Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter 22: Wild at Heart, part XVI



   "Don't you want to give up already?" Iliv yawned.  They hadn't seen
Salanya in hours and Iliv had little hope left that they would still catch
her.  And even if they would catch her, she had no idea what they should do
about her.  Salanya was ridiculously strong.  Several times stronger than
Alum-Umoth who they had finished off in cooperation.  Still, Fel had no
intention on giving up on her.  Iliv was somewhat impressed by her
companion's stubbornness, but it also annoyed her.  "Hey!  I'm fucking
tired!  The sun will be rising soon.  Can't we just go back to Liry and
claim our pay?" Not that they had done a lot to save this city.  By now,
hardly any guards were to be seen on the streets anymore.  They had all
either been killed, fled the town or deserted and fought for the rebels
now.

   There were still fights going on though.  Splinter groups had formed and
they wanted to decide as quickly as possible who would be the future leader
of this town.  Religious fanatics, the crime bosses of the stews, several
guilds, members of the Divine Syndicate, even some royalists who kept faith
with Princess Endolefinia...  all of them were murdering each other in
order to end up as the big winner of this rebellion.  Again, civilians were
slaughtered mercilessly.  Either because they were deemed to support a
different faction or just to prevent them from ever doing so.  Iliv and Fel
had passed several places were mass executions had taken place.  Avenues
with dozens of dead bodies hanging from the trees, rivers that were full of
corpses, houses that had been shut up and set on fire so that all the
people inside would die in the flames.

   Even if it would have been possible, Iliv didn't feel like saving this
town anymore.  Nargath pretty much deserved to die.  All that was left for
her was to collect her pay and...  She angrily glared at Fel who was still
leading the way to some obscure spot where she thought Salanya could be
found.  "Hey, shithead!  Are you even listening to me?  Let's go back to
Liry's place!" Fel overheard the insult.  She seemed to be in a good mood
for some reason.  "Oh, screw your puny pay.  I tell you, when we take down
this demon, they'll have to pay us big time.  Not only Liry.  The whole
city council will be indebted to us!" Iliv sighed.  What a pighead.  "You
know, Fel, no one will be able to pay us anything if they're not alive
anymore by the time we get the job done.  And the rebels are probably
getting ready to lynch your friend Liry right now..." It was a serious
concern of Iliv.  Not getting her pay because Liry's mansion had already
been seized and looted would be a real bummer.

   Fel paused.  The imp-girl had a point.  Even if the rebels hadn't taken
Liry's mansion this night, they would probably attack it on the forthcoming
day.  She shrugged her shoulders.  "Too bad.  I really would've liked to
fight that demon-bitch..." Iliv snarled at her.  "Yeah, you can do that
when I have left town..."



   When they arrived at Liry's mansion, the sun had risen already.  The
mansion was still being defended by Liry's troops, but they were in a
desolate state.  None of them had slept tonight and many had wounds from
the fights last night.  Their chances for surviving this mess were probably
quite low.

   Their entrance in Liry's bedroom came as a shock for all parties
involved.  Let us recollect what we have here: A demon by the name of
Salanya who is kneeling on the floor, caringly holding a burning black egg
at the size of a human baby.  A little girl by the name of Elza who is
kneeling on the floor opposite to Salanya.  The look in her eyes: Confused,
tired, scared, pleading.  A councilor by the name of Liry, nailed to the
wall and bleeding from her hands and feet.  A huge hole in the wall where
the balcony door used to be, letting the warm morning sunlight in.  And two
crazy bounty hunters by the names of Fel and Iliv, taken by surprise, but
all ready to start a fight at any moment.

   Salanya glared at the newcomers.  She still held on to the egg, but the
spreading of her wings clearly indicated her readiness to fight.  Liry
sighed in relief at the sight of Fel and Iliv.  "Finally, you're here.  Now
please, get this..." Elza interrupted her with a desperate plead: "Please
don't let them attack her!  I know that she did a horrible thing to you,
Liry, but...  I beg you...  She's the mother of my child!" Liry sighed. 
Even in this terrible state that she was in right now and with all the hate
she felt for this demon...  she still couldn't do something that would end
up hurting her little wife.  Elza looked at Salanya with beseeching eyes.
"You won't hurt them if they don't attack you, right?" Salanya shrugged her
shoulders.  Sure, she would have preferred to kill this meddlesome humans,
but...  "If that's what you wish for...  I guess so."

   Liry groaned.  "Alright.  Then can someone get me down already?"



   A little later, Fel, Iliv and Liry were sitting in the lounge.  A maid
served them tea.  All of them could really need it right now.  Liry's hands
and feet had been bandaged, but they still hurt like hell.  Fel put her
feet up.  "Your wife is really..." - "Don't!" Liry interrupted her harshly.
"Just don't say it, Fel." Fel grinned.  She really loved teasing people way
too much.  "Alright.  My lips are sealed." She took a sip from her tea cup.
"So what's the plan?  As you might have guessed by now, neither me nor Iliv
have been able to stop the rebellion so far." Honestly, Liry had no idea
what the plan was.  Until half an hour ago, she hadn't really expected to
still be alive on this morning.  "For now, just defend the mansion...  and
try not to aggravate the devil in my bedroom too much."

   Iliv finished her cup in one big gulp.  "I'm out.  Just give me my pay
and I'll be gone." Fel looked at her as if she was a real spoilsport.  "Aw,
come on!  It was getting to the point where I was having fun with you for
the first time!  Do you really think that anyone can conquer this place
with us and the fat demon upstairs around?" Iliv had already gotten up. 
"It's not that I have any doubt in that.  I just want to go to some place
where I can sleep and...  forget about this whole mess.  A place without
any houses around." Fel sighed.  "Crawling back into your woods again...  I
guess you'll be missing out on the best part, but...  whatever."

   Liry had no choice but paying Iliv and solely relying on Fel from now
on. The imp-girl left with a bag of gold coins over her shoulder.  Now Fel
yawned too.  "Not fighting for so long makes me tired.  Tell your maid that
she should prepare a hot bath for me.  And something to eat while I soak
myself." Liry was amazed how calm Fel could remain in such a situation. 
"No...  I'd prefer to have you around me for now." Fel raised an eyebrow.
"You could hop into the tub with me.  There once was a time when we did
that quite often..." Liry silently snorted at the ridiculousness of this
offer.  "I don't think that I want to do that right now." Fel grumbled. 
"Fine.  Can I at least take a shit then?  Or do you also want to follow me
when I do that?" - "Please.  Just go."

   When Fel returned, the whole room immediately stank of shit.  It was
beyond Liry why she never wiped her ass.  In such regards, she really still
was just like a snotty brat.  Liry tried her best to ignore the stench. 
Fel walked up and down the room to at least keep her feet busy.  "Shouldn't
their baby have hatched by now?  Given its size..." Liry grunted.  She
preferred not to think of what was happening in her bedroom right now.  "It
has grown this big in an hour.  Who knows at what size it well end up.  Its
mother is a demon, after all." The thought of this baby being born
frightened Liry.  She knew all about the prophecy that was connected to it.
What fools the members of the council had been who had thought that they
would be able to control such an event.  She wondered how many of them were
still alive on this morning.  At least the rebels probably wouldn't be able
to invade this place as long as such powerful beings were around.  But Liry
feared the moment when they would inevitably turn against her.

   A rumbling upstairs interrupted Liry's train of thought.  She exchanged
worried looks with Fel and then they rushed to the bedroom.  The trembling
black egg had grown to an astonishing size.  By now it was big enough to
contain an adult human being.  The rumbling came from inside the egg.  It
had several bulges and also cracks that emitted sparks.  No doubt, this
demonic bastard was close to hatching.  Salanya looked at the huge egg in
eager anticipation.  Elza seemed to be very frightened, but she also could
hardly await the moment when she would lay eyes on her child for the first
time.

   Finally, the shell burst open with a low grumble.  The first thing that
came out were bright flames.  It took the people who had gathered around it
some moments to realize that there were actually two girls inside this egg.
"Twins." Fel was the first to pronounce it.  "Congratulations, Elza.  They
don't really look like identical twins though..." In several ways, they
actually did.  The two girls were exactly the same size and had equally
developed bodies- those of about thirteen year old girls.  Which meant that
they were already bigger than one of their mothers.  Their faces also
looked almost identical and they were both exceptionally pretty and cute.

   But there were also some good ways to tell the two apart: One had bright
red skin, the other one was dark-skinned.  One had pitch-black hair, the
other one's was platinum blond.  And most importantly, one of them had two
stubby white horns poking out of her head, a pair of big black bat wings on
her back and flames that constantly soared from her skin.  While the other
girl didn't have any of these hellish traits.  She was exceptional in the
sense though that her twin sister's flames didn't seem to bother her at
all. They had slept inside the egg tenderly entangled.  Right now, they
woke up for the first time.

   Even Salanya was surprised by this development.  "The oracle hasn't said
anything about a second child...  Especially not a human one!  Well, I
guess this one here will be my little darling..." Unaffected by the flames,
she lifted up the red demon-girl with the black hair and lovingly squeezed
her between her oversized breasts.  It didn't take long before the girl's
lips found her mother's nipple and started sucking on it.  Elza realized
the heartbreaking fact that she would never be able to hold this child of
hers- it would simply burn her.

   In the meanwhile, the dark-skinned, seemingly human girl took a curious
look at all the people in the room.  "Ma...  mama?" The human beings in the
room were astounded that this child was already able to speak its first
word only a minute after hatching.  Elza reached out for her overgrown baby
with tears in her eyes.  "I...  I'm your mama." As soon as she said that,
the dark-skinned girl leapt at her and tightly embraced her new-found
mother.  It didn't matter to her that she was bigger than her parent.  She
squealed in joy.  "Quite agile for her age, I have to admit..." Fel
whispered to Liry.  The newborn girl quickly started latching on Elza's
nipples, although her mother still hadn't developed any breasts yet.  Elza
giggled.  "That tickles!  I'm sorry, baby...  I can't give any milk yet. 
You'll have to go to your other mama for that."

   It took a while until Salanya realized that Elza had addressed her.  She
was completely absorbed by the red-skinned demon-girl.  "Eh?  I don't think
that drinking a demon's milk will agree with a human baby.  You'll have to
find someone of your kind to do that." Well, it was common knowledge that
especially women with big breasts were able to lactate anytime.  Both
Liry's and Elza's eyes fell on Fel.  She was annoyed by this request right
away.  But she was obviously the best candidate around.  "Me?  Well, I
guess if it has to be..." Fel unlaced her leather armor and exposed her
impressive tits.  Liry gulped.  "They certainly haven't gotten any
smaller..."

   Fel gave her a dismissive look, then she gently grabbed the newborn
girl's head and lead it towards her naked boobs.  The girl immediately
clung to Fel's big tit and started sucking on her nipple.  Elza sat herself
behind her daughter and caressed her head while she was sucking away.  It
took less than a minute until warm milk began splattering into the
dark-skinned girl's mouth.  She hastily swallowed the first food she had
received in her life.  Fel's face became a little flushed, a quite rare
sight.  Before long, her cock became rock-hard from the sucking.

   The scene would have been quite idyllic and heart-warming if there
wouldn't have been the demon with her flaming child on the other side of
the room.  Liry made an attempt to get her head around this chaos.  "Then I
guess...  this girl over there is Aras the fiery, the child from the
prophecy." Salanya nodded proudly.  She couldn't have been more happy with
her newborn.  Liry turned around and looked at the girl in Fel's arms. 
"...and this girl is?" Salanya shrugged her shoulders.  "For all I know, a
normal human being." Considering that this girl was born with the body of
an adolescent and was resistant to flames, this was quite an outrageous
statement.  Salanya probably didn't know too much about the human world.

   Fel sighed.  "I have no idea what this prophecy is or why everyone
except for me seems to know about it...  but for now, we have to call this
little sucker something." She looked at Elza.  "What do you want to name
your child?" Elza gave her a baffled look.  She hadn't thought about that
at all yet.  But there once had been a certain someone...  "Alyn.  That
will be her name."
   Welcome to this world, Aras and Alyn.