The challenges that Penance must face are.. inconvenient and painful, so far. The little creature that has embedded itself into her lower abdomen is a major cause of discomfort as it produces seemingly random 'shocks' to the surrounding tissue, causing it engorge as if she were aroused - since this may be how it feeds from her blood supply. The exposed part is proving to be quite hardy as well, since the other parasites cause the Eeee the most pain and are only satisfied with offerings of special protein.
The five Eeee that have been tapped (stung, actually) to provide this may not be in as much pain, but they certainly don't seem to be enjoying themselves. Jophur had wondered out loud if the their reproductive organs would be permanently damaged or worse from being hijacked like this, which got the other men worrying. These concerns don't affect the Skreeks though, since they aren't being forced to create the special blend. All the same, Otto doesn't seem to get much out of pumping Penance in order to milk her, but it's hard to read the man who gave up his dreams to Gorphat.
The exception is Crabs, who does enjoy tending to Penance when she gets a 'cramp' outside of her regular feeding-times. Sometimes the little worm-thing gives her a release from the nearly constant internal vaso-congestion caused by itself and its parasitic kin.
In the archives, her sorting work suffers from the inconvenient bouts of arousal-pain. Even though she tries to endure them, it does help to have Crabs on call. The Skreek is deep in the stacks during the latest sharp cramp, which nearly makes Penance crush the scroll she's holding at the time.
Penance's fur would puff out if she actually had any fur. Still, it makes her ears stand straight up, her hands clench, and her drawing in a sudden pained hiss between clenched teeth. "Dagh, what is wrong with you?" she complains through close clenched teeth and then reaches down to spread and lift things to get a better look one of her invasive little critters, "And why don't you help quiet them inside me?"
The wormy wiggles briefly in response to the pain signals, but doesn't do anything to mitigate them. Crabs is coming back out of the stacks carrying some sort of polished black wooden case and wearing a confused look on his face.
Penance actually tries pulling on the worm-thing to see just how attached it is. "Don't mind me," she also tells Crabs, "My ... internal friends are just being grumpy."
Of course it retracts slightly when she tries to get a grip. "Hmm, yeah, friends are nice.." Crabs says distractedly, and places the case on the table. "I don't remember this being here before," he notes. "It isn't covered in dust. Oh.. it also had a note with your name on it," the Skreek further reveals, and holds out a folded piece of parchment towards Penance.
"Wha?" PEnance asks and looks up, forgetting about her little peekaboo companion down below. Stil cramping means she waddles a little as she approaches the rat, then reaches out and takes the note. "Who would have left me a note in here?" she asks Crabs as she opens it.
The penmanship is very good, and the note reads, "Deliver to Dr. Sesstha, Mt. Blakat," and is signed 'Mabb' with a flourish that involves lots of little Skreek-like tails that merge into a knot.
This makes Penance blink a few times. "Who is ... oooooh," she starts to say, then gasps and covers her mouth! Now also curious, she gots to the box to see if she can open and peer inside it.
The box does have a seam, isn't exactly small. It's oblong, a bit longer than Penance's forearm and a quarter as thick. It doesn't seem to have hinges or a latch, but refuses to just open like a box.
"Well, I probably shouldn't open it anyway," Penance claims when she is defeated from opening it. "Well, it looks like I must leave the temple ... and go to Mt. Blakat. That is ... bleh," she says and even sticks her tongue out like a little kid. "All right, keep an eye on things here for me, I'm going to get dressed, then I'll go deliver this."
"Are you gonna take one o' the guys with you?" Crabs asks.
"I wasn't planning to. Why?" Penance asks, one ear skewing sideways in confusion.
"You usually don't last long without.. you know," Crabs says, then smiles. "But, you're on a mission from Mabb! Surely SHE will ease your suffering in order to carry it out."
Given she doesn't really enjoy sex now since the loss of her nub, she sort of chuckles, "Oh, that's true! But, if you want, you can do me before I go." She even turns around and lays onto a table top and presents herself!
"Give me a moment!" Crabs says as he wipes off his hands before dropping his pants and mounting Penance. "This should help.." he claims. "I mean, since it's Mabb and all.." He does try to be quick though, knowing that it's the destination that affords Penance some relief, rather than the journey. "Do you miss.. I mean, you did enjoy this before right?"
It still feels pretty nice, though there is no buildup at all since she allowed that worm to take root in her. Still, she tries to make it enjoyable for him too, and clenches down even without the shocks from her little 'friend' to make things swell. "Right, this should, and I don't want to keep a Goddess waiting," she agrees.
"I still think you're pretty, Penny," Crabs claims as he tries his hardest. The impacts seem to have taken the place of more direct stimulation since the bug took root. And Crabs has figured out that rapid impacts work best.
"Thank you," Penance says between grunts (and her eyes are closed now so she can focus on what little pleasures she gets from it). "You are quite handsome, you know," she adds, "And I like this with you and making you feel good."
"Crabs smiles at the compliment, and Penny's closed eyes don't see his messed up teeth at least. He does nuzzle at her breasts a bit, but avoids stimulating them too much.. lactating probably isn't going to help with flying, unless the pectoral-workout from flapping does it anyway. Instead, he stretches to give her ear a bite.
Penance stretches forward a little and makes a cute 'curlling' sound at that ear-nip, letting her ear go still. She also clenches down around him to increase his sensations. "Feels nice," she murmurs."
The Skreek does end up squeezing back his paws. The clenching makes him redouble his efforts, until he lets out a loud squeak, which sounds more like he was kicked than that he's having a happy release. He ends up lying across Penance and licking her neck, which helps to cool the bare skin.
Penance bucks once, then lets out a long sigh as she feels the rush flow inside her of his gift, but minus any usual pleasure wave she used to get. She reaches back and pets at the Skreek's sides. "Thank you," she tells him.
"Put in a good word with Mabb for me if you can," Crabs says, and waggles his eyebrows before giving Penance a kiss. Then he crawls down off of her.
Penance gets up, stretches a bit, then grabs his tail. She pulls him right back, turns him around, then kisses him, on the lips, and even with tongue! "I will," she promises, "But I need to go get dressed now and deliver this. Thank you." She even runs a claw up under his chin and grins.
"I'll keep workin' 'til you get back," the Skreek promises, and dares to give Penance a pat on the butt as she goes.
Box in hand, Penance heads to her quarters to dress in the appropriate rags of a Yodhgorphat, and then she'll go deliver this odd box.
It was a tiring flight, since it's been.. well, Penance isn't sure how long since she last flew anywhere. Her chest and back burn a bit, and the refugees from the streets below give her worried glances. It shouldn't be the rags, or bits of chitin that the sacred horribs decorated them with. Maybe it's the bare, black skin, or the scarred mark on her forehead.. or just the fact that she's heading towards the temple of Blakat. But that's the direction people point her in when she asks about the doctor.
Penance is polite, and doesn't complain about her wings and back, though she does hook her wing'claws together to help counter their weight. She holds the box close to her chest and walks ever closer to the tower. Head is held high, ears too. She's on the duty for a Goddess, after all, she must look the part. Even if the part means she's wearing moldy, smelly, rags and reeks of skreek sex.
A few of the denizens follow at a respectful distance, but keep their silence. At least until she gets to the fresh cemetery. There aren't any open graves, and there aren't a lot of graves, but it's something foreign on this mountain. And beyond it, the tent of the doctor - rumored to be a prisoner here, serving penance.
Penance pauses to look back at those following her, and she flicks her ears. "Is this so abnormal to see the servant of a Goddess? Do they treat the Yodhblakat the same?" she wonders. Soon she shrugs, though, and heads for the tent. Her eyes also cast quick glances to any fresh graves, and counts them just out of curiosity.
Less than a dozen.. and all at least full-sized. There's a guard posted at the tent flap - an actual Yodhblakat. There's a looseness to the armor around her belly though, for some reason. She looks down at Penance, but just nods to her after the quick inspection and holds the flap open.
Penance pauses and looks at the guard a bit questioningly, and even glances down at her belly. She seems to decide that maybe asking is a bad idea, so instead simply nods a thanks and steps into the tent. "Dr. Sesstha," she announces, "I have a package for you from Mt. Gorphat, sent by the Goddess Mabb."
There are two Naga in the tent, the color of blood and.. cleaning up blood. A cauldron boils away at one end of the tent, where the smaller serpent is feeding dirty tools into it. The larger one turns at the call, and looks not at Penance but the box she carries. It may be then that the Eeee realizes it's the right size for a baby's coffin.
Penance stills. She didn't even consider it could be a coffin! She holds it out and tries to sound firm and important, but her voice cracks and squeaks quite a bit, "This was given to me to deliver to you. I know not what it is for, just that the request came from the Goddess, Mabb," she says while trembling a little.
"Mabb?" the doctor asks as she finally meets Penance's eyes. "You aren't a Skreek," she points out. She hasn't moved take the box right away, but when she notices the trembling she reaches out and takes it. Her long tongue flicks out and she sets it down on the surgery table.
"She is a skreek Goddess, and allied with Gorphat," Penance explains. "So I will handle her requests as well as Gorphat's, and I provide an alter of outlet for when a skreek feels their natural rutting urges." Of course given that tongue flick, the doctor can probably smell skreek on her.
"Mabb," the doctor repeats. "Well.. I ssssuppose I should have exssspected thiss," the Naga says, and puts her hands on the box. After a moment's hesitation she easily lifts the unsecured lid and stares at the contents.. something dark and folded, but atop it is another piece of parchment that she lifts out first, opening it a bit closer to the light of the lantern. "Hssss," she hisses, the Naga equivalent of a 'hmmm' sound.
"I mean no disrespect towards Mabb, but I am curious," Penance admits. "What was in the box?" She also moves a bit closer to get a better look.
What Penance see is.. black leather, and the gleam of chitin, but things are packed in too tightly to make out just what it is. "It's for the bearer," the doctor hisses. "I'm to attach it. And.. I owe Mabb."
"Wait, what? Attach it to the bearer? To me?" Penance squeaks! She starts to slowly back towards the door. She holds up her hands and says quickly, "I need no gifts!"
"Well, thisss note ssssays otherwise," the doctor says, and offers the note to Penance. There's only so far she can back up before feeling the unyielding Yodhblakat behind her.
Penance takes the notes in hands that are shaking a whole lot more. She lifts it to read while leaning back against that Yodhblakat.
"Penance is as penance demands," the note reads. "The way ahead is carried in the case, and to be carried upon the bearer. May your fingers not falter, may her lips not quaver. I am no poet. Gorphat."
"This is a very odd note. And Gorphat demands this?" Penance asks, ears wilting, but at least she doesn't lean back any more. "What exactly is in there and why do I need you to put it on?"
The doctor lifts out the contents of the box, but turns her back on Penance as she examines them in the light. "Ahh... I ssssee. Appropriate that it fallsss to me. The sinsss of experience. Or iss it the experiences of sssin? Tell me, do you obey your goddess in all thingsss? Trussst her?"
"Yes, I do," Penance says, and in that her voice doesn't waver at all, surprisingly. "What is it she requires of me to ... wear?"
"Does it matter if you know?" the doctor asks. "Isss faith not enough? I mussst know these thingss, which are foreign to me. Faith iss sssomething I have only recently acquired, you sssee. I am curiousss."
"It does not matter in that regardless, I will allow its fitting if it is my Goddess' desire," Penance claims. "I am merely ... curious about her plans for me. But ... I suppose I will learn the answer soon enough either way." She swallows, then asks, "What must I do?"
"Lie on the table.. after you move the boxsss," the serpent hisses. "Swix, prepare the mouthguard." The smaller serpent comes over from the cauldron, and opens his mouth in an attempt to make Penance do the same.
Penance looks a the smaller naga oddly, then opens her mouth in mimic. She doesn't move for the table yet, in case the serpent needs to do something first.
The younger Naga sticks his fingers into Penance's mouth to gauge its size and shape, and maybe the sharpness of her teeth as well. "Bite pleassse," the boy says in a soft voice. "Not hard."
Penance does bite down, and not too hard. Her ears cant sideways a bit in confusion to this odd sort of testing. Though, she does know what a bite guard is for, she's in for some pain. Significant, probably.
The boy nods when he has what he needs. He keeps his fingers in the same shape they held inside Penance's mouth as he goes to a bowl full of soaking leather. "Do you have a name?" the doctor asks, as she connects restraints to the table. "You ssshould remove your clothesss as well."
"Penance is my name. Yodhgorphat Penance," she explains as she carefully undoes her bandages and sets then atop a nearby stool with almost reverence. The restraints make her worry, but if pain is involved, well, it's understandable at least. Once the Eeee is back to being naked, she goes to the table, then after swallowing, climbs upon it and lays down in front of the large naga.
"Fancy that," the doctor says, as she wraps the restraints around the Eeee's ankles at the corners of the table. "Please ssslide down, so that your kneesss are elevated."
Penance finds that an extremely odd request, but though a bit of butt-wiggling and wing help, she slides a bit down until her knees are half-bent in elevation.
"Now raise your hipss," the doctor requests, ready with a rolled up bundle to tuck under Penance's tailbone once it's clear of the table.
Penance lifts her butt, looking more and more confused by this odd position she's in.
The doctor puts the roll under Penance, and says, "You can lower yourssself now." She does take the Eeee's wrists next though.. and Penance can feel just how strong the reptile is.
Penance lowers her butt and her ears twitch even more in nervousness. "You are Gorphat's Doctor?" she asks, quietly. "Well, the doctor for Her daughers, when she requires things of them?"
"I am.. no doctor to the Kindly Ones," the doctor notes. "I do not imagine they have need of surgeons." She tightens the straps to keep Penance's arms from flailing around. It won't stop her elbows from flailing though.
"But Gorphat seems to have need of you for this," Penance points out as she tests the restraints a little and finds them disturbingly secure.
"Apparently there are thingsss which need a precise touch," the doctor says. "And lack of infection." That's when the alcohol is applied, rather generously, to Penance's nether regions.. and hips and buttocks as well, which may explain the need for the 'riser' under her tailbone.
That makes Penance squeal! It isn't just cold, it's a cold that also burns! And the amount of area being covered is really, really, worrying, too. Apparently Gorphat must have more in mind to further remove any appearance of Inala upon her Daughter, not just Inala's gifts of pleasure.
"Now, Swix," the doctor instructs, and her son returns with a stack of soaked leather strips that should just fit into Penance's mouth enough to keep her from biting down too hard.
Penance lets Swix put the leather in, because, well, this is Gorphat's will, right? And not someone playing a joke on her ... she hopes. Leather tastes a bit bitter, but it's not unpleasant and her jaw rols a little, chewing on it between her teeth. With the restraints she can't go anywhere, and with the leather in her jaws, she cannot request the Doctor to stop. So ... she's past the point of no return, it seems.
She feels something leathery.. or more like rough skin.. laid across her front, in a sort of 'V' shape with the point draping across Inala's Gate, but from the weight there must be more beyond that. The doctor looms, since she doesn't have to lean over after all, and Penance feels a sharp pinch above her left pelvic blade, as if a tiny hook had just been set in her skin.
Penance grunts loudly and her hips jerk a little, but the position she's in doesn't allow her to move that much. She also chews on the leather in her mouth a bit. But, it wasn't too painful, just surprising. The worm embedding itself hurt much, much more. But ... She swallows. She knows Gorphat only ever increases her challenges, so worse may be coming.
The next pinch is almost right next to the first one, and feels a bit more jagged. Yes, it's a hook.. probably from an insect mandible. With how close it was to the first.. surely not more than a finger's width away.. there may be a lot of them.
Penance's ears splay, fingers and toes splay, and she winces. She also chews more on the leather in her mouth. The pinches hurt to be sure, but they're short lived sharp, with just some uncomfortable ache afterward. The number of them that may be there is worrying, though.
The process continues on, until the two upper arms of the V are fully hook-stitched into her skin. Despite the disinfectant, she can feel thins swell around the hooks. Then comes the parts that hook to the rear part, which the doctor manages to do without needing to see what she's doing, apparently.
Penance in breathing slowly, but deeply, it helps cope with the pain and the throbbing she feels at the dozens upon dozens of little hook-needles in her skin, and the swelling up around them (which probably only helps hold them in more if they're serrated at all.) The sudden stabbing in her rear side makes her eyes go wide for a moment, and make a muffled squeak, but she doesn't jerk; that would make things hurt worse and she knows it! With how complex this is startying to feel, she worries whatever is going in is not expected to ever come out.
There is a long 'split' in the piece, to allow for the needs of biology. However even that needs to be secured, which means the hooks are now going through some more sensitive and thinner skin, keeping her cheeks always a bit spread as a result.
Penance's fingers are splayed wide and wiggling a whole lot and is making more muffled sorts of squeaking noises as what seems like endless hooks are being set, and things start feeling quite a bit more stretched and open. "Gorphat, what is this thing?" she think-prays to her Goddess.
Of course, the hooks are progressing towards Inala's Gate now, being worked into the perineum.. slowly and carefully. Just in case, Swix is helping to hold Penance's shoulders down now. Sudden jerky movements might be bad at this stage.
Each hook that gets set makes Penance exhale out through her nose. Fingers coil and clench, and now her butt throbs ... and gah, the oldest hooks that were set now itch a little.
The inevitable happens as the perineum if finished. It doesn't feel like the unsecured are that close to the Gate at least. The 'fabric', which she now suspects is some kind of treated wing-skin, isn't exactly stretchy at this point, and has been pulled as tight as it's likely to go. But her own flesh still has some stretch, as the doctor brings her labia to the hooks instead. Not only does the stretching hurt, but the hooks are a lot bigger to take on the added strain.
This makes Penance go 'nnnngh!' and really bite down on the leather in her mouth. It's also really good that Swix is holding her shoulders down as her muscles are tensing up and that means she tries to move. Her eyes start to tear up too as she realizes the hooks are bigger, but there's likely going to be many of them too, and all of them stretching every inch of her labia out to meet as close to the straps as possible.
The little embedded parasites take this opportunity to start acting up in response to the pain.. by causing more pain. "Keep ssstill," the doctor cautions as she continues to pull and pierce. The mons will need to be hooked in too, after this!
Pennace strains to try and hold still! This is not easy when everything below the waist hurts, and now her insides are starting to hurt and cramp too!
At least the internal pain overwhelms the external pain. Even the itchiness. This really just means the internal pain is very intense though by comparison. "You have something wiggling.." the doctor notes, but doesn't really pause. There can't be too many hooks left at this point. "You will need to keep things clean.. you will need to try to keep things clean from this point on. Your vaginal tract is rife with bacteria as it is, but you are losing a layer of protection."
"Losing?" Penance thinks? That tells her this is meant to stay on forever. And worse, with where she works, it will be very hard to keep anything clean. But, maybe that is the point, to let her get everything and become stronger because of it. As for the wiggling; her little worm down below must be active, again, but with all the pain that wracks her, she can't really feel it move. She doesn't even know how many hooks were set.
It almost seems sudden when she feels her ankles being untied. But her wrists are still kept restrained. "Do not touch anything," the doctor hisses. "Not with your handsss, nor your feet, nor your tongue or anything else you could reach with. Do you understand? You need to keep sssstill a while longer, until I am certain that nothing will tear if you move."
Penance doesn't move, at all, save for the small nod of her head. She's also really biting down into that leather too. Gods, everything hurts down there, inside and out! Her vision is also blurry because her eyes have been watering now for some time thanks to the pain!
"No danssssing," Swix offers, trying to be helpful. He also wipes the Eeee's eyes for her. "I undo wristss now," he says afterwards, and starts unbinding the final straps.
Even once her wrists are undone, Penance remains laying on the table, terrified to move or even shift from her current position.
Eventually the doctor herself starts slowly straightening one of Penance's legs, watching how the skin stretches. So far nothing is tearing at least.
Tearing or not, it still hurts! Everything feels incredibly tight now there. She's still chewing hard on the leather in her mouth .... and Gods, does she want to touch down there, but can't.
"Doesss your religion allow sssalve?" the doctor asks.
"Yes, at times. But bearing the pain is preferred," Penance admits after she slowly lifts her hand up and removes the leather from her jaws. "Do you have a mirror so I can see what you did to me? What Gorphat wanted?"
"I have.. a bowl," the doctor says, and holds the bowl as if were a mirror. "You can use your sssonar with thisss, yess?"
Penance tries to emit a few squeak-pings at the bowl to see if it will bounce and give her a rouch idea what what things look like down below without moving too much yet.
There's only a very slightly difference in reflection between her skin and the reverse-chastity harness.. along with a lot of noise from the edges where the hooks make things a bit more chaotic. She can feel the ping in her exposed parts as well. "You should try closing your legsss. Carefully," the doctor advises.
Penance slowly and very carefully tries to close her legs. Inch by inch, really, in case she starts to feel anything tear, she can stop.
There's some 'settling' of the hooks, but closing does help a little, but only a little. There's not a lot of give in the newly attached skin.
Penance lets out a long, slow, breath. "What will happen down there over time as things heal? I mean where the hooks go in?" she asks of the doctor.
"Well, the material isssn't likely to break down," the Naga says. "In time, your skin may grow over.. but that could lead to pusssstules. You will probably have ssssome pusss anyway, since the hookss will trigger reactionsss."
"Gorphat will ensure that I do," Penance admits. "May I sit up?" she asks.
The doctor helps Penance to sit up, where she can get a better look at what's been done. There's quite a bit of blood and inflammation, making the pinker parts stand out even more against the black skin, and the little white butt-or-head of the worm-bud. "Swix will ssssterilize your garmentss," the doctor says. "Unless you wish to wear them as isss."
Penance now slowly gets to her feet and wobbles there. It's disturbing how much everything blends in; the hooks are not visible, only swollen flesh, and the dark wing skin, making it look more like scar-implants than stretching. Well, save for how much she's stretched open now. Everything is on display down below, and no position of her legs changes that. She can even see the worm-bit squirm a bit, pulsate now and then, and move/ripple ... and it is still quite young; only having been there for a couple says. "I ... " Penance starts to say, then stops. "I should wear them as-is. Mother Gorphat does not believe in cleaning too much, as it makes us weaker," she finishes.
"Well, do not tear yourself open and die while flying," the doctor warns. "I do not do temple callsss." Swix brings Penance her raiments.
It takes a long, long, time for Penance to dress, and test the range of motion she has; which turns out to be surprisingly a lot, much to her dismay. The fitting is likely permanent, and as it heals, it'll just get tougher and tougher over time. "Thank you for helping Mother Gorphat strengthen me," she tells the Doctor. "I suspect we will meet again, should Mother Gorphat decide I need to be stronger yet." Then she gingerly wraps her dirty wrappings over her freshly pierced (with a close to a hundred small hooks, by her count), and finally tries to leave to return to Gorphat's temple. As for her inner complaining 'friends', she'll have to manually work the males now, and inject herself until things heal more. As if things weren't annoying enough!