Coye Vol 3 Ch 13

After making it through one ordeal after another today, Coye and Byng were in no mood to waste time idling about in the forest at night for any longer than they had to. This meant that Byng used her expert tracking to lead the way, Coye following close behind while holding onto the massive hoof. Neither minded draining their stamina to speed up the process. They were both mentally checked out, ready to go before anything else crazy happened to them on their way out.

Nothing did, and both adventurers were relieved to exit the woods and be met with the starry night sky hanging above them. Now that the danger was passed, they allowed themselves to take things slow on the way to Byng's camp. She claimed it wouldn't take too long to get there, as it was erected where it was to ensure she had easy access to the forest. Some time to relax was well deserved, and they didn't even say much to each other on the way there. Coye did offer his hand to Byng, though, and she took it happily.

As they walked, Coye's adrenaline started to die down. The more it did, the more he realized and dreaded that this was his first time hanging out with a girl when Shayla wasn't there to help him through it. Surprisingly, it mattered less to him than he initially thought. He didn't need to stress about things with Byng. She was casual and straightforward with him, and that fact brought him immeasurable comfort.

Somewhere between fifteen to twenty minutes later- Coye wasn't sure- Byng stopped and announced they were there after entering a small, hilly region. Given how dark it was, Coye couldn't see anything, but Byng had him wait as she went off to light a few torches in the distance. Once illuminated by the orange glow, Coye was impressed with what he saw, as Byng's camp wasn't what he expected. Rather than a little base of operations for one person, it looked like it had room enough for a whole family.

The entire camp was enclosed by a thick fence pieced together from rows upon rows of monster bones, protecting it from the outside world. Byng led him past the gate, also made of the same materials, and then he had a better look inside. There were three tents pitched, each one bigger than the one that came before it. They were made of a tough-looking material that had clearly been stitched together by Byng herself, and although it looked very primitive, he was sure they were much sturdier than appearances led him to believe.

In the center of the camp was a fire pit similar to the one she'd dug to catch her Grunwolf, only several large stones were placed around it with cushions for seating on top of each. On the left side of the camp was a little freshwater pond, but the most remarkable sight of all were the different things Byng had scattered across her land- all of which he knew she'd made herself. There were racks upon racks of dried meat, tanning racks with different monster hides in various stages of being made into leather, and little crafting stations for this and that. Everywhere he looked, it seemed as if Byng was up to something, and he was sure that she had a plan for the rare few spaces that went unused, too.

Seeing it all before his eyes was a little much for Coye to take in. It only reaffirmed to him that, much like Suzette, Byng had so much going on in her life, and it seemed as if she had things all figured out for herself. She had quite the fulfilling life out here by the looks of it, and Coye felt inadequate, perhaps jealous, with how little direction he had to show for himself by comparison.

The other reason he felt terrible about being here was due to the camp's striking similarity to a few different Goblin camps he'd once burned down as part of a quest in his past. Awkward, but he could move past it.

Byng spread her arms out wide, looking at him with renewed vigor in her smile. "Here we are! I hope you don't mind my aesthetic, but that's how things tend to look when you make everything yourself! Gahaha!"

"Are you kidding me? This place is wonderful, Byng..." Coye said, stepping forward and looking around at even more of the sights. He just now noticed how Byng made use of monster skulls on pikes placed around the perimeter of her fence, presumably acting as something akin to scarecrows to deter anything that wandered too close.

"Oh, you think so...? I mean, it ain't much, but it's home..." she waved off his luxurious compliment, but the way she blushed and lit up at his insistence made it more than obvious how much she adored the praise. "Have yourself a seat over by the fire. I'll get it started, and then I'll get some stuff ready for you, short-stuff."

"Sure," Coye nodded and found his place at the pit. True to her word, Byng stopped over with some firewood and a piece of flint, then dragged her dagger across the surface to light the flame. She left shortly after, retreating into the smallest of the three tents for vague purposes.

Now momentarily alone, Coye took off his hat and briefly observed Shayla's condition. She mumbled at being picked up and disturbed but otherwise didn't say a thing. Her glow hadn't yet returned, but that was alright. He knew she needed to regenerate more of her mana before that happened.

Just as he stashed the Pixie into one of his bigger pouches to make her more comfortable, Byng emerged from the tent. She carried a large, beat-up metal basin that had clearly seen better days in her arms. Coye wondered if she'd made this herself, too, but figured she probably just scavenged it from somewhere as he didn't see any iron-working tools around here. It would be big enough to fit a person if they sat the right way, so he guessed it would be his tub.

Byng walked over to her pond, filled it with water, dragged it to the fire, and put it down so it could head up. "Here you go. After we eat, you can have a nice soak."

"Thanks," Coye sighed out of contentment as a bath sounded absolutely fantastic right about now. "Hope you don't mind if I get a bit more comfortable..." he said as he unbuckled his belt, took off his leather gauntlets, set his hat on the ground, and stripped himself of his padded tunic and his undershirt.

After a full day of nonstop action and running around, Coye's body glistened with sweat. To the already intrigued Gengaggi, his perfect form was highlighted, making him look like an oiled Goddess. He hated adventuring during the summer months, and he had no idea how all those knights who wore heavy, full-plated armor pulled it off. Coye was too focused on getting fresh air and ridding himself of his sullied clothes to even think about the repercussions of stripping in front of Byng. When he noticed that the girl was staring at him with a drooling mouth and bulging eyes, he covered his chest like a woman and blushed crimson.

"H-Hey!"

"Don't mind me, just checking out the goods! Gahaha!" Byng cackled, only for Coye's stomach to interrupt their playful moment by grumbling loud enough that both could hear it. "Uh oh, sounds like I better get on top of dinner. I hope you don't mind that I don't feel like cooking up anything fancy tonight, though..."

"I don't blame you. I'm tired, too... anything is fine with me so long as it's filling. I really don't want to impose..."

"Filling, huh? I think I can help you out there..." Byng went over to the medium-sized tent, and as she opened up the entrance flap, Coye could tell this was where she stored all her foodstuffs. "Catch!" She tossed him a capped gourd filled with liquid, and then she went to work on dinner.

Coye opened the bottle, and a slightly alcoholic yet sweet smell filled his nostrils. It wasn't overpowering, which suited him just fine. Coye wasn't a big drinker, but he enjoyed the occasional sweet beverage, especially after a long day of work. He downed a small sip and found the flavor equal parts strong, bubbly, and lush. It went down smooth and filled his mouth with a sugary aftertaste he enjoyed a whole lot.

With a good drink in his hand and the cool air blowing against his naked chest, Coye allowed himself to zone out and close his eyes, reliving the day's events in meditation as he so often did. He emptied his mind, reflecting on his experiences and his actions. The weasels, the Aberration, the Woodtreader, the hours spent searching with Shayla, and the final battle- all of it. He'd made stupid decisions today, but when looked at as a whole, he found that he accomplished more than he would've been able to alone.

It wasn't just because of Shayla, either. In both battles where they worked together, he and Byng seemed to get along like hand and glove. Rather than getting upset over his small failures, which he was so prone to do, Coye felt proud of their teamwork. He was surprised to find himself thinking how much he wouldn't mind going on more adventures with Byng in the future. If they were even half as fun as today was, he knew he'd be in for a treat.

Coye's reflection was short-lived, as Byng apparently really meant it when she said dinner would be quick. In her hands, the huntress-turned-chef carried a plate of food in one hand and a matching gourd in the other. She sat down a few feet away from him on the stone bench and placed the food between them. Now that he had a closer look, he saw that the plate only had two pieces of food. They looked like large cones at first glance, but Coye saw they were some sort of bread.

Byng smiled wide as she picked up one and handed it directly to him. "Here you go, short-stuff. This is called a palgakka! Back home, most people are nomads, and we don't often have the chance to set up big camps like this one. Much of our food is simple since we need to be ready to pack up and go in case raiders, beasts, or who knows what else shows up. These things are a special type of bread that rises real quick, and then you stuff 'em full of leftover meat, random scrap, and a thick sauce that sorta dries out over time and keeps it all held together. That's all it takes! They're a staple for travelers- they don't spoil for ages."

"Oh, that's interesting," Coye commented as he took the new culinary experience on offer. He tilted the cone-shaped bread to see that it was hollow on the inside, its contents filled by precisely what Byng advertised. The sauce she mentioned looked almost like a paste of sorts, but it smelled similar to gravy.

Given that he wasn't of a mind to be picky and that it seemed appetizing enough, Coye wasted no time in scarfing the half the thing in only a few bites, his hunger reducing him to Byng's level of etiquette. The palgakka's crust was hard and crunchy, but the inside of the bread was pleasantly soft. His expectations regarding the meat and its level of saltiness were unsurprisingly met, but he found that the strange paste actually had a flavor to it like red beans that dulled the offending salt nicely, smoothing things over and bringing all the contrasting flavors together into one cohesive package. As far as rations went, it sure had Karnalle's hardtack beat.

Seeing how fast he wolfed it down brought a massive grin to Byng's face, and she leaned closer to his personal space. "Well? What do you think, huh? Do you like it?"

Coye washed it down with another drink from the gourd and nodded. "Yeah, I actually do. I'm surprised. It's really good!"

For as un-stereotypically girly as Byng was, she couldn't escape the feminine pride over the boy she liked praising her for her cooking. She shared this feeling with Suzette, although she expressed her pleasure in a far different manner.

"You're damn right it is, gahaha!" She guzzled half her drink, clapped him on the back, then reddened as she started messing with her curly hair. "Palgakkas are just the start, short-stuff. I'm gonna fill you up with so much Grurguhrokkan-style cuisine that you'll be shitting like an Orc before you know it!"

"B-Byng, don't talk like that while I'm eating…" he frowned, but it didn't last too long. Her happiness was too infectious. "Is this drink from your Homerealm, too?" Coye asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, but you better savor it because buying imported alcohol is expensive! This stuff is called harghk, and it's pretty much cheap pisswater back home… over here in Karnalle, though? It's a 'luxury import' according to the dumbass merchant I bought it from! Fucker even watered it down like crazy, too… shoulda tasted it when I got it, but I wanted to keep it fresh for… well, whenever I had an important visitor..." Byng winked at him suggestively and caused Coye to blush and appreciate his beverage all the more.

"Thank you, I appreciate it…" he smiled softly and then turned his attention back to his half-eaten palgakka. Given his hunger, Coye was initially worried that he'd have to ask for seconds. As he downed the last bite, that concern was proven unnecessary. He felt like he'd just eaten three times the amount he did and was surprised at the fact.

"I told you they were filling!" Byng cackled as she finished off her own dinner, noticing his surprise.

"You sure did, wow…" Coye rubbed his bare stomach in satisfaction, the severe hunger of the woods beaten back by the power of a home-cooked meal. Maybe love was the secret ingredient? Whatever the case, he was impressed. "I'm a little impressed. I might have to ask you to make me some more sometime, so I can keep a stock of them for my rations. Feels like these might really help me out there."

"Yeah? I'm sure we could arrange that, gahaha!" All the praise was getting to her, and Byng was becoming full of herself. The alcohol wasn't helping, either, and she guzzled the rest of it in one go. "We'll figure it out, but it's not the time for that right now. Are you all done? Don't need any more, do you?"

"No, I'm full to bursting…" he gave her a contented smile. Coye was about to say something else, but as he opened his mouth, the water in the tub started to bubble.

"Ah, there's your cue! Go on and get in, short-stuff. The sooner, the better."

"Um… do I really smell that bad…?" He asked with a frown, given how badly the girl was pressuring him.

"Nah, the stank was mostly confined to your clothes, but I'd be lying if I said you weren't still a little funky- even for me. More importantly, the quicker you get in there and clean up… um… w-well," Byng coughed and looked away for a minute, her face somehow both apprehensive and all smiles at the same time. "The quicker we can talk about your prize…"

"Oh, yeah… you're right…" Coye gulped and started to take off his dirty boots, then stood to peel off his trousers. This left him in nothing but a green pair of boxers. predictably, Byng couldn't take her eyes off of him. "Are you planning to give me any privacy here, or…?"

Byng couldn't even hear his question, her breath growing steamy as she licked her lips. "So soft and smooth… barely any muscle definition at all, and yet so strong…! Ahhh… so… beautiful…!"

"B-Byng!" Coye barked, snapping the girl out of her lustful idolatry.

"Gah," Byng recoiled but showed no signs of being ashamed of her actions other than turning away as requested. "If you don't want me to gawk, stop being so adorable and hot! Besides, do you really need privacy when I already had a sneak peek this morning?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder just in time to catch him peeling his boxers off. He had turned away, expecting her to do this, but the joke was on him. Byng was all about that adorable ass of his that just begged her to squeeze it.

Coye didn't dignify her with a response, instead just outright entering the tub as quickly as he could to avoid further stares. He sat down, allowing the burning water to encompass him entirely. Coye sighed as it seared his aching muscles, sinking deeper and deeper as he reclined.

"Thanks for the bath. I was feeling gross after today, and I'm not just talking about the pig bile…"

"No prob! It's just that even I have standards, y'know? I figured we'd take care of it before… I mean… in case anything happened tonight…" Byng looked at him awkwardly, blushing bright red as the reality of the situation sunk in for her.

"Y-Yeah…" Coye felt the same creeping sensation as Byng after contemplating her words, and he ducked even further below the water to hide just below his nose.

Coye had won the Zurgarrah. He now had the right to ask anything of Byng that he desired, and it didn't seem like she had any room to refuse it. Coye was shy, yes, but he was equally horny. Probably more so. After a long, long day together filled with nonstop flirting and sexual innuendos cropping up left and right, on top of all the genuine bonding the two had experienced, there was really only one way for this to go.

The question on Coye's mind right now was how to phrase things when it was time? What did Byng really mean to him after today? How did he want to say it? That was the key to everything, including his relationship with the girl going forward.

It was all a bit much to think about for the moment, and he elected to put it off for himself to solve in the very near future. To keep his mind off of it, he looked over at Byng and asked, "Do you have any soap I could use?"

Byng blinked at him and tilted her head. "Soap?"

Coye waited for her to reveal that this was another joke of hers, but deep down, he somehow knew that Byng didn't actually have a clue what soap was. It explained far too much. He sighed and shook his head.

"Something like the stuff Suzette put on your armpits?"

"Oh, no. Don't have anything like that!" Byng said as she untied the two Bags of Holding and started walking to one of her nearest crafting tables.

"How do you not know what soap is? I thought you said you ate a linguaball and learned how to speak common from that."

"Yeah, but it's not like they're perfect! They can't teach words that don't have an equivalent, y'know." Byng shrugged as she dumped out the weasel carcasses onto the table. "Anyway, I'm gonna do a little work on all these bad boys while you relax in there for a bit. I'll cut off their feet for trophies since we gotta turn those in, and then I'll hang all these little fuckers up as they bleed out. Tomorrow we can skin the pelts together if you feel like making yourself useful."

"Sure,"

"You'll be wanting your pelts and meat for yourself, yeah?"

"Yeah, and some of the other bits and pieces. Eyeballs, for one…" Coye stated, earning him one hell of a strange look from his companion. "I-I know a guy who will pay for random monster parts- an alchemist. Just trying to earn some extra gold, that's all."

"Oh, is that so?" Byng asked, no longer absorbed by the naked femboy and now focused entirely on severing one Reaver Weasel foot after another with her knife. "Anything special you're saving up for, or does this have something to do with that new hobby of yours?"

"Huh?" Coye blanked, almost forgetting the incident that set this entire day's events into motion. "N-No, it's not about that. It's just that I've been thinking about moving out of the Guild sometime and getting my own place. That's all."

"A man's gotta have their own place. I can respect that," Byng nodded. "Why are you still being so cagey about the hobby thing whenever I bring it up, though?"

"Uh..." Coye withdrew into the bathwater again to think about it but then concluded that Byng was only trying to make conversation. Furthermore, he figured it was unreasonable to assume she would make fun of him over his newfound interests. Yesterday he was naive enough to believe that about her, but today he knew she wasn't that kind of person.

With all that in mind, there was no reason not to tell her. Coye explained what little he knew about RealMonster cards and how Suzette encouraged the interest he saw in them, even as he tried to deny it. Byng was interested throughout his explanation, looking up from her task at hand to nod her head and follow along, but by the end of his explanation, it was apparent a few things were lost on her.

"Not sure if I really get the point of it all, if I'm being honest. You get pieces of paper from packs, some of which are more valuable than others, and you, what... collect and fight people with them? Is this some kind of gambling?"

Coye thought about it, but all he could do was shrug. "I think it could be? I don't know. I just opened a couple of packs... I don't know how the game is played yet, and I don't know yet if I'm going to play or just collect them."

"Hm. Still think it's a little weird, but then again, I'm still not used to all the weird crap you Karnallians do for fun. All Orcs do is fight, get drunk, fuck, or some combination thereof. We do have a few different types of gambling, but none of them involve scraps of paper..."

"Um, I see... what about games, then? What did you do for fun when you were a kid?"

Byng frowned as she beheaded one of the weasels, putting its head in one pile and its body in another. "I don't really think you're really getting the picture of what life is like back in Grurguhrohk, Coye. Kids don't have 'fun' back home. They suck titties, and as soon as they're done sucking and say their first words, they have to learn some way to contribute to the tribe. I held my first training bow when I was two, I think..."

Coye was embarrassed. Although he had his own issues, he'd never met anyone from Byng's walk of life before, and it never occurred to him just how privileged his life in Karnalle really was. This Realm wasn't perfect by any means, but it was stable enough in the modern age, and he couldn't imagine growing up in such a harsh environment as the one Byng described.

"I'm sorry, Byng..."

"Not something to be sorry about. It's just how things are back home. I know you didn't mean anything by it, short-stuff. Besides, I'm here now, aren't I? I have all the time in the world to learn about different ways to have fun, gahaha! Maybe I'll buy some of those card thingies too, and we'll learn how to play together?" She grinned at him, entirely at odds with the sight of her beheading the final weasel in the pile.

"T-That... sounds nice..."

Despite that gruesome visage, Coye stared at her smile, and his heart beat faster than it had that entire day- even when fighting the Ravenous Boarman. That this girl could have lived through so much pain and suffering and still come out of it with a smile as full of life and beautiful as hers?

Coye had no choice but to admit he was absolutely smitten.

Wanting to avoid the awkwardness of staring at her with his lovesick eyes, he looked away and tried to change the topic. "You never answered me when I asked how you got to Karnalle, you know."

"Ah," Byng's pointy ear perked up for a moment as she gathered the weasels and started hanging them up by their still intact feet on a nearby rack. "It's not like it's a big story or anything. I had reasons for wanting to get out of there, some of which should be pretty obvious by now, I'd think. It's a shithole, gahaha! So, yeah. I made my way to Jorr Korgazzad and waited a few weeks for a chance to sneak onto a Voidship. I'm pretty small, so I managed to fit inside the cargo without much trouble!"

Coye would admit to knowing very little about Voidships or interrealm travel, but from what he knew, her story didn't add up. "What about the ship? Wouldn't they have sensed you?"

"Yeah, funny story!" Byng started cackling and looked over her shoulder at him. "The Mage whose soul was bonded to the ship turned out to hate being a merchant's vessel, so he didn't give a shit about stowaways. I would've been fucked without his help. He made sure I didn't starve on the voyage! We landed in Bourgeaux after a month, but I sure didn't stick around there for long. After that, I just kinda crept along the continent heading east until I wound up here. I liked the place well enough, so I decided to stay!"

"You've lived an amazing life so far, Byng. Would you say you're happy with Karnalle?"

"Definitely. I still miss my parents, but... I wouldn't ever go back if I had a choice." Byng shrugged and waved Coye off. "Anyway, I'm about done here. How about you?"

Considering all Coye could do was soak, there wasn't much left to accomplish in the first place. "Yeah. I just need something to dry off with, and I don't suppose you have something I could change into, do you?"

Byng gave him a smug look that did all the talking for her.

"I figured as much," Coye sighed.

Byng cackled and tossed the boy a furry pelt that likely belonged to a wolf. "Use this, and if you have to, then you can tie it around your waist!"

"Are you going to rinse off, too?" Coye asked, purposefully reminding her of what she said early in the night.

"Yeah, yeah..." Byng rolled her eyes and made a pouty face with her lips. "But I know you're gonna be weird about it, so I'm gonna do it in my tent! When I'm all done and ready for you, I'll call for you to come and join me. Then we can finally talk about your prize."

"You... want to talk about the prize in your tent... after you've washed up?" Coye gulped at the thought, his blood already starting to pool in a vital area against his will when he realized he'd be near-naked in that situation.

"Yep, you heard me..." Byng said with a slight blush as she approached his tub, holding a small bowl and a rag she'd prepared ahead of time. While staring at Coye's nakedness as little as possible, she filled the bowl and then walked off towards her tent- the biggest of the three by far. "Do me a favor? Go ahead and use the water to put out all the fires before you come in, ok?"

"Yeah... ok..." Coye nodded meekly, his mind still distracted by thoughts of what was to come. With that, Byng entered her tent and ensured the flap closed behind her.

For a moment, Coye looked over at his belt and frowned as he remembered that Shayla still slept within. If she was awake, this was definitely the part where she'd be giving him one of her famous pep talks to try and help calm his nerves. Gods knew he needed one right about now. His heart was pumping like crazy, but he couldn't rely on Shayla to do anything about it. If Coye wanted things to happen with Byng, he knew he had to claim his prize.

Coye stood up, the warm water dripping off of him in thick droplets as he exited the tub. He dried off quickly, affixed the pelt to his waist as instructed, then put out both the campfire and torches Byng had lit. Darkness encroached upon the camp as the last vestiges of flame fizzled out, the cool, moonlit air chilling Coye's skin as he knelt down to pick up all his gear and carry it into the safety of Byng's tent once she called for him.

He couldn't help himself from peeking inside the pouch he stashed Shayla in just once for good luck. He saw the Pixie dozing in her pretty little nightgown, and he smiled.

"Any minute now, Shayla..." Coye whispered mostly to himself.

Shayla grumbled in her sleep and turned over, scratching her butt as she muttered. "You got this, baby..."

Coye hadn't expected a response, which didn't do his racing heart any good. He tried to take her words to heart, repeating them to himself like a mantra as he waited for Byng's signal, only for it to come much sooner than he was ready for.

"Alright, short-stuff... you can come on in now, I guess..." Byng called out, and it comforted Coye to hear that he wasn't the only nervous one.

"Sure thing," he said, taking a few awkward steps toward the girl's tent. He looked at it from the outside, pulling on all of his courage to take the next leap forward. A few deep breaths and one stomach racing with butterflies later, Coye entered Byng's home. He wasn't ready, but he was willing, which would have to be enough.