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Mystic Heart Odyssey

_Part

4: Quality Time_

Chapter 2

Finally for some downtime with just the two boys again! Been a while since they had an extended time together alone. They're overdue for some more one-on-one banter... and playful teasing, of course.

...

Okay yeah, there's a lewd scene in this one. And again, it'll have some... oddness to it. But bare with me, I'm trying to keep it interesting, what can I say? Yet again, I have a feeling this needs content tags that I just can't think of, so by all means suggest any you think of, and try not to giggle too much.

-Llox

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Eventually, Kuna calmed down enough that Lykou got him to pause and check the navigation spell. He'd hate for them to walk for hours, only to find out they were wandering in the wrong direction. Luckily, it turned out that the next arch was in the direction of the lake anyway.

"Huh... that's suspiciously convenient," Lykou commented as they resumed walking.

"Actually, it makes sense. Those arches were built by Syltheans for traveling, and they probably once had settlements around them, at least temporarily. It'd make sense for them to do so near water."

"True... assuming of course they even use water, depending on who built it. We're still not entirely clear on whether Syltheans work more like regular people or like spirits, right?"

"Good point... we'll have to ask Lana sometime, I guess."

"Yeah, good thing she gave us those charm things."

They walked in silence for a while, before Lykou finally spoke up again, noticing the slightly melancholy, distant look on his friend's face. "You alright Ku?"

"Hmm?" Kuna asked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem a bit... down," the konuul said, then rubbed the sereva's shoulder gently. "You're not still upset about what Zig said, are you?"

Kuna rolled his eyes, blushing slightly again. "No. I'll admit I overreacted a little. I'm over that."

"Oh, well... that's... good. But obviously something's still bothering you. What is it?"

Kuna frowned and walked in silence for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm just kind of frustrated with myself. Even after all we've been through and as much progress as I've made, I still tend to panic and hesitate a lot of times when things get scary or dangerous, and don't always think clearly."

"Remember, y-"

"I know, I know. I'm not a warrior and I don't need to be, I didn't forget," Kuna said, smirking over at the canid. "No need to point it out. But I still wish I could shake those old habits away once and for all."

"Hey, you are getting better though. You kicked ass back in Clovaria with those bandits, remember?"

"You did most of the actual ass-kicking. I just tripped people up, mostly."

"And went toe-to-toe with a far more experienced magic user! And the point is you didn't let your panic get to you. You stayed clear-headed and strategized."

"Well, it probably helps that we had time to prepare and I was able to build myself up and kind of see it coming. Plus, they were people, not, you know... some big wild monstrosity, like a lot of other things we've dealt with."

"Still, that's progress, regardless. You've come a long way from just locking up completely, you know," Lykou said, rubbing the sereva's head lightly.

Kuna folded his ears down and smiled back at him. "Yeah, well... I just hope I remember my magic sooner next time."

Lykou chuckled a bit. "Hey, you got there eventually. And to be fair, I didn't exactly think to remind you sooner myself."

They continued walking for a while, until eventually they started catching glimpses of the lake through the brush up ahead. When they finally came within a couple dozen yards of the water's edge, they realized the spell was pointing straight out across the water, which they took to mean that the arch was on the other side of the lake. And it was a fairly large lake.

Kuna sighed. "Well, I'm pretty worn out from that running and magic earlier. How about we camp over here and walk around the lake tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me," the konuul agreed, then started looking around. "Let's see if we can find a good spot. We might need to hang around a bit tomorrow, too, so I can hunt. My meat is almost gone at this point."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Kuna replied with a concerned expression. "I know you were stretching it out by eating a bunch of what the lepne gave you, but it's still been over a week now."

They searched around for a short time, before settling on a spot at the base of a large ash tree within sight of the lake's shoreline. Kuna used his magic to grow and warp some of its roots up out of the ground into a small shelter for them to sleep in, while Lykou got to work setting up a firepit. Once he got the fire going, the canid walked down to the water to refill his waterskin, while Kuna plopped down and dug out some food, which he then began to aggressively devour. After a short time, he glanced up curiously, wondering what was taking his friend so long just to fill the waterskin. He saw the canid still bending down in the distance and doing... something, though he couldn't tell what.

"Hey Kuna! Come here!" Lykou suddenly called out in an excited tone, waving him over.

Kuna arched a brow and got back up, still munching on a handful of leafy green things as he walked down to join the konuul. When he got there, he saw him eagerly gathering up an armful of what looked like some kind of melons. There were a bunch of others still growing on clusters of stems half-submerged in the water.

"Charnops!" Lykou happily declared. "Grab some more and help me carry them back!"

Kuna perked up and grinned. "Alright, that's fantastic!" he replied, then quickly gobbled up the rest of his snack before helping to collect as many of the things as he could.

"Remember, only grab the ones with tough skin. The squishy ones aren't ripe yet."

"Got it."

After a few minutes of harvesting, they each walked back to their camp with a bountiful harvest of charnops, quite pleased with their haul. After setting them aside and sitting down around the firepit, Lykou began fiddling with the fire, his tail swishing lightly behind him.

Kuna smirked. "What are you doing?"

"Just trying to make a spot to set a couple halves of these things in here. They're better cooked."

"What, right in the coals?"

"Yep. The skins are thick enough they won't fall apart in the heat. And the insides taste better cooked."

"I'll be the judge of that," Kuna replied with a smirk. "Can I borrow your knife for a moment?"

Lykou grinned and quirked a brow. "You wanna try one too, huh?"

"Of course. You've mentioned them a few times now, and I need to get to know what they're like raw if I want to try growing any for you in the future."

Lykou hesitated for a moment, then handed him the knife. "Yeah, good point I guess."

Once Kuna got the melon cut open, he looked at the insides with mild surprise. The fruit was a rich redish-pink color, with even darker juice that dripped out of it. He quickly held it away from himself before it could drip on his robe. It might've been a travel robe, but it was still new and he wasn't in a hurry to stain it with something he likely wouldn't have been able to wash out. The bits of honey that'd brushed onto it in the hive were going to be annoying enough to wash out as it was. "Wow, that's... an interesting color," he said, then gave Lykou a playfully judgmental look. "Can't help noting what it looks like. No wonder you preds like 'em."

The konuul snickered. "Still want to try it? I thought you didn't eat things that bleed," he teased back.

Kuna rolled his eyes. "I've had other red fruits, you know. Not like I haven't seen dark red juice before, with some berries." After slicing a few pieces out, he gave the knife back and popped one piece into his mouth, munching on it experimentally. "Mmm... this is... not bad, actually. Bit chewy, but pretty tasty."

Lykou eyed the sereva when he wasn't looking with a thoughtful and mildly bemused expression, then shook his head and cut open one for himself. Once it was cut in half, he set the two halves down in the fire and sat back, watching his friend eat for a minute before looking over at the shelter he'd made. "Impressive set up you made there, considering how worn out you must've been. No wonder you're so hungry."

Kuna looked up with a small bashful grin and shrugged. "I guess all the magic practice recently is paying off, doesn't tire me out as much as it originally did."

"It shows. You're getting really damn good at it. And for all her... you know, Ink did say you had a natural knack for it to begin with, and she was clearly right."

Kuna blushed a bit. "Thanks... guess it's about time I was good at something."

"Hey!"

The sereva giggled and shrugged. "Sorry, old habits, I know. I guess I mean it's nice to be good at something and actually feel like I'm good at it, for once."

"...better, I guess," Lykou replied with a smirk.

Kuna sipped some water, then sat back and watched the fire while the two halves of the fruit cooked. When Lykou eventually took them out- with some careful and awkward use of some thicker sticks that he pre-soaked with water first- the sereva eyed the fruit intently. "Might want to put another one in now. I imagine you must be pretty hungry yourself."

"Well, yeah, but with the meat I have left, one of these should fill me up for now."

"Mmm. You'll only get half if you don't put another one in," Kuna replied with a playful grin as he suddenly yanked one of the halves away. He immediately yelped and set it next to himself, shaking his hands around a bit. "Right, hot..."

"Careful, you goofball!" Lykou chastised him. "You didn't actually burn yourself did you?"

The sereva poured some water over his hands briefly, then shook his head. "Nah, no damage. Mostly just stung and startled me, I guess," he said, then grinned back at the canid sheepishly. "Guess my curiosity overwhelmed my common sense."

"Guess so, hehe. So you, uh... you want to try one cooked too, huh?"

"Yeah, why not? Kind of started getting more used to cooked food back in Clovaria, figured I'd give it a try since you were having it this way too."

"Right..." Lykou said, shooting him a subtle sidelong look as he cut another one in half to set in the fire. "Just be careful to let it cool a minute before you start eating it."

"I knowww, I learned my lesson," Kuna said, rolling his eyes.

After waiting for it to cool down, Kuna tried sipping some of the juice first, to test the temperature. When it was finally cool enough that he was sure it wouldn't burn, he again borrowed the knife to slice it into several chunks, then returned it and popped a piece into his mouth.

Lykou watched him with a mixture of amusement and fascination that became hard to hide. "Like it?"

"Yeah... surprising how much something can change just from being cooked. Really different from anything I've tasted before, but pretty... good..." the sereva replied, trailing off when he caught the odd look the konuul was giving him. "What? Something funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Lykou responded, shaking his head and looking away with a grin. "Glad you like it."

"What, did I get something on my nose?" Kuna asked, quickly rubbing his nose just in case, then looking confused when nothing came off.

"No, you're fine. Don't worry about it," Lykou replied, unable to mask his amusement as he finished carefully setting the next two halves in the fire.

Kuna glanced between the fruit and his friend for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "...Lykooouuuuu..."

Finally, the canid looked back up at him. "....welllll... it's just. Um."

"What is it? You're being weird, and it's making me a bit nervous."

Lykou took a breath, then started slicing his own half into chunks to make it easier to eat. "Well... one of the main reasons my tribe tends to enjoy them so much is that... when you cook them, they resemble boar meat, and I don't just mean... appearance. Taste and texture, too."

The sereva stared at him for a moment, his eyes slowly widening as the revelation sank in. "...what."

"...yeah," Lykou said with a somewhat sheepish grin. "...you gonna be alright?"

Kuna slowly lowered the partially-eaten fruit half, his eye twitching.

"...Ku?" the canid asked with more concern, his grin fading.

Finally, the sereva looked down at the fruit and the red juice all over his hands. When he looked back up, he shot his companion a very flat look. "Oh don't mind me, just a mild existential crisis," he said, then suddenly plucked up another piece and quickly gobbled it up. "Which seems about right for this journey we're on, so fuck it."

Lykou snorted and giggled a bit, relieved. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. Didn't mean to shatter your world, there..."

"I mean, it's not like it actually is meat," Kuna replied, then looked away as he took another small bite, his eye twitching again slightly. "Still... I wonder if I can force myself to forget that."

"Well it'll probably only be temporary, but there's always that last gourd. We should probably use it soon anyway, even with alcohol inside- or something like it at least- it probably won't last much longer."

Kuna shot him a look. "You just wanna see me get giggly and silly again."

"Who, me? Never!" Lykou replied with exaggerated indignation. "I was only trying to be helpful.

"Suuuure," the sereva retorted with a smirk, then rolled his eyes and sipped some water. "Anyway, maybe. You do have a good point, regardless. And if it can help me forget..." he trailed off, glancing back down at the fruit for a moment. "...that little bit of information, I guess it's worth it."

The konuul chuckled. "I considered not telling you, but I figured you'd find out eventually whenever we make it back to Lakefire- if not from me, then someone else."

"Fair point," the sereva said, then shot him another look. "Just don't think this means you can try and slip me any actual meat."

"Of course not!" Lykou assured him, genuinely a bit taken aback. "I wouldn't do that to you, Ku."

Kuna smiled. "Yeah, I know you wouldn't. Just messing with you."

*****

The two of them continued chatting even after they finished eating, as the sun gradually set. Some kind of insect, like a cross between fireflies and dragonflies zipped around across the lake and among the trees near the shoreline, making an impressive sight. Kuna ultimately decided to hold off on the gourd juice, at least until he caught up on some sleep. Eventually, once the moon was visibly climbing into the sky, they decided to start getting ready for bed, even if they weren't quite as tired as they'd expected to be.

In fact, while Lykou was stripping out of his new day-clothing, Kuna used his magic to improve upon the shelter he'd made earlier, expanding it a little and wrapping it in a mossy mat to close the gaps between the roots. When he finished, he turned around and blushed when he saw a completely naked konuul taking a sip from his waterskin.

"W-woah, hey, put your shorts on, you goofball."

"Aww, you really gonna make me wear those beat-up old things just to sleep?" Lykou teased.

"Hey, I'm gonna be wearing mine too, you know," the sereva pointed out, sneaking a quick glance back at the canid.

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want your 'drone' to impregnate you or anything."

Kuna's blush immediately intensified as he stiffened up and shot the konuul a glare, sputtering for a moment. "Wh-th-f-... LYKOU!"

"What, you saying you do?"

"Do you want a root up your ass?!" the sereva threatened with his magic, though his grip on the energy was shaky under the circumstances, the aura flickering around his hand.

"Sounds more like you'd appreciate more."

"That's it," Kuna replied as he charged at the konuul, trying and failing to repress the flustered grin spreading across his face. He missed as the canid managed to jump out of the way just in time. "I'm tying you in vines and throwing you in the lake."

"Ooo, kinky~" Lykou teased as he continued jumping out of the way of a few more of the sereva's attempts to grab him. "You know, I bet your magic makes your 'personal time' a lot more interesting." Kuna briefly paused and seemed lost in thought. When Lykou noticed, he beamed and snickered. "Oh fuck, you're actually thinking about it, aren't you?"

"W-NOI'MNOT," Kuna quickly blurted out defensively, shooting him another look.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?"

Again, the sereva charged at him. "I hope you like sleeping in lake moss!"

This time, Lykou let himself get tackled to the ground and giggled. "Wellp, you got me. You'll have to get naked too if you want to do anything interesting, though."

"UGH!" Kuna took off his robe and play-smothered the konuul with it, then rolled off and sat up, pouting playfully and blushing intensely. Luckily, he'd already been wearing his own shorts under it anyway. "Perv."

Lykou removed the balled-up robe after the sereva climbed off of him and snickered, then shot his friend a smile as he layed the clump of fabric in his lap. "Hey, c'mon. We haven't been out by ourselves in, what, a week now, at least? And after today I figured a bit of goofing around was warranted."

"Yeah, yeah," Kuna muttered. Nonetheless he smirked back at him. "You and your 'goofing around'."

"Your fault for getting so adorably flustered about it."

The sereva stuck his tongue out at him, and the konuul snickered. "Seriously though. All teasing aside, you ever consider giving it a try?"

"L-Lykou!"

"No really! I'm being serious now. I know you like to, um... use... things, other than just your hand, for... stuff," Lykou somewhat awkwardly continued. "You can't always find something growing naturally and probably shouldn't be wasting carrots and such anyway. So..."

Kuna stared at him with a perplexed and embarrassed expression. "...you're really asking me this stuff??"

"Well, yeah," the canid said. He paused for a minute, then shrugged with a sheepish look. "Sorry, nevermind, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Been a while for me too, so I guess my brain was just going places."

Kuna fidgeted a little and looked away, then shyly grinned a little. "Eh, just... n-not used to the idea of talking about that kind of thing, I guess."

"Heh, yeah, admittedly not an everyday kind of conversation..."

Kuna bit his lip and seemed lost in thought for a moment. "...I guess it could be... interesting."

"Hmm?"

"The... magic thing," Kuna replied with a coy smirk, averting his gaze. "I guess I could manipulate a plant for... stuff. Never really thought about it."

Lykou giggled. "You should give it a try. Just don't forget to turn it back if you go making, I dunno, a dick-flower or something."

The sereva burst into a snickering fit at the mental image of a field of big-dicked daisies. "Fucking dick-flower... thanks, that's something that's not leaving my head anytime soon."

"I imagine that'd make it awkward for the bees, too. Hey, with enough energy you could certainly make Zig's day more interesting, I'm sure," the canid retorted and followed up with a little fit of his own.

Kuna fell over giggling. Eventually, when their laughter subsided, he sat back up and sighed. "What a freaking conversation..."

"Yeah," the canid agreed. "...seriously though, you should try it sometime."

"...maybe," Kuna said and rolled his eyes. "Probably not as good as... well... mmmnevermind."

"The real thing? Probably not," Lykou teased with a wink. "Still, though."

"...I wonder if I could make a dick-sucking flower, too," the sereva mused aloud.

Lykou stared at him for a moment, then burst into giggles again.

Kuna grinned. "I mean... if those 'elnyr' people can make ones that bite, maybe I could make a toothless one that just... you know."

"Now who's the perv??" the canid teased, reaching over and booping his friend's nose.

"Hey, you started it!" Kuna retorted and poked him back, then sighed. "So do you and Naira talk about this kind of stuff too?"

"...pretty much," Lykou said, staring off with a somewhat wistful smile. "There's practically nothing we hide from each other."

Kuna shot him a sympathetic look and rubbed his shoulder gently. "You'll see her again before you know it," he reassured him. "Who knows? Maybe the next arch will be the last one and Lakefire's only a day or two away."

"Somehow I have a feeling we're not so lucky," the canid said, then sighed and shrugged. "But as long as we're making progress, that's the important thing. Still damn miss her, though. And the others, too."

Kuna gave him a quick, tight hug. "Hey, you never know," he said, then smirked when he pulled back. "Pessimism is my job, remember?"

Lykou smirked and nudged him playfully. "I'm not being pessimistic. But I get the point."

The sereva rubbed his back and thought for a minute. "You said you two are really close, right? Best friends or something?"

"Oh definitely. Friends since we were both old enough to walk, basically. And after a certain point we even... er, well, nevermind."

"Hmm? What?"

Lykou looked thoughtful and blushed faintly again. He quickly shook it off after a moment, though. "Eh, not important. I'll... tell you some other time," he said.

"Aww, c'mon, tell me!" the sereva playfully insisted.

"Trust me, I... I will. Just... not right now," he said, then gave the sereva a playful look. "What, you're not jealous, are you?"

"N-no!" Kuna quickly retorted and gave him a light, playful shove. "C'mon, I know I can't compete with someone you've known all your life. I'm just glad to be friends with you at all, and I look forward to meeting her."

"It's not a competition, you goofball," Lykou replied, tussling the sereva's hair lightly. "And yeah, I look forward to introducing you two." He paused for a moment and seemed lost in thought. "...you know, it's funny. I've known you much less time, but I do already feel like we're about as close, too. Feels like it's been way, way longer."

Kuna smiled bashfully. "Must be all the crazy shit we've been through together during this time," he said, then leaned against the konuul. "But yeah, I feel the same way. I'm happy to call you my best friend. Not that I have a lot to compare to, but still."

"Oof, right," the canid replied, wincing a bit.

"Hey, you don't see me brooding over it any more do you?" the sereva replied, nudging him playfully. "I'm just happy to make up for lost time with a damn good one."

Lykou blushed and smiled, then wrapped an arm around him and squeezed him gently. "Now who's being the sappy one?"

Kuna giggled, then booped the canid's nose. "You're still the champ in that contest."

"Whatever you say," the canid replied, then yawned. "Well, we should get some rest."

Kuna nodded. "Sounds good. Make sure you put those shorts on though," he said with a smirk, grabbing his robe back.

"W-"

"And no more pervy comments!"

The canid snickered again. "Fiiiine."

Kuna banked the fire while Lykou fetched and put on his old shorts. Afterwards, they both crawled into their now-expanded shelter, which the sereva then used his magic to seal up, so that they wouldn't have to take watch shifts for the night. They both embraced before stretching out under the shared blanket.

"Goodnight, Ku."

"G'night, Kou."

*****

The next morning, Kuna sat up and rubbed his eyes, then glanced down with a frustrated expression. After bits of the previous night's discussion and week's neglect, a certain bit of his anatomy was demanding attention. With a faint sigh, he summoned up his magic and lowered the roots that he'd used as a door to the shelter. He began to crawl out, only to hear Lykou stir and stretch behind him. He quickly grabbed his nearby robe to cover his crotch, trying to make it look like he was just about to get dressed. "O-oh, I didn't wake you did I? I was just going to. Um... g-get some breakf-"

"You don't have to lie," Lykou interrupted groggily as he got up and smirked at the sereva. "You need some alone time, don't ya?"

Kuna flushed hotly and looked away with a bashful expression. "...y-yeah."

"Yeah, thought so. Truth be told, uh," the canid responded, blushing and grinning sheepishly back as he pulled his legs up and positioned the blanket to hide his crotch. "S-same. Guess all that talk last night didn't help."

"R-right. I'll just... go find a private spot and be back s-soon. You can uh... cover the front with the blanket until you're done if you want."

Lykou chuckled. "Sure, sounds good. Stay safe, though. Use your magic to make another little mini-shelter if you have to."

"...yeah, good point. Don't need something attacking me while... yeah," the sereva said, shivering a bit. "Well anyway... be back soon," he added with a flustered smirk.

He quickly hurried off, in search of a quiet, private spot far enough away to avoid it being awkward, but close enough that either of them could cry out for help if needed and they'd still be able to hear each other. Once he settled on a place, he manifested his magic and set up a makeshift barrier of tall roots that jutted out of the ground, with mats of moss growing around them to form a sort of privacy curtain.

Finally, he plopped down and wasted no time pulling off his shorts, revealing his needy erection. Sorry for neglecting you again lately, he thought to himself in mild amusement, before grabbing and stroking it some. His eyes rolled up a little and he moaned softly as he leaned back and started letting his mind wander to naughty places. Oh yeah, I definitely need this.

After a few moments, though, his usual fantasies were overtaken by some other thoughts, and he paused as he remembered the previous night's conversation. He was a little uncertain of the wisdom of combining mystical energies with his personal 'playtime', but eventually his curious horny-brain won out over his paranoia. He took a moment to grasp the flow of life energy, although his state of mind initially made it a little hard to focus. He found a small weed of some kind growing nearby and began experimenting with shaping it into something a bit more... lewd. The perverse thoughts running through his mind made it extra difficult to stay focused on the actual task, and it took longer than he'd have liked to accomplish anything with it. All the while his hand kept straying to his cock again to stroke it, almost involuntarily. He considered giving up and just doing what he always did, but he was determined to at least try the idea out.

Soon enough, he'd mutated the thing into something that he was pretty sure nature itself would balk at, and he dared not imagine what any spirits that might happen across it would say about it. Even he couldn't help but grin in amusement at the sight at first. Clearly, Lykou's comment affected him too much, because there in front of him was a flower with a phallic-looking protrusion in place of its usual stamen. He almost felt too embarrassed and amused by it to go any further, but he didn't want the effort to be in vain.

I can't believe I'm doing this, he thought to himself as he reached over and grabbed the thing experimentally. Though it'd been difficult to focus on the energies, he at least did a decent job getting the texture, size, and shape to be about what he wanted. He rolled his eyes up, glad nobody could see him, then leaned over and began to fellate the flower-dong. After a moment he pulled back and screwed up his face a bit. It had an odd taste, but he supposed that was probably normal for whatever kind of plant it was originally. Taste had admittedly not been a thing he'd focused too much on when mutating it. But at least his saliva lubed it up a little.

Taking a deep breath, he re-positioned himself above the flower and slowly pushed it inside himself, furrowing his brow as he went. It was nothing like the random raw vegetables he occasionally sacrificed for such purposes. It was less tapered than a carrot, for one thing, which made it a little more challenging. Still, he soon found himself enjoying it as he began slowlu sliding it in and out of himself.

After a minute or two, he tried using his magic to grab it and cause it to move around without his hand. But he found it awkward and frustrating. Just as he would get into it, he'd get lost in the moment and lose his grip on the energy, causing the plant to stop moving. Then he'd have to focus to grasp it again, and take attention off of what he really wanted to be focusing on. Eventually he settled on just manipulating it the old fashioned way, while using his other hand to stroke himself.

As he gradually worked himself up, his mind wandered and he imagined himself getting stuffed by a certain attractive konuul. The thought made him blush intensely, but he couldn't deny how much the idea turned him on. In the past, much of his playtime fantasies tended to be a bit ambiguous. Occasionally there were members of his tribe he found attractive, especially earlier on. But their coldness and cruelty tended to dampen their appeal more over time, to the point where he mostly fantasized about the idea in the abstract, and maybe ambiguously attractive individuals doing lewd things to him. But now he'd met someone who not only was kind to him, but was, in his view at least, downright hot.

Somehow, he knew it wasn't exactly normal to have such lewd thoughts about a friend, but he couldn't help it. He even tried picturing a lepne or even a shakonu individual taking him, but it just didn't work. He suspected the latter would be way too big for him anyway. And in any case, no matter what, his mind kept wandering back to those toned muscles, that sweet, playful face, that softy, fluffy fur, and that odd, swishy tail of Lykou's. And of course, he'd seen what he was packing downstairs several times, although of course never at its fully 'ready to go' state. Still, if those balls are anything to go by... he thought to himself with a little shiver. He could just imagine feeling the canid's hot breath on his neck and shoulder as he leaned over and rutted him, panting right near his ear. The thought got him rock hard and throbbing in no time.

But suddenly a funny idea came to him that he couldn't resist. It was a little ridiculous, but he didn't care, because it'd help his imagination. He suddenly laid on his back and- after a moment of trying to focus enough to grasp his magic again- grew some roots out of the ground to grab his legs and lift them up. With some difficulty, he got the flower moving again without directly using his hands. He was determined to make it work. He even brought up another root that he smoothed out before having it take over stroking his cock. It was a bit awkward, to say the least. But he had to admit it felt kind of good, in a weird way. And now he could imagine he was really being fucked by someone, not just jerking it to the idea.

Still, it was a challenge to keep it going as he went along. Multiple times, he immensely frustrated himself by losing his grasp on the magic and having to calm down and re-focus. Finally, when he was right at the edge, he gave up on the magic and finished himself off with his hand. He ended up arching his back and stifling a moan with his other hand as he painted his belly and chest with a particularly large load.

When he finally started to come down from his orgasm and bask in wonderful afterglow, he couldn't help but blush at his situation. Being covered in cum, the roots still holding his legs up in a very submissive position, and the plant-dick still wedged in his backside, he imagined he must have looked quite a sight. It was somehow both embarrassing to think about, and slightly arousing at the same time. But before he could get himself worked up again, he pulled the flower-cock out with a small shudder, then used his magic to withdraw the roots so he could lower his legs. After that, he just basked there for a few minutes in his reverie.

But soon he realized he would have to clean up the big mess he'd made before he let Lykou see him again, since he'd caught it all on his torso. He quickly got up, then immediately stumbled over and braced himself against one of the barrier-roots nearby, realizing that the whole thing had left his legs a little weak. After taking a moment to steady himself, he used his magic to lower the roots and rush down to the lake, worried about how long he'd already taken. While using his magic had been an exciting and interesting experience, it also drew the whole thing out a fair bit longer than he'd usually take for such things.

When he arrived at the water's edge, he nearly tripped when he realized Lykou was already there, fully naked again and cleaning himself up. The konuul looked up to greet him before he could hide, then froze and eyed the sereva, blushing and smirking. "Damn, Ku... that pent up, huh?

The sereva blushed furiously and quickly tried to cover his chest. He grinned sheepishly and his ears folded down. "Uhhh.... Yeahhh..." he said, ending in a small squeak of embarrassment.

"Better hop in and clean that off before it has any more time to dry," the canid said with a snicker. "I was starting to worry about you taking so long. I see you um... forgot something," he added, pointing at the sereva's lower half, which was notably lacking shorts.

"...fuck," Kuna squeaked out, then immediately brought one hand to his face as he quickly darted into the water and submerged himself. He tried to hold his breath as long as he could, hoping he'd just wake up from an odd dream. But eventually, his lungs began loudly announcing otherwise, so he surfaced with a gasp and averted his gaze from his friend, still hugging himself. "....can we just pretend you saw nothing?"

Lykou chuckled. "Why? Nothing to be ashamed of," he asked, then grinned playfully. "Let me guess, you tried using your magic?"

The sereva shot him a look, then rolled his eyes, still blushing hotly. "...yes."

"Oh wow, really? Nice! I guess it went pretty well, huh?"

"...so-so, to be honest. Anyway, what are you doing down here? I thought you were also going to... you know."

"I did, but you took way longer than usual. I was about to come looking for your, even. I take it the magic thing was trickier than you thought?"

"N-not exactly easy to focus on mystical energies and other... things... at the same time, you know," the sereva retorted as he dipped down to submerge as much of himself as he could and start washing the spunk out of his chest fur.

"Still, I guess it... had some fun results?"

Kuna sighed and smirked bashfully at the konuul. "You're going to keep pestering me about it, aren't you?"

"You know it," Lykou replied with a playful grin.

"Can it at least wait until after breakfast? This is... awkward enough as it is."

"Alright, fiiiine," the canid replied, then started stepping back out of the water. "Just don't forget to go grab your shorts after you're done here. Unless you'd rather just go without them of course."

"I'll get 'em," Kuna said, rolling his eyes. "Perv."

Lykou snickered as he made his way back to the camp.

*****

Eventually, Kuna made his way back to the camp. He found himself blushing and feeling self-conscious along the way, although at least he was wearing his shorts again, having gone back to get them and lower the rest of the barrier roots he'd set up while he was there. It may not have been strictly necessary, but he felt weird about leaving a random, clearly unnatural set of makeshift walls made of roots and moss just standing in the middle of nowhere, after having time to think about it. And he definitely made sure un-phallify the flower before he left, even if part of him was amused at the thought of some random stranger stumbling across it at some point after they were long gone.

"Ah, there you are. I was starting to worry again," Lykou said to the approaching sereva. He had a small fire going in the firepit and had opted to roast another charnop for breakfast. "Want me to throw an extra charnop in for you?"

"Mmn... nah, I'm-" the sereva started to say, but he was interrupted by his rumbling belly at the thought and grinned sheepishly. "...yeah alright, fine."

Lyou immediately picked another one of the fruits up and began cutting it in half. "Manage to get all cleaned up? That looked like quite a mess," he playfully teased, grinning at his friend.

Kuna groaned a bit as he ducked into their shelter and took out his robe, then quickly put it on. "Yeah, I'm clean now," he grumbled, then sat down across from the konuul, awkwardly trying to avoid meeting his eyes. "What about you? You sure you got 'clean' back there?" he added, trying to throw attention off himself.

"Mhmm. I was more careful with my fun, and got there sooner anyway. I don't have fancy magic to play with," Lykou teased, then poked his tongue out at the sereva.

Kuna rolled his eyes but couldn't help smirk a little in spite of himself. "Yeah, yeah... still can't believe you're just... talking about that kind of thing so openly."

The canid snickered as he carefully stuck the two halves of the second fruit in the fire. "Hey, it's just part of life. Honestly, I don't see why people get so hung up about it in the first place."

Kuna opened his mouth to reply, but paused, unable to think of a decent counterpoint, so he just shrugged as he sat down. "I dunno. You're just a perv, though."

"Hey, I resemble that remark."

The sereva snickered. "You're lucky you're so sweet and charming, too. Ya damn goofball."

The konuul sat back and grinned at him after he finished getting the fruit set up. "So really, how did the magic go?"

"Lykoooou," Kuna whined, hiding his face behind his hand and looking away bashfully.

"Whaaaat? C'mon, you got me curious."

The sereva shot him a look, but grinned in spite of himself. With anyone else, he'd probably storm off or at least clam up. But with Lykou, it was starting to feel a bit different. He just chalked it up to the konuul's usual playful, disarming friendliness. And in any case, as the secret subject of his... self indulgence, he felt like he owed the canid something. "...it was... a mixed experience."

"Oh? How so?"

"What, you want every detail?" the sereva snarked, quirking a brow. "Who am I kidding, you probably do. Let's just say it's hard to focus on grasping and manipulating mystical energies while thinking about... other things."

"Ohhh, I wonder what those 'other things' are," Lykou teased. "Still, sounds frustrating. Guess that's why it took so long, huh?"

"Mhmm. Didn't mean to drag it out, even if... mmn, nevermind."

"Even if the end result was intense?"

"...yeah," Kuna replied and looked away, still blushing.

"Maybe you'll give me more details after some of that gourd-juice tonight, hmm~?"

The sereva shot him a look. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

Lykou giggled. "I don't hear a no."

"We'll see," Kuna replied, rolling his eyes and grinning bashfully. "Only if you tell me what you decided not to about Naira and you last night."

The konuul was caught a bit off-guard, but then smirked faintly and looked away. "...yeah okay. Fair enough," he said, then leaned over and checked on the fruits in the fire. "As long as I get some of that juice, too."

"Obviously. Not going to drink it all on my own, after all. I don't want to end up having another miserable follow-up morning."

"Good to know you haven't forgotten your lesson," Lykou said, snickering.

"Fuck no," Kuna replied with a small shudder. "Er... we'll have to find some way to mix it with water before we drink it. We don't have any spare containers though, unless we half-empty my jug or your waterskin first."

"Well, we could always use the charnop rinds for cups."

"True... not sure how well the flavors would mix, though."

Lykou thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I'd think pretty well, but we'll just have to wait and see."

"It's not as sweet as a lot of fruits, so I don't know," Kuna replied. "...hey, are you still going to go hunting anytime soon? I know we have the charnops now, but eating the same thing all the time is going to get old fast, I imagine."

"True, but I really don't feel like hunting at the moment. I'm... still trying to shake off all the bloodshed from that fight with the bandits."

Kuna shivered. "Yeah, fair point."

"Besides, I can always try some of the other stuff you have. As long as I have meat or charnops at least once or twice a day, I should be fine."

"Will they really fill in for meat? I thought 'plant stuff' made you queasy if that's all you ate for more than a day or two."

"They work, somehow. Sometimes game is scarce back home and we all have to make do with charnops and fish, and a little of whatever's growing nearby that goes well with them."

"Huh. That's good to know, then."

"Yep. Would be nice if I could find more things like charnops so I wouldn't have to worry about hunting at all."

"Yeah... we should keep an eye for things like that while we travel. With any luck I could introduce some new things to grow around Lakefire."

"That'd be great!" Lykou agreed. He checked the charnops in the fire again, then carefully took them out with the pair of thick sticks he'd soaked again. "Well, let's go ahead and eat so we can head out."

Kuna's belly rumbled again at the thought. "Yeah, sounds good," he said with a sheepish grin.

"You know you could have snacked on something while you wait," Lykou pointed out. He smirked and arched a brow. "Or did you really just enjoy these that much, even despite what I told you about them."

"Oh hush. Don't remind me," the sereva replied with a flat look. "Anyway I need to do some gathering myself soon. Might keep an eye out for anything else that looks good along the way. In the meantime we might just have to stock up both our bags with these things."

"Uh-huh. Just might 'have' to. Oh so reluctantly, I'm sure."

"...okayyeahthey'redelicious, shutup."

"Hah! Knew it."