The Monster's Stratagem (Lesbian Story)

12: Deceptive Tongues

As promised, Dawn entered Alani's hut bright and early the next morning. Opening the door and striding in, she was slightly surprised to see only the two monsters sitting at the table and no witch in sight.

"Where's Alani?" She asked, setting her bag down before raiding the food cupboard. If she was going to help, she required additional compensation for her efforts.

Naturally, Leixa was the one who deigned her with a response. "She only said that she would return soon."

Dawn snorted, happily discovering freshly picked berries and oats. She popped a few in her mouth, taking great amounts of pleasure in the sharp tang. "Typical."

"Do you have a plan?" Syrena finally spoke, glancing at the Venturer's bag.

"Anxious, are we?" Dawn commented, sitting at the table with her feet up on the surface. "Yes, I have a rough one. I'll share it once Alani returns."

Dawn had decided over the course of the night that she would not allow for fear to get in the way of her plan. Whether she liked it or not, she would have to depend on Syrena's abilities if she was to succeed, and Dawn hated losing. Besides, she had forced the monster into pledging her service, and that was no small thing. Syrena was many things, but a liar she was not. When she pledged her oath, she meant every word of it. There was no reason for Dawn to succumb to her negative emotions when she had the root cause of them under her thumb.

It felt as though there was a shift in the air. The Venturer and the Commander had gone from enemies to allies in the span of a night, and that was indeed a curious thing to navigate. It appeared as though Syrena could feel it too, as she looked at Dawn with less hatred and more compliance for their little fellowship. They didn't trust each other, but they trusted that they would both perform to the best of their abilities. This mystery did involve what they both cared about, after all.

When the door to the hut swung open, the Venturer quickly squirrelled away the rest of the food in her cheeks, unwilling to give up her breakfast.

"Good of you to join us." Dawn greeted Alani through a mouthful of berries, the witch's narrowed gaze immediately went straight towards the red stains on the fingers of her uninjured hand.

"It appears as though I've been robbed blind."

"I prefer to think of it as offering your services to the girl who is doing you a massive favour."

Alani snorted, shutting the door and stepping towards them. "I'm sure you do."

Leixa stifled a laugh, watchful eyes trained to the Venturer. "The plan, Dawn?"

"Right, I'll start with the information I have first." She announced, looking to the monsters. "Garrett called me into his office the day after I escaped, hoping to get information about your kingdom."

"What did you tell him?" Leixa asked, leaning forward in her seat. Syrena had also subconsciously moved closer, wondering if Dawn had relayed anything that would put them in jeopardy. As if she had seen that much to begin with.

"That I was too distracted to notice anything of use." The Venturer replied, noting the way the two visibly relaxed at her words. "Which wasn't exactly a lie as I was running for my life."

"You're impressively fast." The Protector complimented, no hint of mockery in her expression.

"Thanks, I do it for a living."

"How is this relevant?" Syrena's tone was unkind, blunt and wanting to get to the point.

"Because when I was there, Garrett slipped information to me. I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but it's something to go on." She explained further as Alani took a seat at the table. "He implied an attack on Zyire of some sort. When I told him this was impossible, that the monsters are skilled fighters and humans cannot beat them in combat, he said it won't be that way for long."