A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 77: Althaia

Ashyr scoffed. "Caleldir is no fun sometimes. Depriving me of a good bit of hate sex..." She shook her head. Oh well. Nothing to be done about it now.

Althaia didn't respond to that, instead shifting the conversation a bit. "Have you been seeing Carlotta around at all?"

"Yeah, She's been running with me and the rest of her party out in the city." Ashyr's grin suggested that 'running' wasn't the only thing they did.

Althaia pulled her legs up into the chair, sitting cross-legged, interest spread across her face. "So... any stories about your escapades you would be interested in sharing?"

Ashyr's usual grin returned to her face. "So Demetus is back in the land of the living. We had to rescue his half-brother from a workshop dungeon that Phanuel conveniently forgot about. We ended up blowing up a quarter of the building. After that... well, both of them were quite grateful. Carlotta wasn't there for that last part, of course. And then we met up with Thynelius, now the city's only tiefling (probably) and final member of the party that tried to infiltrate the city before us. Since then we've been tavern hopping and drinking far more than we should." And Ashyr looked like she had enjoyed every moment of it so far.

"Perhaps a brotherly threesome was in the offering?" Althaia said with a distant look in her eyes. She licked her lips. "Eh, I will stick to this party for now. And see if I cannot seduce Carlotta once you are gone. And maybe, maybe Phanuel too. If I do, I will give you all the juicy details."

"Carlotta has been talking about you. And Demetus asked about you a couple of times as well. I confess I've been- what was that surface term? Something about a pig... Hogging them, since I have to go soon. You wouldn't have to work hard to get them into bed. Phanuel, though... Well, you'd better be careful if you don't want to catch the hots for him if you're going to have him train you in combat. That's how things with Caleldir and me came to a head, after all. And I have seen that Aasimar shirtless." A pleased little shudder passed through Ashyr's body. That had been quite the sight to see, while it lasted.

"Oh, I have seen him shirtless too. I designed those muscles, after all. I was very, very proud of the way they turned out." Althaia sighed happily. "I am glad you appreciate my little work of art there. Now, imagine Phanuel and I, him shirtless, me in a skimpy training garment, sweaty in the gym... Almost a shame to take that to the next level, actually. I feel as if it would be best to tease at it rather than actually have sex with him. On a different note, I glad to hear that Carlotta was asking about me. Demetus, eh, I suppose he might be good for a short fling." She did not know him well enough to be confident for more.

Ashyr seemed to be enthusiastically imagining the scenario that Althaia described. And what a sexy image it was. Ashyr flopped backward, and as soon as her back hit the bed, her clothes disappeared from her body. It was unclear whether she meant to do that or not. She was contemplating getting Althaia to reenact the first part of that fantasy.

The nymph's manner turned more serious. "But you bring up a good point about your impending departure. Do you have anything you would like to talk about on that topic?"

The grin faded from the ranger's face. "I don't really want to think about it." She said softly as she stared up at the ceiling. "I don't really want to go home. But I have to; my brothers must be punished. And Duskhaven needs a matron." She heaved a great sigh.

"I seem to have ruined the mood," Althaia observed with a wry grin. It made her look a lot like Caleldir, actually. It had not escaped her that Ashyr was now naked. She flowed from her chair to the bed, sitting down next to her. "A lot of responsibility, being a Matron seems to be. And dangerous, if the tales I have heard about the drow are even half true."

"I'll probably fuck it up," Ashyr said softly. "I was already a disaster when it came to House relations. And I hate having to always watch my back. At least in the forest predators are predictable. In the Underdark, there are no permanent allies, and no one does quite what you'd expect. Not even family can be trusted."

"I think that Selene and Tsabdrin can be trusted, and any of Caleldir's children. Keep your head low for a generation, and you may be powerful enough that no one will be a real threat to Duskhaven," Althaia mused. "As for how you will do politically... well, I dunno. I know very little about drow politics, except that ruthlessness seems to be a pretty significant part of that." She grinned. "Perhaps if you had a pet psycho-paladin to sic on people who annoyed you..." She was joking, of course. Althaia assumed that a paladin would not be an asset in the Underdark since it would probably make you an enemy of the state.

"Yes. Both of them can be trusted. Well, as long as Selene isn't blackmailed somehow. If one of her offspring is endangered..." But Ashyr could hardly blame her cousin for that, not after what happened to Luidil. "Tsabdrin... well, he used to be loyal to a fault. Perhaps he still is. Speaking of which, how was your time with him last night?" She asked, actually rather eager to not talk about the Underdark. It was a long, dark road ahead of them. Literally and metaphorically.

"Began with him deep inside my mind, ended with him deep inside my pussy," Althaia said seriously, although by the way her eyes quirked she was trying not to laugh at her own dumb joke. "And other places. It was pretty good, actually. I managed to sort out a lot of feelings. I have finally decided to tell Caleldir a secret I had been keeping from him."

Ashyr sat up so that she could better look at Althaia as they spoke. "Yeah, he can be a pretty good listener. And he never spread any of the secrets I shared with him, as far as I know. Wait. What secret have you kept from Cal?"

Althaia sighed, falling back onto the bed. She and Ashyr had changed positions, oddly enough. "It is complicated, but it starts with my having been sent to that spring on purpose to meet him. My goddess wants him for something. More than that I need to talk to him about first, but it involves Aelsuna's wish to create a new race of nymphs that are born rather than springing full-grown from, well, springs. And Caleldir has knowledge of genetic manipulation that may make that possible."

"Oh." Came Ashyr's short reply. "That... why would-?" She let out a quick exhale of breath, unsure of how to interpret Althaia's words and how to respond to them. "You would need fey males for that, wouldn't you?" Was Caleldir supposed to be one of them? Ashyr wasn't sure how she felt about that. But it did sound like something Althaia had to discuss with Caleldir first. A grin suddenly spread across her face. "Or maybe a certain Aasimar. He'd have beautiful children." Yeah, Ashyr was sort of caught up on the idea of sex with Phanuel. Probably because he wouldn't let her do so.

"As far as I know at this point, Caleldir is the only Fae male we have right now." Althaia sighed. "Phanuel is an Aasimar, not a fae. But Caleldir is important for both his bloodline, which Aelsuna told me was 'irreplaceable', and his knowledge of genetic manipulation. Without him, the birth of full-blooded nymph males is an impossibility. With him, we can create actual male nymphs and become an actual, civilized race. With all of our nymphen powers and abilities, but channeled to build civilization, not simply sit around and have sex in pools. Which is great for a vacation, but gets dull after a decade. I cannot imagine how my 'sisters' managed to do it for thousands of years, without any ambition to become more than that."

Ashyr thought for a moment, her brow furrowed and her mouth open but unable to form words quite yet. "...But... An actual race of nymphs... With just the... It would just be you two. Isn't that - that can't be good, right? Your sisters won't want to leave their pools to help, would they?" She managed to stammer out through her thoughts so suddenly jumbled and confused.

"It would take more than a generation to establish," Althaia replied. "And not just with the two of us." Her manner suddenly changed: she seemed to be quoting someone. By the tone of her voice, Aelsuna was providing her with the information. "Because we are fae, in-breeding is not something that is an issue no matter the combination, but I cannot have enough children by myself to kickstart the species. We would need to bring in some other nymphs, those who are not deaf to Aelsuna's wishes. As many as possible." She let out a long breath and slumped a bit, some presence leaving her. "It will take centuries, I am sure of it." She said almost gloomily. "I have not even seen two decades of life yet. Seems like an eternity..."

Ashyr blinked at Althaia. It didn't seem like she quite understood still. Or at least she was having issues processing the information. She had been fine with it at first, but the more she thought about it, the more confusing it became. "... so, you will mate with others, then? Because I'm not sure I like lending you Caleldir for as much time as that would take... And Selene. I don't even know if-" Ashyr let out an explosive breath and reined her thoughts and emotions back in. There was no use panicking about this; Althaia needed to speak to Caleldir first.

"No, I plan to have children only by Caleldir," Althaia stated. "But do not fear! We have time. If I had exclusive access to Caleldir and full, absolute control over him, this plan could be completed in fifty years. I am counting centuries because Aelsuna recognizes that your claim to Caleldir and Caleldir's own will, are important." She sighed. "Selene... well, I will talk with Caleldir." The nymph seemed rather gloomy.

The drow folded her arms and folded her legs up to sit cross-legged on the bed. Her crimson gaze was focused somewhere in the middle distance. 'I don't-" She began to say, then cut herself off. "Caleldir is-" Ashyr's lips turned down into an unhappy expression. "I mean, we were willing to let you have one or two offspring from him, and even that was quite the argument Selene and I had the other day..."

"As I said, I... Aelsuna... We are willing to wait. Centuries if need be." Althaia replied. "But Aelsuna wants Caleldir's unique Titan and Archnymph ancestry to permeate her new chosen race. But for your sake, I... might manage to talk her down from that." Althaia looked pleadingly at Ashyr. "Please understand my position here! Imagine if Aralolth herself was bugging you to do something in line with her goals every night..."

"I would ignore her," Ashyr grumbled. "But I do not like Lolth. Aelsuna... well, I can tolerate her." Her gaze refocused on Althaia's pleading expression, and her posture relaxed slightly. Damn nymph was lucky she was so beautiful. "Surely Aelsuna can be happy with Aasimar-Nymph. If you can convince Phanuel. Or- Or maybe a drow-titan-archnymph. One of my sons, maybe, fate willing. Then there can still be the blood Aelsuna wants in her race."

"Those bloodlines could indeed be included." Althaia accepted. "But be very glad you do not have a goddess whispering in your ear. They... they cannot be ignored." Althaia's expression changed to a more thoughtful one. "To be entirely honest, I did think that I could use Phanuel, but not as directly. I wanted him to produce some half-nymph offspring. If you or Selene had sons though, through them we could indeed establish the Drow Nymph race." She grinned. "Imagine that, if you will."

"I just-" Ashyr sighed. "Selene wants Caleldir to be the Duskhaven Consort, and Caleldir agreed. We're pretty much marrying him, to use your surface terms. Him being the father of a new race... it would complicate things severely. The other Houses might ridicule us, or think us weak if it became common knowledge. At least-" She sighed again and began to rub at the back of her neck with her hand. "-at least that's what I think would happen. I'm shit at politics."

Althaia was silent. "I... I had not heard of that," she said finally. "That does complicate things. So... an actual marriage, then. Or the drow equivalent." She leaned back, thinking. Then, she grinned. "Do drow do adoption? Because, with a little arcane dye, I could be a Duskhaven. Nymphs look like elves, after all, and if we do not advertise our true forms, we can be mistaken for them. I could lie low for awhile, recruit some other like-minded nymphs to House Duskhaven. The other drow houses then would not dare to ridicule you then. Imagine House Duskhaven full of nymphs that look like drow, but with Our powers. We are immortal, stronger, faster, tougher, smarter, and the very embodiment of beauty. If we play our cards right, we could make House Duskhaven invincible."

Ashyr blinked thoughtfully. "To be honest, I don't know if adoption is a thing. I mean... there's probably something. There has to be something. Selene would know." A grin began to spread across her face. "It'd be nice to have a sister I actually like." She looked over to Althaia, the spark of excitement in her eye. It would be such a small change in theory, but for some reason, it altered her entire outlook on the matter.

"I suppose we will have to ask Selene then," Althaia said, a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "Although, I am not sure if Selene... you know, tolerates me." She then returned Ashyr's excited expression. "I would be a trustworthy sister, at least. We can see if a House that is not divided against itself is stronger than one that is!"

"If you propose it to her like a deal, she may accept your plan and the part Caleldir plays in it. She'd be very interested in making Duskhaven strong, and she's already accepted that integrating nymph blood can be a part of that - what with her child-to-be. Propose being adopted by Duskhaven as a favor to her and to our house, if at all possible. That is sort of what it is, anyway." Ashyr's grin turned crooked. "There I go, starting to actually think like a drow." She didn't look certain about whether she liked that or not.

Realization dawned over Althaia's face. "Ah! I think I get it!" Standing up, she strode over to one of the shelves and pulled out a scroll. Quickly, she read out the incantation and began to shift in front of Ashyr. She lost almost a foot of height, taking her to just over Selene's size. Her skin turned from white to obsidian-sheened black, her hair went from beaten gold to molten silver. She turned around, eyes still blue, and grinned. "I have been working on my disguise! This one is temporary, but I can make it permanent: a true polymorph that no spell will see through." She shifted her manners until she assumed Selene's aristocratic hauteur. With her nymphen features, well, she looked like the very archetype of the uber-drow. "Selene: I have a proposal for you," she began, speaking in perfectly accented Undercommon. "I require a base with which to fulfill my divine mission, and in exchange, I will grant my full strength to House Duskhaven as its most junior, but full, member." She changed back to her normal manner. "That seems like it might work? Or some variation?" She asked excitedly.

The vague grin that was already on Ashyr's face broadened with each moment Althaia played the part of an aristocratic drow. She shifted towards the end of the bed and leaned forward on her hands. Oh yes, that would work out very nicely. "As long as there are actually ceremonies to adopt you, I don't see a reason why Selene would refuse. She might have to think about it for a bit, of course. But yeah, this is a great idea!"

Taking a long breath, Althaia dismissed the spell, swaying up back to her full height and proper coloration. "Just a test on that," she gasped slightly. The transformation was clearly not easy. "But I know that I can perfect it. My eyes cannot be changed, though, they will always remain, well, mood-changing. It is the mark of Aelsuna's favor, and something that I cannot rid myself of." She sat down next to Ashyr, a thoughtful look on her face. "I will propose the bargain to Selene, then." She said. "Although... what if I were to use Duskhaven blood as an ingredient in the spell? I could mystically make myself a Duskhaven..." She shrugged. "Selene might know something."

"You might be able to take the place of one of my younger sisters with the right..." She trailed off. "Really, I have no idea what's possible. It sounds like you'll need Selene." Her hand came up to give Althaia's back an affectionate rub.

"I suppose that is as good of an excuse as any to try to talk her into sharing a night with me." Althaia replied. "'Selene! I would like to turn myself into a Duskhaven. Know any cool magics that might do that?'" She giggled as Ashyr rubbed her back. "Okay, that is not what I am going to say."

"I'll try to convince her to see you. And if I can't, yeah, tempting her with puzzling out some magics would probably do the trick." She leaned against the nymph and pressed her lips against the other woman's shoulder.

It was subtle, but Althaia's eyes had begun to shift. A hint of indigo was creeping into the blue, and then her eyes went straight-up purple. She put one pale arm around Ashyr, stroking her side from her hips to just below her arm. "I am glad you are here, Ashyr." She sighed, her other hand straying innocently to Ashyr's breast to rub her nipple.

"Glad to be here," Ashyr responded. She sat up slightly and slung her leg around Althaia to sit on her lap. "I'm going to miss you, I think." The drow informed her as she returned the other woman's touch with a similar gentle grope of Althaia's breast.

The nymph's hands flowed over Ashyr's body as the drow shifted her position. When Ashyr ended up on her lap, Althaia's hands were gripping her asscheeks. "There are some benefits to my height," she observed with a naughty grin. She let out a soft breath at Ashyr's touch. "I will miss you as well." She responded.

"I do enjoy taller people." Ashyr agreed. "And shorter ones, too. But not too short. Not a fan of halflings and gnomes." Her other hand came up to fondle Althaia's free breast, and Ashyr watched her hands knead the soft flesh with a good deal of fascination. Somehow, watching breasts as they were moved and squished by massaging hands never got old.

"Gnomes are weird looking, I will grant you," Althaia giggled. "But I find halflings simply adorable. Especially bossy personal assistant halflings." She seemed to consider this evaluation funny, somehow. A sighing moan escaped her lips as she leaned her head back and pushed her chest that much more into Ashyr's touch.

"Ah, you find Hadia adorable, do you?" the drow said in a teasing voice. She moved back slightly and leaned forward to run her tongue across Althaia's nipple. Then her mouth closed over that tempting bud, and her tongue swirled in circles around it. All the while, her other hand kneaded the nymph's other breast. "I don't know if she'd like that," Ashyr said after she pulled her mouth away.

"She's just so - ah that's nice - serious all the time." Althaia gasped a bit. One hand moved down to stroke the outside of Ashyr's thigh, the other rose up so that the bottom of her palm was against the drow's breast. "Always so intent on proving herself, belittling (heh) the 'big people' in adorably veiled ways..." she let out another groan. The nipple in Ashyr's mouth was about as hard as it could be. "She probably would not like that." she agreed with Ashyr. "I consider her 'look, don't touch'. Maybe a bit of polite flirting..."

Ashyr couldn't help the smile on her face as Althaia responded to her touch. Just like there was always something fascinating about playing with breasts, there was also something enthralling about making a woman gasp and moan. "That's probably wise. I think she has eyes for the engineer, anyway"