Marcus was half-way out of the plant when Seras slipped and fell into the pink paste; however by the time she got back to her feet, he had slipped through, and was outside, being lowered to the ground by the women out there.<br/><br/>"Oh, I see, it's Markie!  Oh, I'm sure you had some<span style="font-style: italic">fun</span>in there, huh, Seras?  And you, of course, Markie."  Trish sounded just bubbly with excitement.  "Hey, big boy.  You look none the worse for wear... oh, my, in fact, you look... hey... whoa... d-didn't you<span style="font-style: italic">just</span>... oh... oh my... well, okay, but... ooh!  Y-you're so<span style="font-style: italic">slick</span>!"<br/><br/>There was a pause of several seconds.  Many of the women were laughing; Trish was too, but rather breathlessly.  It sounded suspiciously like Marcus, excited by his freedom and finding himself surrounded by pretty women, had grabbed the closest one despite how Seras had just "helped" him.  It was certainly nothing unusual, really, but some women might find it insulting...<br/><br/>The rope was finally tossed back in, ready for Seras to climb out.  Several girls were holding it as they watched Marcus have his way with the giggling Trish; Seras would have to climb out for herself.  The girls seemed to have mostly let go of the spears holding the pitcher's cover open, but thanks to the rock they'd wedged there she would be able to squeeze out anyway.  It would be a tight fit, but thanks to how slick and slimy she was she would surely manage it with a little effort.<br/><br/>--- --- --- ---<br/><br/>The young Cadester was following her... good, very good.  He was brave enough --- or desperate enough after suffering all those losses, perhaps --- to take the opportunity she was offering him.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">Where are you taking me</span>?"<br/><br/>He was right to ask, she thought.  The forest was a dangerous place indeed.  But for the time being, she was relatively safe out here... and with her nearby, so was he.  It would not last, but it would be enough... if he was as they believed, it would be more than enough.  She would be seeing to that...<br/><br/>"To your destiny, young Cadester.  To your destiny," she replied softly, and was unable to keep the tone of excitement out of her voice as she thought of what was to come.  What would it be like?  It would be her first time... the first time for many things, in truth... "come.  Come to me, young one, hee hee..." she actually blinked at the very uncharacteristic giggle.  Interesting...<br/><br/>Yes... yes, they were far enough, and close enough.  They had left the thicker undergrowth behind, and weren't extremely far from the evergreen forest within which the young man had seen his friends claimed by the spiders.  She could see his hesitation, his fear of the area... but he would understand soon.  She had to make sure he didn't give up on following her, either.<br/><br/>"All right, young Cadester.  It's time."  Her voice was quiet enough, more to reassure him than to avoid attracting any beasts.  They still had time before that could become a real possibility, and surely the predominant species in this area --- those spiders --- were quite busy with their very large catch.  He might be afraid, but soon... "don't be afraid, young Cadester.  Nothing will disturb us.  Soon we will attempt a rescue of your friends... both of us."<br/><br/>She finally stopped, and she turned to face him.  When he would finally step into the clearing, for the first time he would see who, or rather,<span style="font-style: italic">what</span>, she was.<br/><br/>He had to have caught glimpses of her as he pursued her... enough to know she looked like a woman, but little more.  She could well imagine the thoughts going through his mind... was she tanned, or was that really fur?  did she have a<span style="font-style: italic">tail</span>?  But that would make her inhuman... one of the beasts.  And the beasts<span style="font-style: italic">ate</span>humans... but then, why the charade?<br/><br/>Now however, he would see her for the first time.  He would not understand, surely, but she would do her duty.  She knew her orders... knew what had to be done.  It was the only way to truly test him.  The only way...<br/><br/>And when he caught up, there she was.  Facing him.  Nude, but in that fact revealing more of herself than any woman he had ever seen, or even loved, before.  Covered in a thin, peach-fuzz-like layer of red-brown fur, she was athletically built, with a a small but shapely body, her muscles well defined.  Though she had long wavy hair like many a woman, and though even its red color was something one would see on a human girl, the small vulpine ears sticking out of it was not.  Nor was her slightly elongated face, with a trace of a snout and a fox's teeth; nor was the short but bushy tail waving slowly behind her back.<br/><br/>Golden eyes regarded him as he took in the sight of her.  What she would remind him of most would be a Foxer, a dangerous mutated fox... but she was closer to human than any beast he'd ever seen.  She might look more, to him, like a mutated human than a mutated animal.<br/><br/>"I'm not going to eat you," she said softly, smiling with her slightly fox-like teeth, speaking clearly but softly.  "Quite the opposite, young Cadester.  I'm certain that<span style="font-style: italic">you</span>are the one that is hungry."