#oooo i’m a creature i’m a reptile

[dragonleesupporter]

What’s Tickling? (Perfect World Sanders Sides AU)

WHOOOO been waiting a while to finally get this done so here it is! I’ve been really loving Patton lately, but also Roman, and Logan but I can’t forget-SHIT I’m love with all of them! Send help!

Summary: After Wolf!Patton gets playful, the group discovers that two of the journeying animals don’t even know what tickling is. Patton is happy to ablidge. Ships: LAMP, with some concentration toward Prinxiety and Logicality.

(Warning: Tickle Fic)

           The dull, wet scent tugged at Roman’s nostrils as he forced himself through another battlefront of ice-cold wind.

             “How long is it supposed to take to get through these damn mountains?!” He shouted up at Logan, who was pacing the group by a good 20 meters.

             “Not much longer.” The snow leopard called, back not breaking stride.

             “How specific…” Virgil growled sarcastically next to Roman, shuffling through the snow; even more uncomfortable than the red-eyed myth.

             “I-i-it’s okay!” Patton jumped in, shivering the most out of the four, making his stuttering speech jump around like a grasshopper on fire. “We’ll be out soon. Logan said!”

             “It does depend on how soon ‘soon’ is.” The dragon glared at the fluffy pup. “A minute to us is the equivalent to a year in the eyes of an insect. And our miniscule lives will probably be over by the time a giant on another planet is done taking in a breath of air.”

             “O-oh…” The wolf looked frantically around him; light blue eyes wide. “T-that sure gives you a lot to think about…”

             “Virgil quit scaring him.” The griffin deadpanned and rolled his eyes.

             “Or what, tough bird? You going to make me?” The dragon smirked as Roman stiffened. Oooo did that get under his feathers...

             In an instance, the purple creature was pinned underneath the griffin.

             “G-guys, stop it!” Patton cried desperately as Roman raised his claw to teach the smartass a lesson.

             It was common for griffins to settle scores through physical competition. If not that, then they would compete in a singing battle, using their gifted chords to appeal to a crowd. Roman’s vocals were too frozen for the other idea, so he opted for a little brawl instead. Though he was concerned by Virgil’s calm expression…

             When the claw came down, no blood was drawn, though the dragon did flinch. Confused, Roman tried again, to find that NONE of the scales had broken. He started raking his claws up and down Virgil’s hide, though no damage was being done…          

             “What in heaven’s name-?!” The griffin sputtered out in confusion as the dragon chuckled darkly.

             “Idiot. You can’t actually break dragon scales. They’re indestructible!” Virgil smiled triumphantly and flung Roman off of him in one swift move, leaving the red creature slumped over in defeat.

             “Well, actually it’s true that you can shatter a dragon scale, you see-” Logan started before abruptly being cut off by a death glare sent from the fire-breather.

             “Everyone has a weak spot…” Roman grumbled, and continued to push through the snow.

             “Well, you’re not wrong there.” The giant reptile replied, following Roman.  

             “Yeah! The other wolves and me always loved to play this game when we were little! It would show off our weak spots, and then everyone would help the pup with the most weaknesses, by attacking them!” All three stopped and turned to look at Patton, dumbstruck.

             “What kind of games does your pack’s young play? That sounds brutal!” Roman stared worriedly at the wolf as he wagged his tail happily.

             “Oh, we didn’t hurt each other!” The light brown fuzzball smiled, causing the others to become even more confused. “Here, I’ll show you!”

             “Alright. I’ve already lost to Virgil, there’s no way I could lose to you.” Roman shrugged and stepped forward as Logan and Virgil watched with intrigue.

             “Hehe…” The brown wolf suddenly grew a small sly smile that put Roman on edge.

             It suddenly seemed at though Patton had gone into hunting mode. Stalking his prey with an almost deranged smile on his face. His eyes gleamed with strange excitement as his tail slowly moved back and forth, his hind quarters doing the same as his paws gripped the snow-covered ground.

             “Uh… never mind, I’m not feeling all that lucky anymore.” The griffin tried to turn and run away, but the playful fluffy creature leapt onto him before he could get far.

             “Oof! G-guys! Little help?!” He reached out but the other two retracted, eyes wide.

             “Let’s see here…” Patton’s voice reached low as he grew a teasing persona, eyes frisky, and smile sly. “Where would you say your weakness is?”

             “I- I don’t know! I’ve never lost a battle!” Roman spat back, panicking.

             “Ahem…” Virgil raised an eyebrow.

             “Okay, I guess my only known weakness is dragon scales.” The griffin rolled his eyes as the winged lizard smiled triumphantly.

             “How about your neck?” The wolf wagged his tail faster in anticipation, waiting for an answer.

             “I mean- I suppose, since most animals can be killed by breaking their-EEEK!” Virgil and the snow leopard jumped at the high-pitched squeak that interrupted the bird-lion.

             “Grrr… nnnnn…” Roman made sounds of struggle as Patton innocently scratched one of his paws at the trapped creature’s neck. Light enough as to not break the skin, the hard enough to cause… SOMETHING. “St-stop it.” He choked out, wriggling beneath the lightweight brown floofball.

             “This is the game! Are you too weak?” Patton teased with a strangely malicious expression.

             “Wh-what are you doing to him?!” The dragon stood up, ready to defend the red creature in case he was being hurt.

             “Well, that’s simple! I’m-”

             “GYYAAAA! Ahahahahahaha! Ihihihi gihihive! I gihihive! Juhust mahahahake ihit stohohohohop! Whahahahat ihihis thihihhis?!” Merry laughter interrupted Patton before he could finish.

             “I’m tickling him.” He smiled cheerfully, as the big strong image beneath him crumbled into a puddle of giggles, throwing his head back and forth as his face turned a deeper shade of red than usual.

             It was something the griffin had never experienced before. This strange light touch that somehow made him laugh? Nothing funny was going on! He felt the need to make it stop… and yet… he hadn’t laughed in a long time. Little butterflies filled his belly as a feeling of innocent silliness overtook him.

             “That’s it?!” Logan shouted, irritated. “That’s what we all wasted our time with?! We could’ve been out of here by now!”

             “Maybe YOU could have…” Virgil grumbled.

             “Yeah! I brought it up, because I thought maybe we could use it to warm up!” The wolf’s bright blue eyes shined with hope and innocence.

             “I have no interest in such actions.” The snow leopard responded coldly before turning back around and strutting again. “My tribe used to partake in that foolishness when I was little. It’s pointless and irritating. I shall not participate.”

             “Better walk faster then.” A mischievous growl was barely heard over the griffin’s giggling, but it was enough to get Logan to start running, Virgil in tow.

             “Waihihihihihihihit!” Roman called after them in fear of being stuck with a puppy of a wolf when the light fluttering at his neck stopped.

             “Come on, Roman! Let’s get ‘em!” He heard paw steps thunder away into the snow.

             Realizing he was getting left behind, he held the rest of his giggles back as he plunged through the snow to chase after his new companions. He was LOVING this game.

             “Do you think we lost them?” Virgil sat, panting, with the snow leopard next to him.

             “I believe so. This current blizzard we’re traveling through will make it impossible to track us. We just have to stay quiet.” The big cat replied, peeking around the snow dune they were hiding behind. Even though he knew they would have to regroup eventually, he couldn’t help but hide from the thought of being tickled silly. He had an image to keep.

             “So… what exactly is tickling? Is it… painful?” The snow leopard turned to Virgil, surprised.

             “Of course not. It’s simply a panic response when someone touches you a certain way. It’s not painful in the slightest, though it can easily confuse your senses. In full honesty, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Roman already proved you’re not that sensitive based off your lack of response when he was trying to brawl with you.” Logan flicked his tail in satisfaction, conclusions to cases always giving him a feeling of satisfaction.

             “Well, that’s not entirely true… I felt something.” The dragon looked down. “It wasn’t painful… it did make me flinch a little… and it made me kind of… hold my breath?”

             “Ah. Then I guess you are ticklish. You just have a lot of strong resistance with those tough scales.” Logan noted, and Virgil couldn’t help but embrace a bit of pride at the snow leopard’s comments.

             “Gotcha!” A quick fluffy blur dived head-first into the white cat as he let out yelp of surprise.

             “Oh no. Nonononononono… Patton, let’s talk about this…” The sly Logan, not so sly anymore, looked up with slitted eyes to find in what is defined by the tickle community as a full-on ler mood.

             The wolf bared his fangs in the goofiest way possible and wiggled his nubby digits over the snow leopard’s spotted belly.

             “So many cute grey spots! Which one am I going to poke first?” Patton asked himself as the big cat trembled beneath him.

             Virgil smirked. Even he had to admit that Logan looked cute. His adoration in the scene before him came to an abrupt halt when he suddenly realized he would be next.

             “Gotcha Verge!” Roman suddenly pinned the dragon a second time, but this time Virgil had a half-nervous, half-curious expression.

             Logan watched as Patton’s paws descended painfully slowly toward his stomach. He was already holding back nervous chuckles as the wolf paused centimeters away from his fur tips. He was building up the anticipation, that little sh-!

             “GAAH! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The snow leopard suddenly snorted and threw his head back as Patton used his head instead of his puppy fingers to nuzzle the spots on his tummy. “AHA! GAHAHAHAD! PAHAHAHAHEEEEEEE!” His cackling soon turned to screeching when the wolf switched from nuzzling to raspberries.

             Logan was laughing so hard that he didn’t even realize his previous hiding companion had fallen beside him, light giggles escaping him as he wriggled in Roman’s grasp. The griffin was gently massaging behind the dragon’s horns (similar to the backs of ears,) and whispering against his neck, teasing the tough-looking creature for giving in so easily.

             After a short while, the red myth stopped his assault, just to find the dragon looking up at him, unexpectedly smiling wide.

             “That was… actually kind of fun…” Even though he could barely be heard over Logan’s desperate cries, Virgil blushed hard and that adoring look Roman gave him didn’t make him feel any less humiliated, yet… He loved this.

             The dragon yawned and suddenly found it hard to move, as a feeling of bliss made his eyelids heavy.

             “S-sorry… I shouldn’t have drained you. We still got to clear the mountain…” Roman looked down ashamed, but also found that he was tired too.

             He saw Virgil lay down and start to shiver and instinctively laid next to the reptile to warm him up. Both were woken from their relaxed daze as they heard a different voice laughing.

             “Lohohohogan nohohohoho!”  Patton pushed gently against the snow leopard, who was tickling his sides and ribs.

             “This is what you get!” His voice sounded angry and harsh, but the goofy look on Logan’s face broke all disguises of any real malice. “I’m going to count your ribs, just like you counted my spots!”

             Logan’s signature sly smile was almost back until he realized it was a little too easy to count the wolf’s ribs.

             “Wait… when was the last time you ate?” He looked at Patton, who’s laughter had ceased and he now seemed nervous for a different reason. “Patton, when was the last time you ate?” The snow leopard repeated, a little louder.

             “Th-this morning!” The wolf answered quickly.

             “Okay, and what did you have?”

             “B-berries?”

             Logan breathed out a quick puff of air in surprise.

             “Berries? Patton, I am aware that other species of wolf have the ability to eat berries whenever other food is scarce, but you are a Mongolian wolf, are you not? A common Mongolian wolf’s diet is entirely of meat! You can’t go around eating berries, and expect it to replace what you’re actually supposed to be eating! You’re an endangered species after all!”

             “Hey, give him a break.” Roman sat up slightly from his short cuddle session with the purple creature. “Everyone has trouble hunting sometimes.”

             “That’s not it…” Patton squeaked out, heading dipping low with shame.

             “Then what is it?” The snow leopard raised an eyebrow.

             “I- I just can’t…” The wolf crumbled before the big cat; eyes teary. “I can’t bring myself to do it… Life is so beautiful; I can’t just kill it!”

             “But you can’t starve yourself, either…” Logan wrapped his tail around the sniffling wolf in an astonishingly gentle and comforting manner. “Come. I believe we must rest at this time, or we’ll all drop before the evening’s over.”

             “Yeah. Come over here, there’s already warmth!” The griffin called and patted the area next to him with his lion tail, inviting the remaining two over.

             “I believe Patton and Virgil should be in the middle, since Virgil is a reptile, and has a hard time finding warmth. Patton, being slightly starved of proper food at the moment, will also have difficulty generating body heat. My fur is used to the cold, and you, Roman have multiple layers of feathers and fur to protect you.” Logan advised, and the others shuffled appropriately.

             In the end, the order from left to right was Roman, Virgil, Patton, and Logan. Roman had one of his wings covering Virgil’s back, and the dragon in turn had both of his wings extended, one covering both Patton and Logan, and one wrapping around the griffin underneath his set of red wings. And though all of them were stuck out in the cold without any protection, all of them felt more protected than they had been in a while.

@cefticklestoo

#tickles #sanders sides #perfectworldseries

[magmasliveblogs]

1.07

its late but its here! the 8th chapter! to recap, last chapter erin discovered acid flies, got rid of the fish, discovered flying pterodactyls who lay eggs, stole some eggs, made pasta, and was greeted by a bug man who knocked on her door as she was about to eat pasta 

A giant insect stood in the doorway. It had large, black, bulbous eyes, a dark brown chitinous body, and a pair of swords at its sides. It also had a huge abdomen and two long pincers coming out of its mouth. And it had four arms.

Erin stared at the ant-creature. It opened its mouth and began to speak.

“Good evening, Human. I was wondering if my colleague and I could take up a moment of your time—”

Erin shut the door. Then she bolted it. Where did she put the kitchen knife?

bit of a knee jerk reaction but hey, would you do anything else? 

“You idiot. I told you that this is why I should have opened the door.”

The Goblin’s knives were on the table. She grabbed both and tried to think. Knife. Chair? There were lots of chairs.

“Maybe it was a bad time?”

Or windows. Erin looked around. Plenty of windows. She’d jump out one if she needed to.

“Move over. Let me show you how it’s done.”

Someone knocked on the door again. Erin froze, and then went back. Very slowly, she opened the door.

a different species maybe? 

A giant lizard—no, a miniature dragon that looked sort of like a human stared down at Erin. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall. His scales were light green, and he had sharp, sharp claws on each hand. When he smiled she saw his teeth. Oh, and he had a forked tongue.

“Hello Miss. Sorry if we—”

Erin shut the door, bolted it, and dragged a table in front of it. She could feel her heart pounding out of her chest as she pushed another table in the way. Knives were no good. She’d have to jump out a window after all.

ok yeah i think erin is having a bit of an over reaction but hey, shes had a tough couple of days 

“Good job not scaring her.”

“Shut up.”

Were they talking? Erin listened hard. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t hold anything.

“Now what? I do not believe breaking and entering would be appropriate at this moment.”

“What, are you crazy? Let me talk. That was just a misunderstanding caused by seeing your face. I’ll straighten all this out.”

One voice was higher than the other and had a strange clicking quality about it. Erin guessed that was the insect’s. The other, the lizardman, pronounced his words with elongated s’s. And they were both speaking in English.

“Hello? Miss? We’re not dangerous.”

welp we have an insect and a reptile at the door and erin hasnt said anything 

to the window. But she had to ask.

“…Are you a dragon?”

She heard a surprised laugh from outside the door.

“Am I a dragon? Aha. Haha. Well, that’s just—oh, bite me. I mean, do I look like one? Maybe I do. What do you think?”

“You are blushing.”

“Be quiet. I’m in a good mood now.”

The lizardman raised his voice again.

“Excuse me? I’m not a dragon, Miss Human. I’m just a lowly Drake in service to the city watch. Me and my idiot partner were on patrol when we noticed the smoke. May we come in? I promise we won’t bite.”

“Or inflict other forms of bodily or mental harm upon you.”

“Shut up. Are you trying to scare her?”

no that is not a dragon erin, but hey it seems you have flattered the reptile. also it seems the insect isnt that good at social interactions 

Erin debated. Somewhere in her mind she was trying to decide whether she should be laughing or panicking. And if she was going to laugh, would it be funny laughter or hysterics?

She couldn’t decide. So instead—

“Um. Give me a moment. I’ll open this door.”

“Thank you very much.”

Erin dragged the tables out of the way and hesitantly unlatched the door. She opened it and stared at the insect and giant lizard again. The insect just stared at her. The lizard on the other hand opened its mouth and curved its lips upward. It might have been a smile.

“…Hi.”

wonderful start erin, wonderful start 

Erin’s hand tensed on the door. The lizard guy put his hand on the door and stopped her from closing it.

“Sorry, sorry Miss. We’re not here to hurt you, I promise.”

Erin hoped that was the case. She couldn’t budge the door an inch. But this wasn’t the time for flight, right? She took a different tact.

“Want something to eat?”

The lizardman blinked.

“Um, sure.”

“Okay. That’s great.”

Erin opened the door slowly. The lizardman smiled and carefully stepped inside. The giant insect walked in too and gave her a polite nod.

“Good evening.”

“…Hi.”

it seems her new [inkeeper] instincts could be kicking in. 

“Food’s over there.”

“Ooh! Pasta! This is good stuff!”

The lizardman—Drake rubbed his hands together. The noise the scales made sounded like sandpaper. He went to sit at the table but the insect guy paused.

“I would gladly partake of nourishment if offered. However we would not wish to deprive you of your meal.”

“What? No. I’ve got lots of pasta.”

Erin pointed vaguely back to the kitchen.

“Let me just get a plate and…forks. Do you uh, want a drink? I’ve got water.”

“I’ll have a glass if that’s alright.”

“I will accept the pasta and water as well. But may I inquire if you have any bugs?”

“…No. No I do not.”

“A pity.”

a bug eating bugs, ironic 

“Here. Uh, I’ve got juice as well. Want a glass?”

“Oh, thank you. It’s…blue.”

“Yeah. I made it myself. It tastes good, really.”

“Well, I’ll gladly accept. Klbkch, you want any?”

“I will pass for the moment. We should get down to business rather than partake of food.”

“In a moment. Let’s eat first. This looks good!”

Erin stared. Here was an opportunity. She had two creatures who could not only speak English for some reason, but were also not inclined to kill her and were eating her food. There were so many questions she could ask about herself, about where she was, about everything really.

It might be her questions would decide her ultimate fate. Probably not, but they were certainly important. But before Erin could ask any of the questions, including how a ‘Drake’ and giant ant learned to use a knife and fork, she had to ask again.

“…Are you sure you’re not a dragon?”

i hope the juice isnt poisonous to these people! also business? they are presumably from that settlement, but what sort of business could they have? 

“…So someone on the walls spotted the smoke and called it in. Since it didn’t seem like a grassfire and since we knew this place was abandoned years ago the Captain decided to send someone to check it out.”

“To put in succinctly: we saw the fire and decided to investigate.”

The giant lizard turned and glared at his ant-man companion.

“That’s what I said.”

“You said it poorly. I am merely rephrasing your words for the benefit of all.”

“See, this. This is why no one else is willing to be your partner.”

“Your hurtful remarks are unnecessary. Besides which, I believe we are getting off track. We are in the presence of a member of the general public, remember.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

The lizardman cleared his throat. It sounded weird to Erin; much deeper and bassy than normal.

Actually, everything was weird to Erin at the moment. Not least were the two creatures sitting across from her. 

oooo some local guardsmen! so they are from the settlement. 

“Miss?”

Erin jumped.

“Me? Hi, yes, me.”

The lizardman gulped down some of the blue juice.

“Sorry, but can we ask you a few question about where you’re from? It’s pretty odd to find a Human out here, let alone in an abandoned place like this. Not that we mean to pry, it’s just that it’s kind of our job to ask these questions.”

“What? Oh, it’s no problem. Ask away.”

im going to skip over a bit, its just erin saying shes from earth and them being confused as to what earth is 

“Look. It’s complicated and I can’t really explain. But would you believe…magic? Like a crazy, crazy, uh, teleportation spell?”

“Oh, a teleportation spell? Was it a misfire or did someone target you?”

“Um. I didn’t see anything when it happened. I just sort of turned the corner and—look, the point is I suddenly appeared around here. And then…dragon.”

“I told you. It’s flattering, but I’m not a drag—oh.”

The ant-man leaned forward.

“Do you mean to say you found a dragon? Somewhere around this area?”

Erin blinked.

“Is uh, that a bad thing? I mean, it’s a dragon yeah, but isn’t he…?”

ooo a teleportation spell gone wrong. thats a good cover story 

“Look. It’s getting sort of embarrassing. I’m not a dragon. I’m a Drake. And yeah, we’re distantly related cousins but dragons are seriously bad news. They eat folks. You said you saw one?”

“It breathed at me. Fire. And then I was chased by little green men.”

“Goblins.”

“Right, them. And then I found a giant dino-bird—”

“A what?”

“A big…big leathery thing. With wings.”

“Oh, right. Those annoying things.”

“And there was a crab-rock, I mean, a rock-crab, and then I found blue fruits before that and…I met you two. A not-dragon and an insect. Who don’t want to eat me? Or is that after the meal?”

The lizard guy looked shocked and offended.

“Of course we wouldn’t eat you! That’s barbaric and besides, it’s illegal. I mean, okay, sure, it happens sometimes in distant villages but we wouldn’t do that. Right, Klbkch?”

oo we have a name! looks hard for a human to say. i shall be using his nickname of klb, which is what the community largely uses when referring to him 

The lizard man turned to his friend.

“Indeed. We would not violate our duty as guardsmen.”

“Your duty? You’re…guardsmen? And you…you’re K—kbch?”

The insect man raised one feeler.

“Our pardons. We have not introduced ourselves. Allow me to correct this mistake. I am Klbkch, Senior Guardsmen in employ of the city. This is my partner.”

“Relc!”

The lizardman raised his glass.

“And this blue juice tastes good!”

“Indeed. And I must apologize again, but our true intent in coming here was to ascertain the danger posed here.”

thought it was obvious from before, but yeah, guardsmen as i said earlier.

Erin looked around.

“From what? Me?”

“Not you, specifically. Really, it could be anything. We thought it might be a random fire, or a few Goblins. If there were some stupid kids on the other hand, we’d be dragging them back right now since it’s dangerous to stay here.”

Erin met his gaze in alarm. He had very yellow eyes with black pupils.

“Danger? Why danger? Is there something wrong with me staying here?”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with you staying here. Aside from dying, that is.”

“Dying?”

Relc kicked Klbkch under the table.

“It’s just a possibility. This uh, place is sort of bad. For your health.”

Erin looked blank. Klbkch cut in.

“The plague. This location was once a small community until everyone here died. Horribly.”

Erin put her head in her hands.

“So am I going to die by puking out my guts or something?”

“Actually, the plague symptoms manifest themselves as—”

Relc kicked Klbkch again.

“Why don’t you shut up and let me talk? Look, Miss Human. You’re probably not sick if you’re still walking around.”

“And not oozing.”

well now we know why the village was abandoned, and why the skeleton was in the bed upstairs! 

“Shut up. Ahem. We were just sent here to make sure no Goblins or nasty creatures started living here. We’ve got no problem with Humans. Well, at least the non-violent kind.”

“Indeed. There is no law against occupying this area.”

They both stared at her. Erin felt compelled to speak.

“Good. Thanks?”

“Right.”

“Indeed.”

“…Want another plate of pasta?”

“Oh, sure.”

“I will have another as well.”

Erin ladled noodles onto each plate. The diners were silent for a moment as each slurped down their noodles, or in the case of Klbkch, did something complex with its mouth-hole. Erin didn’t look closer.

After a while Relc put down his fork.

“This really is quite good. How’d you make this all the way out here?”

“Oh, I found some flour and butter and stuff in one of the cupboards. It had a runey…thing on the shells.”

“That would be a preservation spell. It is quite common among higher-class establishments.”

“But you cooked it, then? Do you have levels in a [Chef] class, then?”

Erin stared at Relc.

“Levels? Oh. No. I’ve got levels in uh, [Innkeeper].”

“Oh, I see, I see. That’s convenient. Did you earn them here?”

“Uh, yeah. Every time I fell asleep I kept leveling. I’m uh, level 4.”

“Not bad! Especially if you just got here a few days ago. Did the notification wake you up right as you were falling asleep? I hate that.”

yep, the system is a widespread thing. also of course those runes would be widespread, they are very useful 

once again going to skip over a bit because its just erin asking about leveling and all that 

“Hey!”

Relc’s fist smashed into the table. Every plate on the table jumped into the air and Erin nearly fell out of her chair. She looked at Relc. He was scowling, but when he glanced at her pale face he stopped and looked guilty.

“Um. Sorry about that. Really. But uh, can we talk about that name?”

“N-name?”

“Yeah. You um, called me a lizard person, right?”

“Is that wrong?”

“…Yes. Yes, it is. I’m a Drake, not one of the lizardfolk. There’s a big difference.”

“Sorry. Sorry about that.”

“Uh, don’t apologize. Look, maybe I overreacted a bit. I’m not uh, mad…”

Klbkch kicked Relc under the table.

“I believe it was my turn to do that. Apologize to the Human for your rudeness.”

“…Yeah, sorry.”

Relc bowed his head down low, until the spiny crest on his head nearly touched the tabletop. Erin waved her hands urgently.

“Oh no, no. Please don’t do that. I didn’t know it was so rude. If I’d have known I’d have never—there’s a big difference between lizard people and Drakes, right?”

“Only a few differences, but the animosity between their cultures is—”

“Shut up. I’m still sorry. But yeah, there’s a big difference. I mean, sure most Humans can’t tell us apart, but the lizardfolk live near water and can breathe underwater too, some of them. Whereas we Drakes like drier climates. We enjoy warm sun, open spaces…”

“Nice rocks to laze about upon while we should be performing our duties.”

“You’re just an overgrown ant. You be quiet. Anyways, we’re special. Those guys are just amphibians that learned to walk on two legs. We’re related to Dragons. We’ve got special powers.”

“Like what?”

“We can breathe fire. Some of us can, at least.”

Relc sat back and folded his arms with a triumphant grin. Erin and Klbkch stared at him in silence.

ah yes, this large racial thing. what they dont say now is that lizardfolk live on an entirely different continent 

“We’re still cool, right?”

Erin grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Then she winced in regret. She’d used her bad hand.

“Ooh, nasty. What happened there?”

“What, this? It’s nothing, it—”

Klbkch stood up suddenly. Erin flinched, but he raised two of his spindly arms.

“Please, I mean no harm. But your hand. May I see it?”

Erin hesitated. Then she slowly extended her hand. On the outside her bandage was grey and red with congealed blood. Some dripped to the floor.

He, if it was a he, inspected her hand carefully. Then he looked up.

“Again, apologies. But could I trouble you to remove the bandage?”

Erin hesitated. But then she slowly unwrapped her hand. And flinched. The pain that had been slumbering in her hand suddenly flared, and something dripped to the floor.

It was yellowish white pus. It dripped from her wound. And the wound itself was different. Instead of the thin red line it had changed. Parts of the injury were darker red and—Erin looked away.

Relc hissed softly. However, Klbkch made no sound. He inspected her wound for a few seconds, his antennae moving slowly and then looked at her.

“Yeah. Um, yeah.”

Erin tried to breathe. Her hand was suddenly burning.

“It—sorry, it’s a mess. I cut my hand and I guessed it just got infected, but—”

“It is not an infection.”

“What?”

“It is poison. Of a sort.”

“You sure? It doesn’t feel like—”

“There is a fish in the rivers near here. It secretes a mucus that damages the area it touches. Such as in this case. I have seen several similar afflictions as a guardsman.”

“You have? I mean, it’s not an infection?”

good to know she isnt plague infested, but it seems those fish were worse that i thought! 

“Please, do not be alarmed. This is treatable. Allow me.”

He reached down. Erin looked and saw him pull something out of a belt pouch at his waist. She blinked as he held up a bottle full of a shimmering, emerald-green liquid.

“This is a low-grade healing potion. If you pour it over your injury it should heal your affliction.”

Gently, Klbkch uncorked the bottle and held it out to Erin. She accepted it gingerly, but hesitated.

“This is—I mean, is it safe? For humans?”

Klbkch and Relc both nodded. Relc was eying his partner but the ant man was intent.

“Please, believe me. It will heal you.”

Erin stared into his eyes. They were compound eyes, large ones. Brown and fractal. Like and ant’s. And they were creepy as hell, but Erin decided she could still trust them.

She gripped the potion tightly in her left hand and poured it slowly over the open wound on her right hand. She gasped in shock.

“Are you alright?”

“It—it doesn’t hurt!”

Relc snorted gently. It sounded like a leaf blower starting up.

“Of course not. Why wound anyone make a healing potion that hurts when you use it? But look at that!”

He pointed. Erin’s eyes went down to the cut in her hand. It was closing up with amazing speed. The flesh was joining together and in an instant, the entire cut vanished. She gaped.

yay healing potions! a staple of fantasy, but still good to know they can heal this sort of injury 

Klbkch plucked the half-empty bottle from her hands before she dropped it. She was too busy poking at her hand to realize, but when he’d stoppered the bottle she turned and gave him a huge hug.

“Thank you—ow!”

“Apologies. It is unwise to hug those with exoskeletons. Please, are you hurt?”

i agree, dont hug those with hard outer shells

“I will accept gladly. But for now I am full, and I believe it is time to be going. We would not wish to intrude upon your hospitality for too long.”

Relc paused as he gulped down more blue fruit juice.

“We wouldn’t?”

“We are still on duty, if you recall. The Captain will be expecting a report. If we do return, we will have more time to socialize.”

“Or, and hear me out. Or…we could have more food and stay here longer.”

“I am sure you would prefer that. But we are being paid to work, not to enjoy ourselves. Moreover you are eating all of this Human’s dinner.”

Relc glanced at the table. He stood up immediately.

“Right. Well, let’s be going. Um, sorry about that Miss. Here, let me just pay for the food…”

Erin tried to protest but a scaly hand prized hers open gently and deposited several copper coins and two silver ones into her palm.

“I insist. That blue drink is really good by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, we’ll be off then. Good night to you.”

The two left the inn. Erin watched them go. She went to go sit down and sat on the floor. And stayed still for another hour.

probably a good way to calm down after that 

Relc and Klbkch left the inn. They began walking through the grass under the night sky. It was cool, but both moved quickly. Each one scanned the landscape as they walked and kept their hands on the spear and sword at their sides. They weren’t nervous; just wary.

After a while Relc spoke.

“What a lonely girl.”

“Is it female? I couldn’t tell.”

“I can. It’s the mammary glands.”

“Breasts, I think they’re referred to. Or maybe the word is tits.”

“Really? I thought those were birds.”

“That’s what I heard some small Humans saying once. But she’s female. And young, correct?”

“Yeah, I’d bet on it. I’m not sure why a Human would be out here anyways, let alone in that place.”

oo we get some of the guards thoughts! this should be interesting 

“Inquiring into other’s personal affairs is only a matter for the Guards while we’re on duty. Respecting another’s personal space is a principle of social interaction.”

“Shut up. She just seems lonely, that’s all. Why else would a Human female want to hang out with a Drake and an overgrown bug?”

Klbkch was silent for a while.

“Do you believe she is a lawbreaker or fearful for her life?”

“Even if she was, who’d hide there? You’d have to be mad, or maybe a mage or priest to risk that.”

“True. But at least we are certain it’s safe now. She would  be dead within the day if it were still deadly.”

“Bet she didn’t know. And her expression when we walked in—she’s never seen a Drake or an Insect before in her life.”

“I would prefer that you call my species by their proper name.”

“What do you think? I bet she’s some kind of runaway, or a child that got lost separated from her clan.”

“…”

“Fine. Antinium. Happy?”

quick retcon here, priests are gone for a reason we shall see later, so she cant be a priest. this sort of error is fixed in the $5 version on amazon 

“Her being a runaway would be most likely. I find it hard to believe any Human would wander so far into the grasslands by accident and she did not seem to be looking for directions.”

“Bastard.”

“You are correct in at least one definition of the word. But speculation is pointless in any case. We investigated the smoke and now we can make our report. She is not breaking the law in any case since the inn was abandoned nearly three years ago.”

“What about the Dragon? Do you think she made that up?”

“She was not lying, at least not intentionally. However…”

“Yeah. A Dragon? Really?”

“It seems more likely that she was hallucinating. Perhaps she ran into a fire breathing Wyvern, or lesser monster. But I doubt she would have survived meeting a true Dragon.”

“Plus, we’d know if a Dragon lived around here. They’re pretty obvious.”

“Indeed.”

“So…scared Human female? Not a threat?”

“That was my assessment.”

“Right, right. Let’s tell the Captain and get some sleep. Or rather, I’ll sleep and you do your creepy standing hibernation thing.”

“Agreed. And it is very restful. You should attempt it sometime.”

“Pass.”

yes i dont think a single human female is a threat 

The two walked in silence for quite some time. The road back to the city was long, and in any case they were still alert for potential dangers that might be sneaking up on them. Not that either had much to fear from most predators so long as they kept their eyes and earholes open, but you never knew.

After a long time Klbkch broke the silence.

“So, shall we return tomorrow?”

“Oh, definitely. Right after work?”

“We may be able to fit checking in there as part of our duties if we convince the Captain it is necessary.”

Relc slapped Klbkch on the back of his exoskeleton. “Now you’re thinking like a Drake.”

“I will endeavor not to in the future.”

“Go roast yourself.”

They walked on for another few minutes until Relc broke the silence again.

“So, a lesser healing potion of no worth, huh?”

“Would you have had me tell her the true value?”

“No, no. It’s for the best. Mind you, I think she figured it out.”

“…Perhaps.”

“How are you going to explain that to the Captain, huh?”

“I will deduct the cost from my pay. Besides which, it was used to protect a civilian.”

“You’re a regular saint, huh? Trying to level up your [Saint] class?”

“You know fully well that I have no levels in any class of the kind. I was merely being kind.”

ooo i see the antinium (funny story actually, i was spelling it as antininum for months till i read the word on its own once and realized my mistake) used a pretty expensive potion 

The two walked on in silence. Eventually Relc spoke again.

“It’s not that I’m not interested. I have an open mind! I wouldn’t mind looking. If I was offered. They’ve got nothing on good scales, but I could get over the fleshiness. Maybe.”

“Deviant.”

“Shut up.”

“She was quite nice in any case. It was pleasant talking to her.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m glad we didn’t have to kill her.”

“Indeed.”

yes, lets not kill the protagonist in the 8th chapter. this isnt game of thrones 

Erin sat against one wall. She was falling asleep. She wanted to run around screaming about lizardmen—Drakes, walking ants, and a crazy world but that was passé. Besides, she’d already done that for a few hours anyway.

Her mind was swimming. Her eyes were drooping. Erin was about to fall asleep. But her hand didn’t hurt. So she was smiling.

At last her mind finally blanked. Erin’s breathing deepened, her eyes closed. She slept.

[Innkeeper Level 5!]

[Skill – Basic Crafting obtained!]

“…Just let me sleep.”

as the drake said, thats annoying, but it seems her first time doing the job of an innkeeper got her a level! and a skill, i wonder what [basic crafting] applies to?

either way, thats the end of the chapter! will erin be able to trust these people? will erin ever go to the settlment? will these people be ordered to kill her? we shall find out next time! 

see you tomorrow! 

#chrono