Monster Breeder

117. Eastern Desert, Part 7: Trial By Fire (Suka, R-18)

It takes a while for me to recover from Opal's bite. I'm floating along a pleasant stream of squishy pillows; no, I'm being carried by Dura with my face in her boobs. I lift my hand to watch it fall while feeling the delay in tactile response with a dopey grin.

Opal leads us through the tunnels to a hidden surface exit so we won't have to slip past the Sheikh. She's so nice. And Dura too for carrying me the whole way. Flou returns to scarf form, protecting me from the harsh wind of the desert once we reach the surface.

Sunlight finishes the job of sobering me, and we part ways with the sexy Lamia. Woof, it's a long walk back to the Oasis carrying the Ogress on my back. Moreso because of my disappointment than her weight.

Despite returning in failure, I can't help a little pep in my step from that tryst with Opal. I wouldn’t mind curling up at night with a cute snake like that!

The Lizardman guards recognize us on sight and welcome us in even though everyone can see we didn’t bring the Kobolds home. Steeltooth is inside his pavilion where we left him, though Moka migrated to his lap at some point. Thankfully, he’s playing ‘nice’ with the diminutive chocolate bunny girl. He isn’t even penetrating her; the two of them are watching my girlfriend at work while he idly plays with the smaller monster’s bunny boobies.

My girlfriend is a fucking champ.

She’s servicing Lizardmen four at a time. With one cock in each hand and a third in her mouth at a time, Isabella switches between the six hemipenis pricks pointed her way by three standing guards. Meanwhile, she’s bouncing on a fourth Lizardman’s dual dicks double penetrating her front and backdoor.

She continuously grows prickly pears from the flowers in her hair. They bud, bloom, and drop their petals, the fruit swelling, turning a luscious red, and falling in succession. A Kobold standing nearby plucks them from the air and throws them into a basket while the Lizardmen already serviced enjoy a tasty snack.

Dura picks one to sample and licks her lips in approval after munching down the sweet flesh. Lucinia perches on a bed of straw with several Kobold attendees cuddling with her and brushing her hair.

“You’ve returned!” Steeltooth says with excitement that quickly dies as he realizes we’ve come empty-handed. He surely didn’t expect us to return alive in the event of failure. “What happened?”

I explain everything to him in detail (except the specifics of our quality time with Opal), from the Goblin Sheikh’s ability to control those who don his cursed garments to the enslaved Kobold belly dancers and Opal’s transformation. 

“According to Opal, the Sheikh is too strong for us to take on alone.”

The Lizardman nods, seeing reason. “It pains me as a warrior to ask someone else to fight our battles for us, but we need Alex. Although, I would gladly fight at her side to rescue my tribesmen even if it meant my death.”

Dura nods in solemn approval.

“We’ll tell her all about this and see what she thinks. Also, thanks for watching Moka for me,” I say.

Steeltooth shows me his pearly whites in a reptilian grin. Moka pales to mocha at the sight of all those teeth. “Think nothing of it. Regretfully, I didn’t trust anyone but myself to hold her. Temptation is a hell of a thing, but honor is what separates us from the animals.”

As if in ironic counterpoint, a Lizardman who had one too many prickly pears scrunches his face, convulses as something powerful roils inside, and finally releases a mighty belch. However, this burp is special because, with an internal *click* in his throat, the gasses ignite. The Lizardman throws back his head and breathes a brief burst of flame.

The fire dances in all the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. It plumes upward in a short-lived fireball that quickly vanishes from sight. Neither the amount of flame, intensity, or duration are enough to burn much, but it’s real fire.

Something tingles inside me.

“Ahh, finally, that’s the last of them!” Isabella crows as she swallows the last spurts of the remaining Lizardmen rods. She stands and stretches luxuriously while yet more prickly pears grow in her hair.

I rush over to Isabella, scoop her into a dip, and kiss her on the lips. A bouquet of flowers blossom on her head and shoulders as I right her and say, “Great job, Isabella! Thank you, and this gives me a brilliant idea! Listen to this: we lure the Sandworm into a trap, fill the beast full of Lizardman belches, and light it on fire! Boom! No more Sandworm, and we lead the Oasis tribe home to Alex. That’s one problem solved.”

The Cactus girl blinks at me, one eye twitching. “Suka, you’re a moron, but I can’t be mad after that kiss. Look, your plan is missing connective tissue at every step. It isn’t a plan, it’s a… a flight of fancy!”

My face falls. “You’re right. Alex is the one who comes up with the crazy plans. I’m just so disappointed to return home empty-handed. I bet Alex is getting stronger right now. And who knows how many of my rivals evolved while I was gone. I wanted to show you off to the others and impress you with how much they respect me, but I feel like I’ll get tied up and dominated again if I go home now.”

Isabella puts her arms around me in a hug, pressing our tits together pleasantly through the thin layer of her leafy dress, brushes my hair with her fingers, and rubs behind my wolf ears, making my tail wag and my leg kick. “M-moron! You don’t have to try to impress me. I already know you’re cool. You saved me, outran the Sandworm, and made friends with the Lizardfolk. I won’t let anybody bully you! I’ll fuck anyone at the orgy who tries to mess with my g-g-g-girlfriend!!!” 

She still can’t say it without stuttering and blushing.

I return the hug, heart warmed by her words, and feel her impressive erection poking my thigh as the thought of defending my honor by fucking all comers into submission excites the Cactus girl. As we hold one another in mutual affection, my eyes wander.

More Lizardmen are burping flames. The brilliant burning gases glow and dance in the shade of the pavilion. Fire twists and turns in the air currents. Flashes of beautiful color illuminate their surroundings.

The tingling inside me intensifies.

It reminds me of the fire that consumed the Twisted and Pitcher Treefolk. I remember how it called to me that day—a siren song resonating in my blood demanding I cast myself into the flames. I remember the fear I felt at the heat on my skin. I remember how it took all my determination and will to force myself to make that leap. I’ll never forget the searing pain of being burned alive.

It reminds me of the pain I felt running from the Sandworm while pushing Cinderwolf Rush to my limit.

The tingle reaches a crescendo.

“That’s it!” I shout, startling everyone around me. I start to pace in a frenzy. “There’s something beyond Cinderwolf Rush! I need to push past my limit! But how? A race, or… the big tower cactus!”

“Is Suka well?” Lucinia asks.

Dura shrugs. “All doggies a bit,” she twirls her finger at her temple in the gesture for ‘loony.’

“Suka, you’re talking crazy,” Isabella says. “Slow down and explain this to us.”

Flou1 reverts from scarf to bunny-eared Fuzzy Slime as she leaps from my neck to the ground. “Suka had to immolate herself to become what she is now. I think she’s trying to do something like that again to reach the 'next step.'”

“M-moron! That’s nuts! I told you, Suka, you don’t need to do anything like that to impress—” Isabella begins, but Dura interrupts with a huge hand on the Cactus girl’s thorny shoulder.

“Sometime got do wut got do,” the towering Goblinoid warrior pronounces.

I give the Ogress a wobbly smile and punch her in the arm, “Thanks.”

Dura punches back, but I dodge aside with a smile. Next, I lean in to peck Isabella tenderly on the cheek. “Love you.”

An enormous white cactus flower blossoms on her head over her ear. Her hair is mostly flowers at this point. “Promise you’ll come back.”

“Count on it,” I say as I evade her grasping fingers trying to take and hold me close.

“Good luck,” Lucinia says.

“Seconded,” Flou1 agrees.

“Don’t need any!” I laugh as I shift to my wolf and run, “Back in a flash!”

Surveying the rolling desert dunes, I note the position of the sun is long past its zenith. My shadow lengthens by the second. Not much time left until nightfall. I'll have to head home after this... if I survive.

I push that discomforting thought from my mind. There's no room for mistakes here, and distraction breeds error.

I tiptoe on all fours during my final approach as I stalk forward. Peaking over the crest of a hill, my black wolf nose a speck against the ocean of sand, I spot the big cactus. Lucinia was right; it's like a turret. The tower of spikes and green plant flesh dwarfs any tree I've seen by comparison. The tall base is roughly hexagonal and covered in needles each the length of my leg. Several arms sprouting from the top like minarets reach even higher. If it were any bigger, one might call it a small castle.

I see a twinkle in the distance getting larger. Staring in confusion, I attempt to decipher what I'm looking at for a long moment before it clicks, and I duck aside in the nick of time. A spike flies right through where my head was like an arrow.

"Fuck!" I gasp, chest heaving as my heart pounds with adrenaline. It could see me from all the way over there?!?

This is going to be difficult. A rough strategy forms in my mind. I'll show Isabella how well I can plan!

Charging straight in is a death sentence. There won't be enough time to dodge, and I'll have trouble seeing the projectiles coming from that angle. Instead, I'll circle the Turret and spiral inward like an ancient human record player. That'll allow me to gauge myself without going too deep too quickly.

That's what she said, lol.

No! Bad Suka, focus.

I can still feel the call of fire. It's a spicy tingle in my core, a crackling in my ashen fur like restless cinders, a prickling along my spine like fingers tracing mysterious patterns. It demands that I test myself.

No better time than the present.

In great wolf form, I dart from cover hidden behind a dune, kicking up sand for traction as I run in orbit around the Turret. It's like a dozen archers have me in their sights; it takes mere seconds for the first volley to reach me. Needles pepper my trail, spikes appearing to sprout from the ground like bamboo shoots, the missiles steadily closing in on my tail as the Turret adjusts its aim, but they still lag behind when I dodge and weave.

I laugh to myself. Maybe this won't be so bad? I'm feeling confident. Fuck this pussy shit!

Cinderwolf Rush! Cinderwolf Rush! Cinderwolf Rush!

Yeah, that's the stuff! My core ignites in burning pain as searing heat shoots through me. It's a thrilling pain. Almost addictive, like the muscle burn of a good workout, but more intense. My fur begins to glow like stirring embers.

I scratch the record, skipping forward on the spiral track as I pour on the speed. My paws sink deep into the sand with each step, propelling me faster and faster. The Turret's aim improves as I near, but I'm the one in control. I run closer, dipping into the circumference of progressively smaller circles while searching for the danger zone.

There! I duck a needle aimed for my eye, then dodge another that would've hit my shoulder. With another half dozen incoming in a net configuration designed to trap me, I retreat to a safer distance. The needles nip at my heels as I flee, but I escape.

That's the limit of three Rushes, huh? There's still such a long way to go between me and the Turret, though. I'm just not fast enough.

With the margin I have at my current orbital, staying a step ahead of the projectiles is possible. The third-tier Cactus can't shoot their needles any faster, but they're regrowing their spines at a steady rate and I can't close the distance, so we're at a stalemate. But that won't satisfy the fire.

I need to touch the Turret. I can hear that fact clearly from the song of flame sizzling in my blood.

I've maintained three Rushes for a while now without damage despite feeling somewhat singed. When I did this before, I was no worse for wear after cooling down. That's all it is, just pain. I can handle pain.

Cinderwolf Rush!

Fresh agony blooms in my chest. My hair crackles and burns. I smell smoke. Someone poured lava into my veins. That combined with the strain of sprinting for so long on the loose, shifting sands makes my limbs feel like bars of metal glowing with pain.

But I'm so much faster!

I devour half the distance between myself and the Turret, the plant monster firing in slow motion to my hyperdrive sight. I bob and weave through a hailstorm of needles like I'm strolling through Fuzzy Field. Eat my dust!

I cough and taste blood in my mouth. It feels like the skin beneath my fur is cracking and peeling every minute I spend at this speed.  I was wrong about the pain. This is lasting damage. I know, if I stop now, I'll be useless tomorrow. It'll take at least a day of rest to recover.

If I press on, there's no turning back.

I hit the next danger zone a moment later. The Cactus Turret is practically shooting point blank and the minarets are firing straight down at me. I see mice on the 'walls' wearing cactus leather jerkins, each aiming their own needle bows at me. There really are archers with me in their sights! 

Thorns fall like rain.

Even at my speed, there's no getting through that torrent of spines. Not without pushing past my limit.

Victory or death!

CINDERWOLF RUSH!!!

The pain is an indescribable blazing white. The flame core inside me swells with power as fire consumes my ragged body.

Gah! *Cough!* Smoke fills my lungs. I can’t breathe. My fur is burning with the dirty fire of green wood. Somehow I smell my own cooking meat and know this heat is killing me. Boiling blood pours from my eyes, ears, mouth, and nose that vaporizes on my skin. My vision goes red.

I falter. Spikes find my flesh, plunging into my shoulder, flank, and thighs. The pain is unbearable.

But I work my limbs mechanically, one foot in front of the other sinking ankle-deep in the sand, my muscles screaming where the needles pierce them, and I’m running like the wind. I put on a burst of speed unlike anything before. The needle rain lags behind like it isn’t there. I’m a flaming comet falling upon the cactus’s turret wall.

I’m there! The finish line!

The waxy green barrier of needles looms overhead like a mountain. Instinct tells me I need a token to prove my triumph, so I grab one of the needles in my jaws and tug it loose. Cactus flesh tears as the wall releases my prize.

Tired. So damn tired.

Everything is pain. Everything is on fire. I’m dying.

Then my core blossoms in an explosion of flame. A burst of  radiant agony like death and rebirth shatters my being. I feel myself leap free of my dying shell, humanoid form springing from the ashes of my wolf body.

Looking down at my sleek, nude form, I see my wounds are gone! Along with all my luxurious ashen fur! What the fuck, I’m naked!?! I feel my head and realize I’m bald! My beautiful hair, nooo!!! I’m scared to even look at my tail…

If this is an evolution, it’s the worst one ever! I scream in disappointed rage, “Aaarrrggghhh!!!”

Red and orange flames spring to life from my wrists, below the knee, my groin, tail, and head, but they don’t burn me. No, they’re warm, but not hot? Fire that isn’t hot?!? And it’s… *pat, pat* fluffy???

Needles close in on me from every side and I realize I stopped running to examine myself while next to a Cactus Turret. A simple side hop dodges dozens of projectiles. I’m not ‘Rushing,’ but I reach for the place where that ability was and it’s not there. I’m always Rushing now?

Another volley of cactus spines. Another hop aside, but the Turret anticipates my move and sends yet another volley where I’m headed. Dodging midair is impossible, so I should be done for, but I don’t feel like I’m in danger.

I feel excited!

My paws search for aerial purchase and, to my surprise and delight, I push off from a burst of flame to perform a second leap—a double jump!

“Hah hah hah haaah!” I cackle as I land and take to the skies again without regard for the rain of needles falling all around me. Being able to redirect myself in the air allows for a whole new dimension of evasion. I wouldn’t say it’s easy, as anybody else would be a pincushion, but maneuvering under fire here is totally within my abilities.

I scale the Cactus Turret just because I can, wall-jumping between the ridges of the plant structure’s base while dodging needles and planting my paws with care. Despite the fact one wrong move would bring disaster, I’m elated by the new challenge of climbing this bastard. It’s a short-lived thrill.

I’m atop the Turret between the minaret arms in seconds. The needles up here are like a thicket of thorn bushes with spines as long as my arm, but there are paths in the maze. Mice in cactus-leather jerkins with bows and quivers of needle arrows stand frozen with fear all around me. I even spot a few Cactus Treefolk about. There are curtained doorways, cookfires, and gambling tables set up. It’s like a whole town!

The Turret and mice continue to aim at me, though I don’t notice any friendly fire. Maybe an ability of some kind? At any rate, the mice are screaming and shooting at me while retreating. I am a scary predator, after all.

“Yoink!”

My left hand is occupied with my needle trophy, so I pluck a tasty-looking mouse boy and tuck him under my right arm before leaping from the turret parapets. I break my fall with a last-second double-jump.

“Eeep!” the mouse squeaks cutely when we land lightly on the sand.

The ground shakes as cracks in the earth appear for a hundred meters in all directions. Sand sinks into the gaps and thorny green tendrils thick as trees sprout from the depths. Cactus Treefolk cling to the rising plants while spraying the ground with streams of water to create mud. I must’ve really kicked the hornet’s nest!

The landscape goes wild with the Cactus Turret's minions as if desperate to demonstrate I'm not a threat despite my evolution. Yeah, well, I got what I came for, so I've got nothing to prove! So, there!

Okay, time to leave.

I race away with my prizes in tow, leaping gaps, double-jumping when I lose my footing, hopping over patches of mud, and ducking streams of water.

The Needle Mouse under my arm tries to stab me with a thorn that came out of nowhere, but I tighten my grip on his neck until he lets it go. Good boy!

The water and mud are more of a threat to me than the earthquake or arsenal of needles I'm continuously dodging. The Turret must realize this or notices how I take special care to avoid the water jets because I feel something change in the air. It's humidity. 

Heavy mist rises from the Cactus Turret as the ground trembles again. This time, great geysers of water shoot high into the air from the minaret spires. I know what's coming next and beat a retreat double time.

Jumping and flamestepping in a tight chain allows me to reach heretofore unheard-of speeds. I’m almost flying. Then a wave of rain chases me away like a physical wall of water on my tail. I have to cross several dunes before I'm out of both archery and waterspout range.

"Woooooo!!! That was awesome!"

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