The Pleasures of Hell 01.019

Jes and David shrugged, and got moving. They followed the path around the mountain, away from the canyon, and toward their little hideout.

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Jes took a few sniffs, a few more, and motioned for David and Acelina to follow.

"Yo, girls!" she yelled, and stepped into the opening of the cave the four of them had been hiding in before. "Girls, I can smell you. You here?"

A few clicks echoed in the silence. Then some clops. Four black horns, two of them curling back like big ram horns, stepped around the deep inner curve of the tunnel and into view.

Daoka unleashed a flurry of high-pitched clicks as she bound forward, hopping all too much like a deer as she closed the distance. She leapt at Jeskura, and Jeskura caught her, a full hug straight on, followed by a spin, and some more hugging. And kissing.

Chuckling, Caera stepped around the tunnel curve into view, and prowled up to them on all-fours. But before she could say anything, Dao clicked, chirped, and jumped at David.

"Dao, don't!" Jes said.

Too late. Dao crashed into David. David went down, and yelled. Almost screamed, but some dumb part of his brain insisted he yell instead. Screaming wasn't manly, and with four women around, it was important he sound manly. Man brain was dumb brain.

Dao got back up, covered her cheeks with her hands, and clicked rapid fire as she looked him up and down, panicking.

"Broken ribs. Broken everything," he said, and he forced himself up to sitting. Dao helped him back to his feet and rubbed her horns against his head and shaggy red hair as she gently pat his chest. "I'm okay, I'm okay. Healing."

"You're alive," Caera said, walking past Dao and Jes and up to David. "We saw you--" With a hiss, she jumped around him, and put herself between them and the newcomer. "Acelina? The fuck are you doing here?"

"She fell out of the spire when it tilted over," Jes said.

"We saw," Caera said. "Didn't realize it was Acelina." And from the snarling and growling, Caera wasn't happy it was her. "That doesn't explain why she's here with you two."

Jes laughed. "David wanted me to spare her."

"Why?"

"Because it's David. He saw a demon willing to talk, who just happened to have tits bigger than her head, horns included, so of course he thought we should spare her."

Acelina mirrored Caera's growls as she folded her arms across her stomach. She couldn't exactly fold them across her chest, due to the aforementioned boobs.

Dao clicked some more as she guided David to the back of their cave. With gentleness Acelina clearly hadn't ever seen a demon use, judging from her royal scoff, Dao set David down, back to the wall, and she sat beside him and nuzzled into him. She threw some glances at Acelina, aiming her eyeless gaze at the fellow eyeless demon, but with Caera playing guard dog, Dao relaxed, clicked softly, and rubbed her horn and cheek on David's head some more.

"I'm okay, really," he said. "How much did you guys see of the battle?"

"Quite a bit," Caera said, walking backward into the cave, body still aimed at Acelina. "We were trying to get closer to the spire while staying out of the battle, unlike you, fucking moron."

"Sorry."

The tiger laughed. "We went left. When the canyon ripped open and the spire got stuck on the right side, the three of us were pretty sad. Thought we'd never see you again."

"Oh... then I'm... very sorry."

"Yeah, well, the battle pretty much stopped. The giant hellbeast ran off, and the demons in aera armor all died. Everyone stopped and watched the canyon rip open; bunch of demons fell in, too. So we approached and watched. We saw you and Mia about to fall, and Dao begged Jes to do something."

"She did," Jes said, groaning and rubbing one of her shoulders as she sat down beside David on his other side.

Acelina grumbled and clicked once.

"What?" Jes said with a snap. "We told you that's what happened."

"I didn't believe this one stupid boy could earn such devotion from three demons so quickly."

Daoka clicked a few times, harsh sounds aimed at Acelina, before she leaned back into David and put a kiss on his cheek. And a hug, a gentler one.

"Dao loves her pet," Jes said with a shrug.

"You don't dive into a canyon over a void of... of something, risking death and perhaps worse, for a pet," Acelina said.

"Humans do," David said. "Sometimes." Not that he enjoyed being compared to a pet, but, maybe he did? A little part of him maybe did, at least. It was nice, knowing he had people who'd put themselves in harm's way to save him because they thought of him like that, and wanted to take care of him. And fuck him. That was pretty awesome, too.

"Whatever," Jes said. "What'd you guys see after I jumped in?"

Caera sat down between David and Acelina, half facing him, half facing her. Protective mode.

"We saw you catch Mia and David. We saw the rider fall in, grow a pair of wings of fire, and catch the canyon wall on our side. Then this other person who looked just like the rider jumped into the ravine after you, and did the same thing. We saw whoever that new person was save you guys from going down, and then we had to get out of there. Other demons were crowding around and recognizing Daoka." Caera looked around. "That reminds me. Where is your sister?"

"The woman who saved us took her across the canyon," David said. "She yanked Mia practically out of my arms and landed in a tunnel on the other side. Apparently Zel had a leash on Vinicius, now Mia has it, and she's going to have him as a guard dog."

Dao and Caera looked to each other before Dao let out a few weak chirps, and settled her chin on his shoulder.

"So all that work, for nothing?" Caera said. "Your sister's gone?"

"Other side of the canyon," Jes said. "Not gone. And she's got a fucking child of Belial on a leash. And..." She gestured to David.

After a deep breath, he swallowed down his nervousness, and spoke.

"My sister and I need to get to the Forgotten Place, or, uh, according to the stranger who saved us... we're all doomed."

Silence fell on them. Caera stared at him, eyes wide, and Dao's mouth fell open. Acelina took a step closer and frowned just enough for a sliver of one of her fangs to appear.

"You're... serious?" Caera asked.

"I am," he said.

"All doomed?"

"Yeap."

"Like, just the four of us or--"

"Everyone. Far as I could tell, she meant all of Hell, and maybe more."

"Fuck..." Caera looked down, eyes wide.

"And the stranger, she sounded like she knew what she was doing. She took Mia away, and when she did, the quakes stopped, and the canyon stopped growing."

"Stopped growing?"

"Stopped growing," he said. "Within seconds of her taking Mia, the quakes stopped, and that void thing stopped trying to... do whatever it was trying to do. No idea why. It was almost like... it couldn't see me anymore. Couldn't see us anymore."

Caera shivered. "It did do a lot of damage."

"I'm just happy other demons can tell there's an 'it' down there. I thought maybe people would think I was nuts. It looks like, just, blackness, right?"

All the ladies nodded.

"There is something down there," Acelina said. She pulled one of her big wings around in front of her, and idly ran her claws along its inner edges between the bat fingers, cleaning it. "To think something that colossal and... unusual, is after the unmarked? Zel was right to assume Mia would be a useful tool."

"Hey," Jes said. "We're planning here. Shut up."

Acelina eyelessly eye rolled -- she was good at that -- as she softly paced, still cleaning her wings.

"There's more," David said. "I--should I say? With Acelina here."

"She already knows about the dream," Jes said. "What else is there?"

The crazy weird symbols flowing through his mind, for one. The electric shock he'd felt when he'd first touched Mia, and how he'd felt the same from that dream, for another. The strings he felt around him, for a third. They'd always been there, but now his brain, or maybe his soul, couldn't help but notice and feel them, and be aware he could pluck them. And aware that he was plucking them right now, all the time, even when he didn't want to. Tiny vibrations making sound he couldn't hear, but feel.

"True," he said. "I guess she knows we'll be heading, or at least, I'd like to head to the Forgotten Place. But about Caera's... you know, her thing. We can do that on the way, right?"

Caera stared at him, stared a little longer, and laughed. She prowled over to him on all-fours, leaned in, and kissed him, one hand pressed to his chest for support.

"Ow! Oh fuck." He clutched his chest, and Caera jumped back.

"You're really fucked up. Tell me about this dream thing later. You need to eat."

"Fuck me yeah I do." He tilted over, intent on collapsing into a ball on his knees and forehead, but Dao grabbed his arm and helped him back up.

"We'd have hunted some food for you and held onto it, but flesh doesn't last, and we didn't know..."

Dao clicked deep in her throat, deeper than usual, and rubbed her closest horn against him as she reached across him. Jes took Dao's hand and squeezed it.

Acelina groaned.

"We'll go hunting later," Caera said. "The canyon really stirred the nest. Demons are out in droves, trying to figure out what's going on. I've seen souls running around in shadows, and souls are usually pretty good at hiding. Should be easy to get us some food."

David gestured to Acelina. "And... what do we do with her? Especially now that she knows so much."

"Sure you don't want to just kill her?" Caera asked.

Jes nodded. "I vote killing."

Acelina snapped around, spread her wings, and bared her teeth as she held her hands at her sides, claws out. Despite her supposed lack of combat ability, she looked more than ready to go down fighting.

"Whoa whoa," he said. "Kill her? We have to?"

Daoka chirped a few times, gesturing to Acelina.

"Don't side with David," Jes said. "Acelina is a horrible, evil--"

"Hardly," Acelina said.

Caera put up a hand as she sat down in front of David, cat style.

"We're playing babysitter to her?"

"Apparently," Jes said, "if David doesn't want to kill her, and Dao wants to do whatever David wants to do. Slut."

Dao chirped and smiled.

The tiger shook her head. "Doesn't mean we need to keep her around. Let her go off on her own."

"She'll probably die if she does that, right?" David said. "But she might have some use to us. She might be able to settle any issues if run into Domicela. Plus, she wants to get to the Grave Valley spire. If we go that way, she can get Azailia on our good side, right? Maybe?" He almost shrugged, but stopped himself before the pain kicked in.

Dao sighed, but clicked a few times as she nodded. She leaned in, kissed his cheek, and gestured to Acelina again as she clicked.

"She might die, might," Caera said. "But... fine, you make a good point. Zotivas are extremely rare, and no one's ever seen one out of a spire. As long as she keeps her head down, she might be useful."

"Of course I am useful," Acelina said, draping her wings across her shoulders again. "Domicela will listen to me, and Azailia and Zelandariel were close friends. Lovers, once upon a time. We are... friends, of a sort. If you are captured or some such, she will listen to me and allow the four of you to continue on your ridiculous journey."

"Ridiculous?" David asked. "I'm kinda hoping demons who learn about what's happening will... help? You know, help me maybe save the world?"

All four girls laughed. Damn it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~Day 30~~

They fed him a demon's heart, this time. He didn't ask about the demon. He didn't want to know.

He expected memories, and sure enough, he got them, nasty memories of some really violent shit. The fact they came with the glorious taste and the almost overpowering, enthralling sensation of life filling his stomach straight out into his veins, made it a very mixed bag. But the sensation of wounds healing was euphoric, and he melted into the joy of simply not being in pain.

Four days of lying around doing absolutely nothing was kind of boring, but spending it feeling the pain melt away was bliss. Dao and Jes stayed with him the whole time, Acelina too, and they often got into arguments. For some reason, he enjoyed listening to them. He didn't talk or interrupt, just let them argue. Sometimes Caera came back from hunting or scouting to yell at them, but mostly the four days were spent listening to Jes and Acelina get into fights, with Dao clicking and trying to play peacekeeper.

Maybe this was what it was like, having a family? He had his sister, and thank god she was still alive, but the family dynamic was never really a thing. Brother and sister, but no one else. Mia and David had just never connected with their foster parents, the multiple ones they'd had. Always distant, never argued, and always got sent on when the parents realized what was happening.

Now that he had three, kinda four ladies all in close proximity all the time, arguing with each other, something in his mind calmed that usually never did. His nerves, maybe. Whatever it was, it felt natural to be around a small group of people and listen to them, the noises they made, the chatting and arguing, even just their breathing. The fact he was having sex with three of them was a weird twist his brain didn't quite know how to process, but it liked that, too.

After a few days and nights to digest, heal, and think about things, it was time to tell the girls he was ready to begin the adventure.

Or, at least, that was the plan, but before he could open his mouth, Dao sat beside him in their little cave, gestured out at Acelina, and clicked in his ear a few times.

Acelina scoffed. "Do not be ridiculous. None of you are worthy of touching me."

Chirping and giggling, Daoka shook her head before leaning into David's side and stroking his chest with her claws. He only wore his leather skirt, and her sharp claws sent tingles through his body.

"Dao, you horny slut," Jes said. "Not even sure he's healed." She sat nearby and clawed at some grooves in her armor that sat in a pile on the ground.

Caera sat closer to the entrance as usual, almost like a guard dog. None of the girls wore armor, but since none of them were aroused, their skin was dark red and firm. His brain had gotten better at thinking of 'dark red' as 'clothes', and only soft red as skin. But, if he was guessing Dao's clicks right, both he and Dao were equally distracted by the spire mother sitting on the other side of the cave, dark red skin or not.

Dao giggled, chirped a few more times, and gestured to Acelina again. Yeap.

"I have no intention of touching him," Acelina said, snarling and hooking her arms under her breasts across her stomach. She sat up straight with her legs out in front of her, crossed at the knee and thigh, as if she could will a throne into existence with her posture and anger combined.

"I think I'm healed," he said, and poked himself in the ribs. "No pain."

"Really?" Caera asked, prowling closer to him. "That's pretty fast for a soul."

"Not like he's normal," Jes said. She joined Caera and sat down beside him, opposite of Dao. "So we're heading out soon, then? Not like we have any reason to stick around."

"To help Caera first," he said. "Maybe we can circle all the way around and deal with Diogo, too?"

Jes laughed, shaking her head. "It takes a month of hard busting ass and hauling tail to cross just one province, David. We'd be lucky to make that trip in a year, and it'd take a miracle to survive it. How about we worry about Diogo later?"

He sighed. "Fine."

"The fuck you sighing for? Diogo's my problem, not yours."

"Just... it bothers me, you know? I told you I'd help if you helped me. You helped me and now I can't help you."

Jes stared at him for a few moments before a smile grew. Not a playful one, or a big one that usually preceded big laughs. A subtle one, mixed with intrigued eyes.

"I bet Acelina thinks you're full of shit, lying and whatnot," she said. David looked across the small cave to Acelina, who shrugged and scowled. "Buuut the girls and I know by now you're just that stupid and nice, aren't you?"

"Hey, I didn't think it was stu--"

Jes sat on his lap, reached down, and tossed his skirt aside. He blinked up at her, and she grinned down at him as she got comfortable on his naked legs, her tail swaying over his crossed ankles.

"Ya know, much as it really pissed me off that you ran off on us and almost got killed. Much as it made me want to tear your heart out that you threw yourself into chaos like that, I gotta admit, seeing you get all reckless like that was awesome."

Dao clicked a few times, nodding, and snuggled into his side.

"I think," Caera said, "Jes's last words before she jumped off the cliff to save you were 'I'm gonna fuck him or kill him'. Something like that."

Jes rolled her eyes, leaned in close, and put a kiss on David's lips. Dao did the same, leaning in until her horns fought for room against Jes's, and the two ladies grinned as they took turns putting kisses on him.

"I deserve a reward for that shit," Jes said. "So, now that you're healed, you're gonna fuck me, okay? And I don't mean any of this sissy shit Dao loves so much. First, you're gonna lick me and finger me, and I expect good things from those fingers 'cause demons can't use em."

He gulped. "Can't?"

She sat back and held up her hands in front of him. "Claws. We always use tongues on each other, sometimes tails, but humans can do some cool things with their fingers." After a playful wink, she took one of his hands, set one of his fingers into her mouth, and slowly dragged her lips back and forth along it, from tip to knuckle. "Been a while since I've had that."

Heat shot up through his body like gasoline on a brushfire.

"O-Okay."

"And then you're gonna fuck me. Hard as you can. Got it?"

"Uh..."

Laughing all the more, Jes slid back off his lap, and lay out on her back on the floor. Legs pointed at David, she spread them wide, and her slit's lips softened and opened before his eyes. Every part of her grew redder, and her large breasts squashed beautifully against her chest as gravity got to have a say. She ran her claws down her naked body, down to her thighs, and spread her legs wider as she arched her back, and pushed out her chest and flat, firm stomach.

She had the body of a thin athlete, and bending like that showed off how slim and tight her waist was, her subtle abs, and some shape-accentuating flexibility.

He gulped and nodded toward Acelina, who sat a literal fifteen feet away. Her big hooves almost touched Jes's horns.

"She's... right there."

"So?" Shrugging, Jes sat up, looked over her shoulder at the much taller demon, and grinned at David. "You fucking shy?"

"No... but--"

Clicking away, Dao crawled out into the center of the cave beside Jes, made sure to aim her ass at David as she did, and sat beside her lover. After a few happy chirps, she leaned in and kissed Jes, and Jes was all too eager to return the favor.

David gulped, doing his best to keep his arousal from bubbling up. Acelina stared at the three of them, just enough of her teeth showing to reveal her small scowl. This wasn't just Jes being in a horny mood, but wanting to show off in front of Acelina. Show off, or her tempt her? Or, just rub it in Acelina's face that she was having good sex.

Good sex. A tingle of pride coursed through David's body, and more heat came with it.

Caera chuckled as well and joined the two ladies. An absolutely massive, eight-foot tall, muscular busty demon woman of feline and feminine curves, she sat down catlike, facing Acelina, and her huge tail swayed on the ground behind her.