5.43 – Interlude – Beneath


    "Faction?" Sol blurted out. "I don''t know what you''re talking about. I was just—curious."


    Honesty, at least in some regards, might be Sol''s best way out of this. She didn''t have ulterior motivations behind trailing after Lucinda; it had been purely a desire to learn more about someone she perceived as interesting.


    Unfortunately, Lucinda had her own ideas why Sol had followed. In retrospect, Sol couldn''t say she was surprised. Of course a woman of this strength—though exactly <em>what </em>her strength was, she didn''t know—would have enemies, people working against her.


    The difficulty of Sol''s situation, then, would be convincing the woman she really was some unentangled stranger. Not her enemy.


    "You were curious," Lucinda said. "Am I supposed to believe that?" Bored brown eyes flicked up and down Sol''s body as she squirmed in ce. The violence had passed just as abruptly as it hade: now, Lucinda simply kept her pinned. Not <em>gently</em>, since it was still very much with a firm hold around her neck, but considering the enormous strength thatid behind Lucinda''s grip, ''gentle'' by some frame of reference. She was clearly tying not to break her.


    Then, with Sol''s heart still mming, adrenaline coursing through her, and pinned into the wall by a woman who oozed danger, her face close enough that Sol could make out the specks in her irises, something inside her stirred. An emotion.


    One that waspletely inappropriate, considering the circumstances.


    Maybe it was her brain confusing signals. The intensity of the situation, her mming heartbeat mistakenly being interpreted as excitement of some other kind. An excitement that Sol had been exploring constantly in her recent adventures.


    Maybe it wasn''t even that odd. Lucinda <em>was </em>a beautiful woman—if unconventionally, as an older adventurer, scarred, and with features hard as steel.


    Likely, it was both of those excitements at once, working in tandem: Lucinda''s intense eyes locked to her own, her body pressing into her, and also the danger Sol was in—the threat of being held by the neck by a woman who could probably tear metal with her bare hands.


    Whatever it was, heat rushed through her. Her body reacted, and she paled as she realized what was happening, pants quickly growing strained as her terrified excitement confused itself for arousal.


    Maybe it had been a bad idea to enjoy Zoey''s growth potion in casual use. If she hadn''t taken it earlier, then at least there wouldn''t have been any physical clues to give Sol''s thoughts away.


    Sol knew that with how tightly Lucinda was pressing into her—trying to intimidate her, which was working, but also having another effect—that the stiffening between her legs wouldn''t go unnoticed. So she needed to distract her. Or distract herself, maybe.


    "I-I saw you in the inn," Sol said, the words tumbling out of her—now from embarrassment as much as adrenaline. "You''re obviously someone important. So I followed you. I''m sorry—I really shouldn''t have. But it was just curiosity. Genuinely. I don''t know who you are. Or what you mean by ''factions''."


    Lucinda observed her. Sol could tell the excuse hadn''t done much to convince her. She opened her mouth to reply—


    Then paused.


    Oh, no.


    She''d noticed. How couldn''t she, considering Sol''s size, and how close the two of them were?


    The woman''s brow furrowed. She looked down between their bodies, confused at the stiffness poking into her.


    Sol panicked. What was she even supposed to say? To excuse <em>this</em>?


    She barely knew humans well enough to have a <em>regr</em> conversation, much less talk her way out of this one. Unfortunately, she <em>did </em>understand society enough that she could recognize just how ridiculous—and mortifying—her situation was. The awful middle ground.


    "Is that—" Lucinda started incredulously. "Are you—are you <em>hard</em>?"


    She reached down between Sol''s legs and cupped her, disbelievingly verifying that the stiff mass poking into her was, indeed, girl cock. Lucinda groped around, and not in any sensual manner, but to make sure she had it right—inplete disbelief. Shamefully, Sol''s body reacted: her back arched, and she pushed her hips forward, basking in the firm pressure Lucinda''s hand provided. A groan escaped her. The adrenaline and terror that hade with being caught was mixing in a potent way, and she''d never been good at resisting human emotions.


    Lucinda snapped her hand back, eyes going wider and wider—the boredom in her expression finally breaking. Shock wasn''t an expression the experienced wayfarer wore often, Sol could intuit: and that made this twice as embarrassing, really emphasizing the shame of Sol''s situation.


    Lucinda released Sol and took a step back, eyes locked on the bulge in her pants—even now failing to understand what she was looking at. The woman seemed at a loss for words. Sol was, too. She stayed pressed back-first against the wall, chest heaving as her heart pounded, face burning red and her cock angrily twitching her pants.


    "You have a <em>cock?" </em>Lucinda asked. "And why is it <em>hard</em>?"


    Sol scrambled for a way to exin herself. "You had your body pressed into me," she said, "and—well, this is a very exciting situation. Not like <em>that, </em>but—nheless. I think it got confused?"


    Lucinda gaped at her.


    The woman organized her thoughts in short order, finding herposure despite the oddity of the situation. Her expression settled into that unperturbed boredom from earlier, though it seemed feigned, now.


    "Well," Lucinda said dryly. "You have, at least, convinced me you''re not one of <em>theirs</em>. They''re a little more … professional." Her eyes flicked down to Sol''s straining bulge, and Lucinda shook her head. "Why did you follow me?"


    "Um. Like I said, I was just interested. I don''t know. I shouldn''t have. Sorry."


    Lucinda studied her. Her eyes ran up and down Sol''s body, and her expression shifted—as ifing to some conclusion.


    "Interested," she said slowly. She closed the gap she''d only just created, pressing her body back into Sol''s, and notably, pushing her lower half indulgently into Sol''s, drawing out another groan. "Interested in what way?"


    ''Teasing'' wasn''t the word Sol would use, because it didn''t seem to fit the serious woman. But Lucinda seemed well aware of what Sol had meant: that Sol hadn''t meant <em>sexually</em> interested.


    "Y-You just caught my eye," Sol gasped, the pressure between her legs making it hard to think.


    Lucinda''s lips quirked up. She ground her lower half into Sol''s, pressing Sol into the wall by the waist, now, instead of the neck.


    "It''s been an aggravating past two weeks, you know," Lucinda said. "Looking for that damn girl. Tedious. I suppose I wouldn''t mind some stress relief."


    "Stress … relief?"


    "I''m not sure what to do with you yet, either," Lucinda continued, her face only an inch from Sol''s, lips curled up in an amused smirk—enjoying how flustered she was making Sol. Sol couldn''t say she was surprised that the woman liked to take charge, to keep her partner off-foot. And with her lower half grinding into Sol, rubbing against her cock in a way that had Sol''s breath catching, Sol was definitely off-foot. Her brain felt like it was melting at record speed.


    "I believe you''re not one of <em>theirs</em>," Lucinda said,ughing at the idea, though Sol obviously had no clue the context why, "but you <em>were </em>following me. And I don''t trust that." She leaned forward and grabbed Sol''s lower lip with her teeth, tugging back gently. "I''d like to get a better feel for you before I let you go. Make sure it''s safe. It''s the smart thing to do, don''t you agree?"


    "That … makes sense," Sol gasped. Her thoughts were a little too fuzzy to digest this strange turn of events, but she wasn''t necessarily upset by them. Though, the idea of being scrutinized by this woman before ''being let go'' was definitely nerve-wracking, considering her origins. She had the Famished''s secrets to keep. And she got the sense that simply <em>being around </em>this woman was dangerous.


    Maybe that was the reason her cock was throbbing so violently. The danger. What an inconvenient mix-up of emotional signals. She cursed her stolen biology.


    "So, how''d this happen?" Lucinda asked, cupping Sol and squeezing. "I''ve been around, over the years. But I''ve never seen <em>this</em>." Her brow furrowed as she explored between Sol''s legs, gripping and massaging her through her pants. "Especially … so big?" Herposure started to disappear a second time, eyebrows rising. "<em>So </em>big," she said disbelievingly. "Am I feeling this right?"


    Apparently willing to find out the answer herself, Lucinda reached down and popped Sol''s pants button open—then tugged her pants and panties down in one smooth motion, exposing Sol. The cool air tickling her member felt intensely lewd, seeing how they were out in public, even if tucked privately in an alleyway.


    Lucinda stared at Sol twitching eleven-inch girl cock, then swore in incredulity.


    "What <em>is </em>that thing? It''s the size of my fucking forearm."


    That was a slight exaggeration, but not much of one.


    Lucinda got down on her knees, gripping Sol''s beast with two hands. Sol really wasn''t sure how to take the development. Even if Lucinda''s hands on her cock hadn''t beenpromising her, her head would have been spinning just from having been caught.


    As it was, Sol leaned against the wall and gasped as Lucinda stroked her. Her adrenaline wasing down, too, leaving her shaky—though maybe that came mostly from Lucinda''s long up-and-down motions, exploring Sol''s size with an amazed expression.


    "How?" Lucinda asked. "Is it natural? Magic? What?"


    "T-There''s a shop in the red light district," Sol said. "That sells potions that grow them. On girls." It was mostly the truth, though Sol had stolen them from Zoey''s inventory, not bought them from her burgeoning storefront. But the alchemy shop provided a much easier exnation, one that made Sol less interesting. She didn''t <em>want </em>to be interesting to this woman.


    "There is? You''ll have to show me it." Lucinda bit her lip, staring at Sol''s cock as she massaged its hot length—then, with some reluctance, sighed and abruptly let go. She stood.


    "I''m not doing this in an alley. I''m a little more refined than <em>that</em>, at least." She waved impatiently. "Follow me. I''ve got a few errands to take care of, then we''ll—" Lucinda paused, and her lips curled up. "Well, we''ll figure out <em>what </em>we''re doing,ter. For now, follow." She turned and started to walk. "If you''re telling the truth, you don''t have anything to worry about. I won''t hurt you. Being nosy is against your credit, but you <em>did </em>bring me <em>that thing </em>to y with, so it evens out. It really has been a boring two weeks. A break will be nice."


    Sol, baffled, yanked her pants up, buttoned them, then hurried after Lucinda. She didn''t know what in the world she''d gotten herself into, but her goal <em>had </em>been aplished: she got to follow the mysterious woman for a while longer. Maybe learn more about her.


    And it seemed Lucinda had an exciting evening nned with her. Sol wasn''t entirely sure how to feel about that—but her feet carried her forward regardless. The idea of fleeing didn''t even cross her mind, though maybe it really should have.