Love as a Form of Binding Ch. 03

He could see her thinking about it and kicked himself for the way that it might be interpreted.

"Or," he offered, "you can stay here, and I can drag my blankets here and sleep on the floor when I get tired enough. Or if you want, I can leave you alone. It's up to you. I'll be fine regardless. I'm just thinking of your comfort."

She felt that he was hopeful to just spend more time with her. He was amazing, she thought. She found herself with a sudden desire to do something for him in return for his kindness to her. She had nothing to give him. It was a foreign thought, doing something for another out of good will. Good will itself was a concept that boggled her a little. She pushed the strangeness aside and considered.

She'd sometimes tempted her male targets by changing herself more to what many men here could lust after. She'd even let them mount her – for a moment - before she seized the soul that she'd been sent to get and vanished in a blur to leave a dying human body behind in a heap. Perhaps she could let Toby have his pleasure as a way of showing her thanks to him. She even began to feel hopeful of the chance. She'd always felt nothing, but suddenly found herself wanting this with Toby and wanting for it to be a little more than an exchange between them. She didn't understand why these thoughts came to her, she just knew that they were there and they were pleasant to her.

The annoying thing to her was that there was something in the back of her mind that told her not to pursue this, but she couldn't quite understand why at first. It came to her at last and she realized that it would be an issue only under one certain set of circumstances and Maezou didn't know if it was what she wanted for herself later.

"We'll go where you say," she said, "but first, I need to .... I can't find the words, make water? Where do I do that here?"

Toby grinned, "Walk this way. I guess you don't usually have to think about it. Watch your step, though."

She pulled off the covers and stood up," I can see perfectly in anything but pitch black," she said, "and then ..." Her eyes became brighter. It was enough to light their way easily. "Nice," Toby said with a grin, "Don't you want to take the comforter at least?"

She shook her head as she reached for his hand, "I'm not cold now. I'll be fine for a few minutes."

He led her to the bathroom, noticing that her hand felt like any other person's hand – well, except for those nails of hers. The one on her thumb was grazing the top of his index finger a little. The few scales on her hand felt a little pebbly, and he thought it was more interesting than holding a limp, sweaty hand.

It hit him immediately that she'd never used a toilet before. Hoping that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable about it, he explained how it was used and the function of the toilet paper. She sat on the seat with a grin, "I've seen people sitting on these, but I was never in the room, and I never watched for long. So, I just begin now?"

He nodded, smiling at her frankness. He turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand again, "Why do you go?"

"It's the custom here to just do this alone. Most people don't want anyone around them. We just think of it as a private thing." He waited in the hall and after watching her childlike fascination at what to her was the orderly way that humans had provided for themselves to wash their hands, they walked around the house and he pulled the curtains shut. She was either beside him holding his hand or when he stopped to look out at the storm, she put her arm around his waist. He looked down and then at her, "I like this, but why? I haven't touched another person this much in years."

She shrugged, "I don't know, Toby. I never touch anybody either, but I really like touching you. Is it alright?"

"Sure," he smiled, "please don't stop."

Touching him told her more about him, things that surprised her. She knew that humans were fairly social, and mostly lived with at least one other of their kind sometime after reaching adulthood. Yet Toby lived alone and she could see no reason for it. She'd spent enough time all over the planet to know pretty well what either gender found attractive, and she thought he had it in abundance, maybe not for everyone, but certainly enough to make him attractive to many. So why? She thought that maybe he had lost the one for him somehow, but then plainly sensed that there had never been one. She gave it up. There were too many things for her to work out at once.

On the way back, Toby grabbed the comforter and blankets. He handed her the pillow. In the bedroom, she saw where the other pillow was and put hers next to it, since it was obvious to her. She pulled back the covers and got into the bed. The only thing that he could think of was that she wanted him to sleep on top.

She protested immediately, "No, Toby. I won't hurt you if that's what you think. You said that we could be warmer like this, and I want that."

"Ok," he smiled, as he laid the other covers over top. "Do you want me to get undressed?"

She propped her head on her hand, "That's what I thought we would do. I don't know if it is wrong or right among you, but I begin to see us as two creatures who are strange to each other and we are both hopeful for something like ... the nearest word that I can guess is 'friends'." She paused before continuing.

"I have a thought from a painting that I saw once. There were two little humans sitting together. I think this is the idea. I want to sit or lie down and be close to you. I think the painting showed two of these friends. Can we just lie here and talk? Or sit under the blankets together or something? I don't need to sleep as much as you do, but everything hurts on me, and I could just sleep now. I want to talk more first. I like being with you. I like how you aren't afraid of me. I never ..." the sound of the snow blowing across the screen out there beyond the double layer of glass caught her attention for a moment before she turned back, "I never feel much of anything like I feel things here with you. I don't want it to stop yet."

He began to take his clothes off, "You haven't given me a reason to be afraid, Maezou. I was thinking that if you were going to kill me, or whatever you do, you probably would have done it already. I like this too."

Toby found it odd the way that the dim light from her eyes flickered over his body. She said nothing for the moment, but found herself enjoying the show. Toby was someone who was obviously singular to her now. She thought that she learned more from him with each blink of his eyelids. It astounded her that he looked so far removed from so many of the males here who were near to him in age. He looked better to her just as he was than so many males even half his age.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing. She knew that humans sometimes adorn their bodies with tattoos. Mostly the practice was beneath her notice, but in the darkness here, his had caught her eye.

He looked, "It's a tattoo. I have a couple of them. I don't know why I got them, actually. There's nobody to see them. I just wanted these."

Her eyes brightened so that she could look at them, "Who are they?"

"Nobody," he said, "They were just some artwork that I liked enough to want them on me permanently."

"I like them," she decided, grinning. "They're not ugly or pointless like a lot that I've seen. I have some too, but they weren't put on me the same way as those."

He opened the drawer on the nightstand, and fished out a small LED flashlight, "Can I see?"

Maezou felt defensive suddenly, and couldn't understand why. When had she ever cared? Then she remembered that he had asked her to be herself. And anyway, they were already close enough together that their legs touched, now that he'd gotten into bed. She smiled before he could pick up on her hesitation, "Yes."

He turned on the light, and gasped.

"What is it?" she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, "absolutely nothing. You're very beautiful. When I saw you in the snow, your skin was pale, almost like paper, I couldn't even see your tattoos, but I guess you're back to what's normal for you." He reached out slowly and touched her skin. She was amazed again. She thrilled to his touch.

"Compared to mine, your skin looks as though it's slightly dusty, but it's not. It feels the same as mine." He touched the patch of scales on her shoulder, and smiled, "These are nice. I love your hair. It all fits." He nodded, "That's a good look for you," he decided, "I love it. I know that you can change yourself, but I like this, how you really are. The tattoos look great. Are there meanings to them?"

She pointed to a couple, "These are marks from masters that I had. I was traded from one to another sometimes, and each one put their brand on me. This line, and this one? That means they are canceled. This one is from my last master. These here, I did for myself. There are no meanings to them that you could understand." She rolled over to show him two more, "These are also by me. We can put them on our bodies with a thought, but once it is done, they remain always. Many of us only carry our master's brands."

"You were branded?" his face fell, "That kind of takes the fun out of it, I guess, to have to wear somebody's mark because they own you. I'm sorry, Maezou."

She lay there with her mouth open in surprise. He didn't know? She recovered quickly, and changed the subject.

"Tell me how you found me, Toby."

He told her how it had happened. Then he asked her what had happened to her.

"This will be easy to tell, but hard to make you understand, I think. Some of it I don't understand yet. I have always worked for the ruler of a hell. I was returning from here with a soul that I had been sent to get. My master didn't give me another task to do, he told me just to go, that he would send for me when he needed me. Toby, that's never happened to me before, I'm always given something else right away."

She looked at his throat, and then at his collarbones, "I think he must have known."

"Known what?" Toby asked.

"Sometimes it happens that there are wars between the hells. There are many of them. Often a ruler is overthrown. Just as I was leaving, a battle started. Since I had been sent away, I left as fast as I could go in the little passageway." She paused, remembering.

She looked up, "I – I felt my master dying. I wanted to get away because when the next ruler takes over, he or she will call all the demons that the dead or defeated one had. I knew it would happen to me, but I ran anyway. And then, just as I sprang to get clear, something shot out of the passageway after me. It came so fast that there was nothing that I could do to get out of the way. It hit me," she pointed to her chest, "And then I was cold. I remember thinking that I had been caught and sent to one of the cold hells again. And then I was here. With you."

Her eyes opened wide as she gasped. She'd wondered at the feelings that she'd been having. And now she was sure of it. "My soul!" she whispered in shock as the realization came to her. "Toby, my soul! It was my soul that hit me on its way back to me. The master must have freed me! Toby, I'm free! Oh, I'm free!" She stared at him for a moment, and then hugged him to her tightly as she wept.

He held her and stroked her back gently, "You're right, I - I don't understand, but I'm happy for you, Maezou." He kissed her ear, and the edge leading to the point of it brushed his nose.

She pulled back and looked at him again. She was so overjoyed. She kissed him and hugged him again and again.

As she calmed a little, she tried to explain. "Almost all demons are bound to service. That can be done in different ways. The lesser kinds have no souls and there are millions of them. I am a hunter. Those of my kind are sent to hunt the soiled souls of humans because sometimes it is decided not to wait for a foul soul until death. We seek only those we are sent for and take the soul to end the life at that instant. We deliver the soul to our ruler who sent us. My kind has a soul, but it is different from yours. We can live without them inside of us. It is to control us. For my kind to work for a ruler, they keep our souls away from us, so that they can always call us back right away if they need to, or punish us."

She struggled with the emotion of it, "He must have known the end was coming, but why did he free me? Toby, I have my soul inside me. I haven't felt that in so long, I forgot how it feels. I am my own, Toby. It feels so good to be free. Everything feels good." She touched the side of his neck, and slid her hand lightly to the joint of his shoulder, "You feel good, Toby."

"So, you've been a slave?" Toby didn't like the thought at all. He felt worse to see her nod. "How long?"

"Almost all of my life since I was spawned," she said. "If I was traded, my soul was passed to the next ruler. I don't remember which one it was who took it from me. Toby, almost everyone is enslaved by being bound to service. This way is just what is done to my kind to keep us obedient. Some kinds have their bodies taken away and only live as empty creatures of their ruler's will."

She looked down, "Maybe I say this wrong. I could never stand having anyone near to me my whole life. But it's all different now." She reached out to place her hand on his chest.

Toby felt that she was very warm, warmer than he was. He felt the sharp edges and points of her long nails against his skin. It wasn't a great leap to think that if she had a reason to, she could cause him to bleed with only a little bit of pressure. That he wasn't already bleeding told him that she had a great deal of feeling and control in her.

From her side of it, she liked the slight coolness of his body. She could never abide the touch of another demon, no matter which kind. They all felt raspy - even the wet ones - and two demons together was just a lot of heat – too much heat for her comfort. And aside from the one who had spawned her, she'd never met another demon who wasn't about looking after their own wants to the exclusion of all else. Some of them could talk a good game – so could she if she wanted to – but once close, they all just seized and rutted.

It didn't happen to her much anymore. She'd learned and grown strong herself. Maezou didn't consider it, but she was known all over most of the dark realms. Now and then, she'd come to the attention of a fool somewhere in her travels, some beast with more eyes and hopeful dick than sense. She enjoyed those ones now for the way they tried for her. If she was in one of her moods, she'd let them get close.

But when they tried to touch her, ...

It had happened once that her now-deceased lord had called her to answer for the ruination of another ruler's favorite. Without a thought, Maezou had torn up that ruler's prize stud and the hellion queen was furious over it. Her master listened to the angry charges and threats while Maezou stood feeling,... sensing,... and considering her own abilities against the angry bitch ruler. When retribution was demanded, Maezou's master had only said that his warnings were clearly marked on his huntress and her new eunuch should have left well enough alone, but he turned to Maezou and asked her what she thought should be done.

Maezou had grinned and needed only seconds to kill the hellion by process of dis-assembly. Her master told her that he now considered the matter closed and then gave her instructions for another hunt.