Chapter 16

We had move dinner so that it concluded shortly before first night bell. Most of the cleanup from dinner would take place the next day. We wanted one last chance to get together as a community, evaluate people’s spirits and encourage connection.

Ideally, the core team and those out of Oak Leaf would mix themselves throughout the community. I doubted I would be welcome. Such a connection would be too raw: there were two many parents directly affected by last night’s tragedy. Between that, indirect losses and the coup, it was convenient that I was fucked out. So, I sat with Lord Morgan and Lord Matthew.

Lord Matthew was pale. He said his head ached, but his coordination was improved and he no longer slurred his speech. According to both Lord Oliver and Toes Wriggling in River Mud from Passion mill (the community’s doctor), he was doing much better.

I wondered whether Lord Matthew should be sent back to Oak Leaf. I had not yet interacted with Toes Wriggling myself, but both Lord Morgan and Lord Oliver were impressed with his skill. He combined compassion with medical knowledge advanced for someone not practicing at the Scholium or a noble seat.

Together, somewhat separate from the crowd, we had a vantage on the community’s mood.

“They are tired,” Lord Matthew said.

“Yes, most of them. Still, look at how many offer care and compassion. Smiles, even if worn, are common. For those who do not visit Passion Blossom, I think tonight may be filled with gentle healing: touch, snuggling, and the small passions of those huddled together,” I said.

“I wish I could remember the plan and Passion Blossom. Lord Oliver told me not to worry and not to bother Toes Wriggling. Still, isn’t memory loss a bad sign?”

“Lord Oliver will explain more on the way back to Oak Leaf, but you never knew much about her. We were just developing the plan in full detail this morning.”

“Won’t I ride back to Oak Leaf with you?”

“Fair enough. Whoever is with you on the way back will explain the parts you forget.”

“What is Elk so excited about?” Morgan asked. I looked. He was gesturing animatedly, a bright smile on his face. His listeners, Crag’s Rugged Beauty, Mother’s Undefended Cunt and two people I did not recognize seemed skeptical. I tried to listen.

Elk’s voice had risen so that what he said was audible. “I know it’s incredible. I thought we were doomed too. I realize Oak Leaf has provided a lot of help, but I didn’t see how we’d meet them with passion strong enough to build a connection to accept their strength. Lady Ashley and Lord Morgan have provided a gift as strong as holding the boundary together last night in Passion Blossom.”

A tall man around 30 responded more quietly, shaking his head in disappointment.

“What if that were true? What if they were just using demon magic to give us hope—to give us confidence to struggle on? That alone would probably be enough. That’s not what she’s doing, but even if all you believe is that I’ve had my mind scrambled, go scramble yours and save the community.”

Crag asked a question.

“Yes, there is an element of mystery and surprise in Passion Blossom. She will be more effective if you don’t entirely know what to expect. I want her to have all the chance she can.”

Crag asked another question, gesturing in the direction of his crotch.

Elk’s face lit. “Yes, I have.” He gestured animatedly. “She was good; I’m surprised you didn’t hear us throughout the community.”

Mom’s Cunt smiled and clapped.

“Fair enough; I haven’t been that active lately. Although I’ll say Ashley was quite good too.” Mom’s Cunt and a younger man looked puzzled. “No, really, she had me at Oak Leaf. Although, I thought she was just a horny servant...” he gained control of his volume as he began the story.

“Have you ever seen Elk Unstoppable that animated?” Morgan asked.

“We certainly have not,” Matthew said. “Unless I’m forgetting that too.”

“You aren’t, no fear on that score,” I said. “In fairness, his daughter did have a shock and he was worried about his community. His joy is helping us a great deal.”

Morgan nodded.

Matthew said, “Perhaps I should join Passion Blossom. If she’s that good she might find a way for me to lend strength even given how tired and bruised I am.”

Morgan and I exchanged looks. “Talk to Lord Oliver about that please,” I said. “Join her only if he thinks it advisable.” I did not want to be responsible for any additional contact between demon and nobles, but I also wasn’t sure Matthew was ready to keep secrets.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. Then I realized Matthew was as outdated on my personal life as everything else.

“Matthew, Morgan and I have spent a lot of time together since his arrival. We’ve been pleased with how we fit together; I wanted to ask him to join me at Oak Leaf that we might see what might be between us.”

“But you didn’t ask? Why not? You know I will be happy for you if you find someone; you can’t be waiting on my account.”

“No, sorry, I did ask. We will eventually get to Oak Leaf, but we need to make another trip first.”

“Brenhaven?”

“Balance Hall actually. We’ve learned somewhat more of shadow touch, and we want to discuss impacts on law.”

“It truly must have been a busy day! My lord, be careful. She bites. Probably scratches too; messes in the bed. She’s only somewhat house broken. However, there is no depth of passion she will not find.”

“Is it oak Leaf’s custom to always offer advice quite so long after the point at which it would have been useful?” Lord Morgan asked.

“Yes,” Matthew and I said in unison.

“She doesn’t have any older brothers, so there is one other task that falls to me. Lord Morgan named at Brenhaven, know that the Lady Riding Atop, Ashley, Third for Oak Leaf is beloved of Oak Leaf Seat and house entire. Any pain you bring her shall be balanced against its necessity. Welcome, Morgan, take care of our Ashley.”

When the older brother says that last in a romantic story, it always seems over the top. I’m sure Matthew meant it that way too as a gentle barb given to someone who would court my favor. Even so, with his hand in mine, his love and concern vibrating through the web alongside every word, it took on a power found in no story.

“I hear. Who, I wonder, might save a poor lordling, away from his house, from Ashley.” I wondered if I’d ever met a lord who was less formal than Morgan. I’d seem him rise to the Brenhaven lord twice; now that I considered, both directed at Baker’s Finest Pride. There was little of formality beyond those two instances.

“Oh fair enough. We’ll defend you too. We can’t have the Woman Riding Atop wild and unchecked,” Matthew said.

“Do I get a say in all this defending?” I asked.

“No, of course not.”

I glared.

I was stationed in the shed, monitoring Passion Blossom. In such a situation people would expect someone from the core team available to help a whore out in her duty. Since she was actually a demon, Lord Morgan or I needed to be there for our own comfort. I couldn’t think of anything we could do if the shit got smeared thicker, but it was a necessary responsibility, and perhaps I could think of something in the moment. Besides, Lucinda was my friend, and her role of Passion Blossom was no easy task even for her.

Lady Susan named at Oak leaf was managing the queue in the community house, sending forward the next person after Passion Blossom finished with her current lover.

Lord Morgan took his turn with Lucinda first. I suspected I was the only one at Passion Mill with the courage to stand on the path between the community house and shed for any length of time; we would not be observed unannounced. So, there was no need for pretense between the demoness and her first lasting friend. It was my first time watching Lord Morgan with another woman.

“You’re nervous,” she said. They sat next to each other on a bed that had been moved into the shed, backs propped against cushions.

“Yes.”

“Why? The same reason as Ashley?”

“Not that: I have known you long enough to begin to reconcile the demon with the lover. I have studied you; I have met you as scholar. I’m nervous I’ll find that hard to set aside. Also, I have watched you. You were not much easier on Ashley than you were on Badger. I fear the challenge you will set me.”

“I hope you can relax somewhat on that last point,” she said, running her hands down his back, rubbing his back and shoulders through his shirt. “You are strong in a very different way than Ashley. Also, unless I miss my guess, there are fewer of you rattling around in there.” She tapped his head.

“Let’s get you out of those,” she said. Soon she had him stripped. I admired his body. His muscles rippled under her hands as she continued to rub him. His face still wore an expression of concern that I was all too familiar with. Helping me had not been easy for Morgan.

“It has taken a lot to crack you,” she said. “This is the first time I think it would be possible for me to mate you.”

“Not this morning?”

She smiled. “You are not the only one who thinks of you as the scholar. I didn’t even check then; I grew used to you sitting and watching during our time with Badger. You should consider that a compliment: I, a demon bride, felt safe around a Brenhaven lord.”

“Still it is no surprise that the events at Passion Mill have shaken me.”

“No, and do not discount the shadows in that.”

“Would I make a good mate?”

“You’d be loving and strong. Not very survivable as these things go, but not so attached to your life that you wouldn’t think through your decision.”

I realized that Lucinda knew Morgan as well as anyone who was likely to talk to me. I could learn a lot of him from her. Her analysis of him as a mate matched my own. He would approach the final decision with strength: almost certainly deciding to live himself but compassion and care would be important in his analysis.

“So, what do you have in store for me?” he asked.

“I want to meet as your lover. Something fairly normal should be fine; I think the important work will be done by you meeting a demon physically and by both of us stepping past scholar. Is there any fantasy you have involving me?”

“Yes, but they aren’t realistic to our situation.”

“You’ll have to at least share one fantasy.”

He shook his head.

“Morgan, do you think either of us will let you get away with that?” I asked.

“I suppose not,” he said. He sighed and began. “I watched you with Badger. I realized that you would have let him do anything.”

“Absolutely,” she said.

“I imagined him standing there, fucking your face, as hard and as fast as he could. It would be no easier for you than any woman, except that perhaps you’ve had practice throughout your own life. You’d kneel there and take it, a smile on your face; a demon who could devour the souls of many, submitting to whatever her lover might ask.”

“Yes, absolutely I would. What’s not realistic about that?”

“I cannot see you, the huntress, on the prowl for a mate, accepting that. I can only see the dedicated demon, devoted to her mate in that role.”

“Then see more clearly,” she said. She was on her knees in an instant.

I wanted to watch her expression as he pounded her. “Can I come around and watch?”

“I would like that,” she said. “Morgan?”

I think it was at that point he fully realized that she was serious. He stood, his cock still too limp for the purpose. She was before him. I moved to his side.

She reached out a hand and began to jack him. “You will come in my mouth and down my throat,” she asked?

“I hope to pull out and paint your face.”

She licked her lips. “When you near the end, pull out of my mouth. I’ll jack you over the edge and make sure I’m well-painted.”

He nodded. Between her eagerness and the action of her hand, he was hard.

She opened her mouth; he thrust his cock into her and began to fuck, fast and hard. She was having trouble, spit and snot running down her face. However, her eyes danced with joy.

“If you run into trouble, tap out against my leg,” Morgan said. She mumbled something incoherent. I reached out and grabbed her hand. I squeezed, she squeezed back, her grip strong and confident.

We could feel her lust and care-free joy. Morgan trusted her and was not holding back at all. He used her head to steady himself, pounding fiercely into her face. He grunted with his excitement.

I looked on in wonder. Clearly this was not easy for Lucinda, although she did seem to be managing to breathe. However it was clear that emotionally she was enjoying herself immensely. Holding her hand brought me into the experience. I wasn’t sure whether I was supporting her, giving her strength to face the physical challenge before her, or whether she was supporting me, welcoming me to as the shepherds would say, ‘drink her mind deep, ‘ joining in her surrender and its acceptance.

Morgan’s noises increased in intensity. He too smiled, the concern of a few minutes ago replaced by a lover’s bliss. With a final “Fuck, yes!” he pulled out of her. She was there with her other hand, jacking him, pointing his cock at her face.

In no more than five strokes, he howled, thrust his hips forward and began to shoot thick ropes of sticky cum across her. She met his change in position easily, her face there to receive his load. As he continued to ejaculate, she swept his aim across her, evenly covering her beaming face.

“Fuck, Lucinda, you’re a mess,” I said. She was: tears, snot and cum covered her face. Spit ran down her neck and onto her tits.

“Yes! I am! It’s great.”

Morgan said, “That was wonderful: taking one of the most frightening creatures of our culture, forcing myself on her, and marking her as mine. To do that as lover’s work, secure that you surrendered willingly with joy made it beautiful. What can I do for you?”

“I am yours for the moment; you can do whatever you must.”

“No. How can I bring you pleasure; I want to return the joy I was given.”

“You know, I found joy in that too. I am enjoying submitting, being taken. If you choose to give me pleasure, I would surrender to that too of course.”

Morgan looked slightly disappointed. I had an idea. “Would it work well for you if he orders you to play with yourself and put on a show for us?”

From the lust rolling off both of them, I didn’t really need her answer, and he simply nodded rather than voicing the order. Lucinda sat on one end of the bed. Morgan and I sat in the v formed by her wide-spread legs, one foot against each of us. Morgan held my left hand in his right. Once again, I was naked.

I admired the cum-covered demon sitting before me. She was evenly tanned from her time outdoors. Her hands ran across her body, rubbing at her belly, brushing against the heft of her breasts. She was grinning, her dimple showing under the mess of her face as she showed off her body. I looked down between her legs at the full bush of her cunt. From the experience of her atop my face, I knew that her lips were large and full once excited. Now, both they and her clit were hidden in her bush.

“So, Lucinda, what did you get out of Morgan fucking your face?”

By this point, her hand was drifting down, rubbing at her belly and thighs. “I offer so much, yet my mates rarely push me towards my limits. Or perhaps, I’m hoping that I can submerge some of the emotional pain of who I am in something physical. Perhaps I’ll feel better after. It’s not that I wish to be punished exactly, so much as that I hope that I could have more intensity leading to catharsis and less of the lasting emotional pain.”

She began to gently rub her hand against her mound as her fingers teased at her thighs.

“Did it work?”

“I certainly enjoyed being used, enjoyed knowing that Morgan paid no significant price to take his pleasure in my face. The physical intensity almost felt a relief: it just wasn’t that intense, and when it was over, it was totally over.” She held her hand firmly against her mound. “Besides, it’s nice to be someone simple: Morgan’s sticky, gooy, used face-fuck toy.”

“You’re a lot more than that,” he said.”

Her finger began teasing inside her slit. “Yes, I’m also putting on a show,” she said grinning at his consternation.

“Holding your hand was nice. Thank you,” I said.

“Oh, yes. Having you there made it better. I knew you were watching, seeing my surrender. I could also feel your support.” She reached up to her face and grabbed a gob of cum to spread along her slit. Her cunt lips were starting to engorge as she played with herself.

“So, slut,” I said, “would you enjoy joining me to play with Morgan some day?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, licking her lips. “What do you have in mind?”

If it was going to be that kind of conversation, I’d better join in with the appropriate hand movements. I brought my right hand to my mound and began to stroke my bush. I was worked up enough from watching Lucinda and Morgan that I didn’t anticipate taking long to catch up. “I rode him this morning. We could take turns.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said as she gently fucked her cunt with her hand. “Did you enjoy bouncing on him, his cock deep in your cunt?”

“Yes. He was horny, and I was coming down from a come when we started. Such an urgent cock pounding away inside me.” By this point I was jilling at respectable speed. I was focused, rubbing fingers along-side my clit, although I had teased the entrance to my cunt, spreading my juice throughout the area.

“His hands on your tits, no doubt.” She continued finger-fucking, her pace increasing slightly.

“No, actually. His hands scratching along my back, tongues dancing.”

“Oh, that’s nice too. Let me guess, you were a messy little slut even before you mounted?”

“Uh-huh! A bucket of pee all over me, plus me dripping cum all over the place from jilling myself.” I increased my pace. “It really smells like horny woman.”

“And cum.” She was right: the smell of fresh semen was strong. “So, how will we share him?”

“We can take turns.” Now I too was fingering my cunt, my thumb dancing near my clit. “One on his face, humping wildly, one on his cock.”

“Fuck yes. We can kiss and play with tits while we hump away.” We were both panting heavily.

“Whose cunt will milk him?”

At that point, Lucinda reached her climax, her scream loud throughout the shed. I was soon to follow.

“I think it smells even more like excited woman in here now.”

I laughed. I looked at Morgan. He was flushed, and his cock somewhat engorged even given his recent performance. “Look! We might be able to put our plan into action tonight.”

“Enough,” he said. “One of you would be the death of me. Besides, I’m sure there is a queue by this point. I will go help out at the community house and Ashley can watch Passion Blossom.”

We hugged, and he dressed and departed.

There was a steady line of people wanting to meet Passion Blossom. Her approach was simple. She’d work as hard as she could to get some initial connection. Then, between her skill over hundreds of years and the finesse with which she wove, they were open to her.

Watching her weave the web was amazing. She was the programmable loom to my knitting needle. She could feed strength through such a small connection. I couldn’t follow her fast enough to exactly see what she did to push back against shadow touch. She said that often, it was nothing more than helping someone find passion and opening them up to the strength she offered. Sometimes, though, she needed to work through something specific so someone could receive enough strength to connect. Those times I lost her completely.

There were a few surprises. The first was a farmer about 35 named Loversfeast’s Unexpected Joy from Passion Mill. He entered, face worn, steps heavy and sat next to Passion Blossom. He was her fifth customer. I felt her interest lust and hunger as he walked into the shed.

She smiled at him. “You are exactly the kind of man I love.”

He laughed, although there was no joy in it; it was as if he drew the noises of laughter from deep in his memory, working to produce them anew. “Don’t flatter me. A high-priced whore like you after a grief-struck farmer down on his luck.”

“Stranger things have happened. Relax, let me ply my trade. Is there anything it would help to talk about?” She reached out her hand. He did not take it, although he did not push it away.

His daughter and son had both died last night. He was close to River Against Wheel and he felt her loss. He was sure that the shadows would have him next.

Passion Blossom convinced him to allow her to rub his back to try and help with the stress. He relaxed and began to cry. She hugged him. He pillowed his head against her for a few minutes.

“Thank you so much. That was far more than I hoped for.” He turned to leave.

“Wait!” she said.

“No, I won’t take up any more of your time.” He departed.

Passion Blossom collapsed into tears. I went to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“He will be dead by morning. It is so hard; I cannot save him this way.”

“Why not?”

“He’s too far gone. He can’t receive anything through the normal web; he feels too worthless to open up enough through physical contact.”

“Oh, Lucinda. I’m sorry.” I hugged her tight to me. “You tried your best. It is not always possible.”

“You don’t understand. It would be trivial. All I’d need to do is mate him. I could give him a year, possibly two. He could die happy.” I wondered exactly how happy you died when your soul was eaten. Strangely, when it had been my soul on the line, that concern did not matter much.