It was right behind us. Hiding among the bushes, there was something spying on me and Sarah. I could feel animosity toward us, but something told me that its target was Sarah. My mind pictured that some beast may have heard her moans and got angry at us for invading its territory. One thing was clear, something beyond the leaves was emanating hostility from the shadows.
I had to act fast. I was the only one who could fight. Sarah was too defenseless after getting her ass pounded, cum was still leaking from her butthole, and the red-hair girl was stunned in orgasm. I couldn't count on her right now. There was just me.
In the heat of the moment, I had removed all my clothes so I could have my fun with Sarah without restraints, that's why I was completely naked.
'That's not the best situation to get attacked from behind.' I told myself inwardly. 'But I will have to fight butt naked.'
My eyes were fixed on the bushes with a serious expression. Without losing my focus, I tried to reach my sword using the touch of my hand, only to find grass.
'Shoot!' My steel sword was too far to reach. I was between the beast and Sarah lying on the floor. If I moved to catch my weapon, I would leave a defenseless Sarah with her butt up. I couldn't leave her like that.
"Hmm, Rick, what is the problem?" Sarah asked me with a tired and clueless voice. She was moving her hips as she was still wanting me.
"Shhhhhh! Keep it down!" I tried to warn her, but it was too late. The bushes started to get agitated. Whatever was behind them would come out now. An ill-prepared fight would be inevitable at this point.
I jumped toward the bushes where the foe was hiding. I didn't know if I could defeat our threat or not, but I had no other choice. I grabbed the beast by its arms and pinned the creature to the ground.
'Wait. Arms?' I asked myself while my hands felt the soft and slim arms. I was still in the bushes, so I couldn't see clearly what I was fighting against.
"Wah!" A high-pitched voice echoed inside my ears. Whatever I was holding was struggling, trying to escape from my grasp. Its efforts made us roll out from the shrub.
"Eh?" I let out a surprised sound when I realized who I was trying to catch.
Below me was a girl with beautiful blond hair. She was a bit smaller than me, and her skin felt smooth to my touch. Her hood got loose with our little hustle, and her body was covered by panties that looked like they had a fine, sophisticated fabric, and an upper body cloth that I had lent her before. That beautifully cute woman was staring at me with her emerald green eyes.
"A-Alicia… Eh!" I jumped, startled, when I realized that I was naked on top of Alicia, my member close to her waist, just a few centimeters from her panties. I quickly got off her. "I'm sorry! I thought that you were a threat, or something like that! I didn't intend to…!"
"D-Don't worry. I'm the one to blame, I shouldn't have hidden myself from you, but you guys were late. I thought that you got worse, and then…" Alicia said with her cheeks flustered, avoiding looking at me. "I didn't try to peep on your privacy, but doing that in a forest…"
The girl was worried about my health, and when she finally arrived, I was having doggystyle sex with Sarah. It was, in fact, an awkward situation. How could I explain that the cure to my illness was fucking the red-hair girl?
But before I tried to explain, another female called my attention.
"Eh?!" A female voice shouted behind me. "Alicia?!"
All that confusion must've made Sarah return to her conscious state. She screamed, in a mix of surprise and embarrassment, at seeing Alicia there, and her face was as red as her hair.
"You guys should put some clothes on…" said Alicia. She took a look at my waist, but averted her eyes in shame. I was still naked, and just then I realized that my manhood was hanging in front of her.
"I'm sorry…" I said my apologies, going toward my panties.
…
After Sarah and I got dressed, we returned to the hideout's path. Back then, I wasn't feeling the urge to satisfy my lust, so I didn't see a reason to stay away from Sarah or Alicia. But it wasn't mutual.
This time, Alicia was guiding our way through the woods, not wasting time chatting with us, as her cheerful self usually does. She was still ashamed to see me and Sarah in an intimate moment, so I expected she would avoid talking to us for a while, at least before we found her shelter.
Sarah was beside me, still embarrassed about what happened, but unlike me, she didn't think that walking in silence was the better approach. So she started to interact with Alicia.
"Hm, Alicia, so you guys have been hiding in the forest for quite a while?" she asked our guide. I'd say she was trying to initiate a conversation, but I never said she was good at that.
"I suppose you can say that." Alicia responded to her, with a certain coldness in her tone. "We've been running from the mercenaries for two weeks. We just stayed in the woods for a few days."
"Two weeks!?" Sarah said, astonished by her words. "That's kind of impressive. For just two girls running from professionals for such a long time."
"Do you forget that you are a girl too?" Alicia responded bluntly.
"I'm an Awakened and I have combat powers, so I would be fine against them." Sarah responded in a less peacemaking tone. Alicia's coldness was starting to affect Sarah's mood.
I hadn't told her yet. I was more worried about a compulsive erection back then, but Alicia was Awakened as well.
"Just so you know, I'm a Priestess." Alicia said, puffing her small-sized chest. "But you're right about one thing. I don't have any offensive powers. Thanks to that, I was easily caught back in the crater." Alicia said with a dismal look. "Diane is the reason that I'm alive, but she…"
"Who is Diane?" I asked Alicia with genuine curiosity. I didn't remember her name from SCRL.
"She is a dear friend of mine. She protected me from those bandits." Alicia responded to me, looking prideful.
"She fought them!? Wait…" Sarah said, looking like she remembered something. "Is your friend an Assassin?"
"Yes, she is indeed." Alicia seemed surprised by Sarah's question. "How do you know?"
Sarah's feet stopped where she was.
"The leader of your pursuers said it to me before he died, but it's quite impressive to have someone fight against more than one enemy at once."
Sarah's eyes were different now. She wasn't angry at Alicia, there wasn't hostility toward the blond girl, but she was serious.
"I found this medallion where we fought. I believe that it belongs to whoever hired them."
Sarah showed us a round silver medallion, bigger than a coin, but the real value of that item wasn't monetary. Its value was in the crest carved in the metal. A wolf showing its fangs.
Alicia's eyes opened wide when she saw that crest.
"It's… not possible." Alicia could only say that.
"It seems that you didn't know who your enemies were." Sarah said, while hiding the medallion in her pocket once again, catching the blond girl's attention for herself. "I don't distrust you, Alicia. You don't appear to be a bad person, so I'll cut to the chase. Who are you?"
Alicia's eyes were fixed on Sarah.
"Why was the army after you? Not only that, sending bandits after someone… I think we need to know." Sarah asked.
Alicia closed her eyes for a few seconds, meditating on what she should do next. When she opened her eyes, she had already made up her mind.
"You're right. I dragged you into my own mess, so it's only fair to give you guys a proper explanation." Alicia said to us. "But I'll apologize beforehand, I have one last request. After that, I'll answer all the questions that I can answer."
"What is your request?" I asked Alicia.
"Please save Diane." Alicia said in her plea. "Even though I'm a Priestess, Diane's condition is beyond my current abilities. I can stabilize her, but I can't cure her wounds. Please help us, I'll give you everything I have, so please save my friend." Alicia couldn't control her own tears at this point.
I remembered now. There was another character with Alicia in these woods. She was some kind of underling of hers. 'But if that's the case, she was a worse case than mine.'
'This Diane girl was destined to die.' That thought crossed my mind, but how should I tell this to the crying girl before my eyes?
"I'll save your friend. I promise."