Encroacher Studies: Ch. 2 | EaC! Commission for NDJack (Patreon)

“Sadie? Are you home?” Astrid called. Her breath collected in a cloud as she knocked on the door for the fourth time.

Sadie should have been home. She’d left yesterday morning to hunt gregillos—a medium-sized herbivore Encroacher with one of the best fur coats for insulating against the snow. They weren’t threatening; if anything, they were very cute. Most Khasstead girls felt a little guilty the first time they caught and skinned of the wide-eyed critters. Their big ears and long whiskers didn’t exactly help either.

But guilt shouldn’t have kept Sadie out overnight.

Freyja quietly nibbled one of her feet on Astrid’s shoulder and Astrid sighed. She replaced the pouch of silverberry inside of her [Cat Pack]. She’d been lucky to stumble on the blooming bush that morning; plants and herbs that prevented frostbite entirely for any amount of time were unheard of. A few silverberries kept it at bay for up to three hours. The thing was, unless a silverberry bush received exactly fifty-two hours of sunlight and thirty hours of moonlight, it wouldn’t bloom. She’d spent a winter counting. The Guild Hall wasn’t always so forthcoming with their requests.

Freyja’s beak snapped skyward and she shrieked her high-pitched flock-call. The sound echoed against the door, and Astrid looked up. Silence, Sadie’s clear-eyed kyte who was anything but her namesake, flapped erratically toward Astrid, shrieking a sound of warning to any nearby.

“Silence! Come here, sweet girl.” Astrid held up her free arm, bending it at the elbow to give Silence a place to land on her forearm. The kyte’s strong claws latched around Astrid’s coat sleeve, and her lucid eyes pinned to miniscule black dots. “[Enrapture Encroacher].”

Before Astrid could say anything further, Silence screamed. “DANGER! DANGER! MASTER  IN DANGER!”

Freyja squawked her sounds of warning in response. Astrid snatched a strip of feset meat from her pack and offered it to her azure gale. That quieted her long enough for Astrid to address Silence.

“Shh, Silence. Listen.” Astrid had to take everything Silence said with some skepticism. Sadie could have tripped somewhere in the forest and lost her way, and it would have earned an equally panicked bird. The frightening part, however, was her return alone. “Where is she?”

“CAVE! IN CAVE! SEE.” Silence raised a foot and shook it. Astrid held out her hand and Silence unfurled her toes. A viscous, translucent goop dribbled from her talons into Astrid’s glove. There was an odd glimmer to it when she turned her wrist—as if every time a ray of light hit it, the color adjusted to match the fabric of her glove.

“Where is the cave, Silence?”

“DUSK,” she shrieked. “LEFT.”

The translation of speech for [Enrapture Encroacher] wasn’t perfect. How Encroachers navigated the land was very different than catgirls. ‘Left’ could have meant west, or it could have meant the direction that the cave took them away from their initial path. ‘Dusk,’ however, was the time they came upon it. Sadie had wandered far from Khasstead, either lured by this danger or losing her sense of time in her hunt for the gregillos.

“Astrid? Is everything alright?”

Astrid turned to find Sylva at the bottom of Sadie’s porch, her bare hands tucked beneath her armpits for warmth. She’d come outside without her coat or gloves, and the morning snowfall still peppered the air.

“I heard Silence and Freyja’s screams,” Sylva said. She leaned to the side, looking around Astrid at the closed door. “Is Sadie not home yet?”

“No. Silence returned without her.”

Sylva cursed beneath her breath, lines of worry creasing the corners of her eyes. “She’s the third this week…”

The cold air seeped into Astrid’s chest and lingered there for some time. “Third?” She’d been on hunts every morning without fail, and her bounties seemingly delivered without issue. She offered a second strip of feset meat to Silence, whose words had returned to nervous chirps, then transferred the bird to her shoulder before skipping down the stairs to stand beside Sylva. “Sylva, what’s going on?”

Sylva shivered, chewed her lower lip, and looked over both of her shoulders before responding. “I haven’t wanted to cause a panic in the village,” she murmured. “Winter’s always a tough time, as you’re familiar. The spirits challenge us all with unexpected snowstorms and the rare ice stalker sighting that keeps us out on our hunts longer than we intend.”

“Sylva,” Astrid prompted.

“Blessed Saoirse, I should have dressed first.” Sylva’s teeth chattered, and Astrid knew she’d stand there and tell the whole story if she didn’t offer otherwise.

“Come inside. Please.” Astrid touched her shoulder and led them across the way into her cabin. She set Freyja on her perch in the common room and moved Silence to the back of a rocking chair before setting to work building a fire.

Sylva followed behind her, taking a seat on the furlocke skin rug on Astrid’s floor and rubbing her hands together. “Four days ago, Randgris swore to the spirits that she’d claim an ice stalker this winter. It’s a hunt that you and I know could see many suns rise, so I thought nothing of it.”

“Of course.” Astrid struck her flint and steel, sending a few sparks into the logs inside the hearth.

“Then, two days ago, Keke said she wished to try her hand at hunting the gregillos to craft her own set of armor. Since she’s still learning the ways of Khasstead, an extra day or two is normal for any new [Hunter]—”

“But not for Sadie,” Astrid finished, watching the flames ignite.

“Not for Sadie.”

“Have their birds returned?”

“No.”

Astrid moved to the rocking chair Silence rested on, and removed her gloves.

Sylva inched closer to the fire, holding her hands up to the warmth with a contented sigh. “Spirits cradle you, Astrid.”

Silence preened Astrid’s hair as she held the glove with the strange substance up to the light. It still clung to the leather, shimmering in the same way it had when she first touched it. She’d expected it to seep inside the material, or fall away while she moved to her house, and then when she’d lit the fire. But it held firm. She brushed it with the tip of her forefinger and watched it slowly transfer to her skin. The liquid trembled and swelled, bubbling around her nail and enveloping her knuckle.

“[Enrapture Encroacher],” she whispered. “What are you?”

A strange tingling warmed her fingertip, but it didn’t make a sound.

“Where are the others like me?”

Another tiny vibration. Then it fell to the rug at Astrid’s feet and soaked into the furlocke’s fur.

Sylva looked over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose. “Who were you speaking with?”

“Nothing, it seems.” Astrid sighed. “I’ll find them, Sylva. If the forests have claimed their spirits, I’ll bring them home.”

“Goddess above, I pray that isn’t the case.” Sylva returned her gaze to the fire and shook her head. “Lily and Wren could not bear such a loss.”

“Then let’s hope for the best.” Astrid stood and moved to her kitchen. This wasn’t a request from the Guild Hall or a normal hunt. She didn’t know how many days to pack for or what supplies to bring. She looked around her stores and started pulling a little of everything from each pantry. “Can you care for Silence while I’m gone?”

“Of course. It is the least I can do,” Sylva called.

There was another unvoiced issue between them. The thought of unfed sisters concerned Astrid far more than sleeping a few nights on the snow. “Will you be able to make up for four absent hunters?”

Sylva’s dry laugh came as a surprise. “Winter is the best season for such a dilemma. Four fewer mouths to feed will be a slower drain on the kitchen’s stores.”

Astrid hadn’t considered that. All year long, a little of their hunts went toward the stores of the communal kitchen. Kemna maintained them with razor-sharp efficiency, and no one went hungry through the harsher winter months. Successful hunts simply meant larger evening meals for Khasstead, but multiple days of heavy snow were still warmed by hot soups and freshly baked bread. She hummed as she packed a thermos of Kemna’s sindersnap stew and a loaf of bannach bread.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about the girls who went missing?” Sylva called as she finished packing.

“Hm. Lily said the gregillo nests were to the west this year. It’s impossible to say whether all three of them headed that way, but it may be a start.”

‘Left,’ Silence had said so, too. If the snowfall hadn’t completely covered Sadie’s tracks, it would be an added blessing. “I’ll go that direction, then.” Should I leave a trail for them to find me by? Astrid fitted her pack to her belt and returned to the common room. Perhaps the choice would be better in Sylva’s hands. “Sylva, I don’t think any more Khasstead hunters should follow me.”

Sylva nodded and rubbed her hands together. “The thought had crossed my mind, but you are brave to say so.”

They would need greater weapons than Khasstead’s bows if it were a capable Defiled picking them off one by one. But how many days do they wait? “I’ll head directly west. If Freyja or I don’t return in four days, notify Ronona’s Guild Hall.” The thrill of the hunt was always weighed heavily by the possibility of death—one that every girl in the village respected and understood. But the thought chilled Astrid’s blood all the same.

“Spirits keep you, Astrid. May your hunt prove fruitful.”

“Thank you, Sylva.” Astrid clicked her tongue and held out an arm toward Freyja. The gale flew from her perch to Astrid’s shoulder and puffed her wings out to the side. “Let’s go, then.”

This was a journey where Halona would hinder more than help. Bringing one in pursuit of an ice stalker would simply offer the starved Encroacher a free meal. Sadie’s hunt wouldn’t have taken her more than a few hours outside of camp, and Keke hadn’t yet tamed an epitel, removing the possibility altogether. As much as Astrid would miss the warmth of her stalwart mount on such a hunt, she didn’t want to bring another casualty to bear.

So she began her tracking with Freyja at her side and her gregillo equipment freshly mended. None of Sadie’s footfalls from the previous day had survived the morning snows, but that didn’t mean all was lost.

After an hour of walking, a snowflake weaver hard at work caught Astrid’s attention. Its intricate web was broken in its lower left quadrant at a height close to Sadie’s. She followed two shimmering lines of thread until they connected to a second branch much farther away than a single weaver would craft. Hanging on the same branch were two strands of blonde hair.

Definitely Sadie.

Astrid followed the path forward, keeping a weathered eye out for rustled leaves or other disheveled Encroacher dwellings. Tracking another catgirl wasn’t typically such a challenge, but when it was a seasoned [Hunter], she was forced to look for the tiniest hints of disturbances.

Another hour passed, and her second sign was thankfully much more obvious. A squeaking gregillo skittered from its nest at the base of a tree, rustling the leaves and turning Astrid’s ear. In the stillness of the snow, the sound was as loud as a howl.

As it crossed Astrid’s path, it paused to clean its grey fur, then looked up at Astrid. It bolted without hesitation towards the opposite tree, clambering up its trunk in a streak of silver lightning. But Sadie had prepared for that, and a small net snapped around the gregillo, ensnaring it before it could make it to the first branch.

Sadie crafted the best traps in the village. Astrid had tried a similar makeup on four occasions, but they never released quickly enough to catch the little beasts. Astrid cut the gregillo free and let it rush back to its nest unharmed. It was not her hunt to claim, and its life had gifted her with more than its death would offer. If Sadie had set a trap here, that meant she’d lingered in the area, which meant more opportunities to find her trail.

Astrid counted twenty strides north of the trap and knelt. The barest outlines of footprints moved lightly through the snow, not yet covered by that day’s storm. Her heart sped, and she readied her bow. As much as she yearned to sprint along the path, that would be an excellent way to get her killed. The forest was always studying her just as intensely as she studied it.

She hissed in a deep breath, letting the cold air calm her throat and lungs, and set off with measured paces. Twenty more strides to the west, another expertly crafted trap waited around a tree trunk. Sadie followed the same tricks of the trade as her sisters—twenty strides was the perfect distance for traps. Not too far apart to lose them, not too close to warn other Encroachers. Astrid walked until she returned to the first tree—a perfect circle around the gregillo’s nest. The footprints never wavered from their path.

The bait Sadie had used was gone, likely snapped up by wandering Encroachers in the meantime. But the way she hunted gregillos ensured there were no arrowheads in the skin, nor blood on the fur. All Sadie would have needed to do was wait.

So what led her away? And at dusk, for that matter? If she’d left at a similar time, reaching dusk would take another four or five hours. Sadie’s gregillo hunts were typically finished long before that point. And why weren’t there any more footprints?

Astrid lowered her bow and fed Freyja a strip of dried feset meat. She’d have to look for more evidence than prints. She hummed softly and counted three paces outside of the circle of traps. Halfway around the perimeter, a bramblebush shivered, knocking some of the snow from its black leaves. She stopped mid-stride and watched as a glob of the same, transparent material from Silence’s claw wriggled free and slithered across the snow.

There had been reports of slime Encroachers on Shi Island with a similar form, but they had floating facial features like eyeballs, lips, and ears. Spirit drops, Astrid recalled. But this mass was empty of anything beyond its shimmering body, and it camouflaged against the snow with each undulation. She had to blink to catch it moving again, and it was escaping at a speed very near the gregillos.

Snow was a great betrayer of sound, and even if the roach didn’t show signs of ears, there was a chance it could still feel the vibrations from Astrid’s footsteps. She rolled on the outside of her boots from heel to toe, stepping lightly as she stalked the curious blob.

It led her west of Sadie’s traps, at least a mile away from the gregillo nest. A cave that Astrid didn’t recall from her own points of interest or Khasstead’s landmarks surfaced between two mountainous boulders, and the glob skidded inside.

Just as she came to the entrance, the sunlight struck a faint glimmer over the dark opening in an arc. Astrid blinked and stepped to the side, tilting her head so the light would hit it at a new angle. She brushed the back knuckles of her gloved hand near the shimmer, and was met with the same resistance a completed snowflake weaver web would afford.

“It’s a barrier…” she whispered.

A bird cried out behind her, and a second echoed its warning. Freyja’s voice added a third to their calls, and Astrid looked over her shoulder.

Laraline, Halcyon. Keke and Randgris’s birds.

Astrid licked her lips and looked back at the barrier. At certain angles, it reflected a haunting violet hue, blended inside a fiery orange that reminded her of a sunset. Dusk… Just beyond it, the slime had stopped moving. As if it were waiting for her.

It led me here, she realized. The others had likely stepped inside without a second thought. If Astrid hadn’t been looking for evidence of her sisters, she would have just as easily missed the barrier.

“[Enrapture Encroacher],” she murmured, focusing on the waiting slime.

“Come.” It wiggled, and somehow the word manifested. “Warm. Safe.”

The tone was persuasive and comforting, tugging at the edges of Astrid’s desire to be back home, sitting by her fire with Freyja, and maintaining her equipment.

“Family,” it said.

Images of Khasstead’s kitchen blanketed the cold, adding scents of fresh bread and cooked meats. Shared hunts and kind smiles.

It uses magic…

“You have others like me?” Astrid asked, her mouth very dry. This Encroacher was powerful and strategic, and holding three of her sisters hostage.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

No response.

“Are they alive?”

“Yes.” Pictures of Sadie, Randgris, and Keke flickered in Astrid’s mind. “Come.”

Astrid’s tail numbed. The anxious tension she’d felt when she’d confronted the grasping vines broiled in the pit of her stomach. If Sylva and Wren stood in her place at that very moment, they’d likely burn the cave to ash with alchemical fire and magic. This was an Encroacher that understood too much and should be destroyed before it could harm any more of their number.

“Freyja, go with Laraline and Halcyon,” Astrid coaxed. She pointed to the tree, held up her hand, then brought three fingers into her palm. Freyja chirped and joined the others.

Saoirse, there must be something wrong with me.

Astrid turned back to the cave and stepped through the barrier. She’d expected to feel it on her face or for it to cling to her armor, but it remained unmoving. Instead, it triggered her [Civilian Mode], and her furs, armor, and bows vanished. She opened her mouth to protest, but a sudden, humid heat against her bare arms caught her attention first.

Glancing over her shoulder, she ensured that the snow was still within reach. But it was as if she’d walked inside her cabin with a stoked fire and closed the door.

“Follow,” the slime said.

Astrid took a step forward, and the stone beneath her was warm and damp. Damp? She looked down. My boots are gone. Another shaky breath, and she fixed her gaze on the slime. As they walked deeper inside the corridor, she mentally notated her findings so far.

Slime family Encroacher. Skin and body are composed of translucent material. Ability to rework its makeup to align with its surroundings in advanced camouflage. Sapient.

Rocks covered in a bioluminescent lichen lit their way, and errant stones had been removed from the path. As if to make it more welcoming for a passerby to follow.

Able to cast Spells and create Enchantments. Can share thoughts and invoke images. Possibly via chemical release or smell. To what end is to be determined…

When they rounded a sharp curve in the cave’s makeup, Astrid hissed in a breath. A steaming pool lined the far wall of the wide-open room. Even though there had never been a hot spring marked in this area. The lichen coated the bottom of the pool, illuminating the gently bubbling water, and covered the lower half of the walls. It created enough light for Astrid to see that an unmarked hot spring was the least of her worries.

Sadie and Randgris lay nude in a carved-out cavern beside the spring, curled in each other’s arms. Their eyes were closed, but their skin held the healthy glow of the living. Keke was sitting in the spring, the water rising just above her chest, her head lolled to the side as if she were sleeping.

“With family.” The slime Astrid had followed slithered to the side of the water. “Follow.”

An image of Astrid’s dress on the floor prodded her mind, followed by the tingling warmth of the water on her body.

Goddess, if I have not strayed too far, watch over me.

Astrid pushed the single shoulder of her dress down her arm, then shimmied out of the fabric. Her underthings came next, and then she walked to the pool, limbs trembling, tail twitching. Had the others gone so willingly? Had they recognized its power?

She slid into the spring and goosebumps bloomed across her flesh, raising the tiny hairs on her neck. It was just as warm and welcoming as it appeared.

“Keke,” Astrid whispered.

Keke’s eyes searched beneath her lids, and she hummed wearily.

“Masters. Preparing two more.” Twin tendrils wriggled free from either side of the slime’s main body. One parted Keke’s lips, the other parted Astrid’s. She tensed as the tip settled against the center of her tongue. “Drink.” A thick, sweet liquid coated her mouth and throat. Like honey. Like nectar.

Astrid swallowed, and its momentary absence made her crave it more. She soon found herself sucking at the tendril, lapping its tip with encouragement. She felt it reach her stomach and sate her hunger. Warm her chest and quell her anxiety. Between the slime’s elixir and the hot spring’s soothing waters, Astrid relaxed as comfortably as if she were back in her own bed.

“Mmm…” Keke’s golden eyes fluttered. She turned her head toward the tendril and lapped at it eagerly with her tongue. Her cheeks pinked, and as she sat up straight, her breasts rose out of the water and her nipples hardened.

The sweet heat on Astrid’s tongue rushed between her thighs. Keke’s tanned skin and taut stomach looked ripe for touching, caressing, nibbling. Her fingers curled with desire, and her tail wrapped around Keke’s waist.

The tendril slowly pulled back to the seam of Astrid’s lips. She moaned and snapped her head toward it. She didn’t want to stop tasting, stop feeling. They were safe here—safe to relish in their intoxication, explore their carnal yearnings. They’d never go hungry again if they could keep drinking. It continued to pull away, and Astrid crawled out of the pool on all fours, hardly registering that Keke was doing the same. Each time she moved closer, another pump of fresh nectar soothed her throat.

It’s training us. The thought was somewhere very far away. It wasn’t important. Earning more of her reward was the only thing that mattered.

Droplets of water fell from Astrid’s toes as her feet reached the surface. She felt the smooth skin of Keke’s shoulder brush hers, and then their cheeks touched.

“They are ready,” the slime said. It pulled the tendrils from their mouths.

The spring churned at their feet, and two large, sparkling masses emerged to the surface.

When Astrid turned to look at Keke, their foreheads met, and their breathing came in desperate pants. The sweet scent of the elixir was so strong on her breath. There’s more in her mouth.

Astrid grabbed Keke’s wrist and rolled on her back, pulling Keke on top of her. She’d expected at least a modicum of resistance; however, Keke responded by straddling Astrid at the hips and brushing her long, brunette hair over one shoulder. She bent forward and buried her tongue in Astrid’s throat.

Hot, viscous slime pooled around Astrid’s feet before traveling upward. It soon encompassed her calves and thighs and clung to the lines above her hip bones. A sensation like a soft tail brushed between her legs, and it was easy to imagine Keke’s tail stroking her sex. She pressed her palm to Keke’s chest and kneaded her breast in thanks. Keke moaned inside her mouth, sending another rush of need to her core.

Astrid felt pressure like fingers on the inside of her thighs. Yes… You can have me… She spread herself wide, and Keke nibbled her lip. “Please…” You can all have me.

Inside the wrap around her body, a warm appendage stroked from her opening to the top of her clit, suckling with the tender enjoyment of a favorite meal. Astrid’s cry caught in her throat, and her flank tensed. Keke’s back arched and her eyes rolled back, her whimper as delicious as the sensation between Astrid’s legs.

Astrid craned her neck and rolled her tongue over Keke’s nipple. Her skin held the same incredible taste as the nectar they’d been fed. Bringing it into her mouth, Astrid desperately lapped and sampled Keke’s skin. Keke grabbed the back of Astrid’s head and urged her on.

“This is a feast.” The words came from below Astrid’s waist. Deep and grateful.

“You did well.” A second voice. This time from above.

The appendage fingered Astrid’s opening, curling around her edges and bringing her throbbing desperation to an unbearable level. Sweat trickled down her back. She gasped, releasing her hold on Keke’s chest.

“Good girl,” Keke growled, pulling Astrid’s hair back and exposing her throat. Her tongue mapped Astrid’s neck and danced along her collarbone before her teeth found purchase in her shoulder.

“Masters. Try this,” the small slime said.

A gentle grip encircled Astrid’s tail at the base, then massaged her as deftly as Keke’s hand. She fought to breathe.

“Please don’t stop,” Keke begged.

Between Astrid’s legs, the appendage inched inside of her heat, prodding every inch of her body before continuing deeper. The careful kneading around her tail continued, and Keke’s tongue grew more desperate. Astrid’s thoughts, her breath, the air, her body; everything in that cavern was a soaking inferno.

“That’s too deep!” Keke squealed suddenly. Her fingers rolled into fists, and her chest collided against Astrid’s.

The words weren’t hers. They were transmitted to Astrid’s mind from the slime. And she said them anyway: “Take it.”

“Aah… mnh…” Keke squeezed her eyes shut and rolled her lower lip between her teeth. She wriggled her hips and lifted her flank higher in the air. Her head jerked upward, and she hissed in another breath. “Ngh!”

Astrid’s slime seemed to explore her more slowly. More thoroughly. She watched Keke struggle and writhe, watched the muscles in her stomach and arms tense and move, watched her breasts as they rocked against her own.

“Take it, Keke.” Was that her thought or the slime’s? “You’re a good girl, right?”

Keke spread her knees wider apart and rested her head in the curve of Astrid’s neck.

“So good.” Keke’s breath was searing, and her words drenched with pleasure. “That’s so good.”

A new message materialized in Astrid’s mind. “Reward.” The appendage inside of her expanded and thrust to her limit. It bulged and throbbed, and dragged rasped cries of ecstasy from her throat. It retreated and thrust inside again, slamming against the deepest points of her pleasure.

“T-that’ll make m-me… Haa…” Keke’s brilliant eyes searched Astrid’s face as she whimpered both of their truths.

“Come, Keke.”

Astrid watched as Keke’s face relaxed into a perfect acceptance. She closed her eyes and vocalized her breaths, her hands grasping Astrid’s waist. “Ah… hah— Ah!”

The slime forced Astrid’s climax at the same time, and her body convulsed around the appendage that refused to abate. The liquid surrounding her heated and undulated, stroking her clit, fondling her tail, fucking her raw. Astrid watched Keke experience the same overwhelming onslaught through squinted eyes, savoring the indulgence as if it were her own.

“Masters. Have care.”

“Yes. This one is finished.” Keke rolled to her side, and the clear liquid around her body dribbled away from her, sliding back into the pool.

Astrid bowed her chin to her chest and watched her captor with a twisted curiosity. If the summer rains collected together and gained a form, this would be it. Thick layers of clear slime rippled over her hips and abdomen. It coated her legs like a tight pair of pants, and in the glow of the lichen, she could see a more solid form retreating from her body.

They’re feeding. The nectar’s effects were waning, though the ecstasy-riddled adrenaline still pounded in her ears.

The solidified appendage that pulled away from her held a fog like a block of ice before melting away into the rest of its form. A new one appeared, its outline more difficult to discern without the fog. Even more difficult when it plunged inside of her. Her body spasmed, and her concentration broke.

“This one continues to give.”

The slime around Astrid forced a second orgasm from her, and her back arched from the floor. Without Keke to hold, she raked her nails across the stone. “Feed her.”

“No. Too much,” the small slime said.

The Encroacher extended itself from Astrid’s hips and covered her chest with its form. It warmed and caressed her skin, plied at her nipples, kneaded her breasts. “Feed her.”

Astrid climaxed a third time. It was like screaming with the sands of Ichi in her mouth. She licked her lips and forced one word out, “W-water.”

“Master.”

With an unintelligible grumble, the undulations slowed. The appendage slid from her body, and the covering melted into a pool beneath her. “Replenish, underkind.” It hesitated at its edge, seeming to consider Astrid for a time, before vanishing into the hot spring.

The small slime shook, creating strange vibrations over its surface, then slithered away toward the entrance of the cave.

Keke crawled to Astrid’s side and wrapped her arms around her waist. Their skin was slick with the slime’s leftover fluids and the sweat of their exertions.

As they caught their breath, Keke whispered into Astrid’s ear, “Help us.”

Astrid nodded, holding tight to Keke’s back. “I will.”

She closed her eyes and tried to reason with her thoughts. Was she so depraved to enjoy watching another woman with an Encroacher? The nectar the smaller slime had fed them clearly contained a very potent aphrodisiac and a potentially superior gateway to their thoughts. But could she truly blame that for her actions? Encouraging Keke to open herself to a monster, praising her as if she condoned it.

Did she?

We don’t have time for this right now.

“Is there drinkable water?” Astrid murmured.

“Yeah. It’s, mnh—” Keke groaned and trembled as she pushed herself to her knees. “S-sorry, over here.”

Astrid followed her as they slowly made their way to a thin stream that had embedded itself below the cave wall and ran cheerily through to the other side. She cupped her hands beneath the surface before lifting it to her lips. She’d never been more grateful to feel water on her tongue. Two more handfuls went down her throat, and one splashed over her face before she started to feel like herself again.

A sound like footsteps in mud echoed from above them, and Astrid’s ears snapped toward it.

“Oh no,” Keke murmured.

Three more slimes the size of the ‘underkind’ crawled down from the ceiling and perched expectantly nearby.

“What’s wrong?”

“T-they send us to sleep.” Keke pointed to where Sadie and Randgris lay, still unmoving. “When the bigger ones are ready, we wake up in the hot spring.” Her voice quavered with fear. “That was my second time. Astrid, I— I can’t…”

“I know.” Astrid looked around the cavern. It didn’t seem like there was another exit beyond the entrance they’d used. It was very likely that at least one of them had already tried, but she needed to see for herself what happened…

Astrid stood and used the last of her [Energy] to sprint past the underkinds.

“Wait! Astrid!”

Six tendrils shot out from the slimes—two from each body—and snapped around her biceps and thighs as quickly and efficiently as Sadie’s gregillo trap. She struggled with all her [Strength] against them, praying that their smaller forms meant lower weights to hold her down. But it wasn’t their weight they used. Shocks of electricity stung her skin and reverberated through her limbs. She dropped to her knees, and the slimes surrounded her.

“Sleep.” A tentacle slid between her teeth, and a cool liquid trickled down her throat.

Her eyelids felt heavy, and she sank back on her feet. No! I need time to think! The binds on her arms and legs loosened, and she couldn’t will herself to stand. She was so tired. Damn it!

Astrid curled to her side, and the world went dark.

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Consciousness came in short, bleary bursts. A sleeping Keke’s legs tangled in her own. The cool stone against her heated skin. Sadie’s desperate moans, accompanied by the sight of her on all fours, tail wrapped in the translucent slime and held high in the air, dual appendages thrusting inside of her vulnerable openings. Randgris struggling against the underkinds’ binds around her wrists, screaming curses as the slime spreads her thighs.

Something warm spread over her skin. The scent of clean water filled her nose. A delicate finger traced her lower lip, and she opened her mouth. It caressed her tongue, settled against it, and the sweet taste of nectar poured into her throat.

Astrid’s eyes snapped open. She was in the hot spring. Alone. Keke and Sadie were asleep together in one carved-out section of the wall, Randgris by herself in another. An underkind waited beside her head, its tentacle resting in her mouth. The first pump of elixir was already taking effect, calming her panic and urging her to drink more.

No. Think!

The underkinds fed them the nectar. Was this the same one as her first experience? Maybe. There were at least four—this one had been sent to hunt when the other three came to her and Keke. Once they were ready, they summoned the two bigger slimes to feast.

Too much nectar was weighing against her throat. She had to swallow. She moaned and tongued the tentacle. I could just enjoy myself—

‘Help us.’ Keke’s panicked voice reverberated in her ears. Astrid had promised.

Focus!

The bigger slimes’ appendages seemed only used for sustaining themselves—otherwise, why would they have the underkinds holding Randgris down? The smaller and larger slimes each had a role, though there was some pushback in the hierarchy when Astrid’s underkind had warned its master to stop feeding.

Discourse. The war for dominance was achingly natural in the Encroacher world, and it was something many [Hunter]s and [Sniper]s used to their advantage. There had to be an advantage there.

The ‘master’ sent the underkind out to hunt… Is that how it makes its nectar?

There were no other Encroachers in the cave. No insects, no night dwellers, nothing. That was odd, especially in the winter. A place like this could protect hundreds of species from the fatal cold.

The barrier!

Neither Laraline nor Halcyon had crossed it. To Silence, the barrier had looked like ‘Dusk.’ Other Encroachers saw an obstacle to be avoided. The underkind had to find their food outside.

She needed to get them all outside without them putting her to sleep somehow. Great. Easy.

Astrid choked in her attempt to keep the nectar in her mouth. It burned her throat as it descended, and she felt the fire as it moved to her stomach and her sex. The underkind lured her out of the pool as it had the first time, and her body responded. Shoving away the comforting mental images it offered was easier, but the ache between her thighs was too much to bear. If Randgris’s fury was anything to go by, the nectar lost its potency after multiple uses.

The tentacle left her mouth, and Astrid rolled to her back. She spread her knees and gasped for air. Her base desires clouded her thoughts, and she swallowed against them. The hot spring churned at her feet, and a master slime emerged, its body eagerly roiling when it touched her feet.

“[Enrapture Encroacher],” she murmured.

“—most favorite,” the slime said as it slid over her knees and caressed her thighs. It was the same voice as her first encounter.

An idea struck her. A foolish, dangerous, ridiculous idea. “Is the underkind here to stop you?”

“Hmm?” The liquid continued upward from her hips, covering her breasts and tasting her skin.

She shivered and let the motion roll down her spine. She tried again. “Do you want more of me?”

“Yes. Oh, yes.”

Tiny ripples vibrated over Astrid’s clit, and a whimper escaped her throat. Watery lips suckled her vulnerable skin, and she parted her thighs wider. Logic shrank to tiny cracks in her sea of pleasure, and she clung to them with a religious-like fervor. “K-keep feeding me.”

The slime warmed, and its body churned. “Favorite.” The long appendage appeared between her thighs and thrust inside of her without hesitation. She cried out and bucked her hips. Her voice and the wet sound of its movements echoed against the cave, stirring the underkinds from their places.

“Feed her!” The voice was low and ravenous. “All of you!”

Five more underkinds lined up behind Astrid’s head. She’d have to survive the master slime for five more feedings. The thought was as terrifying as it was enticing. It was an experience no other catgirl would ever have again. And it was hers.

She laughed, and a tentacle found her tongue. This time, she let the nectar flow straight into her throat, swallowing without hesitation. She knew what she had to do, and the drunken haze of their aphrodisiacs cast it all in a sensual haze.

After her first climax, she was administered another feeding. She flipped onto her knees and spread her thighs with her hands, letting her face rest on the stone floor. The slime plunged deeper, engorging its size to the limits of her body and vibrating with excitement. He purred words her Skill couldn’t translate, stroking her tail and fondling her breasts.

Two more feedings. The master slime was growing larger. It encapsulated her from her chest to her toes, the layers over her skin far thicker than when they’d begun. A thin tendril formed between her breasts and moved to her mouth, slipping between her teeth and pressing down on her tongue. She sucked it gently and felt the slime heat in response. This went beyond the master slime sustaining itself—it was exploring her, toying with her. A curious Encroacher.

“Feed her!”

Her [Energy] was slipping. The first signs of dehydration were beginning to settle in; her tongue was dry, her lips cracked, and a dizziness that had nothing to do with the nectar.

Just one more.  

Another climax rocked her form. Her voice died in her parched throat, emerging as a wheeze. Every nerve in her body pulsed, throbbed, and screamed. The heat around her body was suffocating, moving like a hundred independent hands over her skin.

“Feed her!”

One final shot of nectar. She clawed at her consciousness and held tight to her plan. This wasn’t just for the sake of her curiosity. She needed to bring her sisters home.

We’re going home.

The slime shuddered and laughed. A sound like a churning river over a string of boulders. It pulled away from her mouth and withdrew its appendage.

“I can take no more,” it said.

Astrid collapsed to her side and hugged her knees to her chest. She heaved in wheezing breaths and fought to stay awake.

“Master. We cannot sleep her,” an underkind said.

“Go hunt,” it commanded as it slithered back to the water. “She is done.”

“But—”

“Go!” it bellowed.

All six underkinds rippled in response, then hurried toward the exit. Astrid counted to sixty, then crawled to the spring. After allowing herself five handfuls of water, she hurried to the caverns where her sisters slept and shook Keke awake.

Keke blinked up at her and yawned.

“Come on. We’re leaving,” Astrid said.

They were slow to wake but quick to move when they realized their time was limited.

“Where are they again?” Sadie asked sleepily.

“Hunting,” Astrid said for the third time.

“I want to burn them all to hell,” Randgris snarled.

“We’ll figure out a plan when we’re safe.”

The slimes had left their clothing alone, likely having no use for it themselves, and they were quick to dress in their [Civilian Mode] attire. They ran from the cave uninhibited. Their birds met them with happy cries, and they changed to their [Combat Mode]s without issue.

Astrid sent a prayer to Saoirse and the spirits of the forest that her plan had worked. Though the awkward glances shared between all four of them didn’t go unnoticed. Astrid pushed away the taste of Keke’s mouth with some difficulty and swore to herself that her final act with the master slime had been one of desperation, not desire.

Mirror Slimes

Astrid of Khasstead

As these Encroachers have not previously been reported on, I will refer to them as ‘Mirror Slimes’ for ease of reading.

Mirror Slimes fall into the Encroacher family synonymous with their name—Slime. From my research, they have two designations in a kind of hierarchy: Underkind Slimes and Master Slimes. Underkinds are omnivores that hunt smaller prey items such as sindersnaps, fesets, and kylites in addition to their consumption of local plants and berries. They then convert the nutrients into one of two liquids: a nectar or a sleeping tonic.

The nectar is used to feed the prey of the Masters, primarily catgirls. It passes on necessary nutrients as well as a powerful aphrodisiac to ‘prepare’ their prey. The Master Slimes feed on the sexual excretions of catgirls, pleasuring their quarry to maximize their intake. This can lead to dehydration and death, though the Underkinds urge them to stop. The sleeping tonic is used once the Masters are sated. I observed that a single Underkind cannot produce both in one feeding—it must choose between the nectar and the tonic.

Four hunters of Khasstead were lured to a previously unknown cave approximately eleven miles west of the village. The Underkinds possess a certain magical aptitude that the Masters do not. They can adjust their makeup to camouflage and reflect their surroundings to appear invisible. They can transmit images and emotions to unsuspecting victims, likely learned from probing previous victims. Their power of suggestion is dangerous. They were also viewed utilizing an Enchantment barrier that nullified dangerous equipment and outside Encroachers. The makeup of this barrier and the exact Enchantment will require further study. Many of Khasstead’s number attempted to destroy it without success.

For posterity’s sake, the following is personal conjecture. I believe that the cave was opened by the slimes themselves. Underkinds found their way through the cracks of a hillside and discovered the hot spring. There, they grew to Masters in the nutrient-rich water before splitting themselves to create new Underkinds. The Masters only exit their pool when feeding, and then immediately return to it. This would suggest that the outside elements are somehow too harsh for the Masters’ existence. However, once their living space stabilizes and they secure a consistent food source, more Underkinds can advance to Masters and continue the cycle.

This Encroacher is a serious threat to Nyarlea. I did not witness an ecological contribution by either of the Mirror Slimes, and they should be approached carefully and destroyed immediately. Do not underestimate its size or ability.