All of the preparations were complete. After hours of coming up with the perfect plan to give Fraydranth the most amazing massage that a dragon could ever receive from humans, it was finally time to put their plan into action.
It was a long, difficult journey to get to this point.
Azalabulia used miniature explosions on Eva’s back and Eva tested out heating Azalabulia’s back with her flames. They took breaks together underneath the shade of trees whenever they were tired. They laughed, they loved – they lived.
If ever there was a time for a dramatic training montage to go over everything that the two accomplished together while preparing for the massage, it was now.
Through this difficult quest, the two finally had an opportunity to bond and grow closer to one another. They were already officially girlfriends but never really had any time alone together before. Now, as the sun threatened to pass over the mountains to blanket the area in darkness, with a patient dragon waiting for her massage in the distance, the two women held hands underneath a tree. Sweat dripped from their foreheads and they panted from how exhausted they were.
As difficult as it was, they had fun. Much of the fun may have been attributed to the fact that they occasionally took breaks to give each other massages in order to “prepare,” but there was also the fun factor of Azalabulia getting to challenge herself with new, specialized explosions. As for Eva, she had the fun challenge of perfecting a massage routine for a dragon whose toenail was bigger than she was.
They did not have much time left. Fenrir would soon need to return with the requested fish and Fraydranth required her massage.
But even if everything were to go wrong and they were to walk away in failure, that would not change the new bond that Azalabulia and Eva developed.
Together, they were stronger than ever before. They knew that now. Azalabulia had the explosions and Eva had the brains… and also some forms of explosions. They made the ultimate team and there was nobody in all of existence better prepared to massage a dragon than them.
There would be no regrets regardless of the outcome.
And so, the two women looked at one another and gave each other a nod.
“Ready?” Eva asked.
“Ready,” Azalabulia answered.
Eva got up from the ground with ease and then offered Azalabulia a helping hand in getting up. The trope of magic casters not exactly being in good physical condition was alive and well in Azalabulia, especially after all of the work they went through leading up until this point. So, needless to say, Azalabulia gratefully accepted the helping hands.
There was something else that Eva discovered during her alone time with Azalabulia. As for what this discovery entailed… Eva found out just how nice Azalabulia’s body was. It was even nicer looking when she was covered in sweat as she was, and Eva was welcome to a great view as she helped Azalabulia up. Though, a part of her actually felt guilty. On top of her body being a hybrid of various monsters that would not exactly be considered attractive to any normal person, she felt that she might have been… plain.
Azalabulia had that long, fluffy, white hair with the whole pseudo-witch aesthetic going on and a chest that was impossible not to notice. Her roleplaying may have gotten extreme at times, but she was intelligent and charming. Fenrir, too, had long and fluffy, white hair with adorable ears and a tail, and then there was his chiseled form and features that he personally customized to be attractive to women. His eagerness to defend those he cared about, desire to do the right thing, but laid back enough to have fun and mess around were all appealing, too.
Cassiel was shorter than Azalabulia and had a smaller bust, but everything about her demanded attention to Eva. The blonde hair, the proper armor that she wore, the way she carried herself and her attitude – Cassiel was essentially everything that Eva found great in a woman. Then there was Nell and her beauty, her elegance, the graceful way that she moved and spoke – she was just like a princess from a fairy tale except the creator of said fairy tale was a rather massive pervert who sprinkled in way too many of his fetishes, but that only made Nell all the more interesting. As for Serra, she was the shortie who knew how to perfectly handle everybody in their relationship. As much as Eva might have tried to study them, she had nothing on Serra’s ability to understand and seduce all relationship members involved. There was also the fact that, as Eva learned, Serra held the relationship together every bit as much as Fenrir did.
Or rather, Eva learned that they all held it together in equal parts. They were a truly unified group where everybody was equal. Not one of them was any more important than anybody else in the relationship, and now Eva was in it.
After helping Azalabulia up, Eva looked down at herself. What human parts of her remained weren’t exactly special. The dark hair that she kept in a ponytail made her feel even more basic – plain. Sure, she considered herself interesting when it came to hobbies and intelligence… but none of the others really shared in her scientific endeavors nor did she think that they would be interested in everything that she had on her mind.
What did she really have to offer to the group? She wasn’t so self-conscious that she wouldn’t consider herself a unique and interesting person or anything like that… but was she really a good fit for them? Prior to meeting them, she always imagined herself ending up with some sort of scientist who worked with her on all sorts of crazy experiments. They’d probably have a cat or two, wear lab coats around the house, turn a basement into a laboratory, potentially perform questionable experiments that may have been internationally outlawed – stuff like that. But now, the more she thought about her place in this relationship, the more she doubted that she was right for them.
In a state of contradiction, she had no doubt that they were right for her. She thought that they were all interesting and had more fun spending time with them than with anybody else, and there was not a single time she ever found herself bored no matter which of them she was with. But… did they feel the same about her? Even after this little quest worthy of a training montage that deepened the bond between her and Azalabulia, she found herself doubting.
And all of these doubts resurfaced in her mind because she was checking out Azalabulia’s chest while helping her out. It was not the first time that Eva had ever had these concerns, but they were usually the sort of doubts that popped up in her mind while she was trying to sleep at night. But with how they were growing stronger every passing night, it was only a matter of time until she couldn’t help but feel this way while around the others, and it finally happened.
Eva being Eva, a hundred and one doubts and concerns and theories ran through her mind in the short time that it took to help Azalabulia get up.
As smart as Eva might have known she was, she couldn’t help but to feel extremely stupid for having a mind plagued by these concerns. She knew that she was almost certainly overthinking things, but that didn’t matter. No amount of self-awareness could stop her thoughts from manipulating her feelings.
Fortunately for her, she had her runaway mental self-doubting in the presence of the perfect person to handle it.
“What’s wrong?” Azalabulia asked. It was clear to her that Eva’s demeanor had a major shift in just a few seconds.
“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something,” Eva answered, forcing her face to return to a much more neutral state.
That was the wrong answer.
Azalabulia being Azalabulia, her caring teacher mode was activated. Azalabulia knew when somebody was bothered by something, especially if they were younger than her… even if they were only a couple of years younger.
Being surrounded by children, who were constantly learning how to deal with this world and their emotions, provided great experience for the teacher.
“No massage until you tell me what’s wrong,” Azalabulia said with a pout, holding an imposing finger in front of her.
Eva took a step back when she realized just how serious Azalabulia was being. No massage meant no explosion. Azalabulia, the woman thoroughly and utterly addicted to explosions – perhaps the most explosion-loving woman to have ever existed… would deprive herself of her greatest joy just to get her to be honest.
Unsure of how to respond, Eva looked to the side and scratched her cheek.
“I… don’t really know how to put it,” Eva said.
“Then explain it as best you can,” Azabulia replied.
“It’s kind of… embarrassing.”
“I’ve had students who had bathroom accidents in the middle of class, and I never once judged them for it.”
“I think a kid having that kind of mistake is pretty different from how I’m feeling.”
“They might be different but my point stands. No matter what it is, I’m not going to judge you for it. A good teacher encourages and supports her students, she doesn’t put them down and shame them.”
“But you’re not my teacher for anything.”
“I am right now.”
Eva witnessed Azalabulia’s teacher mode before but she was never on the receiving end of it. It was only now that she could truly understand just how genuinely intimidating, yet comforting, Azalabulia could be despite her immature tendencies.
This was who Azalabulia truly was.
“I guess… I suddenly feel self-conscious. I’ve had these thoughts before, but they just popped up really hard for some reason. Don’t worry about it,” Eva explained.
“No,” Azalabulia said.
“N-no?”
“I am going to worry about it whether you like it or not. What do you feel self-conscious about?”
“I – I don’t know. I guess I’m just… kind of boring compared to the rest of you.”
Azalabulia titled her head with furrowed eyebrows. “What? Why would you think that?”
“I guess… because I’m plain? You’re all… attractive and interesting and share interests and stuff. I’m just kind of… me.”
“I promise that I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that we don’t want you to be anybody other than just kind of you.”
Eva placed a hand on the back of her head to rub it. “I feel unneeded, I guess.”
“I need you for the massage.”
“But I’m not needed in any other ways.”
“None of us are.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t need Fenrir. I don’t need Serra, Cassiel, Nell, and I don’t need you. What matters is that I am happy with all of you and that I want all of you. Need has nothing to do with it. If you need somebody to live, that is not healthy and a sign that you need to work on yourself first and foremost. Rather than need, you should want, and I can assure you that all of us want you.”
“But I feel like I haven’t really even been around long enough to be wanted like that.”
Azalabulia crossed her arms underneath her chest. “Too bad. We want you.”
“Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
“No. A good teacher never lies to her students. A good teacher is honest and encourages her students to critically think about the information being presented to them. I have presented you with information. Now, is it up to you to analyze the information and come to a conclusion. Somebody who is as smart as you should have no difficulty in coming to the correct conclusion.”
“I don’t feel like I have enough data to do that yet.”
“Then I will give you more. One, we all accepted you into our relationship while already knowing what kind of person you are. Two, none of us value any one member of our relationship over the others. Three, none of us find any one member of our relationship more attractive nor less attractive than the others. Four, you might think that we don’t share any hobbies nor interests with you, but I promise you that we would all eagerly try out anything that you wish to share with us. Besides, this isn’t even true. Aren’t you and Cassiel going to play instruments together? You proposed an activity and Cassiel obliged. The rest of us would do the same. Five, nobody who has as many unique monster parts as you could ever be plain. I love how they add to your appearance and I can tell you, at the very least, that I have seen Fenrir looking at them multiple times. He likes monster girls and you fall under that definition as far as I am aware. Six, do I really need to keep going on?”
The more data that Azalabulia provided Eva with, the deeper the blush on Eva’s cheeks grew and the more timid she felt. It was incredibly embarrassing having all of that listed off right to her face… but it was what she needed to hear.
“I told you that it was nothing. My mind overreacts sometimes and starts thinking about things out of my control,” Eva tried to explain.
But Azalabulia was not going to have any of it. “No. It is my obligation both as your girlfriend and teacher to ensure that you are alright. Self-conscious doubts are never ‘nothing.’ They are real emotions that deserve to be recognized as genuine feelings. Even if you felt genuinely upset to discover that the moon was not made of cheese, that would be a legitimate feeling that should be respected. It would not be something to feel ashamed of nor to shame you for.”
“I – I don’t think that I’d ever get upset over something like that.”
“But even if you did, the others and I would accept your emotions and validate them. Also, something else that I would like to say is this: even if we don’t share many hobbies, that is alright. I find theories and studies related to effective teaching practices fascinating. I don’t think that any of you would find these interesting, and that’s alright. I also, as you might be able to tell, love to roleplay. None of you are as interested in it as me, and that’s alright. Personally, being accepted for who I am and my interests is just as good as somebody mimicking all of my preferences. If you want to share in hobbies together, don’t feel nervous and check us for interest. The worst case scenario is that we might not be interested in what you recommend, so we would find something else that interests both of us instead.”
“You’re… really good at this. Did you used to be a therapist or psychologist or something?”
Azalabulia placed her hands on her hips and donned a proud smile. “I not only have a Master’s in Teaching and a Bachelor’s in Chemistry Education, but I have a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Psychology as well.”
“Wow, seriously? You have three degrees? And they’re all different like that?”
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Azalabulia’s smile grew even wider as she nodded her head. “Many of us who are passionate about education are not only in love with teaching, but we love to learn as well.”
“Which one did you get first? Which degree, I mean.”
“I was originally pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering before truly realizing my passion for teaching, so I finished my Bachelor’s in Chemistry Education first.”
“You were going for Chemical Engineering first? Why? That doesn’t really seem like something you’d be interested in.”
“I wanted to make explosions.”
“I take back what I said, that sounds exactly like something you’d be interested in. I have a feeling that you’re probably on a few government lists.”
“Without a doubt!” Azalabulia said with far too smug of a smile for what she was agreeing to.
“A-anyways… what degree came next?”
“My Master’s. It was only after my first work with children that I realized I wanted to understand them better. Simply knowing how to teach them wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to understand and relate to them as best I could, so I worked on my second Bachelor’s, the one in Behavioral Psychology, while teaching. I believe that it has been incredibly beneficial to my teaching style. While we’re on the topic, have you attended higher education at all?”
“That’s really cool, and not yet. It’s something that I’m interested in, but… I’ve just sort of independently studied anything that I’ve been interested in.”
“That can be just as good as pursuing a degree depending on your methods. However, a teacher can help you notice mistakes or misconceptions that you might not realize yourself. That’s why, if you ever need a teacher to help you out, you can come to me! No matter the subject, I will study it so that I can teach it to you.”
“Wouldn’t it be way harder than that? What if I wanted to learn aerospace engineering or something?”
“Teachers can learn anything in the world to teach others!”
“You’re making it sound like teachers all have some crazy superpower or something that lets them learn whatever they want.”
“Exactly. Teachers are superheroes, so it only makes sense for us to have superpowers.”
“You really do sound just like a teacher.”
“Good, seeing as how I am a teacher after all.”
Reassured and without all of those doubts from before running through her mind, Eva chuckled before letting out a relaxed sigh. “Thanks. And sorry for being weird all of a sudden.”
“One, you were not weird. Two, you have nothing to apologize for. Never apologize for your feelings.”
“I’ll try. Anyways,” Eva paused, looking around them. It was starting to get dark and she felt tired of, essentially, being the submissive in their conversation. Azalabulia dominated the talk and was acting so motherly and caring toward her that Eva felt the need to try at least a little bit hard to return the favor. But what could she say that would give her some more control? That would give her equal footing in the conversation?
Well, there was one thing that she was thinking about earlier before the drama. It would go with the one way that she always saw others fluster Azalabulia, too, and Eva really felt like joining the others in flustering Azalabulia after that entire conversation.
Though, it would be a double-edged sword if anything. In order to go on the attack with Azalabulia, Eva would have to harm herself in the process.
She only had the confidence to be bold without flustering herself in the process when she was on the verge of death after an intense duel, apparently.
“By – by the way,” Eva spoke up.
“Yes?” Azalabulia asked in response.
“I… don’t know how I should ask something like this, so it might come off as weird or something, but… is it okay to touch your body and stuff when I want to?” That was what was actually on Eva’s mind for most of their moments worthy of fitting in a training montage.
And just as Eva hoped, Azalabulia went from her cool and mature teacher mode to her flustered and blushing virgin mode. “I – I… we’re dating, so… the others can do that whenever they want, so… you can, too.”
While Azalabulia just looked straight up embarrassed and like she wanted to cover up her face with her hands, Eva’s own blushing face had just a hint of a perverse smile showing on it.
“Then – then after. After we give the dragon a massage, I want to… do things with you,” Eva announced.
Azalabulia, unable to deal with such a bold approach without the influence of alcohol assisting her, covered up her face and nodded.
Eva couldn’t resist turning her back to Azalabulia just to hide the blushing excitement of her own face. “A-alright! We have a dragon to massage. You ready? This isn’t going to work without the best explosions yet.”
Azalabulia uncovered her face the moment that she heard the word “explosion.” “I’m ready!” she declared. “I, Azalabulia, the Dark Sorceress of Twisted Flames, the Breaker of Reality, the One Who will Set the World Ablaze, the Wielder of the Cursed Flame of Bahamut, the Protector of Smiles, and the Explosive Massager of Dragons, will give the most explosive massage that ever will be!”
Eva turned around to face Azalabulia once more, grabbing onto one another’s hands in a show of camaraderie.
Fraydranth was just happy that they were finally going to give her the massage that she had been patiently waiting for this entire time.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountains…
Cheers and applause roared throughout all of those who went out fishing together. Not only were they actually managing to catch the fish that they needed, but they were singing sea shanties for every moment of it.
It was a dream come true to Fenrir.
Not only did he get to be a wannabe pirate out fishing with some of his girlfriends, but he was playing with a bunch of other men and women who all knew sea shanties to sing!
Coming over to this region of the world was the best choice that he ever made. Towns that relied on bartering instead of trading with coin, a population across several seaside towns that loved to fish, sea shanties – he didn’t get to hear a single sea shanty while he was in Port Tugator, which was supposed to be heaven for pirates in Fantasy Tales Online, but he got his fill of sea shanties now!
While Fenrir and Cassiel stood by each other’s side with their lines out in the water, Nell and Serra, and Oleander and Corwin, danced together on the deck of The Shoebill. Both Serra and Corwin needed a bit of convincing to dance around this many other people, but both were convinced with whispered promises. Nell and Oleander led their partners and occasionally checked on each other to see what the other was doing, ensuring that they at least had a relatively similar dance going on.
Though, no whispered promises were enough to get Serra and Corwin to sing along with the shanties. Nell and Oleander were more than delighted to chant along as they danced, though.
While Cassiel might not have been dancing nor singing, she still enjoyed the evening, too. She ended up resting her head against Fenrir’s shoulder while struggling to keep her eyes open.
“I’m surprised that you can look so tired with all this noise,” Fenrir said as he internally fangirled over having his girlfriend cutely resting her head against him.
“It’s relaxing. Sue me,” Cassiel replied in a tired voice. If it wasn’t for her smile, he would have thought that she was grumpy.
“I guess so. It’s kind of like sitting around a campfire at night with friends who are talking and sharing stories. Except we’re with a bunch of people we barely know and they’re singing sea shanties. And we’re surrounded by water instead of in front of a fire. And we’re standing on a boat instead of sitting on a log. And we’re fishing.”
“Neither of us have caught a single thing. We’re not doing much fishing.”
“Well… that’s because we’re in the middle of the pack. The boats on the outside away from everybody else are getting all the catches.”
It was then, as if it were fate, that Fenrir’s line was tugged.
His eyes shot open wide and he began to reel in… only to notice that Cassiel was trying not to laugh next to him. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
To answer his question, Cassiel moved her rod to the right. Suspiciously enough, Fenrir’s line was tugged to the right as a result.
“We’re tangled, aren’t we?” Fenrir asked.
“Yeah. I was wondering when you’d notice,” Cassiel answered.
“I guess I must be tired too if I didn’t notice that.”
“Told you. It’s relaxing.”
“Sue me.”
“Don’t steal my line.”
“You’re the one who just tried stealing mine.”
“No I didn—oh. You meant your actual line.” Cassiel rolled her neck and yawned.
“I think you need a nap.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a little kid.”
“Hey, don’t make it sound like only little kids need naps. Adults love naps far more than kids ever will.”
“I guess a nap kind of sounds nice.”
Noticing a certain somebody out of the corner of his eye, Fenrir said, “I don’t think that you’ll be getting one.”
“Huh?”
Rather than receive a response from Fenrir, Cassiel was separated from his side by Serra being thrust between them. Then, just as quickly as Serra arrived, Nell grabbed onto Cassiel’s wrists and dragged her out to the center of The Shoebill’s deck.
“Rest in peace,” Fenrir said for his sleepy girlfriend who was being forced into a dance by his far more energetic girlfriend.
“Nell Nell really likes dancing,” Serra sighed, sounding far more tired than Cassiel did.
“Can you blame her? She gets as much use out of her legs here as she can.”
“It’s fun but I need a nap now.”
“Well, once Cass is freed, I think you’ll have a more-than-willing napping partner.”
“Nice. I’ll use her butt as a pillow.”
“Not her boobs?”
“Have to switch it up,” Serra explained with a sleepy nod.
“Fair enough. Anyways, can you help me with untangling this line?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Too sleepy. No untangling, only napping.”
“You lazy pirate queen.”
Serra gave him a thumbs-up in approval for her new nickname before helping him in reeling in the line to untangle it.
Meanwhile, to make matters even worse for the sleepy Cassiel, Nell and Oleander thought it would be fun to switch their partners back and forth to keep things fun. Considering that neither Cassiel nor Corwin were the most experienced of dancers, and that they were both much less energetic than the ones who brought them into dancing, they could barely handle what was going on. It all became a blur until Cassiel and Corwin were paired together at which point they immediately stumbled backwards and fell onto their backs, leaving Nell and Oleander to dance together on their own.
If providing entertainment for the watchers was the goal, they should have done so in the first place. Nell and Oleander dancing together, arm in arm, received a much stronger reaction from those watching.
Unfortunately, a stronger reaction meant they were even more distracted, and they were running low on time to catch the final fish needed.
That was when the tangled line was tugged on.
“Cassiel already tried that. It won’t work,” Fenrir said before noticing that Serra looked surprised.
“I thought that was you,” Serra said.
“Are you trying to trick me?”
Serra shook her head.
While looking at one another, ensuring that neither was trying to trick the other… both of their rods were harshly tugged on.
They hooked something.
Immediately, Fenrir got behind Serra and put his arms around hers, holding his rod directly next to hers so that they were as close to each other as they could be without bumping.
“Try to do what I do, alright?” Fenrir said.
“Got it,” Serra replied, just as ready and determined as Fenrir was.
Together, the two reeled in their lines at the same speed.
A tough battle began between fishers and fish. When Fenrir moved his rod to the left, Serra followed with hers. When he eased up on reeling in to prevent the line from snapping, Serra did the same. Serra mirrored all of his actions and even took the initiative a couple of times, causing him to be the one to mirror her instead.
They made the perfect team.
Once some of the others around realized what was going on, they joined in to watch and cheer in support for them. None of them had ever seen a situation like this unfold before. Not only that but, with how hard the fish was tugging on their lines, there was only one fish in these waters that provided any of them such a challenge.
It was the last fish that they needed.
After nearly ten minutes of battling the fish, Fenrir and Serra brought it close enough to The Shoebill that they could see it underneath the water.
Their prize was so close. All they had to do was bring it in a little bit closer.
That was when the Eastern spearfish’s elongated bill actually managed to slice right through one of the lines. With how hard Serra was pulling on her rod, to suddenly have her line severed caused her to fall backward against Fenrir. He almost dropped Rod from being so suddenly bumped into, but he held on and kept on reeling in.
“Sorry,” Serra said. “I tried my best.”
“Who said you’re allowed to stop now?” Fenrir asked.
Serra looked up at him, confused, but understood what he was saying when he looked into her eyes.
With a smile and a nod, Serra grabbed onto Rod’s blank and waited for the order.
“On three,” Fenrir said. “One… two… three!”
Together, Fenrir and Serra yanked up and back with all of their strength, forcing the Eastern spearfish out of the water and into the air!
Fenrir fell against the deck as a result and Serra landed on top of him in her favorite spot. Thankfully, one of the other players fishing with them all had a net held out ready to catch the fish and succeeded in doing so.
They got the last Eastern spearfish that they needed. Their quest was a success.
Everybody was so distracted by the accomplishment that Serra was free to subtly grind herself down against Fenrir’s crotch since she landed with her rear on top of it.
“I thought you were tired?” Fenrir asked her.
((This series is only officially posted to: scribblehub.com, acearriande.com, patreon.com/acearriande, and royalroad.com. If you are reading this series on any other website, please send me an email at acearriande.dmca@gmailcom. I will not be able to continue posting my stories for free if my series continue being uploaded without my consent to other platforms. If you have paid money for this on Amazon, email me, file a report, and request a refund as it has been stolen and illegally published.))
“I can’t be tired when that’s awake,” Serra answered, looking as smug as ever.
Unfortunately for Serra, there was no time for such playing. It was getting late and they desperately needed to return with all of the fish before it was too late.
Of course, understanding that didn’t stop Serra from pouting when she was removed from his crotch.
Fenrir stood up and brushed himself off. “Good job, both of you,” he said to Serra and Rod. “And thanks for catching that,” he said to the random player who helped out with the net. “Alright! We’ve got all ten eastern spearfish, so let’s heard back! Great work!” he shouted to everybody else.
His shout was met with a resounding cheer.
Everything was coming together. All Fenrir had to hope for now was that Azalabulia and Eva were making progress on how to give Fraydranth a massage. Though, there was onre more thing that he needed to worry about.
A certain somebody grabbed onto his wrists and dragged him out to the center of the deck.
“You did not think you were safe, did you, my hero?” Nell asked with an intimidating smile on her face.
“But, I – I don’t dance. I don’t even know where to begin,” Fenrir said, trying to talk his way out of this.
“Then it is a good thing we have caught all the fish! You have plenty of time to learn before we arrive.”
Fenrir gulped. There was no getting out of this.
But he didn’t help Cassiel when she was the one being forced into a dance, so it was only fair for him to surrender his pride and make a fool of himself in front of everybody.
He just had to remind himself that if he could dress up in a frilly pink tutu to brutally massacre players in other games while burning down all of their creations, he could dance.
He could dance if he wanted to. He could leave his pride behind.
Cause he couldn’t dance and if he couldn’t dance.
He was no boyfriend of Nell’s.
After absolutely humiliating himself as the worst dancer in Fantasy Tales Online, Fenrir made it back to GG’s village with his tail low between his legs and his ears flat against his head. There was good news, though. Those at the village had all of the wine prepared and ready for transport. That in addition to the caught fish meant that two of the three requirements to gain Fraydranth’s assistance were met. All that was left was the most impossible one of them all – giving the mighty dragon a massage.
Their fate was in Azalabulia’s and Eva’s hands now.
Just as the sun passed over the far mountains, blanketing the surrounding region in twilight, Fenrir and the others arrived at Fraydranth’s home with all of the wine and fish.
They arrived just in time to see what would surely be a unique experience.
In the distance, atop Fraydranth, Eva was in the process of breathing fire underneath Fraydranth’s scales. Fenrir and the others had no idea what she was doing. All they could see were remnants of her flames escaping from underneath the scales as Eva jumped around to heat up several different locations.
However, when they looked at Fraydranth’s face… she looked pleased. Very pleased. Her eyes were shut and, despite being a massive and intimidating dragon, she was sighing out in pleasure from how nice the heat felt against all of those tight spots.
After a few minutes of this, Eva flew down to the ground to pick up Azalabulia and return with her.
Nobody except for those two had any idea of what was coming next.
Hovering in the air above and behind Fraydranth, Azalabulia wielded her stuff and pointed it toward the dragon.
“It is time to reveal my latest and greatest spell to the world! All shall tremble in fear of my awesome power!” Azalabulia shouted. She was too far away for Fenrir and the group to hear, but they had a good idea of what she was probably saying. “I shall prove that not even dragons can resist my power! Neither hard scale nor knotted muscles may ever dream of standing against me! I have developed the ultimate technique – one that will transcend reality itself to annihilate all before me! I, Azalabulia, the Dark Sorceress of Twisted Flames, the Breaker of Reality, the One Who will Set the World Ablaze, the Protector of Smiles, the Explosive Massager of Dragons, and the Wielder of the Cursed Flame of Bahamut, will permanently and eternally force this dragon’s back into ultimate submission! This shall be the ultimate showcase – no, this shall go beyond the ultimate showcase of raw power! Now, it is time for you all to witness the neverending torment of my dark and destructive power! Cursed Flame of Bahamut, Final Attack Mach Two, Beyond Ultimate Verse: Scale Exodus, the Purging of Knots, the Twisted Pleasure of Dragons, the Beating of the Universe’s Drums and the Annhilation of Space! Launch!”
One might have thought that a nuclear explosion was detonated as soon as Azalabulia’s spell officially began. A massive, bright and blinding orb appeared in front of her staff. However, rather than travel toward its target and explode, the orb stayed in position. What it did instead of explode on its own was shoot off dozens upon dozens of individual beams that precisely targeted the fleshy spots underneath Fraydranth’s scales. Some failed to hit directly, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that each of these beams resulted in a small explosion that sent a shockwave through Fraydranth’s back.
And they just kept on coming.
Every single explosive beam decreased the glowing orb’s total size as they drew energy from it. Were the orb itself to explode all at once, it would create a truly, obscenely massive explosion. However, by breaking its destructive power into many smaller explosions, these explosions were the perfect strength to create a massaging effect across Fraydranth’s back without actually harming her at all.
Though, if health bars were a thing, she likely would have been taking some small amounts of damage from it.
But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the dragon’s mouth was parted open and her eyes were almost rolling all the way back due to how incredible the massage felt.
“I – I think they’re actually doing it,” Fenrir said.
“I want a massage that good,” Serra said.
“I’m pretty sure you’d die if you got that kind of massage.”
“Worth it.”
The blinding orb grew smaller and smaller until it eventually dissipated, shooting off one final beam to detonate underneath a scale right behind the dragon’s right shoulder.
That caused an especially pleasured moan to reach the ears of everybody in the surrounding area.
They didn’t even need to follow through with the electric therapy that was part of their plan. Azalabulia and Eva successfully gave the dragon the best massage that she could have ever asked for from humans.
But, of course, Eva was still going to go and apply her electricity to every spot that still needed a bit of assistance across the dragon’s back. They already came this far, so they were going to see their plan all the way through.