Daughter of Treason Ch. 04

"Couldn't or wouldn't?"

The words left her mouth before she thought, and she regretted them almost immediately. "Couldn't," said the man, his frown conveying hurt and, she sensed, guilt.

He really tried,she realized. "I'm sorry, that was unjust of me." she said and, more gently, helped Shino inside. When the man just stood outside, neither entering uninvited (giving her an excuse to kick him out) nor making things easy for her by leaving on his own, she invited him in with a sigh.

She practically carried the elf up to the bedroom and began a more thorough inspection. There was a stab wound in his gut, but sure enough the skin was a tender pink, too wide to be naturally occurring, supporting the man's claim of magical healing. He had a bump on his head, painful to be sure but not important enough for the magic energies which sought first to keep subjects alive, and only second to keep them comfortable. This is also likely why Shino's belly was tender; blood loss had been stopped, but muscle had not yet been entirely knitted. The revelation that he had been close enough to death that muscle was de-prioritized shocked her into addressing the human for the first time with two appalled words: "What happened?"

"Your friend," he rumbled with a wry smile, "seemed to think he was some sort of fairytale hero."

"Nuh-uh," mumbled Shino; his eyelids were drooping, and he seemed completely exhausted.

"Yuh-huh," countered the human with a smile before his face turned serious. "Miss, may I have a word?"

She bit back a belligerent and only half thought out response in favor of a more neutral nod. She glanced at Shino who gave her a sleepy wave. Taking it as acquiescence, she followed the human into the hall.

He waited until she half-closed the door to speak. His words were slow and quiet, lending weight to what he said. "Your friend took quite a bit of damage. He stumbled into a... conflict, between some Rats and Craftsmen. He intervened. Explosively. But as impressive as fire bursts are, wizards don't do so well in a melee. He started shouting in some weird language, and made a decent account of himself before one of the rats blindsided him; he was stabbed twice in the gut and was bleeding out when I found him."

Kei covered her mouth with her hand, but the man went on. "I gave him acure minor woundsspell, just to get him stable." Now he looked apologetic. "I had several fighters to save, and couldn't spare more. It wasn't until one of my clansmen arrived with a few more cure spells that he regained consciousness and I learned that he wasn't one of ours! There were other folks he had to heal, so I couldn't get him much better than conscious, but he had mentioned that someone was waiting for him, so I decided to bring him home." He paused, noting the clean but bare decor. "This is home, right?"

"Yes," Kei nodded. "Shino- the elf- he'll... What should I expect from his recovery?"

"Oh, full recovery." He said, before amending, "in time. It might take a week or two, if he doesn't get any more healing, but he should be fine regardless."

She breathed a sigh of relief. They were rare, but some injuries simply could not be healed, and more frequent was when aid had been given, but too little and too late. But Shino did not, if this man was to be believed, have one of those. Half relaxing, she gave a heartfelt, "Thank you."
"Any time." Replied the man with a smile. He hesitated, then gently commented, "Your friend, he, uh, he has quite an unusual appearance, doesn't he?"

Kei froze. This was dangerous ground, and though she tried to give a neutral response, her fierce protectiveness bled through in an icy tone. "He is very unusual and very special person."

"Yes, ah..." The man trailed off. "Would you like me to come back tomorrow and check on him?"

"Yes," she said, grateful that he let the subject drop, "that would be excellent."

"Sure thing. I'm not sure how many healing spells I'll have left, but I'll try to save a couple, just to get him back on his feet."

"Any help you can give would be appreciated," assured Kei as she began subtly herding him down towards the exit. It wasn't so much that she wanted him out, but rather was more that she wanted to be with Shino without worrying about an unknown entity lurking behind her.

The man began giving her a brief but thorough set of instructions on how to care for the elf; keep him off his feet when possible, no rigorous exercise, drink lots of fluids, et cetera. It was all quite basic and, he assured her, not entirely critical; it would help him heal faster, but with modern magic, any complications as a result of poor care could likely be healed with a liberal application of heal spells.

Kei took all this in, but when he paused at the doorway, she tensed. But, rather than launching some sort of last-minute attack as a part of her had feared, he simply extended his hand. "I don't think I properly introduced myself. I'm Gerome."

Cautiously, she extended her own hand, which he grasped firmly and shook. "You may call me Kei."

"Nice to meet you, Kei," he rumbled, seeming unperturbed by her tentativeness, "and I trust you'll treat your man right; there's not many who would stick their necks out to help folks they don't even know. He seems like a good guy, and I think if that sort of behavior were more common, the world would be better off."

"Yes," she said dryly, "quite."

He stood there for a few moments, unsure if the arched response was directed against him or his patient, but ultimately shrugged it off. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, bade him farewell, and closed the door. Bolting it firmly, she did a quick circuit of the house and ensured that all other entrances were shut. She didn't get a bad feeling from that man in particular; in fact, aside from his intimidating stature and attire, he seemed harmless. But with Shino wounded, she felt more tense in general. It wasn't that she expected the world to suddenly leap and attack the moment he was incapacitated; far from it, she knew that if anything, Shino had made a few more allies than enemies with his stupid intervention. And that, really, was the heart of the problem; he had intervened physically. Shino was not a fighter, and she had assumed that he would keep his head down and hood up. But it seems she had been mistaken. She finished her patrol and ended up leaning in the doorway to the bedroom. "What" she asked the unconscious elf, "am I going to do with you?"

Shaking her head, she approached and reexamined his wounds. They were all consistent with what Gerome had said; stab wounds to the gut, a few grazes on the arms and shoulders which were scabbed but not healed, and all the grime that comes with lying in the street for a while.Well, I suppose the first thing to do is give him a bath.She wasn't a healer, but she knew that dirt wouldn't help him recover any more quickly and, of course, she'd rather avoid dirtying their new bed. She gently took one of his arms and got ready to hoist him over her shoulder, but as she repositioned him, he gave a quiet groan.

"Shino? Shino, are you awake?"

"Mmm."

While hardly clear, a response was all the answer she needed. "I'm going to carry you to the bathroom, alright?"

"Wha? Why? I c'n walk." He mumbled groggily.

"The cleric told you to stay off your feet," insisted Kei, but Shino didn't seem to be listening; he swung his legs off the bed, tried to stand, and nearly fell before Kei grabbed his shoulder and helped support him. "I told you," she said sternly, "I should carry you."

"T's fine." He mumbled and started shuffling forward. As they went, she found herself carrying more and more of his weight, and by the time they reached the tub she was doing almost all the work.

"Now," she said, easing him down into the chair beside it, "to get you undressed."

Shino smiled dreamily, then seemed to realize the implications. "No," he mumbled quickly, "it's okay, I c'n do it m'self."

"No," said Kei sternly, "you can't. Now hold still."

He complied, and Kei was faced with the difficult proposition of performing a very pleasurable task dispassionately. At first, it was something she didn't even have to think about; concern for her companion's welfare kept her libido in check. But as more and more skin was exposed, she became very conscious of the feel of him underneath her hands, the way he quivered when her touch strayed or lingered, they way his breathing became shallow and his pulse rapid with trepidation and anticipation-

Shaking herself, she silently scolded herself. He was injured, and here she was enjoying the feel of his body while he was exhausted and, perhaps, in pain. The breath could be from nerves, not necessarily anticipation, and he was very, very still. This was unusual in and of itself, and even if that was just exhaustion, it wouldn't make a difference, and besides, what if-

"That's a pretty dress." Shino said.

Kei blinked.That's a good sign,she thought, then immediately felt guilty. It didn't change that he was injured, but she still felt a rush of blood to her cheeks. "Thank you."

As she continued pulling off his boots, she was torn between cursing herself for now following up that compliment and being proud because she had resisted temptation. By the time she got to his trousers, her thoughts dwelt more on the former. She took a deep breath and, through sheer force of will, kept herself looking forward, her gaze not lingering on anything in particular as she gave his trousers a tug.

There was a catch. The pants snagged briefly around the upper thigh, and as she slid them off completely, she saw in her periphery exactly why; the bulge in his underwear wasn't precisely subtle. Shino, squirming, made one final attempt to convince her to let him undress himself, but she ignored him and, breathing heavily without even knowing it, grabbed his underwear and pulled it down firmly.

It caught on his manhood for only a moment before sliding off, leaving Kei on her knees staring right at it. Forgetting herself for a moment, she leaned forward and licked the tip. Shino's groan was of pleasure this time, and she looked up, feeling uncertain and vulnerable, but rather than censure or repulsion, his eyes were closed and he gave a shiver of pleasure. "That was nice."

It was a small comment, but it was enough to let Kei lean in and take another lick, eliciting the same response from the elf. She took another lick, then another, each time drawing her tongue across the smooth surface longer and longer, each time pausing to observe his response, and each time receiving a groan or even a sharp and irregular intake of breath in encouragement. It wasn't long before she scooted in and took the head into her mouth.

Her eyes never left his face; she had ample time to study it their first night in beacon, and she was relieved to find that it, at least, was relatively unchanged. His face, however, showed a delightful range of emotion: anticipation as he felt her breath on his shaft, pleasure as she sucked it in, massaging the underside with her tongue, and disappointment when she leaned back, braking contact.Well, she thought with a grin,if he likes that, let's see what he thinks of this.

She leaned in again, took the tip into her mouth, and kept on going. He groaned as his shaft slid into her hot, wet mouth, and before long he felt the tip bump against the back of her throat. He didn't know what he was expecting next, but when he felt something flutter around his cock and draw him farther in, he was certainly surprised. His eyes snapped open, and he looked down to see an image he would later try very hard to lock into his memory.

Kei was swallowing his cock, her deep brown and almond-shaped eyes looking right into his, with just the barest crinkle at the edges betraying a half-smile. Even from this angle, he could see her dress, and wondered vaguely where she had gotten it. It wasn't particularly complex, but it had a simple elegance to it which only enhanced the true focus: her. It was light gray, almost white, and only emphasized her already exquisite frame; though the neckline was less than revealing, it hugged her curves, following the swell of her breasts, narrowing at her waist and flaring out with just a few folds of the cloth to accentuate her figure. It wasn't showy, but it seemed to fit her; reserved but beautiful.

Well, mostly reserved. At his wide-eyed look of surprise, her eyes showed that her half-smile had developed into a full-blown grin, and she swallowed again, and again. He groaned as he felt himself slide farther and farther into her until her nose nestled against his groin. Then, with only the briefest of pauses to let him relish the tightness, she drew back.

Kei really had no idea how this felt for Shino, but his breath caught so often she was surprised he didn't pass out. Whatever she was doing, she was sure she was doing it right. The thought put a warm feeling in her belly, pride, affection, and something a good deal less platonic, and she redoubled her efforts.

Again she pushed herself onto his cock, swallowing to get it all in, and again she drew back. His groan just added fuel to the fire of her lust, and one of her hands drifted up to her breast, rubbing its way to her nipple. As the little nub, already half-hard, began to stand out completely, she grasped it through the dress with two fingers and gave it a pull.

The resulting gasp of pleasure stirred something in Shino. His hands, formerly limp at his sides, rose up and grasped Kei's hair. Though he was still too weak to actually force her head back down his shaft, she was more than willing to follow his blatant encouragement. She wasted no time in diving back in and, when she moved to lean back but he kept pulling her in, stay there. It was a test of lung capacity, and sooner or later she had to breathe.

His groan of disappointment when she pulled away and took a few gasps of air turned into a gasp of pleasure when she moaned; while her left hand was kneeing her breast, her right had hiked up her dress and begun rubbing her slit through the underwear. The vibrations no doubt felt amazing to Shino, and when he noticed what she was doing with his hands, he wouldn't have traded his current position for anything.

She massaged his cock with her tongue, still moaning, as she pulled her underwear to the side and ran her fingers along her smooth and slippery sex, taking a moment to enjoy how neat it felt before applying more pressure. She began to rub herself in earnest, resuming the bobbing motion on Shino's shaft.

"Oh gods, Kei, that feels so good."

This was an example of when a small stimulus can trigger a powerful response. Kei plunged two fingers into her dripping cunt, curling them upward and loving every minute of it, while she resumed deep throating Shino.

The sensations on his cock were amazing; first, a warm and wet tongue making trails all along his manhood, then the tip enclosed in her hot little mouth, and now the whole shaft wrapped in warm, wet, flesh, the base stimulated by a writhing tongue and the end massaged by the rippling muscles of her throat. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable conclusion, he knew, but he was enjoying every minute leading up to it.

For her part, Kei wasn't being left out. Her left hand began mauling her breast, while her right alternated between rubbing her clit furiously and thrusting in and our of her moist slit. As she developed a steady rhythm, deep throating on the thrusts and rubbing when she pulled back to breathe and moan, she felt her own end approaching swiftly.

Shino's hands became more insistent, pulling her faster and faster, and though she was barely getting enough breath, she struggled to comply until the hands held her close while he murmured, "Oh gods, oh gods... Kei!"

That was enough to send her over the edge. Squeezing her breast as hard as she could, she grabbed her clit and pulled, the sock of pain mixing with the intense pleasure and sending her over the edge into orgasm. She writhed and would likely have let his cock slip out of her mouth had he not, in a burst of passion, held her there firmly.

When he heard her cumming, he quickly followed. Forgetting about injuries, noise, everything but the warm mouth on his cock and gorgeous woman it was connected to, he pulled her farther down on his shaft as he spewed his seed down her throat. Each pulse brought with it a gasping breath from him, and another quiver from her.

Kei's return to lucidity happened in parts; the first thing she was aware of other than the pleasure was the acute need to draw breath. She pulled back, coughing, and fell flat on her ass. She shivered as an aftershock passed through her, and she realized she still was rubbing herself lazily with her left hand. Postponing the decision of whether or not to stop until after it stopped feeling so nice, she gradually let the rest of the world come back into focus. Both of these things happened much quicker than anticipated; the next thing she observed was Shino muttering, "Ow. Ow. Ow."

She blinked rapidly, clearing her head, and saw him, leaning against the tub, looking light-headed, and clutching his chest where the flesh was still tender. Her face flushed. "Oh Shino, I'm so sorry!"

"Totally worth it." was his firm response, shortly followed by another, "Ow."

"Gods, I shouldn't have done that!"

He half-grinned, half-grimaced. "You can do that ANY time. Ow."

She barely heard him, being too busy chastising herself.First I molest him while he's unconscious, and now I accost him while he's infirm?A small part of her mind noted dryly that, on the contrary, he had been quite firm indeed, causing her to blush further.What's happening to me?"Come on," she said in an effort to silence her own internal monologue, "Let's get you in the tub."

"Yeah. Tub. Laying down. Good idea."

Getting him in was the easy part; she just had to lift, and even after the transformation, he was far from heavy. The hard part was figuring out what to say afterward. His comments kept her from worrying that he regretted it. Far from it, they gave her free license to act on her impulses if she so wished. However, knowing that she could brought with it a certain amount of trepidation. After all, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

But these were all thoughts for later. Having nothing to say, but content to simply be, she began washing Shino, enjoying the feel of his skin beneath her hands, and the contented sighs which periodically escaped each of them. They both had lazy smiles firmly set on their faces as she continued her work, cleaning the grime of the battle off his arms and legs, carefully washing his torso where he had been stabbed, shyly rinsing his soft manhood, massaging his back.

The work done, she leaned forward, resting her arms on the back of the tub while he leaned into it, their heads side by side. However, as time passed, she began reflecting on what Gerome said. Finally, deciding to get her companion's side of the story, she asked quietly, "Shino, what happened?"

From the way he froze, she knew that he knew exactly what she was talking about. After a few moments, he hugged his knees to his chest. She was just about to repeat herself when he started speaking quietly, "I had just bought a couple of ingots, more than enough for the hammer, from this nice old merchant. He even gave me a discount when I explained what I needed it for, a 'preemptive guildmate discount' he said.

"Then these guys came in, big burly ones. They started shouting at him, telling him that protection money was overdue, and unless he wanted to be dragged back to the mansion, he'd give them something. The merchant said no, and they started yelling. One of them pulled out a knife." He shifted to look at Kei, eyes wide. "I wanted to help him. You're supposed to protect the innocent, right?"