Monster Valley: A Kobold Trapper

Story by ReynartWrites on SoFurry

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Monster girls are cool. Monsters are coooool.


Far out past the realm of humans, was an expanse of wilderness that stretched farther than the natural eye could possibly see. At one end, there were ranges of mountains with valleys covered in forests and peaks topped with pure white snow. The forests held great and towering trees with strong bark and long branches that reached out towards the mountains to try their best to touch the peaks with leaf canopies that kept the sun away from the forest floor. At times, the shadows of the mountains covered and hid deep valleys where the paths into them were hidden to all but a few who lived in those secluded valleys. The clouds were a constantly expanding shroud across the sky and occasionally broke to shower the earth in rain over the forests and the lower portions of the mountains. The wilderness was vast and stretched out further and further until the land turned into flat and grassy meadows which rolled on for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, those meadows transitioned into a stretch of desert which held its own secrets buried beneath the dunes and hidden among the oases.

Near the beginning of the vast wilderness where the mountain ranges began, humans pushed and tried their hardest to settle the wilderness of the forests, valleys and more, but they could do little without upsetting the gentle balance of the folk who already lived there. What were considered monsters to them made their homes in the high peaks, in the hidden valleys and among the trees of the forests. There were even monsters living in the rolling meadows and deep in the desert beneath the blistering sun. The wilderness was the home of monsters and the realm of humans would never breach into that land without their permission.

Among all the monsters, the kobolds could be found in almost every climate and region that could be thought of, but most of all, they were found within and around the mountains nearest to the beginning of the wilderness. They lived together in great burrows full of the little-scaled creatures and made their homes in tunnels with the occasional city where enough kobolds had gathered to spark interest in making such ventures. Around the perimeter of one of the mountains containing a city, were traps that made it difficult for invaders to trespass and for prey animals to invade. Simple things like rope loops attached to trees that caught the feet of any who stepped by without looking, pitfalls and other such simple devices that were meant to catch the stupid and unaware, but closer to the burrows there were strange contraptions powered by magic; golems that were made of earth and metal, crossbows that fired from mounted stations and other devices made by magic and machinery.

Trappers were among the most clever kobolds who showed a strange amount of ingenuity and flaunted it in the face of the other monsters and humans alike. They often worked to the benefit of all kobold burrows and even between feuding burrows, trappers still shared information and helped each other remain safe from any other species that might invade. Kobolds were small and needed to band together after all. Among these trappers was a green scaled sort with amber eyes and a smirk that seemed to never leave her mouth, a kobold by the name of Silica.

Silica sat on a branch jutting out at the top of a large tree overlooking her home mountain and various other sites dotting the forest she had been scouting. In one large clawed hand, she held a small looking glass to help her spy what she needed to see without getting in any danger herself. She wore boiled leather styled specifically for her kind with a fan of cloth that sat over the base of her thick tail. The mist from the mountains could bring a splitting cold even in the winter so her trousers were lined with furs that covered her supple hips and short as she might be, her legs were strong. Truth be told, she'd rather be wearing nothing at all, but some protection was necessary when going out and about to set traps and survey the land. Silica wasn't being commanded to do anything today, in fact, today she had been told she had free reign to do whatever she pleased and her superiors had even recommended that she give herself some time to rest and relax, but that recommendation above all else sounded boring and boredom was intolerable.

Silica enjoyed her job and enjoyed tinkering about with new ways to trap idiots who got too close to kobold homes, but more than that, she loved going out in the field to survey the land and map it out. At the moment, she couldn't really draw on her maps because of the light rain filtering through the great canopy of leaves above her and dripping down on her head with cool pleasant drops, but the leather pack at her side was stuffed with maps that were drawn and drawn again to make note of the changing landscape over and under the ground.

Silica looked out over the mountains near her home and smiled as she saw the clouds drifting just above the peak. It was a peaceful rainy day with very little to do and very little to worry about from what she saw. She supposed braving tall trees and scouting the region was her form of rest and relaxation away from the excitement and noise of her home burrow. She loved all of her kin just as much as any other kobold would probably, but the constant noise could get a little stressful, especially when so many in her home city needed her.

Silica was a trapper, this was true, but she also helped the architects and the engineers in her city with figuring out how they were going to fit certain structures and how they would keep them up. On occasion, she had led raiding parties to local encampments of humans who had encroached on their territory to begin settling without their permission and she had earned the respect of her peers through these actions and more. Truth be told, Silica was better suited to magic and trapping, but she tried her hardest to help out anyone who asked her for it and she'd like to think that it earned her more than just a little respect. If she was really needed then she would gladly give up her downtime to assist in whatever was necessary for the good of her home and kin.

Trappers worked by themselves normally, so being back home and being pestered by so many actually felt good on some days, even if it was for dangerous work. Occasionally, she tracked down other trappers and handed them notes to spread to the others as a way of keeping in contact and keeping the information flowing. The others had taken keenly to it and often shared strange and new things that they found in the deeper portions of the wilderness where she didn't often wander to. She wondered, perhaps one day she should make a trip out there, but for now she would serve better sitting here scouting the forest.

Taking a look through her glass again at the ground floor, she could see mice walking through the forest paths next to a cart drawn by horses. They were too far down to possibly see her, but she watched them carefully as their small caravan of two made their way through the safe routes that had been laid out for visitors and traders. It always gave her some amount of anxiety to see traders going through their lands. There were bandits and more that haunted their grounds and loved to sneak up on unassuming folk traveling in small bands. Kobolds weren't superior fighters in the open and could be overpowered by the many other monsters and even some humans that liked to stalk their territory as bandits and brigands. The only thing that they could do was trap the surrounding areas and make sure that friends had the maps to safe paths. If only she could solve that problem somehow.

Silica's tail suddenly took to lashing as she spotted something moving behind brush and trees alike. She squeezed and twisted the looking glass to deepen her view and she could see that sitting there behind one of the many trees was a gnoll. He was a brown furred creature with black spots along his back. In his paws he held an ax with a jagged blade and he wore nothing but a loincloth. It seemed as if she had caught a bandit on her downtime waiting in the bushes to ambush an innocent caravan. That one gnoll could probably break the lot of those mice without a single strand of his fur harmed in the process. The merchants didn't seem to have any guards and that meant they were probably ill-equipped and to that gnoll, easy targets. Well, what a surprise he was in for. She loved treating overly confident brigands of larger species a walloping, even if it was with the help of her tools.

Her crossbow had been lying behind her against the tree carefully. She brought it up into her arms and took a special bolt from her quiver before giving the shaft a kiss and chuckling as she pulled back the string to ready it ever so gingerly. The rain was still pouring but the wind was still and the only sound that could be heard was the pitter patter of leaves being struck like drums by the rain. With one eye closed and the other narrowed, she took aim and lined up her shot.

The squeak of the merchants could be heard echoing against the trees as the gnoll leaped from the bushes while swinging his ax, "Drop your valuables and leave, leave before I cut you down and drink deep of your blood!"

Backed against their cart, the merchants began to empty their pockets and pouches before the gnoll, but one brave fool seemed to think otherwise. One of the smaller of the mice with white fur stepped forth to face the gnoll with a small dagger in paw, "I'll...I'll not have you taking our stock! We traded for these things fair and square. If you're here to buy then say so and I'll gladly part gold for product!"

That bit of bravery soon ended as the ax was raised high in the air. The mouse's ears folded back and he planted himself flat against the cart and stared up at the ax with wide misty eyes that threatened to tear up. When the gnoll's ax began to fall, he paused as a bolt sunk into his shoulder. He snarled as he jolted from the sudden impact and dropped his ax. The gnoll gripped at the bolt and began to try and pull it out but as he did his eyes grew heavy and his body began to sag until he crumpled over, a soft snore sounding off from his mouth and nose.

The mice merchant's looked in surprise as they saw the creature fall over. Neither of them could believe that their lives had been saved. They were certain that today was going to be their day to die. One of the mice went to check the gnoll, poking at him with curious digits as he muttered, "Is he dead?"

The snow furred mouse replied with a huff, "If he is then good! If not then we should bolt on out of here before another shows up. Still, I'd like to know which tree fired off that bolt and saved us. I didn't expect any protection on these roads."

From out of the brushes behind them came a feminine voice dripping with good humor, "Here I thought the Fae were more inclined to attack mice and not gnolls. Now, if you'd like to know who fired off that bolt, I'll tell you that it was some sort of benevolent forest goddess, so now tell me, are you two okay?"

The snow furred mouse who had taken a chance with talking back to the gnoll touched his heart and let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank goodness...I didn't think anyone would come to help. We certainly don't expect these lands to be protected on the roads. We're just starting so we don't have enough for guards, but...We can and should at least compensate you."

Silica blinked and put a hand up to wave off the mouse, "No need for that. Just move along and get back to your homes."

The other mouse spoke up with a squeak, "Please, at least let us give you something. Perhaps you would like some salted jerky?"

Meat? Now that was tempting above the coin of poor merchants, "I...Well, I guess I could take what you want to give."

What they had wanted to give her, was a sizeable sack of jerky. She had managed to convince them to give her a pouch she could fit on her belt instead. Once they were satisfied they waved her off and continued on their merry way to hopefully continue on home instead of being jumped again. Now that they were gone, she needed to decide what she was going to do with her gnoll friend. Bandits were troublesome sorts, but it might be more interesting to hear him out first. For that, she'd need to bind him and take him off of the road to interrogate him. With a grunt, she leaned down to grab onto the gnoll and start dragging him off. He was a hefty boy and much larger than she was due to certain inborn species differences. The fact that he was large tower of muscle and fur didn't help the fact that she needed to drag him across dirt and grass. What she wouldn't do for a bigger body right about now.

When she had finally finished managing to drag the large brute off of the beaten path, Silica had set him against the roots of a large tree in a small clearing and she stood with crossbow in arms taking aim at his head with a small smirk on her mouth. Ropes kept the gnoll's arms tied together with tight knots as well as his ankles together so he wouldn't run away, but she didn't plan on killing the poor thing, oh heavens no. She just wanted to give him a little fright.

When the gnoll woke up, he woke up with a groan and he shook his head. He brought his head up groggily to face Silica's crossbow and for a few moments he blinked as he tried to make out what was happening before him and recover from his drug induced slumber. Once he was awake enough, his eyes opened wide and he tried to get up without realizing that he was bound and fell over on his side with a snarl just as Silica let loose a bolt that stuck the tree where the gnoll's head had been with a long crack. The gnoll was panting and his eyes were wild orbs of blue as he looked about until his gaze settled on the green kobold in front of him with an accusatory stare.

Silica couldn't help but chuckle as she set her crossbow down and moved to kneel over the gnoll's head, "Hey there big guy. Saw you trying to ambush those mice, so, gotta ask, what are you doing in kobold territory? Don't have a home of your own?"

"Choke on your own traps!"

Silica sat her plump rear on his shoulder and pulled a piece of salted meat from the pouch she had received from the merchants to start chewing while speaking, "Yeah, no, y'know, I could have killed you right there? So, be nice and I'll be nice. Maybe I'll even let you go, so how about it? Tell me why you were out here in our territory."

The gnoll grumbled with his ears folded back. He squirmed beneath her and for a moment he seemed like he was about to snarl out another insult, but his nostrils flared and his eyes looked to the jerky in her hand. Silica wasn't blind, she took notice of his trembling mouth and the line of drool falling to the grassy ground. After taking another for herself, she took a piece of jerky to hang it over his head, "What drives all people to thievery I'm guessing, hunger?"

The gnoll beneath her muttered, "Exile and hunger go hand and hand."

Silica set the piece of jerky on the side of the gnoll's mouth and he opened wide to snap it up hungrily as she crossed one leg over the other, "So, got exiled from home and you were hungry so you turn to thieving. Understandable, why'd you get thrown out of your clan?"

After he finished chewing, he grunted, "Challenged a clan head to a duel for his position. He threw me out instead."

Silica chuckled, "Well, that just sucks. Tell me, what's your name big guy?"

"Another piece first."

Silica set another on the side of his mouth which he snapped up gratefully before retorting with a snort, "Jorr. No clan name anymore. So just Jorr."

"Name's Silica, Jorr. I'm a trapper and I'd appreciate you not attacking merchants out in the wild."

Jorr growled, "I'll just starve then."

"That'll be better for the forest. You'll be perfect fertilizer. If you really want I could put a bolt between the eyes before you even have a chance to starve and make this quick and easy."

When the gnoll didn't chuckle or even make an angry remark, Silica felt the smallest bit of guilt as she saw him slump, his ears flopping and his eyes narrowed and looking at the ground. With a sigh, she rubbed at her chin with one claw. Perhaps her crass comment had been a little bit too much. Her jokes could go a little far and well, that one had been one of her worst yet she supposed. So he was a bandit out of necessity rather than just being an evil bastard, why should she care? Well, maybe it was because she had a heart of gold, or maybe it was the fact that she thought that he looked like an overgrown puppy, either way, she decided that maybe she could help.

"Listen, Jorr. If you wanted, I could make use of your particular skills out in the field in kobold territory."

Jorr snorted, "Really? What skills would those be?"

Silica chuckled, "Swinging your ax like a mad beast. You see, the roads around here aren't too safe and kobolds aren't really the best at patrolling and going face to face with ambushing bandits, so, how about you patrol this road here to beat bandits up instead of innocent merchants and in exchange, I feed and pay you."

For a moment, the gnoll grew deathly quiet. Silence took the space between them and she leaned back to give him time while her tail swished from side to side. After a while of hearing nothing but the light drizzle passing through the leaves, he answered, "Fine. But get your fat ass off of me and cut me loose."

Silica beamed, "Why thank you! I'll have you know that a fat rump and good hips are a sign of a healthy female."

Jorr snorted, "Good hips? You're a small scaled lizard to me, nothing more than a runt."

The gnoll said that, but she saw his eyes try to catch a gander at her lower half sitting atop of him. She wondered if he was being honest or if he was just trying to taunt her, either way, she couldn't let such an insult stand, "Oh Jorr, you wound my pride. You really shouldn't do that, I'm a lady after all."

Truth be told, she had been ready to cut him loose and start their business relationship, but now there was a game to be had. Silica was proud of her looks and believed she could take whichever man or woman she wanted even through the gap of species and so she decided to maybe flaunt that a little. With a sigh, she got off of him and stretched. She sealed the pouch to the jerky and let her trousers down along with her belt, her tail flicking up into the air as she gave the gnoll a little show.

"See, isn't this rear of mine to die for? You don't have to pretend otherwise, any man would be drooling right now so go ahead and take in the sights."

When she turned her head she could see the gnoll staring her with deep blue eyes, his gaze a mixture of confusion and the tiniest bit of desire. More telling of his desire, was the bulge she saw against his loincloth. She had to smirk at that. She didn't even need to push him to see him squirm, didn't even need to tempt him to get him to retract his statement with his body, but she needed to hear him say it and so she teased, "See now, you're already getting hard down there, so I must have something going for me right?"

Jorr sniffed and looked away, "Just the air beneath my loincloth. Nothing having to do with your sorry rear."

Silica chuckled before she turned to saunter over to her captive. With a foot on his side, she kicked him over onto his back and stood over his head with her tail lashing about, "Really now? You're being rude...You know, I was being nice to you and you repay me like this. Maybe I should make use of that foul mouth of yours in a different manner."

Jorr grunted, his cock bouncing beneath his loincloth, "Try me."

Silica raised a brow. Was that his game then? To taunt her into using him? Perhaps he was not only hungry for food, but for a proper mate. Who knew how long he had been out in the wild with a woman, how long he had spent without emptying his balls. Such a thought caused her to tremble as wet arousal began to drip down her legs. Even if he was taunting her on purpose, she was more than willing to try a gnoll on for size.

Silica had expected some sort of struggle, some sort of reluctance to pleasure her, but as she dropped down and brought her cunt to his face his tongue almost immediately shot out against her pussy. Her legs trembled for a moment as she felt his thick tongue dart inside of her and his muzzle push up against her cunt with his cool nose sitting against the base of her tail. She could feel the gnoll's hunger and desire in every drag of that warm and wet tongue against her sensitive slit and every push of his muzzle against her wet folds. He wasn't shy about using his tongue to twist and dart around and she had to squeak as she felt that warm slippery thing slide against her clit occasionally. Silica wanted some sort of confession from his mouth of her beauty and of his own hunger for her body, but his tongue spoke volumes more than any words could. Soon, she found herself doubling over and pumping her hips to slap her wet cunt down against his mouth while her rear bounced about. Her claws reached down to dig beneath his fur and feel over his chest while her eyes shut tight and she rode his face.

Jorr didn't seem to care that her wet folds were smothering his mouth with hot arousal that dripped down the sides of his mouth, nor did he seem to care that she was using his mouth like a sex toy. The gnoll simply kept dragging his tongue inside of her and bringing his head up as best as he could to push his muzzle against her cunt and obliged her cravings which soon had the kobold moaning and calling her pleasure out which echoed against the trees along with the noise of his wet tongue and mouth working against her pussy.

Finally, she arched her back and felt her soaked insides clamp tight on his tongue as she felt her climax rocket up and down her spine with her tail coiling about his head in response. She squealed and her strong thighs clenched around his head as she collapsed onto her knees which only served to dig the gnoll's tongue deeper into her throbbing insides. With her tail sliding from his head and lashing up into the air, she flopped forward onto the gnoll's chest with her sensitive slit slowly pulling away from his tongue. Jorr brought his mouth over her rear cheeks, tongue dragging against the cool hide of her rump as he began to lick and kiss every portion of her ass while she purred and clawed at the fur of his stomach. She could see that his cock had come out to play right before her snout. Standing at attention, his twitching member had brushed aside the loincloth and was twitching and throbbing in the air before her while his tongue worked on her rear. What a beautiful thing that was, she couldn't imagine stuffing it all inside of her, but hell she was going to try it anyway, but first, Silica needed to taste that thick thing on her tongue to feel it pulse and drink deep of his seed.

Interrupting her lust drunk stupor, the gnoll grunted, "Gonna get me out of these ropes now?"

Silica blinked and she slid her rear onto his chest and looked back at him as she composed herself for one moment. She could see a twinkling of hunger in his eyes, his tongue licking his chops as he flashed his fangs making him look like some sort of wild beast. With a trembling sigh, she brought herself off of him with shaky legs to retrieve a knife from her belt. She could undo the knots herself and save the rope, but she would rather not wait.

While she sat him up to cut him loose from his binds, the gnoll whispered, "You could just untie me with those claws of yours."

Silica's heat was in full bloom, her heart racing and her tail lashing as she moved to his legs to slash apart the ropes tying his ankles as he sat up. When he made a motion to grab her, she pointed the knife to his neck and let out a hot breath, "I could have untied you, but I'm not in the mood to wait...Trapping is lonely work let me tell you this...And as I said, I am a healthy female."

The gnoll shivered as he obeyed the word of the knife and sat there with his legs spread. With knife still in hand, she leaned down to grip his shaft with her free hand. Silica could only fit half of his cock into her large hand. She leaned in close with her snout pressed against the shaft and her eyes on the tip as she let her tongue out to flick. Eventually, she set the knife aside and gripped his heavy balls to feel over each orb and marvel at how full and strong they felt. She started to run her hand up and down his cock while moving her mouth to over the tip of his cock to wrap her long tongue around it and taste it. She shivered as she felt the salty taste touch her tongue, trembled as she felt the warmth press into her mouth from the thick member that she slowly started to edge into her maw.

Down and down she went with her tongue twisting and coiling around every inch of his cock she could manage to shove into her maw. She tried her best to wet every inch of his member with her warm and slick spittle, her eyes closed as she worked ever so gently on his cock. Eventually, she felt the tip of his cock gracing her throat and her eyes shut as she tried to push herself to take more, the gnoll groaning as he felt his member slide deep against her tongue and throat. Now she began to move back and forth while cupping and massaging her balls, her head bobbing up and down as she worked to satisfy him as he had satisfied her. She could feel his hips thrusting to her and his paws hovering above her head as she kept on pleasuring him, his body trembling beneath her tongue and his cock swelling in her maw. Silica squirmed to the thrum of thoughts traveling along her mind. She wondered how it would feel to take every inch of this thing inside of her pussy and feel it breed her. Dragons above, to be bred? She needed to be careful not to let her instinct get the best of her.

While she was lost in thought, her eyes grew wide as she heard him grunt and slam his hips up to her mouth. She trembled and her eyes slowly closed as thick cum began to splatter against her tongue, heavy mounds of the stuff forming on her tongue as she tried her best to swallow every single drop. Even when her mouth was finally free of his orgasm she felt a bit of his seed trail from her panting mouth and hanging tongue, a soft spurt of the last portions of his semen warming the cool scales of her snout.

Jorr let out a huff of breath to the sky and leaned back on his elbows as he let out a low rumble of approval, "It has been too long..."

Silica brought her tongue back into her mouth and gulped down what was left of his cum. She felt a warm spot in her stomach from his heavy load, "Well, I hope that isn't all you've got. It was a lot, but I'm still not satisfied."

The gnoll was at attention with that little mention. His ears were perked and his tail was brushing the grass at his back while his cock at the front was fully erect again. She saw the invite and intrigue in his eyes and she moved to straddle his lap and place her heated lower lips on the tip of his cock with the barest of kisses. With her hands on his chest and his paw on her rear, she began to lower herself ever so slowly to edge his manhood between her wet folds. Careful, careful. She just needed a little bit to make sure that she wasn't going to break herself on his cock. The tip entered and she shuddered as she could already feel his girth stretching her. Just a little more and she lowered herself a bit again, but she had been careless.

While she was concentrating on taking it slow, the gnoll had other plans. His large paws grabbed her supple hips, digits digging against soft scales to feel over her plump flesh before he pulled her up and then dragged her down firmly so more than half of his cock was stuffed inside of her. Silica let out a loud squeak and dug her claws through the fur of his chest to scratch the skin beneath. She winced and bit at her bottom lip as she resisted the urge to bite down on his face for stretching her in such a rough manner. If it weren't for the fact that the pleasure was overwhelming her senses, then she might have had to retaliate for the pain she felt and for the pain she was going to feel afterward. The gnoll chuckled, but as her claws dug in deeper he grunted as she hissed, "Well, big boy, if you're going to be rough, then let me pay in kind."

Her claws dug firmly into his firm chest until she felt wet warmth touch her digits while she slammed herself down further on his cock. She gasped and shivered as she felt more of that thick thing spear and stretch her wide. She shut her eyes and focused on driving herself up and down his manhood, her tight pussy squeezing on it firmly and her tail curling around his balls to cup and around them. Silica bounced on his lap, up and down and around. She rolled her hips and brought them down as hard as she could manage on his cock while her claws dug into his chest and scraped down to his stomach where they stopped. The gnoll was trembling with his paws on her hips to help her move, but his grip had eased and one of his eyes was wincing in pain. At the same time, his tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted and let his pleasure be known in little whined and groans. When she looked up at him, when she saw the pleasure dotting his features, she had to grab his face with both of her hands and bring him down into a deep and passionate kiss. Their tongues met and her own wrapped around his as she swirled her hips and brought herself lower. She was forgetting not to get caught in her instinct and she barely cared that he was swelling inside of her and knotting her. She kept pumping her hips back and forth, back and forth even as she felt hot cum begin to fill and stain her insides. It was enough to drive her mad as her tail lashed out and her insides were stuffed with so much cum, but she kept grinding and moving on his lap until finally, she felt her own orgasm strike her insides like a hammer on steel as wet and sticky slaps sounded off from the grinding of his cock inside of her cunt.

With that, she deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding deep into his mouth before she pulled away slowly with a wet pop of their mouths parting. Both of them were panting now and the gnoll fell back with a groan. Silica herself sat atop of her conquered gnoll and smirked, but by the abyss, she knew she was going to be sore. At least it was fun.

At that point, she heard his stomach rumble and she blinked, "Oh...Hey, big guy, when we're not connected...I uh, I could put my pants on and hunt for some real game instead of feeding you slices of jerky."

Jorr looked up at her, his chest rising and falling as he panted the words, "That sounds...Good. Do you have some bandages?"

Silica took a look at the damage she had wrought on his chest and anywhere else she clawed and winced, "Uh yeah, in my pack with all my maps you should find some. Think you'll be okay to do that on your own."

Jorr snorted, "Yeah."

Now they waited and she could feel every drop of his cum inside of her waiting to be freed. It was silent between the two of them as they waited out his knot and their afterglow. The sound of rain tapping leaves and the forest around them made for a gentle song that threatened to put her to sleep. The cool rain on the scales of her legs and tail also helped to drive away the aftershock of lust she still felt. She'd have to stop by the alchemist to get something to make sure his seed didn't take to her eggs, but she certainly didn't regret what she had done. With a blissful sigh, she rubbed her abdomen while cherishing the feeling of being so full and waiting, waiting until she could get up and hunt for the both of them.

Silica had expected total silence to keep them for the entire duration of them being stuck, but she heard his voice come out softly, "Thank you. If you really mean to give me a chance. A new life awaits me...I was angered at first at being captured in such a way, but I shouldn't have snapped at you or even teased you."

Silica's eyes widened in a bit of shock before she crossed her arms and smiled, "My...Such a soft gnoll. Don't thank me just yet. I plan on working you to the bone and well...Perhaps we could work together as well."

The gnoll looked to her with raised ear, "Hrm?"

"Later Jorr...For now, let's just enjoy the quiet of the forest and each other. I doubt I'll be getting free anytime soon."

With that stated, they remained lying with each other on the forest floor until his knot deflated and she was able to get up. Rather than go off to hunt immediately, she took the bandages from her leather bound pack and began working on treating her new friend carefully. She had been brazen and had enjoyed toying with the gnoll when she thought he was some strange invader, but now that she realized that he was an ally and a friend at that, she would care for him properly instead of teasing him so much. Maybe when he was feeling better and properly fed she would tease him, but for now this would suffice.

When she arrived from her hunt, the her body was already feeling sore from their romp around her hips and between her legs. She winced occasionally while moving, but it didn't slow her down. By the time she had returned to their little clearing, the rain had halted and only small drops skipping off of leaves were left. She had two heavy looking hares in hand and presented them to the gnoll. He could have snapped them up fur and all, but he was a bit more polite than that. Jorr took her knife and began cleaning the hares until he could spit them over the fire. While they waited, they sat by the fire warming themselves and looking at the forest around them. The sun was still in the sky but it was starting to fall and orange light began to filter through the canopy.

Jorr grunted as he leaned back against the tree, "What were you going to say before? About us working together."

The green kobold's eyes glimmered as she remembered their conversation nestled against one another's bodies, "Ah, well. I thought you might be more useful if we worked together to keep the roads safe. There has to be a way to guard the kobold territories, I just have to think of it, and when I do you'll be the one to help me put it into action. For now, we'll work together as scouts of sorts. Re-arming traps occasionally and checking the roads for trouble. Other than that, I guess I'll convince the kin back at home to let you in, or well, convince them to let you stay."

Jorr looked to her thoughtfully for a moment before he nodded, "I'll marry you if that's what you want."

For a moment she looked at him. For just that single second she thought he was series, and then their eyes met there in a loving gaze before they both began to snort and chuckle. No words needed to be said. Neither of them were into the idea of being tied down to one partner and even if they had enjoyed their little fling, they certainly weren't sure if marriage was on the table, though, romping through the woods now and then made for some fun that she couldn't resist.

Once their laughter was over, Jorr spoke in a small voice, "Would you really let me in your home?"

Silica shrugged, "It isn't as if outsiders are barred from entry. Our city trades often with other species so we've made proper accommodations. I could always use another set of claws around the home to help me with my tinkering and well, it would be nice to have someone to warm my bed during the cool nights."

Jorr remained quiet as he looked at the fire. She swore she saw something wet his eyes, but he sniffed and spoke calmly, "Thank you."

When their meal was finished they ate with nothing said between the two. Jorr ate well and Silica had even offered him half of her own hare. Of course, he took it without question. As soon as they had finished their meal, they had put the fire out and soon prepared for their journey to the mountains. It wouldn't be a long trip since Silica knew the paths through the forest that would take them around the various traps, but it was still better to go quickly rather than wait until night hit them. Through the forest, they walked together side by side in silence. Jorr had voiced his concerns before, he wasn't sure if her people would accept him but Silica didn't care either way. She had offered her home and meant to actually keep good on that promise. She had meant what she said when she told him of her city accepting trade from various species and even if her people could be a little wary of strangers, they would surely accept him with her approval.

They arrived near the mountain when the sun was falling and the orange sky was turning a deep bruised blue. The golems standing about the path didn't bother them and neither did the defenses near the burrow's entrance near the mountain caves. She led him through the cave until they were at a great metal gate that opened once she hailed the guards. The kobold guards at the gate gave the gnoll a strange look, but they seemed fine enough since Silica was with him. Through the gate tunnel, they trotted along quietly until they reached the open caverns of the kobold city.

A bridge connected a great mesh of towers and buildings where kobolds wandered about. Silica looked over to the gnoll who seemed surprised at the scale of the city and she chuckled as she turned back to the bridge, "Welcome home. Hope you don't mind crowds."