Chapter 108

The first sight that met them, venturing out into the stone brick hallways of Mel’s shard, was vines. The entrance room had had a few, but not the bulky masses adorning the walls out in the shard proper.

Delta took one look at them, then turned a devious expression Zoey’s way. “Let me guess,” she said. “Those aren’t just vines.”

“They are,” Zoey said. “Just ... ones happy to show a girl a good time.”

“I’m jealous. If we weren’t in a hurry, I’d ask if I could have a round or two.”

“Honestly, we never got that chance, either,” Zoey said. The vines had gotten their hands—grips?—on her and Rosalie, but they hadn’t really, well, violated them.

“You didn’t?”

“They got us, but they didn’t do much.” Zoey cleared her throat. “Though they could’ve. Maybe because this is only a first advancement shard?” So it had been less perverted than it could be.

“Something’s wrong,” Rosalie said.

Which, of course, was a phrase that cut through her and Delta’s exchange. They faced Rosalie.

“Look at them,” Rosalie said. “They’re not like before.”

Frowning, Zoey looked closer.

And she was right. The mass of vines drooping down the stonebrick wall were behaving oddly. Erratically. Before, in their previous delve, they’d been practically sedate, at least up until the point they’d scooped her and Rosalie up. But now? They twitched in place. Not thrashing about, but visibly restless.

“What’d’you mean?” Delta asked. “Looks about what I’d expect from a bunch of perverted vines.” She snickered. “Maybe they’ve been neglected too long.”

“Mel said she might go ‘haywire’,” Zoey said. “That the damage might do stuff to her.” She hadn’t been clear on what that meant. “Think this is related? Or something else?”

“I don’t like the look of it,” Rosalie said.

“Maybe we can test it?” Delta suggested. “Quickest way to find out is hands-on, right?”

At two pairs of raised eyebrows, the fox-girl pouted.

“Please?” she said. “I’ll be quick. Rubbing up against blondie got me all worked up. And vines sound fun.”

Rosalie started sputtering, and Zoey just shook her head, exasperated.

Delta sighed, then waved Rosalie forward. They made a wide arc around the mass of vines. It wasn’t a particular subtle trap; they would have to disregard it entirely to be caught. Either out of ignorance, or intention, as Delta had wanted.

“So not fair,” the foxgirl muttered, eying the vines as they passed.

They hugged the wall, as far as possible from the trap. Doing so, it shouldn’t have attacked them, not by the previous standards of the shard.

But as Rosalie cleared the constricted portion of hallway, with Delta not past, and Zoey not quite entered into their range yet, the vines writhed, coming to life, then whipped out. Zoey stumbled a step backward, but they only had eyes for their nearest target.

Despite how Delta had been volunteering for this a second ago, she struggled as vines burst forward and wrapped around her ankles. She stumbled and fell, cursing, as more of the green ropes attacked, gripping her around her calves and thighs.

Zoey and Rosalie readied themselves to break their friend out, but Delta shouted, “Wait. Let’s see what happens.”

Zoey hesitated, a spell half-formed, and looked to Rosalie. Alarm was on her face, but if Delta was requesting it, then maybe seeing what happened was fine. It let them know what to expect for the rest of the shard. Plus, even with the advancement difference, breaking her out of a triggered trap could exacerbate the problem.

And maybe the two of them had more selfish reasons. Seeing their orange-haired companion’s thighs squeezed, and her breasts, wrapped with powerful vines, was far from something Zoey didn’t want to see.

In only a few short moments—the time she and Rosalie spent hesitating—Delta had been fully secured by plantlife and lifted into the air. She had struggled at the start, purely from surprise, but quickly relaxed into the encounter.

Zoey shared a look with Rosalie, uncertain. Rosalie considered, her lips pursing, then sighed and shrugged.

Delta could have her fun, then. Purposefully indulging would’ve been too indiscretionary, seeing how they were on a time limit, but the vines behaving oddly and lashing out—despite being outside their range—was something worth observing. Maybe it would reveal something to do with the ‘breakdown’ of the shard? Because traps shouldn’t be unavoidable, right? Especially for the low advancement environment they found themselves in. Last time, they’d only needed to pick carefully around the vines.

Those were excuses, though. The real reason Zoey let it happen was more obvious.

Zoey scooted past the mass of vines, trying to make it to Rosalie without getting scooped up herself. Fortunately, the plant’s attention was on Delta, now, as thick appendages wrapped around the foxgirl and squeezed.

Rosalie watched, concerned, eyes flicking between her and Delta, but Zoey made it across the edge unmolested.

“She’s a pervert,” Rosalie said simply. “She should at least pretend she doesn’t want it this much.”

Zoey politely didn’t mention that, for all Delta’s enthusiasm, it was actually Rosalie who Zoey had seen demonstrate more ... zealousness. Just, only when things got going, unlike Delta, whose demeanor matched both in the thick of things, and leading up to them.