Coye Vol 3 Ch 2

For the second time in the same morning, Coye was startled awake and thrust immediately into a state of hyper-alertness. He threw his blanket off of him as quick as he could. This time, he didn't arise because of a dream.

It was because there was danger.

Coye reached under his bed where he always kept his sword and then scanned his surroundings to locate the source of whatever threat he picked up on unconsciously. Upon first glance, he found little out of place, and nothing seemed to stand out at all. The first rays of morning sunlight were pouring through the white curtains, a faint breeze swaying them gently back and forth.

He tore his eyes away and continued to inspect the room for another few seconds before he was hit with a sudden realization. The window wasn't open last night. Coye likely would have woken up if Shayla had cracked it sometime between then and now, so he had no doubt that he found his answer.

And not a moment too soon.

Coye sensed a surge of energy somewhere off in the distance and jumped out of bed, putting himself out of harm's way with a flawless dodge roll.

"Gah- what the fuck?!" Shayla shouted as she was ever so rudely awoken by the unexpected turbulence.

"Shh," Coye put his finger to his lips, shushing her in case someone was listening. As far as he knew, someone was. Shayla quickly picked up on the situation and remained silent, stretching out in his pocket to ease her awakening in case her powers were needed.

Shayla wouldn't let an attempt on her boy's life go unpunished, that was for sure.

A few short seconds later, an arrow with a glowing green aura radiating off it burst through the opened window, the curtains parting to make way for it as it landed straight into the bed Coye had been sleeping in only moments before. Rather than a traditional arrowhead, this quirky projectile had a miniature red boxing glove for a tip.

Coye looked at it for a moment and recognized the handiwork all too well. He poked the arrowhead with his sword to ensure it wouldn't explode or do any other nonsense. When that turned out not to be the case, he let out a long and pained sigh.

At least Byng wasn't actually trying to kill him, Coye thought.

'Oh, hey. Is it her? Is Byng here?' Shayla asked, brushing aside the attempted attack to focus on who was behind it.

Coye nodded.

Drudging himself over to the window and already filled with apprehension over whatever this day was about to entail, Coye stuck his head out to look around for the perpetrator of this little prank. Since it was so early and he would've hated to wake the entire Guild up, he kept his voice down when he called out, "Byng? Where are you? T-This isn't funny!"

And he meant it. Byng had never violated his privacy to this extent before, so Coye didn't know what to expect from her going forward. He wasn't feeling amused, to say the least. After giving her a moment to answer for herself and come out of hiding, only for Byng to elect not to do so, he shrugged while ensuring he didn't let down his guard.

The threat hadn't passed, but Coye was suffering a rotten morning and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. What little cautious optimism he'd managed to build up for his date today had greatly diminished after Byng's stunt. It didn't help that he still felt the echoes of his nightmare lingering in the back of his mind. Not at all.

He shook his head and buried that thought down where it belonged.

Once it was apparent he wouldn't be spotting Byng from on high, Coye turned away from the window to get dressed. He didn't want to, but he knew she wouldn't wait for him and figured he would just get it over with.

After he turned, something struck Coye as off right away. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Given that he wasn't sharing the dorm room with anyone else at the moment, none of the other beds should be occupied. One of them was.

Could she have been any more obvious?

"Byng...!" Coye rushed over to the bed in question, grumpy and stressed, and he tore off the blanket. If he were more awake, Coye would've been greatly embarrassed about exposing a girl in such a manner, but his grogginess and profound irritation emboldened him enough not to pay it any mind.

Beneath the blanket was nothing more than a collection of pillows arranged into the vague shape of a body. Coye stared blankly at it for a moment until realizing he'd been had.

'Coye, behind you!' Shayla warned, picking up on this trick for what it was- misdirection.

Coye spun around in place, but it was too late.

Another blanket flew off of a bed in the opposite corner of the room. This time, Byng was actually beneath it. She was priming her bowstring and readying an arrow- a brilliant and wicked smile spread wide across her green, freckled face.

"Nice try, short-stuff!" Byng cackled as she let go of her arrow, launching her attack aimed right at his face.

There was no time to dodge- it came at him much too fast.

An explosive popping sound burst out as the arrowhead ruptured against him on contact. This one had a blown-up waterskin filled to the brim for a tip, delivering a payload of sharp, cold water onto his startled face. Coye jumped backward from the startling sensation and fell onto the spare bed, his sword falling to the floor and Shayla tumbling around in his pocket.

For a moment, things were quiet as the overwhelmed boy fought to mentally process what had just happened. The coldness of the water made Coye shiver. Byng didn't give him a chance to register her surprise attack. She hopped off the bed, tossed him a small towel, and continued with her teasing grin.

"Gotta be more careful next time," Byng warned him in a mocking voice. "It's a dangerous world out there. You never know when you'll get jumped!"

Still taken aback, Coye solemnly wiped his face and stammered, "H-How did you even get in here...?"

Byng snorted at such a stupid question. "Oh, me? You know how it is. A girl's got her ways. Not like scaling the side of a building is hard or anything when most of it is covered in ivy, yeah? I'm really good at climbing, anyway... among other things."

'Gotta respect that dedication to the craft,' Shayla nodded in approval at the little minx, praising her efforts. 'Getting up at the crack of dawn just to mess with someone? Genius.'

"Whatever," Coye huffed and threw the towel to his side. "Why the heck did you even do this?"

She blew a raspberry and waved him off, rolling her eyes. "Why? Uh, didja forget or something? I told you I'd swing by and pick you up for our date, didn't I? Hm, don't tell me I forgot... that'd be embarrassing, for sure."

"No, I remember, I... I just didn't think it'd be this early...!"

"Well, why wouldn't it be? Gotta get out there as soon as you can if you wanna get some real good hunting in." Byng smiled with pride and beat her chest with her closed fist. If anything, she was confident.

Coye was feeling increasingly frustrated. It took effort not to snap at her, but his dream left him feeling testier than usual. He stood and looked Byng in the eyes as he asked, "Did you ever maybe think I wouldn't wanna be woken up like this?"

Picking up on his tone, Byng felt a good deal of regret.

"Uh, shit. Did I... maybe go a bit too far?" She blushed and scratched the back of her head, suddenly finding it hard to look him straight on.

"Yeah," he admitted with a frown.

"This kinda shit is normal back home, so... ah, that's no excuse," Byng grumbled and sat down on the bed, her fists holding up her cheeks. Clearly, she was frustrated over her actions, but soon enough, Byng turned back to face him, and all signs of her regret were replaced by a naughty smile. "Speaking of excuses, what's going on down there?"

'And theeeere it is...' Shayla shrugged, privy to something Coye was not.

"Huh?"

Crooking her pointer finger, Byng gestured to Coye's lower half and sniggered. "Nothing, nothing. You know. I was just wondering if you always sleep half-naked or if I just happened to pick the right day? Either way, damn, shorty."

Coye sat there on the bed, looking at dead-on Byng. He didn't comprehend- or rather, he was refusing to acknowledge the implication she was suggesting.

Even as he felt the open air from the window blowing against his bare legs, Coye pretended there was no way he was actually exposing his morning wood to this infuriating girl who snuck into his room and pranked him. Sure, he forgot to put his pants back on after playing with Shayla last night, but he surely put them back on sometime during the night. Right?

No, Coye utterly rejected the possibility that this was happening. He was still dreaming. That was it, wasn't it? Otherwise, it would just be too cruel.

Without saying a word, Coye stood up. Ignoring both the breeze flowing onto his throbbing erection and Byng's question, he lifted his blanket, crawled completely underneath, and assumed the fetal position. It was getting harder to pretend the truth wasn't what it was.

A few moments later, embarrassed, feminine-sounding whines emanated from inside Coye's blanket as he gradually accepted the painful reality of the awkward mess his life had become.

'There, there, baby. The goal was to have her see it anyway, right?' Shayla tried to reassure him but succeeded only in heightening the volume of his whining.

Byng was quick to reassure him, too.

"It's a really nice dick," she snorted, trying not to fall off her bed with laughter. "You don't gotta be ashamed or anything, trust me!"

"Go away!" Coye whimpered. "I changed my mind! I... I don't think this is a good idea after all!"

"W-What?" Byng jumped out of bed and moved towards him, suddenly in a very apologetic mood as she flailed her arms around in a tizzy. "Hey, come on, Coye. I'm serious! If anything, I should be thanking you for the sight. I... gah, I'm just making it worse, aren't I...?" She asked, showing a measure of self-awareness.

Coye nodded visibly from underneath his sheets.

"Ngh..." Byng slumped her shoulders and resigned herself to what needed to be done. Apologizing. "Look, I get excited pretty easily. I do stupid shit a lot. Shit that I don't actually mean to do. The smart part of my brain is like, hey, maybe don't go fuck with Coye while he's sleeping, but the other half is like... do it! Do it, do it, do it! And while you're at it, light shit on fire, too!"

'Relatable,' Shayla sighed.

"Do you get what I mean, short-stuff?" Byng was getting close to pulling at her hair in frustration. "We don't really do the whole 'expressing our feelings' thing a whole lot in my culture, so this is kinda... y'know..."

Coye, at last, deigned to speak up from within his shelter.

"I get it, yeah, b-but... I'm not leaving until you give me an apology." He said, feeling more courageous than usual.

"Ugh," Byng continued grumbling but decided to get on with it. "I'm sorry that I couldn't control myself and thought messing with you was a good idea. I'll try my best and be a good girl, for a little while, at least... so... there. I did the thing. Will that work?"

Coye meditated on it, realizing it was probably the best that Byng could do. It seemed genuine enough. Furthermore, her words put some of her actions into a new context. The fact that she couldn't stop herself around with him was flattering, in an odd way, but flattering nonetheless. It made up for the momentary discomfort and embarrassment her prank brought. He'd had much worse in the past, and if there really was no ill-intentions behind it, Coye wasn't the sort of person who would hold it against her for long.

Peeling his blanket off of his face, Coye said, "Yeah, that'll work. Thank you."

"No prob!" Byng gave him a relieved smile, slung her bow over her shoulder, and jumped off the bed, landing on her feet. "You good now? Are we still on for the day?"

Even though his disappointment mainly had passed, Coye put up a faint facade of reluctance. He didn't want to seem too forgiving, knowing it was a big reason girls always walked all over him. "Well, you're already here... so I guess I don't have much of a choice."

"Not if you know what's good for you!" Walking up to him, Byng shocked Coye by spanking his butt through the covers. He yelped and sat up right away, turning his behind away from her to prevent further sneak attacks.

Shayla held back from teasing him over how cute his little screams were, knowing it wasn't what he needed right now. It was hard, though. They were exceedingly cute, and she shared Byng's intrinsic desire to mess with people.

Byng continued to wait for Coye at the edge of his bed until he finally had to ask, "Um, could you maybe give me a little privacy?"

Judging by the glaring interest in her sharp, golden eyes, he realized it might have been a tall order. Someone looked like they were hoping for a second glance of 'the works.'

"Yeah, I guess so..." Byng shrugged, feigning immeasurable disappointment. Then she dropped all pretenses and resumed staring at the tent that even now pressed up against his blanket. "You sure you don't need any help with that, though?"

Blood flooded Coye's cheeks.

'You know, baby,' Shayla started chuckling, her resolve not to tease faltering. 'I almost think she's serious. What do you say? Do you wanna start today off with a bang, or-'

Patience was leaving the boy, thanks to a great many factors. Byng was proving hard enough to deal with as it was- he didn't need Shayla's running commentary on top of it all. Not if he was actually expected to go on this strange adventure slash date hybrid with Byng.

'Er, I'll just shut up now...' Shayla could sense Coye's irritation and patted his heart reassuringly through the thin fabric of his pocket. 'Sorry, big guy.'

"I'm sure," Coye raised his voice at Byng, trying not to sound overly grumpy. "So please, gimme a few minutes to get ready?"

"Okay, cool. I can do that. Oh, hold on a sec-"

Byng walked over to the door and opened it up. She bent down, giving the boy a view he hadn't been expecting but went very much appreciated. Coye didn't know how many outfits Byng actually had, but he figured it wasn't a lot since he only ever saw her in that leather bikini and those tribal-looking booty shorts which left almost nothing to the imagination.

Especially not when she was bent over the way she was.

Byng seemed to be taking her time, giving Coye an ample opportunity to gawk at the large booty in question. It made him gulp. Since he was relatively innocent when it came to sexual matters until as of late, he'd never 'checked out' Byng until now.

As mentioned before, the girl had a beautiful and very healthy pear-shaped body that widened significantly around her hips and her thighs. Both were so thick that they jiggled when she walked, and they didn't fit her short stature. He especially liked the way her leggings dipped into her thighs.

Byng was well aware Coye's eyes were staring daggers into her big green cheeks and even went as far as to playfully give him a little wiggle while pretending not to notice. It was just a little bonus to add on top of her apology. She smirked at her actions. Byng couldn't help it, being a huntress who enjoyed toying with her prey.

More so than anything else, she felt a weirdly wholesome joy over Coye not being able to help himself staring at her ass. Byng thought that as long as he felt a degree of lust toward her, she might have a chance of making this work with him after all- however small that chance was.

Shayla was on the verge of warning Coye not to drool all over himself when Byng rose and brought him a bundle of his clothes that were sitting just outside his door. Just as Tammy promised, his gear was now completely clean of all the accumulated filth, blood, and viscera he picked up during the battle against the Owlbears.

"There ya go, go ahead and get changed! I'll be waiting for you downstairs. Don't take too long unless, y'know... you really need to tug it or something." Byng threw in a lewd gesture with her hand and then threw in, "Offer to help you with that is still on the table, by the way."

Coye was still a little out of sorts from all of his booty-gazing, so he shook off her offer and dismissed it without thinking. "Maybe later, I-I don't know, just leave me alone already!"

"Oh?" Byng raised an eyebrow as she watched the exact moment Coye realized what he had just said.

"N-No, I didn't, um- I didn't actually mean-"

"Maybe later, huuuuh? Well, short-stuff, I must say... you really know how to string a girl along! You better be careful. I just might hold you to it!" Byng told him as she cackled and left the room, shutting the door behind her on the way out. Coye could hear her heading down the hallway toward the stairs and knew she was giving him the privacy he desired at long last.

In stunned silence, Coye sat working through the after-effects that this whirlwind of a girl left in her wake. This was it, then. There was no getting out of things now. His 'date' with Byng was happening.

"You really gotta choose your words more carefully, you know," Shayla said, snickering at his misfortune. Sure, it was a little sadistic of her, but it's not like she could stop herself from enjoying the quality entertainment unfolding in front of her.

"Don't wanna hear it," Coye grumbled.

"Somebody sure is feeling sassy today."

"Somebody had a rough night, and now he isn't having a very good morning, either..."

"Sorry..."

Shayla frowned as Coye left the bed to lock the door on the off chance Byng was planning to fake him out and barge right back in while he changed. Afterward, he opened up his pocket flap so that a certain someone could flutter out and make her morning debut.

She was still naked from the night before, and like himself, Shayla was wet from Byng's arrow. That was easy enough to fix that with her wind magic. Once fully dry, she magically dressed in an outfit Coye had never seen before.

It consisted of a black turtleneck sweater, a short skirt, and leggings that stopped at her ankle. Each part of the ensemble had similar swirling, graceful patterns to her other outfit, making Coye assume it was just a Fairy thing. Once fully clothed, Shayla posed in a way meant to come off as subtle but seemed a little desperate for compliments.

"You look nice," Coye caved. It wasn't like it was a lie, either.

Puffing out her chest, Shayla smirked. "Yeah? I'm glad you like it! I worked on it a little bit on and off yesterday. You should pick me up some fabric sometime to mess with if you want me to make more."

"Kay," Coye offered noncommittally.

Shayla felt that this probably wasn't the best time for this, so she swiveled back to the more pressing topic and tried offering counsel. "Try not to be too upset with her, baby."

"I'm not," Coye sighed. "But I can't help feeling like you're defending her just because you love seeing me be messed with."

"Sure, that's part of it," she nodded, seeing no point in denying her nature. "But I also just think you two are adorable together, and I, well... I want things to work out for her. You know?"

"She broke into my room and shot arrows at me!"

"Sure, but that was only because Byng couldn't help it! I think you aren't getting the full picture here. Put yourself in her- well, okay, she doesn't wear shoes, but you get the idea. The idea of hanging out with you must've made her so excited that it made her do crazy stupid shit! Can you believe how much she must like you for that to be the case, baby?"

Coye paused for an extended period after pulling up his boxers. Knowing Byng was as excited as she was, he was already very conflicted, but hearing Shayla's take on it filled him with even further doubt. If true, it would undoubtedly make him a lot more forgiving, but...

Why did Byng like him so much? And for that matter, why did Shayla? Why did Suzette?

Coye bit his lower lip and closed his eyes.

"Woah, woah, woah," Shayla sensed Coye's turmoil and flew straight to his face. She placed her hands on his cheeks and brought his attention squarely onto her. "Are you good, baby? Where is this coming from? Is this about that dream of yours?"

"Y-Yeah," he admitted.

"Fuck, um..." Shayla grasped at straws, trying to develop a way to make him feel better. "Okay. Look at me, Coye. You're gonna get dressed, you're gonna hang out with Byng, and you're gonna give her a chance. Nothing else matters, right? Remember what I told you. She's like a pack of those cards you like so much. A pack of cards, baby. You like opening those, don't you?"

"I do," Coye nodded, finding comfort in Shayla's desperate attempt to calm him down. "I was actually looking forward to seeing Byng after talking about it last night. It's just... that stupid dream..."

Shayla frowned. She knew the dream had been awful but didn't expect it was day-ruiningly bad.

"Do you wanna talk about it? We have time. Byng will just assume you're masturbating." Shayla suggested, earning a blush and a laugh from the boy.

"There's not much to say... it was just about some junk from my hometown. Probably because we were talking about it yesterday..."

"Gah," Shayla felt that now things were her fault for asking him more about Roselake. "I really shouldn't have-"

"It's okay. It was just a dream. I can't let it bother me..." Coye took a deep breath, rooted his feet to the ground, and slapped his cheeks firmly with all of his strength. Massive red hand marks appeared on his face, but the violence did its intended job.

Coye calmed himself down and successfully stopped overthinking things, at least for now.

"Today is about giving Byng a chance," Coye said aloud with determination. "I don't want to be the same person I used to be. I... I want to get to know her and see what happens. Just like you said. Take chances."

Shayla was relieved by the change of heart and let out a sigh to show it. "Glad to hear it, baby. Really. Before we get going, though, I should probably ask about how you're doing down below. Apart from the whole showing off to Byng thing."

Coye blushed harder and instinctively hunched over to hide his currently non-existent erection. "T-That's normal! It happens!"

"It suuuure does," Shayla winked, eliciting a sigh from him.

He knew what she was really asking about, and he went on to say, "I feel a little, um, horny, but... I don't think it's too bad right now. I'll probably be alright."

"Probably, or you will? There's an important difference."

"I will," Coye said with more determination.

"Hm," Shayla wasn't convinced, but as much as she wouldn't have minded taking care of him herself real quick, she didn't want to keep Byng standing around doing nothing. "Well, we'll keep an eye on it. It's starting to sound like you'll be fine as long as you get laid every couple of days, so there's that."

Coye was not averse to the thought of that. Not at all. His boyish imagination started drifting off to dream of Suzette, and it showed on his face with a broad smile he couldn't keep from appearing.

"Okay, okay, I'm sure you could stand around all day picturing that sexy widow of yours, but we've been keeping that delectable green booty waiting long enough as it is. C'mon, chop, chop." She snapped her fingers at him a few times to hurry him up, and Coye exited his stupor, pulling through his morning routine with ease.

He donned his gear, packed his tool belt, and checked everything in the mirror once he was ready. Everything looked eager to go, including himself. For the most part, anyway. Some part of him was still in 'fake it till you make it' mode, and Shayla could tell.

"Need another pep talk?" Shayla asked teasingly as she perched on his shoulder.

Feeling a little bashful, Coye shook his head. "No. I don't want you to run out of them. Never know when I might really need one."

"Psh," Shayla dismissed the thought entirely. "I'll never run out, baby. You know I got your back."

This brought a smile to Coye's face.

"So what's the deal, nervous?"

Coye swallowed. "Yeah."

"Why's that?"

"Because I, um... well, I don't really know how I feel about Byng yet."

"Is she cute?"

"Wha-"

"Did I stutter?" Shayla tilted her head. "I asked if you think the goblin girl with the huge ass and the weird hair is cute."

"W-Well, yeah. I can't deny that."

"Then there you have it. That's more than enough reason to get out there and give Byng a chance, baby." Smirking, Shayla patted Coye reassuringly on the cheek.

"Isn't that superficial?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is thinking with your dick too good for you suddenly?"

Coye lowered his head, knowing he'd be doing a lot more of that whether he liked it or not.

"Uh-huh, that's what I thought," Shayla nodded. Hoping to pump him up, she fought against her own embarrassment to take the initiative she needed to give the boy a kiss on the cheek. "N-Now, come on, then. Let's get down there so you can give the girl an honest-to-goodness chance! Alright?"

Shayla's kiss filled Coye with even more confidence. Taking one last deep breath to steady his nerves, Coye was ready as he'd ever been. "Alright, let's go."