Merchant & Monster Girls Ch. 12

Azalea found herself awake quite early the next morning. Too excited to sleep in, she instead spent the extra time making herself look presentable for her auction appointment.

She had only two outfits to choose from, so the decision shouldn't have been difficult. Jeni had told her before going to bed last night that she'd be expected to stand on stage during the proceedings so the buyers could assess the producer -- her.

First time I wished I had more clothes to choose from! Flower dress or formal? Formal might be a little much. Flower dress it is! After today, I should be able to buy more. I wonder what Life-mate would like to see me in.

Throwing on her default flower dress, she grabbed her friendship plug and popped it in.

I should start stretching today.

The rushing fairy opened her jewelry box-converted closet and pulled out all her dilators.Lots of sizes to choose from. Lets see, I have ten, total. First one seems kinda small to do any actual stretching. It might be good for a warm up. Number two would be a perfect fit, but it's not gonna help me become roomier. Three will be a snug fit, and four might be after a long warm-up session, but it'd be visible and hard to hide in this outfit. Maybe I'll save it for when I don't need to move around much. The rest I'm definitely gonna have to work up towards.

She dreamily slid her hand across the tenth one -- a perfect recreation of her life-mate's penis in length and girth. She was impressed how well it captured all the details, from the vein placement to the wrinkles of his foreskin.

Glad I put a lot of detail into that drawing to be used as a reference. Let's start with number three. In ya go!

She squatted down and inserted the dilator, but upon standing up, it fell out. On the second try, she attempted gripping with her muscles, but that had the same result.

Didn't realize I was so weak down there! Though, come to think of it, I've never had to hold anything in myself before.

She was rummaging around in her bag when Jeni entered wearing her scholarly robes, minus the sash and other paraphernalia. Mistaking the dilators for dildos, the owl girl asked, "Horny Azalea is feeling amorous this morning?"

"Not any more than usual. Just wanted to begin stretching myself for Life-mate. Why can't I find... there it is!" Azalea held up a polished, spherical purple gem, with lighter white and violet swirls, that resembled a peeled grape.

Jeni cocked her head at the sight.

"It's flourite! Isn't it pretty?"

Not seeing the connection, Jeni queried, "Does little Azalea like collecting pretty rocks?"

Azalea giggled. "No, but I do like purple things. This is my coming-of-age gift. Its actual name is kinda dull, so I nicknamed it the love-hug ball."

Azalea hiked up her dress, pushed the orb snug against her cervix, and clenched down. "Helps strengthen our muscles down there. It's a traditional gift given to fairy girls by their parents. Usually, it matches the color of our eyes."

"A curious gift."

"Getting filled by something or someone exceptionally large makes us loose. So we retighten our muscles by clamping down on this. I'm apparently not as strong as I'd like to be, even before getting stretched. I can't hold my dilator in."

"What do male fairies receive?"

"An aneros."

"This one is not familiar with that," Jeni stated after a pause.

"It's a T-shaped thing with a bump on the end. I didn't actually know how it worked till just recently when we visited Grandpa Gylan's farm. I thought it just felt good in your butt, but I guess it pushes against a boy's prostate."

"And that is pleasurable?"

"The satyr I helped milk for your delivery definitely seemed to enjoy it. Now that I think back on it, I remember giving a handjob to a boy fairy once, and he had one in. I didn't understand it at the time, but I kinda got him stuck in an orgasmic loop lasting way longer than normal. He came once, and that clenched his butt muscles, pushing the aneros against his prostate, making him cum again.

That repeated till long after he had no more cum. Poor thing almost fainted from pleasure. I probably should have stopped pumping him and pulled it out, but it was the first time seeing a boy cum and I was entranced watching him jerk and spasm."

Jeni searched her memory. "This one is not familiar with fairy customs. Does coming-of-age mark the beginning of fae adulthood?"

"Yes. It's different for Pixies and Leannan Sidhe, but for Fairies, it's a period of time starting when we turn eighteen. By then, we are fully grown but are unable to fly till we turn twenty -- when our affinity manifests.

"And before you say it, I know, those with affinity are rare, and that's true in the sense of quantity for crest and glyph usage, but all fae possess a minute amount we utilize in order to float. We can only stay airborne for a short time and are very clumsy. So for five years, we practice precision flying through obstacle courses till our affinic nature is fully developed."

"Young Azalea was not frightened at not being able to fly?"

"No. We keep ourselves and villages well hidden, and we don't leave them till we can. Anyway, we call that stretch of time our prurient years because, as you know, affinity has a strong connection to arousal. In our case, we become insatiably horny. To help us cope, our parents or an elder fairy gives us two gifts. The love-hug ball is the second, given at the end of the five years.

"The first is...you know how catfolk use a scratching post when their claws are developing? We are given.. well, by we I mean the girls, boys are given something different, anullastock. Think of a wooden stump with all kinds of different textures and edges carved into it of various human and demi-human penis shapes made from the branches. It's screwed to the inside of a wide, shallow bowl so we don't make a mess. It's supposed to help us keep our hands off each other, or at least minimize it, though there are still plenty of fairies that mess around with each other.

"At twenty-five, our libido wanes and becomes less active, or is supposed to. It didn't in me." Azalea's voice trailed off.

Up to this point, she'd been talking very matter of factly. Jeni noticed her expression change but was oblivious to it meaning anything other than a pause for thought. Something pulled at her mind to ask, "Mature Azalea didn't develop properly?"

"Not the way I was supposed to."

"But healthy Azalea seems normal to this one."

"Sure, on the outside, but I'm a nymph, Jeni -- a hypersexual fairy."

"Is that not common among fae?"

"Not fairies, at least to this degree. I'm abnormal." Azalea sighed. "I was able to start flying at eighteen, a full two years earlier than everyone else, and shortly after that, my pruriency manifested from a wet dream I had. I don't remember what it was about, but sometime during the night I had stuffed a pillow between my legs. I must have been humping it because I awoke with it soaked."

"This one doesn't think that is too unusual."

"It was, because from then on, it felt like a fire was burning inside me, one that diminishes for a while after I orgasm but never fully goes out. It's a tiny bit better now, or maybe I'm more used to it, but back then, I had my fingers between my legs almost all the time when I was alone or when no one would notice.

I quickly learned why we are given a nullastock. I got bored of fingering pretty quickly and was soon looking for other ways to pleasure myself. I particularly liked rubbing up against things: desk edges, door knobs, stair railings.

I was too embarrassed to tell my mom about my situation, so I tried to keep my activities a secret, at least for two years. I was doing a good job till she surprised me one night while I was experimenting with a bedpost. I was just about to cum when she opened the door. I lost my balance and fell. Embarrassed and frustrated at having my orgasm ruined, I ended up telling her everything."

"Maybe quick Azalea was just an early bloomer."

"Mom said the same thing -- that my situation was rare, but not unheard, especially for... for me in particular."

To someone like her that had trouble reading social cues and difficulty in perceiving underlying subtext Jeni didn't conceive Azalea's abject fascination and enjoyment of pleasure was specific to her or an oddity among her people. She never gave any outward signs. Nor that it was a source of emotional discomfort if Azalea hadn't said anything.

"Wanton Azalea doesn't seem to mind exhibiting her desires."

"It's not that I don't like it, I do but... sometimes I'm also scared. I don't want people to not like me. That I'll end up like...that, that part of me will take over, and I'll hurt someone I care about."

Jeni didn't know what to make of her friend's revelation. Azalea was very easy to get along with due to her cheerful and carefree attitude. While she could be a little pushy, she tempered it by being hyper-aware of the other person's feelings.

Unless there was still a reason Azalea had not divulged, from her perspective, Jeni categorized that as an unnecessary worry. Regardless, she felt happy her friend was comfortable enough sharing what she considered very intimate details about her life and self.

Azalea turned away, silently thinking she had maybe she had rambled a little too much and hoped Jeni wouldn't ask any further questions.

But Jeni's overt inquisitiveness was actively trying to piece together whether Azalea's quickened maturation was due to her having enough affinity for crest usage or limited to just her lineage, or both. Azalea had specifically mentioned fairies, but she only off-handidly pointed out the other two fae types were different.

There was some debated contention among academics whether fae were offshoots from an earlier type of demi-human, or whether one of them was the trunk and the other the branches.

"If this one hadn't been told, Azalea's demeanor could be mistaken for a pixie's."

"But I don't want to be a pixie!" Azalea suddenly blurted out.

Azalea slapped her hands over her mouth, as if she could take back the words she just spoke. Her eyes went big, contending with Jeni's. She spun around again, aghast at what she just said. "I mean... uhh... um, no! No, no, nononono!"

Jeni tilted her head, confused at Azalea's sudden panic.

Tears formed in the fairy's eyes. "You didn't hear that! But you did. Just, uh, uh, forget what I said! No, it's not that easy! Please, please don't tell anyone, Jeni!"

Jeni should have been more considerate of Azalea's current emotional state but her mind was rushing to organize all the pieces of a puzzle; she wasn't quite sure what the end picture was and voiced her thought process.

"Talking of only one's mother, allusive Azalea's personality and indication of mixed lineage would suggest her father is a..."

'DON'T SAY IT!" Azalea screamed and flew within inches of Jeni's face.

Jeni was taken aback.

Azalea instantly regretted yelling, backed away, and buried her face in her hands, ashamed for revealing her biggest secret.

Jeni's confusion changed into perplexity. Azalea was obviously upset having unwittingly revealed she possessed both fairy and pixie blood, but why? It was quite common, especially among closely related demi-humans. For some reason, it agitated her friend tremendously.

Jeni scooped up her distraught friend. Azalea tried to push her wing away but was very uncommitted to the effort. Hugging her close, Jeni didn't say anything for a long while.

Choosing her words carefully, "this one is not unaware that she is also different in many ways from others. While she has improved over the last several years, she still has much to improve upon.

This one will not say anything to others concerning what upset Azalea would not want her to say. And while this one does not understand the cause for Azalea's distress,this one does not mind in the least what cute Azalea is or is not. She is this one's friend, and this one is here if the want or need arises to talk about it."

"I'm sorry for shouting." Azalea mumbled into Jeni's feathers. "It's not something I like to talk about."

"Does Young Patron know?"

"Of course not. It's not something I could change anyway."

"This one is certain neither Young Patron nor understanding Reina would be bothered in the slightest either about such a thing."

After Azalea had calmed down, Jeni changed the subject. "Is little Azalea excited for today's auction?"

Azalea wiped her eyes. "Equal parts excited and nervous. I'm not under-dressed, right? I did fix up my hair a bit."

"It is fine."

After grabbing a quick bite from the kitchen, she returned and asked, "Why are we leaving so early?"

"This one may grow fatigued more quickly, due to the encumberment of her choice of heavier attire, and would like to make another assessment of her physical condition without the aid of updrafts."

"I do enjoy the scenic route." Azalea stood up and stretched her wings. "I'm ready when you are."

The day was well underway in the city as the two weaved between plumes of late breakfast-scented smoke wafting from a forest of chimneys. They had not gone very far when Azalea noticed a considerable dip in altitude.

"Are you alright, Jeni?"

"This one... needs to perch... Somewhere... and rest," she panted. Choosing the closest roof, she alighted and sat down.

"This one did not realize how much difference the wind would make in conserving energy."

Azalea rubbed her friend's wing. "It does. You pretty much just need to steer. Flapping takes considerably more effort."

"This one just needs a moment."

Azalea peered around at their surroundings. She didn't know where they were in the city, so she sauntered over to the edge of the roof and looked down.

Despite the promise of indoor warmth, the coldest winter couldn't curtail the activity of a population used to such a frigid environment, especially when a certain excitement was in the air. Shopkeepers, their apprentices, and anyone willing or able, were shoveling snow away from their store fronts, loading it onto long lines of transport sleds sluicing their way through the streets.

"What's everyone doing with the snow?" asked Azalea.

"This is the yeartide of Ice and Frost."

"Yeartide?"

"A festival."

"Festival?!" Chirped back excitedly.

"It's an annual occurrence, originally created from the dislike of the city's inhabitants toward the accumulation of snow."

"How so?"

"The task of transporting snow outside of the city is an arduous task. Instead, the city opted to make use of it for a week-long festival since it is more fun and outdoor entertainment is less prevalent this time of year. This one will show fun-loving Azalea."

Having caught her breath, Jeni took off, doubling back and steering west, following the line of people to the nearest plaza. Circling overhead, she explained, "the communities in each district form teams, and those teams each choose a leader. Sometimes they decide on a theme to represent their district, neighborhood, or street. This one appears to be run by the botany and horticulturist quarter. The theme seems to be something related to gardening."

The ground was covered with long strips of polar grass, a resilient turf of pale green stalks with frost colored tips. Stone tile walkways, littered with people, meanded between sectioned-off areas containing snowy recreations of the many local flora found throughout the region.

"The main draw are usually the ice carving competitions." Jeni pointed to the far side. In front of a crowd of people were two teams of five working on different fountain designs, each with an erupting frozen plume of water. "Typically, the most experienced member relays orders to the other four."

"Hey, Jeni, is there a plaza near Whitegold?"

"There is."

"Can we go see it?"

Jeni looked at the clock tower. "There is still time."

Straightening their course from northeast to straight north, they flew over Sanna's bakery. Her shop was closed. Gertrude's, on the other hand, was open. The elderly arachne was out front knocking icicles off the eaves.

A little further on, Whitegold game into view. Azalea squinted. "I see some people. I wonder if Suvi is down there. Hmm, doesn't look like it."

In the courtyard, girls Azalea didn't recognize were unloading foodstuff from a delivery wagon. While other's, distracted from shoveling snow, threw snowballs at each other, despite Sable's chastising.

Azalea wondered if this festival extended to all the districts, particularly the more titillating ones. Much to her delight, as they neared their destination, she saw it did. Her jaw dropped. "This plaza's huge!"

"This is the third largest because it is shared between the yellow, pink, and red zones. The only ones bigger are near the southern docks and the main northwest entrance." Jeni responded while searching for an open spot to set down.

Flocks of harpies were everywhere, perched next to each other on steeples and porches overlooking the commons. Their trilling conversation provided a chaotic yet melodic element over the din of the crowds.

Jeni spotted an opening over the main thoroughfare gate, next to a pair of cardinal harpies who acknowledged the two arrivals with a nod while continuing to sing to passers-by below. Other than black dresses, they were topless. Their lips were painted with ruby lipstick matching their striking plumage. Those who stopped to listen sometimes held up a coin, whereupon a donation box, tied to their talon was lowered.

"Can you sing, Jeni?"

"This one does not think her voice produces sound that is appealing to listen to."

"I'll be the judge of that. I'd like to hear you someday," Azalea chided.

"This one will consider it."

From their high vantage point, they were able to view the entire plaza. It was separated into thirds with most the snow being piled around the perimeter into a makeshift wall. The rest went toward the middle where artisans had sculpted out three tunnels, lit with colored lanterns, to each of the tertiary sections' activities.

Since this was the more risque quarter, clothing was optional. Many in the crowd (namely humans) were bundled against the weather. The very few who were fully naked were mostly demi-humans not bothered by the cold. Those who had opted to go only topless seemed to be mainly engaged in some performance or managing food-related services.

Azalea sniffed the air. "Something smells good."

Jeni raised her wing to point. "Food vendors conjugate over there."

Steaming rotisserie's full of the fragrance of many delicious-smelling items Azalea didn't recognize, made her mouth water.

"Wait, is that...! There's Sanna!" She pointed and announced excitedly. Lending to the sumptuous aroma of the other stalls, the grizzly woman sat in the midst of a three-sided booth, behind a portable oven. On one side were bare, made-to-order cookies. Trays of freshly chopped fruit and palettes of syrups were on the other.

Wearing a honey-colored apron, and only an apron, garnished with bee girls and white clover print, She was hand-decorating customers' requests.

The ditzy girl, Hallie, wore the same. She was busily mixing and kneading dough for the next batch of pastries, her little bunny boobies lightly bouncing as she hopped back and forth between the oven and the table.

"Those look so good! I don't have any money, though," bemoaned Azalea.

Jeni didn't either. She didn't think they'd need any. The cardinal harpies were still singing. The gathering crowd below had grown a tad larger and their positioning was inconvenient in front of the gate, so they had shifted closer to the side to avoid blocking traffic.

Jeni was thinking how she could fulfill Azalea's desire when a moth woman in a woven sweater with a wooly scarf of fluff around her neck held up a coin to her. Jeni tilted her head, visibly confused. She wasn't part of the cardinal's performance. Did this lady want to see her sing?