The Lokekku's Toll

Getting to the capital city of Hevanto is tricky. One, it's fifty miles away from my own little part of civilization, and two, it's on the other side of lokekku territory. Lokekku--the forest demons. They aren't mean or violent, but they hate it when outsiders try to cross their lands. They'll call the trees when mercantile parties try to take shortcuts through the heavily wooded land, playing merry hell with the party's perceptions of paths. I've heard stories of parties going into the woods only to come out a few hours later in the same spot they entered.

However, I wasn't going to walk twenty miles out of the way, thereby skirting the forest and adding a day to my travels just because a bunch of forest demons get their loinclothes up their ass about people walking through their trees. I couldn't afford the fees to join a mercantile party, and they were far too greedy to be satisfied with having a greenwitch traveling with them. The nasty part of me hoped the leader got a cut that would turn bad and make his arm fall off. A greenwitch would be handy then, oh goodness yes!

But I had no money, and traveling the long way by myself would also guarantee a bandit attack, and I really had my heart set on getting to Hevanto *without* smelly bandit rape--just a little personal goal of my own.

So that meant attempting the forest, which was about ten miles wide at that point. Maybe the lokekku wouldn't mind a solitary young woman going through, but it was a chance. True, no one had heard of the lokekku attacking anyone--but that just meant no one had survived to tell the tale. Heartening thought.

I stood outside the forest, wearing a threadbare coat and heaviest woolen skirt of dark green, my best traveling boots on my feet, with my wares carefully stored in the cloth pack I had slung over my shoulder. The scarf around my neck was a horrible shade of brown and badly knitted, but I'm a greenwitch. I make medicines; I don't knit. But all in all I felt I'd blend in with the trees, and maybe the lokekku would leave me alone. There was always the chance.

I squared my shoulders, gritted my teeth, and strode into the trees.

I had a piece of chalk to mark the trees as I passed them as there was no path, and it seemed to be working. I made my way deeper into the forest, feeling a huge amount of relief that the lokekku didn't appear to be bothered by my trespass. Hours passed and I trudged on, stopping every once in awhile to rest my feet and take a gulp from one of the water skins, but I felt I was making progress. But then I spotted my mark on one of the trees and realized I must have backtracked somehow. I turned around...and saw another "X". I whirled and found them all around me, on every tree I saw. Some of trees even had more than one. One rather large oak had the blasted things all around the trunk.

"Damn!" I stamped my foot and glared at every mark like a personal insult. I should've known it wouldn't be so easy. "I'm one lone woman trying to get to Hevanto! Show a little pity!"

I turned in a little circle, peering through the trees to see if I'd been led in circles only a few yards from where I started, but the trees were thick and went on for as far as I could see. I took a step back, heart starting to pound as I realized I'd been allowed deep inside the forest before the tricks had started. I pulled the pack off my shoulder and backed up a little more until I was pressed against a tree, and I stood there shaking as I tried to think of a way out of this.

Suddenly the mercantile party fees didn't sound so high.

"Lost?" said a low, strangely accented voice near my ear.

I squealed and leapt away from the tree, whirling around to get my first look at one of the elusive lokekku, who was leaning against the trunk with an air of satisfaction. So this was a forest demon. The lokekku had hair like any human, but it was a mix of red and orange and gold--much like the autumn foliage on the trees around us. It was tall and thin, wearing only a pair of buckskins that rode low on its narrow hips, and they were tied around its long legs with rawhide thongs, all dyed the same tree-gray color as its skin. It had very long fingers tipped with wicked-looking claws, and its narrow feet were also long with three clawed, thick toes--something like a bird, but far less delicate. They actually looked like the feet of the "walking lizards" they sold for pets in the marketplace, though far larger. It balanced on the balls and toes of those long feet, weaving back and forth a little as it watched me with something like a smirk on its narrow face.

The face was much like any human, except the eyes were much bigger than any man's and solid black from corner to corner. It also had the wide, floppy ears of a goat and was horned like one as well. But then it grinned at me, its mouth stretching wide, and I could see sharp fangs that had little to do with a nice, grass-nibbling goat. I looked again at those wicked claws tipping its hands and feet and swallowed hard, backing up another few steps.

It followed me, starting to circle around as it gave me the same thorough looking over that I'd given it.

"Female!" it crowed delightedly, suddenly clapping its hands together. "I can tell! You have the soft bits there on your front."

I slapped a hand over my chest and leaned away as it came closer, the thin face gleefully predatory. I had no idea what it wanted, though part of me was desperately praying to every god I could name that it had already eaten.

"Please," I said, holding out one hand protectively. "I--I mean no harm to this forest. I just want to pass through quickly so that I may reach the country on the other side. I'll leave no damage, build no fires, discard nothing. Please let me through."

"Oh, no problem with one female coming through," it said, and for some reason I noticed the back of the lokekku. It had a tail--just a short, stubby tail also like a goat that was flicking excitedly from side to side. No wonder the buckskins were so low around its hips. "No problem at all...if they are respectful."

"I'm very respectful," I said quickly, nodding. "Very."

"Then why do you not pay the toll?"

Toll? What toll? No legend ever said anything about a toll. Then again, the legends never said anything about anyone actually making it all the way through the forest either.

"Toll?" I squeaked.

"Toll!" It threw its arms into the air and gave me another fanged grin. There was something almost teasing in it. Was the damned thing *playing* with me? "You have to give me something to let you pass."

"I don't have much money--" I said doubtfully, but it gave a great snort like one of the big warhorses the local knights rode.

"Human coin," it said derisively. "What would I do with it? Am I a magpie, to collect shiny things?"

"Then what do you want?" I brought my pack in front of me and held it up. "I--I *am* a greenwitch. I have lots of medicines I'm taking to sell in Hevanto, and a few herbal teas...and some wines."

"Wine?" It perked up. "I've heard of wine from elder lokekku. They say it is tasty and lets you see the world spin."

I quickly pulled the ties on the pack and opened it, rummaging for one of the wineskins. I came up with a skin of elderberry wine and held it up, my breath stuck in my chest as I waited to see if it would satisfy the lokekku. It took the skin and stared at it, shaking it a little. It pulled out the cork and took a small drink, smacking its lips at the taste.

"It's good," said the lokekku, beaming at me. But then its expression went back to predatory. "A good start. But there is only one toll that I really want."

"Please don't eat me!" I said, my words coming in one big rush as I shrank away.

It blinked and slipped the wineskin's strap over its head, settling the skin against its hip as it gave me a strange look.

"I do not want to eat you," it said, scratching behind one ear.

"Really? Oh. Thank you." I put a hand over my heart, feeling the racing beat against my palm as I tried to calm down. I gave the lokekku an unsteady smile and started to tie up my pack again. "It's just...you have very sharp teeth."

"For rabbits," it said cheerfully. "Tasty little rabbits."

"Oh." I paused, trying to think of what else I had that it could possibly want. I doubt it had much interest in poultices or cough cures, and it already had the wine. So what else was--oh no. "Oh hell no. You can't be serious."

"Lokekku females," it said disgustedly, scratching behind its ear again as it stared at the trees around us. "Only want mating when they are in season. Two months out of the year do I get to rut, and only then if there are no stronger males to fight with. But I am always wanting to rut, no matter what the season."

"But you're a forest demon!" I wailed, pulling my coat tighter around me. "I'm human. You can't--we can't--that's just not *right*!"

Its--alright, *his* mouth turned into a sad little pout, and he ducked his head as he scratched at the ground with his long toes. "I am not attractive?"

"It has nothing to do with looks! We're different species!"

"I do not mind," he said shyly, looking at me through all that autumn-colored hair.

"Well, I do!" I said firmly, setting my fists on my hips. "Now, you think of something else you want and I'll pay your toll, but I am not going to 'rut' with you!"

"No other toll!"

I rubbed a hand over my face, wondering if I would have had better luck with the bandits. Then again, there would have been lots of bandits, and I've heard stories about the women who manage to survive their rapes. Most came back missing eyes or noses or fingers. Nearly all came back without their mind. Compared to that, maybe one lokekku wasn't that bad...

I glanced at the demon again, this time noting that his hopes for rutting had gotten him a little...well, excited. Those buckskins were riding so low that I saw something peeking over the waist of them, and more was showing by the second. I blinked, looked away, and shifted my gaze sideways to look again.

If what I could see of it was anything to go by, then that was the cock I'd been looking for since the baker's son taught me about sex. It was thick, the foreskin pulling away to reveal a dark, wide head, and it had the look of a human cock...just bigger. Now I was staring outright, and the lokekku knew it. He arched his back; hips thrusting in my direction as a smug little smile spread across his face.

"Well...maybe." I put one fist on my hip and pointed at the buckskins with the other hand. "Drop those and let me see it all first."

He quickly bent over and pulled at the thongs around his legs and the drawstring at his waist, and then shoved the loosened buckskins down and stepped out of them, preening for me like a peacock in the king's garden. Like his face (except the eyes, of course), his cock looked like any other I'd seen--except better. So "rutting" with him would be possible, but if he didn't do anything to arouse me beforehand then it would be very painful.

"I--well, I guess maybe once," I said weakly, rubbing the base of my throat in a nervous gesture. "Do, ah, do male lokekku do anything to get a female lokekku in the mood for, um, rutting?"

"Oh yes!" he said enthusiastically, bobbing his head and grinning again. "Have to make them happy or they get up and find some other male. And if you are bad, they tell all the other females and then you do not get anything."

He moved towards me, and I blushed as he neared. I'd never had a man walk toward me naked and erect, and it was a little embarrassing to watch his cock bobbing with every stride. He plucked at my coat, still smiling.

"Off?"

I cringed at the thought of getting naked in the chilly autumn air. It wouldn't do me any good to make it through the forest only to catch my death of cold.

"I don't know how much your kind feels the cold," I told him, ducking my head, "but humans are kind of fragile. If I get naked out here, I'll get sick. Do--do you have a house or something out of the wind?"

"Oh! Yes, my home. I will build you a fire and you can have a bed of furs, yes?"

"Er, yes." That did sound nice. Somewhere warm where I could be off my feet without worrying about wolves or any other forest predator. Then I made myself remember that I was about to fuck a forest demon, and found all I could think of was "nice big cock." Maybe too much exposure to some herb had completely ruined what little propriety I had. Oh, who am I kidding? I never had any to begin with.

I picked up my pack and slung it over my shoulder, following him as he picked up the buckskins and made his way through the trees. We didn't have to go very far. Suddenly we were at the base of a huge old oak tree, and the demon was ducking down between the roots. As I drew closer, I realized there was a hole there that he was crawling down.

"You wait there," I heard him call out. "I will build a fire, and then you come down too, yes?"

"Uh...sure." He didn't have a house; he had a den. It was probably easy for him to catch those tasty little rabbits. All he had to do was wait for them to accidentally burrow into his home.

I stood outside the hole, shivering in wind that was becoming colder by the second and wondering if he'd forgotten about me. Then his head suddenly popped back out, and he grinned widely. I really wished he wouldn't grin like that. Those teeth really did look sharp.

"Come on! Nice and warm down here."

"I have to crawl?"

"Not far. Then you can stand and walk. Give me your bag."

I slid the pack off and handed it to him, and he disappeared down the hole with it. Sighing, I got down on my hands and knees and crawled into the opening, which was just big enough to fit in on all fours. However, I only crawled five feet or so before I was suddenly spilled into a much larger area. I fell out of the tunnel and barely caught myself in time to keep from smashing my face against rock.

"Wha--?"

It wasn't so much a hole as a very short tunnel that opened up into a narrow stone passage. The tree was obviously growing over a small cave. It was much warmer down here, and behind the lokkeku I could see light dancing over the walls further down the way.

"Come, come," he said cheerfully, walking on ahead of me. "Nice and warm. There is fire and nice warm furs."

The passage suddenly opened up, and I was standing in a small cavern about the size of my house in town. It was interesting to see that it was furnished, crude as the furniture was, but there was a table and chair, and there was even a fireplace with a chimney. I was willing to bet there had been a natural hole in the roof of the cave that he had used. Like I said, it was all very rough, but no worse than any poor man's hut. Actually, it looked better than that.

So the lokkeku had minds...well, of course they did. Otherwise he wouldn't be speaking my own language. But that meant they weren't lower forms of life, so maybe this whole situation wasn't too taboo. I probably wasn't the first woman to do this, either. Did the thought make me feel better?

Not a whole lot.

I felt something pluck at my sleeve, and I turned to find the demon looking at me plaintively. "Off now?"

It also helped that he was acting like every last one of the men in my life.

"Men are men even with horns and sharp teeth, I guess," I muttered as I took off my coat. I glanced back at the lokkeku as I laid it over one chair, grinning at the impatient look on his face. "Hey, you have a name?"

He straightened up, one fist thumping against his chest. "Am Flik! Er...do you?"

I leaned against the wall and untied the lacings on my boots, slipping them off and putting them beneath the table. "Ianore."

"Eeee-ahh-nore."

"Close enough." It really was toasty warm in the cave. I unbuttoned my skirt and stepped out of it, laying it over my coat. Now I was only wearing my blouse, which barely covered the tops of my thighs. I looked back at Flik and gave him a nervous smile, then started working on the buttons.

He really is kind of cute, I thought to myself as my fingers worked their way down. That face and that body--well, the upper body anyway. Like those acrobats at the fair back during the spring. All long and lithe and--I wonder if he can bend like those two?

I gave my head a little shake and finished the last button. That was a bad path of thought to follow, or else I was going to get myself too deep into this situation. Flik wanted a rut--I wanted a quick way to Hevanto. This was *not* for fun and recreation. I let the blouse fall down my arms and turned around, letting the demon get his first good look while my cheeks reddened.

He blinked, then crouched low and shuffled over to where I stood until he was only inches away. He seemed very interested in my groin, reaching out to touch the small thatch of dark curls and then leaning forward to sniff.

"You do have more fur," he said, cocking his head to one side. "Why so little?"

"I have no idea," I said, strangling on the words. Now that he was so close and interested in my, er, lower bits, I was starting to have doubts about the wisdom of this whole situation. "Al-alright, umm...let's...uh...oh Mother's left tit, I have no idea what to do here."

He tilted his head back to look at me curiously. "You never been with male?"

"Well...yes. But with my kind of males. You're different. And this kind of thing is really frowned upon where I come from."

"Sex no good with us?" He grinned the teasing grin again. "You females too good for lokkeku?"

"It's just taboo." I made a face. "Well, so is sex itself no matter who you do it with. So, uh...Flik," and I giggled nervously, "what do you think of human females?"

He slid his hands over my hips and belly, stroked my sides up and down like he was petting a cat. "I think you are soft and white. How do I make you ready?"

I choked on a quick laugh, shaking my head. "That's wonderful. I love a man not afraid to ask what a woman likes. Where's the bed?"

He straightened up and pointed to a pile of furs--bear, wolf, fox, and even a pile of rabbit skins for a pillow lying against one side of the cave. I pulled the blouse the rest of the way off and added it to the pile on the chair, and then took Flik's hand and pulled him over to the pile and lowered myself down. Ooo, soft and warm and comfortable. I didn't realize how tired I was until I lay down, but I sighed and snuggled against the pelts happily.

"Ee-ah-nore?"

"Hmm? Oh...right. Come down here." He crouched beside the furs, and I reached up and took ahold of my breasts, kneading them softly. "The soft bits on my front here? It's good to touch them."

He watched as I squeezed them tightly, then lowered my hands and looked at him expectantly. He reached out and wrapped a hand around my right breast, giving it an experimental squeeze. There was a lot of strength in those fingers, and the skin reddened around his fingers from the pressure. I let out a gasp, but it was a happy one. I love a bit of rough handling.

"Straddle me," I said, patting my stomach and reaching for him. He kept his hand on my breast as he slid over me, and his cock pressed against my belly as he settled against me. "Hands on the soft bits. Don't try to squeeze them off, but do play with them. I'll let you know if you hurt me."

He made a growling sound that put me in mind of a cat's purr as he suddenly bent down and licked across a nipple. I let out another gasp and then squeaked as he kept tonguing the tip until it budded.

"Mmm," he murmured against my skin, and the little hum sent shocks through me. "Tasty female." He touched the tip with one claw, and then licked it again.

"Don't forget about the other one," I said faintly. He glanced up at me and moved until he was lying atop me. Maybe he was tired of kneeling. I spread my legs and bent them so that I was hugging his hips with my thighs, but it also meant certain tender bits were pressing against him. He wiggled a bit, trying to get comfortable and still stay within playing distance of my breasts, and the feel of him sliding against my lower regions was enough to make me gasp in frustration.