The troll stared at me, in both anger that I dared stand up to it, and confusion, as its punch did nothing to me. It might as well have thrown an bag full of socks at me. I wanted to take this thing down quick so I could tend to these other two. I was so preoccupied with helping the foxgirl that I had let my focus on everything else slip. I could kick myself over it later, two people were injured, and I had to help them.
The troll roared at me, its fist rearing back once more to punch me again. I decided to strike first, landing a clean blow square in its chest. It's entire upper body exploded from the force of the blow, disgusting green colored blood, bones, and chunks of flesh flew in all directions. The force of my blow didn't just stop there, as the wind actually howled and a small shockwave erupted in a circle around us, kicking up dirt and grass. Had I not held back significantly, I might have accidentally toppled most of the forest.
Thankfully I had the sense of mind to cover myself and the wolfgirl in a barrier of energy, and that actually consumed any of the troll bits that would have hit us. I did not want to have troll innards all over me, and I doubted this Sheila did either. Once the gore fireworks were over, there was just a belly button, a nasty looking green penis, and a pair of legs. Those soon fell limply to the side with a loud thud.
"I might have gone a little overboard." I muttered, but ultimately I just shrugged. I didn't really care. Some might say it's overconfidence, but I'm just doing what I know I can do, and I won't let people die if I can help it.
I turned around to check on the wolfgirl on the ground.
"Are you alright?" I asked her.
She was currently looking at me with her eyes so wide and unblinking that she'd need eyedrops if she kept it up, and I was pretty sure this world didn't have those. I snapped my fingers in her face, which did cause her to begin blinking rapidly.
"Sheila, right? Are you okay?" I asked again, and this time she nodded at me.
"Y-yes." She said in a meek voice that I couldn't help but find adorable.
"Come on, time to get you and your friend fixed up." I said, and her eyes opened wide as her head wipped towards the direction the bearkin went flying.
"PAPA TERROTH!" She yelled.
Huh. There was probably a story there, but now wasn't the time. Thankfully, the girls hadn't been idle. The two foxkin weren't doing anything except staring at me with their jaws practically on the ground. The 3 other women had gotten Terroth to his feet. Marina was currently under his right arm supporting his massive frame, and Cici and Clarissa did the same to his other side. Marina wasn't a large woman, but she was a bit bigger and taller than the other two.
"TERROTH!!" Sheila cried again as tried to stand, only to wince in pain.
"Easy. Here, let me heal you." I said, kneeling down in front of her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
I used Abyssal Reconstruction, and Sheila gasped. Her cuts and bruises healed instantly, and her arms jerked weirdly for a moment, quick popping sounds coming from them before they righted themselves. Once it was done, she just stared at me once again.
"I'm healed..." She said, and I smiled at her.
"Yes. I said I was going to heal you. Come on." I said, and put my hands on her arms as I stood her up, "Lets go help Terroth."
My words broke her out of the one sided staring contest she was having with me, and she turned away from me and sprinted towards Terroth. I followed close behind her as we came up to the others.
"Eli, he's barely hanging on." Cici said as we arrived at the others. The foxkin had eventually picked their jaws off of the ground and were now making their way over to us.
Sheila had made it to Terroth, and she tried to hold back sobs as she spoke.
"Terroth... oh gods..." She said, looking at his terrible state.
Even I grimaced as I made my way towards him. He was missing an ear, and the other one was pretty much cut in half. One of his legs was bent the wrong way, and I was impressed that he actually still used that leg to support his weight. Blood stained the corners of his mouth, and I felt like I was looking at a man who rivaled my own stubbornness.
"Sheila..." He said, a cough escaping him.
I walked up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold that thought." I said, and used my ability on him as well.
The cracking, popping, and twisting happened in mere moments, and his eyes widened as he looked down at his body. The girls released him, and he was able to easily stand on his own two feet. He clenched his fists a few times, before looking at me in awe.
"What... are y- OOF!" He began to ask, only for Sheila to slam into him, burying her head into his chest as she cried.
The man's shocked and confused look from everything he had just saw me do was replaced with warm affection as looked down at the wolfgirl, and he put an arm around her and used the other one to rub her head.
"I'm glad you're okay, Sheila." He said in a soft rumble.
The two foxkin sooned joined everyone, and then rushed over to the pair, and engaged in a group hug. Tears were shed, and words of relief were echoed between all of them. I couldn't help but smile at the scene.
"Elias... your higher than A rank, aren't you?" Marina asked me from the side, and I turned to look at her, and just winked. The woman blushed, but said nothing else after that.
"That's my darling." Cici said as she plastered herself to my side, "Still have doubts?" She asked Marina, to which the red head shook her head.
"That was disgusting... but it was also really cool." Clarissa said with flushed cheeks.
We all watched as the four party members basked in each other's presence, at the fact that they were still alive. After a moment of that, they all turned to me as one. The first person to approach me was Sheila, and now that I was getting a better look at her, I had to admit that she was quite pretty. She looked oddly at the catgirl stuck to my side like glue, before looking at me directly.
Two blue orbs looked at me with gratitude, bewilderment, and something else that I've only seen from Cici. This girl, now that was standing in front of me, was a short woman, only a bit taller than the others. She had long raven black hair, with black wolf ears and a black fluffy tail. She wore something that I guessed was light armor, with a dark brown armored chest piece that left her stomach exposed, showing off toned abs, and a similar piece of armor that covered her hips, and cut off at her middle thigh, exposing the toned muscle of her lower thighs and calves. Her bare arms were also impressive, and I could tell that she trained a lot. Her foot wear reminded me of those roman sandels, with that open wraps that went up her legs, and stopped mid calve. She was... very appealing, I'll admit.
"I must express my gratitude. You saved Terroth, my friends, and myself." She said, and then bowed to me. When she looked up, she gave an odd looked to the at Cici, who wrapped her tail around my leg quite possessively, "Please... may I have the name of our savior? My name is Sheila Darkfang."
I smiled at her, and nodded.
"It was my pleasure to help, Sheila. My name is Elias Crosse, but most people call me Eli." I said, and then gestured towards the catgirl who was attempting to stop the flow of blood in my leg, "This lovely woman is my wife." I said, and Cici added her two cents quite quickly before I could finish.
"Mate." She said, pushing her breasts into my arm as she emphasized the word, "I'm Cecilia, and it's nice to meet you."
Well, she had told me that she felt more possessive of me when she was in heat, and that definitely seemed to be the case. Weirdly enough, she didn't act like that with Clarissa, although now that I thought about it, she was being like that around Marina as well. I'd have to ask her about it later when we were alone. Although, if she'd leave my cock alone long enough for me to ask later remained to be seen.
Sheila and the other 3 beastkin actually looked a little surprised. Granted, I could see how they would think that. A big, tall, and apparently nefarious looking man like me probably did look odd next to a small and sweet woman like Cici.
"I'm surprised... a lot of humans tolerate us around here, but not a lot truly like us." Sheila said, and I frowned, hoping things would be different here, but she must have thought I upset her, as she waved her hands around, "Not that I have an issue with it! Your mate is beautiful and her fur is lovely! And you seem nice!"
I almost laughed. Cici's tail and ears perked up when the woman had complimented her though, so that's a point for her in my book.
"You didn't do anything wrong." I told her, trying to ease her worry, "My... mate, has experienced similar things from humans in the past," I said, not expanding on everything, "Those people are wrong, not any of you, and not her. My mate is a wonderful woman. That's all I care about."
Everyone actually seemed a little surprised by words, even Marina. Clarissa smiled, although there was something there in her eyes that I didn't miss. A small sense of sadness danced in her blue orbs. I was pretty sure she liked me, but we hadn't really spent a whole lot of time together, so we truly didn't know each other. I thought back to what Cici had said. I'd talk with her about and see if... perhaps we should change that. What I did know about her, I liked.
Sheila looked at us curiously, but when Cici began rubbing her face against my arm, the woman actually smirked.
"I wish more people thought like that." Sheila said, as she gave us a smile showing sharp canines.
The large bear man chose than moment to approach. He looked like a damn tank with the set of heavy red armor he was wearing from head to toe. Suddenly, he shocked Sheila, Cici, and myself as he kneeled on the ground in front of me with his head lowered.
"You have my sincerest gratitude for saving Sheila, Benji, and Serena. Sir Elias, what can I ever do to repay you?" He asked quite formally, and despite his deep rumbling voice, his words were sharp, and eloquent.
I put up my hands.
"Don't kneel, please. And no sir, stuff. I'm not like that, and I don't want or expect anything from you. I happened to be in the area, and I wasn't going to just leave you all to die." I said, and the man stood up, but he still looked determined.
"You... are not the kind of person I expected given how strong you are. You have to be A least A rank. A+?" He asked me, and I almost laughed as he said that, but I reigned it in. Good thing I held back after all.
"Something like that." I said, giving him a nod. If that's what he thought, then why not. I'd use all my strength when I needed to, and so far, I hadn't needed to.
"I see. It is good to keep things close to your chest. Regardless, my offer still stands. I am Terroth Stonebreaker." He said, holding out his arm. We clasped forearms, and he grunted a bit from my grip.
"Elias Crosse." I said with a friendly smile.
"That's a strong grip." He said after he pulled away, and began rubbing his forearm, before looking down at Cici, "You picked well, Lady Cecila."
Cici blushed and cleared her throat.
"Cecila is fine for now. No need for that." Cici said.
During this time, Clarissa and Marina began chatting up a storm with the two foxkin and learning more about them from what I could tell. Every now and then, I saw the woman, Serena, looking over at me with a smile on her face. Now that she was up and about, I had to admit, she too looked damn cute. I... might have decided to invade their privacy at bit, but I was curious. I wanted to see what they both could do.
"Abyssal Eye."
[Name: Benji Rosewood]
[Age: 22]
[Race: Beastkin (Fox)]
[Class: Mender (B-)]
[Designation: A member of the party, "The Misfits]
A healing class. Useful, although not when he's freaking. Granted he had every reason to, given his sister was so close to dying. I checked her out next.
[Name: Serena Rosewood]
[Age: 21]
[Race: Beastkin (Fox)]
[Class: Fire Mage (B-)
[Designation: A member of the party, "The Misfits"]
Hmm. Not bad, respectable, even. Terroth was the highest rank I've seen here so far, and I had no doubt he had a hand in training these others up to get to where they were now. I saw Terroth and Sheila still eyeing me with curiosity and respect, although Sheila's eyes held something else in them. It was a faint look of wanting. She must have really liked my display.
Soon, the others turned towards us, Clarissa with a bright smile on her face as she walked next to Serena. As they got closer, I was able to study their garb as well. Benji had on a green robe, looking like a typical mage I'd seen in countless video games. He was just missing a staff, and his robes has golden trim lining the seams that I felt were unnecessary and gaudy, yet he didn't look the type to care about such things. He looked to have cut out a hole for his tail, which swished back and forth.
Serena was dressed much differently, with a brown leather top that was lightly armored, with equal colored pants that hugged her legs like a second skin, and black leather boots that were very practical, and looked brand new. Her eyes met mine as they approached, and her ears perked up, and her tail began swishing back and forth quickly. It was actually really cute.
"Are you alright?" Benji asked as he walked up to Terroth and Sheila, and they both nodded, but then Benji grimaced, "I'm... sorry. I messed up... I panicked when-"
He was cut off as Terroth placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We are fine, thanks to this man here. And... I understand. Serena was badly injured... I got a little careless too when my Sheila was in danger." He said, causing the wolf girl's eyes to open a bit wider and her tail to begin wagging.
There had to be story there, as I sensed no romantic feelings between them. We did make very good time coming here, and these people seemed nice and level headed. Perhaps we had already started making friends in the area.
Benji hesitantly nodded, before he looked at me, his eyes filled with gratitude. He stepped up to me, and held out his hand. I smiled as I took it, and he wrapped his other hand over mine, and shook firmly.
"I am in your debt. You saved my sister, and you saved my friends. I... don't know what I'd do if I lost them." He said, and then he looked at me with bright eyes that actually made me feel a bit nervous, "How did you do it?? I've never seen dark magic like that, let alone magic that healed that fast. I thought it odd given your build, and your appearance. I figured you were some kind of mage, but then you blew that troll apart with a single punch! It was incredible! Can you teach me??"
I actually coughed nervously at his enthusiasm. He was very animated, and his eyes were almost fanatical as he stared at me. That was until a loud cough sounded next to me, and I looked down to find Cici all but glaring at the man. That look single handedly stopped this man's questions dead.
"Apologies... I got ahead of myself." He said, switching his attitude to a more subdued one, "Thank you, sir. I am called Benji Rosewood, and I am grateful for your help today." He said, and I gave him a smirk. Cici you beautiful woman, you.
"Elias Crosse, and please, don't mention it. I'm just glad you're all okay." I said, and that caused a genuine smile to appear on his oddly feminine face as he shook my hand again, before releasing it.
He then looked down at Cici, and gave her a respectful bow.
"A pleasure, my lady. Your mate is quite impressive. " He said, ignoring how Cici clug to my arm. She just smiled and nodded.
"Yes. My name is Cecilia." She said.
"A wonderful name. I've seen my Catkin in my life, but never one with such elegant fur. You are a lucky man, Elias." He said, and I couldn't help but grin, and Cici felt a surge of pride in herself.
"I truly am." I said, pulling Cici closer to me. She began purring quite loudly, and this made everyone's eyebrows raise.
"Um..." Serena said as she stepped up to us, "I wanted to thank you again. You saved my friends, and you saved me. Thank you so much for helping us."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you feel better." I said, giving her a smile.
"I do... that magic was incredible. It felt like... a warm hug... and I instantly felt better. Incredible, even. You must be very strong." She said, and then regarded my very content looking wife, "You seem very kind. I can see why she is so attached to you."
I was unsure if she intended for the double meaning there, but the words were nice all the same. Cici enjoyed hearing them, being the attached party and all. She was also incredibly horny, and I got the distinct impression that once we finally got a place to stay, I would be a very busy man.
"He is." Cici said simply and softly into my arm, and I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"She's just tired." I said, rubbing her back affectionately.
Serena smiled as her nose wiggled and she sniffed the air. After that, her eyes locked on Cici who was unware, and gave a small smirk.
"I see." She said, now almost grinning, "Thank you again, Elias." She ended that with a short bow. I just nodded and smiled.
"Hey." Clarissa said once we were done talking, "So, you mentioned we could ask you for something, and it's not like it's anything big or something but..." She said, scanning her gaze over everyone, "We're here early, and I can wait to go and do what we came here to do. I'll probably go in a few days."
She looked at me when she said, and I nodded. I had the feeling we weren't telling them exactly what we were doing here, and that was fine. I'll keep it a secret as long as she wants it to be. She continued.
"This is our first time traveling here, so we don't really know much about the area. Would you be willing to guide us around the city? Maybe show us where we can get some food, and rest our heads? I'll buy our meals."
Serena and Sheila both looked excited about that prospect, while Benji actually shook with excitement as his eyes sparkled. I dreaded him asking me more questions. Terroth didn't hesitate as he smiled and nodded rapidly.
"Of course! We can head back now. Let us just collect... well, whatever is left here. We might be able to find proof that the goblins are dead, but the proof of a dead forest troll? It's probably a bounty. It could be worth a lot." He said, his party nodding rapidly as they got to work searching and dragging the trolls torso to a flat area.
As I watched them, and felt Cici lean up to me, her hot breath against my ear drawing a sharp breath from my lungs.
"I know exactly where I want you to rest your head, darling." She said, a purr in her throat as the words came out like velvet, "I hope you don't mind if it's a little... wet."
I was very fucking tempted to drag her into the woods right then and there.