Monster Girl Island 12 Chapter 1

I say, my good sir, Bungal the Mighty declared as he looked down on us from above. Not to sound impatient, but what shall be our first quest? Are we off to save a fair maiden? Shall we vanquish some foul fiends who threaten the very existence of the world itself?

“I think for now, we’re going to sit here and enjoy our dinner,” I chuckled and held up the meat-on-a-stick the Spindrel women had so graciously prepared for us. “There will almost certainly be another adventure in the pipeline somewhere, but I think for right now we just need to relax.”

“You were very difficult to bring down, Bungal,” the racoon woman Nadir noted. “You incinerated an entire flock of monoflock birds and tried to burn us all to a crisp! If not for Swaer and Cerin’s abilities, and Valea’s magic sleeping powder, I think you might have actually succeeded.”

I do apologize for that. The fat brown dragon hung his head. As I said before, I was not myself when I tried to incinerate you.

“We know you weren’t,” Batari said before she took a bite out of her rodent. “You were just doing what any confused, angry creature would do in that situation. I’ve seen it many times with the land dragons back home… You wouldn’t believe what it took to tame one of those.”

“I think Rikuri still has the scars,” Ashanti snickered. “And I am fairly certain Zikiu has some scars, as well. Though I think those are more mental than physical.”

How did she know what I was thinking? Bungal’s mouth fell agape. Does she have a dragonbond, as well?

“Damn straight.” I grinned. “Batari, Mira, and my daughter here all are bonded to various dragons. So is my son and one of our other crewmates back on our home island.”

Incredible, Bungal chuffed. Who, might I ask, are each of these fine people bonded with?

“I’m bonded with Cerin!” Marella declared and then scratched the purple dragon underneath the chin. “She’s the best bondmate a girl could ask for.”

Cerin’s eyes closed as she began her dragon hum and stretched out like a cat in the sun.

That’s the spot, Cerin sighed, and then her foot began to thump rapidly against the ground like a rabbit.

“I am bonded with--” Batari began, but her dragon cut her off.

Me! Swaer declared as he raised his head up from Batari’s shoulder. Batari is bonded with everyone’s favorite wind dragon.

“You’re our only wind dragon, Swaer,” Batari reminded the little guy.

Which makes me the favorite by default. The furry red dragon stuck out his tongue at his bondmate.

I am bonded with Jemma, Tirian added. She has been very pregnant for quite some time, and she just gave birth not more than a week ago.

And she didn’t request for you to be by her side? Bungal questioned.

She knew my abilities were too important to the crew, the silver dragon retorted. Until we found you, I was the only one in this group who could fly and spit fire.

“Two skills we could have never gotten through our adventures without,” I explained.

“I certainly could have,” the orange-haired butterfly woman, Ahwara, mused. “At least, my friends and I could have accounted for half of the equation.”

“You do realize that would mean you’d have to carry us all, right?” Mira joked as she flipped her green hair to the side. “I think you’d get pretty tired of that very quickly.”

“Or at least your arms would!” the spunky Spindrel, Shala, cackled. “I’ve got some muscle on these arms of mine, but there’s no way in the great abyss I’d be able to carry a person around for a long period of time. Even if that person was Ben. Actually, I’d like it to be the other way around, and have him carry me. Preferable to a private room.”

I let out an amused chuckle at the hedgehog woman’s words, though I didn’t acknowledge her comment. Instead, I returned my focus to the conversation with Bungal.

“I’m bonded to a water dragon named George,” I continued. “And Mira over there is bonded to George’s mate, Nixie. My son is actually bonded to their male child.”

“We also have a seventh dragon,” the three-horned rhino woman, Ashanti, interjected from atop her oversized ant. “Huwar has no dragonbond at all, but he is still fiercely loyal to our shaman. We Cero women are just that awe inspiring.”

A dragon without a dragonbond? Bungal gasped. Preposterous! I cannot believe the great gods above would allow such a connection.

“Believe it.” Ashanti shrugged as she leaned back on her Mierak. “I’m sure you’ll be meeting Huwar soon enough. Let me just warn you, though, he’s got the personality of fresh widehorn dung.”

“That may be a bit harsh, Ashanti,” Batari chuckled. “Huwar may be a bit difficult to read, but I wouldn’t say he has no personality.”

Oh, I would, Swaer noted. Have you ever tried holding a conversation with him? It’s all “food this” and “food that.” He only really has one thing on his mind, and that makes it a little hard to get through to him about anything else.

“We’ll tell you all about it when we get back to the dragonkin island,” I promised the fat brown dragon. “You can meet all the other dragons and lovely women and crewmates back there, and I’m sure they will be over the moon when they find out our journey was successful.”

“Don’t tell me you are leaving already.” Pae, the Spindrel leader, frowned. “You have only been here for a few sun cycles. We haven’t even gotten to show you the rest of the island yet.”

“Not much to see,” the always curt Alvee scoffed. “Seen one luminos plant? You’ve seen them all.”

“That’s not true,” I admitted as I motioned with the unidentified animal on the stick. “I have no freaking clue what this is, for example. It’s definitely something I’ve never seen before.”

“The furryscurs are all over,” Valea spoke up as her blonde undercut bobbed in unison with the motions of her head. “They are mostly harmless to us as a race, though they are somewhat difficult to remove from our dwelling if they choose to make a nest inside.”

“I almost feel bad for hunting the little guys,” Erel chuckled. “They are kind of cute, after all. But then I remember how delicious they taste roasted over a fire.”

“I will admit,” Theora, our resident Niralope for this journey, noted. “I didn’t think this creature would taste as good as it does. I struggle with all forms of meat, honestly.”

“Her people did not eat meat before they met Ben,” Mira clarified. “So, Theora and all of the other Niralopes you meet will act in this same manner.”

“Meet?” Alvee perked up and narrowed her brown eyes. “How would we meet them?”

“Uhhh… ” Mira trailed off as her face flushed red. “I just thought you might return to the dragonkin island with us, since Ben is your only chance at repopulation.”

“He’s not the only chance…” the pre-teen boy Kehlaan suggested.

As he spoke, Kehlaan waggled his eyebrows at my daughter, and my blood pressure skyrocketed. Thankfully, Marella wasn’t having any of it.

“I don’t think trying to sleep with the clucker birds would work out for you.” Marella smirked. “I know the whole ‘interspecies’ thing works for my dad, but that’s just because he chooses humanoid mates. I don’t even think it would be possible for you to impregnate a clucker bird, let alone have it bear you a child.”

Kehlaan’s face fell into a frown of despair, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“That’s not what I was suggesting,” the hedgehog boy huffed. “There’s another pair I can think of. One whose species are similar and are even close to the same age.”

“Cerin and Tirian?” Marella continued to play dumb.

No, thank you. Cerin shook her head. No offense to you, Tirian, but my heart is already being saved for the next male water dragon we find.

I wouldn’t even know what to do, anyway, Tirian admitted. I’m not even sure how we dragons mate, since I don’t have a parent around to explain how it all works. Doesn’t it have something to do with the thing I piss out of?

“Let’s not get into that,” Jonas chuckled. “At least, not while we are trying to enjoy our food.”

“Maybe when we find your mother, she can give you the ‘birds and the bees’ talk,” I snickered as I toasted my ferret-creature over the fire.

“The birds and the bees?” Mira questioned. “What does that have to do with mating?”

“Well--” I raised my finger as I began to explain, but then I quickly realized I didn’t actually know the answer. “Uhh… you know what? I have no fucking clue. But it’s a term everybody back in my world likes to use when they’re talking about giving kids ‘the talk.’”

“What talk?” Pae furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side. “We are talking right now.”

“The talk about… you know,” I implied as subtly as I could. “When a parent explains to their kids how the whole reproduction process works.”

“You have to explain that to your children?” Ura mused. “It always seemed fairly simple to me.”

“Man sticks it in and explodes,” Alvee snorted. “Then you are pregnant. Very simple.”

“Is that… Is that really how it works?” Kehlaan’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates. “You explode? Is that what happened to my father, Mom?”

“No, my dear.” Pae smiled warmly at her boy. “Alvee is simply using colorful language.”

“See?” I couldn’t help but snicker. “This is why you have to give them the talk. Or else they start thinking crazy stuff like that. Hell, I remember being a fourth-grader and thinking babies came out of women’s butts!”

Though I made light of the situation, deep down inside I was very, very happy Kehlaan didn’t know anything about sex.

For my daughter’s sake, and for his own.

“But then, wait…” Kehlaan continued. “What’s exploding, then? Is it--”

“We’ll discuss this more when you are older,” Pae cut off the boy. “Or perhaps the Draco Rex can explain it to you, considering he’s been doing much impregnating lately.”

“Is it true, Draco Rex?” the brown-haired hedgehog boy asked feebly as he approached me. “Do we explode when we mate? What is Alvee talking about?”

“You know,” I reminisced. “When I was your age, I knew a lot more than I probably should have about this topic. I had a copy of one of my Dad’s old Playboy magazines hidden under my mattress that taught me everything I knew back then. I don’t know what sort of equivalent you’d have around here, but that would go a long way in helping sort out some of your… confusions.”

“But do we explode?” Kehlaan demanded. “And if so, can you teach me how not to explode?”

Nadir and Lezan both snickered at the boy’s words, and for a split second I almost felt bad for him. Then I remembered this whole conversation was started by Kehlaan suggesting he hitch up with my daughter, and any ounce of compassion I had was gone.

“I don’t know,” I teased with a shrug. “Exploding is a major part of the experience. There’s no getting around it, and if you try to mate too soon, your chances of survival go way down. So, it’d probably be safest if you just held off on trying to mate until you were at least as old as me.”

Kehlaan nodded with stern eyes before he turned to Marella.

“Fear not, dear Marella,” the hedgehog boy declared. “No matter how long it takes for me to overcome this horrible physical ailment, I swear I will be ready for you when the time comes.”

Marella’s eyes rolled so far back in her head that I could feel it in my very soul.

“Let’s take it back there, kid,” I warned Kehlaan. “There will be plenty of other beautiful women back on the dragonkin island who could potentially be your future mates.”

“Do you have other daughters?” Kehlaan questioned.

My fists clenched until my knuckles turned white, but before I completely lost my cool, Mira’s gruff voice echoed through my head.

Calm down, my love, the golden-scaled warrior promised. He’s just a young boy who does not think before he speaks and is driven by his primal urges. I know you’re very protective of your child, but there is no need to get angry.

“You’re right,” I sighed telepathically. “I went through a rough, hormone-fueled patch back when I was his age, too.”

You don’t need to worry about Marella, Mira continued. She has a great head on her shoulders and is more than capable of handling herself. I’m not sure if that comes more from you, or Talise.

“Talise,” I laughed internally. “Most definitely Talise.”

“Uhhh, did I say something wrong?” Kehlaan questioned with a raised eyebrow. “You’re just standing there very quietly, Draco Rex.”

“Huh?” I shook my head as I came back to reality. “No, no. I was thinking, that’s all.”

Probably about how he’s going to string Kehlaan up by his-- Cerin began, but she trailed off when I shot her a deathly glare.

“This whole conversation does bring up an interesting issue, Magnus Dux,” Valea interjected. “Our island has now been liberated from not just one, but two vile creatures.”

Excuse me, my dear madam, Bungal gasped. But I do take offense to that!

Of course, Valea couldn’t understand the fat dragon, so she kept right on talking.

“Our island is now even more liberated than it was before,” the blonde Spindrel woman continued. “We no longer must fear the monoflock, which could allow us to finally move around in the darkness. Imagine what we could do with this land if we didn’t have to live in fear any more. The auras of the luminos have already turned joyous in the short time since we tamed Bungal.”

“Come now, Valea,” Pae reminded the naturalist. “We may have eliminated our two largest threats, but you of all people should realize there are many more things out there for us to be afraid of.”

“Lots of creatures dwell in the darkness,” Alvee confirmed. “Still dangerous.”

“That is for sure,” Batari mused. “If there’s one thing Ashanti and my people always saw back on our home island, it was there will always be an apex predator. It doesn’t matter how many creatures you kill. Something will take its place at the top.”

“This might be true,” Valea admitted. “But at least those other creatures are ones we could handle on our own, without the help of Draco Rex and his crew. The monoflock simply had the numbers to overrun us, but none of these other beasts would.”

“I’m with Valea on this one,” Shala spoke up. “Together, we can overcome any monster that dwells in this illuminated forest. Now that the monoflock is gone, we Spindrel women can truly rule this island, as foretold by our legends of old.”

“Say your prediction is correct, Shala,” Pae sighed. “Say we somehow are able to establish ourselves as the strongest creatures on this island. Say we can even move our dwelling above ground without worrying about it being attacked and torn apart in the night… How long will that actually last?”

“What are you implying, Pae?” Erel questioned.

“Look around us, my friends,” the silver-haired hedgehog woman said as she gestured to the other Spindrel women. “This is all we have left. We are a species of seven. Once we are gone, there will be nobody left to carry on our legacy.”

“That’s not true!” Erel declared. “You have a child, and I will have one soon, as well.”

My stomach twisted into a happy knot at the tall woman’s words.

“You will?” I asked with a grin.

“I am late, Draco Rex,” Erel declared. “It is a sign I am pregnant with your child. And if I had to guess, I’d bet Shala is, too.”

“That’s a good guess,” Mira chuckled. “The Draco Rex’s seed is the strongest we’ve ever seen.”

“I’m seriously surprised he hasn’t gotten all the women on the island pregnant,” Theora noted. “They seem to grow a baby bump just by looking at him.”

“That’s… That’s incredible!” I sputtered.

I walked over to Erel, took both of her delicate cheeks in my hand, and held them tightly as I leaned my forehead into hers. The hedgehog woman smelled sweetly of lilacs, and I wanted to do nothing more than to just hold her in my arms and revel in her beauty.

“I am very happy for you.” Pae nodded. “Both of you. But that’s still not enough… Three ancestors is not enough to save our species.”

“What do you suggest, then?” Ura huffed. “We can’t just leave the island. This has been our home for generations, and now it is even more safe than it was before.”

Nowhere is safe from those ugly green guys, Swaer interjected. I don’t ever want to see those creepy fellas ever again.

“I’m afraid you probably don’t have a choice in the matter,” Batari explained to her bondmate. “The orcs will always be a threat.”

“Swaer is right,” I spoke up. “If you move your home to the surface, this island isn’t going to look very ‘empty’ to the orcs any more. You might be able to fend off the creatures that live here, but a small army of muscle-bound orcs, all of whom would have iron weapons? Even your best warriors wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“So, what?” Shala scoffed and crossed her arms across her busty chest. “We just continue living underground, like we always have? We just completely ignore this opportunity? Even if we don’t have the means to survive for long as a species, we can at least make our own lives better.”

“And that’s exactly what I am suggesting,” Pae confirmed. “I wish for us to leave here with the Draco Rex.”

There was a stunned silence from the Spindrel women, but Kehlaan seemed to be over the moon at his mother’s suggestion. The preteen boy pumped his fist in the air while he mouthed a soft “yes” under his breath, and then he proceeded to rub his hands together as he smiled from ear to ear.

“Leave our island?” Valea gasped. “But, Magnus Dux, this is our home.”

“It is our home,” the silver-haired Spindrel agreed. “The move would not be permanent. As much as I want to believe your hopes, Shala, I must be realistic. There will continue to be creatures that threaten our lives, as well as those horrific ‘orc’ things the Draco Rex keeps talking about. We are not fully safe here, nor have we been for quite some time. But if we return with the Draco Rex to his home island, we can live under his protection and hopefully repopulate our species in the meantime. Then, once our numbers are mighty once more, we can return to this place and claim what is rightfully ours.”

“I-I don’t know, Pae.” Shala shook her head. “You’re saying my thoughts are too unrealistic, but do you have any idea how long it’s going to take to get our numbers back up to what they once were? It could take multiple generations.”

“That may be,” the Magnus Dux retorted. “But which do you think will take longer? Trying to repopulate our species with a group of seven, only one of which is a boy? Or moving to an island with dozens more mating options for the future generations of Spindrels to choose from?”

“I guess you’re right,” the black-haired hedgehog woman conceded. “It’s going to take a long time either way. Though I have always hoped I would live out my entire life on this island…”

“We will return to this island,” Pae reassured her friend. “Once the Spindrel are prosperous once more and the orc threat is gone, we shall retake this place and build it up in our glorious image.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alvee mumbled. “I hope the Draco Rex’s seed is as potent as you say.”

“It is,” Mira confirmed. “You should see how many children Ben has right now. In addition to the children these two Coonag women and Ahwara bear, the Draco Rex has seven kids, with at least six more on the way.”

“W-Wow,” Ura sputtered. “Does that thing between your legs ever get any rest?”

“It doesn’t need it.” I winked at the woman with the short, spiked hair.

“Following the Draco Rex is the only hope for our species’ survival,” Pae declared. “I will not force any of you to come with me, but I will make the decree that it is what the Magnus Dux thinks is best.”

“I’m with you, Mom!” Kehlaan puffed out his chest. “Nothing shall separate me from my true love.”

“Oh, wait until you meet my little brother,” Marella chuckled and then nudged Cerin. “He’s got the temperament of my dad, but without any of the restraint. He’s nooooottt going to like this whole… thing.”

“Not a problem.” Kehlaan shook his head. “I shall simply befriend your brother and then, when the time finally comes, I’ll have his blessing.”

Cerin and Marell exchanged unconvinced looks.

And I’m going to become a land dragon, Cerin mused telepathically, which caused Marella to break out into a fit of laughter.

“Fear not, Pae,” Valea finally spoke up. “I shall follow you wherever you may go.”

“Me, too,” Alvee added. “It might be fun.”

“Of course I’m coming, too.” Shala rolled her eyes with her arms still crossed. “I wouldn’t want to split up the team, right guys?”

“Naturally.” Ura smirked. “You can count me in, as well.”

“If this is what you think is best, Magnus Dux,” Erel conceded. “Then that is what we shall do.”

“You’re all welcome on the dragonkin island,” I promised my new friends. “My people will love you like you’re their own kin, and I’ll do my damndest to make sure you all are safe in my care.”

“To the Draco Rex?” Ura suggested as she raised her animal-on-a-stick.

“To the Draco Rex!” Shala echoed.

We all held our food into the air, shared a few smiles and laughs, and then proceeded to get on with our dinner.

Surprisingly, the flesh of the groundhog-like creature wasn’t half bad. It was a bit rubbery and tough as I chomped on its meat, and it left a fatty, gamey taste in my mouth when I gulped it down.

I didn’t know what this creature was, but it was way better than some of the shit I had to eat during my posts with the Coast Guard.

The lot of us continued to nibble away at our meal for nearly an hour as we swapped stories with each other, and I tried to tell the Spindrel what they could expect from the dragonkin island. Laughter, gasps, and happy yelling filled the air as my friends and I sat around the campfire and enjoyed each other's company.

Unfortunately, our happiness was short-lived.

As we laughed and joked around, there came the sound of rustling luminos leaves from the south. Instantly, we all sprang to our feet, went silent, and drew our weapons to the ready.

“What is that?” Theora hissed under her breath.

“I don’t know,” Ura admitted. “But I think we’re about to find out.”

“The next apex predator,” Alvee growled.

Suddenly, a beast like no other lumbered into the clearing.

This thing stood about ten feet tall and appeared to have a ripped, muscular torso that had to be at least three feet wide. It walked upright on two stocky, disproportionate legs with flippers where his feet should have been. The creature’s skin nude body was muscular and gray, yet from afar it looked like it had a slimy, sleek texture. Atop the beast’s wide torso sat a thick neck, which led to a small, pointed head like a seal’s, and its features were equally as mammalian. Its eyes were sunken into deep sockets atop a set of razor-sharp teeth and a nose that would have been perfect for bouncing a ball on.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, though, were its appendages. There were three arms on each side of the beast’s body, and each one featured a hand with a thumb and three fingers. The oblong arms held two large, wooden spears that appeared to be tipped with a sharp arrowhead, and the damn thing was so big the creature had to hold it with two hands at a time.

“What the fuck is that?” I demanded as I drew my seaglass sword from its sheath.

“A Oshware,” Pae gulped. “I-I never thought I’d see one in the flesh ever again.”

“Again?” Mira grumbled. “You’ve fought this thing before?”

“Unfortunately,” the Magnus Dux confirmed.

“How did that go?” Mira continued.

“Not well,” Pae sighed. “Not. Well.”

Whatever this thing was, and no matter how dangerous it may be, it was staring us down. And, judging by the way it gripped its spears and glared into my very soul, it wasn’t here to nicely ask for a piece of our food.

I guess it was time to see our new friends’ abilities in action once again.

I just hoped it would be enough to take down this mammoth of a monster.