All Aflutter Ch. 01

"I take it you weren't trained to 'stay away from fey'?" Aura teased.

"Nuh-uh!" Ásdís smirked. "My mentors taught me—um, and my experiences have taught me—that it always depends on the fey. Some fey, 'specially High Fey, can be, like, greedier and stuff, or won't take no for an answer, or don't even understand why they would... but a lot of fey are really nice, and you can learn a lot from them, and a lot of them are just, like, normal people!" She gestured to Aura. "Like, cowgirls like you are beastfey, right?"

"Cowgirls are, yes." Aura smiled slightly.

"Right! And beastfey are usually totally... well, they're a lot like mortals, right? They can have babies, they can..." Ásdís's cheeks heated up as she realized what she'd just said. "... th-they, um, they need to eat, and sleep, and stuff like that?"

"That's right!" Aura giggled. "All of those things are true for beastfey. You're quite the expert on us!"

Ásdís giggled, too—she couldn't help it, Aura's melodic laughter was infectious. "Of course I am, I'm a Toxin Ranger! I know all about fey and, um, and stuff. And, um, needing to eat, and stuff like that, it grounds you more in the world, so it's easier for beastfey to understand mortals, too."

"Well, I don't know if I could match your appetite!" Aura winked.

"Right." Ásdís glanced down at her bowl, already half-emptied, and gave a sheepish chuckle. She paused to drink from her glass of milk, and remembered to wipe her lips with the napkin this time. Aura seemed to smile wider at that, and Ásdís felt a warm glow of pride. "Well, like I said, dopterines need to eat a lot. It's why I ran out of provisions!"

"I'd heard dopterines can have terrible appetites, but..." Aura tilted her head slightly with a curious expression. "I suppose those are probably just... lascivious tales."

"No, they're true!" Ásdís grimaced, waving her spoon in a contemptuous circle. "And I bet a lot of your visitors like to gossip about it, but it's not that, um, lass-iv-ious." She pouted, thinking a moment. "The Taste is like... I mean, like, it's something dopterines develop in our twenties. It's really gross, to be honest. Dopterines have a, like... an aphrodisiacal response to the fluids of other species."

"Oh, like..."

"Not, like, the really gross stuff." Ásdís made a face. "And nothing bloody. But... well, like, tears and sweat set it off a little bit. And, um..." She felt her cheeks getting hotter. "Um, saliva, and, um..." She trailed off, swallowing.

Ásdís had never experienced the Taste herself. She'd never met an elf, and she steered clear of the human guards who came by, like most dopterines knew to do. She'd heard goblin maids didn't activate it, and, well...

... to be honest, she'd never thought to try to find out what other species might.

Aura gave a soothing smile. "Don't neglect your porridge, dear," she said gently. "It's going to get cold!"

"R-Right!" Ásdís nodded, eager for the escape, and began eating again.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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Thanks for reading, and feedback is welcome! Feel free to leave a comment with requests for future stories. This was a very fun commission, and I can't wait to post its conclusion!