ROUGH DRAFT - Coye 6.18

This one is definitely gonna be two chapters when I actually write it lmao.

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“ i’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…!!” Coye wasn’t out for very long. The pain was insignificant and because he only took in a small amount of shayla’s mana to stem his anxiety, he recovered quick. He was prostrated on the bed before Dorothy, his head lowered.

Dorothy was too distracted to know what to say to him. Her eyes were trained solely on Shayla. Every time she tried to look at Coye, they would go straight back to the little woman who jumped out of one of her bestiaries.

Illustrations of fairies didn’t do the real thing justice. Shayla was more beautiful than any picture she’d ever seen, and Dorothy was absolutely taken with her. She expected all sorts of crazy things might happen at Coye’s house that night, but meeting a pixie wasn’t one of them. It was like a dream come true. She'd always fantasized about meeting a member of the Fae but they were so dreadfully elusive.

Still, given how apologetic and miserable Coye sounded, she had to give him attention so she wrestled her eyes away from Shayla and turned to face him.

“ it’s OK. It’s not your fault you acted like that, if I understand correctly.” Dorothy looked at Shayla asking, “ you did something to calm him down and it had an unintended side effect on him, didn’t it?”

“ pretty much, yeah. We are still testing this power out and I had a pretty good idea he’d act all crazy, but…”

Dorothy frowned. “ it’s my fault for bringing up such an upsetting topic so early on in the relationship in the first place. I should’ve known that would’ve upset you, Coye.”

“ you’re awfully forgiving even though he was about to force himself on you!” Shayla crossed her arms and looked at her boy with disapproval.

Dorothy started to blush. "Please don't put it like that. Especially not after I upset Coye. Besides..." She started fidgeting. "It's not as if I was struggling, was I? I came here with the knowledge that something of that sort might happen and, I, um, well... Being pinned down like that wasn't the worst thing in the world..."

Though he was still suffering a tremendous amount of guilt, Coye was relieved to hear that and he lifted his head to give her a gentle smile which she returned. As long as Dorothy didn't mind, Shayla suppose that was it. She sighed and fluttered to the nearest windowsill where she sat down on the sidelines.

"Are you feeling better at least, big guy?"

"Yeah, it's weird..." Coye sat up and scratched the back of his head. "Even though your mana wore off, I feel... Significantly different."

"I think that's your cue to run," Shayla crossed her arms and gave Dorothy a warning, but Dorothy only giggled at the fairy's teasing. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just, ah..." She looked to Coye. "Are the two of you always like this? It's rather amusing."

"Most of the time," he laughed.

"There's time for cute banter later, what do you mean you feel different?" Shayla narrowed her eyes at him.

"Maybe it's still because there's traces of it in my system, but the whole death thing doesn't really scare me to think about anymore..."

"Why is that?" Dorothy frowned. She still felt very responsible no matter how much everyone told her not to.

"Um, it's a little embarrassing, but... Even though it sounded stupid, I still stand by all that stuff I said."

"You mean about living forever and filling the room with our children?" Dorothy stammered, unable to look anywhere but the floor.

"Well, not in those exact words..."

"Word of warning," Shayla cut in. "He's got a huge pregnancy fetish. No idea what's up with that, but if I had to guess it's because he didn't have a mother figure in his life."

"Hey-" Coye tried to defend himself but Dorothy put up her hands and shook her head.

"I'm not judging! I would never judge anything that you're into, it's just..." Her mentality rapidly deteriorated and she blush harder, sweated and shook continually. "It's just way too soon for anything like that!"

"That's not the point!" Coye insisted. "I'm talking about when I think about death, now it's like them only capable of feeling conviction instead of fear! Like I want to make all the things I said happen for real!"

"Well..." Dorothy frowned. Encouraging that kind of thinking was dangerous as what he wanted wasn't exactly likely to happen, but it helped him with his anxiety then it put her in an awkward situation. "I think it's okay to cling to that hope for tonight at least while you sort things out."

"Yeah, I'm with her," Shayla sighed. Then, she caught sight of Dorothy staring at her. She'd been doing so on and off ever since she revealed herself, and she wasn't getting any better at holding herself back. Shayla could sense the excitement radiating off of her and if she didn't express some of it felt like Dorothy was going to burst.

Shayla sighed and then gestured at Dorothy, telling her to continue talking. "Now that his problems are out of the way for the moment, I'm sure there's a bunch of things you want to ask about us and about me, so... go ahead..."

"Gods, where do I start?" Dorothy let out a dreamy sigh. "It's just that everything makes so much more sense now. Everything. The out of character behavior you've been having, the lock you put on your door, everything... there was no magic mushroom, was there? You're addicted to pixie dust and it's in an advanced state, isn't it?"

As expected, Dorothy figured the entire thing out. That wasn't a surprise. She was an expert when it came to monsters after all. "I'm sorry for lying to you, but-"

"hold on a sec,, big guy. Let me have some of the blame here." Shayla wasn't going to stand by and let Coye defend her like this. She wanted him to succeed with Dorothy and to do so she had to come clean. "I told him to lie to you normally, I hide in his hat because I'm afraid of being seen by humans."

"That's completely understandable," Dorothy had no trouble understanding her fears without even needing them explained in detail. "Cransmere has a very poor relationship with the fairies of the Gnarled Woods since most of them are, with all due respect, bad fairies..."

"For what it's worth, I'm a good fairy most of the time," Shayla smirked.

"It's nice to hear that," Dorothy giggled. "But no, I understand. I've personally never been present for one of Cransmere's Midsummers, but I've heard the Pixie population can get quite unruly at that time, so..."

"Yeah, it's not pretty..." Shayla frowned, almost opening up further but deciding against it. This night wasn't about her and her issues.

"So, Coye... Forgive me for being forward but how exactly does Shayla factor into our relationship?" Dorothy asked, looking hopeful. "You said we couldn't make things official until we discussed your secret, and now here she is."

"Are you still willing to even-"

"of course I am." Dorothy gave him the most resolute look she possibly could. She wasn't good at looking like she had conviction, but it got the job done. "I don't care about lifespan at the moment. You've already demonstrated that you'll love and appreciate me to the extent that I can forget about it, so for now, I'm okay with moving forward... but that begs the question-" she looked to Shayla.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll clear this up for you." She sighed. "I think you need to be given a full rundown of Coye's condition. On top of unlocking more powers the more of my dust he absorbs, his libido is only going to get crazier and more out of control from here. That healer of yours-"

"does Eschal know about you?" Dorothy tilted her head.

"There's like a zero percent chance that he doesn't but he's been polite enough to phrase things in a way that makes it sound like he doesn't know I exist," Shayla shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, I was trying to say that the doctor says our lucky lad here is gonna need more pussy besides the ones he already has. Out of all the potential prospects in town, or even the realm, you're obviously the one he wants most in the world."

"Oh." Dorothy was about to burn up into an inferno of embarrassment.

"Did you seriously have to phrase it like that?" Coye pulled at his hair.

"And how would you have phrased it more romantically, huh? Are you a poet all of a sudden?"

"I could've done better than that!"

"Then do it, baby," Shayla smirked and gestured at Dorothy. "She's right there."

Coye rose to the challenge and looked straight at Dorothy. He balled his fists and said, "I want you in my life but I have issues from this whole magical connection with Shayla. We have rules in place because I'm getting more reckless and impulsive. I can't chase random girls without Shayla's permission. She has to believe they can be trusted and I have to introduce Shayla to them before we can move forward, so..."

Obviously, the first question on Dorothy's mind was, "so Byng and Suzette both know?"

"Yup," Shayla shrugged. "Though we'll fill you in on everything that happened up till now later on. It'd kinda detract from everything else, you know?"

"Yes, I would love to be brought up to speed. But... I can't help wondering if the fact that I'm here means you believe I can be trusted with your secret?" Dorothy's voice sounded far off and distant, as if in total shock.

"That's more or less the case, yeah." Shayla was feeling embarrassed and started playing with her bangs, looking off to the side. "You given me no reason to believe you can't handle this, so..."

Dorothy felt overwhelmed that someone she just met would trust her with such a monumentally important secret. She clutched her hands over her heart and smiled gently. "I'm honored. I'll do my best, and I won't breathe a word of you to anyone else."

"Counting on it." Shayla managed a grin.

Now that that was handled and dealt with, Coye took center stage again and started talking. "So... now that you know the truth about me, and about Shayla, do you think I could maybe get an answer on the whole going out with me thing? I get that I might have made a little bit weird with the whole living forever thing, but-"

Dorothy scooted forward on the bed and took both his hands. She smiled warmly and although it was a struggle to look him in the eyes, she did just that. "Putting that aside for now, I would've thought my answer is obvious, Coye. Getting to be with the boy I love is more than I could have asked for, but now you're dangling this adorable, fascinating little Pixie in front of me like the most enticing cherry on top? How could I possibly say no?"

"Hey-" Shayla was about to protest, but she realized doing so would ruin their big moment. She turned red enough to actually look like a cherry, but held back.

It was good that she did, because Coye couldn't. His emotions got the best of him. Two years of love and longing had paid off in spades and Dorothy had not only noticed him but now fully reciprocated the feelings he had for her. He closed the distance between them and hugged her so hard he nearly broke her. She lost the air in her lungs out of shock, but that was okay. She soon returned the gesture and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as hard as her frail strength would allow.

"I'm going to make you so happy," he promised.

"You already have..." Dorothy was holding back tears.

"I mean it. You just tell me what kind of weird monster trophy I can get for you, and I'll go and do it, no questions asked-"

"you don't need to give me things to earn my love," she giggled through her crying. "You already have it."

"I don't care, I'm going to give you everything you deserve. No one appreciates you like I do, and I'm going to show it. Your office is gonna be filled with monster parts, trading cards, you name it, and one day it's going to be so packed that you can't fit anything else there because it'll just keep piling up since were going to live-"

"okay, okay, that's enough of that!" Shayla sensed he was about to go off on a very weird tangent and flew from the windowsill, tugging on his long ear enough to sting him and make him pull away from Dorothy.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" He pulled back and rubbed his ear.

"You need to keep yourself grounded. Don't cling onto the immortality crap anymore than you have to in order to fight off your anxiety."

"Hold on," Dorothy raised her hand to Shayla and shook her head. "Coye, are you really serious about that?"

He was quiet for a moment. Coye knew it was stupid. He knew it was a form of denial, but who gives a shit? He was dead serious about everything he said, even if he wouldn't express it the same way now that he wasn't high off of Pixie mana.

"Extremely. I don't care how it sounds, but securing immortality for everyone I care about is legitimately my goal in life as of this very moment." His voice left no room for doubt. Coye meant it.

Dorothy didn't know how to take it at first, but Shayla shook her head. "So let me get this straight. You just want to live forever and have sex until the end of time?"

"Yes?" Coye blinked.

"That's the most selfish, hedonistic bullshit I've ever heard since..." Shayla paused. "Since the last time you told me what your goal in life was, I guess. Huh." She thought back to how Coye proclaimed his goal was to chase after new experiences, which was essentially just code for I want to sleep with more girls. In a way, this was a logical evolution of his last big transformation. It was just now taking to its furthest extreme.

Defeated by his sheer stupidity and simple mindedness, Shayla shrugged her shoulders and said, "never mind. I guess that checks out."

"If I may," Dorothy blushed and squeezed Coye's hand. "Even if it's extremely unrealistic, I admit that I find your selfishness and determination rather attractive, ahaha..."

Coye perked up, but Shayla wouldn't let him hear the end of it. "I wouldn't go that far. He's more like a naughty pet who just keeps doing worse and worse shit because he knows he can get away with it. Very dangerous behavior, right there."

"Maybe I should drop you off at Suzette's after all," Coye gave her an annoyed expression, but Dorothy looked to Shayla and continued speaking.

"I don't see it that way. I think it's romantic that he wants to live eternally with his loves. I'm a little starstruck I'm included in that fantasy, but... It sounds like your hero out of some old story, Coye."

Coye took the chance to maneuver behind Dorothy and wrapped his arms around her, surprising her but she didn't resist it all. He didn't have any sexual motivations just yet, he only wanted a hug. "I'm better than that, I'm real."

"Yes, you are..." Dorothy closed her eyes, feeling his heart beating against her back. Her hands placed themselves on top of his. She was nervous, but she allowed him to melt further into their embrace. Now more than ever, reality hit Dorothy and she understood everything all at once. It really happened. They were together. For the first time in her life, Dorothy wasn't single. Her boyfriend was hugging her.

She wondered if her heart could take this sort of happiness, so she decided to try and de-escalate just a little bit. Shayla was still watching them, but then again, it sounds like she'd been watching them for a while now. She didn't want to ruin the moment and ask about Shayla's influence over every last detail of Coye's life, but she was immensely interested in his companion and wanted to know Shayla just as much as she wanted to be close to Coye. The two of them were inseparably linked, after all.

"Shayla?" Dorothy called out, surprising the Pixie who was feeling like a third wheel.

"Um, yeah? What's up? I'm cool with leaving if you wanted some privacy, Coye can take me to-"

"oh, no-" Dorothy shook her hands dismissively, blushing at the implications. "I just had a question for you. Or a request, more like." Giving her some space, Coye backed off and ended their hug. He wanted Dorothy to be closer to Shayla, too, so he wasn't going to stand in the way of any potential bonding.

Shayla started to scratch her head. "Shoot."

"I take it you know a lot about me by now...?"

"Well, I may have picked up a thing or two..." Shayla dreadfully undersold it. "Oh, I wasn't there when Coye was outside your door, by the way. Just felt like you should know that moment was really just the two of you."

Dorothy hadn't even asked about that, but it was indeed a lingering thought on her mind ever since the Pixie first reveal herself. She smiled at Shayla being considerate, but shook her head. "Thanks, but that doesn't have anything to do with what I wanted to ask. I was about to say that you probably know how much I am fascinated with monsters and how that naturally extends to, um... oh, goodness, is not shamefully offensive to call you a monster, is it?"

"I mean, kind of but I can also be a huge bitch sometimes so I'm not gonna hold the word monster against you." Shayla laughed, putting herself down to make Dorothy more comfortable. It worked and Dorothy smiled.

"I'll try not to, but I was going to say that I'm deeply interested in fairies. Would it may be be possible for me to, um... hold you for a moment, maybe?" She struggled to ask. It was such an exciting thoughts that Dorothy could hardly express it, but she became downtrodden when Shayla's expression turned serious all of a sudden.

Just as she always tried to protect him, Coye tried to protect Shayla. "She only lets me touch her. Remember, she's afraid of humans."

"Oh, dear," Dorothy frowned. "That's right. How silly of me… I should have remembered. It's just that I'm so excited from getting to meet a fairy for the first time, and-"

Shayla was grim as she looked at Dorothy. She wasn't unprepared for such a question and expected her to ask as much sooner than later. "It's more complicated than he's making it," she said. "I'm afraid, yeah, but I'm also unlucky enough to have size difference with humans as one of my main fetishes." Shayla laughed, trying to defuse the tension and make Dorothy feel better about herself.

"Is that so?" It worked, and Dorothy found herself smiling. "That's certainly unfortunate for you, but please, forget I said anything."

"Nah. Open your palm."

Coye straight at Shayla in disbelief, wondering if he'd heard correctly. "Wait, are you serious, Shayla?"

"I already had to sit on top of Byng's head the other day. This isn't that much different." Shayla dismissed him, though her voice didn't sound confident. "As long as you respect my boundaries and don't go poking and prodding, I'll let you hold me. Emphasis on the word hold! This isn't a all you can grope invitation, you monster nerd."

"Grope?!" Dorothy blushed heavily, looking at the Pixie through a sexual lens for the first time. It was true that she was very beautiful, but that wasn't a surprise. Fairies were renowned for their good looks, after all, but until now it didn't occur to her that Shayla was a sexual creature. When the realization hit her, Dorothy became even more embarrassed. "I, um, I promise I have nothing but the purest intentions..."

Shayla almost felt the need to tease her about her rather obvious sudden sexual confusion, but didn't want to give Dorothy mixed signals. There would be time for that some other time when Shayla was more adjusted to being handled by others. For now, establishing first contact would suffice.

"I'll hold you to it, then," she said, standing up and fluttering away from the windowsill as she approached.

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Coye trusted her, but had to at least verify once more.

"As I'll ever be," Shayla sighed.

Dorothy extended her palms as instructed. Shayla wasn't the only one who is nervous. She was being trusted with an enormous responsibility. Not just the secret of her existence, but the honor of getting to hold her. She waited with her hands outstretched for as long as it took Shayla to feel comfortable enough landing.

Shayla looked down at the hands of this stranger as she hovered above them. She was taking deep breaths repeatedly, but doing her best not to make things harder on herself. Shayla had to push dark thoughts from her head. Dorothy was a good girl. She wouldn't do anything to harm Shayla, and Shayla knew that but overcoming trauma was easier said than done.

She closed her eyes, remembering that she wasn't the only one with trauma here. Coye was afraid of being the center of attention. Not too dissimilar from her own hang ups, albeit for drastically less severe reasons. Even so, he found it in himself to take a step forward and stand up for Dorothy in front of the whole Guild and then later fight an entire battle in public for her honor. If Coye could bring himself to make such enormous strides with his hang ups, then so could she.

Shayla landed on Dorothy's palms. Her skin felt soft on Shayla's bare feet, while Dorothy made a little gasping noise as the tingling sensation set in with a made contact. It surprised her, but it would've been worse if Dorothy didn't already know what to expect. Pixies had that aura about them that made touching them feel strange, but nice.

"Well? Is everything you thought would be?" Shayla saw fit to fill the silence in the air.

"Even better," Dorothy marveled. "I can't believe I'm actually touching a real Pixie. I... I have so many questions I'd love to ask you about yourself and what it's like being a fairy." It was true, her overactive mind was just about salivating at idea of an interview.

Sensing her overwhelming passion, it was hard for Shayla not to feel flattered. She smiled brightly and looked Dorothy in the eyes saying, "I'll answer them all, some other time. You're his girlfriend now," Shayla pointed over at Coye, who was watching the display vigilantly to ensure nothing went wrong. "And I'm part of the package. He's gonna be a huge part of your life and by extension, so am I. Let's just let things happen naturally for now, okay?"

" Yes," Dorothy responded gently. "I'm absolutely fine that."

"How are you holding up?" Coye asked. "It's not too difficult, is it?"

"Doesn't seem that way, no," Shayla shifted her weight around on Dorothy's palms, then walked around in a little circle. "It's just another hand, I guess. Not as soft as yours, though."

"Ah..." Coye felt embarrassed.

"He can't help that," Dorothy giggled. "Its part of his biology."

"Lucky him," Shayla smirked. Then, she remembered that there was something she wanted to talk to Dorothy about. "Oh, hey. Not to make this all about me or anything, but there was something important we were hoping we could ask you. Right, Coye?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He remembered and then nodded along.

"What is it? If there's ever anything I can do to help, you only have to ask..." Dorothy smiled at her boyfriend. She was still getting used to that fact. Maybe she would never get used to it.

"Well you might have already guessed by now that most of the magic I was using came from Shayla, but Eschal told me during my appointment that fairy Knights were an actual thing and that over time anyone bonded to a fairy like I am starts getting magical powers. I was wondering if you knew anything about that class? It doesn't have to be tonight, but maybe if you did some digging, just... Anything that could help us better understand whatever the heck we're going through would be really helpful right about now. We're still pretty in the dark."

"Fairy Knights?" Dorothy thought wistfully. "I know of them. If I remember correctly there's only been a handful throughout the Guild's history but they fight so uniquely that they had to be given their own class. I could sum up what I know for you, but I don't actually have any books about them and it may not be very helpful."

"Damn," Shayla slumped her shoulders. "I was really thinking you would be the key to all of this."

"I still can be!" Dorothy was in a rush to win the trust and favor of this little lady. "I can put in an order and borrow some books on the topic from the main branch of the Association. It'll just take a day or two for the order to get processed, assuming I file it tomorrow."

"Finally!" Coye was incredibly excited to hear this news. "It will be nice to have some actual answers, finally."

"That's for sure," Shayla was also relieved and then looked up at Dorothy with appreciation. "We're gonna owe you big for this one. Seriously."

"Oh, no, absolutely not... I want to be helpful, that's all. If there's anything you want to know right away you can feel free to ask me, I might be able to clarify some basic things. Just don't be upset with me if I don't know the answer!"

"I think there's really only one thing we want to know as soon as possible, right Shayla?" Coye exchanged a serious look with her.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Go on, then," Dorothy puffed herself up, trying to look determined. "Ask away!"

"From what you've read, were any of those fairy Knights able to change the size of their partner? You know, make them... human sized?"

Dorothy paused for a moment. In that single moment, it filled Shayla with dread. But then Dorothy started blinking and tilted her head. "You mean you can't already do that? How strange. Though there are different types and variations of fairy Knights depending on what kind of fairy the knight partners up with, it was almost universal from what I've read that the fairies could change size and will in order to better attend to the, ah, needs of their partner..."

There was an extended silence that stretched on for some time. Now it was Dorothy who was dreading. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to talk down to you or imply there was something wrong with you for not being able to do that, I just-"

"hold up for a second, so you're saying it's possible?!" Shayla interrupted, showing immense excitement and not a hint of sadness.

"Yes, absolutely!" Dorothy quickly agreed. "I don't know the specifics of your situation, but, I can say for certain that it's a well documented ability."

"Thank the gods," Coye hadn't felt so relieved in his entire life. "We finally know the truth!"

Shayla immediately jumped from Dorothy's palms and went over to hug Coye's shoulder while grinning. "Just you wait, big guy. We're gonna make it happen one way or another!"

Dorothy picked up on the fact that this was a very big sticking point for them. She knew full well that the body of a fairy is flexible to say the least, but felt sorry for Shayla. It must've upset her very much that they weren't the same size. As someone with self-esteem issues, she could fully empathize with what she assumed Shayla likely felt about herself. Getting to tell them the good news made her feel very good about herself, and she allowed them to have their moment. Despite Shayla saying she didn't want to make tonight all about her, Dorothy was beyond happy just to be a part of it at all.

"Once you two are done celebrating, I could give you a further rundown of the things I know." She offered, trying to make the most of it.

"Sure, if you don't mind," Shayla said, suddenly conscious of stealing the spotlight. She floated in the air between them now.

"I'd like to know little bit more about whatever is going on with Shayla inserting her mana inside me and vice versa, if you happen to know," Coye brought up.

"Ah, yes," Dorothy adjusted her glasses, momentarily making Shayla believe a lecture was on its way. Luckily, she restrained herself and got through the information rather quickly. "That's one of the key abilities of the class. You two have what is called a Faelink, allowing you to share each other's pool of mana. Essentially, it's a form of soul-bonding, which is the actual intended usage of Pixie dust and dust from any other fairy's wings. Before I elaborate any further, how much you actually know about any of this...?"

"Eschal gave us a scroll, but we couldn't understand it," Coye shrugged. "It had some nice pictures, though."

"In other words, assume absolutely nothing."

Dorothy smiled gently, happy to be of service. "Understood. Well, a Faelink is not too different from how a mage takes on a familiar. In time, you should be able to do most basic things that someone with a familiar could. Summon Shayla from anywhere, see through her eyes, experience what she's feeling, and so on. But what differentiates it between a standard familiar is the shared mana pool I brought up earlier. Essentially, Shayla can draw power from you to increase her own, whereas you, Coye can take her mana into your own and enter into a transformed state of being. I'm going to guess that the climax of your battle with Auguris was the first time you've actually achieved Faelink?"

"Yeah," Coye nodded, enraptured by the explanation. "But it was me giving her my mana, not the other way around."

"I see," Dorothy cupped her chin and narrowed her eyes. She was performing calculations in her head, thinking about what she saw and knew about pixies. "I'm assuming you jinxed his metallocoat with an inordinate amount of bad luck which led to it cracking?"

"Gonna be honest, you're little scary," Shayla teased. "I can't believe you can just figure everything out like this!"

"Knowing this kind of thing is my job, you know! It's just that I never get a chance to express it since no one ever listens to my advice..." Saying it out loud made Dorothy feel little upset over herself and Shayla was quick to apologize.

"Right, right. My bad. So, tell us more about the whole transformed thing." Shayla said.

"There's not much I can say about it beyond basic information, but I suppose you need that, don't you?"

"Yes, please. Anything to help us make sense of this all." Coye pleaded.

"Well, it's simple. This transformation is called Sylvan Shift. The more mana Shayla pumps into you, the more your body will temporarily become Pixie-like."

"More than her dust already makes me? You know that it's affecting my personality and it's a big reason I changed so much as fast as I did, right?"

"Yes, don't worry," Dorothy smiled gently at him. "Those changes are permanent, but these only last so long as Shayla's mana is inside you."

"Really? I kind of feel like there are some aftereffects-" Coye shifted around uncomfortably and then when he saw they were all looking at him he brushed it aside. "Don't mind me, keep going."

"Well... The strength of your Sylvan Shift depends on level of your Faelink. The stronger your bond, the stronger your transformation."

"Right now all it does is make him a twitchy, overly excited attempted rapist."

"Shayla!" Coye burned bright red and called her out, earning a big smile from the Pixie in question.

"Okay, fine, I guess you can't rape the willing after all. Right?" Shayla turned to Dorothy whose glasses fogged up immediately.

"I-I'm not answering that. Ah, anyway, the Sylvan Shift is a power that depends on the type of fairy your partnered up with. A fire fairy will make its partner hotheaded, and ice fairy more cool and collected, and so on. Pixies will naturally make their partner more mischievous, overexcited, and yes, aroused. Rather than making fun of him for it, perhaps you should remember it's your mana that is making Coye act that way, so what does that say about you?" Dorothy joked.

Shayla raised an eyebrow. She was frustrated at the truth of the matter, but more so, she was interested in what Dorothy just did. "Did you just take your first jab at me?"

"W-What?" Dorothy looked around nervously. "No, I-"

"you did, didn't you!" Shayla smirked. "I'm not even mad. I'm proud of the spine you're showing, if anything."

"Ahaha... Well... Thank you..." Dorothy didn't know how to take that so she smiled and luckily Coye moved past the conversation.

"So am I going to act like that every time I use Sylvan Shift?"

"To an extent," Dorothy nodded. "You'll learn how to better control yourself the more you practice and get used to having her mana in your system. Maybe it would be best if you thought of it as a last resort and something that you need to train?"

"I have no idea how I'm going to train it," Coye sighed. "I mean I'm sure our Faelink will develop naturally, but the shift is having some, um... Side effects..."

Dorothy and Shayla looked at each other in worry. Shayla asked, "why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because I didn't want to ruin my big moment with Dorothy anymore than I already did by trying to pounce on her?" Coye clapped back.

"I mean, fair," Shayla felt a bit like an idiot and nodded. Then, she realized what he was getting at. "Wait, is this the same problem you had the other day during our training session?" (I haven't written that chapter yet but it wasn't in the rough draft, so I will add it there)

Coye remained silent, telling her all she needed to know.

"Gods," Shayla sunk her face into her palms.

"Um, I feel as if I'm missing something..." Dorothy blushed and looked between them.

"Are you gonna tell her, or should I?" Shayla gave him the choice to embarrass himself or not. It was an easy choice. He couldn't trust her with saying such delicate matters.

Coye looked meekly at the bed below him and frowned. "My balls have been aching ever since Shayla sent me some mana to pull me out of my anxiety."

"Oh." Dorothy blinked. "Oh, my..." She started to blush even harder. She replayed what she knew about Coye's condition in her head. "Is this, um, anything like how it feels when you go without having sex for a few days...?"

"Yeah..." He nodded. "I think it just accelerates that process. It happened the other day while we were training, but it wasn't this bad. I was able to take care of it myself, but-"

"just another sign that you're adjusting to Sylvan Shift, I suppose," Dorothy tried to take things critically but she was still overwhelmed by the sudden sexual atmosphere threatening to suffocate her.

"And I still can't help, like always," Shayla sighed.

"No, you can't. I've noticed this entire time you haven't been expending your dust, which I assume is to keep it regulated for him after you found out how it works. But just coming into casual contact with Coye will amplify the dust already in his system..."

"So that's why I can never relieve him?" Shayla asked. Though still disappointing, it helps knowing that there was an actual reason behind it.

"Indeed, just lightly touching him will make Coye want more."

"Well I knew that much..." She smirked but was still uncomfortable about the situation.

"At least we know more about the truth," Coye sighed. "I wish we came to you so much sooner."

"I bet you did," Shayla tried to make the most of it and teased him, but Coye was disgruntled and shut his eyes. As fond of Shayla as she was becoming, Dorothy wondered how Coye dealt with a constant source of teasing and innuendos throughout his daily life.

"Well, the important thing is that you did, and... now I can help you however I can, Coye..." Dorothy's mouth was dry as she balled her fists together.

The meaning was lost on Coye. He smiled gratefully, then said, "you've already done enough. It's getting pretty late, anyway. I should probably take you home now before it gets any darker."

"Coye..." Dorothy nervously whispered. "I don't think you understood my meaning. I said I can help."

Things were quiet for a moment as Coye's brain struggled to process the fact that the woman he'd been in love with for two years was now offering to quell his lust. The longer he processed it, the more fidgety and nervous she became.

"Dorothy, I... I don't think that's a good idea right now. When I get excited, I'm not myself. I don't have much self-control. Especially not when I'm in this kind of state."

"I don't want to overstep my bounds here," Shayla spoke. "But I'm with him. All jokes aside, he might end up hurting you. Normally he's a cute, submissive little thing-"

"I'm starting to like being in control, to!" Coye frowned, his ego feeling the need to point out that much.

"Exactly. What I'm saying is the worse his condition is, the more of a frenzy he worked himself up into. It wouldn't be a good idea right now." Shayla shook her head.

Then, both of them were surprised by Dorothy's sudden change of tone. She was stern, serious.

"I know this might not sound very convincing coming from me, especially after the last couple of days I've had, but I'm not so delicate as you think I am."

"Dorothy..." Coye gulped. It wasn't like he didn't want Dorothy's help with all he had, but his love for her was pure. "We just agreed to go out with each other today. We don't have to rush things, and I think your first time deserve to be more romantic than-"

"Coye, I'm going to say this politely. Just because I like it when you tell me what to do doesn't I'm incapable of making decisions for myself. It's not up to you how I want my first time with you to go. You are in pain. You've been in pain ever since Shayla entered your life- no offense-"

"... Could have been worded better, but no offense taken-" Shayla tactfully lied, obviously a little hurt that her presence did harm Coye but she knew better than to ruin Dorothy's moment.

"I want to make up for not realizing my feelings for you sooner. If I had, then maybe I could have helped with your condition even sooner..." The implications were getting to her, and for as determined as she was, her face was scarlet red and she struggled to breathe. "You've done so much for me not just in these last couple days, but ever since we met. I won't have you pushing me away the first chance where I can finally give back."

Coye's heart was racing out of control. This seemed like it was actually happening. Dorothy wanted to have sex with him. The aching in his balls increased as his erection started to make itself known. It soon became painful and he had no choice but to recline to relieve some of the pressure. Dorothy noticed it, because it was impossible to miss, but she paid it has little mind as she could. She was still staring straight at him.

"Look, this is sweet and all, but I'm still here and it's not like you'd want the company..." Shayla said, suddenly conscious of all the spying she'd done. "It would kind of kill the mood if Coye had to drag me all the way to Suzette's. I could try flying there myself, but it's dark and who knows how many fucking owls are skulking about..." She shivered at the thought.

"You don't need to go anywhere, Shayla," Dorothy sounded resolute still.

"Wait, are you serious?"

"Yes," some of Dorothy's courage faltered for only a moment, revealing just how nervous about all this she actually was. "Rather, I... I want you here. I don't know if I could do this alone. I've never... well... You know I've never done anything like this before, and you do this all the time with Coye, right? I taught you a little bit about how fairy Knights works so..."

Shayla's mouth was open wide as she understood what Dorothy was asking. "You want me to teach you how to have sex with Coye?"

Having it spelled out so plainly was the final straw. Dorothy's embarrassment overpowered everything else and she bit her lower lip and meekly nodded, unable to say so for herself.

"Ahh-" Coye winced as his aching balls throbbed hard. They both looked at him in concern. "S-Sorry, it's just... that idea is really hot..." He fully admitted.

"I swear, you're the worst," Shayla shrugged.

"Well?" Dorothy giggled, finding her voice again. "It seems like Coye is okay with it, so..."

Shayla stared at Dorothy for quite a while. Emotions she sensed coming from the Guild Mistress were dizzying, giving her constant whiplash between overwhelming determination and serious nervousness. Dorothy was probably right. She couldn't do this by herself, no matter how much courage she worked up. What mattered was that she worked up enough said courage to extend her hand and asked for help.

"You're really sure about this, aren't you?"

"I... I am. I've been serious about this since the moment I knocked on Coye's door. So serious that..." Dorothy closed her eyes, fidgeted uncomfortably and forced herself to say the rest, "I've been wearing something s-s-sexy under my outfit this entire time because I wanted this to happen. But I'm so terrified I can't even think about taking it off without help...!"

Shayla took in the sight of this trembling girl who was afraid but wanted to help the boy she loved more than anything else. Shayla felt all sort of things. She admired her courage, but she also felt guilty over how pure Dorothy was in her love. Strictly speaking, she didn't have much of a choice.

"Well, I guess I have a lot of making up to do for you, so if acting as your sex tutor gets me a head start on that than I am all for it..." She shrugged.

Dorothy was overwhelmed with happiness, but she didn't follow along. "What do you mean making up to me?"

"Long story, doesn't matter right now." Shayla shrugged and then looked at Coye. "I already know the answer, but just to be sure... You're okay with this, right?"

Coye's arousal was surging at the prospect of what was to come, but he still had his senses. "Yes. I don't want to disrespect Dorothy's choice, and... I can't deny what I want, either. I want you, Dorothy. I've wanted you for two years and I don't know how much longer I can wait."

"Ah-" Dorothy became breathless.

"You need to hold back or you're gonna scare her," Shayla chastised.

"It's... It's okay... I'm flattered, I think?" Dorothy pondered aloud. "No one has ever... I mean... The fact that you want me so badly, Coye, I've never known what it is to be desired. It's... Intoxicating... All-encompassing... I... I think I could get addicted to this..."

He couldn't hold himself back any longer. Coye forced himself to his knees and despite the ache he felt dangling from his sack, he inched closer as he stared with pure lust. "I'm going to make you addicted to a lot more than just being desired, Dorothy..."

"Oh. Oh, my..."

Shayla was sold, then set off some of her fairy fireworks in front of his face, startling him and getting him to back up. It jostled his balls, sending a wave of pain throughout him. "Foul! I'm calling foul on that one, dummy! Even though I signed off on all this and am respecting Dorothy's wishes, yada yada, we still need you to calm the fuck down. Can you behave yourself long enough to get some service?"

"S-Service...?" Dorothy asked like an innocent maiden.

"You know, something to take the edge off?" Shayla looked at Dorothy, who continued staring as if she wasn't in the know. "You have to make him shoot a couple times or else he's gonna go crazy and absolutely wreck you." Shayla sighed, spelling it out.

"I... I see..." Dorothy struggled to breathe again, but the chief thing on her mind was wondering whether or not getting wrecked by Coye was a bad thing.

"Can you chill long enough to shoot off two or three loads, big guy?"

"I'll be good," he promised. The prospect of Dorothy doing anything to him was enough to make him docile.

"Two or three-" Dorothy wasn't an expert on human biology, but she knew that it wasn't normal to talk about climaxing twice and still having room for more. "I guess the effects of Pixie dust really can't be understated, can they...?"

Shayla laughed at her innocence. "You have no idea. We haven't even really tested how much he can cum in one night."

"C-Cum...?" Dorothy bit her lip, saying the naughty word for the first time. "Should I be worried, or-"

Shayla only gave her a naughty smile in response. She was suddenly into this girl's innocence and now that it was thoroughly clear this was exactly what Dorothy wanted, Shayla could get into her role as advisor and teacher much better.

"Don't worry about it. You ready for your first lesson, Dorothy?"

There was silence for a moment before Dorothy nodded her head.

"Good," Shayla flew in and for the first time in her life perched on the shoulder of someone other than Coye. "First thing you should know. It's going get messy, so I recommend taking those glasses off."

"Um-" Coye was about to raise an objection, causing Shayla to sigh.

"Nevermind, he might be more into it if you keep them on..."

Dorothy looked to Coye, who in turn looked away and blushed. Shayla really knew him too well. Dorothy was envious. She hoped to learn every little thing about Coye and his tastes that she could. It only lasted for a moment, but she smiled. Then, she pushed up her glasses so they wouldn't fall off.

"Guess we can skip to listen two, then..."