Hero, Don't Kill The Demon King! Chapter 1: Lives Not Yet Thrown Away

[Nanami Touko]

"Whoa, h-hey there... It's just some blood." It was a little... Exciting? To see Nashwa go from embarrassed and scared to suckling this hard, and the sensation surrounding her was slowly fading away. At least for now... She really had just been missing out on some serious magic intake. This would have to be what solved things for her until she got up the courage to sleep with, anyone...

[scorri]

"Of course. Your fight with Suki showed how strong you are, I have to believe you would make a great add-- OOF!" Whatever else he had been about to say to Ember was lost in an explosion of air as Bladen staggered, managing to just keep his feet under him as a missile of cloth, fur and softness slammed into his side.

"Ah, heh, hello there Asami, I... H-hey now, come on. I just got lucky against her there. You know better than anyone how hard my magic is for me to control. I've got a long way to go before I could do this gauntlet reliably..." Still, however hard he protested, the pink flush in his cheeks showed his happiness at the fox's compliments. And with Suki joining in, the pink was quickly deepening into a red. 

"Ah, thanks Suki. Hey, tell you what, you and me should train together more, alright? You've got some skills with that sword I would love to pick up from you and I have some defensive techniques I could show you, maybe help you take that extra hit you need to push through to win a fight?" He smiled at the wolf girl and ruffled her hair with his free hand, the other having wrapped around Asami's waist at some point.

"Right then. Ember, you've met Suki obviously, but the one who almost knocked me over is Asami, our horned friend is Verah, and the final member of the group over there is Yui. All of us are a part of the larger group here in town, but Asami is the one I wanted to introduce you to specifically. Asami, Ember here is interested in joining up with our group as a mercenary. I uh... Well, I'm not really the person to introduce her to the King. Given, well, everything, but also because I'm not a part of the original group. I thought you might be able to help get Ember all set up as an official mercenary?" The only other person he could think to talk to was Lavinia but last he'd seen her, she'd been with the zombie and he was going to make that his last option.

~~~~

"Ah, yes, I am meaning... Thou and I, perhaps, might go together. To see what the the town has to offer, I mean. I have not seen anything else but this view. And I would not want to keep a friend stuck here, staring out at the barrenness we will soon enough be stuck in." Astrea finally forced herself to turn away from the empty white that had so struck her very core and gestured towards the town. "Perhaps... Perhaps the distraction of life is what we both need? At the very least, I fail to see a hurt in it?"

[Balcerzak]

Wanting for a free hand, Jade lifted the reins to her teeth for a moment, so she could press a finger against Lavinia's lips in the wake of her apology. While stopping her words with a kiss may have been another option, they were still a little too public for her preferences, and once they started down the path there would be no coming back. Then, message conveyed, she returned the reins to her hand and began to park the wagon by the selected inn.

"Did I say it was bad? It may have struck me by surprise, but... I certainly didn't dislike it. There is a certain thrill to hearing you talk dirty. I may have to request it again, sometime..."

The second thing the vampire said gave Jade more pause for thought. Reciprocating the squeeze, she reluctantly separated, then stepped down from the driver's box and walked around to help Lavinia down. Treating her like a lady should be treated. A step in the direction of the request, perhaps? When she'd been young, Jade's fantasies had tended to trend perhaps more typical, a receiver of affections. But the zombie couldn't deny there was a certain charm to being the one driving the bargain, leading the negotiations, and perhaps that could apply here as well?

"We should have enough time for turns, I would think," Jade mused as she helped Lavinia to the ground. "But for the first go... I think I will volunteer for lead, so long as you promise to correct me anytime I, uh, go astray. My experience in these matters is..."

Lacking, a word that went unsaid as a small wave of embarrassment took her voice for a moment.

[GoldsbroTSG]

"Well, uh..." That did pose a small issue with Ren meeting up with Gabi. She didn't really... want to end up third-wheeling with them if that ended up being the case. But maybe... "Well, if Ren's there, I'm sure Gabi wouldn't mind if I tagged along with you after this. Well, if that's okay with you." Marina gave a soft smile. "It's nothing against Gabi either, but... it feels nice, having another human girl around." She shuffled her feet some. It felt weird saying it. Marina had Agni as another human, but it was quite some time before she had another girl she could relate with. She only hoped Lucille wouldn't take it weirdly.

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Lucille tilted her head a little, "Are... are you sure?" In Lucille's head, Marina's request made perfect sense to her. Aside from the girl that was with Gabriela, and Ren, she was the only other human woman in the group as of the moment. She had more than a little inkling of what it was like to feel a bit isolated because of who or what you are. Lucille had, and would continue to deal with both. Deep down though, Lucille was quite happy that Marina wanted to stick around. The less time that Lucille needed to spend on her own thoughts was only a net positive, and Marina was someone she could just talk with. "Well... if you're sure, then we can stick together for the moment." Lucille found herself smiling brightly, perhaps they both could use the company. 

Lucille diverted her gaze as Seilan walked up with his plans, "Oh, uh..." Lucille felt like following along, but she'd just told Marina that they'd stick together, and she still needed her skirt before she could go. But she also quite wanted to see Seilan fight for real; she hadn't gotten to before, so she never got to see how his magic worked. There was also the element of wanting to cheer him on, but no one else but her really needed to know that. "O-okay, I still need a skirt, so I'll be here with Marina a bit longer. D-d-don't go through the arena too quickly, I still haven't seen your magic in action. I, uh... be careful, okay?" Lucille looked at Marina, unsure if the warmth she felt was evident on her face or not, "Now then... Skirts." Fortunately, those were easy to find. Opposite side from where they were standing. With a measured wave, Lucille quickly moved away, almost leaving Marina behind. 

[mcd900]

"Sure, I'll wait. No rush."

---

Seilan stepped into the arena, an ordinary tome at the ready. Apparently a few of the others had already made their attempts at the arena, though he hadn't been around to see any of their battles. What he did know, though, was that none of the local fighters were mages; unpleasant as it was, he was going to have to rely on defeating his opponents before they caught him up close for too long.

The first bout began; his foe, a human bearing a rifle. Thinking to gain the upper hand, he cast quickly at the man, wincing when he saw the spell go wide, and once again at the answering bullet. Not to be deterred, though, his next two strikes of lightning found their target, bringing a quick end to the fight. The second fight saw a similar start, and frustratingly enough, either Jin was rather nimble or his aim was poor. He managed to catch him unawares eventually though, and Jin crumpled rather quickly.

The third, Jerid, fell quickly - two casts of his to one missed swipe of Jerid's blade. The fourth nearly toppled Seilan, wildly firing their blunderbuss; but he pushed past the injury, finishing it before could fire a third time. 

The fifth - the elf with a quick sword hand - fell quickly, though not before getting a hit in of his own, Seilan only managing to remain standing from a lucky evasion. He was able to take the next fight as a breather, though; surprisingly enough, light as his cloak was, it held up well under his foe's katars.

The sixth - his last, win or lose, as there were no more combatants at the arena - was a fistfighter. Though both his spellcasts struck Jiminy, he found himself knocked to the ground, unable to stand, after two swift counter punches. From the ground, he could see his opponent barely standing himself. 

Just... just a little more...! Agh... hell of a punch...

[JakezuGD]

Just some blood, she said, when to Nashwa, getting her mana replenished as directly as this felt almost like an epiphany. The reality of how badly deprived she was, and how completely accurate both Amera and Nessraya were, hit her as soon as she could think about it again, still attached to the cat's finger for a moment. ...That also means. Ugh. I'll just, have to think about it later. I... don't think I've felt this good in years, and this isn't even the best way...

Realizing she was maybe hanging on for a bit too long, the younger succubus blushed and pulled herself back, straightening out with a quick flap of her wings. "Um... T-thanks. I'm feeling fine now. For now, anyway. So..." She took a small sigh, looking back toward Nessraya. "You know my situation better than anyone else. I... might not be able to use my magic that well, but I'm a good shot, and I really need that lift back to Hwein, so I'd formally like to join your force. If that means I get to kick Coteon's ass, all the better. Kinda running out of cards in my deck otherwise."