The team set up camp effitly. Though they had brought tents should they arrive to a biome that hem, the Wispwood was a moderate enough climate they weren’t necessary. So, after setting up a fire and their sleeping bags, they ate their respective meals theled down for the night.

  Natalie got the first shift. It wasn’t on for the duo send monsters after sleeping delvers, but it happened. More than that, enemy delvers could wander onto them. Which would be just about their luck. So, best to have somebody ready to sound the arm.

  She posted up on a log a short distance away. Being away from the sm fire helped keep cold, which kept her alert. After the past hours, exhaustion was doing its best to lull her to sleep.

  More than the cold air, though, her thoughts were revented her from dozing off. She wasn’t quite as furious as she’d been in the direct aftermath of the event, but her thoughts had far from steadied, either.

  Twenty minutes before her hour-and-a-half shift ended, a figure stirred from ihe camp. Natalie gnced over to see Jordarig herself from her sleeping bag. Natalie frowned. Her shift wasn’t over yet, so why? She needed her sleep as much as the rest of them.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked when Jordan had wandered over.

  “That,” Jordan said. “Also started to feel a bit pointless. Would just make my shift harder.”

  Natalie nodded in sympathy. Jordan had gotten the sed shift of the watch, which was arguably the worst. Getting to sleep for an hour and a half, then having to wake up and stand watch—it sucked. Natalie had gotten lucky; first and st shifts were the best.

  Jordaled onto the log o her, and they sat in fortable silence for a few moments. Natalie could intuit Jordan hadn’t e over just to relieve her from her shift early. She wao talk.

  “You’ve still stewing,” Jordan finally said. “I tell.”

  Natalie sighed. She’d expected something of the sorts. Jordan always had to be so … level headed and reasonable.

  “’t you just let me be mad?” Natalie asked. “For once?”

  “I know what happened sucked, but all things sidered, we’re fine. We really are. There’s no reason to dwell on it.”

  “You ’t be suggesting we just fet about it.”

  “Not fet,” Jordan said. “I’m not that fiviher. But for now, what happened, happened.” She chewed her lip. “And what I’m really worried about is that you’ll turn something that’s frustrating, but ultimately doesn’t matter, into something that does.”

  “And that means?”

  “I don’t know if we should retaliate,” Jordan said. “With Elida. She said it herself. This was because of Liz. It doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

  “Her group attacked ours.”

  “But not us, specifically,” Jordan said. “It sounds ridiculous, but it’s also true. We were just there. Liz’s teammates.”

  Natalie’s annoyance spiked. “Okay, but that’s not ging any time soon, is it?”

  “No,” Jordan said, “and so we’ll probably have simir issues. But it won’t ever be us that’s targeted. We aren’t her enemies, her real ones, and we should keep it that way.” She poked Natalie on the shoulder. “It sucks, but it’s true. We don’t want a major house as ahis early into the semester. We o take this one on the . If it gets worse … we’ll figure something out.”

  Natalie ched and unched her hands, then looked away. “You’re probably right.” Not that it sat well with her.

  “Plus,” Jordan said, bumping shoulders, “I don’t like seeing you all stormy and brooding. It’s not you. And our first long delve was supposed to be exg. A good day. So put all this to the side, at least until we’re back at campus. Let’s keep looking forward.”

  “Easier said than done,” Natalie muttered. She didn’t have the same trol over her emotions as Jordan. How her friend could mao so easily shelve something so infuriating was almost frustrating in its ht.

  “I know,” Jordan said. “But it really is for the best.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments.

  “I’ve got ao cheer you up, then,” Jordan said. “I think you need some stress relief.”

  Jordan slid a hand down Natalie’s ihigh, and the sudden a caught her so off guard she nearly jumped to her feet. The exhaustion weighing her down vanished, heart abruptly smming in her chest.

  Natalie looked at the sleeping forms of her teammates, two doze or so away. “Here?” she asked incredulously. “Now?”

  Jordan’s rubbed at her thigh, not disced. “Sure. How else am I supposed to cheer you up?” The edges of her lips curled into a smirk. “And you still o gather energy, don’t you? No point in being wasteful. Once a day.”

  “But they’re right there.”

  “I thought you were the bold one,” Jordan teased. “Scared to have some fun in front of friends, now?”

  Her hand dipped lower, rubbing against a bulge that was quickly filling out Natalie’s pants. The thick leather armor meant there wasn’t much sensation, but the thrill of the situation still had electricity shooting up her spine.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jay,” Natalie said. “They’ll wake up.”

  “Only if you’re loud. Guess you’ll have to work on being quiet, won’t you?”

  Jordan stopped teasihigh. She shimmied up to her, pressing her breasts into Natalie’s arm, then cupped her cock, pressing her palm firmly into it. Natalie let out a shaky breath, and even that felt excruciatingly loud in the mostly silent forest. Were her teammates deep sleepers? That felt like something she shouldn’t just hope for.

  “I think I use an illusion,” Natalie said. “To block the . Or dampen it.”

  “You ?”

  “Maybe. Haven’t tried, but when it es to using my skills iain ways, they tend to be … le.”

  “Your css will do anything to get you id,” Jordan said, rolling her eyes. “Yeah. I remember.”

  Jordan stood, the down in front of Natalie, and the sight of her best friend on her knees, fingers heading for her belt, nearly made her dizzy.

  “Not that I’m pining,” Jordan said. “Really, I’m just as lucky, since I’m the one who gets to py with it. Helps me as much as you.”

  At the king sound of Jordan w away at Natalie’s belt, Natalie decided she had to, for once, be the reasonable one. She wasn’t sure if the illusion would work, but seeing how Jordan arently ied in doing this regardless of sequences, she better try something.

  The illusioled into pce. Creating sounds was an easy task, as were simple images—especially with how she’d advahe skill frression I to II—but ing sound was a bit more of a problem. Not something she’d tried to do before. The idea had arrived from its sudden need.

  “At least test it,” Natalie said. “You—you succubus.”

  Her pants were off, now, with Natalie’s paruggling to keep her cock trolled. It strained desperately upward, not hiding much. Her shaft was clearly visible through the tent, aip leaked liquid, darkening the fabric. She probably should start wearing boxers or something. Just … the look of admiration Jordan always gave it, seeing it trapped and angry ihe delicate fabric, made up for the impracticality of tinuing to anties.

  “Test what?”

  “If it blocks sound.”

  Jordan goward the sleeping figures of their friends, though she couldn’t see the image-less sound barrier Natalie had made. “You did it?” She looked back to Natalie’s crotch, pursed her lips, then got off her knees and walked toward camp.

  With Jordan having arrived at the other side of the illusion, Natalie snapped her fingers.

  Jordan tilted her head. “Works. ’t hear that.”

  Natalie snapped louder, theed a few sentences of varying volume. Afterward, Jordan said, “I kind of hear you, but it’s good enough. Heavily dampened.”

  She got back down in front of Natalie.

  “So, just don’t get too enthusiastic,” Jordan said. A devious smile slipped onto her lips. “Though to be extra mean—and since I’m trying to cheer you up—I think I’m going to let you finally use my mouth. So, good luck with that.”

  A/N: I saw some ents where people thought Natalie and Jordan were on daily blowjob status. Just to crify, Jordan teased her about using her mouth, but never actually did—she was trying to distraatalie. I realize that bit of dialogue was unclear, so for those who assumed that, here’s the crification.