A young woman was leaning up against the wall, someone who the others appeared very familiar with, while Elizabeth had never seen her before. At first glance she could at least tell she was a succubus, sharing the same physical similarities the other women had.
She had smooth hazelnut skin, and gave off quite a 'professional' aura with how she dressed and presented herself. The exception to that was the long coat she wore, which looked like it could use quite a bit of cleaning at the ends after her travels. Her green bangs were well-kept, until those highlights faded into the normal brown colour of her long hair. The woman gave the slightest hint of a smile to the succubi, but when she saw Elizabeth it faded away completely. Her apricot and green eyes looked like they were trying to pierce through the human from behind her glasses, which made the 'cool beauty' that much more intimidating.
“Rakshaaaa!!! You're home!!!” Irisyla shouted with glee as she bounced over to the woman like a child. She crashed into her, almost knocking her over as she gave the bespectacled succubus a tight hug.
She kept her composure for the most part through the forceful squeeze. Her return of affection was simply that of a pat on Irisyla's back.
Euryale clutched her hands against her chest and let out a sigh of relief. “I am so relieved that you're safe... You had us worried because you weren't responding to us!” she scolded her.
“I was a bit busy with other matters, and I had to think over some recently occurring issues. I can assure you though that I was never in any danger.” Raksha explained to them vaguely as Irisyla finally released her.
“But then you finally took my call!~” Lilith exclaimed as she ran towards her with a kissy face and her arms outstretched for her own hug.
Raksha reached out with one hand before she could be hugged, holding her back by the forehead to keep her just out of reach. “You're lucky that I did not block your number. Your attempts to contact me were excessive.” She said while pulling out her phone and holding it. Everyone could see the massive wall of calls and texts missed from Lilith alone.
Elizabeth stood up from her seat and took a step forward as she fidgeted with her hands. She remembered when Irisyla mentioned this woman being 'hard to get to know', but that brief piercing dagger glare she received before was more than she expected. “H-hi... I'm Elizabeth. It's nice to meet you,” she introduced herself with a hand out.
After pushing Lilith away, Raksha stared the woman down and ignored her attempt at a handshake. “I have heard about you, yes... You're the human.” She looked her up and down, seeming to take note that she was wearing Lilith's clothes. Her head turned away slightly with her expression unchanged. “The Umbral Queen I suppose, too.”
The mood in the room shifted quickly, Elizabeth awkwardly lowering her arm back to her side. She looked at the other succubi, as if trying to find an explanation or wondering if she had done something to offend her.
The succubi looked amongst each other nervously, with the exception of Irisyla whose demeanour stayed the exact same. The awkward silence was finally broken when Raksha took one of the bags that was slung over her back and plopped it onto the floor in front of her. “Iris, there are some treats for you in there that I received while travelling.” She turned away from everyone else and gave a slight wave of her hand. “We can catch up later, I need to settle in and rest for a while.” She told them before heading out of the lounge by herself.
Irisyla squealed in delight as she picked up the bag off the floor and hugged it excitedly. “Thank youuuuu!!!” She called out before the succubus was out of earshot.
Euryale and Lilith looked at each other with concern. “I told you this might happen...” the former reminded her.
“I-I didn't think she was gonna focus that much on the human thing!” Lilith replied as the two turned their attention to a sullen Elizabeth. “We're sorry about that, Liz.”
“Did I... do something bad?” She asked as her fidgeting grew more intense and anxious.
Euryale shook her head vehemently and placed a hand on the poor girl's shoulder. “You did nothing wrong, I promise. Unfortunately, Raksha has a very negative perception of humans. I thought she might be more open to you, considering you have been with us for a while.”
“Really? Iris didn't mention that when she told me about her before.” Elizabeth said as she let out a dejected sigh.
Irisyla's eyes went wide, dropping the bag onto the floor and hurrying over to her friend. “I'm so so so sorry Liiiz! I forgot she didn't like humans! Please forgiiive me!!!” She apologized while giving her a tight hug. Strangely enough, the succubus looked especially heartbroken that she had indirectly made Elizabeth sad.
“I-It's okay Iris! Really!” She tried to calm her down before the hug squeezed the air out of her lungs. It worked though, as upon hearing this, her mood faded back to normal and she was freed from the suffocating embrace. She was always shocked at how quickly the simple things could swing the gluttonous succubus' mood. “Why does she dislike humans...?”
Euryale shook her head sadly, giving her an apologetic look. “It's not our place to talk about it... We know some of the reasons, but after all these years she hasn't explained everything, even to us.”
Elizabeth's expression shifted a little, clutching her hands together with the slightest amount of motivation filling her inside. “I... don't know how then, but I'll find a way to have her at least tolerate me. If we are going to be around each other I should at least manage that, right?”
The succubi were quite surprised, the declaration being quite assertive by Elizabeth standards. Lilith looked especially impressed, a cheeky smirk forming with her lips. “Look at you, really owning that post-sex confidence!~” she said teasingly.
She looked down at herself in the succubus’ clothes again and lost her confidence gains immediately. “S-speaking of... I think I'm going to bathe,” she told them. She found herself feeling 'dirty' from the previous night still.
“If you would like, I can prepare something to eat for when you finish?” Euryale offered with a soft smile.
While Elizabeth nodded, Lilith glanced around the lounge as if she were looking for something. After, her smile grew more and more mischievous by the moment. “Yeeees, you should totally take a bath~”
Euryale held the hem of Lilith's shirt and gestured to the kitchen. “No funny ideas, you will be helping me make it if you want some as well.”
As she was dragged along by her, she whined exaggeratedly. “Awwwww, that's too bad! No bath with Liz for me~” The mischievous smile remaining plastered on her face contradicted her words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Out of all the perks of living in the Umbreise mansion, the bath was one of Elizabeth's favourites. It was by far the most luxurious part of the home, as it was almost excessively large. The room was gigantic and mostly open, with the main bath being the size of a large swimming pool.
Statues of demons were positioned all around the room, pouring heated water down small canals that fed into the bath itself. The first time she had been in there, she noted how much the statues seemed to be inspired by those that depicted figures in Greek mythology. Apparently in an attempt to give the bath a more ‘outdoors’ feeling, Lilith had large heated boulders placed around most of the edges of the bath. Much like the statues, the boulders had water circulating through them and poured over the edges into the pool to simulate small waterfalls.
She entered the steamy room in only her towel, however it didn't stay on long. She unwrapped it from around herself and placed it on one of the tables near the door, noticing someone had forgotten to take their towel out with them earlier. Although to some people the heat from the steam might feel overbearing, Elizabeth found it especially soothing. It helped her relax and try to forget about her worries with Raksha for the time being. As she carefully walked up to the edge of the bath, she squinted her eyes through the steam.
Through the steam she could see a strange silhouette on the other side of the bath near the rocks. However, it was difficult to make out from so far away. As she eased into the water and moved a bit closer, her eyes began to adjust.
Standing in the bath by the rocks, was none other than Sarana. Her entire form was bare for Elizabeth to see, her delicate skin glistening from the bath's warm waters. The succubus looked quite startled, her face bright red from both the heat in the room and staring at Elizabeth's own nude form.
Elizabeth squealed in surprise and attempted cover herself, sinking down quickly in the water up to her neck. “I didn't know anyone was in here!” she shouted. Only now did she realize why Lilith had acted so strangely when she was dragged away. “She must have known Sarana was in here already!” She thought to herself, feeling foolish for not thinking more about the towel that had been left at the entrance.
“I-I am so sorry!!!” Sarana apologized to her, barely audible over the 'waterfalls' next to her. She averted her gaze and covered herself with her arms to keep her from freaking out.
The two blushy maidens stayed in silence for a few moments, neither of them moving as they both tried to calm down a little. “No, I'm sorry for scaring you like that.” Elizabeth apologized back to her. “You uhm... don't have to cover yourself if you don't want to.”
Sarana lowered her arms and slowly sat down in the heated bath. “C-care to join me...?” She asked meekly as her very long, dark hair floated elegantly around her.
Although she was incredibly embarrassed about it, she was becoming a little less scared to have her body seen by others. She nodded to the succubus' offer and floated over to her through the steam. Once she was next to her, she realized how different Sarana looked without all of her dark makeup on. On or off, she was definitely a beauty to her. This made her all the more nervous by sitting only inches away.
The shy silence between them returned for a little while, Elizabeth beginning to wash her hair as the succubus rubbed soap over her own body. “So... you and Lilith had sex last night... Was it your first time?”
She was caught off guard by Sarana's question, freezing mid scrub and glancing towards her. “Yeah... it was.” At this point she wasn't going to question how she knew, as there were probably a few different ways she could have figured it out.
She smiled softly while sinking the soapy parts of her body into the water. “Did you enjoy the experience?” She asked curiously, occasionally peeking at the young woman while she was washing.
Elizabeth nodded slowly, sinking herself down into the water as well to rinse her hair and hide her embarrassed face. She knew that telling Sarana this made her happy, as the look was plastered all over her face. “I wonder if it's difficult for her to hold back her urges, even with how shy she is.”
Although she didn't know Sarana as long as most of the others, she felt just as close to her. She knew now how the goth succubus had been watching over her since the school year started, and worked hard to try and keep her safe. “Sarana, can I ask you something? About this Umbral Queen power I have.” She asked while beginning to scrub soap on her body.
The succubus raised an eyebrow curiously. “I-I can try my best... but Lilith is really the only one who knows the details,” she admitted to her.
“This power was described to me as an infinite well of magic inside my body, and my body now seems to be able to regenerate itself.” She looked down at her soapy hands, then back to Sarana. “You've all worked hard to keep me safe, but I don't want to be forced to rely on you all too much. It's not fair for you all. I have all this magic sitting inside me, can I not do anything else with it...?”
Sarana was taken aback by her concern, making her heart flutter seeing the woman care about the Umbreise Clan that much. “To answer that question, I must explain to you how magic works with most beings.” She told her, floating over so they were face to face. “The magical power of a being with potential to use it is usually determined at birth... The girls mentioned it to you before, but as you know, I can manipulate time to an extent.” As she explained, she moved her hand under the water until she was holding Elizabeth's.
In the next moment, Elizabeth was faced with a sight she never would have dreamed of. Everything went silent, and the flow of water and steam in the room stopped as if someone had hit the pause button on a movie. She looked around in amazement, the water she touched moving along only with her, and stopping all motion as soon as it lost contact.
“I may stop time temporarily, while myself or anyone I touch can move freely. I may also manipulate time for my own body in some ways.” Sarana explained, letting out a slight wince before the flow of time slowly started back up again. “The strain on my body while using this is far greater here in Tartarus or the Nether Mirror, compared to Earth.”
Although she was amazed at her power, seeing the toll it took on Sarana's body made her very concerned. At the very least she could be relieved that it was less draining when she was using it on Earth. “You're amazing...” She muttered quietly as she sunk her soapy body under the water.
Sarana blushed and fidgeted with her hands. “I-It is honestly not as useful as I would like... It was the power I was born with, so I cannot gain other magical abilities besides it and the small benefits any succubus has. I may only evolve and become more proficient with those.” She explained again while regaining her composure. “There are exceptions to this... such as enchantments, rituals, and summoning, to name a few. You have magic flowing through you, as such, even a human like yourself may be able to use those.”
Elizabeth was amazed at the plethora of magical knowledge the succubus had, and wondered how much of that was surface level information for most demons. “Those are things I could actually learn to do?” She asked with utter determination, inching closer to Sarana with a strong gaze.
She nodded shyly as the human moved closer to her, trying to inch backwards herself. “Y-yes... if you wanted to protect yourself just even a little more, I-I would recommend summoning magic.” She slowly stood up in front of her and took a few steps back. “I could teach you how to if you would like...?”
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