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Mystic Heart Odyssey, chapter 20! Just a heads up, this one has the first real serious erotic scene. Still not exactly lengthy, but more than the previous two. And I promise you it's not whatever you might be expecting. It's a little weird and admittedly kind of indulgent fluff, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. This should be tagged wherever it's uploaded, but then again, I honestly am not entirely sure what tags to use. Just in case, just know that it concerns a very naughty water elemental. I'll be uploading a (short) less-NSFW version of the chapter with that bit omitted, if you're not interested in that.

-Llox

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Kuna was surprised to find that he woke up about the same time as usual, already feeling refreshed. Much as he expected, however, Lykou was still sound asleep. He just smiled a bit and, for a short time, decided to cuddle up to the konuul, enjoying the warmth and closeness. But eventually, his stomach began to demand breakfast, so, with some reluctance, he carefully slid out from under the blanket and got up, stretching as soon as he was out of the hollow.

Right away, he was startled by a light tap on his leg. But his panic quickly fled when he looked down and saw the friendly tree spirit. "Oh, good morning Koki," he happily greeted the tree-tender. "Thank you again for keeping watch for us last night."

"Happy to. Help. Nice mortals," Koki replied. "Kuna. Sleep well?"

"I really did, actually. It was nice and cozy under your tree," Kuna said as he sat down by the unused fire ring, then dug some food out of his bag.

Koki made an ambiguous chipper-sounding noise as the spirit sat down next to the sereva, watching him intently as he began to eat. "Where Kuna. And Lykou. Come from?"

"Oh, that's... kind of a complicated subject," Kuna replied after swallowing. "We somehow got magically transported far away from where we come from. So we're trying to find our way back."

The spirit's head rattled as it tilted its head slightly. "Kuna and Lykou. Live in. Forest?"

Kuna nodded. "Yeah, although it's different from this one. A good bit colder. And the trees are taller, but thinner, usually. And most of them have needles instead of leaves," he said, pausing to take another bite out of a radish. "A bunch of mountains and valleys, too. And some pretty lakes. Lykou's tribe is actually sitting on the edge of a lake by a broken cliff full of shiny stones."

"That sound. Nice. Koki have. Pine friends. In spirit world," Koki said chipperly. "Koki prefer. Warm. But. Cold forests. Pretty too."

Kuna shrugged. "I prefer warmth, but I guess it does look pretty sometimes. When you're not struggling to stay warm, anyway," he said, then smirked. "Not that I think Lykou's people have to worry about that much."

"Lykou people. Not. Kuna people?"

The sereva sighed and frowned, finishing another bite before he responded. "Not... exactly. He wants me to become a member of his tribe. Since... well, let's just say I don't really have one any more." He bitterly chomped down into the radish again.

The spirit stared at him for a moment, then patted his leg softly with its wooden appendage. "Kuna. Is Lykou people. Already. Koki see it. In you. In him."

Kuna smiled. "That's sweet, Koki. Thanks."

"Koki hope. Lykou. And Kuna. Find home. Soon."

"Me too, buddy," the sereva said with another sigh. He briefly glanced back to the tree to make sure Lykou was still asleep before continuing, slightly quieter. "Luckily, Mentor says I should be able to at least help guide us back with magic by the time my lessons are done."

The tree-tender just stared in silence for a moment. "Good luck. With mentor," the spirit said eventually.

"Er... thanks," Kuna said, a little uncertainly. Then he smiled apologetically at the spirit. "Sorry for not warning you sooner about them being, you know, a fire spirit."

"Yes... fire," Koki said with a momentary hesitation, staring off into the distance for a moment. "Koki. Wary of... Fire. Yes." The spirit paused. "...but. Kuna good."

The conversation fell silent as Kuna finished eating. Eventually, though, he looked over and noticed a few patches of green where there had been only mud the previous day. "Oh hey, looks like things are already growing back from the mudslide," he pointed out, smiling a little. "That was fast."

"Yes. Mud make. Big mess. But. Good for. New growth," Koki commented. "Pretty flowers. Soon."

An idea occurred to Kuna and he glanced back to Lykou again, then, assured that his friend was still sound asleep, he got up and walked over to the tiny sprouts. "Well you know, maybe I can help things along a little," he said, grinning. "And I need some practice, anyway."

Koki quickly trotted over to join the sereva. "Kuna guide. Flowers now?"

Rather than reply, Kuna just took a moment to manifest the green glow in his hands first. Then he reached out and touched one of the sprouts, causing it to quickly grow into a more mature plant with several yellow blooms.

"Look nice," Koki said. "But. Wrong kind. For these."

"Oh?" Kuna said, slightly embarrassed. "What should they look like?"

Koki looked around, then pointed to a patch of mature blue-and-white flowers growing at the edge of the muddy patch. "Like those."

"Oh, alright, let me just..." the sereva said, then focused on altering the flowers to be more like the others. "Are all of these like that?"

Koki eyed the sprouts for a minute, then nodded, in its own, wobbly way. "Purple is. Also. Good."

Kuna smiled and proceeded to bring the rest of the plants to maturity, much to the spirit's delight. "This is surprisingly easy compared to the tree."

"Tree. Much bigger. Need. Much More. Energy," Koki explained.

"That makes sense," Kuna replied. "Hey, any other things I can help grow around here? Like I said, I need some practice anyway. And it's the least I could do for letting us sleep under your tree."

Koki looked around a little, then pointed several yards away. "More flowers. And. Featherbrush. Over there."

Together, the spirit and Kuna spent the next hour wandering around the nearby mud-filled areas of the forest, with the spirit delighting in watching Kuna help various plants sprout up from the mud. To conserve his strength, he only brought the smaller ones to full maturity, and only gave larger ones a small boost. In several cases, Koki had to show the sereva some mature examples to help shape them correctly. Luckily, most of it was well out of eyesight of the hollow.

Eventually, Lykou began to stir. After some shifting around, he reluctantly sat up, letting out a big yawn as he rubbed his eyes. He crawled out of the hollow and blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes as he looked around the camp area. He began to get concerned when he didn't see his friend nearby, but then remembered the last time he'd been in that situation and decided to call out before searching for him. "Kuna!" the called out through cupped hands. "If you can hear me, let me know!"

Hearing his friend's call, Kuna quickly dismissed his magic. "Well, I guess that's enough for now," he said as he got up off the ground. "Better get back before Lykou gets worried." He and the tree spirit hurried back to the campsite just as Lykou was calling out again.

"Oh there you are," Lykou said, then smirked and was about to make a playful insinuation about what the sereva was doing, but then dropped the idea when he saw Koki with him.

"'Morning, Lykou," Kuna said, walking up to embrace the konuul.

"Well you're certainly chipper this morning," the canid, hugging him back with a smile. "What were you two up to?"

"Er, Koki was just showing me around a little. Pointing out some different plants in the area and so on," Kuna half-lied, winking to the spirit subtly when the canid turned to it. "Looks like things are growing back pretty quick from the mud slide. Must be the friendly spirits around here."

Koki stared at the sereva for a moment, then seemed to wink back by manipulating the light inside its head, after the canid turned back to his friend. "Yes. Many tenders."

"Well, that sounds nice," Lykou said after a moment, smiling. Then he yawned again and somewhat lethargically walked over to pull out some breakfast for himself. "I assume you already ate?"

"Yep. Don't rush though. You should take it easy today. Looks like you're still drained from yesterday."

"I'll be alright," the canid said, coming back to sit by the fire ring as he started chewing on a bite of salted meat. "Besides, as nice as this spot is, we can't stick around. I'll need to refill my waterskin soon, and that stream is all messed up from the mudslide."

Kuna frowned. He was worried that the konuul hadn't fully recovered, but couldn't argue with that. "I just hope there's another decent spot not too far from here. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Lykou joked with a smirk.

The sereva rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smirk back. "Alright, but at least let's check your leg before we go. All that action yesterday probably didn't help matters."

"It's been feeling a lot better," the konuul replied, then raised an eyebrow. "I think you're just looking for excuses to get my pants off," he added teasingly.

Kuna blushed and brought his palm to his face. "Okay, yeah, you're definitely feeling alright."

Lykou snickered, then ate another bite of his breakfast.

"Friends need. Clean water?" Koki chimed in.

"Yeah, why?" Kuna asked. "You know of a good place?"

Koki shifted around the stacked branches and pointed off to the northwest. "Big stream. Very clear. Water. That way. Not. Too far. Just follow. Edge of. Canyon."

"Oh, thanks little buddy!" Lykou said.

Though the spirit's face was static, it managed to appear to smile with some manipulation of its internal light. The three sat and chattered away for a while, giving Lykou plenty of time to eat and wake up. Kuna still insisted on checking the konuul's thigh before they packed up, earning a few more playful comments that succeeded somewhat in flustering him. He responded in kind, and once all was taken care of, they bid their little tree spirit friend farewell as they ventured off towards the canyon again.

*****

Lykou and Kuna hiked for half the day, at a somewhat slower pace than usual. Lykou insisted he was feeling alright, but he was clearly still not quite back to full energy. Kuna ended up grabbing a walking stick for each of them and kept a close eye on his friend.

"Once we find a stream and refill the waterskin, I'm going to go clean up a bit. A nice swim will probably help perk me up," the konuul said.

"That sounds like a good idea," Kuna agree. "Just make sure it's safe, first."

Lykou chuckled. "Yeah, hopefully no surprise lizard-things this time."

"We got lucky that time. It could have easily been hostile," the sereva pointed out. "Don't swim in anything you can't see the bottom of."

"I know, I know," the konuul replied, rolling his eyes up a bit. "I learned my lesson, really."

"Good," Kuna said, then threw an arm around him and squeezed him gently. "I don't want to have to patch up any more wounds," he said with a smirk.

Lykou grinned. "Even if it means an excuse to get me naked?"

The sereva blushed and rolled his eyes. "You're incorrigible."

The Lyklou laughed and hugged him back.

Eventually, the two finally came across a decent-sized stream. Moreover, it was probably the prettiest stream either of them had seen. The water wasn't especially deep, and its water was crystal clear, flowing over smooth, polished stones, both large and small. The only plants in the water were a small number of lotus flowers floating on the surface in various spots. Along the edge, there were several other kinds of large, more colorful flowers, several of which were giving off pleasant scents.

"Wow," Kuna said. "This... is really nice."

"I'll say," Lykou, smiling as his tail swished lightly behind him. "No place to sleep, but it'd be great if we could set something up near here."

Kuna rubbed his chin thoughtfully and glanced around. "Yeah... tell you what, after we get some water, you cool off and relax a bit, I'll see if I can find something nearby we can work with."

"And leave you with all the work? Not a chance," the konuul replied with a smirk.

"You need to rest. And you wanted to swim a bit anyway," Kuna insisted.

"There will be time for that later. I'm going to help, and that's that."

Kuna brought his hand to his face and grumbled a bit. He couldn't use his magic to help produce another shelter and hide it if the konuul was going to insist on helping. He frantically tried to think of an excuse while the canid refilled the waterskin. However, much to his chagrin, he could only think of one possible excuse. And it was incredibly embarrassing. Mentor better be pleased with the effort I go through to keep this damn secret, he thought. And I really hope I don't have to keep it much longer.

After building himself up a bit and already blushing in advance, he took a deep breath and set his stuff down. "I n-need some, uh... time. Alone. F-for, uh... you know," the sereva finally said, after taking a deep breath. He looked away in embarrassment, covering his face, unwilling to meet the konuul's eye. "Been over a w-week, and... just... yeah."

Lykou looked up at him, then grinned as the meaning dawned on him. "Ohhh... why didn't you just say so?" he replied, then chuckled. "Sorry if the teasing got to you again."

"N-no, just... w-whatever," Kuna continued, rolling his eyes up. "So just give me a while, okay?"

"Sure thing, Ku," Lykou said with a smile, opting not to tease the poor sereva any more. "Just... be careful, alright? Don't wander too far. I know Koki said this forest is pretty safe, but still."

"I will," the sereva responded, then turned to walk away quickly, flushed with embarrassment.

*****

Kuna wandered around a bit, passing various large bushes, numerous stout trees, and a small hill as he looked for a good spot to set up a campsite. Finally, he found one on the other side of the hill, where a particularly gnarled tree sat near its base, with various vines hanging from it. There were some large ferns growing nearby, as well as several large fallen branches around another tree that looked like it'd been struck by lightning at some point.

The sereva started towards the tree, but then stopped himself, realizing his friend might get suspicious if he just happened to 'find' another good tree-hollow to shelter under. So instead, he decided to alter one of the lower limbs of the tree to form a brace against the side of the hill, then began gradually hauling over some of the fallen branches to lean against it. He realized he would need Lykou's knife- or maybe one of the black stone ones they'd taken from the golzogs- to cut the ferns and vines to finish making a tent. But at least it was a good start.

Before heading back to Lykou, however, he paused and considered the situation. Since he'd use a good bit less magic this time, he wasn't particularly fatigued. And as far as his friend knew, he was taking some time to relieve some tension. It'd only been an excuse, but thinking about it did seem appealing, as certain needs started stirring inside him. It really had been over a week, after all, and he'd seen enough eye-candy from the konuul to give him some frisky thoughts. Fuck it, if that's what he thinks I'm doing anyway, I might as well indulge myself for real, he thought, smirking.

*****

Meanwhile, back at the stream, Lykou had wasted no time in stripping down and splashing into the water. It was cool but not cold. He found it immensely refreshing- even moreso than he'd expected. The water only came up to his hips at the deepest point, but he still managed to clean himself up before sprawling out on a flat rock in the middle of the stream to relax.

Eventually, while he was laying there, his mind wandered to his sereva friend, and what he was up to. The thought made him smirk and blush a little. As he found himself getting aroused at the idea, he looked up to make sure the sereva was still out of sight before starting to fondle himself a bit. Soon he was lost in fantasy-land as he started working himself up to a steady stroke.

But his reverie was suddenly interrupted when he heard a splashing sound and felt a presence nearby. He quickly shot up, embarrassed that Kuna might have returned at an inopportune time. But instead, he was greeted with a much more shocking surprise. A yard or so away, a mass of water had risen up and formed into an enormous snake-like shape. A pair of glowing cyan eyes peered out from its head, accompanied by a thin cyan slit for a mouth. And it was staring at him with a quizzical look.

Lykou grinned nervously and blushed furiously as he covered himself up with his hands and tail. "Uh... h-hi?" he said, glad he decided to keep the medallion hung around his neck during his swim.

"You have been splashing around and making a mess of my carefully-maintained stream, getting all matter of filth, fur, and who-knows-what-else in its waters," the spirit accused in a somewhat masculine, if slightly ethereal-sounding voice.

Lykou anxiously backed up a little, but soon found he'd run out of stone to slide back on, with the stream flowing around it right behind him. He remembered Kuna speaking of water spirits, but he'd neglected to mention their size. "S-sorry, I didn't-"

"And, would you look at that," the serpentine spirit said, slithering closer. "You're stuck on a rock, and the only way to get back to shore is to traipse back through those waters and shed even more filth."

The konuul nervously stood up and looked around, trying to determine the quickest way to escape if necessary. Wild animals were one thing, but he knew better to think he could fight off a spirit- let alone one whose entire body seemed to be made of water. And he was just about as vulnerable as he could be, at that. "Uh..."

"Well. I guess I'll just have to make sure you're good and clean first, then," the rima said, suddenly smirking with its eyes narrowed in a surprisingly mischievous expression.

Before Lykou could react, the water serpent dove at him, immediately drenching him and surrounding him in a torrent of spinning water. He panicked at first, realizing there was nothing to grip and fight to try and free himself. It was like trying to wrestle a river. Fortunately, to his relief, his head was only assaulted by the water for a few moments before he was allowed access to the air again. He yelped and sputtered confused objections as he was 'washed' by the water rapidly flowing back and forth over every inch of his body.

When it came to particular areas, he couldn't help but get extra flustered. Not only was it embarrassing, it almost felt like the spirit was intentionally tickling certain bits during its little 'cleaning' session. Eventually it relented, however, reforming back into its snake-like shape a couple feet in front of him.

"There. All clean," the spirit said.

Lykou spat out some water and brushed some fur out of his face, then stared at the spirit with a bewildered expression. "Th-thanks...?"

The spirit glanced down. "Oh, would you look at that. I suppose you were going to take care of that and muck up my stream with that in the process too, weren't you?"

The konuul once again blushed furiously as he glanced down, then quickly covered himself up with a sheepish grin. "Uh, n-no I can just... go deal with that s-somewhere else-"

Suddenly the spirit again surged forward, its snout practically touching the konuul's nose. "Can't risk that. Guess I'll just have to help you there, too," the rima said, grinning with a surprisingly sultry expression. "Consider yourself lucky, mortal. I'm in a playful mood today."

"Huh??" Lykou asked in disbelief.

A long, thin tongue seemingly made of swirling, bubbling water poked out of the rima's mouth as it winked at him. Without warning, it swung its body around and coiled it around the konuul. The flowing water managed to pull his arms and tail away from his crotch.

Lykou was too stunned to resist much. He was starting to feel like the whole situation was an extremely weird dream. "W-what are y-"

"What do you think?" the rima said, its tail playfully reaching up to tussle the fur on the konuul's head. It dipped down and suddenly ran its bubbling, flowing tongue around the head of the canid's penis teasingly.

"Oh f-fuck!" Lykou suddenly blurted out with a shiver, a strange mix of surprise, pleasure, and uncertainty on his face.

The water spirit pulled back and grinned up at him. "I take it you don't object, then?"

Lykou glanced around a bit, wary of being caught in such a strange and embarrassing situation, though he couldn't hide his embarrassed grin. "I... d-didn't know spirits did things like this," he replied, still struggling to accept the reality of the situation. "Is... is this going to, like... do anything weird to me? Spiritually, magically, or something?"

The rima snickered, making a hissy, bubbly sound as it did. "I'm a little abnormal, I'll admit. And other than probably the most unique blowjob of your life?" it teased. "Not really. So how about it?"

The canid glanced around, then shrugged weakly in the spirit's grasp. "H-hard to say no to that, I guess..."

"Thought so," the spirit said. "What's your name, mortal?"

"Uh... Lykou," the konuul said, still blushing hard.

"Well, Lykou, I'm Sulyr. Now that the formalities are out of the way," the spirit said, then dove its head back down to the konuul's crotch, quickly enveloping his member in its mouth, causing the konuul to gasp. Though the swirling waters on their own were plenty stimulating in their own way, the rima still began sliding its head back and forth along the erection, making the canid tense up and shiver at the bizarre, yet intensely pleasurable sensation.

More than a bit embarrassed, Lykou nonetheless quickly began enjoying himself. The watery coils around his torso and legs somehow still managed to prevent him from moving anything but his head, and he found the restriction both frustrating and oddly arousing in itself. He bit his lip as he watched the spirit go down on him for a few minutes, then rolled his eyes up and started to pant slightly.

Sulyr's tongue swirled and danced all around the konuul's cock, especially teasing the head, as the spirit suckled on it with a wet, squelching sound. The phallus had been mostly erect before, but it very quickly became rock hard and throbbing in the water-snake's mouth. The sensations were unlike anything the canid had ever even imagined. The spirit's tongue lacked the solidity of a normal body, but the suction, pressure, and tingling of the water rapidly flowing and bubbling over and around everything it touched was very sensual and made up for it.

Soon, Lykou began whimpering and moaning. He instinctively tried to buck his hips, but he was held fast in the spirit's coils. His legs began getting shaky, and Sulyr pulled away for a moment and smirked up at him. "Doing alright, fluff butt?"

Lykou whimpered again and nodded, blushing furiously with an uncharacteristically bashful expression.

"Good," the spirit said, then laid him back on its coils as it resumed slurping and guzzling the canid's dick. Its tail suddenly crept up between the his legs and playfully wiggled against his taint and testicles, making him shudder again.

The konuul's legs, now free of their binding and not needed to hold him up, instinctively tried to wrap around the spirit's neck. But when he started using that to try and thrust into Sulyr's mouth, the surface tension broke and his legs sank back down. The spirit just smirked at him around its mouthful as it kept going at a steady, moderate pace. Still, even if his body wanted things to go faster, Lykou found himself leaning back and panting again in bliss. The spirits tail suddenly slipped back and wriggled up into his rear, making him yelp and blush even more. He wasn't used to being on the 'receiving' side of things, but he had to admit the water appendage did feel good, in a slightly ticklish, invasive way.

Eventually, his back started to arch and he clenched his teeth as he felt his orgasm approaching. Sensing the impending climax, Sulyr finally sped up a little, forcing the konuul over the edge into a twitching, convulsing mess. The canid's cum visibly flowed down the spirit's throat and seemed to dissipate and vanish in small sparkles of light after a certain point. The rima continued to milk him until he was thoroughly spent, then slowly pulled its mouth off and swirled its tongue around the head one last time before pulling away completely.

Sulyr gradually withdrew from the konuul's body, gently letting him back down on the stone in the middle of the stream. Lykou panted with a dazed expression on his face for a minute, before finally, shakily propping himself up on his arms. He was still panting a bit as he eyed the water spirit grinning back at him with a playful smirk.

"Did... that was... I..." Lykou breathlessly floundered, trying to search for words.

"You're welcome," Sulyr said after another hissing, bubbly snicker.

"R... right," the canid said with a flushed and embarrassed grin. "I... uh... why though?"

"I enjoy watching the way you mortals react," the spirit replied. "That's all. It gets painfully boring out here, so it helps break up the monotony."

Lykou wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just glanced off to the side of the stream, noting that Kuna still hadn't returned. He tentatively dipped a foot into the water and smiled bashfully back at the spirit after a moment of thought. "I guess I'll just-"

"Oh by all means feel free to hang around. I was mostly teasing about the whole 'filth' thing," the spirit assured him, then narrowed its eyes. "Mostly." It grinned again. "I don't get many mortals passing through here. So by all means drink as much water as you want and enjoy yourself here for a bit. As long as you don't actually really mess anything up."

"Er... you sure?" the konuul asked. "We didn't mean to intrude on your, er... territory."

Sulyr appeared to raise a brow, though it was hard to tell with its body being made of flowing water. "Who's 'we'? You bring company I'm not seeing?" the spirit asked, glancing over to either shore.

"Oh, yeah, um... my friend Kuna is traveling with me, he just... stepped away to, er, take care of something," Lykou explained, gradually starting to relax a bit. The sun was hitting the area he was sitting on just right, and it felt nice, especially after his thoroughly satisfying, if strange, release.

"Oh really now?" the spirit said with intrigue.

"...yeah no, I-... I had fun, but I don't think that kind of thing would go over as well with him," the canid said, rubbing his neck. "He's still a bit skittish of strangers, and I'm pretty sure he's a virgin. And anyway, that thing I mentioned he stepped away for?" He grinned a bit. "He's uh... basically taking care of something like that himself right now."

"Oh, drat," the spirit griped. "Well, I guess I'll be going then. Need to check in on the falls and tributaries down below. Just let him know what he missed out on, and maybe I'll stop back by sometime tomorrow if he's interested," it added with a wink.

"Sure..." Lykou responded with a small grin. Only if I even tell him about all this, he thought. Doubt he'd even believe me if I did.

"Toodles, fluffy boy," the spirit said as it turned and started slithering into the water downstream.

"Uh, bye! Was uh... nice to meet you," Lykou said awkwardly as the spirit vanished into the stream. That was without a doubt the weirdest nut of my life, he thought to himself as the spirit left. Pervy spirits... who knew?

*****

A short time later, Kuna had finished sating his own needs, and was leaning back against the tree he'd chosen for their shelter with a content, satisfied expression. As he gradually came down from his afterglow, he noticed the evidence of his activity splattered across the ground in front of him, and quickly covered it up with any leaves and such he could find, blushing in spite of himself. He was relieved he'd had the forethought to avoid getting on himself for once.

Once that was taken care of, he slowly got up and checked over the campsite-to-be one more time, then turned to return to the stream. It took him a moment to remember which way he'd come from, but he eventually recognized a patch of thick bushes to orient himself by and began his hike back.

When he arrived at the stream, he was surprised to see Lykou laying on the rock. Worried he might have gotten hurt, he quickly waded into the water a short way to check on him. He quirked an eyebrow when he got close enough to get a better look. The konuul was sprawled out on the rock, soaking wet with a content look, staring off into the sky with his tongue poked out slightly. Kuna couldn't help but smirk a bit before clearing his throat. "You alright, Lykou?"

The konuul quickly sat up, startled by the sereva. "Ah! Oh," he said, grinning sheepishly. "Hey Kuna. You feeling better yourself?"

"Mhmm. And why do I have a feeling I'm not the only one?" the sereva responded with a playful grin. "Guess I wasn't the only one that needed some 'private time' huh?"

Lykou glanced away with a slightly shifty look, then swung around, dropping his legs down into the water. "Uhhh... yeah, let's go with that."

Kuna raised an eyebrow at the konuul's odd reaction. "Everything... alright?"

"Yep," Lykou said as he stood up and started walking back to the shore with the sereva. He caught the sereva giving him an odd look, then blushed and sighed as he rubbed his neck. "Okay, maaaybe I have a story for you over the campfire tonight. But speaking of which, we should go find a place now."

"Oh, I already took care of that," Kuna replied, grinning again.

Lykou looked at him with surprise, then crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you just made up an excuse to go do all the work by yourself..."

"Okay, I won't tell you," Kuna said with a coy smile as he picked up his bag.

Lykou picked up his things, opting to stuff his clothing into his back until he dried off more. "So you lied about going to jerk off just so you could find a campsite, huh?"

Kuna blushed and looked away as he started leading the way.

"...oh, you still did, didn't you?" the konuul teased.

"Nunya," the sereva responded with smirk.

Lykou snickered. "Well, I guess you just found a creative way to mark the site, hmm?"

The sereva gave him a playful shove. "Says the one getting dirty after talking about getting clean," he teased back. "Hmm, on that note, I should probably head back and do the same tomorrow morning."

Lykou glanced away nervously for a moment, then coughed. "Um. Maybe. Or maybe wait for the next stream we come across."

Kuna quirked a brow at that. "Uh, why?"

"...just trust me." the konuul said. When the sereva didn't seem satisfied with the response, he sighed, blushing. "Fiiiine. I'll tell you after we settle in for the night."

"You've definitely got me curious, now, that's for sure," Kuna responded.

*****

At the bottom of the waterfall, Sulyr popped out of the water crashing against the many rocks at its base, feeling quite pleased with itself. Humming a nondescript tune to itself, it swam downstream a short distance. But then it suddenly froze up as it spotted something not yet visible to mortal eyes lurking under the shade of a large tree by the water.

"...fuck. That mortal wasn't part of one of your little, er... 'projects' was he?" the spirit nervously asked.

The outline of a set of indigo eyes appeared floating in the air, accompanied by a thing, jagged indigo grin. The rest of the dark figure, including their actual eyes, followed soon after. "As a matter of fact, he is."

"Shit. Uh. Sorry, I didn't mean t-"

The glowing eyes rolled slightly. "He's unharmed, so you're fine."

"Yup, completely unharmed," the spirit agreed, then smirked. "Quite the opposite of harmed, in fact."

"So I would assume, knowing you," the shadow replied with an exasperated sigh.

"Hey, we each have our interests. You have your thing, I have mine."

"Don't compare my machinations to your unusual perversions," the shadow warned, albeit with an amused smirk. "You always were a weird one, Sulyr. Do you have to perv on every mortal that crosses your stream?"

"Hey, not my fault they're so fun to play with," the water spirit said, grinning. "Besides, it's not like many of them come through here. And it's not like there's much else to do, usually. Mudflows are all on Glurb's side, I've got a good stable flow going here. With no mortal tribes meddling with it. Only the rare wanderers give me anything to do. So it gets real dull otherwise."

"Oh really?" the shadow said, returning a decidedly more threatening grin.

The rimu blanched slightly and shifted backwards. "Oh no. Nonono. That was NOT an invitation for trouble."

"Funny," the figure said, making a show out of inspecting its claws. "I seem to recall a time when it was."

"That was before you became... you know, you."

"Should I be offended by that?"

The rima gave the stranger a wary look. "...are you?"

"Of course not," the hidden figure said, then chuckled.

The two shared a somewhat awkward silence for a minute, eventually broken by Sulyr, who adopted a lascivious look. "You know, if there IS still a part of you th-"

"Aaaand that's our cue to part ways," the shadow interrupted, rolling their eyes again. "Behave yourself Sulyr."

"Only as much as you do, Ink," the serpent said, snickering.

The stranger laughed as well. "Fair enough."

One vanished in a puff of smoke and mist, while the other submerged back into the flowing waters, with neither leaving a trace of their presence.