A Peeking Kindness

Story by ReynartWrites on SoFurry

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#1 of Ink and Vines

Summary: Doubts are difficult to get rid of especially when there are so few people who see what Pris sees. They can only take note of the fact that she is strange but as she finds solace in a quiet bath disturbed by her own thoughts on the roof of a building, a new friend appears.

Part of a collaboration with https://inkbunny.net/Xilrayne


Sand dunes rolled through the desert like waves over the surface of an ocean only interrupted by shelves of stones that held the earth together. In the flattest portion of the desert, an oasis laid where all paths converged into a bustling mercantile town. Carts came and left the city in droves while the buzzing of people could be heard from just outside of the city as merchants peddled their wares and people in a variety of species gathered. The buildings surrounding the oasis were a soft alabaster that contrasted the sharpened oranges of the sand surrounding them. Most of those buildings were tightly packed together with roofs and balconies either touching or close enough to connect. As such, there were even markets up in the rooftops where people walking on connected ladders acting as bridges. Of course, there were still private spots in rooftops and balconies that were walled off and a few hanging gardens here and there. Vines grew along the short walls of a private bath resting among the many rooftops. A creature with small antlers and long ears climbed the steps up to this private bath with a sigh while the sun curled over her beige fur. Her arms and legs were touched with green while her eyes sparkled blue like the water presented before her. One violet eye sat between and above the other two. Pris had come to the town for business as she usually did but the heat had gotten to her faster than she had expected. She would have to thank her friend for letting her have the bath all to herself. The dry air was terrible for a laprine as most of her kind were adjusted to the forest. Normally, she would be able to endure for longer without cooling down but today her mind was toying with her and making things difficult to handle. Clawed digits passed through her hair to take hold of the tie keeping golden strands held before she popped it off and let it fall to the ground. She placed one hoof in the water and shuddered before submerging herself until only her head remained above the water. The wraps of white around her waist and chest she wore absorbed the water and became see-through but she didn't mind. When she got out of the bath it would be nice to have something cool clinging to her to give her something other than her own thoughts to focus on.

As she sat up to bring her back to the edge of the pool, Pris placed a hand on her head to start sorting through her thoughts. She felt conflicted. Not one way or another but in a constant flux of questions that didn't seem to have any answers leaving no room for positive outcomes. Pris would have rather felt some sort of pure shame about her body instead of having the question of whether or not what was between her legs dictated her beauty repeat over and over again in her mind. Her chest was too small, or was it? Her lips were not plump enough, or were they? Did she fall in line with conventional standards of beauty, did she surpass them, or was she just ugly to most people who looked at her? She didn't really know. The only solid answer in her mind that she had was that most thought her way of thinking was strange and perhaps, those criticisms of her mental state were worse than anything physical. Even the way she looked at objects came into question. Everything to her had spirits and she could see and feel those things very strongly even if others could not. It seemed odd to people how she regarded things, how she spoke, how she conducted herself and she could never keep track of what to say or how to say it without stepping on a thorn.

Again the question came whether she was strange or not for the way she thought and the words came as she hung her head back on the edge of the pool and closed her eyes while muttering, "I am weird. Wrong and strange for the way I think. I can't even decide whether I'm ugly or not for the way that my body is or if I even care because of how my thoughts are organized. Maybe I could just answer these questions out loud and pretend that they're actually there. Except, all I feel is negative so that might just be putting myself down." Pris then sniffed, "I could try saying positive things? Maybe if I fake it, I'll eventually believe it." A sigh escaped her as she tapped the back of her head against the cool surface of the bath's edge, "That's dumb. Guess I just have to accept I'm not pretty. That my mind's a mess and...Ugh, this is so frustrating."

"I think you're pretty." Said a small voice.

Those words brought both of her ears straight up along with her head as she searched around for the source of the words. Pris scanned the space behind her where the stairs were before her eyes turned toward the walls. She found the source at the front where someone had their head poking up and over the wall to look at her. The newcomer who had said such a nice thing looked like a fox who had bright white fur and black eyes. Ink stained hands clutched onto the wall and when her gaze met his, he turned his head while a small flush of color touched his cheeks beneath the fur. Pris found herself unable to respond to the stranger. She didn't mind the intrusion as it gave her a distraction from her thoughts. Not only that, but his positive assertion had given her a spark of warmth in her body that felt nice compared to the harshness of her negative spiral.

After a few silent moments, the fox cleared his throat, "Sorry...I just heard you beating yourself up from the bottom and thought I'd come up and say something real quick. I'll leave you to your bath. Sorry again."

One of his hands disappeared off of the wall and he looked down to begin descending but Pris still hadn't given him a response! Panic brought her up fast enough to send small waves through the water with a splash as she blurted out, "Wait!" He paused long enough for her to cross the bath and get out, stumbling a bit as she got to the wall and grabbed his hand to continue, "Don't go, not yet. I really appreciate what you said. I'm not mad at you, I just... Wasn't sure what to say. I-if you want, you could come over the wall and we could sit and talk. You don't have to, I mean, it isn't like I'm going to force you to do it but it would be nice."

The stranger blinked before smiling, "If you insist then I'd be happy to." Pris returned the smile as she stepped back and watched as he brought himself over the edge with a hop to sit on the edge of the wall, "Name's Wel by the way! What's yours?"

"Pris!" She answered while hopping up to sit next to him.

Wel was dressed in a cloak that covered his body but his tail poked out from beneath to swish from side to side. A digit moved to tap at his chin as he hummed, "Pris, huh? Pretty name for a pretty lady. What's more than that, I have a few other things to say about what you were muttering, y'know, if you wanted to hear. Just some thoughts."

The smile on her face shortened a bit as she turned her attention to the floor, "As embarrassing as it is that you heard me, your little interruption was enough to put a smile on my face. I'd appreciate some sort of distraction from my own thoughts."

He looked at her for a second with a tilt of his head before he looked up into the sky and breathed out, "So, I don't know how your head works. I don't really know you or who you are but I do know a little bit about being told that you're wrong or weird. Lots of people tell me that I'm weird or that my natural-born magic makes me cursed or whatever and y'know, both of those things have caused me a few problems but those problems came up in part because people kept on telling me to ignore my way of thinking, to repress myself instead of exploring and working with who I am. Maybe...Maybe not the best way of telling you it is fine but so many people told me to ignore the way my head worked and it ended up making it worse, so if they're wrong about that what else are they wrong about? Screw people who try to make me feel bad about myself." He then rubbed at the back of his head, "Wait, did that help at all? Sorry, I got a bit carried away."

Pris absorbed his words for a moment while staring at the ground until she responded with a shake of her head, "No. You didn't get carried away." She then looked up at him with a big smile, "It did help. In a way, knowing that someone else has gone through something similar in any way makes me feel less alone and that's a big sort of relief."

A chuckle came from the fox, "I'm glad something I said made some sense to you. Can't say that I'm too confident in my words. I only know what I know, after all. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say really. I should leave you to your bath and uh, not make a habit of this since I think some people would take issue with it."

Again she put her hands up and said quickly, "Wait!" She realized that it might be a bit too sudden to touch him so she froze halfway and stuttered out something else, "Y-you could stay and join me! It would be nice. Plus, it would keep you out of trouble, right?"

Wel rubbed at the back of his head, "Really? I mean, you don't mind? This is your private time I'm guessing. I wouldn't want to impose."

A sigh came from Pris as she hopped off of the wall, "It was less my private time and more my time to recharge. I do a lot of business in this town and usually, I can endure the heat but my head wasn't having any of it."

"Oh? You're not from around here? Or maybe you just never got used to the heat!" Wel asked with a chuckle.

Her lips tugged up in a half-smile as she snorted, "I think if I was born here I would have caught fire. Lush forests full of flowers and big trees are where I belong. There isn't anything here to protect me from the sun and it feels dry enough that I thought I was going to wilt during my first visit."

"I'm glad you didn't. The wilting of a beautiful flower would be a terrible thing." The fox said with a smile.

She turned her head to look at him while warmth touched her cheeks that she almost didn't feel beneath the sun. In that moment, all three of her eyes regarded his body and she noticed something odd. Spirits existed in everything to her. Spirits existed within and around people as well but it was odd to be able to point them out and see them especially in objects without some sort of help. Pris loved seeing that part of people, loved seeing that part of various objects as well but something was different about Wel. His body almost seemed like a dark spot beneath the sun flowing with a sort of ichor they couldn't quite describe. It looked and felt dangerous from where she stood but something kept her from being frightened. Glowing lights flowed around the fox, wandering his body and nestling against him. Elemental spirits were attracted to him and didn't seem to mind the strange ichor, in fact, it seemed like some of the spirits were tending to it. Either through his own efforts or out of some sort of natural power, Wel had bonded with spirits.

When her observations were finished, all three of her eyes blinked and she placed a hand on her cheek, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was staring. I just, I was trying to see what spirits you had inside of you and just couldn't find any. I shouldn't do that without permission but it is just something that my eye does."

Wel hopped off of the wall and stepped toward her, "No worries! No clue what you managed to see but at the same time, if it fascinates you then I don't think there is a problem with that."

Pris beamed, "You think so? Most people say it's weird, even among folk who can see spirits they think that me seeing them in objects is kind of odd."

He shrugged and rolled a hand, "What is weird is probably just misunderstood. I don't really understand what you did or what you saw but I like curiosity."

She regarded the fox with a small smile before looking ahead and away from him, "Thanks. I think I've talked enough about me though. I'm kind of curious about you instead. It doesn't have to be about your experiences or whatever. I just want to meet you while we take a bath."

"Oh? Is that...Were you being serious about that? Are you sure? I mean, naked with strangers isn't a problem for me but imposing on someone is just stressful to think about."

Her words came with a giggle, "I'm a bit nervous, but the spirits like you. That's rare, and... My gut is telling me something good will come from this. Besides, the company would be appreciated."

Pris punctuated her answer by moving both of her hands. One came up to clasp the wrap around her chest, tugging the knot to let it fall to the ground while she did the same with the one at her waist. She felt pretty enough to do this, she felt happy enough to be naked around this stranger. Why not? She was a beautiful flower after all. She repeated the thought to herself again, beaming as she did so while turning around to present herself to the fox. Perky breasts rested at her chest that looked petite and a meager length hung between her legs. Perhaps, normally she might feel shame at showing herself to a stranger and the chaos in her mind still rolled at the back of her head but she wanted to expose herself to fully immerse herself within the comforts of a first meeting of someone who she had a gut feeling would be a timeless friend. Plus, she enjoyed the attention she was receiving right at this very moment. When she turned to face the fox again she found a small hue of cherry touching his cheeks mixing with the white of his fur. With her hands clasped at her back, Pris stepped into the bath and took a seat with her back to the edge while she shut her eyes. She feared that he might flee from the situation but soon enough, she heard his cloak fall to the floor and felt the water move as he dipped inside. One eye opened out of curiosity to look to her side and get a good look at the fox. A sheathe and a heavy set of balls sat between his legs.

As he settled next to her, Pris opened both of her eyes and turned her head toward him to ask, "Where are you from?"

Wel blinked and looked at her for a second before he turned his head toward the clouds as if looking for the answers there while he hummed, "Where am I from? That's a good question. I was born on an island but I was raised in a swamp. I've been traveling a lot though."

"An island? Was it nice there?"

A smile that clutched her heart in strange ways curved across his face as he peered down at the water and spoke quietly, "A little bit but I don't think I would ever go back."

Pris brought her hands up, "Oh no, I'm sorry. Did I mention something painful?"

Wel chuckled, "Relax. It isn't your fault. Besides, I told you I was willing to talk about myself. Go ahead and continue with the interview! I cherish the opportunity to be questioned by such a beautiful host!"

The smile on his face grew into a grin while his gaze met with hers. Pris found his grin infectious and couldn't help but smile as she continued, "Okay! What is it that you do if you travel so much?"

He crossed his arms and brought one leg over the other while nodding, "What I do is part of my travel. I unbind spirits from artifacts and remove curses. You see, there are people that find treasures all the time but sometimes those treasures are cursed or have things bound to them for whatever reason. Not everyone wants a bound spirit because the binding upsets them and can corrupt them. Obviously, curses aren't pleasant so I am hired to remove either of these things. I have a shop but there are many cases in which moving a cursed or bound object is too dangerous." He then narrowed his eyes and brought his hands together with space between them as if he were handling something as he continued, "Curses and bindings are a lot like...wire traps or woven knots. They're wound together tight and can be loosened and eventually released but tug at the wrong place and it tightens or gets worse. Bindings on spirits are strange because they not only have to connect to a physical object, they have to somehow call the creature from beyond our own plane of existence and bind it there too. You would have to undo multiple weavings instead of just one...but if I take the original intent of the binding and whisper for it to change for me then my curse can help free a spirit or remove something harmful from an object." Wel settled back against the edge of the bath and rubbed the back of his head, "Rambling again, sorry."

Pris's eyes brightened as she edged closer and placed a hand on his thigh, "No! Don't apologize. What you just described was beautiful! Tell me more. Please."

Her new friend continued to talk about his work in detail while explaining what he had been cursed with from birth. Intent guides magic and manifests it into desired results if channeled correctly but Wel's intent is volatile and can act as a source of magic bringing it to life with little effort. There was a danger in having intent able to manifest so easily. Emotions could consume him or lash out at others while he wasn't aware of what his intent was doing. His words continued and Pris listened and absorbed each and every one while beaming. It was much easier to listen than it was to talk. She could sit here and drink in his words for hours while getting to know him and thinking about who he was based on his words and expressions. If she were the one speaking, then she might've needed to worry about how her words could be perceived. Perhaps on a less stressful day she would have gushed about herself but her chaotic state made it difficult to think about how to engage as the one being given attention. At the same time, she didn't mind receiving a different kind of attention.

Throughout their conversation, Wel's eyes wandered to her body before darting away, the small spreads of cherry on his cheeks turning to a sharper crimson while his words tripped over one another. It was an affirmation that his attraction had not just been honied words to make her feel better. The more he blushed, the more he stumbled over his words, the more his eyes wandered because of her body; the more her cheeks began to burn with a happy embarrassment until her tiny bunny tail began to flick back and forth behind her.

"You're beautiful." She finally had to say with a sigh.

"C-come again?" Wel asked, stumbling through a few of his other words.

Pris giggled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to just cut you off but I had to say it. You're more than attractive on the outside. I called you beautiful because you've suffered and yet you find a way to use your supposed curse and make positive change. The spirits love you for it and if I am a flower then you're a precious gem!"

A digit came up to poke his nose as Wel stared at her with big eyes. He remained quiet for a second or two while the burning of his cheeks grew until he coughed out, "I uh. Thank you, I think. No, not I think. I mean, thank you entirely. I appreciate all of those compliments. I have trouble seeing myself as a gem or any of those things that you said really but I believe that you're being honest."

She watched him stutter and chew through his words while his eyes looked from her to the water to the sky above them. When he finished, she reached over to take his chin gently and bring his gaze to hers while she spoke, "Hey. Wel, you're okay. I'm just saying this because it is what I feel just like you did before but I kind of get it. I mean, if you were the one complimenting me like that then I'd be the one fluttering around trying to figure out how to respond in the right way. You don't have to push yourself so hard."

His shoulders seemed to sag a bit as he muttered, "I guess I was a bit overly energetic there. Saying the wrong thing is scary and I didn't want to run the risk of that with you or anyone really. I'm usually a bit better with one on ones but you tripped me up with your compliments and well, this situation too."

Pris snorted, "To tell the truth if I were in your situation I'd be nervous too. You just told me so much about yourself and if it were me then I'd be blushing and holding my ears over my eyes in this situation or well, it's embarrassing to say, I might even start tearing up a little bit."

Wel's ears perked up, "Is that so? I feel less silly about reacting the way I am then. Talking about myself at such length feels like I'm opening my actual physical self to you so that you may look at my insides and thusly judge me even though I know both of those things are a bit silly."

"That is silly! I don't think I would ever judge you for your guts."

A giggle bubbled from Pris as she squeezed his thigh and suddenly became aware that one of her hands had been there the entire time. She looked down and meant to apologize for being so forward when it came to personal boundaries but she paused when she noticed something red poking out from the sheathe.

When he saw where she was staring, he moved a hand over his crotch and cleared his throat, "Sorry about that. I've been doing my best to not get excited about this situation. You really are beautiful, y'know?"

The words left her mouth with a big smile, "I could help with that."

"That would be wonderful." He then coughed, "Wait, wait, hold on. Are you sure about that?"

Pris moved her digits toward his inner thigh while humming, "Well, I mean yeah, I could help with it if you want. Something with oral, or uhm, my thighs? I don't think I'd be comfortable going much further than that, considering we did just meet. But I'd love to help you out too, Wel. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Oh and don't worry about my pleasure. I just, kind of want to do this."

The hand covering his crotch moved as he breathed out, "Okay. Sounds like a good deal to me but before we do anything. I want to know, would you want to walk the town a bit with me after all this? Maybe talk about yourself while distracted by the sounds of a crowd?"

Her cheeks flushed a bit as she found it oddly embarrassing that he would want to know more about her, "Sure. I'd love that."

"Great!" He responded with a grin.

Somehow, Pris found herself more embarrassed by the interest in who she was more than the fact that she had a desire to pleasure him. It seemed so much easier to give than to receive in any capacity but the fact that he wanted to make their conversation mutual wasn't scary, it was elating in the most embarrassing of ways that had her cheeks burning and her heart fluttering. To meet a new friend! What a wonderful thing. That fluttering elation in her chest brought her forward to wrap her arms around Wel's shoulders for something that she wanted to do more than anything sexual. She squeezed him tight as he grunted and as her mind toyed with the thought of going out with a new friend. Again it struck her how special it was that he wanted to get to know her and not judge her, that he at least seemed to understand what she had gone through and would be willing to listen.

When she felt his hands on her sides to return the embrace, she pulled her head back just a bit so she could adjust and lean in to plant her mouth on his cheek. She could feel the warmth of his blush before she could see it properly. Pris couldn't help it! His reactions, his words, his mannerisms had made her feel joyous and she wanted to share that jubilation. Peck after peck was planted on his cheek until she brought her hands up to grab his face and lean in for a proper kiss on the mouth. The digits at her sides tensed as if with a spot of shivering uncertainty before they relaxed right as he dipped into the kiss. His hold on her body tightened as he brought himself just a bit closer, their mouths melding and parting in a mutual connection that brought sparks to her mind and made her want to purr! Tongues pushed and twisted together allowing warm spittle to be traded while the cool water between them moved and broke with the subtle shifts and trembles of their bodies.

Their lips parted with a smack, one of her hands coming down to return to his thigh while she brought her nose to his to smile and feel through the fur of his leg. Again Pris noticed that he seemed to shy away from the touch and even tremble a bit but soon she heard him breathe out and felt him relax to her touch. Only then did she moved her hand toward his crotch to feel over the growing shaft, beaming as her digits moved down toward those heavy rounded orbs to squeeze each of them carefully. Pris brought her digits back up to the growing shaft, squeezing the base while drinking in the sounds of his arousal.

The length in her grasp was impressive and it did bring a blush to her cheeks but that wasn't what she truly loved about this. His breaths, his moans, his tiny movements to push and grind against her touch. Those things happened next to her ear as she continued to nuzzle his neck and they brought her such a fluttering joy that she couldn't help but sigh and giggle. When she felt that he had stopped growing, she brought herself back to look at him.

"Up you go. I'd rather not get a mouthful of water!" She said with a big smile.

Wel chuckled before hopping up onto the edge of the bath, "Really? Wouldn't that be more pleasant?"

Pris gave his leg a soft tap for being self-deprecating while huffing, "I'm friends with you, not the water, so no it wouldn't be! Besides, how could I give water oral?"

The small chuckle turned to laughter and Pris felt a tickle of pride at the back of her head. While he laughed, she brought her lips to the tip of his shaft to start planting gentle kisses, one hand cupping his balls while she began to dip down over his member. She would love to do more, love to give herself a chance to explore more with Wel but for now, she wanted to take things slow. The throb of his arousal in her mouth was enough for her to explore for now. Each pulse against her tongue as she brought herself lower and lower let her know how pleasured he was, and his sighs and groans continued as a signal that he was loving every bit. Eliciting such a response to her seemed like some sort of arcane knowledge.

With a bit of effort, Pris soon felt her nose press against his crotch. Up and up she went again until her lips were at the tip of his shaft. Her free hand grasped the base of his cock to start pumping, mouth suckling the tip while the other hand worked the balls. Digits reached through her hair, not to grasp and tug but to rest and loop through the strands. Being a bit more passionate and rough could be saved for another day but this gentleness was something that she couldn't help but drink in with such love and elation. Up and down she bobbed her head while her hand continued to move, his thrusts growing a bit more firm.

Wel's words came with a sudden sigh in a tone of voice that sent a shiver down her spine, "I don't think I can last this long with such attention. Mind if I...?"

Instead of giving him an answer, she brought her mouth down all the way and curled her tongue around his shaft. The warmth of his cock twitching in her maw felt nice, almost like a familiar heartbeat comforting her. She kept her eyes shut while drowning in the beat of his pleasure, each twitching bringing her another shiver of excitement until she felt his knot start to grow against her lips. Pris brought her mouth up slowly and an urge told her to go down all the way but she found uncertainty in displaying such passion so quickly and so she instead grabbed his shaft and started pumping it faster and faster until the thin ropes of pre began to grow thicker. The twitching of his shaft grew more frequent, Wel grunting above her as he leaned over her head while his digits clutched through her hair. Rope after rope touched her tongue, her body receiving the warmth happily as she drank down every drop happily. She thought he would stop anytime soon but his load just kept on pouring into her mouth until she swore her belly was developing a sweet little rounding to it.

When he finished, Pris brought her head up and breathed out, "That was bigger than I thought it was going to be."

Wel muttered with a happy sigh, "The tool or the load?"

"Both." She said with a snort.

They chuckled together before Pris got out of the water. Pris found her clothes while Wel did the same, both getting dressed as they headed toward the stairs. A small fear began to radiate at the back of her mind making her wonder if that had been a good idea or not. He had been pleasure and that was a wonderful thing but what if that was all he had wanted? The idea came out of nowhere and it struck her hard enough to make her ears begin to flop.

An arm came around her shoulder along and Wel's voice came beaming, "Let's head into town! If we hurry up I think we can find something good to eat too! I'm starved but I'm not too familiar with the locale eateries. In fact, I think I ate something before that I wasn't supposed to? A weird fruit? Think it wasn't ripe yet. Anyway, I expect you to do a bit of leading!"

The jolliness in his voice, the way he tugged and pushed her shoulder playfully along with the snicker on his face; it was infectious! Pris couldn't help but shake her head and giggle, "Okay, let's find you a place that won't serve you unripened fruit. Do you like meat?"

Wel grinned, "I am a creature of flesh!" He then frowned, eyes narrowed as he cleared his throat, "I mean, I like meat. That sounded a bit weird in retrospect."

Pris gave his belly the back of her hand gently while laughing, "Okay creature of flesh. Let's go find some I guess."

And with that said, the two departed to find a good meal; strangers no more.