A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 293: Chapter 293 - Waiting

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He could see the others remained worried about Audumla suddenly showing up, so he tried to put them at ease. "There's no need to worry about this, alright? We know Audumla can't leave her dimension easily, so there's a good chance she won't come here, but even if she does… we'll notice in the next few minutes."

"Why in the next few minutes?" Alice asked anxiously.

"Because, according to our estimations, she'd be powerful enough to travel to anywhere on Earth in a manner of seconds," Erik said with a casual shrug. He wasn't exactly carefree—more resigned, as there was little they could do if Audumla did show up here.

A point that Astrid understood, and was quick to voice, "Which means we'd be far too slow to make a run for it as well."

"Exactly," Erik nodded. "Luckily, from what we know so far, she's either unable, or unwilling to leave the dimension she's likely holed up in, but there's likely nothing on Earth that could actually stop her. So… if she doesn't come here in the next few minutes, then that means that Eira's possible plight isn't important enough for her to leave that dimension."

At this point, he could feel an explosion of sadness and turmoil in Eira's emotions. He knew she was still listening to everything they were talking about, which is exactly why he suggested Audumla might not consider Eira important enough to forget everything else.

Erik contemplated the implications of undermining Eira's trust in Audumla. Despite his discomfort with the tactic, he saw its potential utility. 'It's impossible to know Audumla's actual reasoning, for now, however. Eira did call her mom after all, even if she doesn't remember…'

"So," Erik shrugged. "I suggest we simply wait here a few minutes, and if she doesn't show up, then we forget this ever happened and stop worrying about it."

Of course, that was easier said than done, but the women with him understood the sentiment, and nodded.

The next ten minutes were spent in anxiety filled silence, as they all wondered whether Audumla would show up or not… and what the consequences of her appearance would be.

After those ten minutes, however, Erik decided to put an end to the wait by slaking his own relieved sigh. "Alright, girls. She's not going to come, so you can all relax, and go back to what you were doing before."

Once again, a burst of sadness and loneliness burst forth from Erik's connection to Eira's feelings. Erik couldn't help but feel bad for the girl, but he knew this was necessary. Eira's loyalty to Audumla was dangerous, so long as he couldn't be sure about Audumla's intentions towards him, and this was a perfect opportunity to poke some holes into that loyalty.

And if he could convince Eira to swap that loyalty to him instead, then all the better.

To that end, he spoke to Eira through their bond, while careful to avoid apologizing, lest she shift all the blame to him, "This is not how I would have liked this to go, Eira. But I'm here if you want to talk."

No response came, but he did feel a flare up of positive emotions in his link with Eira, and decided to take that as a good sign.

Before the girls left, he turned to Alice with a smile, "After I get some rest I'll come find you to start that week of training I promised you, alright?"

Alice quickly perked up and nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, Teacher! I'll be ready for you!"

Despite the fact that there was an enticing spatial orb and associated affinity waiting for him, Erik decided to help Alice first. First of all, he had no idea how long it would take him to absorb this dimension, and second of all, he would need Elora to manage this structure while he did so. So until she woke up, he might as well do some other things first.

After most of the others had filed out of the room, it was only Erik and Emily left behind. He had told her to hang back through their link, because he intended to correct her behavior a little, while also having a little fun with her, and hopefully scoring some brownie points with Eira.

Emily looked a little uncomfortable, as this was the first time they had been alone again since the last time Erik punished her. 'Ugh, how the hell should I act around him now,' she groaned inwardly. Perhaps she would be a little more like her old self, if the look in Erik's eyes didn't tip her off to his devious intentions.

"What uhm— What can I do for you, Boss?" she asked, a little sheepishly.

"I see you've reserved that... other nickname for more private settings?" Erik chuckled, closing the distance between them with a measured, almost menacing gait.

Feeling a little intimidated, Emily swallowed, and slowly backed up until she hit the core room's wall. Here, she nodded slowly at this question while looking at Erik like he was a quickly approaching predator, itching to pounce.

When he reached her, Erik took her chin in his right hand, while planting his left against the wall next to her head, in an attempt to intimidate. An attempt that worked very well, in part due to the fact he was still wearing his intimidating new armor.

"I suppose that's fine," he grinned as he looked at Emily's unfocused eyes, showing a chaotic mix of emotions ranging from arousal to fear. "Do you know why I asked you to stay behind?"

"N— No?" she mumbled softly.

"Let me explain," he said, his tone softening as he moved his hand from her chin to gently encircle her throat. "I like your feisty personality, but it should be pointed at our enemies, not our allies. I don't want you addressing any of them in a disrespectful way, and that includes Eira, understood?"

As her repeated punishments had instilled a certain submissiveness towards Erik, she could now only nod quickly, "Y— Yes!"

"Yes, what?" he asked, with a slight smirk and while ever so slightly tightening the grip on her throat.

"Y— Yes, Daddy…" she squeaked, her voice full of lust, and her eyes filled with desire.

"Good girl," Erik smiled, before quickly letting her go and stepping back. "Now get out of here. When you're ready, I expect you to ask me politely for your third punishment, understood?"

Emily seemed slightly disappointed that their interaction didn't escalate further. She straightened up with a small pout and turned to leave the room. Erik, with a chuckle, playfully swatted her ass as she walked passed, causing Emily to yelp and blush, even while cursing her own emotions under her breath, "Why do I let him do this to me…"