Walking, the journey back should have been longer than the walk there – around a week, by your estimation when you had first set out. Because you were grounded, you're already some time behind schedule, but looking at Mercy, humming merrily as she walks through the trees, their branches parting to avoid her, you're not too upset with how it turned out.
The first few days of your hike go by quickly enough, with no major events. By the dawn of the fourth day however, you've noticed a worrying pattern.
As you stretched awake, Mercy would wander off for a short while while Amanda would tend to last night's fire – dispersing the ashes and making sure all embers were extinguished. During the day, Amanda would forage for berries to supplement dinner, and in the evening, Amanda would set up camp, looking for firewood and keeping everything running smoothly.
You yourself were mostly focused on hunting in the evening, and trusted the girls to set up camp – neither of them were particularly well equipped to find the meat you required.
But, when you return to camp on the fourth day with two rabbits in your jaws, to find Mercy dozing under the boughs of a willow on the bank of the nearby brook and Amanda struggling to haul a large log into the clearing, you realise something needs to be done.
First, you help Amanda drag the log. Without thumbs or a spine particularly capable of maintaining an upright posture, you're of limited use, but even just shoving helps a little, and Amanda seems to straighten up as you help, some of the weariness vanishing from her eyes. When it's in position and surrounded in kindling, you light it yourself and leave Amanda sitting by it, warming her hands.
Mercy looks up lazily as you approach, but must see something in your expression because her cocky smile quickly vanishes, replaced by a hint of worry and then carefully controlled blankness. “Yes, Red?”
You consider staring her down, but you are acutely aware that you still cant access her character sheet – you have no idea how strong she really is. You also don't really want to do anything to alienate her before she's even managed to get to the lair. Even so, the silence drags enough to make her raise an eyebrow at you.
“I've noticed that Amanda is doing the majority of the camp work.”
Mercy nods.
“Why aren't you helping her?”
Mercy blinks in surprise. Then she blinks again. “You were the one who gave her that big speech about pulling her weight and being useful. I figured I'd get her used to hard work.”
You stare until she speaks again.
“Look, I get she's your pet and all but you cant show favourites.”
You nod slowly. “Yes. I told her to make sure she does her share of work, and that she couldn't stay if she wasn't willing to make sure her presence made things better for everyone.” Mercy nodded along, smiling. “Do I have to give you the same speech?”
The smile slips from her face, returning it to a carefully blank mask. Without a word, Mercy stands up and walks into the wood. You can see her, picking more firewood. Every so often, she glances at you, her face still blank.
You sigh. One problem for another.
The following day, Mercy helps pack up and when the time comes, set up the camp. She does not however, exchange a single word with you all day. You're not sure what to do – she is still travelling with you, after all, and that can't just be gratitude for fighting the mosquito.
By the time you settle to bed, you're resolved to let her some out of whatever snit she's in naturally.
Your mouth, dry from a day of travel through a stretch of wood without water, wakes you. You had been hoping to make it through to tomorrow – pretty sure there was one more river an hour or so further along that you could then follow much of the rest of the way back, but you know that Amanda has a water skin with some still in. You sit up and turn to find her, or more specifically her bags, only to see something else.
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Mercy is sat against a tree, staring at you in the pale moonlight. Her eyes are backlit as if a flame flickers in her head, and the wood against her skin has blackened. It's harder to tell in the dim light, but her skin also seems to be tinged with more red than it was when you went to bed.
“Mercy?” you whisper, causing her to jerk as if stung. You frown. Surely she must have seen you sit up?
She turns back to you, and flashes a weak smile. “Hey Red.” Her voice is croaky, as if she hasn't used it for days. The lights in her eyes dim, although don't vanish entirely, and her skin shifts hues in what you think is a slow return to green.
“Is everything OK?” you ask, choosing your words with care.
Mercy looks away from you, staring at Amanda's sleeping form for several seconds, before shaking her head. “Yeah,” she says, apparently unaware of her contradictory action. “Yeah it's fine. Goodnight, Red.”
She settles back against the tree. You watch her for a minute, before going to take a drink from Amanda's pack, but she doesn't move, and her eyes are now shut. She still hasn't by the time you return to your small circle of charred earth, nor twenty minutes later when you peak out from half closed eyes. Even so, it takes a long time for sleep to reclaim you.
Your troubles don't end when you awake either. Because you drank last night, you have to push on hard to make it to water before midday. It's reminiscent, for you, of your race to re-build the water source of your lair. Thirst marches with you, and even Amanda is waspish and irritable by the time the rushing of water reaches your ears.
“Listen,” Mercy says, speaking for the first time since a half hearted 'good morning'. When Amanda notices the whisper of water, she grins and takes off in a mad dash. You make after her, and Mercy is only a little more reserved. Even so, you're still not built for speed, and Mercy still beats you to the river.
When you do reach it, you realise that 'River' may be pushing it a little. It was a few feet wide for most of what you could see, probably cleanable with a running jump even by a human. However, a small waterfall to your left splashed down a rocky embankment a foot high, making the noise you had all been attracted to. The river then widened into a small pool a dozen feet across, the current lazy enough you could catch the leaves drifting by with your tail if you were so inclined.
You were not, for two reasons. First, you were fucking thirsty, and you dipped your head to the water as soon as you could draining mouthfuls of it. Secondly, and the reason you kept your eyes upturned, Amanda's robes and bodice are apparently made of cotton. The chill of the water is making her nipples poke out visibly against the fabric which, even as you watch, becomes even more see through.
You smile as Amanda takes another drink, bending and giving you a fantastic look at her well toned ass, the robe clinging to her flesh. Only where it was pulled away from her skin was it remaining white. The end result was that as you slaked your thirst, Amanda was giving you the most erotic accidental show you could imagine.
*CENSORED*
*CENSORED*
“Mercy.”
The demon goes pale in a way unique to her – her red skin goes pink, then her entire body goes pale green as her other half takes back control. Then that skin goes even paler.
“Um...”
“Would you care to explain,” you ask with exaggerated care, “What exactly just happened?”
The half dryad stays where she is, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides as cold water flows between her thighs. After several moments of silence, she lets out a slight squeak and you see *CENSORED* . Only then does she speak.
“I would... much prefer not to, Red, if it's all the same.” She then turns to Amanda. “I'm sorry, I... well, I do know what came over me, but please trust me when I say I will do my best to stop it happening again.”
Both of you stare at her. She holds your gaze for a few moments before breaking away, looking down at her feet even as her thighs contract again.
It is Amanda who speaks first, to your surprise.
“I'm not yours, you know.” Mercy doesn't look up, but her cheeks take on a slight flush. “I'm Red's. His in a way you're not prepared to match. But even so, you're his too. That doesn't make me yours.”
Mercy nods, jerkily. You're not sure if Amanda heard more of Mercy's muttered comments than you did, but she seems to be drawing a line in the sand.
Amanda leans over to you. “I have an idea, Master. May I..?” she gestures towards Mercy. You nod, willing to see where this goes. The steel returns to Amanda's voice. “You want to make it up to us? Prove you're not going to do it again?”
Mercy nods and you're amused to see the role reversal of the normally submissive Amanda taking charge and the normally spunky Mercy doing what she's told.
It must have riled them both up, you realise. Mercy is desperate for us not to think poorly of her, whatever just happened, and Amanda wants to make it clear that she's mine and no one else's.
Both realisations make you smile, even as Amanda orders Mercy out of the water and against a tree.
“Now hold your hands up, yes like that, and make the tree bind you.”
*CENSORED*
“Are...” Mercy begins, only to let out a fluttering sigh as she cums yet again. “Are you going to spank me? Lash me?” *CENSORED* .
Amanda smiles sweetly and leans close. *CENSORED*
“Nope.” Amanda says, popping the 'P'. “Red here is going to *CENSORED* me nice and hard. And you're going to watch. And not get any pleasure from it at all.” Amanda suddenly turns to you, with a worried look in her eyes. “If that's OK with you of course, Master?”
Mercy looks at you too, begging you silently.