Chapter 22

Showing an honest interest in these women instead of fear or disgust and allowing his partners to set the pace of their intimacy elicited some very dramatic responses from the Scarlet Bitch’s crew.

The days since they left Calfera had been filled with sex, but not nearly as much as Kal expected. None of the four human women on the crew moved things to the bed. One refused to see him completely, giving up her turn to the next in line. Two sat down at the table in his room and interrogated him for the first hour. One got up and politely left afterward while the other settled into a more amicable conversation for the remainder of her time.

The last human woman entered wearing a cloak with the hood pulled over her face. Per instructions delivered to him earlier by Tavorah, he led her over to the bed and turned her away from him before slipping the cloak from her shoulders, revealing her naked body. She kept her eyes tightly shut as Kal picked her up and gently laid her in the bed. The woman rolled away from him, and the mage climbed in behind her before pulling her close and just holding her tight. A few seconds later, her body shook as she started sobbing.

The woman’s husband died in the attack where the slavers took her, and the raider’s subsequent abuse took their unborn child. For the next two hours, she poured her heart out to Kal as though he were her late husband. She apologized for not having the strength to save him, for losing their baby, and finally for not having the courage to join him in death.

Despite getting explicit instructions before she arrived not to speak, Kal barely whispered into her ear, “Live on, and stop blaming yourself.” He wasn’t sure where the urge to say that came from, but it must have been what she needed to hear as the woman flipped over and bawled into his chest until finally falling asleep. Kal quietly summoned Ria and retrieved the packet of sand before casting a sleeping spell so he could extricate himself from her embrace without waking her.

Later that day, she approached Kal as he stretched his legs out on the maindeck. The woman thanked him for earlier before kissing him on the cheek and returning to her duties. The sway in her hips as she walked away made the mage think things might not be as chaste if her turn came up again before they made port. But he could have been imagining things

The monster girls were lustier than the human crew, but some still needed a softer touch. Wonna, the rodent girl with the ever-present smile, requested Tavorah tie him to the bed before arriving alone, despite her statement back in Calfera. After riding him and sating her body’s needs, she laid beside him and spoke about her experience as a slave before the crew escaped their cages and commandeered the ship. She wasn’t the first to talk about her enslavement and, like many of the other monster girls, expressed how she felt betrayed by her own body. Kal wiggled a wrist free of his bonds and put an arm around the woman as she tearfully recounted the intense humiliation of begging the slavers to fuck her while in heat. Even now, after just finishing with the mage minutes ago, Wonna said she could feel the urge to mate rising again because he hadn’t climaxed inside her yet.

Kal reached across and loosened the rope around his other wrist.

“Why are we like this?” she asked, then grumbled about the poor job Tavorah did of tying him up as Kal cradled her.

“Because the man who made your ancestors meant well but probably didn’t consider situations like yours,” he replied. “The original monster girls all have a strong desire for sex, but they can’t have children and don’t go through heats or mating seasons. I don’t think he had the chance to consider the impact on future monster girls who experienced what you and the rest of the crew did.”

“Is there a way to fix us?”

“Maybe you aren’t broken.”

She looked up at him. The smile on her face looked unnatural and strained. “I hate being a slave to my desire for human men. I didn’t even want to come here, at least not alone.”

“Do you regret it?”

“A little, but I think talking helped. You seem less like a faceless cock,” she said, reaching down and wrapping her fingers around his shaft, “and more like ... a friend?”

“Friends are good. I like helping friends more than being a faceless cock tied to a bed.” Kal pulled her on top of him and placed the head of his prick against her entrance. He then pushed her up, so she knelt over his waist. Taking her hands in his, he stiffened his arms so she could use him for support and grinned up at her. “And I think this is a lot more enjoyable for both of us.”

Wonna studied his face for a long moment before the strain in her smile faded. She sighed several times before asking, “Would you do this with a friend?”

“I have, many times. It comes with the territory of having monster girls for friends. I’ve even helped a woman who was little more than an acquaintance get pregnant. She did become a friend, but not until later when we traveled together for a while. Now that I think of it, she should be due soon.”

The rodent girl shifted her hips so his cock nudged the lips of her sex. “Do you mind if we just talk for a little longer? We really aren’t more than acquaintances now, and I’d like to know a little more about you before we do this again.”

“As you wish,” he said, rolling onto his side and bringing Wonna along with him. Kal propped his head up on his hand. “So, what would you like to know?”

Kal leaned back against the large beam on the base of the poopdeck’s catapult and sipped his tea, smiling as he went over the last few days in his head. The mage took pride in what he accomplished during his time on the Scarlet Bitch, but today would likely be his biggest challenge.

“You’re looking smug this morning,” said Captain Scarlet as she climbed the stairs to the poopdeck with a her own cup of tea in hand.

“I’ve been thinking back on the last few days,” he replied before taking another sip. “I expected to be treated like a male prostitute during this trip, but at times I feel more like a counselor.”

“I might’ve had a hand in that,” said Scarlet, sitting on the catapult’s beam beside Kal, “but not intentionally. When you were tryin’ to fuck Roka through the bottom of my ship, I told the girls to think about what they wanted from you during their turns. Tavorah says after I left, the first of my crew to sleep with you started talkin’ to that others about how you offer a listening ear along with a hard cock. After that, the crew’s expectations changed. From what I’ve seen, keep doin’ what you’re doin’. Emotions are running high among the crew. But my girls have gotten things off their shoulders they’ve carried since we took this boat, so that’s to be expected. I’m gonna be sad to see you go once we reach Azumbaho.”

“Why me, though? Why are they able to let loose all of these pent-up emotions with me? Most of the crew went through the same ordeal. It seems like they would be better choices.”

Scarlet sipped her tea. “I think it’s ‘cause we all have our demons from being in cages or collars. Talking about it with others helps, but at the same time, you are foisting your worries and fears onto someone still dealing with their own issues.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. Since you mentioned collars, how did you get yours off once you escaped?”

“We didn’t. The former captain refused to take us on board with collars on. Something about one of the slaves cutting through theirs and nearly sinking his ship. We’re pretty sure it has something to do with the patch of newer lumber down in the cargo hold.”

He didn’t know what she meant since he had only been in the lower hold once, but even then, the ship seemed extremely sturdy, and it must have taken quite the blast to worry Scarlet’s predecessor. “The slave collars I’ve seen weren’t that powerful. Only enough to remove the slave’s head. That doesn’t include the ones I augmented, but those are weapons now, not collars.

“About Azumbaho, you said that it takes less than a week to get there, another two to round the northern edge and back to the mainland, then another week to get back to Calfera?”

“Roughly, but that’s just time at sea. It doesn’t account for any delays in port, repairs, or calm winds.”

Kal looked to the northeast, “I have a feeling my destination is far to the north of where we arrive in Azumbaho. Would you be interested in keeping Kashka and me on for a little longer?”

Scarlet paused as she raised her cup to her lips. Cocking her head to the side, she asked,” are you sure that’s wise? Stay much longer, and my girls may tie you up and keep you in the hold if you try to leave. And just to give you fair warning, if we run into pirates, it will be coming around Azumbaho’s southern tip. Your backrest has gotten most of its use in that short stretch of water.”

“Your catapult won’t get any use while I’m aboard,” said the mage.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said, sitting on the large beam Kal leaned against. “Now I need to ask you something important. You’ve met two of our aquatic crew members.”

Kal nodded. He thoroughly enjoyed mating with the mermaid out in the sea as the Scarlet Bitch sailed away, then their mad dash to catch up once finished. It surprised him just how slow the ship actually sailed compared to the monster girl’s speed. The other woman was the squid girl Scarlet mentioned his first night on board. Sex with her had been ... interesting. The woman’s arms and legs weren’t actually arms and legs but twin tentacles formed into the limb’s shape. Finger-like “fronds” at the end of her arm, tentacles formed into three fingers and a thumb that were surprisingly strong. The girl primarily kept her body upright with her muscles, since her bendy, cartilage-like skeleton didn’t offer much support. Having sex with an enthusiastic, boneless, tentacled woman with huge, expressive eyes and smooth, slippery skin was definitely odd, but in a surprisingly good way. She was also happy to donate some of her ink to help him make new runes, which he greatly appreciated.

“The third should be joining us later today or tomorrow,” Scarlet continued, “and will stay with us past the southern tip. The girl has saved us from fast ships more times than I can count, but I’ve never been able to repay her. Every man who’s taken care of my girls for passage has flat refused to do anything with her, and she desperately wants a child. There aren’t many of her kind left.”

Kal looked up at the captain. “I don’t think I need to point out I’m open-minded, but your tone is starting to worry me.”

“Well ... maybe this one should, but I’m going to put my faith in your open mind and hope you don’t disappoint me, or her. Who is next in line this morning?”

“Yalli,” Kal answered, worry creeping into his voice.

Scarlet sipped her tea. “You know that if you hurt that girl with this idea of yours, all the magic in the world won’t save you from a rope around your ankle and getting tossed from The Bitch’s bow. Your cat can’t protect you from all of us.”

Kal waved away the empty threat. “After convincing you to let me do this, if this ends up hurting her I’ll probably never forgive myself. I feel like I’ve done enough damage by making her wait while we got everyone together on this.”

“I still don’t see how the hell this is supposed to be any different than what we’ve been telling her for years now.”

“If it works, I’ll explain it. And if it doesn’t, then I was wrong, and there will be nothing to explain.”

Kal met Yalli at the top of the poopdeck stairs. Maybe if he were an armadillo boy, he would find her pretty, but to his human eyes, ‘unattractive’ didn’t quite seem strong enough. The hunched posture and bony plates broke up the ‘humanness’ of her figure, making them seem like growths from some obscure disease instead of a natural part of her body. Yalli’s yellow hair with its faint pink tinge had none of the luster Elta’s or any other golden-haired women he’d met.

The armadillo girl’s eyes darted suspiciously between the mage and captain. She didn’t look happy.

“I told you I didn’t want a turn Cap’n,” she mumbled. Despite being nude around him numerous times since leaving Calfera, Yalli covered her breasts protectively.

“I know, but I’ve heard from the crew that you would like to get off this ship and have a little girl of your own someday. You’ll never do that if you’re scared of men for the rest of your life. You’ve heard the stories from the other girls about Kal. He’s proven he has a soft touch and has helped some of the other crew. I think he can help you too.”

Scarlet’s words struck a nerve. The armadillo girl’s eyes filled with longing even as she frowned at her captain. “That wasn’t your business.”

“I’m captain of this ship and responsible for every life on it. Everyone’s business is my business. I want all of my girls to walk off this boat for the last time happy, even if I’m sad to see them leave. Therefore, I’m ordering you to spend the next hour with him. You don’t need to sleep with him, or even touch him if you don’t want to, but stay beside Kal and answer any questions he might have truthfully.” Scarlet walked over to the mage and growled in his face, “I’m telling you one last time. If you hurt her, I’ll fucking keel-haul your arse. Magic or not.”

Kal dipped his head, “Yes, Captain.”

Scarlet returned to the cup of tea she left sitting on the rail beside the ship’s upper wheel and stared out to sea, effectively dismissing them.

Yalli gawked at her captain for a moment, stunned by the woman’s vehement threat, then looked over at Kal. “I’m not worth having my captain pissed off at you,” she said. Turning on her heel, she started back down the steps.

Kal broke into a short jog and jumped from the top of the stairs. Using the featherfall rune, he landed softly beside the armadillo as she reached the bottom. “I think you are worth the risk, and so does your captain.”

“Going to try fucking me better like you did all the other girls?”

Kal shrugged. “That’s entirely up to you. While I would like to spend some intimate time with you, if you aren’t interested, then I’m okay with keeping my pants on.”

The armadillo girl rolled her eyes. “I know what I look like. You don’t need to pretend you want me.”

“Of course, you know what you look like. You put a lot of effort into maintaining your image.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, waving off her question as they approached Roka. The bovine woman stood next to the mainmast shouting orders to the crew. Her gaze flitted across the mage and armadillo, then snapped back to Kal. Roka’s expression turned severe as she snorted loudly.

“Something to say, First Mate?” the mage asked.

The cow-girl leaned down, their noses almost touching as she growled, “You hurt her, and I’ll snap you in two.”

Kal smirked. “You’ll have to wait until your captain is done keel-hauling me.” Glancing at Yalli, he smiled and said, “Along with the captain, this makes two who think you’re worth protecting. Let’s see if we can find a few more. Thank you, Roka,” he said before swiftly leading Yalli away.

The armadillo looked back to see Roka standing there scratching her head in confusion. “Who else are you planning on getting mad at you?”

“As many as it takes to convince you that you aren’t expendable to the rest of your crew,” he answered while asking Kashka to send Ratt down.

“Alright! Fine! I get it,” Yalli snapped as she glared at the mage.

“Do you?” he asked.

The shadows belowdecks shifted as the sway of the ship swung the lanterns back and forth. Kal had led her down to the cargo hold, stopping every crew member they encountered. He asked each one about the armadillo girl and received similar responses to Roka’s and Scarlet’s but with varying degrees of passion.

“Tell me. What is it you get?” Kal pressed.

“That my crew cares about me. But I already knew that,” she growled.

“Then why do you still look the way you do?”

The armadillo’s eyes popped open in shock. A moment later, Yalli’s fists balled up as she stood there and shook with anger. Without a word, she spun on her heel and bolted up the stairs.

Sighing, Kal followed her but at a slow walk to give the woman a few moments to herself.

Reaching the maindeck, the mage found a gauntlet of crewwomen waiting for him and looking very unhappy.

“You were warned,” said Roka, cracking her knuckles.

“That was just the first part,” said Kal as he stopped in front of her. “Wait until I’m done before putting those fists to work. Also, keep an ear open. I may need your help in a little bit.” He looked around at the assembled women, “All of your help.”

Roka growled from deep in her chest before moving to the side. The rest of the women did likewise, leaving him a clear path to the crew’s quarters. As he passed in front of Roka, the bovine slapped him hard in the back of the head. Kal stumbled forward, barely keeping himself from faceplanting on the deck. Rubbing the back of his head, he turned and glared at the cow-girl as his healing rune went to work.

“Even if she ends up better after you’re done, that was for hurting her,” said Roka before waving him towards Yalli’s quarters.

Crew quarters on the ship were divided into four bunk rooms set up to hold ten sailors apiece while Tavorah, Roka, Ratt, and the helmswoman, a reclusive badger girl with a sour attitude but was an absolute joy in bed, all had their own small cabins. When Tavorah began sleeping with the captain and didn’t need her room anymore, the crew as a whole opted to give it to the armadillo girl.

He opened the door to find Yalli curled into an armored ball on her bed. A lone eye peeked out, its gaze filled with hate.

Kal sat on the floor next to the bed and leaned back against it. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“This is how I look,” she hissed. “What are you expecting me to say?”

The mage rested his head against the bedding and looked toward the ceiling. “You know how I’ve been trying to educate all of the girls on their origin. That a powerful mage made the first monster girls and your first ancestors. I havent told anyone that I am now the master of that mage’s tower. I know more about the creation of monster girls than any other human in the entire world. And I know that is not what you are supposed to look like.” He looked up to see her still looking at him but with curiosity instead of anger.

“I have a theory,” he continued. “When I asked about you, a lot of the girls said you were a thorn in the slaver’s side, constantly insulting them and being a nuisance. More importantly, you kept making yourself a target.”

“My body is tough,” she mumbled. “I could take it. Some of the others ... couldn’t. I didn’t want to see any more girls die.”

“So you invited the abuse that was meant for the others. Essentially you stood in front of the others and said, ‘take me instead.’”

“Someone needed to protect them. I did what I could from inside of a cage.”

“But you aren’t locked in a cage anymore, and as you saw today that the crew is quite willing to protect you. Why don’t you let them?”

“Pirates, slavers. If they attack, I need to protect my crew, not the other way around.”

“Then do that. But pirates aren’t attacking right now, and Scarlet says The Bitch has never been boarded. So why are you still wearing armor?”

For a long moment, the only sounds in the room were the creaking of the ship and Roka’s voice as she called out orders.

“Because I can’t,” Yalli said, finally. “The slavers beat the humanity out of me. I can’t change back.” The armadillo girl sighed, “Even if I could, I’d be scared to. I think part of the reason everyone is so nice to me is because I’m so ugly. If they found out I can change back, they might get mad at me.”

“They are nice to you because you sacrificed yourself to keep the slaver’s eyes off them. Your looks have never come up. They are kind out of appreciation, not pity.”

Her head came up, “They told you that?”

“Yes. Didn’t they tell you?”

“Roka and the Cap’n did ... it just feels different hearing it from you.”

“Why? Because I’m a man?”

“No. Because you’re a stranger. From what the other girls have said, I don’t think you would tell me something like that just to make me feel better.”

“Honesty has gotten me far in life. In the spirit of honesty, I have a bit of a story for you. The tower I spoke of where the first of you were created is on the other side of the world. A couple of my friends live nearby, a fox-girl and a rabbit-girl. One day I bumped into the fox girl while going to take a shower. She had been out in the snow and cold and still wore her fur coat when I ran into her. We ended up in the bath together, and she wanted to try making love wearing her fur. To keep from changing back, she had to concentrate extremely hard and even then only lasted a few seconds before her fur disappeared.”

Yalli uncurled but stayed laying on her side. “I had barely come of age when the slavers took me. When they ... used me ... I armored up, but my plates went away once they started. The fourth or fifth month in chains, I stopped changing back. After that, they couldn’t sell me, I was too ugly, so I became their plaything. The slavers’ boss liked having me around because it saved wear and tear on the higher-priced women. His men weren’t as pleased about only using the ugliest woman and started to resent me.

“My beatings got worse and worse until the boss finally eased up and let the men use the other girls again. I knew my body could take whatever the slavers did to me. Some of the other girls weren’t so lucky, and the abuse left them broken in body or mind. I tried to stop them by being a nuisance and insulting the men. I tried to make them look at me instead. Sometimes it worked, but a lot of the time, it didn’t. Still, I kept trying.

“Eventually, I became too much of a bother, and they sold me to the slavers on the Scarlet Bitch. The port where we were supposed to be sold was under attack and their harbor blocked by enemy ships. The slavers sailed for close to a month, going far north over the top of Azumbaho in hopes a port north of Calfera would have a slave market. Before we reached the mainland Red and Tavorah broke out of their cages and killed the guards, then released Roka and the others. Although we were weak from minimal food and water, we tore through the slavers like wild beasts,” Yalli hung a hand over the side of the bed. The two middle fingers fused as it shifted into a leathery paw sporting four claws, three in the front and a smaller one further back. The middle claw looked more like a thick harpy’s talon, although from one of the smaller bird types, not the raptors.

“When I saw Scarlet take down our guards, something awoke in me. These men weren’t invincible. We could fight and even kill them. When Tavorah freed me, I gathered behind my claws all the pain from every punch, every kick, and every unwanted cock I had endured and ripped through the slavers. Their swords and axes hurt, one even split my shell on one side, but they couldn’t do enough damage to stop me. The men with clubs might as well have been unarmed. Those who hurt me the worst I left in pieces on the deck.”

The armadillo chuckled, “I have no idea why I told you all that. I only meant to tell you I knew we changed back to our more human forms when with a man.” She lifted the claw and looked at it as it transformed back into a human hand but with bands of armored plates on the back. “At least it used to.

“I still have dreams about my captivity. Those times I wake up with claws instead of fingers, and it makes me wonder if I should ever have daughters. Would they be safe?” Yalli sighed, “Why am I telling you all this anyway.”

“You probably heard that I’m not against helping monster girls who want to have children. The fox I told you about and her mate both have daughters fathered by me.”

“I just ... I don’t think I’m ready to be a mother.”

Kal smiled up at her, “That’s perfectly okay. If I’m around when you decide you are ready I’d be honored if you picked me.”

“Still trying to convince me you want to sleep with me?”

“I don’t need convincing. Aside from the usual pleasure, I also want to help you change back to your more human form.”

Rolling up onto his knees and leaning forward on the bed, he slowly reached toward Yalli’s chest. As the distance between his fingers and her breast closed, the woman’s breath quickened. He stopped a few finger widths away as the patch of skin he was about to touch changed. The color deepened as it took on a slightly leathery texture. Small bulges appeared like goosebumps but if he were looking at them under a magnifying glass. The look wasn’t pleasant.

“You’ll be the first man to touch me since we took the ship,” she said.

“You aren’t the first to say that on this voyage,” he replied, smiling. “Are you sure you want me to?”

“Yes? No? I’ve listened to the girls talk about being with you or with other men, and it makes me sad. I didn’t get the chance to find a mate before the slavers took me. I’ve never known a man the way they have.”

“I’m willing to help you change that.”

She looked up from where his hand hovered near her breast. “I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?”

“Of feeling the pleasure the other girls enjoy from sex and realizing what I missed out on those years as a slave.” She paused for a long moment, “I’m scared that the slavers took my ability to enjoy men from me, like they did my humanity, and that I won’t feel anything.”

Kal let his hand drop to the bed. “I can’t guarantee a fairytale outcome. I can’t guarantee that the things scaring you won’t come about. All I can tell you is that your captain and crew want you to be happy. For that matter, I want you to be happy, and I’ve only known you for a few days.”

“Hmph. And if it doesn’t make me happy? Then what do I get from letting you inside me.”

“You may have just said the important part,” the mage replied. “You get to let a man inside you instead of being used. Today I am yours to command.”

The armadillo girl stared at Kal’s hand for a long time before taking him by the wrist and placing it on her breast. The skin shifted and it took Kal a fair amount of willpower to not pull away from the uncomfortable texture. Yalli had her eyes closed in concentration as she focused on slowing her breathing. A full minute later, she opened her eyes and looked down. She stared at where the mage’s hand covered her nipple and a fair portion of her breast. Slowly, the armadillo skin beneath his hand receded.

Kal squeezed slightly, and the strange feeling skin returned immediately. Yalli huffed in exasperation.

“I know she only said an hour earlier, but Captain Scarlet didn’t think this would be easy and gave me the rest of the day to work with you. Take your time.”

Flashing him a weak smile, she concentrated again on changing the skin beneath his hand back to human.

The light filtering in under the door had begun to turn orange with the coming sunset when they heard a knock.

“It’s Kashka,” said Kal.

He lay in bed, naked, with Yalli next to him. Until that moment, the mage’s fingers had been teasing the folds of her sex as the armadillo-girl moaned quietly.

Kal’s brow furrowed, “I can’t tell what she wants.”

“She isn’t jealous, is she?” Yalli asked.

“No. She isn’t the kind to get jealous. Especially with how the ship’s Bosun is keeping her busy. I’ll send her away if you want.”

“No. It’s fine. It must be important.”

By now, the entire ship knew about the bond and the effect Kal’s activities had on the cat-girl. Besides Ratt, a few other crewmembers let the Kashka know they were available if she needed some relief. Despite their offers, she mostly came to see the mage when in need. The other girls were new and fun, but even a quickie with Kal followed by a few moments of snuggling calmed her more than playing around with any of the crew. Ratt seemed to be the exception, but Kashka also felt confused by the deepening relationship with the Bosun.

Kal’s greeting died on his lips when the cat-girl entered the room as she hardly even looked at him.

The cat leaned over the bed and pinned Yalli with a stern stare. “Dear, either you need to do something with Kal soon or need to let one of us take care of him. Whatever you two are doing in here has him ready to fuck anything that moves. And that means that I’m trying hard not to jump over you and ride that until I’m satisfied,” she said with a glance at Kal’s cock.

“Kashka! I’m trying not to put any pressure on her!” Kal hissed.

“If your dick so much as brushes her leg, you’re going to paint it white, and I’m going to need a new pair of shorts pretty soon or go without,” she snapped back while pointing at the soaked material covering her crotch.

“So ... he’s not just playing along to make me feel good?” Yalli asked the cat. “Men used to rub themselves on me all the time. When you didn’t...”