Touch of the VoidNSFW

Many types of magic grow more powerful through belief. The conviction of the caster is what draws together the spell's aether, after all, and the stronger that conviction, the more tightly packed the aether. It's significantly rarer for the faith of the target in the spell to matter. Conjury and white magic will knit your wounds whether you truly believe they will or not. Thaumaturgy and black magic will sear your flesh no matter how firmly you deny the truth of them.

Still, there are smaller effects. A person who believes they will get better from a healer's touch is sure to fare better than one who insists that healing magic is a sham and fights the spell as it tries to work its magic. A person who believes they will die if they're immolated by a powerful Flare will make no attempt to survive it when it comes.

And a young woman who has learned of her bloodline's curse will find it haunting her at every turn.

Such was the case with Izhu as she ran down the streets of Ul'dah. Eyes on her from every side. She could feel them all staring, merchants and beggars and shoppers and travelers alike. Leering at her, licking lips and entertaining twisted, corrupt fantasies of what they might do with her if they got their hands on her, no doubt. Had the curse genuinely worsened since she'd learned of its existence? Was she simply noticing its effects more now that she had something to ascribe them to? Or... was it all in her head, a nightmare she could wake up from at any time if she only chose to do so? She couldn't be sure. She didn't want to take the risk.

Her goal was to return to the Hourglass and get into her room. She'd be safe there. She could call Moxie and Moxie would keep her safe. He always did.

She squeezed through the throng of day-drinking patrons of the Quicksand, feeling their gazes following her. As a Lalafell, and a short one at that, she had to be careful to avoid being trampled - but at least she could get through even the tiniest of spaces between chairs and bystanders. A hand reached out to grab her ass as she slipped past, and she lashed out fearfully, repelling it with a shield of force projected from the fingerless glove on her left hand. Was it just another drunken pervert with no respect for personal space, or the searching claw of a curse-twisted individual looking to carry out their darkest fantasies on her? Izhu pushed forward, forcing the idea out of her mind. Don't think about that. Just go forward. You can figure this out with Moxie's help from the room, with a door between you and them.

She arrived at the Hourglass's front desk after what felt like hours but must have been no more than a minute or two. The Lalafell innkeep, Otopa Pottopa, stared at her with his usual disdain. At least that hadn't changed.

"Otopa," Izhu said, out of breath. "I need to get into my room. 409. I need you to open the door for me."

The innkeep looked down his nose at her. "... And why is that?"

"Because... I... it's my room and I need to get in there? And I... always leave the keys with you for safety?" Izhu was stupefied by the question. "Otopa, I really don't have time to mess around."

Otopa folded his arms. "Yes, and what do I look like, your butler? I have an inn to run; I can't drop everything and let you in whenever you feel like it. Oh, and now I'm not doing your bidding fast enough for you, is it? You know, you seem to need a lesson in proper respect. Proper gratitude."

Bewilderment turned to realization - and realization, in turn, to dread. "Even you...?"

Reaching under the desk, Otopa pulled out a thin wooden paddle, slapping it against his hand with loud, rhythmic smacks. "Perhaps an old-fashioned spanking will teach you proper."

Izhu felt her stomach drop. She took a reflexive step back. "N-no thank you..."

"That won't be necessary," Moxie said from somewhere overhead. The tall Viera man knelt, patting Izhu's head. "She'll be in 317 with me, actually. I have the key right here." His free hand jingled a small metal key in Otopa's direction. It sounded like salvation.

"Mm. You could clearly still do with the lesson," Otopa said, disappointment plain in his voice. He stowed the paddle under the desk once more, pulling the lever to open the gate leading to the rooms. "But I won't get in your way."

Moxie led Izhu up the stairs to his room without further delay, unlocking the door and ushering her inside before closing and locking it behind them. Once inside, he sat on the bed, motioning for Izhu to sit opposite him. "You seem pretty upset. Is it something I can help with?"

"I found evidence of my family line," Izhu murmured as she hoisted herself up and settled down across from her friend. She peeled off the shield glove from her left hand, laying it in her lap and staring down at it. "And... I found something else, too."

"Oh, did you now?" Moxie asked, reaching over to wipe some dirt from Izhu's cheek with a handkerchief and a wet fingertip. "And what's that?"

Izhu smiled gratefully at Moxie, but her face darkened again a moment later. "... A blood curse."

Moxie's eyebrows raised, permission to continue.

"My great-great grandmother, Luluca Luca, made a deal with a voidsent. A succubus. She wanted to be irresistibly beautiful. Well... it worked. Only thing was, she refused to give up her children to the succubus. She broke the deal. So the succubus cursed her and all her descendants with a much worse kind of irresistibility." Izhu lowered her head gravely. "Our presence twists the hearts and minds of those around us, compelling them to indulge in their worst fantasies. You saw it starting to happen with Otopa."

"Gods," Moxie murmured, taken aback. "A pact with a voidsent and a vengeful curse, hm?"

Izhu's head drooped. "And there's another thing - it gets stronger if its bearer knows about it. I should have listened. Luluca warned in her memoir that her descendants should not read it, but... I- I just had to know. I thought it was just some juicy family drama...."

"It's still better to know," Moxie insisted. "We can figure this out. A curse is just a spell. And a spell is just aether - and we can work with aether. We wouldn't have known to look if you didn't find that out."

Izhu nodded, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "... You have a brighter outlook than I do. Thanks for that."

"Close your eyes," Moxie instructed as he reached out to place a hand on Izhu's forehead. "Let me feel..."

Obediently, Izhu closed her eyes, letting her other senses take over. She could feel Moxie's gentle and comfortable presence settling over her as he probed through her aether, like sitting in front of a cozy fire in the hearth on a cold day. The peaceful sensation relaxed her. She felt the exhaustion from her frantic escape through Ul'dah seeping into her bones, felt the all-consuming need for rest making itself known now that the danger had passed. And the danger had passed. Even were anyone to get into this room, Moxie would keep her safe. She knew this deeply.

"Tired?" Moxie asked in a soft voice, running his fingers down Izhu's cheek. "I won't keep you up with this if you need to sleep. Get some rest - I'll keep watch."

With a drowsy nod, Izhu crawled toward the pillow, not even bothering to cover herself or take off her glasses before laying her head down and near-immediately drifting off.

The harsh desert winds whipped hot air into Izhu's face as she wandered, searching for any kind of familiar landmark - or even just any landmark at all. Her magic map was blank. Her linkpearl didn't respond to touch. She couldn't feel any aetherytes anywhere. She was completely lost.

All she knew for sure was that serious danger surrounded her.

Well, perhaps not all she knew. She knew she'd gone astray; she knew she'd stumbled into another shard. A parallel world just like her own, but with its own people, its own history, its own landmarks. She knew she had to get home somehow, back to Rhela and Moxie and Zinba.

And she knew she didn't stand a chance. She had no weapon, not even her shield glove. No focus to channel magic through. Unseen monstrosities moved through the sand below. She was small and weak and helpless. She would succumb - to the elements or to the monsters - long before she figured out how to get home.

Still, no matter how hopeless things looked, she had to keep going. If she would die here, she would die trying, at least.

And as she'd hoped, a chance at survival presented itself. At the bottom of the dune she'd been climbing, an oasis, a spring of fresh-flowing water gushing forth from the earth, surrounded by tents. Civilization, however small. Somewhere she might find water and food and navigational help and maybe help getting out of this place. Getting back home. Back to her girlfriend, back to her friends...

She stumbled down the side of the sand dune, skidding along and windmilling her arms to keep her balance. And as she drew closer, as she saw the black and white hair and bunny ears of one of the men standing around the spring... her eyes went wide.

"Moxie!" she yelled, breaking into a sprint despite the heat. It was cooler down here near the water, anyway. "Moxie, it's me! Oh, thank the Twelve you're here, I-"

Moxie turned to face her as she descended. So did all the other men at the waterside, leering down at her.

Moxie was leering too.

She skidded to a halt in the sand, relief dying in her throat. "Moxie...?"

"Who ordered the pint-sized whore?" Moxie asked. He had a long gun across his shoulders, his arms dangling loosely over it. He took slow, steady steps toward her, his boots crunching in the sand. "Doesn't matter. I'll be taking her for myself."

Fear surged up into Izhu's throat. She'd made a terrible mistake. A Moxie this was, but her Moxie it was not. She ran - but with the dune at her back and her tiny legs against his long ones, she stood no chance. She stumbled, tumbled, rolled to a stop face-down in the sand... felt the barrel of the gun press into the base of her neck.

"No sudden moves now," Moxie purred. "I'd hate to waste a fucktoy like you."

The similarity was upsetting. It was that same voice, the same cadence that had comforted her back in the inn room, and yet...

Wait. The inn room? What inn room?

Izhu didn't have long to dwell on her confusion; Moxie hoisted her out of the sand by her shirt, brushing her off. "Please, I just... I thought I knew you... I-It was an honest mistake! I didn't mean to intrude!"

"Oh, you're about to know me quite well," Moxie sneered at her. "I'm going to get to know you inside and out. And let me promise... I mean to intrude."

Izhu kicked and swatted at Moxie's arm in a panic. "Stop this! Put me down! I swear, you'll regret this! When the real Moxie shows up-"

"The real Moxie?" Moxie growled. "Who do you think is talking to you? Moxie Rehw-gilda, king of bandits. And your new owner, little slut. Show some respect." He spat into the sand. "Or... I could find other uses for you. Food's a little scarce 'round here." A ghoulish grin spread across his face. "... And you look like a nicely fattened little piece of meat, full of energy, struggle for me and everything. Keep me nice and full for a week."

"No!" Izhu whimpered, grabbing at Moxie's wrist to try to pull herself free. But what would she do even if she did get free? Drop to the sand and get caught again? She needed this other Moxie to let her go himself. Or at least give her an opportunity to slip out. Her mind raced. She could buy herself time and trust by seeming to be cowed by this threat. "... I'll- I'll do what you want, just don't...!"

"What I want is a warm, squirming cocksleeve," Moxie said, tucking her under his arm and pushing his way into his tent. "You want to live, well... spread your legs."

Izhu nodded, glancing around the small tent. A collection of sealed bottles and tightly wrapped ingredients was stocked up by the opposite flap, and though Izhu couldn't identify them all, she recognized enough to see her opportunity. "Wait- Moxie, I want to please you like you deserve, so please don't hurt me," she began, pouring all the shyness she could into her voice. "I know a recipe for a special enhanced lubricant that will make you cum over and over again. If you'll just let me mix it up..."

"... No," Moxie said flatly, and Izhu's hopes sank. They rose to the sky again as he continued, "I'll mix it. Just give me the instructions."

"Right, right, I'm sorry," Izhu mewled, bowing her head to look as submissive as possible. Inside, however, she was quickly identifying potential ingredients from the brief glance she'd gotten and rambling them off and making up numbers. "It's - ten parts olive oil... two parts lavender oil for scent... one part peppermint oil... just a pinch of crushed dragon pepper... and the secret ingredients, one part wine and one part honey. Just please don't tell anyone... it was my secret family recipe..."

Moxie smirked as he turned to his little collection of ingredients. "You might be worth keeping around. What did you say your name was again?"

"It's not important, as long as you know I'm yours," Izhu chirped, edging toward the entrance flap. Relief flooded her body. It was working! "Call me whatever you want!"

"Mm, that's sweet of you," Moxie teased. He seemed to have genuinely bought it - and what's more, he was even treating her more nicely. "Perhaps I'll call you... Wildflower."

She was so close she could feel the hot breeze from out there. "A lovely name, really..." Izhu said, getting ready to bolt.

"Sorry, little wildflower, could you repeat that recipe again?" Moxie asked offhandedly, his back still to her. "Twelve parts olive oil... How much black pepper was in it?"

Izhu's blood ran cold. She'd just been rambling while looking for an opening. She didn't at all remember what she'd said. "Uh- Twelve parts olive oil... two parts peppermint oil... one part lavender oil... just a pinch of black pepper, and-"

She didn't get a chance to finish the recipe as Moxie whirled around, his hand seizing her neck and her feet leaving the ground. "Oh dear. That's the wrong answer, you lying little whore."

His grip was rock steady. Izhu grabbed his wrist with both hands, but it hadn't worked earlier - and now he was holding even tighter, if anything. "N... Ngh..."

"'Secret family recipe,' hm? You just wanted to keep me busy so you could make a run for it, didn't you?" Moxie asked. He tilted his head and smiled, a cruel mockery of the real Moxie's kind and gentle smile. "What a cute little ploy. I guess you didn't know - nobody outsmarts the Bandit King."

His grip tightened. Izhu could feel the pressure rising in her neck, could feel her windpipe being crushed. Breathing was getting more difficult. She swung her body forward, trying to get her feet in range of his arm or torso to kick him, but she kept falling short. "M-... Mox... ie... please..."

"Now there's two ways this can go," Moxie cooed. He gestured casually with his free hand - she was no challenge to hold. "One, you accept your punishment like a good girl, and there's no more of these games." He waggled his hand in front of his face in a dismissive gesture. "Or two, you keep trying to escape-" his grip tightened further, cutting off her airflow entirely- "and I decide you're better use to me as food than a fucktoy."

Panic sent Izhu's body on high alert. I can't breathe! was the only thought she could manage. Waves of pain rippled through her body as her throat begged for relief. I need air!

"And make no mistake," Moxie growled low in his throat. "Food and fucktoy are the only possibilities. Got that?"

Izhu's head bobbed up and down weakly. If I don't get a breath soon...

"Smart girl, I knew you would understand." Moxie cooed, smiling cheerfully even as Izhu's face started to turn purple. He reached down, fondling himself through his trousers with his free hand. A low, shuddering sigh passed his lips. "And now... are you going to spread your legs for me like a good little whore should?"

Izhu's only response was to try to pry Moxie's hand off her neck with small and rapidly weakening fingers. They scrabbled worthlessly at his fingers.

Moxie clicked his tongue. "Ah ah ah! Only good girls get air. Are you going to be a good girl?"

Hesitation. Noise was starting to fill Izhu's head, making it hard for her to think straight. I don't... want to give him the satisfaction... but I need to breathe!

Her vision was darkening. She needed to make a decision, and soon, or she wouldn't be conscious to find out what he planned to do to her, much less resist it.

Izhu nodded almost imperceptibly. And the pressure around her neck let up. She was tossed down to land on the cot on her side, gratefully gasping in great lungfuls of blessed air like a beached fish.

Above her, she could hear the sounds of buckles and buttons being undone as Moxie shrugged out of his jacket, stepped out of his trousers, nearly tore open his shirt.

This Moxie was just as gorgeous as the real one... another similarity that mocked Izhu's fervent wish to return home. That soft, heroic jawline. Tall and thin, with slim-toned muscle from top to bottom, abs Izhu had loved to run her hand across. And of course, that thick hardon, bobbing at attention. Normally that beautiful body would be topped with a warm and affectionate smile that made her desperately want to be touched, to be held, but this time it was topped with a lewd smirk and searching eyes that made her feel naked even with her clothes on.

Not that she would be clothed for much longer. Moxie crawled onto the bed, crawled over her, a predatory grin on his face. "Now, let's see what's under these clothes..."

She made no moves to stop him. Let him pull her dress off, tug her panties down her legs, untie her chestwrap and pull it free. His rough hands fondling over her bare body roused some reflexive defenses from her hands, trying to push him away - but that only pushed him to pin her arms down over her head.

With her defenses stripped away, his tongue lapped over her bare belly and breasts, a quick taster before the main course. She shivered at the sensation of the air on the trails of saliva left behind - her nipples stood at attention from the cold. She stared at the edge of the tent where it met the sandstone beneath, humiliation tinging her cheeks red. She was totally on display here - if anyone walked in they'd see her like this, completely naked, completely helpless, being sampled. No longer a person; just a toy, like he'd said.

The worst part was that the more he licked her, the wetter she felt herself get. Somehow, despite it all, he was managing to turn her on. It shouldn't have been possible, and yet-

Izhu's head jerked up with a gasp as she felt the tip of his cock entering her. There was no warning! she thought, gritting her teeth. Her hands and feet curled with the tightness of the intrusion - it felt like it was going to split her open. She knew she could take it; she'd taken it before from the real Moxie. But this Moxie was far from gentle about it. She huffed out a breath between her teeth, steeling herself.

"Oh, fuck, that's good," Moxie murmured as his hips started grinding into her. "So tight..."

Don't indulge him. Don't give him any satisfaction, Izhu thought, squeezing her eyes shut. A shuddering moan escaped her lips as Moxie found his rhythm, thrusting into her again and again. Don't--!

Her body refused her commands, though. As he pushed into her, her hips rose to meet him. She could feel the heat rising in her belly. Her body didn't care that this Moxie only meant her harm, or that it wasn't her dear friend who was always so tender with her. It only felt that same gorgeous body pressed against hers, that same thick, warm cock stretching her nethers. If anything, the roughness the real Moxie was always too gentle for was a bonus.

Try as she might, there was no hope of meaningful resistance to either this other Moxie or her own traitorous body. So she gave up. She gave up her dignity, gave up her hope of escape.

She writhed underneath him, letting her body's mindless, reckless lust take completely over. Letting all her thoughts and fears wash away and be replaced with a primal desire. There was no need to be afraid, no need to worry about the future - there was only her body's desperate need to be fucked senseless and his throbbing erection thrusting into her to grant her wish. She could feel herself moaning, feel herself whining and pleading for more - all as automatic as breathing for her needy body.

He showed no signs of slowing, no signs of stopping. True to his word, he was seemingly only interested in using her as a toy - there was no romance or concern for her. Just thrust after thrust as he pounded his length into her. "Take it, you little whore," he grunted in her ear. "Take it all!"

Far too soon - well before she'd gotten off herself - she felt his hot seed spill into her depths. Heard him grunt in subdued bliss. And the fun stopped... no matter how she tried to cling to him and work her hips against him, it wasn't going to happen. She'd missed her opportunity. Already, the buzz toward orgasm was starting to fade, her body's obsession crashing down around her.

"You're a fun little toy, little wildflower," the other Moxie said between pants, grinning down at her.

It took some time for Izhu to catch her breath, navigate her crushing disappointment, and wrestle control back from her basest instincts. "All I want is to please you," she lied, laying motionless on her back with her eyes closed.

"Now that's a good girl, a proper concubine of the Bandit King," Moxie teased, rolling off her and stretching out beside her. "Almost gives me pause, hearing you like that."

"Pause for what?" Izhu asked, glancing over at him without moving any more than her eyes.

"Weell..." Moxie trailed a finger down from Izhu's nose, under her chin, down her neck. "Since you've been so well behaved tonight..." Along the contour of her breasts. Across the broad roundness of her belly. Down her inner thigh. "I thought I'd give you a reward befitting your efforts."

His casual caresses made her shiver with anticipation. Hope rose in her chest. He's going to let me finish? ... Fingers or tongue? Shame flooded her a moment later as she realized she was drooling and yielding her mind all over again just at the prospect of being touched again. No! Bandit King's concubine is not a title I want! I want to go home!

"You see, usually when I'm finished with a toy, I pass her around to the others to enjoy," Moxie continued, making more tingles of excitement run up Izhu's spine with delicate touches of his thumb and forefinger along her thighs. "But, well. Those boys aren't as gentle as I am. And wouldn't it be cruel of me to throw such a hard-working toy to the dogs so they can tear her apart, rip up everything that used to be fun about her?"

Impatience to know what Moxie was getting at was the thing tearing Izhu apart at that moment. What? What is it? Just spill it already! she thought. Out loud, she only said, "Yeah~?"

His fingers lazily curled around her ankle, clamping down on it. It took her an embarrassingly long time to realize what was happening, and even then, it was only when he dragged her closer that she started to put together what he was planning.

"So we'll skip right to the end," Moxie purred, running his tongue along his lips threateningly. "Where you get the ultimate prize that all concubines aspire to - being part of me for all eternity."

The panic was coming back. Izhu kicked at Moxie's face as he dragged her feet toward his waiting maw. "I did what you asked! I let you fuck me! Now let me go!"

Kicking didn't seem to bother Moxie. He grabbed her other ankle, too, holding her legs still. "When, little wildflower, did I promise to let you go if I indulged in your body?"

"Th- W- You said I was either food or a fucktoy! I-I let you use me as a fucktoy so I wouldn't be food!" Izhu stammered out, embarrassment reddening her face as she realized she'd put too much trust in him once again even knowing what he was. "You can't do this!"

"Oh, I can't? Who's going to stop me?" Moxie asked in a mocking voice. "Is it you, little wildflower? Do you have some secret reserve of strength you didn't bother to use until after I'd had my way with you? Or- wait, is there one of your little friends who's been waiting to save you until they got their fill of watching you get railed within an ilm of your life? It must be that one, right?"

Izhu swallowed hard, fear slowly replacing defiance on her face as the hopelessness of the situation started to seep into her. When she spoke again, her voice was weak and trembling, nothing like the fire it had had a moment ago. "Moxie, please... Please don't do this..."

"Hahaha... That's more like it." The Bandit King's grin was cruel, a cold and callous smile without a hint of empathy. "Mewl for me. Beg me for your life. It won't save you, but it's music to my ears. Down you go!"

Horror crept slowly down Izhu's spine at the realization that she would not be seeing home again. A different sort of suffocation and fear from the blaring, painful terror of her need for air. It only deepened as Moxie slipped her feet into his mouth and started swallowing.

"No! No!!" She kicked and thrashed, but there was no getting free once her feet were caught in his throat. And he knew this - taking advantage of the situation to run his tongue in between her thighs, along her dripping slit. Lapping up the mixture of fluids there, teasing her body into action once again.

Her body cared not for fear or hopelessness. Sensing an opportunity for the orgasm she missed out on earlier, Izhu's hips set to work squirming against the invading tongue even as she willed herself to stop, tried to conserve her energy, told herself again and again that he was just going to edge her like he did last time, that she wouldn't be allowed to reach the heights she was yearning for. Moans she wanted to suppress bubbled out of her throat unbidden. Her breathing was ragged, unsteady.

"N... nh... M-Moxie..." she whimpered, curling her fingers. She could feel her mind slipping away, her resistance fading at the persistent pleasure just as before. Maybe he's doing this as a consolation to try to make up for eating me... Maybe I can let myself indulge a little bit... "Ah... haaahhhn... hnnn.... I'm s-so close..."

That lewd tongue plunged deep inside her, held her there, quivering just at the edge of bliss...

... and swallowed, sending her hips down into the tightness of his throat. Her hips thrashed against his throat muscles, trying to get a good position to get back to that peak, but to no avail.

Once again, the building wave dispersed without the satisfaction of a crash, leaving disappointment and misery in its wake. "Why?" Izhu pleaded. The orgasm denial felt worse than the threat of imminent digestion at this point - she knew she wasn't going to leave here alive, but why did he have to play with her so?

Her anger finally boiled over, taking over from her pointless efforts at self-preservation. "Don't... tease me if you aren't going to follow through!" she demanded, taking a swing at his face. He caught her fist in his hand, twisting it away. "If you're going to eat me, just- eat me already! Don't play with your food like that! Don't you have any manners?!"

With his mouth obviously being full, he just laughed around her, sending shocks of vibration through her body with the gentle rumble of his throat. Another tease for her needy, aching nethers... though this one seemed less intentional, it was still not fair. None of this was fair. And she didn't have much anger left for it after having her outburst met with such uncaring laughter. It was all hopeless.

At least it would be over soon. Already his lips were over her bust, his teeth gently nibbling at the sensitive skin there and making her squirm. His hands lifted her arms up over her head to prevent any further attempted punches - and to prepare the rest of her to enter his gut. There was nothing she could do to stop her descent. No way to change her fate.

As his lips slid over her head and her vision was plunged into darkness, she mewled Rhela's name quietly into the void below. She could feel his tongue slurping along her fingers, drawing every last bit of flavor from this last mouthful of her...

And then she found herself curled up in his gut, knees hugged to her chest. It was just as warm in here as it was outside - as if nothing had changed. Of course, it was substantially stickier and squishier in here than it had been out there. And louder, too - with the sounds of his easygoing heartbeat and steady breathing drowning out all else but for the trickling and burbling of stomach juices around her. Bastard. Eating me didn't even get him worked up, Izhu thought bitterly, tears coming to her eyes at the thought. I'm not only a meal for him, but an easy one...

Her body reminded her that there was something that had been left unfinished. And for once, she didn't try to fight it. If she wasn't going to make it out of here alive, she would at least have a good time on her way out.

She reached her fingers down, sliding them inside. Some of the acid had already splashed on her hands, but that only made her touch feel tingly, increased the sensation. She started working up a rhythm, breathing heavily. And all the while, hateful thoughts flooded her mind, leaving twisted arousal in their wake.

I'm going to die alone in here. Her toes curled into the floor of the stomach, the squishy flesh oozing between them.

I'm just a toy to fuck and eat. She moaned, leaning her head back against the stomach wall, as the wave started to build momentum once again.

The person I thought I could trust did this to me without a hint of remorse. Her fingers rubbed at her clit furiously, desperate to see the climax through this time.

She could hear Moxie laughing around her. "You're getting off to being digested alive? How pathetic. You deserved this from the start, didn't you."

But she no longer cared what he thought. The humiliation of his teasing only sharpened the coming orgasm, made it clearer and stronger.

"Aaahh- f-fuck-!" Izhu yelped as the long-building pleasure finally released, racing through her, making her head spin and her body tense.

When it passed, there was only exhaustion and resignation left in its wake. At least the orgasm had been something to work toward. Now, though... there was nothing to do but wait to melt away.

Izhu leaned her head against the stomach wall, closing her eyes. Already, the fluids in his stomach were up to her waist - she was sure she wouldn't last much longer. After this ordeal, she was too tired to be scared or angry or anything else. At least it's you, even if it's not really you, Izhu thought, thinking of her own Moxie with his stalwart heart and his kind eyes. Imagining him full and happy, content with his meal and happy for the gift she had given him. ... I'd rather be yours than some stranger's.

"Finished already?" Moxie sneered, and Izhu could feel his hands squeezing down around her through the stomach walls. Like he was determined to ruin Izhu's pleasant daydreams of being her friend's meal. "And so, the little wildflower's story comes to an end... plucked and eaten for the sin of her trusting heart."

Izhu did her best to ignore him, concentrating on her mental image of her own Moxie. Pretending it was his tight walls that were starting to toss her around and splash her with the sloshing of his acids. It was small comfort, but at least it was something. Take my body and go save the world, Izhu thought, realizing she'd lost feeling in her lower body completely. I may not be much of a meal, but at least I'll always be with you.

It was all just a fantasy, of course. Dying here inside this other Moxie would achieve nothing but a brief fullness for this stranger who had a friend's face.

Her thoughts were getting hazy. She had breathed in way too much of the fumes from the stomach. And the waves of acid were washing closer and closer to her face, and she was having more and more trouble getting above them...

She sank down into his acids, her mind scattering completely. Her spirit leaving her body behind.

Through a spirit's eyes she could still see him... watch him sitting outside the tent, massaging his gut.

"That's right, little wildflower. Perhaps not all the heroes you so admire are to be so easily trusted." Moxie yawned, stretching his arms up high over his head. "Gods, a good lay and a good meal... all I need now is a good nap, and this day will be complete."

Time had no meaning for her anymore. She had nowhere to be, nothing to do, no heartbeats or breaths to track the passing moments. The hours blurred past as she watched Moxie and the other bandits go about their business. By nighttime, when he woke from his nap, he'd forgotten about her. He scratched his belly and wondered aloud what would be prepared for dinner, as if she had never been there.

Then the next day it was out to find another meal - one he planned to give the same treatment as Izhu. This one a Miqo'te adventurer, a boy who looked a few years younger than her. She watched them, watched the way he touched the boy, watched the way he devoured the boy.

All the same tricks. All the same touches. All the same teases. Even the same name - 'wildflower.' She wasn't special. And why would she have thought she might be? A toy is replaceable, after all. She just wanted to disappear into the lifestream and be wiped clean of her memories to forget all of this...

...

In the midst of her melancholy, she felt a sudden intrusion of a metaphysical sort. A powerful, burning spirit that roared like a great bonfire in her heart.

But at the same time, it was warm and comforting - and familiar.

Another Moxie stepped out onto the desert sands from behind a dune. A rod wreathed in black magic in his right hand, a cane wreathed in white magic in his left. He twirled the two staves in his fingers, his long black-and-white ears twitching lightly as he scanned the environment. This was Moxie as Izhu knew him - friendly and caring and playful, but no less serious when it counts.

"Wynlioris," this new Moxie called, looking toward the tent where Bandit King Moxie lay sleeping off his prey. "Give up this charade and come out to face me."

Commanded by the calling of her name, the succubus Wynlioris sauntered out of the tent, still wearing the Bandit King Moxie disguise. And more importantly, carrying the Bandit King Moxie rifle. She leveled the gun at Moxie's chest scornfully. "Fool. You walk into my territory and challenge me so openly? This world is mine to command. Do you understand who you are dealing with?"

Moxie pointed the rod of black magic at his doppelganger's chest in turn. "This mindscape does not belong to you. You are a guest - and an unwanted one at that. Release Izhu from this nightmare and return to the Void where you belong."

"No. She is mine, boy. Perhaps instead, I'll claim your soul as well and let your friend watch you be consumed in trying to save her!" Wynlioris snarled. The rifle went off with a terrible crack, the bullet aimed squarely at Moxie's heart.

But Moxie still stood, staves at the ready, even as the bullet passed through him. Didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't even blink. There was no bullet hole - it was as if the bullet had simply disappeared the moment it touched his chest. "I asked you to release my friend and go back to the Void," Moxie repeated calmly. "I am asking you a second time. Next time, I will not be asking."

Wynlioris ground her teeth - Bandit King Moxie's teeth. "Die!" Hundreds of identical bandits emerged from the sands, all raining bullets down on Moxie.

But he stood his ground, unaffected. "This is only a dream, Wynlioris," Moxie said. He drew the rod back, pumping fiery-hot aether into its tip and holding tight to contain it. A cocky grin spread across his lips. "Izhu may have no choice but to believe your lies, even to the point of believing in her own death. But I know this is all an illusion, a trick. My body sits right beside hers, holding her tight. You cannot hurt me here. On the other hand..."

A ball of white-hot fire surged from the tip of Moxie's rod, burning away half of Bandit King Moxie's beloved jacket before Wynlioris could move out of the way. She hastened to put it out, summoning a spray of water from nowhere to extinguish it.

"It is as an intrusive thought or a bad dream that a parasite like you manifests," Moxie said, switching his stance to bring the cane of white magic forward. "Which means... this is all quite real to you, isn't it?" With a flourish, he summoned a cage of earth out of the sands to imprison her. "I will give you a moment to decide whether annihilation or retreat suits you better."

Silence.

... The constructed world started to fall away as Wynlioris fled, departing Izhu's mind and leaving her to fall into a natural and dreamless sleep. Dunes and tents and oases melted into nothing.

"I'll see you when we wake up," Moxie said lightly to nobody. Then he vanished with the rest.

Izhu found her way to wakefulness slowly, the dawn light hurting her eyes. Wait - dawn? Wasn't I just laying down for an afternoon nap before? I must have slept way longer than I thought...

There was a weight over her side, a warmth at her back, a light pressure on her belly. She lifted her head - Moxie was loosely curled around her, fast asleep. She was tucked against his belly, one of his arms protectively holding her to himself.

I had some... crazy dream, Izhu thought, her eyelids getting heavy again. ... Moxie, you're too sweet to do any of that, aren't you?

The sound of Moxie's steady breathing lulled her back into sleep. Maybe just a short nap until her friend woke up again. For some reason, most of her sleep hadn't felt very restful...