Moonchanter

“Here. Why don’t we take the opportunity to celebrate a little?”

Nefer pressed the glass into Lauma’s hand. She took it without thinking, then looked uneasy as the sharp-eyed woman started to fill it with floral-scented wine. “Nefer, I don’t really drink alcohol,” she protested.

The Curatorium owner smiled sweetly. “Well, since you came all this way, it’s fine to cut loose a little, no?” She withdrew the carafe and used it to fill a glass of her own, which she brought up to hold next to Lauma’s. After a moment’s pause, she knocked her glass against Lauma’s and took a long sip, watching her guest closely.

Good, she thought, her mind working. Having worked together to save Nasha Town, she now had the Moonchanter of the Frostmoon Scions alone in her personal office at the back of the Curatorium of Secrets. Let’s see if alcohol will loosen the Lady Moonchanter’s tongue a little, she thought, excited at the possibility of uncovering some new secrets to trade.

She had no idea if it would work, of course. The chances were high that Lauma would immediately drift off to sleep. But a drunken Moonchanter might actually be entertaining, and what was there to lose by trying, really?

Lauma looked at her glass, uncertain. Finally, politeness won her over and she took a sip.

Nefer’s smile widened.

Her smile was starting to fray as she leant further against the arm of the couch. Lauma’s glass sat half-drunk on the table as the other woman spread out languidly beside her, seemingly unable to stop from draping herself over Nefer’s shoulder as they talked. Her shoes lay haphazardly strewn across the rug, her bare feet tucked up under her as she reclined cosily on the couch.

The rapid transformation from demure Moonchanter to flirty drunk had shocked Nefer more than she would care to admit – and she wasn’t sure that she liked it.

Lauma’s movements had become decidedly sensual. She started to idly trace her finger along Nefer’s earcuff as the other woman attempted to shrug her off.

“Is there something in my manner that’s making you uncomfortable?” she asked, with irritating perceptiveness.

Nefer was used to being in control, and she’d definitely been pushed out of her comfort zone here. Lauma’s eyes were as clear and placid as ever and her voice was steady and deliberate, causing Nefer to doubt that she was drunk at all. The only thing that was different was how ready she was to touch her, and the lazy smile that was playing across her face.

Nefer had never gotten on particularly well with Lauma in the past; the Moonchanter was too perceptive by half, and her selfless morality offended Nefer’s nature. That said, she’d always held a grudging respect for the woman, an impression that was being challenged by whatever the hell was happening here.

“Do you know, I believe the wine is having an effect on me?” she continued, not giving Nefer the time to respond. “I certainly feel calmer than I did before.”

“Alcohol can be good for cutting loose,” replied Nefer, neutrally.

Lauma considered these words for a moment. “Hmm, yes... Yes, I can feel that. Until a while ago, I was burdened by my concerns, but now... My concerns remain unresolved, and yet I find that I can push them aside and be present in this moment.”

Nefer feigned polite interest. This was getting to the meat of what she wanted. “Why don’t you tell me what’s concerning you?” she said, brushing aside a stray indigo hair that had fallen across the Moonchanter’s cheek.

In response, Lauma smiled at her indulgently. “Aren’t you kind to be worried? But I wouldn’t want to burden you unnecessarily – as you said, this is a celebration. Why don’t we talk about your frustrations, instead?”

Nefer tried to edge away further, and found that she had no more room to move. “My frustrations?” she asked, as Lauma placed her hand on her bare knee.

The Moonchanter’s eyes were fixed on her. For her part, Nefer was having trouble holding her gaze. “Yes,” Lauma said. “I can feel you tensing at my touch. I would like you to feel that you can unburden yourself to me – in whatever way you desire.”

There was no more room for doubt: Lauma was coming on to her. To Nefer’s credit, she didn’t panic. Instead, she quickly analysed the situation. She’d been alone with Lauma plenty of times without the other woman showing her any sign of attraction. Was it then an effect of the alcohol, bringing something to the surface that had been hidden before? Or, perhaps, was she aware that Nefer had been using it as a tool to extract information, and this was her way of turning the tables?

Nefer maintained a neutral smile as she turned to look Lauma directly in the eye. The other woman was uncomfortably close, wearing her own pleasant – maybe slightly knowing? – smile. But what did it mean? The woman could be infuriatingly cryptic!

“I fear I’m more of a listener than a talker,” Nefer said, trying to wrest back the advantage. “You wouldn’t be interested in my frustrations, anyway. Why don’t we talk about...”

She betrayed a gasp as Lauma’s hand suddenly shifted to the top of her thigh, at the place where her dress split at the waist. She shuddered as the Moonchanter’s fingernails raked softly over her skin.

“You don’t like being touched, do you?” Lauma asked, in her calm, constant voice. “No, that’s not quite right. You just haven’t been touched much lately. All creatures need physical attention every once in a while.”

Lauma’s thumb shifted to stroke the edge of Nefer’s hip, and the Curatorium owner sat up straight, alarmed at how comfortable she found it.

“Oh my, you are tense! Let me see how we can calm you down.”

Lauma gently wove her fingers into Nefer’s emerald hair and pulled her head towards her own. Nefer’s eyes widened in outrage as the Moonchanter’s tongue forced its way into her mouth – and then suddenly they were kissing, Lauma’s jaw working with surprising roughness, forcing Nefer’s mouth to unthinkingly respond in kind. Her spike of rage dampened and Nefer sank into it, bringing her tongue forward to entwine with Lauma’s, responding to the other woman’s advance with her lips.

Her mind reeled. This wasn’t what she’d wanted out of this evening... but she wasn’t entirely sure that she hated it.

Lauma broke off the kiss. Nefer realised that she was now lying back on the couch with the Moonchanter straddling her.

“I didn’t want my concerns to be misinterpreted. You did, after all, call this a celebration. Perhaps we should celebrate, and leave business until after the moon sets?”

Lauma reached behind her and loosened the fastenings of her vestments, peeling the garment off her body with practiced ease before dropping it carelessly over the back of the couch. Now naked, she towered over Nefer, ample breasts hanging loose.

“Let me heal your frustrations,” she said, with a calmness that Nefer thought was out of place in the circumstances. Her hand settled on Nefer’s hip, toying with the band of her underwear. Lauma held her gaze as she slowly, tentatively, slipped her fingers inside and down over her pubic mound.

Nefer calmly re-evaluated the situation. There make be a way to retake the advantage here. It wasn’t in the way she’d hoped, but now that things had gotten to this stage she found that she didn’t object to it as much as she thought she might.

Having Lauma comfort her... would perhaps not be the worst thing in the world. It wasn’t to her usual taste, but Nefer was nothing if not adaptable.

Maybe just a little, she thought, leaning in to Lauma’s touch. What harm would it do? She closed her eyes and gave a slow sigh as the Moonchanter touched her with skill that Nefer wouldn’t have suspected she possessed.

There were a few moments of solace, with the only sounds being the soft rustle of clothing and each woman’s slow, deliberate breathing. Nefer felt her body sinking into casual acceptance of the Moonchanter’s fingers, and kept her eyes closed until she become aware that she was being teased with increasingly rapid strokes.

When Nefer opened her eyes, she noticed that Lauma was leaning over her with an unusually intense expression on her face. She blinked a couple of times as her eyes readjusted to the light, only to realise that the other woman’s antlers were... growing? Yes, they were definitely larger than they had been, and continuing to stretch upwards.

The Moonchanter gave a low moan, and Nefer suddenly realised that the air was thick with Dendro energy, leaking out from her body. Lauma’s hips were squirming on top of her, and it occurred to Nefer too late that she was pinned beneath someone who looked like she was about to lose control over herself.

Lauma’s antlers burst into silver light, and havoc was unleashed.

“Hey Boss, I wanted to check if you needed... Hwehh!?”

Jahoda poked her head around the curtain and saw an incredible sight.

Boss Nef was leaning over the back of the coach, open-mouthed and staring back at her with an expression of wide-eyed shock. She was naked from the waist down and being aggressively pounded from behind by what looked like the spirit of a gigantic blue stage rearing over her. Her wrists were pinned to the back cushion under the transparent forearms of the mighty beast, and she gave a dirty-sounding moan in a voice that Jahoda didn’t know she could make.

Behind her, Lauma Doe floated in the middle of the spirit, her glowing antlers so large that they scraped the ceiling. Her body – which was buck-naked, by the way – moved along with the spirit, as if she was somehow wearing it. The stag’s front legs extended out from her arms, which she held out in front of her to show that she was the one who was holding Nefer down, while her hips ground furiously against the Boss’ ass. Although Jahoda couldn’t see anything, it was clear from the Boss’ reaction that there was something back there that was going inside her.

Jahoda’s hand slapped against her eyes, but it was too late: she’d already seen too much. She opened a gap between her fingers and looked back at the scene.

Lauma Doe smiled at her placidly. The Boss looked about as shocked as Jahoda was. Did she, ehh... Did she need help?

“Hello, Jahoda,” Lauma said, in her normal, calm tone of voice. Her hips didn’t stop bucking for a moment; she didn’t even look out of breath. “Can we help you with something?”

Jahoda flushed crimson. She took in the rest of the room, saw the knocked-over wine glasses and deduced that they’d been drinking. Maybe this had been a... uhh, planned party? Anyway, the Boss could get out of this if she really wanted to... right?

Either way, this looked like something she didn’t want to be a part of.

“Sorry to disturb!” she squeaked, and scuttled all the way out the door of the Curatorium, running away at full speed once she hit the street.

Nefer lay in bed looking traumatised, as Lauma sighed contentedly next to her.

“That was a rather pleasant diversion, thank you.”

Lauma demurely covered her modesty with a sheet while Nefer lay on her side, facing away and staring into space. There were bite marks on her shoulder, and her back and legs were covered in scratches. She had, over the course of the night, had all of her clothing torn from her body. Her sex throbbed in protest; she had no idea how many times she’d been made to come.

What had happened last night?

Lauma continued talking in her normal tone of voice.

“I am used to holding myself back, but your invitation to cut loose came at a time when I was a little... hmm, pent up, as I believe the expression goes? With everything that has been happening lately, I’m afraid I have not been allowing myself the time for my own self care.”

Nefer wanted to respond, but her mind was like treacle. It was probably for the best anyway; her throat was hoarse from all the screaming.

Seriously, what was that last night?

“My goodness, will you look at the time? I’ve entirely missed my morning sermon. You were right, though – it does feel good to cut loose every once in a while. Perhaps I will make this the subject of my afternoon sermon.”

The comment cut through Nefer’s fugue, and she rolled over to face her tormentor, who looked casually comfortable with being naked in her bed.

“How much of this are you going to tell?” she croaked, with some trepidation.

It may have been Nefer’s imagination, but Lauma’s smile seemed a little more smug as she looked down at the woman she’d so thoroughly despoiled. “Oh. Well, I may avoid some of the details. We must all have our secrets, mustn’t we?”

She gave a light giggle and then stepped out of Nefer’s bed, reaching down to put on her vestments. Nefer regarded her stonily. She couldn’t let this get out. She made it a point of principle to remain neutral in the factional disputes of Nod-Krai. If her customers suspected she had a preference for the Frostmoon Scions...

No, damn it, that wasn’t it at all! The truth was, it would hurt her pride more for anyone to think that she actually liked Lauma! And she didn’t, she hated the woman’s naive stance on helping others without payment, and the superior way she held herself when they sparred verbally, and what else...? Oh, yes, the fact that she’d turned into a ten-foot stag and fucked her all night long!

Nefer groaned into her pillow. How many times had she let that woman ride her? How was she to know that a half-glass of wine would turn her into that?

“Now, don’t be like that,” the Moonchanter chided as she fastened up her shoes and smoothed out her ruffled hair. “You know I would have held back if you’d really wanted me to.”

Before Nefer could object, Lauma bent over and kissed her full on the lips. Nefer glared at the woman, but otherwise didn’t resist.

Lauma pulled her lips away, a string of saliva lazily trailing between them. She was still close enough for Nefer to feel her breath. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she said in a low voice. “Pray give me a call the next time you want to ‘cut loose’.”.

She straightened up and looked down at Nefer with an expression that somehow knew too much.

“And don’t worry about my keeping our secret. We’ll arrange some way you can pay me back, the next time I see you.”

With that, she flounced out of Nefer’s chamber – perhaps anticipating what came next.

“Pay you back?” Nefer roared, leaping out of bed. She grabbed a nightrobe on the way out the door and hastily wrapped it around herself as she burst through into the Curatorium proper.

“This wasn’t for my benefit!” she shouted at Lauma’s back as the Moonchanter breezily waved over her shoulder on the way out the front door. “I don’t owe you anything!”

The door slammed shut and she turned back, incandescent with rage. With Lauma gone, she was left alone with... the aftermath.

She groaned as she surveyed the destruction of her office. Her desk was split down the middle. The ceiling and walls were covered in antler scratches. The furniture was torn open. The notices from the board and other important documents were littered over the floor, trampled and torn.

One of her shoes was hanging from the ceiling light.

She groaned again and covered her face in her hand. What a mess! How was she going to...?

“Uhh, Boss?”

She looked up and saw that the front door had opened a crack, with a timid face peering inside.

Nefer gritted her teeth in frustration. “Come in,” she said, coldly.

Jahoda stepped inside gingerly, looking all around the room. She looked like she was ready to flee at any moment, but she still found her way to her Boss’ side.

“Is the Lady Moonchanter gone?”

She shrank back in the face of Nefer’s expression. The Boss was smiling, but the look in her eyes promised a swift, unpleasant death.

“How can she be gone when she was never here?” said Nefer, deliberately.

Jahoda flinched and gave a squeak of fear. She held up her hands to ward off evil and very quickly turned to run. However, as soon as she turned her back, Nefer caught her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her back inside.

“I don’t know where you think you’re going. You’re going to clean this place up.”

“Me?” Jahoda squeaked. “But I didn’t...! I wasn’t...! I don’t even understand what...!”

She caught Nefer’s eye. “...didn’t happen here,” she trailed off. Her shoulders slumped as she realised she wasn’t going to get out of doing this.

“Broom’s in the cupboard,” Nefer snarled. “I’m going to be busy – not to be disturbed!”

She swept out towards the door of her chamber.

“What are you going to be doing?” Jahoda asked after her.

“Planning.”

“Planning what?”

“Revenge!” Nefer cried, as she slammed the door.