Ink You / Us Ch. 06

"First, can you read this?" Sarah wrote down on a new piece of paper and showed it to him.

It said: You Are a Fuck Boy

"Look, I'm just here to take your order," he said.

Lily nodded and took the pen back. "Nice."

* * *

The rest of their journey was uneventful. The train stopped in Barely Legal to pick up and drop off passengers, and then it was off again, passing by the smaller towns of Grool and Hentai. They got off at Cocks of Unusual Size and got off the train. Jay was reluctant to do so, lingering behind to talk to the conductor who had the air of a man who enjoyed the interaction with someone so enthusiastic, but at the same time, had a lot of things to do.

"And it burns coal to move us?" Jay was saying. "That's amazing. There's no horses at all?"

"Lets leave the nice man alone," Sarah said, dragging the incubus by the back of his collar.

COUS was town comprised almost entirely of taverns. It was a place went through, not lived in. That didn't stop Jay from marveling at the large group of people and the tavern facades which all tried to advertise and stand apart from the crowd.

"Oooh... this has a free incidental breakfast," he read off one sign. "And that one has huh, steel framed beds? Why's that a good thing?"

Sarah pointed to further down the road, trying to get a room for the night that was not so near the train station. "Keep walking. And it's a good thing because adventurers tend to break things, and having a nice solid bed is plus for a crowd that sometimes has a hard time controlling their own strength."

"Breakable!" a voice yelled out.

The trio turned and Jay could see a woman standing, head and shoulders above most of the crowd. She had a large main of unruly red hair, blue tattoo markings on her face and neck, and a large pleased grin.

The woman began to approach them and the crowd parted for her, because you don't get in front of a person who's nearly seven feet tall who is walking in a hurry. A few of the slower learners were knocked to one side, looked up ready to curse, and then fell silent as the redhead passed with large strides. Her stature demanded respect, and the massive halberd on her back suggested a punishment for not giving it up.

She stopped before the crowd. Jay looked at Sarah who was staring at the woman with a neutral, dead eyed expression.

"You're walking around after our last match?" the barbarian feigned an expression of surprise, "I'm impressed. You looked so broken."

Sarah raised a hand to her head, running it down the side of her hair, tracing the skull lightly. Sarah was tall for a woman, but this barbarian was massive, and she leaned forward to look down on the top of her head.

"Looks like you healed up nicely," she said. "I was afraid I had broken you. I do like playing with you."

Jay could see that Lily looked tense. She took Sarah's arm, "come on, we must check into our room before the evening crowds do."

Sarah shrugged off her friend's arm. "Good point, Lily. I better make this fast."

The wandering crowd around them could see the two armed women squaring off, and they began to give them a wide berth. Soon, the four of them were left in a large circle as people kept walking, though some began to take up standing at the perimeter of the circle.

"Sarah..." Lily said, "you've never..."

Sarah didn't look at Lily, keeping her stare on the woman. "We're not the same anymore, Lily."

The elf nodded after a moment. Lily grabbed Jay's hand and hurriedly pulled him to the side.

"Wait, what's going on?" Jay asked. "Are they not friends? Is Sarah going to be okay?"

"That's Veera," Lily said. "Sarah's never beaten her in the arena. So, yeah, I wouldn't call them friends. But Sarah says she feels different, and I believe her."

"Different how?" Jay asked. "Has she been doing some training? Or learn some secret technique?"

Lily looked Jay over, who was staring at the two women with concern in his eyes. "It would seem that being with you particularly in bed, can be a massive stress on the body and mind. So you could call that a type of training."

"What?"

Veera reached behind her and hefted her axe, setting the end of it in the dirt, holding it upright with one hand. She was a massive woman and made of muscle. Granted, all people are made of muscle, but Veera clearly cut in line and came back for seconds and thirds. Sarah had an athletic body, but in comparison to the barbarian, she looked positively slim. The barbarian had muscular trunk-like legs, developed shoulders, built arms, and Jay couldn't help noticing, an awe-inspiring large bosom, disproportionately large even for her body. They were easy to notice because she didn't wear a ton of clothes. Big, fur lined boots, and the most basic of furry loin coverings that left most of her thighs visible and exposed. She broke the theme of fur only in her top, where she acceded to urban fashions with a sports bra top.

Sarah wasn't even wearing her armor at the moment, which was in her suitcase. All she had was her longsword at her side, which she used her thumb to shift it slightly out of the scabbard.

"I like that you keep coming back for more," Veera said. "It pleases me to have a dog who likes to be beaten."

Sarah remained silent, her left arm loose at her side, the right loosely gripping her sheath. "How many times have you beaten me now?"

Veera smirked. "I've lost count at this point. A dozen? But three times, you couldn't leave on your own power."

"I'll return the favor," Sarah said. "And help you get to your tavern. Should you need."

Beside Jay, Lily made a humming noise. "She does seem different."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, 'training' with you seems to have caused a breakthrough for her."

"Training?" he asked, brow furrowing. "Is being with me that... hard?"

"Indeed," Lily said, staring at the two fighters. "The only uncertainty I have, is that even if Sarah has changed, it's not like our opponents and rivals remain static. We're all changing."

Veera hefted the weapon and pursed her lips in a kissy face at her before she lowered her body and charged at Sarah, who took a step back, dropping into a guard stance with the sword coming out.

There was a clash of metal as the handle of Veera's axe was thrust forward as she ran, looking to bowl Sarah over. Sarah raised her sword and blocked it, her own feet leaving the ground into a hop so that the moment threw her back in a controlled manner. She landed several feet back, boots skidding in the dirt. The circle of people drew back further as people began to notice that the apparently strength of the fighters made them uncomfortable to be so close. People were about fifty feet out now, though Lily and Jay hadn't moved from where they were, slightly closer than that.

As Sarah landed from blow, Veera let go of her grip towards the head of the halberd and spun around once, swinging the weapon in a wide circle so quickly that it blurred as it completed its rotation.

Sarah ducked the first swing that came at torso height, and as Veera kept rotating to swing the weapon again closer to her hips, she hopped over it with a high vertical leap, coming down at Veera with an overhead chop.

The sword hit directly on the woman's shoulder, slicing downward off her muscled arm. Veera staggered back, still smiling. To Jay's surprise, her arm only bore a grazing cut on it, bleeding lightly.

"What? That should have taken her arm off!"

"Oh?" Lily turned to look at him. "You haven't seen a lot of fighters have you? It's just how they are. Armor they were is strengthened by them innately. It's like magic, but a very unintelligent and base kind of magic. Like... muscle magic, I imagine is a good metaphor."

"Not bad!" Veera shouted, "you've gotten so big, Breakable. You're like a real fighter now."

And for the first time today, Sarah smiled. "I'm having fun, Veera. How are you doing?"

The axe came at her again in a series of short probing swings which Sarah mostly repositioned herself out of, parrying and deflecting when she had to. Sarah attempted a counter thrust and committed heavily to it, allowing Veera to deflect, sidestep and prepare a bigger swing as Sarah struggled to regain her footing.

Veera rotated again, allowing her weapon to accumulate a terrifying amount of centrifugal momentum as it scythed forward faster than those in the audience could see.

In that brief moment before impact, Veera saw Sarah smile. The edge of the axehead slammed into Sarah's left arm. There was a flash of golden light as Veera's axe rebounded. She knew she could slice through trees, boulders, and weak fighters, but the way her axe practically bounced back, it was if there was absolutely no give to Sarah's limb.

The vibrations of the attack sent a shiver of pain up her joints. Veera stared at Sarah's arm as she reeled back in her wayward axe and centered herself.

Sarah's smile looked relaxed and calm, like two friends having a chat at brunch.

"It's such a lovely day," Sarah said, advancing on Veera. "I'm going to go enjoy it."

Both women wore shark's grins as they continued their match, recklessly throwing attacks, smiling through the blows and scratches they gave each other. Veera managed to knock Sarah off-balance with a kick to the gut as their weapons were locked. The barbarian brought the halberd down hard on Sarah's skull, and once again, there was a golden flash and the axe rebounded up and back, as Veera's limbs shook with the impact.

Veera's expression softened as she took a step back, uncertainty now floating on top of the woman's confidence.

"You always did that," Sarah said. "Let me work out how to beat you. Let me struggle and even give me moments where I thought I could win. But in the end, you were just a better fighter than me. Your strength just overpowered me eventually."

"Little Sarah has learned a trick or two," Veera said, watching the woman's sword and her eyes. "But your pride may be misplaced."

"Oh, I don't think so," Sarah said.

Sarah advanced on Veera again, sword held overhead in a dramatic pose, ready to drop the killing blow. It was also an amateurish and impractical position to be in, charging in with her hands above her head, her sword in no position to defend herself.

Veera realized this was the point, but didn't know what else to do besides strike at Sarah's exposed torso.

"Don't you dare look d-" Once again, her axe rebounded with a flash of light and Veera found herself arms numb from the impact, but this time Sarah was charging and it didn't look like her momentum had been dulled at all.

Sarah's sword came down in all its telegraphed arrogance and struck Veera in the crowd, knocking her down to one knee. The barbarian raised her axe to try to defend herself, but Sarah's sword was already there, the point inches from her head. Veera glared defiance at Sarah despite being on her knees, a trickle of blood emerged from her hair, running down her forehead.

The smile left Sarah's face and she shook her head. "Fortunately for you, I'm not one to gloat at someone. To look down at someone for losing. Even if you do that, I'm not going to return the favor."

Sarah sheathed her sword. "I'm not even going to demand you surrender."

"You think you've won?"

"How could I prove it to you?" Sarah asked.

Veera swung her axe again, which Sarah backstepped. The axe came down again, missing Sarah and slamming into the earth, sending up a rippling shockwave of dust, obscuring both women.

"Just you and me now," Sarah said in a low voice.

From outside of the dust cloud, there were the sounds of clashing metal and metal on flesh. Grunts of pain and bloodlust filled the air. Just as it seemed the dust was starting to blow away, Sarah stomped on the ground, hiding the two of them again.

The clashes of metal got more hurried in rhythm, and with a thunderclap, something came whirring up and through the clouds. People began to scatter before it came down, revealing itself to be the head of Veera's halberd. Despite being disarmed, the sounds of fighting continued, but were becoming increasingly the sound of flesh being impacted.

At last, the dust density was reduced enough to reveal Sarah walking away from the fight, her sword sheathed. She spotted the other two and tilted her head forward, gesturing them to walk this way. Jay and Lily followed, but he kept looking back until he could see the other figure.

Veera was on her knees, using what remained of her weapon to keep from falling onto the ground. She was bloodied, breathing hard, and beaten, but she was still conscious. Jay watched as the woman raised a fist, as if bidding them goodbye.

In the audience, money was being exchanged and some people were whistling appreciatively.

"Good job, Sarah," Jay said, catching up to her.

She looked at him with an appraising expression, clearly mulling something over.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, Jay. Thanks."

"Must be that training regiment you've been doing," Lily said.

"Shut up, Lily."

* * *

They booked two rooms again so Jay could be isolated away from them. The tavern provided dinner at a specific time and Sarah went to knock on his door to let him know. Afterward, he furrowed his brow at her and asked, "are you mad at me, Sarah?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"Just a feeling," he said. "I mean, you're usually mad at everything, so it can be hard to tell. But are you mad at me specifically for something?"

She crossed her arms and looked at him. "No."

This answer failed to remove the look of concern on his face, but she turned and headed downstairs to the main area. Lily was already in a booth and waved to her, eating something out of a bowl.

Sarah began to make way first for the kitchen entrance where the food was being dished out and a line of travelers were getting their fill. She was preoccupied enough with Jay's stupid puppy dog face that she jumped when a patron at the bar moved because she recognized the red hair and the physique.

Her hand flew to her side to find her sword missing.

"What do you want, Veera?" Sarah demanded.

The woman at the bar turned on her stool, which she was almost too big for. She looked at Sarah quizzically, a tankard in her hand. They locked eyes, and then Veera downed the tankard. She set it down and only then did she address Sarah. "I want to get something to eat. I want something to drink. And then I want someone to sleep with."

"What?"

"Order is not too important," Veera said, catching the barman's eye with a wave of her hand. "More."

"So you're not here for a rematch?" Sarah asked.

Veera must've been several drinks in because she smiled at Sarah, which unnerved her. True, their relationship was largely professional and adversarial, so maybe that was why.

"If you were a man," Veera said, getting off the stool and in one quick movement, ended up kneeling before Sarah, making her jump back. The barbarian smiled at this. "I would be on my knees, begging you to make me your bride. As well as other things," she added with a wink. "Sucking your cock. However, since you are a woman, I must defeat you. My name would forever bear the mark of shame if I die before I can regain my honor from you."

"You have to marry whoever beats you in combat?" Sarah asked.

"It's tradition," Veera said, standing up again, looming over her.

"It doesn't sound very fun," she said.

"Our tribe wants strong warriors. What is one woman's happiness compared to the survival of my people?" Veera said.

"I would say it's everything to the woman," Sarah said.

Veera laughed, a big hearty sound from the belly. "You're a hypocrite."

The woman turned on her stool again, ending their conversation.

Sarah lined up, got food, and then sat across from Lily.

"I thank you for not initiating a bar brawl while I am still eating," her friend said.

"Veera's just here for a good time," Sarah said, mulling the woman's parting words.

"That might be fortunate since we need to feed our traveling companion," Lily said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you're not chomping at the bit to do it."

"I wish I knew how this ink worked," Lily said.

The mage detective was looking over some papers, and judging from the writing, it was Lily's own notes on succubi.

"Well, the ink's a liquid that has lots of dark pigmentation in it, and when you..."

"Sarah, don't make me..." Lily hesitated. They both knew that in a one on one confrontation, Sarah would win easily. "Fireball your food."

She put her hand protectively over the top and frowned at Lily. "Fine."

"Excuse me," Lily addressed their server, "you can see this, right?"

The woman picked up Lily's dirty bowl and gave her a confused look. "What, that bottle of ink? Yeah. It's in your hand. And I can see it."

"Thank you," Lily said, waving her off. "See? The ink isn't invisible. It's only when it's written and those rules or conditions are triggered that allow you to read it."

"Hey guys!" Jay waved at them, and sat down on Lily's side of the table.

"You're not eating?" Sarah asked.

"Well," Jay cleared his throat. "Not food anyway. I'm fine for now."

"How does your ink work?" Lily asked.

There was a commotion at the bar, and an uptick in the conversation volume level. Veera was standing up and slammed her most recently emptied tankard on the bar top. "I wish to lay with someone!"

There was an immediate flux of interested looking men standing up from their seats looking her way.

"If you're a woman, I want a fine figure. Big tits! Thick ass. Curves I can bite into. If you're a man, I want muscles, hair, and scars! And you better have a nice fat cock for me."

Veera pointed to the nearest few men and said, "show me what you have."

The men, previously so eager, now hesitated and looked at one another. "Umm... what?"

"Drop your trousers. Us women are more honest about what we have up here and down here," Veera emphasized this point by cupping her absurdly large bosom and then slapping her toned muscular ass. "Men are allowed to hide their inadequacies until it is too late. Show me if you want to bed me."

The men all looked at one another and sat down, now trying to ignore her. She was the center of attention in the tavern and no one else was talking.

"You!" She pointed at their server, "would you care to learn how a woman can please you? I thought not, no worries, woman. You! You are a big boy," she said. The man she addressed was indeed tall, almost as tall as the barbarian, and he was well-built, in possession of a large beard, and a cocky smirk. He undid his pants and lowered them to show what he had.

"Not bad," Veera said to the man's offered junk. "You're my first choice for now. Anyone else?"

There were no other takers. The man's cock was hardening and were hinting at a fairly impressive size.

"Your friend Veera is very interesting," Jay said. "I... hey, wait!"

This last part was delivered as he was manhandled by Sarah and shoved forward towards Veera. He ended up in an off-balance stoop, bent over and now the center of the room's attention. There was immediate chuckles and laughter at this. Jay smiled nervously around him.

Big Boy laughed loudly and pointed at him.

Veera loomed over him, putting his head at chest height. He swallowed at he looked up at her over them.

"I'm afraid you don't have the big tits and thick ass that I want," Veera said. The laughter in the room exploded again.

"Yes, well, I'll just go sit down," Jay was saying.

"Show her," Sarah said from behind him.

She couldn't look directly at him as he furrowed his brow, a look of betrayal on his face.

Sarah made a show of looking over in the direction of the kitchen as she said, "you better make sure you eat up now too. Lily and I aren't going to feed you unless we need to."