Chapter 27.2: Fractious Factions

The search had taken several hours already, and there was no end in sight. Shara could not decide on the best place, and even Sonja was beginning to find the constant monster attacks tiresome. She had never seen a place so beset by low-level monsters that did not even seem to drop any loot.

“This place will not do, either?” asked Sonja, after finishing off a large Scarvulf. There were dozens of the monsters littering the forest near the abandoned school house.

“Too many windows. We need an abandoned structure without a lot of windows, but good upgrade potential as our true base.” said Shara.

“What about that fenced in yard with the metal wagons?” asked Sonja.

Shara shook her head. “No, it looked abandoned at first glance but it seemed like someone came in there frequently. What we really need is something with a lot of potential, but that could be easily reinforced for little effort while we train.”

Sonja rubbed her chin. There were many abandoned buildings in the area, but she had to admit that Shara was correct. The material structure left a lot to be desired. She then hit upon an interesting idea. “This... node? Does it need to lead to a structure in this world?”

Shara glanced at her. “Not really, though if my house is conquered we would not be able to transit back here unless we had another transport location here on Earth. It would be amazingly useful to create a transport node between here and the dream world, but we need to make a transfer point here first.”

“You have a great deal of knowledge concerning such things...” remarked Sonja softly.

The occasionally mild-mannered girl glanced to Sonja and looked as though she wanted to say something. However, the words physically would not come to her lips. In the end, all she said was “Yes... Let’s keep looking.”

Sonja wiped off the blade of the makeshift spear that she had crafted out of broom handle and a kitchen knife then turned to follow Shara. She wanted answers, but for now she would settle on just finishing this mission.

***

In the kitchen of the Suburban Fortress of Haremitude, Scott and Ashton were busy attempting to be good houseguests. They had finished eating a few hours ago, but since neither Sonja nor Shara had returned it seemed appropriate to clean the dishes. For Scott, it was a mindless and short-lived task as they had not used many plates or utensils to make their tacos. For Ashton, it was an enjoyable exercise in frustration.

While they worked, Ashton tried to get Scott to talk a little. He had been far too quiet and reserved since he had returned. Most of the time he only grunted or nodded when he answered her questions at all.

“So, you and Sonja, huh?” asked Ashton after a moment.

Scott merely kept washing the dishes in front of him. Though, after a moment he did close his eyes and release a sigh.

“Not what I think... or?” she asked.

“What is it that you want me to say, Ashton?” asked Scott.

She was taken aback for a moment. “I...”

He glanced toward her then said, “That guy, you know the goofy bastard you used to see at work?”

“Yes...” she said softly.

“He’s a lie I made up to get through the day. This quiet guy who doesn’t talk much.... That’s more like me.” said Scott.

“I... I see...” she said. Her ears flattened a little and her tail drooped.

Scott noticed her change in demeanor then shook his head. “I’m sorry that I got you involved in all of this.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” she asked him curiously. As far as she could recall, she was the one who asked if she could come to his house. She could have left at any time before the raid.

“Your work, your old life, hell even your reputation... It’s all fucked.” he said.

“Oh? Is that all?” Ashton smiled at him then shook her head, obviously amused by something.

“Is that all? You were the store manager at Archers and now as far as the world is concerned you’re some wanted meth dealer's murder-ho, or whatever.”

“Murder-ho?” Ashton laughed so loudly and in such an obnoxious manner that something else loud and obnoxious occurred. *Pbbbt!*

Her eyes widened and then she looked away in embarrassment. She could try to hide her face, but the stench of her flatulent offensive would remain for quite some time.

“Such a fucking lady.” said Scott, the hint of a smile on his lips. She’d had one too many tacos it seemed.

She put her hand over her eyes then started to whimper like a frustrated puppy. How would she ever live this down?

Scott finished washing the dishes while she continued her slow death by embarrassment. After he finished, he gripped the rim of the sink briefly then looked then said, “Thank you, for that.”

“Huh?” she asked, confused. Had he really just thanked her for breaking wind?

“I feel a little lighter, though that might just be the methane in the air.” said Scott in an attempt at humor.

“Oh gawd.” said Ashton. She shook her head from side to side, causing her golden locks to sway back and forth.

“You’re pretty easy to embarrass for a woman who shoved her nose into my butt crack just the other day.” said Scott lightly.

She turned around and pushed at him. “No! Don’t bring that up!”

Her heated and embarrassed expression caused something to shift inside of Scott. He had been doing his brooding thing again and ignored the fact that out of all the girls involved in this situation, she had the least amount of connection. How lonely, and out of the loop must she had felt.

Scott reached over and took Ashton’s hand. “Hey, you asked me a question earlier, right?”

“I... uh... Yes?” She bit her lower lip a little and tilted her head to the side. She had asked a lot of questions, but she was a little too nervous to remind him of that.

Scott took a moment to collect his thoughts then took a deep breath. “Well, the thing is... I care for her greatly, but I don’t know what Sonja and I are. It’s not like we’ve had some soap opera confession of eternal love and want to have each other’s babies. We’re really complicated.”

“Oh...” said Ashton.

The fox girl looked away from him for a moment then glanced back over to him. “Complicated, how?”

Scott looked at her. “You sure you want that answer?”

“I think so...” she said.

Scott studied her face for a moment then nodded. “Alright...”

He took a deep breath then said, “Sonja’s a Valkyrie from the dream world. She was enslaved by magic to a man who defeated her in battle.”

He took another breath and spoke again. “Now I have acquired ownership of her. While she is my slave, we are currently working on a way to get her to her home land so that she can be set free again. Though, I also use her to smuggle goods back and forth between the worlds for both fun and profit. We frequently sleep naked together a lot, but don’t have sex.”

Ashton’s eyes began to widen throughout Scott’s explanation, and then stayed wide once he finished. Though she is a fox girl, she looked to be related to an owl.

Scott tapped his chin twice then nodded. “Also, I am a dragon, and have become a Dark Lord. I have the title and everything.”

Ashton blinked twice then tilted her head back toward the other direction. “Uh...”

“Yeah...” said Scott before turning away from her. He did not want to look at the confusion in her eyes.

“Are, you sure I can’t buy drugs from you?” asked Ashton after a moment.

“I have a little cold medicine left, if you want it.” said Scott.

Ashton snorted at him then shook her head. “Wow. I don’t even...”

“Me neither most of the time.” said Scott.

The fox girl took a moment to try and understand everything that she had just heard. It had sounded like English, but the words came together in strange ways that made her brain hurt.