"Right. We just have to stay ahead of them until we can beat them."

Ame follows after Elizabeth to report to Alectai.

She does a pretty good 'frustrated academic'. If Alectai suspects they're hiding something, he doesn't say anything about it.

He decides to box it back up and deliver it after all, and thanks the pair for their examination.

Elizabeth opens her book of Shadowhorse again, until the caravan is moving once more.

The caravan's time passes pretty uneventfully after that. Abyssia rides in a wagon, keeping a lookout, most of the time. She wouldn't say no to more time with Ameron. Fal and K'nak flirt a lot but don't actually sleep together - Fal has some kind of hangup for all that she'll flirt and K'nak is a bit afraid of making unwanted advances. Ameron could have any number of customers among the caravaneers if she avoids the muttering, but another opportunity for a big public thing never turns up. Nothing attacks them as the terrain gets gradually nicer and more verdant. (It rains on day 4.)

It's a nice trip, and Ame isn't as bored by the peace as some might expect.

She spends every evening 'team-bonding' with Abyssia. It's a comfortable thing that they have, once Abyssia really sees that sex truly isn't a binding force for Ame, and Ame expects that Abyssia will be joining their party long-term.

She also takes the time to ensure K'nak is aware that any advances he made Ame's way would be totally welcome, but doesn't go out of her way to actually seduce him.

As much fun as it was, Ame doesn't push for a repeat of the orgy-show, but she does make herself as available as possible, after she wears Bys out each night, and encourages her clients to share her when possible.

Ame isn't bothered by the rain, but she does feel kind of sorry for those who are more vulnerable to water-logging.

The remainder of the caravan trip is peaceful and uneventful, aside from a brief sighting of something big and winged in the distance. K'nak takes her up on that.

When they arrive at the next town - a bit bigger than the previous one, but much less well-organized and seeming generally poorer - and receive their payment, Elizabeth and Abyssia both stick with Ameron. They spend a day in the town and try to subtly learn more about the weird statue, but find nothing substantive. There's no official red-light district in this town, but a couple of blocks that are close enough and whose brothels only slightly hide what they are.

"How are we doing rooms?" Elizabeth asks once they've met back up for dinner.

"I'm getting my own, I don't sleep well with others. Ame, uh, you're-" She glances at Elizabeth.

"Oh, I know you're fucking, I don't mind."

"-Yeah. Welcome to join me but I have to sleep alone, sadly."

K'nak is fun. Sometimes the simple things, like big green dick, are good for the soul.

Hitting an investigative dead-end is less fun. Ame spies on the delivery but whoever the statue is ultimately going to, they seem to be using entirely innocuous middle-men. Dinner that doesn't come out of a broken vending machine is still a pretty nice consolation, though.

"Is your knightfriend going to be dropping by?" Ame asks Elizabeth. "I can spring for my own room if so."

"No, he's not. We didn't click too well after all. Oh well. Maybe you can find me a good dildo, I wouldn't know where to look."

"I saw a likely shop on my way back from stalking Alectai earlier," Ame says. She shakes her head. "I shouldn't be disappointed that this town seems to be a bit more ashamed of itself than the last one, but somehow I am."

"Most of the world's more like this than there. So it goes."

"I'll check it out. Two rooms then, right? Let's go to that place by the bakery down the block, seems like a solid choice."

"Yeah, that works."

To Abyssia, "I know, my hometown was way, way worse, remember? I've never seen better than there. You could say it gave me hope."

"Yeah, I get it. There's good places out there and it makes you notice the bad ones even more..."

They head to the inn. Abyssia looks a bit embarrassed today as she waves Ame up after her.

Ame gives Bys a warm smile. "Exactly."

She follows Bys up to her room.

Bys leans on her a bit.

"-So, I know you won't mind by now, but um. I'm kind of embarrassed. I'm... Sort of technically cursed?"

Ame pulls Bys close, kissing her neck as she unhurriedly starts taking the fischer girl's clothes off.

"Cursed?" Ame asks, distracted by curiosity from exactly what her hand is doing as it slips into Bys' pants.

She leans further into Ame. "Mmmtechnically cursed. Or technically blessed maybe? The Old Ones don't really understand us, and explaining why I - ah - don't entirely like what they did to me hasn't really... Worked."

There's a bulge down there, today.

Ame slides Bys' pants off her hips and starts stroking the shaft that falls into her hand on pure reflex as she asks, "What did they do?"

"-Are you-" She laughs suddenly. "Sometimes I have a dick, I don't control when, and it's kind of amazing that you didn't notice when you started fondling it."

"I was distracted!"

Ame pulls away a little to get a better look, continuing to stroke.

"Distracted!" Bys's hands cling to her sides as she pulls away, and she plants a kiss on Ame's forehead, smiling. (It's blue. And the head is weirdly elongated and round rather than mushroom shaped. Otherwise seems to be pretty standard.)

With her unoccupied hand, Ame drops her own skirt and tugs her fishnet shirt off.

"Does it bother you? Using it, I mean. Or having it. Either. Should I work around it? Or should I get it inside me right fucking now."

She blushes deep blue. "-Um. I've never actually used it with someone else before. Just my hands sometimes. I had a girlfriend but was weirdly standoffish with her half the time because it would've been weird, it wasn't great. But I have fantasies with it and I - don't think I mind? Yeah," her voice goes lower as she gropes a boob, "I don't mind."

In that case, Ame won't rush to finish stripping them, just continue stripping Bys and herself as she already was.

"Fantasies?" she asks, trailing kisses under Bys' ear.