Finding Betton isn’t very hard, I just listen for the sounds of a mugging. I walk around the circular town aimlessly, until I hear his telltale whine. Sneaking around a corner, I look down into the alley I heard the squeak come from. In the back of the dead end passage is a small, wimpy, weak, pathetic… it’s Betton. And he’s being beaten by some almost as lame men. They all looked starved, and probably are pleased they have an easy target.

Well, too bad for them, I guess. I walk into the alleyway, not bothering to conceal myself at all. The enclosed space gives me even more of a breather from the town’s barrier, making me feel just that little bit more free. One of the three guys who's punching my lackey notices me approaching.

“Woah! A lady. She’s dressed nice too!” His eyes glint greedily in a way that makes my skin crawl. Apparently the guy notices, because his face screws up in disgust.

I don’t let him tell his friends about my unique complexion, instead shooting a bundle of thin spears out of my shoulder. They easily puncture the dude’s skin and skull with a small thwack sound. After my pins are inside him, they deploy small hooks, so I can yank the corpse back to me. A good tug is all it takes to send the scrawny guy’s limp body flying towards me.

Just before the gross corpse slams into my admittedly small frame, my torso cracks open from just above my sternum, to right below where I should have a belly button. The newly formed maw opens wide, large fangs glistening with drool. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten someone, okay? The ragdolling corpse falls cleanly into the sideways mouth, which snaps shut around it.

My body is back to its previous shape, except very lumpy from the corpse inside me. It takes a few seconds, but the teeth inside me slice it up so that I can go back to the right size. With that done, I savor the sweet and sour chicken flavor.

Oh, I also keep walking towards the other two sna— thugs.

Apparently at some point in my speed eating, the duo turned around. I’m unsure how much they saw, but it was enough to make their tan skin go pale.

“P-please, let us go!” the tall one says. He tosses a bag onto the ground. It makes a quiet jingle as it lands. “You can have all the money I have!”

I raise an eyebrow, and look over at the other guy. He seems to get the picture, and tosses a second bag of coins onto the dusty cobble. “Y-you’ll really let us go?” he asks, disbelievingly.

I look past the two jerks, at the slumped form of Betton. He’s propped against the wall, unconscious. Black and blue welts cover his face, and I’m sure his body as well. It wasn’t a simple beating, these guys would’ve killed him. Wonder why.

I make eye contact with the bigger one, who shivers. “Sure, why not ” I say with a shrug. Slowly I walk towards the two of them, snatching the bags off the ground. “Get going, then.”

The two don’t wait for me to say it twice, and start bolting down the alley. Without turning around, I watch them through hidden eyes on my back. Just as they reach the intersection with the main road, I strike.

Just like their friend, I send spikes through them. Unlike their friend, I don’t aim to kill them instantly, hitting them in their hearts instead. My barbs secured inside them, I reel them in, slowly. I feel them struggle against my draw, fighting with their quickly disappearing final bit of energy. The smaller one tries to scream, but I stop that quickly with a fleshy pink gag. Their tugs and movements get further apart and weaker as they get closer to me. By the time they’re at my feet and I turn around, they’re already dead.

“That’s what you get for hurting my things.” I give them both a kick in the head for good measure. “My possessions are very important to me.”

I turn around to face Betton, who woke up during that whole ordeal, but stayed silent. I hope he wasn’t pretending to be asleep, because he’s quite obvious.

“I… didn’t know you… cared,” he says, barely. He even tries to smirk at me, but just ends up grimacing in pain.

I grab his face, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “Why the fuck did you leave without me?” I snarl. I’m pissed, and I’m not sure why. Yeah I almost lost this kid, but it’s not like I’d really be in trouble without him.

“Ha…” he laughs, following with a coughing fit. When he can finally speak again he continues. “You wouldn’t wake up… thought you might be sick…” he wheezes.

He stops, frowning.

“Well, that doesn’t answer why you left ” I say, irritated. Did he leave just because he was impatient?

“I was… looking for medicine for you.” A small, awkward smile plays over his face.

My eyes go wide. “What?” I say, dumbfounded. He went out into a dangerous town, alone, just because I might’ve been sick?

He tries to shrug, but decides against it halfway through. “Wouldn’t want my meal ticket croaking on me.”

I sigh. “Whatever, we’re getting you treated.” I create two large arms from my back, that I use to lift him into a princess carry in front of me. Folding my normally sized arms in annoyance, I add, “No complaining, either.”

“Tsk,” he clicks.

Before we leave, I quickly weave my tendrils through the two corpses, and drain them. After they’re totally consumed, I move to leave.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I quickly carry him out of the alleyway, my bulging, muscular, bright pink arms drawing quite a bit of attention. Thankfully it seems more of a 'what the fuck' kind of attention, and not the 'purge the filth' kind. I manage to get to a medical shop after asking a few frightened passersby for directions.

Using a tentacle, I open the worn wooden door of the store. I have to turn sideways to carry my charge in, but I manage to fit in the end. Once I get through, I look around.

The front area of the store is a bunch of shelves, and a worn wooden counter. It seems like it’s sorta like a convenience store, with common medicines on the shelves. Near the back of the room is a large arch, which leads into a slightly smaller room. That room has a few chairs, and four doors, two on each side. Maybe rooms for patients?

Behind the counter is an older man, who looks like a living raisin. His skin is dark from exposure to the sun, which I’m surprised a doctor has much of. He’s currently sleeping, his legs up on the wooden surface.

“Hey,” I say, a bit louder than necessary.

The old guy snorts, jumping in his seat. He scrambles to catch his balance before glancing around. Eventually his gaze lands on me with a scowl, which quickly disappears when he sees my massive arms.

To my surprise, he jumps up and heads right towards me. There’s no fear in his expression, only concern and confidence.

“What happened, and how long ago?” he says with a shockingly commanding and deep voice.

“Thugs beat him, and it was maybe a half hour ago,” I say automatically. Damn, his voice is something.

“Hmm…” he murmurs, looking Betton over without touching. He eventually looks at me again. “Where’s the thugs? Do they need to be treated?”

I scowl. “Gone,” I say flatly. The old man nods, not seeming to care.

“Bring him into the back, we need to get his clothes off.” He turns without making sure I obey, and heads to the rear of the room.

I follow him, making sure to not knock over any of the shelves with my extra arms. For some reason I don’t want to anger this guy. The doc leads me to one of the four doors and confirms my theory. Behind the door frame is a small room, with a bed, dresser, and desk. The room is tiny enough that the furniture is crammed in, but it’s way nicer than I expected.

“I clean the bedding regularly,” he says, almost automatically.

Careful to not hurt Betton, or the bed, I place him onto the cushioned surface. He sinks in a bit, but I manage to not cause any more damage to his frail body. The second he’s out of my grasp, the monstrous pink arms whip back into my shoulder blades with a whip’s crack.

“Useful,” the doc says, eyeing my now missing arms. I just shrug.

Suddenly the man points a gnarled finger at the door. “Leave,” he says firmly. Just as I’m about to argue, he cuts me off with his powerful voice. “You being here will distract me, this boy will be safe and fed here. Return in a day.” He turns to Betton and starts taking off the kid’s new, but already ruined, clothing.

Betton smiles through his pain. “I’ll be fine, Alex, go.”

“Alright.” Not one to argue with doctors, usually, or sick people, usually, I leave.

He better make a full recovery or I’ll rip that old man’s arms off.

────────────

With nothing to do, and a day to waste, I decide to do something I’ve never gotten to before. Spend money. Not on food, or shelter, or other necessities. Oh no, we have enough gold to let me splurge. The idea sends ripples through my membrane.

As I look around the dusty town, I don’t see much that’s interesting. Lots of clothes, that I don’t need. Lots of food, that I don't… Well, I might need that. Lots of jewelry, which I… I stop in the middle of the road, angering some asshole behind me.

I don’t need, or really want, jewelry. But… I head towards the small building made of brown stone bricks. It has small glass windows, which is something I haven’t seen much of here. Wonder if they’re expensive. I push open the steel door with my shoulder. A small bell rings as I walk through the entryway.

The place is tidy, a counter running along the wall opposite the door. Rings and necklaces sit inside glass cases. Other jewelry hangs on racks or sits on small displays. All in all not that different from a store like this back home. A small woman with comically large spectacles sits on a tall stool behind the counter. She’s surprisingly young, in her late twenties… Why is that surprising, actually?

I think it over for a second, and realize that every other shopkeeper I’ve seen so far is in their forties, at least.

“Hello!” she calls out to me with a small wave. Her eyes are magnified by her glasses, making them look enormous. I hold back laughter as I walk up to her.

“Hi.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “What do you need?” she asks.

Oh, right, store. “Oh… uh.” I rub my cheek, a bit embarrassed. “I need to get a gift.”

She looks unimpressed for some reason. “You need a gift?”

I nod, weirded out by her behavior.

She sighs. “Who for, boyfriend, husband, parents, grandparents?” she lists the options drolly.

“H-husband? How old do I look to you lady?” I say, shocked.

She shrugs. “At least sixteen, no older than twenty?” she says casually. “Within marriageable age.”

This woman is totally disinterested. What is her deal?

“No, it’s for my girlfriend, lady. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her, so I wanted something special,” I suddenly blurt out, annoyed.

Her already enormous eyes get larger in surprise. “Really?!” she says excitedly.

“Y-yeah?” I say. What the fuck is this girl’s issue?

She gives me a Cheshire grin. “That changes things, then.” She hops down from her stool, which makes me realize how short she is. My current body is about five foot two, and she’s at least half a foot shorter than me.

The small lady runs around the counter and walks up to me. “So, necklace or ring?” she asks with a huge smile.

“Uh…” Fuck, I dunno, this is why I came to this kind of place. “What is better?”

She backs up from me, and runs her eyes up and down. “Well… hmm…” A notepad appears in her hand, and she starts scribbling on it. “Ring, I think a ring would be good.”

“Alright, ring, then!” I sigh, exasperated.

She stands there, mumbling to herself for a while. Eventually she glances over to me again. “I need a chunk of you, about this big.” She holds her hands out, indicating something the size of an orange.

“W-what? A chunk of me? I’m pretty sure that much would kill anyone.” I say, confused.

She shakes her head. “Don’t lie, I know you’d be fine.” She pushes her massive spectacles up, anime style. “You can’t hide anything from these eyes.”

I’m gonna throw up. Whatever, I’ll just give her what she wants, so I can leave. Holding a hand out, I drain an orange sized orb of blood from inside my arm and hold it.

“I need something to put this in,” I tell her.

She nods, rushing into a small door I didn’t notice. Probably because I thought it was a cupboard. She quickly returns, holding a rust colored tea kettle.

“Really?” She just nods.

Sighing, I place the orb inside the pot. The moment it loses contact with my body, it turns into a pink liquid.

“Anything else you need from me?” I ask, annoyed. I just wanted a stupid ring.

The frizzy-haired woman shakes her head. “No, come back tomorrow. It should be done.” She emphasizes the should, like she’s not actually that sure.

“Alright,” I say, done with this conversation. What is with the shopkeepers here, something in the water?

Before she can ask for any more of my body, I make my escape.