ben laughed weakly. “Yes,” he said. “I guess I was. I was an idiot. I thought the rules of my home were the same as anywhere. And I was wrong. And I thought, after the time I have had, after what I have witnessed, after what I am suffered, I’m going to let some savage with an oversized butter knife assault my person?”

“Well, plainly, he didn’t chop your head off…”

Ben sighed. “The thing about the Kackolorum spell,” he said, “is that it can work on a sliding scale.”

Jeeka raised an eyebrow. “Does it, now?”

“It’s as potent as you can make it, really. If you have the energy reserves and the force of will, you can increase it by a factor of ten, or more.”

Jeeka brought her hand to her mouth again.

“So I pointed at him, visualized his person – which wasn’t hard, as he was already bringing a sword down on me – and increased the temperature in and around him to about ten times what a campfire would be.”

“Mmm,” said Jeeka, who tried very hard not to react. “Say, what was that you just drank? Can I have some?”

“Sure,” said Ben. “Third shelf up, clear bottle, black label with the gold outline. Don’t drink more than one swallow, though; it’s potent, and you might get sick.” Jeeka hopped from the chair, and did just that, grimaced at the awful taste, replaced the bottle, and almost made it back to the chair before it hit her between the eyes. She carefully climbed back into the chair, took her seat, and with some effort, focused her eyes on Ben, who continued the story.

“Well, the wind was blowing from behind me, so the effect was pretty dramatic. His flesh pretty much just flared and turned to ash while his fluids boiled off in a blast of steam; the spell lasts less than a second, but when the wind caught him, the ash blew back towards the crowd, and they saw their champion suddenly flash into a cloud of smoke and a burnt skeleton in a steel hat, and collapse back down the rock face, in pieces, all scattered bones. Right after yelling, ‘sorcerer!’ loud enough for everyone to hear, of course.”

Jeeka snorted.

“And I jumped up, and at that point, I’ll admit I was pretty much out of my mind myself, and I started screaming at them. I don’t remember everything I said. I’m pretty sure ‘who’s next’ was among my words, as well as ‘next one to try anything like that gets a free cooking lesson,’ and  ‘fuck you, and anybody who looks like you,’ and … I don’t remember. As speeches go, it wasn’t impressive at all, but I don’t even know if anyone heard me; they took off running like all the devils in Hell were at their heels, and I felt mighty satisfied to watch them go.”

Ben looked at Jeeka. “And that was my first day in my new home.”

Jeeka said, “I can see why you drink this shit. It deadens your feelings, cushions your mind, and loosens your tongue. It makes me feel like this all happened a long time ago, instead of just tonight. It sort of amazes me that you have any left, though, a year after THAT happened.”

“S’ probably the tenth time I’ve refilled that bottle, Jeeka. And it’s not the only bottle in the house.”

“What did you do with the corpse?”

“Buried him, his helmet, and his sword somewhere in the mushroom field. I don’t remember exactly where.”

“So the townspeople were afraid of you. You said you met the townspeople, though.”

“Yeah. A few weeks later, I felt like I might have my head screwed down a little tighter, and I needed some things. So I put on my best finery, worked up as impressive as I could, armed myself for a fight, and went to town to see what supplies they might have. They looked at me like the King of Hell had come calling, but they left me be and gave me plenty of room. I thought the shopkeepers were going to have a heart attack, but silver speaks, and gold speaks louder, and when I made it clear that all I wanted was flour and iron and sackcloth and suchlike, and that I was willing to pay, they settled down.”

“You said they came after you a second time,” said Jeeka. Her head felt funny. Was she leaning too far in one direction?

“Yeah,” said Ben. “Few months after the first one. They pulled together a mob again, about ten, fifteen of them, and came to call me out. Torches, pitchforks, the usual. This time, there were armed men, four of them, and they’d rigged up some sort of iron shields to protect them from my fire magic.”

Jeeka snorted. “Iron shields? How big? Could they even move? And how much good would they have been against that sort of heat?”

Ben laughed. “Not much, but they didn’t know that. And no, they couldn’t move, not quickly, but there were four of them, and while I was cooking one, the other three might have been able to give me trouble, especially if they thought to abandon their shields and move fast. I might have had time to fry another one but the other two would certainly have got me. Miracle they didn’t think to bring archers; at that point, I wouldn’t have had much defense. It didn’t help that a few of the locals had actually come to me asking for help – I found a lost child at one point, set a broken leg, removed a curse…”

“You removed a curse?” said Jeeka. Was she starting to slide out of the chair?

“No, but he thought I did, and he was downright friendly after that. Anyway, these four fellows with their big iron shields demanded my surrender, and I wouldn’t have given much for my chances if I’d let them take me. So I… defended myself.”

Jeeka waited.

“I called the lightning.”

“You can do that?”

“I can. I did. Flattened all four of them, and killed one of them, and knocked half the crowd on their asses. The rest of them turned and ran, and the others didn’t even get up before they started running. Left the four bully boys lying in the dirt.”

“What did you do with them?” said Jeeka.

“Left them there. Came in and hung the tapestry and focused it on the mushroom field. A while later, one of them came around, woke up another, they woke up a third, and realized that the fourth one wouldn’t be waking up, and they collected the corpse and headed out fast, looking over their shoulders the whole time.”

“What about their shields?”

“They left them there.”

“What did you do with them?”

“Still have them. Well, most of them. Down the hall in the workshop. Worked iron, even pig iron, is worth something. “

Jeeka looked speculative. “What would I have to do to you to talk you out of some of that metal?”

“Talk to me after I sober up. Anyway, after that, they figured out that if they just sold me the things I needed at a fair price, and otherwise left me alone, they could show up in ones and twos and sometimes ask for favors. I’ve made a few friends … well, acquaintances… among the outlying farmers, so long as I don’t let on that they’ve treated me friendly.”

“Which explains your goodly supply of corn wine.”

“Fact is, I make some of it myself,” Ben said. “Run wine through an alembic a time or three, what it loses in flavor it gains in potency. I spent a lot of time drunk, back then.”

“I can see why.”

“I focused on just… digging a hole, is all. The hole eventually became what you see around you now. I had tools. I had equipment. I had packaged food for quite a time. I eventually began doing business with the locals. I tested everything I bought from them – still do. Apparently it hasn’t occurred to them yet to just poison me.”

“But the more favors you do, the more friends you make,” said Jeeka.

“I don’t know that I’d call them friends,” said Ben. “A couple of folks I’ve done good for still look like they think I’m going to feed their children to devils. Others have been downright friendly, but standoffish. Sometimes, my wards go off, I check the tapestry, and it’s people leaving baskets of food near the entrance to the big rocks. They know I live in here somewhere, but not exactly where.”

“Favors,” said Jeeka.

“I don’t know,” said Ben, “but I’d like to think they’ll figure out someday that I mean them no harm.”

“I don’t know,” said Jeeka. “You do consort with goblins, after all. And I need a favor from you. It’s why I came back early. I… don’t know if it’s an emergency or not, but… I couldn’t wait. Can you … answer some questions?”

“As best I can,” said Ben. “About what?”

“Kackalorum,” said Jeeka, who snapped her finger and pointed skyward. And the flame flared from her pointing finger.

Chapter Text

The look of surprise on Ben’s face was almost comical. “How… did you do that?”

“I was kind of hoping you could tell me.”

Ben’s glance flicked behind Jeeka, and the big shelf of strange blockshaped objects. “Jeeka, you – can you read?”

“Read?”

“Read? Literacy? Books? Text? Alphabet?”

Jeeka rattled the words around in her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I never tried. Do you have any… text?”

Ben rose and went and got one of the blocks down from the shelf; Jeeka realized that they were in fact not blocks, but… strange… oh, they’re books, she thought. And she knew what books were. As if she had always known.

Ben put the book down on the table, and opened it, and put it in front of her. Jeeka looked at it. She knew that the individual marks were letters, and that groups of letters made words; each letter was a sound, and each word was made of sounds, same as real words…

She waited for the marks on the paper to make sense, for the strange duality to come in and take over and bring clarity and make order out of chaos.

It did not happen. The little marks were just marks.

“I can’t read,” she said, with some disappointment. “I understand how it’s supposed to work, but I … didn’t get it with the spoken languages.”

Ben looked mystified. “Then … how did you figure out how to cast a spell? I’ve never heard of magical ability predating literacy. Prentices have to study this stuff inside out before they even attempt a cantrip.”

“I don’t know,” said Jeeka. “I saw you do it. It seemed simple enough. And my flint and steel weren’t working, and I got mad, and I said the word, and snapped my fingers, and sparks shot out of my finger.”

“And then?”

“Well, I got interested. I tried it again and got sparks. And I knew I had to … make it more powerful, somehow. And… I thought about the names you gave me. Before All Others. Green Treasure. And those names … made me feel … great. They had power. I needed power. I pulled power… out of … myself. From the names. From you, or at least my memory of you. And I put it into the spell, and… well… it worked.”

Ben stroked his beard, and looked confused. “I’m damned if I can figure out how you knew that,” he said. “With the transfer spell, I can see how you got the Ilric language… I was drawing on my knowledge of language to pass onto you… but… I can’t figure out why you’d get a spell, but not literacy.”

“I think we exchanged a hell of a lot more than just language, Ben,” she said.

“I think you’re right,” said Ben. “I know it. I’ve had my share of goblin thoughts since then. There’ve been times I had to remind myself I was human. But magical training?”

“Is it dangerous?” said Jeeka. “Could I light a fire in my sleep or something?”

“No,” said Ben. “I mean, sure, lighting things on fire is dangerous, sure. But it’s not like you can’t set fires other ways, and you know how to handle a fire. And casting spells requires a certain mindset combined with physical mechanics; you can’t do it in your sleep. Can you snap your fingers in your sleep?”

“Mmm,” said Jeeka. “So now I have another human thing. Another gift from you. Power, and names…”

“You shouldn’t count on the names I gave you, Jeeka,” said Ben. “People can let you down, betray you, fail you. Your power has to come from within, from yourself. Otherwise, it’s likely to fail you right when you need it.”

Jeeka looked sharply at Ben. “Whatever I am now, I am because you helped me to become it,” she said. “All that I am, I have taken from others. I said I got more from you than I gave, and I meant it. And even if you walk away right now, I will still have it. Neither you nor anyone else can take it from me.”

Ben went to the coldbox and got a carafe and two glasses, poured fruit juice, and sat down. “That sounds like a goblin way of thinking,” he said. “But the spell is a human thing, and requires human thought. Is your thinking human… or goblin?”

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” said Jeeka, “since you gave me your language. Your languages. And I’ve come to terms that what I am… is Jeeka. As to what Jeeka is right now… well… I’ll work that out as it comes along. But I am still glad to be your green treasure. And I am glad to have your great, great magic. In all the possible ways of that.”

“You put too much trust in me,” he said sullenly. “Especially for a goblin.”

“Because you fled your burning world instead of dying with it?”

Ben’s face drained of color.

“It is what a goblin would have done,” Jeeka said simply.

“Is this something to be proud of?” growled Ben.

“Any goblin can tell you that pride is a luxury, Ben. Pride is for the living. You call yourself a coward because thousands fought on the wall of your university, and they died there. Noble? Sure. A goblin would call it insanity. What good did they do? Did they save their world? Their loved ones? Their university? Themselves? No. They died and joined the horror they were fighting in the first place.”

Ben sipped his juice and looked unconvinced.

Jeeka was torn between sympathy and frustration. And she knew that the sympathy was the human side of her; this was a thing she’d never have to explain to another goblin. “Goblins know what it is to be at the bottom of the food chain. Big predators love us because we’re just the right size. The elves of the eastern forests hunt us for SPORT, Ben. So we do what we have to, to survive. We’ve had this conversation before. Last time I couldn’t fight or run, I flashed my tits at you to confuse you. And it worked. And I’m alive. Your problem is that you don’t know what it is to be at the bottom of the food chain. You were raised in the most powerful civilization your world had ever known, and you were taught noble motives. And as a goblin, I can tell you that those noble motives are a bunch of crap.”

Ben stared flatly at her across the table. “So there’s nothing a goblin will fight and die for?”

“Of course there is! A goblin mother will fight a wolf, IF there’s a good chance it’ll distract the thing long enough for her children to escape! Goblin males will fight – at least, the ones who are worth a shit – to give the rest of the tribe time to clear out, even if there’s no hope of surviving. We aren’t complete opportunists. What I’m SAYING here is that you’re HATING yourself for being a coward when there was no chance that your actions could have made the slightest difference, one way or the other. You chose to save whatever tiny fragments of Ilrian civilization you could, and your own skin. You tried to save your family. You TRIED, dammit, but when you couldn’t… you escaped. And any human who would damn you for that is a fool. Including YOU, dammit.”

“I couldn’t have made a difference, mm?”

“Don’t tell me you could have,” said Jeeka levelly. “I know. I was there. I saw. And the fuck of it all is? The goblin in me hates you for it.”

Ben looked startled.

Jeeka let her frustration run free. “It hates you because you showed me things I could never have imagined, Ben! Things I wouldn’t have understood in a hundred stories, a thousand descriptions… and showed me all this just so I could know that it’s all dead now. But the woman in me, the HUMAN, knows that you have lost so much, much more than I have… and that I am more now than I was, just for having glimpsed this… glory… and wants to … cry again… for its loss. And for what it has cost you,” said Jeeka. Her eyes were bright, and full of tears. Ben found his heart quivering as well.

“So I’m going to be a goblin, Ben. The woman in me says you’re weak, because you ran instead of fighting. The goblin in me says you’re a softhearted fool for surviving, and then feeling guilty about it … but that you are as sweet as honey, and as strong as a bear, and and… shit…”

And Jeeka began to cry again.

Ben put his cup down, and rose to his feet. And Jeeka abruptly jerked her head up, her great yellow eyes ablaze. “And the woman in me is a weakhearted fool, but I am stuck with her. Be a goblin, Ben. Fight and claw and spit and snarl and flee if you have to, and fight if you have to, but stay alive and stay strong, godsdammit! And don’t apologize for it! Be a GOBLIN, Ben! Be MY goblin! And reach down and find your fucking balls and drag yourself up!”

Ben stopped cold. Jeeka sniffled hard and wiped her nose on her arm.  “FUCK you! I don’t NEED you. I DON’T. And I don’t know what I would do without you.”

And Ben stepped forward and gathered her out of the chair and held her. “Jeeka,” he asked, “Do goblin men fight for their mates?”

“Not often,” said Jeeka. She’d put her arms around his neck and spoke with her face buried in his shoulder. The same shoulder she’d bitten. “A woman has to be really… something… before she’s considered worth fighting another goblin for. But once a male has offered his female protection, he’s expected to stand up and do the job. (snifffff!) The good ones do. The others don’t.”

“You are very special,” said Ben. “To me, and to others, I think. And you are worth fighting over. And for.”

“Any male would say that,” said Jeeka. “The good ones would prove it.”

“How many other males do you know who can bump the temperature up fifteen hundred degrees in a fraction of a second?”

“That’s more like it,” murmured Jeeka. “Sounds like maybe you found your balls again.”

“Maybe I needed reminding of what they’re for.”

“Maybe. Will I be able to bump up the temperature fifteen hundred degrees in a fraction of a second?”

“You might,” mused Ben. “You’ll need to know how to store energy within yourself. And you’ll need to know how to channel it and push it around. I could try to teach you.”

“I’d like that, said Jeeka. “You have given me so much. And I still don’t know what I can give you.”

“You have given me things you can’t even imagine,” said Ben. “Because you’re a goblin. And when I see the world through yellow eyes, I maybe hate myself a little less. A lot less.  And I wonder if you aren’t right.”

“Of course I’m right,” said Jeeka. “Plenty of time for pride after you survive, goblin-man. What else can I give you?”

“Fuck now?” said Ben.

“Wash first?” asked Jeeka.

Chapter Text

“This may be the best thing you ever created. Here, at least,” said Jeeka, sitting neck deep in hot water.

“Finding the hot springs was the first happy moment I had when I was digging this place out,” said Ben. “Spewed out and knocked me down. And it was the first hot bath I’d had all month. Rrrr,” he said, examining the bite wound on his shoulder.

Jeeka rose and moved to look at the wound. “Not bleeding,” she said. “Closed. Starting to scab over. I’m sorry.” I tasted his blood…

“Don’t be,” said Ben. “I was caught like in a trap, caught in the worst moment I’ve ever had. You yanked me out of it. You brought me back home.” He slipped an arm around Jeeka.

Jeeka stared at the wound for a moment. He said “don’t be sorry,” but that’s not permission, she thought. That’s not invitation. But I bit him. And I want … no. Just, no. Not now. Maybe not ever. He doesn’t know. She swung a foot over, straddled his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Be a goblin, Ben,” she said. “The past is gone. Your place is here.” And their lips met, and for a time, that was all there was.

Jeeka felt his cock grow full, and press her in a tender place. The goblin in her wanted to reach down and grab it, squeeze it. The woman in her wanted to wait. And she indulged herself by drawing out the kiss, and the embrace… yet pressing herself down on him. Ben groaned a little, but didn’t break the kiss. Ben is patient, she thought. But there is goblin in him, now… in his mind, in his heart..  how much, I wonder?

She rubbed her cunt up and down the length of his cock. Ben broke the kiss, gasped, and looked at Jeeka. His eyes were bright. He reached into her hair, snarled his hand into it, leaned forward, and kissed her… kissed her lips, kissed her chin, and worked her way down to her neck. Jeeka gasped. Was this just lust, or was this more?

She loosened her grip around his neck, relaxed, and let him kiss his way down the side of her face, down her neck, down to her shoulder. His cock was rock hard. The woman in her said, you’re pushing him too hard, let up, relax, just let it happen. And the goblin in her screamed that the time had come, that if he was going to claim her, then let THAT happen, godsdammit!

You’re going too fast, slow down, calm, said one side of her.

RHAAAAARRRRGH! screamed the other.

Jeeka hooked her legs around Ben’s hips, and clamped herself down on him, hard, felt his cock mashed between them, hard and pulsing.

Ben jerked like he’d been struck. He leaned back, looked her in the eyes. Those eyes, he thought, strange eyes, beautiful yellow eyes... He realized that Jeeka was panting, breathing very hard, with her lips slightly parted, revealing the sharp points of her front teeth. Those teeth had bitten him, drawn his blood, brought him back from the brink of madness. He’d once thought they were bestial, unhuman. Now they aroused in him a lust like nothing he’d ever known. What’s wrong with me? What’s going on?

He lowered his face to her neck again, and gently bit her. Jeeka reacted with a squeal and a shudder. She seized his shoulders, pressed herself against him, threw her head back, exposed her throat. It wasn’t a conscious act.

Ben nuzzled her neck, and nibbled his way down to her shoulder again. Jeeka squeezed hard with her legs.

Ben touched her shoulder with her lips. Jeeka pressed herself against him. And he touched her skin with his teeth.

“Uuuhhhhhaarrrh,” growled Jeeka. “Ben, Ben, take me. Take me now…”

Ben touched her skin with his teeth. He didn’t want to stop. He wanted to bite her. Why did he want to bite her? Gasping, he yanked his head back, and looked Jeeka in the eyes again. Her eyes were so bright…

Jeeka panted, gasped for breath. Her lips were drawn back, her teeth were exposed, and it was driving Ben crazy. Without realizing it, his own lips drew back, exposing his own front teeth.

“Ben,” gasped Jeeka. “Pick me up, put me on the rim of the pool, and fuck me. Fuck me like you did the first time, the first time I was here.”

“The first time,” said Ben, uncomprehendingly. “You don’t want me to lick…”

“Ben, I’m so hot and wet you could boil an egg in me right now,” whimpered Jeeka. “You human, you fuck me, fuck me now, fuck me nowwww…”

With a growl and a splash, Ben lifted Jeeka clear of the water and deposited her on the rim of the pool, a little more roughly than he’d intended. Jeeka didn’t care. Her legs splayed of their own accord, inviting him to come forth. Ben’s cock was rigid and cried out for release.

And Ben reached out and got a grip on himself, mentally speaking. This isn’t me. What’s wrong with me?

Nothing is wrong with you, you fool. She wants you. TAKE her! Claim what is offered you, by will and by right!

And Ben leaned forward and licked Jeeka’s pussy. And she screamed. And her juices were like electricity on his tongue. And the last fragments of self control Ben had shivered apart, and went spinning away. He seized his cock and began to rub it against her labia. She parted like a flower, her juices flowing, coating him. It was all he could do not to jam it into her, but inch it in slowly, back and forth, while his brain screamed at him that he was going too slow!

Jeeka thrashed beneath him, babbling maniacally, a stream of words including Ben, fuck, human, me, fuck, goblin, want, fuck… she made no sense at all. It didn’t matter. The part of Ben that was in control got the idea.

But the pool was too deep. The angle was wrong. “Jeeka,” breathed Ben. “Wrap your legs around me. Hold tight.” And she keened in his ear, but did so. Ben crawled out of the pool with both knees and one hand, holding Jeeka with the other, his cock embedded in her, while she snarled and whined in his ear.

And when he put her down, he withdrew, and then drove into her. She howled, and grabbed the back of his head, and forced it into the hollow of her neck, and wrapped her arms around his head. A part of her said this shouldn’t be, this is too soon. Another part of her snarled, then he will make that decision!

Ben was beyond thinking. He thrust into her, again and again and again, like he couldn’t get deep enough. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, forcing his head into her neck, and she kept throwing her head back, and oh, she felt so good, so alive, so wonderful, wet hair everywhere, thrashing and wrestling beneath him, the pulse in her neck hammering and hammering like a drum…

He opened his mouth, kissed the place where neck met shoulder. Jeeka made a noise that only a goblin could make, and squeezed her legs around him tighter. He responded by thrusting into her again, and a little faster. This was all going way too quickly, and neither of them cared.

Ben opened his mouth and took a fold of her neck flesh between his teeth. And bit, gently.

Jeeka screamed. Her legs tightened. Her cunt clamped down on his cock. Her nails clawed at his back. Her hips bucked frantically at him, and he felt her cum, the string of kzings off and running, pulsing through her.

Some part of him that was still man said that that was it; when she cums, you do whatever comes naturally. She’s all yours. And the goblin within him said, take her, claim her, make her your own…

We’re not ready for blood, yet.

“Harrrder!” hissed Jeeka. Ben didn’t know if she meant the thrusting, or the bite. He settled for thrusting harder, harder, deeper into her. Both the man and goblin natures within him were screaming at him to do something…

…and as she spasmed beneath him, he growled, and unloaded himself deep within her. She gripped him close with her legs, and forced his face into her neck with her arms. She tried to speak, but couldn’t, producing only mewls and snarls.

“You… were right, Jeeka,” gasped Ben. “We aren’t like… anything that’s ever been before. We … have to … make our own rules.” With a force of flesh and of will, he dragged his head away from her neck. She looked at him. He couldn’t tell if she was relieved, or disappointed.

“We have to make our own rules,” she gasped. “We have to decide for ourselves.”

“Yes,” said Ben. “We aren’t… ready for blood.”

Jeeka looked at him.

“But I need … this.” And he clamped his mouth to her shoulder, and bit. Hard.

And Jeeka screamed, and pressed his face to her shoulder. “Biiite….”

******************************

“You didn’t draw blood,” said Jeeka, looking at the bruise on her shoulder. “But that’s going to leave a mark. Part of me hopes it never heals.”

“Call it a concession to my goblin nature,” said Ben. “It’s not like you didn’t mark me, too. Does it hurt?”

“Yes,” said Jeeka. “Change always does. So does going where no one’s been before.”

“Want some cream for it?”

“Goblin says no, my man has marked me,” said Jeeka. “But the human says fuck yes, give it over,” she smiled.

He handed over the cream. “Don’t blame you,” he said. “I wanted it for that bite you gave me, certainly.”

Jeeka rubbed the cream over the purple welt. “When I take your blood for real, you won’t get cream,” she said. “I want it to leave a mark, to show what is mine.”

“When you mark me as yours, “ said Ben, “I will wear the mark like a badge.”

Jeeka smiled. She didn’t quite drop the cream when Ben unexpectedly lunged at her.

Chapter Text

Together, Ben and Jeeka strode up the main street of the man-village; Ben carried a tall wooden staff in one hand, his little box with its handle in the other. Here and there, the humans looked at them in shock. Some ducked into buildings. Others stood and stared. And where Ben and Jeeka walked, people got out of their way.

Jeeka wore her usual blouse and skirt with moccasins ensemble, and noted that Ben had changed his entire look; rather than his usual shirt, loose trousers, and slippers, he wore a long belted robe with a tooled leather collar and hood. On the robe’s sides, a wide red stripe ran down from belt to hem. On his feet were boots. And rather than wear the hood up, he wore his wide brimmed hat that rose to a point.

(“Why the new outfit?”) asked Jeeka in the goblin speech.

(“Here, I’m a dangerous and powerful wizard,”) answered Ben, likewise. (“Have to look the part. This is my old outfit from the University. It’s weird enough here that it marks me as something different. It pays to keep them a little nervous.”)

(“It smells, here,”) said Jeeka.

(“That would be the horseshit,”) said Ben. (“They use horses for everything. Horses shit everywhere, and no one wants to clean it up. Price they pay for not using magic more. Mind your step.”)

(“This visit strikes me as insanity,”) said Jeeka. (“I’m a liability. If they attack, you’ll have to defend us both.”)

(“They won’t attack,”) said Ben, likewise. (“Last time they tried anything, they had to work themselves up to it, first. This time, we’ve surprised them by just walking in like we own the place; it’s worked before. And I have defenses ready, if I’m wrong.”)

(“You’ve never walked in like you own the place with a goblin before,”) said Jeeka. “(You’re giving away your advantage. Now they know you’re consorting with the monsters of the forest. And if they’re anything like my suspicious petty minded people, I’m sure at least a couple will assume you’re fucking me.”)

(“Maybe I’m not concerned with what they think,”) said Ben.

(“Goblin,”) snickered Jeeka.

(“Pissed off human,”) countered Ben.

Jeeka stifled a grin, and cocked an ear. (“Apparently, they already knew you were consorting with goblins.”)

(“How do you know that?”)

(“Over in front of the deep red building, they’re talking about us. Well, whispering. Apparently, that woman whose son you saved has been spouting off at length about her experience in a floating eternity of stars with the wizard and his goblin. The boy seems to have lived, by the way.”)

(“You can hear all that?”)

(“Goblin ears, toorih.”)

(“Well, if he lived, then good. And let them assume whatever they want. This is our stop,”) said Ben, glancing at a whitewashed building with a great many windows. (“I’m going to switch to human speech and pretend to translate for you. Don’t let on that you understand them. We’ll keep some advantages.”)

They entered the building through double doors, and a bell rang when they walked in, startling Jeeka, who glanced up; apparently, a striker was attached to the door, and hit the bell when it opened.  Inside the store were more human things than Jeeka had ever dreamed of. Jars and jars and jars of everything. Barrels of other everything. Boxes, kegs, crates, little wooden shelves and dispensers and all KINDS of things covered every wall, and occupied little table-islands here and there in the open center of the big room. So many things! Surrounding the room were counters; apparently, you were supposed to let the man behind the counter get these things for you.

Also in the room were the man behind the counter, a thin woman with a broom, and three other people, apparently customers. They all looked at Ben and Jeeka as if the plague had just walked into the room unexpectedly.

Calmly, Ben went and got in line behind the three people. He put down his box, and took from his pocket a scrap of paper, and began examining it, glancing around the store to see if the items on his list were in evidence. Jeeka stood beside him, glancing around. There were bolts of fabric… ooh, pickles! In jars! Jeeka felt her belly swirl with something akin to lust. The glass jars alone would have been worth much in barter back in her own village…

The woman third in line abruptly left the line, and headed for the door. Jeeka watched her go. The second person in line, a man, glanced nervously over his shoulder. Ben looked back on him blandly. It didn’t seem to calm the man’s nerves.

Jeeka noted a change in Ben’s demeanor. He seemed to be standing taller, holding his posture more, less relaxed. He wasn’t smiling; his expression was… what’s the word? Haughty, that’s the human word. Well, he’s putting on a show for the locals…

Both the counterman and the broom woman looked at Jeeka nervously. She looked back at them, and smiled, being careful not to show teeth. The broom woman broke eye contact immediately, and the counterman looked faintly worried. But he took the front woman’s list, and went and gathered a number of items, and put them in the front woman’s cloth bag; she paid him in coins, and left, with a scornful glance at the wizard and his companion. Guess Ben never got around to doing that one any favors, thought Jeeka.

The man in front of Ben glanced nervously at Ben again. Ben kept a neutral expression on his face, and kept his distance. The man had no list, and simply called out a string of items, which the counterman set about gathering.

Jeeka found her attention drawn to the broom woman’s dress. She wore a cream colored top which seemed to be worn in such a way that exposed the shoulders; Jeeka wondered what kept it from falling down. It was pretty, and sort of sexy. But Jeeka’s main attention was for the skirt, a beautiful cornflower blue expanse printed with a fantastic floral pattern; the woman’s skirt looked like a summer sky that was raining flowers. Jeeka was fascinated, and found herself envying the woman’s garments immensely. She’d never seen such fabric, and wondered how it could possibly be woven like that. Or was the design painted on, somehow? She longed to examine it more closely, but stood close to Ben, so as not to cause trouble. It didn’t seem to be helping much; the broom woman had noticed Jeeka’s attention, and seemed sure that at some point, the little green beast’s self control would snap and that it would howl and dive for her throat, and her with only a broom to hold it off…

Jeeka tried giving her another closed mouth smile. It didn’t seem to help much.

The man with no list put his items in a basket, paid, and scuttled out the door, glancing at Ben and Jeeka on the way, as if he were afraid one or the other would attack him on the way out.

“You’ve cost me a customer,” said the counterman.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” said Ben.

“And you’ve brought a goblin into my store.”

“She’s not for sale.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

“You afraid she’ll dirty the place, or just eat your other customers?” asked Ben archly. Jeeka tore her eyes away from the beautiful dress to glance at Ben. The counterman didn’t seem as afraid of them as the others had been.

“You’ll pay for whatever it steals,” said the counterman.

Fair deal, thought Jeeka, who said nothing.

Ben drew two coins from his pocket. One was gold. “I really don’t think she could carry enough of your merchandise that I couldn’t pay you a fair price for it.”

The counterman looked at the coins, and back at Ben. He seemed less irritated.

(“Does that mean I can steal things?”) asked Jeeka.

(“No. Don’t provoke him. But let me know if you see anything you like.”)

“What did it say?” asked the counterman, nonplussed.

“She asked how much the woman with the broom costs,” said Ben with a neutral expression.

The counterman raised an eyebrow. The woman’s eyes bugged. “But I explained that humans do not buy or sell each other,” Ben said smoothly. “Surely you sell other, better things to eat.”

The counterman looked irritated. The woman’s eyes stayed bugged. Jeeka stifled a giggle.

“All right,” sighed the counterman. “What do you want? Whatever it takes to get you out of here.”

Ben proffered a list, and the counterman took it and began to read. “This is a lot,” he said “Goblin going to help you carry it all?”

“I’ll think of something,” said Ben. “You will be paid, either way. And add a jar of sour pickles to that list, and a jar of the sweet ones. Oh, and ten of those peppermint sticks.”

Jeeka remembered not to grin. But her eyes were drawn to the woman’s skirt again. She saw that the woman looked like she wanted to flee, but acted like she didn’t quite dare. Jeeka tapped Ben on the arm. (“Do they sell those dresses here?”) she asked, pointing at the woman.

The woman flinched.

The counterman looked like he might be getting angry.

“My mistake,” said Ben smoothly. “My companion was asking not about the price of the woman, but about whether you sell those dresses.” Turning to the woman, he did a slight bow, and said, “She says your dress is very beautiful, and that she wonders if such dresses might be sold here, and what the price might be.”

The woman put a hand to her breast… but looked somewhat calmer. And then the woman looked questioningly at Jeeka’s clothes.

And Jeeka suddenly felt terribly self conscious.

Goblin clothes are made of homespun yarn and flax fiber and whatever skins or hides come to hand, tailored with whatever skill the maker can bring to bear.

Jeeka was very suddenly aware that her clothing, while not poor by goblin standards, was very rough compared to what this human was wearing, and she felt unpleasantly embarrassed. Why do I care what a human thinks? she thought to herself, and yet she did.

“Don’t sell clothes,” said the counterman, gathering jars and containers and putting them on the counter. “This isn’t a dress shop.”

The woman glanced up. “We do sell whole cloth,” she said. She seemed less upset with Jeeka’s presence. “By the bolt, or by the foot or yard.”

The counterman glanced over at the woman irritatedly. The woman looked irritated right back at him. “Don’t you look at me like that, Eoin,” she said.  “We sell cloth, and if she wants some, let her pay for it.”

(“Am I a ‘she’ now and not an ‘it?’”) said Jeeka, looking up at Ben.

(“If you have money,”) said Ben.

“What was that?” growled the counterman.

“She says she doesn’t want to make trouble, but if you have the beautiful cloth, she is happy to pay.”

The counterman quit looking irritated, completely, for the first time since Jeeka had laid eyes on him. “Well,” he said. “We have cloth, but not that kind. Not anymore. The Jarsens and the Colletts bought me out to make bedsheets. But I can get more. Just not today.”

Ben smiled. He held up the two coins, one of which was gold. He moved his fingers, and they fell into his closed fist. He then moved his hand over the counter, and spread out one, two, three, four five silver coins. And one gold. “Tell me, sir,” said Ben, “how fast could this bolt of fabric arrive?”

The counterman looked at the coins, and almost smiled. “I could send my boy out today,” he said. “I need some things, anyway. Maybe by the weekend?”

Ben smiled and withdrew his hand. “Then I will pay for the fabric when it arrives.”

The counterman frowned and glanced at the coins on the counter. “But you’ve already—”

The woman stepped up to the counter, “Owen, shut up,” she said. “If everyone is content, then there’s no more needs to be said, I think?”

Ben smiled angelically.

Jeeka stepped forward, towards the woman, who froze suddenly.

Jeeka reached tentatively toward the woman’s skirt, then stopped, and looked up at her face. The woman looked nervous for a moment, and then took a handful of her skirt, and held it out to Jeeka. Jeeka gave her a closed-mouth smile and touched the fabric, being careful not to touch the woman’s hands. So soft! And so smooth! You had to look at it closely to tell it was a weave at all! But it was, and seemed as strong as any homespun. And how the hell was that floral pattern on there? It didn’t feel painted at all. Dye?

Jeeka looked up at the woman, and said in the man speech, “It is pretty.”

The woman dimpled. Jeeka smiled back, careful not to show teeth. Jeeka glanced back at Ben. (“These people could make a fortune in trade if they took goblin customers,”) said Jeeka. (“They’d trade him every skin in the forest for cloth like this, and that’s not even to mention the pickles in glass jars, jars that can be reused.”)

“Mmmm?” said the counterman questioningly.

“She says that she would like a wonderful dress like that worn by the beautiful queen of the dry goods palace,” said Ben, gesturing around him.

The counterman looked bemused, then pursed his lips. The woman’s mouth dropped open, and her hand flew to cover it, as if she was afraid something might escape.

Jeeka looked up at Ben and stifled a laugh. (“You are SO full of SHIT!”)

The counterman and the woman looked at Jeeka, then to Ben.

“She doesn’t understand why you reacted that way. Now she insults me because she thinks I have said something to upset the beautiful queen,” said Ben.

Jeeka bit her lip to keep from laughing.

The woman’s expression softened immediately. “No,” she said, crouching down, and taking Jeeka’s hand, to Jeeka’s considerable surprise. “No, sweetheart, nobody has upset anybody.” Now it was Jeeka’s turn to freeze; she had no idea how to react to this. The woman stroked Jeeka’s hand, and looked back over her shoulder. “Eoin, come on now, how soon can you get that stuff here?”

Jeeka remained frozen, her eyes fixed on the woman’s five fingered hands, gently stroking her own. No human had ever touched her, aside from Ben. Still, the woman seemed to be trying to be comforting. There didn’t seem to be any harm in the gesture… just the opposite, really. What would SHE have done if I’d seized HER hand, Jeeka wondered? Probably screamed and leaped straight up to heaven…

Eoin, the counterman, sighed, and began scribbling a note on a scrap of brown paper, and swept up the silver coins, pocketed the gold one, and folded the paper around the remainder. “All right, Lene, all right. Take this to Toth and tell him to ride out to Ponce, today, and to bring back everything on the list. And when he asks when we want it, tell him “two hours ago.”

Lene released Jeeka and took the paper parcel, and headed for the door. She paused, and turned back for a moment. “Magician,” she said. “You tell that little one that she’ll have the fabric soon, and that she hasn’t offended me in the least.” And she swirled out the door.

Behind her, Eoin, Ben, and Jeeka all stared for a moment. That was a … sudden reversal, thought Jeeka. She didn’t know it, but Eoin’s thoughts were almost the very same.

Shaking his head, Eoin moved around the store with Ben’s list, gathering items and putting them on the counter. At one point, the bell clanged, and a woman walked in, and upon seeing Ben and Jeeka, promptly turned and walked right back out. Eoin did not miss this, and grumbled, but not loudly. At last, though, the counter was piled high with jars and boxes and goods, and a row of peppermint sticks. “You paid up front,” said Eoin, “so I won’t ask you for more; you were as good as your word about paying. That’s a lot of trade, though. I am a bit curious as to how you plan to get all that back up to wherever it is that you live.”

Ben smiled, and produced two more coins, and put them on the counter. “I’ve cost you business,” he said. “I’ll cost you no more, I hope.”

Ben leaned his staff against a nearby barrel, and put the foldbox on the floor and opened it. And opened it again, and again. Three more unfoldings, and it was easily six inches thick and some three feet across, square. Ben then opened the hatch, revealing the stairs leading downward to a floor, some ten feet below, as if the Dry Good store had suddenly sprouted a basement.

Eoin’s composure disintegrated. His mouth fell open, and then he shut it again, goggling. The dry goods store had no basement.

Jeeka, however, was familiar with Ben’s foldbox. She descended waist deep into the opening, down the stairs, and held out her hands; Ben handed her a jar of pickles, and Jeeka seemed to put it on a nearby shelf, out of sight, then reached back up for the next item, as if this was in no way unusual. Ben simply handed her another jar.

Eoin stood there and stared. Ben noticed, and said, “I do hope your curiosity is satisfied.”

When the counter was empty and the provisions were stowed, Ben closed the hatch and folded up the box again, picked up box and staff, bowed to the rattled storekeeper, and turned on his heel to leave, with Jeeka beside him. They opened the doors to see a half dozen people across the street, observing the front of the store; they reacted upon seeing Ben and Jeeka, but not violently. Apparently, they’d just been waiting to see the show.

Jeeka glanced backwards, a bit worried about an ambush, but Eoin wasn’t ready for an attack; he’d just come around the counter and was staring at the floor where the foldbox had been open. He prodded the floorboards experimentally with a toe.

Ben noted with some interest that one of the figures in the group was none other than Lene, Eoin’s maybe-wife, maybe-servant, who seemed to have a great deal to say to her neighbors, who stared at Ben and Jeeka, but were obviously hanging on Lene’s every word.

(“You’re following the conversation?”) Ben asked in the goblin speech.

(“Every word, toorih,”) said Jeeka. They walked back the way they had come, back out of town, but Jeeka’s right ear rotated slowly, staying focused on the little knot of people. A couple more came out of various doors here and there on the street, glancing to see that the wizard and goblin were leaving, and then suddenly getting interested in where the Queen of the Dry Goods Store was holding court.

(“Don’t keep me in suspense,”) said Ben.

(“Well, they came in to buy supplies,” said Jeeka, imitating Lene’s accent, “and that Gammer whatserface did everything but spit at them on her way out, but they were pleasant and paid in good coin, and they bought a great many things, and I was first afraid of the little green one, but she smiled and was nice enough and she thought my dress was fit for a queen, but that fool of a magician misunderstood her words and thought she wanted to eat me instead of just buy fabric for a dress of her own, but we got things straightened up straightaway…”) said Jeeka, stopping to giggle.

“Mmm,” said Ben. “Well.” (“Wouldn’t be the first time a woman called me a fool, I suppose.”)

(“Nor will it be the last, I suppose,”) said Jeeka, still giggling.

********************************************************

“I want to learn how to do this,” said Jeeka, riding the wind currents as they soared overhead on the whirlwind.

“Not an easy one,” said Ben. “I was never very good at it, back in the day. I just took public transportation. But I had to practice it when I got here. Either that, or figure out how to take care of horses, and the main thing I know about horses is that they shit everywhere.”

“Well, they’re also great when they’re grilled and served up with jelly fruit sauce,” mused Jeeka. “Where are we going?”

“We’re doing the rounds of the farms,” said Ben. “First stop, cheese and butter at the Kreskins’ place. Then greens at the Murrells, and finally out to Old Mother Thall’s for some tea and chatter.”

“Social visit?” said Jeeka.

“Kind of,” said Ben. “She keeps me up to date on happenings among the local humans, and in return, I keep her in pain cream and firewood. She has joint pains, and the cream helps.”

“You don’t think having me along will upset these people?”

“Mm. The Kreskins and the Murrells can just deal with it; I’ve done them favors, and I pay well for what they sell. Mother Thall, on the other hand, well…”

“Just drop me off in the woods nearby,” said Jeeka. “I can wait.”

“It’s not that,” said Ben. “Truth is, you handled the lady at the dry goods store like a master. It’s just that in Mother Thall’s case, she won’t be worrying about you eating her; it’s me going to be worried about the exact opposite…”

Chapter Text

It was late afternoon by the time the whirlwind set down near Mother Thall’s cottage.

“You describe her as an old woman,” said Jeeka. “Is she dangerous?”

“Depends,” said Ben. “She won’t likely do you any harm, but … well, she’s got a sharp wit. She convinces you she’s just a harmless old woman who’s only about half bright, and then it turns out she’s figured you out a hell of a lot better than you expected. She doesn’t miss much. Just smile and be polite.”

They walked the hundred yards across the heath to the ancient stone cottage, only to find the door open.  “Mother Thall?” Ben called.

“Yes, come in, wizard,” came an old, cracked voice from inside. How’d she know it was him? thought Jeeka. Voice old, but strong enough; nothing wrong with her lungs.

Ben led the way into the cottage, which was a single room, but well lit, with a pleasant herbal smell to it. The old woman was working at the fire and had her back turned to them. “Recognized my voice, did you?”

“Why, no,” said the old woman, pleasantly. “But when a sudden wind kicks up out of nowhere, and stops completely a moment later, I’ve come to expect there’s a magician thereabouts. Did you bring your friend?”

Jeeka felt a cold feeling in her stomach.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” said Ben. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I hopes she likes mint tea, then. And there are sweet rolls, so do sit down, and be comfortable.” The woman turned around, and Jeeka got to see her face for the first time. She’d never seen an elderly human before, and was a little surprised to see the similarities between humans and her own kind, yet again. But goblins often didn’t live long enough to get old, meaning that the ones who did were definitely folk to watch out for.

“News travels fast,” said Ben.

“News like you does, and news like the two of you is all the faster,” said Mother Thall, with a smile. “Whole village is abuzz with word of the magician and his goblin, and what does it all mean?” She turned and picked up a long metal rod with a hook, and used it to fish the metal teakettle out of the fire. Using it and a thick cloth, she poured boiling water into a teapot. When it was full, she set kettle and hook aside, and went near the fire only to come back with a plate of strange coiled brown bread things. They smelled of honey. Jeeka glanced at Ben, and said, (“All right to eat?”)

(“Not yet,”) he replied. Then, to Mother Thall, “Should I be surprised? We were only in town late this morning.”

The old woman chuckled. “And now it’s running close to evening. And that place is dull enough that if the blacksmith split his pants when he lifted something heavy, three people would have dropped by before nightfall to tell me all about it.” She turned her attention to Jeeka, and addressed her. “And you’re far more interesting than a pair of split pants, even with a blacksmith’s pretty bare behind to talk about. You apparently very much impressed Lene Bellsong with your good manners and taste in clothes, and now she’s all aflutter about it all. Meanwhile, others are firmly convinced that this is just the first stage of a goblin invasion. Because this sort of thing always starts with wizards buying flour and the making of ladies’ dresses.”

Ben grinned wryly. Jeeka carefully avoided smiling. “It’s nice of you to address her,” said Ben, “but her grasp on man speech is limited.”

“Oh, horseshit, dear,” said Mother Thall, sweetly. “She understands every word I just said.”

“Sure of that, are you?” said Ben

Mother Thall picked up the teapot and began to pour tea into little clay cups. “I wasn’t before I spoke my last sentence,” she said. “But in all honesty, when I said ‘horseshit,’ and her face froze, then, I was quite sure. That, and watching her ears. She’s following my every word, as well as you are. I appreciate wanting to keep the advantage, but don’t insult me, dear. Tea?” She picked up the cups and put them on the little table, with the rolls.

Jeeka glanced at Ben. Ben maintained a neutral expression, and moved his hand near the tea and rolls in a complicated gesture. Then he glanced at Jeeka, nodded, and picked up a cup of tea.

“Still think I’m trying to poison you?” asked Mother Thall sweetly, picking up her own cup, blowing on it, and sipping.

“If it would occur to anyone around here to kill a wizard that way, it would be you,” Ben said simply, sipping his own cup.

The old woman chuckled. “I’m not so stupid as to antagonize those more powerful than I,” she said. “Besides, I need the wood. Did you bring me any of that cream?”

“I did,” said Ben. “Do you need more firewood?”

“Oh, goodness, no, I’m still working on the load you left me last time,” she said. “But we’re being rude to our other guest. Her eyes are clicking back and forth between us like a pendulum. May I ask your name, dear?”

Jeeka glanced at Ben, who gave a slight nod. “I am Jeeka,” she said simply.

“A lovely name,” said Mother Thall. “Tell me, what have you learned in your silence since you walked in?”

“That I have dealt with humans all day,” said Jeeka flatly, “and they have dealt with me in a variety of ways, but you are the first to start out with ‘she’ instead of ‘it.’ It buys you some credit.”

Mother Thall looked delighted. “Well, dear, I could hardly not notice your gender. Such a lovely pert pair you have! Are you screwing him?”

Jeeka’s face froze. Ben blinked suddenly. Mother Thall burst out laughing.

Ben closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mother, tell me, has anyone ever told you to your face what a bitch you are?”

Mother Thall cackled. “Surprisingly, not all that often. But I only do it with people who can take it the right way. Forget I asked, dear. Is he – no, he hasn’t charmed you, you’d be stupid as a box of rocks if he had – he’s not holding you against your will?”

“No,” said Jeeka. “I come and go as I please.” She picked up one of the rolls and took a bite out of it. “These are good.”

“And that is good,” smiled Mother Thall. “He was getting lonely up there, and last time I saw him, he was getting a bit wild-eyed.” She turned to Ben. “And you’re looking better. And saner. This goblin girl is doing you some good. It’s the locals’ fault, you know,” she said, turning back to Jeeka. “They could have had him working for them the whole time. Instead, they spit on him and tried to kill him twice. He told you?”

Jeeka nodded, and munched the roll, and sipped the tea. “Mmhm. He was a bit wackier when we first met. He’s settled down since then… in some ways.”

“Oh, now I bet there’s a tale in the telling,” said the old woman gloatingly. “I don’t suppose you’d share that story with me? It’d be all the sweeter for that I could never tell anyone else.”

“Perhaps,” said Ben. “But you’d enjoy it far too much, you salacious old crow. And before I regale you with a purple string of erotic adventures, it would be useful to catch up on what the locals are thinking.”

“Gladly,” said Mother Thall. “Dig out that pot of cream for me? And it’d be useful to know what the local goblins are up to. That’s a string of news I can profit from, and I’ve never had it before now...”

It was a bit unusual as tea parties go, with an old woman hiking up her skirt to rub pain cream on her knees and ankles, while a goblin munched sweet rolls and rattled off goblin gossip and politics, switching to a discussion of events in the village, and concluding with Ben haltingly retelling a rather sketchy tale of a certain bargain with a goblin which had grown into considerably more than a mere transaction.

“You’re telling it wrong,” said Jeeka, draining the last of her tea.

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Am I leaving something important out?”

“You’re leaving all the good stuff out.”

Mother Thall raised an eyebrow.

“You see,” said Jeeka, “He had me at his mercy, this ravening human, and all I had was a pair of tits.”

Mother Thall and Ben both raised an eyebrow.

“So I yanked my blouse open,” said Jeeka, miming tearing her blouse open, and thrusting her chest forward, “And I said, ‘Please, giant and evil human, spare my poor life! Are these not beautiful tits?’ and he replied, ‘Raaawr, small, green, but strangely attractive person, perhaps I will spare you, only to slake my lusts upon your helpless flesh!’ “

Mother Thall raised her other eyebrow. Ben closed his eyes entirely. Jeeka, seeing that she had the old woman’s complete attention, ramped it up and let it roll. Ben opened his eyes again, only to avert his eyes and examine the contents of the mantel over the fireplace.

“…and I said, ‘Ai, ai, ai, my innocence has surrendered to the lashing of your wicked tongue against my veema! I have no choice but to offer you whatever you might choose to take from my helpless form!’ And he said, “Ha, ha, silly goblin, now I unleash my savage ekkska into you!’ and he plunged his ekkska into my veema, and oh! The world shook and the sky burst into flame!’ “

Jeeka found herself enjoying the reactions. Ben had finished examining the mantel, and was now sitting with his head back, apparently counting the cracks in the ceiling. Mother Thall sat with her eyes wide, hand over her mouth, listening intently. She might or might not have been concealing a smirk. Jeeka plunged on.

“Ah, but then, I gained the upper hand, because in my hand I held his great pink ekkska, warm and pulsing, and I cried, ‘now you have destroyed my innocence, and I will emjay your ekkska and you will kzing until you pokka!’ ”said Jeeka, adding the appropriate vigorous hand gestures.

Ben seemed to be trying to fit his whole face into the palm of his hand. Mother Thall still sat with eyes wide and mouth behind her hand, but she might have been laughing silently. Or perhaps having convulsions. Jeeka kept going. She stood up and walked over to where Ben was sitting. “But he felt bad about it afterwards,” she said. “And I forgave him. And now he is my toorih.” She leaned over and kissed Ben on the cheek, and, as an afterthought, reached into his crotch and squeezed it gently. “Mine, now,” she said, and smiled at Mother Thall.

Mother Thall sat, hand over mouth. She allowed her hand to fall into her lap. And then she laughed for a good thirty seconds before going into a coughing fit. “Auuugh!” she cried, but with a smile on her face, gasping. “This one! Augh! Wizard, where did you find this one? She’s got more personality than any five of those village lumps!”

Ben did not remove his hand from his face, but spoke anyway. “Well, Mother, she seems to have given you the basic rundown of it.”

“And you’re not telling me that was the truth?” asked Mother Thall, grinning.

“Well, no,” said Jeeka. “The truth is much more boring. We lay there and I boing his ekkska back and forth. And he giggles.” Jeeka adopted a bored demeanor, and mimed twanging something back and forth with a single finger.

Mother Thall went into fresh convulsions of laughter. Ben rolled his eyes.

Jeeka returned to her chair and took her seat. “But your hospitality and manners were so nice, I decided you deserved a better story than that,” she said. “Is there more tea?”

Mother Thall, still chortling, took up the teapot and refilled Jeeka’s cup. “This one is a treasure, Wizard,” she said. “If I were forty years younger, I’d adopt her, and send her out occasionally to terrorize the village.”

Jeeka smiled, “Truly, I am a treasure, now that two humans have said so.” She sipped her tea.

Mother Thall’s eyes clicked back to Ben. “Called her a treasure, did you? I wonder under what circumstances?”

Ben actually smiled. “Not that it’s any of your business,” he said. “But I did. And I won’t lie about that.”

“It’s actually kind of nice to be able to talk about it with someone other than him,” said Jeeka. “I don’t dare bring it up among my own people.”

“Mm,” said Mother Thall. “Do they know about him?”

“No. I come and go, and he hasn’t made an appearance among my people yet. Only today did he take me with him to the human village, and only then because the humans there fear him. He felt that it would enhance his reputation as an otherworldly sorcerer, and perhaps get the people used to seeing me. I took it as an opportunity to learn more about humans. I have learned a lot, lately.”

“Hmmp. As have I. Learnt more goblin speech than I knew this morning, certainly!” And Mother Thall chuckled. “Well, you’ve more than paid me for the tea and the gossip. It grows dark, and we’re all likely thinking about bed. Wizard, as usual, I’ve got more from you than I have given; you make me wish I had more news to give you. And you,” she said, addressing Jeeka, “I am pleased to have met. Never spoke with a goblin before, and I’ve enjoyed the experience. May I offer you a few words?”

Jeeka nodded. This wasn’t so different from a visit with her mother; Mother ALWAYS had a few words upon parting.

“Today, you impressed that woman, Lene Bellsong. She went from thinking of you as a vicious monster to thinking of you as some sort of harmless little girl. You behaved yourself, and you’ve made a friend,” said Mother Thall. “Don’t think that because one human was so easily convinced that others will be. In the minds of many, you’ll be a yellow eyed monster, no matter what you do for them. It’s the same advice I’ve given your wizard more than once. Watch yourself, and give them no reason to be right about that.”

Jeeka drained the last of her tea, and nodded. “It’s the same with my own people. Some might trade with humans, some might even be friends with them. And others will have no use for them in peace, no matter how good they are. I think it’s the same either way. And I watch myself. But you make me feel good about humans, Mother Thall.”

And they smiled, and parted ways. Once outside, Ben called the wind, and he and Jeeka departed into the sky.

Mother Thall watched them go, and then reentered and bolted the door of her cottage. “Well,” she said. “To think I have lived long enough to see that!”

Chapter Text

Jeeka awoke, warm and comfortable, and was immediately dismayed to find herself alone, in her own tent.

Ben had invited her back to the cave, but Jeeka felt the need to check on Tolla, and had asked to be deposited near the goblin camp, but regrettably, by the time she got back, little was going on; it was late, and Jeeka decided to simply turn in, and see what the next day would bring. And she found that waking up, some days, was a thing that really seemed to need company.

She thought about visiting the stream, but frankly, cold stream water held little appeal after the hot springs of Ben’s cave, and she hadn’t done much to get dirty since her last bath. She was hungry, but there was nothing to be had in her tent, and she didn’t much want to go foraging at this hour. She thought about bothering her mother for food, but decided against it; Mother didn’t have much at the best of times, and Jeeka didn’t want to be a burden. Nothing for it but to go looking for something at the stream or in the woods.

Then again, Tolla. Tolla might have something. And Tolla might be feeling generous, after their last get together. Jeeka rose, and set about preparing herself to face the day.

***********************************

Tolla sat with her back to her tent entrance, facing her fire, which had been built to partially block the tent entrance. She held a spear handy, and a bow and three arrows were in easy reach. Her clothing was unusual; a short deerskin halter, and a short, shabby deerskin skirt. Gone was her homespun, her knits. She had a hunted look to her, and her face was dirty, but she brightened a bit when she saw Jeeka approaching.

“I’ve missed you,” she said, smiling. “You want to eat?”

“I would love to eat,” said Jeeka. “What’s happened? I’ve been gone a couple days, and you look like you’re going savage. And why is your fire in a position to burn your tent down?”

“Prum,” growled Tolla. Jeeka waited.

“He has given me no rest for three days, Jeeka,” Tolla said. “He’s trying to wear me down. And he’s succeeding. He spouts lies to the tribe about how he has offered his protection, but he hasn’t. Not that anyone can witness. And he tries to slip up and take me by surprise. When I am gone from home, he steals my clothes, and says he didn’t. When I am home, he taunts me. When I am about the village or foraging, he robs my tent or tries to sneak up on me. He’s shown up twice in the night to try to get into my tent or get me out of it. He’s slashed holes in my tent walls. I grab sleep in snatches, my knife at hand. And he laughs at my suffering. Perhaps now that you are here, I can get some sleep. Here, eat.” And Tolla proffered some cooked fish that seemed to be a day old or more, and some dried meat of some kind.

Jeeka ate it, partly to be polite, and because it was better than no breakfast at all. “Gather your things and come to my tent, Tolla,” she said. “It’s time to rest easy.”

“Thank you,” said Tolla wearily. “I hate to presume on you, but I really can’t take any more of this. And I will kill him before I let him take me again, and then the tribe will kill me. But at least then my suffering will be done.”

“It won’t be like that,” said Jeeka. “I will stand witness for you. And what about the rest of Fire Clan?”

“I’ve told them to keep my brother out of this,” said Tolla. “Prum could kill him, and would, just to see me weep. And the others are at a point where it’s just not worth it to get involved. They have problems of their own, and I’m no kin of theirs, and Prum has shown them that he is prepared to go out of his way to make trouble for them, if he can’t have what he wants.”

A woman has to be really something before she’s considered worth fighting another goblin for, thought Jeeka. “Get your things,” she said. “Pull up your tent cords. You’re coming with me.”

It didn’t take more than a few minutes; Tolla had her tent, slashed and tattered as it was, and very little else that she wasn’t wearing. Jeeka noted the looted condition of her personal effects. As a rule, a goblin wouldn’t loot another goblin’s things unless there was something there they couldn’t get any other way, but Prum had, no doubt, gone out of his way to steal or spoil anything Tolla couldn’t take with her. Together, they trooped across the clearing to Jeeka’s tent, where Tolla wearily clambered in, stowed her roll to one side of the bed, and collapsed on Jeeka’s furs. Jeeka climbed in as well, and sat with her. “It’s still early in the day,” said Jeeka, “But if you need sleep, then sleep. I’ll be here.”

“This Ben of yours,” said Tolla suddenly. “He lives alone in the forest. Would he offer me protection, Jeeka?”

The question took Jeeka by surprise. “Wha?”

“I don’t want a man,” said Tolla. “But I would offer myself up to anyone who would keep Prum at bay, at this point. Do you know if he wants another woman? I could make myself useful.”

“Uh,” said Jeeka, still flatfooted. “I… don’t know.”

Tolla rolled away. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to … you’ve found a good man, and here I am trying to interfere. I’m sorry. Forget I spoke.”

Jeeka put her hand on Tolla’s hip. “Tolla.”

Tolla looked back over her shoulder.

“I can’t promise anything,” said Jeeka. “But I will ask him. I will do that for you. I have no idea what he might say, or do. But I will ask. If nothing else, I might be able to secure you some safe living space, where Prum can’t find you.”

“That would be a heaven beyond dreaming of right now, Jeeka.”

“Go to sleep. I will stay here with you.”

“I can’t thank you enough for this. I owe you.”

“Go to sleep.”

Tolla rolled over, and buried herself in furs. Jeeka stepped outside and burned with irritation. Would Morr do nothing in this situation? Surely even Fire Clan had more rights than this! And what was Prum to the tribe, that Morr would allow this to go on?

****************************************

 Ben awakened amidst the blankets, and felt around for Jeeka, before realizing that she wasn’t there, and he felt a sadness. He’d been sleeping alone for more than a year, and now he was finding it intolerable.  Still, it wasn’t like he owned her, and he wasn’t about to tell her she couldn’t see her own people, or even this Tolla woman. She’d said she’d come back, and that was better than he’d hoped for. And hadn’t they made Mother Thall laugh? It had been embarrassing, but it had also been good fun, and Jeeka had been right: it was sort of liberating to have someone in the circle that they didn’t have to lie to or conceal anything.

That being said, Ben considered the village. His next visit was going to be interesting. News of he and his goblin was now likely in the ears of everyone within ten miles, and no doubt a number of them would be speculating, and a number of those speculations was likely to be true. Would they be able to mind their own business, or was he going to have to deal with another mob coming up to bother him, out of sheer outrage about who he might be sleeping with?

Ben sat up and swung his legs out of bed. Never mind them, he thought. He had a wards system and enough alarms that if anyone got within a half mile of his cave, he’d know it, and within a hundred yards, he could count the coins in their pockets and the arrows in their quivers, and deal with them accordingly.

What happens if they realize there are goblins nearby, and go after them, instead? he thought. And he sat there for a moment, considering. He knew about the goblins, but they and the humans hadn’t bothered each other, and supposedly, the goblin chief’s last orders had been to leave the humans be. But what if the humans decided to attack the goblins?

Ben considered further. And then he rose, naked, from the bed and padded across the hall to the privy. He would then bathe, and in the bath, consider contingency plans.

Because of your wounded foot, Jeeka, Ben thought, our whole world changed. You might have just run away, and I might never have seen you again. How much crazier would I be by now if that had happened? Would I still be talking to Mister Hot Spring and Miss Coldbox? Maybe I owe the goblins a little insurance…

**********************************************

“Where is Tolla?” asked Prum.

Jeeka sat outside her tent, examining an arrow. It was one of Tolla’s; she hadn’t made arrows in quite some time, preferring to use a sling for small game. Still, there was a bow in easy reach. She considered that. She noticed that there were six other goblins within easy earshot, and that two of them seemed to be taking an interest in the proceedings.

“Either I know, or I don’t,” said Jeeka. “If I don’t’ know, then neither will you. And if I do know, I would not tell you. Or perhaps I would lie. Yes, that’s it; she’s gathering acorns, down by the bend in the creek. Do scamper along now, and you might catch her.”

“Your manners have not improved.”

“Neither has your odor, Ogre-Fruit,” Jeeka replied smoothly.  One of the goblins who was watching laughed, and three others looked up. Prum flushed angrily. Jeeka looked at him blandly.

“You are determined to make enemies.”

“And you are determined to find your death, Ogre-Fruit,” she said, a little too loudly. She now had the attention of six onlookers. “You won’t devil me the way you did to her, toad. Try slicing my tent, and you’ll catch this arrow in you. Probably in the back, since you lack the courage to fight face to face, even against a female. You are wise in that, because you arouse an anger in me, Prum. You say you could beat me, and perhaps you even could. But it will cost you. It will cost you fingers, or an eye, your nose, perhaps even the use of an arm. So instead, you will sneak around and try to catch me unaware, because you can’t stand a fight against a foe who can defend themselves.”

“You can’t talk to me that way—”

“I can. I have. I will, Ogre-Fruit,” Jeeka said loudly. By now a couple of other goblins had joined the group. Goblins appreciated good street theater as much as anyone. “You love to make others suffer. It makes you feel big. But you pick on those who can’t defend themselves from you, and it looks like you’re running out of victims, Ogre-Fruit. You make enemies far too easily. How long will it be before they find your corpse with a dozen arrows in it? And afterwards, they will say, ‘See how Ogre-Fruit fell on those arrows he was trying to steal?’ Attack ME, and there are those who will stand up for me, Ogre-Fruit. Who will stand up for you? Who will avenge you, when you fall on your stolen arrows?”

Prum pointed at Jeeka, and addressed the crowd. “You heard her!” he yelled. “You heard her threaten me! I call on you to witness!”

The crowd – up to nine goblins, now – stood there and looked unimpressed. One of them murmured, “Ogre-Fruit.” And another laughed.

Prum flushed in anger, again. And looked at Jeeka. Who smiled at him. “Watch out for stolen arrows, Ogre-Fruit.”

Prum’s eyes rolled in his head, and he glanced back and forth between Jeeka and the other goblins. Someone else laughed. Prum stormed away without another word.

The crowd looked at Jeeka, who shrugged. And the group dispersed. Somewhere, Jeeka heard a soft “Heh, heh, Ogre-Fruit.”

“You shouldn’t provoke him like that,” came a soft voice from behind her.

Jeeka didn’t turn around. “If the shitbag thinks he will come to my fire and give me a faceful, then he needs to be ready for what he finds,” she said. “He knows I don’t like him, and that I won’t tolerate him.”

“He still has a knack for getting people to believe him, no matter how outrageous his lies,” Tolla said. “Be careful. You’re right. He won’t risk a direct confrontation, not unless he has all the advantages. But he is a devil about arranging indirect ones. Like from behind.”

*****************************************

That night, in town, the woman Rieka heard a knock on the door, and upon answering it, was shocked to behold the tall form of the Wizard, standing before her, holding some sort of parcel. His goblin companion was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah,” said Rieka, speechless.

“Who is it, Mum?” came a voice from further back in the house.

“NOTHING! No one, dear, go back to bed,” she said, glancing fearfully at the wizard, who stood there patiently. Rieka’s eyes flicked back and forth, frantically, between the wizard and the door to the back of the house; no further noises were forthcoming, and after a moment, the light went out; the candle was extinguished. And Rieka’s full attention was then commanded by the tall form who stood before her.

“You’ve come… for your payment…” said Rieka.

“I have,” said the wizard.

Rieka’s thoughts curdled with terror. He’s going to want to ravish me, she thought. He’s going to want my soul, to pay some demon a debt or buy a service. He’s going to want my hand in marriage. He’s going to want my first grandchild. He’s going to want a quart of blood, or my heart…

Rieka closed her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want you to make me a dress,” said the Wizard.

Rieka’s eyes flew open. “Did I hear that right?”

“I want a dress,” said the wizard. He opened the parcel he was carrying, to reveal several bolts of cloth and some sheets of paper. “There will be a skirt, of this size, using this pattern, and this fabric. There will be a blouse, off-the-shoulder, of this size, using THIS pattern, and THIS fabric. And then, there is this other thing. I have left instructions. Detailed instructions. Will you grant me this?”

Rieka looked at him, critically. He didn’t seem to be kidding. She looked at the patterns. “This… is the payment you want for the service you did me? This, for your service, for my son’s life?”

“It means much to me,” said the wizard. “Do me this service, and when it is done, you will owe me… nothing. The bargain dissolved. The contract concluded. The mark on your heart will be lifted. Will you accept my offer?”

Rieka all but seized the cloth from the wizard’s hands. “I will.”

“How long?”

Rieka looked over the patterns, the sizes. “Two days – no, three, just to be safe. I can do this.”

The wizard raised a hand, and offered Rieka a coin. “You may need needles, thread, whatever,” he said. “Buy them, and keep what is left over. I will return in four days, to claim what is mine.”

Rieka took his coin, and felt a tightness ebbing from her stomach, fading, really for the first time since her son had gotten better. “You will have it,” she replied.

******************************************

“She insulted me!” snarled Prum. “Threatened me. Before witnesses! I demand a judgment!”

“Keep this up, and you are likely to get one you didn’t ask for,” said Morr, a touch of irritation in his voice.”

“And you allow your hunters to be ordered around and threatened by females?” Prum said. “What kind of a headman allows this?”

“And now you insult ME,” growled Morr, drawing an ancient metal knife from its sheath. Prum flinched; he realized he might have pushed it a bit. “That is the last scrap of status you had with this group, Prum. Your arrogance and your lies were one thing, and that nonsense with that Fire female was pure stupidity, but now you lash out at the daughter of an honored hunter? And you want me to support you in this?”

“I only call for—”

“Your appeal is denied,” said Morr. “THIS is the kind of headman you have. A headman who thought you had the judgment to know when to quit. A mistake I am correcting.”

“I have been insulted, and I demand satisfaction!” said Prum, his face twisted with rage. “I declare Ritual of Revenge against Jeeka and her family! This is the law!”

Morr closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jeeka has one surviving relative: the woman Adii, her mother. You will declare war against two females?”

“It is the law!”

Morr opened his great yellow eyes and released the bridge of his nose. “Then by that law, I will support Jeeka’s family, personally. If I even think you’ve LOOKED at Adii funny, I will cut your ekkska off and feed it to you as your last meal. Not joking.”

Prum’s face was somewhere between horror and rage. “You can’t do that!”

“A headman supports his tribe, the weak and the strong. Adii has no one to fight for her. Therefore, I will. It is the law.”

“You offer me NO satisfaction for my grievance?”

“Certainly. You want to challenge Jeeka? Call her out, in the middle of the village, with a minimum of eight witnesses. Fight her fairly, face to face, with terms agreed upon, like the law says. Because if you do otherwise, I will declare you outsider, and you will no longer enjoy ANY status, Prum. I wonder who will come looking for you then? Is there anyone you have offended or injured in some way? You wouldn’t have any enemies who might take advantage of this?”

Prum stood before Morr and the silent council, and seethed. He opened his mouth to speak.

“It is the law,” interrupted Morr, embedding the knifepoint in the table before him. And grinning a toothy goblin grin.

And for the second time in as many days, Prum turned and stormed away.

**************************************

“I want to know who’s feeding him,” said Jeeka. “He hasn’t quit in two days. He’s either in the edge of my vision, or trying to sneak up. He hasn’t hunted or foraged, and I’m not sure he’s even slept. And you say he did this to you for three days before this?”

Jeeka and Tolla sat on opposite sides of the stream, watching each others’ backs. Jeeka had just seen Prum, in the distance, off behind Tolla; he’d done a fast fade when he realized he’d been seen.

“He asked Morr for some sort of judgment,” said Tolla. She held a fishtrap, and was scanning for any fish big enough to be worth eating. “I hear it did not go well for him. First you humiliated him, and then he lost face with the council. He lost. Twice. That has to be driving him crazy.”

“Rrrr,” said Jeeka. “So he’s looking for a fight he can win. He’s looking for you. But two women with knives, that’s a fight he can’t win, either. So he’s trying to catch us unawares, or separate. But we can forage, and sleep in shifts. He can’t. He has no one. He’s bound to collapse, sooner or later.”

“He’s getting desperate,” said Tolla. “If he isn’t winning, he is nothing. And he is losing. Fewer and fewer believe his lies. He’s lost status, he’s lost judgments, and he is desperate to win something. And there is little more dangerous than a desperate goblin.”

“He can turn and walk away any time he likes,” said Jeeka. “He’s only as desperate as he makes himself. This entire situation is of his making, and he’s made it a situation he can’t win.”

“Perhaps,” said Tolla. “And that will make him all the crazier.”

**************************************************

Ben sighed, and turned his back on the liquor yet again. No word from Jeeka. Ben had cut wood, performed maintenance, checked traps, harvested beans, put away the groceries from the last trip to town, and it still hadn’t filled all the hours in two days.

He looked at the two jars of pickles on the counter. One sour dill, one sweet.

He missed Jeeka.

He glanced at the liquor again, and mentally slapped his own hand. Surely there were other things to do. What had he done for a year when he didn’t have a goblin to obsess over? A sexy, slinky goblin who could hold up her end of a conversation, a beautiful green woman who occupied his mind and his bed with equal skill and ease, a goblin whose mind occupied a fraction of his own skull…

Ben glanced at the books on the shelf. There wasn’t anything there he hadn’t read lately. He could look at a title, and the whole text would spring to mind instantly.

Pain cream. He’d given most of what was left to Mother Thall. He could make more pain cream. He NEEDED to make more. A mission! To do that, he’d need spearleaf, whistleweed, that one kind of tree sap… he could go out and do some foraging. There were worse ways to kill an afternoon. Might could go looking for eggs, too; the supply wasn’t what it might be. He pulled on his stockings and boots, got a shoulder bag to collect the necessaries, and draped a cloak over his shoulders; it had been getting cold lately, and better to have it and not need it. And his hat, of course.

And before he left, he scooped up the ear clip and locked it into his ear, and the speaker stone, which he slipped into his pocket. Just in case.

***********************************************

Tolla lay on the furs and snored. Jeeka sat outside and grilled fish. In her ear was the ear clip. In her hand was the speaker stone. She looked at it, and then looked around. Too many people around.

It hadn’t been that long since she’d seen Ben. She’d spaced her last intervals out to about three days at the goblin village, two days with Ben, and back to the village on the morning of the third day to start the cycle over again. It had been a comfortable routine.

What was she going to do with Tolla?

Would Ben take her in? Would Tolla go aazaak upon realizing that Ben wasn’t a goblin? She could hardly do worse than Prum, but was she quite that desperate yet? What would Ben say upon being asked to expose his home to a second goblin, even if Tolla was willing to accept it?

Jeeka wanted to sleep in someone’s arms, and wake up with them; after years of sleeping alone, she’d got spoiled. Now, she slept alone with Tolla watching out for intrusions, and spent several hours a day, keeping an eye out for Prum. Did the fucker even sleep any more? In her peripheral vision, she could see him, crouching over near Bek and Del’s hut. She could look at him, but then he’d just sneak off and find another place to watch her from, and at least this way, she knew exactly where he was.

She wanted to talk to Ben. She wanted to practice her magic. She wanted to learn more of it. She wanted Ben to hold her and kiss her neck. She wanted Tolla to hold her and kiss her lips. And she wanted very much to be held without having to worry about a knife in the back. And while she was here with Tolla, she knew that that just wasn’t going to happen, at least not until Prum keeled over from exhaustion.

It occurred to her to simply wake Tolla up, grab their things, and simply start walking to the mushroom field. Jeeka could find the cave by now. What would anyone do about it? Well, Prum would follow them, certainly. He’d find the mushroom field. He’d go into the path in the rocks, assuming they’d gone in first. And in his madness and determination, he might be the third goblin to find Ben’s cave, and dammit, this wasn’t a solution.

Jeeka hung the speaker stone back around her neck, and turned the fish over the fire. Back in the tent, she heard Tolla roll over, and start breathing deeply again as she fell more deeply asleep.

Chapter Text

“Jeeka!”

Jeeka’s eyes snapped open.

“Jeeeeka!” came the call again.

Jeeka came awake. She was in her own tent, on her own furs. And a glance out the front showed that it was dark, the fire was down to coals, and that Tolla was not there.

“Jeeeeeeka!” came the scream. Jeeka tracked it. It wasn’t Tolla.

It was Prum.

Shit.

Adrenaline hit her. She was awake. She was dressed. Her knife was where it needed to be. She was out the front of the tent. The bow was broken, the arrows gone. The spear was missing. Tolla was gone. She glanced off to her right, towards the middle of the encampment.

Prum. Holding Tolla’s spear. Standing over the body of an orange haired goblin. Half the tribe was standing nearby, watching. Others watched from tent flaps and hut doors. Where the hell was Morr?

All right, fucker, you want to play rough? Jeeka dipped into her blouse and came out with the speaker stone. Please don’t be drunk, Ben… And she pressed the central jewel. “Ben?”

The reply was gratifyingly fast, only a few seconds. “Jeeka?” came the voice in her ear, like music.

“Ben, I need you now,” said Jeeka. “Goblin village. Now, Ben. I can’t explain. Just come now. Please.”

The reply was, again, gratifyingly fast. “On my way,” he said grimly.

Jeeka dropped the stone back into her blouse.

“She’s awake!” laughed Prum. “About time! I challenge you, cunt! Come and face me, or show us all what a woman should do when faced with her master!”

“You pick a funny time for a challenge, Ogre-Fruit,” said Jeeka, glancing at Tolla as she strolled into the main clearing. Her hand dipped into her skirt. “I don’t see Morr or the council here. Are you afraid they might slap you down again?”

“I challenge you, cunt!” screamed Prum, his smile gone. “Fight, or die unarmed!”

“You took my spear,” said Jeeka smoothly. “And broke my bow. And as challenged, I get to choose weapons.”

“You are a cunt and a stupid female, and you choose nothing!”

“Afraid I might beat you in a fair fight, Ogre-Fruit?”

Someone in the crowd chuckled.

“Stop laughing!” screamed Prum, glancing away from Jeeka. Jeeka responded by sidestepping right. Prum spun to face her, spear in hand. “Fight or die now!”

“I have not chosen my weapon,” said Jeeka. “The law—”

“Fuck the law!” screamed Prum. “Morr is not here! I am the law! And if you have no weapon, then use your teeth!” Prum braced himself, and stabbed outward with the spear. Jeeka was careful to stay out of range. She very much wanted to have a look at Tolla, but didn’t dare take her eyes off of Prum. How long would it take Ben to get here? Surely, he’d use the windwalker spell…

Jeeka addressed the crowd. “Does the law permit murder, disguised as a challenge? Do you witness this?” The crowd did not, unsurprisingly, seem happy about the event. They’d been expecting a challenge, a legitimate trial by combat. What they were seeing was a deranged lunatic who had kicked one woman unconscious and was now threatening to murder a second one.

“This is not right,” growled one goblin.

“This is not the law,” said another.

“Give her a spear,” said a third.

“FUCK YOU ALL!” screamed Prum. “I WILL KILL ANYONE WHO INTERFERES! THIS IS THE LAW! I AM THE LAW! I HAVE ALREADY WON THIS CHALLENGE! WINNING! FUCK YOU! WINNING! FUCK YOU ALL!” And he leaped over Tolla’s body and charged Jeeka.
 
Jeeka braced herself against the charge. Prum aimed the spear at her torso, and put his weight behind the charge. At the last minute, Jeeka used her left arm to knock the spear aside, and whipped the metal blade out of her skirt, and brought it up to eviscerate the oncoming Prum.

Too soon. Prum saw the blade, and sidestepped hard, losing his balance, and falling into the dirt, but he held the spear, and kept the point between himself and Jeeka as he leaped back to his feet. “CHEATING!” he screamed. “CHEATING FILTHY CUNT! YOU BREAK THE LAW! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! CHEATING!”

“Remember, my tribe, what you see here tonight,” said Jeeka. “This is what you allow to happen.”

“CHEATING FILTHY SLUT! YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST! I WILL SPILL YOUR FUCKING GUTS!” roared Prum, panting. What was keeping him on his feet? He couldn’t have been sleeping or eating right for most of the past week…

“Filthcunt,” giggled Prum, jabbing the spear in Jeeka’s direction. She slapped the shaft aside with the knife. “Spill your guts in the dirt. You will scream while I stomp your intestines.”

“And what will you say when Morr returns?” said Jeeka.

“THIS IS THE LAW!” screamed Prum again, and he lunged forward with the spear. Jeeka blocked again, and tried to grab the shaft below the point, but Prum jerked it back. “Morr. I know the law! He can do nothing. Fair challenge, he said. Right in the middle. With witnesses. I am in the right. This is the law. Morr can do nothing,” he muttered, as much to himself as to anyone else.

“This is not the law!” shouted a teenager nearby.

“I WILL SPILL YOUR FUCKING GUTS, FUCKSCUM!” shrieked Prum. “YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU WILL SAY NOTHING! I KNOW THE LAW!” Amazingly, he pivoted to face the suddenly quiet teenager, pointing the spear at him. Here and there in the crowd, some goblins herded children and each other out of sight, into huts and tents. Perhaps this wasn’t the fun family event that some had expected.

Jeeka took the opportunity to glance at Tolla. Blood from mouth and nose. Her arm was bent at an odd angle, perhaps broken. Jeeka couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not. Not much blood, though, which could be good, or catastrophically bad. Jeeka couldn’t see any stab wounds--

Prum spun to face Jeeka again, with spear. “Cuntfuck,” he giggled. “You’ve already lost. You can’t win. You can’t flee. You are already dead. I have already won.”

“You talk a lot,” said Jeeka, knife in hand. “And how will you keep me from fleeing?” Maybe if I can get him talking… he always did love the sound of his own voice… Ben? Any time now….

“I will spear your cunt the moment you turn,” frothed Prum. “You are a woman. I don’t have to honor your surrender. It is the law. I know the law. I have won. I always win. Always win.”

Was the fucker drooling? And was that the wind picking up? Come ON, Ben…

“And you think the law will protect you when Morr finds out? You’d have been better off without witnesses, at this rate,” said Jeeka, gesturing at the crowd with her free hand. “Or will they all back your story? You won’t lie your way out of this one.”

“THEY WILL DO WHAT I TELL THEM!” screamed Prum. “I AM THE LAW” And he stepped forward, thrusting with the spear.

The wind whipped up hard, suddenly. Jeeka drew her left arm in, to block the spear again. The wind ROARED!

And the droolok suddenly fell from the sky and hit the ground with the sound of a very large sack of potatoes.

And the wind stopped, and there was a sudden silence.

The great, long-legged piglike creature struggled to its feet and roared its anger in dinosaurian fashion. Unlike a pig, though, a droolok’s jaw is long, and its lung capacity considerably exceeds that of any swine ever seen in any nightmare.

Jeeka froze.

Prum suddenly, violently, and obviously lost all bowel and bladder control.

The crowd abruptly bolted in all directions.

The creature turned its attention toward Prum, and roared again.

Prum dropped the spear and fled.

Jeeka glanced at Tolla again. Where the fuck are you, Ben? she thought. She’d never seen a droolok, but this thing certainly matched the description; an enormous horror for which a goblin would be just the right size for a meal. It was somewhat larger than a horse, and its legs looked horselike; it otherwise looked like the offspring of a wolf and the ugliest hog anyone had ever seen, with a long muzzle and a mouth full of teeth.

And it turned to Jeeka.

Ben… thought Jeeka, desperately.

And it spoke.

(“All right, the crowd has cleared out. What now?”) the monster said plainly. In Ilric, of all languages.

“Ben?” she hissed, hoping like hell no one was watching.

(“Yes, my green treasure?”) said the creature. Its voice was hoarse, and nothing like Ben’s.

Jeeka ran to Tolla, and knelt to see. Tolla was breathing. The arm still looked broken. She was bleeding from nose and mouth; her face was beaten and swollen, her lips puffy and split. Jeeka touched her. She moaned, and coughed weakly.

Jeeka turned to the droolok. “We have to get her out of here. Now.”

“Urrr?”

“Please, Ben, now!”

“This is Tolla,” the creature said.

“Yes.”

Pause. “All right,” said the creature. “Help me get her into my mouth, then get on my back.” And they levered Tolla into the creature’s long lower jaw; it supported her head and back, although her legs and arms would dangle free. “That’s as good as it gets,” said Jeeka. “Try to keep her arms and legs from touching the ground.”

“Urr. Ow et on,” said the creature. Jeeka scrambled up onto its back, and dug her fingers into the thick fur she found there.

And the monster ran. Jeeka realized immediately that they were headed for the mushroom field. Behind them, the village sat silent, seemingly abandoned.

The creature could gallop like a horse, and its long legs ate up ground. They left the village behind quickly, and before long, Jeeka realized that they weren’t far from Ben’s mushroom field. The creature slowed to a canter, and then a walk, though it seemed to avoid the open areas, preferring to stay within the treeline. Finally, it stopped, and lowered its head, and gently deposited the unconscious Tolla on a grassy hummock. Jeeka slid down from the monster’s back, and checked Tolla. Still breathing, and seemingly no worse than she had been, although now she was slimy with the monster’s spit. Well, if that’s the worst we have to deal with…

She glanced behind her, and stifled a gasp. The creature was half its previous size, its mass flowing liquidly, shrinking, and rapidly adopting a human shape. Within a second, Ben hunched where the monster had been, sitting on his hands and knees, his speaker stone dangling from his neck.

“You have clothes on. Where did your clothes go? And what the hell was THAT thing?” she said.

“Entelodont,” said Ben, climbing to his feet. “Biggest scariest thing I could think of that I have enough body mass to imitate with a morph spell. And your clothes come back when you shift back to your previous form; it’s part of the spell. I think her arm is broken.”

“I think so,” said Jeeka. “What the hell were you doing?”

“Toorih, I flew in as fast as I could, and saw you duking it out with some madman with a spear,”  said Ben. “He didn’t look like he was going to listen to reason, and you were too close to risk hitting him with a ranged attack. I triggered the morph spell and did my damndest to avoid landing on you. I hoped he’d lose interest when an entelodont fell out of the sky, and I was right. Also got everyone else cleared out so we could get away in the confusion. Best case scenario, I think. Isn’t it?”

Jeeka stopped. “You’re right. Thank you. What can we do for Tolla?”

“What happened to her?”

“The madman happened to her. This is my fault,” said Jeeka. Her heart filled her throat, and she felt like crying. “I need your help.”

Ben looked on silently.

“I need you to take her home with us.”

Ben’s lips pursed, then thinned thoughtfully. “Home? The cave?”

“Yes.”

“This… is not what a goblin would do.”

“No. But it is what I need you to do. Prum did this to strike at me. This is my fault. It’s my fault he did this to her. And the goblin in me says that I can just walk away, because it didn’t happen to me. And the woman in me, the weak pathetic human, says that I have to make this right, and I can’t make it right. And I have to beg you to help me.”

Ben looked down at Tolla.

(“I offer my status as obligation,”) said Jeeka, in goblin speech.

Ben’s head jerked up. “I … know what that means.”

“And so do I. Do this for me, and –”

Ben dropped to his knees and examined Tolla. “I can’t see in the dark,” he said. “I hope to hell she doesn’t have any neck or spinal injuries. If so, if the entelodont ride didn’t kill her, this will.” And with that, he lifted her in his arms.

“Can’t we use the windwalker spell?”

“I don’t have the power, toorih. The morph spell ate up my reserve power... I have about enough energy at the moment to get us ten feet up and then drop us all on our butts.  We’re on foot now.”

And he turned, and walked toward the treeline, carrying Tolla, and Jeeka walked with him.

Chapter Text

Ben walked out of the bedroom, and began putting things back on the Magic Junk Shelf.

“Well?” asked Jeeka.

“No neck or spine injuries, thank the Maker,” said Ben. “Face beat to shit. Looks like someone hit her in the throat; her larynx is bruised. She shouldn’t talk until it’s at least partially healed. No head injuries that I can find. Don’t think she has a concussion, but it’s hard to tell; I’m not a doctor, and goblin eyes don’t work like human eyes do. Right arm broken at the forearm, AND dislocated at the shoulder; I fixed the shoulder and splinted her forearm; both bones are fractured. She’ll need a cast if it’s going to heal properly, and it will take time. A couple of cracked ribs; looks like someone kicked her in the slats while she was down. One ankle’s swollen but not broken; looks like a bad sprain. I taped the ribs and coated her hurts with pain cream, but it’s only topical; it won’t speed the healing. And I’ll still need to put a cast on that arm later. Right now, she needs to stay in that bed for a while. Your playmate Prum seems to have had it in for her.”

“Because she told him no,” said Jeeka bitterly, “and because I humiliated him.”

“Seems like this guy would have found a reason if you hadn’t given him one,” said Ben. He went to the coldbox and got his carafe of fruit juice and two cups, and brought them to the table, and poured them, then put down the carafe and drank one. Jeeka saw that he looked wrong, fatigued, like he hadn’t slept in too long.

“Are you all right?”

“Pushed my limits,” he said, putting the cup down. “I’ll be all right after a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast. I need to draw strength, replenish my energy. Morph spells aren’t easy; it’s kind of my last line of defense.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jeeka. Her face felt hot, and her eyes kept wanting to fill with tears. She closed her eyes hard, but the tears ran anyway, trickling down her cheeks. Ben saw, and made a sound, and came to her, and she began to sob and he held her, and she pressed his face into his shirt and cried.

“This is my fucking fault,” she said.

“It’s not bad,” he said. “She’s safe. She’ll live. She’ll heal. I’m safe, you’re safe. We’re all safe. And give me a couple days, and I’ll arrange for that Prum asshole to meet a large carnivore.”

“I want his ekkska on a plate,” Jeeka snarled.

“Get in line,” smiled Ben. And for a moment, Jeeka laughed and cried at the same time. And then she remembered.

“I offered you my status as obligation,” she said. “I am ready to honor that.”

Ben’s face fell. “I think we’re kind of beyond that, don’t you think?”

“If anyone ever deserved it, you do.”

Ben looked chagrined. “I’m dead on my feet, Jeeka. I barely have the strength to hold you, much less fuck you. And if I’m going to fuck you, I would rather do it with my Green Treasure than with one who offers herself like coins to pay a bill. We’re beyond that.”

Jeeka looked downward. Ben said, “Look at me.”

Jeeka looked at him.

“You pulled me out of madness,” he said. “I pull you out of obligation. I want you, not your servitude. Just… do me a favor, and don’t let her figure out where she is, okay? At least, not until we can talk to her and figure out what we’re going to do about this.”

“All right,” said Jeeka. Her heart lifted a little. Not much, but a little.

“Now you go to bed,” said Ben. “Make sure you give her plenty of room. Don’t jostle her.”

“Where are you going to sleep?”

Ben looked around. “In here,” he said. “Not room in that bed for three. Hell, I never expected it to hold two.”

********************************************

Tolla opened her eyes.

Everything hurt. On the other hand, she was alive. Her eyes flickered around. Dim light. Where was the light coming from? Where was she? There seemed to be a ceiling overhead. Hut? No, it looked like stone.

Prum. Where the fuck was PRUM? She tried to sit up and a hundred hurts exploded, and lights triggered behind her eyes. She tried to cry out, and her throat hurt, too, and all she managed was a weak croak.

And Jeeka was there. “Shh, baby, toorih, sweet, don’t talk, your throat is hurt, don’t talk. Whisper.”

Tolla’s eyes flickered back and forth. “Prum?” she whispered.

“Gone. Not here. He doesn’t know where you are. You’re safe.”

“You all right?”

“I’m fine, sweet one. We’re fine. Everythng is good. We’re safe here.”

“Water?”

Jeeka leaped from the bed, ducked into the main room to snatch a cup, and fill it from the cistern, and ran back to the bedroom, splashing half the water out on the way. Carefully she helped Tolla lever her head up and drink.

“Where are we?” whispered Tolla.

“Miles from the village,” said Jeeka. “A safe place. There’s food and water, and no one knows we’re here.”

“Sorry,” rasped Tolla. “You were asleep. He got me.”

“Don’t talk. At least, not about that. Time for that later,” whispered Jeeka. “Where does it hurt?”

“My face,” whispered Tolla back. “Did he cut me?”

“He beat you up,” said Jeeka. “But you’ll heal. Anywhere else?”

“Throat. Shoulder. Arm. Side hurts bad. Ankle.”

“But not your back, neck, or head?”

“A little lightheaded. Neck is okay. Back is okay.”

“Are you hungry? Need the latrine?”

“No. Don’t think I could eat. Don’t need latrine,” said Tolla. “Mostly I wanted to know Prum wasn’t around.”

“Sleep, baby,” said Jeeka softly. “Last I saw of Prum, he was running for his life with his own shit streaking down his legs.”

“Wish I’d seen that,” whispered Tolla with a smile.

“Sleep, Tolla,” whispered Jeeka. “Harm can’t find you here.”

Tolla closed her eyes. Jeeka stayed with her. After a while, Tolla’s breathing evened out, and she started to make a slight nasal whine, a rhythmic noise, in time with her breathing. Jeeka smiled and carefully got out the bed, slowly, so not to disturb her.

Jeeka walked into the living room, and glanced off at the central glow, at the apex of the ceiling. Still dark, but some of the peripheral glow-spots down near the sides of the ceiling vault had begun to glow. Morning was here.

She walked around the counter, and looked down at Ben, who had pushed the main table aside, and built himself a nest of blankets and furs on the floor. He hadn’t awakened yet. I’ve chased you out of your own bed, she thought, and this time we can’t even dump anyone in the middle of a village. Rage and shame and bitterness welled up in her gut and rose in her throat like bile. You didn’t deserve this. None of us did. That shitbag is building up a debt I ache to pay him back double.

She brought up her hand, and snapped her fingers. “Kackalorum,” she growled. Flame flicked from her fingertip, but it did not fade. It stayed, blazing at the tip of her fingernail, blazing like the anger in her heart. And unbidden, a thought caressed the underside of her mind.

“Kackalorum kakatal,” she hissed.

Her entire hand burst into flame

Jeeka stared. It didn’t hurt at all. The fine hairs on her knuckles crisped and vanished. “Kakatal!”

And her hand flared bright. She swept it in front of her. It left a trail like a blazing comet, mirroring her rage, and went out after a few seconds. Suddenly, she felt lightheaded, and staggered a bit, bracing herself against the table.

Fuck, she thought. Is this what Ben felt like last night? He said I needed to learn to store power. I will. I will learn to store power, lots of power. I will learn to use this, all of it, all of this and more.

And I will smell your roasting flesh, and I will hear you scream, you ratfuck son of an ogre!

Chapter Text

Ben awoke. He was warm, but not comfortable; the floor was stone, and the blankets weren’t near enough cushion, and his side hurt from lying on it. That’s it, he thought, time to build a damn couch for this place, long enough and wide enough to nap on. I wonder if that town woman would make me couch cushions if I asked?

He realized Jeeka was curled up with him, under his arm. What was she doing here? He’d sent her to go sleep with Tolla. On the other hand, he was glad for the company. He buried his nose in her hair. She growled appreciatively; apparently, she was awake. He hugged her close to him; she responded by rolling over, and throwing an arm and a leg over him. Ben grinned and rearranged the blanket to cover what had become disheveled.

“Morning,” he said softly.

“Morning,” Jeeka whispered.

“Hungry?”

Jeeka thought about it. “Yes,” she said. “I am. What’s to eat?”

“I was going to make pancakes, but given the night we had, I think I’ll just rustle up some potluck. Sausage or something.”

“Pancakes,” she said. “I know the word, but I can’t get a picture.”

“You’ve never had them,” said Ben, sitting up. “I never bothered. But now we have honey. But now, I also lack the energy to make them. I do believe I want some tea.”

“Tea, I can make,” said Jeeka, throwing off the blanket and rolling out of the pallet.

“How is she?” asked Ben.

“Better. Face looks worse, but it’s like that before it gets better. She shouldn’t talk but she can whisper. No head pains. Everything else seems to be knitting. She should sleep, but later today, I want her to eat something.” Naked, Jeeka wandered over to the firebox and lit it in her accustomed manner. Ben watched her bend over, and enjoyed the view while she did so, and struggled to his feet.

“You’re still dressed,” Jeeka noted, spooning tea into the infuser and clicking it shut.

“We have a guest. I’ll scare her badly enough with clothes on, if she sees me.”

“She’s asleep. Go get showered. Let me take care of you for a change. I know where everything is.”

Ben opened his mouth to argue, and then reconsidered. She did know where everything was. This was as much her home now as his. And he did need a bath. And clean clothes. He shrugged, and began to skin out of his clothes, there, in the middle of the living room. Jeeka noticed this, and paused to appreciate the view. Ben saw her appreciating, and they smiled at each other.

“Toorih,” he said, “It occurs to me that all my clothes are in the chest in the bedroom. Think you could go get me a robe? If she wakes up and sees you, it won’t scare her.” Jeeka smiled again, and strolled nude across the cooking area, strutting her assets for his benefit, and smiled at him as she vanished down the hall.

Almost normal, Ben thought with a grin, sitting down to extract his leg from his trousers.

And in sitting, he saw the scorch mark on the far end of the table. The mark in the shape of a four fingered hand, three fingers and a thumb.

Jeeka reentered the room with Ben’s robe thrown over her shoulder. Ben looked at her. “Something you’d like to tell me about?” he said, glancing back at the scorch mark.

Jeeka followed his gaze, and she saw the mark. She looked back at Ben, and bit her lip. “Marking my territory?”

Ben looked at her solemnly. “You are my green treasure,” he said. “And you will mark what is yours. But you didn’t do that with the kackalorum cantrip.”

Jeeka said nothing. She looked at her hand.

“The kakatal escalation?”

Still biting her lip, she nodded. “The fire went out, and I got a little dizzy,” she said. “I didn’t realize my hand was still hot when I braced myself on the table. It didn’t feel hot from the inside.”

“A spell that burned the one using it wouldn’t be much good. It protects whatever’s on fire, but nothing else. It’s a good thing you didn’t put your hand on your leg, or scratch your nose. Next time, wait longer, or shake your hand off; you’ll see the air ripple around it. That’s the heat dissipating. Then you can touch things. Do you have any idea how you knew to do that?” Ben said.

Jeeka handed Ben the robe, and he stood and put it on. “I was angry,” she said. “I wanted to cook that bastard like you cooked that fool in the helmet. And… the word… just … came. I’ve heard you say kackalorum before, but I have no idea where kakatal came from. And my hand caught fire. I waved it around for a few seconds, and then it went out, and then I got dizzy.”

“Mmhm,” Ben said. “That was your power reserve running out. Anger is a source of quick power, but it can only take you so far. Good thing, too; when you charge up your hand like that, you need to push the heat away from you, throw it outward. If you’d built up more power, and not done that, you might have cooked your hand, or blown it off.”

Jeeka’s eyes got big. She glanced at the scorch mark again. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s just a table. But don’t do that again until we can go over some of the basics.”

Jeeka frowned. “I want to do that. I want to learn,” she said, going to the hotbox to check the kettle. “But not today. I need to get back to the village for a little while, find out what anyone saw. I need to know that my mother is all right, and I want to know where the hell Morr was when that nonsense was going on.”

Ben glanced at the bedroom. “I understand,” he said. “When can you be back? I can toss a sleeping spell into the bedroom for the time being. Won’t do her harm, and might do her some good.”

“I can be back by this afternoon, assuming Mother is all right,” said Jeeka, who waved a finger in front of the kettlespout. Judging the water hot enough, she tossed the infuser into the teapot, and poured water into it.

“Done, then,” said Ben. “Take the speaker stone with you, and I’ll wear mine. If something goes sideways, I want to know.”

“Done,” said Jeeka. She poured tea into cups for herself and Ben, and Ben took his and drank with obvious satisfaction.

“I need to put together something resembling a real bed,” he said. “I slept on the ground for ages, once. Now I can’t stand it.” He took another gulp of tea. “But this helps.” He glanced down the hall toward the waterfall room. “Join me?”

“I’ll stay here and put together a breakfast before I go,” Jeeka said. Ben nodded, drained his tea, and, putting the cup down, turned to the hall.

“Ben?”

“Yes?”

“If I were to manage the kackalorum kakatal escalation,” she asked tentatively, “and learn to hold enough power to put some oomph behind it… how would you feel about me using it on that shitbag Prum? Seriously?”

Ben glanced at the bedroom. “My treasure, if you do such a thing, I hope you jam your hand up his ass and send his fried teeth and tonsils flying halfway to the moon.”

Jeeka grinned, showing teeth. She pointed at Ben. “Goblin.”

Ben gave her that wry grin she had come to enjoy. He pointed a thumb to his chest. “Pissed off human,” he said.

Chapter Text

After Ben’s bath, he had cast the sleep spell into the bedroom, and he and Jeeka made a hasty breakfast and a hastier departure. Ben dropped her off in the customary spot near her village, and then sailed skyward again, saying he had business with the humans. Jeeka wished she could accompany him; she’d enjoyed her visit to the human village. It had been educational, and she rather wanted to see the dry goods store again, and perhaps examine other stores. But for the time being, priorities had to be priorities.

She slipped around the periphery of the village, noticing that sentries had been posted at the trails leading in. Seeing no way around it, she finally walked up to one and presented herself.

“Your mother will be happy to know that you’ve escaped again,” said the sentry, whose name was Dint. “You have a knack for dodging death, even when it steps on you. Lucky!” he said, waving her through. In minutes, she was at her mother’s, who wrapped her arms around her like an attack.

“I was sure you were dead this time,” gasped Mother.

“No, the monster seemed more interested in Prum,” said Jeeka. “No accounting for taste, I suppose. Can you tell me what else happened?”

“Well, nearly everyone spent the night in the trees,” Mother said. “But the monster is gone and hasn’t returned. No one’s seen it, or you, or Tolla, or Prum since then. I was sure it ate you. Tolla is still missing, but there’s no blood; it might have carried her off.”

“No one saw what happened?” asked Jeeka.

“I was hoping you could tell me!” said Mother. “I begged someone to tell me what had happened, but apparently, partway through the fight, Prum started cheating, and someone decided that perhaps people should leave and then a monster leaped from the sky, and after that, it was everyone for himself, all assholes and elbows! No one stayed to see!”

Inwardly, Jeeka relaxed. She’d been afraid of having to explain her conversation with a droolok, but if no one had seen anything…

”Where was Morr when all that was going on?”

“Morr was out with one of his women,” Mother said. “And he was in a rage, when he got back! Supposedly calling you out for a fair fight would have been one thing, but attacking that Tolla woman and then facing off with you with a spear was another… and then, there were all those things he said. Everyone and his brother were there, repeating what Prum had to say during the fight, about how he knew the law, he was the law, blah blah blah. Morr was … displeased about that. If and when Prum gets back, he’s going to have some ugly questions to answer, and I don’t think he has any allies to stand up for him.”

**********************************************

Rieka half expected the knock on the door, and was not afraid when she answered it, and it was indeed the Wizard. “I have come for what is mine,” he said. “Do you have it?”

“I do,” smiled Rieka. She turned and picked up a nearby bag and handed it to him. He noted the construction of the bag. “I had fabric left over,” she said. “Is that all right?”

“That is delightful,” the wizard said. “Everything is as I specified?”

“Exactly as you said. I guarantee it. What shall I do with the leftover fabric?”

“Our contract is concluded. Keep whatever remains, and use it as you see fit,” said Ben, making a gesture over the woman’s chest. She gasped; she was quite sure she felt the mark leaving her heart, despite the fact that Ben had never actually put it there in the first place. “I call good luck and blessings upon you and your house, good lady. Fare well.”

He took the bag, and stepped away, and then stopped suddenly.

Rieka was suddenly alarmed. Was something wrong? Had she messed something up?

“Before I go,” said the wizard, “Do you have any experience at making… cushions?”

************************************************

Two hours later, and Jeeka was ready to leave again.

Mother was reassured; her daughter had cheated death yet again, and that terrible Prum was facing a judgment he would not enjoy if he ever came back! A shame about that poor Tolla, though, even if she was Fire Clan.

The rest of Fire Clan was all right, although Tolla’s brother was apparently quite sad about her apparent death. No one seemed to have any idea what had happened to Prum, although everyone had a story about seeing him frantically fleeing the village in his shit streaked britches; some laughed at him, while others grumbled about his deranged speech, and yet others complained that he would have won the fight if the droolok hadn’t stolen his victory.

No one had any idea what the monster had been, where it came from, or where it had gone, although the general consensus was that it had taken Tolla and wandered off somewhere to eat its unfortunate supper. A shame, but, after all, it was just Fire Clan, and if she’d just obeyed lawful authority, well, she wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place…

In her tent, Jeeka went through Tolla’s meager possessions. Another deerskin skirt. Two deerskin tops, sleeveless. No fabric clothes at all. A tool harness, but no tools, no knife. No breechclouts, no thongs, no nothing. A few furs. The ragged remains of her tent, and some rope. A wooden cup that looked like someone had made quite an effort to break it, but failed. Her knife, a knapped flint, had been used to make her spearhead, the spear that Prum had stolen, and now no one knew where it had gone.

Jeeka sat on her bed and took a deep breath. Life went on. No one seemed greatly concerned about Prum or Tolla, aside from Morr, who had simply asked if she had seen what had happened to either one of them. When she had answered no, he hadn’t questioned, but seemed more interested in what she knew about the droolok, where it had come from, where it had gone.

Her official version of the story, for Morr and the council, was that she and Tolla had been watching each other’s backs, but while she was asleep, Prum had sneaked up and coshed Tolla. He had beaten her, and then called Jeeka out, using Tolla as bait to force her to fight. So she’d drawn her knife, but Prum refused to fight fairly, insisting on using a spear. All this was true, as far as she knew. She had lied about not having any clue what the droolok was, where it had come from, where it had gone, and whether or not it had eaten Tolla, and whether or not it was likely to return. In fact, Jeeka had an idea that the village hadn’t seen the last of that droolok, not so long as Prum was still running around loose somewhere…

“Mmm,” Morr had said. “A shame. Prum brought us more bad luck than all of Fire Clan put together. “

And Jeeka sat on her bed and looked at Tolla’s things. She rolled everything together in the remains of Tolla’s tent, and set on her way back to the cave. Ben’s cave. Her cave. And wondered what to do when Tolla finally woke up.

***************************************

Tolla woke again, from what felt like a deep slumber. She had to pee.

The first thing she saw was that her entire right arm was embedded in some sort of clay. She tapped it experimentally. It was rock hard. But her fingers extended out of the other end, and her thumb, and she realized it was intended to keep her from trying to rotate her broken arm. Well, not much chance of that.

Carefully, using her left arm, she dug herself out from under the bedding. And what strange bedding! Some of it was fur, but others seemed to be great squares of some sort of fine cloth. One was knit from yarn, but the yarn was in all colors! How fine a thing was this? And one square, she was completely unsure of; was it fur, or was it skin, or … what the hell WAS it? Well, it was soft, and comfortable, and had been warm, and it certainly hadn’t done any harm.

And the second thing she saw was that she was naked.

Upon levering herself upright, she found her clothes on the floor to her right. She sighed; they had been cut away from her. They could be repaired, but they reminded her of how her good clothes had been stolen and found spoiled or destroyed when she had left her tent unattended. What was she going to wear? At least until new clothes could be obtained, or these poor rags fixed...

“Jeeka?” she called. She shouldn’t have; it hurt her throat. No answer, anyway.

She spared the room a glance. It was dome shaped, windowless, and seemed to be made of stone. Dimly lit, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out where the light was coming from. Over on the left side of the bed was a little table, and some sort of largish wooden box. Time to examine that later. She still had to pee.

Wrapping a blanket around her, she hobbled to the door. Her ankle hurt like perdition itself; she realized she wasn’t going to be doing much walking for a while. She poked her head out of the doorway and whistled. No one responded. What sort of place was this anyway? The doorway opened into a hallway with several other doorways in it; none of them seemed to have doors or curtains or anything. To her right, just down the hall, seemed to be a largish well lit room with tables and chairs in it, and to her left, more doorways, and more hallway leading to the sound of falling water. She could smell water, as well. And a doorway directly across the hallway… some sort of a chair? With a hole in it? A privy?

She hobbled across the hall, supporting herself with her good arm. Yes. A privy. Looking around to see if there was anyone – there wasn’t – she dropped the blanket, hobbled into the room, and sat down. If this wasn’t a privy, she was going to have some awkward questions to answer… but if it wasn’t, why the basket of dry leaves? And where the hell was the light coming from?

Finishing, Tolla picked up the blanket and wrapped herself up again. Back out into the hall. Her ankle hurt, a lot, but Tolla’s curiosity drove her on. She hobbled down towards the sound of water. Along the way, she glanced into several other rooms; they contained tables and chairs and a number of incomprehensible things. Who lived here, anyway? Where was she?

At the end of the hallway, she saw pinholes of light in the ceiling; another two steps took her into an amazing room with three waterfalls in it, and a number of pools. Streams of daylight entered through the pinholes. Finally, a place where the light source was obvious. One of the pools seemed to have something in it. She crouched, careful not to put pressure on the ankle, and reached for it, hooked it with her fingers. Something came loose from the main mass, and she drew it from the pool, soaked and dripping, and looked at it. After a moment, she realized it was one of Jeeka’s blouses, the one with the embroidery around the cuffs.

So. Jeeka was washing her clothes here. That was reassuring. Jeeka had said the place was safe, that harm couldn’t find her here. Was this where Jeeka went when she disappeared for days? Was this …Ben’s place?

Tolla hobbled to the room at the other end of the hallway. She still couldn’t figure out where the light was coming from, but the big room seemed to make a sort of sense. A long table separated a thin section of room from the rest; the smaller section had metal things hanging from the wall. Metal! And in the larger section of room, there were two other tables, and several chairs. Big chairs. This Ben must be a big person; the seat of the chair was nearly waist high!

These chairs were big enough… to suit a human! And the table… but… the table was marked with the print of a goblin hand. Why would a human table be marked with a goblin handprint?

She looked around. A doorway led out into sunlight, although it seemed to be an opening into a narrow stone corridor. Still, it was outdoors. There were tapestries hanging from the walls, adding warmth and color. Two shelves. One contained a number of bottles and jars and incomprehensible things, so many!

And the other… Tolla gasped. This was amazing. She hobbled to the second shelf. Yes. The shelf was loaded, top to bottom, with … bwooks!

Carefully, she removed one of the bwooks from its resting place with its brothers. She opened it, turned some of its pages. She couldn’t read it, of course, but the little marks were smaller than in the one bwook she’d ever seen before. It made sense; you could fit more words in, that way.

The fourth page contained a picture, a stunning color picture, of a mountain range somewhere, a mountainside covered with trees, and the trees were changing color, the way they did when winter was coming! Such an amazing picture! How had it been painted? She squinted, but couldn’t even see the brush strokes! Its vibrant color and aching beauty …

She didn’t dare touch it. She might damage this beautiful, holy thing.

This must be why Ben lived alone! Such incredible wealth! No sane goblin would EVER let on that he’d accumulated so much wealth! He’d be robbed BLIND! No WONDER he didn’t want to join a tribe! Where had he GOT all this?

“Tolla?”

Tolla jerked around. Jeeka was standing in the doorway, holding a roll of hides. “Why are you not in bed?”

*****************************************

Back in bed, Tolla examined the food that Jeeka had brought her.

“These are good,” said Tolla. “What are they?”

“Summer sausage,” said Jeeka, devouring a slice of one. “The little yellowy white things are cheese.”

“Sossaj? But these look like little meat biscuits. I thought sossaj looked like dicks.”

“They do,” said Jeeka, picking up another slice. “This is what happens when you have a sausage as big as an ogre’s cock. It’s easier to eat when you cut it in slices. They fry up nice. I think I like the summer sausage better even than the other kinds. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” said Tolla. Tolla did look better, thought Jeeka. Face was still swollen, and her side looked like someone had painted it in a dozen shades of green and purple, but that would improve. “Is this where you killed the human?” asked Tolla.

The sudden shift of conversation threw Jeeka. “Uh, what?”

“When you were lamed, and the human caught you in the mushroom field,” Tolla said.

Jeeka’s mind raced. What to tell her?

“I bet this is where the human lived,” said Tolla.

“Err,” said Jeeka.

“And then this male of yours, Ben, found it, and claimed it. And now it is his house, filled with all these human things. I bet that’s how this all came about.”

If the wheels of Jeeka’s mind had been spinning any faster, smoke would have been coming out of her ears. “Um,” said Jeeka. “Perhaps. I never asked.”

“Didn’t you say the human took you to his home?”

“Um, yes, but never inside it,” said Jeeka.

“Did it look like this?”

“I, um, really can’t say. Mainly, I just wanted to escape, to be gone.” That was true enough, at least.

“Mmm,” said Tolla. “I bet that’s it. You killed the human, and then this Ben showed up and claimed all the treasure. That’s so … male.”

“Mmmm,” said Jeeka noncommittally.

“When will I meet this Ben?” said Tolla.

Jeeka choked on her sausage.

Chapter Text

Ben glanced into the doorway. The main room was empty. He slipped in as quietly as he could, listening carefully. Was Tolla awake?

Ben put the bag down by the front door, and glanced around. It was so strange, having to sneak in and out of his own house. Because of goblins. Not because he was afraid of them, but so as to not disturb one of them. The gods have a sense of humor, thought Ben. Just look around you.

Idly, he wished his hearing was as good as Jeeka’s. But there didn't seem to be much conversation, so he guessed that no one had heard anything.

As quietly as possible, Ben slipped over to the cups and picked one up, and filled it from the cistern, and drank. He would have liked some fruit juice, but getting it would have involved opening the coldbox, and he didn’t want to make noise.

“Ben?”

Ben glanced up. Jeeka leaned in from the hallway. (“Is she awake?”) whispered Ben in Ilric.

“She’s out cold,” said Jeeka in the speech of men. “I fed her a big lunch. She asked about this place and about you, and I mainly dodged her questions.” Stepping into the main room, Jeeka climbed into a chair and slumped. “I knew you’d be back sooner or later, and I just … decided to postpone the inevitable. So I mixed some of your fruit juice with some of your booz and told her it was medicine.”

“Which one?"

“Black label, gold border.”

“Mmm. Well, that’ll solve the problem. For awhile.”

Jeeka sighed. “Is there a way to hang a curtain or a blanket or something over the bedroom door? It’d make it easier for her not to glimpse you if she glances out the door. Or the next time you have to use the privy. Or take a bath. Or… pretty much anything. I’ve been going crazy trying to figure out how to hammer pegs into solid rock. How did you do it?”

“Used the shaper unit. I’ll take care of that right now,” said Ben, getting up and going into the hall. He returned with another of the Magic Junks, and a few moments later, curtains hung before the hall doorway, the bedroom doorway, and the privy doorway, held by wooden pegs pressed through the fabric and into the stone.

“We can’t keep this up forever,” said Jeeka. “Sooner or later, she’s going to realize what you are.”

“Yes,” said Ben. “And… I don’t know what to say. Some of my people have, no doubt, figured out that I’m sleeping with a goblin. One of them is sure of it, but she thinks it’s funny. The others… well… I don’t have to care what they think.”

“I do care what Tolla thinks,” said Jeeka despairingly. “She’s been through a lot. And a lot of it is my fault. And a month ago, she was a stranger to me. And now… I … don’t know what she is to me.”

Ben drank his water and was silent.

“But I know I don’t want to hurt her any worse than she’s already suffered.”

“What will you tell her,” said Ben, “when she asks why there are suddenly curtains everywhere?”

“That’s easy,” said Jeeka. “She’s in our bed, naked as a frog. I will tell her that I am jealous, that I don’t want my Ben standing over her, staring at her tits as she sleeps.”

Ben glanced over at the curtain with a slight grin. Jeeka made a face. “She does have nice tits,” said Jeeka. “Fact is, I would like to stand over her and look at her tits while she sleeps.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Pay me a coin and you can have three minutes’ looking,” smiled Jeeka.

“Mmm. Worth it? Yours are the only goblin tits I’ve ever seen. And look what they did to me.”

Jeeka giggled. Ben smiled. “I’ve said before that my tits saved me from the human creature,” she said. “Will my tits save me again, when she finds out that I am okshiff to a human creature?”

“I guess that depends on who she is,” said Ben. “She’s used to being treated badly. How’s she going to feel about treating you badly? For whatever reason? Especially after what you’ve done for her?”

“She wouldn’t have suffered what she has if not for me, Ben,” said Jeeka sadly. “If she hadn’t had me, if I’d just acted like a goblin, left her to her own fate, stuck to my own business, she’d have accepted her fate as Prum’s toy. He’d have kicked her around a while, got bored, and finally left her in peace, instead of making a killing matter out of it. This is my fault.”

“Because you stood up for her when no one else would. Because you guarded her so she could sleep. Because you defended the defenseless. Because you drew blade on a shitbag because you would not tolerate his behavior any longer. Those are things to be proud of, Jeeka.”

“If you’re a human,” she said. “Is that why I did what I did? Because I have human in my head? It still seems like the right thing to do. Will she see it that way?”

“Only one thing will tell.”

“And I’m terrified of that.”

“Then don’t worry about it,” said Ben. “Let her sleep. Let tomorrow happen as it happens.” He stepped forward, and wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her on top of the head. “Be a goblin, then. Relax now. Panic later.”

Jeeka wrapped her arms around Ben’s great torso as best she could, and leaned into the embrace. After a moment, she scooted to the edge of the chair and wrapped her legs around him, too.

And after a moment, she said, “Ben?”

“Yes?”

“I kind of want you. But I feel disgusting. Wash?”

Ben smiled. “A motion for a hot bath is always in order, my green treasure.”

Stealthily, Jeeka slipped into the bedroom, and fished several robes out of the clothing chest; not only would they be good to dry in, but they might pad out the pallet in the living room for poor Ben. She paused a moment to lift the blankets and look at Tolla’s tits for a moment (because I am terrible, she thought).

And Ben and Jeeka spent the next hour in the waterfall cave, washing themselves. And literally nothing else.

“Don’t touch me,” said Jeeka. “Make me wait.”

And Ben did.

And they retired to the living room, again. Jeeka glanced past the curtain to the bedroom; Tolla slept still.

Ben insisted that Jeeka sit in a chair, and he brushed out her thick black mane, whose sunbleached highlights had yet to quite fade. He insisted on doing this until her hair was dry and crackled with life all around her. To repay him his cruelty, Jeeka then forced him to switch chairs with her while she brushed out HIS hair. And his beard. And held her lips wickedly close to his own.

“Don’t touch me,” she said. “Make me wait.”

“You don’t make it easy.”

“How do you think I feel?”

“I don’t have to guess. Your robe is open, and your nipples are like rocks.”

“I’m tired of waiting,” she said, and climbed into the chair with him. A few weeks later, she broke the kiss, and they both stopped to breathe. Heavily. “Lie down with me, Ben.”

Ben gathered her up, and, still holding her, moved the few steps to the pallet and laid her out. She wiggled out of her robe as he lay down beside her. She hooked a leg over him and pulled him close and their lips met again, for another few brief eternities, before she broke the kiss again. She sighed.

“I’m starting to want to bite you again,” she said. Ben smiled. “I don’t want to have to worry about that, now. I’m tired of worrying about things. This place has become a place where I never had to worry about anything, and now my worries have followed me, even here.”

“Let me see what I can do about that,” said Ben, who was drawing little circles around her bellybutton with a fingertip.

“I was really, REALLY hoping you’d say something like that. You are indeed my great, great magic.” Jeeka’s eyes veered to the ceiling and closed, as she enjoyed the feel of Ben’s wandering fingertip on her skin. She unhooked her leg and rolled over on her back and smiled. Perhaps more fingers would accept her invitation. Or even other things. She felt Ben’s arm slip beneath her head, and felt him move closer to her side on the pallet, and she smiled, and waited.

“Ventrassi sensorum kontesti,” said Ben.

Jeeka’s eyes flicked open. “What are you doing? Are you casting a spell on me?”

“No,” he said. “Not like the one you’ve cast on me.” And he bent to kiss her.

Jeeka accepted exactly three seconds of kiss before pressing back on his chest. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

“Trying something new,” he said. “How does this feel?” And he reached down with his index finger and drew a circle around her navel again.

Jeeka gasped.

“Does it hurt?” said Ben.

“No,” said Jeeka. “Do that again?” This time she watched intently as his finger dipped and did a slow circle around her navel. She felt a strange, light, almost electric sensation where he touched her, and she was astonished to see her skin glow, as if lit from inside, at his touch. As he drew the circle, the trail of bright green lingered for a few seconds in the path of his finger. When he reached the point where he’d started, he lifted his finger, and she marveled as the comma shaped mark of bright green faded to her normal skin tone, taking the strange sensation with it.

“How does it feel to you?” asked Ben.

Jeeka said nothing, instead looking him in the eye for a moment, and then seizing his hand and moving the finger up to a nipple. “Again,” she ordered.

Ben, obediently, drew a circle around her nipple. And again, that strange zingy sensation lit up beneath her skin, like being touched, but more so, slightly more intense, and all the more so because where he touched, her skin brightened, like a light through thin cloth. Jeeka marveled at the sight and sensation. And when the circle was complete, Ben ended by placing his thumb atop the nipple. And Jeeka gasped.

“Bad?” said Ben, suddenly drawing his hand away.

“No!” said Jeeka. “NOT bad. It’s like … like my nipple’s on fire, but in a GOOD way… do that again?”

Ben grinned wickedly. Shifting his weight, he scooched down the pallet a bit, and then suddenly levered himself over onto her, resting between her legs, his chin above her navel, resting on his elbows. Still bearing his wicked smile, he looked Jeeka in the eyes, before bowing to kiss her navel. Jeeka smiled back. And then, he spread his hands before his face, his ten strange human fingers, and quickly, one after another, stuck each fingertip into his mouth, wetting each one. And then he shaped each hand into an odd configuration, touching the tips of the thumbs to the tips of the index and pinky fingers, and he said, “Ventrassi sensorum kontesti.”

And all ten fingertips flickered with light, and faded.

“Ooohh, shit,” said Jeeka.

Still supporting himself on his elbows, Ben reached up and touched her nipples lightly with both hands, touching the tips of the fingers around her aureolas. Her nipples lit up a lambent fiery green, and the sensation was indescribable. Jeeka gasped, and took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then flicked them open again, for fear she’d miss something.

Ben swirled his fingertips around her nipples, and they did indeed feel like they were on fire, but in a good way. From there, he moved to cup her breasts in his hands, drawing the glowing finger trails down the outside of each breast, igniting every nerve along the way, never stopping, each glowy trail lasting several seconds before fading. He drew the trails down the sides of her breasts and down her ribs, making her gasp for breath, before resting his palms on each of her hips and drumming his fingertips playfully on her hipbones. Jeeka bit her lip and giggled.

Ben then placed all ten fingertips on her skin and let her feel the energy for a moment, before he drew all ten up to her bellybutton… and rested them there, on either side of her navel… where he licked another circle around it, and then blew on the wet circle.

Jeeka shivered, and wiggled under him delightfully. “Errrrgh! That’s too much!” she laughed. “What would that do if you touched my…”

“I have no idea,” said Ben. “Probably too much. I just worked this out a couple days ago. It’s a twist on the old Mother’s Kiss spell.”

“Mother’s Kiss?”

“When humans are little, and they hurt themselves, they go running to mommy, and mommy kisses it better. The spell is actually a local anaesthetic. This version reverses that. Instead of deadening sensation, it heightens it. I call it the Lovers’ Kiss. You’re not really feeling anything other than my fingertips, it’s just that it puts a little extra energy into it, heightens the sensation.”

“Lovers’ Kiss,” said Jeeka, dimpling. “What about the light up effect?”

“It was always a part of the original spell,” said Ben.

“You know,” said Jeeka, “goblin babies do the same thing when they bruise or scrape themselves. And goblin mothers do that same exact thing: kiss and make it better.” Jeeka looked at her own fingers. She narrowed her eyes, and sucked on her index fingertip, then touched her index, pinky, and thumb together. “How did that go? Ventrassi sensorum kontesti?” And with the words, she pushed her thoughts into it—

And her fingertips flickered.

Ben’s mouth fell open. “You saw me do that ONCE.”

“Was once enough?” she mused aloud. She drew the fingertip across her other arm. It lit up where she touched it, and she drew a short path which glowed green in its wake before fading. “It’s not as intense when I do it to myself, but I can feel it,” she said. And then she looked at Ben.

“Oh, shit,” he said.

Jeeka reached for his face. He didn’t stop her. At the last moment, she thought better of it, and touched his shoulder. At her touch, his flesh lit up, a deep reddish pink. He didn’t scream, but his eyes got big. He took a deep breath, and grinned. Smiling, she drew her finger up his shoulder and along his neck. “Bad?”

“Mm,” said Ben, with a silly grin on his face. “So that’s what that feels like from the outside. No, not bad. A little intense, but not bad at all.”

“How do you turn it off?”

“The spell fizzles out when the saliva dries on your fingers.”

Jeeka looked at her fingers experimentally. “So it won’t last long, then,” she said, half to herself. Jeeka promptly stuck her fingers in her mouth, first the right hand, then the left, wetting all her fingertips, and made the hand gestures, spoke the words. Her fingertips flared green. And she looked at Ben with her wide yellow eyes, and smiled.

“Trade places with me,” she said.

Ben looked at her interestedly. “Mmm. My elbows were getting tired anyway,” he said. Rolling off of her, he lay on his side while Jeeka sat up and got her feet under her, and Ben took her place, lying on his back. Jeeka licked her fingers again to moisten them, and, sitting beside him, began to draw colored trails of pink lines across his torso, around his nipples, circling his navel, teasingly crossing his pubic patch, before streaking back up his stomach. Ben groaned happily and relaxed on the pallet, soaking up the sensations, while Jeeka painted pictures on his chest, pink line drawings that lasted only seconds before fading again. After a minute or so, though, her power to light up his flesh faded, and she was merely stroking her fingers across his chest and stomach. “Fizzled,” she said sadly.

“Trade places again?” said Ben.

“Not yet,” she said. “I want to try something.” Licking her fingers and casting the spell again, she reached out and took hold of Ben’s semierect cock.

“Urf,” said Ben.

“Too much?”

“Not… yet,” he said uncertainly.

“Uncomfortable?”

“Believe me, it’s ANYTHING but uncomfortable, toorih.”

Jeeka could believe it. To keep it from getting too intense, she had to keep moving her fingertips around, but that created its own problems. As his cock enlarged, the trails went from pink to a passionate red. Jeeka giggled, and shifted her grip again as it grew stiff and hot in her hands. Experimentally, she let go with her left hand and cradled his testicles gently instead.

“RRrrng,” said Ben, his whole body stiffening.

“Did I hurt you?” said Jeeka, stopping.

“N-no,” stuttered Ben. “Not painful, no…” he chuckled weakly. “Intense!”

Jeeka stroked his cock, enjoying how his testicles glowed beneath her touch, and stroked his flickering red penis. She dipped her head to lick the tip—

“—don’t,” groaned Ben.

“No?”

“Jeeka, it’s everything I can do to hang on right now… you are SO INTENSE… if you do anything ELSE, you’re … going to be wearing my kzing. Lots of it,” he gasped. “I really don’t want this… to be over… so sooooooon…”

Jeeka grinned sharkishly. “No, you’re right,” she said, gently releasing his genitals. Ben relaxed visibly, and Jeeka entertained herself by drawing glyphs on his thighs. Ben gurgled and rolled his eyes theatrically, and Jeeka giggled and drew until the spell flickered out a moment later.

Ben chuckled. “And here I was, thinking I was going to be the one doing all this to you,” he said.

“And have all the fun for yourself?” purred Jeeka. “This really is too much fun. Just when I thought I was learning how to really fuck, that’s when you pull something new out.”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to figure it out quite so fast,” said Ben. “That was a damn quick study.”

Jeeka smiled broadly. “I think it would be more fun if both of us could do it.”

Ben smiled wryly. “Kind of break up the rhythm, though, having to stop and cast spells every couple of minutes, though. But, damn! It’s fun, though, isn’t it? I really didn’t expect to be on the receiving end.”

“You’re right,” said Jeeka. “It’s fun to start with, but we can’t stop and cast spells every few minutes. But the starting is part of the fun.” With that, she straightened up, and swung a leg over him, and moved to straddle him, evoking a wider grin from him as she did so. And when she was firmly situated, she made the hand symbol, and spoke the words… but then licked her lips. And they coruscated, briefly.

Ben’s eyebrows went up. “I… never thought of …”

“Be quiet,” said Jeeka, and braced her arms on either side of his head, and leaned forward and kissed him. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her waist. She slipped her arms around his neck. And this time, they didn’t break the kiss for a while.

There was a brief, shrill noise, like a strangled croak.

The kiss broke. Ben and Jeeka’s eyes flickered open, and they both looked to Jeeka’s right.

Standing outside the hallway, one hand braced on the counter’s end, wrapped in a blanket, was Tolla, a look of horror on her face.

Chapter Text

“Oh, vok,” snarled Jeeka, her heart in her throat. She struggled to get up off of Ben, who was already struggling to sit up.

Tolla staggered backwards, and croaked a shrill croak again. Ben realized she was trying to scream. “Jeeka, she has to stop screaming! She could injure her vocal cords, maybe permanently!”

Tolla took another step back, keened again, and fell on her ass, blanket and all.

Jeeka rolled off of Ben and made her feet almost instantly, and ran to Tolla, crouching between her and Ben. (“Baby, sweet one, no!”) she said, in the goblin speech. (“Stop screaming! You’ll hurt your throat! Please, sweet one! Please stop! It’s all right! He won’t hurt you! You’re safe! I promise!”)

Tolla sat splayed on the floor in front of the hallway, clutching her blanket around herself. She looked at Jeeka, terrified. She glanced down at Jeeka’s nakedness, and then craned her neck to look around her at Ben, who was climbing to his feet, and then back at Jeeka, the look of horror magnified. “Ak,” said Tolla, and flinched at the pain of speech, and then craned her neck to see around Jeeka again. Ben had retrieved a robe and was struggling into it. Tolla responded by attempting to crab walk backwards, but quickly realized that if she did so, she would lose her blanket; Jeeka was squatting on it. Her eyes rolled in panic.

(“Please, baby, dear one, please, please stop. It’s all right, it’s safe, he won’t hurt you,”) said Jeeka, reaching out to take Tolla’s hand.

Tolla jerked away from Jeeka’s hand like it was a snake.

“…oh…” said Jeeka, feeling as if she’d been stabbed through the heart. (“Tolla… please… it’s all right… just… please… calm down…”) she said pleadingly.

Tolla did not calm down. Her glance flickered frantically between Ben and Jeeka, and her expression was no different between one and the other: monsters!

A strange feeling came over Jeeka, and she felt herself falling. What now? she had time to think before the darkness rolled over her.

******************************************************************************

“Jeeka? Wake up, Jeeka?” came Ben’s voice, and the familiar feel of his warm hand on her face. Jeeka opened her eyes. Ben had wrapped her in a blanket and put her on the big table and was bent over her, caressing her cheek.

“Wha?” said Jeeka. She rolled over on one elbow, glanced at the spot in front of the hallway. There was nothing there. “What did you do?”

The answer came to her just as Ben spoke, and they said it simultaneously, “Sleeping spell.”

Ben added hastily, “I’m so sorry, toorih… but you were in the way, and it was all I could think of to do to get her to stop hurting herself.”

“What did you do with her?” asked Jeeka, rolling off the table to land lightly on her feet.

“Carefully gathered her up and tucked her back into bed,” said Ben, sitting down in a chair. “What are the odds you can convince her she was just having a bad dream?”

“Not likely,” said Jeeka. She sat up and hopped off the table, and gathered up the other robe from the pallet and shrugged into it, and went to light the hotbox. “You want tea?”

“I think I do,” said Ben. “So now she knows. Perhaps I should find somewhere else to stay for the time being.”

“I don’t want that,” said Jeeka, putting the kettle on to heat. “Then again, I didn’t get lots of what I wanted, today.”

Ben sighed. “She might manage it better if we tried introducing her a little at a time. I have to admit, walking in and catching her best friend kissing a monster in the living room might not be the best way to spring the news on her. And to hear you tell it, she’s had a hell of a last few days as it is.”

“Maybe,” said Jeeka, climbing into a chair. She sighed heavily. “I’m going to have to face this, whether I like it or not. And … whatever comes of it. I’m sorry I got you into this.”

“It’s what a human would do for a friend. At least, a friend that really mattered. And you… matter. To me. And whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”

Jeeka looked at Ben, wearily. “I want to climb into your chair with you again. I want to feel your arms around me, and I want to feel your lips on mine. And as sure as I do that, Tolla will come tottering back out here again. And if she doesn’t, I won’t be able to stop being afraid that she will.”

*****************************************************************************

“Tolla?”

Tolla awoke, muzzily, to find Jeeka standing beside the bed, holding what appeared to be a short wooden plank. On the plank was a bowl and a number of other things. Tolla noticed that Jeeka wore her deerskin skirt and the homespun blouse with the embroidery at the cuffs. This seemed important, but she could not remember why.

“Are you hungry yet?” said Jeeka. “I brought dinner.”

Tolla carefully sat up, carefully pushed back to cushion herself against the pillows, careful not to irritate her ribs, though they already felt better. “Yes,” she whispered hoarsely, after a moment. Her throat hurt badly, for some reason. “I could eat. What is there?”

“Soup, for one thing,” said Jeeka, setting down the board near the foot of the bed, and handing Tolla the bowl. Tolla examined it. Whatever it was, it was brown, and fairly thick, and there were chunks of things floating in it, and a metal spoon. Metal! thought Tolla. Wealth! For some reason, she found the idea of a metal spoon a little troubling, but shrugged mentally. The soup smelled good. “It smells like cow,” whispered Tolla.

“It is cow,” said Jeeka, tearing up strips of flatbread.

“Where did you get cow?”

“Eat first, ask questions later,” said Jeeka, handing her the flatbread.

Tolla didn’t have to be told twice, and was soon spooning down the delicious soup. For some reason, her buttbone seemed to hurt, but the soup was so good! “And what’s that you’re eating?” Tolla asked.

“Fried summer sausage,” said Jeeka, around a mouthful. “Remember the summer sausage? You cut it thin, and you fry it crunchy, and then you put a little slice of cheese between two slices. It’s amazing.”

“Can I try one?” asked Tolla. Jeeka oblingingly handed her one of the little canapes, and Tolla took a big bite. “Ah. Yes. I could get to like these, very easily! Save me a couple till I finish the soup?” Jeeka smiled and nodded, and Tolla set about devouring the remaining soup. So hungry! And so good! When the soup was gone, Tolla handed Jeeka the bowl, and was rewarded with a little plate of canapes. She took one up and bit it in half. Such flavors!

“You never explained these last time,” whispered Tolla. “What was cheese, again?”

“I… don’t really know,” said Jeeka, with some embarrassment. “It was in the food place, here in this place. I tried it, and it was good. Here, have some potato. It’s fried!”

“And… sausage,” said Tolla, examining the bitten disc. “You never explained that, either. Where are you getting all these wonderful things? Is Ben getting them somewhere?”

Jeeka opened her mouth to speak, and Tolla’s expression suddenly went confused.

“Human place,” whispered Tolla aloud. “This is a human place…” Human. Something about humans. I remember… why does my ass hurt?

“I…” said Jeeka.

And then it crystallized.

“Dream,” said Tolla mechanically. “I had a dream. I dreamed you were on the floor, naked, kissing a human, of all things…”

“I…”

“And I saw this, and I fell on my ass, and you came and called me sweet names… and the, the, the human, he rose up behind you, all naked, with his, his, his, his ekkska hanging out…”

“Tolla, I…”

“And I screamed, but my throat was broken, and, and, and, it hurt, hurt so much, and you were telling me to calm down, but you were naked, and the human was naked, and he rose up behind you, and, and, and…”

“And then what?” asked Jeeka, trying to keep her voice level.

“And then… then… I don’t know,” whispered Tolla. “The dream went … on to something else. Like dreams do.”

“That was quite a dream.”

“Yes. Especially since my throat hurts from screaming, and my ass hurts from falling on it. And now I am not dreaming, and my ass hurts still.”

Jeeka looked at her. Tolla wasn’t hysterical, but she was far from calm. Jeeka kept her face blank.

“Is Ben here?” whispered Tolla.

“No, not here,” said Jeeka. Ben was in fact in the living room, being quiet as a mouse, but the living room was certainly not the bedroom.

“When will he be back?” asked Tolla.

“Here? I don’t know. He comes and goes.”

“Jeeka, is Ben a human?”

“Don’t be silly.”

“Is Ben a human? I have never heard of a goblin named Ben. Is this a human name?”

“Of course not.”

“Is Ben a human?”

“I said no.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“……..yes.”

And for a moment, there was silence.

“Ben is a human.”

“Yes,” said Jeeka.

“It wasn’t a dream.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“You were naked in the arms of a human.”

“I was.”

Tolla sagged back against the pillows. “This is the human you said you killed?”

“Yes.”

“So I was right. This is his house. He brought you here. But he didn’t kill you, and you didn’t kill…. Wait… did he…”

“I bargained my veema for my life. He accepted the bargain, and took what was his. And then he fed me, and let me go.”

“And… he wanted your veema? A HUMAN wanted to…”

“Well,” said Jeeka, “I started by flashing my tits at him to confuse him. He says I have beautiful tits.”

Tolla looked like she was having a hard time parsing what was going on. She said nothing.

“And… well… I offered him my veema if he would spare me…” Jeeka continued.

“And… so… he … brought you here?” whispered Tolla.

“He took care of my foot,” said Jeeka. “He fed me. He washed me. He was kind to me. And then he licked my veema like the very devil of temptation.”

Tolla covered her mouth with her good hand, but said nothing.

“I’d never had that before,” said Jeeka. “I didn’t even know it was a thing. And he made me kzing twice before he ever even tried to mount me. I’d never had anything like that before.”

Tolla coughed.

Jeeka stopped talking.

Tolla giggled. She looked horrified, but still, she giggled. Well, wheezed somewhat. “I… I said this male, this male of yours was too good to be true,” Tolla said. Her face was still horrified, but she was smiling, and somehow that made it worse. “Heh! He likes to lick you and he fucks like a devil, he gives you wonderful presents, he has amazing foods and wonderful things, hee, hee, hee, and he’s the greatest thing ever …. (cough) … until you think to peek under the blaaaaan-kets…. Ha! Too good to be true! Ha!”

Tolla fell back on the pillows, wheezing and laughing and giggling, still with an expression of wide eyed horror that cut Jeeka like a knife.

And then she looked back at Jeeka. “What presents did he give you,” wheezed Tolla, “to make you give yourself to him? To make you give ME to him? What have you done to me?”

“Tolla, I—”

“I thought you cared for me! Why did you sell me to a monster? Was this your plan the whole time?” croaked Tolla.

Jeeka stood up and walked from the room, while Tolla wheezed and coughed and Jeeka went into the living room and stood there for a moment. She could still hear Tolla coughing.

Ben looked at her, and saw that she was trembling, her great yellow eyes filling with tears, and he rose and went to her immediately, and she threw her arms around his neck and began to cry.

Chapter Text

Ben and Jeeka lay together on the pallet, this time dressed.

“I feel your anger,” she said.

Ben said nothing.

“She just… doesn’t understand,” said Jeeka.

“I sort of figured that part out,” said Ben. “I’m not upset with you. Far from it.”

“I know,” said Jeeka. “Do you want to… take her away from here?”

“No,” said Ben. “We can’t just leave her out there, not in her condition. But she hurt you… “ and with that, Ben clamped his jaw and was silent.

Jeeka snuggled closer, and wished things were like they had been, once, a time not long ago.

From the bedroom, there came a tapping.

Ben looked up. Jeeka didn’t move, but her ears rotated to face behind her. The tapping stopped, then started again, then stopped again.

Ben and Jeeka looked at each other. Then Jeeka rolled out of the pallet. “I’ll go see what she wants.”

“Tempted to do that myself,” growled Ben.

“Stop it,” said Jeeka. “She’s alone. She’s scared. And we’re all she has, just you and I, and one of us is a human.”

“Then she would do well to stop lashing out at one who cares for her,” said Ben grimly.

Jeeka looked at Ben. “You’re not wrong,” she said. “There was a time when I’d have done something different. I’d have done what a goblin would have. She’s no kin of mine. But now, I have you in my head. Could it be that this is partly your fault?”

Ben looked angry for a moment, and then startled, as the thought seeped into his head. “All right,” he said, his face softening somewhat. “Go see what she wants. But she’d do well to find her manners.”

Jeeka made a wry face, and turned to the hallway.

When she pushed the curtain aside, Tolla sat in the middle of the bed, the board in her lap, the food mostly eaten. “Thank you for the food,” she said.

“Thank Ben,” said Jeeka, moving to take the board. “These are his supplies.”

“This is human food?” said Tolla with some alarm. “That’s… why you didn’t know what cheese is. That’s where sausage comes from. That’s where the cow meat came from. I’ve been eating human food…”

“That’s right,” said Jeeka, thinly, taking the board from Tolla, and turning to take it to the kitchen area. “You liked it well enough before.”

“I can hear you out there, you know,” said Tolla. “I hear you, talking to your human. What kind of person mates a human, Jeeka? What madness has come over you? And I can hear him out there. He tries to keep his voice down so he thinks I can’t hear, but I can. I can’t understand what you’re saying in that man language, but I can hear you talking. What does he plan to do with me?”

“He’s not going to do anything to you, Tolla,” said Jeeka, painfully. “I said you were safe here. I meant that. He won’t hurt you.”

“How do I know that?” whispered Tolla. “You think he tells you everything in his weird human mind? And that’s assuming that a human-fucker like you is still sane at all--”

“Do I speak clearly enough for you to understand NOW, TOLLA?” came a sharp, angry voice from beyond the curtain. It spoke in clear goblin speech.

Tolla’s mouth dropped open. “He speaks our…”

“Yes, I speak the language of goblins,” came the stentorian tones. “That was among the LEAST of Jeeka’s gifts to me. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”

Tolla looked at Jeeka helplessly. Jeeka’s face was expressionless. “Yes,” croaked Tolla.

“Then hear me,” said Ben. Still, he did not move the curtain. “When Prum held a spear to Jeeka’s heart, she called. And I came. It was for fear of ME that he ran! And I would have taken my Jeeka to safety! But she said to me, ‘Take Tolla with us.’ “

“And I said, “Why?” to Jeeka.”

“And Jeeka said, ‘Because I care for her.’ “

Tolla’s hand flew to her mouth. She looked at Jeeka.

“And I brought you here, because Jeeka wanted it. It is upon MY bed that you lie. Because Jeeka asked me to make it be.”

Tolla’s eyes flickered from the curtain to Jeeka, and back again.

“It is because Jeeka wishes it, that I do not stand before you now,” snarled Ben’s voice. Even Jeeka flinched a little. “It is because SHE wishes it that I do not fling my words into your teeth, as YOU have done to HER.” And Tolla did flinch.

“It is for Jeeka that you are here, and you are safe,” said Ben’s voice. Did his voice crack, a little, on that last bit? “She is my Green Treasure… she is Before All Others,” Did his voice crack a little, on that last bit?

“But if you hurt her with your words again,” growled Ben, “you will wish you had not.”

Pause. “I have spoken,” said Ben, and his footsteps could be heard, heading back into the living room.

Tolla sat among the pillows, her hand over her mouth. She looked at Jeeka.

And Jeeka looked back at her. And turned, and carried the board and dishes out through the curtain.

And in the living room, spoke in the speech of men, to Ben: “(You are so full of shit.)”

Ben looked irritated. "At what point did I say anything that wasn't the truth?" he said in the speech of goblins.

Jeeka flicked a look back at the curtain, and then angrily back to Ben. ("She's scared to death in there, Ben,") she said, in the speech of men. ("The last thing she needed to hear was you booming through the curtains like the voice of an arrogant god, making threats. And speak man speech; she'll hear you.")

"She hears every word I say," growled Ben, still speaking goblin. "I will do her the courtesy of making sure she understands me. Jeeka, I have done what you asked. I've brought her into my house, slept on the floor in my own home, gave up my bed so she could have a place to rest and heal. And gods know, I've put up with any NUMBER of people who fear or hate me; one more won't make a difference. Even in here, I suppose," he said, throwing up his hands. "But she has hurt you. Intentionally. And that, I will not tolerate. Not while I can do anything about it."

"I was terrified the first time I was here," said Jeeka. "I wanted to spare her that."

"I thought goblins didn't have safe spaces," said Ben.

"I learned about safe spaces from you. Am I wrong to want to give her one? To spare her the fear that I suffered? Before I came to know you, all you were to me was a human creature, a monster. I know better than that now. And YES, she hurt me! But hasn't she had enough monsters for now?"

"She's the only one here who's hurt anyone."

"Only because she's been driven to the absolute limits! She could have died, Ben. She hurt me, yes. But I can stand it. I need you to stop. Don't make it any worse for her."

Ben softened for a moment. "In my head, I find a goblin word for 'pity.' Is it common, among goblins?"

"Sometimes," said Tolla.

Ben and Jeeka jerked around. Tolla stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe to support her wounded ankle. She remained wrapped in her blanket.

"The worst of us are like the one who did this to me," said Tolla. "The best of us are like the ones who brought me here. I'll take pity. If it keeps me alive."

"You should be in bed," said Jeeka, moving towards Tolla.

"He's right," said Tolla. "I should be the one sleeping on the floor." Looking up at Ben, she said, "I'm sorry. She's right, too. I looked at you and I saw a monster. It never occurred to me to wonder why Jeeka was here taking care of me if a ... human had... eaten her, or whatever. I thank you for your food, and for your pity. You can have your bed back. I... offer my status as obligation."

"Oh, Tolla, no," said Jeeka. Glancing back at Ben, she said, "She didn't mean that the way it--"

"Yes, I did," said Tolla. "Your human can't be any worse than Prum." And with that, she let the blanket fall to the floor, and stood naked in the doorway. "I offer my status as obligation," she repeated. "Please don't hurt me."

"Oh, sweet one," said Jeeka. "There's no need for this... Ben isn't going to take your status..." And she shot a glance back at Ben. And was shocked to see a speculative look on his face. He stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Tolla shifted her weight nervously, trying to stay off the twisted ankle.

"Ben," started Jeeka

"You know," said Ben. "You told me that I was too much man and not enough goblin. Be a goblin, Ben, you said. I think I'm going to take that advice." Ben skinned out of his robe, and stood naked in the living room. Tolla’s eyes bugged, and she bit her lip. Jeeka moved protectively in front of Tolla.

"Ben, this is NOT -- I am NOT going to allow you to-- yiii!"

The final syllable came as Ben strode across the room and simply scooped up Jeeka in his right arm, and gathered Tolla up in his left; Tolla responded with a gasp and a yelp and by grabbing Ben's shoulder reflexively to steady herself. Ben grunted a bit under the weight, but continued on down the hallway.

"What are you DOING? Are you insane?" howled Jeeka.

"Don't yell in my ear, toorih; it hurts. She smells. She’s going to stay here, in my bed? She needs a bath. And I could use some help; we're going to need to keep that cast clear of the water. It's made of clay; if it gets wet, it'll start to melt." Striding into the waterfall room, Ben put Jeeka down, and swung Tolla up so he could support her with both arms; she squealed and clung to him, a terrified expression on her face. She looked back over Ben's shouder as he strode towards the steaming pool.

"Jeekaaaaaa!" Tolla called, helplessly.

Jeeka stood there as Ben waded into the hot pool and carefully lowered Tolla in as well. She gasped and thrashed; Ben simply took hold of her right arm, holding it above the water, and then sat down. Tolla shrieked in fear.

"You going to wash her, Jeeka, or am I?" Ben called back.

"Godsdammit," hissed Jeeka as she skinned out of her robe.

Jeeka ran to the far end of the pool, and splashed in, much to Tolla's relief. Jeeka realized Ben was holding her in the same position he'd held Jeeka, the first time she'd visited the cave; reclining, with her ass on his knees. It seemed so long ago, now. Tolla had ceased her struggles, but Ben still held her cast arm above the water. With Jeeka's arrival, he smiled and handed her a block of soap. "Go to it, toorih. Tolla, lean your head back. Your hair needs washing."

Tolla glanced at Jeeka. Jeeka, soap in hand,, nodded. Tolla dared another glance at Ben and concluded that he wasn't likely to go for her throat, and leaned her head back. Ben happily began running his fingers through her hair, separating the strands.

Tolla bit her lip again, and glanced at Jeeka. "Is he going to ravish me?" she asked.

"Not if he knows what's good for him," said Jeeka, darkly. "I am not happy with him right now."

"You said to be a goblin," said Ben lightly. "Is this not what a goblin would do? Tolla did offer, after all. And I've done this sort of thing before. Although it makes me sort of gloomy to think about that first time. I wasn't in a good way, then. I was, in fact, about half crazy. And then Jeeka comes and falls into my lap, and makes me a very appealing offer."

Jeeka and Tolla looked at Ben, and at each other. "He was half out of his mind from the isolation," said Jeeka. "Among... other things."

"Yes," said Ben, carefully undoing a snarl in Tolla's hair. "Yes, I was. Jeeka was the first person I'd talked to very much in... a year. She asked me questions. She taught me her language, and I taught her mine. And then, of course, there was the whole veema thing, and oh, the kzings!"

Tolla looked quizzically at Jeeka.

"I was not as sane then as I have become," said Ben. "I owe it to Jeeka, really. And then, she came back. I hadn't expected that."

"I'd never had a kzing with someone else, before" said Jeeka, rinsing soap off of Tolla. "You say I confused you. Well, you confused me, too. And then there was Tolla, who confused me even more."

Ben and Jeeka both looked down at Tolla, who looked back at both of them. Tolla’s expression was somewhere between terror and utter confusion; it was all she could do to be afraid of Ben AND follow the conversation.

"So... I came back. To find out answers. And that's why I came back to Tolla, too." said Jeeka. "And then you took me to the beach. I had never seen anything like that," she said with a smile. "Tolla, that's where I got the strange fruits and the prawns. Ben gave them to me because I wanted to share them with you. And after that... things... changed. Between he and I, between you and I. And even now, they change. And I'm... not sure where this is going. And I'm kind of afraid."

"You're making it hard for me to be a goblin," said Ben. "Got the soap rinsed off?"

"Yes."

"Time to dry off," and with that, he lifted Tolla out of the water, and Jeeka ran to get drying cloths.

"Are you going to ravish me?" asked Tolla nervously.

"You tempt me," said Ben. "But then Jeeka would bite my ekkska off. So... probably not."

Tolla almost giggled. She didn't, but she looked far less worried.

Jeeka returned with the cloths, and after drying, Ben insisted on combing out Tolla's wet hair until it began to dry. "He did that to me, too," said Jeeka. "He always does that."

"Should I be worried?" said Tolla.

"No," said Jeeka.

"This is... sort of... relaxing."

"That's one of the reasons I came back. A hot bath and having your hair combed is kind of a treat."

Ben smiled.

When Tolla's hair was dry, Ben scooped her up again, and carried her into the bedroom, and placed her on the bed. And then climbed into it himself.

"Should I be worried now?" asked Tolla.

"I... don't know," said Jeeka.

"Good night," said Ben. He closed his eyes.

Jeeka and Tolla looked at him. He lay there, eyes closed.

"Is this what he did to you?" asked Tolla.

"Well, after he ravished me," said Jeeka, who climbed into the bed, between the two of them. It was snug.

"And he just fell asleep? Just like that?" said Tolla.

"Pretty much," said Jeeka.

"Why didn't you just kill him?" asked Tolla.

"Try it," murmured Ben.

Jeeka and Tolla exchanged a glance. "That's why. He’s a wizard. He has ... defenses."

"Oh," said Tolla.

"So how is this being a goblin?" asked Jeeka. "This is exactly what you did last time, minus the ravishment. How is this 'being a goblin?' "

"Because tonight," murmured Ben, "I sleep in my bed instead of on the floor. And I get to enjoy the lovely view of the beautiful naked females."

Chapter Text

Tolla awoke, and found herself amidst a great tangle of arms and legs. She slowly opened her eyes, and found Jeeka's sleeping face almost touching her own. And atop her head was the human's head; his face mostly buried in Jeeka's hair, his arm curled protectively across Jeeka, and resting his strange five fingered hand on Tolla's hip. He, too, seemed to be asleep.

Tolla lay and breathed. She wasn't as frightened as she had been previously, but it is still quite a thing to wake up and find oneself in the embrace of a five fingered monster. Even one who was spooning one's best friend with unconscious affection. He had been kissing her last night. And she'd been kissing him back. They’d looked like they were about to take it further, too.

And then, she'd interrupted them. She'd expected the human to kill them both; wasn't that what humans did?

Instead... they'd fallen asleep. How had he done that? She’d almost believed the whole horror was a dream. And then... Jeeka's bizarre confession. She had mated with the human, multiple times. And the human wanted her! And had then released her! Why had he DONE that?

And against all sanity, Jeeka had come BACK to him! And they had mated MORE! And exchanged PRESENTS! What madness WAS this? What hold did he have on her? Why did she do this? What kind of crazy human wanted a goblin… and then let her GO?

Jeeka did her laundry in his cave. Jeeka seemed to live here, at least part time. The human had released Jeeka to bring the wonderful foods to Tolla. What was all this about? Was the human trying to tempt Tolla? Was Jeeka helping him gather... slaves? Or something?

On the other hand, if that was what he was trying to do, weren't there easier ways to do it than fighting Prum? And weren't there better, undamaged slaves in the village? Slaves without her terrible, ugly orange hair? What WAS this all about?

Or … was it the truth? Did Jeeka and the human genuinely care for one another? The human hadn't gotten angry until she, Tolla, had ... said hurtful things to Jeeka...

And even then, the human had provided food, and had gone out of his way not to hurt her, even during that crazy bath. It occurred to Tolla that a bath in hot water had been… well, GOOD, at least, perhaps, if one wasn’t terrified out of one’s wits during the washing. The washing of her naked body by a giant five fingered monster…

…But he hadn’t hurt her. And the brushing of hair afterwards. Tolla looked at Jeeka's hair; it was long and lustrous, it looked beautiful. Did the human brush out her hair? Jeeka had said, "He always does that." Was this a thing a master did for a slave? And had the human been serious about how if he were to ravish Tolla, that Jeeka would bite off his ekkska?

Tolla thought back. Jeeka was younger than Tolla was, and nowhere near as resigned to The Way Things Were Whether You Liked It Or Not. Tolla, as a Fire Spirit, had had the Way Of Things beaten into her at an early age, but Jeeka had not… and that was, frankly, one of the things that Tolla loved and admired about her. Jeeka, always ready to run off and have an adventure! Jeeka, who told the hunters “no” when they came to fuck her! Jeeka, who shook her tits at them and ran away!

Jeeka had always had a rebellious streak, and had flat stated that she wasn’t ready to have children yet, even at her reasonably advanced age… how old was Jeeka? Nineteen? Twenty? How many goblin females were still unmated and childless at twenty? But Jeeka defied convention. Then again, screwing a human was certainly unconventional.

Tolla relaxed a little. This was so weird. But it was still better than a night with Prum, And it seemed safe enough. At least for the time being. Tolla yawned, and shifted her position... and noticed that the human's eyes were open. And staring at her.

Tolla glanced downwards. Jeeka's eyes were closed, her breathing deep. She was still asleep. Tolla glanced back upwards. The human was still looking at her. His face was still mostly buried in Jeeka's hair, so she couldn't see much besides his eyes, his weird white human eyes with blue and black circles, like a bird, faintly mindless, concealing unreadable human thoughts. She gasped, despite herself.

"Did you sleep well?" the human whispered, in the speech of goblins.

"....yes..." whispered Tolla.

"Good," whispered the human. "I was afraid you wouldn't. You had a rough night. And a remarkably shitty week, I am told. How do you feel?"

"My side still hurts a little. Ankle hurts, but is better. "

"Good," said the human. "You are mending. Don't wake Jeeka. She's been worried about you for longer than I would like."

"Jeeka is awake," mumbled Jeeka. "Jeeka has a great pink ekkska stuck in her buttcrack. But otherwise, Jeeka slept well, thanks for asking. Jeeka cares deeply for her sweet friends, but Jeeka also wants a bigger bed if they are all going to share it. No doubt, Jeeka's Great, Great Magic will make something happen about this, because he is mighty and powerful, and he cares deeply for his Green Treasure."

"Jeeka's Great Magic was thinking something similar," said Ben. "Her Great Magic's ass is hanging off the side of the bed. Who wants breakfast?"

"Jeeka wants breakfast," said Jeeka, stretching. "But Jeeka must remain in the bed, and care for her poor broken friend, who was terrorized last night by a crazy human. Or perhaps a crazy goblin. Or something in between, I'm not sure which." Rolling over to face Ben, Jeeka folded herself into his arms, and pressed herself against him. "Would my Great, Great Magic rise and summon forth sausage and eggs? Maybe with mushrooms?" And, craning her neck, she kissed Ben on the lips. "I would pay dearly for such a service..." And, sitting up, Jeeka cupped her breasts coquettishly.

"Mmm," smiled Ben. "Maybe I will get ravishments after all. The day is looking better already."

"Maybe after breakfast?" smiled Jeeka.

"Mmm," grunted Ben, who rose and padded nakedly out of the room. Tolla watched him go.

"You two are the weirdest fucking thing I have ever seen," said Tolla.

Jeeka nodded agreement. “I … can’t think of anything weirder, off hand.”

"Since when does a male make breakfast?" Tolla asked.

"He's better at it than I am," said Jeeka. "Are you still afraid?"

"I'm not sure."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No."

"May I touch you, Tolla?" asked Jeeka.

"...I don’t know."

“All right,” said Jeeka. After a moment, she said, “I said that Ben was not a human, Tolla. That is the only lie I have ever told you. I do care for you. And Ben won’t hurt you. You’re safe here. I promise you that.”

After a moment, and a thoughtful look, Tolla said, “I suppose if he was going to kill me or rape me, he would have done it already.”

“He won’t.”

After a moment, Tolla said, “All right, come hold me.”

And Jeeka scooted closer to Tolla, and slipped her arms around her, and Tolla would have done likewise, but for the heavy arm cast, which wound up lightly smacking Jeeka in the head as Tolla attempted to maneuver it.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's all right. Is this better?"

"It's better. I can't tell if the human is lying, or joking or WHAT."

"He's not going to hurt you."

"I start to believe that more than I did last night. But he's still a human."

Jeeka looked at her friend critically. "Tolla, you're safe here. He's shown you that, and I've told you that. I don't know how much more we can do. At least until I find Prum and bring you his head. But from now on, your fears are your own. Ben's not harmless, but he is safe. I will ask you not to provoke him, though."

Tolla smiled. "I have lots of practice in being nonconfrontational," she said. "And the idea of Prum's severed head does kind of make me feel better. What am I smelling?"

Jeeka sniffed the air. "Scrambled eggs in butter, fried mushrooms, and little red sausages."

"For breakfast?"

"Ben says you need to start the day properly. He has weird ideas, but most of them aren't bad. Hungry?"

Tolla looked confused. “A human is making me breakfast… I’m… going to have breakfast with a human…”

“Would you rather be having breakfast with Prum? Particularly after the sort of night HE would enjoy?” grinned Jeeka. “I’ve spent plenty of breakfasts with Ben. I’ve enjoyed all of them. Please don’t be afraid. I know, he’s freakish. I thought so, too, once. But I’ve gotten used to him… and then some.”

The two of them rolled out of bed. Jeeka opened a sack next to Ben's wooden chest, and found clothes, and Tolla improvised a sarong out of a throw blanket, and leaning on Jeeka, the two tottered through the curtains into the living room.

Chapter Text

Sitting around the table, they ate.

"So how long have you two known each other?" said Tolla. "I only found out about you a couple of weeks ago."

Jeeka looked thoughtful. "What, about... a month, a whole moon, and then some?"

Ben paused. "It seems longer than that. But yeah, I think so. Maybe six weeks. I haven’t been keeping track."

"You must be very good at learning things," said Tolla. "Did you already know our language? Or did Jeeka teach you all of our speech in so short a time? You sound like you grew up speaking it. Or did you learn it from a bwook?" she said, glancing at the shelf.

Ben and Jeeka looked at each other. "That's sort of a long story," said Ben.

"He cast a spell," said Jeeka. "We learned each others' languages almost instantly. He put it in my head, and got goblin speech from me. He wanted to talk to someone. Badly. And he doesn't get along with the humans to the south."

Tolla looked at Ben, who nodded. "I speak goblin speech as she would, and she knows man speech about as well as I do. And she picked up my old language, as a bonus."

"So you learned each others' speech by magic," said Tolla, not without a little wonder. She glanced at the bookshelf again. "Could you learn... or teach... other things that way?"

"It turned out to ... have unforeseen side effects," said Ben. "We shared more than just language. We learned things about each other, and internalized aspects of each others' cultures." He paused to spear a lump of egg and mushroom, and to eat it.

"Sometimes, I think that's why we became what we are," said Jeeka. "Ben has a goblin nature, now. And I have begun to understand human ways of seeing things, too. And I think I picked up some of his magic. And sometimes, I wonder if that's how and why I began to have feelings for him. Some part of me wonders if I wasn't reacting to his need, when we touched minds."

"You think you developed feelings for me because I was half crazy and needy?" said Ben with a slight amusement in his voice.

"Maybe at first," said Jeeka, devouring a forkful of sausages. "But you were kind, and very generous, and you made me feel safe, and you do indeed fuck like a devil of temptation. So there's that."

Tolla snorted. Ben and Jeeka glanced at her, and she adopted a neutral expression and a sudden interest in her sausages. Jeeka grinned.

"I've thought about that, since then," said Ben. "The transfer spell, not the fucking. Although I do think about that too," and this time, it was Jeeka's turn to snort.  "The spell was never meant to transfer large blocks of knowledge or information, much less a whole language. It's intended to help someone grasp a concept, if someone else already knows it. It's intended for things that aren't easily understood, small bits. And I don't know if anyone's ever tried to use it on anyone who wasn't human. I might have damaged both our minds, seriously. I was stupid to do that. Especially the second time."

"But you didn't," said Jeeka. "And it worked. And we have only gained. Don't feel bad."

"There was a second time?" asked Tolla around a bite of egg.

She still couldn't read the human's expression, but he turned away suddenly, looking off into a different part of the room. Jeeka looked chagrined, even regretful. "I'm sorry," Tolla said again. "Perhaps I should just be silent..."

"No," said Ben. "You had no way of knowing."

"Ben took me into his mind," said Jeeka. "He showed me his memories of his home, the place he came from. He can never go back there again. It wasn't his fault, but... that place is gone, now. And I ask that you not mention it again. I was there, and I saw it, and his memories even hurt me, now. But I understand him better, now, too."

"I won't mention it again," said Tolla. "The humans here are different? You don't get along with them? Why not? If it's all right to ask?"

"The humans here are afraid of magicians," said Jeeka. "Where Ben comes from, they're ALL magicians."

Ben looked irritated. "The locals are a bunch of fearful, hidebound, hateful fools who respect only strength and brutality, and mistake kindness for weakness. Until they need something, and then they come begging for mercy."

"Oh," said Tolla. "So they're kind of like goblins, then."

Jeeka burst out laughing. Ben opened his mouth, and looked startled, and then started laughing, too.

"Was that funny?" asked a confused Tolla.

"When you think about it, it sort of is," said Jeeka. "I've met some of the local humans. Some aren't bad. Some look like they'd cheerfully stick my head on a fence as a warning to others, if not for Ben's protection. Ben wasn't really joking when he described them. And yes, they do come begging him for help sometimes when there's a problem they can't deal with themselves, but when we went into town, they looked at him like he was a burning turd."

"You went into their VILLAGE?" asked Tolla, shocked. "Jeeka, you walked into a NEST of them?"

"Yes," said Jeeka. "Ben took me with him, not long ago. The house of the dry goods has so many things! I wish we could convince humans and goblins to trade. We'd all get rich. Speaking of which, that reminds me: Tolla is going to need clothes. Can we get needle and thread from the house of the dry goods? Maybe cloth?"

"I have an idea about that," said Ben, rising and walking over to the doorway. He picked up a fabric bag; Jeeka noticed it bore a beautiful floral pattern, like the dry goods woman's dress.

"Ben!" said Jeeka happily. "Did you get the cloth? What about needle and thread? We can have Tolla something to wear by nightfall!"

"No needle and thread," said Ben, putting the bag on the table. "Jeeka, I had wanted to surprise you... but it seems that perhaps Tolla's need is greater. Can you wait for a new dress?"

"Of course," said Jeeka. "We can go back and get cloth any time, yes? I already have clothes. What surprise?"

Ben drew from the bag a vision in white fabric, a blouse, fully formed. "I had a woman in the vilage make these for me," he said. "Remember the lady whose son we saved, Jeeka? She paid me back with her labors." He handed the blouse to Tolla. "Will it fit?"

Tolla was stunned. She examined the fine pale cream colored fabric, so fine you had to look twice to see the weave. Tolla had never seen anything like it. "I... this was for Jeeka?"

"Try it on," said Jeeka. "You can go in the bedroom."

Tolla looked at the blouse. She looked at Jeeka, and at Ben, and did not move. And she shed the blanket, and slipped on the blouse.

"Mmm," said Ben. "A bit short. She's taller than you."

"I like it," said Jeeka. "Shows off her bellybutton to fine advantage. Ben, tell me that you have the skirt that goes with that."

Ben said nothing and drew out the skirt, a field of cornflower blue, raining flowers from a blue summer sky, and passed it to Tolla. Tolla looked at the fabric, and her great yellow eyes grew huge. If the blouse, the beautiful blouse, was a miracle, then this was a thing brought from the surface of the sun by the gods themselves. Tolla's head jerked up, and her gaze jerked from Ben to Jeeka and back again. "I..." she said, but no more words would come.

"Tolla, don't worry about it," said Jeeka. "This was a gift for me, right, Ben? So any obligation is on me. The great human beast will ravish me in payment," she said, spinning towards Ben, and jutting her breasts towards him, arms spread wide, "and then I, in turn will ravish you in payment, and the debt will be settled somewhere in the middle of all the kzings." Jeeka turned back to face Tolla. "Now put your skirt on. Your veema is hanging out, and the sight of your beautiful green ass will surely drive the wicked human into savage fits of lust, and I will have to fight him to save you if you don't get dressed."

Tolla glanced up at Ben momentarily, and actually giggled. She stepped into the skirt, pulled it up, and tied the strings. The skirt stopped above her knee; it would have come to mid-calf on Jeeka, whose legs were shorter. She spun, experimentally, and the skirt's light fabric swirled beautifully. Tolla clutched both hands to her mouth. Her expression was one of purest joy. And Jeeka smiled as she drank it all in.

“You are SO hot when you’re all smiling like that,” mused Jeeka. “I like it. This is the first time since you got here that you haven’t looked miserable, or terrified, or both.”

"I wasn't finished," said Ben.

Both goblins' surprised gaze turned back to Ben, who stood at the table. His hand was in the bag.

"More surprises?" asked Tolla.

"Jeeka, take off your clothes," said Ben with a smile.

Jeeka raised an eyebrow. "Payment for the dress? So quickly? Well, I did promise you something for breakfast.."

...and Jeeka saw something in Ben's eye. Tolla missed it, of course, still not really being able to read human expressions... but Ben's expression... seemed... emotional. Something important was going on. Jeeka's expression became solemn, and she shed her clothes without another word. Tolla stared uncomprehendingly, but even she knew that something was happening, and she watched silently.

And Ben drew forth the last item from the bag, and unrolled it, and spread it out across his chest. A robe of dark blue, which would fall to just below knee length on one of Jeeka's height.  Hooded, and collared, with a green stripe running on each side, from belt to knee.

Jeeka recognized it. She'd seen students wearing them, in her borrowed memories of the Great University. It was an Ilrean magician's robe, cut for a University student. She could see it was made from local materials, but skillfully done... and... oh, Ben...

“A magician should have a robe, Jeeka.”

Tolla's eyes went wide. Magician?

Jeeka stepped forward, feeling like she was in a dream. Ben inverted the robe and took hold of the hem, and Jeeka raised her arms. Ben stepped behind her, and slipped the robe over her head, and it fell into place. Jeeka shook her arms into the sleeves.

It was cut small, and fit perfectly. Jeeka pulled her hair up through the collar, and shook it out; the hood fell into place behind her head. She glanced down at her bare legs; from her memories, she recalled that some students wore trousers beneath their robes.  Others wore skirts, or went barelegged.

Jeeka looked up at Ben, whose eyes were bright. "You are so beautiful, it hurts to look at you," he said.

"You said he gave wonderful presents…." said Tolla, wonderinglly, but with a smile.

And Jeeka found the words "Maybe. Tolla, you can have my other clothes. I'm never taking this off again."

Tolla blinked.

And Ben knelt, and Jeeka slipped her arms around his neck, and they embraced for a moment, and forever. And then Jeeka sudden turned to Tolla and said, voice breaking, "Come here. I want to hold you too."

And Tolla limped across the room, and both Jeeka and Ben gathered her in, and all was quiet for a moment.

And then Tolla asked, "Does this mean he gets to ravish me, too? I'm still sort of fuzzy on the rules."

Chapter Text

“You’ve been badly used, Tolla,” Ben had said. “And I don’t want to be like those who have treated you that way. You’re safe here, and it will stay that way, and I will not touch you unless you touch me first; a man has to defend himself, right?”

And Tolla had thought, I have been made promises, before. Let’s see how this Ben behaves. I would like to believe in a safe place… but I have known too many males.

Time passed. A day went by, and another.

It is really amazing how weird this place is, thought Tolla. And even weirder how quick one gets used to it.

Tolla sat at the table, her foot braced up on said table with a pillow. "Why are you keeping your hand on fire like that?"

"Don't distract her," said Ben. He sat near the door with a pile of planks, nails, and pillows, and was assembling something out of the wood, tapping nails into place with a hammer. "She's practicing. The longer she can keep the fire burning, the better. She's already better than I thought she'd be."

Jeeka sat at the table opposite Tolla, wearing her fine new robe. She had her elbow braced on the table, and her hand held out as if holding a platter. Burning on her palm was a flame, burning without fuel, flickering merrily, the size of a peach. She didn't seem concerned with it, although she would close her eyes occasionally, as she tired of staring into the flame. Having her eyes open or closed didn't seem to affect the fire at all.

Tolla shifted her attention to Ben, who seemed to be building a chair, although it seemed to be long enough for several people to sit on at once. "Is that some kind of chair?"

"Where I come from, it's called a sofa," said Ben. "Or a couch. Never needed one before, but now with all this company around, it's nice to have more places to sit. And now one of us could sleep out here, if need be." He began tapping a nail through what was apparently supposed to be an armrest.

"I thought that's why you made the bed bigger," said Tolla. Earlier, Ben had disassembled the bed, which was just a bunch of wooden boxes with big soft things piled on top. He had added more boxes to make the bed wider, put the soft things and blankets and pillows and such back on top, and had found more boxes for Jeeka's and Tolla's clothes and possessions. Tolla found the whole process fascinating, but did not wish to be restricted to the bed, ankle or no ankle, and so was at the table with her foot up. Idly, Tolla glanced back over at Jeeka, whose fire still burned after easily three hundred heartbeats. "When will she be finished with the fire?"

"Truth is, I think she's mastered the thing I wanted her to learn today," said Ben, rubbing the back of his head. "First time she tried that trick, she nearly knocked herself out; that's how that burn mark got on your end of the table. But now she's managing the ambient energy well enough, she's not tapping her own strength at all. She could keep that fire going as long as her attention is on it, or until it ignited something."

“Ignited something?” said Tolla with some alarm. “What happens then?”

“Then she doesn’t NEED to concentrate,” chuckled Ben. “When there’s fuel, fire burns whether you’re paying attention or not.”

"So what must she do next?"

"Next, when I am done with this couch, we start changing the color of the fire."

"She can do that?" said Tolla, glancing back at Jeeka.

"Don't see why not. It's simple enough, when you know how. But changing the color of light is important for learning illusions. Illusions aren't real, so making them and moving them is good practice for a student. That, and around here, no one could tell the difference between real and illusion, so I think she will find that to be a mighty handy trick to have."

Tolla looked surprised. "Illusions. She could make me see a thing that isn't real?"

"That's kind of how it works. She could make you think the table was on fire... but illusion fire won't burn you, and you wouldn't feel the heat. It couldn't really hurt you, but your first impulse would be to yank your leg off the table and possibly fall on your ass, and that would be a good thing for Jeeka if you were an enemy with a knife, don't you think?"

Jeeka smiled. The fire continued to burn.

Tolla smiled, too. "A very good thing for her. I see why she wants that, and why you teach it to her. When are you going to ravish her?"

The flame in Jeeka's palm flickered alarmingly.

Ben smiled. "Careful, Jeeka. Focus through the distractions."

Jeeka's smile disappeared, and the flame again burned bright.

"We generally do our ravishing around here in the evenings," said Ben with a smile.

"Oh," said Tolla. "No morning sex, then? I really like waking up with Jeeka for kissing and some caressments. Is the evening sex a human thing? If it's all right to ask."

Ben smiled, and put his hammer down, watching Jeeka, whose breathing had changed a bit as she concentrated. "It is fine to ask. Hells, Jeeka thought humans mated in the water, once. But no, actually, humans like to have sex pretty much any given time; they don't limit themselves to a schedule. And it's perfectly all right to ask. A thing Jeeka really liked about being here is the fact that we do straight answers about things."

"I like that, too," said Tolla. "Except about the subject we don't talk about."

"I can talk about it," said Ben. "It just hurts, sometimes."

"Then we can talk about something else," said Tolla. "You never did answer my question earlier. Are you going to ravish me?"

The flame flickered.

"You know," said Ben, "I would think that one who has suffered what you have suffered really wouldn't want to be talking about ravishments. Especially with a male. Especially with a human. I find it sort of surprising."

Tolla shrugged. "You have been very kind," she said. "And I did offer you my status. And the fact is, as a female of Fire Clan, I often have to fuck to get anything I need. Here, you and Jeeka have seen to my needs and made me safe and given me beautiful gifts. I feel like I should give something back, before someone decides I'm a burden."

"You're no burden," said Ben. "I enjoy the conversation. I enjoy learning about you. I enjoy talking. And this way, Jeeka can practice without interruptions." He noted that Jeeka's flame was back under control, and picked up the hammer and drove another nail.

"I'm glad I make you happy," said Tolla. "But I also know that I interrupted you and Jeeka, and that you would not mind finishing that. And I kept Jeeka busy for days before you brought me here. And Jeeka says you lick a cunt like a devil of temptation. I've been sort of curious. At least since I got over seeing you as some sort of monster."

Ben eyed Jeeka, who had begun breathing rather sharply through her nostrils as she tried to keep the flame steady. "Well," he said, "I would not want to hurt Jeeka's feelings. I would die before I did that."

The flame grew stronger.

"But on the other hand, you are very pretty. I can see why Jeeka thinks so. And I--"

The flame went out in a shower of sparks. Jeeka carefully shook her hand and dispersed the heat, and said, "You know, day before yesterday, I was terribly afraid that the woman I care for would go aazaak when she found out I was with a human. And then, she found out. And she adjusted to it. And she doesn't hate me or think I'm a freak.  I dared to be happy and hopeful. And now, at this rate, my woman and my man are going to run away and fuck like wild bunnies and leave me here alone to die of loneliness. I will never be happy again." And Jeeka's forehead hit the table with a light thunk.

Ben came up behind her and smoothed her hair, and nibbled on her ear tip. The ear tip flickered, but didn't avoid him.

"I don't hate you, Jeeka," said Tolla. "And perhaps you are a freak, but you're no more freakish than I am."

Jeeka rolled her head sideways on the table to look at Tolla. "How freakish are you?"

"I have been a freak all my life," said Tolla. "I was born with orange hair. I was loyal to a tribe that barely tolerated me. I offered myself to males who barely stayed long enough to kzing just for scraps and basic necessities. And now I have feelings for a woman, just because she was nice to me and gave me presents, and now, I find myself curious about one who is not even a goblin. When he ravishes you, can I watch?"

Ben blinked. Fortunately, Tolla couldn't read his expression.

"I don't know how Ben feels about that," said Jeeka. "But it's not much to watch, I would suppose. He's a lot more fun when you're actually involved."

Tolla looked at Ben; her expression was somewhere between mild distaste and frank curiosity. Ben maintained a distinctly neutral expression, rose from the table, and went to see if there was any fruit juice left.

"Did I give offense?" asked Tolla. "Is this a thing I shoudn't talk about?" Jeeka raised her head from the table and looked around quizzically.

"Humans are weird about group mating," said Jeeka. "Some do it, some don't, and have strong feelings about it. I know this... but I don't really know how Ben feels about it. The subject never came up. Ben? Would it bother you if Tolla was there? I mean, we only have one bed, after all."

Ben looked regretfully at his empty carafe, and at his remaining half cup of fruit juice. "I have never been with more than one person at a time," he said "I don't think I have any strong feeings about it one way or another, although it seems odd to me. On the other side, my goblin nature cries out 'Hot damn, two females in one night, and I didn't even have to threaten or bribe anyone!' And it feels strange that way, too. Then again, you two have had to get used to a LOT of strange, very quickly. Seems like I've only benefited from that."

“Bribe,” said Tolla, suddenly. “I want a bribe. If you get to fuck me, will you grant me a thing?”

Jeeka and Ben both looked at her.

"Jeeka bargained her veema for her life. I offer a bargain of my own," Tolla continued.

"Do go on," said Jeeka interestedly. Ben said nothing.

Tolla pointed at the bookshelf. "You gave Jeeka her life, and your language. I want the language of the bwooks."

Ben and Jeeka looked at each other. "You want to know how to read books?" asked Ben. Jeeka looked interested.

"Yes. To read the bwooks. To look at the signs and know what they say. To be able to learn what the bwook says, and to know things I didn't know before. That is what I want. Give me that, and you can have my veema, just like Jeeka did."

"Not much of a bargain, Tolla," said Jeeka. "You already gave him your status. If he's thinking like a goblin, he could just take you."

"But he is not a goblin," said Tolla. "He washed me, but he didn't ravish me. He just went to sleep. He turned me down. This way, I would be his by right, until the debt was paid."

Jeeka turned to Ben. "Well?" And was rewarded by Ben looking... not confused, but certainly conflicted. His fruit juice rested untouched on the counter. "Ben?"

Ben blinked twice. “Not quite two days ago, she screamed at the sight of me,” he said. “And now she’s wanting to have sex with me? This is all kind of sudden, don’t you think?”

Tolla glanced over at the bookshelves. “I told you, I often had to fuck to get things I needed. I would fuck a human if it meant I could read the bwooks. That seems like a great bargain to me. Especially if you won’t hurt me while you fuck me.”

Jeeka giggled. “I could stand to learn it myself,” she said.

“And this doesn’t bother you?” said Ben with some concern.

“Goblins do this sort of thing all the time, Ben,” said Jeeka. “If Jeeka wants to be ridden in exchange for knowledge, I’m fine with that. I know you’ll pay your debt. Besides, she might wind up liking it. Poor sweet’s never had a male who was worth a damn.”

Tolla brightened. “Jeeka says you won’t hurt me,” she said. “And she says you love to lick veema, to get her wet for fucking…”

“Or do you worry about using that magic again?” said Jeeka suddenly. “It’s been unpredictable the other times…”

"I don't object to the transfer spell," said Ben, "but I am also thinking about how it affected Jeeka. I don't know how it would affect Tolla. She might wind up with a piece of me in her head, the way Jeeka did. Possibly more; in order to read those books, she'd need both my languages, AND the skill of literacy. Even Jeeka doesn't have that."

"Jeeka is greater now than she was," said Tolla. "She has gained from having a part of you, no?"

"And Jeeka really wouldn't mind knowing how to read," said Jeeka. "Are there books on magic, there?"

Ben's eyebrows went up, and he glanced at the shelf. "That entire top shelf is grimoires," he said.

"What is grimoires?" said Tolla.

"Books of spells," said Jeeka, with a sudden lustful look. "You never told me that before."

"It didn't seem to matter," said Ben. "You couldn't read. I'm still trying to figure out how you got magic without knowing how to read."

"From your mind," said Jeeka. "Your mind, and your words."

"Would I learn magic that way?" asked Tolla.

"I have no idea WHAT you might wind up with!" said Ben. "That's my sole problem with this whole thing. Well, almost."

"There's more?" asked Jeeka.

"My goblin nature says to take Tolla," said Ben. "My human side refuses to hurt you, Jeeka. If I thought you would be hurt by any of this, my ekkska wouldn't even work. I'm sure of that."

Jeeka's mouth fell open. Tolla's hand covered her lips. "Is that... how humans work?" whispered Tolla.

"Only the ones who care for their women's feelings," said Ben.

Jeeka rose from her seat and dropped to the floor, and went over to wrap her arms around Ben. "You are my toorih," said Jeeka. "And I have seen into your heart. And if you fuck Tolla? I lose nothing." Jeeka looked over her shoulder at Tolla. "And if my toorih fucks you, and you learn how to read," she said, "will you try to steal him from me?"

"I don't think I could," said Tolla, looking at Ben, "even if I would do such an ugly thing in the face of all you have given me."

"Good," said Jeeka, rubbing her face on Ben's chest. "I still owe you a ravishment. And she still owes me a ravishment.  Will you give us the reading, Ben? Then she will owe you a ravishment. And I might help. She was right. There is a lot of ravishing in our future."

Ben sighed. "One ravishment at a time. Let me finish the couch."

***************************************************************

"I like it," said Tolla of the couch. "Big soft things to sit on. Or lie down on. And more big comfy things for your back. And pillows! I like it better than these chairs."

"Kind of lonely to spend the night on," said Jeeka.

"Well, until we have a fight, no one is spending the night out here," said Ben.

"Can we learn to read now?" asked Tolla impatiently.

Ben sighed and took a deep breath. "Yes," he said. "I'm still a bit worried about the effects on you. But Jeeka and I have done this twice now, and I'm thinking passing reading along won't be as traumatic as sharing bad memories. Are you sure about this, Tolla? Jeeka can tell you that she isn't the same since we did this."

Tolla looked to Jeeka, who still wore her magician's robe. Jeeka grinned. Tolla looked at the bookshelf. "Yes," she said. "I want this. And I will give you what I promised in return."

"I'm not so worried about that," he smiled. "Jeeka's kept me ... very well entertained... ever since she first showed up. But Jeeka wants to read books, and you want it, and I can't help but think it would make things easier in the long run." Ben sat down on the couch. "Jeeka, come sit down on my leg, here," he said.

Jeeka climbed onto his leg, and straddled his thigh. "I think I see where this is going," she said. "Like last time, but now there will be room for Tolla? And now I'll have a harder time falling off."

"Right. Tolla, you come sit on this leg, like Jeeka is on the other one."

"And be careful not to put your knee on his balls," said Jeeka. "I think that might mess up the whole thing."

Tolla climbed up on Ben's other leg, being careful where she put her knees. Jeeka pressed her against Ben’s chest, and sat up for full eye contact. "Should I do what she's doing?" asked Tolla.

"Yes. Sit on my leg, where you can see my eyes. Then I can begin," said Ben.

Tolla slipped an arm around Jeeka's waist and braced a hand against Ben's torso, and sat where she could see his eyes.

"Everyone comfortable? I'm hoping this won't take too long," said Ben. “Tolla, keep your eyes focused on mine. You too, Jeeka. Remember? Look me in the eyes, and don’t break eye contact.” He began to draw sigils in the air, and to speak-sing the words of the spell.

"This is going to be a little weird, Tolla," said Jeeka. "Just keep looking in his eyes."

And within moments, Tolla was a disembodied viewpoint, floating in nothingness. She waited a moment for Jeeka's voice. She didn't hear it. "Jeeka?" she called.

"I'm here," said Jeeka. Tolla tried to turn her attention in the direction of the voice, and was aware of a somethingness in ... proximity. Distance didn't seem to mean much here, but it was both far and near, but when Jeeka spoke again, Tolla was aware of her presence. "You're really bright! Finding you was easy!" came Jeeka's words.

"Where's Ben?" asked Tolla. Jeeka's somethingness was ... distinct. Tolla had trouble attaching a description to it. It was something like a secret place deep in a green forest, filled with growing green things, yet unseen by most. And it was distinctly Jeeka. Tolla found the idea fascinating. Was this what Jeeka was like, inside? And what did she mean by describing Tolla as 'bright?'"

"I'm here," said Ben. And Tolla was aware of him, a swirling rich brown presence filled with shots and flickers of light... but with a strange... something inside. An absence of something. Like something was missing. Was he aware of this?

"He is if you keep thinking that loud," said Jeeka. "The hole was a lot bigger last time. I think he's healing. Ben, why aren't we doing this the way you and I did the first time? All I had to do was look you in the eyes while you did boop on my head."

"The first time we did this was almost completely uncontrolled," said Ben. "That's because I was an idiot. This will be controlled. Language and literacy, and that's it. You're both going to get both languages and both forms of script, because you're going to need both to read books of Ilric and in the speech of man. Come closer."

Tolla was struck at the idea of getting closer in a place where proximity seemed sort of irrelevant, but she did indeed find herself growing closer to the swirling brown that was Ben, and she could feel Jeeka nestling next to her.

And with proximity came knowledge. And the first thing Tolla realized was that "bwooks" were called "books" in the speech of men. With mild embarrassment, she continued to feel the stream of knowledge, and be aware that Jeeka was feeling it, too. Syllables, syntax, adjectives, alphabet, symbolic, fiction, nonfiction, aleph script, high and low speech, eyebrows, inflection, connotation, body language, context, stance, nouns, verbs, the way you hold your eyes, so MUCH--

"Don't panic," said Jeeka. "Just relax and let it come. A LOT of this isn't going to make sense at first; it'll take days to find its place in your head. It took me a week before I could really read Ben's facial expressions. But a lot of it is going to hit right away. It'll be confusing at first. Just let it come. It'll come together in its own time."

"What Jeeka said," said Ben. "We both went through this, and we weren't together to compare notes. It was confusing at first. Just let it flow and don't force it. You'll get there. And now, amech."

Tolla's eyes fell back into focus. She was sitting on Ben's leg, on the couch, just as she had been. How long had they been like this?

Suddenly, Tolla remembered. “OH! Do I know how to read now?”

“Good question,” said Jeeka. “Ben? When do we find out?”

“Now’s as good a time as any,” said Ben. “I think it went as it should have. Might as well test it out.” Jeeka braced her hands in front of her and dismounted, and Tolla did likewise, somewhat more carefully as she only could use one arm. Ben rose and all three headed for the bookshelf.

“A lot of this stuff is pretty technical,” said Ben, “so let’s start with something reasonably basic, in the speech of men.” He took two volumes off the shelf and handed them to Jeeka and Tolla.

“Xygag’s Bestiary,” said Tolla. “Did I get that right? A bestiary is… a book of beasts!” She quivered with excitement, and then ran to the table, and climbed into a chair.

“Bolo’s Universal Compendium of Knowledge,” said Jeeka, with a satisfied smile. Then she frowned. “So this book contains all the knowledge of the universe? It doesn’t seem thick enough for that. And this is in man speech, not Ilric. ”

“Bolo’s nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is,” said Ben with a smile. “This was one of the first books I got locally. But it’s a handy reference book, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Bolo has an engaging style.”

Jeeka padded over to the table and took a chair. Tolla sat there already, staring raptly at the open book. “Cat,” she said. “Cat-o… cat-o --- CATOBLEPAS!” she shrieked excitedly. Then, equally suddenly,” she looked sad. “But I don’t know what that is.”

“That’s why you have to read the book,” said Jeeka, opening the cover of Bolo’s Universal Compendium of Knowledge.

“The book TELLS you?”

“That’s kind of the point of a book,” smiled Ben.

Tolla turned excitedly back to the entry. “A catoblepas… is a swamp dwelling grazing herbivore with a long flexible neck that feeds on water plants… and I understood all that. I know what a swamp is, and a herbivore is a plant eater, and it is SO WEIRD, having to translate all this in my head,” she said, looking up from the book.

Jeeka read aloud, “ ‘In urban centers, gold coins vary by weight, but a rule of thumb is that silver coins of equal weight are worth a tenth or less of their gold counterparts, and that a hundredweight of copper coins may be equal to a single silver. This may vary from place to place depending on the values local folk and local governments put upon their own particular form of coinage.’ This is sort of scary. I never felt stupid before, but I’m starting to realize how little I know. What’s a government, anyway? I feel like I should know that, but I don’t. Why does it make me think of Morr?”

“Your mind is trying to put the pieces together,” said Ben, “but everything hasn’t hit bottom yet. A government is a ruling body of a given group of people. Morr and his council rule your tribe; they’re your government.”

“Got it,” grinned Jeeka.

“This says there is more than one kind of dragon,” said Tolla concernedly. “And whoever wrote this book didn’t know a thing about goblins.”

Ben looked a little startled. “You know,” he said, “now that I think about it, I have to agree. I thought I knew about goblins, too. Don’t spend too long on those; your eyes aren’t used to it, and a lot of information needs time to settle in your heads.”

Jeeka and Tolla ignored him completely, consumed by their respective books. “Mm,” said Ben. “Who knew they were compulsive readers?” And with that, he retired to the kitchen.

***************************************************************************

Jeeka leaned back and took her eyes off the page, and it took her a moment to refocus. Her eyes felt like peeled onions. She noticed a plate of bread, cheese, and pickles at her elbow, with fried sausage slices, and a cup of water, and she felt a warm moment for Ben, who had served lunch without her even noticing. To her left, Tolla still pored over the Bestiary, another plate at her side, untouched.

Jeeka sipped the water, and then realized she was thirsty, and gulped half the cup, and then picked up one of the pickles and bit it in half with a loud crunch. Tolla reacted by glancing up, and blinking hard suddenly.

“Lunch?” she said, realizing she had her own plate. “Ow. I have a headache.”

“And my eyes feel funny,” said Jeeka. “Ben said this might happen. We should take a break.” She finished the pickle and stacked a slice of cheese on half a slice of bread, and picked up a slice of sausage to top it with. And she realized that while the sausage was fried crispy, it was also quite cold.

How long had they been here? She glanced around. Where was Ben? Tolla glanced around as well.

“Jeeka,” said Tolla. “Look at the door.”

Jeeka glanced at the doorway, the one leading to the outside. It was dark. Night had fallen while they sat at the table and read.

“Where’s Ben?” asked Tolla. Jeeka got out of the chair and checked the bedroom.

“Found him,” she said.

“How long were we there?” Tolla asked guiltily.

“Long enough for my back to start hurting,” said Jeeka. “And my neck. And my ass. How about you?”

“Now that you mention it.”

“You know,” Jeeka said, “he gave us a great gift today. And we repaid him by ignoring him for the rest of the day.”

“Yes,” said Tolla, glumly. “I… he deserved more. Better. Something. Anything.”

Jeeka looked at Tolla. “Come wash my back, and let’s get ready for bed,” said Jeeka. “We should talk about what we’re going to do about this.”

Chapter Text

Jeeka awoke, and glanced around. Tolla was still asleep, but Ben was already up and she could hear him in the kitchen.

“You awake?” said Jeeka.

“Mm,” said Tolla. “What am I smelling now? Does he literally invent new foods in there?”

“Feels like it sometimes,” said Jeeka. “I treated him to goblin food once. He liked it, most of it. Still think he’d like frog legs, if I hadn’t kind of screwed up the presentation.”

“We should feed him sometime,” said Tolla.

“Yes,” said Jeeka. “But today, we have different plans. Are you still with me?”

“Yes,” said Tolla. “We owe him that. I owe you both that. Let me do the privy and wash up.”

*****************************************************************************

Together, Jeeka and Tolla entered  the main room, and glanced into the kitchen. Ben had his back to them, and was working on something sizzling in a pan on the hotbox. Silently, the goblins trooped into the main living area and took seats at the main table.

After a moment, Ben transferred something from the pan to a plate, and straightened up, and glanced around. “Ah! They return from the land of the dead!” he said dramatically. “And they are naked,” he added with some interest. “Give me a moment.”

And after a moment, he approached the table with a wooden board laden with plates, cups, and a little pot, and began passing out breakfasts. As he did so, he noted the goblins’ silence, and said, “What’s wrong?”

“We are regretful,” said Tolla.

“We have treated you badly,” said Jeeka. “I sort of expected you to be mad at us, and instead you’re… are these pancakes?”

Ben grinned. “Yesterday was a big day, I think. While you two were stretching your new skill set, I managed to get quite a bit of gardening done, and some other tasks I’ve needed to attend to. And I slept very well last night. I would have liked warm company, but it showed up later, so I can’t complain. Anyway, I felt festive this morning. And I’ve been meaning to try Jeeka on pancakes.”

Tolla picked up one of the golden brown discs. “They’re like flatbread, but fluffier.” Experimentally, she took a bite.

Ben chuckled. “You’re supposed to leave them in a stack, and pour honey on them, and then cut chunks off the stack. Like this,” and he sat down and demonstrated with his own.

Intrigued, Jeeka took the honey pot and wand, and drizzled honey over her own stack of cakes, while Tolla obediently replaced her bitten one on the stack and waited. Upon finishing, she passed the pot to Tolla, and while Tolla drizzled honey, Jeeka cut a wedge out and stabbed it with her fork, and tried it. “All right,” she said. “This is something I could get used to. Then again, it’s hard to ruin anything by adding honey to it.”

“Fluffy butter bread with honey,” said Tolla approvingly. “This is a human thing?”

“I really have no idea,” said Ben. “This is a thing I brought with me when I came here. I’ve never eaten a meal with other humans, here. Jeeka was the first person I ever ate with after my arrival.”

Jeeka shot Tolla a stern look and gestured zok! this is a hurtful subject! And Tolla guiltily dipped her head and ate pancakes. Ben noticed, and opened his mouth to speak; Jeeka said, brightly, “And what are these red strips? This is something new…”

It worked; Ben glanced down at Jeeka’s plate, and chuckled. “This is the sensation that will drive goblins mad with lust,” he said. Tolla’s head bobbed up, abruptly, her mouth full of pancake. “Try a bite.”

Jeeka glanced down at her plate, and picked up a strip, and bit it; it crunched between her teeth. Her eyes got big. “I thought you were kidding. I am driven mad with lust.”

Tolla looked at Jeeka, swallowed, and picked up one of her own, and crunched it. “Mmm! These are GREAT! What ARE they?”

“Strips of pork belly meat, salt cured, and fried up crispy. Called ‘bacon.’ “

“Is there more?” asked Jeeka.

Ben smiled.

Tolla looked dejected. “This is terrible,” she said. “We came out here to make it up to you for ignoring you all day yesterday, and you make us a delicious breakfast. Can’t you even be mad?”

“It’s not easy to be mad at beautiful women who come out for naked pancake breakfast,” said Ben with a grin. “I feel overdressed.”

Jeeka and Tolla glanced at each other. “That’s sort of what we wanted to talk to you about,” said Jeeka.

“We think you deserve something in return for your kindness and generosity,” added Tolla. “And that’s why we’re naked.”

Ben blinked and grinned his wry grin. “Livens up breakfast, certainly. I would think you’d be cold, though.”

“It is a bit chilly,” said Jeeka. “Perhaps when we finish, we should retire to somewhere warmer.”

“And perhaps you are cold, too?” said Tolla, a tad overcoquettishly. “We could help with that.”

Ben bit his lip. “No doubt you could… and here I was thinking you’d want to eat and get right back to the books.”

“Well, we didn’t hurt the books’ feelings,” said Jeeka.

“We don’t owe the books a debt. And they will wait. Longer than you should have to,” added Tolla, who finally lost her struggle to resist the bacon.

“Come be with us, Ben,” said Jeeka. “Let us appreciate you. You’ve done so much for us. Let us do something for you.”

Ben glanced from Jeeka to Tolla, who crunched the remainder of the bacon. “I did say I was curious,” said Tolla.

“You don’t have to do this,” said Ben. “I enjoy doing these things for you. It makes me as happy as it makes you.”

“I could make you happy, too,” said Tolla, her face aimed at the table, but her great yellow eyes aimed squarely at Ben.

“Ah,” said Ben.

“I made you an offer yesterday. I meant to hold up my end. But then I got to reading the book of beasts, and I forgot, and … I still owe you. Can I pay you my debt today?” And with that, she gave her breasts a little twitch.

Ben took a deep breath.

Jeeka said, “You don’t have to –”

Tolla’s face fell. “You were right,” she said. “I can read your facial expressions now. You don’t want me, do you?”

“Tolla, it’s not that I don’t want you,” said Ben. “Believe me, not wanting you isn’t on the table. Especially now that there’s a drop of honey rolling down between your tits. Some part of me wants to climb over the table and lick it off before it reaches your navel.”

Tolla brightened.

“It’s the human in him, Tolla,” said Jeeka, with a touch of irritation. “I’ve told him that it won’t hurt me if he touches you, but he’s afraid that it will, anyway. Part of me is warmed that he thinks so much about my feelings, and part of me wants to slap him for being an idiot. What would a goblin male do now, Ben?”

“Gather you both up and head for the bedroom before someone changed their mind,” said Ben with some chagrin. “But there is human in you too, Jeeka. What happens if we’re partway through this when she suddenly decides to object?”

“I slap the shit of her, and demand that one of you two kiss me and light my fires of desire and we all ride your pecker to heaven,” grinned Jeeka. “Unless you have some objection for your own sake.”

“Me?” Ben sighed. “Part of me says I should be ashamed of myself for what I’m thinking. I’ve been trying not to stare at Tolla’s tits since she sat down, for fear of being rude. Which isn’t a goblin thing; if she brought them to the table, she wants me to look at them, says the goblin in me.”

“Then finish your breakfast,” said Jeeka, “and let’s all go somewhere more comfortable to continue the discussion.”

Ben looked thoughtful but unconvinced.

Tolla looked a little frustrated. She dipped into her cleavage, and gathered the honey on a fingertip, and smeared it on her left nipple, never taking her eyes off Ben.

“It’s the smart thing to do,” said Jeeka. “And the goblin thing to do.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Ben. “I mean, they say that intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit… but wisdom is knowing not to put tomato in a fruit salad,”

Tolla and Jeeka looked at each other. “But jelly fruit salad is delicious,” said Tolla plaintitively. “I love jelly fruit salad. Why is it wrong?”

Ben looked confused. And his goblin side agreed with Tolla. Goblins see things differently.

“Seems like there is wisdom,” said Jeeka, “in knowing that different cultures use different models, different attitudes. We are both man and goblin, you and I. And now Tolla. Can’t we try both?”

Ben’s goblin nature saw Tolla and Jeeka before him and called him the biggest fool in the world for not acting now. And his human nature didn’t seem to have much of a leg to stand on. And he began to cut up his pancakes with gusto. “There’s more bacon on the plate on the hotbox,” he said. “I think we may want all the extra energy we can muster. At least, I will.”

******************************************************************************

Ben’s eyes bugged. “You two are COLD!”

“And you are so WARM!” oohed Jeeka, pressing herself to Ben’s side. She felt Tolla grab her arm under the blankets, and pull herself closer to Ben’s other side. Ben grunted but said nothing. Tolla let go, and used the hand to feel around under the blankets.

“I can’t find his pecker,” complained Tolla.

“That’s because it felt you two coming, decided a glacier had arrived, and went to go hide somewhere in my pelvis,” said Ben. “Give it some time to get ready for winter. It’ll come back out wearing a little fur suit.”

“Will it?” mused Tolla.

Jeeka burst into hysterical giggles.

“Jeeka, I could drill holes in the walls around here with your nipples,” observed Ben.

“What about my nipples?” asked Tolla.

“Can’t feel them from here.”

Tolla found his hand and obligingly put it on one of her breasts.

“Mmm,” said Ben. “That’s stiff. And a bit sticky. Has honey on it…”

“It’s waiting for you to make it clean,” said Tolla.

“If she’s offering honeyed nipples, I want one, too,” said Jeeka.

Ben slid an arm under Tolla suddenly, and hoisted her over himself; Tolla squealed, and suddenly found herself between Ben and Jeeka, both of whom suddenly dipped their heads to her breasts. Tolla gasped.

“Mmm. Mine has honey,” giggled Jeeka.

“Mmm. Still looking over here,” said Ben. “This may take a while…”

Tolla stiffened, as she felt hands explore her body, both above and below, while moist mouths teased her nipples. “Oh,” she said. “All right… I … think… this is not bad…”

“Jeeka,” said Ben. “Tolla owes me a debt. She owes you a debt, as well. Perhaps we should collect… together?”

Jeeka grinned. “I’ll go high, you go low.” Ben grinned back, and vanished beneath the covers, as Jeeka levered herself up face to face with Tolla, who was peering under the covers, wondering what Ben was up to. Playfully, she swatted the covers out of Tolla’s hands. “Ben is a big man,” she said. “I am sure the bed is not so big that he will get lost. Pay attention to me; he will turn up where and when he is needed.”

Tolla smiled tentatively. “I’m a little nervous about this,” she said. “He is… human.”

“Don’t be afraid. He won’t hurt you. Seriously. I was terrified, the first time,” said Jeeka. “Even though I agreed to it. Turns out he wouldn’t even have THOUGHT of it if I hadn’t suggested it. And by the time he mounted me, I was beyond fear. Now I will never fear him again. Now shut up and kiss me.” And she lowered her lips to Tolla’s, and a moment was made in time.

“Oh,” said Tolla, stiffening. “I found him…”

Jeeka glanced down the bed. Tolla’s knees made two lumps under the covers, and a third, wider lump moved between them. “Ah,” she said. “The human has found what he is looking for. Settle down and enjoy the ride.”

“Isn’t he going to try to make me wet first?” said Tolla. “No oil, no—OH”

Jeeka ran her fingers around Tolla’s chest. “Believe me, that isn’t going to be a problem. He won’t even think about it until you’ve cum at least once; he’s a creature of habit. Ooo, a sticky spot…” Jeeka lowered her head to lick up the honey as Tolla gasped and twitched.

Beneath the covers, Ben moved and lapped at Tolla’s cunt, while his hands went exploring. Tolla stiffened again, and forced herself to relax. “This… is… you two are all OVER the place… I… urrrrgh…. His face fur TICKLES…”

“You get used to that,” said Jeeka with a giggle. “I like it, personally. Adds stimulation.”

“Hoooow… do you … mmmmmanage OVER stimmmmulation…?” hissed Tolla.

Jeeka leaned down and swatted the lump between Tolla’s legs, and Tolla’s eyes bugged. “Slow down, Ben,” said Jeeka. “We have all day. Let’s work up to this. I can’t kiss her if she’s hissing and snorting.”

“You two are raucous,” said Tolla. “Are you like this all the time?”

“We’ve grown comfortable with each other,” said Jeeka.

“Well,” said Tolla, relaxing visibly, “if he’s going to get overeager and jam it in there, I’d rather he did it with his tongue than his ekkska… mmm. This is nice.”

“What’s he doing?” asked Jeeka.

“He’s touching me with his hands. Rubbing them in places, down my sides, and my hips. He has really long arms! And he’s kissing the inside of my leg. Feels like he’s trying not to tickle.”

“He’s considerate like that.”

“I can’t believe he does what you tell him to.”

“I don’t,” came a voice from under the covers. “But when my Green Treasure speaks, I listen. I am the Great, Great Magic, and I am the Eater of Green, and when she is on her tenth or twelfth kzing, then, she is her sweetest, and when she begs me to mount her, I cannot deny her.”

“Eater of Green?” snickered Jeeka.

“Ten or twelve kzings?” said Tolla with some concern.

“He’s kidding,” said Jeeka. Then she looked serious. “Not for lack of trying, though. He likes to taste veema as much as he likes to get his ekkska wet.”

Ben’s hands moved under the covers, and Tolla smiled and wriggled a little.

“The feel of your skin is a feast to me,” came the voice from under the covers. “The smell of you is as a fever to my mind. I ache to taste your kzing on my tongue. When you quiver and shake, it is like a call to me, and I must answer.” His hands came from under the covers long enough to caress Tolla’s breasts, before vanishing back beneath.

“He talks while he does this?” said Tolla, her eyes tightly closed. Jeeka said nothing, lowering her mouth to taste Tolla’s stiff nipple again, and to send her hands out to do some exploring of their own.

“Tolla has suffered much,” came the voice. “I would offer her no suffering. I would bring her pleasure. I would hear her cry out in joy.”

“Uhhn,” said Tolla. “Your… your fur… it’s nice…”

“If it brings you pleasure, then I must offer it,” said Ben, gently brushing the inside of her thigh with his face.

Jeeka’s lips moved up Tolla’s chest, to her neck, to her ear.

“Jeeka was right,” said Tolla, tilting her head to give Jeeka better access. “You are a devil of temptation.”

“Am I a devil?”

“A male couldn’t make me wet just by talking!”

“He’s even worse when he’s silent,” murmured Jeeka into Tolla’s neck.

Ben brushed his face between Tolla’s legs, and she shivered despite herself. “I am no mere male,” he said. “I am the Eater of Green, the Caresser of Green, and your touch is like a fire of joy to me. Shall I speak, or be silent? Command me, o beautiful flame.” His hands moved to her knees, down the insides of her legs, and she gasped again for breath.

“Command you?”

“I await your word, o beautiful flame. What must I do, to bring you pleasure?” Ben punctuated the remark with a flutter of fingers and a kiss on the thigh.

“He is SO full of shit,” giggled Jeeka.

“Is he serious?”

“Tell him what you want.”

Tolla’s mind was both ablaze and filled with fog. Jeeka’s caresses and kisses had lit a flame, and the human’s beard rubbing her sensitive inner thighs was both comforting, confusing, and arousing. She wasn’t used to anyone really being interested in pleasuring her and her alone, and having two people doing just that had very much aroused her, and unhinged her a little. And she decided simply to surrender. She opened her legs wide. “Taste me,” she said.

Ben’s hands slipped away from Tolla’s thighs, slid under her legs, up her hips, and curled back around her thighs from the top, and his tongue did a slow trail around the outside of her vaginal lips. And then flicked them. Tolla twitched.

“Mmm!” she said. She rolled her head back, and offered her throat to Jeeka, who began to nibble here and there upon it.

Ben breathed, and then leaned in and gently lapped at Tolla’s wetness. He felt the urge to drive forward, but restrained himself, and began licking in slow, gentle circles around the outer lips of her vagina, occasionally darting his tongue in for a taste in the middle, enjoying Tolla’s reactions, which included sudden squeaks and twitches. He couldn’t see Jeeka, but he could feel her moving up above him, and he knew that between the two of them, they must be driving Tolla quite mad.

Jeeka moved her head down Tolla’s body, licking and kissing as she went, moving her hands around Tolla’s sides, her breasts, never lingering long in any one place. She slid her hand down to Tolla’s hip, and found one of Ben’s hands there, and took it and squeezed it. He squeezed back, and continued his oral explorations while Tolla twitched and whimpered.

“Stop teeeeasing me!” said Tolla. “Put… put … tongue in me… lick up the middle…” Jeeka cocked an ear and began taking mental notes.

Ben chuckled inwardly, did one last quick circle, and pushed his tongue into her. Tolla responded by abruptly wrapping her legs around his head and crying out. Ben ran his tongue up the length of her a few times, feeling her quiver, and then took hold of her legs and gently pried them open, spreading them, but never stopping his gentle assault with his tongue. Time to switch things up, he thought, and began gently caressing the area around her clit with his tongue tip, moving in little circles.

Tolla jerked, but couldn’t move much; Jeeka was on top of her, nuzzling and nibbling everywhere. At one point, Jeeka seized the blanket and pulled it aside, revealing Ben’s head and shoulders, his face buried between Tolla’s thighs. Tolla mewled occasionally between sharp breaths, spasming occasionally.

“Yes. Like that. Faster,” Tolla whispered.

Ben obliged her. She stiffened again.  “Mmmm… oh, Jeeka… nipples…”

Jeeka focused her attention. Experimentally, while nibbling at a breast tip, Jeeka ran a hand down Tolla’s front, down her stomach, and divided her fingers in such a way as to cup Tolla’s crotch while not blocking Ben’s access. Tolla growled, and raised her hips off the bed; Jeeka felt Ben’s tongue working. Jeeka felt a quick flicker of excitement in her belly. So that’s what that feels like from outside, she thought with a mental smile.

Tolla was having trouble even stringing two thoughts together. She’d been a woman who regarded sex as a tool, or light entertainment at best, but Jeeka and Ben were working together in a way that destroyed her ability to do anything but react. One arm was wrapped around Jeeka, the other hand, heavy with her cast, hung under her knee… not that it needed to be, with the human’s deathgrip on her thighs, but his kisses were so glorious, she felt the urge to help him, somehow.

“Stooop,” she whined. “Just, just, just, lick up, lick up, lick up…”

Ben ceased with his teasing circles, and began lustily lapping upward, starting at the bottom of her vagina, and suddenly lifting just shy of her clitoris.

“Rrrr! Faster, devil, go faster!”

Jeeka pressed her fingers into either side of Tolla’s wet vagina… and spread her fingers. Tolla opened like a flower. Ben chuckled and licked again. Tolla made a sound, deep in her throat. Jeeka tenderly bit Tolla’s nipple. And Ben licked faster.

And under her elbow, Jeeka felt Tolla’s stomach tighten. Ben didn’t miss it, either. He felt her pelvis begin to work rhythmically, the sign of the oncoming orgasm. He pressed his face closer, lapped hungrily at her, increased the pressure a little, but kept the same speed…

“Unnnnnngh,” hissed Tolla through clenched teeth. “A little… fasterrr….” The tightness of her belly made her sore ribs hurt. She didn’t care.

Jeeka moved up to kiss and nibble at Tolla’s collarbones. Ben increased his pace a little.

“Faster…. Unnngh…. devil, devil, devil, devil, devil…. Faster…”

Abruptly, Ben pulled back, slightly, and brushed his face against one thigh, then the other, and then suddenly plunged his face back into Tolla, thrusting his tongue forward, driving into her, parting her wet lips, and licking upward, hungrily, furiously, in the pattern she had asked for, but this time, drawing a little closer to her clit with each stroke.

Tolla convulsed; Jeeka held her down, and bit her neck. Tolla howled. Ben lashed his tongue harder. Tolla felt the tide rise inside her, and surrendered to it. Jeeka felt Tolla’s stomach stiffen, again, and again, and then again. Ben kept going, not letting up. Tolla let go of her knee and threw both arms around Jeeka, clutching at her as the orgasm took hold. She spread her legs as wide as she could to accommodate, and Ben took full advantage, stiffening his tongue to increase the pressure.

Tolla thought it would never stop. She’d had the occasional orgasm with a male before, but it had always been a sort of incidental thing, something that just happened to occur while something else was going on. This… now… was intentional, a thing that was being done to her, a gift from her two friends, an appreciation of Tolla and Tolla alone, and she was no longer in any sort of control. While Jeeka held her, she keened her pleasure and rode Ben’s tongue and hoped the moment would never end.

But in time, it did.

“Stop…” moaned Tolla. Ben stopped, jerked his head up, and gasped for air. Jeeka giggled again. She knew what this was like. Tolla lay limp on the bed, with Jeeka lying crosswise atop her, still nuzzling her breasts and nibbling her throat. “I… this is… so much!”

Ben rose from his lying position, up to his knees. His expression was unfocused, his beard was damp, and his erection was prominent. Tolla looked at it, and looked to Jeeka. Jeeka smiled. “Ready for round two?” Jeeka asked.

Tolla looked at Ben’s cock again. Then up to Ben’s face.

“You… don’t have to… do this…” he said between gulps of air.

Jeeka shifted position to lie alongside Tolla. “You can say no,” she said to Tolla. Reaching down between her own thighs, she inserted two fingers into herself, and drew them out again, glistening. “He can take me instead. He will.”

Tolla looked up at Ben, who blinked, and tried to catch his breath.

And Tolla raised her heels from the bed and hooked them behind Ben’s hips. “Come closer,” she said. Jeeka grinned sharkishly.

Ben scooted closer to Tolla, his cock nearly touching her moist orange pubic hair. “Fair warning,” he said, “I… if I get started, I don’t know that I’m going to want to stop.”

“I offered you my veema for knowledge,” said Tolla, as if from far away. “I will pay. Gladly.”

“I have … had your… veema…” said Ben, around deep breaths.

“No you haven’t,” said Tolla. She pulled harder on Ben with her heels, then stretched her legs to hook her calves around him, to pull harder. He reached down and took hold of himself, and rubbed the head of his cock into her wet slit, and closed his eyes. “But you will. I have never had a human before, Ben, but you are a devil, and I think I am damned.” She dug in her heels and pulled again, and instead of pulling Ben closer, she dragged herself closer to him. The head of his cock entered her.

And with that, Ben’s self control gave, and he leaned forward, and began to press himself into her, a little at a time, then withdrawing, back and forth. Jeeka lay on her side, snuggled close to Tolla, her hand on Tolla’s belly, her other arm behind Tolla’s neck. She caressed Tolla’s stomach, nibbled on her shoulder. Tolla gasped, but spread her legs as wide as she could.

And within three strokes, he was in her. “Oh,” said Tolla softly. “So full.”

“So… wet,” said Ben, holding her legs.

“So jealous,” grinned Jeeka.

Ben glanced at Jeeka, and released Tolla’s legs, Falling forward, he braced one arm next to Tolla, and the other behind Jeeka’s back. “Oh!” said Tolla. Ben responded by withdrawing, and then slowly pushing in. And withdrawing. And pressing in. Back and forth. Tolla smiled and leaned back and put her legs in the air, then slid her left arm under and around Jeeka, and pulled her close. “Ahh.. this is cozy… I think I… mmm… could like this…” she said.

Ben continued to thrust into her, again, and again, keeping his weight off of Tolla, mindful of her ribs, eyes wide open, staring down at Tolla and Jeeka. Tolla was a little surprised to find herself responding to it, and shifted position to allow him to thrust deeper. He did so, picking up the pace a little.

Jeeka nuzzled at Tolla’s shoulder, and reached up to stroke Ben’s side, drawing her fingernails down his side and across his stomach. She dropped her hand to Tolla’s pubis, and slipped her fingers to either side, and felt Ben’s cock slide wetly in and out between them.

And Tolla looked into Ben’s eyes.

The human’s eyes, white with their blue and black circles. Like a bird’s eyes. They had seemed empty, mindless, when she had first looked into them. How could she have thought that? They were strange, but… now… she could see things in them. Feelings. Lust. Longing. Determination. Desire. A human was fucking her, fucking her, and she was responding to him, growing wetter, she could feel herself relaxing, inviting him into her, even as something within her grew tenser and built up… was she going to cum, with this human fucking her? Wasn’t he going to finish? A goblin male would have been done ages ago…

Ben’s breathing was hard, but steady. He thrust into her, drew out, thrust back, again and again. He looked into her yellow eyes as if he was mesmerized. Why do you look at me that way? Tolla thought. Males don’t look at me like that when they fuck me… 

Tolla realized with something between horror and delight that she was building up to another orgasm. “Jeeka,” she said, breathily, glancing to her left, “how long… does he take?”

“You first,” grunted Ben. He increased his speed. He still stared into her eyes. Tolla jerked back, and eye contact happened. She felt the familiar sensations building…”

“I want you to cum,” said Ben. He sank down onto his elbows, slowly, his face almost touching Tolla’s but his pace never slackening. “I want to feel it. I want to feel your cunt wrap around my cock and squeeze, Tolla, sweet Tolla, my beautiful flame. I want to feel you squeeze me, I want to feel you under me, I want to feel your fire, and only then will I fill you, only then…”

Tolla’s breath quickened. His mouth dipped to her throat, where he kissed her, and Jeeka’s hand was in her hair, and her other hand found Tolla’s clit, and stroked around it while the human’s cock pounded in and out of her, and gods gods, gods the thunder comes--

Jeeka held her close. Ben pounded away at her, and tasted her neck. And the storm rolled in and on and over, while Tolla clung to Jeeka and clawed at Ben with her other hand while she felt the whole world stop making sense for a time. And after the second wave, Ben murmured, “I can’t hold onnn, I’m sorry…” and she felt him burst inside of her. The throbbing! Tolla felt it like the heart of some beast inside of her, and without realizing it, she wrapped her legs around him and began pounding her own pelvis against his, dimly realizing she was emitting strange little barks as the third wave rolled over her as he pulsed inside her…

A few years later, Jeeka giggled. “I am so hot and wet you could boil an egg in me,” she said, “and neither one of you two is in any shape to do anything about it…”

Tolla opened her eyes. She was still wrapped around Ben. Ben still lay atop her, his lips against her neck, one arm around Jeeka, who was clamped close to her left side. Jeeka had levered her hand loose from between Ben and Tolla, and was now rubbing herself between her legs. Tolla relaxed her legs, and let them fall to the bed. “You were right, Jeeka.”

“Right about what?”

“He is a devil of temptation.”

Ben made an interrogatory sound against Tolla’s neck.

“He’s a human… but he, he, he gets me wet with his sweet honey words, and when he gets me naked, he makes me wetter with more words and his devil tongue, and when I can no longer resist him, he fills me up with his great pink ekkska, and I am damned, because I liked it. If he sucked my soul out through his pecker, how would I know? And my soul is not enough. He wants my pleasure, too. He feeds on it. He soaks it up, he savors it. He makes me kzing with his tongue, and then he won’t stop until I kzing on his cock, too, because he likes the way it feels. He is not a human at all. He is a great pink devil, and I am trapped under him, and there is no escape.”

“I do like the way it feels,” murmured Ben, kissing Tolla’s neck.

“My face hurts from grinning,” said Jeeka. “Just watching you two is a treat. But my veema aches for attention, and will none of my sweet friends help their poor needy Jeeka?”

Ben lifted his head, and he and Tolla looked into each others’ eyes. “Surely even a devil is in no shape to fuck his Green Treasure after that?”

Ben glanced at Jeeka. “Give me a few, and I will certainly do my best.”

Jeeka rubbed herself harder. “Will my Great, Great Magic make me wait?”

Tolla smiled. “Let me up, and you can watch us until your ekkska grows strong again. I sort of want to try that again. I don’t know that I’ve ever been that wet in my life.”

“Ah,” said Ben, “but the greedy devil has his bright flame right where he wants her, and she must pay a price for her freedom.”

“And… what price would that be, now that he has claimed my veema and possibly my soul?”

“I am a dumb devil,” said Ben, “and wouldn’t know what to do with your soul. But one sweet kiss will make us both free.”

He lowered his lips to hers. Tolla wanted to hold him, but realized her left arm was still under Jeeka, so she used her right, and accidentally smacked Ben in the head with her cast.

He barely noticed.

Chapter Text

“Again, you were right,” said Tolla. “I was scared to death when he began, and by the time he was done, I didn’t know what fear was.”

“I was the same way,” said Jeeka. “I remember when he was washing me, and I reached down and felt him and about lost my mind with fear. He felt so huge! And by the time he was done licking me, I don’t know if I would have minded if he’d tried to fuck me with his elbow.”

Tolla, Jeeka, and Ben were curled up close in the middle of the bed. The blankets were back in place, and the trio was warmly beneath them, and Tolla and Jeeka were each curled up in one of Ben’s arms, their heads nestled on his shoulders, talking. Between them, Ben lay on his back, staring blissfully at the ceiling.

“It seems so strange,” Tolla said. “When I first laid eyes on him, he was lying on the floor with you in his arms, and I was horrified. He was a human, a monster. That was, what, two days ago? And now here he lies with ME in his arms, and I chat with my friend like it’s the most natural thing in the world. This is so weird. And yet it doesn’t feel that way.”

“Well, no one can say you didn’t pay your debts,” said Ben. “When I was a boy, I thought that having two women in my bed would be amazing. Turns out I was right. Just didn’t realize how it would wear me out.”

“It was so totally the same for me,” said Jeeka. “He kissed me when he let me go. I didn’t know what to do, so I ran away, and it bothered me for a week. I wound up coming back to talk to him, and I gave myself to him again. Like I had to see if he was real.”

“I mean, I was a sex toy for the tribe’s males,” mused Tolla. “It’s not like this is the strangest thing I’ve ever done.” She thought about it for a moment. “Wait. Yes, actually, it is. I was fucked by a human, and I actually liked it. I should feel worse about this than I do.”

“Must I be constantly telling you two not to feel bad?” said Jeeka. “It’s not like I didn’t have him first. And I refuse to feel bad about any of this, even if I am not eager for my mother to find out.”

“Am I even a part of this conversation?” asked Ben.

“You are the subject of it,” said Tolla.

“Not the same thing. You two are having a conversation across my chest, and ignoring me completely. Isn’t that what got us into this?” he asked with a chuckle.

Jeeka stretched an arm and leg possessively over Ben. “I offer up my veema as payment for the insult,” she said cheerfully. After a pause, she added “In a few days. When it quits being sore.”

“Are you sore, toorih?” asked Tolla.

“No, just overstimulated,” replied Jeeka. “Although how I feel in the morning, we will find out in the morning. What about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” said Tolla. “But the morning will tell. Ben, how about you? I would hate for you to feel left out of the conversation. Is your ekkska sore?”

“My ekkska is not sore,” replied Ben. “My ekkska is godsdamn traumatized. Never before has one human asked so much of his ekkska. Even now, it hides in my pelvis, and sends me messages like ‘How could you do that to me?’ and ‘Are they gone yet?’ and poking its little head out in terror of the glorious green sex beasts that have changed its life forever. Little fur suit and all.”

Tolla burst out laughing, and Jeeka giggled. Jeeka reached beneath the covers and felt around for it and petted it and said, “Fear not, my sweet pink friend. We care for you very much, and we will let you recover from your terrible ordeal.”

Ben chuckled.

“I am so happy. I can’t put it into words,” said Jeeka to Tolla. “I was terrified of what you would think or say or do about Ben, or about me for wanting him, and now that isn’t a problem at all. You don’t hate me, and you still want me. I don’t see how it could have worked out any better.”

“I wish I could unsay my hurtful words from earlier,” Tolla said.

“Your hurtful words are forgotten,” said Ben. “Your tongue has washed them away in the best of all possible ways. Damned if I can remember anything you said. Jeeka, you?”

“I have forgotten it all in the fiery glow of this wonderful, glorious morning,” said Jeeka.

“There, see? Nothing to forgive.” Ben settled back with his arms around the goblins.

“Ben?” asked Tolla, “will I be your sex toy, now?”

Jeeka’s head jerked up. Ben frowned. “I don’t want to be in the same category with those who have treated you like a thing,” he said. “I will not be one who uses people like that. Jeeka wants you. If you want Jeeka, then it’s good. If you want me, that’s good too. But I won’t demand that you spread your legs whenever I want to fuck and Jeeka’s not in the mood, if that’s what you mean. That’s not me.”

“That’s not you,” said Tolla. “You are not like that. I never said you were. I expected you to be, but you aren’t. But my debt is paid, and I can’t think of anything I can really do to not be a burden to you, even after my arm heals.”

“I have no burdens here,” said Ben. “This is the best I’ve felt in … years.”

“Will you still feel that way in a month?” asked Tolla. “A month of feeding me and caring for me and I offer you nothing? I can’t give you anything.”

“You can give him lots of things,” said Jeeka. “You’re a better cook than he is, or than I am. I’d offer my veema for some more of your merik sauce. Or even his veema. You know, he liked your merik sauce.”

Tolla looked at Ben speculatively. “When did he have my merik sauce?”

“When I traded it from you for salt, and brought it here to him, same as I brought you some of his prawns and fruit. He’d never had it before. It’s not a human thing, but he loved it,” continued Jeeka. “He isn’t much of a gatherer. He farms, but he can’t scavenge worth a damn. Tolla, pretty much everything YOU ate, you gathered or trapped yourself. How much better could we all eat if you did that right here?”

“When this is all said and done,” Ben said, “we’re going to want to wash these blankets. I could use help with the washing. Fact is, I could use help with lots of things. Seems to me the more hands we had doing them, the less work there would be for any of us.”

Tolla looked thoughtful. “Ben,” she said, “do you want me to stay here?”

Jeeka’s ears pricked up, but she said nothing.

“Yes,” said Ben. “Jeeka is my green treasure. My feelings for her run deep. My desires for her run deep. But I have to let her go. For days, when she isn’t here, I miss her. I’m alone with my thoughts, my memories, and … that’s not as easy as it was once, not since Jeeka came.”

Both Jeeka and Tolla stared at Ben’s face.

“Both you and Jeeka have seen the hole in my heart,” he continued. “Jeeka moved in and made a home there. She lit a hearth fire, and made it warm, and since she came, it doesn’t feel so empty. She says she thinks it’s healing. I hope so. I’m not lonely like I used to be. But I would like it if you stayed here. Even if I don’t touch you. Even if it’s just the two of us sharing Jeeka. At least I wouldn’t have to manage wet blankets all by myself.”

There was a pause. And then Tolla repeated, “Ben… do you want me?”

“Yes. I want you.”

“Why?”

Another pause.

“The goblin in me says that it doesn’t get any better than this, two women who’ll touch his ekkska,” Ben said simply. “He feels big. Envy of the tribe! And the man in me is alone in a strange land where his own people can barely stand the sight of him, Tolla.”

Jeeka shot Tolla a look. Tolla ignored her. The expression on Ben’s face disturbed Tolla greatly; it seemed like she had learned to read human facial expressions very suddenly, and Ben looked both older and younger than he really was.

“I was alone, and running out of reasons to bother with living. And Jeeka came, and just… she talked to me. She cared for me. And I wasn’t alone any more. I had been dead for a long time, Tolla, and suddenly, I was alive again. And then you were there. And Jeeka cared for you, and begged me to help you. And now my world is larger… and wider…” he looked at Tolla, “and sweeter.”

Ben tightened his arms around Jeeka and Tolla. “Your tribe might not have treated you well, Tolla, but you have a tribe. You and Jeeka … are all I have.”

“And if you want me, and I’m not in the mood?”

“Then I will leave you be.”

“And if I want to go?”

“I don’t want to let you go. I didn’t want to let Jeeka go, either. But I can’t own you. If you want to go, you will go.”

And there was a third pause.

“Then I will stay,” said Tolla, resting her face on his chest. “Devil.”

“I thought the two of you would share me,” said Jeeka. “You are saying I will have to share my human?”

Ben got a panicked look.

“Yes,” said Tolla. “That’s what I’m saying.”

Jeeka grinned. “Still better than I had hoped for,” she said, and climbed up and over Ben to kiss Tolla. Ben relaxed.

At which point four great yellow eyes turned on Ben.

“Ah,” began Ben.

And they fell upon him like goblins.

Chapter Text

“Concentrate,” said Ben. “The J is starting to fade. Don’t let it.”

Jeeka  breathed deeply, and the J hanging in midair brightened and solidified. Hanging next to it were the symbols EE and three of the four lines of a K. As the J brightened, Jeeka added the fourth line to finish the K and began to add an A. Sitting on the couch nearby, Tolla, book in lap, divided her attention between her reading and watching Jeeka draw her name in thin air. Jeeka slowly finished the A, and added a line beneath with a flourish, looking pleased with herself.

“Now, the incantation,” said Ben.

“But the incantation is stupid,” said Jeeka.

“Humor me.”

Jeeka sighed. Glancing at the letters in midair, and focusing her attention to keep them there, she picked up the folded piece of paper and read aloud, “Jeeka adores her Great, Great Magic, and promises never to bite his pecker—oh, hells,” she growled as the letters flickered and faded from sight.

“Need to stay focused,” said Ben.

“Hard to focus on two things at once,” said Jeeka. “Three, if we count your pecker.”

“And you’ll need to do just that if you’re ever going to master board sigils,” said Ben. “Otherwise, you’re stuck writing everything on an actual surface. This way, you don’t need a surface, or paper, or anything to write with; you’re always ready to go with spell or incantation. It’s also good practice for illusion building. Let me know when you’re ready to try again.”

“I need a break,” said Jeeka. “Also, I’m hungry.”

“Me too,” said Tolla, closing the book. “I’ll make something for dinner… if someone will show me where all the food is.”

“It’ll take more than that,” said Ben. “You’ll need to know how to use the hotbox, the coldbox, the fire ring… have you ever cooked in metal pans before?”

“Metal pans?” said Tolla. “There IS such a thing? Oh, show me! I have GOT to see this!”

Twenty minutes later, potatoes were roasting, a soup had been started (“Not for tonight, but tomorrow it will be delicious,” Tolla had said) and slabs of pork were sizzling in a pan. Tolla was somewhere between delighted and overwrought. “Yesterday, I learned to read books,” she had sobbed, “and today, I make food in metal pans, you can put them directly on the flame! I have died and gone to heaven.”

“No mention of torrid sex?” Ben had said.

“Price you have to pay for paradise, I guess,” Jeeka had said snarkily.

Ben sat down at the table to await supper. “This feels odd,” he said. “This will be the first hot meal I’ve eaten in ages that I haven’t cooked myself.”

“And there is wonderful fine ground wheat, and oil, and … I can make flatbread! Who wants flatbread with supper?” asked Tolla.

Ben perked up. “Fresh flatbread would be a fine thing,” he said.

“Count me in,” added Jeeka.

“Ben, why is this jar of sour clay in the kitchen?”

“That’s a yeast culture,” said Ben. “Don’t throw it out. I need it for bread and for the pancakes we had for breakfast.”

“Mmm. Weird human thing. But I did like pancakes. You’re going to have to show me how to do that. Dinner will be ready in a bit,” said Tolla.

“Never dreamed I could make anyone that happy by offering to let them make me dinner,” mused Ben.

“You could trade about half my village just for that big iron skillet of yours,” said Jeeka. “Half the women there would happily ride your pecker if they thought they could get their hands on your cookware afterwards. And don’t get me started on your tableware. I seriously considered stealing it, the first time I was here. Your butter knives would sharpen up nicely.”

“You have no garlic,” said Tolla from the kitchen area.

“Never figured out what tree it was supposed to grow on,” said Ben.

“Is he serious?” Tolla said to Jeeka.

“I told you he wasn’t a forager,” said Jeeka. “He doesn’t do salads, either. And he didn’t know tomatoes were a thing until I brought him one.”

“I knew about tomatoes,” said Ben. “I didn’t know where to find them, here.”

“You were again right, Jeeka,” said Tolla. “This poor creature needs me to find food for him. There is indeed a way to pay him back for all this. Possibly in garlic. And gravy.”

“Gravy,” said Ben. “I like gravy, but never figured out how to make it.”

“I love gravy, but you don’t have any milk,” said Tolla, glancing into the coldbox.

“There’s milk in it?” said Ben.

Jeeka closed her eyes. “He can call the wind and the lightning, he can fry a man with a thought, but gravy and garlic are mysteries to him. Truly, it’s the will of the gods that brought us all together.”

Ben propped his feet on the table. “I have no complaints.”

“How do you get to be a grown human and not know these things?” asked Tolla.

“He’s a male,” said Jeeka. “They leave it to the women. Same as goblins.”

“All right, maybe a few complaints,” said Ben. “When I dreamed in my youth of two women in my bed, it never occurred to me that they’d be tearing me up with their words within the same day…”

“Jeeka, kiss him for me, and tickle his vanity,” said Tolla. “I’d do it, but I’m having to watch these cutlets. Metal gets HOT!”

“I was sure she wanted me for my mighty ekkska,” wailed Ben, “but the truth is, she lusted only for my kitchen. I feel so used.”

“Jeeka, I’m still having trouble telling if he’s joking or not,” said Tolla.

Jeeka climbed into Ben’s lap and straddled him, flung her arms around his neck, and began, “Oh, my delicious man, my sweet creature of sexual frenzy…”

“You are so full of shit,” said Ben with a smile. “But keep going.”

************************************************************************

 “Truly, I have had an epiphany,” said Ben. “A goblin got loose in my kitchen, and made me the best dinner I have had since the last time I saw my mother.”

“Careful, Ben,” said Jeeka, finishing her cutlet. “Some people take that sort of praise seriously.”

“I’m serious,” said Ben. “I don’t know if it’s just that I ate a dinner I didn’t have to cook, or whether Tolla is a new sort of magician, but … I am in awe. Tolla, I offer you my worship. Could you make breakfast in the morning? I want to know if you’re as brilliant then as you are now.”

“You’re not really kidding, are you?” said Tolla uncertainly.

“I’m not kidding. Humans tend to think of goblins as stupid. I know they aren’t, but it never occurred to me to think of them as artists. Jeeka brought me a goblin feast once, but it was more of a picnic than a sit down meal, and it was delicious, but… this is… very special. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you. Lots.”

“Warned you, Ben,” said Jeeka. “Tolla’s not used to anyone telling her how good she is. I’m not a great cook, but at least I know it. Tolla’s really quite good. She has to be, considering the leavings of the tribe, and what she could find or gather on her own. But compliments confuse her, poor sweet. She’s not used to them.”

“No,” said Tolla, a little defensively. “I’m not. But I think you are not kidding. I’m glad you liked it. And I will make you breakfast in the morning, if you like. But I don’t know how to make pancakes. Humans eat other things, yes?”

“Tolla, just look in the buttery and the coldbox and slap something together. Anything. His breakfasts are good, but yours are amazing. Feed him, and you’re halfway to making him your willing slave.”

Ben looked speculative. Tolla frowned. “Now it’s you that I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” she said to Jeeka.

“Tolla, you once got me into your bed with mulberry crush on flatbread,” Jeeka said.  “And I know that you know how to make hot berry tarts. Think about how that might work on Ben.”

“Tarts?” said Ben interestedly.

“It also occurs to me that perhaps a smokehouse would not be a bad idea. Ben doesn’t know what to do with meat except cook it, or buy it in town. Tolla knows how to smoke and dry meat, and I bet she could do amazing things with venison … cow… bullbirds…”

“Augh,” said Ben. “This morning, they beat me into submission with their veemas. This evening, they enslave me with their magical foods. How am I supposed to resist the goblin horde when they move in and rearrange my life like this?”

“Total surrender, my sweet one,” said Jeeka. “Suffer the pleasures inflicted upon you by your new goblin overlords.”

“The least you could do is kiss me,” grumbled Ben.

“Always, my Great, Great Magic,” said Jeeka.

And she did.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the wind roared and circled around them, and Tolla, two hundred feet up, clung to Ben in abject terror.

“It’s all right, Tolla,” said Jeeka. “We’ve done this lots of times. He hasn’t dropped me yet,” she said.

“Leave her be,” said Ben. “She’s never done this before. You’ve flown with me lots of times. Let her feel what she feels.”

“Why do you have to go?” said Tolla, on the edge of hysteria.

“I have to check in on Mother,” said Jeeka. “And I want to know what’s going on in the village. I have to keep up on current events. I’m not ready to give up and be a human, yet.”

“True enough,” said Ben. “I still visit the humans from time to time, get information, buy supplies. No one’s an island. Even if I’m not crazy about them. You could go with Jeeka, if you wanted,” he said.

“No,” said Tolla. “They think I’m dead. I’m going to leave it that way for a while. I don’t know what I want to do yet, and when I decide, it will be from a position of strength.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Jeeka. “I saw a boar, Ben. Pork for later?”

“Maybe,” said Ben. “I could go hunting. Meat is always good. And now we’re running low on sausage, thanks to you and your mother. I could go to town.”

“I want to go with you,” said Jeeka. “We’re going to want more cloth anyway. Wait till I get back? Maybe take Tolla too?”

Tolla was already unenthused with windwalking, and looked positively repulsed at the idea of entering a human village. “Maybe too much, too soon,” she said. “But let me know what’s going on back home.”

They dropped her off at the accustomed place, and the wind returned them home.

********************************************************************

When the wind finally quit whipping, and the last leaf landed and fell to rest, only then did Tolla let go of Ben. Together, they walked to the entrance of the cave. "So," said Tolla. "Now Jeeka is not here. Is this where you ravish me?"

“If I am invited,” said Ben, "I might think about it. Last time was amazing." Ben walked through the cave opening, into the living room. Tolla remained outside. Ben looked back at her, questioningly. Tolla stood firm.

“What if I never invite you?” said Tolla. This is where I find out exactly what kind of trouble I am in. And how deep...

“It would be a shame,” said Ben. “I would curse the goblins who have hurt you, but I won’t be one of them. And it’s still better than doing the washing by myself. And I will wait for Jeeka. Are you coming in?”

“You really are serious.”

“Meant what I said.”

“My ankle is better,” said Tolla. “I could run away. But you would catch me, with your wind spell.”

“If you want to go, you will go,” said Ben. “I have to sleep sometime. Come or go, as you wish.” Ben turned, and went inside.

Tolla looked irritated. And waited. Ben did not reappear. Frustrated, finally, she entered the cave. Ben was in the kitchen area, setting the kettle on the hotbox.“Don’t take this the wrong way,” said Tolla, “but… you sort of fuck like a woman.”

“With my big female ekkska?”

“No, not what I meant. You hold. You caress. You kiss. You love to taste veema. These are things a woman does. It’s strange to feel it from a male, even a male who is not a goblin.”

“Is it bad?”

“No. It’s kind of good. If I asked you to hold me, would you hold me without fucking me?”

“I would like to do that.”

“Now?”

Ben sat down on the couch, and extended his arms. After a moment, Tolla sat down with him, and let his arms slip around her. After another moment, Tolla rested her head on Ben’s chest.

“So bizarre,” said Tolla. “Not long ago, I was desperate to get away from Prum. I aslked Jeeka if her sweet friend Ben might offer me protection. She said she would ask him. Now I realize she was terrified that I would find out that Ben was a human. And he offered me protection anyway.”

Ben stroked Tolla’s hair. “You cooked me dinner,” he said. “You shared a meal with me. You’re only the second person to do that in more than a year. Abusing you seems a poor way to pay you back for that.”

“This is very nice,” said Tolla, after a moment. “You aren’t going to fight me. You aren’t going to take me. You’re not going to fuck me unless I ask you to. I’m really starting to believe that. It’s very nice to be held and touched by someone who tells me how good I am and they’re not going to yank out their ekkska in the next hundred heartbeats.”

“It’s good to hold you,” said Ben. “It’s good to not be lonely.”

“I have a question,” said Tolla.

“Ask,” said Ben.

“Jeeka said that she showed you her tits and offered to fuck you when you found her, when she could not run. You took her here, you cared for her, you washed her, and then you made her want you, and you fucked her. And then you carried her to bed and fell asleep with her.”

“I’m not hearing the question here.”

“This story is true, yes?”

“It is true,” said Ben.

“Jeeka says she considered killing you then. But she didn’t, because she was sure you had defenses, powerful magic that would stop her, perhaps even kill her.”

“She said that, yes.”

“Later, you took her into your mind, and showed her your memories, but something went wrong, and you got trapped in your worst memories, but she was able to escape, but you were trapped inside your own mind. She didn’t know what to do, so she bit you. And it worked. The pain pulled you free of the trap.”

“I am still waiting for the question, here.”

“Why did your defenses not protect you from Jeeka’s bite?”

Ben said nothing.

“You said that you were dead before Jeeka came,” said Tolla. “You didn’t care if you lived or died. Jeeka says you wanted to die when she bit you, and pulled you out of the mind trap. And for a long time after you came here, you lived only because you didn’t know how to die.”

Ben said nothing. After a moment, he said, “I am still waiting for your question.”

“Could Jeeka have killed you, that first night?”

“Yes.”

“You had no defenses. What are those marks on your skin?”

“These marks are tattoos. They’re ornamental. This one represents my first academic award. I got this one when my team won the championships. This one I got when I entered the Masters program. I got this one when I lost my virginity. This one represents a song, and this one is a copy of a wine label; I got it when I was drunk. They aren’t magical defenses at all.”

“So when you fall asleep tonight, I could kill you.”

“Yes, you could,” said Ben. “Are you going to?”

“Of course not,” said Tolla. “It would very much upset Jeeka. You have given me much. You have made me feel safe, even from you. You give wonderful presents. And I am still wondering how I feel about you. You were once just a human, a monster, a killing thing. But I can’t see it that way when I can read the looks in your eyes, the expressions on your face. You are not a monster any more... you are becoming a person. I still don't trust you. But I don't trust the males of my own tribe, either."

Tolla paused, and thought a moment, and looked up at Ben's eyes. "The knowledge you have given me is still falling into place, like snowflakes in a snowfall, and I don’t know how I will feel or how I will think when the snowfall finally stops. But I know that I begin to like you. I know you make me feel good when you like my cooking and you won’t even try to rape me afterwards. And I think at some point I would like to fuck you again, just to see how it feels when the snow finally stops.”

“I can wait,” said Ben. “First time I saw Jeeka, she was a dirty, crippled little yellow eyed monster. Now… she is my tribe. That’s how it came together, when my snow stopped falling.”

“Good. Hold me.”

And Tolla slid her arms around Ben, and he rested his nose in her hair, and they remained that way for a while.

“Tolla?” Ben said.

“Yes?”

“The day we spent the whole morning in bed, you asked if I wanted you. Why did you ask that?”

“Because if a man wants me, I have power. I wanted to know if I had power over you. I was still a little frightened of you, even after you fucked me. A goblin man, most goblin men, once they fuck you, they wander off or fall asleep. The ones that don’t, those are the ones you have to worry about. And I didn’t have the slightest idea what you might do afterwards. But if you wanted me, then I had power.”

“Do you still have power?”

“I don’t know,” said Tolla. “I have told you too much. I don’t know why. Perhaps there is human in me, too, now… stupid. Softhearted. Trusting. I have already confessed that I can’t kill you. I should never have said that.”

“Jeeka and I have discovered that we are stronger together than separately,” said Ben. And he said no more.

“What are you saying?” said Tolla.

“You have power, now,” said Ben. “And you are no fool. Work it out.”
 

“I have power because you have given it to me,” said Tolla. “You gave Jeeka power. You gave me a different power, but it is still power. Why do you give so much?”

“Because I have so little.”

“What?”

“I said it before. You and Jeeka are all I really have. And it’s not hard to make Jeeka happy. And I want to make you happy, too. Even if I can’t fuck you.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to fuck you. I haven’t decided.”

“Then I will wait. But now I will exert my power, and demand something of you.”

Tolla’s heart froze. Here it comes. “What would you demand of me?”

“……make breakfast? Jeeka was in a hurry, and I’m hungry. And you really are a better cook than I am…”

**********************************************************************

“Jeeka?” said the sentry, the goblin named Dint.

“It’s me,” she said. “May I pass?”

“Not that easy,” said Dint. “Who do you call for Chief?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Who do you support?”

“Morr was headman, last I heard,” said Jeeka. “Have things changed? I’ve only been away a few days.”

“And you agree Morr is chief?”

“Sure,” said Jeeka. “When did we start using the word ‘chief?’”

“Since Prum started raising problems,” sighed Dint. “Mirk’s been looking for you. Go ahead. You’re probably not a spy, anyway. Prum did try to kill you.”

“Since when did Prum become a problem? Last I saw, he was running for his life.”

“Since he started challenging for the chieftainship.”

“What insanity is this? If he wants to challenge, why doesn’t he just do it, and Morr guts him alive, and that’s the end of it?”

Dint sighed again, and Jeeka realized that perhaps she’d been gone too long. “Part of the council has come out in favor of Prum,” said Dint, exhaustedly. “Tchim and Marhag have said he should be readmitted to the tribe, and now people are choosing up sides. Morr has the majority, but Prum says that the majority is fake, and that if a true count was held, Morr would be out and Prum in, and a lot of people believe this, and with Tchim and Marhag supporting him, Morr’s kind of in a bad place. Supposedly, if Morr just started killing challengers, this would prove Prum’s point. Not that Prum would face Morr in a fair fight, but…” Dint wrung his hands helplessly.

“Tell Morr that I am no friend of Prum,” Jeeka growled.  “May I pass?”

“Pass,” said Dint.

I have a metal blade, and I have magic, thought Jeeka. Let him challenge me if he likes! But with that came the thought, …and now Prum has allies. Choosing up sides. How many support him? And who? I need to talk to Mother…

******************************
“I have had many men who wanted to fuck me,” said Tolla, spooning eggs onto a plate, “but none have ever demanded breakfast.”

“Excellent!” said Ben, brightly. “Then I’m not in the same category with those other guys. Thank you for breakfast; this looks delicious.”

“There is something I want from you, if I am to stay here,” said Tolla evenly. She sat down and began to eat her own eggs.

“You have my attention,” said Ben, happily shoveling down his food.

“I would like to have a smokehouse,” she said. “And meat to smoke in it.”

“Meat is great, no problem,” said Ben. “What’s a smokehouse?”

*************************************************************************

“I’d love to know who supports Prum,” said Mother Adii. “But it’s not that easy. A lot of people are just waiting to see how things pan out. Plenty support a change in leadership, and others think Prum is a lying toad. Some think he’s a great leader, despite the total lack of evidence; you won’t find many who will come right out and SAY it. It’s not like they all wear little red hats or anything.”

“This is insanity,” said Jeeka. “Why hasn’t anyone just stuck a knife in Prum yet? I almost did, and I’ll do so now, if he shows himself.”

“There are some,” said Adii. “Morr himself has made Prum outcast, after that nonsense with the droolok, and the Fire Clan supports Morr, for what that’s worth. Everyone knows they’d suffer worse under Prum. But Tchim and Marhag have formed a coalition on the council that insists on blocking Morr from doing much, and in the meantime, Prum is doing everything he can to marshal support from the tribe.”

******************************************************************************

“This is how you made the cave, then,” said Tolla. Her voice was muffled through the cloth wrapped around her mouth and nose.

“Yup,” said Ben through his mask. He triggered the excavator, and another burst of powdered rock erupted from the rock face. He’d cleared a significant amount of rock, enough for a man to stand upright in. “Is this big enough?”

“It could be bigger, depending on how much meat we intend to smoke at once. We’ll need to put a door or something here,” said Tolla. “A stone smokehouse! I like the idea. No bears or other goblins or anything could raid the meat while it’s smoking!”

“Not an issue. I can use the shaper to put a rock wall here, and then a shifting enchantment to make it come or go whenever we want in. Same thing I used on the front door.”

“It will be sealed? Then how will air get in to the fire?”

“Err,” said Ben. “Perhaps there will need to be air holes… and now that I think about it, we’re going to want to channel and disperse the smoke. Don’t want to lead anyone to the smoking meat…”

******************************************************************************

“They look like penises,” said Adii.

“Moth-ERR,” said Jeeka exasperatedly. “I have told you repeatedly, that they aren’t. Just cut a slice and try one. They’re meat, they keep well, and if you like them, I can bring more. Try a bite, and if you hate it, well, more for me then.”

“I am not certain how I feel about my daughter having a penis collection.”

“MOTHER….”

Adii examined the tumescent reddish brown object critically, and finally fished out a stone flake knife. She cut the sausage in half, and then sheared off a thin slice, trying to touch it as little as possible. Finally, she speared the slice on the knife tip, and with obvious misgivings, put it into her mouth. After a moment, she chewed.

“All right,” said Adii. “This isn’t bad. And once you cut it, it’s pretty obvious it’s not a penis; it’s … what, some sort of ground meat? And spices? I can taste sage and salt, but I’m not quite there with what else there is.”

“I think that one is pork,” said Jeeka.

“Where did you get these, anyway?” asked her mother.

“Sometimes, humans are kind of dumb about guarding their smokehouses,” grinned Jeeka.

“This is human food?” said Adii, with a stern look. “No wonder it looks weird. And Morr is still enforcing the ban on bothering the humans. You were careful?”

“There were many other things in there with the sausages,” said Jeeka. “I took very little. No one would believe that a goblin would raid a smokehouse and steal only a few sausages.” There had been a number of other things in Ben’s coldbox; that was true, and Jeeka had only taken a string of sausages. And surely, there were humans who didn’t guard their smokehouses well enough, no doubt, so it wasn’t lying.

Adii began cutting up the sausage into discs, “Now that I see the inside of this, it’s basically ground meat and spices, and that’s it. It’s essentially meatloaf, but shaped like someone’s dong. It’s convenient for transport, and much easier to store; you just string it up. Do you have any idea how they do this?”

****************************************************************************

“Now that’s kind of impressive,” said Ben. “You did all that yourself?”

“With that magic blade of yours that cuts wood like it was mud, it was easy,” said Tolla.  “And you’re sure that glue will hold?”

“By this time tomorrow,” said Ben, “the bond will be stronger than the wood is. And that part there is for what, again?”

“You cut the meat thin,” said Tolla, “into sheets, and hang it over the rack for drying. It works for fish, too. Smoked fish is a treat, especially in winter. And those metal hooks of yours will be for larger cuts, like hams and bullbirds and things. Is that your hotbox from the kitchen?”

“No, I made another one for out here,” said Ben. “It’ll stack full of wood and smolder slow, and make plenty of smoke, and you can adjust the heat. Plus it’s easy to clean, knock the ashes out when you’re done. I liked it better than the firepit from your original design.”

“That does seem like a better idea. Males never think about ‘easy to clean.’ And I like the idea of cracks better than the holes along the bottom. Looks more natural, and won’t arouse suspicion… we have a secret smokehouse!” laughed Tolla excitedly. “Now all we need is meat.”

“I can deal with that,” said Ben. “You take the woodblade and go get some of whatever wood you use in this thing, and I’ll meet you back here in a bit with meat, and you can teach me how a smokehouse works.”

******************************************************************************

Jeeka sat in her tent and wondered.

She’d planned on spending two or three days with the tribe, gathering news, talking to people, maybe doing a little foraging… and now, all she could think about was going “home.”

She looked around her. A pile of furs and rough cushions stuffed with grass. A scattering of trinkets and tools. A tent made from bison hide. Several loops of leather cord; it had many uses. An empty glass wine bottle. Clothes, some of which were quite well made. Perfectly acceptable for a female of middling status, waiting for the right male to marry her. And now, it seemed like next to nothing. Living in the cave, she had a wizard’s robe, she had whatever clothing she hadn’t given Tolla, she had knives and forks and spoons and pans and books and…

I live poor, thought Jeeka to herself. We all do. Ben has so much stuff he gives it away. The humans have so much in their village, and they’ll give it to you in exchange for money. And they’ll even give you the money themselves, if you work for them, or give them something they want. And there’s plenty of things they want. There’s got to be a way to bring all this together. The only thing stopping it are the attitudes of the humans and the goblins, and how long would that last if both sides were getting rich?

She glanced around the village. The humans had so much to offer. Glass jars. Sausage. Metal, for the gods’ sake! Not to mention the knowledge. What did goblins have to offer in return? Hides, furs, meat, forage… what were these things worth in human money? She needed to ask Ben, or find a book about it, or perhaps even ask Lene Bellsong, the queen of the dry goods store. Lene was well disposed towards goblins – well, one goblin, anyway – and she’d already demonstrated she wasn’t averse to making a profit, even if the customer was green. Ben liked goblin food. Would there be a market for merik sauce? Mustard? There had to be a way…

“Jeeka?” called Mirk, who was standing outside her tent.

Chapter Text

“Ben?”

“Mmmm?”

“What would you say if I told you I wanted to learn to operate the shaper and the excavator?” asked Tolla.

“I would say, ‘what am I bid in exchange for this treasured knowledge?’ “

“Seriously.”

“I’m serious. It’s what a goblin would say,” said Ben. “Jeeka says I should be more goblin. Seems like the thing to do when dealing with a goblin.”

“Are they dangerous to operate?”

“The shaper is completely harmless to creatures made out of meat, like you and I,” said Ben. “Mainly, it’s about being careful with the thing, not dropping it, and suchlike. The excavator is dangerous as hell; the main thing is to not aim it at yourself or anything else you don’t want to pulverize. And don’t aim it at your foot, and like that. See how generous I am? I just told you all that for free.”

“And you would teach me how to work them?”

“For the right price.”

“I showed you how to build a smokehouse…” started Tolla.

“And now you have a fine smokehouse. Seems fair. But this is a separate deal.”

Tolla frowned. “And the price is?”

“You would choose one to learn how to operate,” said Ben, “and in exchange, I would bathe you.”

“…bathe me?”

“Yes. Bathe you. Sort of like that first time, except without the struggling and screaming.”

“This is not permission to fuck.”

“No,” agreed Ben. “It is not.”

“You want to… be in the water with me. Naked. And… touch me. And… rub soap on me.”

“And wash it off,” said Ben. “And dry you afterwards and brush out your hair.”

“Without fucking.”

“That part is up to you.”

Mm-HMM, thought Tolla to herself. This will be a learning experience. More of one than I thought… “Very well, I choose the shaper. And you can wash me tonight. Without the fucking. And what is the price for learning to use the excavator?”

“I would bathe you again, tomorrow,” said Ben. “You get mighty dirty using an excavator.”

***********************************************************************
“Um,” said Jeeka.

“I’m glad I found you here,” said Mirk. “You’ve been hard to find lately. Even before you almost got eaten by a droolok. Can I join you?”

“Um,” said Jeeka. “Sure.”

Mirk seated himself by the remains of Jeeka’s long dead fire. She realized she hadn’t had a fire burning there in … since the night of the droolok, actually. She’d been at Ben’s since then. This village wasn’t really home any more, was it?

She looked him over. He was handsome enough, for a goblin, with his heavy browed yellow eyes, broad nose and great mane of tawny yellow-brown hair. He had the shoulder-heavy burly build and narrow hips one would expect from a male, thick arms, and broad legs, the same height as Jeeka. He wore a sleeveless leather jerkin and buckskin trousers, and high topped moccasins, and his belt thong dangled with a variety of knives, tusks, and teeth from various kills, and a variety of tools. A hunter, and one of medium status, and rising, last time she’d thought to check.

“It’s good to see you,” Mirk said. “I thought you were dead when the droolok came out of nowhere. I heard you came back later, but you were gone again before I even knew that you were here. Have you been living in the woods or something?”

“Something like that,” said Jeeka, emerging from the tent to sit across the firepit from him. An unpleasant feeling was uncoiling in her belly. She hadn’t had much use for Mirk even before that day in the mushroom field, although he’d been a possible fallback position if a worse candidate wanted her. But now… errrgh. It seems like so long ago that I was just… a goblin.

“Have you had lunch?” he asked. “I notice your fire isn’t lit. Do you want to eat? I have some things at my hut, if you’d like.”

Ah. A lunch invitation. Here it comes.

“I mean, assuming you didn’t have other plans,” he said. “I just noticed you didn’t seem to have any meat or forage. Don’t feel like you have to, though.”

“Thank you,” said Jeeka, “but I do have other things I need to do. I’ve been out of the village for days, and I need to get things in order.”

Mirk’s expression changed. With a flicker of horror, Jeeka realized that she was having a little trouble reading Mirk’s facial expressions; it took her a moment to interpret the look as “sad.” She hadn’t been away that long, had she?

“You don’t want to be talking to me,” said Mirk, regretfully. “I had hoped that we could talk a bit, but I will not trouble you further. Thank you for taking the time for courtesy. I will not bother you again.” Mirk got up and turned to leave.

“Mirk,” said Jeeka.

Mirk stopped, and glanced over his shoulder.

“You’re right,” said Jeeka. “I had forage, but I left it with my mother. She needs it worse than I do. And if I have not offended you, I would share your lunch, if it is offered without obligation.”

Mirk smiled. “There is no obligation,” he said. “But it would be nice to hear more complete sentences out of you. Kind of like those ones, just now. I can’t figure out if you just have a lot on your mind, or if I repulse you.”

“You don’t repulse me,” said Jeeka. “I do have a lot on my mind. I’ve escaped near death twice recently, and I find that this changes a person.”

Mirk smiled. “That’s the sort of thing that can do it. Maybe we could talk about it over lunch?” he said. “My fire is burning now, and there’s fresh meat to be had.”

Jeeka got up, and together, they walked off in the direction of Mirk’s tent.

****************************************************************************

“That was… simple,” said Tolla.

“Yes, it is,” said Ben. “That’s really all there is to it. Make sure to turn it off when you’re done with it.”

“The orange kedra makes rock soft. The longer you hold it down, the softer it gets. You smoothed out the inner walls of the smokehouse with your hands, like clay, and then made it hard again. The blue kedra makes soft rock hard again,” recited Tolla. “Does it work on mud?”

“Not very well,” said Ben. “To make mud hard, you have to bake the wet out of it. That’s not how a shaper works. It only works on rock, and even then, only on most kinds of rock, anything with a certain crystalline index and a certain amount of silicon in the blend. You’ll figure it out when you test it on certain sorts of rock, quick enough.”

“What does it do to things that aren’t rock?”

“Pretty much nothing. Hold your hand in front of it long enough, and your bones will start to melt.”

Tolla looked up at Ben sharply. “Are you kidding?”

Ben smiled. “No. About three hours, your fingers will start to droop like candles in a desert summer. About two hours before that, the pain will be such that you won’t want to hold them there any longer. Like I said, the main thing is just to not drop it or beat it against something.”

“What would happen then?”

“It would  break, and not work, and then I won’t have a shaper.”

“Ah. We must take care of it, then” she said, thumbing the black kedra and switching it off. “Could you use it instead of an excavator? Soften the rock, and then scoop it out in handfuls?”

“Sure. Take you a lot longer, but you could.”

“Can you shape the soft rock into objects, tools, and such? And then make them hard again?”

“Sure. We had sculptors who did just that.”

“If I had a hunk of flint or quartz,” said Tolla, “could I use the shaper to make knives and tools out of it?”

Ben blinked. “Yes,” he said. “I think so, actually. I never thought of that.”

“Would it bother you if I did that right now? With the chunk of flint you’re standing on?”

“Actually, now I kind of want to see you do it.”

Tolla grinned, and switched the shaper back on.

******************************************************************************

Jeeka found herself abandoning human style table manners when it came to the ribs. Mirk was right there beside her. “This is what I get for skipping breakfast,” she thought to herself.

Mirk gnawed at a rib bone, and smiled at her, and she smiled back. And then they each reached for another rib, and set to devouring them. Mirk actually wasn’t a bad cook; the ribs had been slow roasted over the fire and coated with jelly pepper sauce in the roasting, and they were utterly delicious. Ben, poor dear, didn’t know a thing about sauces. The whole occasion, sitting outside eating roasted meat by a fire, felt more goblin than anything she’d done in weeks.

Jeeka wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She sort of wanted to be back in Ben’s living room, practicing her board sigils, or learning how to store power, or reading a book. But sitting here eating ribs felt good, too, better than she’d expected it to, and while she wasn’t sure what to talk about with Mirk, she wasn’t in any particular hurry to leave.

“I hear Prum is pressing Morr for leadership of the tribe,” said Jeeka. “How do you feel about that?”

“Mmm,” said Mirk, swallowing, and licking sauce from his lips. “Politics? A strange subject to  bring up over a pleasant lunch.”

“Perhaps,” said Jeeka. “But I have been in the forest. Mother told me some things, but no one knows everything. And I am here, with you, and I want to hear what you think.”

“Prum is a clown,” said Mirk. “Some people support him. I don’t know why. It’s not like he hasn’t shown everyone exactly what he’s made of, that night with the droolok. But he talks well, and some people are more determined to believe him than they are their own eyes. He’ll never get anywhere, though he is managing to put a rift in the tribe, and that’s not a good thing.”

“Morr should just kill him,” said Jeeka.

“I agree, but easier said than done. Prum holds meetings in the woods, and only some of his people know where he’ll be at any given time. That, and Morr is concerned about splitting the tribe. He still wants to hold us all together, make us stronger instead of dividing us. Prum is happy to weaken us all, so long as it gives him more power.”

“If I knew where he was, I could deal with him myself,” said Jeeka.

“Ha! I think you could,” laughed Mirk. “If not for his sudden exit, I think you would have done so already. Especially with that metal knife of yours.”

“You… saw it?”

“You had it out when you were fighting him. If not for the reach of that spear, you’d have sheathed it in him, sure as eggs are breakfast.”

“And now you want to take it from me.”

“I’ll admit that I lust for it,” said Mirk. “But I lust for lots of things I will never have. And I believe you if you say, ‘you might win, but it will cost you an eye, Ogre-Fruit.’“  Mirk snickered. “I think I will keep my eyes.”

“Ogre-Fruit,” said Jeeka, and laughed. And for a moment, they laughed together.

******************************************************************************

“This is the most exquisite knife I have ever owned,” said Tolla, examining it in the afternoon sunlight.

The blade was longer than most stone knives, perhaps seven inches, with a cylindrical handle. The blade was smooth, no chips or divots; the edges were straight, not jagged. It looked as if it had been poured.

“That is the most exquisite flint knife I have ever seen,” said Ben, looking at it closely. “The edge on that thing is probably better than steel. And you did that in fifteen minutes. How long does it take to knap a knife by hand?”

“Hours,” said Tolla, breathlessly. The knife shone in the sunlight, a long leaf shaped blade with handle grip that fitted her fingers perfectly. It was still translucent, with brown swirls inside it. “And that’s if you know what you’re doing, and doesn’t count the time wasted if you fuck up and have to start over with a fresh flint.”

“I’ve seen paleolithic flake knives before, but never dreamed of making one. It never occurred to me you could use a shaper and then just shape one by hand. That’s a work of art, Tolla.”

Tolla looked at Ben. “Some part of me wants to threaten you. To tell you that I will cut you if you try to take my beautiful knife away.” Tolla’s shoulders sagged. “I know that you won’t, but old habits die hard. It feels strange, to admire this beautiful thing -- with you -- and not worry that you will knock me down and try to take it.”

“I won’t take it,” said Ben, “but I might try to talk you into making me one, too.”

“And what am I bid for such a treasure?” smiled Tolla.

“What would the Maker of Knives have of me in exchange?”

Tolla was silent, and thought about it.

“I thought you would bargain away tomorrow’s bath. Or tonight’s,” said Ben.

“I’m thinking,” said Tolla. “Perhaps you could owe me something.”

Ben’s eyebrows went up. “So… you do want a bath?”

“Not at first, but I’ve thought about it. Maybe it would be nice to have a human servant bathe me,” said Tolla, smiling, “and I don’t have to worry about servicing him afterwards.”

*****************************************************************************

“Your mother is smirking,” said Mirk. “No, don’t look around. She’s walking across the divide over there.”

Jeeka sighed.

“I am curious as to why she’s so pleased with herself,” Mirk mused.

“Because I’m socializing,” said Jeeka. “And because I’m socializing with you, and because she wants grandchildren, and blah blah blah and all that.”

“She is smirking because she saw you here with me?”

“Exactly. She’d probably be thrilled if you pounced on me and took me, right here in front of the gods and everybody else.”

Mirk leaned his head back and looked down his nose. “Somehow, that does not sound like an invitation,” he said.

“You invited me to eat and talk. We have eaten, and now we are talking. And I am enjoying it, but don’t get your hopes up.”

“I would admit that it would be nice, but I hadn’t actually planned on fathering our children tonight,” said Mirk. “But I see that is a joke I should not have made. I would unsay it, if I could.”

Dammit, thought Jeeka, you’re being too damn nice about this. Where was this politeness and respect two months ago? Two months ago, you were a big dicked hunter, and I could barely stand you. If you’d been like this two months ago, you could have had me. And I never would have learned what it is to be… what I am.

“You have done me no harm,” said Jeeka. “I just… can’t be what my mother wants me to be, is all.”

“If I may ask without offense, what does your mother want you to be?”

“Like her. A good wife, dutiful, mother of two or three or five, learner of nothing, discoverer of nothing.”

“Ah,” said Mirk. “And you want to be more than that.”

“I am more than that.”

“Yes,” said Mirk. “You are.”

Jeeka glanced at him in surprise.

“Why be surprised?” said Mirk. “You faced down a hunter who was being an asshole. Twice. The second time, you showed everyone what he was, and you might well have killed him if he hadn’t run away. And before that, you were captured by a human, and you killed him, too, and took his knife, and hid the body. With a wounded foot, no less. Any hunter would be proud to have done these things. Why should you not be? Or are you just surprised that I noticed?”

Jeeka looked at Mirk in frank surprise. “Who are you? You are not Mirk, who would not call me Manslayer.”

Mirk looked away. Did he look embarrassed? “I thought that epithets were for hunters, then,” he said. “For men. Perhaps I was wrong.”

“Where was this Mirk two months ago?”

“Same place as little Jeeka, playful, who would shake her tits to get your attention and run away laughing. Now she is Jeeka Manslayer, who will cut your pecker off if you laugh at her or spit in her eye.” Mirk glanced back at Jeeka. “Jeeka is more solemn now, but no less beautiful. I would like to think that Mirk is wiser now than he was then.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” said Jeeka. “I’ve changed, I know. Perhaps you have, too. I don’t know what I am becoming. Some days, I wonder… (how much of a goblin I am any more) … what I will be, when the smoke clears and the dust settles.”

“I don’t know that,” said Mirk. “Perhaps once, I would have told you what you should be. But I think now it is wiser to wait and see what you become, and perhaps I can welcome that person to the tribe, when the smoke clears and the dust settles.” And he reached out and touched her hand.

******************************************************************************

“And that’s it,” said Ben. He stood up, and faced the rock face. It looked much the same as it had before, but now, it had several cracks down around ankle level. Someone who knew what to look for might realize that air was being drawn in through the cracks. Meanwhile, an equally observant observer might notice the wispy smoke leaking from several scattered cracks in the rock, high up on the stone face, some fifty feet away. “That was a lot of work, but it was worth it. Now we need to get a sausage grinder, now that we have all that extra dead pig to put to use. I rather like the idea of my own smoked hams, instead of having to buy them in town. And this works for fish, you say?”

Tolla was downright gleeful. “Smoked fish keeps a long time, and makes a fine snack. You’ll want to be really careful when you bone it. Oh, and wait till you taste those bullbirds! And the hams! I love ham, but no one ever wants to trade it; it takes too much salt to cure it. And that bacon! Where do you get the salt, anyway? Do the humans trade it in town?”

“No,” said Ben. “I sell it to the humans, and Jeeka sold it to the goblins. We went to a secret place to harvest the salt. Next time, we’ll take you with us; Jeeka will want to see the look on your face.”

“This was the place with the prawns and the fruits.”

“Yes.”

“I look forward to it. But… now,” said Tolla. “The sun is getting low. I’m tired. You’re exhausted, and you smell like powdered rock and dead pig and blood, and I smell like powdered rock and smoke. Perhaps the time has come for a bath.”

“Your timing is perfect,” said Ben. Together, they went into the cave.

Chapter Text

Mirk’s hands caressed Jeeka’s middle, and worked their way up to her breasts, as Jeeka lay back upon his sleeping furs. And it felt wrong.

This is my last chance to be a goblin, she thought, and it’s already too late. If Mirk had been like this two months ago, I would have thrown myself at him. And now, he’s trying, he really is, and he still can’t match what I have already found. He is goblin, and I… I don’t know what I am any more. Where do you go, when you can’t be a goblin any more?

There had been no kissing. Goblin males didn’t kiss. They caressed, they embraced, but the mouth didn’t enter into loveplay much at all. And Jeeka missed it. And she realized that there would be no spending the night here; there was no way she would remove her thong, leave her knife unguarded. Mirk might have changed, but had he changed THAT much, that he wouldn’t take an unattended treasure? Did she dare find out? And what if he didn’t want her to spend the night in his bed? She’d already proven that she was more dangerous than most women; what if he wanted her to leave, afterwards?

And what if he didn’t?

This was a mistake. But what to do about it?

“Mirk,” said Jeeka. Mirk looked up.

“Do you… care what I want?”

“I do,” he said. “What would you like?”

“Do you know what women do, when they’re together like this?”

“I’ve heard some things,” said Mirk, who looked like he wasn’t sure if he should stop his hands from traveling, or not. “I know that you and that Tolla were up to some things before she disappeared.”

“We were,” said Jeeka. “And I liked it.”

“What are these things that you liked?” asked Mirk with a smile.

And much to Mirk’s surprise, she sat up and kissed him.

*****************************************************************************

Tolla’s hair was thick and heavy with wet lather.

“You have to get the powdered rock out of here,” said Ben, whose hair was likewise a frothy white mop. His beard looked like he was rabid. “If you get it wet and let it dry in there, what you get is dried mud that’s like rock. In your hair. You wash it out when it’s powder, get it all, you don’t have that problem.”

Tolla sat in the hot water, while Ben lathered her hair for the second time. “Somehow,” she said, “I thought all this was just a plan to rub my pussy and fondle my tits and squeeze my ass while you rubbed soap all over me, and then I fall apart, and you fuck me.”

“Well, sure it is,” said Ben. “That part comes later. But first we wash the rock out of our hair before it hardens.”

“You admit it?”

“Tolla, the plan was so obvious that you figured it out almost immediately. Shall I insult you by assuming you weren’t smart enough to figure it out? Besides, you agreed to the bath.”

“Yes,” she said, “I did agree to it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for your plan.”

“Of course. Are you insulted that I didn’t dive at your pussy the minute you were out of your clothes?”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Have I offered you insult in some other way that I’m missing?” said Ben. “I am, after all, a simple man creature, whose thinking is controlled entirely by his ekkska.”

“Ekkskas. That’s the problem.”

“Do tell.”

Tolla looked at Ben. He wants to fuck me. He ADMITS it. To my face! And yet he goes on with this pretense of bathing. Is he serious? Is he being honest? Or am I going to get raped? Is this some sort of mind game?

Fuck it. “Ben, I had reached a point where I was done with ekkskas,” said Tolla. “I was done with males. No one would ever marry me or offer me protection, and the rest of my life would be a series of periods where I fended for myself, with occasional tradings of veema for some necessity when I couldn’t get around that.”

“So you have said.”

“And I was happy – no, not happy, but I was content. I could work it. I could live with it. And now, everything has changed and gone upside down, and I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Still not following you,” said Ben. “Hold on,” and he plunged himself beneath the surface of the hot water, and furiously scrubbed his head and face; streams of white foam left him, and trailed towards the drainage trough, and swirled away. This went on for nearly half a minute, before he surfaced and shook out his head, splattering water everywhere. Tolla flinched and laughed. “Your turn,” said Ben. “Hold your breath.”

Tolla did so, and plunged beneath the surface, and Ben furiously combed through her hair with his fingers, flushing out foam and dirt and gods knew what else, again and again. Finally, she felt him gather her hair behind her, and tap her three times on the back. She rose from the water, and thrashed her head, splattering water everywhere, and Ben laughed.

“And this is exactly what I’m talking about,” said Tolla unhappily.

Ben looked confused. “Simple man creature does not get it.”

“This is nice!” shouted Tolla. “I LIKE this!”

Ben continued to look confused. “Nice is… bad?”

“I said I was done with men,” she said. “And then you show up and you turn everything upside down. I had a thing with Jeeka. And it was WORKING. I LIKED it. But then, she says she has a male. But he’s willing to share. There’s still hope. Or is there? Does she like me, or does she like her male?” rattled Tolla.

Ben looked at Tolla, who kept ranting. “I don’t want ekkskas. I want to be held and kissed and touched, sure, but no ekkskas. And then you take care of me and feed me and let me use your tools and you hold me and you give me whatever I want… and there is a part of me that wonders when you’re going to start acting like a fucking MALE, and force me down and … take whatever he wants, regardless of how I feel. And now I’m starting to wish you WOULD so you could just GET IT THE FUCK OVER WITH!”

Ben continued to look confused. “Tolla… “ he said, “I don’t have to fuck you. Jeeka will ride me like a succubus, pretty much whenever I want. But Jeeka cares for you, too. And I think we both know what she would say or do if I were to hurt you, to behave like that. I don’t know any way to convince you that I’m not going to beat or rape you… except… by… not beating or raping you.”

“I know,” said Tolla. “And yet, I DON’T know. I just know that I want to be one or the other. I like you or I don’t. I even liked your ekkska, and the way you fuck. So do I like males? Or females? And right now, I’m going back and forth, on ALL those things, and I’m STILL worried that inside this sweet human there is a vicious asshole… and I hate all this.”

“Seems to me you’re trying to choose the wrong side.”

“Of course, a MALE would say that.”

“Not the side of men, or the side of women. The side of people who care about you, and the side of people who don’t.”

Now it was Tolla’s turn to look confused.

“Tolla, you grew up in a tribe that thought you were bad luck, that marked you as wrong. You grew up thinking you were wrong. So did everyone else, and they treated you like you were a thing, to be used, abused, and ignored. You grew up thinking that’s the way things ARE. And now you live in a place where people care about you, with a female who wants you and a male who also wants you but who doesn’t just grab you and jam it in there whenever he’s feeling randy, and you wonder why you’re confused? Of COURSE you’re confused! The RULES have changed!”

Tolla looked startled.

“New rules, O Maker of Knives,” said Ben. “You don’t have to fuck anyone you don’t want to fuck. Ever again. For the rest of your life.”

****************************************************************************

For his first time, Mirk was turning out to be a quick study. His tongue was long, and quick, and he seemed to have a pretty good idea of where a woman might want it to be.

Jeeka, flat on her back, clutched the furs beneath her, and shuddered. “STOP!” she finally said, when she could stand no more.

And Mirk raised his head from between her legs.

“This… is a change,” said Mirk. “But I think I liked it more than I thought I would. When you twitch like that and shout your pleasure, it is… exciting!”

“The important part is to not hammer on the clit with your tongue,” gasped Jeeka. “That isn’t good. It gets painful, fast. A woman doesn’t like that. You have to slow down, work around the button, not on it. But you’re a quick learner. That was… good. Quite good. Better than I expected, really.”

“Should I be insulted?” said Mirk, with a sideways grin. He raised himself on the bed and slid up to lie beside Jeeka, draping an arm across her. She couldn’t help but notice his proud erection.

“Mirk, there was a time I thought that you would die with your pride before you would ever call me ‘manslayer,’ and that you would sooner jam feathers up your ass and fart your way to the moon before you would ever lick a pussy. You have proven to be more than I took you for. All you need is more practice.” Jeeka kissed him on the nose.

Mirk smiled. “So what now?”

“I…” said Jeeka. “I can’t… be pregnant. Not now. But I have learned another thing that you might like.”

“Have I not proven that I am willing to learn?” said Mirk.

Jeeka reached out and took his hard cock in her hand, and began to stroke it. It reacted quite happily. Mirk made a pleased sound.

Jeeka scooted down the bed, and took him into her mouth. And Mirk made a surprised sound.

****************************************************************************

Tolla sat next to Ben in the hot water, her cast propped up dry, and stroked his cock beneath the surface.

“It isn’t even your cock that bothers me,” said Tolla. “It’s the whole idea of cocks. And the crazy thing? Part of me still wants to hate you or be afraid of you, or something, and not even because you’re a human. If I’m going to hate you, it should be because you are a human. But it’s not. It’s because you have a cock. And then I’m here, and I’m naked, and you have a cock, and … it’s okay. It’s not a big deal. I believe that you won’t fuck me or even touch me unless I want it and I say so. And tomorrow, I will wake up, and your cock will be an evil thing again. And I hate that.”

“I’m sorry,” said Ben. “I don’t know what to say to that. Particularly when you’re stroking my cock and making it really hard to think.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No, not really.”

Tolla smiled. “Maybe that’s it,” she said. “While I hold your cock and do this, I am in control. I have power. I don’t have to be afraid of you.”

“That power is an illusion,” said Ben. “The big crazy human could go off his nut any moment and do terrible things to you.”

“But you won’t,” said Tolla.

“No,” said Ben. “I won’t. Even if you stop what you’re doing.”

Tolla stopped stroking, let go of him, and raised her arm out of the water. “Wash me?”

Ben picked up the soap again and lifted Tolla up to sit on his lap, and began soaping her under her arms and around her back and breasts.

“I wanted to abuse you yesterday,” Tolla said. “I wanted to not put clothes on. When Jeeka was gone, I would walk around naked all day.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but why?”

“To abuse you,” said Tolla. “Because you swore you wouldn’t fuck me, but you would be driven mad, all day, by what you could see but not have. And that way, if you didn’t touch me, I would win. And if you lost your mind and … raped me, I would still win. Because you lied.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” said Ben. He picked up a cup, and began pouring water over Tolla’s shoulders, rinsing off the soap.

“Because you won’t,” said Tolla. “I could walk around for a month and forbid you to touch me, and you wouldn’t touch me, and all it means is that I am a terrible, terrible bitch. And I have to tell myself that you are a terrible devil of temptation, because I don’t want a man, but you are pretty, and you are sweet, and I want you to touch me. You MAKE me want you to touch me.”

“Except when you don’t,” said Ben.

“Yes,” said Tolla glumly. “Exactly.”

Chapter Text

Mirk made a noise deep in his throat, “Stop,” he said. “Cumming…”

Jeeka continued to bob her head up and down, and took him, swallowing, stroking, and milking him until he couldn’t produce any more, and was pounding his fists on the bed in helpless ecstasy. Only then did she stop.

“And… you learned… THIS… from Tolla?” gasped Mirk.

“No,” said Jeeka primly. “That is something new.”

Mirk lay on the bed gasping. “You didn’t learn THAT from anyone I know,” he said. “I would have heard of that.”

“Yes,” said Jeeka, rolling back on the bed to lie beside Mirk. “I imagine you would. Men talk about women. Women talk about men. I didn’t talk about my lover, until recently.”

“You have taken a jeterrh?” said Mirk, surprised.

“I have. More than that, I think.”

Mirk blinked. “Then why did you come here with me?”

“I wanted to see how much old Jeeka was left,” said Jeeka. “You were right. I used to be an empty headed little thing who would shake her tits at you and then run away and think I was clever. Now… I don’t know what I am. I am becoming something very different, and I wanted to know how much of the old me was still there.”

Mirk rolled over on his side. “I’m disappointed,” he said. “Tonight, I finally began to think I had a chance.”

“Oh, Mirk,” said Jeeka, reaching out to touch his face. “You did. You are far greater and better than you were. The old Jeeka would have wanted this Mirk so much! But what I have become is something… beyond that. Beyond simply being your mate and your okshiff and having your children and foraging for the vegetables that you and the children won’t want to eat but you do anyway because I nag you about it. My world has become so much bigger now, and I’m still trying to figure out what to do about it.”

“If you are … a woman who wants other women… that’s okay,” said Mirk. “With me, I mean.”

Jeeka fought the urge to laugh. He wouldn’t have understood, and it would only hurt him. Surprisingly, Mirk saw the look on her face, and said, “If you don’t want me, that’s all right. Is there anything I can do to help you, though, in this … time of yours? Maybe we aren’t to be mated, but I still care. Is it something you can talk about?”

Jeeka did laugh at that, a little. “Can you keep a secret?”

“For you? Yes.”

“I killed a human, Mirk. It wasn’t hard. He was mostly dead inside already. But he wasn’t just any human. He was a wizard, a magician.”

Mirk’s eyes grew large.

“I took away his life. And he took part of mine to replace it. I have his knife, now. And more.”

“I don’t understand. Did he hurt you?”

“Oh, no, Mirk, no. He … destroyed me. I can’t be empty headed little Jeeka any more.”

“You are making no sense at all.”

“Mirk, look at it this way. You are Mirk, a hunter of the Tribe of the Stag’s Antlers, with spear and knife and bow. Hunter! Tracker! Warrior! You KNOW who and what you are, yes?”

Mirk nodded.

“And one day, you meet a human, a magician, and you take his life away… and he takes part of  you to replace it. He switches it with his own. You are still Mirk, still a hunter, strong and handsome… but you are more than that. Now you are part wizard, part human, with thoughts and memories that were his, not yours. You remember things that never happened to you. You can remember towering cities of glass, and great flying machines that soar through the air, and spells that can shatter mountains, and you can remember the death of worlds, Mirk! What would this do to you?”

Mirk opened his mouth… and closed it… and said, “I don’t know. I honestly can’t imagine that. Memories that never happened to me? Human thoughts, in my head? Are you serious, Jeeka? This is insane! I really don’t think --”

“Kackalorum kakatal,” she barely whispered. Her hand burst into flame.

Mirk launched himself sideways off the bed before he realized what he was doing, hit the wall, and fell to the floor. He stared in terror at Jeeka, who sat on the bed calmly, looking at her burning hand. Idly, she thought at it to become cooler, and the flame shaded to green, then to blue. She glanced over at Mirt in a room that glowed with flickering blue light.

Mirk sat on the ground between the wall and the bed, mouth open, eyes agog. “Jeeka… what….”

Jeeka let the spell lapse, and shook her hand off, dissipating the heat. “This is what I am now, Mirk,” she said. “Can you keep a secret?”

“You…. are…. a… magician?” stuttered Mirk, who clung to the wall and floor. “This wizard, is he still OUT there?” He looked around, as if he expected a rabid magician to walk into the room at any moment.

“I killed him,” said Jeeka. “But he was a wizard, and I brought him back to life. He lives now, with a part of me in his heart. Can you keep a secret?”

“This is getting crazier by the minute,” said Mirk. “There is a human wizard out there? And part of you lives in him? He is part Jeeka, now?”

“Part goblin. Don’t worry,” Jeeka laughed. “He is harmless. See? I have his knife!”

Mirk began to get up. Slowly. Cautiously. Jeeka recognized that he was as tense as a weasel facing a tree cat, and realized that perhaps she’d overdone the theatrics.

“I’m sorry,” said Jeeka. “But… I couldn’t think of any other way to make you understand. There’s nothing to fear. He’s known we were here for a long time now, and he has no interest in bothering us. In fact, you’ve seen him; he became a droolok at one point. I called him when things began to get out of hand with Prum. ”

Mirk’s eyes looked like they were about to fall from his head at this point and were beginning to show white at the edges of his yellow irises. His eyes began to roll in their sockets. “Wizard,” he gibbered. “Human. Magician. Skinchanger. DROOLOK. You CALLED him. And he CAME.”

“Stop,” said Jeeka. “Sit down. Breathe. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. There is no harm for you, the tribe, or anyone else. Breathe.”

Mirk looked at Jeeka, still sitting naked on the bed, wearing nothing but her thong with pouch and knife. Around her neck was an odd ornament on a thong; it looked a bit like a bug. In her ear was a small metal earring. Tentatively, he sat down, warily, breathing hard, and looked at Jeeka.

“I have only one enemy,” said Jeeka. “And that is Prum.”

“Your magician might have done us a favor if he’d just eaten the fucker,” growled Mirk. “Wait a minute. Tolla—”

“Can. You. Keep. A. Secret?” Jeeka intoned.

Mirk thought about it for a moment. “Yes,” he said. “As long as there is no threat to the tribe.”

“Not from the wizard,” said Jeeka. “I told you, he knew we were here before he ever met me. He just wasn’t interested. Unless we attacked the humans. Then there would be trouble. But we haven’t. And until we do, he won’t bother us.”

“What happened to Tolla?” asked Mirk.

“She dwells in the wizard’s house now,” said Jeeka. “At least, until her hurts heal. Don’t tell anyone yet. She will return when she thinks it right.”

Mirk’s mouth opened, closed, and opened again. “And… this happened… when you went out to pick mushrooms?”

“It was his mushroom field,” said Jeeka. “He came out to see what we were doing, and stupid little Jeeka jiggled her tits at him and laughed, but then could not run away.” Jeeka paused for a moment. “You know, Mother always told me I’d get into trouble doing that. I think she was right.”

Mirk stared at her for a moment. And then he made a peculiar little pnnffffssssxxx sound. His cheeks puffed out. He stopped, took a breath, and began to giggle.

“So,” he said, giggling. “You went out and shook your tits at a wizard. And he grabbed you, but you killed him. But then he took part of your life, to – heeheehee! – replace the life you took from him, and now you’re part wizard, and he’s part goblin, and he taught you to suck a cock and lick a pussy and how to catch on fire, and Prum was an asshole, so you fought him and called the wizard, and he came, and became a droolok (bwahahahahaha!) and snatched up you and Tolla away to his magic wizard droolok house, and now you’re… wondering what comes next…”

And Mirk fell backwards on the bed and laughed hysterically.

Jeeka let him sit for a while, laughing and giggling and hopefully working off some tension. Finally, he stopped to catch his breath. Jeeka said, “Yes, that about covers it, really.”

And then she had to wait a moment while Mirk went into gales of laughter again.

“Are you done?” Jeeka said archly, when Mirk stopped to catch his breath again.

“Yes,” said Mirk, still flat on the bed. “There is no way I would have believed any of that if you hadn’t done your fire magic. I’m sorry. But even you have to admit, that’s… a hell of a story.” Suddenly, he became solemn. “How much of you is still Jeeka, then?”

“If I hadn’t been there for it, I wouldn’t believe it myself,” she said with a smile. “And I am still Jeeka. Same laugh, same tits,” she said, taking them in hand and bobbling them. “I am just… more than I was, now.”

Mirk giggled a little. “And I thought I still had a chance with you.”

“You got me into your bed, didn’t you?” said Jeeka. “But… do you understand now how I can’t be your mate?”

Mirk quit giggling. “Yes,” he said. “I … don’t suppose I have much to offer, after that.”

“You have a world to offer,” said Jeeka. “Some other woman would kill for what you have to offer. Especially now,” she added.

Mirk looked at Jeeka quizzically.

Jeeka smiled. “You know now the mystic secret of the Eater of Green that drives women mad. How many other males know how to lick pussy?”

Chapter Text

Tolla lay back against Ben, her back against his chest, her head leaning back over his shoulder. Her broken arm sat propped on the rim of the pool, and her other arm lolled loose in the water. She sat on his lap, her legs open and atop his own.

Ben held her around the middle, gently, He nibbled and nuzzled at her neck, and she murmured with pleasure. His other hand moved gently between her legs, beneath the water.

"This isn't fucking," she said.

"No," said Ben.

"A woman could be doing this to me just as well," said Tolla, leaning her head to one side. Ben nibbled at her exposed neck.

"A woman could be doing this to you," he repeated. 

"Well, except for your cock, bumping up between my legs," she said. "I feel it. It wants into me. Mmm. A little faster..."

Ben's fingers moved beneath the water. Tolla spread her legs a little wider. Ben's cock bumped up against her again.

"You don't have to fuck anyone you don't want to," said Ben. "Ever again."

"But you are a devil of temptation..." Tolla hissed. Ben felt her hips begin to move rhythmically along with his hand.

"You don't even have to fuck devils if you don't want," said Ben. "I'm just washing you, is all."

“Mmm. That is the first lie you have ever told me, Ben,” said Tolla. “Uhhhn. This is far more than just washing. It’s just not, mmm, fucking, is all. Uhhhn. I don’t have to service you. We bargained for a bath, that’s (urrrrrnh) all….” Tolla’s head lolled, and Ben nibbled at her exposed neck.

“Yes,” said Ben. His fingers continued to move on Tolla’s cunt, beneath the water. His cock, fully erect, bumped against the back of his fingers, against Tolla’s thigh, and other places, as Tolla’s hips continued to move and grind up and down. He lifted his lips from her neck, and gently bit her earlobe, and then began to run his tongue up the length of her long pointed ear.

Tolla trembled, and gasped. Her hips struck a regular rhythm, and she began to grind harder against his fingers. Ben kept the fingers moving, but kept the pressure steady, and let Tolla decide where to be and what to do.

“Hrrrr. I don’t have to fuck you,” said Tolla. “I don’t have to.”

“You don’t,” said Ben, gently biting her earlobe. “And no one can make you.” He braced his elbow to hold Tolla against him, and moved a hand up to cup one breast. His hand continued to move, and his cock continued to gently club the inside of Tolla’s thigh. Tolla’s hips moved faster. Ben maintained the pressure.

“Just, just, just a bath,” whimpered Tolla. “Devil. Devil. Devillllllll…. Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh!” Tolla’s hips began to jerk spasmodically, and she extended her legs; her feet began to twitch. Ben maintained the pressure, his hand moving quickly, but Tolla doing the work. Her free arm suddenly hooked in against Ben’s hand, increasing the pressure but stopping his movement as she ground her pussy against him and rubbed for all she was worth. “Mmmmmm…..”

Ben licked her ear, and ran his tongue from lobe to tip and back again while Tolla twitched and vibrated in his lap, barking and humming and making sounds of pleasure. His cock continued to flex and bump against her thigh.

And finally, she was still, aside from long hissing breaths. Ben brought his hand up and slipped it around Tolla’s waist, and kissed her neck while she lay there and breathed. And for a time, that was all they did.

And Ben said, “Ready to finish?”

Tolla froze. “And do what?”

“The bath is not complete,” said Ben. “I still have to dry you off, and brush out your beautiful hair. Only then are we finished.”

Tolla relaxed. “All right,” she said. “Help me out.”

Ben surprised her by simply turning her sideways and lifting her clear of the water as he stood up, then walking up the steps out of the pool, carrying her. He set her on a stone seat, and took a towel and began to rub and buff and blot at her, avoiding her sensitive regions. Tolla stood up and spread her arms and legs defiantly; Ben smiled and gently finished drying her, then wrapped her in a towel and sat her down again.

Tolla glanced at his cock. “Your ekkska is still waiting for attention.”

“Not your problem. This was a bath. That was the bargain.”

“Ben, it’s standing out like a tree branch. It wants to leap off of you and attack me, all by itself.”

Ben began to work the comb through Tolla’s damp orange hair. “Perhaps,” he said. “But it’s never succeeded before. Good thing, too. I’d have trouble finding it afterwards, if it could do that.”

Tolla laughed, and leaned her head back, and Ben worked out the tangles, and ran the comb the length of her hair. “Seriously, though,” she said. “I feel like it’s staring at me. Like it wants me to do something about it.”

“Tolla, you contracted for a bath,” said Ben. “That’s all you have to do. Are you really so used to males who abuse you that it’s making you crazy that I won’t?”

Tolla looked at Ben with a look somewhere between anxious and questioning. “Are you trying to tempt me?”

“I think you are not tempted by an erect cock,” said Ben, who by now had switched to a brush. “You’ve seen plenty of those.”

“Yes,” she said, “But you were very nice to me in the bath, and now you’re not getting anything in return.”

“Thinking like a goblin,” said Ben. “A contract is a contract. When your hair is dry, you will have paid for your excavator lesson. Fucking was not in the contract. You specified.”

Tolla said nothing, and avoided eye contact with Ben’s penis as he moved around her, brushing and drying her hair, and soon he said, “Done.”

Tolla stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. It felt wonderful, straight, flowing, and clean.

“I do have a surprise for you, though,” said Ben.

Here it comes. “Should I be worried?”

“It is only a thing to look at. Your bargain is concluded, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Go into the hall and look in the first doorway on the right. That’s all.”

Tolla looked at Ben. He had taken a towel and was vigorously drying his own hair and buffing out his beard. He didn’t seem to be up to anything. Curious, she padded out of the waterfall room, and into the first doorway on the right. “It’s dark in here,” she said. “There is a rack with towels and blankets. What am I looking for?”

“Touch the red thing on the wall on your left, and then look at the left wall.”

Tolla touched the round red thing, and the strange light that had no source came on. The room was bright. And there was a thing on the wall, a thing that looked something like a long window. She moved into the room to look more closely at it, and was stunned to see a tall orange haired goblin wrapped in a towel – herself! 

Her mouth fell open in surprise. Her reflection did likewise. Mirror, thought Tolla, this thing is called a mirror, it is made of metal and glass, so you can see what you look like, the knowledge from nowhere floated through her mind. She had never seen herself so clearly in her life. And she examined herself.

Her face still bore bruises from her beating, but they were healing quickly. Her arm was, of course, still in a cast. But her hair! Tolla had always thought of her hair as a curse, a marking of the fire spirits, her badge of unluckiness and the thing that marked her as Fire Clan…

She’d never seen her own face before except in the reflection from water. She examined herself. Pale green skin, much paler than Jeeka, great yellow eyes and thin orange eyebrows. Thin lips, unlike Jeeka’s much fuller ones. A thin nose that came to a point, and a pointed chin; her mother had once told her she was like a fox, a red fox, with its orange color, pointed ears and nose…

Ben had parted her hair in the middle, and it flowed down the back of her head like an orange waterfall, straight and clean and glossy and shining, and it nearly glowed. For the first time in her life, Tolla realized she had beautiful hair, and that maybe she was pretty, too.

Tolla opened the towel and put it on the drying rack and looked at herself. Her ribs felt much better. The bruising was nearly gone. Her tits were full and round, maybe not as big as Jeeka’s, but it’s not like anyone had ever complained. She was pretty!

And if I’m so unlucky, how did I wind up here? she thought to herself. Why am I not dead or lying in Prum’s tent waiting for the next time his prick gets hard? Why do I have a smokehouse and a book and a beautiful dress and friends who fight for me and a man who washes me and brushes my hair and doesn’t demand that I bend over for him?

Tolla turned and stormed back into the waterfall room, looking for Ben. He wasn’t there. She turned and went back down the hallway, and found him about to climb into bed.

“You son of a troll,” Tolla snarled at Ben.

“Beg pardon?” said Ben confusedly.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” she said.

“Doing what?” he said.

“You’re turning my fucking mind inside out!”

“The transfer spell can… be like that,” Ben said uncertainly. “You’ve soaked up a lot of information, VERY suddenly. You yourself compared it to snowflakes falling, and you’re not sure what the field will look like when they stop. Are you sure that isn’t what you’re feeling?” He sat down on the bed.

“Shut up,” said Tolla. “I… don’t know. I don’t know ANYTHING. I know more now than I EVER knew, and I DON’T KNOW SHIT ANY MORE, and I haven’t known what the fuck since the last time I faced off with Prum, and all I wanted to do THEN was cut his fucking ekkska off!”

Ben blinked. “This is normally the part where I’d take you in my arms and give you a hug,” he said. “But I’m naked, and so are you. I don’t want to upset you any more than you already are. Is there… anything I can do?”

Tolla’s arms flew to cover herself. She’d hung up her towel in the mirror room and had walked into the bedroom naked without even thinking about it. Stupid!

But Ben sat on the bed and made no move towards her.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He could take you apart like a roast bullbird, and you walk naked into his kessalek! Stupid! Without even a knife! Stupid! And if he was going to, he could have raped you half to death by now and Jeeka would never know! But he HASN’T! All he did was wash you! He kept his promise! And he’s fucked you once already, and then he fucked Jeeka, and, and, and… he cares about Jeeka. He does. And he’s treating you like a friend. Because of Jeeka. And he’s RIGHT, damn him, the snow is still falling, and you don’t KNOW yet, because it’s still not where it all needs to BE, and you’re NAKED IN A HUMAN’S KESSALEK…

“I…” said Tolla hoarsely. “I… don’t want to fuck.” She gasped, feeling like something was trying to burrow its way out of her chest. “I … don’t know what I want. I … miss Jeeka.”

“I miss her, too,” said Ben. “And you still don’t have to fuck. At least now, I don’t have to miss Jeeka all by myself. Come here?,” And Tolla did, and they sat on the bed and held each other for what seemed like a long time.

Chapter Text

Jeeka spent a long night in her tent, flaps pulled closed and tied, practicing Board Sigils in midair and maintaining focus. She’d also spent quite some time learning to store power, but was a little frustrated; no matter how much she focused on keeping it in, her power reserve never seemed to last more than a few seconds. Ben had told her it would get better with practice, but she was impatient.

“Goblin,” he had teased her. “Impatient. Impulsive.”

“Damn right, goblin,” she had replied. “Determined. Persevering.”

And then she had slept, and now she was awake, and she wondered if she would ever get any better at storing power. Would reading the books help? She wanted to go home, to the place she had come to think of as her real home, but had decided to remain another day, see what she could find out about Prum and his allies, and perhaps do some foraging for her mother. Perhaps for herself, as well; there was no food in the tent, and she was hungry.

And weirdly enough, horny. Mirk had tried, certainly, and he hadn’t been a disaster, not by a long shot, but she wanted her Tolla and her Ben and the sweet certainties that they offered her, the warm familiarities and the delicious variations, as well as what she had come to think of as her own bed, dammit.

*****************************************************************************

Ben awoke with Tolla in his arms. She was already awake. “Wanna fuck?” she said.

Ben snorted. “Are you offering?”

“Thought I’d see if you were interested first. Trying to decide if I should fuck you or make breakfast, and I thought I’d get a second opinion.”

“Actually, both of them sound pretty good,” said Ben. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” said Tolla. “I feel better. I feel like… I don’t know. Perhaps the snow has finally stopped falling. I feel like I know who I am again.”

“And who you are is a person who wants to ride a human?”

“All my life, I’ve been a sex toy for men who didn’t care. Now… I come to feel like I have sweet friends, who care. If you want to stick your cock in me, you can. I give you permission.”

“Um,” said Ben. “I… can’t say I’ve ever been propositioned quite like that…”

Tolla laughed uproariously. “And that is exactly the right reaction. Every male in the tribe would have been all over me if I said that. But you? You look like I just kicked you in the birds’ eggs.”

“And this is… funny?”

“This is godsdamn hilarious,” laughed Tolla. And with that, she craned her neck and kissed Ben on the mouth. And then, taking advantage of his confusion, she shoved him onto his back. Taken by surprise, Ben rolled onto his back, and before he could react, Tolla scrambled onto him and straddled his hips, and suddenly leaned down and furiously rubbed her face into the fur patch between his nipples.

Ben didn’t know quite what to think, and so he lay there on his back and did nothing. Tolla saw his reaction and laughed long and hard. “I HAVE THE POWER!” she shrieked, suddenly, and laughed some more, and then suddenly grabbed her side, and coughed, but not without giggling.

“You shouldn’t be thrashing around like this,” said Ben with some concern. “Those ribs are still healing.”

Tolla chuckled; she sounded like she wanted to laugh again, but was now more conscious of her ribs. “I have the fucking human at my mercy,” she giggled. “I have all the power. I have my power, I have his power that he has given me. I could ride his cock. I could get up and leave. I could tear his throat out. I could do whatever I want. And he’s afraid I will hurt my ribs. I have made up my mind about you, Ben.”

“I’m guessing that’s a good thing for both of us?” said Ben uncertainly.

“Yes,” she said, lying down on him and resting her chin on his collarbone. “You could just be stringing me along, waiting for me to let my guard down, so you can hurt me or fuck me or get me out of the way so you can have Jeeka for yourself, because you DO want JEEKA, I KNOW that… and the more I think about it all, the more I know it’s all crap. The fears and cautions in my head are still there, but they have no power; I have taken that away from them! I still don’t know how I feel about ekkskas, and I still don’t completely know what I want, but at least now I have a safe place to think about it and make up my mind, however long that may take. And I have not one but two sweet friends to watch my back while I do that. And you will guard my back. I believe you will.”

Ben smiled. “You know… if I didn’t have some goblin in my head… I’m not sure I would have understood all that. So, no, I’m still not going to rape you. But I might wield my mighty male ekkska power, and ask if you’re going to make breakfast, or if I’ll have to do that myself.”

******************************************************************************

In the woods, not far from the goblin village, eight goblins met for a conference. Two were of high status; five were of low status, and one was outcast entirely.

“I don’t understand why we have to bring the humans into this,” said Pog, a young and less than competent hunter of low status. “Last orders were to leave the humans alone. This could have some stiff penalties.”

“Those orders were issued illegitimately,” said Marhag, who was one of the council members, but had decided that perhaps a bump in status could be had with a little judicious backstabbing. “Morr is no real chief. He calls himself “headman,” but he is nothing. And when our leader is chief, he will be a REAL chief, and the order will be reversed.”

“Why involve the humans at all?” said Rho, an older hunter of medium status. “Seems like this plan of Tchim’s doesn’t need anything human about it. We burn a tent, we make a big noise, we blame it on the humans.”

Marhag, eldest of the goblins gathered, motioned for silence. “It is a good plan,” he said, “but just standing up and saying ‘I saw a human do it,’ isn’t enough. It needs evidence. It needs proof.”

“How do we prove the humans attacked the village when they aren’t attacking the village?” said Dorr.

Tchim smiled. Tchim was an elderly goblin, long past his prime, with a lined face that showed his age to ill advantage; he looked like an elderly frog. He wore a blanket long ago stolen from a human house, back when he could run. Tchim was a goblin whose cunning far outweighed his ability, which is what had landed him on the council in his old age, and what had brought him to conspiracy to fuel ambition that ability could not. “That’s the easy part,” Tchim said. “We need some human things, is all. A pair of those shoes they wear, some farm tools. A weapon would be ideal. Rho says, “I saw a human!” when Morr asks what happened, and Dorr says, “Look, human tracks!” and a human weapon or tool… pretty much anything unmistakably human… is found at the scene. And suddenly, the humans have declared war on us.”

“I’m still not understanding why we want to tell the tribe the humans are attacking us,” said Kee, a young hunter with little status, and fewer brains. “They don’t even know we’re here. Why do we want the tribe to think they’re attacking?”

“Why not just go set some of THEIR houses on fire?” said Dorr. “That’d stir’em up quick enough.”

Tchim sighed in frustration. “Do YOU want to go fight humans?” he said. “We don’t want war, we want the tribe to THINK there is war. To frighten them. To unsettle things.”

“Why?” asked Kee.

“Because,” said Prum, “a happy tribe is a tribe that will unite behind Morr. But if they think Morr can’t protect them, then they won’t be happy. They’ll be afraid. They will fear and hate these humans who have attacked them! And when the tribe is afraid, and filled with hate, when they are ready to attack these outsiders? Then I will own them.”

****************************************************************************

Jeeka was slowly driving Grilki crazy, and she was rather enjoying it.

Out in an open field, several goblins were combing the area, looking for edibles. This patch of woods was partially shielded from overhead by trees, making it a fine place for edible fungus, sorrel, and other items. Jeeka had come here looking for wild onions, or bullbird eggs, or something to do for breakfast, and had seen Grilki here as well. And Grilki had seen her and flinched.

The last time she’d gone foraging with Grilki had been her first visit to the mushroom patch, where Grilki had blindsided her to cover everyone’s escape from the Wild Human, otherwise known as Ben. Jeeka still owed Grilki some payback for that… and Grilki knew it. And was nervous about it.

Idly, Jeeka thought, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to knock Grilki out and subject her to the same thing that happened to me? I’d tie her up and drag her to Ben’s, and I would tell him in the speech of men, ‘Strip Grilki naked, and bathe her, and then lick her cunt until she screams like a shalka!’ And when she lay there, panting in the afterglow, I would tell her, ‘This is what the human did to me after you left me for dead. How did you like it?’“ And she found herself giggling at the thought.

And then she glanced up at Grilki. Grilki had seen her grin and giggle, and did not seem happy about it, and made a point of putting several more yards between herself and Jeeka, just in case. And that made Jeeka giggle all the more.