Chapter 26 ~ Snaring

Kurai had stepped out from the gates of the Selland Estate for the third night in a row. Little did she realize that proximity stones were once again planted on her by Robin, and that he had been following her on each of the nights. It was for her own protection, lest she befalls another misadventure, but all three nights had been remarkably tranquil. She had followed all the rules set out by Meus for her own safety, and she had done little more than wander the safer neighborhoods and districts while taking in the sights.

So tranquil was it that Robin once again returned home after supervising the first couple hours, leaving the novae to her own devices. Had he stuck around longer, he would have seen Kurai drifting away from her usual locales.

Her feet were guided by fancy alone. Here would be a restaurant where star-crossed lovers would first meet! Here would be where they first held hands under the electric lamp-light. Here is the tree where they'd sit and curl up. Here is an alleyway from which they would hide from a storm together.

...No, it's not. That was an alleyway through which she ran through the city with Robin, once.

...

Something scratched at the back of Kurai's head at the same time as if hid under the tip of her tongue. If she could call out its name, it would cease to exist.

She brought her hands to her chest and smiled to herself. Her nose led her to the sight of park benches and the thoughts of what romance could transpire there. Somewhere, sometime, there would be a beautiful flourish of falling leaves dancing in the wind. She could see it clear as day as long as she closed her eyes. The trees that stood before her opened eyes were still, with only decaying leaves that somehow refused to fall, as if in protest of any accidental pulchritude they could make.

Her eyes couldn't linger for long. She had already been standing here too much. That was one of the rules: never stay in one place for too long. At the best of times, you'd get pressed for loitering. It was far from the worst way to get targeted by the watchful eyes of the city.

Further down the street was something else that caught her eye: a pub. She'd heard about them in many stories. Surely it couldn't hurt to poke her head inside, briefly.

The place was just as warm on the inside as she imagined, and it wasn't just the temperature. There were a lot of people inside, sitting at tables and standing around. A lot of them were chatting, but there was also a lot of companionable silence going around.

That same silence didn't remain companionable the longer Kurai stood there watching. She was being watched back. A lot. While it wasn't the entire pub that was staring her way after she entered, it sure felt like it was. Maybe standing alone by the entrance wasn't a great look. She forced a smile and kept her head down as she made her way to the bar stools.

As unwelcoming as it felt, it seemed her presence wasn't unwanted. Quite the opposite. All of the care she put into her appearance didn't go unnoticed. In fact, some patrons were doing a little too much noticing. Kurai wasn't a stranger to passing glances on the street, but in such a tight space, the barely restrained stares were getting to her.

Just as much with her body, her dress also completely stood out. Everybody else was in various shades of practical laborers' attire. Here she was dressed in one of her beloved laced dresses again. The kind with multiple layers of frills at the hems and a tasteful plethora of ribbons throughout. She thought it looked cute and refined, at least back at home, but it was only adding to her sticking out like a sore thumb here.

"Um... Hello, sir. I would like a drink, please," she said to the bartender in her most elegant, well-practiced tone possible. Strangely, she could hear laughter behind her. Surely it was just a coincidence with the timing...

"Aye? I'm sure ye do. Now d'ye have an actual order, lass?" If the bartender was amused at all, he certainly wasn't showing it.

"Uh... Well, what would you recommend, sir?" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well, madame, yer at a pub, so take a wild guess what recommendations there are."

She was stuck on the spot. As it was her first time at such a place, she really didn't know what would be normal to order. She hoped he would give her an easy way to answer, but instead it felt like she was getting smacked for failing a test. She had the sneaking suspicion that, maybe, just maybe, her presence here was not a good idea after all.

Just as she was about to apologize and get up from the bar to leave, the novae instead found an arm clasped around her shoulders.

"Oi, get our little princess here a nice G&T, will ya?" piped up the woman's voice, at the tail end of laughter. "In fact, make it two." She kept her arm around Kurai as she sat beside her. The novae felt a tinge of fear go down her spine.

The woman's arms were covered in scars. Even her sunkissed face had a noticeable scar across one of her eyes. While she had a tie and waistcoat, they were the loose, rough kinds worn by manual laborers of the city. Her sleeves looked like they never got rolled down. Still, just like with her slacks, everything had an appealing feminine cut to them, rather than being ill-fitting repurposed working men's clothes like the cheapest kinds were. But all those weren't the striking details, no.

That would be the large, grey, canid ears atop her head. A quick glance confirmed they were paired with a matching tail too. They weren't just for show either. The ears and tail alike were far too lifelike in how they moved to be mere accessories. Moreover, she had something else that was predatory: her teeth. Not just her canines; all of them were far sharper than any normal human's teeth.

"Well now, like what you see, princess? Or are you seein' what ye like?"

"Aah... Y-Yes. I mean, no, or, or...!" She took a moment to take a deep breath and compose herself. The wolfish girl seemed endlessly amused by this. "S-sorry, this is my first time going out to a place like this. I suppose I'm a bit out of my element."

"Never would've guessed." The wolf rested her chin on the back of her hand, leaning against the bar. She still hadn't taken her hand off Kurai's shoulder. She also hadn't taken her eyes off of Kurai's body, especially her chest...

"Um..." Kurai felt the need to break the ice somehow. "So, by any chance, are you a kitsune? I've never met one before..."

"I should spit in yer face callin' me such a thing." Her enjoyment dropped in an instant and she crossed her arms, seemingly in consideration of following through on her threat. "...Sheltered little shite, ain'tcha? You never heard of a beast before?"

"Like... a wolf?" The novae tilted her head.

"Pfft. Right on the money and yet so ignorant at the same time. Yes, I ain't any mangy fox, ya dumb bint. Those things aren't human. I am. Beasts are... let's just say we're humans that decided to get a few changes." One of her ears twitched as she said it, and her tail reached over to curl around the novae's leg. "Marvels of modern technology, eh?"

"Ehe... I've read that some body modifications are possible, but I've never met someone who actually had them before. Beastly girls, huh..." She rubbed a hand over the tail. "They're really cute."

"..." The wolfgirl's teeth began to show as she swatted the novae with her tail. "Want to try that again?"

"Ah...! Ah... Th-They're very... cool?" she guessingly corrected herself.

"Good girl." She chuckled to herself as she tossed back her drink. "Now, what brings a primrose like yerself to such a humble establishment? Don't s'pose ye got thirsty on the way back to the castle?"

"Ahaha... I'm flattered, but I'm not a princess! I only live at the manor, not any castle."

"Do you now?" Her gaze was even sharper than her teeth, to the point the novae couldn't help but bashfully look away. She wasn't allowed to, though. The beastly woman grabbed her by the chin and lifted her head to snap her back into attention. It clearly wasn't just Kurai's attention that was got. It felt like everyone was staring at them now. "Ah, ah, ah. What's got ye so scared, princess? Surely you had something in mind that you wanted when ye sauntered your way in here..."

"Ehehe... I-I suppose? I was just thinking about these romance novels and how lovely it would be to get a better picture of the scenes at these sorts of places..."

"Romance novels, eh?" For a long, anxious moment, the woman continued to lock eyes with the novae. All of a sudden, she lurched forward, one hand behind the novae's head to hold her close as the beast locked her lips against Kurai. It was far from a brief peck on the lips. The beast wasn't holding anything back as she pressed her tongue aggressively into Kurai's mouth, absolutely dominating the novae's own with her sheer experience and lack of restraint. At the same time, her other hand was groping and squeezing at Kurai's rear. A sensual moan escaped her as she claimed the helpless novae.

Kurai couldn't do anything but surrender to such a treatment. It was overwhelming, unlike anything she had experienced before. It was intoxicating too. She felt like a helpless rabbit in the jaws of a powerful wolf, and she could only thank the heavens that the sensations were so pleasurable. She could hardly process what was going on, and yet a deep, instinctive part of herself wanted only to surrender to her more. As if enough submission would ensure this bliss never ends.

"Fuah..." In spite of her wishes, the woman pulled away, briefly leaving a trail of saliva between the two of them. "Heh. How's that for your romance novels? That enough inspiration for ya?"

"Uh... That, um... Aah... It... Wow, that... That, um...!" The novae couldn't do anything but stammer as her face turned deep red.

"Pfft. See? Any other lady would've smacked me in the face there. You wanted it, knew you did. Don't even pretend otherwise. I've had you pegged as the type from the start."

"Hey, lass. You can't just go assaulting other customers like that. You don't do anything like that again or I'm gonna have to get ya to leave." Unlike other patrons, the bartender didn't seem to enjoy the show any.

"Relax! We're both women. It's fine. I don't see her complaining any."

"I didn't ask. You better not press your luck, or you can find somewhere else to do all your kinky shite."

"Um... Ehe... Y-You're actually wrong about that," Kurai piped up, only attracting raised eyebrows to her heavily breathing self. "You said you have me pegged, but... I haven't seen you actually peg me yet." She held an impish smile as she meekly tried to save face. Kurai only meant the strange women hadn't truly taken her measure. She was completely ignorant of any other ways her bit of sass could be interpreted.

The pub went eerily silent. The wolf's eyes went over Kurai's body again, then to her face. She picked up her own glass of gin and tonic, downing it in one gulp.

"...Alright. Come with me, princess. We'll fix that oversight." She practically pulled Kurai out of her seat, but the novae resisted.

"W-wait, I..." She glanced around to quickly come up with an excuse. "I-I haven't finished my drink yet! Just give me a minute, and—"

She was interrupted by the sight of the wolf abruptly gulping down her glass.

"It's finished now. Let's go."

There wasn't anything the novae could do to argue back at that point. Not when her chest was beating so loudly at the memory of how it felt to submit to this wicked wolf's will the first time. Maybe if she just gave in again...

[Disclaimer: The following segment of the chapter will involve NSFW content. Every NSFW section will be clearly labeled as such, and they will be separated into their own entry. While story and character developments can take place during these, they are not required reading to understand the story, and any major developments will be briefly summarized in the chapter succeeding it.]