Asher's Futa Fantasy Ch. 23

Time passes for our crew, and there's talk. Then Remmi gets a little crazy, and Asher falls off the rails.

Enjoy!

***

Chapter 23

ASHER

A week had passed since that exhausting night. Remmi and I had quickly grown into our armor. We'd worn it everywhere, trying to get used to it. By the end of that week, it had molded to our bodies and was now like a second skin to us.

We had a few raw spots to get used to, but they were worth it the first time we fought with real weapons.

Getting hit with a blunted sword feels completely different than a sharp one. You'd think they'd be similar, but they weren't. One felt like getting hit with a hammer, the other like a hammer driving a spike into you. While the blade wasn't piercing the armor, it still had a nasty feeling of sharpness to it.

"OK, what's the deal with your ink?" I asked one evening at dinner.

Rhi and Tara looked at me.

"What about it?" Rhi asked.

"You have moving tattoos!" I said, holding my hands out to the exposed flesh where ink slid across it randomly.

"Oh!" Tara said. "OK, so I told you it was a tribal thing from my village, right? So, anytime someone gets married in my village, each party receives the tattoos. They are mirrored on each other and detail their lives together."

"Detail their lives?" Remmi asked.

"Yes," Tara continued. "Each symbol depicts something that has happened in our life together. Most never leave our village and only end up with their arms covered. But the more things you experience in life, the more things appear."

"And since your backs are already covered..." I trailed off.

"It means we're probably going to end up inked from head to toe," Rhi said with a grin before leaning over and kissing Tara.

"But, how do they move?" Remmi asked.

Tara shrugged, "That's just how they are. They all move."

"What do you think?" Remmi looked at me. "Wanna get inked together?" She grinned at me.

"You can't," Tara said with a grimace.

"Why not?" Remmi asked with an irked tone.

"You have to be a member of my tribe, and the ceremony has to be held by my village elder," Tara said, holding her hands out apologetically.

"Can't you do it?" I asked suddenly. I don't know why, but I did.

"I'm not the village elder," Tara said.

"You are here," Shae added.

Tara looked at Shae in question.

"You are the oldest member of your tribe here," Shae said.

Tara looked at Rhi.

"Hey, I'm like 38!" Rhi said. "That doesn't make me your elder, Miss 138!"

"You're 138?" Remmi asked Tara in shock.

"Something like that," Tara shrugged and looked at Shae. "I guess I could do the ceremony."

"You could marry us?" Remmi perked up.

"That's what the village elder does," Tara smiled. "I kinda like the sound of that. Village Elder Tara." Tara grinned.

"Would it work?" I asked.

"You would have to be made members of the tribe," Tara said.

"Do you know how to do that too?" Shae asked.

"Of course," Tara said. "It's another of the elder's duties."

"Holy shit!" Remmi said and turned to me excitedly.

"Hang on a minute," I cautioned. "Mom and Dad would not only be crushed, but they'd kill us if we got married and they weren't here!"

This reigned Remmi in, but not by much.

"Hmmm..." Remmi said as she chewed on her lip.

"Besides," I added. "If we were to get married right now, it would be because you wanted cool magic tattoos. Not because you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me."

"Ouch, OK," Remmi said. "You didn't have to go THAT far."

I nudged her affectionately.

"Tell you what," I said. "When we finally do, then we can work something out with Tara. How's that sound?" I turned to Tara, "That alright with you?"

"Works for me," Tara said. "But fair warning, the party afterward lasts a week."

"And you'll be shitfaced for nearly all of it," Rhi said, nodding. "It's a requirement."

"Why aren't you two inked up?" Remmi asked Shae and James.

"Uh," James answered intelligently.

"Never occurred to us," Shae filled in. "Besides, we're already married." Shae leaned over and kissed James swiftly.

While that was percolating in the back of my mind, something else popped up.

"Shae?" I asked.

"Yes?" Shae looked up.

"Why did we have to put a bag on our heads to get here?" I asked.

Shae got a sour look on her face, and she started tapping her chin.

"Let's just say the occupants of the shortcut we use don't want to be known," Shae said. "That was the deal we made in order to use it. Otherwise, we have to go through the mountains, which takes much longer. Is that good enough?"

"Yeah," I said sourly, not liking secrets but respecting the deal. "Do you think they'd ever let us meet them?"

"I doubt it," Shae said. "But I promise, I'll let you know if it ever comes up."

"Honestly, you might enjoy the mystery more than the truth," James said. "What you come up with in your imagination is usually more fun anyway."

"You're telling me," Remmi muttered, and everyone chuckled. "Did I say that out loud?" Everyone laughed harder.

I looked around the table at the four people Remmi and I had gotten to know intimately over the past several weeks. The more I thought about them, the more I dreaded leaving here in a week.

"I really don't want to go back," Remmi said as if reading my mind.

"It's best that you do," Shae said. "We don't want your family thinking we kidnapped you now, do we? They already have a sorted opinion of us."

"Why?" Remmi said. "You haven't done anything to them."

"We," Rhi started, indicating the gestalt. "We represent your old Bio Hab. We'll always be a reminder of what you've lost."

"But you saved us!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, our family should be down on their knees thanking you--Don't go there!" Remmi said the last part directed at me, causing me to bite back the lewd comment I was about to make.

"That's just how it is," Rhi said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, it's still not right," I said stubbornly.

"Besides, you guys need to get out and socialize," James said. "No one was ever a successful adventurer by staying home."

"Shut up," I snapped and then muttered, "Where do you get off being all reasonable and shit? You're supposed to be the hot boy toy who's trying to entice us into staying. Isn't that a vampire's MO?"

"Oh please, please stay," James said in a flat, bored tone.

I threw my fork at him, which he caught, of course, and passed back.

"Spend a month back home," Shae started.

"A month!?" Remmi bellowed.

"Spend a month," Shae continued. "Convince your family you're not brainwashed. Then, when we come back, we can see how things are."

"Yeah," Rhi chimed in. "Who knows, you might be sick of us by then."

"Doubt it," Remmi mumbled.

"You're planning on coming back?" I asked.

"Yes, we're all coming this time," Shae said.

"I want to check on my forge," Tara said.

"Now that we're more-or-less established up here, we can make visits back every month or so to say hello and pick up supplies."

"You have Patty getting you supplies, don't you?" Remmi said suddenly.

"Actually, yes. How'd you know?" Shae asked.

"We're usually the ones helping her unload. Some of the stuff she was bringing in from town didn't really belong in a surgery. I thought she was just picking up for others at The Roadhouse."

"No," Shae said and shook her head. "We really can't go into town. It's too dangerous for us. Just coming to visit The Roadhouse is a risk."

"What are you guys so scared of?" I asked.

The four of them looked at each other before answering.

"If we're spotted here, on this Bio Hab, we'll have to leave and never come back," James said.

"Yes," Shae added. "And we've grown rather fond of being here." Her blue eyes locked on mine, and I took the hint.

Everyone was quiet then.

"Way to bring down the mood," Rhi said, finally breaking the silence.

"Wait a minute," Remmi said. "Y'all have been to The Roadhouse quite a bit since we've been here. How are y'all keeping people from recognizing you now?"

"Yeah," Rhi said and looked around. "The first week aside, every time we've visited, we've been in disguise."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We have a way... of hiding our identity for short periods," Rhi said.

"Oh," Remmi started. "Is it a vampire thing?"

James snorted. "No, it's a technology thing."

"But you always look the same," Remmi said.

"To you, yes," Rhi said. "But to others, they don't see us as we truly are."

"Can't you just use this all the time and go to town and such?" I asked.

"It only works for short periods," Shae added. "And it doesn't hold up to close inspection."

"We've jury-rigged something to do something it's not supposed to," James said. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Fine," Remmi muttered, dejected.

I stabbed a tomato on my plate with my fork and held it up to examine it.

"Where did y'all get tomatoes?" I asked. "I haven't seen a tomato since we got here, and I've looked!"

It was true. There weren't any in the market, not even seeds. When asked, nobody had any idea what we were talking about.

"Tara grows them in the fields down by the lake," Rhi said.

"This time of year?" I asked. I didn't know a lot about tomatoes, but I knew most vegetables didn't like the winter.

"The fields here are enchanted," James said. "We can pretty much grow anything year-round."

"They can do that?" Remmi asked.

"Yes," Tara said. "Seems there are mages here that specialize in all sorts of things, even farming!" Tara grinned.

"But where'd you find the seed?" I asked.

"They were in one of the supply cupboards," Tara said.

"Huh," I said and chewed my lip.

"What?" Shae asked.

"I just haven't seen anything here with tomatoes before," I said.

"It would be nice to have some ketchup," Remmi added.

"I'll see what I can do," Tara smiled.

"Cards?" James asked brightly, trying to lift the mood.

"Not tonight," I said and stifled a yawn. "I was happy just to make it through dinner. I'm off to bed, alone this time!" I said and pointed at Tara, who looked like she was about to jump up. "You coming?" I asked Remmi.

"I'll be down in a bit," Remmi said.

"OK, be safe," I said and leaned down to kiss her goodnight.

I wasn't accosted as I made my way back to my room. When I finally shut my door, I wasn't sure if I was happy or disappointed that I was alone. I really was tired and you never knew what the gestalt were going to get up to.

I took a quick shower and passed out in bed before waking sometime later. Remmi still wasn't back yet. While I wasn't worried, something started gnawing at the back of my mind and wouldn't let me go back to sleep. So, I got up.

I threw on some night clothes and made my way back upstairs. I paused on the stairs when I heard the moaning. I carefully peeked over the lip of the floor and saw something going on in the far distance, but couldn't tell what it was from here.

I ducked back downstairs and tried to make my way to a closer stairwell, but when I poked my head up, I realized I wasn't where I wanted to be. So, I ducked down and tried again.

*First left, first right, third stairwell,* The voice of Margeist filled my head.

I glanced around and only caught the tip of his tail as he was walking in the other direction at the far end of the hall.

"How does he do that?" I whispered.

*You're in my house,* Margeist said and then was gone.

I followed his directions and popped up right next to the living area where the moaning had come from. I could see everything perfectly now.

Remmi was naked, lying on her back on top of the card table. James was slowly fucking her while Rhi's pussy was in Remmi's face. Tara was slowly raking her clawed fingertips across Remmi's chest while Remmi was blindly fingering her. I didn't see Shae.

James took his time with Remmi. Obviously, there was no rush intended, and Remmi moaned in appreciation.

Rhi was stroking Remmi's hair with loving affection as she watched Remmi's tongue lapping at her eagerly.

Tara let out a moan as Remmi touched something that she liked. There were tiny red lines all over Remmi's torso from Tara's claws. None of them had broken the skin, but as I watched, Remmi shuddered every time a new line was drawn.

I couldn't help but smile. Remmi was obviously enjoying herself, and I wasn't about to interfere with that. So, with a little sigh, I slipped back downstairs and right into Shae.

She'd been waiting at the bottom of the stairs, but off to the side where I couldn't see her.

Shae gave me the once over before nodding her head in a direction that was not back toward our rooms. She waited to see if I would accept her invitation.

I nodded, and she held her hand out for me. I took it, feeling slightly silly, like a schoolgirl holding hands with her best friend on the way to school. But I still let her lead me away.

Shae's hand was soft and warm, as it always was. I glanced at it and realized with a start that I might be in trouble here--not from her, but from my emotions about her. This was very similar to how I realized I had feelings for Remmi, and that thought made me nervous. Was I an emotional slut too?

Shae stopped in front of a bathroom door and reached for the handle.

Inside was not the typical bathroom I was used to; this was something else altogether. It was a tiled room with several shower spots. But instead of a stand-up shower, there was a stool to sit on and a hand-held shower wand.

"They won't hear us now," Shae said after she closed the door.

"What is this?" I asked, looking around.

"This is a bath modeled after ones found in Japan. It's not an exact replica, of course; Rhi couldn't remember every detail," Shae said.

"Rhi made this?" I asked, looking around.

"She asked Margeist to make it. He's the only one who can change things around here," Shae said. "Have you ever used one of these before?"

"Not even a little bit," I said.

"That's all right," Shae said with a smile, I'll show you how." With that, she took off the robe she was wearing and hung it up on a peg by the door.

I shed my clothes as well and took a seat beside her at the shower wands.

Shae gave me a brief rundown on what to do and how to wash myself in this fashion. I'd already had a shower earlier, but after having watched Remmi's little sex show, I could use another one.

When we were finally done, Shae led me into the next room.

"What the--" I started and stared around me in amazement.

There was a large pool of crystal-clear water surrounded by rocks and water features. Bamboo walls lined the perimeter of the room, and a clear night sky hung above us. It wasn't a painting.

"Is that really the sky?" I asked.

"No," Shae said, leading me to the pool's edge. "This place has a few of Behemoth's features, such as being able to make a realistic sky. The large room upstairs is much like the training rooms on Behemoth. It can create almost anything if it is in aid of training."

"Wow," I said, still staring at the stars twinkling above me.

"Can you see why this place must be kept secret now? If some of the tech here were to fall into the wrong hands..." Shae let the sentence trail off.

I could fill in the blanks for myself.

"Careful, it's hot," Shae said.

I finally glanced down and saw her slipping into the pool of now steaming water. I hadn't noticed the steam before; I was too busy taking in all the room had to offer.

"And Margeist made this?" I said in disbelief.

"Don't let his appearance fool you," Shae said and sighed as she sank into the water up to her shoulders.

"Wow!" I exclaimed as I put my foot into the water. It really was hot!

"Best to just keep going," Shae giggled at me.

I gritted my teeth and lowered myself into the steaming water's embrace. Immediately sweat broke out on my forehead as it felt like tiny daggers were poking me everywhere the water touched.

"People enjoy this?" I asked as I settled next to Shae. The pool wasn't that deep. I could sit in it, and my head stayed above water. There were also small stone benches along the edge if you wanted to sit a bit higher.

"Give it a moment," Shae said as she closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall of the pool.

The wall and floor weren't what I was used to with a swimming pool. Instead of tile, it felt like soft earth. But when you tried to dislodge it, it stayed in place. The water stayed clear as well.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"So," I said after a moment. "Exactly what was going on upstairs?"

Shae smiled but kept her eyes closed.

"Your sister basically asked for a gang bang," Shae said.

The words didn't sound natural coming from her mouth.

"Really?" I said, a bit surprised that Remmi had been so upfront about it.

"She seemed to be in a state," Shae said.

"I think she's nervous about going home," I said after a moment. "She's afraid she's going to be missing out."

"Missing out?" Shae asked, this time her eyes opening. She took a handful of water and ran it over her face.

"On the four of you," I said. "I can't blame her," I shrugged. "Y'all are amazing."

"Well, we do try," Shae said with a grin and closed her eyes again.

I stared at the woman and watched the rivulets of water slowly slide down her face.

"I take it you didn't partake with Remmi?" I asked.

"Oh, I did," Shae said quietly. "But I was a bit tired myself and headed downstairs not long after. That's when I saw you stalking the shadows."

"I wasn't stalking!" I countered.

"Sneaking? Does that sound better?" she asked.

"Sure, I guess," I said with a sigh and closed my own eyes.

A few moments of silence passed.

"Why didn't you join her after you saw what was going on?" Shae's voice floated to me.

This time, I didn't open my eyes when I answered.

"If she'd wanted me there, she would have said so," I said slowly. "She wanted some private time, so I gave it to her."

I felt the water move and opened my eyes to find Shae inches from me.

"You're a good sister," Shae said quietly.

"Oh please," I said, rolling my eyes. "I just didn't want to butt in."

"So, you did want to join her?" Shae asked.

"Of course, I wanted to join her!" I said. "How could I not want to after seeing that scene? It was straight out of a porn video. All it was missing was a pizza delivery guy!"

"But you still let her have it to herself," Shae said.

"Of course I did!" I said, aggravated but not understanding why.

"You're frustrated," Shae said.

I looked at her ridiculous blue eyes that were staring holes in me.

"You're frustrating," I said with a bit of venom.

Shae's eyebrows shot up.

"Me? How?" Shae asked.

"Because I don't want to have to ask you. I just want you to..." I started but couldn't find the words to finish the sentence.

"You want me to what?" Shae asked.

"That's just it. I want you to know what I want without me having to ask or tell you!" I said, exasperated.

"And how could I do that?" Shae asked, this time her voice taking on a new tone I didn't recognize.

"I don't know!" I growled.

"Yes, you do," Shae said.

"I said I don't want to have to tell you!" I spat.

"This," Shae took my chin in her hand and pulled my eyes to hers when I tried to look away. "This is the only thing you must ask me for, Asher. If it was just sex you wanted, you wouldn't have to ask me for that.

"This is important!" Shae snapped at me, the strange moment we were having coming to a head. "If you want THAT, you have to ask. You still don't understand how personal this is, and that's my fault. I threw it at you with James. I regret that now."

"No!" I snapped. "I liked blending with James," I said, my voice softening. "Thank you for doing that."

Shae frowned at me.

"I know what this is. I understand how personal this can be," I said as I gathered my will. "I want you to blend with me. You can tell me no or make me jump through whatever hoops you want me to. But I've been wanting this ever since you showed me with James."

Shae was chewing on her lip.

"Please stop thinking," I said and touched her face gently. "If you keep thinking, I'm afraid you'll turn me down."

Shae said something under her breath that I didn't understand.

"Get dressed," Shae said and stood up in the water, heading for the edge.

"Wait!" I yelled, my hand grabbing her arm to stop her.

Shae stopped and looked down at my hand and then at me. Her other hand gently covered mine.

"Asher, we can't do this here," she said softly, taking my hand from her arm with a strength I couldn't have resisted.

I sulked in silence as we both dried off and got dressed. I followed her silently as we made our way back to our rooms.

"Where are you going?" Shae's voice called out to me as I turned to head to my room.

"My room," I said, dejected.

Then Shae was crushing me in an embrace and kiss that left the hallway spinning when she stopped.

"I said we can't do it there," Shae said kindly. "We might drown if we tried. Now, come along."

My heart was in my throat as Shae took my hand and pulled me to her room.

"I've already told James to sleep somewhere else tonight," Shae said. "Which will more than likely be your bed, just so you know."

"Who cares?" I said, the excitement in my voice as Shae closed us into her room.

"I'm sure your sister cares," Shae said with a grin.

"Oh, fuck that slut," I said flippantly.

"I believe that was their intention," Shae said, pulling me to bed. She pulled me down to sit beside her and looked at me. All the teasing was gone from her face, and now she was back to the seriousness at the pool.

"I'm willing to try this," Shae said slowly. "And I'm pretty sure you want me to push this as far as I can. Is that right?"

"Yes!" I said excitedly.

"You really won't understand what you're asking until you've done it, so let me just say this. If we really do blend, not that little trade you did with James, but we fully blend, you might get lost."

"Lost?" I asked, not understanding.

"You may not remember who you are at the end," Shae began. "You may end up taking some of my traits with you or giving me some of yours. I want you to understand how dangerous this really can be."

"I understand!" I said, practically shaking with excitement.

"Asher!" Shae said and slapped me... hard.

I saw stars, and my vision went red for a moment. When I turned back to Shae, she was angry.

"I'm not doing this if you won't take it seriously!" Shae demanded.

Her tone was enough to sober me up. I'd never heard her like this before.

"I'm listening," I said finally, my voice tiny.

"This is not simply sex, Asher." Shae was still angry, trying to get through my hormones. "Blending is not just about sex. It's about sharing yourself entirely with someone. You'll be stripping your soul bare to me and letting me know everything there is to know about you. You won't be able to lie. You won't be able to hide anything from me because I will be you!"

While I didn't think I had anything to hide from Shae, I was starting to realize what I was really asking of her. If I was going to bear my soul to her, then she would be bearing hers to me. Did I have the right to ask this of her? Should I ask this? Do I want to ask this?

"Thank you!" Shae let out an explosive sigh of relief. "You're finally taking this seriously."

"I'm sorry," I said and cleared my throat. "I didn't realize how serious this really was."

Shae hugged me tightly.

"It's all right," Shae said as she let me go. "I needed you to understand, really understand, what you were asking before we tried."

"Wait, you're still going to blend with me?" I asked

"Now that you understand, yes, I'll try. If that's what you still want," Shae said.

I took a minute to think about it. I'd only known this woman for a few short months. But every part of me wanted this, not just my horny bits. Slowly, I nodded.

Shae's face broke out into a huge grin. "We might end up just having some fantastic sex and never actually blending," Shae said. "This isn't a science. I've told you someone did this to us, and we still don't understand it completely."

"Why not ask the person to explain it?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure they're gone now," Shae said quietly.

The tone of her voice told me everything I needed to know.

"So, y'all are just trying to figure it out on your own?" I asked.

"It's all we can do," Shae said.

"Has Remmi tried it?" I asked.

"She doesn't even know of it yet," Shae said. "Don't look so shocked. I was the one who brought it up to you, after all."

I swore I saw some color come to her cheeks.

"You really do like me, don't you?" I asked suddenly.

"What's not to like with your tight little augmented--" Shae started but stopped when I put my hand to her lips.

"You like me, don't you?" I asked slowly, not moving my hand from her mouth.

Shae gave another of her patented sighs and pulled my hand from her mouth.

"I guess you're going to find out," Shae said. "If we do this."

"No," I said. "Don't do that, don't make this a condition--"

"I like you, Asher, all right? I. Like. You. I can write it down if you'd like," Shae said in frustration. "Asher... I haven't had a lot of relationships... at least not healthy ones. James and the gestalt are the best things that have happened to me. We're not exactly what most would consider 'normal,' if you know what I mean."

I stared at the woman's confused expression and smiled kindly.

"Normal's boring," I said slowly. "Now, shut up and blend me already."

And so, she did.

And we didn't stop blending.

At first, I didn't understand what was happening. Everything was gone. The room, our bodies, everything. All that I could feel was her presence. But we didn't speak.

It was some new-age hippie psycho-Jello shit that I'd never be able to put into words.

Then came the sex. It was as James had said. I didn't know who I was, just that there was sex, and I was part of it, all the parts of it.

I think we took breaks and talked, but I'm not sure--it's all a jumble. I know we went at each other multiple times, not seeming to be able to get enough of one another.

Despite how alien it was and how little I could explain it, it was still the single most amazing experience I'd had in my short life.

Then I woke up and it was two days later.