"Don't touch my circles!"

  - Archimedes

  It was well after dark when Aurelia had finished with Thessa. She'd had a lot of tension to burn through, and it had taken many rounds to finally empty her balls for the moment. Her Tauren lover had fallen asleep right there on the ground as soon as she had cmbered out of the shallow pool formed by the stream. Aurelia scooped Thessa up into her arms after she had dressed, making sure to remember to collect Thessa's discarded clothes before setting out. It wouldn't do for Thessa to have to scrounge around the following morning sans clothes.

  Even if Aurelia liked the thought

  As she took the first steps away from the stream, she encountered a problem. It was pitch bck under the branches of the trees, and she only had a rough idea which direction to head to get back to camp. She hadn't pnned far enough ahead to bring her own source of light, having been too focused on pounding Thessa as quickly as possible. But now she was beginning to regret her ck of foresight, at least until she remembered her second and most recent skill.

  Let There be Light

  Active - Racial

  Suffer no darkness before you

  She'd hadn't really had an excuse to use it yet. Sure she could have technically used it at any time, but the content's of one's soul was a deeply personal and private thing, so she had waited until she was presented with a situation where she was both alone, and it was extremely dark. To be completely honest she wasn't sure what the skill actually did, the name and description certainly sounded as though it would produce light, but she didn't know if it would be enough to actually help her in this situation.

  Well here goes nothing.

  If she had to expin the feeling to another, she'd say that it felt like a combination of a light electric shock and the warmth of a campfire. It spread from her core out to the rest of her body, and wherever it touched her skin it began to glow with a soft inner light. When it spread to her wings and hair, things got a little more dramatic. As the light spread from her torso through to her wings and down each individual feather, they began to emit a much brighter white light, the same shade as the feathers themselves. At the same time, the light cascaded down her hair from the crown of her head, slowly down to the tips down by her waist. The light pouring out from her hair was a radiant gold, much like the metallic gold of her hair.

  It illuminated the surrounding brush of the forest, and Aurelia could now clearly see where she was going. Thessa slept soundly, cradled against her chest. She was filled with a broad sense of tenderness as she looked down at the Tauren's face. Her bovine ears twitched occasionally in her sleep as she dreamed. Aurelia had had to squeeze her midsection before getting out of the water to drain the truly prodigious amounts of cum which had distended her midsection. She had felt an odd sense of primal satisfaction watching as the rge quantities of thick cum was slowly squirted out of her. It had felt like more than usual.

  She spread her wings as though preparing for a great beat. Raising and exposing more feathers illuminated even more of the forest floor, which she used to begin to navigate her way back to camp.

  It was certainly a very useful skill, she conceded. she would never need to bring torches or nterns during any future nighttime or subterranean adventures. Or, she supposed, if she had to go to heed nature's call at night.

  The only problem with the skill she could see was how conspicuous it was. Not only was she a shining beacon to any onlookers because of her wings and hair, but the light radiated a lesser amount from every inch of her skin. Every detail from the clothes she was wearing to her armaments would be immediately obvious as though it was midday. As she looked down at herself, another concern caused her to blush slightly. With her skin radiating light outwards, her light sto had become all but see-through, with every curve and detail highlighted. If she was ever to use this skill in front of other people, she'd need more solid clothing and gear first.

  With her way lit, it only took her twice as long returning as going. Though she could now see, she still managed to get turned around in the dark forest. Once she could see the light of the campfire through the brush, she let go of the light. She didn't really want to have to expin her impromptu light show to her companions. Her body cooled as though she had been submerged in a bath full of iced water, but the feeling faded quickly. She tried to be quiet as she approached the tents, but with her rge frame and her carrying Thessa, there was only so much she could do to muffle her heavy footfalls.

  She was about to brush open the fp to her tent when she saw Comak from across the campfire. She mentally spped herself in the forehead. Of course! There was always someone on watch during the night. Thankfully, the angle from where Comak was standing prevented him from seeing Thessa in her arms. This was the second time today her wings had come in handy for this exact purpose, oddly enough. He gave her a look with a raised eyebrow, but he gave her a nod and turned back to his watch. She didn't think he would have seen her light before she had turned it off, he was on the opposite side of the camp after all, but she wasn't entirely sure that she had gotten away scott-free either. The look in his eyes had suggested that he wasn't unaware of her activities with Thessa, more that he just didn't really care about other people's business so long as it didn't affect him or the job.

  How remarkably forward thinking of him. Aurelia thought, if he had indeed caught wind of what was going on between her and Thessa. Or maybe he just couldn't be bothered.

  Either way, she ducked into her tent and id Thessa down onto her bedroll. In theory they had separate bedrolls, but they had pressed them together to create a single, much rger roll. She stripped out of her robe, then settled down beside her. Draping a rge bnket over the both of them and drawing Thessa's sleeping form against her own. When they got back to Rome she really had to buy a rger tent, she thought.

  Thessa woke with a long yawn. She felt fantastic in ways she couldn't ever remember. There was a little soreness around her nether regions and her nipples, but with how vigorous their lovemaking had been she could understand why. Wait... the st thing she could remember was a lust filled fog filled with screaming pleasure. She thought she had flopped onto the shore after an amount of time she couldn't recall, but that was it. She couldn't remember making it back to camp, Aurelia must have carried her. The thought made her heart flutter, and drew her attention to her present situation.

  She could feel a rge, warm body spooning her from behind. And there was both a bnket and a rge white wing keeping her warm as she slept. There were also two rge mounds pressing into her from behind. Being this close to Aurelia was like standing next to a rge horse for the first time, it was almost surreal seeing just how much bigger she was than the average person. It wasn't just height, every part of her body exceeded her own by a mile, from her head to her toes. And Thessa's Tauren form was already rger than your average human woman.

  She was using Aurelia's arm and left breast like a pillow, with the back of her head squished up against the valley between Aurelia's breasts. She turned her head right, and her vision was filled with olive-toned glory.

  "Hnngbmmbmmtb" She pretended to talk into the side of Aurelia's boob-flesh. So long as she and Aurelia shared a bed, she reckoned she'd never want for a comfortable night's sleep.

  She turned away from Aurelia's smothering embrace and sighed contentedly. These dawn-lit moments shared between her and Aurelia in their tent before they had to get up and face the day were quickly becoming her favourites of the day. She heard footsteps from outside the tent and sighed again, this time not very contentedly. They would have to get up soon, and Thessa was already mourning how warm and cozy she felt. Time waits for no woman, no matter how unfair.

  They were well and truly out of civilization's grasp now. The strong cobblestone road that was as much a symbol of Roman dominance as the eagle had been getting thinner and less kempt. Weeds were growing up from between the stones, and tree roots were encroaching inwards from the sides. The expedition passed by only a few travelers going the other way, and each group eyed the other with their hands on whatever weapons they had ready. Gregorios, who was walking at the head of their column, haled each as they came. Seeking news from Tibur, which was retively close. There were still some tensions in the region after the st Samnite war, but a patrol of a Roman Legate at the head of a small legion had quelled any discontent. Aside from rumours of increased ork presence in the region, news was slow.

  After the st of them has passed, Gregorios offered his insights.

  "Seems to me like the senate wants to quell any problems near Latium before gathering more strength down south." He said with a grimace on his face. "It's been sounding like there might be trouble down there for a while, but I reckon it won't be long now before they call for another levy for the consuls egos."

  "For the glory of Rome" said the only other non-human of the group sarcastically. Monin seemed to be the quiet type, and Aurelia was sorry she hadn't really made the time to talk to the dwarf in any depth.

  She gave Thessa a small smile before trotting forward in the column, approaching Monin until she walked side-by-side with him. Now that they were standing next to each other, the height difference was... significant.

  "Hey Monin! How've you been? I know we haven't talked much, but I'd love to learn more about you!"

  He looked up at her quizzically, and responded in a thick brogue. "You know ss, you speak as though you were writing" Aurelia's cheeks reddened slightly in a blush. "But aye ss, I've been curious about you as well. Never seen someone with wings, and never one with golden hair that's actually golden."

  They talked for a while. He expined that he had been born in a dwarven hold called Ag-Ferrum, and was one of the few dwarves who had felt wanderlust in his bones and struck out as an adventurer when he had matured at the age of forty. Aurelia had been surprised to learn that there were subtypes of dwarves. Monin was an Iron Dwarf, he had expined, and when she asked him if that meant he had iron bones, he had given her a sharp look before his expression softened. "Har, har. Very funny, but in to tell ye the truth, it's a metal that I expect ye humans in Rome to get yer heads around pretty soon. Ye've got all the know how, and have even started to make some small things outta the stuff. So I reckon it won't be long before ye've mastered the metal." Aurelia just nodded, not fully understanding what he was saying, but accepting that he was knowledgeable in the area.

  She herself told him about herself. There wasn't a whole lot to say aside from that she was a rookie adventurer, and that she had been raised in the Temple of Ceres. He had asked a few questions about it, but it seemed he had little real interest in human gods. After asking him about it, she had learned that dwarves have their own gods, completely separate from the pantheon she was used to. She couldn't quite wrap her brain around that, but again accepted it. Most of his questions were about her specifically. What was her race? Were there more like her? Could she actually fly with her wings? Etc. Most of her answers were disappointingly simple. She didn't know anything really about her race, had neither seen nor heard about any more like her, and couldn't fly yet but was hopeful for the future.

  "Yer not a bad ss, Aurelia. When yer back in Rome, my cousin Fanor has a shop near the Forum Romanum. Makes everything from swords to horseshoes. Tell him Monin sent'ya and he'll treat you warmly." He paused and gave her a meaningful look. "If ye ask nicely, he might even take you to the back where he sells the iron goodies. It'd certainly beat anything like that copper spear of yours."

  Gd to have made a new friend, Aurelia and Monin chatted idly for a bit more before she dropped back to rejoin Thessa.

  After days of being on the road, Aurelia's sandals were starting to kill her feet. Thessa had caligae, which had fared much better. And Junia had calcei, which fit her equites status better, but she was on horseback anyway. Aurelia had known she would forget something important on her first journey, but she was astounded it was something as simple and critical as proper footwear. She had blisters from days of constant walking, and it was getting worse.

  SpoilerCaligae were footwear like sandals, but tougher. Made of leather strips with a reinforced sole, they were ideal outdoor shoes for people without much means. Calcei were actual closed shoes, also made of leather. They were often worn by citizens of better means than caligae.

  [colpse]Thankfully, Gregorios, blessed Gregorios, had heard one of Aurelia's compints and had begun to simply dig into one of the packs loaded onto the backs of one of the mules. He returned and presented her with a pair of caligae fitted for her size feet. He expined that he had had them made after their first meeting in the tavern. It was apparently one of the most common rookie mistakes. Gregorios made sure she knew that the money was coming out of her pay for the job, but she didn't care. Her feet began to show their gratitude almost immediately. She thanked him profusely and showered his forehead and face with kisses before she eagerly strapped the new footwear on. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him trying to remain straight-faced in front of the others, but she could tell he was pleased with himself.

  They marched on under the branches of the encroaching trees, they weren't far from their goal now. The following day would be the first where they settle in pce and begin actually searching for the Green Razortails they sought, and Aurelia for one, would be gd to actually start her first real job instead of marching sunrise to sundown.