Rough Draft - Coye 4.8

Byng was trembling as she walked arms linked with Suzette down the street. Funnily enough, this got the huntress even more eyes on her than she had with handholding Coye. And why wouldn’t they stare? The two of them made for just about the most unlikely pair in all of Cransmere. A Tall, beautiful human woman both mysterious and sexy in equal measure, and a short, squad, pear shaped Goblin girl Who couldn’t stop trembling made for a curious site.

As to why she was so afraid, that had to do with their intended destination. Suzette led Byng Through the city one street at a time until they came across it at last. Byng gulped As the building came into view.

The Mermaid’s Cove. Cransmere’s most popular and expensive bathhouse and spa, catering to a primarily female demographic.

It was a gaudy Place, with a large wooden sign depicting a mermaid perched on a bar of soap like it was an island at sea. The building was stone, a sharp departure from most architecture in the logging oriented city, and steam escaped from every little vent and opened window.

Byng froze, just as Suzette anticipated would happen.

“It’s alright, dear. I’m here for you. I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you, would I?”

“I’m still not entirely convinced you wouldn’t, but for the most part I guess not…” Byng joked to try and ease her anxieties.

“Very funny. The correct answer was no, if anything happened to you it would devastate my darling and as such I could never do anything to harm you. Besides, you know how much I enjoy your company.” Suzette smiled. “Now come on. One foot in front of the other, yes, that’s right just like that… I promise you’re going to love this place. I’ve been coming here for years ever since I broke out of my shell, so to speak.”

They made it to the front door and Byng Was still quivering. Suzette reached down and pulled her hand up to the starfish shaped handle, smiling and nudging her friend to make the push. She was patient and waited, only to be rewarded when Byng Prevailed and opened the door.

Inside was a hot, steaming and humid place that did little too make her feel comfortable. It didn’t help that as soon as they stepped forward, the ground below turned out to be replaced with a fine sand. Suzette slipped her shoes off and carried them in her handbag, entering right behind Byng.

“Lilly, is that you?” An effeminate voice called out to the pair over at the front desk. “Oh my, who is this? You’ve never brought friends before.”

“If all goes well, Ariel, this won’t be the last time.” Suzette smiled as she grabbed Byng by the hand and led her to the source of the voice.

Byng managed to look up long enough to see that the person Suzette was talking to happened to be a man in exceedingly unconvincing drag. He wore bright red wig and a dress of shining green fish scales, looking so exotic that Byng almost wondered whether they took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up leaving the depressing town of Cransmere.

“Are you all right there, little one? I know I Might seem a bit scary, but I promise I don’t bite. You’re not my type.” The man giggled, and for whatever reason Byng found a degree of comfort in his exaggerated persona. It helped take her mind off of her fears to see a friendly it’s funny looking face.

“I’m OK, thanks, gahaha…” Byng smiled weakly. “I kind of have a thing with water and bathing in general so… this place kind of freaks me out.”

“I would’ve never guessed,” Ariel raised a brow, looking at the girl and her poor, poor skin. His attention turned back to Suzette. “Where did you pick up this one, the gutter? A particularly smelly ditch?”

Suzette‘s cheeks turned red and she looked away shyly. “Well my friend, it’s a funny thing you should ask… The two of us met each other because of a certain boy I may have told you about before.”

Ariel gasped and picked up a seashell shaped folding fan, blowing air on to his face to keep himself from falling over from shock. “You don’t mean…”

“I do,” Suzette sighed dreamily.

“When?”

“Five days ago,”

“Shut. Up.”

“And so this girl is…?”

“One thing led to another and my darling ended up bringing another girl home the next day.”

“Yeah, that’s me. I’m the other girl I guess.” Byng shrugged.

“Uh… huh…” Ariel blinked as if he misheard her. “And you’re alright with this?”

Suzette sighed. “It’s complicated, but I’m happy for the back up. I don’t think I’d be able to keep up with him by myself.”

“I’ll spare you the witty joke I could make there and just say I for one I’m so glad I don’t have to listen to you coming in a week after week drunk and whining about how that stupid boy of yours never notices you,”

Suzette’s cheeks burned and she tightened her fist. “Yes, well…”

Byng cracked a smile. “You two seem close.”

“Something like that,” Ariel laughed. “This woman became a regular of mine around six years ago, and I guess you could say we hit it off. I couldn’t ask for a better business partner, or a better friend.”

“Business partner?” Byng tilted her head.

“I like the place, so I proposed to Ariel after a while that I could help him get his perfectly manicured hands on better soaps and beauty products at a decent rate in exchange for free baths… as well as information from time to time.”

Byng looked at Ariel with skepticism and asked, “no offense, but what the heck kind of information do you provide?”

“You’d be surprised what some people spill when they’re getting a massage, little one.”

“First off, hot. Second off, point taken.” Byng nodded.

“So what’s your story, cutie?“ Ariel leaned over the counter and gave Byng a warm grin. “Wait. Let me guess Suzie is stopping you from engaging in group activities until you get a nice, long soak, am I right?“

“You are. And I do believe I’m rather justified in that.” Suzette folded her arms.

Byng grumbled and nodded her head. “I have to at least try, that was the deal… I owe it to you, and Coye, too…”

After their man left the two of them to their own devices yesterday, Suzette and Byng shared not only A nice dinner together, but they also had a long talk about where they stood with each other. It was an honest conversation, and a very fun one as well. They reaffirmed their mutual interest in each other, Byng admitting to liking being around with the older woman and cooking with her, while Suzette enjoys Byng’s Company although her lack of common sense and manners still grated her at times.

Most importantly, neither had any hangups about the idea of being in bed together at the same time with their man. Rather, they were interested in making it happen sooner rather than later. Suzette to broaden her horizons, and Byng because Suzette was just that hot.

The only thing that prevented them from making it happen was the way Byng smelled. That was something that Suzette just couldn’t compromise on. With no other option, Byng reluctantly agreed. She was here now and she would give it our best shot, and it was comforting that she at least didn’t have to do this alone.

It turns out that threesome sex was a surprisingly good motivator when it came to getting Byng to take a bath.

Ariel clasped his hands together, “oh my, I for one think it’s just so sweet that you’re facing your fears for this boy of yours. He must be something special.”

“More than special,” Suzette sighed dreamily.

“He’s everything I ever wanted!” Byng agreed, talking over her companion.

They both looked at each other and laughed once they noticed they accidentally talked over each other.

“If he’s really so special then you should bring him in sometime and introduce him! I would love to let the three of you have your own private bath sometime, if that something that would interest you…”

“Ariel, please. I can’t trust you around cute men.” Suzette rolled her eyes, even if she was admittedly interested in the offer. “Speaking of the private baths, are any of them open?”

“There’s always one open for you, silly girl. You know where they are, go ahead and pick One out for yourself. Don’t worry about a time limit, either. You take as long as you need, all right little one?” Ariel leaned over the counter and gave Byng a supportive smile, causing her to feel a little overwhelmed.

“Thanks a lot,” she said, Then followed up after Suzette once she had paid for the bath. Ariel gave them a big basket of deluxe soaps and shampoos to use as part of their package.

There were two hallways, splitting the bath into male and female halves. At the end of the hall, Byng could see an entrance To a large public bath where a bunch of women were bathing together. Just the sight of it was enough to creep her out and she started chewing on her lower lip. Before that, there were five doors on the left-hand side which led to smaller, private baths. On the right side of the hall was a door that led to the employee area. Suzette brought her into one of the left hand doors after finding one that was unoccupied. They took the middle one and Byng stepped in after her, only for Suzette to close the door behind them and switch the sign to occupied.

Byng Looked around the current room. There were wooden shelves for women to undress themselves and to place their valuables, and the back wall led to another small room where tons of steam was coming out of. She didn’t have to get a look at it to know that was where the water was.

“Are you all right, dear?” Suzette made sure to check before getting naked.

“Y-Yeah, just a little out of it for a moment.” Byng shook her Self out of her momentary stupor and took in a deep breath of the humid air. She followed Suzette deeper inside and watched in disbelief as the older woman began to strip herself of her clothes.

Now Byng was gulping for an entirely different reason.

Although she came from a place where she was often exposed to big, beautiful, Amazonian-esque Orc women, suzette was equally as intimidating in ways she couldn’t even comprehend. Their lower halves were similar, save for the height, but everything else was like night and day.

“There will be plenty of time to stare at my naked body later on tonight, dear. Why don’t you go ahead and join me?” Suzette suggested with a grin as she removed her black bra, her bountiful bosoms bouncing free at last.

“I’m getting there,” Byng insisted. “You were just really distracting, alright? I’m really not the type of girl who gets hung up on comparing breast size but like, gods, woman. What the hell do you eat?”

Suzette blushed, not used to this kind of attention. For a moment she even guarded her breasts from Byng’s view after their stellar reception before dropping her guard since it was really no use. She would end up seeing them sooner or later, so there was no reason to hide her assets.

“I could ask the same of you and that behind of yours,” she laughed uncomfortably.

“Behind?“ Byng cackled. “You really don’t gotta be so formal. If you’re talking about my ass then just say ass, gahaha!”

“Apologies, I’m really not used to this sort of playful talk with other girls…”

“I sort of got that. More importantly have you used those babies on short stuff yet?” Byng asked as she stripped off her vest and her own shirt, revealing her much smaller breasts to the older woman.

Suzette drew a blank. “Used them?”

“You know…” Byng cupped her tits and jiggled them up and down, Then let her long tongue dangle out of her mouth to simulate licking the tip. “Like this?”

“Oh,” Suzette blushed. “You’re talking about a tit fuck, right? I do believe I’ve read about those… do men really like that?”

“You’re asking the wrong person, Suz,” Byng cackled at her own flatness and then stepped out of her leggings. “But if I had to guess, then absolutely. There’s only one way to find out though!”

Suzette remembered just how much that boy of hers adored her large breasts and the thought of pleasing his needy cock with them and giving him what he wanted just about got her going right then and there. If it weren’t for what they still had to accomplish, she would’ve gotten turned on. “Maybe tonight. We’ll see…”

Now they were both fully naked and sizing each other up. Neither stared for too long, but they were both aware of the other was doing it. Rather than let this go on for too long, Byng said, “after you, I guess…”

Suzette paved the way, carrying the bucket of soaps as she part of the kelp shaped divider between rooms. When she looked back over her shoulder and saw that Byng was actually frozen in place, Suzette frowned. She went back over to the young girl and wrapped her arm around her torso.

“There’s nothing to be scared of, dear.” Suzette reminded her. “I’ll be here for you for as long as it takes.”

Byng hung her head and focused on the sand between her toes. “Thank you,  Suz…”

With Suzette help, she managed to cross into the other room and had a better look at what she was dealing with. The bath was decent sized, square-shaped taking up a good portion of the room, and there were flowing bubbles coming out from ArcTech Jets at the side of it. Byng didn’t like those. They reminded her of tar pits back on the planes of her homerealm.

“Isn’t it nice?” Suzette asked in an attempt to remain positive despite knowing she was only setting herself up for disappointment.

“If you like drowning, yeah…” Byng predictably responded.

“Come now, I assure you it won’t be that bad.“ Suzette took a long towel out of the basket and leaned over, laying down across the sand the ground at the edge of the pool. She fussed with it for a moment, getting it just right, and then looked back to Byng. The girl was still staring at her feet. That was concerning, Suzette was almost disappointed she didn’t even take the chance to check her out.

“How would you like to do this, dear?“ Suzette held out her hand and beckoned to Byng, getting her to take the last few steps forward herself.

“I don’t know…“ Byng mumbled, still avoiding actually looking at the water.

“That’s OK. Why don’t you sit down with me, and we’ll take it slow?” with a motherly smile, Suzette sat down on the towel. She patted down on the area next to her and Awaited as she stretched her long legs out and dipped her feet under the steaming surface of the water.

It took her a few moments, but Byng Was eventually able to join her by her side. Rather than dipping her toes in, Byng sat crosslegged and showed no signs that she planned on changing this. She sat there awkwardly, still looking down in silence, only for Suzette to reach over and assure her.

"There, there. No one is rushing you." Suzette said with a comforting massage.

"Thanks, Suz..." Byng sighed. She hated feeling exposed and vulnerable like this, but she figured sorting out her issues like this was preferable than doing it with Coye. She needed the help of someone supportive, making Suzette the best option.

“As soon as you’re ready, why don’t you try what I’m doing?“ Suzette suggested.

“Let me try this first,“ Byng said, reaching out and dipping her pointer finger into the water. “Ngh…” The heat stung her flesh, causing her to recoil and draw back her hands.

“Isn’t it nice?”

“A little…“ Byng admitted, though she continued to nurse her finger and rub it. “It’s not that I don’t see the appeal, it’s just a me thing…”

“I understand, dear.” Suzette continued to smile at the younger girl and said, “Little by little we’ll get you there.”

Byng nodded meekly, and after some more internal deliberation, she reached out her thick, stocky leg and down on her lip as she tried breaking the surface of the water with her big toe. Suzette continued to massage her back every step of the way, eventually getting Byng to the point where she could finally do it. She dunked her toe under the water.

“GAH!” For whatever reason, it freaked her out more than it did with her finger and she scooted back more fully, accidentally splashing the water with her foot.

“Byng?” Suzette frowned and placed her hand on the girl’s thigh, rubbing away at it.

“I’m fine, I… I’m fine…” she whined after catching her breath.

“Maybe that was too much to ask for… How about I feel a bucket with water and rinse you off to start with? You’ve done that much before, yes?”

“Sure, every now and then I guess… Obviously not often enough for your liking but, hey here we are…” Byng chuckled to herself and looked away.

Suzette took out all of the soaps and bottles from the bucket, leaned over and filled it with steaming water from the pool. She picked up a cloth, dipped it, wrung it, and then slowly inched it towards Byng’s back. The girl recoiled at the touch, but eased into it more fully as she turned her entire backside towards Suzette.

“There you go, nice and easy…” Suzette whispered, dragging the cloth down the length of Byng’s spine.

“Now that actually feels pretty good…” Byng added with a content sigh.

“I’m glad to hear… it…?” Suzette looked down at the cloth and was frozen in place. The tan rag was now nearly brown where she wiped her down, and the skin was now several shades of green brighter. it took all her composure not to react to this with revulsion, knowing it would only put more pressure on Byng.

“Uh, you too busy checking out my ass back there or what?” Byng asked to try and make things less awkward.

“No, just… thinking, that’s all, dear…” Suzette changed her plans. She didn’t poured the clean bucket out and wrung the rag out in the now empty bucket, filling it up with water straight from the pool now. She couldn’t wash Byng with such dirty water, after all.

Byng must’ve caught on, though, and her head sunk as she whimpered out a “Sorry… I must not’ve done a very good job the other day…”

“Think nothing of it,” Suzette insisted, continuing her scrub down. “I’m not here to judge you, I’m here to help you.”

“Mn, thank you…” Byng moaned at her touch. For the next couple of minutes, Byng was given a full body treatment as Suzette continued to fight against the layers of grime she had accumulated. It was an offense to her senses, but she vowed to see this through and didn’t let on even a little bit to her discomfort.

Eventually she had her turn around and they worked on the front, where Byng could see first hand just how dirty she actually was. Her shame was evident on her face, and she wouldn’t stop apologizing as the woman worked. Suzette wouldn’t hear it and continued.

Once they were done rinsing, Suzette admired her work. “You are going to sparkle once we soap you up, dear. Good job so far.”

“Thank you,” Byng blushed and rubbed her arm. “Before you do that, do you think I can… um…”

“Do you need a break? We can stop for as long as you-“

“N-No, I wanted to try and dip my feet in again…”

“Oh. Of course, silly. By all means.”

Byng’s confidence grew now that she had survived a thorough rinsing, and she turned towards the bubbling, steaming pool. She sucked in a breath of air and reached forward again, submerging her toe. Nothing happened, save for a small wince at first. The water didn’t swallow her whole, and there was nothing waiting for her underneath. It made her smile to see she had made some progress, and now that she confirmed it could indeed be much worse, Byng closed her eyes and declined, pushing in both feet up to her ankles so that they could rest on the first step.

Suzette was so happy for her that she gasped and clasped her hands together. “Goodness, Byng! Are you alright? Don’t force yourself to bite off more than you can-“

“I’m fine, Suz. It feels pretty good on my feet, actually…”

Given that she didn’t ever wear shoes, Suzette found that fact hardly surprising. “Well, if you’re sure you can handle it then good work. I’m proud of you.”

Byng smiled, but a part of her looked upset. She went on to apologize yet again, saying, “I’m still really embarrassed it came to this… especially that I need your help to do it. I… don’t like relying on others if I can help it.”

Suzette was in the middle of picking out what soap she wanted Byng to use but she put it down and looked at her to ask, “From what you and Coye have told me, I’m not surprised. I know that you’re incredibly self-reliant, especially for someone your age.”

“That’s just how we are back home, y’know? Everyone does the most they can for the tribe, because if everyone isn’t putting in all they have then no one will make it in the long haul. Meanwhile, those who drag everyone else down aren’t treated the best…”

“That sounds rather, um…” Suzette caught herself before she used the word barbaric. She wouldn’t be giving her anymore chances to tease her about being racist. “Concerning. It’s wonderful that you’ve thrived under such conditions, but such ruthless individualism is…”

“It’s shitty, yeah.” Byng sighed. “I like how you humans go about it. Everyone helps each other out on an individual level more than they help the abstract ‘tribe’, for the most part. Doesn’t mean I can just shake off everything I was taught, though…”

“Maybe you don’t have to?” Suzette thought aloud.

“Huh?”

“Well if you thought of me as a member of your ‘tribe’ then that would make me family more or less, wouldn’t it? I should hope There would be nothing to be ashamed of for letting your family spoil you.”

Byng blushed and looked away for a moment. “You don’t have to go and make a whole thing about it… but… thanks, Suz. I promise not to let it bother me too much.”

“Good. Because if I have to listen to you apologize even once more, I’ll dunk you myself.”

That got a good laugh out of the girl, and they proceeded on to the next stage. Suzette produced a liquid soap and poured it all over Byng’s backside, starting from her shoulder blades. It was cool, drawing a slight moan form her as it made contact. Her next move was to start rubbing it all over Byng’s backside, lathering it up and making it all bubbly. Byng enjoyed the bubbles, but she enjoyed Suzette’s hands even more.

Things were somewhat heated, but neither was fully into it given Byng still had serious reservations and anxiety regarding her fear of the water. Still, Suzette had to ask, “Do you need me to do the front, or are you going to take it too sexually?”

“Dunno, but I’d love to find out, gahaha!”

“Very well,” Suzette laughed and rolled her eyes, pouring the bottle onto Byng’s breasts. Again the girl moaned, doubly so when Suzette began spreading the liquid from there.

“W-Whoa, I didn’t think you were actually gonna… mn…” Byng closed her eyes as the woman’s soft hands ran down the curves of her breasts and down across her torso.

“I’m very serious about getting you clean, dear. If I have to do it myself then so be it.” Suzette said, trying to keep composed. She had never touched another woman like this before, and the scenario was strange to her. Strange, but intriguing. It helped that Byng was now free of grime by this point.

Byng purposefully moaned on and off as sort of a running joke, but the more Suzette slid her hands in places she wasn’t expecting, the less of a joke those moans became. Suzette stopped well before anything exciting could happen, though. “Save yourself for tonight, dear.” Suzette reminded her.

“W-Wha… oh… yeah, uh, right…” Byng nodded and wiped some drool off her chin. “You’re really good at that, Suz. Damn.”

“Really? I’m happy to be of service, then.” She laughed. Her hands reached out for the bath ladle next, scooping up a portion of the water. “I’m going to rinse you now, let me know if this is too much.”

“Ok…” Byng gulped and then shut her eyes.

Suzette tipped over the ladle and let the contents flow out over Byng’s scalp. She cried out in surprise and jolted back, but after the initial shock she was able to adjust and allow Suzette to cleanse her body of suds. It even started to feel nice after that point. When the last bit was done, Byng looked at her skin and was stunned.

“Woah, I can fucking see myself on my skin! I didn’t know it could be so shiny…!”

Suzette giggled at the childish statement. “I’m happy you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Kind of, it’s still a lot to handle but… it does feel nice being all clean.”

“We’re not done yet, dear. I’ve still got to wash your hair, and then you’ve got to do me.”

“Thought you said we were waiting till tonight for that?” Byng smirked.

“I meant-“

“Yeah, I know what you meant, gahaha! Just having some fun.”

Suzette smiled at Byng’s antics, then became quiet for a moment. She asked, “Byng, would you mind if I asked you a question?”

“Sure. I had something I wanted to ask you, too.”

“In that case, you can go first.”

“Alright, why not?” Byng slid closer off the edge of the pool, allowing a few more inches of her leg to sink in. “It’s just been on my mind a lot… been wondering why you’re so chill about short stuff seeing other women. Like, I don’t mean to drag up the past or anything but your late husband had a kinky history with that cabin, right? It just doesn’t make sense to me how quick you were to jump on board with all of this…”

Suzette hadn’t expected that, and she looked off into the middle distance in response. She seemed far away, but not in her dark and typical way. She was calm and introspective as she gave Byng’s inquiry some serious deliberation.

Sensing that she might’ve touched a nerve, Byng began to apologize. “Shit, I’m sorry, Suz. I didn’t mean to-“

“No, don’t be worried. I was just thinking to myself. I can see how it might be seen as odd, despite already having agreed to it. Do you really want to know?”

“Uh… if you’re open to telling me, sure. But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Cheating was the least of that man’s problems. There were physical altercations, years of mental and emotional manipulation, he stole from my shop, and more. At least when he was with other women, he wasn’t with me.”

Byng blinked and stared, suddenly feeling very awkward. “Fuck. That’s… um…”

Suzette laughed. “I suppose you’re wondering why I stayed in such a relationship for so long.”

“I don’t want to judge, but… yeah.”

“The worst thing he ever did to me was isolating me from my family. After I got married they gave me ownership of the store, and then intended to live in retirement. He made it so I never talked to them. Took away chances to see them. Lied about how we were doing. Eventually, he started to worm his way into my head so bad that… I…  I believed everything was my fault. I felt like I had done something wrong to cause all of this, or that there was something I could’ve been doing better. Eventually, I realized that was bullshit.”

Byng felt very out of her depth. There was no such thing as abusive relationships in Grurguhrohk. If a man hit his woman, she was within her right to hit him back. Most problems were solved by a mix of aggression and sex. All this emotional manipulation was unthinkable to her. Whether it was because Orcs were too dumb for it, it just wasn’t something that happened in her culture.

Despite her lack of understanding, Byng wanted to show her support. She reached out with her hand and placed it on Suzette’s thigh, but remained silent.

“Thank you, dear. I’m alright.”

“What made you finally realize you had to, um…” Byng almost said ‘kill him’, but she stopped herself short.

“I realized things had to come to an end roughly six years ago, right around the time my parents died.”

Byng gasped.

“When I realize he tore me away from them in their last years and ruined my relationship with them, every other piece of the puzzle started snapping into place… one thing led to another, and… you could say things sorted themselves out. He had an accident, and I’ve been on my own ever since. Until now, that is.”

“Suz… I can’t even imagine half of what you’re telling me. You’re stronger than any Orc I’ve ever met.”

“Do you see where I’m going by telling you all this, dear?”

“Uh… not exactly, no. Sorry.”

“Let’s circle back to your question, then. It certainly helps that I started my relationship with Darling already knowing he had a condition that would see him looking for attention beyond me, but even then I was surprised to see him bring you into the picture so soon…”

“Gah, sorry about that… he asked me out, So-“

“Byng, dear. I’m well aware of how popular that boy is around town.”

“Tell me about it…” Byng thought back to all the eyes on them as she walked through the village with Coye.

“If it wasn’t you, someone else would’ve been next. I just so happened to be lucky enough to be… well, second in line, really but you know.”

“Sure.” Byng nodded. “So, what. You’re just cool with all this because it was inevitable?”

“No, I’m cool with all of this because there are three things I want out of life. Love, wealth, and family. I have wealth, and as of now, love, so all that’s left is the family. I have friends like Ariel, yes, as well as many business associates, but my heart is lonely. I want a place to belong, I suppose, with people who care and understand me… maybe I’m overly optimistic, but part of me hopes that you and however many girls that boy brings home might become that family for me.”

“Oh,” Byng was a little surprised to hear it put like that. “It really makes sense now. It’s like you were saying earlier…”

“Family helps each other, yes. You and I might not be terribly close at the moment, but I’m willing to make the effort and in time I’d love nothing more than to spoil you like one of my own.”

“Really, Suz?” Byng blushed and looked away.

“Indeed. Provided-“

“That I bathe, I know how it goes by now…” she sighed and then laughed.

“Good girl, you’re learning.” Suzette smiled.

The two were in a good mood from all the intense bonding going on, but Byng was remembered Suzette had a question of her own. She slumped over and asked. “I’m guessing you probably wanted to know what my deal is with water, huh?”

“You are correct, but only if you’re alright with telling me.”

“After you poured your heart out like that, there’s no way I could say no. It’s not that big of a story or anything, really, but…” Byng sighed. It was her turn to look off sadly into the distance. “Grurguhrohk is a realm where most of the terrain is one big desert, and it’s full to bursting with things that want to kill and eat you if given the chance. That extends to any big sources of water, too. We don’t trust lakes, or rivers, and the ocean? Fuck that. Monsters infest those places like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Not to interrupt, but Karnalle has plenty of aquatic monsters of our own, you know.”

“Sure. But in Grurguhrohk, I doubt you could even dip your toes in like we’re doing right now without getting them bitten off in seconds. You could throw a steak into a lake and a twenty ton leviathan would pop up and gobble it down.”

Suzette cringed at the thought. “So you’re saying this is a cultural fear?”

“Uh… well, yes and no. There are some tribes that live from fishing, but they’re pretty rare…”

“Your fear seems a lot more personal, Byng.”

“That’s because it is…” Byng frowned and stirred the water with her feet. “So there I was. Four years old, just picked up my first bow, right? Dazhak says it’s time for me to start learning how to hunt. I chase around a borvarr for a few hours while he watched over me. We got close to a small ridge. Too close. I finally shot the bastard right between his furry ears! My first kill and everything. I run off to scoop it up, only to slip and fall over the ridge- which of course just so happened to be over a river…”

“Oh, dear…” Suzette shifted around uncomfortably, the story starting to affect her.

“I wasn’t joking. A swarm of rawxaws was on me in seconds. These things are fish that are around the same size as you, and they got a mouth full of teeth the size of your arm. If it weren’t for my dazhak raining down arrows on them from above, I wouldn’t be here today… course even after he had saved me, I still almost drowned right after…”

“Gods…” Suzette sighed. “That would certainly do it. I can see why you ended up so afraid of water.”

Byng shook her head. “I have about a hundred stories of how I almost died back in my Homerealm. Far as I’m concerned, you’ve been through worse… which just makes me think, hey, what’s my excuse?” The girl stood up and looked down into the pool of water. “It was a long time ago, and things are different now. I… want to try and change.”

Suzette looked on in shock for a moment before realizing what Byng was intent on doing. She stood up and raised a hand toward the girl.

“Byng, wait. You don’t need to be rash about this!”

“I’m not. This has been a long time coming. I’m not in Grurguhrohk anymore. I can handle a bath.” She said, stepping fully into the pool down to the first step, which submerged a little past her ankle. Then, she took another, this time down to her knee.

Byng locked up and began breathing heavily in and out. She reaffirmed herself that she could do this. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, this was ok. Yet she stood there trembling and trembling.

Suzette approached her from behind and placed her hands on Byng’s shoulders, trying to lead her back to the edge. “Come on now, dear. Don’t rush this. You’re only going to traumatize yourself further.”

“I’ll… I’ll be ok…” Byng insisted and then closed her eyes. She took a deep breathe. Suzette might’ve said something, but the world went quiet when she jumped and plunged the rest of her body into the water.

It wasn’t a deep pool, only five feet, but Byng was over half a foot too short to stand up on it. She flailed and regretted her decision immediately. Byng splashed around like a fish, opening her mouth to scream but only exacerbating the situation. Before she could inhale too much water, she was pulled up to the surface by Suzette who hugged her close to her chest and helped to stabilize the girl.

“Gah! Fuck! Fuuuuck! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Byng cried, clutching onto the older woman like a child.

“Honestly, what were you thinking…?!” Suzette sighed into their hug. “I get that you wanted to try an all of nothing approach, but it’s just too risky!”

“No… no it’s… not… like you said,” Byng struggled for air but found the energy to hug Suzette even tighter. “Family helps each other out… I knew if it didn’t go well, then you would… have my back… gah-“

Suzette blushed a little and reflexively pulled the girl closer to her chest. Family, huh? That means that Byng was one of her own, now. The thought sat there on the forefront of Suzette’s mind until it finally settled and brought a smile to her face.

“Of course I would, you silly little thing. Are you good?”

Byng managed a weak smile. “No, but I will be… can you keep holding me for a little bit?”

“As long as you need, Byng.”

Byng needed a few straight minutes of coddling right there in the center of the pool before she was ready to move. Once she was finished coming down from that gargantuan high, she felt like she had burned herself out. Suzette helped carry her to the nearest step and helped her sit up properly. From here, she was sitting submerged up to her shoulders.

“Is it too much, dear?” Suzette asked, still fussing over her.

“I think I’ll be alright now…” Byng let out a long, deep sigh of relief. “Did I do good?”

“I wouldn’t call almost drowning yourself in a shallow pool ‘good’ by and stretch of the word, but… there was undeniable progress, yes.”

“Heh. I’m still pretty scared right now, but… I can’t deny that the water feels great. Especially those bubbles. I wonder if you angled the jet stream just right-“

Suzette rolled her eyes. “Seems to me you’ve made a full recovery.”

“Gahaha, something like that.” The two women shared a smile between the two of them, only for Byng to ask, “Hey, Suz? I just wanted to know if the plan is still on for tonight. You know, the other thing.”

A glimmer appeared in the older woman’s eye. “Yes, I still believe it’s for the best if we confront him about the matter before it gets too late. The longer this ruse lasts, the deeper the hole he’ll have to dig himself out of.”

“True… I just hate having to pull the rug out from under him, y’know?”

“Things will work themselves out. Now come back over to the edge here so I can do your hair. Fair warning, but the shampoo will sting if you leave your eyes open. Try and keep them closed.”

“W-Wait, what? Stinging?”

“If you tough it out, then I’ll let you wash my body.” Suzette smirked playfully.

Although Byng didn’t like the sound of whatever the hell this shampoo stuff was, the reward more than made up for everything and then some. A half hour of hair washing and frisky groping under the pretense of washing later and the two emerged fresher, cleaner, and closer than ever before. Both of them were filled with tremendous optimism and excitement, only for Byng’s to evaporate once it was time for them to get dressed.