Drachne Ch. 02

If she had to guess, his vision was best when it came to movement. With only one eye, his depth perception should also suck.

Drachne moved her last bomb slowly. Using some of her silk to slide it out along one of the tendrils she had thrown earlier.

She positioned it ever so carefully, until it was suspended right above him.

Drachne backflipped onto the trunk of the tree.

Glaring down at a small thing that had been about to grab her wrist to stop her. Something new. She couldn't exactly tell what species it was, either.

The man smiled up at her, "It really is you."

She clicked her fangs.

"Go ahead. Eat me. Couldn't stop you if I tried." He shrugged, "What name did the elves end up giving you? I was afraid the cold would damage your egg. I did visit the temple, once. Didn't see you."

"They... Hid me." She said cautiously.

He nodded and turned, "Palantok, shut up. I told you not to hunt for her!"

The viper seemed to calm at the voice, sitting down cross-legged, as if to wait.

She hissed.

The man in front of her shrugged. "Apologies. Two thousand years has been hard on him. He intends well."

"You expect me to buy that he's actually an Adderan? They're extinct."

He shook his head, "Not extinct. Just patient."

Drachne remembered what Elan had said about arachne. That there might be more, hiding in the dark and deep places of the world.

The man smiled at her, "At the risk of losing what little trust I have, I am nearer to ten thousand. I am a torug."

A frogling demigod.

Supposedly, they were good luck.

"So, you're nuts, too."

The torug grinned with an overly broad smile, "Maybe. I spent the last two decades hoping you were still alive. Searching for your family."

"Why?" She demanded.

He sighed, "The forest burned when Irrlichdan attacked. Your mother was killed, and the eggnest burned along with everything else. When the rain came, yours was the only intact egg."

"Not what I asked."

He shrugged, "A dozen of us survived the attack. Servants of your mother. I sort of... Fell into the role of leading the survivors. Waiting for you to hatch. Making them all believe that you would come back to us, one day."

"You're not sounding any more sane than that thing, down there." She waved one of her arms, and shook her head, "But, thanks. For letting me know I need to hide better."

"You can't hide from me." The torug said angrily, "It may take me time, but I will always find your trail, again. You are my destiny, and I am yours. This is how it is."

"Da fuck?"

The man winced, "I hadn't intended to tell you that. Like I said, I might be a little mad. Seems after having few to speak to, my ability to filter what I say has taken a blow."

"Destiny." Drachne said in horrified disbelief. Had a freaking cult suddenly sprung up around her? Out of absolutely nowhere?

"You are the only surviving child of the arachne queen. It is your destiny to rule over the forest, and all the outcasts from society. We are called to you." He said firmly.

She considered trying to bite him, or run.

She wasn't confident either would right now.

She'd used up most of her silk, she was tired, cold, and hungry. This freak seemed to have magic, and his aura was... Unsettling.

Purple and spiky.

She'd never seen anything quite like it. Erratic and constantly shifting. Giving her the feeling that their magic was unstable, and kept only barely under control.

In other words, they were nuts.

Drachne tended to avoid using magic. Mostly because there was no one who could teach her about her people's magic, and every spell in existence comes with a tradeoff.

Playing trial and error with magic was the realm of madness. A thing that seemed to be dogging her steps.

She had, when she was younger, accidentally discovered a strange sort of healing spell that might be able to buy her some time. She'd stumbled into it instinctively, when she'd lost her leg.

Drachne fell backwards from the tree branch, but her feet didn't detach. The branch peeled, a huge chunk of bark coming free. As she fell, she twisted, until she was cocooned by it.

Safe in the dark.

---

Cookie crept quietly along the rooftop rafters, following the incubus as he tried to leave everyone behind and find a quiet place. She could smell the hurt on him. He was looking for a place to let out his frustration.

The neko was carefully maintaining her invisibility spell. It was wavering in and out with her concentration, but she was fairly certain that nobody had managed to notice her, yet.

She was a light-furred cat. Whilst most of her darker cousins had been wiped out in the war, her people had simply been enslaved. Her hair was a brilliant white that swept halfway down her back, whilst the nekomimi poking up through it were a soft grey.

As far as exotics went, Cookie wasn't that rare a thing.

On the other hand, Raltin was an incubus.

Succubi weren't that uncommon. Generally raised from birth as assassins due to their soul-sucking and mirage abilities. Those women were terrifying, and if one visited their tiny temple, Cookie tended to go into hiding.

Incubi, however, were a rarity. Succubi didn't need them. Every child a succubus gave birth to was always a pure-blood, regardless of their father's species. And the women tended to be prettier. So it wasn't rare to discard any of the boys that got born, even if they were less common.

Raltin, being one of the few, didn't have a place in society.

He'd failed the exams to become a temple companion, meaning no lord or lady would be interested in purchasing him. Which only really left two options. Either civil service, or general slavery.

But he was an incubus.

A serial killer with powerful magic wasn't something anyone wanted. Especially not one that had problems with overwhelming lust one week in four. So Raltin was fucked over by the entire world for the shocking crime of being born.

Pity was the snare that had tripped Cookie head over heels into love with the soft-spoken man.

Love was strictly forbidden by the code of the temple. So much as holding hands with someone, male, female or other, was more than enough reason for the temple to put you up for sale at the general market. Companion or not, the temple always sold virgins, and made sure to keep it that way.

All the same, when Cookie smelled Raltin's distress, she always found herself following him.

That had got her into trouble more than once.

She could remember stumbling across a spider's nest, once. It was big enough she'd nearly got trapped in it. The priest had beaten her within an inch of her life just for seeing it, and then tried a memory suppression spell on her.

It had failed, but there was no way Cookie was admitting to it.

Raltin snuck off from the main temple and descended into the basement. The incubus was extremely skilled at disappearing the moment he stepped into anywhere dark. Cookie considered letting him go, before she lightly leapt down from her perch and followed him.

The room didn't have a single torch lit, but her eyes easily saw into the room. She knew it meant her eyes glowed, but she'd just have to trust in her invisibility spell. Not that magic was one of her skills. She wasn't a hooktooth descendent or anything.

A heart-shaped leathery arrow whipped around to the edge of her throat from behind, and Raltin made a threatening growl.

Cookie dropped her spell, and let out a small whine, "Why do you always spot me?"

"Why do you always stalk me, kitten?" He snarled in her ear.

She shivered as her groin purred at his nickname for her. She swallowed nervously, "Cookie smelled you... Was it today's lesson? Everyone finding out how to mess with you?"

The tail pressed in tighter, and she felt the razor's edge that only incubi had. His smell changed, flickering between utter rage, and an overwhelming lust to take her. Only his training to become a hermit was keeping her safe.

"Cookie doesn't want to hurt him. She brought him treats, and a listening ear."

His teeth brushed the edge of her neck, "I don't need your special treatment. But you need to stay the fuck away from me."

"It's just Cookie, isn't it?" She tried to force him to admit it, like she had so many times before. "You're so nice to everyone else. Only mean to Cookie."

"Means I hate you. That I want an excuse to break your neck."

She turned around, seeing tears in his red eyes. She reached up cautiously, her soft hand finding his warm and leathery cheek in the dark. She smiled at him sadly, "Cookie knows it isn't true. Knows that the Raltin is hurting. So alone. Cookie won't let him be alone."

She could hear his heartbeat, this close. Hear the change of pace, as he fought his instincts, and began to fail. His affection for her breaking through all the other scents like delicate jasmine. He growled angrily, but his lack of words spoke greater volumes.

Cookie sat down, brushing her robes under her knees, and produced what she'd stolen from the kitchens.

A chicken drumstick, two slices of slightly moulding bread, and a single butterwheat biscuit. The chicken was something a slave could never be expected to get without theft. The biscuit was a monthly treat, and the bread was fresher than the usual fare.

Raltin sighed and sat down cross-legged. "Orist is going to sell you if he finds out you stole these."

"Then you better eat them quickly." She grinned at him.

He picked up the drumstick and offered her a bite. She shook her head and pulled a struggling moth out of another pocket and shoved it quickly into her mouth. She crunched it happily, as her incubus rolled his eyes at her, and began gnawing on the bird leg.

Cookie smiled at him, "So... Was it the lesson?"

"The elves were laughing about my tail." He confessed, "I... It isn't like I can change it. Having my sensitive places be so exposed feels vulnerable. It doesn't feel like I'm flashing anyone."

The cat shook her head, "Bitches. The Raltin will have to be careful. Remember when they learned that nekos despise their heads being touched? A bloody month of head pats, no matter how many Cookie sent to the clinic."

"Finia ended it. She's the reason the elves stopped patting you." Raltin sighed heavily, "Can't count on that, anymore."

Cookie cocked her head, "Did you and the bunny get into another fight?"

"You haven't heard." Raltin said grimly, "Finia was bought by Lord Leolian. She's already been picked up by the carriage. She's a real companion, now."

The neko's eyes welled up, "She didn't even get to say goodbye! The Finia was special. Like Cookie's mother."

"My sister." Raltin agreed quietly, "But she's doing what she trained to do. We should be happy for her."

Cookie turned up her nose, "Happy that some lord is using her? She's a bunny. He's going to fuck her, and abandon her to die in the rain."

"We all get fucked." Raltin said quietly, looking down and smelling even more depressed.

She picked up the biscuit and offered it to him.

He chuckled softly, "Am I really that pathetic? Your name is Cookie for a reason, my thieving little neko. You eat it."

"She is offering it to him." She shot back stubbornly.

He rolled his eyes, and tried to take a portion with a bite, which caused the entire biscuit to crumble and fall apart. His jet-black hands caught most of it, but he'd made a mess.

Cookie winced, looking at the floor, "Someone is going to notice that. Um... Look the other way."

"Why?"

"Because Cookie is going to lick the floor and she doesn't want him to know about it!" She hissed, and making what she'd said sort of pointless.

He laughed at her, but turned away. "I really don't mind, you know. You are neko."

"Floors are gross." She replied stiffly, sweeping up the crumbs along with other tastes she didn't want to dwell on. She knew her tongue would clean itself, but she still hated doing anything that the elves could look down on her for.

He turned back to her and gestured, "Well, have some biscuit to cheer you up."

She grinned and shoved her face into his hands, licking not just the biscuit but his hands as well. His strong and firm hands, that she wished she could feel holding her cheeks, and not just brushing them incidentally.

She smelled his lust flare back into being, burying his depression.

Cookie sat up, and scooted back a little, "Bread for the hermit?"

He picked up a piece, and chewed the edge of it thoughtfully, looking at her with his fierce red eyes. "You know, one day, I really won't be able to resist you. You really should stop tempting fate, kitten."

She felt the moisture as her body responded to him, and she sighed, "Cookie has never tried to stop him. Only tempt him. She knows her life would end, but at least it would end happy. What does she have to look forward to? Becoming someone's maid that they can corner? Killed for getting pregnant? She hates the temple."

"We can't run away. They'd track us down. And I don't find the thought of ending things together that attractive." He replied, showing he had actually thought about it.

She looked up at him in surprise, "That's the first time you've admitted you like Cookie."

"That's your takeaway? Not that you're playing a dangerous game that will kill us both?" He laughed at her.

She shrugged and grinned, "He likes her."

"Godsdamn it, Cookie."

She widened her eyes, using a touch of magic to slightly grow them with a flash of golden light, and made a sad frown. "Call her kitten?"

She saw his tail flick the air behind him. Heard one of his hands scratch the surface of the stone floor. His red eyes had a dull glow to them, now. A barely suppressed instinct.

She knew that it was wrong.

That she wasn't allowed.

She was a slave.

Cookie pounced onto him, trying to knock him to the floor. The incubus easily redirected it, spinning to pin her to the hard rock. His eyes vibrant as he grabbed her wrists above her head.

She stared up at him in surprise, saw him fighting with himself.

"Cookie's choice." She whispered, "The Raltin need only make his."

He breathed raggedly for a moment, and winced, "I can't be the cause of your death, Cookie."

"Cookie's choice." She repeated.

He leaned down, and she had her first kiss.

Most of the elven girls broke the rules and experimented with kissing each other, when they thought that nobody was watching. Used the experience to cheat the companion examinations.

Cookie was an exotic. Her only option had been Finia, and she had been like a mother to her.

Raltin's lips were coarse, against her own. Pressing against her with an uncomfortable amount of pressure. She felt his tongue push against her teeth, and willingly opened up.

She felt him wince as her teeth cut his tongue, tiny little points that felt like a burn. She knew it would happen, and that her own tongue could supply the salve.

She clumsily played her rough tongue against his slippery one, feeling her desire for him growing. Her hands grabbing at his chest, and trying to pull him down against her.

He wore no clothes, his robe was just a mirage that he cast. A spell that was now broken. His chest was firm and strong, crushing her as he leaned into her.

She felt his tail snake around her waist, holding her tightly as he explored his mouth. The two of them rapidly finding what each other liked, what they enjoyed.

A purr emerged from deep in the back of her throat, begging him without the involvement of her mind. Her body knew exactly what she wanted.

He felt her smile, despite continuing to kiss her. His forked tongue like quicksilver in her mouth. Ruining her underwear completely.

Cookie stiffened as she felt something firm and hard just barely touch the outside of her drawers. Her mind practically imploded as she realised what it was, and the magnitude of what she was doing.

Fuck the temple.

Raltin noticed her hesitation, and began to pull back from her. She suctioned down on his tongue and grabbed onto the back of his head with one hand. Her other fished aside her panties, and she pushed her hips towards him.

She gasped involuntarily as she felt him rub along her entrance. She'd assumed it would be leathery, like the rest of his skin. Instead, it was smooth and warm. Yielding, yet firm.

He hesitated, again.

Cookie whispered in the dark, "Do it. Please. Take me."

Her eyes popped and sparkled in astonishment as he began to gently push against her entrance. Feeling herself opening up, wider and wider, to accommodate the thing invading her.

She let out an involuntary whimper as she felt herself closing around the head of his shaft.

"Cookie?"

She kissed him again quickly, "She's fine. She likes this... She doesn't want to get interrupted. Quickly, gently."

Her eyes rolled back again as the rest of his shaft slid down into her slickness. Her back was arched and her hands balled into fists on the ground by the time she felt his balls gently knock against her asshole.

"F-fuck." She whispered into the dark.

He growled into her ear, and she felt his tail tightening around her waist. Then, he ever so slowly pulled back, before thrusting into her hard enough to jerk her hips against the ground.

"F-fuck."

His tongue flicked across her cheek, and he growled again. Beginning to find a rhythm as he took her virginity, and gave her everything she'd ever wanted.

"Fuck!"

She couldn't stay quiet, no matter how much she tried. Alternating between whimpering and moaning on the downward strokes, and purring as he pulled back.

Each thrust made her purr sound off deeper, both more content and more lustful.

The soreness of being taken was beginning to fade, leaving behind only the ecstasy of being filled by the one that she loved. Rubbing against her clit with every single stroke.

Cookie's legs lifted, wrapping around his thighs, as he fucked her newly deflowered womanhood. Her walls sensitive and tight, as he made all of her... His.

She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she wanted him to be her last. That this was the beginning of their forever. She wasn't just giving him her virginity.

She was giving him, her soul.

He grabbed her wrists and lifted them above her head, pinning her to the ground as he continued his assault on her. He leaned his head down close enough his horns touched her forehead, and he growled, "My kitten."

"Shit. Yes. Yes." She moaned, "Cookie is yours. Fuck. Your naughty kitten."

She adored the feeling of being beneath him. His grip on her wrists, tight but loving. His member sluicing in and out of her with abandon. His deep growls that she could feel in her own chest.

The orgasm took Cookie by surprise.

She hadn't felt it coming, she just found herself caterwauling as her legs shook and threatened to cramp around him. Her back arching upwards as the force hit her and took her sight away.

Leaving her collapsed and breathless, with stars dancing in her vision.

Before she could even say anything, she felt Raltin join her. Felt his seed spilling into her abyss. The warmth of being completely united with her lover.

She let out a timid and broken purr, as he collapsed against her. As he released her wrists, she put her arms around him, hugging his waist. She kissed at his neck briefly.

"Cookie loves you."

"I knew it would come to this. I knew it." An angry voice above them spoke, and Cookie felt herself dry up.

Raltin cringed, rolling over and his robe appearing. He didn't run. There was nowhere to go. They had both been caught in the act.

"I can't protect you." The priest said, "Neither of you will pass the checking spell. Fuck. Do you hate your lives, this much?"

"Yes!" Cookie snarled, leaning up on her elbows and trying to look fierce despite the cum she could feel leaking out of her.