<~> Chapter 119

I strapped on my newly enchanted armor. Its spatial enchantment made it feel even more comfortable and well-fitting than it had before as it adjusted perfectly to my body. I let my mana bleed into it and powered its shadow magic enhancement. The armor became wreathed in the familiar smoke that comes off of me in my umber hound form. The subtle effect would make me blend into the dark just as well as my natural fur, possibly better.

("I can already tell the enchantment works well. Even standing directly in the candlelight, you seem harder to make out than normal. How does it feel so far?")

"It feels great. It fits even better than before," I replied. "Okay, moment of truth."

The two of us were in our room after my armor had been delivered, it was finally time to try out the armor enhancement I've been hoping for since I first found armor. I didn't feel particularly embarrassed by my umber hound werewolf form, but it always did sit in the back of my head that I was basically naked any time I transformed. It wasn't a particularly strong worry, especially with all of the danger I had been through, but it did still bother me a little. On the practical side, I was already formidable without the armor. Giving my werewolf form a hard shell of protection when I was already as strong as I was might be a tad bit unfair to the monsters we fight. I suppressed a laugh. I shouldn't be complacent or cocky about things, that was a good way to get in over my head and killed.

I made sure to put a little bit of distance between myself and Luna while I transformed in case something went wrong. I let the mana in my body loose, and the spatial enchantment on the armor drew mana from me like a sponge. When it finished drawing my magic, I held out my arm and let it shift. Unlike before, when the armor disappeared into the smoke, it now bulged across my partially transformed arm. So far, so good. I rolled my shoulders and transformed the rest of the way.

Looking down at myself, my werewolf form was now covered in huge armor that was fitted to my body perfectly. Because of how well it was crafted originally, it didn't pinch anywhere or restrict my movements at all. I did a few practice motions, even some of the more animalistic movements I did sometimes, but I didn't run into any problems.

"It feels good. How does it look?" I asked.

Luna laughed. ("I thought you couldn't get any more intimidating. A massive upright umber hound wearing armor makes quite the menacing sight. If I have any complaints, it's that I won't get any more soft hugs after we fight.")

"I wonder if I could shift without the armor sometimes," I thought out loud.

("You should be able to do it, just withdraw your mana from the armor before shifting,") Luna said.

I nodded and turned back to my human form. Unlike the axe, which I could put down if I didn't want to keep my mana in check, I would need to pay attention to the armor the whole time if I didn't want it to soak up my mana. At the very least, it would help me practice keeping my mana regulated properly the entire time while I'm wearing it. I did as Luna suggested and pulled my mana back into my body from the armor. Once that was done, I shifted back to my werewolf form. As Luna had said, I was no longer wearing the armor after the transformation.

"Looks like it worked," I said. At least I didn't need to concentrate on withdrawing my mana from the armor in my umber hound form after I shifted without it.

Luna took a step forward and ran her fingers through the fur across my abs. Her fingers pushed against the muscles I had partially built up myself and partially stole from some of the monsters that I ate. The moment felt intimate and loving, so I just let her fingers run across me without saying a word. Just as she was about to pull away, I reached forward and pulled her into a hug. She giggled and kissed my collarbone, the only place she could reach when standing next to me like this. It would be difficult to properly kiss her back, so I just leaned forward until my head was in the crook of her neck before sighing.

("Now my only complaint will be that I can't watch your muscular body move in the middle of a fight,") she said.

I snickered. "It's probably for the best that you're paying attention when we're fighting instead of looking at my butt."

("It is a good butt...")

I pulled away and looked at her, which she may not have been expecting because my attention caused her to blush. Rather than continue to tease her, I pressed my forehead against hers and closed my eyes.

"I love you, Luna."

("I love you too, Helena.")

When I reluctantly pulled away from her, she sat on one of the nearby chairs. ("Are you able to give the armor mana while you're shifted?") she asked.

I tilted my head and thought about it, but the armor felt like it was gone entirely. "No, it's just gone. I can't feed mana to it."

("What happens to the armor if you stop feeding mana to it while you're shifted?") Luna asked curiously.

"When I asked the enchanter a similar question, they said the armor will just retain the last size it was in until it's fed mana again. I don't think that it'll disappear if I remove the mana from it. It would just be too big when I shifted back to my human form."

("Beastkin form,") she teased.

I laughed. "Yes, beastkin form."

After shifting back to my beastkin form, I picked Luna up and pulled her into my lap before sitting down in her spot.

She giggled and leaned her body against mine. ("You seem a bit affectionate today.")

I squeezed her from behind and kissed her neck. "We leave for the dungeon tomorrow morning... I just want to relax with you today. We might not get many opportunities to spend time together in a safe atmosphere for a while."

("That's true,") she said while lacing her fingers with mine. ("Does that bother you?")

"Well... Yes and no. To be honest, I'm really excited to be challenged in the dungeon again. I knew I enjoyed it when we were in Fallow, but I don't think I realized the extent that I would miss it now that we've spent a few weeks in this castle with only sparing to keep things interesting."

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She laughed. ("Looks like the life of a hunter and delver suit you well. Not many people would have been able to go through some of the experiences you had and come out even stronger... Like Korr'tak.")

I played with her tail while I thought it over. "I feel bad for him, but I understand why he would react like that. Even when I've gotten hurt or nearly killed in our fights, I didn't feel powerless from any of it. I felt like I made a mistake, something that I could learn from because of my generous regeneration. He... was carried off and kept as a snack for later. He only survived because we convinced the caravan to let us go after him... That situation feels different. Maybe I would feel different if I ever felt that powerless. But the things I've gone through in this world make me feel powerful, not powerless."

She nodded. ("That does make sense. I've felt that way before too...") Unconsciously, she reached up and felt along the scars on her throat.

I chose to distract her from that line of thinking by picking her up and walking her over to the bed while she giggled from being carried. Even in my human form, she felt light to me. I set her on the bed and purposefully shifted into my umber hound form without the armor and pulled her on top of me.

She sighed and rested her head against my chest while trailing her fingers through my fur. ("You know... it's odd. I've never been attracted to men, but even though your umber hound form looks more masculine than your human form does... I still find myself attracted to you like this.")

I gently trailed my large fingers over her back, careful to keep my claws from pricking her. "Maybe it's because you know I'm a woman on the inside?" I asked.

She smiled and looked up at me. ("Probably. I was scared of this form when we first met. The attraction to it came later after I already knew I was interested in you. Now the time your larger body cradles mine is precious to me. I feel so loved and protected when you're like this.")

"I do feel very protective of you. My umber hound instincts have only encouraged those feelings. They make me want to claim you as mine and fight off anything that ever wants to hurt you. Even when I'm my most enraged, my instincts still scream at me to keep you safe," I told her as I continued to rub her back.

("Is that true? Your umber hound side feels that way too?") she asked.

"Yes, early on, my instincts recognized all of you as my friends, my pack, but something inside of me knew that you were more to me, too. I was scared you would reject me so I held back at first, but..."

Luna laughed. ("But I threw myself at you until you weren't afraid.")

I chuckled. "I guess. The worst part though, is that I didn't recognize what you were doing until it couldn't have been any more obvious."

Luna kissed my chest. ("That's okay. I can understand the fear of being rejected. I didn't think you would reject me, but I was so hopeful that you would accept me that I would have been crushed if you had. I was pretty certain that you were interested in me. It was just a matter of getting you to actually chase me.") She giggled and rubbed her face against my chest.

We laid there quietly for a while and shared our body heat. My thoughts drifted to the dungeon ahead of us as I stared up at the ceiling.

"Do you think it's still a good idea to bring Iris with us now? It was one thing bringing her along in a dungeon where the three of you have fought before and another to bring her into a dungeon no one has ever explored," I said with a sigh.

("You're worried about her?") Luna asked.

"I am. You're not?" I asked in return.

("I think she's stronger than you give her credit for. She's been learning quickly and the sparring and practice we've done with her over the last few weeks has been really helpful for her. We'll have to be careful to protect her, but Iris and I make a good team, and truthfully, she's not any more vulnerable than Aria is. She's just a little younger,") Luna said thoughtfully.

I sighed. "I would just feel terrible if something happened to her."

Luna smiled up at me. ("Even if something does happen, something terrible might have happened to her if you let her wander into the city all alone. She might be starving right now or something even worse. Ironcastle isn't the safest city for orphans. It was a little impulsive, but I think you did the right thing bringing her with us. I wasn't sure about her at first, but she's grown on me too. I like her more than I thought I would.")

I smiled back at her. "I hope you're right. She seems like a good kid."

("You mean when she's not picking pockets?") Luna asked with a giggle.

"Some kids just need to be straightened out. She hasn't picked one pocket since she's come with us," I replied.

Luna grinned and rolled her eyes. ("That you know about.")

"She better not have," I growled.

Luna laughed. ("One thing that I'm grateful to Iris for is that she's shown me the maternal side of you. It makes me think that you'll be great with our kids.")

I froze up. "Uh, kids?" I whispered.

Luna looked up at me with the slyest grin I'd ever seen on her. Her index finger slowly trailed up my collarbone. ("It turns out that I'm a dragon princess... which means I might have inherited some dragon magic. I haven't confirmed it yet, but that means direct children might not be off the table.")

If I could sweat in this form, I would be drenched. "Shouldn't... we wait until after we get married before talking about that?..." I asked hopefully.

Something told me that I had just fallen into a trap because Luna's grin widened. ("I'm glad you've brought it up... we should talk about when to set the date. Maybe a year is too long to wait with everything we've learned the last few weeks...")

"Luna... mercy. Please." I didn't know whether I should be scared or... aroused by how she was acting right now.

She laughed and slid up my body so that she could kiss my jaw. ("Alright, I'll give you a break, but think about it.")

Some of the tension faded... but the butterflies in my stomach stayed for a while longer.

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