6.71 – The Fifth


    Astrid had been initially doubtful of the team—aside from Rosalie of course—but demonstrations of each of their sses seemed to raise her confidence, so far as Zoey could tell. While she remained a bit disapproving of Zoey''s generalck of training, her skills were strong enough, and she''d made enough progress in a short amount of time, that even she got a stamp of approval in the form of an appreciative grunt.


    The eventsted around two hours. Afterward, Enzo pulled Astrid aside to speak with, dismissing the rest of them. That left them alone to discuss, and there was a lot to go over.


    "Well," Maddy said. "I like her, I think."


    "I''m just d we won''t have to deal with another snooty noblewoman," Delta said. "One is enough." She elbowed Rosalie. "No offense, Princess."


    Rosalie raised an unimpressed eyebrow and, like usual, ignored the jab. "Astrid Asorak of the Harkvalen <em>might as well</em> be nobility," she told the group. "She''s the daughter of the Chieftain of an extremely well known and moderately powerful wayfaring faction."


    "It''s the attitude, I mean," Delta said. "She''s straightforward. A bit rude, honestly, but I''ll take that over <em>your </em>kind of nobility ten times out of ten." She coughed. "Again, no offense."


    "None taken," Rosalie said dryly. She turned to Zoey. "And you? What do you think of her?"


    Zoey considered. "We can only get to know someone so well in two hours, especially with your dad watching over us. But sure, I like her. Seeing how he could''ve picked just about anyone, that''s a win in and of itself, I would think."


    "True," Rosalie said. "I didn''t expect him to go to the Harkvalen. In retrospect, maybe I should have. It almost seems obvious, now that I think about it. But I really expected him to pick someone … closer to home."


    "She''s nasty with that shield of hers," Delta said. "Is it really a dragon''s scale?"


    "I doubt she''d lie about that."


    "Had to have been a giant fucking dragon, for a single scale to be that size. One hell of a fight, I bet." She paused, then shivered. "Seeing how fast <em>we''re</em> progressing, I guess it won''t be long before we''re going up against stuff like that. Crazy to think about."


    Zoey agreed. She said to Maddy, "There was something you wanted to say earlier but didn''t. What was it?"


    "Ah," Maddy said. "Right, well, you were asking about the Harkvalen, specifically cultural stuff that might be relevant to our situation. Rosalie knows more, so stop me if I''m wrong, but I think progression and clearing shards is basically a religious rite to them? They''re <em>very </em>intense warriors, it''s basically their whole lifestyle."


    Rosalie didn''t contradict her, and honestly, Zoey hadn''t expected her to. "Picked up on that myself, I think."


    "My point is," Maddy said, "if the Harkvalen are all about fighting and clearing shards, it''s possible that she might not want them to be, um—modified? Turned … lewd?"


    Rosalie paused. "I didn''t consider that," she said thoughtfully. "Yes, that could be a problem. Not <em>necessarily</em>, though. Even shards under the full influence of Zoey''s ss have plenty ofbat. And I think the faster progression would outweigh the cultural love for fighting."


    "It depends on how she sees it," Maddy agreed. "But I wouldn''t think it''s a non-zero chance she dislikes ''lewd shards'' on some cultural basis. Like I said, clearing them is basically a religious rite to the Harkvalen. Right?"


    "Mm," Rosalie said. "Not in a literal sense. They''re just … very enthusiastic fighters." She pursed her lips. "On the topic ofpatibility," she said mildly, ncing at Zoey. "Thoughts?"


    "With tits like those?" Delta snorted. "I don''t think anyone would mind <em>bonding </em>with her, much less our dear pervert here."


    Rosalie gave her an unimpressed look, but Zoey could tell that privately she agreed; she was pretty sure she''d caught even Rosalie stealing an appreciative nce or two.


    At the topic of Astrid''s assets, Maddy visibly pouted, scuffing the floor with her foot in mock-dejection. "They''re so big," she said forlornly. "Howe all four of you got lucky, and I''m stuck with these?" She red down at her own distinctck of curvature.


    "Hey, you''re hot as hell too," Delta said. "t can be just as attractive. It depends on the girl." She snickered. "Plus, since you''re the only one, it makes you a novelty. That''s worth something."


    "A <em>novelty</em>?" Maddy asked in protest.


    "In a good way?" Delta said. "And you''re insanely cute."


    "Cute!" Maddy pouted even more dramatically, which only emphasized Delta''s point.


    Rosalie, as she usually did, brought them back on topic. "Astrid," she reminded Zoey. "Thoughts?"


    "I think we''ll need to worry more about <em>her</em> preferences than mine," she said diplomatically.


    "Just say you wanna rail the barbarian girl," Deltaughed. "It''s easy, I''ll do it too: I''d fuck Astrid''s brains out, if she let me." She snorted. "Or she could mine, she seems like a girl who wouldn''t mind being on top. Never know though." After a pause, she asked curiously, "You think that warpaint is just for her face, or her whole body?"


    Rosalie and Maddy''s cheeks colored at the bluntness of the question, or maybe at the imagery produced by it, and Zoey was also briefly distracted wondering whether the paint covered other parts of her. The idea of stripping off that leather and fur armor to see swirling ck paint across her entire body produced a rather appealing picture in her head.


    "Well," Rosalie coughed. "In any case, these are the sorts of things best felt out slowly."


    "Oh, we''ll be doing some ''feeling out'' of her, for sure," Delta said.


    "The biggest problem," Rosalie continued, making it clear she was ignoring the fox-eared nuisance, "is that arge portion of Zoey''s abilities benefit from Bonding her, at a minimum—and others much more than that. And even Bonding requires … well, we all know."


    "Think she''d take a facial for the greater good?" Delta asked. Then, more seriously, she said, "Only has to be a one time thing, all I did was a handy, remember? Just has to, what was it, ''spill seed on a target and activate''? Something like that. Doesn''t have to be too serious."


    Rosalie eyed her. "I think it''s best if weplete a regr shard first," she said. "Before even broaching that subject with her. This is a much more delicate situation than picking up a stranger through a looking-for-group board."


    "I thought the forwardness was charming," Delta grinned, fox ears twitching in amusement. "It''s not every day a girl asks to cum on me forbat efficiency."


    "Especially because Astrid''s father knows my own," Rosalie continued. "Her loyalties are deeper to her n, her father, and even <em>my </em>father than any of us. So we need to be careful revealing sensitive information."


    Zoey''s nose wrinkled. She didn''t like the idea of treating a teammate as anything less than trusted, but she also acknowledged that certain realities had to be faced.


    "One normal shard first to get to know her better," Zoey conceded. "But I don''t want to leave her out of the loop for longer than that. Trust requires trust."


    Rosalie studied her for a second with a frown, but inclined her head. "I don''t disagree," she sighed. "But it does worry me. We''ll also need to n for the possibility she goes to my father afterward."


    Zoey winced. That prospect wasn''t appealing.


    "We''re assuming rather heavily that the shard stabilizer will just <em>work</em> the way we hope it does," Maddy said.


    "Description seemed straightforward," Delta said. "But yeah, haven''t had it inspected yet. Speaking of that, has there been any news on Fe?"


    "Not yet," Zoey said. "But it hasn''t been long. She made it seem like there were good odds, but also that it wasn''t a guarantee. Picking up an entire life somewhere and moving is an ordeal, I wouldn''t me her if she decided against it."


    "Fair," Delta said. "Might have to consider making another contact for item identification."


    Rosalie grimaced. "There''s simply no one I would trust to not report to my father. The d''Celestins are too famous here, in the heart of Deepshunters territory. And you three will be soon enough too, don''t misunderstand that. So it can''t just be one of you either."


    "Masks? Fake identity?"


    "Comes with their own problems," Rosalie said. "But yes. That would be a half solution, if ites to it." She sighed. "I would prefer to give it a bit longer and simply hope Fe decides it''s worth her time."


    "She <em>was </em>fascinated by our style of artifacts," Zoey started


    —"And your dick," Delta snickered—


    "So I think the odds are higher than they are low. Just gonna be a bit of a wait. I''ll ask Sabina? The two of them <em>were</em>," she paused. "Colleagues, at least, I don''t know about friends." Fe had been the one to refer Zoey to Sabina in the first ce, something which Zoey would be eternally grateful for.


    "I think we can trust the artifact will serve its most basic function," Rosalie said. "It''ll stabilize the shard and remove the influence of Zoey''s ss so we can delve regrly with Astrid. There just might be other unexpected effects, or perhaps interactions." She shrugged. "As with any item dug out of a shard."


    "What about the Item Smelter?" Maddy chimed in. "We figure out what we''re doing with that?"


    "I''d prefer to have it properly inspected," Rosalie said. "But it also has a straightforward description, so maybe we can use it as-is." She hummed. "That''ll be for Zoey and Sabina to figure out."


    "We''ll need to sort through what we want to melt down and keep," Maddy said. "I can''t believe we''ll be able to turn items into permanent stats."


    "I have no doubts there will be limitations, and specific interactions," Rosalie said. "Hence why maybe it''s smarter to wait for a full inspection."


    "True, true," Maddy said. "I''m curious though."


    "As am I," Rosalie said. "It would be a waste to melt our stronger earnings only to find out we''d done something wrong and wasted them. If we take it to a team vote, I would hold off on using it."


    Maddy wavered, but then sighed. "No need for a vote," she said. "You''re right, of course."


    "When''s the next shard happening, anyway?" Delta asked, which Zoey found amusing, since it was rare for <em>her </em>to corral them back on topic. "Sooner rather thanter, I assume?"


    "Depends on Astrid," Rosalie said. "And my father, to some extent. But I''m sure we''ll know before the day is up."