The Pleasures of Hell

Chapter 02.033

~~David~~

"I wish I got stronger when I ate a demon heart," he said, tossing his breastplate aside. Clunk. "The Cainites do. Greg and me, not so much. They make me feel good, great even, but superhuman strength? Nope." Grunting, he sat against the alcove wall, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "You girls make me look like a wimp."

The Las giggled, grabbed his armor, took his knife — he'd found a new one — and set them aside.

"You're as strong as most humans in Hell," Caera said. "Special powers notwithstanding." With a similar grunt, she lowered her chest to the ground, and Jes and Acelina helped Dao off the tiger's back. Dao insisted on walking, but at least she accepted help, and her lover guided her to the wall directly opposite David.

Acelina sat on the opposite side of the alcove too, of course, Daoka beside her, but like a lot of the alcoves they found, they were just small chambers at the end of dead-end tunnels. Some were big, most were not, and this one was maybe twelve feet wide past the tunnel curve that led outside. David could have reached forward and touched Acelina's hoof; probably get kicked for it, too.

Caera panted as she took off her pieces of armor. She wore a lot more than he did. A chunk for her stomach, another for her chest and large breasts, another for her thighs, and a few smaller pieces here and there. Again, the Las took them and put them in a pile, giggling the whole time. Apparently, they'd made a game of collecting people's pieces of gear.

She lay beside him near the wall, breathing deep, and set her huge head on his lap as she put her back to the wall. Like a big cat or dog, she got cozy beside him, cheek on his thigh, and he smiled down at her as he slid his fingers into her hair.

"Doing okay, Dao?" David asked.

Dao chirped a couple times, smiling at him.

"She's recovering well," Jes said, helping her lover take off her armor. She sat with Dao on her left, Dao between the gargoyle and the spire mother. The soft creamy center between two hard cookies. Somehow, David found the wisdom to not say that metaphor out loud.

"Caera's estimates are probably accurate," Acelina said. "She knows battle well."

Sighing, Caera's big tail went still, and she closed her eye as she nuzzled her cheek on David's leg. He braced for some words about how her battle knowledge wasn't good enough to protect Dao, or to keep her eye, but she said nothing. No doubt she was thinking about it, though, and David combed her hair in response. She let out a long, gentle, rumbling purr, and closed her eye.

The demons were all tired. They'd been walking all day, and while that'd been a pain on David's body, it was hell on theirs. All of them were breathing deep, Las included. Once they'd finished collecting everyone's armor, set them into piles, and created piles with their own armor, they collapsed into the center of the alcove between everyone's feet, exhausted. A dog pile, something they enjoyed doing frequently.

Twilight had only just begun, which meant they had fourteen hours until twilight ended, night began, and then morning twilight ended. It wasn't safe to travel during twilight, even with a group, not while Dao was injured. On top of that, the demons needed the break.

Problem: the demons were still going stir crazy, despite a day of traveling. They'd met no one, no hellbeast, no other demons, no humans, not a soul. Awesome for David, but a life without hunting or sex was a poor life for a demon.

"Las," David said. All four girls instantly perked up and got on their knees in front of him and Caera. He held up his hands in surrender. "I just wanted to know what you normally do when you're not hunting."

"When not hunting?" Lasca tugged on her horn, eyes down, thinking. "Um...."

"Scavenging?" Laara said. "Heard it called that. Scavenge. Eat remnants."