“Wait, we’re doing what now?” Otter asked.

  Things were moving a little too fast, and that was saying something, considering Otter’s main life rule was to move quickly and break things. Or maybe it was to always try everything twice in case you didn’t like it the first time. Or, maybe that expiry dates were only a suggestion, and not actually a real thing, because it had more to do with corporations giving more a shit about a customer’s experience with a product and enjoying its taste than out of any actual health concern. Or to never eat anything bigger than your head.

  Otter really needed to rethink some of her thought processes on reflection.

  “We’re bonding Sami,” Rua said as if that were the most obvious statement in the world.

  “Okay, first of all, ‘we?’ Second, do I get a say in this? Or even Sami, for that matter?”

  “Well, obviously we’ll both be touching the thread when you bond her,” Rua said. “It worked with Sunny. It should work again. As for asking the both of you, if I depended on either of your inputs, then we’d never get anything done. No one from your world seems to actually be an adult.”

  “Point of order,” Sami said. “While most people from our world – it sounds weird saying that – don’t have their shit together, it doesn’t help that the representatives here are all live streamers. We’re all notoriously bad at life decisions, and yet somehow we’re afforded both power and money.”

  “Yeah, we do dumb shit because our chats tell us to – oh shit, Sami, are you still live streaming?” Otter waved a nd at Sami’s very naked body.

  “Yes, but I have them set to first person view right now. The little goblins only see what I want them to see. I just need to remember not to look down. Besides, it’s not like it’s actually my body.”

  Rua cocked her head. “Why isn’t it actually your body?”

  “Well, I mean, it’s not like we’re physically here. Or are we? I honestly have no idea how any of Holt’s nonsense works. Are our minds just projecting a body here, or is it something else?”

  Rua shrugged. “I have no idea how your outworlder technology works. But if you are here for a presumed lifetime, and it is your mind controlling the body, and if it dies, so do you, is it not just your body at that point?”

  “Hmm. I suppose so. Still, the day I start caring what the little gooners in chat say or do is the day I quit streaming entirely. Especially since none of my mods are actually monitoring the little monsters.”

  “That’s weird,” Otter said. “None of your mods logged into your stream before the whole thing kicked off?”

  “It’s not unusual. Especially with the time dition. If they were even a second te, I probably won’t see them for months, maybe years.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably, wait, we got distracted. My bad. Back to the bonding thing. Are we really going to do this?”

  “What does it entail?” Sami asked.

  “I use an ability. You touch a red wire. We become mentally and emotionally linked. And who knows what else. There might be consequences. Things got a little wonky when we bonded Sunny.”

  “That reminds me. Who is this ‘Sunny’ person?”

  “Oh, she’s our daughter. It’s… a long story.”

  Sami snorted. “You’ve had a cock for less than a month and you already have a bastard?”

  “Hey, first of all, she has two loving parents–”

  “She might have one,” Rua said.

  “--one loving parent, and one serial ke-tossing psychopath who pretends not to care for her, and second, it’s not like I’ve knocked anyone up yet.”

  “Ominous use of the word ‘yet,’” Sami said.

  “I mean, we both know me, it’s kind of inevitable.”

  “At least you admit it.”

  “With that kind of talk, you’re gonna be the first.”

  Sami arched a single eyebrow and crossed her arms.

  “Which brings me to the next point. I mean… are we even back together? Everything’s on the table, but both of us fucked up. Bad. And we need to know if we can get back to where we were.”

  “I don’t want to be back where we were,” Sami said. “I want us to be better than what we were.”

  “The bond would help with that,” Rua supplied.

  “Quit helping,” Otter said. “You clearly have an agenda. You’re like an addict for affection. Just can’t wait for your next fix.”

  Rua stood a little straighter and looked away. Aha. So that was it, after all. She was pushing, because she wanted more affirmation that she was actually loveable. That tracked.

  “Is there anything else I need to know about this bond?” Sami said.

  “Yeah, namely that it tends to knock us ft on our asses for hours after we use it,” Otter said.

  “How badly?”

  “Remember that time me and Everett smoked a giant bowl of that new Indica strain right before the Icethrone raid?”

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “Oh yeah. But less giggling. Well, maybe the same amount. It’s a trippy experience.”

  “Well, neither of you are really selling me on this. I’m intrigued, but it seems like a big commitment. I want to get back together with you, Ma… Otter, but I don’t want to rush things right out the gate. And Rua, while I find you fascinating and honestly very attractive, asking me to, what, psychically bond with you bare weeks after we met seems like a big step. And to be blunt, I’m not even sure if we’re compatible sexually yet.”

  “She literally spanked and fingered you to orgasm and made you beg for it,” Otter said.

  “And now you’re making a really good argument for me turning off chat. One moment, I need to attend to that.”

  Sami left Otter and Rua to just awkwardly stand there in silence while she fiddled with settings, her hands waving at a screen neither of them could see. Otter checked in on their bond, just to make sure Rua was okay. Her pint-sized girlfriend was feeling a little annoyed that Sami didn’t seem willing to immediately commit herself to a potentially lifelong retionship after just a quick conversation, but she also seemed… determined? And calcuting?

  What was she pnning?

  “Okay, all done,” Sami said.

  Rua sat down on one of the benches in an open-legged sprawl, and then tapped the tiled floor in front of her with one foot.

  “Come, sit,” she said.

  If Otter tried that, Sami would probably be liable to bite her, but oddly enough, she blushed very faintly, and grabbed her discarded clothes and tools before doing exactly as she was told.

  Otter, kind of curious as to what was going on, moved to join them, but Rua pointed to her backpack. Taking the hint, Otter grabbed it and handed it over. Rua rummaged through it for a moment before producing a canteen and a washcloth.

  “No soap, I’m afraid,” Rua said. “We don’t have the luxury of a wash basin.”

  “What?” Sami asked, looking back.

  “Sit still.” Rua wetted the cloth, and then began to run it over Sami’s skin.

  Otter’s gaze locked in, watching Rua begin to slowly wash the grime away from Sami, starting at her neck and colr bone. She dipped for a second, as if it to go lower, to move onto Sami’s breasts, but then stopped.

  “Lean your head back,” Rua said in a tone that brooked no argument.

  Sami complied, positioning her head between Rua’s legs and looking upwards. Rua carefully began to scrub at her face, taking time to squeeze out grime from the cloth before reapplying more water. The dirt was really packed on, and while Rua wasn’t able to get all of it, she definitely managed to make Sami presentable again.

  “We probably shouldn’t be wasting water like this,” Sami said. “If you have water to spare, I could really use it for–”

  “Hush,” Rua said. “I said I’d take care of you. I have another canteen in the backpack. It’s yours when we’re done here.”

  “But–”

  “No. I’m taking care of what is going to be mine.” Rua paused, and then looked at Otter. “Ours.”

  Otter’s brain short-circuited a little at that. She wanted to make a remark, something about how people weren’t property, or how Sami might not respond well to the implication, but the hamster that ran on the wheel that powered her brain normally was off on a quest somewhere else apparently, so she said nothing and just sat there with her mouth hanging half-open.

  Sami didn’t say anything more, and just closed her eyes and rexed into the sensation. As she did, Rua ran the cloth down her body, scrubbing around and underneath Sami’s breasts, before abandoning all pretense and began to roll one of her nipples between thumb and forefinger in a circur motion. Sami’s control didn’t slip beyond breathing a little deeper, but Otter knew the signs. That kind of reaction from Sami was akin to pornstar wailing from anyone else.

  “Don’t you like this?” Rua asked, and it took Otter a second to process that the question wasn’t directed at her.

  “I might,” Sami said after a brief hesitation.

  “When you’re on the Isnds with us, I would do this for you often. I can’t promise every day. But I would strive for it. Imagine it. The two of could spend the day training together. Moving towards perfection. And then spend the evenings exhausting ourselves in other ways. And then afterwards, I could pamper you in all the ways you deserve.”

  Sami inhaled sharply once, and then managed a zy smile. “I suppose that sounds nice.”

  Rua ran her cloth lower, moving along Sami’s abs. They weren’t as pronounced as Rua’s, but they were still there, more subtle. Sami had always been athletic, always striving for perfection, but she’d always been slim and seemingly unable to put on much in the way of muscle mass.

  She wiped them clean, lingering longer than she needed to, and threatened to bring her cloth lower before pulling it away entirely.

  Sami opened an eye, and while she made no sound of protest, Otter knew her well enough that she was more than a little frustrated.

  Rua hesitated, the seductive act cracking a little. She clearly wanted to go back to cleaning, and she wasn’t particurly experienced in this kind of py. She looked willing to give in, ready to give Sami exactly what she wanted just from that one eye opening and looking at her.

  Otter tried to send Rua a sense of reassurance through their link, a silent communication to not let up, to not give in and keep doing what she was doing. Sami was a great leader, but she was also a bit of a bully. If you gave her an inch, she never let up, a mistake Otter always made. But someone with a little more willpower, someone like Rua, could resist. All she had to do was hang on.

  Rua proved Sami’s equal. Whether it was her own decision, or if the feeling transmitted through their link cleanly and was received, it didn’t matter. Rua’s expression and resolve both hardened, her face taking on an almost mocking expression.

  “Clean enough for now,” Rua said. “When you’re on the Isnds, the first thing I pn to do is bathe you as thoroughly as I can. Give you a treatment worthy of a lover. But our time is running out. Time to get dressed, I think.”

  Sami looked about to protest, but Rua leaned down and gave her a soft, shy kiss on the lips. Sami was quick to return it, but didn’t try to dominate it like she normally would. Maybe she sensed Rua’s experience. Maybe she wanted to go easy on her. Maybe she was just as nervous, as unlikely as that was.

  They kissed a few more times, each chaste, but affectionate, and after they were done, Sami threw on her top and somehow shimmied into her pants without having to stand. She stayed in her position, sitting at Rua’s feet, the entire time. When they were done, Rua produced a hairbrush from her backpack. Sami’s eyes lit up as she saw it, but said nothing and let Rua get to the work of grooming her.

  Otter watched it all with a silent eye. She’d always had a bit of a voyeuristic streak in her, more content to just observe them and let them have their moment.

  Rua ran her brush through Sami’s hair, working out the knots and disarray and managing a sembnce of something resembling order. Sami just sat there with her eyes closed, a small smile on her lips.

  “It’s about time,” Rua said after a moment. “I’m going to lower the Truthshield.”

  “Very well,” Sami said.

  “There’s some food, money, and a change of clothes in the pack. They won’t fit you well. You’re not as tall as Otter, and they stretch, so you’ll be able to get them on, but you might want to keep your current clothes, just in case.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I wish I could give you more.” Rua genuinely sounded nervous.

  “This has been enough. More than I expected.”

  “And you can keep the brush.”

  Sami leaned her head back again and pursed her lips. Rua moved in quickly for a kiss. Sami wasn’t content for anything chaste this time, and held onto the back of Rua’s head until they were both thoroughly mussed. Rua breathed heavily when they were done, and Sami had that satisfied look of someone who’d just won a point.

  Otter sent a feeling of warning through the link. Rua apparently received it, because she narrowed her eyes, and said firmly, “But I expect it back, when you get to the Isnds and present yourself to me properly.”

  Sami got a confused look, there and gone again before it was hidden behind her frustrating mask of confusion, and then gave Otter a suspicious look.

  “You’re cheating,” she accused.

  Otter lifted her hands defensively. “She’s doing this all on her own. Just… with some friendly nudges.”

  “Well, she pys better than you. You give in too easily.”

  Otter shrugged. “What can I say? I like it when you’re on top.”

  “Lucky for us both, so do I.”

  Rua made no gesture or indication of what she was doing, but the bck dome around them vanished, evaporating and letting daylight in. Otter winced at the sudden intrusion after the better part of an hour of not having dealt with it.

  Not every pyer was present. A little more than half. Apparently a good chunk of people didn’t trust Holt to not fuck them over.

  It was probably why Everett wasn’t there. It was the kind of decision Sami would make. Only send one person from her camp. Enough to gather intel, without risking anyone she didn’t have to. And of course she’d volunteered herself. Pragmatic, but also looking out for her own.

  Holt sat on his throne, and seemed to light up upon realizing they were done their talk. He began to wave one hand dramatically, and more people arrived, all of them in a blitz.

  “Did he just order someone?” Otter said.

  “He did,” Sami said. “He’s not alone. And he’s not the one transporting people in and out. That’s useful info.”

  “And he slipped up,” Rua said. “He’s not infallible.”

  “I think he does that a lot,” Otter said. “He’s not exactly a mastermind.”

  “He’s smarter than he appears. I think a lot of how he presents himself is done that way to make everyone underestimate him.”

  Otter almost scoffed at that, but stopped herself. She had to think about it for a second, realigning an assumption about Holt’s character that had been rigidly set in her mind. Was he really not the douchey asshole he appeared as?

  Nah. Of course he was. He was just a bit smarter than she’d assumed. Probably.

  But that in itself was worrisome.

  “He also lied,” Rua said. “He said that he’d learned Siyan customs ‘as a hobby.’”

  Otter shrugged. “It doesn’t sound like that big of a lie.”

  “But it was. I haven’t felt that level of pain from a statement in a long time. I don’t know what it means, but it wasn’t a small lie.”

  “Well, something to take note of, I guess. Want a scalp massage?”

  “Maybe when we get home. For now…”

  Otter wordlessly took Rua’s hand in her own, working at the web between forefinger and thumb. Rua rexed into it, even as she continued to brush at Sami’s hair with her other hand.

  A giant screen fshed open, hovering over the stadium. Holt’s smiling face loomed.

  “Welcome, pyers. I know we’re doing things a little backwards, but it’s now time for Fell Champions’ tutorial.”

  DorenWinslowe