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auberghyn · 5 months ago

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Somerbron Lake: A Romance (Part One)

Female Main Character x Male Monster Dark Romance - Sense of dread - Creepy Neighbors - Sick husband

The white halls of the hospital always seemed to go on forever. No matter how many times I trekked them, no matter how many times I stood at the nurses’ station. The hallways were an endless void of brightness I longed to get away from. But I stayed inside them, no matter how many times I had to come, no matter how long the stays were. James was all that mattered.

His health had never been the best. Even when we first started dating in college he had his occasional maladies. After the wedding there were a few months of bliss before everything took a turn. Long stays in the white halls were nothing new. Now though, it may be a long while before I have to walk them again.

“I heard you got a new place,” one of the nurses said as she helped me gather James’ things.

I smiled at her, having come to know the nursing staff very well over the years. “I have! It's very close to the specialist James has been referred to. It’s near a lake as well, so James can fish while he recovers.”

The nurse gave a heavy sigh of relief. “It’ll be good for him to have a change of scenery.” She glanced out the window at the city skyline. “Perhaps some cleaner air will help those lungs of his.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for too.” I folded up his blanket and kept it close to my chest, looking over all the stitches I’ve made to it. “We’re lucky.”

The nurse gave me a look, a look I’m sure she’s given a thousand times in a thousand ways. How I’m able to say lucky with a straight face and not burst into tears, I’m sure she knows my tone and hopefulness too well.

“Yes. Of course you are.” She patted my shoulder. “Let me go get you an extra bag for that. Keep it clean while you travel.”

“Thank you.” I took a deep breath as she left and turned to the window. The city was all I knew. James had some experience in the country, what with his parent’s summer home. I knew this was all for the best. James would be closer to his doctor, surrounded by clean air, and better yet we wouldn’t have to remain in this hospital. He’d have a nurse come by every day to check on him.

“There she is.”

I saw James come wheeling into the room on his own. He smiled up at me, pale, frail, but still so handsome it’d take your breath away.

“There he is,” I responded in chipper joy. I went to him, kneeling down to give him a kiss. “Still in the clear?”

“Yes!” James announced brightly. He braced his hands tightly on the arms of the wheelchair, wobbling as he stood up on his feet. “The doctor said, if this keeps up, I should be back to myself by the end of the year.”

“Wouldn’t that be a miracle?” I sighed.

James shook his head. “Not a miracle, hard work.” He looked at his suitcase on the bed. “I can’t believe I finally get to go.”

I stood behind him, resting my forehead between his shoulder blades. His bones poked through his shirt, he’d lost so much weight. He’d been so burly when we first met. This gentle, hairy giant with the most handsome face you’d ever seen. Now, he was a scarecrow of his former self. Meanwhile, the stress of it all had put weight on me. I didn’t feel like the dainty swimmer he’d fallen in love with. I couldn’t even remember the last time I touched water not in a glass or bowl.

James turned and wrapped his arms around me as tightly as he could. “I love you, Lori McLeod.”

I returned the embrace, hugging him as tight as I could. “I love you, James McLeod.”

He nuzzled to my hair, chuckling softly. “Well, are we ready for this new chapter?” He stood back, looking me in the eyes. “The new house all ready?”

I nodded. “Should be. Your mother said she got everything moved in for us. By the time we get there, we should have a made bed and full fridge to take care of us.”

“See? Now aren’t you glad you married for money?” He teased.

I scoffed. “You stop saying that! It’s bad enough you got the nurses thinking I was some gold digger with all your teasing!”

James smiled, which never lost its strong allure. “I cleared it up, didn’t I? Besides, they could tell right away you were an angel.”

I just glared at him.

Kissing my forehead, James also ran his fingers through my hair. “I’m the one who married up,” he whispered into my ear.

The tears welled up and I held him again, resting my head on his chest and listening to that heart beating away as strongly as it could. Stay that way, I commanded it, stay that way.

The nurses gave us a send off, giving us cards and small packages of homemade treats to keep us satisfied on the trip to our new home. The old car was filled to the brim with what was left of our belongings. Most everything else was moved to the new home where James’ mom was getting it ready and decorated.

“What was the name of this place again?” James asked as he ate another cookie from one of the nurses. “Slumber Lake? Sombering Lake?”

“Somerbron Lake,” I corrected him. “It’s a cute place. From what I’ve seen of it I mean. Small town. Not very many people. The lake is beautiful.”

James nodded, chewing a mouthful.

“I’m glad to see you have an appetite again,” I said with relief.

“I’m starving.” He then reached into his shirt pocket. “Look what Nurse Grant gave me?” He pulled out a clear baggy filled with muted green.

“James!” I nearly swerved off the road. “Really? Pot?”

“She said it would help.” He looked over the bag. “What are you so shocked for. We did it in college.”

“I wish you had told me you had that on you!” I snapped. “If you mother sees you have that on you, she’ll-”

“Oh, hush.” He tucked the baggy back into his pocket. “What’s she going to do, have Dad take the house away?”

I remained silent, a little flustered he would spring that on me.

“It’ll be nice to relax,” he said.

“Maybe,” I grumbled.

He reached out and petted my thigh. “It’s been a while since we shared a bed together. Man and wife and all that.” He squeezed and it tickled.

“James!” I laughed. “Your doctor said-”

“I don’t want to fuck him,” he said in a low, sultry voice.

I almost drove off the road again. “James!” I was squealing with girlish giggles.

Somerbron Lake took a dirt road that was well worn by years and years of travel. The road was surrounded by large trees and lush greenery. Then, it opened up, revealing the large, sparkling lake surrounded by willow trees.

“Looks creepy,” James murmured.

I scoffed. “It does not.”

His face shifted, getting a somewhat serious glint. “You don’t think it looks haunted at all? All those trees around it-”

“Those are willows,” I chuckled. “We’ll get to go swimming! You can fish all you want. It’s wonderful.”

James kept quiet. “I’m sure when the sky clears up, it’ll look much better. The gray and clouds don’t do it any favors. It doesn’t look very swimmable.”

As we drove around the lake I slowed the car down and pointed. On the opposite side you could see a few houses along the shore. “Okay, wait for it,” I said softly. “There. That’s one. The yellow one. See it?”

James rolled down his window and leaned out. “The little one?”

“It’s bigger than it looks. But that’s it, that's our new home.”

“I didn’t realize it was that close to the lake,” James breathed out. “I can literally walk out the door to it.”

“Right?” I giggled. “We can probably get a dock built if we wanted.” I sped the car back up while James remained fixated on our little house.

We came upon the town, where the road was roughly paved. I had already taken note of the shops there, everything was pretty basic and small. There was a large general store, but if James and I wanted to get most things we’d have to drive out of town.

“Quaint,” James said.

“Huh?”

He leaned towards the windshield. “The town. It’s quaint. I guess that’s the best word for it.”

“It’s charming for sure. There’s a tool store if you want to start back building dollhouses. I think there’s also a fabric store.”

James furrowed his brow as he watched shops and faces pass us by. “Won’t have the shopping you're used to.”

“Shut up,” I sneered at him. “If anyone is the shopper around here, it’s you! Spoiled little mama’s boy.”

“Offensive!” He mocked clutching pearls.

We both laughed, coming out of town and onto a narrow little road which would take us to our new home. Along the way we passed the park, where there was a small playground and a fake beach for swimming. It was empty, save for a man standing before the swings, pushing an empty one and watching it go forward.

“That’s weird,” James muttered.

I was driving, so I didn’t get a very good look at the man. “Don’t judge. He could be waiting on his family to get there.”

No one was at the house when we arrived. But James' mom had left a note saying she’d be back by the end of the day.

“Good! We’re alone.” James smirked as he read over the note.

I was holding a couple of bags in my hands. “Well go on, use the key then.”

James unlocked the door then stopped. He looked at me, his eyes flicking up and down before a smile came to his lips. “Set those down. There’s something I should do.”

“James, no-” I tried to stop him, but he was reaching for me. He tried to scoop me up to carry me over the threshold. “James! James, wait, you’re-!”

He managed to get the door open while holding me. He stumbled, bracing against the doorframe. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry.”

He was weak and healing, I had gained all this weight. He got me inside though, and despite his best efforts to keep me aloft, he had to set me down just barely inside the doorframe. He was huffing and puffing, frustrated with how his body no longer worked the way it once did.

I looked at him, waiting for him to raise his head again and walk inside. He didn’t look me in the eye, but he stepped into our new home. I grabbed the bags and closed the door.

“Let me give you the grand tour.” I took hold of his hand as he stood in the foyer. “It’s a beautiful place.”

But he didn’t budge as I tried to lead him. He was looking around the foyer, his eyes unfocused, still breathing heavily.

“James? Are you alright?”

Focusing his eyes, he looked back down at me. “Maybe we could rest for a bit? I trust you in that the house is perfect for us. We have our whole lives to look at it. Right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Uhm…I had your mom renovate the living room to be a bedroom. Just over here.”

“Downstairs?” James balked. “What for?”

“Well, just in case anything were to happen. It would be easier for you to-” He opened the french doors into the room and I stood there.

“I appreciate the thought,” he mumbled. “But I was looking forward to that bit of normalcy.”

I followed him into the room, which was dark with all the curtains closed. The once large living room was now sectioned off, with part of it taken up by the king bed, another which his mother had turned into closets for us both. I had asked the walls to be painted a dark color, and luckily she had listened to me. The dark green was wonderful. Our apartment had bright white walls like the hospital. I wanted to sleep somewhere dark.

“Isn’t it nice?” I asked.

James sat down on the edge of the bed. “I am not going to be like this forever,” he muttered. He looked down at his hands. “I promise you, I’m not. I’ll be better by the end of the year. I’ll be strong again. I won’t be this sick, disgusting-”

“Stop right there!” I growled at him.

There was silence between us, and then there was a knock at the door.

James huffed. “Already?”

“You stay here. I’ll go see who it is.” I closed the bedroom door behind me as I went back to the foyer. From the frosted glass I could see the person who was standing there looked quite tall.

“Hello!” She sang from the other side. “It’s your new neighbor.”

I opened the door a crack to peek outside. The woman there was tall and strong looking. She had thick arms and wore heavy duty overalls with dirty gardening gloves in the pocket.

“Hi! I’m Jane Lancaster. I live right over there.” She pointed to the big blue house that was up a road from us, barely hidden by the willow trees. “Welcome to Somerbron.” She held out her hand.

“Hi,” I murmured. “I’m Lori McLeod.” I took her hand, which was shockingly cold.

Jane shook my hand heartily. “Your mother in law has been telling me about you.” She looked into the house. “Where’s that husband of yours?”

“Resting.” I said. I found it a bit strange how she was trying to use her grip to push me into the house. “I uhm-” I then noticed behind Jane, on the road to the house, there was a man standing there. He was quite tall as well, had long string hair, and a pale, stark face where the eyes were shadowed.

“I bet it was a long trip,” Jane chuckled. She finally let go of my hand and sighed. “Well, I just wanted to let you know if you or your husband needed anything, you can sure as heck count on me.” She smiled and I couldn’t help but notice how perfect her teeth were. They were eerily white and straight.

The man had gotten closer, standing at the foot of the porch. He was holding onto the banister with both hands, which were long and bony.

“Oh, Lachlan,” Jane’s tone sounded less cheerful, more surprised. “What are you doing out this way?”

The man stepped onto the porch, and the way he moved made me think he was not of this world. There was a strange grace to him and a hindrance in the air that carried his limbs.

“I came to meet our newest resident.” He turned to me, seeming to not even acknowledge Jane’s presence. He turned to me, holding out both his hands. Tilting my head up to look at him, I saw his eyes, set deeply and wide in his head. They were the most stunning blue I had ever seen, surrounded by long, thick lashes. His cheeks were sunken, and his chin jutted out. Something about him, I’m not sure what it was, stole my breath away. I was struck by some realization or dawning as I gazed at him, and it made me uneasy.

“Hello,” I murmured. “I’m Lori.” I placed my hand into his and he took it with both palms.

“Lori,” he drew it out as if savoring the flavor. “So that’s what it is now.”

I shook my head. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing,” he let out a raspy laugh. “Just compared to the last owner of this house.” His hands were also very cold, much like Jane’s. Maybe I am just hot. “I am Lachlan Mortimer.”

“Nice to meet you.” I found myself reciprocating his grasp. “I’m sorry, I’d invite you both in, but my husband and I are wanting to rest a bit.”

Lachlan seemed shaken. His eyes widened and he took a step back. “I see.” He still didn’t release my hands. “Well, moving can be a difficult task.”

Jane looked Lachlan up and down. “You should introduce us to your husband when he’s up to the task.”

I looked between them. “Are you two-”

“No!” Lachlan seemed offended and Jane took a few steps away from him. “No. No, of course not.” He muttered and mumbled something else under his breath. “I am unattached, you see.”

“Oh,” I murmured. I looked to Jane who was dusting off her overalls. “Do you live nearby then?” I asked him.

“Close,” he nodded, but I got no real straight answer. “Close enough to hear you call should you ever need me.”

I chuckled. “Oh, I see.”

Lachlan let go of my hands and bowed to me. “Consider me your newest friend here. I will do all I can for you, Lori.” He said my name in that savoring way again.

“Yes, well, it was nice to meet you both,” I waved. “But I should get back and check to see if my husband is alright. Thank you.”

Lachlan smiled, revealing those almost too perfect teeth, just like Jane had. “Have a good day. I hope we will get to spend more time together as you live your happy life here.”

I smiled at him, gripping the door in my hand. “Yes. That sounds very nice.”

I shook my head, trying to shake the unsettling weight that had rested on me the moment I met Lachlan. How strange it was, because for some reason, with no explanation at all that I could give, I felt as if I knew him. From the moment I saw his eyes I could have sworn I knew him all my life. But it was impossible. I had never met a man as unearthly as he appeared. Yet still, it lingered, that feeling. I wanted to see him again.

But why?

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auberghyn · 5 months ago

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Sockeye salmon, if he was just a little buddy

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auberghyn · 5 months ago

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Elazar the Ifrit

Female Reader x Male Monster (both cis) Hurt comfort - long lost lovers - 18+ - 3147 words

“Sister!” A loud voice beckons to you.

You raise your head, looking up from pulling weeds. Another sister from the monastery is fast approaching, hiking up her skirts to run towards you. You were working in the garden patch planted amongst the old ruins of the previous monastery. It was almost time for the harvest, and you wanted everything pristine.

“Calm down!” You beckon, standing up and wiping your hands upon your apron. “What on earth is the ruckus?” You laughed.

The younger sister came up panting, a look of panic in her wide, naive eyes. “There’s a man!”

You tried your best to hold back your laughter. “A man you say? You know we do allow them here, Sister Gwen?”

Gwen gave you a look. “Not just any man! I’m not exactly sure what kind of man he is!” She shyly folded her hands over her wrinkled skirt. “I’ve never seen a man quite like his ilk.”

You furrowed your brow. “Do tell, Sister Gwen?” You made her lead you back towards the monastery, where you noticed sisters gathered around and whispering, talking amongst themselves. Towards the entrance, they were gathered around the foyer entrance, peering through the cracks of the hinges.

“Goodness, what are all of you-” You stopped cold in your tracks when you saw this man standing in the entrance. “Looking at?” Your breath was taken away.

Gwen hurried off and left you standing there before the massive ifrit. It wasn’t just that the man was an ifrit, it was also because you recognized him.

“Elazar?” You breathed, standing there gawking in your gardening attire.

The giant ifirit broke into a huge grin and the flames that flowed through his form burned brighter. “It is you!” He rushed forward, grabbing you up and swinging you around. His embrace was as warm as you remember it. Though he was softer now in certain ways.

“Elazar!” You laughed. “Elazar! Careful!”

The sisters were now gathered around the door gawking as Elazar swung you around like a doll. He set you down after a second and you huffed, smoothing out your clothes. You got a better look at him now, not one of shock at seeing your old friend. Not much had changed about him, although you noticed his hair was much longer and looked like liquid amber. The plates of his body also looked thicker as the veins of magma under his skin seemed much thinner than you remember. But the biggest change of all was that one of his horns was broken. The large outwardly pointed things had been his pride and joy back in the day. Now one was broke close to his forehead.

“What are you doing here?” You asked squealed with excitement.

“Me? What about you?” He laughed.

You placed your hands upon your hips and gave him a stern look. “I look over this place from my master. I’m a Sister of the All Seeing Goddess.” You then broke into a bright smile.

Elazar just stared blankly at you, his jaw slightly dropped open. “You’re serious.”

You clicked your tongue and smacked his side. “Follow me. I’ll get you something to eat and we can catch up.” You gave the sisters a look, waving them aside as you led Elazar through the monastery.

Elazar ducked his head in the doorway. “I knew you grew up here, but I had no idea you’d ever come back.”

You took him through the chapel and back through to the dining hall. “Then how come you’re here? After all this time?”

“I’ve been trying to find you. I thought this would be a place to start.” Elazar said with a proud chuckle. He turned to look out the great windows, seeing the ruins outside.

“And why are you looking for me?” You went to the ovens towards the back grabbing some apples, cheese, and cured ham to serve him.

Elazar’s eyes were focused outside. “Is that your garden out there?” he asked.

“Yes, in fact, it is.” You set the food down upon a table. “The pumpkin patch in the ruins is big money for the monastery. It’s a local tradition, you see. There’s a festival and everything, and that patch is the main attraction!” You pluck up an apple and begin peeling it.

Elazar turned back to you. “It’s lovely. Especially with how nice the fall weather has been.” He sat down at the table with you.

“It’s made taking care of it much more bearable.” You look away from the apple and into his eyes. “So, why are you here? Afraid to answer me?” You smirked at him, expecting some sort of fun exchange.

“Yes! Actually,” he said with a bright smile.

You sighed heavily. You wanted it to be fun, but you knew there was something wrong. The way he looked, you couldn’t deny it. “So you didn’t just miss me?”

“I mean, I do.” Elazar replied. His long black tongue darted from his mouth and licked along the sides of his large chops. “I’ve missed everyone from the old party. Even if we split up on less than kind terms.”

You sniffed as a flicker of those days tickled the back of your thoughts. “Yes, well, that is what good times are for. Missing.”

Elazar cleared his throat. “I’m sick.”

You stopped peeling the apple and the knife nearly fell from your hand. “How sick?” You stood up from your seat. “What’s going on?”

Elazar reached up, touching the stump where his horn had been. “I didn’t want you to worry or anything but-”

You set upon him, studying his horn and looking him over. “Don’t tell me how to feel. Now tell me what is wrong.”

“Okay, mom.”

You glared down deep into his bright, ruby like eyes. “I told you to never call me that again. Old times or not.”

Elazar smiled shyly. “It was for old times sake.” He then let out a beleaguered breath. “It’s an old ifirit illness. It’s called soot rot.”

“I was afraid of that.” You brushed your hand down his arm. “That explains the thickening of your skin.”

He nodded. “I thought I had it under control, but then…well-”

“Your horn.” You smoothed your hand back up the side of his neck and cupped his face in your hand. “You let it get too bad.”

He nodded, ashamed. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to!” You barked at him. “What have you been doing while this has progressed?” You snapped at him.

He shrugged. “What I always do.”

You rolled your eyes and stepped away. “You really did come at a perfect time,” you grumbled. “You need to bathe in volcanic springs. Luckily one is nearby, but not near enough,” you scowled at him. “To take you there I’m going to have to leave my charges alone during our busiest time.”

“You can just tell me where it is, you don’t have to leave.” Elazar murmured.

You raised your hand up to him, showing the tattooed pattern on your palm symbolizing your oath. “No. It’s my job to care for the sick.” You picked the apple and knife back up to continue peeling. “Besides, the path to the volcanic spring isn’t an easy one to describe. I lead a journey up there every few months for people who need it’s healing powers.” You gave him a grim look. “If you had been here a month ago-”

“I know. I know,” he sighed.

You threw the peeled apple at him and he caught it. “We’ll leave in the morning. That’ll give me time to prepare myself and the sisters.”

Elazar released a relieved sigh. “Thank you.”

“Nothing to thank.” You murmured and picked at some cured meat. Your mind was churning away. The trip would be a few days, and Elazar would need to rest in the volcanic spring for quite some time. By the time you got back, maybe, just maybe, you could help finish preparations for the festival and harvest.

But then the old memories came flooding back. Time spent with Elazar and the party. Time spent alone with Elazar. You may have been a sister, but being away from the monastery and a watchful eye let you be free, a little wild. You and Elazar had been the closest out of the whole party. Very close.

Those feelings never really went away when you came home to take over for your ailing master.

You didn’t like leaving your girls with such a burden, but they were all supportive and assured you they could handle things. They prepared your things for the journey, and happily sent you off after breakfast in the morning.

“They all seem nice.” Elazar was walking in stride with you on the path towards the mountain.

“I couldn’t ask for a better bunch!” You announced proudly with your whole chet. “Unlike my master who was dealt a rather wild hand,” you laughed.

“Having your as her prime pupil must have took a few years off her life,” Elazar chuckled.

“That’s what she said before she died!” You laughed. “Right before telling me I was her greatest achievement. She had a way.” You sighed at her memory.

Elazar took in a deep breath. “Doesn’t this feel great?” He held a hand out, touching a high branch on a tree, making the leaves fall. “Like old times! Better yet, the weather is great, the fall colors are beautiful-”

You clicked your tongue at him. “Remember! This isn’t one of our old sightseeing missions. You’re sick!”

Elazar chuckled. “Yeah, but I ain’t gotta think sick. What’s going on with you? You used to be more jovial than this. Has working as a Sister of the All Seeing Goddess made you a stick in the mud.”

You were near the bridge leading to the main part of the trail. You stopped and looked up at him. “How dare you? I am jovial! They call me the Laughing Sister.” You then sighed and unclenched your jaw. “Seeing you has brought back a lot of things, Elazar, and it’s making me nervous.”

“Nervous?” Elazar furrowed his thick brow.

“Yes.” You started trekking across the bridge.

“What? Because we used fuck?”

You turned and stared up at him with as big of eyes as you could muster. “Be quiet. It’s good for healing.”

A sinister smile appeared on Elazar’s lips. He followed close behind you on the bridge. “So not that you’re a full time Sister, you don’t partake anymore?”

You bit the inside of your cheek and kept quiet.

“You never seemed to care about those vows when we were out on the road together. I’ve never met someone who could exhaust me before you.”

You remained quiet, trying to ignore him as you stepped onto the volcanic path which was covered in bright red leaves.

“So how long as it been? Since we split?”

You glanced back at him. “That is none of your business.”

Elazar laughed. “We’ll be alone together for a few days. I don’t mind lending myself to your needs, sweet Sister.”

“Okay.”

Elazar went quiet. “Wait? Really?”

You turned to him, turning on your Sister wisdom to impress him and stump him. “Part of soot rot is that you’re not creating enough heat to thin out the plates on your body. Your heat can’t escape so it stays dull. You need to exert energy in order to heat yourself back up. You can either exhaust yourself by fighting, working out, doing repetitive tasks, or fucking.” You glanced back at him with your own sinister smile. “Soaking for a few hours in the spring to soften the plates then fucking as hard as you can will be the best way to find relief.”

Elazar looked happy and shocked all at once. “And that’s okay?”

Your smirk continued to broaden. “Sisters of the All Seeing Goddess are encouraged to take care of people anyway we can. And just for your information, I fucked an ailing minotaur last week.”

Elazar licked across his teeth and shivered. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

He used to like watching you seduce others. “Maybe I will. But for now, worry about your own damn self.”

The bright fall colors of the trees changed the higher you went up. They were brown and red around the base, but the further you climbed the more they turned to bright yellow and gold. By the time you reached the top, it was night. The volcanic springs glowed from below, lighting your way as you reached the cabin.

“I suggest you go ahead and soak before you go to sleep.” You said as you unlocked the cabin door. “Just to get yourself started. I’ll make us something to eat.”

Elazar grabbed your shoulder. “Thank you for this.”

You placed your palm over his hand. “You’re my friend. I’d do anything to help you.” You smiled up at him. “It’ll be nice to…reconnect.”

He nodded eagerly. “Yeah! It will.”

Of course he was excited, you thought. Then again, you couldn’t deny your own growing thrill.

That night, sleep came easy as the hike had been exhausting. The next day, after a quick breakfast, you took Elazar back out to the spring. Naked, you joined him, helping him to bathe and showing him a few techniques to allow the spring to work towards his favor.

“Just relax like that for a while.” You got out of the water, checking to make sure your hair was still up and dry. “Meditate as best as you can.”

“Will be hard with this view in my mind.”

You looked towards the mountain peacocks covered in all the colors of fall. You then realized he meant you. “Oh har har.” You put on your robe then took a seat near the springs. You took out a book.

“So tell me about this minotaur you helped.” He kicked his legs in the water.

“You’re supposed to be meditating.”

“Is it true that minotaurs are big?” He teased. “I know Rakshasa are. I had a nice weekend with the prince of the capital, you know?”

You looked up from your book, gawking. “Prince Himank?”

He chuckled smugly.

You clicked your tongue. “Yes, well, the minotaur was certainly the biggest I had ever had.”

“Bigger than me?” He joked back.

“Mmm,” you moaned, biting your lip.

Elazar turned around and smirked at you. “Bigger than that orc in the thief lands?”

You wiggled your eyebrows.

The fire behind his plates flickered bright. Good, that’s what he needed to do. “Tell me, babe. Come on.”

You sighed, shutting your book. “I told you to meditate.”

“You know I’m not smart enough to do that shit.” He wiggled in the water, turning and placing his arms upon the bank. “You have to tell me.”

You licked your lips. “Let’s just say I’ve not felt such…triumph in a long time.”

Elazar growled. “And what did you fuck him for?”

“He came in with a broken leg. He needed to soak in the waters to relieve some pain. I fucked him because I wanted to.”

“Still got the wild libido, huh?”

You exhaled as that dull ache was becoming a full blown need. “Yes.”

Elazar stood up out of the water, his cock pronounced and hard. Veins of bright magma flowed red and yellow through it, matching the colors of the leaves all around you. “Me too.”

You flaked your eyes from the tip of his throbbing magma cock to his eyes. “You need to soak more.”

“I need you more,” he snarled.

You were snatched up, grabbed and pressed against a tree. You gasped in surprise before he pressed kisses to your lips, your neck, your chest. He was so warm. You missed this feeling.

“I need you. I need you!” He whined pathetically. “It’s been so long!”

“What about that prince?” You panted between heavy kisses.

Elazar’s cock began prodding at you from below. “He wasn’t you,” he said through gnashed teeth. He held up your legs, moving you down so his tip rubbed against your folds.

You clung to Elazar, holding your breath as he penetrated you. That warmth! Oh, it’ still felt the same. But was he somehow bigger? He felt thicker.

“Oh my goddess,” Elazar whined again.

“Don’t bring her into this,” you grunted. “Fuck. You’re so hot.”

Elazar chuckled. “Good! That’s what we wanted.” He thrusted up, pushing deeper inside and shoving you back into the tree. Leaves rattled and fell, cascading down around the two of you. Some caught fire on Elazar’s shoulders.

Each thrust brought down more leaves and took you back in time when you were young, when you were traveling. Elazar was stronger somehow, better than in his prime. Perhaps this was his prime now. He certainly felt better than in youth. But maybe that was hopeful thinking.

You noticed chunks of his plates falling away as his fire burned brighter. He was nearly as yellow as the trees around you. He was certainly glowing like the sun.

“Good! Yes!” You panted to him. “Keep going! Don’t stop!”

“You still have you appetite,” he moaned. “Oh! I may not last.”

Grabbing hold of his one horn you shook his head. “You will! I demand it!”

The look in his eyes was sweet and soft. He would find the strength to keep going, every leaf would be knocked from the tree by the time he was done. There wouldn’t be a leaf left on the mountain the way you planned to make up for lost time.

“Sister! You’re back!” You were greeted at the ruins by the other Sisters. They hugged you and welcome you before going back to work on preparing the ruins.

“You look so much better, sir!” A sister said to Elazar.

“Do I?” he chuckled. “Your Sister worked her magic on me.”

Sisters around you giggled knowingly. You gave them all a look a tapped your finger to your smirk.

“Maybe I can help you next time, sir,” the Sister said suggestively.

Elazar grinned. “That’s up to your big Sister.” He approached you, leaning down. “Maybe I should stay and help with the festival?”

“Some strong hands might be nice.” You pinched his wrist and gave him a warning look. “You still have some chipping away to do.” You looked at his broken horn, seeing it was already beginning to grow back. It would take half a year to return to normal, but by then, you might be willing to let him go.

“How about I show you how to harvest pumpkins?” You asked him. “You can carry them better than we can.”

Elazar grinned. “Anything to repay your kindness.”

The sisters all giggled and laughed again. Perhaps you let things slide unlike your mentor, but it seemed to make everyone happier.

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auberghyn · 6 months ago

Text

Goro the Merman

It's Mermay! And I have for you a wonderful story of a girl and the merman who terrorizes the beach she is supposed to watch over. (I just watched Zoolander so I'm trying not to make a joke.) Female Reader x Male Merman

There’s loud screaming coming from the beach. You look up towards the window, rushing over as you pull back the curtains. To see a crowd rushing from sandy dunes, some falling over in panic. You scoff, frustrated as you know exactly what has happened. You go outside, taking down the wrap around your hair.

“It’s alright, people! It’s alright!” You shout out to the crowd. “Go to the awning over there, yeah, the green one!” You instruct people where to go after being frightened like that. Storming down the beach, you come to the lapping waves.

“I know you’re out there!” You snap your hands upon your hips. “I’m waiting!”

Something inky black rises to the surface. Then glittering gemstones of eyes look at you. You can tell he’s smirking under the water.

“Goro.” you say sternly.

Bubbles rise up from the water as he laughs.

You lick your tongue along the edge of your teeth and tsk. “What did we just talk about? I told you that this is-”

“A rest stop for the weary,” Goro hissed as he raised his head further out of the water. The black tendrils that covered the top of his head continued to float along the surface. “A beach for the weak. Sands for healing.”

You had been trying to hide the full brunt of your annoyance, but your scowl always came through. He is testing you, because reaction is what he craves. Even the smallest scowl gives him glee.

“That is not my prerogative.” Gor came up onto the beach, stretching out his long tail. The end looked like ripped fabric, going into many various strands and length. On land it looked like wet cloth, but underwater, you were sure it was a spectacle of brilliance.

“I asked you a favor!” Your balled fist thumps against your temple. “This beach earns me my income and you are-”

His mouth split into a great big smile, revealing many rows of teeth. His bright green eyes flashed in the darkness of his scales. He was midnight incarnate, and his scales shone like an aurora borealis.

“I’ll be gone soon enough,” you quickly said before he could add anything. “I run the lighthouse until the first frost.”

Goro’s smile is replaced by something else, something less menacing but more telling. “If not you, then some other fool. Then another, and another.”

“That’s how this job works. Keep the lighthouse, guard the beach, and don’t discourage the travelers!” You put your hands back to your waist. “That includes watching you.”

Goro cracked his neck and pushed his tendrils back from his face. “I am an attraction, same as the sands.”

You narrowed your eyes upon him. “Behave. That is what I am asking you.” You then bent over and snatched a handful of the magic sands. “You’re just lucky I needed more of this to study.”

Goro snickered. “To study. Right!”

You turn to head back to the landing where all the people have gathered.

Behind you, Goro sighed. “I know the secrets to the sand, but no one ever asks me nothing.”

“What are you going on about?” You huff as you face him again.

Goro smirks, his scales shimmering teal then to purple against the black. “Everyone is so curious about how the sand here has healing properties, but they never think to ask me why.”

You rolled your eyes. “Okay then, why?”

He tapped a finger to his wide mouth. “Family secret.”

You asked and got what you expected. “Behave, Goro,” you said sternly. “I won’t tell you again!”

“And then what will you do?” He teased.

You gave him one last look before heading back up the beach to tell the travelers all was safe. Goro was a menace, but he wasn’t dangerous. A fighter, perhaps, but he wasn’t a flesh eater.

Once people were calmed and taken care of, you went back to work. The healing sands were well known, and many had tried uncovering the secrets it hid. Back at your old apothecary, you used to make potions with it all the time. That was, until your apothecary fired you when your experiments blew up the laboratory.

But that’s okay! The lighthouse and beach keeper position was great! You got to study the sand directly from the source, and the lab you made was in a bunker, so if there was an explosion again, you would be the only one harmed by it.

Still, your post here was limited. Once it began to grow cold and the froth on the beach turned to ice, you would be moved off the island and back to the mainland. Which was fine by you, you were never one for the cold, and you had plans to go study spices in Rakshasa Country. You would be surrounded by other students varying from chefs, healers, and your kind. Your only constant company here on the island was Goro, and you had been warned about him.

The previous beach keeper had dealt with Goro for three seasons before giving up. This was your first season, and while Goro was a nuisance, you couldn’t understand why he would make someone leave the island.

Early mornings were your favorite time to go to the beach. The sky was dusky, the air crisp, and there was no one there. You would walk the beach, studying the sands and watching the waves. Whatever gave the sand their healing properties had to come from the ocean, but that was an even bigger mystery.

“Walking all by yourself?”

Above you, Goro was lounging upon some smooth boulders. His cheek rested on his arms, and his eyes focused upon you.

“I won’t bother you if you don’t bother me,” you grunted.

“Awww, how come?” Goro’s tail swished back and forth upon the stone.

“I’m a little busy,” you tell him.

Goro sat up and stretched, yawning loudly, stretching open his mouth to show the sharp teeth inside. “Doing what?” He smirked down upon you. “Making sandcastles?”

You frowned, kicking down a heap of sand you had built. “Just doing some thinking. That’s all part of studying.”

Goro slid down from the rocks and relaxed upon the sands. He grabbed a handful of the sand then let it run through his fingers. “Is thinking what turned your hair green?”

You reached up and touched your hair, gently smoothing it back. “No. A potion I make does it.”

Goro snickered. “You’d fit in better under the water with hair like that. It’s perfect camouflage for hiding in the kelp.” he seemed to pose, raising his long arms above his head then puffing out his chest. There was a stretch of skin along his belly and chest, a soft flesh area that was dark, but flecked with pale speckles.

“Bigger mystery than the sand is why you’re here.”

Goro gave you the most confused and agitated look. “What?”

You shrugged at him. “I don’t know! Seems like a merman like you would have better things to do than stalk around this island, scaring travelers and making extra work for the beach keepers.”

He narrowed his eyes upon you. “These are my home waters. You and your kind are the ones trespassing, if anything.”

“And that may be true. But where are the others?” You motioned out towards the ocean. “If we are such a problem, how come you’re the only one making noise about it?” The ocean lapped quietly at the shore.

Scoffing, Goro rose up. “Noise wouldn’t even begin to describe what I could do.”

You just kept your eyes locked upon him as he slithered down the beach towards the water.

“Maybe one day, you’ll see!” Goro splashed into the ocean, vanishing under the waves that were shaded pink by the sky.

You let out a long sigh before Nara, a kobold whose family made their money by selling the sands, came walking out. Her family was who hired you and all the beach keepers before you.

“Good morning!” She sang.

“Good morning,” you grumbled.

“How is Goro?” Nara knelt down on the sands, drawing a symbol upon it before kneeling her head down to pray over it.

You pouted slightly. “I honestly don’t know.”

Nara rose back up and began using a special scoop to fill her dried gourd. “We used to play together as kids, you know?”

“You never told me that.”

“I suppose we don’t get to talk much outside of business things.” She filled her gourd then stood with it, holding it by the weaved handle. “He’s the only male of his colony, so he’s sent away a lot.”

You furrowed your brow. “How come?”

“To find gifts,” he answered. “That’s why he comes to the beach all the time.”

Well, that answered a question or two. “Is that why he is such a pest?” You followed Nara along the beach towards her family’s home and workshop.

“I know I warned you that he could be a lot to handle. Has he been causing any trouble lately?” She asked.

“Scaring travelers,” you muttered.

Nara’s brow knit together and she hummed.

“What?”

Nara shook her head. “That’s rather well behaved for Goro. Is that really all he is doing? He’s not chasing away? Throwing fish? Tying people’s feet together with kelp?”

You made a face. “No! He’s done that?”

“He dragged the last beach keeper into the ocean one time.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “He really put the last one through some things.”

You were a bit shocked. Goro had never behaved like that towards you. Sure he was annoying, but that was the extent of it.

“If you like it here though, we wouldn't mind keeping you on through the cold season.” Nara walked up the stairs to the workshop.

“Really? I thought the beach was closed.”

“It does.” Nara led you inside where he mother and father were bickering over something, laughing while they did. “But you’re trained in potion making and apothecary stuff right?”

You nodded, instantly greeted with a warm beverage from Nara’s sister.

“We’ve been wanting to expand our business for some time, but we’ve not come across anyone with your expertise.”

You were flattered! “I wouldn’t call myself that,” you laughed shyly.

Nara’s smile brightened. “Think about it. I know you have that study in Rakshasa Country. Trust me, I’d rather spend the cold days there than here. But if you did, there’s a lot we’d love to discuss with you.”

“The study is for just a month,” you murmured. “Maybe I could come back early once it’s complete. Then I could have my own ideas based on what I’ve learned there.”

“We can discuss it further!” Nara cheered. “That sounds like a perfect idea. Get a break from the beach, become inspired.”

You were…relieved? Strange. You would think you’d be eager to leave the island. But over the last couple of months, it’s become a home. Even after you were outcast from the best job you ever had. Maybe that job wasn’t so great?

That evening you went out to check the traps to get something for dinner. That’s where you noticed the trap was ripped to shreds.

“Ugh! Goro.”

“You called?”

Above you on the beach, Goro was laid out flat atop high dune.

“Did you destroy my trap? What am I supposed to do for dinner?” You chucked the wrecked heap onto the ground.

Goro rolled over onto his stomach then propped himself up on his elbows. “It’s not like you caught anything.”

“Well, now I have to fish!” You scoffed.

“Or you could ask nicely.”

Your hand went to your waist. “Ask nicely for what?”

Goro smirked. “For me to feed you? I can find you something really good. You’re not exactly good at catching the delicious parts of the ocean.”

You frowned and avoided his gaze. True. You’d either lived off fish or the kindness of Nara’s family during your stay here.

“Ask. Me. Nicely.” Goro punctuated.

It was either that for fish, and you hated fishing. You let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, fine.”

“Nicely,” Goro let the word slither from his lips.

You took a deep breath. “Would you please catch me something for dinner?”

Goro sat up on the dune. “Of course.” he leapt off it, splashing into the water and vanishing into the depths.

What was keeping you from believing he was tricking you? You’re not sure, but you stayed on the beach waiting for him anyways. Sitting there, you watched the ocean lap at the shore, the colors of the sun fading into the distant waters.

Then, Goro’s dark head popped up out of the water. He remained still there for a long while, his eyes watching you from behind the black drapes around his head. You stared back, slowly moving from sitting to standing to approach the water.

Suddenly, Goro whipped something from the water and towards you. You dodged, getting out of the way of whatever he threw at you. You gawk back at him, shocked by the sudden retaliation.

“What the hell was that?” You snapped.

Goro was laughing as he came closer to shore. “Keep you on your toes! That’s what.” He crawled to shore, a couple of things tucked under his arm. “Look.” He pointed back.

You turned, seeing what he threw to you laying on the sands. You looked back at him, grimacing before going towards it. It was a roundish shape, a little bit bigger than a small stone. You dusted the sand off, seeing it was a massive pearl. Your jaw dropped.

“See there? I can be nice. You humans like those things, right?” He chomped into a fish. “I love biting the heads off first,” he said between chews.

You rolled the large pearl around, thinking about the fortune in the center of your palm. You could sell this thing in Rakshasa Country for enough money to start your own apothecary anywhere in the Ruby Empire! Glancing back towards Goro, munching on his fish, you couldn’t decide why he would give you this.

“Here,” He wagged a bundle of lobsters at you. “I promised food. I got you food.”

“Thanks.” You slowly approached him again, taking the bounty from his clutches. “Why did you give me this?” You extended the pearl towards him.

Goro shrugged, giving you a curled up lip in reply. “I saw it, and the green in it made me think of you.”

This took you back for a moment. It was a heart skipping moment.

“Don’t act so shocked or anything.” he extended out his hand to you, curling up his long fingers. “Give it back. I chuck it to the depth I found it.”

The pearl became clutched to your chest. “No. I like it.”

“Then good.” A smirk crawled across his face. “Glad to hear it.”

It was a strange smile, one you hadn’t seen from him. It wasn’t one from the joy he got scaring travelers on the beach, or one of boyish pride. It was different, happy, hopeful.

“You should go cook those. They’re best when fresh.” he then shrugged. “So I’ve heard.” he bit into his fish again.

“Yeah,” you’re still unsure of how to respond to him now. “They are.”

Goro licked across his teeth, smacking it. “I guess it’ll be the end of the season soon. You must be excited to get off this island,” he said with a sort of forced laugh.

“Kind of,” you answered. “I have a study lined up in Rakshasa Country. I was going to take some of my studies on the sands to the professors there and see what they thought.”

Goro’s lip curled again. “I’ve never been much of anywhere.”

“Why not?”

His eyes flicked back towards you and he scoffed. “Where else would I go? This island, these waters-” his eyes became distant as he stared out over the water. “I like it well enough. Besides, who else would want me?”

“Oh, I dunno, depends on what you’re looking for.” You sat down beside him in the sand, setting the lobsters aside. You looked at the pearl, seeing the slight green reflection it gave. “I’m sure you could woo a beautiful princess or two.”

“A handsome knight, a powerful dragon, maybe a warlock and witch couple.” Goro stretched his long arms out behind himself and leaned back. “I know I could have anyone I set my eyes on. That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?” You smiled.

Laughing, Goro stuck his tongue out. “Are you dumb? What else would keep me here? You’re a smart lot, you study, you perform your mad experiments. What would keep you home for so long if you had to?”

You thought of your childhood home. “Well, my family.”

Goro pointed with his tail to the ocean. “Exactly. I have family out there counting on me. I have a job to do here for them, and just so you know, I like doing that job.”

“Who's your family?” You asked.

Goro snorted. “Bunch of chattery women like you.”

Your smile grew brighter. “Do you have sisters?”

“Several.” he sighed and leaned back again. “I was the only one to survive my mother’s first clutch so-” His voice trailed off.

Your smile faded. “Oh? What happened?”

He was scowling, but trying not to let it grow. “My father ate them. Afraid there would be a son.”

“Oh,” you whispered.

“Yeah, oh!” He sneered at you then broke into a big smile. “But I proved his point when I grew.” He laughed. “Oh man, did I show him.”

You looked down then back out over the ocean.

“What about you?”

“I never fought my father,” you replied.

He gently smacked your arm with a chuckle. “No, idiot. Do you have any siblings?”

You shook your head. “No. I was an only child back home. I had lots of cousins and extended family though. The whole village was like a family.”

“Do you miss it?”

A surprising question. “Of course.” You looked back at him to assess his expression. It was soft, another surprise. “Why?”

He shrugged. “No reason.” he then pointed beyond you. “Your dinner is getting away.”

You watched just as your lobsters crawled back into the ocean. You laughed, cupping your hand around your mouth.

“I’ll go get them.” You stopped Goro by putting your hand over his.

You were laughing harder. “No! It's quite alright! Let them go, they earned it.”

Goro eased back, watching your hand touching his. A softer smile appeared on his lips, and he turned his palm so it was like you were holding hands.

Soon, the day came that Nara and her family were shutting off the beach to travelers. The waters were becoming too cold, and soon, wind and ice would replace the balmy breezes and sunny skies.

Packing up, you decided to leave your lab in the basement. After all, you would come back after your study. Sure, you could sell that pearl and use it to open an apothecary of your very own. But the idea of working here on the island sounded right.

There was a tapping on the window. As you were walking it towards it, it opened and a large conch shell was flung inside. It bounced off your bed and to the floor with a loud clatter.

Goro appeared in the window grinning. “Something to remember me by.” He hefted himself up, crawling inside.

“I think I have enough to remember you by.” You huffed as you picked up the conch. “Since when could you crawl up here?”

“Oh always,” he snickered as he lounged luxuriously on your bed. “I just didn’t want you thinking you could command me to spend time with you whenever you wanted.”

“Oh sure.” You set the conch down on the table.

“Will they be finding a new beach keeper?” he teased.

You rolled your eyes. “No. I’m coming back here. So get used to that idea.”

“I just might.” Goro snuggled to your pillow, breathing in deep.

You leaned over top of him while he had his face buried in the pillow. “Are you going to miss me?”

Goro jerked, looking up at you over top of him. His surprised stare turned into a vicious glare.

“I think you are.” It was your turn to tease him, and you were going to take this perfect opportunity. You sat down on the bed so he had no way to escape. “I have reasons to believe it might be a little bit more than that.”

“Don’t go and think so highly of yourself,” he sneered.

You smirked. “You don’t like me then?”

“That’s-” Goro held his tongue. “Get back.” He pushed his hand against your shoulder. “I’m warning you. These teeth of mine can rip apart more than just fish!”

“I’m sure.” You dipped down, giving him a small, soft kiss. One you meant to be playful. But Goro’s hand on your shoulder grabbed your clothes, pulling you in, making the kiss something more, something deeper.

You whimpered, but you didn’t fight.

Goro was the one that released you, pushing you back a bit. “If you’re going to do that then you might as well mean it.”

Your face was flushed, and Goro’s eyes were completely black.

Goro’s hand then completely covered your face. “Humans.” He pushed you back so he could sit up. “You think you know everything.” He put his arms around you, rubbing his neck against yours. “This is how we sea folk do it.” His gills ruffled against your skin, tickling you in a way that sent shivers through your whole back. He then bit your shoulder and your body responded in such a visceral way you lost your breath.

A laugh entered your ear. “If you want to know the secrets of the sands, you’ll have to come back to me,” he whispered seductively. “I’ll only tell you then.”

Locking eyes with him he then butt his head against your forehead. “Promise,” he breathed.

You placed your hand upon his cheek. “I’m coming back.”

“Good.” Goro bit your shoulder, but this wasn’t like all those times before. His breath hitched and his lips trailed against the skin ever so slightly. A tickle went up the back of your neck as his tongue gently brushed against you. “I’ll find you if you’re lying to me.” He bared his teeth to you then left back through the window.

Catching your breath, you realized your nipples were completely solid and your heart was fluttering like the wing of a hummingbird.

In Rakshasa Country, you began your class and took great interest in the study. You even presented your studies on the healing sands to your professors, who decided to take time to study it with the class. Theories were presented onto its healing capabilities, but nothing sounded right to you.

“We would like you to stay on and take on an internship here,” one of your professor’s offered. “I think you could accomplish great things here.”

It was a dream come true for you, a great offer. But it didn’t feel right. “I’m sorry,” you replied, hating to let her down. “But I have a job offer back at the island. I already accepted it.”

She smiled. “I understand. I would much rather work on a beautiful island than here any day. Besides, you can always report your studies and findings on the sands back to me. I’m fascinated by your research.”

You were relieved she was taking it well. “I’ll report back as much as I can.”

“We can still work together then.”

You went back to the island when Nara’s brothers came to deliver sand. You met them at the port, helping them to load supplies and food onto the little ship. They had ordered so much to make it through the worst parts of winter you had to sleep around the cargo.

The ship got in late one evening, and it was later still after unloading everything. You passed out with Nara in her bed, making it home after her family fed you a huge breakfast. Once done, you trudged across the beach with your bag towards the lighthouse.

“You’re back!”

You didn’t have time to react before Goro clobbered you on the beach. You hit the sands and he crawled up your body.

“It’s not even spring! What are you doing here?” He clutched your face. “It’s really you! It is!” He was beaming, eyes wide, teeth fully showing.

“My class ended,” you managed to speak. “They invited me back to start an apothecary business with them.”

Goro rubbed his neck against yours instantly, sighing breathily as he did. Your skin shivered and your body responded in kind to his touch. You stroked up his back, touching the nape of his neck. Something prodded at your hip.

“It’s cold out here,” you whispered.

“You warm blooded creatures,” he snarled. “I want you here and now.”

“Goro,” you whimpered. “I don’t think we-” Your voice choked out as he bit your shoulder. “Wait!”

Your loud outburst made Goro raise up. “You don’t have to yell,” he pouted.

You caught your breath and sat up to look him in the eye. “I’m not going to have much fun cold. And I certainly don’t want sand in my nethers.”

Goro’s lip curled. “Fine!”

You made your way back to the lighthouse where you got a fire going and lit a candle for some light. Goro was waiting on the bed, stroking one of his cocks in his hand. The other quivered at the brush of his knuckles until he switched to it. They were extremely hard and pitch black with a line of white going down the back side where there were linear bumps to the sheath.

“You like me more than I thought,” you said teasingly as you let your hair down.

His eyes followed your curls as they touched against your neck. “You don’t seem shocked.”

“I’m not.” You began working on the buttons on your clothes. “Nara told me you had a thing for humans.” You smirked. Nara didn’t say that exactly but you were hoping to catch a reaction from him for once.

Goro scowled.

You dropped your tunic then pulled up your underclothes, revealing your breasts to him. His eyes widened and he held his breath in anticipation. His fists grabbed tightly around both of his shafts.

“Have you had many humans?” You said with a smirk.

He sneered at you. “Does it matter?”

“No,” you chuckled. “Just wondering what experience you have in pleasuring them.” You stood naked before him then, stroking your hand down your belly and towards your loins.

Goro’s long, dark tongue traveled across his lips. “A sailor here, a sailor there.” He then grinned. “What experience do you have in pleasuring merfolk?”

Smirking, you put your hands upon your hips. “None.”

“Then I guess I’m taking the lead, just to make sure we both have fun.” He held his hand out to you. “Come here. Now!”

“Demanding.” You crawled into his lap, kissing him softly before his teeth came out. He bit your lip, your chin, your neck. He lowered his head down, biting upon the soft flesh of your breasts before breathing upon your nipple. He bit it then nuzzled between your soft bosom.

“I love these,” he moaned. “We don’t have these below the waves.”

His cocks were grinding up against your ass, slippery, extremely hard. They throbbed as his mouth sunk over a breast, suckling the nipple and playing with it on his tongue. You whimpered, grasping his head as the sensations radiated through your body.

Goro chuckled as his fingers went between your cheeks and to your mound. “Wet already.” He rolled you over, hiking your hips up into the air. “Fuck,” he growled, spreading you out and watching you. “Don’t have these either.” His cocks slid up your thigh, rubbing against you until one slipped along your cunt.

“Then what do you have?” You moaned.

“I don’t want to talk about that now. I don’t even want to talk.” The pressure at your entrance, the slight tension of him hesitating. “I want to know how warm you are.” He was inside, deep and hard. He felt like a toy made of glass you once had.

Goro quivered, holding his breath as he lingered inside. He seemed to be memorizing and studying you.

“Goro?” You wanted to make sure he was still with you.

“Just a second,” he whined. “This is why I love humans,” he said in jubilation. He began to move, bucking, thrusting. You cried out, grasping tight onto the sheets. He rammed harder into you, deeper than anyone had reached. He was snarling, growling. He then bit onto your neck, snarling and licking. The sharpness of his teeth added to your pleasure deeply.

“So good. So warm!” Goro cried out. “Wet! Wet!”

You were whimpering, trying to focus on just one sensation, but there were too many. Your head was spinning.

There came a moment where Goro pulled from you and tossed you over. He pressed his cock to your lips, making you suck him. “This is the secret,” he chuckled darkly. “Take it directly from the source.”

He filled your mouth and throat, he went deeper, making you almost choke. It was slightly sweet and very salty. He pulled out, letting his other cock spurt across your face and down your chest.

You swallowed, coughing from the sheer amount he left.

Goro chuckled, still stroking himself as he watched you below him. “Do you feel it yet?” He leaned over you, licking some of his cum from your cheek. His fingers sunk back into you, making you tremble.

There certainly was warmth. It started on your tongue and down your throat. Aches in your body seemed to fade away. There was a lightness to your limbs, a newness you hadn’t felt. There was a flare of energy you thought would take weeks to recover from your journey. Goro’s fingers found a spot inside you that made you cry out.

“There it is. Feel it?” He chuckled. He kept going until it was like you would levitate off the bed.

Even after all that, your stamina hadn’t faded. You laid with Goro, kissing and slowly rubbing together. He was inside you, moving at a purposefully slow pace. He was smirking, proud of his work.

“Taking my time now that I have you,” he whispered.

“It’s nice.” Your arms were wrapped around him.

“If you’d like, I bet I could fill one of your bottles over there so you can study it,” he teased.

You kissed him to make him go quiet. “I think I know where I can get it fresh when I need it.”

Goro chuckled proudly. “That’s not even the most potent thing about us. Mm-” he moaned and stilled to savor the deep unending feeling. “It’s everything about us. Our scales, our eyes, our bones. Generations of us supply this beach with it’s healing properties.”

“Then why not share?”

“We do! We allow you to use this beach.” His eyes fluttered as he moved again inside. “We use what we have now for us. I’m giving you this because I want you. During the spring, you might only receive it once.”

“Why?”

“Because, I have to help fertilize the clutches.” He kissed you softly. “Silly human.”

“So you’re a father?” You teased him.

He shrugged. “Not really. It’s a lot to explain. Right now, I just want to explore.”

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auberghyn · 6 months ago

Text

Theron the Minotaur

The maze and the minotaur, the classic imagery is hard to separate one from the other. The image elicits loneliness, otherness, and claustrophobic feelings. A king uses such a maze to punish anyone who doesn't please him, even his own child. Female Reader x Male Monster

Your father was the king, and he was the type to make sure everyone knew that. No one liked him, not you or your other siblings, not his wives, nor husbands. Making sure that all the world knew you were king had its prices, image being one of them. If he wanted to be loved, he had a funny way of showing it. For him, everything was a prize or trophy, everything was made for him.

All for one, none for all.

The city was walled off and heavily guarded. No one got in or out unless under the decree of the king. His guards were all heavily trained, some even brainwashed to do his bidding. Those who weren’t subjected to this were too afraid to do anything else.

As the eldest daughter your honor was to be protected. Once again, you weren’t his child, you were a prize. He didn’t care about your honor like that, he wasn’t protective because a father should be. He was protective over his gain.

You were given a minotaur for a guard. Why this made sense was because your father figured minotaur would never touch human women. His logic was as sound as everything else he did.

Theron was his name, and for the last few years he was your only companion outside your siblings. You thought you would have been married off by now, but no. For some reason your father still kept you held.

“It seems like a nice day, princess. Perhaps a walk around the garden would do you well,” Theron suggested.

“You’re not supposed to talk,” you teased him.

“Who is going to hear?” He said with a slight chuckle, his voice muffled by his hood. “Or is this the day that you are going to betray me and rat me out?”

You kept your smirk at bay. “You know I’d rather swallow my own tongue than speak to my father.”

“Then I am safe another day.”

“The garden sounds fine.” You say, letting him lead you outside into the sunshine. You’re surprised though, as usually the garden is full of your siblings and parents. “Strange,” you murmured.

Theron leaned down close to your ear. “Your older brothers are out with the king at the moment, meanwhile, your younger siblings have all been taken to the library to take books while the king is out. Your other parents are supervising.”

Cutting your eyes up at him you cautiously lick your bottom lip. “And what will I be doing?”

A low chuckle left Theron’s throat. “Making love to a handsome guard while no one is around.”

Excitement quivered in your breast. It had been a long while since you and Theron were able to do such a thing. “Then let’s not waste time.” You grabbed him, leading him to the farthest part of the garden.

It took no time at all for the two of you to be undressed and upon one another. Theron’s body was covered in scars, new cuts, another branding burn. Seeing this, all you wanted to do was comfort him. His arms were strong and warm. His cock hard and ready. It was hard to steal moments like this, you were never alone really. Falling for Theron had been an accident. Maybe it was years of having only him as company that wasn’t family. Maybe it was the gentle touch of his hand that time you fell. He broke the rules for you, was sweet to you.

Minotaurs don’t find humans attractive. Well, this one sure did. He made love to you like it was your last time, and for all you knew, it would be.

“Breathe,” you told him.

The veins in Theron’s neck were building. “It’s hard. I’m trying not to end this. I have to focus.”

You took hold of his face. “You have to breathe.”

“You make me breathless,” he whispered.

Dark brown eyes focused upon yours and he kissed you, his body flush upon your own. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling his head down to whisper in his ear. “Cum in me. Now.”

The command was one that would have ended his life had you asked it. This one made his efforts all the more resolved, he moved harder, quicker. Each pump of his strong haunches brought you closer to your own end. The world was bright and beautiful.

Until it wasn’t.

“Right over there! I told you!”

You clung to Theron as you were beset upon. Guards and family members were all around you, watching as one of your sister’s held out a pointed hand.

Her eyes focused upon you, afraid of you. Her hand shook but she remained resolved as you were lifted away, ripped from Theron’s arms.

“Hurry, before he gets back,” you heard someone say.

“He can’t know about this!”

You saw your mother in the hallway as you were dragged out. Her eyes were wide as she gazed upon you. She rushed forward, draping her own robe around you to cover you. She clung to you, trying to keep hold as you were dragged away.

Everything happened so quickly, you weren’t sure if it was real at all.

“We’ll tell them she died. She choked on something.”

“Better to throw them out than have them here.”

So many voices.

“Please! Don’t take her!” Your mother’s screams echoed in your head.

“Mama!” You screamed out and then, nothing.

Nothing at all. No thoughts. No dreams. You may as well have been dead. But you were cold. You wouldn’t feel cold if that was the case. The ground was hard, made of stone and unbearably cold.

Slowly your eyes fluttered open, gazing into the night sky. Above you the forest leaned over the wide opening and tall walls rose above you. Pushing yourself up, you looked around, taking in the stone walls covered in vines and moss. Small glowing bugs floated around, gathering around flowers on the vines that also emitted a faint green light.

You were still wrapped in your mother’s robe. They must have made quick work to remove you from the palace.

Theron was laying a distance away from you. The great, dark minotaur was laying limp, his body slumped over with his arm over his head.

Lurching to your feet, you bolted towards him. “Theron!” You knelt over his body, laying him flat on his back. You watched as he twitched, coming to slightly. His eyes opened, his deep, brown eyes bleary as he looked up.

You sighed with relief and clutched his head close to your chest. “Thank the goddess!”

“Where are we?” He groaned.

If this was the afterlife then you were glad he was with you to traverse through it. “I’m not sure. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

His strong arms wrapped around you, weak at first, but they grew in strength as the seconds passed. “Oh, me too,” he breathed.

Theron began to sit up, bracing his arm against the ground as he took in the surroundings too. “Well-” he breathed out. “I think we need a new plan.”

You let out a smile despite your unease, knowing he was trying to make a joke. “A new one?”

He chuckled, standing up and dusting off his arms. “Looks like they threw us down here to die.”

The glowing bugs began to hover around you, resting upon your arms and shoulders. “Or escape.”

He squinted his eyes as he looked ahead. “Looks like a hallway.” The two of you rose from the ground and you clutched the robe around your body. Theron’s tunic was torn in places, but at least he had something warm.

“A labyrinth,” you murmured. “I remember my father talking about this place.” You touched the wall and smoothed your hand down the moss covered stone. “I think this is just outside the city.”

Theron grimaced. “They used to send my people here for sport.”

Fear itched along your scalp and down your arms. “What sport?”

Theron breathed out through his nose. “Doesn’t matter right now.” He held his hand out to you. “Come on, if I remember the stories, I think we can make it.”

You smiled as you took his hand and squeezed it tight. Theron leaned down, kissing you passionately. “Ow,” he held his jaw. “That whack that asshole gave me still smarts.”

You cupped his cheek in your hand. “Poor baby.”

He kissed you again then looked ahead. “Well, we always wanted to be alone.” His gaze was sympathetic. “I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head. “I wonder why she did that,” I said of my sister. “I wonder why they put us here.”

“We may never know,” he murmured. “Unless we go back.”

“No. Forward is the only way we go from here.” You tightened your grip upon his hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Days crept by as you traversed this giant maze, and certainly it was beginning to feel like a death sentence. No water, no food, just miles of stones wherever you went. You were growing weak, and despite his best efforts, so was Theron.

While resting one afternoon, a ball fell down into the labyrinth from above. You almost screamed it was so jarring.

“I’ll get it!” A voice called from above. Then, a ladder came down. A child appeared over the edge, and as soon as you locked eyes with him he went running back up the ladder. “Papa! Papa!” He screamed.

Moments later, people came to the edge of the labyrinth to get you and Theron out. They fed you and gave you water, doting on you both. It turns out the glowing flowers are used for a wide array of crafts, foods, and the like and a village had grown around part of the labyrinth in order to harvest the blossoms.

Marta, the leader of the village, took you into her home, allowing you to rest and heal over the next few days.

“I thought I knew where the exit was from stories,” Theron told her.

“It’s been a long time. Parts of the labyrinth were torn down. Some villages used the stones in the walls, others filled it in for farming.” She had kept you both very well fed. Even as you spoke then she was feeding you steamed dumplings.

“That explains it,” Theron chuckled in defeat.

“Well, you found us,” Marta chuckled. “That’s all that matters now.”

You were surprised she never asked where you came from or why you were even in the maze. It was almost like she knew, but wasn’t going to say how.

“You’re welcome here, as long as you’d like.” Marta looked at me, and it was like looking into your mother’s eyes.

“Thank you,” you were breathless.

“We take care of our own!” She laughed. “We’ll get you two all set up here. Whatever past you came from, it is all past. It’s the future now.”

Theron was biting through a dumpling as she said this, and he broke into a big smile. “You’re very right. We don’t have anything to go back to anyways.” He placed his hand upon your back and you were relieved. You were free, not from the labyrinth, but from your life.

“It’s too good to be true, right?” Theron sat on the edge of the bed, taking off his boots. “We should have been killed for what we did. But we’re here. We’re alive.”

Warm water splashed onto your face as you washed it. You splashed again to make sure you were truly awake. “I keep thinking that over and over.” You take a towel to pat your face dry. “The more I think, the more unsure I become. Maybe it’s best we don’t think.”

Theron smirked. “You know I’m good at that.”

“Hush,” you scold him, dabbing under your chin. “We have to accept it. We’re here. For whatever reason. We were…chucked into the maze instead of killed. It’s a miracle.”

“Your father was out of the castle. I think it was mercy.” He stood up and stretched out his arms, showing off his tummy which had grown soft during your time here. With no hard training every day and solid meals with plenty of snacks, you had both started to put on a healthy weight.

Theron rubbed said tummy, noticing you staring. “Marta spoils me. I think she enjoys feeding us.”

You smiled. “Considering we only got two meals a day back at the palace.” You sauntered over to him, nuzzling up to him and rubbing your hand down his chest. “Anything feels like spoiling.”

Theron grabbed you up and tossed you down upon the bed, tackling you with affection and kisses. After hiding everything, something like this still felt wicked and secretive. But really, it wasn’t.

“What’s that in your pocket?” You asked him.

“I don’t have pockets,” he said with a grin.

You bit your lip and giggled. “What sort of man doesn’t have pockets?”

Theron was reaching down, hiking up your nightgown and grabbing hold of your thighs. His fingers were so close you could feel their warmth against your mound. “You know it’s my hard cock. Don’t play coy,” he teased.

“Are you sure?” You whispered. “We just had sex this morning!”

“We can do it whenever we want,” he said excitedly. “No hiding. No whispering.” He placed his thumb upon your lips. “We can be together whenever we want. So do you want to?”

Of course you wanted to! For years you couldn’t even touch yourself, let alone find ways to make love to the minotaur of your dreams. “It still feels…strange.”

“I know.” he said gently. “I fear at any moment we’ll be seen, or worse. But that’s not going to happen. Not anymore. Not unless we are very, very stupid.”

You smirked and wrapped your arms around him. “Then, I want you as much as I can have you. We have so much to make up for.”

“Three years,” he moaned as he sat up, pulling your thighs apart. He looked down, letting out a deep breath as he took in the sight. His fingers rubbed against you, slightly opening you to him. “Is it bad I kept count?”

You bit the inside of your cheek. “You kept count?”

He hushed you then smirked. “I know how to count, princess.” He looked back down, rubbing your mound before touching anything truly sensitive. “In the three years we’ve been able to indulge, we only did it sixteen times.”

You let out a heavy breath. “And how many since we got here?”

A grin grew across his face. “I can’t count that high.”

Your giggles turned into moans as his finger sunk inside, meanwhile his thumb rubbed against your clit.

“No rushing. I get to enjoy this,” he moaned. “Princess, you really do leave me breathless. He reached up, undoing the buttons of your nightgown to expose your breasts. He took hold of one, squeezing and teasing the nipple until it became achingly hard.

“I have to learn to take my time.” He reached down, undoing his pants and letting them slide off his hips. “We can play.” he inched around you, going towards your head while his fingers were still inside. He laid his cock upon your lips, rubbing the tip there until you opened your mouth. He was thick and warm, throbbing hard against your tongue as he slid into place.

“Fuck,” he growled.

Fuck indeed. His fingers inside you, his cock on your tongue. It was…a strange sort of bliss. Of those sixteen times you had to rush through your pleasure. You never got to play around, tease, anything like that. You had to hurry, had to be quiet. So the sound of Theron’s deep moans were driving you just as crazy as his touch.

“That’s so good,” he whispered. “Oh…so fucking good.” His fingers sunk deeper inside and you moaned against his shaft, causing him to shudder. He did it again and you moaned again, something salty slid against your tongue.

“No, no,” he growled. “Calm yourself.” He pulled from your lips and finished kicking off his pants. He then moved back between your thighs, towering over you. “I can’t end yet.” he lifted your legs, easing himself inside you slowly. His eyes fluttered, your breath caught in your chest.

“Has your cock gotten fatter too?” You moaned.

Theron wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cum. “Dammit!” he grinned down at you. “So, you like it I take it?”

You nodded, gasping as he pressed even deeper inside. “I like everything about you.”

“Mm, good.” He slowly pulled back. “Maybe happiness is making it able for me to swell up bigger.” He pushed back in, taking his time to savor every inch.

“Why are you going so slow?” You whimpered.

“Because I can! Fuck! Because I can!” He cried out triumphantly.

You tried shushing him but he covered your mouth with his big palm. “You get to cry out my name,” his voice was rich and dark. “You get to tell me everything I can do to you. Your voice…I get to hear your voice.” His pulses were growing deeper, harder. “Don’t be quiet.”

You weren’t sure how. But once he moved his hand away, you wanted to try. “I love your cock,” you panted.

“And?” He smirked.

“I love you.”

He shuddered, going still for a brief moment. “I love you too.”

His pulses were finding rhythm, slow, but hard. You moaned for him, learning to let it out when he felt best. He was gasping, trying his hardest to remember to breathe. You eventually saw his jaw tighten and teeth grit. The veins in his neck bulged.

“Breathe.” You touched his face, smoothing your hand down his jaw. “Breathe, Theron.”

“I’ll cum if I don’t focus,” he moaned.

You whimpered as his thrusts were growing faster. “Then cum!” You cried out. “You’ll just have to fuck me again.”

He surged, almost as if a fire had been lit inside him.

“You’ll cum again and again and again until I’m satisfied!” You weren’t sure where this voice was coming from. But it was urging him on, driving him, making him drive into you until you were sure there would be no end.

Clarity returned, your body was sweaty and cool, but Theron was as hot as an ember. You smiled, pleased and content. You stroked his back, letting out a breath of relief. This wasn’t a dream.

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auberghyn · 7 months ago

Photo

Avery the Fae/Reader, Lemon

You don’t dress up for Halloween.

Not your fault, though, really, because your professors show no mercy for holidays, especially not ones that don’t land them a day off. Classes go on as usual, and so you wake up the latest you can without risking a tardy and go off in the comfortable clothes you slept in. Except for some cat ears and one superman, everything is perfectly normal, and the day passes like almost every other, save for a ‘spooky drink’ coupon at the local cafe.

I probably don’t even need a costume, anyways, you think as you catch your reflection when passing those special mirror-like windows on one of the campus’ buildings. Frankly, you look like you crawled out of hell itself. Dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep, hair all askew and uncooperative, mouth in a permanent stressed line.

Keep reading

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auberghyn · 7 months ago

Text

Rain the Nahual

Just in case ya'll were wondering from the title what a Nahual is, I'll go ahead and tell you. The Nahual is a Mesoamerican shapeshifter, better yet, a human who can shapeshift into their tonal animal. This one is a leopard!

Female Reader x Male Monster

It was early in the morning, but the darkness that seeped from outside felt eerie. The cold rain that pattered on the roof added to that somewhat spooky atmosphere as you turned on the coffee pot.

“Man, this rain is starting to be a bit much,” you grumbled under your breath. You stepped away as the coffee pot started up, making all the dramatic bubbly noises of something twenty years past its prime.

You turned on the lights for your office, stepping barefoot into the workspace to get the computers up and running so they weren’t molasses slow when you had to get to work. You yawned loudly, scratching the back of your neck then looking back towards the calendar on the wall. The dry erase board held a rainbow of colors, each signifying due dates and upcoming events. You then saw a few marks on the board you didn’t recognize and walked up closer to get a good look.

They were doodles of you, looking like some ancient wall art of an angry volcano deity. The only reason you knew it was you was because the hair was green and curly.

“Fucking Rain,” you grumbled under your breath. “I do not look like that.” You smeared away one of the doodles with your thumb then stomped back into the kitchen. “He wants angry I’ll show him fucking angry,” you continued to fumed through clenched teeth.

Coffee would help, coffee would soothe the spite. Mostly anyways.

Outside was less dark, becoming a more purple grey as the sun tried its hardest to come out. You sighed heavily, gazing out the picture window over the sink as you tapped the spoon against your coffee mug.

“Meg’s shop is the main thing today,” you murmured to yourself. “And the blog needs updating.” Your eyes looked towards the back wall of the kitchen where a slew of family portraits were hung. You focused on the one of your grandmother and smiled.

“Another day, another dollar, eh abuela?” From the corner of your eye you saw car lights come up to the driveway. You hurried back into the office space just as the door there opened.

“You’re early,” you huffed.

Rain stepped in, running his hand over the top of his head to knock away the rain. “And you’re not dressed.” His short fur smoothed back into place, but the dark patches shifted and moved before returning to their leopard pattern.

Your mismatched pajamas were not your concern. “If you’re here early it must mean you’re eager to work.”

Rain held up a plastic bag holding large white containers. “I brought breakfast, that’s what it means.”

You eyed him with suspicion. “Breakfast? From where?”

Rain walked forward, his tail twitching behind him. “That little place inside the gas station. You know, by that tire place with the bad pun name.”

You led him into the kitchen. “I’ve heard it's good. But they run out so fast most days. How’d you get a plate?”

Rain smirked. “I found out on rainy days they get a touch less of a crowd.” He set the tied bag down onto the tiny breakfast nook table. “I knew it’d be raining today, so I got up early.”

You were still looking at him with an air of suspicion.

Rain noticed, taking offense in a dramatic way. He gasped and clutched imaginary pearls. “What? I can be a good boyfriend!”

“I know you can,” you murmured. “But you never want to get up early. I get that. We have very different schedules.” You stepped up to him, poking your finger into his chest. “But you knew I would see those doodles.”

His wide eyed slack jawed stare turned into a smarmy smirk right away. “I was hoping you wouldn’t see them until after a good meal.”

You scoffed. “I look nothing like that.”

“You did after that call with Mrs. Hillary.” He put his fingers into your hair at the nape of your neck. He held your hair out so it stood on end. “You were storming around talking under your breath like Donald Duck.”

You shook him away and brushed back your curls. “She fakes that accent. I know she does!” You then sighed and scratched at your scalp. “But you made me look like some gremlin volcano deity.”

“That’s why I fell in love with you though,” he teased. His tail flickered behind him as he eased down, angling for a kiss.

You scoffed, giving in to his kiss. “Good morning I guess,” you mumbled.

Rain chuckled, ripping open the plastic bag. “I’ll handle Mrs. Hillary if she calls today. You focus on that jewelry thing.”

“It’s a shop.” You sat down and opened one of the containers, sighing with relief at the sight of the authentically cooked food inside. The tamales looked extra appealing. “I haven’t had good tamales since Abuela’s-” the word hung in the back of your throat.

Rain patted your back. “I thought you’d enjoy that.”

You started removing the corn husk immediately. “But yes. I’d like [it] if you could handle calls today. I also need you to do those blog spots.”

“I know.” Rain leaned back in his seat. His t-shirt looked a bit tight.

You pointed to the obvious strain on the fabric. “Are you wearing your little brother’s clothes again?”

Rain tugged on the shirt. “Maybe.” He sat up and the shirt ruched up over his belly. “I was in such a hurry this morning. Didn’t exactly pay attention to what I grabbed out of the laundry basket.” he started to take the shirt off.

“What are you doing?” You scoffed.

“Don’t I have some clothes here?” He asked with a smug smile on his face. “I don’t want you getting distracted by my breasts in this tight t-shirt.”

You just glared at him.

“Those eyes make me feel-” he sucked in a breath through his sharp teeth, “-filthy.”

You pointed towards the bedroom and Rain laughed all the way.

Glancing back at the wall of pictures you nodded to your Abuela. “I don’t know why we both like him so much either. But there he is.” You continued to eat until Rain came back out, buttoning up a flannel.

“I think I have more clothes here than at the apartment.” His necklace dangled out of his shirt. The silver jaguar charm caught the light, and the ruby red eye seemed to glare exceptionally bright, but the rest of the body seemed dull and tarnished.

“When’s the last time you polished that?” You asked.

Rain put his hand down over his crotch.

“Stop it!” You snapped at him. “You know I meant your totem.”

“I like the aged look.” He smoothed down the flannel and tucked the necklace inside. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

You scoffed and returned to your plate. “So can you handle those blog posts today or not?”

“I can. I made outlines yesterday if you want to approve them.” He sounded professional despite his earlier japes.

“No, I’ve got enough to do with this shop and Mrs. Hillary’s bullcrap,” you grumbled.

Rain sighed. “That’s going to be a project and a half.”

“They always are when she’s involved. I don’t know why she keeps using us when it seems like she doesn’t like us.” You stabbed at your food in the box then set it down once you caught yourself.

Rain was quiet for a long spell. His dark eyes focused onto his food, but they appeared to be gazing beyond it to something else. He looked up at you, giving you a once over look before licking at his chops. “You know, before we start working on her bullshit again, I suggest we take a break. Maybe camping.”

You looked outside at the rain still falling. “Not this weekend. And she’s our next main project, so I doubt we can break before that.”

He just smirked. “I bet by this weekend it will be nice.”

Furrowing your brow you looked into his eyes. “I’ve seen the weather reports, Rain. It’s rain until next week.”

“I’m the only Raina round here that matters,” he said with a grin.

You covered your mouth while you let out a laugh. “Alright. If there is no rain this weekend we can take a hike or something.”

Rain clicked his tongue. “No, no. I want steaks since you seem so sure of yourself and the weather report.” He tapped his finger onto the tabletop. “If it stops raining, then I don’t just want a camping trip. I want one of our special runs.”

Every hair on your body bristled. “A run?”

Rain nodded his head, his ears slicking back deviously. “We haven't done one in a while. And I feel a need to stretch my legs. It’s been building up for a while.”

You pursed your lips together. Not that you didn’t like having ‘a run’ but it needed a certain mood you hadn’t been in since you abuela passed. You looked back into his eyes, playful, seductive, and a little mean.

Dropping your shoulders you let out a big sigh. “Okay, fine. If it stops raining, and the sun comes back out, we’ll do a run. Like old times.”

A large grin began to grow across his face, showing off the sharpness of his teeth. “Are you sure?”

You thought again for a moment. It had been a while, so it might be fun. Then again, it’s been a while so you might be out of shape for it. You sighed and nodded. “Yes. I’m sure.”

Rain clapped his hands together. “Wonderful. Then it’s a date.”

You watched him with a weary glance, but you had seen the weather patterns on TV and there was no way the rin was going to stop anytime soon.

You finished eating breakfast and changed into clothes for the day. Both you and Rain got to work, getting everything in order for the day before diving head first into it. The shop you’re working on is fairly easy, you’ve done similar things over a dozen times. But it's the meticulous part of adding everything and double checking images and fonts that always takes the longest part.

The phone rang and you bristled, first looking at the work phone then turning to Rain who looked up wearily from his computer.

“I suppose that’s Mrs. Hillary,” he sighed before standing. He took the phone, stepping away as he answered it.

“Forest Marketing, how may I help you?” He went off into the kitchen. “Oh! Mrs. Hillary, bonjourno,” his voice grew more distant the further he got.

You leaned back into your chair, cracking your knuckles before tucking them behind your head. The room is quiet, save for soft music coming from Rain’s side of the office. You can hear cars driving outside. The office had once been a garage, so one side of the walls was quite thin.

“What time is it?” You mumbled under your breath. You took out your phone, using time as an excuse to take a break and mindlessly scroll. You caught sight of the weather widget, seeing it said bright and sunny. “No,” you mumble under your breath. “No.” You got up, going over to the window and pushing back the curtain.

Sure enough, the rain had stopped.

“How’d he do that?”

“Yes, Mr.s Hillary, I promise, we always give you our best effort don’t we?” Rain’s voice came back into focus and you turned to see him leaning in the doorway, a knowing smile directed at you.

You rolled your eyes at him and nodded. So it was decided, that week, you two would go on a run.

The two of you were used to camping. Hiking was how you met years ago, starting out as friends before deciding to date. Packing was never hard, you had equipment at the ready. Driving down to your favorite campground was one of your favorite things. You could remember going camping with your grandparents as a child, how your abuela would sing the whole trip since their car’s radio was dead.

The rain made the foliage look lush and dark, looking off through the leaves made your stomach flop in excitement.

“Good thing it rained. I won’t be so scared of having a fire going,” Rain murmured.

“That’s what I was just thinking.” You leaned back into your seat. “The ground will be pretty soft too.”

Rain smirked. “It’s been a while. I wonder if we remember how to do it.”

“You know what you’re doing.” You cut your eyes at him. “Wild animals rarely forget they’re wild.”

He broke out into a small laugh. “Yes. I suppose you’re right.” he reached out, placing his palm upon your hand. The black markings on his body, at first glance, looked like regular leopard print. But the closer look you got, the more detail you saw, and you could see the old tattoos that his father had given him. You brushed your fingers along these markings and Rain shivered.

“Remember how we first met out here?” He asked.

“You had fallen into the river, and me and my friends caught you naked as you tried to dry your clothes,” you giggled.

“I still think of it fondly.”

You squeezed his hand. “You used to be a show off before we started dating.”

“I didn’t need to stick around for someone back then. I could be crazy and do stupid stuff on the trail.” his smile went soft. “Now I have you.”

That did make your heart leap a little bit. “You just didn’t wanna get fussed at that.”

He snorted. “Maybe a little of that too.”

You parked and then registered at the Ranger’s station, paying a small fee for a camping spot. They gave the safety spiel they always did and then you and Rain were off into the woods, hauling all your equipment on your back, to find a spot to make camp.

“The rain really made this place seem bigger, didn’t it?” Rain remarked. “It feels…fuller. Livelier.”

The chorus of birds helped with that too, giving the trail a pulse as you walked. “Amazing what water can do.”

Rain laughed. “Wait until you get your needed Rain.”

You just glared at him.

He threw back his head and laughed, continuing down the path. There was a worn trail off the path, one hikers took to find camping spots. There was a bit of a steep hill, so campers, ages ago, had put up some rope to serve as a balance.

“Right or left?” Rain asked at the bottom.

“Which way did we go last time?”

Rain thought for a long moment. His tail twitched and he rubbed his totem between his fingers. “It’s been a while. I can’t quite recall.” he stepped out a little, looking both ways.

“Left then,” you said, taking the lead.

“What made you pick left?” he asked.

You turned back and smiled. “Because you looked left first.”

His expression went a bit slack and his tail fluffed up. You got him. That brought a sirk to your face.

“Now c’mon, lets go and find a spot so we can set up and chill out a bit.” You walked ahead, pride swelling your chest just a bit.

Once you both agreed on a spot it was a blur of set up. Once the tent was up Rain put together a firepit while you collected some sticks from around the area. As soon as the fire was lit, there was a calm that settled upon you, and you relaxed in one of the chairs.

“Not too shabby,” Rain dusted his hands. “Especially since we're out of the habit.” He took the seat next to you and leaned back. He checked his watch, taking the band off and setting it in the cupholder of the chair. “Sundown isn’t for a bit.”

You sat up, checking your hair tucked under the bandana. “What’s a bit in terms of a unit of time?”

“A while.”

Your eyes sliced through Rain. “What’s a while?”

Rain caught your eye and licked his lips. “Long enough for you to have a good head start, darling.”

You gave a stretch as you stood up from the chair. You took in a deep breath and looked back at Rain who was holding out his totem necklace to you. You took it into your hand and slipped the necklace around your head.

“I’ll give you three minutes,” Rain groaned as he leaned back. Already you could see the change coming him. His tattoos were shifting, changing all over his body. There was a sharpness to his cheeks, his jaw. Even his hands were starting to looking bigger.

“Five minutes,” you countered.

He shrugged. “Okay. Five minutes. Use them wisely.”

You walked ahead. “See you when I see you.” As soon as you reached the worn path you took off running, heading in one direction, then zigging into another.

Five minutes, you thought, I’ve got five minutes to get ahead of him. It had been a while since you last played this game, last raced and played, swatted at each other like Tom and Jerry, or whatever cartoon duo you wanted to call it.

You came across a stream and leapt over it, heading in an opposite direction then scurrying up an embankment.

“Three minutes,” you panted to yourself and wiped your brow. You went down the other side of the bank, landing in soft earth that would have been mud a day before. It did make walking across it difficult, but you wanted that to be the case as Rain gave chase.

Solid earth finally returned, and you dashed across a field before reaching a thicket of young trees. You weaved yourself through them and after a few moments the hairs on the back of your neck bristled.

“Times up,” you whispered. You looked back, hearing a roar coming from the distance. You pushed yourself forward, coming to a rock wall. You slid your hand along it, finding a dropoff where bamboo was growing from below. You looked around, weighing your options before turning back. You went through the young trees, cutting down towards the bamboo. As you set your feet down from the ledge. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up again, you looked behind you where a presence made your skin crawl. Shining eyes gazed from a hill above you.

“Shit!” You broke into the bamboo without a second thought and Rain gave chase. Shuffling down the hill.

“You made that too easy! You really are out of practice!” Rain gloated.

“Ha ha I’m so smart,” you mocked him. You slipped through the bamboo, coming towards the rock wall again. Your heart was pounding, you wanted to get back ahead of him and out of reach again. You found a place in the rocks to hide and ducked there, waiting and listening.

Rain’s roar broke through the quiet of the forest and you rolled your eyes. “He’s going to get us in trouble if he keeps that up.” You shuffled aside, placing your hand upon the cold ground. The light from your watch shined down, revealing a hidden path between the rocks.

You slipped down it, finding it dipped down into a wide cave where an underground pool lapped calmly at the gravely shore. “Oh wow,” you whispered. You took a flashlight from your pocket, setting it down between rocks to look around. It was cold, and there didn’t seem to be much to see.

“You cornered yourself.”

Your heart leapt up into your throat and you whipped around, pointing the light at the giant creature in the entrance.

“Maybe I should have asked for ten minutes,” you breathed.

Rain chuckled as she slipped down, his body becoming long before turning back into a hulking creature on four legs. “Maybe. But I think I’m far too hungry for it to matter.”

You backed up into the wall, swallowing as you took in his shape. The shadows wrapped around him, making him an even more imposing figure. “Hungry? Is that what you’re calling it?”

Rain rose up on two legs and pinned you against the wall. He took your hand in one of his massive paws and guided it down, having you touch him where he was hard and throbbing. “I’m not as disciplined as I used to be” he snarled.

“I can feel that.” You gripped your hand around him, stroking his cock. He shivered and growled, pressing in closer to you. He was hot to the touch, but the rock while behind you was ice cold in comparison.

“That it,” Rain moaned. “Good-ah-good girl.”

You bit your bottom lip to that. “Since when?”

Rain pushed you down to the ground, laying you on your stomach while he laid over top of you. “I can’t remember.” He made quick work of you pants, pulling them off then lifting your ass into the air. He rutted against you, taking pleasure in keeping you down while he found some relief to the ache.

“Shit.” Your body responded in kind. Reacting to his force, his desire. Wetness began to seep between your lips the more Rain touched and ground against you.

“I smell that,” Rain purred. “Yes. Fuck!” His cock prodded, going to your thighs before the tip found purchase in wetness. “Oh-” his moan crackled.

You wriggled, managing to prop up onto your arms. Rain’s arm slipped into that free space, grabbing your breasts through your top. “I want to kiss every freckle on your body,” he growled into your ear. “I want to bite where they are darkest.” His mouth slipped around your neck, biting down until your eyes rolled from the sensation.

He pushed up your top, grabbing hold of bare skin and teasing your nipple. His cock slid between your thighs, rubbing up against you, threatening to penetrate but always pulling away at the last second. It drove you batty!

Rain grabbed at the totem around your neck, holding it so the necklace tightened around your neck. He kissed the totem, releasing it then going still above you. You closed your eyes as he ripped off your shirt, tossing the scraps aside before petting down your bare back. His thick cock was twitching at your entrance, matching the rhythm of his breathing.

“Fuck,” he growled. “You’re mine.”

You held your breath as he pushed deep inside, spreading your walls then hitting into the back where he fit snugly. You whimpered, gripping onto rocks as your own wetness spilled.

Rain kissed up your back before breathing upon the nape of your neck. “This is it,” he whispered, “to the death?”

“To the death,” you moaned in reply.

His body seized for a moment before he grabbed hold and started to move, rattling you, shaking you. He moved your body like his own plaything, but you enjoyed it. His hands, his teeth, his rough tongue were all yours anyways, he just got to lose control for a bit.

The coolness of the cave was a relief. Even as Rain wrapped his body around you, purring against your breasts, you weren’t overheated. In fact, you felt you could go on forever.

Rain shuddered, raising up and gazing down into your eyes. He purred louder, cupping your cheek in his large hand.

“What is it?” You murmured.

“Can’t I just look?” He drag his hands down your body and a soft sigh escaped his lips. “All I want to do is look for a second.”

You sifted, sitting up and giving him a kiss. “You can look at me anytime.”

“I know.” he chuckled. “I just-”

You smirked, knowing what he was getting at. You took him into your arms, holding him tight against you. His body was warm, his fur was silky to the touch. He squeezed your back, burying his face into your green curls. It had been so long you had forgotten how much you both needed this. His gentle purrs vibrated down your body, and you let out a soft laugh.

“What?” Rain murmured.

“Nothing,” you cooed. “Just thinking how nice this is.” You leaned back to look into his eyes. “Maybe we can do it again tomorrow.”

Rain’s eyes lit up and he nodded. “I’d like that.” He snuggle up close again. “To practice.”

You laughed. “Yeah. For that.”

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auberghyn · 7 months ago

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Wearing character shirts when you have breasts

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auberghyn · 8 months ago

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The Magician's Assistant

I thought for this valentine's day we would bring in a little whimsy. A story that is very much about magic and curses as it is about the romance. Our leading lady is under a curse, one that she has dealt with for most her life and is used to, but a curse nontheless. her employer, a magician, is also under the thumb of a curse that has left him deeply depressed. Between spell books and bakery visits she has her hands quite full. Female Main Character x Male Monster

Pouring coffee is my first task in the morning. Well, I suppose making the coffee would be my real first task, but the magician only gave me the instructions for how he liked his coffee made. Brown sugar, only brown sugar. Should he taste white sugar or even one of the artificial monstrosities, he would watch me empty the entire kitchen until the offending sweetener is gone. Just a little milk, then a little more cream. Why he doesn’t take half and half, I don’t know. After the sweetener remark, I do not ask.

The magician is found in his study, always his study. He lounges there after he wakes up. The fire is lit, it’s always lit, and one leg is jutted out farther, and stiffer than the other.

“Your coffee is ready,” I said plainly and quietly. Not too loud, not too soft. Even my delivery has instructions.

The magician looks at me, eyes blank, expression even more unreadable. “Thank you, Delphi.” He held his hand out flat to receive the mug. I placed it into his palm, and a clink greeted my ears.

Ah, more fingers have grown stiff, I think.

The magician took the mug, bringing it to his other hand. “Have you checked the mail yet?” He asked with his rough voice.

“Not yet,” I said, folding my hands against my skirt.

“Then perhaps you should.” He brought the coffee to his mouth, so I wait to hear what he says about it. “Good cup,” he grumbled.

I bowed my head. “Then I shall go check it, sir.” I walked away from his study, back down the narrow hallway to the front door. The basket out front is full, but I know there is nothing in there he wants. He is expecting a letter from a woman. But she will never write.

I go back inside, sitting at the kitchen table to sort through the mail. The kitchen table has become my work area. It’s never used for dinner, so I sit there to sew, to meal plan, to write my own letters. As I sort letters, I write down in my planner what has arrived.

“The electric bill is due,” I murmured to myself. “So is the snack subscription.” I looked up to the end of the table where a painting hangs. In it is a portion of a small house, along with a full garden and a trail that leads into the dark woods. It has been hanging there since I came to work for the magician.

I watch the painting, seeing that today the window is open, and behind the house there is a clothesline. When I blink a sheet disappears and reappears at the corner. If I stare, unblinking, nothing changes.

She is there, behind the house today.

I stack the bills aside then get up and make another cup of coffee. I take it back to his study. “Have you thought about what you would like for breakfast?” I asked.

The magician holds out his hand with the previous cup in his palm towards me. “Does it matter?”

I switch mugs, hearing that resounding clink again. “You won’t be so cranky around lunch time if you eat. And that matters to me.”

The magician hissed through his teeth, standing up from his chair and stepping towards the fire. His right side is stiff, he hobbled on that leg that will not move. I see his right arm has become more difficult to move, he undoubtedly is falling to the curse more each day. His depression keeps him from fighting it.

“Nothing matters,” he laments.

I look into the empty coffee mug, seeing a faint swirl of dark residue. “If that were true, sir, I could use white sugar in your coffee.”

He cut his dark eyes back at me, salt and pepper hair catching a breeze from his rapid turn. He almost lost balance, as the right side of him was turning to stone. “I will not let what few pleasures I have left be mocked by a kitten.”

Sure, I am a kitten. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I nod towards him. “So what would you like for breakfast? The usual? Perhaps you’d like to try something new?”

He growled and turned back around, stumbling over to his desk. “What was in the mail, Delphi?”

“Electric is due,” I sighed, crossing my arms against my chest. “Your snack box subscription is up for renewal. Do you still want it?”

“Yes! Yes! Of course I do!” He snarled over his books and papers.

“There was also the bank statement and-”

“Any other bills?” He glared up at me, dark eyes haloed by a golden glow.

I shook my head. “Junk mail mostly.”

He waved his hand at me. “Then go! Go get my usual breakfast and that is the last I will say about it.”

“As usual, sir.” I walked from his study, went into the hall and fetched my shoes. I glanced behind the kitchen table, seeing more clothes hung upon the clothesline. I also saw her, barely visible behind a sheet. I waved to her, unsure if she was facing me or not. I got my coat and purse from the wall hanger and went outside.

I step down onto the street, noticing there were construction crews in small patches all the way down. About time they fixed this shitty sidewalk, I thought.

I adjust my purse across my front. For years now, I have been making this trip every morning. Except for on days when the bills were due and I would make food to the best of my ability.

Like my employer, I too am cursed. Lots of people are cursed, some are easier than others. The magician doesn’t know I am older than him, and he may never realize that. Like him, I am trapped inside a body that is not my own. Not of stone, of course, but something smaller and fluffier. Unlike him, I have been trapped in my body for decades and have grown used to my limitations.

I walk into the bakery like always, looking around at the people who stare my way, point and smile at my appearance, before I go up to the counter.

“Good morning Delphi!” The things I would do to the baker behind the counter if I could. If this body weren’t so damn small and his so impressively big. The large minotaur hands me my usual, already made and packaged for me. He also hands me my special drink, another morning regular.

I nodded to him as I stood on tiptoes to reach the bag. “Good morning to you, Hubie.” My paws grasped the bag and the warmth from within satisfied a craving inside me.

“What's new pussycat?” Another baker giggled my way as he passed by.

I glared at him, narrowing my eyes to slits as I placed the magician's debit card on the counter top. My ears flattened to the back of my head and my tail puffed up extra large.

“Ignore him,” Hubie whispered.

“I don’t think I will,” I sneered under my breath as Hubie rang up my order. As he passed me back my card I went to leave, but he stopped me.

“Wait a second, I’ve got something I want to show you.” Hubie sounded excited as he ran behind the glass counter. He waved me down to view some baked goods tucked behind that clear wall.

I followed, gazing to where he pointed to see an assortment of cat head shaped pastries. I glanced back at him through the glass to his excited expression.

“They’re custard filled,” he said.

My ears perked up then tilted towards the side. “What for?”

“For you.” he took one out, wrapped it up and he handed it down over the counter. “You’ve become a mascot of sorts for the bakery. People always ask about the cat lady.”

I took hold of the pastry and looked it over. The golden color, even the browner bits, matched my fur.

“A Delphi special.” His voice was bright and excited.

I pressed my mouth into a firm line. “Cute,” I muttered. What else was I supposed to say?

“Tell me how it is later,” Hubie replied. “I want to get it right.”

“What is there to get wrong?” I left the bakery, heading back up the street to the magician's place.

I set my drink and the cat-shaped pastry down at the table, then go back to deliver the bag to the magician. He’s slumped over his desk, his wild hair falling over the side.

“Breakfast.” I placed the bag towards the side of his hair.

“Everyday it gets worse, Delphi,” he was muffled by his desktop.

I gave him a sympathetic look. “I know, sir.”

He moved, rolling over to stare at the bag of food. “Everyday it’s a gettin’ closer. Going faster than a roller coaster,” he half-sung under his breath.

I rolled my eyes. “If it was a roller coaster, we wouldn’t be doing so well. Would we?”

He cut his eyes up at me, snatching the back away and opening it. “You like to smart mouth me, don’t you?”

“No, sir.” I lied.

He grumbled and muttered under his breath as he pulled out the prepared bagel. “And that was all that was in the mail?” He took a gnashing bite and cream cheese gushed out.

“Yes. I promise that was all.”

He waved his hand, dismissing me. “I’m done with you now.”

“Fine.” I bowed my head and left.

I sat back down in the kitchen, taking my drink between both paws and sipping it slowly. I breathed out, tasting the dark bitterness of the extra strong coffee. I opened my eyes, glancing up at the painting where I saw the woman sitting by the window, her head in her hands.

“Trapped inside a painting,” I murmured. “Now that’s a real curse.” I sipped my coffee again, looking back to the painting to see the woman looking towards me out the window.

I always wondered if she could really see me, or did she just see the world of her painting?

I picked up Hubie’s special pastry and took a bite. The custard is way too sweet for me. But other than that, it’s another good product made by the best baker I’ve met. I took several more bites, deliberately trying to taste it so I could give an honest review.

Then I heard a loud thud that shook the house.

“Delphi!” The magician’s strained yell pierced the tranquility of the usual breakfast ritual. Something in my gut told me this wasn’t one of his usual fits, this was something else.

As I got up from my chair he called my name several more times in quick succession, each more desperate than the last. As I rushed into his study, I found him on the floor.

“My body is too heavy to lift!” He cried out, tears streaming down his face.

I reached for him, but for certain, a tiny thing like me had no chance of lifting him if he couldn’t lift himself.

“Sir, what do I do?” I asked, trying to remain calm. But from this vantage point, I could see how badly the stone was taking over. It wasn’t just his hand, but his whole right arm and down the side of his chest. It was starting to creep up the side of his neck now, like some gargoyle kudzu.

The magician lay there, tears in his eyes. “Why won’t she answer me?”

I knelt down by his side with a soft sigh, stroking his forehead and moving his long hair from his face. “Get a hold of yourself, sir. The weaker you are the more it will-”

He tried to swat at me but his arm was too heavy to swing like he wanted. He laid back again, turning his head away from me. “Let it! I want to be a statue. Without her, my heart is just stone anyways.”

“You’re an annoying brat, sir, but having a heart of stone is false.” I leaned over him to see his expression better. “I am going to call a friend to help you up. Is that alright by you?”

“Why do you care?” He sniffled.

“Because you sign my paycheck, sir.” I took out my little phone and called up the bakery. Thankfully, Hubie could come by. I knew a big, strong guy like that could for sure help the magician off the ground.

“Thank you for coming,” I said as I let him inside.

“Of course,” he looked around the place with a curious glint. “I’m glad I could be of some help to you.”

I waved him back down the narrow hallway. “My boss is in a mood, so don’t be surprised if he says anything to you. Just help him up, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“That’s quite alright. I work in a bakery, I’m used to verbal abuse.”

I looked back at him with a look of concern, but I quickly turned back to the study. The magician was still laying there, right where I left him.

“Sir, this is Hubie. He’s the manager of the bakery you love so much.”

The magician sighed. “That’s nice.” His eyes turned and widened a bit. “Oh. I see.”

I took some pleasure in seeing his shocked reaction to Hubie’s impressive size. “Yes, that’s why I called him.” I stepped back so Hubie could get in and help the magician up.

“Where would you like me to set you?” He asked.

“In the fire.”

“Set him in his chair,” I instructed. I scurried over, adjusting the blankets and moving the side table aside so the magician’s stone appendages wouldn’t knock it over.

Hubie set the magician down and stepped back. “Stone curse, huh? That’s a tough one. I had an uncle cursed with stone legs.”

The magician just scoffed. “It’s worse than stone,” he muttered.

I tapped Hubie’s arm and silently instructed him to wait outside the door for me. “Tell him thank you, sir.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled.

“Now is there anything I can do for you?” I asked him.

The magician remained quiet. “I suppose there’s not, Delphi.”

I nodded and took a side step. “I’ll come check on you later, sir.” I left the study, looking up at Hubie who waited at the end of the hall.

“Thank you again for coming by,” I replied. “Sorry about him. Depression has hit him worse than the curse.”

“I understand,” he murmured. He followed me to the kitchen, seeing his cat shaped pastry was half eaten. “S-so, did you like it?”

I pulled myself back up in my chair and took hold of my coffee. “It’s sweeter than I like. But I think the target audience of cat-shaped pastries will love it.”

Hubie smiled boyishly, then his eyes turned to the painting. “Is that-” he stared hard then rubbed his eyes. “That painting.”

“A curse as well,” I murmured.

“This house is full of ‘em,” Hubie muttered. He then stiffened with the realization of what he said. “Sorry. I uhm-”

“No, you’re right,” I sighed. “My boss, the painting, and I.” I sipped my coffee and set it back down. “A house full of incurable people.”

Hubie glanced back down the hallway, undoubtedly hearing the magician sniffling. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Probably not,” I murmured.

He grimaced and his ears went flat against his head. “Do you need help, Delphi?”

“Oh, all sorts.” I sighed and crossed my little legs. “But that’s not something for you to worry about, Hubie. The concern is all mine.”

His brow furrowed. He then took a seat at the table and leaned in, as if he wanted to listen to more. “I’ve known you a long time, Delphi. You were my first customer ever at the bakery. I’ve seen you almost everyday for years. I consider you a friend.” He reached out, offering me his big, warm, bread scented hand.

I watched his hand for a moment, knowing the woman in me was greatly attracted to Hubie. But this body I was in made me keep people at bay. I took his hand, disappointed in how small my hand was in comparison. He took hold of it and, to my surprise, it was a great comfort. More than that, there was an ease that came with holding his hand. It was akin to when I held the warm bag containing breakfast, only amplified by ten.

I smiled and, as I was about to speak, I saw something from the corner of my eye. I turned to the painting and saw the woman standing front and center. She held a letter in her hand that she was extending out.

I stood up without a word, confusing Hubie.

“What is it?” He asked. His eyes followed mine and he gasped in alarm at the woman standing there.

I approached the painting and, to my shock, while my eyes were open, the woman dropped the letter. From behind the painting, a sealed envelope fell at my feet.

Hubie stood up in shock. “What is it?”

Picking up the letter, I saw it had the magician's name written upon it. I looked back at the painting, and the woman was back inside her home with the curtains drawn.

Hubie was beside me, staring at the painting then back down at me. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure. Nothing like that has ever happened before.” I glanced up at him, showing him the letter. “It’s for my boss.”

“Does he know about this painting?” He asked. “That it’s cursed.”

“The painting isn’t cursed,” I said plainly as I went towards the narrow hallway. “It’s the woman inside the painting who is cursed.”

His eyes flicked back towards the painting briefly before following me again. I went into the study, finding the magician unmoved. He barely acknowledged me as I stood at his side and extended out the letter.

“I’m in no mood for bills, Delphi,” he murmured.

I held up the envelope towards his face. “Sir, look. It isn’t a bill.”

His eyes flicked over then his head turned slightly. A rush went through him and he moved easily, taking the envelope and ripping it open. He stood, barely hobbling, walking almost as if normal.

Hubie watched from the doorway, while I held my breath standing there. The magician paced back and forth while reading, seeming to move easier with each step. I didn’t even hear stone hit the hardwood floor.

He turned to me, waving the letter in the air. “Where did this come from, Delphi? Through the mail? Tell me!”

I shook my head. “It came from the painting in the kitchen.”

He rushed towards the door, squeezing between Hubie and the narrow hallway to make an escape. I’d not seen him move like that since I began working here. In sync, Hubie and I chased after the magician.

He stood before the painting, body slack, arms down by his side. The letter floated down from his loose grip and I picked it up to look it over.

“All this time-” he muttered.

Hubie stood beside me, leaning down to whisper. “What does it say?”

I was still reading the letter, but parts of it were smudged. It was written with oil paint, and the wizard had already smeared some of the words and lines. My eyes flicked back up the painting.

“It’s his wife,” I murmured back to him.

Hubie bristled, holding in his breath as he followed my gaze to the painting. “You had no idea?” He breathed out.

“Not a clue. I just thought-” No matter what I thought. And heavens know I wasn’t going to speak my thoughts around my boss.

The magician gazed up at the painting, slack jawed and in awe. His hand rose, touching the canvas as he hoped to find a way inside. He smoothed his fingertips along the painting, tracing the details and raised bits.

“This painting has hung here so long,” he murmured. “How long now, Delphi?”

I wasn’t sure. “As long as I have been in your employ, sir.”

He nodded gently, now tracing the frame. “She painted this as an ideal for the dream house she wanted.”

“Who, sir?” I asked.

“My wife.” The magician’s hand dropped away from the painting and he rushed away again, running to his study.

“Sir!” I called after him, running to try and catch up. I found him pulling books down from his shelf. I also noticed that he was moving slower, bit by bit, as if the stone was taking over again. I rushed to his side, trying to pick up things as he threw them down.

He fell, toppling over and landing with his back against the bookshelf. “I can’t lift my arm again,” he panted. “It’s all heavy again.”

I held books and papers in my arms, giving him a wary look.

“I was so light for a moment,” he panted. “Now I can barely move.”

I set the books aside. “What do you need me to find, sir?”

“She said the curse was weak for a moment. I have to find out what caused it to be weak.” He tried to pick himself up again, but he hit against the floor with a loud, heavy thud. “I have to find it again.”

“It could be anything, you need to calm down.” I tried to placate him, but his mind was working away so fast, and his body couldn’t keep up with the demand.

The magician held his hands over his face as he bemoaned. “There’s a way to bring her out, I know there is. That painting is a window, that means there’s a door somewhere too.” He eased back against the bookcase, his breathing still heavy. I could see tears running down his cheeks and onto his neck. “I just…the weakness in the curse is the key.”

I sighed and looked over the books he had pulled out. “It would be helpful if you could move freely, sir.”

He turned and looked at me with blank, watery eyes. I felt horrible for him, I really did. But the best way I knew how to deal with him was bluntly.

“But for now, you’ll have to deal with me.” I murmured while opening the book.

“Me too, you’ll need me to move around,” Hubie said as he walked into the room. “I want to help Delphi if I can.”

Too bad I was like this, Hubie would make a remarkable husband. The magician’s hand touched my shoulder, taking me from my thoughts.

“Our curses are linked,” he said to me. “My wife and I…I never knew. That’s why her letter never came.”

“That’s obvious now, sir. What we need to find out now is what it was that caused that weakness.”

“I know! But it has to be something that links my wife and I. It had to be something that affected us both or it wouldn't have worked at all to begin with.” He slumped back again. “Something happened in this house.”

“In the house?” Hubie was holding the letter this time.

I took it back from him. “What did the letter say, sir? The paint is smearing.” Fresh paint, how funny.

The magician sniffled and wiped his face. Paint blotched his face. “She said she felt a shift, she could see the kitchen clearly and knew she only had a moment. She wanted us to know that she was safe, but lonesome. Each day moves slower than the last. Just like me.”

I inched closer towards him. It had been years since I had seen him move around so freely, since there had been some life in this house. “Did you do something different, sir? Perhaps you had a thought, an idea. Something in this house changed that caused the curse to weaken.” I placed my hand upon his arm, surprised by how cold he felt.

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

My workplace had been taken over by the magician. He sat at the kitchen table, staring up at that painting all day. We watched for his wife, hoping that weakness to their curses would happen again. Unfortunately, whatever happened hasn’t happened again.

I’ve taken over the study, pouring through books to see if I can find anything. If I do find something, I take the books to the magician so he can read them. I’m not magic like him, I’m not versed in these sorts of things. Before I was cursed my job was much, much different.

“If I could just find what was different.” The magician muttered, his head clutched in his hands as he glared at the book before him.

“You should go to bed, sir,” I offered him a reprieve. He’d barely moved from that table. The painting would be going nowhere, that much I knew. But I would dare not say that to him.

“And do what? Sleep?” He scoffed.

“Yes! Exactly,” I sighed. “Sleep is good for the body, and the mind, it will help you to think once you’ve had hours under your pillow.” I reached for him, taking hold of his arm, but he yanked it away from me.

“I can rest here.”

“I will call Hubie!” I snapped.

The magician cut his eyes at me. “Good! Then do it! You like him, don’t you?”

I had a moment of hesitation, my heart fluttering. The magician’s hand moved as if it were flesh again, and in the painting, his wife seemed to lean out the window.

“You like him,” the magician said as if he’d just caught me in a trap.

I frowned, placing my hands on my hips. “I’ll call him and have him force you into bed! I’ll have him cart every bag of brown sugar from the house.”

The magician laughed, turning towards me, his right, and not a sound of stone grinding was heard. “I dare you.”

There was a knocking on the wall. No. The painting. We looked back and saw the wife was waving to us. The magician jumped to his feet and ran to the painting.

“Hello, my love!”

I messaged Hubie. Regardless of the magician's newfound movement, he wasn’t going to rest unless I made him. Thank goodness Hubie was eager to help out.

By the time Hubie arrived, the magician’s stone had returned and the wife had moved out of sight in the painting.

“Come on, sir, I’ll carry you to bed,” Hubie said, scooping the magician up.

“How romantic,” the magician grumbled irritably.

I scoffed, cleaning up his spot at the kitchen table while Hubie hauled him away like a sack of potatoes. On the table, there was a notebook and the magician had written on it. It was the letter he had received from his wife.

“While I have time, my darling, I want to reach out to you. A warmth has come over me and I can sense you, I can see into the kitchen. While I have this moment, this weakness in the curse, I want to assure you I never left you. In a way, I never have. My trip was not supposed to be this way. I do not remember what happened or how I ended up here. I didn’t even know where I was until I could see beyond this painting. I thought I was cursed to live in the home of my dreams, but the curse was that I could not be with you. I do hope you’re alright, and that you are not letting the stone take over. Please, take care of yourself. I do not want you to worry about me. I am safe here. Lonesome, but well. I love you dearly. Always and forever. Your-” I stopped reading as Hubie came back into the room.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you taller?”

“What?” I scoffed. “I don’t see how that could be possible.” I picked up the notebook and stacked it with the rest of the magician’s materials.

“You look taller to me!” Hubie held up his hand as I walked by. “You are!”

I looked down, seeing the hem of my skirt was further off the ground. But that would be impossible. “Must have shrunk in the wash,” I scoffed as I swished the skirt back and forth. I then sighed. “Would you like something to eat? The least I can do is to thank you for your help.”

“Some tea maybe,” he suggested.

I nodded. “That I can do.” I pulled up my rolling stool, standing to get into the cupboard. But I noticed I didn’t have to stand on my tiptoes to get it. “Odd,” I muttered. I also pulled down a tin of cookies for us to share.

“Did he put up much of a fight?” I asked as I set up the kettle.

“No. he seemed more amused about something.” Hubie took a seat at the table.

I frowned, hoping the magician hadn't said anything. “Yes, well, there was a moment where the curse was weak again.” I placed the filled kettle on the stove. “He got to see her for a moment.”

Hubie sighed. “I can’t imagine how that must feel. Being kept from the love of your life like that. It must be torture.”

I turned from the counter to look at him. His expression was soft, kind, and sympathetic. He looked angelic with the dark curls and soft expression. If he only knew, yes, it must be torture. I stepped down from the stool and set the tin of cookies before him.

“I feel guilty, I always thought he knew the painting moved. I never thought it was a curse.”

Hubie lifted his head and his eyes widened. “How could you know? This isn’t your fault! Whoever did the curse is the one who-”

I smiled at him. “Ever since I was hired here though, he’s been waiting for correspondence from his wife.” I sighed heavily, crossing my arms against my chest for comfort. “I thought she had left him and he was delusional. But I cared about him, still do care, and I continued to let him have hope she would send word and-” I looked back to the painting. “I thought he knew about this painting.”

Hubie’s hand touched my arm, and warmth flooded through me. I smiled at him and he returned it brightly. I moved my hand to touch his. “Like you said, I can’t imagine the-” There was that knock again.

The wife waved at me and she threw a paper airplane. It came out from the top of the frame and Hubie jumped up from his chair to catch it. He handed it down to me and inside were painted words.

“You’re the key.”

I looked back at the painting, seeing the wife standing there waiting. “Me?” I pointed to myself.

The wife nodded.

Suddenly, a button popped off my blouse and the kettle whistled loudly. I cried out in pain, falling to the floor as my body was ripped with agony. I clawed at the floor, grabbing Hubie who picked me up and held me to his chest.

“What time is it?” I cried. “What day is it?” I had lost track of time, I had forgotten my days as I had been consumed with helping the magician figure out the secret to their curse.

“Midnight, the 13th!” Hubie was confused, doing everything in his power to hold me.

“Friday?” I screamed.

I sat up in Hubie’s arms, breathing deeply as my body settled. “No, it can’t be,” I whispered.

“I uh-” Hubie took off his jean jacket and draped it over me. “You’re uhm…Delphi I-”

“Shit,” I scoffed. I stood up and moved the screaming kettle off the stove. I put Hubie’s jacket fully around me and stood there, unwilling to face him.

“Are you alright?” Hubie asked as he stood from the floor.

“Friday the 13th,” I grumbled. “I can’t believe I lost track.” I looked down at my body, feminine, womanly, plump but in a grown sort of way. I turned back to Hubie, looking him in the eye rather than craning my neck up to see the bottom of his chin.

“Delphi-” he was breathless.

“It’s just for a few hours,” I murmured. “Until sunrise.” I clutched his large coat around me and smiled meekly.

“Oh wow,” Hubie murmured. I don’t blame him for being speechless. This change only happens maybe once a year. So I don’t really think much of it. I usually just sleep through it.

Hubie swallowed. “I see.”

This would be the perfect moment, to work out all my feelings and frustrations while Hubie was here. But if I gave in and I knew Hubie like that, then I would know the torture that the magician and his wife must be going through. Did I want that torture? Did I want to share it with Hubie?

“You should go,” I told him.

He looked surprised. “What? Why?”

“Because if you stay, then I’ll keep you. And if I keep you, then you can only have me maybe once a year. And if I do that, then that’s another curse. And of all the people on this earth, I don’t want to curse you the most.”

Hubie swallowed tears in his eyes. “If you cursed me, I wouldn’t mind.”

I shook my head. “Get out!” I went to shove him, but he grabbed me and held me to his chest. I clung to him, pressing my face into his body. He was warm, so warm. He smelled so good, like butter and fresh dough.

“Get out,” I whispered.

“I care about you,” he whispered. “But I knew we could only be friends. But still, if there is a chance to have you like this-”

I pushed him back, stepping aside. “I told you no!”

Hubie sighed, slouching his shoulders. He nodded. “Then, that’ll end here.”

I sniffled and glanced towards the painting. The wife was standing there, holding out two thumbs up.

“I’ll always be your friend, Delphi. Never doubt that.” Hubie started to leave.

I stood there, taking a few more deep breaths and holding onto my tears. Then I chased him. “Hubie! Wait!” I followed him outside, grabbing him on the front steps. I was standing above him, I’d never seen him this way.

“I shouldn’t do this.” I was breathless.

Hubie looked up at me hopefully before I dipped down to kiss him. It was good. So good! I had been wanting to do this to him for years, but I was a kitten all that time. Hubie scooped me up, never breaking the kiss as he carried me back inside.

This is stupid! I am a fool! I cannot curse him like this. I do not mind cursing myself again, but I do not want to pull Hubie under with me. He carries me off, taking me to the study where he sets me down before the fire. He kneels before me, kissing me more as I melt into his touch.

His hands, his strong, warm hands, knead into my side and down to my thighs. He tears away the remains of my dress that had ripped as I grew. Naked. I was naked before Hubie.

His dark eyes stared at me, touching me, his great hands eliciting more moans and sighs from deep within.

“You’re beautiful, Delphi,” he whispered.

I bit down on my tongue.

“When you first told me about your curse, I never stopped worrying about you. How frustrating it must be to be kept in such a small package when there is so much inside.”

I bit down on my lip.

“No wonder you were always so grouchy with people,” he chuckled. “How come you never were with me?” He looked into my eyes again after staring at my body.

I jumped him, knocking him over before climbing upon him. Any thoughts of hesitation were gone. I wanted him. I needed him. Just this once and I could let him go.

I would love him forever, but Hubie could only have me this one night.

(smut maybe? I dunno. Add later?)

“Oh shit,” I murmured as I first began to wake. I sighed, keeping my eyes closed as I kept the memory of last night with me. If I kept my eyes closed, I would still be a woman and I would be beside the baker minotaur I adored. I took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly before I opened my eyes.

There was the sky above me.

Now, I know it has been a while for me. But surely my orgasm didn’t rocket me outside the house. I rolled over, seeing I was lying in a patch of clover and grass behind a row of clotheslines with sheets hanging upon them.

“That’s not right,” I murmured as I stood up. There was a movement to the sheets, even the way the colors worked that was a bit off. Everything seemed a bit brighter and vivid but also blurred around the edges, a crispness to the movement.

I heard a screen door squeak open and shut. “Oh good, you’re awake.” A woman came towards me, carrying a mug in each hand.

I recognized her instantly. As many times as I had sat before her while I worked, or wandered about the kitchen. I would know her anywhere. But she was clearer, more lovely. Her dark skin was richer, her eyes more loving.

“You must be Delphi.” She offered me one of the mugs.

I stood on stubby legs and stretched out my little arms.

“Just black, correct?” She said with a smile.

I gazed up at her in awe. Did I really curse myself? The mug was hot in my hands and the liquid inside was dark but looked very thick.

“Don’t let the paint fool you, it’s fine.” She waved over to a picnic table I had never seen in the painting. Then again, it was behind the house.

I sat down with her, still unable to form a coherent thought in my little head.

“You know, Heinrich was cursed before I met him.”

I just watched her, slowly putting the mug to my lips.

“It was on his feet then,” she sighed. “He kept it at bay with his studies and learning and all that. When he met me, he wanted to learn about art.” She smiled dreamily. “Then the stone went away. For a long time it did.”

I sipped the coffee and, at first, it tasted like paint, but it melted and became piping hot coffee on my tongue.

“It was an old friend of his who cursed him. Well, she thought they were more. Maybe he thought they were less.” She looked up at me, smiling as her long, tight curls caught the painted breeze. “Keep busy, she said, for if your mind lingers too long at one thing, then you stay put.”

I set my mug down. “That’s why he has so many books.”

“That’s right. He studied everything. More scholar than magician.” Her smile brightened upon me. “What about your curse?”

“What about it?” I scoffed.

“To stay so small must be frustrating. I often dreamed of becoming a little girl again, but I’m sure if I was stuck that way for years, decades, I would grow bitter at it.”

I sipped the coffee again. “I was always a bit bitter. Hence this.” I looked into her eyes. “Why am I here?”

She tilted her head into her palm. “I called you, that’s why you’re here.”

“Why not your husband?”

She chuckled. “He’s stuck in one place. I can’t pull him from it. And the further away he becomes, the smaller my world gets.” She turned her head, gazing far off into the distance.

I follow her eyes, seeing nothing but a void of white, some stains of paint around the edges. It’s close to the garden. Almost given the painting outside.

“If I can’t feel him then I lose track of him. If I lose track then I forget sometimes. I truly become one with the painting.” She turned and looked back at me. “That’s why I need you. I think you are what caused the weakness.”

I furrowed my brow at her. “Me? What did I do?”

Her smile was a knowing one, a wise one. It was easy to see why the magician was charmed by her, why he was so enraptured by her. “Love is always a problem for curses.”

I sneered. “Love? You really don’t know me, do you?”

She laughed, raising her hand so the bangles on her wrist jingled. The combined sounds were hypnotic. “I can feel it. Especially when you’re with that minotaur.”

I looked away. “Okay. But love isn’t the end of curses like it used to be. True love stuff is fairy tale nonsense. Lots of cases of curses coming back when love fades is common!”

“Yes, but your love can help us now.” She stood up and held her hand out to me. “I want to go home and help him.”

I looked at her hand and then back into her eyes. “What can I do?”

“Think of him.”

“The magician?”

She laughed again. “No! Your minotaur.” She clutched my paw tight in her hand, closing her eyes as she knelt down before me. “Think about him. Imagine where he is, what he’s doing. How does that make you feel?”

I closed my eyes, picturing Hubie in the bakery, kneading bread dough with his large, warm hands.

“Warm,” I answered her. Soft and warm. It was like I was fluffy all over. I smiled, thinking about how much I loved him. Friend or lover, I wanted him in my life.

There was a loud crash and I was woken from a deep sleep. I sat up in bed, gasping for breath. I quickly got up, putting on my robe I ran out to see what the noise was. In the kitchen, the wall where the painting hung was broken in.

“We made a mistake, boys! Shit! Frank, you fucking idiot!” Outside a construction crew was working on the sidewalk. I raced forward, looking for the painting. The frame was shattered, and the canvas was ripped.

“No! No, no!” I cried as I tried to pull it out of the rubble of the wall.

“Hey ma’am, is this your place?” Someone from outside yelled.

I looked up, every fur on my body stood on end. “You idiots! What are doing breaking into people’s walls?” I was about ready to lunge myself outside the hole at them. Clutching a piece of canvas to my chest.

“Whoa! That’s new.”

I stopped and turned, seeing the magician standing behind me, holding his cup of coffee. “Glad I made my coffee before that happened. You okay, Delphi?”

I stared at him in disbelief. Only the right side of his neck was stone. “Sir?” I balked. There was way too fucking much happening.

The magician helped me to stand, pulling me back from the debris. “Oh no, Erica’s painting.” He took the bit of canvas I clutched from me. “Good thing she has more.”

“Sir, I thought you were turning into a statue!” I gasped. “Your wife!” I then screeched.

The magician laughed. Raising his hand to cover his mouth, bangles on his wrist jingled melodically. “She’s fine. She’s in the bathroom fixing her hair up before people come traipsing in.”

I still wasn’t getting it. “What do you mean she’s fine?”

The magician smiled. “If you want to go and get us breakfast to avoid all the drama, you’re welcome to stay at the bakery for as long as you’d like.”

I watched him walk around me to step outside. Despite his chipper demeanor with me, he started yelling profanely at the men outside.

“Goodness! They really did dig through the wall.” Erica came out, her hair tucked under a silk cap. She was putting on her favorite earrings as she came towards me.

“The painting!” I gasped.

She put her hand on my shoulder. “I know. It’s such a shame. That was the house I dreamed about as a girl.” She pouted as she watched the rubble tumble a bit. “Well, at least no one was hurt.” She looked at me with that knowing, somewhat immortal smile of hers and winked.

“This will be a story to tell Hubie, won’t it?” She patted my shoulder. “See if he has anything new today for me.”

Was I going mad? Was all that a dream?

I waddled back to my bedroom, delirious from the shock of everything. The wall. The painting. The magician. The painter.

I got dressed and then caught sight of myself in the mirror. I wasn’t a kitten.

I decided to accept it. Rather than linger on the craziness happening I got dressed and went outside, walking to the other side of the street while the magician ranted about his wall and the idiocy of city planning.

I walked into the bakery, which was surprisingly empty and quiet. The lights were dim all but in the back, but the door was unlocked. I eased inside, seeing a sign at the counter that said the water was off and partial power was on. Only a few things were displayed in the case.

“Hello?” I called out.

“Just a second!” Hubie shouted from the back.

I stood there looking around, pressing my mouth into a firm line as I kept trying to make myself accept everything. As Hubie came out, he stopped. He looked at me, his eyes wide with shock.

“This isn’t normal, is it?” I asked.

He shook his head slowly, putting the pieces together inside his mind. “You’re taller today.”

I sighed. “The sidewalk construction put a hole in the wall.” It was all I could think to say. It was probably the most normal thing.

“Is everyone alright?” He walked out from behind the counter. “Which wall?”

“In the kitchen. That big uhm…front one.” I looked him over, unable to tell if this was strange to him or not.

Did love really work?

Hubie waved me back. “I can’t do your usual today,” he chuckled. “But I have managed to get some coffee going.” He reached into the glass counter and pulled out two cat head-shaped pastries. “I made them with cream cheese since the other was too sweet.” He offered it to me. “See if you like it better.”

I smiled, taking a bite as he led me to the back for coffee. If love worked, I guess it doesn’t matter.

311 notes · View notes

auberghyn · 8 months ago

Text

Alcide the Vampire

Vampires in space is basically the theme of this story. Well, not really, but that seems eye catching. A young, mortal, woman is the charge of a vampire royal whose ship is on the way back to the vampire planet. She is unsure if she is kept for love or duty, and her vampire master seems extremely dependent on her presence.

(TW: blood, dark romance)

Female Reader x Male Monster

I wish I was like the others. This thought comes to me as I stare out towards the foot of my bed. I would like to dream forever as the others do, to sleep perchance to wake. I remove myself from bed, setting my feet down upon the cold floor. There are no windows to speak of here, but they place curtains upon the wall as if to mimic one.

I am not alone long, I am never alone long. My attendants are many, but they are more like guards. They assure I look my best, that I stay in place, that I am never too far from my family. Not that Alicde would let me stray anyways. He needs me, and I need him as well.

To dream forever, I think as they dress me. To lie in one place, resting, unconscious, unaware. They do not know what goes on around them. The others. Nowhere and yet everywhere. Meanwhile, I am everywhere but nowhere.

“There we are, princess.” Lady Renata whispers to me as she finishes putting on the cuffs around my wrists. She smoothes down my shirt then reaches up and does the same to my long hair. She gives me a look, her nearly hollow eyes stare just a bit too long for my taste.

Then a smile crosses her lips and she nods to me. “You are ready.”

Lady Renata has coal black eyes that make her head appear empty. Her orange red hair can be seen from a great distance, which I suppose could be for my benefit if I needed her. She is small and petite as well, perhaps her hair serves as a warning. Because there is no sense to be fooled by her dainty appearance, Lady Renata is the most vicious of my family’s members.

“Thank you,” I say to her. I look at my hand, noticing a chip in the nail polish.

“Did you rest well, princess?” Lady Renata caught me staring at my hands and I tucked them away behind the folds of my dress.

I nodded, turning away from her. “I did.” The other attendants scurried from the room, filing away where they will not be seen until they are needed to be seen.

Renata reached out, touching my hair then slipped her fingers along the nape of my neck. I brushed her away, giving her a scolding look. I went over to my vanity, the mirror was covered by a curtain. I reached into the drawers, taking out my jewelry, my choker, my lipstick.

Her hand recoiled and she sniffed the blade of her fingers. “Master is waiting on you, princess.”

“I know who waits,” I mumbled. I put the choker around my neck then touched the dark jewel that rested upon my throat. “Your master does not mind waiting for me.”

Renata sighed, tilting her head to the side. “You are beautiful as it is.”

“Thank you, Renata.” I put on the lipstick, dabbing and wiping at the bow, then smoothing out under the bottom lip with my thumb.

“Look at me.” Renata came to my side and held my chin in her hand. Her finger delicately cleaned up the edges of my lips, and her dour pout turned into a soft smile. “There. Perfect.”

I fidgeted in my seat. “If I could just use the mirror, you wouldn’t have to bother.”

Renata’s eyes flashed towards the covered mirror. “You know we cannot do that. The head of the family would have my head if they knew we allowed this with us.”

“But it’s mine,” I insisted.

She nodded, taking my hand to make me stand. “Come now, Master is waiting. You know he cannot start his day without you.”

To Renata, he is master, but to me he is simply Alci. Very few people come above me here, not until we reach the familial home and then the head and their parts stand above all of us here. Alcide is one of those parts, but a lower one. He takes care of the livestock, the farm, and he travels far and wide because of it. The vast emptiness of space has known his presence in several far corners.

His chambers are closed as we approach, but the doors crack open slightly. As always, he is inspecting me. Renata pushed me ahead, making me walk through the open door which closed behind me.

“There’s my girl.” His voice caused the hairs on the back of my neck to prickle. It is a strange sensation, both alluring and frightening. I walk further into his cold room and lights flicker on to show him sitting bent over his desk.

“Have you not rested?” I asked.

“I do not remember what that is,” he sighs dramatically. “Everything bleeds together into one giant, cacophonous void that lack meaning and-”

“Alci,” I said, cutting off his trail. I approached him, coming to stand by his desk. “Enough of that.”

He released a breath and lifted his head from the desk. His hair is disheveled and messy, dyed dark in color, but the pure white near the scalp is showing through.

I ran my fingers through his hair, a touch he instinctively pushed towards. “You had an appointment with Mewsette yesterday. What happened?”

“What is the point? We dye our hair all these colors, and for what? To be reminded that we are pale! We are devoid of blood and pigment!”

I rolled my eyes, but I knew too well how these moods affected Alcide. “You are as you are. Same as us all.” I took hold of his hand, touching the ring that matched the gem on my choker.

“Not like you,” he breathed. “You are capable of what I am not. You are everything I wish that I was.” His large hand escaped my grasp and touched the top of my head, sliding down to cup my cheek. “You may be as pale as I am. You may have the same white hair. But you have everything I want.”

“No,” I said simply.

Alcide pulled away and slumped over his desk again with a mournful sigh.

“You lied to me yesterday when you said you had rested. I do not like what you turn into when you do not rest.” I motioned towards his bed with one hand while grabbing his broad shoulder with the other. “Get up and go to bed.”

“Out here there is no reason to rest. No sign. No moon. No tell tale sign of when we begin and end. Endless. Meaningless,” he bemoaned.

“Alci,” I cooed to him. “You still must rest. You may be eternal, but you are still made of flesh and bone.”

“Am I?” he looked up at me with those dark red eyes. “Who am I, Nessa?”

It is rare when I am called by name, so I relish it when it is said. “You are Alcide Von Helena. Part of the Core, a member of the family. You take care of feeding the family. Of growing the farm.” I smoothed my hand up the back of his neck. “You are dramatic and brooding. You read too much tragic literature, which adds to your somewhat grim personality.” I gave him a rare smile. “You are the master of this tomb ship. You are my caregiver.”

He looked at me with watery eyes. “Surface level. But you know what I want to hear, Nessa.” He turned to me in his seat, taking hold of my hands, comparing how large his were to mine. My hands fit in the center of his palm, and his overly long, spidery fingers could easily envelop them twice if the joints allowed it.

“Do not get me wrong. I hear your words. I see what you are trying to do.” He clasped my hands between his and pressed them against his forehead. “But I simply cannot feel much more.”

I brushed aside my hair and gave him an indigent sniff. “That is because you need to sleep. You’ll change if you do not.” I tried to urge him to the bed. I wanted to join him, to lay there and pretend I was like the others. I wanted to dream, for hours, for days unend. I could do that if Alcide would just rest. But the door opened a crack and Renata’s bright hair could be seen from it.

“I will try for your sake,” Alcide murmured. “But I have too much work to do now as it is. Duty calls, as it were.”

I was stunned. I touched the cuff around my wrist but Renata got to me before I could say anything else to him. She took me out of the room, keeping her hand upon my back until we reached the end of the hall.

“Where would you like to go today, princess?” Renata asked.

I shook my head, grimacing as my usual meeting with Alcide did not go well. I scoffed, trying to walk away but she kept pace with me, slinking up beside me and then in front of me to stop me in my tracks.

I halted, glaring up at her as I thrust my arms down by my sides.

“Where would you like to go today, princess?” Renata repeated with venom upon her tongue.

“I want to see the animals,” I stated.

Renata shook her head. “You know I can’t let you go there, princess. The master would have my head.” She leaned in closer to me, placing her hands upon my waist. “Unless-” she sniffed my hair then slowly leaned in closer until her lips fluttered against my cheek.

I pushed against her shoulders. “No,” I commanded.

She stepped away immediately, her lips flushed and mouth cracking at the corners, revealing the fine line leading towards her ears. “Then no animals today.”

I scowled up at her as the tingling in my cheeks subsided. “Then take me to Mewsette,” I scoffed. “I want a change.”

Renata smirked. “Bold. You’ve not touched your hair since you were given to the master.” She nodded and flourished her arm out down the other hall. “Mewsette is this way.”

The long dark corridors of the ship were these endless tunnels lined with doors and antique artwork. Sometimes the attendants popped out and stood still as we passed by, their eyes following us until we could no longer be seen.

“What prompted this?” Renata asked, her dark eyes peering up at me. “I figured you’d let your hair grow forever.”

I remained quiet.

“Not going to say anything to me since I won’t let you see the animals?” She quipped. “That’s fine. I’m sure Mewsette will get an answer from you.”

I exhaled through my nose and kept my neck stiff.

Mewsette was at the farthest end of the ship from where I usually was. A journey to be had, for certain, but a worthwhile one for those who needed her services.

There was a chemical whiff to the air as we approached her quarters, one that I occasionally got from Renata, sometimes Alci. Inside her chambers was a dark pink motif, the floors were pink marble, and the chairs were shiny pink. Mewsette herself looked like a decorated cake, beautiful and sweet.

“Renata, you aren’t due,” Mewsette’s voice was surprisingly deep for her appearance. Her red eyes then looked at me and her painted lips spread into a smile. “Princess! This is a surprise.”

“She wants to see you,” Renata said.

Mewsette clicked her tongue and approached us. “You’ve never come to my salon before.” She reached out, longer fingers tipped in sharp, pink nails ran through my hair and tickled my scalp. “What brought about this decision?”

“That’s what I am hoping you can get out of her,” Renata said with a smirk.

Mewsette trailed her fingers through my long hair until she came to the ends. “I am glad you are here. These split ends certainly aren’t doing you any favors.” She smiled at me; her nose was slightly too big, but I liked that about her features. She was beautiful regardless.

“This way now, this way.” She tapped her foot upon the floor in a certain code and before us the floor opened up where a chair rose from underneath.

“I’ll wait outside,” Renata said as Mewsette made me sit.

Mewsette was quiet until Renata left and then she sighed. “She is beautiful, but she frightens me. How do you stand her all day?”

“One word and Alcide would send her away,” I replied. “That’s how I tolerate Renata on a daily basis.”

Mewsette’s smirk was an entertained one. “That’s too much power for a lady like you.” She eased me back in the chair, pulling out my hair until it draped down the back. She stood behind me, fanning out my long hair and studying the ends. She tapped her foot again and a marble basin rose from the floor behind me. I heard water flowing and Mewsette adjusted me more until my head rested in that warm water.

“A wash to start us off.” Mewsette’s sharp nails felt good against my skin. “Alcide didn’t come yesterday.”

“He’s in his mood,” I replied, closing my eyes to relax, to pretend to dream.

Mewsette hesitated. “Oh-”

“I know,” I murmured. “I will make him sleep though.”

She sighed, shaking her head as she lathered shampoo between her palms. “Ever since he was young, this mood has cursed him.”

I opened my eyes. “You knew Alcide that long ago?”

Mewsette just smiled. “I used to be a part, you know?”

“No,” I gasped.

She winked at me. “Just shows you that you should come back and see me more often.” She then reached down, wiping a smudge of my lipstick away. Her eyes lingered upon my throat. “That jewel-”

I tapped it with my fingertips. “Alcide gave it to me.”

She nodded. “No. I know that. He has one on a ring. They used to be his mother’s earrings.”

I held in my breath, keeping it so everything felt tight and stretched. I looked back towards her, grateful she wasn’t looking directly at me, but instead still at my throat. “I didn’t know that.”

Her eyes cut away, giving me a look before focusing her attention back upon my hair. “Your hair really is lovely. That pure white. I see it all the time, but yours is so much fuller.”

“Is it?” I was grateful she changed the conversation away from jewelry.

Mewsette added something else to my hair, something that smelled like fragrant perfume and made her fingers slick through much easier than the shampoo. “What did you have in mind for today?”

My eyes focused up towards the ceiling, where the tiles glittered in between from all the computer pieces and wires. The fogged glass hid layers upon layers of technology that kept the ship running and operating the way it was supposed to. Each wire connected to each other, to something else, to keep the occupants alive, the others dreaming.

I blinked and snapped myself from my thoughts. “Alcide mentioned I could change. So I thought that I might.”

Mewsette was rubbing the creamy conditioner into my hair. “Do you want it dyed or cut then?”

“I think Alcide would burst if I dyed it. Just a cut.” I closed my eyes again. “As long as my hair still covers my neck you can do as you wish.”

Mesette hummed to herself. “Alright then.” She stepped away from me. “Sit there for a moment. I’ll be right back.” Her heels clicked, clicked, clicked upon the floor until the sound vanished deep into her chambers.

All I could hear was faint music and my own breathing. I kept my eyes shut, pretending that I was dreaming.

I took in a deep breath and let it fill my chest as slowly as possible. I let it out just as slowly until there was nothing left inside me. When I opened my eyes again to the ceiling, the lights and wires looked like dozens of little eyes staring at me. Amongst them I saw eyes, big and red, glaring down at me from above. Dread swept through my limbs, a sickening, nauseating pit.

“Alright, princess.” Mewsette returned, coming close to me and carrying a pink case in her hand. “Let's get your hair rinsed and dried and we’ll see what happens.”

I tore my eyes away from the ceiling, leaning back again as Mewsette rinsed my hair clean. It was soft and fragrant as she dried it.

“Will you stay with the family once we arrive back at the port?” Mewsette gently ran a comb through my hair, leveling it against my back. She then wrapped a ribbon around it, tying it off near the bottom of my shoulders.

I wanted to shake my head, but I needed to keep it still. “I’m not sure. I’m his gift, so I suppose it is up to the head.”

“Do you stay with the head when you are home?” There was a defined snip and Mewsette placed my bundled hair onto the table beside us.

The long white hair beside me was my own, I made it, but it looked so strange laying there and not upon my head. It was like a removed tail, but there was no blood to be seen. I turned away from it, instead looking at my hand. I picked at the chip in the nail polish.

“It depends who they have when we return.” More polish chipped away.

The snipping of Mewsette's scissors was growing louder and faster. “It must be tiring being a princess sometimes.”

The nail I was using to chip suddenly broke. “I suppose.”

I couldn’t see what Mewsette had done to my hair. I could only tell that there was a weight missing, a breeze at my skin, and when I moved my head I felt the blunt edge of the back brush against me. Mewsette had placed my cut hair into a box so I could present it as a gift to Alcide. I thought I could use it to bribe him to rest.

Lady Renata was not outside when I left the salon. Instead, one of the attendants was waiting for me and was given strict instructions to take me back to my chambers.

“I would like to see the animals,” I told the attendant.

“Lady Renata said you were to go to your room,” their raspy voice hissed back at me.

I looked down at the box in my arms, the cuff on my wrist. There was a sharp pin that held the cuffs together, if I could take it off I could distract the attendant.

“Princess!” A figure lurched out of a room, slamming the door wide open and sending the attendant crawling into the wall.

Alcide’s sudden appearance caused my insides to lurch, my skin to prickle and turn cold, I even stumbled backwards, nearly dropping the box.

His eyes were wild, slightly darker than when I last saw him. His jaw had split and his mouth was opened towards his ears.

I clutched the box tight to me, eyeing him and ready to yell for more attendants to come to my side.

Alcide’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. “Your hair!”

“I cut it,” I said with a terse tone. I backed away, turning my body so my shoulder protected me. “You scared me.”

He took a step back as well. “I’m sorry. I realized you were close and I-” his voice choked in his throat. “You cut off so much.”

I couldn’t possibly convey the nerves coursing through my body. His eyes, they weren’t right. I know he’s lying to me, he hasn’t rested longer than he claimed. The wildness of him, the primal paint his veins give him. I do not like this. He’ll go mad soon. Just like she did if he is not careful.

I shook my head at Alcide, keeping my shoulder perched up. “You haven’t rested. You know what will happen.”

“I can’t. I simply can’t!” Alcide fussed, running his fingers through his messy hair, tousling it from side to side until it fell into its part. “Why did you cut your hair?”

I reached out towards the attendant, intending to walk around Alcide. “I don’t want to speak to you until you’ve rested!” I yelled at him. I turned away, walking towards the door and the attendant nearby.

I had barely touched the attendant’s hand when Alcide grabbed me, pulling me up towards him. I dropped the box and the lid opened to pink tissue paper.

“Let me go!” I screamed at him. “How dare you touch me! Release me at once!” My hand struck his jaw, and his mouth parted, revealing the slits that pointed towards his ears.

Alcide snarled near my ear, placing his hand around my throat and twisting the choker back and forth. He placed his nose behind my ear, breathing in my scent and moaning deeply.

“Nessa, oh, Nessa,” he moaned.

“You stupid fool,” I grumbled, letting my body go limp. “What am I going to do with you?” I placed my hand over his and his body pressed close to mine.

The attendant was staring up at us, mouth opening and closing in an odd way. They were unsure of how to move or what to do.

“Leave,” I snapped at them, causing them to scurry away through a door. I struggled in Alcide’s grip. There was only one thing that could calm Alcide when he had entered this sort of mood. I had to relax, to calm myself in order to take care of him.

“You’re being rough with me,” I breathed. I then scoffed, tilting my head to the side. “I cut my hair because I wanted change. While I can still obtain it, I want it.” I glanced down at the box with my hair carefully braided inside. “What was cut is in there. Mewsette packaged it for you.”

Alcide whimpered. “Change frightens me. I didn’t know what to do when I saw you.”

“You could have kept your emotions in check for five seconds,” I growled.

He buried his face into my hair. His finger slid under the choker, snapping it off. I lost my breath as it slid away, falling to the ground with a tiny clatter. My flesh split open against his mouth, my throat bled thickly onto his tongue and down his throat, staining my dress, his shirt and blazer, even dribbling down his skin to give him the color he wanted.

My eyes fluttered and my eyes rolled back into my head. “Not here,” my voice strained. My body felt hot, my veins were tight. I moaned out loud the more his lips pressed to my pale skin. He bit again and again so more blood would flow. He ate messily, like a child would. As a princess, it was my job, my role. Sometimes I took great pleasure in it, even now I cannot distinguish between it and the fear. My toes curled and my body was putty in his hands. I was warm between my thighs and growing wet like my neck.

His mouth pulled back and he breathed in my ear. “I couldn’t stand it much longer. I need you so badly.”

“You’ve forgotten your manners today,” I whimpered. “Hurry now. Before someone sees me in this state.”

Alcide carried me away, leaving droplets of blood upon the ground that the attendants would fight over and lap up directly from the marble. They did not get much fresh food within the tomb ship.

I have only ever known Alcide in a certain way. No one else has partaken of me the way he has. His mother, I think, wanted to, but aside from that, I was only drunk. I let Alcide inside me because I wanted him. He said my warmth made him melt, and he liked to see it spill from inside me. It and being fed upon were my greatest carnal pleasures.

Once Alcide was full and had exerted all his remaining energy, hopefully he would rest. He would lay still and not budge until recovery took hold. My blood assured he kept his strength on these long journeys. Only I was good for that. Not many princes and princesses were left these days, even fewer were born.

My blood stained his sheets, but it did not matter. He rested, content but troubled. I kissed his lips before leaving the bed, removing my stained and ripped dress. I walked naked to his controls, opening the large tome that contained his commands, sliding my fingers over the glowing words to open the screen and the monitors outside the ship.

Space as far as one could see. I changed the angles and there was more of it. Stars beyond my comprehension. Debris which floated and grabbed towards the ship. Wreckage upon wreckage of centuries gone by. Only the tomb ships survive. Somewhere there must be something else, there must be more, so much more.

I touched my neck and Alcide’s bites were already healing. Scars would remain fresh and pink for a long time. I took the cuffs off my wrists where other scars glimmered in the dim light.

Fresh, I thought, always fresh.

I looked back at Alcide in bed, his long, naked form uncovered and exposed. He was beautiful, of course, but I would have time to linger with that beauty later. I touched words within the tome and a door opened upon the wall beside me. White light shone from the crack. The light hurt my eyes as I opened the door, walking down a hall lit up with monitors and readings.

I stood naked amongst the animals and their pods. Shining domes fogged over to keep them hidden. These were the others, the ones I envied. They were mortal, same as me. But different from me as well.

I stood before one pod, seeing inside the young woman whose skin was fleshy pink, her nipples a sort of ruddy brown, her hair dark brown, even on her limbs and above her sex. Beautiful, she was so beautiful. I wanted to sleep like her, to be like the rest of the farm that Alcide was taking back to the family. But I was special. I was like the family even with my warm blood and beating heart. I was more of a vampire than the others. These mortals, taken from their worlds to be delivered to the head of the family and their farm, the one Alcide kept running and flourishing.

I want to dream like them. To sleep for ages. Perchance to wake and see their lives upon the farm. I wonder if this woman would be chosen, to be kept amongst the house and pampered by the family. I would like to see her awake as much as I adore to watch her sleep.

“What do you dream about?” I asked her, leaning upon her pod to look upon her. “Do you see your home? Do you remember your childhood?” I watched her intently, never expecting an answer, only imagining what she could be thinking.

“I don’t remember where I am from,” I told her. “I don’t remember my family at all. I was raised in the nursery. I smoothed my fingers over the keys and dials upon her pod. “I’ve always belonged to the family. But don’t worry! They’re good to their livestock. They keep them alive as best they can.” I gazed upon her sleeping face. “Don’t worry at all. You'll be fine there.”

I was found in Alcide’s chamber, no one knew I went to see the others again. Renata came and fetched me, taking me away from the resting Alcide and back to my own room. She took care of the chipped polish, removing the old and putting on a fresh new layer lacquer.

“Look at this.” She took out a nail file and worked on my nails, filing them down to match the broken one. “What did you do to make this happen?”

“Probably happened when Alcide found me yesterday,” I muttered.

Only the sound of filing followed. She blew the dust away, patting my hand with a cloth to make sure all the nail dust was gone. She picked a bottle of polish from my vanity, opened it, then took hold of my hand.

“The new hair does suit you, princess.” She said this in an offhanded way.

I didn’t do it for her, so it didn’t bother me what she had to say about it. The bright red polish seemed a bit much to me, compared to the muted orange I had before.

“I don’t like this color,” I mumbled.

Renata finished a stroke then squeezed my finger between her thumb and pointer very hard. “I thought the master might enjoy it.”

I looked towards her face, seeing her eyes were focused upon my hand. Her bright orange hair was more turned to me. “Alcide is resting.”

Renata lifted her head, giving me a look with those coal black eyes. “How did the master take to the change in your hair? Was he amused?”

I didn’t look away from her unblinking eyes. “I couldn’t tell. He had gone into one of his moods again.”

“The head of the family says Alcide is mad. Crazy,” she quipped. “Just like his mother.” She stuck the brush back into the bottle of polish. My stomach churned and I looked away.

“But not so mad that he cannot complete his job as part of the family.” She took hold of my hand, laying a fresh stroke upon a clean nail.

“The mind is the only thing that the will of a vampire cannot fix.” She looked up at me again, not smiling, blinking slowly. “It’s what connects us to what we could have been.”

I lifted my eyes up towards her again. “Mortal?”

Renata scoffed. “You’ll understand when your time comes, princess. When the head gives the word and makes you part of the family.” She finished off the pinkie nail and smiled at her work. “I think this color suits you.”

“What if I don’t want to become part of the family?”

Renata sighed in frustration. “Then you are crazier than the master is.” She twisted the lid of the polish shut and set it back upon my vanity. “If you don’t like the color, then Mewsette has others.” She went to stand but I grabbed hold of her uniform. She turned and looked at me with a sharp expression that slowly softened with my gaze.

“What is it, princess? Lonely because the master rests?” Renata took on a smug expression that made me want to strike her.

I shook my head and released her. “Mewsette said she used to be part of the family.”

Renata looked me up and down, taking on a strange expression that I couldn’t read. “Oh, so it’s curiosity that has the cat this morning. Why not ask Mewsette? What do you think I could possibly know.”

I looked into the corner where the attendants were standing waiting for us to leave. “You know everything since you're the leader of the attendants. I know they whisper to you when you ask.”

Renata clicked her tongue and took her seat again. “It’s true, she was a part like Alcide many years ago. Back before she became Mewsette she held another name. She also fell in love with part of another family. It was, to put it lightly, an explosive mess that almost resulted in a family war.” She shrugged and took on that smirk again. “For years after she was disowned, no family would have her. Until Alcide stepped in.”

I cut my eyes at her, noticing she was heavily focused upon my nails again, but I could tell her mind was elsewhere. “What did he do?”

Renata stood, walking over to my vanity and staring at the curtain covering the mirror. Her hand brushed against the curtain then instantly pulled away and looked back at me. “That you’ll have to ask him and Mewsette. Her reentry to the family is one mystery I have no answers for.” She crossed her arms against her chest. “But like me, she cannot become part of the family. Simply belong to the family.” She scowled at me. “So do not talk to me about not wanting to become part of it. Let’s go, you have things to do while the master is resting.”

I turned away from her. “Alcide took much from me. I’m weak, I should spending the day resting and restoring my blood.” I ran my hand up my arm. “Oh, by the way, he dropped my choker, the one with the matching jewel. Could you find it for me?”

Renata sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. But that is all you will do.” She called forth an attendant and whispered to them. “Stay in bed. No wandering. No sneaking to parts of the tomb you are not allowed,” she snarled. “And I’ll find your choker,” she snipped as she walked out the door.

I got into my bed, watching Renata leave then turning to the attendant. They stepped back, hiding between my dresser and the wall.

I sighed and laid back into the bed. I was feeling quite dizzy and weak, hopefully someone would be by with my meal soon. I looked up into the ceiling, seeing the glittering, flashing lights of the circuitry. They’re many glowing eyes gazing back at me. They turned into those eyes I saw yesterday, ones I saw often. At first I couldn’t look away, pulled into a fear from long ago. Vicious, hateful eyes gazed at me, beckoning to me.

I was young and small again, standing in the family home looking for the head. Instead, I found her. I found her chambers, her keep. I hadn’t been with the family long. The Head had just taken me in and I didn’t even have shoes. I ran around the mansion in bare feet, cold toes. I always had cold toes back then. I was told to be careful, but I was also not told where to go. The mansion, a large space station made to house the family and small roots of it, was far bigger than anything I had ever seen.

I got lost, and I found her. Alcide’s mother. I hadn’t yet been configured into the security, so all doors opened to me. She was sitting in her room alone, right before a vanity like mine. Her long white hair was down, falling onto the floor where it curled. She turned and gave me that smile. She called me to her, begging me to come closer. The smile she gave me as she stood haunts my nightmares to this day. And it is why I prefer the tomb ship over the mansion.

I went to Mewsette to repaint my nails after I slept. She carefully removed the too bright color, making sure it didn’t stain my skin.

“You have such tiny hands,” she remarked.

“I know.”

Mewsette gave me a smile. “You do not like the work Renata did?”

“I do not like Renata.”

She bit her lip, holding back her laugh as best she could. After all, Renata was listening from the door. “Well then. I’ll just select a few of the darker colors then and I will let you choose.”

“Thank you.” If I looked close enough, Mewsette almost looked like Aclide. I didn’t notice that yesterday.”

Mewsette stepped aside and a cabinet rose up out of the floor, opening to reveal many glass bottles, not just of polish. “Is Alcide resting?”

I nodded, looking down at my bare nails. “Finally.”

“Good job.” Mewsette said cheerfully. My heart lept, I’d never been told that before. I held my breath as she returned to the side of my chair. She showed me several bottles and I picked a metallic black.

“Why did Alcide bring you back to the family?” I asked.

Mewsette was quiet and her eyes were distant. “He didn’t. He made me his own.” She cut her eyes to me. “Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity.”

She shook her head and looked back down at my hand. “Shouldn't have said anything about it.”

“He didn’t. Renata told me.”

Mewsette closed the bottle of polish then looked me in the eye. “What did Renata tell you?”

There was an edge to her voice that made me flinch. “She said you fell for someone in another family and it caused a big mess.”

Mewsette leaned in very close to me, cupping her hand around my ear. She whispered so faintly I almost didn’t hear her. “Renata knows nothing.”

I looked back into her eyes as she stepped back. “Then why were you removed from the family?”

Mewsette just smiled sadly. “It doesn’t matter to me anymore.” She opened the bottle of polish again. “It was too long ago. Besides, you wouldn’t remember anyways.”

I opened my mouth to question her when an alarm blared. Red lights turned on around the room and out in the hallway as the screeching, deafening sound filled the entire tomb ship.

Mewsette stood up casually from her seat. “Stay here, Nessa.”

“What is that?” I shouted over the siren.

“A small problem. But more than likely, I’ll need to help out with it.” She strode towards the door. “You’ll be fine here. Promise.”

The door closed, but the alarm was sounding everywhere. I huffed and leaned back in the seat, raising my hand to inspect the nails Mewsette had completed. The lights kept flashing so it was hard to make out.

I got up and walked to the door, peering outside to the hallway. It was quiet now, aside from the alarm I mean. There were no voices, no footsteps. There was no Renata either so I left Mewsette’s chambers.

The lights and siren were eerie, but it was the fact that no one was around that really bothered me. No attendants, no Renata, I never knew a tomb ship like that. I came upon Alcide’s chambers where the doors were flung wide open. I went inside, seeing Alcide was no longer in his bed. I lost my breath for a moment, going towards the tomb to pull up a map of the ship.

My fingers had barely brushed the pages when I heard breathing near me.

Maybe it would not have been a noticeable thing to others, but on a ship with no heartbeats, it was clear as day. I looked back at Alcide’s bed, every hair on my body standing on end. I stepped towards the bed, hearing the breathing pitch a touch higher. I knew there was something under there.

I crept closer, but as I did someone else came into the room. Renata looked at me, her jaw slack and hand holding some sort of metal contraption. “What are you doing here?” She barked at me.

I didn’t move or respond to her. The breathing went silent.

Renata moved fast into the room, storming towards me with a frightening look upon her face. “One of the animals escaped! Was it you?”

My eyes widened as she came towards me, stretching out her hand to grab me by the neck. It was tender from Alcide’s affections, so I cried out in pain as she took hold of me.

“Some princess! Always wanting to see those animals. But you’re all the same. It doesn’t matter if you look like us, you’re still a bleeder just like them.” She yanked me, pulling me towards the door.

I swung at her, slapping her face and knocking off her glasses. Her pitch black eyes stared at me. They looked like glass, endless depthless glass.

She slammed me down to the ground, pinning me there. She smirked, grinning wildly as she saw my neck was bare. The choker still hadn’t been returned.

“He won’t notice one bite.”

I struggled, fighting against Renata as she bore down upon me. Her lips split, opening towards her ears as her full jaw widened. She had missing teeth, ones probably removed by the head for similar actions.

I screamed out loud, praying someone would fine me.

Renata was knocked aside and I began crying. I wept loudly as there was a sickening wet, squelching sound near me. Alcide’s mother had done the same. She had ripped my clothes to shreds and kept me in her chambers sealed away for days. She bore down upon me like Renata did too.

I turned my head to look beside me, eyes blurry and wet with tears. A naked figure sat upon Renata, both were covered by thick, dark brown blood. No red. Almost black.

They turned to me, eyes wild and breathing erratic. She stood upand I saw the spike sticking from Renata’s chest.

There she was before me, awake and with eyes as bright as the sky. The sky?

I held my breath as we looked at one another. I’m sure both of us were terrified of each other in that moment.

“You killed her,” I whispered.

The mortal woman placed her bloodied finger over her lips. “Be quiet,” she breathed. She looked to the door, moving towards it and quickly shutting it.

I must have hit a key when I saw her the other day. That’s the only explanation. I sat up from the ground, trembling and shaking. I wanted Alcide near me, to hold me and kiss me.

The mortal woman wiped her hand on Alcide’s sheets then tossed them over Renata’s corpse. “You look just like one. But you’re not,” she whispered.

I looked up at her with watery eyes.

She shook her head and knelt down before me. “No. They don’t cry.”

My whole body shuddered and I closed my eyes.

“Where are we?” She asked.

“A tomb ship,” I sniffled.

She was quiet for a long spell, standing up to look around the room. “Fuck.” She paced back and forth, the smacking of her bare feet on the ground were all all too familiar to me.

Renata’s hand was sticking out from under the sheet. I watched it carefully as I rose from the ground.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

Her blue eyes stared at me as if I had asked her something ridiculous. “What’s yours?” She snapped back.

I smiled at her, so happy to see her moving, breathing, being alive as I was. “Nessa!”

She looked me up and down, placing her arms against her chest. “I’ve heard about people like you. Mortals who are treated like one of them.” Her eyes narrowed upon me, and despite my joy to see her, I suddenly felt very uneasy. “But I thought it was just stories. But look at you. As white as them. Eyes as red. All you’re missing is the smile.” She dragged her fingers from the corner of her mouth to her ear.

I wasn’t sure what to say. “I can take you back to your pod.”

She glared at me. “No! I would rather die!”

It felt like a shot through my chest. “Wha-what do you mean?”

“Don’t you know what they do to us?” She hissed then pointed down at Renata’s corpse. “She just tried to kill you!”

“Not kill,” I urged. “Just drink.”

“Just!” The mortal woman laughed. She quickly covered her mouth from her outburst and glared at me over her hand. “They call us livestock. Animals!”

“Yes but-”

She stared hard at me. “What do they do to you here?”

“Please, just let me put you back into your pod. I’ll say I killed Renata, and then you can be safe!” I begged of her, reaching out for her but she yanked away from me.

“Nessa, you have no idea what is going on,” she hissed at me.

“But all I ever wanted was to be like you. To know someone like you.” My breath choked in my throat as I looked at her. “I’ve never gotten to meet, let alone speak, to someone like me.”

“No wonder,” she scoffed. “Maybe it’s the best you don’t.” She walked away from me, heading towards the tome which she leaned over. She turned pages and screens popped up around her.

I looked down at Renata, seeing the pool of black growing around her. Her hand was grey and skeletal, her rings were slowly falling off.

“What do you dream about?” I asked.

The mortal woman didn’t respond so I walked over towards her.

“In the pod, when you’re asleep. What do you dream about?” I repeated myself.

She barely looked up at me as she poured over the tome. “I don’t.”

My chest seized and everything felt tight. “Surely you do.”

Her eyes focus on screens and she grows a frustrated expression. “No. Not in the pods. Under the conditions we are put in, we don’t dream at all.”

I lowered my eyes and let out a mournful breath. “Oh.”

The door opened and Alcide stepped in with Mewsette behind him. They stared at Renata’s body and Mewsette even made a sound of alarm.

I looked up at them, my shoulder sunk and the mortal woman grabbed me. I let her. She placed me before her and Alcide was ready to charge before Mewsette held him back.

I wanted to dream forever, to be like them, to understand them. I wanted to fade into sleep and never come back. But it suddenly was like I was always asleep. I had just woken up, and everything was loud, unending noise. I want to be asleep again. I want to be asleep.

Alcide’s mom had been brushing my hair when the black blood spilled down my face and onto my shoulder. My neck was so sore I could barely look up. But in the mirror, I saw the faint shadow and ghostly visage of another one beside me. Alcide’s mother was suddenly by my feet, her eyes wide and empty.

Someone picked me up and carried me out of the room, rushing me to the head of the family who took me into their arms. I woke in my own bed sometime later.

“There you are.”

I looked up at Mewsette sitting across from me. She smiled. “Sleep well?”

I blinked for a moment, rubbing sleep from my eyes as I tried to piece together what had happened. I saw Alcide’s mother dead, murdered by some strong force. I saw Renata’s sickly hand as it faded away, her rings falling upon the floor and chiming.

Mewsette stood up and walked to me. She picked up my choker, the missing one, from my bedside table and gently placed it around my throat. “I’m helping you get ready this morning. Take your time waking up, I’ll go fetch your breakfast.”

I watched her go across the room, elegant and tall. Her hand brushed away the curtain covering the mirror, and her ghostly image inside glared back at her. “What a lovely mirror,” she replied.

“Mewsette?” My voice choked in my throat.

She looked at me with a knowing smile and she nodded her head so her long curls in her hair bounced. “Did you have a bad dream? Would you like me to call Alcide?”

I nodded.

“I’ll be right back.” Mewsette passed by me, and I could remember a moment when her footsteps were painted black by the blood of Alcide’s mother.

I touched the stone around my neck, closing my eyes as I pushed the thoughts from my head.

I would like to dream forever as I always do, to sleep and find myself at home. I remove myself from bed, setting my feet down upon the cold floor. I walk over to the vanity, pulling back at the curtain to look at myself.

I look like them, and I smile because I do.

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auberghyn · 8 months ago

Text

Rhys the Lizardman

A former courtesan has carved out a new life for herself. Her past in the dangerous parts of the Ruby Empire are far behind her. That is, until a familiar shadow in her door returns, seeking asylum and healing from her tender touch. Female Reader x Male Monster

It had been windy and overcast all day. Dark clouds hung upon the horizon while pale gray covered the sun overhead. It was no surprise to you when it started raining. The area cleared out, no one was on the road outside, and everything was veiled in fog. It gave the sense of abandonment, but really, the lights inside houses reassured you there was still life about.

Despite the feeling of nothing to do that rain brought about, you set about some busy work that would help the day go faster tomorrow. You took out the large blocks of soap and set about cutting them. You were so used to the scent you never noticed it much. But as that taut string sliced through the bars, you got whiffs of the fragrant perfumes and oils within the bar.

“Maybe some tea would be nice,” you murmured to yourself after slicing up the first bar. You took off your proactive gloves and went over towards the stove. You were gathering up the kettle to fill with water when you heard something outside.

There was a loud shuffling, and then it sounded like the chickens next door were extremely spooked. You set the kettle aside, and moved about to the window that overlooked your neighbor’s backyard. The chickens were frazzled, vanishing into their coop while something dragged around the side of the house.

You frowned as you walked away from the window. “To hell with this.” You got upon a stepstool, reaching up behind the stovepipe where you had hidden an old tool of yours, one you used before soapmaking. You checked the blade of the dagger, pleased it was still sharp.

“Not needed your ro quite the while. And hopefully I won’t now, but no sense in playing it stupid.” You were getting down off the stepstool when there was a loud banging upon your door.

You stood stiff and stuff the dagger into a hidden pocket on your skirt. “Who goes there?” You called out.

There was another loud banging.

“I don’t answer my door for just that.” You approached the door, keeping your breath steady as you waited for a response. “Who goes there?”

There was silence with the sound of rain. The soft pelting of droplets on the muddy earth outside. You then heard breathing, labored breathing.

“Let me in Pocket,” a voice outside snarled. “Or I’ll bust down this door.”

Every hair on your body stood on end. You knew that voice well, but only one person ever called you that name.

“What are you doing here, Rhys?” You said after a moment of tongue-tied shock.

He let out a very effortful laugh. “Can’t a bloke come see an old friend.”

“We were never such a thing.”

“Please,” his breath squeezed tight. “Let me in.”

You cracked the door a smidge, keeping the chain locked. Immediately, you saw the cut upon his face and his swollen eye. “What happened to you?”

“Something bad enough to bring me here.”

You opened the door and Rhys all but fell upon you. He stumbled, catching himself upon the doorframe. He shuffled in, using your shoulder as support before he collapsed to his knees upon the ground. The great lizard that he was looked so small and helpless.

“Criminy, Rhys!” You cried out. You rushed to the kitchen, fetching a clean cloth to mop him up. But by the time you had gotten back he was laid unconscious upon the floor. You let out an exasperated sigh. Who had once been your worst enemy was now seeking sanctuary in your home.

It took a lot of effort, but you managed to get Rhys into your bedroom and upon your bed. His tail hung off the side, striped black and green until the tip where it was dark purple.

You cleaned him up and treated his wounds, of which there were many. “Finally found a fight you couldn’t get out of, eh?” You looked over his sleeping face then double checked he was breathing. “Who’d you try to rob this time?” You snipped at him. “You were always overzealous. I’m not surprised really.” You were wrapping up his hand, which felt a bit strange upon touching. His knuckles were split and bleeding, he either hit a wall or someone twice as scaly and spikey as he was.

“I am surprised to see you here though. I thought once I left the thieves guild, I’d never see you again.” You set back once you were done with him, remarking at how much bulkier he had gotten since the last time you saw him. Then again it could be swelling, you thought.

You left him to rest, checking occasionally to make sure he was still breathing and had a pulse. You fell asleep in your big chair that night, lulled by the sound of rain or else you probably would have stayed awake all night.

In the morning, sun from the window hit your eyes, warming your face until you woke from the heat. You scoffed as you got up, picking your dagger up from the side table to put back into place. You peeked into the bedroom, seeing Rhys tail twitch.

“Not dead yet,” you murmured. You put the bagger back into it’s hiding place and got the kettle ready. You then went out the back, going to your neighbor Allie’s door.

“Here for eggs?” She asked with a chipper tone.

You held out your basket. “If you don’t mind.” You followed her inside where she took your basket and began filling it.

“I thought I heard something last night,” Allie said. “My chickens were acting odd, so I came out to check, I thought I heard you talking to someone.”

You sighed. “Yes, unfortunately, someone from my past showed up at my door last night. He’s passed out right now.”

She stopped and stared at you. “Are you alright? Do I need to send odd over?”

“No, no. No need to send him in. I’m not worried about it anyways. He’s a piece of shit but he does have some honor to him.” You shrugged. “But I wouldn’t be pressed if you kept a check on things.”

Your neighbor nodded with determination. “I will, I promise!” She then leaned in close and whispered. “Is he from…you know?”

You smiled at her. “Yes, he’s a thief like I was once. The goddess knows why he is here,” you laughed.

“You can handle him if he does try anything, right?”

“I may be rusty, but I think I can handle him in the state he’s in. Thanks for the eggs. I’ll bring you some new soap when it’s ready.” You went back home, taking the eggs into the kitchen.

Breakfast was long over, and you were working on getting soaps ready to take into town to sell to the shops. You were wrapping bars when you heard a loud thud and string of foreign cuss words.

You washed off your hands then went to the bedroom here Rhys was crumpled upon the floor. “You honestly think you can walk in your state?”

“I got all the way here didn’t I?” Rhy moaned weakly from the floor.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes before you knelt down and helped him back up onto the bed. “Stupid hurts.”

“You would know,” he growled as he eased back down upon the bed. Another long string of foreign expletives flowed from his mouth.

You pushed up the pillows so he could lounge back against the headboard. “You need to rest. You’ve never had a beating like this. Speaking of which-”

Rhys turned his head away and grunted. “Shut your trying lips. It’s none of your business.”

You glared down at him, trying to burn a hole through his skull with just a look. “When you show up to my house like this, I would say it is!”

He squinted his gray eyes up at you. “It’s nothing important, Pocket. Once I’m healed up in a day or two, I’ll be gone, and you can pretend this was all a dream.”

“A dream? You showing up is no dream of mine! Now you fess up to your crimes Rhys or I’ll start poking you with the fireplace poker!”

Rhys squirmed, wincing from the sudden movement. “You lay one hand upon me-”

I placed my hands upon my hips and gave him a look. “And what?”

Rhys grew quiet, but his kept his eyes upon you. He finally scoffed. “Not worth it anyways. You never were.”

You rolled your eyes again. “So what are you doing here?”

“Nothing personal really. Just knew I could hide here and it wouldn’t be nothing,” he grunted. “What else can you do when you’ve got nowhere else to go?”

“Nowhere else? You do realize you’re a long way from Slytsall.”

“You are,” he snarled.

Shaking your head you took a deep breath. “Why did you come here? Why me? Tell me that and I might be kind to you.”

“Might be?” He let out a laugh and wrapped his arm against his chest. “Fine. I’ll tell you.” He let out a pained breath. “Guess I’ve not made many friends lately. Not the Slystall is full of them anyways. The place has gotten bad since you left. Ever since that centaur guy has been trying his shit, more and more have been slithering their way in.” He turned his head back towards you, only able to look at you with one eye. “Made some bad connections. There’s no loyalty these days.”

You just gave him a look.

“Don’t do that. Don’t think the way I know you’re thinking,” he huffed. “It doesn’t matter what happened. Only place I figured I could go to was you.”

You furrowed your brow. “How did you even know where I was?”

“Manka knew. She told me once.”

You scoffed. “Knew I shouldn’t have sent her any soap.”

“Forget about Manka. I haven’t told a soul, because I knew I’d need you one day.”

You balked and glared at him. “Need me?” You snapped. “Need me?”

“Look, don’t get testy.” Rhys held up a hand in defense but you smacked his arm anyways.

I stomped away from the bed, pacing before the door. “After all the shit you pulled. After everything that went down in Slystall, you think you still have the right to need me?”

Rhys sat up in bed with a great deal of effort. “I didn’t want to die, Pocket! Do you want me to die?”

You stopped pacing and storming about to look at him. “You just get better and you never have to need me again.” You stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door so hard it bounced off the frame and wiggled.

You went back to your workshop, cussing and muttering as you tried to wrap the soap. But you were so worked up you kept messing up the paper and the precise way you needed to fold it.

There was a knock and Allie came in through the back. “Hello, everything alright?” She looked around, as if expecting to see something. “I thought I heard yelling,” she whispered.

“It’s fine Allie,” you chuckled. “Just…” You let out a long, exasperated sigh. “We’re not exactly friends.”

“What are you exactly?” Allie asked, tilting her head to the side.

You scratched at your scalp and combed your fingers through your hair. The aggravation was making you itch all over. “Complicated.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, this sounds like gossip,” she giggled.

You made a face at her then shook your head. “My past back in Slystall is very connected to him.”

“Were you lovers?” Allie asked with excitement.

You flinched and the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end. “What? No. Kind of- eh!” You waved your arms out. “It’s complicated, like I said!”

Allie pursed her mouth and crooked it to the side. “Was he a frequent customer of yours?”

You may have been too open with Allie one night over some ale. “When he paid.” You then waved your hand to blow it off. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Bad blood happened, and bad blood it will remain.”

Allie made a sound as you turned away to deal with your work. “What was that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know if it stays that way. I think bad temper remains bad temper. Unless what he did was really, really bad.”

You slammed down a bar of soap and dented it upon the table. “He stole from me. Clients, Money. Clothing. You name it!”

“Food. Jewelry. Patience!” Rhys shouted from the bedroom.

You scowled and slammed shut the door to your workspace.

“Is he nice?” Allie teased.

You huffed, wiping your hands down the front of your apron. “Don’t meet him. Don’t ever talk to him! He’s a charmer, and that’s the problem.”

The next few days went by as irritatingly as you expected. By the end of the week Rhys was able to get up and move about the house, but much more else caused him pain and he exhausted easily. He continued to pester, to poke, to start arguments with you. Although, you admitted to yourself more than one you were also the instigator there.

Ages ago, back when you were both young, it could have been a different story. You were both members of a thieves guild in the village of Slystall. You worked within the Red District, while Rhys was often tasked with bigger game, shipments from Obresh, royal entourages, bigger scams in cities. It was once a good place, even if Slystall was the lowest of the low. You had liked your time there.

It was late in the afternoon one day, you were coming from from delivering soaps to the shops when you caught Rhys in your work room. You set down your basket and took off your coat. You kept your savings in a hollowed out book that you kept in your pocket. If you didn’t make a move for it, he wouldn’t notice.

“What are you doing here?” You grumbled. “This is my workshop, not for the likes of you.”

Rhys was sniffing a bar of soap. “This place smelled so strong, I was wondering.” He raised the bar to his nose again. “It’s nice.”

You snatched the bar from him and placed it back on the shelf. “It’s still curing. I make that with lye, you know. Wash your hands.”

Rhys chuckled, wiping his hand along his ripped shirt. “When did you start this?”

“When I started minding my own business.” You looked him over, noting his torn, filthy clothes, as well as his hulking appearance. “I can get you some clean clothes.”

“What? Are these not good enough?” He then smirked. “If i didn’t know better, I’d say you got some sort of kick taking care of me.”

You bit down on your tongue and held your breath in for a moment.

“You like that little bit of power you hold.” He smirked as you looked at him, it grew into a grin even as your scowl turned ugly.

“Why don’t you just hush for a while?” I suggested. “Go lay down. Take a nap.”

“I’m feeling pretty good right now, why would I ever waste it?” He looked around the room with that same smile. “Besides, this room is quite-” he took in a very deep breath, “-relaxing,” he let out that breath.

“This is my work space, not a spa.” You scolded him. “Now get out. There’s lye and all sorts of things I could hurt you with in this room. Go on, get.” You took him by the arm, leading him towards the door.

Rhys took your hand, holding it as he stepped into the doorway. “You keep being so nice to me, Pocket, I might never leave.” He winked as he kissed your knuckles. “You know I love it when you threaten me.”

You frown deepened and you narrowed your eyes upon him. “You didn’t seem to like it so much last time I was in Slystall.”

“Because you were serious then.” He kissed your hand again.

You yanked your hand away and wiped it upon your apron. “What happened then? Are you ever going to tell me what sent you here.”

“A job gone bad, obviously,” he sniffed. “Trusted the wrong group.”

You sighed. “You wouldn’t have run away if that was the case. Out with it, Rhys. You’ve been here long enough to tell me honestly.”

Rhys shifted, kicking the ground then twisting his tail so it wrapped around his waist. “I told you things had changed in Slystall. Surely Manka has told you something in her letters.”

“I know the distracts have separated. The Red Light district is it’s own, the Hollow Street is it’s own,” you murmured. “But Manka doesn’t tell me everything. If she’s comfortable, she’s not going to blow it.”

Rhys scoffed. “That cohesion is missed. But more than that, the districts are on the brink of war. The reason I came here is linked to that.”

A bristle rolled down the back of your neck into your spine. I watched Rhys closely, noting the shift of his eyes and the way he fidgeted with his tail. “Don’t tell me you actually stood up for something.”

“And what if I did?” Rhys sniffed, his nostrils flaring. His lip curled up, showing his sharp teeth. “What if I did something worth being proud of, huh?”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Just tell me what happened!”

Rhys snarled, whipping out his tail then stiffening his back to stand taller. “They wanted to take over the Red Light district, and I told ‘em no.”

Your stomach dropped. “Are these guys idiots?”

“No, that’s part of the problem too. The girls are on high alert due to all of this. They’re strong and have greater numbers, but they’ve done rash things recently.” He shook his head and looked away from you. “But they don’t deserve what was on the table.”

A lump grew in your throat. You were actually touched by this. You swallowed, trying to keep these feelings at bay. “You protected them?”

“Warned them, got them ready.” He smirked and glanced back at you briefly. “My traitorous ways were found out and they took me on a heist that was designed to be the end of me. Luckily they didn’t know I am too stupid to die.”

You chuckled and shook your head. “You could have told me this. I would have been nicer if you did.”

Rhys’ gaze turned to steel and there was a glint that made your heart pound. “It’s not your world anymore, Pocket. I didn’t want you worrying. You’re doing what some of us aren’t brave enough to even attempt.”

You stiffened your jaw. “I’m not ashamed of my past, Rhys. I still care about Slystall to an extent.”

He smiled again. “Why do you think I’m here?”

That evening, as you were getting ready for bed, Rhys stood int he doorway, watching you put down your bedroll before the fireplace. “Why not come to bed?”

“You’re using it,” you murmured.

Rhys looked back into your bedroom then back at you. “Unlike popular opinion, I can be good at sharing.”

You gave him a sharp look.

“We used to all the time, Pocket.” Rhys stepped out into the room. “Remember? We had many good nights together. Lots of lovely mornings.”

You scoffed. “Yes, well, that was when I was in the Red Light district. I’m not that girl anymore, Rhys.”

He came and stood over you. “Not asking you to be, Pocket.” He held his hand out to you. “Maybe I just want to remember something. Maybe I miss you.”

You looked at his black palm then up at him. His green scales seemed almost yellow in the light of the fire. “Just sleeping.” You took his hand. “My hips are bothering me sleeping on the bedroll.”

Rhys chuckled. “I remember when I-”

You grabbed his hand and pinched his palm. “That’s enough.”

It was nice to be in your bed again, even if there was a giant, scaly man asleep next to you. You laid there, unable to shake an image of the past from your mind. You kept close to the wall, hugging it to try and keep from touching Rhys. He was so big though he took up the biggest chunk of mattress.

“Why don’t you just get comfortable?” He chuckled.

You huffed, hoping he had been asleep all this time. “I am comfortable.”

“No you’re not.”

You rolled over to face him. Even in the dark you could make out his smug smile. “Just worry about yourself and go to sleep.”

Rhys laughed again. “I have a gorgeous woman next to me. How do you expect me to do that?”

“Keep talking like that and I’ll kick you out of bed.”

Rhys rolled onto his side, both of you were laying face to face. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

He laughed. “It’s been a long time. Sorry, I’m a bit nervous.”

“For what? We’re both just trying to go to sleep. So let’s agree to do that and we’ll all be golden. Right?” You adjusted your leg under the covers and brushed up against Rhys’. You jerked back and both of you had a chuckle.

“Maybe I am thinking a bit too much about- something else.” You muttered.

“Yeah. For a long time all we did in a bed was-” Rhys stopped and laughed nervously again. “Well, you know. We sot of trained of bodies to-”

“Yeah,” you interrupted.

“I messed up,” he murmured. “I never stopped kicking myself for what I did.”

“Good,” you huffed.

You both fell into silence once again. You laid there, trying to make yourself sleep but it would never come. Old memories resurfaced, bubbling up in every corner of your mind to where you couldn’t think of anything else. Your body responded in kind, warming and stewing as those old feelings had been inching ever so slowly close towards the surface again.

“Pocket,” his voice whispered through the shadows.

“Be quiet.” You lunged forward, kissing him and bringing your body into his. He took old of you, kissing back and moving his hands down your body.

“Careful,” he whimpered.

“I’ll be gentle.” You kissed him more, pressing close to his body, reaching down to find him already hard. “That was fast.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking,” he huffed.

You wouldn’t admit to your own nostalgic lingering, but you kept going. You turned him over, mounting him and rubbing yourself against him. You pulled up your nightgown as you grinded against him, feeling old flames renew all through your body. It had been so long, and yet you knew how he felt intimately still. His cock was quite thick, but that’s what you liked about it.

Rhys hands wrapped around your hips. “It’s been so long.”

“I said quiet,” you moaned. “Let me just do this.” You reached down, taking hold of his shaft, keeping it still as you placed yourself over the tip. You took him inside, sitting upon him and relishing this moment.

Rhys was straining to stay quiet, then again, he was always a talker. You began to move, moaning and whimpering. It had been a long time since you were last with Rhys, but it had been a long time having sex altogether. You took your time savoring him, being careful of the injuries that persisted. His hands tightened upon your hips, moving up to your waist then around your breasts.

“Oh, Pocket,” he whimpered.

“Yes,” you panted from effort. “Yes, feel me.” You leaned forward, going harder upon him. It wouldn’t be long now. You just needed to go harder. The night had a way of going on though, and your love making went on beyond that first daliance. Once the air had cooled, you went again, then again. Rhys found energy unlike you had ever seen before, and you took great delight in his stamina.

Come morning, you never heard the door open. You didn’t, at first, hear Allie calling out and asking if you wanted some eggs.

“Oops!” You heard her squeal and she ran out.

“What was that?” Rhys voice cracked.

“Our neighbor,” you muttered. “I told her to keep a check on me while you were here.” You rose up in bed and yawned. “I must have slept in.”

Rhys chuckled. “You earned it light night, Pocket.” His hand smoothed up your bare back. “Mmm. How I missed you.”

You gave him a sharp look, but it didn’t last. You smiled down upon him and your face turned rosy red.

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