307 Vol. 5 pt. 15 (1/2)
The traveling party arrives at the end of the tunnel before much longer. It is every bit as inconspicuous as the tunnel's entrance, meaning that it looks like just another rock wall – like a dead end. Of course, Eva proves that it's not a dead end by flying right through it and beckoning for the others to follow her by poking the top half of her body back through it.
Fenrir's mind immediately goes to the gutter.
He thought it the first time he saw her do this at the tunnel's entrance, but now she looks really similar to the hentai that he has seen where a girl somehow gets stuck in a wall with both of her ends sticking out for anybody nearby to use however they want.
Nell asks, ”My hero, does she not look like—”
”—the stuck-in-a-wall thing?” Fenrir finishes her question for her.
She nods her head with a smile. ”I am glad to know that we are so in-tune with one another!”
”You know, we're probably even more in-tune than you know. I just resist talking about every perverted thought that pops into my head.”
”Is it not much more entertaining to freely discuss our fantasies so that we know how to please one another?”
”How am I going to please you with the knowledge that you would probably like to be stuck in a wall and taken from both ends at once?”
”It is true that it might be difficult, so what if we acquired some stocks instead?”
”Stocks?”
”You are so innocent, my hero.”
”That's actually kind of insulting, but compared to you, maybe I am.”
”By stocks, I mean the wooden sort that used to be involved in public punishments and humiliation!”
”Oh. Those.”
Nell nods and continues, ”I would be fine with such play either in real life or here!”
”Wouldn't it be kind of hard in real life? I mean, you have to stand, so wouldn't it hurt to sort of be hanging down?”
”Hmm. That is true and something that I foolishly failed to consider. In that case, we will just have to have our fun with these bodies instead!”
”Or we could do it in real life if we got a padded bench or something for your knees to rest on. Or just put the stocks in front of the bed.”
”Oh? What is this, my hero? Are you contemplating how to go along with my fantasies?”
”You are my girlfriend. It'd only be natural for me to—”
”Bro, come on,” Rao interrupts. ”These horses aren't going to go through if we don't pull them. Like, I'm sorry for interrupting and all that, but you two can go on forever.”
”He's not wrong,” Cassiel says.
”It's okay,” Serra says. ”I'll take your place.”
Serra then proceeds to push Fenrir away from sitting next to Nell so that she can sit next to her while he helps Rao with the horses.
Right before he's out of distance to hear their whispering, Fenrir swears that he hears Serra whisper something about strap-ons.
He can only hope that she was whispering about it in the context of using it on the other girls instead of him.
There are many things that Fenrir is willing to do and try for his girlfriends.
That is not one of them.
With that worry now in the back of his mind, Fenrir helps Rao pull the horses through the passable wall. He does feel bad about freaking them out since they kick around and try to break free, obviously not wanting to go face-first into a ”hard” wall, but they relax again the instant they pass through.
The horses are not the only ones to immediately change their thoughts upon passing through the wall. Even the lewdly-whispering Serra stops what she's doing to look up at the sight.
Tall spires reach high enough above the ground for the rising sun to shine upon their tops that have been shaped into the heads of dragons. Large homes and shops share little space between them, forced to stay close together as the mountain's terrain has given them little room for easy construction.
The first thought that comes into Fenrir's mind is some sort of open-air, dwarven city with blue and grey colors instead of gold and brown, and with dragon statues and sculpted heads instead of dwarven ones. Also, instead of everything being short and wide, everything is tall and thin – well, more thin than what dwarves would build, probably.
”This place is awesome,” Fenrir says.
”Bro, look up there,” Rao says, pointing up to the top of one of the towers with sunlight shining on it.
”Yeah, it's awesome.”
”The top of that place would be perfect for a bachelor's pad. Like, seriously bro, imagine it. That tower has to be tall enough to have a stupid good view over all these mountains.”
”Yeah, but that'd be horrible for anybody who was afraid of heights.”
”Bro, imagine taking a girl back there – I mean, you can imagine taking one of your girls back there.”
”Nell would fantasize about accidentally falling off somehow.”
”You guys are into some weird things.”
”You know what I want to do? Go skydiving off of it.”
”Wanna see me do it?” Eva asks, popping her head between the two men while purposely putting herself closer to Fenrir.
”Do what?”
”Skydive off that tower.” Eva flexes her wings.
”Is – is that allowed? Nobody around is going to get mad?”
”Oh, I've done it before. It'll be fine.”
With that, Eva jumps up and uses her wings to boost her higher into the air.
She reaches the top of the tower with only five flaps of her wings, proving to those watching her just how much strength she has in her wings. After landing on the tower, she stands on the very edge of it and looks down at the others who arrived here with her.
None of the actual villagers out and about care about what she's up to.
Eva holds up three fingers to count down.
While she might be counting down with her fingers… she ends up just looking like she's doing some sort of controversial salute to those watching her from below. They are much too far away to see that she's sticking her fingers out.
With her final finger pulled in, Eva falls forward with her wings tucked tight against her back and her tail sticking straight out behind her – or rather, above her given that she's diving headfirst toward the ground.
”Isn't she going way too fast?” Fenrir asks.
”Bro, wanna bet that she explodes after crashing?” Rao asks.
”I want to have faith in her that she's not going to crash straight into the ground, but after everything I've heard from her…”
”Come on. I'll bet you… I don't know, I'll buy you a game online or something.”
”I mean, the new Monsters in Pockets game is coming out soon, and I haven't played one of those since I was a kid.”
”Oh, nice, you're gonna get it too? I was looking at the Lime version myself.”
”Cyan for me. The legendary looks cooler.”
”Yeah, but other than the legendary, Lime has better exclusives.”
”That's what trading is for.”
”Fair enough, bro.”
”Anyways, I'll bet that she'll survive. Somehow.”
”You're on. No way that she can slow herself down in time. She'd be screwed even with a parachute now.”
Eva is still falling even after their whole conversation, but she's rapidly approaching the ground.
Then, only moments before disaster, she expands her wings out as wide as they can go and uses them for one, powerful flap that completely counters her momentum.
She lands on her feet without any harm done to take her bow in front of the others.
”How are you not dead?” Rao asks.
”Because I'm great! Also, I've done this dozens of times before. I learned how late I can stop after the third time,” Eva explains.
”What about the first three times?”
”Ever hit a fly with a flyswatter?”
”Fair enough.”
”I'm jealous,” Fenrir says and then looks back at Nell. ”How about you try that? You could fly up there, right?”
”A-ah… I think I will have to pass, my hero. How about Shogun?” Nell answers, turning the group's attention to the winged fox.
Shogun looks up to the top of the tower, down at the ground, and then ignores them all to give Rock some more attention.
”Anyways, welcome to Dragon's Nest!” Eva announces.
”Shouldn't you have done that when we got here instead of showing off?” Rao asks.
”You're just mad you lost the bet,” Fenrir says. ”So, when do I get my game?”
”I'll preorder it for you when we're done.”
”Sweet. Then I can challenge you in it and win.”
”Nah bro. I've already got my dream team planned.”
”And I've already got my 'Ultimate Doggo' team planned. You're not going to be able to win.”
”You said you haven't even played it since you were a kid. How are you gonna beat me?”
”I looked up all the doglike monsters that've come out since I played it, listened to what people said were the best, and then decided that I'll put them all on the same team.”
”Bro, there's no way you can beat me if that's what you're doing. I've been up to date with the series for years and know the game inside and out.”
”I'll trust in the power of my Ultimate Doggo team.”
”You do you. Just don't be disappointed when I beat you.”
”Why would you even want to beat doggos?”
”They're not real. Beating virtual dogs is different, plus fighting monsters against each other is the whole point of those games.”
Rock and Shogun both stare up at Rao together with lowered ears, drooping tails, and sad expressions.
”'Beating virtual dogs is different.' Great job,” Cassiel says before rolling her eyes and crouching down in front of the two canids to pet their heads.
Serra also helps out in comforting them by scratching their sides. ”Ignore him. He's mean,” she says.
”He-hey, I didn't mean it like that. You two are awesome,” Rao tries telling Rock and Shogun, but they both turn their heads up at him.
”Maybe next time don't say that virtual dogs don't matter in front of a couple of virtual canines,” Cassiel says, glaring at Rao through the corner of her vision.
”I kind of miss being looked at that way,” Fenrir says, instantly bringing a blush to Cassiel's face thus interrupting her annoyed glare.
”Why – why would you miss me glaring at you?” she asks her boyfriend.
”Because it's nice. I like when you're tsun.”
”Stop wanting me to be mean to you. Are you a masochist?”
”Only sometimes.”
”Can confirm,” Serra confirms.
As per usual, regardless of what locale the group finds itself, they end up having their usual bantering sessions even if there are tall, draconic people standing by looking at the newcomers with no idea why they are there.
”It seems as if you have brought us some interesting friends,” one of the draconic men say to Eva.
”Oh, hey, GG. Yeah, they wanted to come and talk to some dragons,” Eva explains.
The rest of the group finally pays attention to the others around them.
The man who talked to Eva, GG, easily stands taller than them all at nine feet and has wings sticking out from the backs of his arms similar to how Shogun has wings, only GG's wings are much more leathery than Shogun's feathery pair. The similarities end there.
His skin is covered in light, blue scales, he has a lithe figure despite his huge height and the long tail reaching out from behind him, and a couple of horns stick out backward from the back of his elongated head.
The others around are all similar to him but with some minor variations. Some have horns sticking out from their foreheads, others have two pairs of wings instead of only one, and the greatest difference comes in the color of their scales. All of their scales match their surroundings, though. Whether their scales are green similar to the mountain grass, white to match the mountain peaks' snow, grey to match the deadly boulders covering the mountainsides, or blue to match the beautiful and clear sky, there is a unity in the color schemes of their scales that extends to their architecture and surroundings. As for Eva's statement about them being like flying, dragon samurai, the only thing that looks even slightly samurai about them are their clothes, armor, and the weapons at their sides.
”It is a pleasure to meet you,” GG says. ”If the curious Eva has brought you to us then I am sure you are worth associating with.”
”We definitely hope to be worth it,” Fenrir says. ”I'm Fenrir, leader of The Soaring Wolves. These are Serra, Cassiel, Nell, Rao, and Azalabulia.”
GG bows to each group member upon Fenrir introducing them.
”You may call me GG,” GG says.
”Good Game?” Fenrir asks.
”No. Grand Gay,” GG answers.
Fenrir makes a very conflicted expression as he has no idea how to react.
Fortunately for him, GG clears things up and says, ”I am only joking. There is no grander meaning behind my name, I assure you. So, do tell me. What is it that has brought you here? Surely you would not have come here if you did not have a reason for it other than wishing to talk to dragons.”
Fenrir has to admit that, as much as they were talking about these dragons being scalies back in the tunnel, he would never call any of these dragons that. They simply look like cool, badass, bipedal dragons that stand like humans. He doesn't even know if he would call them anthropomorphized or not. Perhaps in the most technical definition, he could call them anthropomorphized or scalies, but he would never call them that in the modern context of what sort of appearances those words usually reference.
In other words, he refuses to call them scalies or anthros because he thinks they look cool.
Now, if they looked lame or cheesy, he wouldn't mind switching to mentally referring to them as scalies or anthros.
”Want to share some more pleasantries and get to know each other first, or would you rather me jump right into it?” Fenrir asks.
”The latter, please,” GG answers. ”While we would normally treat visitors to a meal and friendly conversation, we have our own matters that we are in the midst of taking care of.”
”Sounds like something's wrong.”
GG's expression confirms Fenrir's suspicion.
”Did something happen?” Fenrir asks.
”Ah, well, you see – no, it would not be right to share our issues with visitors,” GG answers.
”What if we can help?”
”I am not sure you would be able to given that we are already struggling ourselves.”
Fenrir and the rest of the group look around to see if they can find anything wrong, but there is nothing that they can notice.
Eva is looking around, too.
”Something happen since I was here last?” Eva asks.
GG looks away.
”You can trust them. Probably. They're nice and were able to help me out,” Eva explains.
”Is that so?” GG asks.
”Yep.”