It's a Dead Man's World Ch. 05

"Yes. She doesn't like me very much," Terillia said.

Vicky grinned. "So you ARE the one who kissed Eliza!" Terillia flushed blue and almost made Vicky chortle. She had spent some time in a succubae aerie and she was a little more accustomed than most to their peculiarities. They were a very . . . forward . . . race, prone to saying or doing whatever was on their minds. "Don't worry, she doesn't hate you. She's just really serious about Eliza. If it makes you feel any better, I actually STOLE one of her girlfriends when we were younger, and she eventually forgave me. Especially after the bitch turned out to be a total psycho," Vicky grumbled. She and Veronica had been arguing a lot at the time and Vicky had done what she had done out of spite, and it had turned around to bite her in the ass. "Trust me, you'll be fine."

Terillia smiled. "You . . . do you truly believe that?"

Vicky climbed up onto the rock and had a seat. She knew from experience that even though they were the least physically powerful race on Terra, their warring ancestry and cunning made succubae drawn to people of power. Most existing aeries were formed by succubae warlords and warrior maidens during Terra's dark ages, and these aeries were very much like city-states on Earth. Unlike many other races, succubae were raised by communities rather than families. There were about three succubae females for every male, so monogamous relationships were almost unheard of. Succubae were egg-layers; the males were kept busy during mating cycles trying to keep the almost berserk females satisfied. If their eggs weren't fertilized, they never really began developing and were absorbed back into the body. If the egg was fertilized, it grew, was laid and then raised by succubae in the aerie whose sole job was to look over the offspring. Most succubae young had no idea who their biological parents were. For that reason, the concept of a "sibling" as humans understood it was completely foreign to them, and the concept of a "twin" generally boggled their minds. For a succubus to want to semi-permanently distance herself from his or her community showed the amount of respect that Terillia must have for Eliza. The fact that Terillia appeared to be gay probably didn't encourage her to go home either.

"That is good," Terillia said after a moment. "I wish for your sister to like me. I wish to fit in here."

"They hired you, so I guess they think you have some talent. Just be yourself, and I'm sure you'll be fine." Vicky actually shivered a bit herself as a cool wind crept down from the mountain. "Are you really that afraid of going home?" she asked.

"Why would I be afraid?" Terillia asked, extending a wing and encompassing Vicky's body with it. The human woman found it surprisingly warm as she scooted closer to the succubus. She knew that if Terillia saw her as part of the succubae's new "community" that she would begin to act protective of Vicky as well.

"I don't know if I'm reading too much into you kissing Eliza, but . . ."

Terillia blushed again. "No, that is not the reason I stay. At least, it is not the only reason. While frowned upon, my people are not nearly as strict about same-sex coupling. When you have three females for every male, it is not entirely uncommon for females to . . . how do you say . . . take matters into their own hands to . . . satisfy certain carnal cravings." Terillia stared up at the stars. "I . . . I want an adventure!" she gasped forcefully at the night sky. "I don't wish to live my whole life no more than a few . . . miles . . . from where I was raised. As horrible as it sounds, I was excited when the dimensional gap closed, and I was excited when Ms. Eliza declared her war! Because it meant that I was going to be part of something . . . to be part of a legend!"

Vicky smiled. "My sister was always such a stickler when we were young. She came home early, did her homework, never broker curfew . . . you name it. If it was something 'good girls' did, then Veronica did it. I . . . I tended to break more rules. I was kind of like you. I wanted to go to new places and see new things. Turns out that my sister wound up surviving the great adventure, and I had to abide by rules on another world that I didn't even understand."

"Have you . . . have you gone places and seen things? Tell me," Terillia requested with a glimmer in her eyes. "Tell of the places you have seen!"

"Okay," Vicky said, taken aback by this woman's enthusiasm. She had traveled two globes in her thirty-three years of life. Vicky soon found herself caught up in the fond recollections of her travels. It was nice having someone so eager to listen, and the two talked long into the night.

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The next day . . .

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The entire crew was still asleep when Eliza sat down on the couch and turned on the holo-projector and switched to one of the news streams. She poured herself a cup of coffee as she watched for news of her homeworld. When she had been transformed into a Hybrid, she had gained an appreciation for certain foods and beverages that she had never been able to intake before, and coffee had become one of her favorites, preferably with LOTS of sugar and chocolate creamer. A report came on about insurgency actions by the Swords of Cleansing. There was a recorded "press conference" where Eliza's father discussed how the security crackdown was going.

Eliza couldn't even describe how it felt when she watched her father. She wanted to shout at him, but she wanted to help him. She didn't want to talk to him, but wanted for him to at least ask for her help. She had helped suppress the revolutionaries here on Earth. Why couldn't he acknowledge that? Why did he have to be so . . .

{{ Stubborn? }} came Veronica's thought.

{{ I thought you were still asleep, }} Eliza said, kissing her lover's hand as Veronica approached from behind and hugged Eliza's head.

{{ You should've woken me. It doesn't do you any good to come out her and mope by yourself. }} Veronica sat down next to Eliza and stole a sip of coffee.

"I hate this," Eliza said out loud. "We were right in the thick of it for so long . . . Isn't it weird that we're just spectators now?"

"I don't think that's what's bothering you. We've done our job and then some."

Eliza sighed and rested her head on Veronica's shoulder. "What else can I do, pet? I'm about a century old, so why do I STILL want his approval?"

"I've come to the conclusion that we'll never understand our parents any better than they understand us. And since the last time I made a suggestion on how to deal with your father turned out to be disastrous," she added, kissing Eliza on the lips, "I think I'll refrain. Just remember that there ARE people who care for you and respect you and you don't have to travel to another world to find them."

"I love you, you know that?" Just as Eliza's lips met, they heard an "Awwwh, how cute," coming from the entryway.

"Hey Vicky!" Veronica said.

Vicky came in dressed in a sleeping shirt that came down halfway past her thighs, and Eliza got a light punch in the arm for staring just a little too long at those shapely legs.

{{ What? }} Eliza sent telepathically. {{ It's not like I haven't seen them before! }} she added, glancing at Veronica's legs.

{{ Behave yourself, }} came the amused reply.

"Stop talking with your brains," Vicky mumbled, pouring herself a glass of juice and then joining them on the sofa. "It's creepy and it's too damn early for me to handle."

"Then go back to bed," Veronica said, getting up to get herself some coffee.

"Can't. Could I just crash in here tonight? Dennis and Allyson are great, but they both snore like you wouldn't believe! And they have noisy sex! I couldn't get to sleep until they were finished!"

Eliza laughed. "You should've been around when I first had the compound built. They accidentally left the intercom on once, so Thug, Wyrm and I all got earfuls."

Vicky looked at the video-stream. "By the way, anyone know what happened to the Living Jewels?" she asked as the anchorman started discussing the bridge created by The Dragon's Breath.

"Four of them are going to be kept on Terra and the other four on Earth. They're keeping it hushed as to which one is going where, so I had Wyrm hack the government's system. What?" she asked when Veronica shot her a dirty look. "Hey, remember that these are the clowns that fired you." She turned back to Vicky. "Anyway, The Dragon's Breath, The Ocean's Heart, The Serpent's Kiss and The Dead Man's World are staying here. They don't want to expose The Dead Man's World to the magic of Terra. If someone got a hold of it over there who had evil intentions, they could do a hell of a lot more damage than they probably could do here. I've heard that the Council of Sorcerers is trying to research them and find out where they came from. Wherever that might be or whatever they are, they show a definite link between the two worlds, and that makes them important."

"Kind of like you two," Vicky said almost absently. When Veronica looked quizzical, Vicky continued. "You said it yourself once. The fact that you two were combined when nothing else could be and this . . . link? This link that you share proves a relationship between races of different worlds."

"The Common Stock Theory," Eliza said. "Somehow, Terrans and Earthlings come from some common background or stock, but no one is quite sure how. It was just a wild theory until recently, and now Terran scholars have gone nuts with it."

"And guys like the Purity and the Swords of Cleansing probably aren't keen on the idea," Veronica said. "Well, that's all a bunch of philosophical mumbo-jumbo, and it's not our problem. We just need to get our mind back on business and let the rest of this stuff sort itself out."

"Speaking of business," Vicky said, looking a little guilty, "I was wondering what I could do to help out around here? I'm not much of a security person, but I don't want to be a burden."

"Don't worry about it," Eliza said, squeezing her girlfriend's hand. "You're practically family. You weren't planning on staying that long . . ." She stopped when she saw Vicky blush.

"How long were you planning on staying?" Veronica asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Uhm," Vicky started, glancing nervously between the other two women. "I'm actually kind of broke. Dead broke."

"You bitch!" Veronica said. "You spent ALL that grant money?"

"I was trapped over there for a year," Vicky started defensively. "We kind of got our funding cut off. I mean, the host agency helped us with food and housing and everything but . . ."

"But what?" Veronica asked.

"Well, you know how a lot of places, especially the vampire provinces, feel about same-sex encounters, so finding . . . companionship . . . wasn't always easy."

Veronica flopped back in the comfort of the sofa and covered her face. "PLEASE don't tell me you spent money allocated to you by the government on prostitutes!"

"Absolutely not!" Vicky said. "I spent the government's money on my troupe. I spent my OWN money on prostitutes. That's why I'm broke. I was impressed to find they even had prostitutes over there, and oh my GOD are they expensive!"

Veronica was going to respond, but Eliza had fallen off the couch and was laughing her head off. "You're not helping," Veronica said to her guffawing girlfriend.

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That evening . . .

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"I can't believe they're making me do their shopping," Vicky mumbled as she wandered through the grocery store with Terillia in tow. "I feel like a maid!"

Terillia was absolutely fascinated by her surroundings and was barely listening to what her compatriot had been saying. She had traveled around Earth for a month before the dimensional portal closed but had been restricted in her movements until being called up by Eliza and Valar to make war. She had taken in a lot of "tourist" sights, but hadn't really experienced much of "normal" Earth culture. And she was amazed at the random variety of things that humans tended to ingest. Succubae had fairly basic diets of meat and assorted vegetables that could be grown at higher altitudes. Anything else was considered a delicacy. Vicky had to literally drag the young succubus out of the candy section before something bad happened.

Vicky was actually a bit amused by Terillia's antics. It was a lot like shopping with a very shapely five-year old at times. Some people stopped and stared at the succubus, but most had seen stranger sights than a winged woman with pale, bluish skin wandering through a grocery store. Vicky was just happy that Eliza owned a transport big enough to carry a couple of trolls if necessary, so transporting the Mistress of the Enormous Wingspan wasn't so tough. Eliza had thought it might be nice for the youngest member of the team to start to develop a feel for her surroundings, so she had been sent along with Vicky. Vicky thought Veronica's desire to keep the "emotional" winged creature as far away from Eliza as possible MIGHT have had something to do with it.

"I'm honored to be allowed to help," Terillia said as she examined a large bag of marshmallows.

"You might want to put those back," Vicky said. "They'll go straight to your hips."

Terillia looked confused and placed the bag next to her slender hips. "So they're a garment then?"

Vicky started to speak but noticed a shy smile on Terillia's face. "So you CAN make jokes?" she said.

Terillia let out a short, high-pitched noise which was the succubae equivalent of laughter. "I'm . . . still not very confident in my English," she said, looking around.

"Here," Vicky said, handing the girl a bag of beef-jerky. "This is mostly protein and almost no fat."

"Thank you," Terillia said, looking at the bag hungrily.

"No problem. We'll pick you up a diet soda on the way out."

"What is it like?" Terillia asked suddenly. "Having a sister?"

"Kind of difficult question. For me, I can't imagine what it would be like NOT to have one. It's like . . . imagine your closest friend sharing the same blood as you. You miss your friends? You're aerie?"

"Yes . . . and no. I . . . I did not have many friends. At an early age, they all . . . lost themselves in the community. I never did. I always felt like . . . like an outsider." Terillia stopped and blushed. "I am sorry. I barely know you . . ."

"It's okay. Listening is something I CAN do."

Terillia smiled. "So why do you see this outing as punishment? Don't you like to shop?"

"Normally, I love to. Maybe I love shopping too much. But I'm broke, so I'm sort of relegated to running errands because my sister's too nice to kick me out on my ass." Vicky went on to explain her financial woes. Succubae were somewhat used to stream-of-consciousness expression, so Vicky didn't feel any obligation to hold anything back.

"You . . . you paid for . . . physical relations?" Terillia asked at last. There was no hint of the amusement or disgust often associated with such an admission.

"You know how homosexuals are seen on Terra in most places. It was the fastest, easiest way to . . . well, get off." Vicky noticed that Terillia was looking very nervous.

"You . . . you are very attractive. I find it hard to believe that you would need to resort to such a thing as payment."

Vicky wasn't sure if she was being criticized or complimented. "I normally don't, at least here on Earth. Hell, I can usually get plenty!" Vicky realized that she had just basically admitted to being a whore. "Not that I sleep around . . ." She stopped and realized she should probably quit while she wasn't too far behind.

"How . . . how do you know if someone is interested in . . . becoming physical?" Terillia asked.

"It depends on . . ." Vicky stopped. "Terillia are you . . . I mean, have you ever . . ." She didn't actually need a response. Terillia's sudden flush told the whole story. "You're a virgin?" Vicky wasn't sure why she was surprised. Terillia was barely of legal age for her own people, which was about the same as for humans. "Is that why you came to Earth? Because . . ."

"While such relations are more . . . more acceptable where I come from . . . I understood that it is more common here and . . . and I was afraid to ask anyone . . ." Terillia appeared to be on the verge of panic. "Please don't tell anyone. I do not wish for Eliza to know that I am so weak."

"You're not weak," Vicky said, stroking the girl's hair feathers and trying to comfort her. "You're just young. Hell, I think you're attractive!" she said before realizing how it might be taken.

"Really?" Terillia said, suddenly focused again. "You are attracted to me?"

Vicky found herself in a quandary. "Uhm, yes. But I'm not coming on to you or anything. I'm just saying that I would . . . Hey, could you grab those pretzels?" she asked, desperate to change the conversation and buy herself some breathing room.

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An hour later . . .

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Vicky almost bolted from the transport with the first bag of groceries into the main house. "Food out front! Help required!" she shouted. Dennis and Wyrm both got up to help bring stuff in and she felt a sense of relief. Terillia had been STARING at her every since their conversation earlier and Vicky was feeling very nervous. It wasn't like she hadn't been attracted to the young succubus. She had been telling the truth about that. She just wasn't sure it would be appropriate. And despite wanting sex like an alley cat in heat, she did have SOME morals.

Veronica wandered in, dressed in her running clothes and sweating slightly. Eliza followed right behind her. Apparently they had been running around the mountains again.

"Hey Sis! Get everything on the list?"

After making sure Terillia wasn't around, Vicky grabbed her sister's arm and drug her back outside and quickly relayed the conversation she had endured with Terillia. By the end of it, Veronica was grinning from ear to ear.

"Man, you work quick don't ya?"

"C'mon Veronica, this is serious! What do I do?"

"Do you WANT to sleep with her?" Veronica was usually the one who needed advice. Vicky usually was the carefree one. To have the roles reversed was a thing of beauty.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean . . . God, I don't know! She's so young . . ."

"She's old enough to know what she wants," Veronica said smugly, "and she's old enough to carry through with it. And when did you have a problem with age. When you were younger than her, you were sleeping with our math teacher!"

"Hmm, Ms. Lewinski," Vicky remembered fondly. "She gave me an 'A'."

"And it was the only one you got in high school. Listen, I think it's cool that you don't want to take advantage of her, so I'm going to leave it up to you. Just don't go stringing the girl along. That would probably do more damage than rejection." Veronica wandered back inside. At least this was going to give the succubus something to think about besides shoving her tongue down Eliza's throat.

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A few hours later . . .

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Everyone had gone to bed except for Eliza and Veronica, who had taken off for another run. The two of them had a disgusting amount of energy, so they were constantly coming up with new races and contests to push their Hybrid bodies to the limit.

Vicky was curled up on the couch in the main house, reading a book and sipping on some hot tea. Then she looked up and saw Terillia perched on the back of the sofa. Vicky spit her tea out in surprise and fell onto the floor.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she exclaimed. Vicky couldn't help but notice how . . . little . . . Terillia was wearing. It looked like a piece of cloth attached only by strings around the neck and waist so as to not to interfere with those wings. She was also wearing a fairly miniscule thong. Her dark blue head feathers (which closely resembled short, slightly spiked hair unless you took a closer look) were flattened against her skull and those deep, dark amber eyes, which were larger than any human eyes, were staring directly at Vicky's eyes. She had the look of a runner preparing for a big race, and Vicky got the feeling that she was the one being chased.