The World's Breath (MeTheMe & GeneticMess)

[MeTheMe]

Vines whipped, and met nothing but air as Skai soared away, and instead they began to grasp at trees and gain some elevation as she chased her last target, trying to catch the harpy and do the same thing she did to Avery, to Skai! Skai was a bit faster though, and could easily play keep away all day with the pitcher plant who had to climb trees and vine her way around with wings or legs.

As Avery rubbed her stomach walls though, she moaned gently, smiling and patting her bulging pitcher, that clearly felt good! It wasn't good to be that distracted though, as Skai took the moment to crash into the boss' back, and pull her blade out, before kicking off of the plant and keeping away again. It growled angrily, and rushed after her, jostling poor Avery around in the odd liquids and goo in the belly of the boss.

[GeneticMess]

To his surprise, his rubbing to distract her while working on an actual distraction worked well enough on its own! Before his head went in, he was pleased to watch the monster woman moan and happily pat her pitcher. For a brief moment, she looked a lot tamer than the beast boss whom had attacked them in the first place. But then Skai took advantage and reclaimed her blade, kicked the pitcher, and returned to the air, leaving the former furious and returning to a feral attack. The commotion shook him around and pulled his head in, fully sealing him into the pitcher.

The pitcher plant was unique, in that it worked well in keeping its food down without having any muscles. Trying to crawl out of the stomach now on his own would be useless, and just waste his energy. With that possibility definitely out the window, Avery started rubbing the walls again. Slow, passionate rubs, almost like he was kneading dough.

[MeTheMe]

The large leaf mouth closed over him, bathing him in the pale green light that filtered through the plant's leaf and belly, and odd oozes and liquids keeping him down, making muscles unnecessary. It was kind of genius, much like the real thing in the real world. Another genius move was rubbing, and caressing the stomach walls, as the pitcher plant woman seemed to love it! She moaned again, shivering as he rubbed and kneaded on her... making it very, very hard for her to focus on the flying harpy with the sword about to...

Stab her. In the back. With her short sword. The blade pierced the boss creature and she cried out, her vines giving out, and the pitcher plant fell from the trees, crashing to the ground. The green tint to her body began to change to a light brown, and her cries died down, finally dropping to silence as the boss was defeated! Her goo and liquids dried up, allowing him to get out of her much easier.

+2 Swordplay!
+3 Wind Magic!
+2 Prey!

Whatever levels in 'Prey' meant.

[GeneticMess]

It was kind of relaxing in here, the saps and liquids starting to coat him actually feeling quite nice. They were sharing a bit of a symbiotic relationship, exchanging pleasure for comfort. "Aw, you like that, don't you?" Avery giggled. "You're big and green, but not all THAT mean, aren't y-ACH!"

With a sudden cry, the greenery around him dried all too quickly and she fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He should be happy that he just beat his first boss (it's debatable whether he actually "won" the encounter with Tuk-Tuk at first), but he was starting to like her! Like the hulking plant monster that tried to kill them! Again, cute monster girl affliction. Once the stomach dried, Avery just sighed and crawled out of the stomach while he got some stat boosts. But what the heck did 'Prey' mean? He could take a good guess, and he had a feeling he'd be getting a boost there a lot more often. Part way up, he considered using a Bottled Promise, but figured it would be fair to check with Skai first... although explaining the whole revival thing might be a whole other can of worms.

[MeTheMe]

Skai ran up to him, and hugged him close as he stood up out of the pitcher of the plant woman, her talons holding him close. "Mmm, I'm sorry, didn't mean to jostle you so much, just... you were eaten, and I was all that was left, and if I was eaten that would have been it, and..." She piped down for a moment, and just hugged, before sighing heavily. "We won though."

The vines, brush, and branches that had been making this arena began to back up, freeing up the clearing for them to leave, if they want. A ball of light appeared over the pitcher plant woman, their loot was a whip, The Hunger's Vine. From inside Avery, a voice piped up. "Okay... so, if you won, I think you could... cough me up? I think I'm ready to play nice without my boss anymore..." She fluttered within him a little, her wings tickling the stomach walls.

[GeneticMess]

He was surprised as Skai hugged him just as he got up again, but it was a welcome surprise. Avery just blushed and appreciated every moment she held him tightly. She really cared about him, and it showed in spades, which made him more than happy to let her cling to him as long as she liked. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Trust me when I say, I don't think we have to worry too much about getting eaten." He knew Skai still would naturally, having the instinct of any basic human being, but it was worth a shot.

Avery claimed the loot after Skai loosened up on him (or if not at all, at least on his arms), holding the whip and feeling it for a second before putting it away. And then... oh yeah, he had a pixie in him. Good thing he didn't forget. "Your boss? What do you mean by... hold on, I'll spit you up first."

He pushed his gut like a pump, and after a minute or so with the pixie's help, spat her up. Avery grabbed her soggy self and wrapped her in the fabric of his cloak, drying her off before letting rest in his hand. "There you go, now what were you saying?"

[MeTheMe]

Removing the pixie was a little easier than he might have suspected, since his digestive tract wasn't exactly and that part was cheated a little, it made the gag reflex an easy part to make for Matthew and his vore programming. The pixie stood up, looking up at Avery from his palm. "Yeah, my boss, The Forest's Hunger, when I'm not... when I wasn't luring travelers to their deaths at the hands of bears or fangs of snakes, I lead them here, for her to gorge herself upon. However... I think he gorging days are done." She looked back at the browned, dried up corpse.

Skai looked... concerned. "Are you... sure about this? She tried to kill us, several times, and taking help from her could be... well, another trap or something." She was not a fan of taking this pixie into their team, but... it was Avery's choice, he was kind of the leader of the group of would be dragon slayers.

The pixie made an x motion across her chest. "Cross my heart! Without The Forest's Hunger, I got no real reason to screw with you all anymore... and besides I did get beat, so... I do owe you a little for sparing me."

[GeneticMess]

He didn't feel any difference, although dwelling on parts of his body that weren't there would probably make him a bit queasy. Avery listened to the little pixie as she spoke. It seemed she really was turning over a new leaf, as after they beat her boss, it was clear there was no way she was keeping them down.

"Hm? Well, I think she's being honest." Avery smiled, idly rubbing his thumb on her wings as he held her. "And I think it's worth remembering that when we first met, you were trying to kill me. But look how far we've come!" He giggled, reminiscing almost on the day they first met like it was yesterday... and it was, actually.

"I still willing to give you a second chance. Speaking of which... " He started walking back towards the corpse of The Forest's Hunger, and in his other hand appeared a Bottled Promise... assuming anybody in this game could see it as a physical item, and it wasn't just some player function. He used it on her without a moment of hesitation, and looked back at Skai and... he hadn't asked for the pixie's name, actually. That would come later, after this. "I think we should bring her along too. She's got brute strength, and she's pretty cute. Plus, I know how to keep her calm."

What he was saying might've gone unheard, out of the shock of watching the plant monster shamble back to life. Not something you saw everyday, even in this neck of the woods.

[MeTheMe]

Matthew and Robert's programming kicked in, hiding the fact that they were programs, that they respawned, that death was no real obstacle, even for bosses and everyday citizens. It was complicated, and had taken a while to get down, and even now the programs still could glitch or break into a logic loop, but for the most part, the blind spot in their intelligence worked.

Both Skai and the pixie jumped a little as The Forest's Hunger rose, her vines acting like long, flexible legs that propped her up on the forest floor. Skai pulled her blade. "She's not dead!? I thought we killed her! Sneaky thing must have been laying low..."

The pixie chuckled nervously. "I... uhh... knew you were harder to kill than that, boss!" She fluttered a little ways away from everyone in the clearing so neither side would really pick her out as a target.

At Avery's words, though, everyone sort of... waited... did he think he could bring along something so dangerous? The Forest's Hunger looked down at him, her words were slow and methodical. "Why. Spare. Me?"

[GeneticMess]

It took a moment, but Avery realized how they saw the whole thing and played along. "Aha! I had a feeling she wasn't down!" He played it off as if he knew she wasn't dead, and just liked up at her with a smile. In stark contrast to his companions, at that.

"... Huh. You can talk." He muttered to himself. She wasn't fluent, but it was cool to discover she had a higher level of thinking than he originally thought. "You remember my offer, right? You've easily got the most brute strength out of the bunch of us. In exchange, we can feed you as much as you'd like as we travel. I can even give you some more belly rubs like before! Come on, what do you say?" He started rubbing the outside of her pitcher, not as intimidated by her as the others were anymore.

[MeTheMe]

It stared down at him, vines reaching out... hovering around him, but not grabbing him. Skai took a battle stance as they moved... but waited, as they didn't grab him, and she waited to see what would happen, for now. The pixie kept her distance from everyone for now... best she stay out of this for now.

"I. Speak. Little." She clarified, getting her face up in his. "You. Feed. Hunger?" She moaned a little as he started to rub her pitcher, shivering a little. She did like that, and if he could feed her, that would be nice. He even called her cute and strong as she had been waking up from that defeat. They had beaten her too, so they were strong and dangerous. A lot of complicated thoughts went through her plant brain. "I. Will. Help. For now." She used her vines like many, many legs. "I. Hunger. Feed. Me."

[GeneticMess]

Vines closed in on him like a fence, but he kept a straight, confident face. He flinched, but then blushed as she got up close and personal. But she seemed to eventually come to the conclusion that they were worth helping, granted he feed her. He would offer himself, but he didn't want Skai to panic again, so that wasn't an option right now.

"Here, try this." He took out the loaves of bread he bought from the market and handed them to Hunger. That probably wouldn't fill her up, but it was a start. "Hm... oh, hey! There's a big, sleepy snake just down that path." Avery pointed down the path they entered her domain from. "He probably hasn't gone too far yet, if you wanna catch him."

[MeTheMe]

Hunger nodded, quickly accepting the bread into her pitcher, but that was barely a drop in the massive gut. "I. Keep. You. Until. Find. Snake." Her vines gently wrapped around his shoulders, and opened up her pitcher plant part, gently putting him into her slick, yet sticky, liquids and goo, and her soft, warm plant stomach walls. She looked to the others. "He. Safe. For now. Find. Snake."

Skai looked ready to attack... but held off, Avery wanted her as part of the team, and trusted her, despite the intense fight they'd had with her. "A- alright, follow me..." She began to walk towards the sleeping snake, the pixie flying in front of her and changing their direction a little.

"It's this way, I turned you all around a little, don't worry! I know where I'm going! It's my magic that makes it so confusing!" The pixie chuckled nervously.

[GeneticMess]

Avery didn't struggle, and actually appreciated how gently she picked him up compared to before. He started gently rubbing the stomach walls, but didn't go overboard yet. He didn't want to distract her long enough to keep the snake from getting away.

The air was ripe with tension for everyone else, Avery knew that well. Especially for Skai. He felt a little bad he was putting her through so much stress by banding together with a pixie and a plant beast, both whom and tried to kill them, but hopefully she'd understand in the long run. Everyone could be a good person if they tried hard enough, he believed, even... her...

He tried not to think about her too much after yesterday...

[MeTheMe]

Hunger liked feeling him in there, and when he rubbed her soft belly man, she really liked that too! Her vines were her legs as she followed the harpy and pixie, the latter leading them through the forest, turning here, changing the direction there. "Let's see... and if I remember correctly, I left it... here!"

The found it, the snake that had eaten and digest poor Avery and Skai before, sleeping peacefully under a dead tree. Hunger took over, her long, thick vines grasping and entangling the snake, which quickly began to struggle and try to escape! At the same time, more vines began to pull Avery out as she opened up her pitcher, and placed him gently on the ground, and traded him for the snake, dropped the large serpent into her pitcher, which bulged out a little with the coils of big snake. "Sated. For now. I. Follow."

Skai hugged Avery once he was free again. "Alright... I guess we need to keep going on through the forest."

[GeneticMess]

He flinched and struggled a little as the snake's fangs came dangerously close to him as he was being swapped out with the serpent. Being eaten alive? No problem with that. Being chomped down on? It made him squirm and writhe just thinking about it! Even if the pain was nulled, his brain would tell him that it was all too real. "T-there we go." Avery chuckled a bit nervously from being that close to the snake again, patting Hunger's coiled belly. "Alright, let's keep going."

Avery looked around... utterly lost. "We need to get back on the main path... hell if I know which way that is." He licked his finger and held it in the air. Well... now he knew which way the wind was blowing, but that wasn't really going to help them right now, was it? Suddenly something came to him, and he looked back to the pixie. "Oh! I'm sorry! I was collecting my thoughts. I forgot to ask your name. I'm Avery, and that's Skai, in case you didn't happen to pick up on it." He pointed back to his harpy companion, and figured Hunger needed no introduction.

[MeTheMe]

The pixie laughed a little as Avery flinched at the snake. "It's a constrictor, not even venomous! Don't be a baby!" Now that there was a slower moment, they might note just how... big, Hunger was, from bottom of her pitcher to the top her head, she was damn near ten feet tall, and a little wider than most people, and literally not wearing anything. The pixie was six inches tall, with small vaguer features, but did have long black hair and opal wings that shimmered as she flew.

The pixie looked up. "Oh, yeah, like I said, my magic makes this part of the forest confusing, so I can get us back to the road easy, don't fret it until we're in a part I don't know and another pixie is fucking with our perception!" She giggled a little, leading them on. "Me? Ah, yeah, I'm Poppy, Avery and Skai, nice to meet you as something closer to an ally, than a... trickster. Let's not think about it too much!" Hunger was quiet for the most part as they went on, and before long, the path was there. "Tada! Told you I could find it easy!"

[GeneticMess]

Now that the coast was clear, the pixie was all too eager to taunt and tease him. But it came off cuter than irritating, as it was coming from a cute little fairy on his side, now. He just giggled a little as he brushed himself off.

Hunger was... well, deserving of her title. She was, relative to all of them, the epitome of "large and in charge". He could've swore she was wearing a leaf bra or something, but upon closer inspection, she didn't and hadn't. His cheeks beamed red at the thought.

Poppy was ready to bury the hatchet with them, possibly afraid and aware that all three of them could turn and eat her at nearly any time. True to her word, they were back on the main path in no time!

"Ah, finally." He sighed in relief, and then looked back to Skai. "Have we been here already, or are we further along than we were?"

[MeTheMe]

Skai looked over the road... and breathed a long, labored sigh of relief. "This part of the road looks familiar, but I'm just so happy to see the road again... sorry for being so hostile, Poppy, thank you for taking us back to the road. I'm just so glad we're not lost out there anymore..." She looked kind of tired, even though it was now only like, midday. Still, she seemed so genuinely happy to have the road back!

Poppy giggled. "Tee hee! It's alright, I wouldn't trust me." She hovered along with the rest of the group as they got back on the trail and began making their way west through the forest. Hunger followed along quietly, her pitcher gurgling quietly as the bulge within shifted and struggled in vain.

[GeneticMess]

Finally, back on track. Avery was happy to be moving again. Problem was, he was a little... no, REALLY hungry. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, and letting Poppy out reminded him how much he hadn't eaten. Of course, the hunger was simulated, and he could probably cheat the system by asking Robert or Matthew to give him a debug feature, but he wanted to do this fair and square. His stomach grumbled, softly, but enough to penetrate the ambience of the forest and Hunger's catch.

"Maybe we should've split that snake." He joked, slipping a hand under his cloak and shirt to feel his bare gut. And then, he sort of remembered... oh yeah, him and Skai had screwed. He didn't what to make of it. He loved it, and he loved Skai... but it was hard to tell how exactly Skai felt after all of it. Positive, from what he could tell, but how much was uncertain. Maybe once things slowed down they could talk.