<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/TcyN8Ce.png)(https://i.imgur.com/NPPMq1R.jpg)<br/></div><br/>Both the orc and tiefling had cleared past the crowd by the time Valna caught up with them. They turned together to face the thief, who now standing close would realize was dwarfed by both of them, "Well well, you've caught us red handed" the bard said with a chuckle, hand disappearing down the older woman's back. A few seconds later she would see the tiefling stiffen, especially her tail, and her face go flush. It didn't take a genius to surmise that the orc's hand was at work just out of view.<br/><br/>"Want to join in eh? Aren't you a bold one" she continued with a tusky grin, "H-Hey! Do you think you can tag along into someone's bedchambers just like that? Do you really think we're that easy?" the embarrassed tiefling said, clearly thrown off balance by these shameless young ladies, "Oh no, that's not the case at all..." the orc cooed, running a finger under the woman's chin and tilting her over to look at her, "...see, I<em>know</em>you're that easy..." she whispered. It clearly should have been taken as an insult, to so brazenly call a mature, well-off woman 'easy', but the way she said it, voice dripping with confidence and certainty, Valna would see the tiefling shiver a bit, and the front of her dress begin to tent, "...what's wrong? you're staying in one of the master suites anyways right? I'm sure the bed's big enough for one more..." she added, before glancing over at Valna and giving a wink, "Oh...o-okay...yeah..." she relented, biting her lip as she looked back at Valna, actually taking a moment to get a good look at the brazen woman, and the longer she stared, the less conflicted she looked about the idea, "Well, lead the way..." the orc cooed, giving the woman a quick spank that sent her shuffling ahead of them, leading them up a set of stairs towards the suites, each step making her sway her wide hips and thick ass right in their faces.<br/><br/><br/><br/><hr/><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/abmek7f.jpg)</div><br/><em>"Oh? you think my voice is beautiful?"</em>the girl cooed, each syllable sending tiny vibrations long the surface of his mind,<em>"That is so sweet. I don't use it often so I wasn't sure if I would sound awkward to a skyroofer or not"</em>she chimed with a smile, graciously accepting the compliment he hadn't actually spoken aloud.<br/><br/>She perked up a bit as Juro started to catch on to what was happening,<em>"Well it is not exactly a side effect per say..."</em>she mentally whispered, having completely abandoned the use of her mouth for anything other than taking puffs from the pipe. As it started setting in she would rise from her chair to circle around behind Juro's,<em>"Relax, there's nothing wrong, you're just getting a little peak into the Hive Mind..."</em>she cooed, holding the pipe to his lips to take another draw, and as he did her words would become even more clear in his mind, even as everything else started to get a little hazy,<em>"To speak without lips..."</em>she gently cupped two of her hands over his mouth,<em>"To listen without ears..."</em>her other hands grasped his ears, the chitin coating her fingers smooth and glossy, though oddly softer than one would think. She slowly massaged her way up and down his ears, from the base to the tips and back again,<em>"In the hive we do not merely talk to one another, we connect, we share. Thoughts, emotions, and above all else <em>truth</em>, freed from the limitations of shame and language..."</em>she explained, and as she did a feeling of calm would spill out of her and into him, a feeling of joy in being able to share a moment like this with a foreigner, to make a new connection out in the wild. He understood that these feelings were not his own, but he could still feel them vividly, and in doing so was able to understand her perspective with full clarity and sincerity.<br/><br/><em>"Tell me...what is your truth? Adorable one..."</em>she asked, smiling as she gave his ears another stroke,<em>"Ah I see. Those words: 'cute', 'adorable', they stir conflict in you. You were raised to see them as labels of weakness, and because of that you cannot feel the affection with which others say them to you. It is not a compliment, but a slight, a challenge against your strength. Forgive me. I had thought you were perhaps just being coy or stern, I did not think you were so troubled by my words...though at the same time...I can feel something...a tingle...a flutter...even if you think it shameful to be called cute, part of you...enjoys it?"</em>she cooed, seemingly able to read him like a book,<em>"It makes you feel vulnerable, yet their is pleasure in that vulnerability, or perhaps it is more than just pleasure? Relief maybe? In a world where one must always be strong, always on guard, perhaps being vulnerable is itself a luxury, and perhaps to allow oneself to be vulnerable with another is a true gift of intimacy..."</em><br/><br/>The bee girl leaned down, pressing her chest into Juro's shoulders, gently wrapping her arms around him,<em>"if you would, allow me to say it one more time, so that you may know that it is my truth..."</em>she cooed, before tilting his head back and staring down into his eyes,<em>"You are so very cute...and so very strong...and it is those two together, not in spite of each other, that makes you truly special..."</em>her words poured into his soul, and through the honeyed link he could feel her sincerity. There was not a hint of mockery or malice in it, only genuine affection. There was no act and no deception, merged as their minds were she was literally incapable of it, and Juro understood this instinctively.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/ab9mZw0.jpg)</div><br/>The streets outside were definitely calmer than inside the casino, though it was far from quiet. There were plenty of people out and about: couples strolling around hand in hand, parties stumbling about from bar to bar, vendors selling street food to satisfy the late night cravings, and even a few street performers looking to earn some coin from those passing by.<br/><br/>However despite all the hustle and bustle, Katra would rather abruptly find herself in a quiet spot...unnaturally quiet...Perhaps she had been so distracted by her thoughts that she hadn't been paying close attention to where she was going, but she had seemingly turned down a side alleyway without even realizing it. And at the end of the alley was a strange sight indeed.<br/><br/>Cloaked in a pale glow, some kind of strange figure was hunched over, it's silhouette difficult to make sense of at first. On closer look she would see it was standing over a man's body, and the white glow was being given off by the large claymore imbedded in his chest, seemingly made of pure light. Suddenly the figure shifted, seeming to pick up on another presence. It straightened itself up and turned to look at Katra. And that's when she realized it was no man, but some kind of twisted abomination. It had a hulking body, it's torn open torso housing a nightmarish bouquet of arms, all of them locked grasping for the small crescent moon that floated where the creature's head should be, if it ever had a head to begin with.<br/><br/>Despite not having eyes Katra could immediately tell, it saw her, and it knew<em>she</em>had seen<em>it</em>. Without a sound it reached back and calmly pulled it's blade from the man's corpse, leaving no wound, blood, or any other evidence of penetration behind. Then it took a step towards her, then another, and another. Step by step it slowly,<em>calmly</em>approached her....<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spout Lore 7-9</div><div class="spoiler_body">When you stepped beyond death's veil you heard whispers of such creatures, the Lunar Knights, corrupted worshippers of Lun, Goddess of the Moon. They give tribute to the Goddess by hunting down those who have cheated death, both undead and those who have been revived by holy magic, absorbing their essence to forge blades of pure moonlight. </div></div>