It took a long wait, but time moved on and eventually I was ready. I moved out of my room, blasting it’s lock open. I had to be quick, it probably wouldn’t take too long for the mages to figure out that I was making an escape. I move quickly through the dead quiet halls and get to her door, open it slowly and… one off this isn’t hers. I close the door slowly and quietly with my heart beating just a bit faster. I go to the door before it and slowly open it, hers. I move in, close the door and push her with my hand a couple times to wake her up. When she does.
“we need to go, now! Move and grab what you need”
[Morgan] “wh-what, wha-”
she hops out of the bed to stand straight up at attention. I recognized the response, one drilled into soft-skin slaves. Then a moment later she realized what was going on and lost the posture.
[Morgan] “wh-what the hells moon? Why are you-”
“no time, move!”
putting in as much of the old authoritative tone into the command as I could muster.
It seemed to work as with a frown she put on her traveling clothes and one sack held by a strap over the shoulder.
[morgan] “you better explain”
“later, for now we’ll need to be quiet. Quickly, follow me”
Another frown but a nod as well and I lead her on. Through one corridor and then another recalling the way to the door that will let us fall. She starts to ask a question but I silence her and we continue. At the empty doorway I pull out the papers and hand her the one for the falling spell.
“use it, we need to go down”
[morgan] “S-seriously? I, fine”
once she finishes I grab her arm and we step off, we fall. The fall thankfully is not terrifying fall of going off a cliff. It’s slower and lets us control how we move in the dark star filled night. I move us to a dark patch below, a spot between the various light sources in the city. As we get just over halfway down there’s sounds from above distantly reaching us. Yells from the mage’s tower distant and indistinct. I wouldn’t have much time. We land, still a heavy pressure for my legs but one that can be sustained without breaking.
“move they’ll be after us, we need to find a way to hide me.”
[Morgan] “shit, wh-who are they?”
“didn’t get names just went for running”
[Morgan]”i- fine. Uhh we need more clothing to hide you.”
I pull out the second magic paper.
“let’s use this to stay hidden as we search.”
[morgan] “t-two? How do you have two scrolls? How do you have any?”
“was able to grab them before we left now hurry”
[morgan] “i- fine. One moment… uh, I’ll try but this one’s a bit harder. I might fail at using this”
“might is better than can’t”
she shrugs and mutters, then does the casting and she disappears… I seem to be unchanged.
“does it affect just one of us?”
[morgan] “no, hold on”
I hear her footstep, then the rush of air and then a moment later her hand holds my left arm.
“did, you miss me once?”
[morgan] “yeah, you’re invisible. Now lets move quietly, maybe well find something to cover you with.”
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we don’t move as swiftly as before, walking down alleys and roads of the city while unseen. With it being night time almost every building is closed and the streets are mostly empty. Within the hour guards start moving along the streets.
“we need to hide”
[morgan] “not many options”
after some more searching we find an entrance in a back alley, we enter after once soft-skin man exits. Walking in there’s a mix of smoky scents and low smooth music playing. A muted party atmosphere of modest but happy talking and glass clinking. We round the entrance bend past a particularly big and strong looking green-skinned soft-skin with small tusks sticking up past his lower lip. Once properly inside we can see all sorts of soft-skin females in barely anything and mostly male ones watching them. Coin being being exchanged. I feel my arm get pulled as morgan seems to head to a particular doorway. She leads me past the thin crowd and follows one of the females into a backroom area. This back area seeming less adorned and more practical, as a space should be. She leads into a back corner and soon finds a neglected looking storage space. We climb in and close the door, tucked away.
[morgan] “seriously? Of all the places to be open we end up in one of these?”
“what is this place? I don’t think it has anything like it in my society”
[morgan] “I know what my mom told me, it’s called a brothel.”
“sounds weird. What’s the point of it?”
[morgan] “it’s a place where men come to buy the services of women”
“what services would they want to buy from only women?”
she let out a hissing yet guttural sound that I knew as immense frustration or anger for a soft-skin.
“I uh, I don’t get it”
I can hear her suck in air.
[morgan] “ok, let’s start with a question. What, do your kind do for finding mates?
“uh, we… kind of just get to know one another and after a while find a mate… it’s probably off as we’ve been reincarnating… so this place has to do with finding mates?”
[morgan] “N- mmhhh, kind of. More the act than the companionship”
“oh, so breeding?”
[morgan] sighs “close enough.”
“so why then do you dislike this place? Would it not be a good place?”
[morgan] “wh-what!? Why would you assume that?”
“if it’s about breeding specifically then isn’t this place about making sure the society has enough people being born to fight its wars and do the tasks needed?”
[morgan] “no… ok, think more individually. Anyone can come in and for money buy intimate time with a woman.”
“seems odd but alright”
[morgan] “that’s it, I… how do you not get this. Do your kind, get horny?”
“heard that word before, still don’t understand it.”
[morgan] “get a craving to breed, like hunger or thirst?”
“no, I don’t have a mate”
[morgan] “I didn’t ask… that’s how it works for you guys? What gets you to want a mate in the first place?”
“to not be alone. Many lose the will to live if they’re alone for to long. Having a mate is the best and most fulfilling remedy, at least that’s what the others say”
[morgan] “I… uh, ok. That’s, oddly more wholesome than I expected from your kind… I guess there wouldn’t be a need for a place like this for you guys. Ok so for us, for women it’s often looked down on to do this stuff for work”
“to do, this, for work… oh, so the money. I think I get the idea, at least somewhat. Do you think this hiding spot will work?”
[morgan] “best shot we have for hours I think. If you can might as well sleep.”
Hours pass, I don’t know how long as we wait grabbing poor snatches of sleep. At some point the invisibility has worn off and I can dimly see morgan in this darkness… she’s been, useful. Oddly, I don’t think she’s hated me all that much for what my kind made her living conditions an- I hear a voice alarmingly close
[unknown] “let me just put this away”
I shove morgan to wake her just as the door opens. Light streaming in at dazzling intensity as a soft-skin’s form is outlined in the light. Their features cast into darkness by the contrast as we’re exposed, could this herald how I die? Or will it be a new confinement?