Recharge: A Second Chance at Life in a World Where Boobs Hold Mana
III
As she approached the lake, Karina wished that the neko who’d asked for her help had given her a little more information. A thick fog hovered in the air above the lake’s surface. The water itself was dark as night, turbulent as a boiling kettle. The weather had been sunny and clear everywhere else—as if a heavy storm had formed in this one spot.
With a splash and a piercing cry like a drowning seagull, a pair of creatures surged from the water. The amorphous blobs hovered in the air, pulsing with menace.
Here we go, said the voice Karina was starting to recognize as her outfit.
Her bodice and dress changed into armor, and Karina tried out one of her new spells.
“Coruscus!”
Lightning crackled from her staff, causing one sprite to freeze in jolting sparks before the bolt jumped to the other. Karina could almost feel the mana swirling in her chest. Her spells were more powerful and less draining than they’d been that first day.
She blasted the sprites again. The first popped with a splash, while the other lobbed its own attack. A ball of water flew toward her like a water balloon without the actual balloon. She almost laughed before the water hit her. Splashing into her bare midriff, the attack was like shards of ice and boiling steam all at once.
“Ow, ow!”
You’ve let them get me wet.
The armor sounded more upset at her than the water sprite.
“Coruscus!”
The second sprite burst in a blue-green spray, but two more emerged from the lake, along with a third, much larger version. Karina shot lightning from her staff, doing her best to duck and dodge their attacks. She was more nimble than she used to be, but still took several more hits of freezing-scalding water. By the time the boss sprite erupted, Karina wobbled on her feet, aching as if she’d fallen down several flights of stairs. With so much of her attention on hitting her foes and avoiding their projectiles, she’d moved far too close to the bluff overlooking the lake. Her sandals slipping on the wet stone, Karina tumbled off the ledge.
***
As she sank into the surprisingly deep water, Karina kicked herself for never learning to swim. However, her armor had reverted to a dress during her fall; even if she knew how to swim, she’d have a pretty hard time treading water wearing “renn faire barmaid” cosplay.
I’ll thank you not to cast blame for this predicament on me. If one lacks the ability to swim, I’d think one would avoid leaping into lakes.
Underwater as she was, Karina couldn’t voice a retort, but she suspected the dress could sense her thoughts.
Your suspicion is accurate, though I find the sobriquet “the dress” rather reductive.
Before Karina could reflect on that statement, a shape appeared in the murky water; all lithe limbs and soft curves, blonde hair and… fins?
The woman pressed her lips to Karina’s, forcing air into her lungs. The darkness that had begun creeping into the edges of her vision receded. The woman lifted her in a princess carry and propelled them both up to the surface.
Karina crawled onto a pebbled beach and coughed up water. Sprawling on her back, she finally got a good look at her savior.
She had sandy barrel curls with coral highlights unaffected by the water. Her robin’s egg skin was completely bare save two turquoise clamshells covering a pair of breasts nearly as large as Karina’s. And, from the waist down, an aquamarine fish tail, scales glittering in the newly restored sunlight. Elves, goblins, catgirls—why not mermaids?
Indeed.
When the dress—or whatever it preferred to be called—spoke, Karina noticed that her clothes were now entirely dry. Runnels of water trickled through the pebbles and back into the lake. Thanks.
It’s not for your sake—I daresay I fancy being drenched as much as you fancy being clad in damp garments. Nevertheless, you’re most welcome.
“Are you alright, Hero?” The mermaid’s voice danced like a cascading brook as she spoke. Nothing like the overpowering ecstasy of the goddess, but it nevertheless sent tingles down Karina’s neck.
“I’ll be fine.”
“My lake is quite dangerous for those who can’t swim. Though I often wonder how any of you landfolk swim with these things.” Her fingers traced up Karina’s calf as she examined her legs with a gaze that bore little resemblance to academic curiosity.
Karina tried to keep the tremble out of her voice. “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind. I’m Karina.”
“Eldoris.” The mermaid slid further out of the water, framing Karina’s hips with her arms. The shells capping her heavy bosom hovered centimeters from Karina’s bodice. “I can’t thank you enough for ridding my waters of those wretched sprites.”
People in this world certainly weren’t big on personal space. “It’s no problem. I, er—” Best not to mention she was on a quest for a village of neko, just in case catfolk and merfolk didn’t get along. “—I happened to be passing by.”
“But—“
“It’s me who should be thanking you; I would have drowned if you hadn’t saved me.”
Eldoris clapped her hands to her cheeks. Even her skin had a faint shimmer like the scales covering her tail, and her breasts jostled against each other as she shook her head. “Oh, no, no. I am in your debt!”
“I can’t— You know what? Let’s just say we’re in each other’s debt and call it even.”
“In that case…” Eldoris leaned in again, running a finger along the edge of one clamshell. “You must at least permit me to recharge your mana…”
She smelled like warm sun and spring break. Smooth scales brushed against Karina’s calves, the weight of the thick flesh where her hips should be rested questioningly against Karina’s thighs. This was even weirder than hooking up with the innkeeper. How could she pleasure a woman with nothing between her legs, a woman who didn’t even have legs?
You might begin with the bosom…
Karina swallowed the lump in her throat. “You’ll have to show me what to do…”
Eldoris’s smile held too many teeth, but there was nothing unnatural about her kiss. Her curls made a curtain around their faces while her fingers traced the hem of the dress’s low bodice with a question in her dark eyes. When Karina’s fingers reached the laces down her front, they came undone at a single touch.
***
As she hiked back to the neko village, Karina was certain her breasts had gotten fuller. Her blouse pinched and pressed into her skin, and its low neck had slipped even lower, resisting her every attempt to pull it to the right spot.
With the lingering adrenaline of nearly drowning sharpening her senses rather than bottomless ale making everything fuzzy, Karina felt everything. When Eldoris teased their nipples together, she’d sensed the mana trickling between their bodies, rising to a torrent as the mermaid’s clever fingers drew out her climax.
Karina brushed invisible lint from her bodice. Dress? Armor?
She felt silly talking to the air, but the dirt road was empty as far as she could see. “If you’re not ’The Dress,’ what should I call you?”
The ignorance of foreigners is astounding. The voice sighed. I suppose it can’t be helped. I am Lorica, Bulwark of Muneate.
“That’s a bit of a mouthful.”
You’re a bit of a bodice-ful, Lorica retorted.
“What?”
Never mind. You may call me Lori if you must.
“And you’re… magic armor? Talking magic armor?”
I am only the breastplate you wear, to be precise. The rest of your attire is merely an extension of my glorious self.
“Figures I’d get a magic breastplate…”
Do you still not comprehend the nature of— No matter. Yes, I was created to protect and support mana sacks.
“Fair enough.”
The contract with the mermaid has added approximately one centimeter to the sacks I hold, if you’re curious.
“Wait, really?”
Approximately. They’ve expanded by nearly two and a half centimeters since your arrival in this world.
“Good to know, I guess.”
The resignation in Karina’s voice was surprising even to her. A week ago, the news that she’d grown another bra size at twenty-four years old would have sent her crying into a carton of Rocky Road. 34K, how could she ever put that on a dating profile?
But then, she didn’t need to. She’d never have to set up a dating profile ever again. And without the back pain or bra shopping, it was a little harder to hate her boobs like she used to. Being properly fucked by two gorgeous women who lavished them with kisses and eager fondling definitely helped. Personal space issues aside, she’d never felt so desired. Maybe JC was a fluke. Maybe she should have tried dating women sooner.
***
Karina was admitted to the largest house in the village, where she presented the mayor and her partner with a handful of faintly glowing river stones. Eldoris had called them water sprite cores. Zorunye and Kephraffi offered her a room for the night and threw a feast in her honor. The large dining room was packed with neko, all generous and fawning, eager to hear of Karina’s world and her adventures.
Like everyone else she’d met, the catfolk were very tactile, taking any excuse to touch her arm, shoulder, even her back.
I do believe you’ve caught the mayor’s fancy.
Be so serious, Karina thought. She’s married.
Apart from their ears and tails, neko appeared human. She’d been given the seat of honor at the head of the table. To her right, Zorunye was captivated; her golden irises wide around vertical pupils as Karina described cars.
“Remarkable! Are there no horses in your world?” The mayor’s onyx hand landed on Karina’s shoulder.
“There are horses, but people don’t really use them to get around anymore.”
Zorunye shook her head, sending her box braids dancing. “Whole carriages powered by magic… incredible.”
On Karina’s left, Kephraffi raised a carafe to refill her goblet of wine. By contrast to his spouse, the male neko had silvery skin with a spray of azure hair that matched his ears.
“Dearest, we should let the Hero enjoy her meal.”
Kephraffi slid a platter of grilled fish toward Karina, placing his hand on her arm. She felt a little bad eating fish after getting eaten out by a mermaid mere hours earlier, but the filets were incredible. Rich and flaky, with hints of citrus, dripping with so much butter that the white flesh melted on her tongue. She popped another piece into her mouth while Zorunye and Kephraffi’s soft thumbs stroked her bare arms.
In my experience, some couples are not quite so averse to sharing as some.
They’re definitely handsy, that’s for sure.
Amongst other appendages.
Soft fur slid below the hem of Karina’s skirt, teasing the sensitive skin behind her knee. She couldn’t tell if the fur belonged to a black tail or a white one.
“This was a lovely dinner, thank you so much,” Karina blurted. “I should probably call it a night. You said you have a room for me?”
“The finest chamber in the manor, if you want it,” Kephraffi purred, taking Karina’s hand and skimming his bluish lips against her knuckles.
“With a very large bed,” Zorunye added, her hand sliding up to tickle the short hairs at the nape of Karina’s neck.
Shit. The dress—er, Lori had been right. Well, when in Rome…
What’s Rome?
Hush, you. “Lead the way.”
The neko couple were indeed fond of sharing. They were so flexible that Karina often lost track of which hands belonged to whom. And while both were incredibly good with their tongues, Kephraffi couldn’t match his wife’s talent for cunnilingus. With hands and tails everywhere, and a spined tongue lapping greedily at each of her nipples, Karina’s worries melted under a haze of hedonistic bliss.