[X] Guardian.

Safety first, especially if they're being hunted.

[x] Guardian.
Your big brother god will protect you.

I didn't mention, did I? This will only be one thread, and I'll be writing fast. 15 minute voting periods.

Hopefully it will end tonight. If the votes trail off quickly enough, I'll shorten the vote cycles to ten minutes. Please, enjoy, and follow me to the end of this little trip.

[X] Guide.

[X] Guardian.

You have my interest.

[X] Guardian.

[X] Companion.

Full contrarian.

Votes are closed. Writing now, please wait warmly.

They seem like bright girls. They do not need a guide for what is to come. They do not need to be taught the rules.

They need a protector.

So that is what you shall be. A mighty guardian. You shall watch over them from the forest, and see them safe to the end. Strong, mighty limbs. Long, fast legs, yes.

You shall stay on the side of the path and stop that which would harm them before it can violate your path, your protection. You follow as they start off down the trail, lighter-hearted than when they arrived. They move slowly down the trail, stopping several times to glance around.

"How did we miss this?" The doubtful one says, her words carrying clear to you now.

"I wonder?" Her companion replies, glancing around. She seems to be looking at the underbrush, looking for something. You're careful never to move when either of them are looking right at you, and with your longer limbs, it's easy to stay with them on the trail.

Several times, you... dissuade youkai and monsters from their plans. Sometimes, with a simple revelation of your presence -- most of them are aware enough to know you. The rest... well, fear and pain are a kind of belief, in the end. And they will remember it well.

As the three of you cross the first boundary on the path, passing the first of the markers laid down to show the way, the girls that you have taken under your aegis pause, whispering together about the border between the head of the trail and the first true leg of the Path.

Their chatter is minor, and you don't pay it much heed, in the end. Instead, you look ahead. What lives on this part of the Path, these days? Temptations? Fears?

...Hrm. It should be a fairly simple trial, you reflect, as the girls cross the first border, and commit themselves to walking the Path to the end.

The first ones always are.

------------------------------

"Do you feel like we're being watched, Mary?"

------------------------------------

You watch, with consternation, as a figure steps from behind a tree, right at the side of the path. It's not the disrespect -- the being knows enough, you see, not to set foot within the Path, but simple annoyance with your own failure to detect it approaching.

"Good evening, girls." It says, its aspect that of a young man as it leans against a tree. "Having a nice walk?"

"Oh, yes." The purple one replies, amiably. "It's such a nice day, after all." The other simply stares at the man. You can't remember what that expression means...

"You're going the wrong way, you know." He advises them. The trees around you rustle, resentful of his implication. "You'll never get there on this path." He continues, smoothly. "If you just cut through the woods, here, you'll arrive much sooner." He waves an arm behind him. You'd remove him, but... The girls must make their own choice, in the end. You can't interfere with this directly. Not with the role you've chosen, not here.

You're disappointed as your favourite steps forward.

"Oh...?" She asks, dreamily. Her friend catches her by the shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She asks. "You can't be serious." The purple girl sways, confused.

"What? But... it's quicker, right?"

"Of course it is." The man murmurs, "Just this way, follow me." And the dark one, the doubter, she's not nearly enspelled enough by his words to miss the fact that he doesn't actually move, as he changes positions.

A human once described that sort of motion as surreal, you recall, and the girl is clearly disturbed by it.

"What the...?" Her tone wavers. "Merry, come on." She tugs her along, trying to continue on the path. "This isn't right."

"But he seems so trustworthy...?" Purple mutters, sounding disappointed.

"You can't be serious." Doubt seems to be at an impasse.

[ ] Encourage them to move along.
[ ] Warn it off.
[ ] There are things in the woods.

[x] Encourage them to move along.

Scary. As much as I'd love to vote for the third option, I think they need a little prodding back to safety.

[X] There are things in the woods.

[x] There are things in the woods.

Where will this take them, I wonder?

[x] Encourage them to move along.

Third vote SCREAMS 'spooky monster reveal' to keep them on the path, but that kind of thing will just make them break for it and run home.

[x] Encourage them to move along.

[x] Encourage them to move along.

You cannot allow them to follow the creature. Maybe if you simply...

Maybe if you simply... gave them an idea of what lives off the Path.

Yes.

You lean, slowly, around a tree. Not near the being. But... within sight. All you really have to do is...hide badly.

Not interfere, no, no. Never.

But...It's not your fault, that the doubter is observant. That her eyes go wide, and she stops breathing.

"We need to go." She says, to her friend, who has just spotted you, herself. "Now."

"Y-yeah." And they turn, only to discover something new about the Path: You cannot turn back.

The Path only goes one way. And it's too late for them to change their minds now.

The dense trees and brambles mere feet behind them explain it as well as any words could. Just to drive the point home, you allow them to claim just a bit more of the path, even as they're watched. The girls step back, away from this unusual growth, and finally flee the right way -- down the path they go, and it's encouraging to learn that they have enough sense not to scream. Not to draw other predators to them, even as they escape this one.

The being sighs, just out of the reach of your immense arms.

"...That's very nearly cheating, you know." It scolds, "We're terribly hungry, you know. They would have been so wonderful..." You don't much care, to be honest. It's a simple effort of will to be where the girls are, and you follow as they run.

They flee until they no longer can, visibly sagging -- it's just far enough to cross the second border, into the next leg of the Path.

-------------------------------------------------------

"I don't like this. What was that? You saw it too, right?!"

-------------------------------------------------------

As they continue down the trail, the Doubter pulls a bottle from her bag.

"This is the last water bottle." She informs her companion, as they finish the contents.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find our way out eventually." The Purple one is optimistic. "There's this lovely path, after all." You have a moment to feel proud, before you sense the next trial, ahead.

...Fairies, then.

The soft chuckling of a clear, cool brook reaches you after a few hundred more feet. The girls hear it shortly after. They exchange some words about the sound, before hurrying along.

You insert yourself into this trial much more easily, hanging a simple, handpainted notice from a treebranch right on the edge of the path. You can hear the tittering of the Fairies as they discuss your own contribution to the scene. It's all a joke to them, and one that you could appreciate, as well, were the girls not under your protection.

You are much closer to humans than the fae, and you certainly have a better understand of what they'd consider harm -- it would be terribly unfortunate if the girls were to fail here.

[ ] "Please stay on the path."
[ ] "The water is not free."
[ ] "If you are reading this, you are blissfully unaware of what creeping up behind you."

You never did claim to be very clever...

>>29312
>>29311
>>29310

Laaaate.

[x] "The water is not free."

Cryptic, but it probably is a genuine hint about the trial. We'll see how it goes.

[x] "The water is not free."

On point. First option is weak ("please") and the third somewhat misleading considering we're worried about faeries, here.

[x] "The water is not free."

Guess I'll actually close the votes this time.

Since it looks like I won't actually be able to finish it tonight (delaayyys) I'll update once in the morning, then I should be back around 0230 or so, site time, for another few updates. Let's at least end this this week.

One last update tonight, first.

Sorry!

[x] "The water is not free."

While vague it works better than the others I feel.

>>29318

Seeing your first clarification post, I was skeptical that this story would work out. Given the usual pace of voting on the site, 15 minutes seemed very, very brief. I'm glad to see that there is actual activity and that this is more or less working out so far. Hopefully we can finish this together~

"...Look!" Purple tugs on her friend's arm. "There's the water!" The two of them hurry over, stopping only when confronted by your sign. Purple is the one who considers it the most seriously, even as Doubter digs several empty bottles out of her bag. When she starts toward the brook, Purple stops her. "Wait." She instructs, drawing her darker friend to a halt.

"What's the matter?" The doubtful girl asks, cocking her head to one side in a curious gesture. "What, the sign?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to ignore it." The blonde says, simply. Her friend just shrugs, rolling her eyes. Your favourite of the two girls steps forward, clearing her throat. "Excuse me." She says, clearly, to empty air. "But could we have some water?" There's a long moment of silence. Purple holds her friend back patiently.

"...You cooouuld..." A voice answers her, at last. There's another silence. The doubter frowns, stepping back again, suddenly mistrustful. Purple simple waits, mildly. When it becomes clear no more is forthcoming, she speaks.

"And what would it cost?" There's a tittering in the trees that most definitely isn't coming from birds. The darker-haired girl frowns at the canopy.

"Wellll..." There's a thoughtful hum. "We could take your voice?" It suggests. There's a flurry of whispers, before it quickly corrects itself, several of the fairies in the trees clearly aware that the girls aren't quite that thirsty. "Ah, no, the twinkle of your eye?"

"Not acceptable." The purple one declares. "I'll give you..." She roots around in her purse. "Ten yen!" She declares, triumphantly.

"Muuu, Borrrriiiiing." The fairy complains. "Ummm..." It thinks for a little while. "How about, we'll take a virgin's kiss!" It declares. Doubter sputters at that.

You wonder why.

"One kiss for one bottle of water." Purple bargains.

"Wait, Merry, you can't be serious." The other girl complains. "That's ridiculous." They back up to argue quietly. The fairies, meanwhile, are having a great time. Several are openly watching the girls now, and their chatter and laughter is clearly audible.

As long as the deal is clearly made, and the girls don't leave the Path, it should be fine. ...You still don't like it, though.

[ ] Give the girls a gift. It'll take a bit of power, though. You still have three crackers.
[ ] Let them deal with the fairies. They have this under control.
[ ] Change the Path a bit. No need to risk anything.

>>29320
If you were just going by the normal pace of the site, and not my historical pace, you were giving me too much credit.

At least we won't be seeing any year-long delays on this story.

...Really, we won't.

[x] Give the girls a gift. It'll take a bit of power, though. You still have three crackers.

[X] Give the girls a gift. It'll take a bit of power, though. You still have three crackers.


Everyone loves crackers!

>>29321
[x] Let them deal with the fairies. They have this under control.
what could possibly go wrong

As it turns out, I have way too much to do and love sleeping way too much to be able to get an update out this morning.

Only three votes, so I'll leave voting open for the day and when I get back, ~0230 site time, I'll be ready to roll.

[X] Let them deal with the fairies. They have this under control.

[x] Let them deal with the fairies. They have this under control.

Excitement.

[x] Let them deal with the fairies. They have this under control.

We've only got three crackers. Let's save it for something dangerous.

Besides, sweet fairy kisses can't POSSIBLY be dangerous!

[x] Let them deal with the fairies. They have this under control.

I'm home, only an hour late.

Wow, the votes turned while we were waiting, didn't they?

Alright, voting closed. I'll get to work on it now. Might be a bit slow, though, I had to move today on top of work, so I'm a bit exhausted.

Still, I'll get at least one out for you today.

>at least one out for you today

plz

The girls are going to be fine. Just fine. You reassure yourself that they're bright girls and nothing bad will happen.

It's just the Fae.

After a few moments, the girls return to their negotiations with the Fairies.

"One kiss in exchange for one full bottle of water, delivered immediately upon receipt of kiss." The Doubter rattles off the terms and conditions of the exchange, seeming a bit grumpy about the whole concept. "No further compensation shall be implied, sought, requested or taken by either party, and each transaction shall be discrete and immutable." She folds her arms, her annoyance split between her companion and the Fae in the trees.

"W-what?" The spokesfae seems a bit put off by this. "...Um, one moment." There's another outbreak of whispering amongst the Fairies, as they argue about what to do now -- and, more importantly, what several of the words she used mean. "Okay, deal." The Fairy decides, eventually. "How much are you gonna want?" The girl has a quick answer for this question.

"Two bottles." The dark-haired girl produces the empty bottles quickly, setting them on the rocks near the water.

"Hmmm~" The Fairy considers, "Okay." A pair of small fairies, not much bigger than the bottles themselves, flutter down to fill them from the small pool. The spokesfae herself flutters down, larger than the others, with a grin on her face. "I'll take the first kiss, then~"

"A-Alright." The Doubter hesitates, but not for very long. "Fine, then." She reddens, as she eyes the Fairy in front of her. "...So..."

The fairy puckers her lips.

"Come on, then~" She taunts, "Give it here~" Gathering up her courage, the girl reaches out, cupping the Fairy's face in her hands and kissing it. The Fairy doesn't hesitate to deepen the kiss, tangling its small hands into the girl's hair and holding it for, by her reations, longer than she's really comfortable with. A soft "Oh, my..." comes from Purple, as she watches, hands over her mouth.

Finally, Doubter breaks the kiss, almost throwing the fairy from her.

"There!" She declares, almost defiantly, as she regains her breath. The fae all around laugh, enjoying their game as they tease her.

"Hmmm~" The Fairy doesn't seem discouraged, as she runs her smal tongue over her lips. "...Yup." She nods. "Vir~gin~" She laces her hands behind her head, and reclines in midair. "But that was just one, you know."

"...Th, Then get over here, an-" The Fairy interrupts her,

"Nah." She waves a hand dismissively. "I already have one, now." She says, affecting disinterest. "...Hmmm~" She puts on a show of thinking about it. "So what should I do with the second one..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Because I felt bad about leaving you all in the lurch for so long. Anyway, it looks like it's that time of year again, so please excuse me while I go fight a bear.

I'll probably have the rest up tomorrow.

Not bad at all. I like this indirect approach, this 'earn your happy ending' thing.
Of course, direct intervention is a tempting offer should the worst come to happen. Let's hope not.

Sorry for the long silence -- thought I should give you guys an update on what's happening here.

I AM still going to finish this. I want to just make that clear.

The thing is, I'm on a ship right now, extremely busy, and super unreliable for time to write.

I'll get updates for you guys, I will, and the first one should be soonish. I only JUST got issued my shit back, though, so it's going to be touch and go.

I'll try to get at least one or two updates out this week, though.

>>29429
Oh dear god, it's Berserk all over again. He's still on that fucking boat.