Wrong Afterlife - Ch.5 - It Wasn't A Dream (Patreon)

As I slowly drifted awake I found myself marvelling at last night's dream. It wasn't the first time I'd been turned into a girl in my dreams, and it wasn't the first time I'd dreamed of being isekaied either. It was a lot more detailed than most of my dreams though, and honestly a lot weirder than anything my brain had ever come up with in the past.

The strange dream was still on my mind as I began to notice the sound of birds, singing from the tree tops all around me. And the feel of sunlight on my naked body. Along with the feel of other peoples' bare skin pressed against my own.

My heart raced as I nervously opened my eyes and my stomach lurched. Either I was still dreaming, or it wasn't a dream after all.

I was laying on my back, squeezed between a tall strong beautiful naked ranger on my left, and a gorgeous naked druid on my right. I felt my big floofy tail start wagging happily down between my legs, but I couldn't see it due to the large pair of boobs on my chest.

My tail wagged even faster while my mind raced along with my heart-rate. And I slowly began to accept that maybe all that crazy stuff really happened after all.

I closed my eyes and tried to stay calm as I reviewed all the unbelievable details from yesterday.

First there was my untimely and ignominious death. Then my disappointing transmigration, followed by the unexpected foxgirlification. Finding myself absolutely head over heels in love with the asshole who transformed me left me feeling weird and unsettled, although while I was under those effects I couldn't have cared less.

Then there was the fear of the Demon Queen, the horror of seeing the temporary love of my life in trouble, and finally the bizarre fluke of luck that led to me defeating the monster and accidentally finishing off my would-be lover at the same time. 

And finally, perhaps the most unexpected part of the entire misadventure was somehow ending up being girlfriends with the other two members of Mr. Asshole's former harem. And that detail is what led to the last thing that happened last night, before we all fell asleep.

I had sex. For the first time ever. Not just any sex, I had a hot steamy three-way with a pair of strong beautiful girls. And I was a girl too.

Now it was morning, and I wasn't dreaming. I was a small weak busty foxgirl in the middle of a naked three-way sleepy cuddle with two hot strong sexy girls. We were in a meadow in a forest in the middle of nowhere. I knew absolutely nothing about this world, I didn't really know how to fight, and I had nothing to my name but one skimpy outfit and even that was borrowed. 

I didn't even have my rusty old short sword anymore, which left me with no way to fight and nothing to defend myself but that useless spark magic. Except thinking about magic got me thinking about those purple tattoos on my wrist, since I was pretty sure they were enchanted in some way.

Moving slowly so as not to disturb the others, I lifted my left arm up till I had a good view of the two hearts on my wrist. Both were about two centimetres across, and they were both the same shade of light purple. They were side by side on the inside of my wrist, a couple centimetres up from the heel of my hand.

I gently ran my right forefinger over the heart closest to my hand, and was startled when some unexpected thoughts suddenly appeared in my mind.

"Avril, druid, nineteen years old, human, female..."

I quickly lifted my finger back up. I had the feeling it might have given me even more information, but it felt too much like prying or snooping. On the other hand, I couldn't resist checking the other heart. Just to be sure.

"Clara, ranger, twenty years old, human, female..."

I stopped it there and thought for a bit. If all this stuff was based on the wish list I gave Natasha, then these magic tattoos would probably let the three of us communicate, or let us locate each other. That was assuming theirs worked like mine, but it felt like a safe assumption. 

After a brief hesitation I decided to test it again, to see if it really would give me more information like I thought. I touched the heart again, but inadvertently put a little more pressure on it than before. Avril suddenly woke with a lusty moan, which reminded me what happened yesterday when I poked the two hearts. 

The unexpected moan roused Clara as well, and I quickly let my arms drop back to my sides.

"Oh uh, good morning," I said as casually as I could.

The gorgeous druid cuddled up a little closer against my side as she smiled, "Good morning cutie."

"Good morning the both of you," Clara added. "We should have breakfast then get moving."

I nodded and Avril grudgingly agreed, so the three of us got up. I quickly found my borrowed outfit, and made a point of not staring at either of my companions as we all got dressed again.

While I was getting my outfit on I momentarily wondered about a shower or getting cleaned up, when it dawned on me that I didn't seem to need it. There wasn't even any evidence of last night's three-some, no stickiness or anything else. Even the bedrolls seemed clean and dry. 

Thinking about that for a moment, I vaguely remembered Avril using another cleansing-type spell last night before we all fell asleep. It was kind of surprising, but I had to admit it was awfully convenient when you didn't have access to a shower.

By that point we were all fully clothed again. The ranger was wearing a pair of tight dark cotton pants and a loose short-sleeve brown linen blouse, with soft brown leather boots on her feet. A dark brown leather belt with various daggers and pouches completed the outfit. And Avril had her green dress and sandals, with a length of rope for a belt. Then the gorgeous druid got some food ready while Clara packed the bedrolls away in the two surviving backpacks.

Our morning meal consisted of some strips of salted meat and a couple chunks of bread, which we washed down with a weak flat watery 'beer' we all drank from a wineskin. It wasn't great, but it was filling.

After breakfast Avril and Clara finished packing up our supplies, while I had another look around the meadow. I spotted something shiny in the grass, and wandered over to see what it was. It turned out to be Mr. Asshole's rapier, so I bent over and picked it up thinking it would be a decent upgrade from the rusty short sword I started with.

Except once I had it in my hand I quickly realized whatever sword skills I'd received when I came to this world were limited to short swords. Worse, as a small weak busty foxgirl the rapier was too long, making it feel awkward and unwieldy to me. It also seemed a little heavy too. Thanks to my diminished strength, I was probably going to have trouble using anything that required a lot of muscle power.

"Damn," I sighed. "I was hoping I could use this, but..."

Clara shook her head as she moved to join me, "It's too big for you Fiona. Your short sword wasn't in great shape but it was a much better fit for you in terms of size."

"Actually here," she added after a moment. "Let's trade, this might work better for you?"

She had a couple daggers on her belt, and she removed one of the bigger ones along with its leather scabbard. She handed that to me, then took the rapier for herself. I accepted the trade, then slipped the dagger out and had a closer look at it.

The thirty centimetre long, three centimetre wide blade was a bit heavy, but it was sharp all along the length of one edge and halfway up the other side, and tapered to a fine point. It was too small to be used as a sword but I'd definitely have better luck with it than the rapier. I could use the edges for cutting or slicing, and like all daggers it was a good thrusting weapon.

"Thanks Clara," I smiled as I slipped it back in the sheath. "Can you use the sword ok?"

She nodded, "My skills are nowhere near what Roderick could do, but I've trained with a few different blades. The bow's my main weapon, but considering I'm down to only a few arrows I'm sure this will come in handy."

"We'll buy you a proper short sword as soon as we get the chance," she added. 

I thanked her again, then Avril found me a length of cord I could use as a belt, similar to hers. That gave me somewhere to hang the dagger so I didn't have to hold it the whole time. 

At that point we were ready to head out. My companions each hoisted a pack onto their backs, which meant I didn't have to carry anything at all. I had a feeling that was because they thought I was too weak to manage it, and the worst part was they were probably right. 

Either way I decided it wasn't worth making a fuss about. Maybe tomorrow I'd insist on taking a turn carrying some gear. For now I kept quiet, and the three of us finally set off out of the meadow, heading in what Clara assured us was the right direction. 

In addition to the packs my companions were also carrying their weapons. Clara had her bow in hand and an arrow set on the string incase of trouble, while Avril was using her gnarled staff like a hiking stick. As much as I hoped we wouldn't run into any demons or monsters, I was glad they were both ready for it if we did end up facing something unpleasant.

After only ten or fifteen minutes of walking through the forest together I realized that I didn't have any trouble keeping up with my companions despite the fact that I was barefoot. I hadn't thought to look at my feet earlier but I was left wondering if they were more like paws or something. Not that I was covered in fur or anything, in fact my fair skin was actually really smooth and hairless. Even places I expected to find hair were surprisingly smooth. And soft and sensitive too, for that matter.

I finally asked, "So um, this might sound weird but I don't actually know anything about being a foxgirl? I don't seem to need shoes, is that normal? And I remember the other foxgirl was kind of short too, is that common? Like are all foxgirls small? And for that matter, how tall do you figure I am?"

Clara and Avril were both smiling, but it was the ranger who answered first.

"I guess you don't have much experience with beastkin where you're from?" she responded. "Generally they're the same size as humans, in fact it's not unusual for some beastkin to be bigger than humans. Many of them are stronger too. That corrupted fox yesterday was more the exception than the rule."

"Oh," I frowned. "Then why am I so small? Or are you two really tall?"

The smile hadn't left either of their faces as Avril replied, "The magic that let Roderick turn you into a girl let him pick what your new form looked like. And I know he was looking for a short girl to add to his harem."

"He mentioned that a few weeks back," Clara added. "Yesterday he said he made you a foxgirl because he was upset you let the other one get away, and he probably made you so small because he wanted a small girl in the group."

"He was big on diversity," the druid commented. "I remember he said that when I joined the group."

I cringed slightly as I asked, "How tall do you figure I am?"

Clara responded, "I'm a hundred and seventy-five centimetres, Avril's a hundred and sixty-eight. Looking at you next to us, I'd guess you're around a hundred and forty centimetres tall?"

My heart skipped a beat and I nearly tripped over my own feet when she said it. It left my head spinning slightly as the numbers sank in. From from one-ninety-two to one-forty was a huge difference in height. I really was tiny, and it was going to take me some time to come to terms with that, and how I felt about this new body in general.

Knowing this body was all Roderick's idea didn't make me very happy though. It wasn't hard to imagine what sorts of things he planned on doing with me, and I had mixed feelings about that too. Especially knowing I'd have been happy to oblige all his horny fantasies. For that matter I'd have probably enjoyed it.

Those thoughts led to more mixed feelings and a bunch more things I didn't want to think about yet, so I pushed all that way and changed the subject to something else.

"So um, you mentioned treasure from other encounters?" I asked. "We didn't get any treasure from the Demon Queen though, did we? Was there a bounty or something? I remember Mr. Asshole said it was a quest."

Clara stifled a laugh at my nickname for our former lover as she answered, "It was a quest from the Gods, and yes there should be a bounty or reward. Roderick wore an amulet around his neck that he used to communicate with the Gods, but that was destroyed along with the rest of him."

"So we need to find a temple," Avril took over the explanation, "Then we can pray to them and let them know the quest was successfully completed. Then they'll reward us for the achievement."

The ranger added, "Odds are they already know the Demon Queen is dead. They're Gods after all, they know everything. But we need to report to a temple in order to claim our reward."

"I see," I responded. "So when we reach the next village we're going to find a temple?"

Avril shook her head, "There's no temples this far south."

"These are uncharted lands. Not part of any kingdom or principality," Clara added. "Inhabited by outlanders, beastkin, and monsters."

I frowned, "So where exactly are we going then?"

The ranger explained, "We're heading north to a small trading outpost, but it's also home to some local hunters and farmers. People who live in the wildlands, by choice or because they've been exiled. Or some are probably outlaws, here to escape justice. We'll be able to stock up on supplies, and we should be able to replace some of the lost gear there."

"And where's the nearest temple?" I asked. "Or where's our ultimate destination? Where are you two from, are we going back to your home?"

Avril replied, "We both come from a kingdom well north of here, and the fastest way back there would be by ship. I think it's about two weeks' journey to the nearest port? Then we could book passage back home. There's a large temple in the capital city, not far from the royal palace. That would be the best place to report our success, I think?"

"I'm not so sure taking Fiona back to our homeland is the best option," Clara responded. "And even if it were, I don't think booking passage on a ship is a good choice either."

I frowned as I looked up at the ranger, "Why not? I mean, about your homeland, why shouldn't I go there?"

She explained, "Most people there have a rather low opinion of beastkin. Few will have ever even seen one of your kind before. You may face prejudice and bigotry if we take you there. Avril and I would protect you of course, but it could still be very uncomfortable."

The druid sighed, "Clara has a good point. We still need to find a temple, but we don't need to go all the way to the capital for that."

I stifled a sigh as well, but somehow I wasn't surprised to learn that bigotry and prejudice existed on this world too. After a few moments I looked at the ranger again and asked, "And why don't you want to take a ship?"

She responded, "Sea voyages can be dangerous. Ships are either cramped and uncomfortable, or expensive. It shouldn't be too hard to get hired for escort work, if we find a merchant caravan heading the right direction. Why pay good money to risk our lives in a damp smelly cabin, when we could get some wealthy merchant to pay us instead? Then we babysit his wares while we ride on his wagons."

"There's risks travelling by land as well," Avril pointed out. "If we're acting as guards for a merchant, we'll be expected to defend his wares and his life should bandits attack. And a caravan is a juicy target that will attract attention."

For the next few minutes my companions talked back and forth over my head, literally, as they debated the pros and cons of travelling by boat or over land. Apparently it boiled down to how fast we wanted to get back to civilization, and whether we wanted to pay for the trip or try and get people to pay us for it.

Most of that went over my head in the metaphorical sense too, because I still didn't really know anything about this world. And now that I knew I might face prejudice because of being a foxgirl I wasn't even sure how much I really wanted to get to civilization after all. I didn't have the survival skills to make it on my own in the wilds though, so either way I was going to be relying on my companions for the foreseeable future.

For now though, our destination remained unchanged. We were going to some remote outpost, where we could get fresh supplies and equipment. And maybe more clothes.