We got back to the square, and the herald started doing the announcement again. We started getting more demons approaching for healing services, mainly because of Thultu. He just drew in everyone, telling the tale of how I healed his father. He is so tiny and adorable, and melted their hearts. He spends most of the day sitting on my shoulders with one of his arms plopped on top of my head, the other playing with one of my squeaky ears, and his tail wagging as he gives his testimony. He was the cutest little 'prop' for a 'foul human' to have. Somebody offered a sweet treat a few hours in, and I could feel drool hitting my head and neck from Thultu, who was still sitting on my shoulders. I offer their offering straight to him, and I can feel him beaming, though I can't necessarily see him. He says, bursting with excitement, "Thanks, Miss Ari!" The demon I am healing and I both giggle at his adorable reaction. We got a few more after that, but Thultu said, "I want to share these with the kids at the orphanage so they can taste how good it is, too." MY HEART. He is just so precious.
We finish for the day, and we have a few demons to the side who were from the slums that couldn't afford the copper payment, and they help us to the local orphanage. Thultu is now walking and has a few treats he is holding very responsibly away from his face, though he is drooling, giving away how much he wants to eat them. He is showing the cutest performance of willpower.
We get to the orphanage, and the other demons help drop their supplies and leave. A cat child greets us before the nun, and Thultu offers the kid very adorably, "Would you like these?" While still drooling. The cat child giggles, "Only if you eat the other one and play with me." Thultu replied with his eyes all sparkles, "Really? Deal!" They eat their treats and run off, and Lysara looks at me and points to the kids and signals she will watch them while an elf nun approaches us, "Hello, how can I help you all?" I responded with my usual elegant tone of voice, "Hello, Sister, I am here to donate these food supplies to this orphanage." She replied in astonishment, "Wow. I have worked here for several hundred years, and this is the first time a human has ever made a donation of any kind. Though few humans dare enter these lands. I can count on one hand how many humans I have seen here at my door over these years. Usually, a kind person running away from something in the human territory or a criminal. Those were the two types." She grabs a box of supplies and we carry them in while she walks ahead of me to show me where to place the box and continues, "I take it you are in the former category. Don't worry, I won't pry into your circumstances. I find it best not to ask questions, no matter how curious." She says while putting her box down.
I replied while putting my box next to where she placed hers, "I appreciate that. It is definitely safer that way for everybody. We will be in town for a while for our wandering healing service we provide, and we will be coming by with supplies every day." She replies, reaching out to shake my hand, "If you are going to be coming for a while, why don't I officially introduce myself. My name is Fawynn." I reply in kind, "I go by Ari." She hears the name and looks at me, and I think she put two and two together as to my identity. She doesn't say a word about it, though. News has been traveling across Perdita about a wandering priest, Saint Ari. It wouldn't surprise me if their heralds already had spread the news of my deeds in Patala. Due to tensions between the countries, news is often shared among the populace in Perdita and Patala to set the public at ease. I didn't hear anything today about my disappearance or my deeds as a healer from the bird man. So I didn't think too much about it.
Her reaction says it all. She says while pretending not to notice, motioning me to take a seat, "Why don't you sit down while I put on a pot of tea, while the children play a little while." I nod while taking the offered seat, "Sounds like a plan. Can you make an extra cup of tea for Lysara?" She says, "Mmmhmmm" while nodding in approval. She continues talking, "So, what is your relationship with our princess?" I blush and avert my eyes briefly, thinking of naughty things. After a very brief moment, she holds back a giggle while I respond, still a little flushed, "We are in love and we are trying to get married." As she is preparing the teapot, she says in surprise, "Oh my. That is quite the news. I never would have thought she would settle down. Much less with a human. She has been a sex maniac for the past 70 years, sleeping with all kinds of demons to feed. To think that the same woman is capable of a monogamous relationship. Sorry, I hope I didn't plant seeds of doubt or anything."
I shake my head, not really worried about her words, "The Princess Lysara you know and the one I know are completely different. The one I know is formidably strong, funny, compassionate, awe-inspiring, intelligent, dependable, protective, and most importantly, faithful to me." Fawynn chuckles, "Wow. When people normally talk about a succubus or incubus, it is normally all about their bodies since they are very alluring. You, on the other hand, did not mention one thing about her appearance. You must be smitten." I blush and I nod, "She put me under her spell the moment I saw her send a perverted asshole flying with a punch. I was captivated by her instantly by her defending her honor in that fiercely beautiful manner. I jumped in straight away to help diffuse the situation, and we went on a date immediately afterwards. It was on that date that we decided to room together during my stay. She respected me so much that she wanted to wait until I was ready. Though to be honest, I would have loved for her to just take me, but I was too bashful to just ask. We stayed in that room for a week and she didn't feed off me the whole time. She was starving herself, and she was really weak when I told her it was ok and that I wanted to help. Since then, I have been her only source of sexual energy."
She giggles, "Wow. That is a love story for the ages. Especially for those of us who know how Lysara was. I can't believe she starved herself for anyone. I know she is in love with you, and has been, from the beginning. I would love to see your story as a play." I blush, not knowing that she felt that way from the very beginning. I just thought she was disciplined and intrigued at first. She continues with a naughty smirk, "You are just too adorable, Ari. If Lysara didn't already have your heart, I would have tried to steal you away. I know true love when I see it, though." She pours the tea after it is done steeping and hands me a cup and says "Why don't you take this to Lysara instead?" I blush and smile a bit, "I would love to."
I take the cup to Lysara, and she is still watching the kids while they are running around playing. They took off their clothes so they could transform back and forth from their animal forms as they chased each other. It is the cutest sight. I giggle and hand Lysara her cup of tea, "A cup of tea for you, my love." "Thanks, boo boo. Can I get a kiss, too?" She says as she takes the cup. I lean down, smiling, sarcastically saying while looking at her lips with honest desire, "No." While going down to kiss her, stopping a brief moment, squeaking my lips, "Absolutely not," going back down to kiss her, "Can't" kissing her again, "Won't" and kissing her again. Continuously squeaking.
The kids heard the squeaks and came running over. The cat boy asked, "Did you make that noise?" Thultu replies before I can, "Sure can! When you poke her, she makes a funny noise." The cat boy says, "Really?" while poking me in the leg. Giggling at my squeaking. I turn and kiss Lysara while the kids poke my legs, making them squeak repeatedly. She giggles, "I love you so much, Ari." "I love you, too, Lysara." Lysara responds while reaching for my hand as she sits there, "Ok, while I sip this tea, let me get these kids back in their clothes before Thultu catches a cold. He doesn't have fur like the cat child and lizard-kin run colder than other races." I replied while patting both of the children on the head, "Yeah, we don't want our adorable Thultu to catch a cold. I'll go back inside and talk with the nun some more while waiting for you." Lysara says as I leave, "Love you, boo" I say a little louder since I am walking away now, "Love you, too, boo boo." Lysara is probably going to wait until the tea cools off before she drinks it, because she is weird and likes room temperature tea like that.
I get back to Fawynn, and we enjoy our tea, and when we are done drinking our tea, we talk for several more minutes. Lysara starts making her way back in with the children while finishing her tea. Thultu comes running to me and holds his hands up, doing the 'Up!' signal. I pick him up so he can wrap around my neck with one tiny arm, and the other is lightly tugging at my ear, making it squeak. I smile because he is just so cute, and everyone is happy and giggling at Thultu and my current affliction. Fawynn picks up the cat child in her arms, his eyes turn all big, adorable, and sparkly, looking at her with love. She then says while scratching gently in front of his ears, "Thanks again for the supplies. I am truly grateful to make your acquaintance. We will look forward to your next visit. May the goddess guide you." She says with a smile, and she and the cat child who was playing with Thultu are smiling and waving too. I replied, "May the goddess guide you." while waving my hand goodbye. As we are leaving, she tells the cat kid, whose name is apparently Neo, to gather the other children so they can all enjoy the treats we brought as she places him back down.
We stayed in town for a week. Thultu came to see us every day in the town square. With every passing day, more children came to play with me while I was healing demons. They thought the children were delightful, and they actually really helped break through that racial tension that was very thick when we first arrived. He told us that his papa told him to come 'help'. I am guessing he told him about the skewer sponsorship, and he felt indebted. I wasn't about to turn the adorable Thultu away. He made the days go by so quickly. Everyone just loves this kid so much. He is the cutest. I would love to just kidnap him, but I know he would really miss his papa. Our journey is not one for a child anyway, since danger is lurking at every corner until we get my situation resolved.
At the end of the week, we get our supplies for the road, and on the morning of the next day, we set off to Thultu's house so we can say goodbye in person before we go. We arrive, and Thultu runs up to me and does the 'up' thing, so I pick him up and say, "We stopped by to tell you goodbye in person. Thultu, you were just the best little helper." I say with a beaming smile, patting him on the head with my free hand. He starts bawling his eyes out and yells, "Please don't leave, Miss Ari!" Rhixl says to Thultu, "Son, you already know that it is dangerous for them to stay. You told me yourself, remember?" Thultu pouts, "I know, but can't we protect them, Papa?"
I interject while bending down to put him back down and talk to him face to face at eye level, "Thultu, as much as I would love to settle down in this town, we can't right now. Once everything is settled and it isn't dangerous anymore, we can come back. How does that sound?" He stops crying, "Ok. Promise?" I replied, "Promise." He asks, "Tail swear?" I ask, never having heard of the term, "What is a tail swear?" Thultu responds, "It is a special promise that can't be broken, but wait, you don't have a tail! How are we going to do it?" He starts to look a little pitiful, like he is about to cry again, and I said, "I can still do it, but it will require teamwork." I reach back and tap my hood where Kenji was napping before we start traveling. I ask Kenji, "Hey buddy, can we borrow your tail for a tail swear?" Kenji yawns and says, "Sure thing, Ari. What vow are we making?" I respond, as Kenji climbs out of my hood and jumps down off my shoulder, "To come back once everything is safe." Kenji purrs in approval, "I wouldn't mind that at all. How are we going to do this?" I say, "How about we sit down facing away from each other with a small gap in between so you can sit behind me like your tail is my own and cross tails that way."
Thultu plops down excitedly, and his tail is wagging so adorably. I sit down, and Kenji gets behind me, and Thultu stops wagging his tail and offers it to Kenji, and Kenji offers his tail to Thultu. Their tails intertwined, and Thultu smiles with watery eyes from his crying earlier so adorably and says, "It is a promise!" They unwrap their tails, and Thultu gets up, and Kenji stays on the ground while I get up. Rhixl says to us, "I really appreciate all you have done for me and my son. We will be looking forward to your next visit." I wave and say, "May the goddess guide you." With that, we head out and continue our journey through Patala. I only had that silly curse for two more days after leaving Thultu.