Iona Online Ch. 13

Michael sat on a log with the chieftain, taking in the surrounding tents and people milling about, as Mitsu muttered quietly to a child who was fidgeting under his gaze nearby. Kari shared the young girl's anxiety refusing to sit, or even stand still. She was running everywhere, bothering everyone with incessant questions about everything.

"What happened to your fur? Why is it so short? Did you get it caught in a trap," Kari asked some poor woman who was sitting on a log sewing a shirt.

"My...fur?" The woman asked, confused. She wore her hair shoulder length and tied back into a small tail at the base of her neck.

Michael panicked. 'Oh shit! The last village flipped out when they found out I can do magic. I don't know how they would react to finding out she is a werewolf.'

"Kari, come here please and let the poor lady work," he said waving her over.

"But she's been skinned, my alpha. We must find the hunters and..."

"Kari please come here. Right now." Michael waved frantically, trying to get her to shut up. Kari bounced over quickly and curled up against his side, leaning her head on his shoulder with a sigh and a small smile on her face.

"Kari, please listen. These people are not our friends yet, and many of them are hunters. Right now you look like one of them, but if they find out you're a wolf they might want to hurt us. We need to be quiet and careful."

Kari's green eyes snapped to his glowing with an intense fire and rage crossed her face. "They are hunters?!" She growled, "We will make them pay for hurting my pack." She started to stand, but Michael caught her arm and yanked her back down.

"No. They are not the people who hurt you, I already killed those. These are not hunters like you think, they are simply predators. Like you, they will only hunt to feed. If you attack them though, they will fight back and we will be killed. We need to be nice and make them our friends," Michael whispered in a rush. Kari's understanding of interpersonal relationships was on the same level as a toddler, and he only hoped that he could make her understand.

Kari bit her lip in confusion, a decidedly cute and human trait, and then tilted her head like she had when she was a wolf. Her long red hair cascaded over her shoulder and drew Michael's eyes downward until he forced them back up to meet her still intense gaze.

"You don't want to attack them for skinning her?" She glanced at the woman, and then at him, deflating with her decision and returning to cuddle into his side. Michael was grateful that the loose shirt she was wearing prevented the sensation of her nipples against his side. "If that is what my alpha commands."

Michael blew out a breath of relief. "Yes, that is what I want. No attacking. Instead I'm going to talk to their alpha and see if we can join packs, but it's very dangerous so I need you to be quiet and watch my back."

Kari nodded vigorously. "No one will hurt my alpha." She turned her head and began glaring at everyone who was even remotely close, her eyes scanning wildly back and forth.

He sighed as her insane scanning was actually drawing more attention than the questions. 'Well at least she's not asking strange questions. I'll take it.'

Mitsu finished giving instructions to the girl, who then sprinted off to complete whatever task she had been assigned. He then turned to Michael and grinned.

"So tell me, how is Nizhoni and her village these days? More importantly, you claim you're on a quest from the Goddess, how did that happen?" Mitsu's eyes sparkled as he leaned forward on his knees. Michael guessed that he loved a good story, though to be fair, there probably wasn't much out here in the way of entertainment.

So he obliged. Told Mitsu almost everything, and the chief was the perfect audience. He told him about being 'summoned' from his home by the goddess Sara. The chief laughed uproariously when he told him about his short lived victory over the spiders. He exclaimed angrily when he told him about the near death training incident, and nodded when Nizhoni gave him the bow as recompense.

Michael decided to omit most of the story about his travels north. Most of his successes were due to either magic or his new werewolf companion, and he decided that a few nights of comfort and perhaps training would be much preferred to being thrown out on his ass again. Especially considering that chief Mitsu looked like he could snap his spine by just looking at him too intently.

When he finished his dramatic retelling of his last week, Mistu leaned back and whistled through his teeth. "That is a tall tale boy, the like I've not heard of in quite some time and one that is hard to believe at times. It's also a shame you broke your bow, I would have liked to see it. There are some fine craftsmen in Nizhoni's village and it would lend credence to your story."

Michael smiled and tried to ignore Kari as she was now physically swiveling where she sat and started to growl at people who walked too close. "Well as it happens chief, I'm a novice crafter myself. I'm sure given a few days and some proper materials I could create a new bow. I made this one with a sharp rock and a bear tendon."

Michael handed Mitsu the bow for his inspection. The chef turned it over in his hands and flexed it experimentally. "It's not bad, especially for such poor working conditions. We have much finer ones of course, but I would be interested to see what you could accomplish given time and resources." Mitsu slapped his knee, coming to a decision. "I'll tell you what lad. You can stay here with us for a fiveday, and speak to our craftsmen. At the end of the fiveday I will expect a bow that matches the quality of mine, and any other bows you create in the meantime my warriors can keep. If you succeed, I will allow you to stay here as long as you like. If you fail, well it would be best if you weren't here at the end of the fiveday."

Michael kept a smile plastered to his face. 'This is fair enough. It's only if I can't deliver on the claims I've made that I'll be punished.' Michaels respect for the man went up a few notches.

He thrust his hand out towards the chief, making Kari jump at the sudden movement. "You've got a deal. In the meantime, got somewhere I can pass out? Even just a corner of a tent. It's been a long journey and I'd like to sleep without being afraid of getting eaten."

Mitsu chuckled and shook his arm in a weird forearm shake that the locals must use. "I'm sure we can figure something out." The girl that Mitsu had sent running, returned just then with some bowls of food. "Ah, perfect timing! Thank you Chiki. Let us eat and celebrate our newfound friendship. I hope your bows are good enough to let us share many more."

Michael raised his bowl in salute and promptly dug in. Kari sniffed hers suspiciously, and frowned at the meal but started picking at it while watching him. Her first bite was a tentative nibble. Michael couldn't help but chuckle at the girl who had single handedly taken on a full grown, pissed off bear while being mortally wounded, but was scared of lunch. After her first bite though she brightened considerably and wolfed the rest down in record time.

"What is this called," she asked him. Her eyes were watering as she stared intently into his, as if she focused hard enough he would be forced to reveal all his secrets.

Michael chuckled under his breath. "Its food. Some sort of saute by the looks of it." Stips of meat had been marinated in some sort of peppery berry juice and cooked over a fire with more of those local mushrooms and some sort of tuber. "Why? Do you not like it?"

"No! I mean, no. I love it. I've never had anything like it before in my life. It's even better than fresh bear."

Michael looked over to Mitsu, who was watching the interaction with a raised eyebrow. "Do you have any bread? She's never had any and I think she'll like it," he said.

The chief nodded and waved at the girl from earlier. She must have been eavesdropping, because she took off like a shot and returned a few minutes later with three small loaves of triangle shaped piping hot bread.

"What is it," she asked.

"It's called bread. It's made from grinding up grass seeds and mixing it with water and then cooking it in animal fat."

Kari frowned at the loaf. "That's not food. That's food that my food eats."

Michael struggled to keep a straight face. "Try it. If you don't like it, just spit it out."

Kari took a small bite and chewed thoughtfully. Her eyes shot wide, and her breath hitched in her throat. The rest of the loaf disappeared as she crammed the entire thing into her mouth and sagged against him as if all of her bones melted. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she moaned quietly.

Michael traded knowing glances with Mitsu. "Well what do you think?"

The werewolf's eyes popped open and found the bread that he was still holding. Before Michael could so much as twitch, she snatched up his loaf and shoveled it into her mouth.

"Hey that was mine!" he shouted.

Kari just swallowed her mouthful and then licked her fingers clean. She eyeballed his hands as if she was contemplating licking his hands as well. Michael quickly wiped his hands off on his pants and scooted further away.

"I think she likes the bread," he said.

Mitsu was doubled over laughing so hard his face turned red and he held his sides. "You have only yourself to blame for that one, son."

After finishing their meal Mitsu gave them a brief tour of the camp and had a spare tent for them to use, set up on the outskirts of the village. It wasn't as nice or as warm as the wooden huts that the villagers used, but it was shelter and it was free.

"Dinner will be at sunset in about an hour. You're welcome to join us, but I suspect that you would rather sleep" Mistu told them as they set up the tent using thick poles to hold up the heavy hide. "Tomorrow I will take you to meet Liwanu. He makes most of our weapons with his son. He will get you the materials you need."

Michael couldn't argue with Mitsu, sleep sounded like it was the greatest idea since salt. "Thank you chief. Sleep sounds amazing."

The chief waved absently and walked off without another word. Michael opened the tent flap to find a single blanket laid out on the grass next to a tiny fire pit and a small bucket of water. There was nothing else, not even a pillow and it was the most beautiful sight Michael had seen in a week. He dropped face down on the blanket and was out in seconds.

Michael rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Cracking one of his eyes open, he could see through the cracks in the tent and it was dark, as true dawn had not come yet. The blankets were warm, and had accepted them as one of their own, so leaving the luxury accommodations of his bed was not an appealing prospect.

If it wasn't for that damn wolf.

Kari was obviously having a hard time sleeping. Her constant yawning, tossing and turning was driving him to distraction. He knew that animals had a different circadian rhythm than humans, but she wasn't some beagle that was licking itself all night. Licking herself he probably wouldn't have minded.

No this was one hundred and twenty pounds of human female, who had no concept of personal space or sleep etiquette. She had crammed herself up against him all night, waking him up constantly with her incessant rolling, sighing, and kicking. Michael was not a violent man by nature, but if she whacked him one more time he wasn't above kicking her out of the tent entirely.

He was able to doze off for a few more minutes, before he woke again to cold toes creeping up his pant leg.

"Oh no you don't," Michael scrambled out of bed and away from her frigid little icy toes.

"Come back," she moaned. "You're so warm. I need the warms. I'm not used to sleeping without my fur, and I don't like it."

"Nope. Nah uh. Hell no. My warms are mine. It took me all night to make them and I'm keeping them." Michael bent to pull on his moccasins and was promptly tackled, landing flat on his face.

"Yay! Alpha's warms are mine now." Kari snuggled into his bare back. Michael had spent too much time being single and had gotten used to sleeping without a shirt on. Thank god he still wore his pants, because Kari wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. The feel of her nipples, hardened from the cold, rubbed into his back in a way that made his pants fit terribly.

He sighed and just laid there as Kari snuggled against his back and slowly but surely introduced hypothermia into his bloodstream. If he was really honest with himself, he didn't mind the feeling of her body on top of him. Her skin was amazingly soft, which contrasted nicely with her hard nipples against his back. His dick certainly didn't mind. In fact it was quite happy to rise to the occasion, and add whatever value it may to the goings on.

Michael sighed heavily, masking it as a yawn. "Come on, we should hit the baths before the village wakes up."

'Or before I lose my mind.' The appearance of the wolf girl was providing heretofore unexpected complications. Oh sure, he knew that Iona held a mature rating, and during one of the many, many, interviews, the lead developer had acknowledged that there could be sexual relations between players and NPCs. But Michael was struggling with trying to understand where he stood with Kari.

Part of him was happy that he had a companion, especially one that was unbelievably hot and obviously didn't have any reservations about nudity. The other part of him was conflicted. So far, Kari had shown more intelligence than a wolf, but was barely on the same level as a smart child. Not that it was her fault, she was only a three day old human, but the issue remained. He didn't want to take advantage of her.

In his late teen years, Michael had thought more with his dick than with his head, and had ruined several good friendships with propositions of sex. Sometimes what people needed wasn't a lover, but just a good friend who would always listen. Not that it slowed his hormones down in any way.

"Fine, you stay here then," he announced. Michael rolled to the side and unceremoniously dumped Kari onto the grass, ignoring her squeak of protest. "I'm going to bathe. Join me once you wake up."

He quickly gathered up his clothes and ducked out the tent flap and began his trek to the river. It was a longer walk than Nizhoni's village, and he was so late getting started that the sun was just beyond the horizon, coloring the sky a deep blue rather than the blackness he remembered from last time.

Thankfully the river wasn't very far, and there was already a large fire burning with wooden sticks built into crude racks for clothing and a bucket of that same fatty soap they had down in Nizhoni's village. Michael didn't waste any time dicking around with setting up privacy curtains or even caring about how cold it was, he knew the river would be much colder and there was really no way to get around it.

Shucking his pants, Michael waded into the freezing river with a handful of that disgusting smelling soap and quickly lathered up to get clean, paying special attention to his pits and cracks. Weeks of grime and blood sluiced off his skin and washed downstream. As cold as the water was, it felt great to feel clean. He had almost forgot that hair didn't normally itch and his thighs didn't need to chafe.

A few minutes later and Michael was as clean as he could be with the water being as cold as it was. He retreated to the riverbank and grabbed his pants for a quick wash. A splash drew his attention and before he could control himself, he glanced up at the noise.

Kari had jumped into the river and was splashing about like she was having the time of her life. She rose from the water and flipped her hair out of her eyes and stretched her arms above her head while arching her back. He didn't mean to, but Michael found his eyes traveling down her body. Her hair was wet and plastered to her back where her muscles dimpled and corded beneath the pebbled skin, and stopped just above her perfect heart shaped ass. Her skin was still a wonderful golden tan, and it was glowing under the light of the first glimpses of pre-dawn. Her ass was a couple of perfectly shaped globes, each a symmetrical mastery of muscle that kissed each other and formed a perfect little valley for the water to run off her hair.

His eyes continued south to the slight gap between her thighs that showed just the slightest hint of fiery hair that teased a view of perfect pink puffy lips, followed by tight hamstrings that vanished mid thigh beneath the water.

Kari jerked and spun to face to face Michael, her eyes focused and intense. She met his eyes and then looked down at his crotch, which was at full salute to her beauty. "You smell alpha. You smell strong. You smell gooood." Kari's pupils dilated and her chest rose and fell as she began to hyperventilate.

Michael blinked, and suddenly she was in front of him panting and her eyes fixed on his. "My alpha is in heat. Mate with me."

Michael stood abruptly, starting at the suddenness of her statement, but the riverbank was slick and muddy. His feet shot out from under him and he was on his back. Instantly Kari was on top of him, spearing herself onto his cock.

They both gasped at the sensation. Kari was so tight, and her center was a molten furnace of wet heat. Her pussy walls clutched at him like it was made for him. Michael was no virgin, but never in his ... admittedly single digit... list of partners, he had never, never, felt anything so all encompassing as this wonderful pussy.

Kari moaned above him, clearly enjoying herself every bit as much as him.

'Fuck it.' Michael thought. 'I've tried to be polite and consider the consequences, but this is a game. She's not real. Even if she is, she's being controlled by a higher power and Sara wouldn't force me into a rape situation. I'm just gonna enjoy this.'

He reached up and grabbed Kari's hair and pulled, while thrusting up into her slick pussy. She gasped at the contact and the forcefulness of it. Rather than cry out or whimper, she met his eyes and growled.

"Yes my alpha. Take me, tame me, make me yours." She leaned down and grabbed his shoulders, and then bit him. Not hard enough to tear out a chunk, but enough to hold him in place and let him know that moving would result in pain.

'Oh? So the wolf wants to play? I can play.'

Michael wound her hair around his fist and pulled her teeth off his shoulder. Slowly, inexorably, he forced her head back. "Mmmm, yes my alpha. Show me why I should follow you," she whined. Her hands curled and fingers gouged shallow furroughs into his arms.

With a hard thrust with his hips at the same time he pulled her head down and sideways, Michael flipped Kari onto her back while refusing to allow her sheath to leave him. She gasped and writhed beneath him, making wonderful little mewling noises and whining so prettily. He quickly gathered up her hands and pinned them above her head with one hand, and grabbed her by the throat with the other. Gathering his knees beneath him, Michael began thrusting in earnest, pounding her into the mud with reckless abandon.

Kari didn't seem to mind in the least. It wasn't long until her shrieks reached a level that could wake the dead.

"Yes, yes yesyesyesyes, YES! Oh please my alpha. Please take me, use me. Fill me. Breed me, make me carry your pups" Kari screamed. "Oh! Oh, something is happening! What?! What is thiiiiiiiissssss," she trailed off as her eyes rolled back into her skull and her legs locked around his hips. Her pussy clenched around his cock like a fist, milking him for all she was worth. Her orgasm triggered his own, and soon his hips were slamming into her of their own accord and he tipped over the edge.