Hopeful Sin Ch. 06

Filliandari

Filli's return to the small town of Aglavirn after being gone for a couple days, was met with jubilation. Even the Inquisition Paladins who found her safe and sound were hailed as heroes for returning even though they did nothing but escort her.

The horror of not having her there for them to fawn over had the common people nervous about her travels, though none would dare deny her. She couldn't help but notice there always seemed to be a cleric or paladin in full gear nearby, no doubt ready to aid her in any evil banishing she wished to do in the dungeons. But thank the Light, they didn't follow her into stores or anything, at least granting her the illusion of privacy...

Filliandari first secured a meeting with the Aglavirnian officials to inform them of what she learned of the Demon Lord's influence on the denizens within the dungeon, warning that adventurers must be informed to use extra caution within. Whether or not they believed her, she didn't intend to linger around town, and was mostly certain that her warning would be met with some discussion, if nothing else, and went shopping immediately after escaping the meeting.

After asking some questions that left her red in the face, Filli located the shops she needed. She then had to awkwardly listen to storekeepers explain that they didn't sell holy vestments and raiment. By the time she was done, she felt like everyone was staring at her and whispering... Then again, everyone had been staring at her and whispering for 500 years...

She purchased a few corsets, all in either black, red, gold, or some combination of the three, stockings, all in black, a leather pet collar, rope, cuffs... a gag and blindfold... She'd never felt so humiliated, but she was determined, and would not take no for an answer.

The hardest part was still to come, and Filli was gritting her teeth as she went to the final shop, selecting a variety of insertable toys that had the clerk's eyes visibly bugging out of his head. No doubt her purchases would fuel the local gossip for years to come.

With her pack full, but light on actual supplies, Filli headed toward Aglavrin's outskirts, ready to depart, her thoughts already turning toward Eris and how he may be preparing to greet her... So, it sent an unpleasant jolt of surprise through her when she found her path blocked by the same paladins who had escorted her from the dungeon. "My Lady of the Light, it is time already for you to spread hope to Maidelin? We can escort you there," the elder asked, a man in his forties with a stern countenance. He was referring to a city about three days in the opposite direction of where she would need to head to meet Eris at the Yawning Giant dungeon.

"Good sirs, your offer is appreciated, but I have a duty to attend elsewhere, and your offer, while kind, is unnecessary. I will return here, to your noble city once more before I depart entirely, to bid the citizens a true farewell, but until then, I ask that you leave me be to attend to what needs to be done."

A formal, proper, response, that very, very loosely translated to... leave me the hell alone you over-attentive bastards.

"Of course, lady. And while not required, we offer our assistance willingly. We will escort you to your next destination. You, yourself, have proclaimed the stirring of the Vanquished One, we would be remiss if we did not do our utmost to protect your Divine Being ourselves."

Breathe... slow through the nose, out through the mouth... they were just doing their duty, she thought as she struggled to subdue her rising frustration. "I understand your concern, and the reasoning behind it. However, I will not have you throw your lives away in the interest of obligation and futility. Mine is not a path to be taken on a whim, and the Inquisition's strength is better put to use ensuring that those who are less experienced than I, are not led astray by the will of those stronger than themselves."

A beam of golden light streaked down from the heavens, flashing among them. In its wake stood a man of perfection. Perfect near-golden skin. Perfect form. Perfect silver eyes with golden iris. Perfectly silky yellow hair. Just perfect.

"The Lady has dismissed you as diplomatically as she knows how. If the Demons End is in danger, how much aid do you think to render?" The Paladins looked at each other and bowed deeply to the Nephilim, backing away.

The Divine Champion looked at Filli with eyes the brook no lies, fall for no falsehood. "Your voice has been quieter of late. You pray for power to smite evil, but you do not sing so much of doing good. How fare you, Fillindari?"

It had been a while, but she recognized Asher. He was the one who pulled her out of the Demon Lord's domain after his fall. Then she saw him again when she was Sainted. If she called forth a divine being, he would usually be the one to answer.

Filli bowed her head to the Divine Champion. "I fare as well as any who has been called to walk along the path of divine service." There was a distinct note of bitter sorrow in her voice, but she was unwilling to elaborate until the paladins were well out of earshot. There would be enough to gossip about with her shopping, there was no need to provide more ammunition.

"The loneliest and hardest paths offer the greatest of rewards in time. But the journey to those lofty heights means a particularly long fall if you stray from the path. If you have questions about your path, know that you can talk to me about them."

She hesitated for a moment, glancing to make sure that the paladins were still backing away, before she threw caution to the wind, and took a risk. He'd know of her purchases in Aglavrin soon enough, anyway. "I wish for a way to temper the radiance of my aura, Asher. Can you help me with that?"

"An odd request. Your aura, as you describe it, is a gift from the Light. Its sole purpose is to drive away all darkness and protect you from its influence. Necromancy and Negative energy are undone in your very presence. Fiends and the undead are devastated by your touch. It keeps you healthy and hale, eliminating injury and staving back the necrosis of old age. Why would you wish to reduce such a blessing?"

"My reasons are personal, and I do not wish to seem ungrateful for the blessing. Suffice to say, some control in the matter would be a greater blessing still, and I would be eternally grateful if you are able to provide assistance... but I understand if you cannot."

"I respect your privacy. But, please, understand you are asking for a way to allow negative energy to touch you. To allow fiends and undead to be able to touch you. I am hard pressed to understand why anyone would want that as there are no drawbacks to your current condition." The angel did seem genuinely bewildered.

Filli closed her eyes with a heavy sigh, and slowly murmured, "I've been alone for five hundred years, Asher. For a Celestial, it's nothing more than a blink of an eye, I know, and I understand. As I understand that the intimacy of touch and affection is not a craving that you can ever understand. But I am born of mortal flesh, with these yearnings and needs that have left me desolate in my need. The mortal races won't dare to come too close, and none would dream of touching me in an 'improper' manner. I've found someone who will, but the circumstances of his birth, which he has no fault in, complicate things significantly."

Asher's eyes narrowed, and his tone took a distinctly cool edge, "I also have mortal blood, though I have learned to ignore it. You wish to lay with a fiend-touched abomination. You realize, of course, you have other alternatives."

"Then those alternatives should have made themselves known to me earlier," she answered sharply, "It is their loss, for their cowardice and clinging to the whims of propriety. Will you help me, or simply stand there in judgment of that which you have no business judging?"

"I can cast a spell that will help you, with your consent, of course." He said, his voice sharpening to match hers, taken aback by her vitriol.

Not putting it past him to throw some divinely locked chastity belt on her or something equally as horrible, 'for her own good', Filli asked, "What will the spell do?" carefully controlling her tone... just in case he genuinely wished to help her.

"I will repress your carnal desires and sooth your feelings of despair. And by tying them to your radiance, they should last indefinitely." Divine antidepressants.

"No," she snapped, her temper flaring, "Goodbye, Asher." Filli shifted, moving to walk by Asher and continue on her way.

He caught her arm, firmly enough that she would need to fight her way free. "If it's merely the act you desire, you have alternatives there as well without diminishing you or consorting with evil. We could find a barn to rut in if you simply want to feed some strange need to debase yourself."

Her nostrils flared furiously, and she snarled, "If you so desperately wanted me, maybe you should have spoken forth before I found a better option! I am not a divine plaything to be toyed with at the Light's convenience, or when you're afraid that I've forgotten who and what I am! Take your hand off me, before I CHOOSE to forget and throw myself at the feet of the Demon Lord himself!"

His hold tightened and his voice lowered angrily, "Be careful, Filliandri. I forgive your mortal outburst. But your words would damn you before someone less forgiving than I. You are too important to simply allow you to fling yourself in the cesspit of darkness. If you were to try too hard to open yourself to darkness, it would be necessary, for the greater good, to curb some of your more mundane freedoms and help you refocus on your divine responsibility." Asher released her with a small shove, sending Filli falling on her butt.

"End your dalliance with the spawn. He has already tempted you and tainted your spirit. Rejoin the path you are meant to follow. Or the next time I come; it will be to remedy the situation." He flared into fire as a golden light reached down and lifted him back into the heavens.

Raising to her feet, even with Asher gone, Filli screamed to the sky, "I'm not your puppet!" before fleeing the area.

The sun was setting when Filli arrived at the Yawning Giant dungeon, a huge rock formation that looked like a face with a massive mouth entrance. As she approached the area inside the mouth, but before reaching the iron entrance doors, she passed through a shimmering illusion and revealed a dining table, two chairs, and a blood red rose.

Still beyond furious from the encounter with the celestial, Filli couldn't appreciate the setup, and her eyes sought only one thing, one person, desperate to see and and feel him.

Off to the side of the cavern mouth, out of sight, she smelled burning wood and sizzling meat. Entering the area, she saw the Tiefling, her tiefling, cooking over a fire. He was wearing a black and white apron... and nothing else. "Honey! You're home!" He grinned at her. "Annnnd pissed. I did say Honey, no mention of pot at all!"

Filli stormed over to him, grabbing Eris's arm and yanking him in for a kiss, her lips hard, angry and defiant, a clear middle finger to any divines who might be watching her.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her as well, holding her close, though she couldn't help but notice that as the embrace continued, he grew more and more tense until finally, he broke the kiss and rapidly whispered the incantation to protect himself from her.

This, of course, only served as a reminder that while the servants of good and light could help her, they not only wouldn't, but actively refused to, and Filli pulled away just as suddenly as she'd begun her assault. With no target for her fury, she could only stand there, looking at Eris in anguish.

"No, no, cheer, my Filly." He reached down to his neatly stacked pile of clothes and retrieved a small box that he handed to her. "Something to give me. Preferably while you are on your knees. Seems only fair..." He turned back and flipped the meat. Filli's brow furrowed, and she cracked open the box to see what was inside.

Inside lay a man's ring. The crystal set in it seemed to contain a small ball of light with dark swirls around it. A Ring of Resist Radiance. Rare, but not unheard of for those who wished to visit the holy realms while astral traveling. It was not much more powerful than his spell, but at least he wouldn't have to repeat the incantation every ten minutes.

While not what she'd hoped to find, at least would help. Still heavy with anger and disappointment, she took her defiance of the heavens one step further, and as she folded her legs, kneeling with the box in hand, she also dug around in her own bag for a moment before pulling forth the collar she had purchased, a black leather item with a lockable clasp and D ring in the front. Then she offered both items to him on upraised palms, her sapphire eyes hard with determination.

Eris presented his hand daintily for her to put on the ring, fluttering his lashes in a very lady-like manner. After the ring was on his finger, his red eyes turned to the collar. "You got it..." he said, taking it reverently. He pulled another small package from his clothes and turned around, fumbling for a few seconds before Filli heard a metallic 'clink' before Eris turned around.

He showed her the collar, now with a tag hanging from the ring. It was in the shape of a Nightmare, black silver with red detail. It read in orange, red, and yellow letters like flame.

Filly

Property of

Eris

She breathed a quiet sigh and relaxed for the first time since arriving. This is her choice, her desire, her mistake to make, if that was what it turned out to be. Squaring her shoulders, Filli lifted her hair out of the way, tilting her chin down.

Eris fastened the collar around her neck and whispered a word. Filli felt a sharp burn on her neck before her radiance healed her.

"Oops."

"Ouch!" she gasped in surprise, finally breaking her angry silence as she asked, "What was that?"

"Many apologies, my Night Star, I accidentally fused the clasp together. You'd have to cut the collar off now. So clumsy of me."

Tilting her head back, Filli made a face at her tiefling. Accidentally. Right. At least it's only leather. "You do know you're just making more of a target of yourself if people can openly see the tag, right?" Then she closed her eyes and groaned, "Gods, the next time I go into town, there's going to be a riot, those damned paladins will never leave me alone..."

"Yeah, Paladins suck. Though a couple of 'em could be useful. A celestial even more so..."

"They would only be useful if you wanted prompt smiting."

"Wellllll... it turns out, if you squeeze one dry like a water skin, you can make a draught that can resist celestial energy for a day. A Celestial makes enough for a week." He coughed innocently while working on the food.

Vexation flashed through Filli again as she finally rose to her feet and started pacing behind him. "Are you trying to make me think they're right about you, and I should end this before it goes any further? Eris, I am the Paragon of Light, and that's not just because I happened to be lucky enough to be the one to survive the Demon Lord! I believe in being and doing good, I just... I don't want to be alone anymore."

"I know, I know. I am just saying, if one were to try and manhandle you and we were forced to defend ourselves. Oooor, if one were to fall in a fight with which we had nothing to do..." He plated her food, bringing it to the table before turning to take her in his arms. His warm, strong arms. Now without preemptive chanting.

"I won't kill anyone to have sex. Though you would totally be worth it."

She leaned into him, closing her eyes as her anger fizzled out with the physical contact, leaving her tired. And, fortunately, hungry. "I'm glad to hear you say it. That you won't kill anyone, that is..." Filli smiled up at him, the expression still holding a sorrowful tilt.

Eris leans down, kissing her tenderly. Then, as he led her back to the table, he asked, "But if one were to die nearby...?" He flashed a charming grin.

As he pulled out the chair, Filli noticed the seat of the chair was perfectly round with floral patterns similar to the plate he set on the table.

Craving a change of topic, and with an easy one so readily available, she asked, "How did you set this up?"

"Well... " Eris smirked, waving his hand. The stove, table and chairs vanished, replaced by two tree stumps, a hovering disk and a campfire. Another wave and the illusion was back. "Beware questions that dispel the magic," he said wryly.

Filli smiled at him, not put off by knowing it was all an illusion, and truly grateful for the moment of clarity from him, and all she said was, "It's beautiful. Thank you." Before cutting into her food.

He smiled and sat across from her. Without a plate of his own.

"Do you not eat, as well as sleep?" she asked, trying to tease, but honestly puzzled.

"I intend to eat. I thought it would be polite to wait for you to finish first. As for sustenance and sleep... I ate earlier, you are getting here late. And I sleep, but only lightly and not for long. A holdover from my mortal parent."

Heat flared through Filli at his declared intention to eat after she's done, making it far easier for her to dismiss the idle curiosity of his parents and family as she decided to stop doing stupid things like prolonging the time between finishing her dinner, and laying down in the throes of ecstasy, and focused on shoving food down her gullet.

After dropping a bit of food, her attention was drawn back to her chair... where the seat had been reshaped and now looked like a plate. Her meal wasn't entirely gone, although her hunger was satisfied, when she declared, "I'm finished," and waited with an eagerly expectant air.

Eris grinned and slid under the table. Then her robes parted, and warm hands caressed her legs before pushing them apart as well. He was intimately familiar with the buckles on her bikini armor and the front piece clattered to the cave floor soon after. The touches were all the more intense as she could see nothing down there. The wiley rogue even cast a small orb of darkness under the table to prevent peeking.

Filli shivered, huffing a small laugh at his spellcasting, but she accepted it all, and closed her eyes since there was nothing worth looking at if she couldn't look at him.

Eris lifted her up slightly, tossing the back plate, then pulled Filli to the edge of her seat. Then he began to slowly lick and kiss the insides of her thighs, working his way towards her moistening center far too slowly, reveling in the smoothness of her flesh, the light tang of sweat from her hike over, and the building scent of her excitement.

Filli released a low sigh of satisfaction as his hot lips and tongue worked over her legs, slowly approaching her slit. This was worth all of it. The humiliation she suffered while buying private items for private reasons, all of the frustration from the unhelpful bastards in the heavens, all of it... he's worth it.

He started licking slowly up and down her slit, sparing a few slashes across it with each stroke. He carefully danced around her oozing hole, no doubt wishing to avoid searing off his tongue. But the hellspawn refused to move faster or lick hard enough to sate her as fast as she wanted him to and her hips began to lift while she voiced soft moans of need, leaning back on her elbows, opening herself further to his tongue.

With her generous invitation, Eris took his fingers and parted her lips to pull the hood over her clit, exposing the sensitive nub to him. Now he rapidly devoured it, licking fast, hard, then stopping and sucking it into his mouth where he licked and nibbled it before releasing and licking some more.