NOVEL NEXT Ch 2.34: ❤ Travelers
Elaina was still staring at the remains of their captive's clothes while Flora had already jumped into motion. “Carly, grab mine and Elaina’s clothes. I’ll grab Tira, and then we need to run.”
Elaina hadn’t needed the reminder that she was still just in her sheer underwear, but having it pointed out again did refocus her thoughts. She’d somehow managed to strip anything that could be considered a restraint off of the would-be thief, but she’d only managed that after stripping down to her own underwear herself.
“I’m gonna get dressed first,” Elaina said in unison with the creaking of trees, wood starting to snap as one of the giant creatures lunged at its chains.
“No time,” Flora said, heaving Tira’s unconscious body over her own bare shoulders as Carline ran up with a bundle of cloth. “We’ve gotta get away from both these things and that woman.”
Elaina wanted to retort again, argue somehow, but she couldn’t muster the words. Despite everything, the fear and adrenaline—or maybe because of those emotions with [Fear Response]—the idea of running down the road in her current state still excited her. She wasn’t even sure whether Flora was actually making the decision for safety’s sake, and she didn’t care either. How far were they going to have to run, and what would they do if they saw someone on the road? She was running before she could manage to form a coherent answer in her mind.
Time seemed to slow as the ran away, even though Elaina was running as fast as she could. Flora was ahead of her, bare ass bouncing with each stride from her long slender legs, and Elaina could hardly think of anything else. The only other thought in her mind was that she was almost as bare herself, only the bundle of items she’d grabbed with [Restraint] and the thin underwear she had one covering her. Carline was behind both of them, would have a view of both of them. Is she looking at Flora, or me? Gods, I hope it’s me.
She wasn’t sure how long they’d been running, but it had to have been long enough that they were out of danger. She’d poured enough mana into the restraints she’d made to last at least a little while, and she was sure the other woman wouldn’t be fast enough to keep up with them. Thinking of that reminded her of the bra that she was still carrying, how she’d inadvertently managed to strip not just herself but their escaped captive as well. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to be in that situation, but it probably wasn’t as exciting. Just braless was tame for Elaina at this point, after all.
“Hey, turn around!” Flora said from up front.
Elaina obeyed, looking over her shoulder, but only Carline was there. She turned back to Flora to ask what she was talking about, but then she realized that Flora probably hadn’t been talking to her at all and was more than likely talking to two people sitting on the cart in front of them.
Elaina cursed herself for being so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed them approaching. It was a man and a woman, both at least a good ten years older than any of Elaina’s party. The man was pulling back on the reins of the horse pulling them along, eyes about to jump out of their sockets as he stared at the girls, his face almost as red as Elaina imagined her own would be. The woman looked shocked as well, but she looked more like she was trying to hold back laughter than embarrassment.
“Are— are you girls okay?” The man said as his horses slowed down and Elaina’s party skidded to a stop.”
“We’re fine,” Flora answered, making no effort to hide herself as she spoke. She didn’t even look excited like Elaina would’ve imagined her, almost like she had forgotten she was naked entirely. “There’s monsters up ahead though; they caught us at an awkward time.”
The woman failed to maintain her composure, finally letting out a hearty laugh. “There aren’t any monsters around here, but whatever happened it sure does seem like it was at an awkward time.”
“We’re not joking,” Flora said, letting Tira slip off her shoulders and into her arms. “You need to turn back now.”
The woman’s face shifted to concern for a moment, almost seeming like she was arguing with herself over whether Flora was telling the truth. “I think they’re serious, hun,” the man eventually said, looking to his riding partner.
“Is she hurt?” the woman said, looking at Tira.
“She’ll be fine,” Carline said, “but I need to take care of her, and I can’t while we’re running. Can we ride back to Castletown with you?”
“Of course,” the man said, yanking his horse’s reins to the side and turning the cart around. The back was mostly full of various baskets of food, but there would be enough room for the party if they squeezed in. “Hop on.”
Flora was first to jump on, laying Tira across the floor as Carline climbed in. Elaina clutched her bag to her chest, trying to maintain some semblance of coverage as she climbed onto the cart and the man whipped at the reins.
Elaina almost fell backwards onto the road as the horse started off at a run, dropping her bag to the floor and grabbing the side of the cart to avoid falling off.
“What happened to her?” the woman said, leaning over from the front seat and looking at Tira.
“Venom,” Carline said, closing her eyes and placing her hands on Tira’s arm, where she’d first been scratched. “Stars, it’s been so long now… It’s going to be hard at this point.”
“You can do it though, right?” Flora said as she picked up the remains of her sundress, frowning.
“I don’t know…”
“You can fix her,” Flora said, placing a hand on Carline’s head and smiling. Carline was too focused to even see it, but Flora’s smile somehow seemed so warm that Elaina knew Carline would be feeling it anyway. “But my dress might be beyond repair…” It looked even worse now that Elaina could see it up close. She’d known the straps were both broken, but the
“Did— did the monsters do that?” the woman said, staring at the destroyed clothing.
“Yeah,” Flora said, flashing the woman a quick smile as she threw the dress down. “Hey, you won’t tell anyone you found us like this, right? It’s kind of embarrassing for Endrin students after all, and we have a reputation to maintain. The both of you can have one good long look before I get dressed if you promise that.”
The woman responded with only a slack-jawed mouth, but the man shot a quick glance over his shoulder with wide eyes. “Are— is that okay? You’re sure?”
“Of course it is,” Flora said, cocking her head to the side as if there was no possible reason it wouldn’t be okay, “you two are our saviors, after all, so you should get some kind of reward.” She turned to Elaina, warm grin burning into the girl’s soul. “You can get dressed first if you want.”
Elaina was frozen, hands covering both her crotch and her breasts. Whether Flora had meant to or not, she’d directed all eyes except Carline’s onto her.
“No, uhm, it’s fine,” Elaina said, dropping her arms. “It’s only— only fair, right?”
Flora’s lips turned upward even more as Elaina felt herself going as red as the beets in the basket next to her, both husband and wife—she presumed—staring directly at her. She could feel her panties going damp, nipples going hard against the transparent fabric as six sets of eyes fell over her body.
It felt like forever before the man looked back to the road and woman shifted her gaze to Flora’s naked body. Elaina couldn’t blame her really, since the girl was showing off way more skin, but she still felt a little jealous, blushing even more as she realized she actually did want to be seen that way. For a brief moment as the man turned back around and also started staring at Flora, Elaina even entertained the idea of stripping off her underwear herself, but there was no way she could offer such a shameful thing, not unprompted.
Gods, what am I turning into? She grabbed her shirt from the pile of clothes on the cart floor and slipped it on, going for her skirt next, which she found next to a mostly unfamiliar tunic, one missing all its buttons. It only took her a moment to realize the bra wasn’t actually the only article of clothing she’d managed to strip off of their captive before she escaped.