"Do you mind if Lady Kazue listens in?" Satsuki asked Deidre. If she was going to gossip about Mordi, it seemed meet that his wives get to learn his 'secrets' too. Not that Mordecai would try to hide most of it, but he'd almost certainly not think of bringing up certain things. Some of what Satsuki was going to talk about might be considered a bit much to tell someone else's current lover, but however sweet and seemingly innocent Kazue might be, the girl was certainly a kitsune. Satsuki didn't think Kazue would be very shocked or scandalized. While kitsune could certainly be as possessive or focused as other people, they tended to not experience the same form of jealousy.

When Deidre nodded her ascent, Satsuki asked Payne, "Could you please let Lady Kazue know? Thank you."

She could feel it when Kazue shifted her attention this way. It was a relatively simple matter; a dungeon's focus always included an act of will. The dungeon isn't just seeing what is in its focus's area, it is looking at the area. Being able to feel when you are being looked at is a talent most people who lived dangerous lives eventually developed.

Satsuki closed her eyes as she brought back old memories. Time faded most things for there was only space for so many memories. Well, for most creatures at least. But for memories precious enough, those with sufficient power could etch them more indelibly than flesh was normally capable of.

Of course, that could become a deadly trap for an immortal who clung on too tightly. If one accumulated too many memories, one would reach the limits of flesh. Even in her obsession, Satsuki knew to keep her memories trimmed. Some days wanted to be remembered in detail, but most wanted to be combined into vague memories of a type of day.

This was a day Satsuki had etched in detail. Well, the evening at least.

"We met at a party," Satsuki said to Deidre and Payne. "The party itself was nothing special, a little coming-of-age celebration for a noble family from a kingdom that no longer exists. Mm," she paused to take a sip of her drink before continuing, "I think this particular one was gone well before Mordecai had his war. The area used to be quite volatile compared to what is here now."

Deidre sighed and said, "I'm afraid I mostly know what I have read recently, here. I have not experienced what it is like."

"Something we will have to change," Satsuki replied. "Anyway, as kitsune were not very common in this area at the time, I was in a human guise and mingling as I sought to amuse myself. When I was first introduced to Mordecai in passing, he didn't stand out particularly, but later that evening there was much dancing to be had." She smiled in reminiscence.

"Most of that is a blur of faces long forgotten now, but against my expectations, this was where Mordecai made an impression. It was just the normal exchange of partners during the changing of the song. But then his eyes met mine and he gave me the most knowing smirk."

Satsuki's grin showed fangs as the memory brought back a mix of emotions. "His eyes flashed ever so briefly from tawny to molten gold and it felt like the light might sear me."

She ran a finger around the rim of her cup as she stared down into it. "He knew I was a kitsune of course, that was what his smirk was about. I, on the other hand, did not know what he was. Which was part of what made him alluring right then, the mystery."

"You sound like you were annoyed though," Deidre said.

"Oh, I was," Satsuki agreed, "but I was also intrigued. There are many different types of annoyed dear, and all those types can mix with other emotions. Wonderful, awful, messy things, that's what emotions are." She selected a honey-glazed treat from her plate before she continued.

"He was a perfect dancer, at least, with dances that have set patterns and variances." That little display that Moriko had prompted during the feast had shown Satsuki that some things had certainly not changed. Mordecai did not feel comfortable with free-form dances.

"Which is not to say he didn't know how to cheat. When it came time to change partners again, he gave me that parting twirl, only I found myself in his arms again. Mordecai never did tell me exactly how he managed that, though I suspect it was something as simple as having great timing with a flash-step ability of some sort. There are many varieties, though Mordi's favorite has always been the shadow step."

"That's because he follows Ozuran, right?" asked Payne.

"That's part of it, but it also can have more reach than other maneuvers and can let you move past things like walls and he likes that feature. Most far-step abilities require an unobstructed line, but take less effort and have smaller chances of something unexpected happening. Anyway, there is little privacy during that sort of dance, so all we really did was exchange a few flirtations, such as me commenting on how wicked he was being by keeping me all to himself."

Satsuki smiled again, this evening was one of her fondest memories after all. "By the time the dancing was done, I was determined to bed him at least once. I knew that having that sort of molten gold color in his eyes suggested a connection to dragons, but what sort of connection was not answered and I was curious. Sleeping with someone is often the best way to satiate certain types of curiosity and I've never been one to bother with a prolonged chase. Usually."

Her voice was a touch huskier when she said, "He proved to be an adept lover, though his technique was only a small part of it. Despite me being the initiator, he was able to take control, which can be quite lovely with someone who knows how to do it right. Which he did."

She cleared her throat and took another sip of her drink. "We could both tell that the other was experienced enough to not need many words and most importantly, he knew when to pause just long enough to let me catch my breath. A moment open to protest if I wanted to, though I certainly had no desire to do so."

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Deidre shook her head with a look of bemusement. "It sounds so much like a game when you describe it like that. So, playful." The pain in her voice was clear and caused the pixie on her shoulder to hug Deidre as best as she could.

"My dear," Satsuki said softly, "the best sex is always a game where both people win. You can both compete and cooperate in this game. Oh, you might 'lose' a particular challenge, especially during more intense play, but it means your partner was able to invoke more pleasure or desire than you can resist in that moment. So you also win."

"That is very foreign to me," Deidre said.

"That is something that will hopefully change," Satsuki replied, "but one thing at a time. Now, Mordecai did not fully explain his nature right then and there, he teased me with hints instead. We only had a few days together before our paths in life diverged, but we ran into each other several times over the next couple of years. Then he told me to meet him at a different coming-of-age ceremony scheduled in just over a year's time."

Which was a long time to ask someone to arrange their life around if they were inclined to travel at all, but Satsuki had been entertained enough to promise that she would also be there, barring anything urgent. "I admit that when I arrived, I was a bit tense with anticipation. Mordecai had hinted at a surprise of some sort. But I saw no sign of him amongst the guests and was feeling disappointed along with a small amount of anger. Then I felt a light touch on my back."

Satsuki laughed briefly and said, "I was shocked and startled by the touch. After all, I had been doing my best to pay attention to everyone and yet someone had sneaked up on me like that. When I spun around, I found this tiny, slender little waif who looked to be no older than the girl whose birthday it was. She appeared nervous, but there was also something familiar about the small smile she gave me."

"It was Mordecai, I assume?" Deidre asked.

"Yes," Satsuki said with a nod, "though it took me a moment more to realize it. The golden eyes helped a lot, otherwise the pale purple hair wouldn't have meant as much. It was when I felt out her aura in detail that I was certain."

She shook her head in remembered disbelief. "It brought the clues together for me and made me realize Mordecai was a dungeon. This wasn't the previous avatar being shape changed, this girl was a brand new avatar, and a kitsune at that. That was a delightful surprise, but it wasn't the only one."

Payne eagerly asked, "What else? Did she have magic presents for you or something?"

"Presents?" Satsuki replied, "Not in the way you mean. More, she was my present." The memory stirred some of her more predatory emotions and pleasant memories. "Mordecai had taken control during our first time together. He'd even used a trick to force me to return to kitsune form that first night."

Fighting that sort of thing and losing could hurt and leave one dazed. But Mordecai knew that Satsuki wasn't going to fight; even so, he'd paused at the right moment for her to realize what he was about to do and protest if she wanted.

"She was her gift to me. At first, I thought she simply meant that she was encouraging me to take charge and make a game of it for a short while, but she meant more. When Mordecai had designed this avatar, her knowledge and memory had been filtered heavily. An avatar can't carry all the memories of a dungeon anyway, but she had been left with less than usual and had been brought to the party via previously arranged transportation. She was fresh, new, semi-naive, inexperienced, and mine to use, teach, and train as I wished."

Deidre looked shocked. "That seems a bit extreme of a gift, even given the games you described."

"I felt much the same," Satsuki said, "but I still couldn't resist taking advantage of the gift, and her. If she'd truly been the vulnerable girl she appeared to be, I'd have only been a mentor, but the offer was being given by the more complete version of herself."

Not that everything was quite what it seemed. "Of course, what I didn't realize yet was that Mordecai was using me in return. This avatar was crafted so she could experience something new to Mordecai by being so eagerly enthralled by an older woman. When I figured it out, I was somewhat upset at Mordecai for using me that way but at the same time felt honored that he'd trust me to do that without going too far with the game."

"Her avatar would have been weak in magic or martial skills too," Deidre mused, "so even more vulnerable."

"Exactly," Satsuki replied. "Now, to my knowledge, she was the only avatar Mordecai ever made like this. She's usually had a specific goal in mind for an avatar; this time her goal was to experience a life where someone else held sway over her."

Not that the experience had lasted a full lifetime. Even as sculpted for submission and vulnerability as she had been, the avatar had still been a variant of Mordecai's personality. "So I had a version of Mordecai to myself for over a decade. The first time we'd really been together instead of enjoying a dalliance. But I'd never been good at staying with only one person and no version of Mordecai had been good with an open relationship. So it ended with our first fight over my attention wandering."

It had hurt, but at the same time, Satsuki hadn't been willing to be limited to one person and had been angry at Mordecai's words. "We met again, with Mordecai as a male avatar once more. There was no attempt at a long-term relationship in that period, but we did try several more times over the few centuries we knew each other before the village was attacked." She'd only had six tails when they met and he'd been very inspiring to push herself further.

"I am a bit surprised he ended up with two wives, even if it was decided by the circumstances. At my insistence, we did try out many combinations and I even convinced him to go to a couple of orgies with me. After the second one, he refused to even try again. Mordecai can be selfish in some ways, but not here, which was the problem."

Deidre tilted her head curiously and asked, "How do you mean?"

Satsuki smiled. "He wants to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. The more people involved, the harder that is, so the less focused he became and the less he enjoyed himself."

From there, Satsuki shared more of more of their adventures, romances, and breakups, as well as talking about some of their mutual acquaintances.

Gil she couldn't stand and only tolerated his presence for Mordecai's sake. Satsuki felt he was a buffoon and an oaf. It wasn't even that she couldn't see his good qualities; if it came down to it she knew she could trust Gil to be loyal, brave, honest, and even kind. But everything else about him irritated her far too much for Satsuki to want to be around him.

Li she adored, though she admitted she couldn't help but treat him as a bit of a toy. The eternal child was very sweet, but also easy to wind up with a story of adventure or tales of unfound treasure. Creating stories of such treasures sometimes even made them real, but Satsuki had heeded Mordecai's advice and never tried to benefit from such tricks.

She also admitted that Li's presence always made her cautious. He had a knack for showing up when Satsuki's emotions were running hot in a bad way around Mordecai and she wouldn't be surprised if the timing of Mordecai's freedom hadn't been in part to interrupt her plan to rescue him. Not that Li would know he had done that, but his luck and unconscious instincts did tend to cause such events.

Hours had now passed, with plenty of time for food and alcohol to warm and relax along with Satsuki's tale-telling. "Deidre," she said, "if you don't mind, I would like to take a look at what Mordecai did to you. I have the start of an idea that might be good for everyone."