Fire Knight Katrina Ch. 03

Chapter 3: Disrobing

"I don't mean to say that you being nude is something bad," the shy girl giggled, "it's just very unusual for our town."

They sat on tree stumps to catch their breath and have a little talk, both Katrina and Sophia needed a bit of rest. The solar elf sat carefully, as if scared to make her clothes even dirtier, and embarrassingly clutched her robe when she realized her bra was showing. Katrina, on the other hand, nearly laid down on the stump with her elbows down, and spread her legs to allow the breeze and the warm sun to caress her nude figure.

"I've already realized that," the knight joked as she saw Sophia glancing at her pussy and turning her eyes away, blushing, "I'm from the east, lived in a small town hidden in the Golden Forest which tolerated... No, even encouraged a lot of nudity."

"Oh, what was that town?" Asked the blonde with interest, taking a sip from Katrina's water flask.

"No matter," Katrina's tone suddenly became somber, "it's in the past anyway."

"Oh..."

"As to why I'm naked," a smile appeared on the fire knight's face again, she was eager to steer the conversation in a happier direction, "there are three main reasons."

"First," she bent one of her fingers, "is practicality. The magic overall circulates within your body better if it's not constrained by anything. The snobbish wizards with their new magic systems have forgotten about it, but it's still true. Speaking of which, you saw that my magic is lighting myself on fire. I'm naturally fireproof as part of my wielding abilities, but any clothing or armor would just burn down in seconds. It's just not worth bothering with that."

"But... You could've enchanted your clothing to be fireproof as well!" Sophia said with another giggle.

"Yes. My scabbard's fireproof, by the way. But having it on clothing would mean that the fire can't get out and I can't burn my enemies. How would I be able to deliver all my moves, huh, priestess?" She suddenly lifted her leg up and ignited her toe, causing the blonde girl to flinch.

"The second reason is cost. Armor is expensive, and taking care of it is a chore. The same goes for clothing, even if on a smaller scale. If I don't need them to fight, I'd rather go without it," the nude girl smiled.

"Hm, but you could've worn some kind of a robe or a coat when out of fight, then take it off. You know, so you'd still have..." Sophia let her new friend finish the thought for her.

"Well, that's where we come to my third reason. I just love being naked, permanently. It gives you an amazing, almost divine feeling that you can't get from anything else. Plus, it's good for your health. The body needs air, and a lot of it, just like fire does. And it goes without saying that others like it too," Katrina suggestively jiggled her large breasts.

"He-he, I guess," Sophia smiled with shyness. Even if she seemed embarrassed by Katrina's behavior, there was a part of her that clearly enjoyed this, for some reason.

"Well, your turn," Katrina pointed at the blonde girl with her foot, "tell me about yourself, what such cute sun priestess is doing in this scary forest? Also, how are folks in your local solar church? Because having them on my side would've been great. Will returning you fill them with gratitude that I can then use?"

"Uh... I don't think... It will," Sophia got uncomfortable, and not in a fun giggly way like before, "I'm an exile. They turned me away for disobeying the church's laws."

"You were disobeying laws? Seriously?" Katrina carefully stared at the pointy-eared blonde, who seemed like an incarnation of innocence.

"That's a long story. I don't think you'll be interested... But that's why I got caught in this forest. My home's nearby, I just needed some time to breathe and think about everything. The outskirts are dangerous, though, and I wasn't careful enough. I don't know much about the mages. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to delve into this topic that much."

"Understood," Katrina nodded and jumped up from the stumb. Sophia's gaze froze on the redhead's amazing body as she saw it from below, it was truly a nice angle.

"I get you don't need a ride to the town, then? I must go then, time fr me to meet your Mayor."

"Oh... No, I don't. Goodbye, then," Sophia turned away awkwardly.

But when the redhead approached Ash, she heard the blonde shout behind her back, just as she expected.

"Wait," her voice was full of doubt, yet she forced herself to press on, "please, take me with you. Even if I'm an exile, I still have powers! You're a great fighter, but if you ever get wounded I can heal you. I can also blind your enemies with the sunlight. I won't be a liability, I promise!"

Katrina, who waited for exactly this to happen, turned toward the blonde and scratched her chin

"You know, heaving my own healer doesn't sound half bad. But I do have one rule that you must follow if you want to join me."

"Sure! Anything. You saved my life, gave me water, and were so nice to me. I'm obligated to help you!" The blonde's eyes were shining with hope.

"Take all of your clothes off. To join me, you'll have to be naked," Katrina grinned and Sophia suddenly became silent.

"W-what?" The priestess asked as if the naked knight just told her to jump off a bridge, "but... Why?"

"Again, three reasons. First of all, as far as I know, you sunwielders use old magic that benefits from sunrays shining over you. It will only be logical for you to be nude so the sun can cover your whole body and give you more energy. We're going to deal with strong foes in this town, and I want you to be at maximum strength. Secondly, your robe is already dirty, and it will get even dirtier in fights. Washing it or buying a new one will be wasteful, and wasting time on this mission is deadly. Thirdly... Well, that's just how my image goes. And if you're going to be my healer, you have to support it. Sounds good?" The knight folded her arms across her bare chest, making her beautiful breasts seem even bigger for a second. She was shining with confidence.

Sophia had no idea what to respond. The arguments Katrina presented were simply too good, and she clearly didn't care about any sort of modesty in the slightest. But the blonde girl wasn't raised this way, a thought of appearing butt-naked on the streets of her own town was so frightening she couldn't even let them into her head. It felt like a wild fever dream.

But, on the other hand, Katrina was her savior. The priestess owed her life to this crazy nude woman. Plus, the redhead's quest was that of righteousness and justice. Refusing to help her save Sophia's own hometown would go against all of the blonde's beliefs and moral values. Besides, she didn't even have a place to go now that she was exiled... It was a nightmarish dilemma.

"I... I'm sorry, I can't!" She finally exclaimed, her eyes on the verge of tears, "it's just not how I was raised, this seems too much for me. I... I wish you luck on your quest, Katrina. Thank you for saving me, but that's..."

"That's alright," Katrina nodded, "I get that some folks just aren't cut for this lifestyle like I am. Don't beat yourself too much over it. If I'll get wounded, I'll make sure to come to your house and use your healing at its fullest!"

The nude knight gave her friend a playful wink and jumped on her horse. As Sophia watched the redhead's gorgeous braid and her naked taut butt getting farther and farther away, the inner conflict within the priestess' mind only grew stronger. But her decision was probably for the best, the elf wasn't cut for fighting and would probably only slow her savior down, so there was nothing to worry about...

Katrina passed a wooden sign stating that Zardiw was already nearby and turned her gaze forward. The morning fog have already dissipated, now the nude knight could clearly see the gray stones of city walls and bright purple banners of Tholcing on the horizon. She drove Ash to gallop, then a sudden familiar shout made her slow the horse down.

"Wait!" Sophia cried out as she ran to Katrina, trying to keep up with Ash on her own two feet.

The elf was out of breath, covered in road dust, and barely keeping herself from falling down. The nude redhead jumped down and grabbed Sophia by the hips, allowing her to rest for a bit.

"Girl, what the hell are you doing?" She asked with a mixture of concern and admiration, "humans can't gallop, you know."

"I... I changed my mind," Sophia replied in a quiet tone as if saying this word was physically hard for her, "I'm going to get n... n... Naked! If that's what it takes to be on your side."

"Wow," now Katrina was the only one looking at the elf with awe, "a surprise, but a very welcomed one! What made you change your decision, priestess?"

"I... I just couldn't," she waved her head, "couldn't just stand aside while you're fighting for my town. I needed to help, and if I need to be at my maximum power... It's hard, but I can manage, I promise!"

She was short of breath and red from blushing, this decision was clearly very difficult for the modest, shy girl. Katrina gave the new companion a satisfied nod and ordered her to disrobe. Sophia let out a sigh and slowly, unsurely took off her robe, revealing her snow-white undergarments. The elf had a nice, slim figure of a developed young woman. Her breasts, albeit smaller than Katrina's, were beautiful and perfectly proportional to her attractive figure. Her toned, flat belly and taut butt told Katrina that she was also familiar to physical training, even if on a smaller scale than the redhead.

With another sigh Sophia took her bra off, her beautiful breasts reacting with a bounce as if thanking their owner for the newfound freedom. The girl hesitated.

"You're... Sure that I cannot keep my panties?" She asked with embarrassed giggling.

"Come on," Katrina rolled her eyes, "or I'm riding off without you!"

"Alright-alright, I was just asking," the priestess waved her hands, due to which her now nude breasts jiggled along and caused her to cover them with her hand.

"You better get used to that," Katrina pointed at the boobs with a smile, "that's gonna happen all the time."

As Sophia took off her last bit of clothing, rolling the panties down her beautiful, long legs, two horse riders with Tholcing banners passed the girls on the road. They clearly saw them, judging by their whistles and dirty hand gestures. Katrina just smiled and raised both hands to wave them, not showing even the slightest hint of shame. Sophia, on the other hand, was frozen from fear and nearly lost her footing.

"Hey, you alright?" The redhead raised her eyebrow.

"Y-yes, of course," the priestess responded with a smile, even though she felt like she was about to faint.

She made herself take off her panties and footwear, then handed all of her clothing to Katrina, her heart racing and her limbs shaking from the adrenaline. Sophia still couldn't believe she was the one doing all this. She was completely and utterly naked outside, where anyone could see her. The entirety of her young, beautiful body was open to anyone's gaze, and it was completely out of her control. Yesterday Sophia was too shy to even swim in a river without a swimsuit, and now she was about to walk in the streets like this... Absolutely unreal.

Meanwhile, Katrina acted absolutely normal. Sophia was thankful for that, as the redhead's confidence seemed to pass on to her a little. The blonde would feel much more embarrassed if she did something like this alone. As Katrina got the priestess' clothing, she gathered it into a neat pile and set it on fire with her bare arms. In a couple of minutes, all of the clothing turned to ash. As Sophia watched the flame, she slowly realized that she reached a point of no return. Not only was the blonde naked, but now she couldn't even cover herself if she wanted to.

"Why did you... Was it necessary?" She asked in a somber tone.

"Yes. So you wouldn't be tempted to revert your decision," Katrina playfully slapped the blonde's butt, "plus, there was no point in carrying those useless rags around."

But if she nearly fainted from encountering two random riders, what will happen in Zardiw itself? She tried not to think about it and instead focused on thoughts on Katrina... This confident, bold, and overall amazing warrior. The breeze caressed the blonde's body and the sunrays filled it with pleasant warmth, yet her shyness and fear made it impossible to enjoy the moment. Sophia decided to cover her privates with her hands and asked if that was okay with Katrina.

"Yeah, sure," the redhead shrugged, "cover yourself if you really need it, maybe it'll make your nudity adjustment easier. But only hands, no clothing!"

Sophia nodded and stepped forward, catching Katrina's interested gaze and noticing a wide smile on her face.

"You're very beautiful," the redhead said, glancing at the blonde's young body from the bottom up.

Sophia just nodded and hid her rosy face. Then, Katrina suddenly took a step closer and gave her new companion a nice, warm hug. Sophia returned it without even thinking about it, like her instincts demanded it. She felt Katrina's heat as their naked bodies rubbed against each other.

"What you just did is very brave," Katrina whispered right into the girl's pointy ear, causing goosebumps, "if you'll stay as dedicated to your cause, we'll form a great team."

As Sophia looked into the redhead's confident eyes, she finally realized that her decision was the right one, even if there were a ton of scary situations and an ocean of embarrassment waiting for her ahead. She simply couldn't choose another past as a Zardiw priestess, saving the town had to be worth all of the trials.

"Hey, Ash, we've got a new recruit. I hope you won't mind, Sophia isn't too heavy!" The redhead talked to her horse as she helped the blonde to get on her back.

"Alright, I'm not sure if you're familiar with riding bareback," Katrina skillfully climbed on Ash and grabbed the stirrups, "but I'm sure if you follow what I'm doing with the riding rhythm, you'll get the hang of it. It's actually a good learning experience. Although your crotch might feel a bit weird at first."

"Weird... In what sense?" Sophia whispered with agitation, but the redhead just giggled and set Ash in motion.

"Hold on to me!" The nude knight commanded.

Sophia wasn't keen on riding in the past, so she instantly locked her hands on Katrina's toned belly, leaning against her back very-very tightly. Mostly to assure that no one on the roadside could fully see her naked front. Riding like this felt quite personal, though, especially considering they were both nude. This caused Sophia to experience various weird emotions that she couldn't wrap her head around. Katrina realized that as well: with Sophia's boobs leaned against her back, she felt how hard the blondie's nipples got. The redhead decided not to mention it and give her companion some space, judging that the elf had enough embarrassment as is.

The blonde felt the same way, especially when they started passing other Zardiw folks on their way to the city gates. She was trying her best, but still felt all the gazes of the surrounding people on her skin as if they were physical. What if someone from her church saw her right now? That would've been scandalous. Maybe even more than a dozen of other embarrassing scenarios Sophia thought of while riding. Her mind was in complete chaos. Yet, she got a bit calmer each time she looked at her companion: the redhead was firmly holding the stirrups, only focused on her road and the mission ahead, unbothered by all the people and their opinions.

Finally, they came to the city gates. Katrina reassured Sophia, saying that she'll do the talking. The priestess was glad to hear this, as she wasn't sure she'd be able to produce any coherent speech right now. The entrance was guarded by several pikemen, and three bowmen were standing atop the mighty stone wall. Every one of them pointed their weapons at the nude girls as they came close. These ones seemed far more serious than the watchmen Katrina encountered earlier, didn't even laugh or ask quirky questions about nudity (although, judging by their looks, it clearly made them suspicious). The redhead waved them and handed over the scroll, one of the pikemen told the other to bring in the commander to decide what to do.

A moment later, a woman appeared in front of them. A warrior clad in a full set of black plated armor with Zardiw's coat of arms, a sphere with small starts around it, engraved on the chest plate. She was tall and broad-shouldered, her imposing stature complemented by an even more imposing look in her black eyes. Her skin was of a dark grey color, while her short hair was snow-white. A stoneborn, no doubt. Katrina raised her eyebrows, she didn't expect to see someone from the distant savage islands on a duty like this.

"Gerda, commander of the city watch," she saluted, "who have we here?"

Katrina explained everything, unswayed by the pikes pointed at her naked body. She made sure to emphasize the part about the Supreme Judge and her righteous mission. However, much to her surprise, Gerda remained unconvinced.

"I'm sorry, girls," she started, even though she clearly wasn't sorry, "but I cannot let you in un-dressed like that. This isn't a beach or some sort of savage village. This is immoral and wholly unacceptable. You'll become the laughing stock of the entire town."

"I think people can benefit from laughter in such trying times, am I wrong?" Katrina said with a smirk.

"You'll be wrong to think that you can walk on Zardiw's streets butt-naked," Gerda replied harshly, "go get dressed and come back afterward. A dress, a tunic, even a chainmail bikini would be more or less acceptable, but not this! You look like an animal."

"And you look like an animal in a plated armor," the redhead smiled, causing the nearby soldiers to flinch. They were clearly scared of angering this stoneborn.

"But I suppose, The Mayor will decide that," the bold redhead added and drove Ash forward.

As soon as the horse made the first step, Gerda ordered the pikemen to step closer. They weren't going to let Katrina in.

"I told you to get dressed according to our moral values. If you want to degrade yourself so badly, do it elsewhere," Gerda furrowed her brows.

"I will not put your pointless rags on my body," the knight replied in kind, "being naked is my way of paying respects to the higher spiritual powers that gifted me my wielding and allowing the magic itself to flow freely within me. Also, this is how I prefer to be as a person. The same goes for my friend here. There are other practical reasons to list, but I gave you the most important ones."

"This isn't my issue, perverts," Gerda waved her head, "I don't care what barbaric rituals both of you are used to. You are in Zardiw and will act according to how zardiwians see this world. The scroll says I'm obligated to let you in? Fine. After you meet my demands. Otherwise, if you'll keep creating trouble and distracting my men, I might have to arrest you for indecent public behavior!"

"M-maybe we... Should go get some... C-clothing?" Sophia whispered into the redhead's ear, but she just stroked the blonde's cheek and gently shushed her.

Then Katrina grinned, showing with all her mighty naked image that she isn't afraid in the slightest. The men were surely distracted, their eyes darting in between the nude girls' good-looking curves. Gerda touched the handle of her sword to show her seriousness, Katrina did the same and prepared to put her loyal blade out of the scabbard. The pikemen became nervous, Sophia was scared to death, they couldn't predict what was going to happen in the next minute.