Chapter 76: Reflection
[
"Fuck, fuck…" Lorian mumbled. "I can't take it anymore…"
"Something wrong, Lori?"
.
Akasha gazed at Lorian with a concerned look, as the large girl buried her face into her hands, shaking her head slowly. The smaller succubus wiped a bit of grass of her skirt before scooting over to Lorian, putting a hand gently on her thigh, matching Fen, who sidled up to her other side.
.
"I can't do it anymore." She whispered.
"Can't do what?" Fen asked.
"I… I… I lost control." Lorian whispered. "I promised, I promised, that when I came here, that I wouldn't kill, that I wouldn't rape, that I wouldn't take any slaves, and I've done all three."
.
"W-what?" Akasha said in surprise. "W-wwwhow? Who? Huh?"
"I can't trust myself anymore." Lorian whispered, tears starting to leak out of her eyes, as she drew a blade from her coat pocket. "I couldn't… I couldn't… I couldn't do it myself, so please, could one of you, could you just-"
.
"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" Feng exploded, tackling Lorian and forcing the blade out of her hand. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Just let me end it!" Lorian sobbed. "This is torture! I can't… I'm going to hurt her, I'm going to hurt her… it's too painful, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
.
Fen gasped as Lorian thrashed underneath her, the giant of a woman incredibly strong. Fen gave Akasha a pleading look, and the thin succubus took to pinning down Lorian's left arm, while Fen took her right.
.
"Don't kill yourself!" Fen struggled out. "That's literally what would hurt Aisha the most!"
"No no no!" Lorian wailed. "I hurt her the most! I've always hurt her the most! I- *hic* I'm a terrible person-I'm an awful, awful demon- I need to die, I need to die!... "
"Lori…" Akasha said, as gently as she could, as Lorian thrashed beneath her. "You know she loves you! What are you doing!?"
"I…" Lorian bit her lip, tears marring her vision. "I don't… I don't know…"
.
Lorian's struggling stopped for a while, and as the storm subsided, Akasha took the big girl's head into her lap, gently stroking down her head as the tears drained out of Lorian's eyes. Fen sat next to her, taking one of Lorian's hands into her lap, as she rubbed her arm.
.
"...What happened?" Fen asked, dumbly.
"I..." Lorian looked away in shame. "I… I forced myself on her."
.
A long silence fell over the three girls as they processed Lorian's words, only the sound of the whispering winds flowing through the lush, sunny park. But after a while, the expression on the girls' faces just turned confused.
"You cheated on Aisha?"
"What?" Lorian exclaimed. "No, of course not!"
.
Akasha and Fen shared a confused look.
"Then… then how did you rape someone?" Fen asked.
"Can't you tell!?" Lorian whispered.
"No."
"I raped HER!" Lorian screamed. "I used the slave mark, and I forced her to have sex with me - and then I couldn't take the shame, so I made her forget!"
.
Another long pause, and Lorian, for the life of her, could not figure out why her friends looked at her so strangely. She thought they would despise her, be disgusted, but instead, all she saw was… confusion.
.
"...So… Aisha said… she didn't want it?" Akasha asked slowly, befuddlement obvious in her voice.
"...No?…" Lorian started hesitantly.
"Doesn't sound like Aisha." Fen muttered. "What did she say?"
"I… I forced her to be silent."
"Huh? How?"
Lorian said quietly. "With the slave mark. Oh god… I… I can still… feel her… she was so… so amazing… so tender… b-b-but I forced her to do it!"
.
Suddenly, Lorian saw the two girls share an exasperated look, filled with disbelief, annoyance, and just plain disappointment. Akasha just let out a long sigh as she pulled on Lorian's cheeks, forcing out an annoyed "ow!" from the big girl.
"So you have NO idea whether or not she wanted it or not." Akasha sighed.
"...No?"
"Oh Serith." Fen muttered.
"You're so dense, you know that?" Akasha shook her head. "We thought you two would be doing it like rabbits by now!"
"W-what?!" Lorian sputtered. "What do you mean!?"
.
"There is no universe where that girl doesn't want to have sex with you." Fen said crassly. "Absolutely no chance."
"B-but…"
"Aisha worships you." Fen said. "She reveres the ground you walk on. You live with her! How can you not tell?"
"Bw-ub-b-well-"
"Do you think there is a chance that she would say no, if you told her that you wanted to sex her?" Akasha asked. "Any chance at all?"
"...Maybe?"
.
"Aggghhh!" Akasha groaned. "Come on! You're so dense, Loriiiiii! You and Aisha - you're made for each other! Just do the dirty! You're going to tear yourself apart! Over something like this?!"
.
Lorian shook her head.
"It's not about that!" She protested. "It's just… It's… Aisha deserves… better… All of her old masters… probably forced themselves onto her. And she deserves someone who won't… Who will let her just enjoy her innocence… Because I know - I-I-I know that… That if she ever says yes, I won't be able to stop myself… ever… And she'll just keep saying yes, because she wants to make me happy, even though I don't deserve it, and-"
"Stop." Fen demanded.
"Sorry…" Lorian said sheepishly. "I just-... I just think Aisha deserves to be innocent… And have a girlfriend who… who is just… there for her."
.
"Awww… that's so sweet." Akasha smiled.
"That's dumb." Fen said, at the same time.
.
Akasha and Lorian shot the tall girl a hostile look, as she sighed and shook her head.
.
"Daemons…" She sighed. "You two… have no idea how relationships work."
"Big talk from someone who's not in one." Akasha mumbled, pouting.
.
Fen gave Akasha an incredulous look, before turning back to Lorian.
"Relationships are about balance. You both have to be open. You have to trust one another. Otherwise, your unhappiness will manifest itself in Aisha."
"W-what do you mean?" Lorian whispered.
.
Fen rolled her eyes. "If you're unhappy, it'll rub off on Aisha."
"But I am happy!" Lorian protested.
"Are you?"
.
Lorian bit her lip.
"But…" She said quietly, unsurely. "I… I'm mostly happy. And I don't want to ruin it… I don't… I don't even know how to… how to have sex with someone."
.
"Huh? Aren't you a demon?" Fen raised an eyebrow.
"Without hurting them." Lorian whispered.
.
Fen was silent.
"Just think about how you would want Aisha to love you!" Akasha suggested. "And then do that! To her!"
.
"Think about… how I would want Aisha to do me?" Lorian mumbled. "Uhmmm…"
Lorian's face turned bright scarlet, and the girls could practically see steam coming out of her flustered face.
.
.
.
"Okay, okay…" Lorian hyperventilated, burying her face in her hands as she pressed her back against a wall, sliding down the outside of her cabin. "J-just… just ask her to have sex with you. She'll… she'll be waiting there, and she's going to jump on you a-a-and kiss you, and you're going to tell her that you love her, and that you want to have sex with her - no, maybe you don't tell her you love her, maybe she'll think it's weird - ohhhhh…"
.
Lorian sighed in anguish as she pounded her fists into the side of her head. She could practically see Fen, the cool beauty, crossing her arms and sighing at her, chiding her for being such a coward.
.
She knew that Aisha probably felt the same way. She knew that Aisha wasn't new to sex, and was far from a pure, innocent little child, like she seemed so much like. But still, looking into those gleaming, affectionate eyes, that happy smile, those adorable little giggles, needy begging…
.
Lorian shook her head. She was just making it harder for herself. With a deep, shuddering breath, she stood up, wrenching the front door open, and stepped inside.
.
.
"...What's this?" She asked, utterly, completely confused.
.
She heard an adorable squeak come from within the blanket fortress in her living room, a surprisingly well-constructed fort of interwoven blankets, propped up with couch cushions, and reinforced with pillows.
.
Aisha's adorable, fluffy-eared head poked out from under the fort, looking quite sheepish, shy, and surprised all the same.
.
"Um… Hi mistress!" She said shyly. "Um… It's not done yet… But you can come in… if you want!"
.
Lorian smiled, her mouth curling up uncontrollably, even though she tried to keep a straight face.
"Into Fort Aisha…?" She laughed softly. "Is there a password?"
"The password is. Um…" Aisha turned her head away in embarrassment. "Um. Let's say… t-t-the password is… is 'I love you.' "
.
"Okay!" Lorian giggled, as she bent down, crawling into the fort next to Aisha. She poked her head in, and was surprised to see a spacious inside, as Aisha wrapped her arms around her. "I love you!"
"I wub you too, mistress." Aisha cooed affectionately, quietly, as she snuggled into Lorian's neck. "Wub you so much…"
.
Lorian's heart twisted into a knot as Aisha smiled and giggled into her shoulder, her fluffy little ears flooping side to side in a happy little dance. Lorian's heart fluttered and the girl bit her lip, almost hard enough to draw blood - god, was she going to ask Aisha for sex here? Have sex for the first time under Aisha's pillow fort?
.
And also… her mind still couldn't wrap around what Akasha said… about how to love Aisha… pleasure her the way she wanted to be pleasured? She had a pretty clear picture of what she wanted Aisha to do to her, but oh god thinking about doing it to Aisha - why did she have to be such a huge pervert, oh god-
.
"WAaaah! Mistress!" Aisha squealed. "It's not done yet! You're going to-"
.
Lorian yelped as her jostling and turning knocked over a precariously-balanced cushion, knocking Aisha's entire fort down and sending the entire thing crashing down on the two girls. They thrashed around under the blankets, until eventually Lorian was able to pull her head out, gasping for air, also pulling Aisha out, after a bit of intimate shuffling.
.
Pulled face to face, and utterly trapped in the massive tangle of blankets, bodies pressed up tightly against each other…
.
Both girls started to laugh uncontrollably, holding each other tight as they laid there, in an extremely uncomfortable position, trapped there in a web of blankets and cushions. They laughed uncontrollably as they held each other tight, chests shaking in shared love, shared happiness. They laughed, as they rubbed their noses together, trying to kiss each other, but utterly failing in their efforts…
.
(I'm sorry.) Lorian thought bitterly, even as mirth assaulted her chest. (I'm so sorry Aisha. Your mistress is a coward…)
.
The laughter did well to cover up Lorian's earlier tears, dried on her face.
]
.
.
.
"Hey."
"..."
"Hey!"
"..."
.
The sound of irritated snapping could be heard.
"He-"
"That gesture!" Sui said suddenly, turning her head away from the small little carving on display. The annoyed shopkeeper recoiled in surprise, Sui's face uncomfortably close to his, as she demanded why he was snapping so insistently in her face.
.
"Er. What?" The tall man mumbled.
"That gesture! The snapping - I know that, but why so insistently?" Sui asked in earnest.
"Look, I-I'm sorry…" The shopkeep said defensively, sweating slightly.
.
"Don't be!" Sui said excitedly. "Just tell me, why were you snapping in my face?"
"I-I…" The shopkeeper shrunk, not even sure if Sui was screwing with him or not. "To… to get your attention…?"
"Ah!" Sui exclaimed. "I see! I will keep this interaction in mind! Thank you!"
"..."
.
The shopkeeper scampered off back behind his counter, disturbed by Sui's… strange behavior.
.
"Dumbass." Sui muttered under her breath, as she set down the little gem she was looking at, starting to walk out the door.
.
"Wait!" The shopkeeper reached out a hand.
"Yes?"
"You aren't… you aren't going to buy that? You were… you were looking at it for two hours."
"That gem isn't a real ruby." Sui said absentmindedly.
.
The brown haired man put his hands on his hips, eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"
"It's volcanite." She explained. "The crystalline structure is different."
"Are you trying to say that I'm selling fake merchandise? How dare-"
"No." Sui interrupted. "I'm sure you thought it was a real ruby!"
.
Sui left, leaving the shopkeeper to stand there, stunned and angry.
"Hey!"
.
.
.
"Hello!"
"Yes?"
.
Sui put on a big smile, one that the greasy, soot-covered blacksmith didn't reciprocate. He glanced up from the chunk of iron he was hammering, glaring at Sui as she smiled down on him.
.
"I'm here to make a purchase." Sui said simply. "Do you have steel sheets? 10mm?"
"I don't use meters."
"Oh. Then, do you have 0.39370-"
"I have half inch." The blacksmith interrupted, sighing and rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand, but only succeeding in covering both in more grease. "Or quarter inch."
"Do you have ⅜ inch?"
"No."
.
Sui's large smile turned into a frown.
"Something wrong?" The blacksmith asked sarcastically.
"It doesn't meet specifications." Sui muttered. "It's not within tolerance."
"Speak english, girl, I can't tell what you're-"
.
"That." Sui pointed to a sword, tossed into a corner. "That is within tolerance. How much is it?"
"That's unfinished." The blacksmith said stiffly, putting down his hammer. "It's not for sale yet."
"It looks finished." Sui observed. "But there's a structural defect."
.
"What!?" The soot covered man recoiled in surprise. "How can you?…"
.
Sui walked over to the sword and stripped off the guard and hilt effortlessly, the leather bindings coming apart, and the metal clattering to the ground, as she held the naked blade in her hands.
.
"It's defective." Sui said quietly. "I'm offering to take it off your hands. Along with any other defects you might have."
.
"It's not defective." The blacksmith reasoned. "It's fixable."
"It would be easier to just start from scratch. And more efficient."
.
The short man was silent, staring at the chunk of iron for a while, frowning, but after a bit of thinking, he just shrugged.
.
The blacksmith sighed. "Fine. I've got two others inside, leaning against my desk. Just bring them out here."
.
Sui did as the short man said, finding the defective swords and ripping off the wooden handles, wrappings and guards similarly to the first. She went back outside and dumped them onto the ground in front of the blacksmith carelessly, a gesture that he frowned at.
.
"Hm…" He mused. "Five silvers per pound of raw iron… There's about fifteen in there-"
"It's 10." Sui corrected.
The blacksmith glared hostily at Sui. "Five pounds per sword. There's three in there."
.
"It is likely you aren't accounting for the weight of the pommel and guard. As well as the defects in the actual blade."
"I know my own products." The blacksmith said stiffly.
"I believe you are just…" Sui hesitated, seeing the angry, hostile expression on the man's face. "Okay. Nevermind. Sorry. Here are the silvers."
.
Sui reached into her endless-looking cloak, and pulled out a few coins, dropping it into the displeased man's hands.
.
"Have a good morning." She said politely.
.
Sui picked up the discarded… defective swords. Trash. And for a while, she just stared, eyes unmoving, but intensely focused on the garbage she held in her hands.
.
"You just going to stand there?"
"Er. No. Sorry."
.
.
.
For a while Sui decided to just watch the town, sitting patiently on a bench as the wind blew her cloak aimlessly about. The first thing that she made immediate note of was the emptiness. Long rows of identical houses lined the streets, but all the curtains were drawn, and few people walked the streets. Those who did, quickly hurried to their destination, and then quickly disappeared inside the buildings, a few waving curt greetings, but most not even bothering to acknowledge Sui's presence.
.
A soft weight dropped next to her. 176 pounds. Aisha.
.
"You're quite heavy for a girl that size." Sui said absentmindedly. "Your BMI is greater than an orc's."
"You're looking quite unenthusiastic." Aisha shot back, similarly tired. "I like you better this way."
"You look like you didn't sleep yesterday."
.
Aisha let out a deep breath out of her nose.
.
"It was a bad dream."
.
"What about?"
"The future."
.
Aisha leaned forward and rested her cheek on her hand, tilting her face to look at Sui's head. Her cheeks were round, full and fleshy, and her hair flowed short, similarly to hers.
.
So why did something feel off?
.
It was the eyes. As Sui turned to look at Aisha back, she saw no wavering - Sui's eyes didn't rotate a single degree. It was unsettling. Even Feng's eyes… were lazy, wandered. But not Sui.
.
"Are you bored?" Sui asked.
"Are you?"
"Yeah."
"What do you want to do?"
"It's unclear."
.
Aisha sighed.
"What do you usually do?"
"Watch."
"Not much to watch around here."
"Yeah."
.
Sui turned to Aisha.
"What about you?"
"Find a beautiful woman to sleep with." Aisha mumbled. "Or train."
"Then would you like to-"
"Yes."
.
.
.
"Your powers are fascinating, Aisha." Sui muttered. "You appear to have absorbed the drake's powers. Albeit… at a much weaker strength. But still…"
"No. Not all the powers." Aisha mumbled. "None of the poison."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Aisha said, mildly irritated. "I'm sure."
"That's interesting."
"Yes, I'm sure." She mumbled. "Let's get started."
.
"Why don't you show me what you can do?"
.
Sui walked slowly away, creating about ten feet of space in-between her and Aisha, as the shorter girl furrowed her brows in concentration, magic flowing into her fingertips.
.
A thin cone of dark magic burst from her fingertips, impacting a small barrier in front of Sui. The cone was tight, almost a line, but a few stray streams of magic split off from the main beam, burning the grass and the trees around them.
.
"That's about the best I can do." Aisha muttered.
"Um… okay. Charging and emission." Sui pursed her lips. "Can you do elemental?"
"No."
"Um… what about shape?"
"No."
"Deflection? Persistence? State?"
"I don't know what those are." Aisha said, her eye twitching. "I can make the beam."
..
Sui snapped, smiling as an idea came to her head.
.
"Give me your hand." She requested, to which Aisha obliged. Sui slid the glove off, and-
.
"Ow!" Aisha hissed, recoiling and retracting her now bleeding hand, Sui holding a shard of steel with a drop of blood on it. Aisha just looked confused, as the girl licked the drop and swallowed, a thoughtful expression on her face.
.
"It doesn't taste any different than a regular fey's blood." She hummed.
"How do you know what that tastes like?" Aisha hissed, as the cut on her hand began to close itself, the regenerative powers from the drake healing her hand. Sui pointed to the wound.
.
"Are you doing that consciously?" Sui asked.
"What? Huh? No… I guess…" Aisha mumbled, the wound now completely gone.
"It's not a biological function." Sui pursed her lips. "It must be some sort of spell, right?"
"Sure."
"Then shouldn't you be able to copy the spells of all the other souls you've consumed?"
.
Aisha gnawed on a thumbnail as she pondered over the idea - in theory, Sui should be correct, but…
.
"But I have no memories of any other spells. Or anything." She mused.
"That's interesting! Maybe it's something only activated by moments of intense stress, or maybe you have to activate some other physical stimuli, like maybe you have to say a magic word, or…"
.
Aisha sighed and tuned Sui out as she sat down on the grass, closing her eyes and attempting to shut out the outside world. It wasn't difficult - she hadn't gotten any sleep last night, and she was all too ready to sink deep into the recesses of her mind.
.
[
"I'm hungry." The shadow complained, tugging on Aisha's sleeve. "Feed me."
"You'll get a new soul soon." Aisha mumbled, stroking her "sister" on her head, Aisha's hand sinking slightly into the shadowy mass. "A demon soul. How does that sound?"
"I want more." The shadow whined. "One soul isn't enough! It's already been a few days!"
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad."
.
"How would YOU feel if you went three days without eating?" The shadow demanded.
"Okay, okay." Aisha sighed, hugging her roommate (soulmate?) to her, and rubbing her cheek on top of her head. "I'll feed you some more. But I need something from you."
.
"I see everything you see." The shadow mumbled. "I know what you want."
"Then will you give it to me?" Aisha asked.
.
"Why do you assume that I would just know how to give you spells?" The shadow frowned. "You think I'm a genie?"
"Can't we figure something out?" Aisha pursed her lips, laying flat on her back, the fire of her memories warming her left side nicely, but leaving her right cold. Aisha beckoned for the doppelganger to come and warm her right arm, but it didn't budge.
.
"Feed me." The shadow demanded.
"I already told you." Aisha said lazily. "I'm-"
"Promise you'll feed me. Forever. That you'll try your hardest to keep me happy. In exchange… I'll try to get you these memories."
.
Aisha broke out into a wide grin, getting up and wrapping her arms around her little sister, forcing the shadow to lay on top of her as she squeezed affectionately.
.
"Hee hee." Aisha laughed. "You want big sister to take care of you? Well okaaaay! I promise!"
"Aough!" The shadow grunted. "I-I'm not- get off me!"
]
.
.
.
"Hey friend!" Sui spoke, directly into Aisha's ear. "What are you doing?"
"Shut up."
.
.
.
[
The shadow grumbled as Sui's voice echoed throughout Aisha's mindscape, the infinite emptiness making the sound echo immensely.
.
"It's so empty here." The shadow said quietly, as Sui's high voice quieted. "It's… lonely."
"...Yeah." Aisha mumbled back, gazing into the immense blackness.
"The other mind spaces have things in them. Filled with their loved ones. Their connections." The shadow muttered. "Values. Some have houses… some have skyscrapers. "
.
Aisha saw the two purple blobs that formed the shadow's eyes turn to the only objects in her mind. A small campfire, and a few logs. It was pitiful.
.
"What do you want?" Aisha asked.
.
The shadow paused for a bit.
"Remember what I said?" She whispered. "The last time you were in here."
"Hm?"
"What we want is different."
.
Aisha was silent for a bit, before she opened her mouth, attempting to nom on the shadow.
"Hey!"
"Mmm…"
"What the fuck was that for!?"
"I thought if I ate a little bit of you…" Aisha sucked her lips into her mouth. "I thought I might absorb some memories or something."
.
"That's not going to work!" The shadow snapped irritably. "It's just annoying!"
"Okayyy…" Aisha smiled mischievously. "You taste nice, by the way. Like smoked candy."
.
"Aaaahhh…" The shadow groaned. "E-enough. You are right, though. You're going to have to take something from me into you, if you want to do this."
"Um… How do we do that?"
.
Aisha couldn't exactly see an expression on the shadow's face, but she definitely could tell that it was, at the very least, disappointed.
"...You're supposed to be the smart one."
"I don't know anything about magic."
.
The shadow suddenly slipped out of Aisha's grasp, dematerializing into a cloud and reforming in a standing position. Aisha also got up, propping herself up with an arm, until she was standing and facing her clone.
.
A tense silence followed, and the clone extended an arm. Aisha watched curiously, as a small mass of magic flew out of the shadow's hand, and flew towards Aisha's chest.
.
"Ow!" Aisha yelped, as she was blown back by the small explosion of magic. "What was that!?"
"Well, we're going to have to try a lot of things." The shadow said.
.
Aisha could swear she heard a hint of satisfied sadism in that voice, but she was too busy rubbing her tummy to really focus on it. She yelped again, as she moved just in time for a spell to fly past her head.
.
It was Aisha's turn to be indignant. "What are you doing!?"
"You're not supposed to dodge!"
]
.
.
.
In the real world, Sui watched with fascination as Aisha's brows furrowed, a faint magical burn appearing on the side of her face. Her eyes roamed over her body, as the magic circuits in her body lit up like fireworks in an unnatural manner, pushing and pulling in a chaotic, turbulent flow. But also, to Sui's enhanced vision, she saw more. She saw as the circuits dug deeper into Aisha's body, lengthening and thickening, and saw as colorful, multicolored mana whirled around her meditating body.
.
She was witnessing an evolution, right before her own eyes.
.
"Fascinating." She whispered.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lithkren
Lithkren Sorry for the wait this time, I don't really have an excuse other than that I really wanted this to be not just a boring chapter about Sui and Aisha waiting around and talking. As always though, comments are appreciated!
To some of you, good luck with school, and to others, have a good night.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone