#kassaran

Champagne flute in hand, Kass swayed and grooved along to music with strong beats and throwbacks to her teen years. Her free hand was above her head and her hips were bopping to the beat. She never claimed to be a good dancer, but she was buzzed and having fun and feeling good. The champagne was doing an excellent job of making her forget about any sort of mom guilt she might have for not being with Ash for New Year’s. Really, Ash had requested this sleepover. It’s the only reason why Kass came here anyways. And now here she was, on the fast track to drunk in a silver dress that was just a bit too short dancing away her cares.

The song changed to one of her favorites and she might have made an embarrassing remark about how it was her song. She might have started trying different dance moves that were less than successful. But damn if she didn’t feel good. 

-

Aelynthi had asked to spend New Year’s Eve with Faunalyn and Nithroel. It was fine, it was his prerogative to request it and Melarue was nothing if supportive of their son’s choices. Even if it stung. Even if they had made preliminary plans that had to be redone and now they found themselves…here, at this party with these people they barely knew. Somehow surrounded by people they felt incredibly alone. The champagne was making them maudlin, remembering times when all four of them wore PJ’s and stayed up to midnight to welcome the new year. Nithroel threw a dance party to keep Aelynthi awake. Faunalyn carried him on her shoulders, and Melarue…was there. A perpetual interloper eventually asked to leave with overly polite paperwork. 

No, stop. They’re at this party, and despite the track of their thoughts lately, they did want to have a good time. They put their half empty glass on the tray of a passing wait staff and made their way closer to the dance floor. They maneuvered their way through the throng of people until they came to a larger than usual opening of bodies pressed together. There in the center was a tall qunari woman, dancing alone with a champagne flute in hand clearly feeling herself as she danced to the song. Everyone was giving her a wide berth and they could tell some were likely gossiping in less than complimentary ways. While she wasn’t exactly…coordinated, she was certainly having a good time which was more than they or perhaps many others here could say for themselves. The woman’s white curly hair bounced in a brilliant halo around her head, light glinting off the silver of her dress. Somehow captivated by her, Melarue approached.

-

“Mind if I cut in?” A dark and sultry voice broke through the thrum of the songs, making Kass open her eyes. Before her stood…probably the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. They were an elf, tall especially for an elf, with long dark hair that was middle parted and slicked down behind their gold cuffed pointed ears. They wore a pantsuit that was so dark of a green it appeared black. Their eyes were a molten silver shrouded in black kohl and just damn they were so hot. Why was a hot person talking to her? Oh, right she had to respond.

“Yes! Wait, no! I mean…dance with me!” She smiled ear to ear and began to move again, her eyes never leaving them. They started to move too, and soon they were dancing together to the beat. It’s easy to lose herself to the rhythm and thrill of dancing with someone so beautiful. She had no idea why they had decided to dance with her, but she was thankful for it. It really seemed like everyone at this party was nicely paired up, leaving Kass alone for the majority of the party. It was admittedly very nice to have a partner herself now. They dance and dance, never straying too far from each other. There was something in the way they moved - graceful movements blending together and the small smile gracing their face every time their eyes met. She was a bit too drunk to get it, but she liked it, liked them.

“What’s your name?” She asked after…what, the fourth song? Fifth? What was time anyways but waiting or enjoying.

“Melarue. What is yours?”

Wow, that was a very pretty name. Made sense because they were soooo - right, her name!

“Kassaran, but everyone calls me Kass!” She twirled around. “It’s very nice to meet you, Melarue!”

“Likewise, Kassaran.” Normally, Kass would insist on using her nickname but um, it was really hot to hear them say her full name. Their voice was all dark and sultry, like a perfectly aged red wine that went down so, so smooth. 

They danced more until a song neither of them cared for came on. It was funny, they shared a look and vacated the floor together and somehow ended up on one of the balconies. The night air was blessedly cool compared to inside. The city was alight with people waiting eagerly to usher in the new year. 

Kass tilted her head back and breathed the night air deeply. 

“I haven’t danced like that in…I can’t even really remember the last time.” She was still a bit winded but she couldn’t stop smiling as she looked over to Melarue. They were looking out over the city looking so hot. How did she end up on the balcony with someone like them?

“That is a shame, you’re an excellent dancer.” They grinned and stepped closer and oooh, she could feel some of their body heat. She inched towards them, her body language open and hopefully saying “yes, me, the good dancer, is so into this right now.”

RING. RING-RING!

The loud ringing and buzzing from her purse shattered the moment and she groaned as she leaned back.

“I’m so sorry, I have to check this - and I have to get this.” She clicked answer and immediately put the phone to her ear, turning away but not stepping away from Melarue. “Hi baby, is everything okay?”

“Okay, I’m not a baby, and two…did you pack blankie? I can’t find it.” Ash’s voice came through the phone along with a gaggle of giggles from the other 8 year old girls she was having a sleepover with.

“Yes. Check the front pocket on the backpack in the little holder section, I folded it to make sure there was room.”

“Okay, let me see…” Kass heard some rustling and then a successful “AHA!”

“You found it?”

“Yes! Thanks, Mama!”

“Good, have fun, sweetheart and you’ll always be my baby.”

“Ugh! Bye, love you.” Kass said “I love you too” in response then hung up. She turned back to Melarue with an apologetic smile to find them looking at her quizzically.

“Parenthood calls?”

There were generally two ways people that Kass was interested in reacted when they found out she was a mother. The first was revulsion. Seeing as Melarue hadn’t left during the conversation with Ash, Kass was placing them in camp two: unbothered to supportive. 

“The one job where you’re always on duty, even at a party. Sorry about that, my daughter’s at a sleepover and couldn’t find her blankie.”

They chuckled softly, “I understand. I was in the middle of a work cocktail party when my son called me from a sleepover asking where his retainer was. Turned out that he had forgotten to pack it, and since it was at my house, his mother and father couldn’t get it so I had to leave early.” Oh, they weren’t camp two, they were the second third that she rarely encountered outside of online groups - a fellow single parent. 

Before she could respond, they glanced down at her hand conspicuously, “Would it be bold of me to ask if you are involved?”

“Yes, but I like it. I’m divorced, thank goodness, and currently not seeing anyone.”

“My fortune then.”

“Oh? Would it be equally as bold of me to ask the same of you?”

They grinned and stepped forward, “Divorced as well, and also not seeing anyone currently.”

“Then I’m the luckiest woman at this party.” Maybe the city. County. Country? 

From within the party and all around the city, a chant began

TEN!

Melarue stepped forward.

NINE!

“Shall we invite in the new year together?”

SIX!

“You must be reading my mind.”

FOUR!

“No mind reading necessary.”

THREE!

“Then kiss me, Melarue.”

TWO!

“My pleasure.”

ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Their lips met with eager curiosity as the new year came to fruition. Even in heels, Melarue was shorter than Kass by about two inches, but that didn’t stop either of them from plastering their bodies together in a kiss that sent Kass’s mind spinning. Their tongue slid across her lips and pressed into her mouth. Kass eagerly opened her mouth for them, twining their tongues together. They tasted like champagne and something just a bit darker, like them. She cupped their face and pressed her tongue into their mouth in return. Kass had no idea who divorced whom, but she truly didn’t know how anyone could divorce a kisser as good as Melarue. Kass had had sex that wasn’t this tantalizing. Read: sex with her husband.

When they broke apart for air, Melarue’s lipstick was slightly smudged and still they looked incredible. A freshly kissed Melarue was so far Kass’s favorite Melarue.

“There is a beautiful hotel two blocks from here,” they said, silver eyes bright with intent.

Fuck it. “Let’s go.”

Year Two

What started as a prolonged hookup at New Year’s last year turned into friends with benefits. Which then turned into dating. And then that turned into meeting the kids. There were separate dinners for Ash and Aelynthi to introduce them to their respective parent’s new partner. One would think that Aelynthi, now being eighteen, would have been the easier one to talk to given he understood that divorced people eventually dated. It was normal. That had not been the case. Melarue assured Kass that their son would accept it eventually, but Kass hated not being in his good graces. Meanwhile, Ash had been…well, Ash.

Upon meeting Melarue over a lovely dinner at Kass’s home, Ash had shrugged then looked Melarue directly in the eyes and said, “If you hurt my mama, I’ll burn your house down.” To their credit, Melarue wasn’t taken aback even if Kass had admonished her daughter for saying something so rude (and true, but that was neither here nor there). 

The dinner party with Melarue, Kass, Ash, Aelynthi, Nithroel, and Faunalyn had bordered on disaster. Aelynthi and Ash had sat opposite from each other, not saying anything but just glaring. If Kass didn’t already have white hair, she was sure she would have had it by the end of that dinner. Nithroel had been nice enough while Faunalyn had conducted a deceptively innocent interrogation. Ash threatened to burn down her house, then Aelynthi groused at Ash, who then got upset and actually accidentally set the curtains on fire. 

Bordered on disaster? She stood corrected, it was a disaster. 

Still, Melarue and Kass continued to see each other. Despite their familial challenges, their feelings for each other just seemed to deepen and they grew closer and closer. As did the new year once again. 

Ash, now nine, asked to spend it with her friends again. Aelynthi was off with his own friends for the event as well, leaving Kass and Mel free to go to the same party they had met last year.

Once more, they danced until their feet hurt. They escaped to a different balcony, kissing and laughing. Melarue had cut their hair shorter recently and it blew easily in the night wind. Kass loved it, loved running her hands into their hair to tip their head back and kiss them senseless. 

TEN!

NINE!

EIGHT!

SEVEN!

“Kassaran…” They breathed.

SIX!

“Yes, Kadan?”

FIVE!

“I love you.”

FOUR!

“As I love you.”

THREE!

“Will you move in with me?”

TWO!

Kass smiled, “Yes, yes, we will.”

ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

They kissed deeply and welcomed in a new year with promise of building their family. Despite the challenges they faced with the kids and exes, Kass couldn’t help but be hopeful for the future.

Year Three

“One hundred and one. Sorry, baby, but it looks like you’re too sick to go out.” Kass placed the thermometer down and turned to a very clearly sick Ash. The girl’s groan turned into a cough, shaking her whole body. They were on the couch in the living room of what was now Kass, Melarue, and Ash’s home. The TV for the New Year’s festivities was on, but muted as Kass and Melarue tended to a very sick Ash. 

Ash had originally wanted to go out with her friends for what seemed to be their traditional sleepover, but it seemed the flu had other ideas. While they knew rationally Ash would be okay, her illness only ramped up Melarue’s current anxiety. It was nothing bad, Aelynthi was traveling with his boyfriend. He was an adult now but he was just twenty, and he’d always be their baby. Still, thinking of their son up in the air in a plane and then their daughter sick on the couch -

There it was again. In their mind, Ash was their daughter. After a year of living together and two years of dating Kass, their heart had adopted the girl as their own. Ash called them Melarue, not nanae, which was fine. Two years really wasn’t much of anything and after knowing how horrible Ash’s biological father - no, sperm donor - was to both Kass and Ash, Melarue couldn’t ever begrudge the girl for being hesitant to accept a new person in her and Kass’s life. Or for threatening to burn down their house. And Faunalyn’s house. 

Melarue went back into the kitchen to fetch a bowl of chicken noodle soup. They came back out and helped Ash sit up to take the bowl. Kass turned the TV up a bit and they all settled in for a quiet night watching the specials and making sure Ash’s fever didn’t spike to dangerous levels. Melarue reached out with their magic to Ash’s, monitoring it to ensure it didn’t make the fever worse. It was known that more fire aligned mages tended to spike dangerously high fevers when sick, which put both Kass and Melarue on edge. Thankfully, her magic seemed calm and not reacting to the illness. 

Kass eventually rose from the couch to put the bowl away and to use the restroom. Ash shifted and leaned against Melarue, careful to make sure her growing horns didn’t dig into them. She blinked slowly as she watched the TV as some man interviewed dancing people on the street.

“Can we change the channel?” Ash asked.

“Of course, what do you want to watch?”

“I don’t know, something…”

Melarue thought for a moment, then clicked through the channels until they found a popular cartoon’s New Year special. It was aired on public cable every year. As soon as they turned it on, Ash smiled and snuggled into Melarue.

“Thanks, Nanae.”

The world stopped. The word rang in their head for long after the moment had passed. 

“Of course, da’len.” She didn’t move, just remained snuggled against them. It took everything in them to resist pulling her into a hug or firmer hold. Nanae. Of all the names they had been called, all the titles they had held in their long, long life, “Nanae” would forever be their favorite. 

Kass returned from the restroom and stopped when she spied Ash resting against Melarue. A brilliant smile spread across her face. 

None of them made it to the count-down that night. When Melarue and Kass awoke in their bed in the morning, they kissed, long and lazy.

“Happy New Year.”

Year Four

“Ash! Your ride is here!” Kassaran called down the hall as she hurried into the hall bath to fluff her hair and make sure she was ready to head out as soon as Ash was picked up. 

“Ugh, they’re early! I’m coming!” By early, she meant on-time. Kass rolled her eyes then strolled out of the bathroom. Ash was walking quickly to the door, braids and backpack bouncing as she picked up the pace. 

A knock came at the door and Ash was first to respond, “COMING!” 

But it was Melarue who was closest to the door. They opened it and…not Mr. Dannis stepped in. 

“Aelynthi,” Melarue breathed barely before the young man practically collapsed onto his nanae. Kass heard the crying before she saw Aelynthi properly. Worry seeped into her as she walked into the foyer. Melarue was holding Aelynthi fiercely with a look of pure murder on their face as they gently pet their son’s hair. 

“You’re safe, you’re safe, I’ve got you,” they whispered. Something was very wrong. When Kass stepped to the side to see Aelynthi, she saw what had Melarue in such a state. While the majority of Aelynthi’s face was obscured by Melarue’s shoulder, she saw the deep purple and and blue of a bruise circling his eye. Her stomach churned, a chill went down her spine. She heard Ash’s bag hit the floor behind her. 

“Let’s go into the living room, there’s more privacy there,” Kass said softly as she went to pull curtains. She glanced outside to see the ride service already driving away. She wasn’t sure why he didn’t take his own car, but if he needed a new one, they’d get him one. She was already recollecting all the names she had found indispensable when divorcing her husband then getting him formally charged for what he’d done. And that was just her, goodness knew what Melarue was going to do. 

With help from his nanae, Aelynthi made it into the living room. When Kass turned to join him and Melarue, she saw Ash still standing to the side in the foyer. Her eyes were wide and her body completely still. Shit. 

Kass walked to her daughter and took her hands. “You are safe, Aelynthi is safe. No one is going to hurt us, okay? Melarue and I got this.” 

Absently, Ash nodded her head before leaning into Kass. Like Melarue had done with Aelynthi, Kass wrapped her arms around her daughter and slowly guided her into the living room. To his credit, Aelynthi had managed to pull enough away from Melarue to be sitting up on his own, trying to breathe deeply. Melarue sat next to him, their face schooled into a calm facade but their entire being radiated fury. 

Kass sat Ash on a chair then went into the kitchen to make some hot coco. Aelynthi might not be a sweets person, but she always found having a hot drink in hand during things like this helped. In a couple minutes, she was back in the living room, gently holding out the mug to Aelynthi. He accepted it as if on auto-pilot. 

He took a sip. Then another. Another.

No one said anything, just huddled around Aelynthi in a protective wall. 

“He said he was busy tonight, which I thought was weird but it happens. I made plans to go out with Serahlin and Adannar to a club instead. We were having a good time when I saw him…dancing with someone else.” He glanced over at Ash and Kass supposed he was censoring himself for her sake. She could tell to Ash to go to her room but knew that would only trigger her more. Too many times Kass had told Ash to go to her room to keep her safe from Qal. It was a shit position to be in as a parent - trigger one kid, to give the other privacy, or take away some privacy to not trigger the other. 

Aelynthi kept talking, though, “Serahlin saw him and was furious. We’d been drinking so…we went over and confronted him. The guy he was with had also been drinking and was…belligerent. He shoved me. Serahlin punched him. It just went from there. One of the guy’s friends hit me even though he kept shouting for it to stop. Before I knew it, we were tossed out of the club. Adannar was crying and having an asthma attack, Serahlin’s nose looked broken so they hopped a cab to the ER. I caught an uber here because it was close and I’m so sorry, I didn’t think-

Melarue visibly relaxed and tension eased in Kassaran. It was just a bar fight. It wasn’t…it wasn’t Qal again. Thank goodness, that was the last thing she wanted for Aelynthi. 

“You are always welcome here, da’len. You never have to apologize for coming here.” They kissed the top of his head. Bit by bit Aelynthi calmed enough to retract himself from Melarue to his usual stance. His eyes were red and puffy and he looked so young. 

Ash rose from her seat with a quiet, “Excuse me.” A moment later, Kass heard rapid footsteps up the stairs. Oh dear.

She turned to Aelynthi, “We are always happy to have you, Aelynthi. This has always been and always will be a home for you here. I never wish to take that from you. Now if you’ll excuse me for just a second.” With that, Kass left the living room to Melarue and Aelynthi. While she wanted a better relationship with Melarue’s son, she wouldn’t force it. There was a lot at play and at the end of the day, it was Aelynthi’s choice to be closer to Melarue and then perhaps accept Kass more. 

Kass headed upstairs to Ash’s room. The door was closed, likely locked, but unusually there was no music radiating from within. She knocked on the door.

“Ash? Can I come in?”

A long pause before a sniffled, “Yes,” answered back. The door was surprisingly unlocked and inside was Ash, sitting on her bed, legs pulled up and hiding her face.

“Hey, sweetie. Mind if I sit here?” Ash shook her head without looking up. “Okay.” Kass sat down on the edge of the bed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the many, many candles in the room light, grow, then go out. It lit again, flared, then went out once more. 

“When I saw Aelynthi I was really scared. Melarue was scared too.”

“They seemed angry.”

“They were - but not at you, not at me, not at Aelynthi. They were mad at the person who hurt Aelynthi because that’s what parents do - we see someone hurt our baby and we want to protect them and sometimes that means getting angry. I know it’s scary.” There was a long pause before Ash glanced up, violet eyes bright with unshed tears, brows drawn in her own fear and anger. 

“I felt angry too. I feel angry. And scared, it’s like he’s here again.” Kass’s heart broke for her daughter. The guilt of not leaving earlier, of not figuring out how to get her and Ash out of that horrendous situation faster haunted her. She knew it haunted Ash. They had some counseling following the finalization of the divorce but counseling costs money and life needs money and she was suddenly a very single mother. Maybe…maybe it was time to go back for both of them.

“I felt that too. It is completely understandable to feel that way. The good news is - he isn’t here. Aelynthi is okay, and this situation is completely different. You take as much time as you need, okay? Can I bring you anything to eat or drink?” 

Ash raised her head, “I could use a hug.”

“Oh, baby, of course.” Kass moved over and took Ash in her arms. She held her daughter for a long time until the candle in the corner went out for the last time and Ash let out a long breath and pulled away.

“I’m feeling a little better. I don’t want to go to the party, though. I want to be here with Aelynthi… Is that okay?”

“Of course that’s okay! Baby, that is so sweet.” She gave Ash one last squeeze, “I love you so much.”

“Love you, too.”

They made their way back down to the living room. Aelynthi’s bruises were gone thanks to some quick healing magic and at some point he had changed into pajamas Melarue kept on hand just in case. 

“Hey, Aelynthi.” Ash was the first to speak. He looked over at her, his usual bright eyes dark and exhausted.

“Hi, Ash.”

“Where’s Nanae?” 

He waved behind himself, “In the kitchen.” 

“I will go see that everything’s okay. Ash, how about you join Aelynthi?” It was a bit heavy handed, sure, but something nagged in the back of Kass’s head about Melarue. 

Thanks to the age of the home, the kitchen was in a separate room. It provided privacy for moments like the one Kass walked into. Melarue was hunched over the sink, hands gripping the counter top with white knuckles going into black finger tips. A shadow in the glass of the window rose and roiled around their reflection. Kass blinked then stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Melarue’s back. 

They jerked and turned to her, eyes black and magic flaring. The eyes, the shadow, the finger tips - all gone in a second.

“Kassaran, I can explain -

Kass raised a finger, “I trust you will talk to me about it when you’re ready. Right now, all I want to know is if you’re okay.”

Melarue looked more rattled than she had ever seen them before. They were normally so calm and collected but right now they looked like any worried parent.

“Someone hit my son.”

“They did. He is here now, and you healed him. He is going to be okay, there is no one after him - it was…a horrible singular situation.” Kass took Melarue’s hands in hers, holding them tight. 

“How is Ash?”

“Rattled, but okay.” Kass lifted their hands to her mouth, kissing their knuckles. “We’re going to be okay.” 

And miraculously, they were. The evening gradually turned from that point onward. Melarue and Kass brought out snacks and drinks and ordered a few giant pizzas for them all to eat. Kass called Ash’s friends’ parents to inform them there was a family emergency and Ash wouldn’t be joining them for the evening. They put on old animated movies from Aelynthi’s childhood. Kass and Melarue watched with glee as Aelynthi and Ash bonded over watching the films together - him for the hundredth time and her for the first. They were only ten years apart, but apparently that was enough to have a gap in the movies they had watched. Kass took out a board game and soon they were all embroiled in buying property and hoarding money. They switched off the movies to watch the live coverage of the New Year’s celebration happening downtown. Together, they counted down

TEN!

NINE!

EIGHT!

Melarue turned to Kass while the kids were engrossed with the TV and whispered so softly only she could hear, “Marry me.”

SEVEN!

SIX!

Stunned, Kass blinked but then smiled and nodded.

FIVE!

FOUR!

“Yes.”

THREE!

TWO!

ONE!

They kissed and ushered in another new year together - as a family.

Year Five

Melarue adjusted a pin in their hair as they assessed their image in the mirror. Another New Year’s Eve was here and more importantly - it was their wedding day. Truthfully, asking Kass to marry them last year had been impulsive and it was a terrible time to ask but in that moment, they knew. They just knew she was part of their family and always would be - they wanted it official. They wanted documents and records that tied her to them…even if it was for a short time. They hadn’t announced the engagement right away. Aelynthi and Ash both had counseling to go through, and they didn’t want to put more pressure on the two. But turns out, they hadn’t needed to tell them - somehow the two figured out it on their own. Ash decided to let that out of the bag one spring morning over breakfast when she asked Melarue, “Will you adopt me before or after the wedding?” The answer, after some tears later, was after since the marriage would make the process simpler.

Now, Melarue stood in front of a mirror wearing a beautiful gown waiting to get married again. They never thought they would be here again, not after the divorce. Yet, here they were waiting to marry Kass. 

They had reserved the ballroom of the building where Kass and Melarue had met. The New Year’s party that somehow changed their lives was now the place where they would say their vows. Orchestrating everything on relatively short notice had been an expensive challenge, but they did it. It had to be this date - no other date would do. 

A knock sounded at the door. 

“Come in!” They called. The door opened to reveal Aelynthi dressed in traditional ceremonial attire. His hair was a little longer and he was…smiling. The change in him over the last year brought them immeasurable joy. He had agreed to counseling, partly because of Ash’s wise threatening words of “If I can go to counseling about my shit, abusive sperm-donor, you can do it too. Nanae can hold your hand if you want.” He didn’t ask them to hold their hand, but he had agreed to go. In recent months, he met a nice man named Victory, whom Kass loved. 

“Mamae said the best man should be helping you, so here I am.” 

Aelynthi helped Melarue finish their preparations, then escorted them out to the ceremony space. A door on the opposite end opened to reveal Kassaran and Ash. Beautiful white, silver, and red thread adorned their clothes and horns in intricate but varied patterns. A veil trailed after Kass, while beaded threads dangled from her dress, forming intricate patterns similar to the Vitaar on her face. It was not actual Vitaar given its poisonous properties to those who were not Qunari, but rather face paint and makeup to achieve the same presentation. She was a vision of beauty. 

Slowly, they both began their circular trek towards the elven woman in the center of the room. It was not like an Andrastian aisle, but a walk both Melarue and Kass had agreed upon to represent their winding paths to finding each other. Ash and Aelynthi walked with them, leaving only just before Kass and Melarue joined hands to continue the ceremony. From there, the Dalish woman began her rites. 

“Do you, Kassaran, accept Melarue as they are and will be to be your spouse?”

“I do. I accept all of you,” Kass said. There was no disguising what she meant by all of Melarue. The secret they had shared with her after she found them in the kitchen out of sorts. The knowledge that they were not alone, that they were possessed - but she had taken it in stride and love. More love than they ever thought themselves worthy of. 

“Do you, Melarue, accept Kassaran as she is and will be to be your spouse?”

“I do. Always, Vhenan.”

Voices from the street grew into a chant that could be heard within the ballroom.

TEN!

NINE!

EIGHT!

“By the power invested in me...”

SEVEN!

SIX!

FIVE!

“Declare you married!”

FOUR!

THREE!

TWO!

ONE!

Melarue and Kassaran leaned forward and kissed as they had done for the past five years, welcoming in the new year, and a new beginning.

Year Six

“Knock, knock!” A familiar voice called from beyond the hospital door. Kass groaned, not another person. Sure, it might be Victory and Aelynthi but she was not in a position to entertain.

Melarue was quick, though, and opened the door. 

“We didn’t miss it, did we?” 

Pain wracked Kass’s body as her muscles seized, “NO! You’re all insufferably early!” She practically growled through the pain. Dammit, where was that anaesthesiologist?

Melarue said something to Aelynthi and Victory, then sent them out to hang with Ash in the waiting room. The last thing Kass wanted was anyone to witness what was about to happen to her vagina except for a very select number of people. She even had Melarue under strict orders to stay up by her head - birthing qunari babies was…grizzly at best. Thank goodness for modern medicine and magic. 

The contraction was long but it eventually passed. They were getting much closer now - she really needed that epidural before it was too late. 

“I’m going to get that doctor,” Melarue said, their voice dark with purpose and promise. Fine, whatever, make a deal with a demon - just get her the damn epidural. 

Melarue did in fact return with the anaesthesiologist, who to his credit looked terrified of Melarue. He placed the epidural and the pain faded into odd pressure. Kass eased back into the bed, relieved. 

“You’re doing wonderfully, Vhenan.”

“Mmm, thank you, Kadan. Oh, I need to apologize to Aelynthi and Victory.”

“Love, there is no need - they understand you are a woman in labor.” They kissed her forehead. 

“Aelynthi and I just got good, I don’t want to ruin it and then there’s the baby and I don’t want this family to be in a bad spot just when the baby’s coming into the world-

“Kass, Kass, Vhenan - no one is upset with you. We are all so happy to meet the baby, Aelynthi included. I think even Nithroel already bought baby dance shoes.”

Kass laughed nervously before the door opened and her doctor strolled in. “Hello, Kass!” Following the exam, the doctor smiled, “10 beautiful centimeters, Kass. Are you ready?”

Ready? She wanted this baby so badly. She wanted this family more than anything. But she had done this once before and it was hard to not recall Ash’s birth. It was a long labor, no anesthetic, no Qal…which was a good thing in retrospect even if she had been alone. This was different in every way. She had Melarue in the room, Ash and Aelynthi waiting outside, and doctors who gave a damn about her. 

She nodded to the doctor, “Okay, okay, let’s…have a baby.”

For the next several hours, Kass pushed and worked to get the babe out. Melarue held her hand through it all, speaking kind encouraging words to keep her going. The longer the labor drew on, the more antsy the nurses and even her doctor got. 

Midnight was rapidly approaching…and so was the baby. 

“Alright, Kass, one last push and we’ll have baby. I’ll count it down, now push!

Ten!

Nine!

Eight!

Seven!

Six!

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!”

“AAAAH!” Kass pushed and pushed and suddenly the room was filled with more than just a counting doctor and a murmuring Melarue. Cries, distinctive in their high pitch. 

“Well done, Kass! She’s here, a beautiful baby girl! Born right at midnight to welcome in the new year.” The doctor announced. A girl. Another daughter. Emotions bright and strong filled Kass in a wave of amazed euphoria. The baby was placed on her chest and oh, she was perfect. Smaller than Ash, but that was the elf in her. Her hair was dark, just like her nanae’s,  and she was absolutely perfect.

“Kadan, look at her.” She caressed the baby’s cheek in awe.

“She’s perfect,” Melarue whispered pressing a kiss to Kass’s horn.

“I think she takes after you, look at that hair.” The room was bustling with activity and soon the baby was taken for her weight and vitals while Kass dealt with the afterbirth. Once declared fit as a fiddle, the baby returned and Kass went about getting her latched for her first feeding. She was exhausted but riding a unique high of energy that only came from birthing a baby. 

Eventually Melarue left to gather their children, plus Victory, from the waiting room. Ash was the first in the room, smiling broadly as she spied her little sister for the first time.

“Everyone, meet Asaaranda.”

One by one they held Anda. Ash insisted on holding her first, then Aelynthi, and then even Victory took a turn. As Melarue held their daughter with a look of complete love and wonder in their eyes, Kass found her heart full. Her family was complete, her heart full, beyond anything she had ever thought possible even six years ago. 

After breakfast, Ash leads Kass to the pavilion in the garden. Her instructor is already there, a tall man with a shock of white hair and pearlescent skin. His ears are long and reach back, though not nearly as much as his horns. 

“Ser Lokraan is like us, but his mother was an elf,” Ash explains, striding comfortably up to the man. He enters a graceful bow when Kass steps onto the pavilion, his white hair falling forward in a cascade. 

“A pleasure to meet you, lady Kassaran,” he says in a deep, rumbling voice. Kass grimaces and waves him off.

“I am no lady, please just call me Kass. It’s good to meet you.” She smiles even as the hair on the back of her neck rises. Over the years, Kass has developed a sort of sixth sense when it comes to monstrous people. She’s not talking about the obvious monsters, the giant worms and the slime monsters that live in sewers, but the kind that hide in plain sight. They’re the most dangerous, and most people don’t know how to protect themselves from them. Kass, however, is not most people.

Many monstrous people move in a different way from non-monstrous people. Depending on their natures, movements can be preternaturally smooth like a vampire, or more disjointed like a fawn who is walking on hooves, not feet. Head tilts are a good way to tell as well, many monstrous people have heightened hearing and will tilt their heads in ways to pick up on more sounds. Some creatures are just...different in a way that Kass can’t quite pin down, but she just knows. 

Lokraan falls into that last category. Nothing about him seems overly different except for his striking features, but there is a sense of other about him that makes Kass want to retract her hand a little faster and watch him a little closer. 

No, she reminds herself. Melarue hired Lokraan to train Ashokara. They clearly trust him enough to allow him into their home and to train Ash, so Kass should trust him. She doesn’t think Melarue would put anyone dangerous with Ash.

Not intentionally, that small voice in her head whispers. 

He exits his bow gracefully, pink-hued eyes flickering up to her blue. His wide mouth spreads into an oddly charming toothy smile, “Kass it is. Now Ash, let’s show your dear mother what we’ve accomplished so far.” With a quick flourish of his cape, Lokraan turns and gestures for Ash to join him. She skips up to him and falls into her stance.

The demonstration is beautiful. Ash’s fiery blue magic has matured and grown so much, it makes Kass proud. And afraid. She knows the older a mage gets, the harder it is to hide magic, it’s a part of the mage, an important part. Ash’s magic is beautiful but undeniably dangerous and strong, and her heritage does not help in her image. She doesn’t want Ash to ever feel like she has to diminish herself for safety.

Isn’t that what we’ve had to do in the last year? A sinister part of her whispers in her mind. More guilt tells her that yes, they’ve had to do exactly that to survive. As she watches Ash perform, her magic swirling in a dancing cloud around her, she realizes just how horribly unfair it would be for her to ask Ash to give all of this up again if they left this place. 

As safe as it might be to leave...a life lived in fear is no life at all. She wants better for Ash, and for herself. 

After the demonstration, Kass praises Ash and thanks Lokraan. He is courteous and humble, but she can see the glimmer of pride in his eyes. A success for Ash is a success for him, which is fine in her book - it will motivate him to make sure she succeeds. 

“Time for academics!” Lokraan declares, “Kass, we shall be in the library if you have need of us.” 

“I’ll walk you inside,” she says, falling into step with them. “What books are you studying?”

“Lokraan is teaching me arithmetic and we’re currently reading The Hightown Noble. I like the books about dragons better.” She mumbles the second sentiment, but her eyes are bright and Kass knows she’s enjoying herself. She’s learning and doing well.

“Well, dragons are very interesting. Maybe Lokraan can teach you about dragons next.” Kass has thankfully not encountered a dragon. From what she understands, they’re pretty rare and largely now content to live in their respective homes and territories. There are some hunters and mercenaries who seek the creatures out for epic battle, and most of those get eaten. The others perish from their chosen dragon’s breath. Kass has never desired to meet such an end, so she has avoided all hirings related to dragons. She’d take a stray wyvern, but never a drake or dragon. Ash, however, has always been fascinated by the beasts. Kass supposes her daughter feels a certain kinship with them, with all the fire and horns and whatnot. 

“I may have a tome detailing some of the larger fauna that live in the west,” Lokraan comments. 

“Please!” Ash asks, eliciting a chuckle. 

“Very well, we can dabble a bit in zoology. Our basics must still be learned.”

“Of course!” Ash agrees quickly, making Kass chuckle. Her eagerness is so endearing, and good to hear. Kass had feared she hadn’t done a good enough job of educating Ash, or providing opportunities for her to be educated. She feared that as a result, Ash’s desire to learn had been stunted, but here she is, eager to learn about the things that interest her. 

When they enter the library, she sees that the mathematics they are working on aren’t entirely basic either. Kass had picked up this particular book at one point, only to swiftly set it aside. This type of arithmetic doesn’t mesh well with her mind - she’s good with budgets because she has to be, but the rest of math...it doesn’t suit her. Her brain seems to do better with literature. And fighting, though she really just prefers the literature. While she doesn’t have the mind for the arithmetic, she’s so happy to see her daughter be encouraged to explore it so she could have it. 

“I’ll leave you to your lessons, little one. I’ll bring lunch later,” she says and Ash nods, already absorbed in her work. Lokraan glances up to Kass, the light-heartedness gone and replaced with a possessive expression that unsettles Kass. As Kass leaves the library, she frowns but tries not to let it bother her too much. Lokraan is odd, and his oddness is likely explained by whatever monstrous characteristics he has, Kass tells herself.

She heads back outside to wander the grounds, pulling her cloak tighter against her to keep out the cold. Despite the season, she can tell the grounds are well kept and tended by someone who enjoys the work. Long ago and far away, Kass had enjoyed gardening. She would spend days in the garden, pulling up weeds, planting beautiful flowers. It was dirty, hard work, but rewarding. Part of her longs for it now, to tend to the currently sleeping flowers, but the ground is hard with the cold, and she is sure there is a gardener here that would frown upon her meddling. 

The rest of the day is spent in relative quiet. Ash bounds in and takes her lunch with Kass and they eat tiny sandwiches to Ash’s delight. As soon as she’s done though, Lokraan has her resume her studies. That feeling in Kass’s gut returns, making her frown. She needs to talk to Melarue, find out where they found Lokraan and see if he is as trustworthy as he is made to seem. 

Kass reads for a good part of the day until she feels restless enough to return to the grounds to train. She feels weaker than she has in a very long time and it doesn’t suit her. It reminds her too much of when she was actually weak and defenseless; she promised herself to never be that way again. 

She goes through hours of exercises, working up a sweat despite the cold. She shucks off her cloak and rolls up her sleeves before resuming work with her assortment of weapons. There’s the hand-a-half sword, the hand-axe, a short-sword that feels more like a dagger in her hand but she keeps it because it always seems to get the job done when she needs it. She breaks out her shield as well, and even a “staff” that is really more of a walking stick. 

Hours later, muscles aching, and out of breath, Kass notices the sun has set. The grounds are lit by gas lamps, though she doesn’t know when they were lit or by whom. She does know she is hungry, but sweaty and likely giving off a stench none too pleasant. 

She turns to go back inside and stops when she sees Melarue in the sunroom. They’re speaking with Elsi and as if sensing her eyes upon them, they turn to look at her. Even behind those glasses she can feel the weight of their gaze. She holds up a finger in a universal sign for them to wait. She has to go around the hedges and into the main living area before making it into the sunroom. She hurries as quickly as she can but when she reaches the sunroom, it’s just Elsi.

“They retired for the evening,” the harpy says, “they apparently had a full day at the Orchid.”

She wants to curse. They’re avoiding her, and there isn’t much she can do about that. Not when they have the ability to essentially vanish. 

“Thank you, Elsi,” she says anyways, knowing it’s not the girl’s fault. 

She nods, “Would you like me to bring you some soup during your bath?” Right, her bath, and food. Her nose wrinkles as she recalls what a foul state she must be in and tries not to flinch.

“Yes, please. Has Ash already eaten?”

“Yes, she retired quite awhile ago. Her tutor had her do some more magical exercises that wore her out, something to do with endurance.”

“Dammit,” she finally gives into the temptation to curse, “tomorrow...tomorrow will be better.” She didn’t get time with Ash or Melarue, the two things she wanted to do today. Instead, she spent the day training.

The journey to her room is long only because her body realizes that it spent the day working. Her muscles begin to ache and fatigue, and she’s practically quivering by the time she makes it into the tub. She used to have incredible endurance, able to run all day and fight all night. Then they went on the run and she had to start cutting back on food and sleep, then she got sick. Amazing what the three will do to a person’s endurance. Still, she trained for most of the day and is only now feeling the effects - she doesn’t consider that a total loss. 

Elsi brings up Kass’s soup a little later and informs her that she will be retiring for the night as well. Kass bids her goodnight, finishes her soup and her bath, then crawls into bed herself. Tomorrow will be better.

**

The next day is better. She manages to spend the majority of it with Ash since Lokraan is coincidentally caught up with a personal affair in the city. Kass takes the opportunity to take Ash out into the city as well. If this is to be their new home, they need to learn to enjoy it properly. 

Kass has Ash wear the necklace to disguise her while donning a thick cloak and hood. Ash’s skin shifts to a warm brown and her white hair darkens to black while her horns shimmer away under the illusion of humanity. 

“That amulet is meant for you,” Elsi murmurs, “sometimes the necklaces that are meant for someone else can...cause issues.” 

“She’s like me, and we won’t be out long,” Kass says, adjusting her hood in the mirror to make sure her horns are sufficiently covered.

“I look weird, all...humany,” Ash says, staring at herself in the mirror, touching her face and hair. She turns and pokes at the now rounded ear. 

“Be careful, Melarue would have my head if anything happened to you,” she jokes but there’s a serious look in her eye that has Kass placing a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. 

“They wouldn’t, and nothing is going to happen.” Kass pulls up her scarf to cover the lower half of her face and Ash dons a cloak of her own for warmth. Her daughter may be a walking fireplace, but she is worryingly susceptible to the cold, which is part of the reason why Kass won’t keep them out for long. They are in a much colder region than where they were living before they went on the run, and while a climate like this keeps them safer since the hunters wouldn’t think this is the first place they’d go, it certainly isn’t the most comfortable for Ash. 

Melarue’s driver is still with them, but they don’t need the driver to get around and besides, markets are better traversed on foot. It doesn’t take long for them to reach the markets, and they see more of the nicer part of the city in the process. 

“I love this, I love living like this.” Ash laughs, spinning along the sidewalk, the falling snow spinning with her.

Kass smiles, “It is certainly very nice.”

“You like it too, I know you do. And you like Melarue.”

“Oh, they’re a very nice host -

“C’mon, Mama, I’m not stupid. You like them, and they like you. And I think it’s great.”

Kass stops, her face flushed under her hood and scarf, “You...do?”

Ash turns to her and shrugs, “Yeah, all you’ve ever done is work and then we had to run because of me. You just about killed yourself to make sure I’m okay...I want you to be happy too.” 

Kass’s heart warms and tears threaten to spill over. Instead, she pulls Ash for a tight hug.

“I love you so much. I am so, so proud of you.”

“Mama!” She protests, “you’re embarrassing me.”

“I’m your mother, that’s what I do.” She tucks Ash’s head under her chin and presses a kiss through the scarf to the top of a disguised horn. 

Ash moves away as soon as she can, teenager scorn of affection firmly back in place. But Kass knows now, and it’s good. Selfishly, she hadn’t really been thinking all that much about how Ash would react to Kass pursuing a relationship with Melarue. That thought breeds guilt, but she’s mostly relieved that her daughter is fine with it. More than fine with it, Ash wants it for Kass. This whole time Kass has been sacrificing herself for her daughter, she hasn’t stopped to think that Ash wanted more for her as well. 

They make it to the market, greeted by the growing roar of shopkeepers shouting their wares and shoppers trying to negotiate. The street is lined with stalls and filled with people despite the cold and snow. There are food stalls with all types of street food from meat pies to wraps to even season spiced wine. Most of which smells delightful and even though Kass has already eaten, she finds herself looking over at a stand selling what looks to be a special type of warm bread that is cooked with a rotating cylinder over an open flame. 

“Can we get one of those, please?” Ash asks, taking out a very familiar looking coin purse from her cloak.

“Ash! I thought the purse was lost.”

Ash flushes and shrugs, “Technically, I never said it was lost. You read that from my face. I kept it safe while Melarue looked over you. But hey! Now we can get this really neat bread!” She hands over a few copper and the baker hands over the bread. Ash’s gloved hands take it and immediately tear off a piece to try. “Mmm, you gotta try it.” She breaks off another piece and offers it to Kass who sighs and takes it. She’s right, it’s very good. It’s sweet in a way that it’s clear it's made with honey, and while there is a slight crust, the bread itself is the perfect balance of soft and crisp.

“Alright, good choice, but I hold the money from now on,” Kass says, holding out her hand. Ash sighs but hands it over.

They spend the next two hours wandering the stalls, looking at all the odds and ends of the various merchants. Ash is particularly taken with the glassblower’s wares while Kass finds a very fine silversmith. They are browsing a stall full of journals when Ash shivers. Her hand spasms and she pulls it to her body. When she exhales, a puff of smoke comes out with it. 

“Mama, I don’t feel right,” she whispers. Kass restrains herself from cursing and takes Ash’s arm.

“Let’s get back to the house.” On a mission, Kass directs Ash swiftly through the throngs of people, thanking her immense height for this. People move out of the way as soon as they spot Kass and Ash hurriedly making their way down the street. Kass murmurs a polite “excuse me” and “pardon us” every now and then, and thankfully no one seems invested enough to pay overmuch attention to them.

Every few moments, Ash twitches and Kass feels her arm heart with a pulse of magic trying to return the girl’s temperature to its normal elevated level. Ash is already tall, only a few inches under Melarue’s height and still growing, but she seems to shrink with each step. She hunches into herself to conserve heat. Damn it, normally they have more time. They’ve been in the cold for much longer before Ash even began to feel uncomfortable! 

By the time they reach the mansion, Ash is shaking. Kass doesn’t stop to take off her layers, instead hurrying Ash to the great room to set her by the fire. She reaches around Ash’s neck and unclasps the amulet. Ash’s form wavers then settles on her true form, with gray skin, white hair, and curving horns.

Magic immediately blooms around Ash in a heavy wave of heat. Ash gasps as if she had be suffocating and the fire roars a brilliant blue in response.

“Elsi!” Kass calls as she grabs a blanket to wrap around Ash. The other girl comes dashing in, worry written on her face.

“Can you get some soup for Ash? Hot soup, something like chicken noodle.”

“Right away!” She runs off to the kitchen while Kass tries not to flagellate herself for not seeing the signs sooner. Ash’s magic, while strong and vibrant, also creates within her a vulnerability that needs to be protected and Kass is supposed to be that protector. 

The rest of the afternoon is spent with Kass and Elsi doing their best to warm up Ash. Hours in, Kass walks into the great room to see Ash extricating herself from the extensive blanket cocoon, stripping down to her bare skin to climb into the fireplace.

“ASHOKARA!” Kass shouts, running to help her.

“I’m fine,” Ash says, her voice surprisingly soft. The fire snaps to blue from its original orange, curving over her daughter’s body like a blanket. “I need the fire.”

Being a non-magical person, Kass doesn’t quite understand it. Not to mention her daughter’s magic seems so different from the magic of a typical mage. But she trusts her daughter to know what she needs; the blue fire has never harmed her before and if she were in pain, Ash would remove herself. It makes her think that perhaps the hunters aren’t entirely wrong, Ash isn’t normal, for certain. She isn’t a monster, like they espouse, but she isn’t a typical mage with the way she interacts with fire and how fire reacts to her. 

Kass watches her daughter, flames growing bigger and higher within the gigantic fireplace. Laughter blooms from the fire and Kass smiles. It’s said that their people have a bit of dragon’s blood in them, and Kass thinks Ash must have more than most to live within the fire like this. 

By dinner, Ash is all warmed up, dressed and carrying on just fine. Kass has barred her from leaving the house for the time being, however. All of her food is also served very hot for her happy consumption. 

“Can I have hot chocolate?” Ash asks and Kass chuckles. She’s so milking this and Kass can’t bring herself to not give into it.

“Sure.” The treat is brought to the table and Ash sips at it happily. Kass watches as the heat doesn’t affect her, if anything, her color improves and her eyes close with relief.

Ash’s eyes open when she lowers the mug and she smiles. At her next exhale, some smoke puffs out, but unlike before at the market, this breath is controlled. Kass raises an eyebrow and Ash’s eyes sparkle.

“Lokraan says I’m special,” Ash says, sounding almost completely normal once more.

“Of course you are!” Kass agrees but Ash just shakes her head, smile still in place.

“Not like how you see me, but my magic - he says it’s pure power. He says that I could really have an effect on the world if I try hard enough.” She lifts her hand and a small blue flame dances around her finger tips before dissipating as she closes her fist.

“That’s amazing, but little one, you’re only fourteen.” What sorts of things has Lokraan been discussing with Ash? Kass has no doubt Ash can have a positive effect on the world, but she is still just a girl. She has so much to learn and do before she is ready to go brave the world.  

As if proving her point, Ash says “And what, that means I can’t be powerful?” Kass takes a deep breath and tries to toe this lightly. Ash is admittedly temperamental and with her young age, she is not...particularly wise.

“Of course not, it simply means that you have a lot to learn before you can apply that power. The world doesn’t need another explosion.”

“And that’s all I can do, that’s all you see.” Where was this coming from? Kass has always been supportive of Ash’s talents. Sure, it’s frightened her a few times, but mostly when she’s feared that Ash was in danger. Her daughter’s fire is incredible, even if it is dangerous. 

“It means that until you learn how to use your power, you won’t know how to prevent such an explosion - learning how to use something also means learning when not to use it. Being successful and affecting change means having this wisdom of when to use power. Not every situation calls for a lot of power, sometimes...less is more. You are going to do amazing things, baby girl, when you are ready to do them. And as your mama, I want you to be safe too.” Kass reaches forward for Ash’s hand, but Ash recoils from her.

“Lokraan says non-mages won’t get it, and even that most mages won’t because my magic is so unique.” She practically spits the word non-mages and Kass can’t help but feel a twinge of pain as she knows that Ash, and perhaps Lokraan, very much mean Kass herself. Even so, Kass strives for patience.

“He’s right - your magic is unique, but that doesn’t mean you should shut out people who try to understand you, who do their best to help you. That would lead to a lonely life, Ash.” Kass needs to have a discussion with Lokraan. He can’t be spouting these things and expecting Ash to isolate herself with her power. In Kass’s experience, loneliness is a contributor to taking a dark path. And Kass will fight Ash going down that path with everything in her body. 

“You are one of the strongest mages I’ve seen, and you make me so proud as your mama. I love you.” Kass tries and Ash glances back at her, violet eyes slowly softening. 

“I love you too,” she whispers, “I guess...it’s just nice for someone who knows magic to recognize what I can do.” Finally, Kass sees her daughter past the defiance. She sees the lonely girl who hasn’t had this kind of expert tutelage despite Kass’s effort. She sees the toll of loneliness and ostracization have taken on Ash and it makes her heart ache.

“Absolutely! And I am so happy you finally have someone who can give you that recognition. I just want you to know that power isn’t everything. Happiness, love, companionship, joy, freedom - these are the things that make life worth living. Power can help you attain these things, but it doesn’t guarantee them, and sometimes, if you focus on just the power aspect - you’ll lose those things.” And without those things to fight for, power in itself is...corrupting. But Kass isn’t going to harp on that quite yet. Ash doesn’t need it and this is no time to talk to Ash like one of the monsters Kass has encountered.

Ash uncrosses her arms and leans forward to take Kass’s hand, “I want it all - happiness, joy, love, and power. Can’t I have that?”

“Yes, just don’t lose sight of yourself,” Kass replies softly. Ash’s hand is hot to the touch, charged fully with her magic. She’s so much stronger than she was even a month ago. Her power is growing and Lokraan is nurturing that growth, and Kass will nurture her wisdom in how to use it. Her daughter will not become someone to be hunted. At least, not deservingly so.

The conversation shifts to nicer topics, such as the rest of Ash’s studies. With her new spectacles, she is reading and apparently devouring books. By the time Ash leaves to head to bed, Kass feels more like herself than she has in months. 

She hasn’t felt this happy since even before meeting Melarue in that cave. How long has her life been on this track of dissatisfaction? She wishes she could pinpoint a specific turning point, but she can’t. All she knows is that at some point, her life became less about living and more about surviving. That which she preached to Ash about what mattered in life - joy, love, happiness - those things took a backburner to food, sleep, even money to live. 

Now? Kass doesn’t have to worry about any of that, only about being a good mother and a good person. She can read and train and enjoy who she is. She can enjoy a whole host of things, and what she wants to enjoy is...Melarue. 

Kass returns to her room to change into lounging clothes and to read. It’s such a good book that it engrosses her and she can’t put it down until she’s finished it. It is late into the night when she finishes and her stomach growls. Seems like a midnight snack is in order.

She climbs out of bed and ties a sash around her loose tunic to keep it in place before heading downstairs. She makes her way to the kitchen and scrounges up some bread and butter. She picks up her plate and sets for the sunroom to eat. It’s a lovely spot to eat, and she wants to look out over the grounds, see if she can see any stars. Halfway there and she hears their voice, low and dark. She stops and cranes her neck to see Melarue in the room with the indoor pool, Elsi standing next to them.

“The pool is prepared?” They ask.

“Yes, warmed as you like. I could get you something to eat as well if you’d like,” Elsi says, her voice muffled by the distance.

They shake their head, “No, thank you. Please retire for the night, Elsi, you’ve worked enough.”

“Thank you.” Elsi bows her head and quickly leaves the room, dashing out to the grounds and into the night. Kass tilts her head to watch Melarue, curious. Their back is to her, safe from their gaze as they remove their glasses, setting them on a table by the pool. They take off the layers of their clothes until they are only clad in a light slip that is so thin and so close to their skin tone that she would think they’re naked except for the folds of fabric around their waist and hips. She should turn away, this is peeping behavior and that’s not okay - they reach up and reach behind their neck, unclasping the necklace. They take the necklace away, placing it with their glasses.

Their form shimmers, but it’s centered around their head, flowing in a downward pattern. It takes a moment for Kass to realize the change, their hair a black mass, but then the black mass starts to move and not with Melarue, but independently. There is a writhing rhythm and then a serpent’s head lifts up from the mass, a tongue flicking out as it moves toward Melarue’s jaw. They turn slightly, a finger coming up to gently touch the snout of the snake.

Their hair...isn’t hair, it’s snakes. Living, breathing, moving snakes. 

A rational part of her, a part that finds tall burly men attractive in a very traditional expected way, says that she should be repelled by this. They’re a monster with snakes for hair and their very gaze turns people to stone. They can move so quickly and silently it’s almost like they teleported away from her. But there is a bigger part of her, apparently now in full bloom, loud and vibrant, that isn’t the least bit bothered by these things. In fact, this part of her wants to touch those snakes, feel their scaley smoothness as she cups their face, kissing them soundly. 

Melarue walks into the pool, descending slowly into the water until she cannot see them.

Not thinking, Kass sets the remainder of her meal aside and walks to the door of the pool room. At the door, she undoes the sash at her waist then ties it securely around her eyes until she cannot see past the navy silk. She takes a steadying breath and opens the door. She is greeted by the sound of moving water, then Melarue’s voice in a harsh reprimand.

“Kassaran!”

“I have a blindfold,” she says, pointing up at the sash around her face.

“You should not be in here,” they say anyways.

“Probably not, I should be staying away, you have snakes for hair and freaky eye powers that could very easily kill me. You are a monster, but you’re not a monster. Melarue, I…” suddenly losing her words, she takes a step forward, gesturing towards them, “I haven’t ever felt this way. You are kind and brave and incredible and I haven’t stopped thinking about that kiss.”

“I’m dangerous, Kass. If I hurt you…”

“Then let’s make sure you don’t,” she says softly, again pointing at the blind fold, “I don’t need to see you to know you’re beautiful, besides...using my hands to see you sounds better anyways.” She shrugs, smirking just a little. The water sloshes and she hears their wet footsteps approach her. She hears the clang of metal on glass and she knows they’re reaching for the necklace.

“Don’t, you don’t need to, I want to know you as you are.” She moves slowly but carefully to them. She reaches out to steady herself and they must reach out too because her hand meets theirs. It’s like electricity that shoots through her, pure and primal, full of desire. 

“Melarue…”

“I am weak,” they breathe and then her arms are full of them. Their hands cup her face and their lips press against hers. Weak as they may be, she is happy for it, reacting instantly to wrap her arms around them. She deepens the kiss, eager to taste them, her hand sliding down to grab their ass and pull them closer to her. This hunger she feels for them is unlike anything she’s experienced and for the life of her, she doesn’t care, she just wants. 

Their tongues meet in a rush of wet heat that has her moaning and them trembling. No, wait, not trembling - shivering. 

Kass pulls away just enough to breathe, “You’re cold.”

“A benefit of what I am, I grow cold easily,” they reply before putting their lips back to hers. They seem happy to makeout despite the discomfort but she has no intention of this ending soon and it will end soon if they let themselves get too cold. Recalling the pool is heated, Kass grasps their hips and lifts them up so that they wrap their legs around her hips, her hands supporting them under their thighs. 

They give a little noise of surprise but don’t break the kiss, even now positioned so that they have to lean down to kiss her instead of her leaning. Moving ever so carefully, Kass retraces her steps backwards until she is sure is standing in front of the walk-in pool. 

“Kass…” they groan, rubbing themselves against her. She gasps and nearly stumbles at the sensation. Her body is alight with a needy arousal, compelling her to stop and drop to her knees, let them continue right there. Why not? No, they need the warmth of the water, then they can be as wicked as they desire. 

Mindful of each step, Kass slowly walks down the slope into the pool. She is still fully clothed, though barefoot, and the warm water soaks into her clothes, the fabric clinging to her skin. When the water reaches up to Melarue’s feet, they inhale sharply and break the kiss.

“I would have walked.”

“This is better, I like holding you.” To make her point, she shifts her hands to squeeze their behind. Them and their snakes let out a simultaneous hiss that has her raising her eyebrows.

“Don’t like that?” She eases her grip and slowly goes to her knees, giving them plenty of ability to remove themselves.

Instead they grab her horns, pulling her forward in a deep kiss. Okay, they like that. She twines her tongue with theirs and drags her fingers up their back. The fabric of their slip moves with her fingers and it makes her long for the feel of their skin, free from the garment. 

Melarue pulls back and nips at Kass’s lip before retreating off her lap and into the surrounding water. 

“Melarue?” She asks, reaching for them. 

“Patience,” they purr. The water moves her ear twitches as it sloshes around her. She goes to turn but their hands are suddenly on the backs of her arms, so she remains in place. Their hands trail down her arms, then turn to come back up to her shoulders, then clavicle. Her lips part on an inaudible gasp as they press against her back, lips pressing against the nape of her neck. 

“For two years I wondered if you were actually a physical person and not a kind spirit. And then you fell into my arms. I’ve been terribly selfish, Kassaran,” they say as their hands descend over her breasts, “keeping you here.” They squeeze gently and a mewl of pleasure escapes her.

“I like your selfishness,” she murmurs, her hands covering theirs, “and I stayed, I could have left. You’re not as selfish as you think.”

“What if I hired a tutor for Ash just to -

“You didn’t. Melarue, I know you’re not a monster - we don’t have to go through this.”

Their hands move from her breasts to move over her stomach, then over her hips.

“I have snakes growing out of my head, my gaze turns people to stone.”

“And I have horns and have killed so many creatures, they should put me in the world records book.” They pause and she smiles, “Didn’t think about that, did you? That maybe you’re not the only monster here.”

“You are not a monster,” they say emphatically, gently nipping at her nape.

She gasps, “And neither are you.” To make her point, she arches her back, pushing her bum against them. 

They nip at her again, hands coming up to pull at the ties of her tunic. She lets them remove it without any protest. They toss it away and it slaps against the tile surrounding the pool. They turn to her breeches then, pulling at the ties. She takes over the task, to shimmy it over her bum and down her legs to toss away with her tunic. It leaves her just in her breast band and underwear.

“You are so lovely,” they murmur as they move around her, their hand trailing around her waist. Their fingers trail over her skin and she tries not to squirm under the scrutiny. Kass is not a beautiful woman, her life has been hard, full of fighting and manual labor that has sculpted a body covered in scars, roped with muscle. Her curves are overly exaggerated and -

Melarue’s mouth is on hers, their lips gently parting hers to slide their tongue inside her mouth. She softens under their touch, reaching out to them. Her fingers slide along their jaw, then trail down their neck to their small breasts. Their skin is so soft and pliant and she is greedy for them. She brushes her hands over the soft flesh before cupping them, her thumbs brushing over their nipples.

A note of pleasure leaves them, and they arch into her caress. Their body is a wonderland and she wants to learn it well. She moves her hands from their breasts to learn their form, lower and around their ribcage, to their stomach, to slightly curved hips, back up to their breasts. They break the kiss, head leaning back and their eyes fluttering closed at the sensations. Kass takes advantage and moves her lips down the column of their neck. She nips at their collarbone, only to press another kiss there. Her hands only move to support them as they lean back.

“Kassaran,” they whisper, “your mouth is sinful.”

She moves her mouth to the curve where their breast begins. If she weren’t blindfolded, she would have looked up at them before moving her mouth lower to cover their nipple. Alas, she is blindfolded and can only smile against their skin as a warning before sucking their nipple into her mouth. She laves at them, relishing the little gasps coming from them, their hands reaching into her hair then caressing her cheek. She moves over to pay the other breast just as much attention, tonguing the nipple to a peak. 

“You like my mouth,” she finally replies, kissing their sternum.

“I do, I like all of you.” With that, they move so they can kiss her again. She could write poetry about their mouth, their tongue, their hands. She could lose herself so easily in them, and heavens help her, she wants to. 

They mimic her movements, kissing across her cheek then down to her jaw, down her neck. They nip at her collarbone and unsap her breast band, then use their hands to cup her far more generous breasts to pay them attention. Their lips and tongue and teeth toy with her, making her squirm and a heat bloom in her nether regions.

She is so distracted by their mouth on her that she doesn’t realize they’ve been backing her up to one of the pool walls until she bumps into it. 

“Ah!” She exclaims. They stop and she feels their grin against her chest. 

“Hop up,” their voice is dark and full of wicked intention that has her flushing. She’s a grown woman who has had plenty of sex, but they whip out their “I’m going to do naughty things to you” voice and it’s almost like she’s virginal again. Almost. 

Kass may be blindfolded, but Melarue is not, and they said they like her body. Grinning through her blush, Kass turns and uses her strength to slowly lift herself out of the pool and onto the ledge. She sways her hips in a mock movement to get dry before turning to sit on the edge. She keeps her legs closed even when she feels she can predict what they want to do.  

“You are delightful,” they say.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, that’s how I always get out of a pool,” she replies, smiling.

She feels their hands smooth over her thighs and they press against her shins so she opens her legs to let them closer. They press against her front and she sighs before leaning down and kissing them. It’s a quicker, sweeter kiss that ends with them moving lower again. Melarue makes their way down her body, kissing the curve of her stomach, not minding the stress marks there. She shifts slightly so that she is nearly half on, half off the ledge of the pool. She leans back on her arms, tilting her head back to just...enjoy the sensations they are giving her. 

When they tug gently on her panties, she lifts her hips and lets them remove the garment without fuss. Her blush returns but she keeps her legs spread, open for their viewing and...ministrations. They pause only briefly before leaning in and kissing her inner thigh. With the turn of their head, she feels something smooth and slick brush against her sensitive skin. 

The snakes. She freezes momentarily by reflex, it’s not normal for her to feel a snake against her while in the throes. They stop too, and she feels their hesitance. 

It’s their snakes, she tells herself, it all still feels so good. And she really doesn’t want them to stop. 

“Melarue, please,” she says softly, “I want you.” It’s enough encouragement and they kiss her thigh again and slowly begin to move inward to where she aches most. 

When their mouth finally finds her, she lets out a rather embarrassing sound halfway between a gasp and a mewl. They give her a long, searching lick before settling in to swirl their tongue around the most sensitive bundle of nerves. 

Kass writhes under their touch, hips canting into Melarue to feel more of them. Heat blooms from her sex, so different from the cool air surrounding her outside of the pool. The sensations are nearly overwhelming, and she wants them to overwhelm her. They edge her closer and closer to that peak, making her gasp and roll her hips in desperate anticipation.But it’s just shy of being too much, dangling her over a precipice of pleasure. 

She croons their name, gasps praises, and reaches for them. Her hands find their snakes, smooth and scaly. Undeterred, she carefully keeps her hands in their sentient tresses, holding but not squeezing. It’s different, it really is, especially since the snakes move, but it’s them and heavens, she is filled with a need for Melarue. 

Their tongue sinks into her in a deep stroke that her toes curling, so close to that precipice. 

“Please, ka - oooh,” she moans as their hand joins in, teasing her just so. It’s too much, finally. Her muscles tense and she keens against their mouth, their lips and tongue devouring her pleasure. 

Even with her release, they don’t let up immediately. No, Melarue stays between her legs, licking at her and murmuring words in a language she doesn’t know. Kass doesn’t think she can move, and really, she doesn’t want to. It feels good what they’re doing, even if a little uncomfortable with how overly sensitized she is now. 

After several long moments, the cold air starts to get to her and she realizes that while she’s found her pleasure they have not. She scoffs inwardly, she is not a selfish lover by any means. With her release seen to, the need to see to them fills her. 

Kass sits up and gently tugs a little on a snake. They move away from her, slow and languid.

“My turn,” she says, voice husky with pleasure. She hops back into the pool, sighing at the heat enveloping her. She had intended to put them up on the ledge but she recalls their sensitivity to the cold. She can’t expect them to writhe with as much pleasure as she had while suffering from the cold, now can she. 

Instead, Kass takes Melarue into her arms, kissing them deeply, not minding her own saltiness still upon their tongue. Her hands roam over them, caressing their back, their buttocks, thighs and breasts. Finally, she settles her hands on their hips, curving around to their ass, only to lift them up once more. 

They chuckle, “You certainly like doing that.”

“I do,” she confesses, “most of my previous partners weren’t...well, I want to show off for you.”

“Please do,” they confirm, making her heart clench. Their hands trail to her upper arms, thick with muscle, and squeeze appreciatively. “Mmm.”

Moving in the water with them held like this is a little tricky, but she moves slowly and the slowness gives Melarue plenty of opportunity to express their appreciation for her form. They push themselves upward so that their chest is level with her face, and she can’t help but nuzzle and lick at a breast. Their hands slide up to her shoulders and down to her back, nails dragging in a way that has her humming her approval. 

Once in the shallows, Kass gently lowers them back into the water.

“Warm enough?” She asks, hands skimming over them to feel that they’re warm.

“Absolutely.” 

Kass grins and it is all the warning they have before she lays on top of them, her thigh sliding between their legs to press against their hot sex. She slants her mouth against theirs and pulls their leg up around her hip so they can feel the friction and pressure of her thigh as much as possible. They gasp into her mouth and drag their nails down her back to her ass, arching their back in response. She moans at the feel of them, soft and hot and wet, and not just from the water around them. 

Her hold on their thigh inches upward and rocks against them, setting a slow, torturous rhythm. As their pleasure mounts, they get feistier, nipping at her lips, nails digging into her ass, moving faster against her. Shifting, Kass slides her hand from their thigh to the center of their pleasure. Her fingers find their sensitive flesh and circle the small bundle of nerves. Their flesh is so hot and needy and she wants to give them everything. 

They groan and she feels them tense, so close. 

“You feel so good,” she praises, sinking a finger into them, then another when she feels them give so easily. She crooks the fingers on a shallow thrust, and their response is immediate. Their hips thrust, a sharp groan escapes them and then their muscles seize as their release takes hold. She continues to pleasure them with her hand through their spasms, relishing their pleasure, desiring more of it. 

When they squirm, she removes her hand and sets to simply kissing them. They’re sweet, unrushed kisses, full of...whatever it is she feels for them. 

“Am I squishing you?” She whispers between kisses. 

“Only in the best way,” they reply.

“I don’t want -

“You’re warm and I really don’t want to move,” their voice is so quiet that if she weren’t so close, she wouldn’t hear them. But she does hear them, and she kisses their cheek. 

“How long will the pool stay heated?” 

“The enchantment wore off twenty minutes ago.”

She laughs, “I’m terrible with time, it’s really late isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“I’d suggest we go to bed, but I have no idea where my clothes are and they’re probably all wet.” 

They kiss her temple and she lets them up when they gently push against her.

“Wait right here, darling.” The loss of them makes her realize how much the water has cooled and she brings her legs up to keep warmer. 

“You can take off the blindfold,” they say. They must have donned their glasses to allow her this, and she eagerly removes the sash from her brow to see them naked and glorious. They’re smiling and waiting for her to look at them, she realizes. While she learned their body with touch, she takes them in greedily, all the details that she couldn’t know without sight. Their pale skin seems to glow in the soft light from the gas lamps and the moonlight streaming in from the windows. The color of their nipples, how red their mouth is after all the kissing. Their snakes are long, trailing all the way down to their waist for some, while others remain more suspended, watching her. 

“I could read the dictionaries of a thousand languages and never find the words to describe how marvelous you are,” she says. 

Their brow arches and their ears flush, “I think you just did.”

They move over to one of the lounge chairs and pull on the coat they had discarded previously. They button it up then pick up the afghan that had been draped decoratively over the arm of the chair. They move back to the walk-in end of the pool and hold out the afghan. Anyone else would have looked comedic or out of place when only wearing a coat, but it just makes them look even sexier, if that is even possible.

Kass rises from the pool and walks into the outstretched afghan, letting them wrap it warmly around her. 

“Thank you.”

Together, they pick up the remainder of their clothes then head upstairs. They’re quiet, but there is an understanding in the silence between them. She stands close to them and eventually shifts her bundle to one arm so that she can reach out to them. Her fingers touch their hand and they glance down before turning their palm over to lace their fingers together. 

Heat of a different sort spread through her at the joining of their hands. A heat that she doesn’t feel entirely comfortable examining yet. All she knows is that when she is with them, she feels wonderful and light. That’s enough to know for right now.

They stop at the door to her room and she suddenly doesn’t know what to do.

“Um, do you want to come in?” She offers. They tilt their head and one of their snakes leans forward, sticking its tongue out to taste the air. 

“I think it’s time for me to retire for the night,” they say and her expression must have fallen more than she could control because they continue, “but tonight was lovely and I look forward to seeing you in the morning.”

“I’ll hold you to that, to not avoiding me,” she says before leaning down to give them a long goodnight kiss.

“You are far too persistent to let me hide,” they murmur against her lips..

“You’re right. Good night, Melarue, sleep well.”

“You as well, Kassaran.” Their hand slips from hers as they walk down the hall to their quarters. Kass watches them go, biting her lip. When they leave her sight, she slips into her room and tries not giggle like some little school girl. She just had very naughty sex in a pool, after all. She’s far from being a girl. Still, Melarue makes her feel young and desirable and very sexy. 

Instead, she climbs out of bed and dresses. She plans to train some more today, she wants to be in top shape before proposing working security at one of Melarue’s pleasure houses. As much as she has enjoyed taking this time off, she doesn’t want to feel entirely dependent on them, and she doesn’t want them to feel like she is freeloading. She is an independent woman who happens to...want to need them at this point. 

It’s still early enough that the sun is only barely peeking over the horizon when Kass finally leaves her room. The door clicks shut and she turns - right into Melarue. 

Their hands come to her arms in reflex and she stops, eyes landing on their face. They have their amulet on judging by the lack of curious snakes around their head, instead there is only the semblance of perfectly normal black hair coiled into ringlets. 

“Good morning,” they say and she feels herself relax into a sweet but knowing smile.

“Good morning,” she answers before dipping down to slant her mouth over theirs. They respond happily but do not otherwise move. Ever careful with their glasses, Kass pulls back slowly, still savoring their taste on her lips. 

“Sleep well?” They ask.

“Perfectly, you?” 

“Just as well.” They lean back up and kiss her cheek and then they walk downstairs to get breakfast together. They spend breakfast eating and talking and laughing, then Ash comes down, looking like the sleepy teenager she is. Melarue stays with them, listening to Ash excitedly talk about their outing the other day. It’s all so wonderfully domestic. 

“You are in your leathers, Kassaran,” Melarue says.

“Yes, I’m going to do some training today.”

“Mama wants to work again, so she has to get strong,” Ash says, “but I told her that she could do other things! She doesn’t have to fight.”

“You’re right,” Melarue replies, “she doesn’t have to fight if she doesn’t want to. Do you think this is wise, Kassaran?”

Kass rolls her eyes and bites her tongue to refrain from saying that there are precisely two ways she knows how to make money, and she has no intention of returning to sex work. Instead, she replies, “I want to work security at one of your houses, Melarue, if you would have me. I had wanted to be in better shape before approaching you, and I know that right now is...tenuous but I am not someone to laze around depending on other people like this. I need to work, if only to feel productive.” 

She maintains her gaze with Melarue, albeit obscured by the glasses. Melarue is silent for a moment before leaning forward, “Of course, I will have you. Though I am afraid I am not currently hiring.”

Kass feels her hopes deflate, but then they continue.

“Adair is hiring, however.”

“The healer who helped deliver Suvenin’s baby? Why does he need protection?

“Adair caters to those of us who cannot receive regular healing for fear of exposure and subsequent persecution. While he himself does not require protection, his patients often do. Someone with your background could be quite helpful for them to avoid hunters. I can recommend you if you like” 

Kass mulls it over for a second. It would be nice to repay Adair for healing her as well, and while he is a bit...eccentric, he’s not an unpleasant man. Part of her recoils at the idea of spending more time around monstrous people, but then again they’re her crowd now. After the moment’s thought, Kass nods.

“Yes, I’d appreciate that.” 

“Though I do not think you should be working until you build up your strength,” they qualify and she chuckles.

“Hence the training,” Kass says, finding it’s the only thing she can say after their words. They really do have a way with those things, don’t they? Her heart feels like it beats a little harder with each word they spoke and she has no clue on how to stop or fix this. She doesn’t even think she wants to. As nerve wracking it is to feel this way for them, she likes it, likes them. 

“Then we are in agreement.” 

**

Kass isn’t overly fond of the cold, but it feels nice for training. It keeps her from overheating, like in the summer months. After breakfast and seeing Ash set up with Lokraan, Kass sets out to begin her training. Most of it is strength building and conditioning, and it feels amazing to move it again. She feels strong and capable. 

After two hours of work, she is panting and hot despite the falling snow. She shucks off her outer layer and picks up a staff to work through fighting stances. She could have gone to her sword or her axe, but the staff requires a specific type of work that appeals to her at the moment. 

After thirty minutes, she loses another layer, leaving her in a short-sleeved undershirt and leather vest. 

“What a delightful view,” a low voice comments and Kass jerks around to see Melarue. They’re dressed far differently from any other time she’s seen them. Instead of a long elegant dress, they are bedecked in dark leather pants with matching jacket, a deep green shirt peeking through the fasteners of the jacket. surprisingly, their snakes are in free view. In their hand is a staff.

Kass raises an eyebrow, “Care to join me?” 

The grin is slow and sinful, “I was rather enjoying the show.”

“Whatever pleases your fancy,” she says, rolling her shoulders a bit. The longer she remains unmoving, the more the cold gets to her. 

Their head tilts and she thinks they’re following her movement. It pleases her to no end to know they find her attractive, even with all the wear and tear around the edges. 

They step forward with the staff, slow and graceful. Even outside of their obvious opulent finery, they move with the gracefulness of anyone who has spent time in the most lavish of courts. Like a snake, she realizes, which of course makes sense. They hold the staff low but their grip is anything but casual. 

“Melarue?” She asks, eyeing their movements. They stop and a grin spreads across their face.

“All this talk of how dangerous you are to me,” they say, turning away from her to remove their glasses. On instinct, Kass closes her eyes, but keeps her body facing them. “Relax, Kassaran, I am only blindfolding myself. The glasses are far too easy to lose in a spar.” 

Trusting them, Kass opens her eyes to see that they have indeed wrapped a black blindfold around their eyes. All the snakes then move to look directly at Kassaran. 

“You can see with their eyes,” she marvels.

“I can if I focus, it’s a bit like reading a book upside down.” Again, they step forward, the staff low in their grip but their stance anything but casual.

“Before we begin, we need rules,” Kass says and they nod.

“Agreed. I believe ‘stop’ and ‘enough’ are sufficient for this.”

“Yes. A bout is won if pinned longer than three seconds.”

“Or if a staff is put into position where it could decapitate were it a sword,” Melarue says softly. 

“No blows to the head.”

“No hair pulling.”

“Or real choking.”

“What sparring partner have you had that actually choked you?”

Kass laughs, “Some idiot who got mad that I kept beating him. Got his hands around my throat but stupidly forgot horns hurt on the receiving end of a headbutt.”

“Fool.” They smile and stop walking, stopping a small distance from Kass. Her heart thuds in her chest before she takes a deep breath, forcing herself to steady. She forces her perspective on them to change from imagining them naked and writhing beneath her to the formidable opponent that she knows they are. She bends her knees, dropping into a ready stance. 

Melarue doesn’t change their stance, but one of the snakes bobs and then they move faster than any vampire Kass has fought. But Kass has reflexes honed from those fights and moves just in time to block their strike. She pushes back, brings her staff low to counterstrike only to find them gone.

“Impressive,” they say from behind her. She whirls around to face them.

“Should’ve guessed you strike like a snake,” she comments.

“I admit, you’re the first to admit the thought.”

“The first to admit it, or the first who lived long enough to say it?” She teases and their expression turns serious.

“I could claim self defense, but it wasn’t always that.”

“Melarue, I didn’t mean -

“I know.” She nearly drops her staff to go and kiss them, to reassure them that she isn’t judging them. Goodness knows she has had to do regrettable things. She is the last to judge. 

Before she can take a step forward they’re moving and she is on the defensive again. Over and over they move to strike her, getting in a few hits. She grunts at the hits and they tsk their tongue at her. 

They land hit after hit, all fair, and nothing debilitating. 

“Concede! I’ve landed enough hits to -

“I’ve suffered worse and won!” She argues, striking at them. They dodge it.

“Stop being stubborn and rest!”

“Stubborn is my fighting style!” They make a noise of frustration at her comment and then they twist until they’re standing in front of her, staff leveled at her neck. She frowns.

“Alright, you win this bout. I’ll get the next.” 

As it turns out, she doesn’t win the next bout. She does manage to disarm them, but they get around her, get her to her knees and lay a gentle hand to her throat. 

“Again,” she asks.

“One more,” they acquiesce. She takes a deep breath and prepares herself. 

They move to strike her again and instead of dodging, she reaches up and grabs the staff. She’ll register the sting later, but right now she pulls on the staff quick and hard, disarming them. Before they react, she drops down and sweeps out the staves. They don’t trip, but leap out of the way. Kass tosses the extra staff away and moves to defend herself as Melarue switches to hand-to-hand combat. One would think that they’d be at a disadvantage without the staff, but that person would be very, and likely deadly, wrong. 

Kass is slower than them, no way to sugarcoat that. And they are deceptively strong. Yet, there is something in the way that monstrous people fight that she gets, and she knows how to fight. Monsters who’ve been outcasted from society have a quality to their fighting that feels like they’re close to giving up. Melarue doesn’t have a lot of that, but there is enough melancholy that causes them to...lean into danger, as it were. Kass has fought speed based monsters before, with varying success. Vampires are supposedly the fastest, though she suspects Melarue is faster when pressed. 

Kass blocks a few of their blows and gets herself into position. They dodge and strike with brutal efficiency. She decreases the distance between them bit by bit, until her reach exceeds theirs. Her foot darts out, destabilizes them at the ankles then her hand shoots out, grabs their wrist and she turns until their back is flush against her chest. Her hand cups their jaw carefully, not strong enough to stop them from moving. 

She lowers her lips to a pointed ear, trailing her lips down its curve before speaking, “Don’t underestimate me just because you hate how strong you are comparatively. Your strength is beautiful, and I am very glad that it has helped you survive so I could meet you, as selfish as that sounds.”

“My snakes are in striking distance,” Melarue says calmly, “You would not leave this alive.”

“Could they kill me before I kill you?” Silence is her answer and she sighs before placing a gentle kiss to their temple. She drops her hand from their jaw and pulls away to sit on the bench to regain her breath. Heavens but they worked her. 

“You never stopped,” they say, taking a seat next to her. 

Kass shakes her head, “That’s the thing. I get up as many times as I get knocked down. You’re fast, you’re strong. I’m resilient, and I have every reason to survive.”

“For your daughter,” they whisper and she nods. 

“Nothing motivates you like the need to make sure your kid’s okay.” She wipes at her forehead and when she looks back at them, they have a distant expression that makes her feel she said the wrong thing. They stand up and move to the table where they had their glasses and necklace.

“I had fun,” she says, hoping to relieve some of the tension that had suddenly arrived. They don their glasses and necklace, the snakes morphing into long, black hair, and the blindfold gets tucked into a pocket.

“I admit, I haven’t truly sparred in quite some time. And you are right, it was fun,” they reply.

“A shame for the fun to end,” she sighs, eyes lingering on their backside. 

They turn slightly, just enough for her to see a brow raised, “A shame indeed.”

She shrugs, “I’m just saying, the bath adjoining my room is large and can be lonely.” She walks by them, her hand reaching out to trail across their lower back as she moves. 

Just as her hand is about to leave them, they move with her so that they are walking with her. Her hand remains on their lower back and they don’t move to remove it, which brings her great pleasure. 

“If only I had the foresight to make the guest bath more accomodating,” they say and she can’t resist smiling at this point.

“I’ll forgive you,” she replies. 

Together, they quickly make their way up to her rooms. The main door shuts behind them and Melarue tugs her down to press their lips to hers. The kiss is hot and full of desire that has them peeling each other’s clothes off in a hurry. 

They don’t even make it to the bath right away. Instead, Melarue whispers filthy things in Kass’s ear and she falls back onto the chaise. They follow her and wrap the blindfold around her eyes before pressing kisses to her brow, cheeks, and mouth once more. She hears the tap of their glasses on the wood of the side table and then they’re back on her, hands touching her, mouth consuming her. They press against her and she feels a part of their anatomy she did not think they had press against her, making her gasp into their mouth. 

“You’re a shapeshifter,” she states the obvious, the thrill of passion seeming to inhibit all sorts of sense in her brain.

They chuckle, “Do you object?”

“Absolutely not,” she groans, and lets them have their wicked way with her. They are hot and hard and so very good at what they do. Then again, so is she. Kass gives as good as she gets in both battle and love making. She relishes their groans and the erratic thrusts ever so often when the pleasure is so great. In the end, she reaches her pleasure before them and then it’s a sizzling burn as they continue to move within her. It’s almost too much, but she doesn’t want to give it up, give them up. How have they become so integral in her life so quickly? She holds onto them as they groan and their hips still as they reach their pleasure. 

It’s so much, almost too much, and she has to bite her lip to stop herself from letting the tears spill out from her eyes. Heavens, the last time she cried during sex was...fourteen years ago, when Ash’s father found her again after she ran. Though, what that wasn’t exactly sex. 

“Did I hurt you?” The question is soft and full of genuine concern that has her smiling.

“Oh no, no, I’m...that was fantastic, I’m just…” she gestures, not finding the words. “You make me feel like I’m twenty-five, so new but feeling like I’m on top of the world.” Before they can worry more, she kisses them, full of the softness she feels for them. Slowly and sweetly she moves her lips over theirs, twines her tongue with theirs. When they break away to breathe she smiles.

“Come, let’s wash and enjoy that cavernous bath you so thoughtlessly installed,” she kisses their cheek at their smile and sits up. “You’ll need to help me get in there, though, I haven’t gotten so used to this place I can walk it blindfolded.” 

“Here,” they say and she feels their fingers gently remove the blindfold. She blinks her eyes back into focus to see their glasses are back in place. 

“I want you to be comfortable,” she argues gently.

“I am, and you should be comfortable too.”

“Turning my own logic on me, are you?” They both rise and make their way to the bath.

“I don’t play fair.”

“Clearly!” She turns on the water and it cascades from the ceiling in a great rush. “Did you invent this? What is this, I’ve never seen it before and it’s amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it. I cannot claim this invention, a vampire engineer created it about a year ago. Xe’s on a current mission to have what xe call plumbing installed in the entire city. I volunteered my home as an experiment, and I agree, it’s amazing.” 

“That is a noble cause, indeed!” When the bath fills to a satisfying point, Kass shuts off the water and climbs in with Melarue following. Kass sighs as she sinks in the hot water, her very worked muscles slowly relaxing with the warmth. 

Melarue sighs as well, sinking lower in the tub until only their neck and head is above the water. It’s only then she notices how pale they had been, now with the color returning to their cheeks.

“You stayed in the cold too long.”

They wave her off, “No, I enjoyed it. I knew I would be able to warm myself afterwards and it was worth it.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, but I don’t like that you placed yourself in an uncomfortable spot.”

“Kass, I will choose what I wish to do and why, I am not looking to be taken care of. I am your lover, not a ward.” 

“And as my lover, I want you to feel good -

“I do, trust me.”

She wants to fight that, but she stops herself. She should trust them, and they are choosing these things after all. Kass did not make them come out and spar with her, she did not ask them to don their glasses. They voluntarily did these things. Perhaps she doesn’t always have to be the one making concessions to keep others happy. 

“Okay, I will.” She needs to, they are her lover and she needs to treat them as such. It’s just been so long that she’s had a paramour that she forgets how to act with one. There is one thing she remembers, though.

“May I wash your back?” She asks. The corners of their mouth tilt up and they shift in the tub to let her run the cloth along their back. She takes her time, slowly moving it over their skin to wash away the sweat and grime built up over the last few hours. They lean into her when she finishes with their back, allowing her to move the cloth to their arms and front. 

One of the snakes, a rebellious one as the others are draped carefully away from Kassaran, moves towards Kass and looks directly at her. It flicks its tongue at her and she smiles at it. 

“Can I touch it? Them? Do they have names?”

“The snakes are a part of me, I haven’t named them. You can touch it if you like.” 

Carefully, Kass reaches out to the snake with her finger. Its tongue flicks out, scenting the air in its own little way. It bobs its head and moves closer, she moves her finger closer too. Ever so gently, she pets the snake’s head. It’s smooth and Melarue shifts.

“That feels...strange.”

“Bad?”

“No, but I feel it distantly.”

“Has no one ever touched your snakes before?” She trails her finger down the snake’s back a little and it moves closer to her, seemingly wanting to be touched. 

“No.” As they speak, another snake moves from its position on Melarue’s shoulder to join its curious friend. Kass lets it scent her then pets it. She’s never petted a snake before, so she doesn’t know for certain if they’re enjoying this, but they’re not moving away or hissing so that’s likely a good sign, right? 

Melarue suddenly turns and before she can say anything, they kiss her gently. 

“You are too good to me.”

“I am not, you deserve all of this goodness.” She kisses them back and feels them smile against her.

The rest of the bath is wondrously relaxing. She’s loathe to end it, but eventually the water goes tepid and there is only so much time someone should spend in their filth. They both rise from the tub, dry, then dress in short order. The ease she feels with them is so unlike anything she’s experienced before, and she isn’t sure how to handle it. 

They leave her rooms and head down the hall, passing the library on the way. Kass can hear Lokraan inside with Ash, lecturing her on magical principles. There’s a flash of light from around the door and she worries for a moment that Ash has set fire to the library. No smoke or screams arise, though, so...everything ought to be fine. 

“Melarue? Do you trust Lokraan?” She likely could have phrased the question better, but it is so easy to not censor herself around them.

They startle in their own way, a sudden rigidity taking to their shoulders, “Of course, I would not have put him with your daughter otherwise. Why? Have you concerns?”

She chews her lip, “Something...doesn’t sit well with me about him, but...perhaps it’s just my old hunter instincts. I’m still adjusting.”

Melarue frowns, “I have known him for some time, he is an expert in magical theory and well-educated. His...situation is unique and I am not at liberty to say what it is, but I trust him.”

“Right, of course.” She tries to wave off the concern but she clearly doesn’t do a good job of selling the lie, to herself or to Melarue.

“I also trust you. Has he done anything to Ash?”

Kass shakes her head, “No, he’s only said that her power can make a difference in the world. In all respects it should be a wonderful thing to hear, but something about it...it didn’t settle right with me.”

They ponder for a moment, “I am not one to write off intuition, my own has saved me countless times. I have no doubt your intuition has saved your life similarly. If it will reassure you, I will keep an eye on him.”

Kass relaxes, tension she didn’t even realize she was carrying, easing away, “I would appreciate that, thank you.”

In the meantime, she’s a mercenary and monster hunter, taking jobs where she can to earn something of a decent living. At present, she’s got a job to do. In a town two day’s travel from her and Ashokara’s home, the son of the captain of the local guard has gone missing. Everyone suspects the Cave Monster (really, these people have no creativity) to be responsible. That suspicion combined with the captain not wanting to risk any of his men facing a monster, she’s been called in to find the man. The cave in question is half a day’s ride from the town and almost entirely uphill until the land plateaus into a cliff-side. Nestled into a heap of rock is the cave, the opening nicely angled away from the spray of the sea. 

Kass hitches her horse to a nearby tree and begins the trek into the cave. It’s well past midday and she wants to get this wrapped up quickly so she can get home to her daughter. She adjusts her coat and holsters her axe while making sure her short sword is properly sheathed under her coat. She grabs a torch and makes her way into the cave, ducking under an initial low cropping of rock.

The cave is not a gargantuan thing. It’s rather modest comparatively. It’s not like the cyclops cave - now that cave had been GIGANTIC. This cave is smaller, but still large enough to not feel claustrophobic. There are at least two feet between the ceiling and Kass’s head and as a very tall woman, it’s nice. The buildings in the town down below had terribly short ceilings and her back had been starting to hurt from all the leaning. 

She lights a torch and continues to sojourn into the cave. It winds for a bit before coming to what looks a little like a vestibule. A vestibule full of statues. 

“Huh,” she says, slowing her stride to take in the space. There have to be at least three dozen statues scattered throughout the space. Perhaps this is an artistic cave monster, she thinks, stranger things have happened. Upon closer inspection, Kass finds that all of the statues have horrified expressions. Eyes wide and mouths often ajar as if spying something horrible. Well, that’s different. But she guesses that like many artists, this cave monster is going through a phase. A ‘horrified statue’ phase. She’d like to say it’s the weirdest thing she’s seen, but it’s not. She once saw a man get swallowed by a giant worm then fight his way out by playing a lute. It’s hard to be phased by horrified statues after watching a worm explode. 

The statues are all so...detailed. She can see the movement of their clothes and the small details in buckles and on beads in hair and earrings. Aside from the expressions, the statues are quite lovely and exquisitely made, diverse in heights, build, and facial features.

Kass walks slowly through the vestibule, examining the statues but also the room itself. “Vestibule” may be a bit of an exaggeration, it is a cave after all. Still, with the long swaths of fabric strewn from the ceiling down to the curving walls, and the large decorative urns lining the room, with the worn running rug - it sure feels like a vestibule. There are even tall candelabras! Their metal forms glint in the torchlight. She is tempted to light the candelabras but monsters frequently have a thing about their candelabras, she thinks it’s a dramatic exit thing or being embarrassed in the light thing. Maybe it’s both things! Whatever the things are, she respects them enough to not light the candelabras.

She goes back to looking at the statues. There is something about them that is so lifelike, so...horrifying but beautiful. This monster is a real artist, she thinks with frustration. Damn. It’s hard to do her job when the monster is all artsy or personable. Thing is, nearly all of them are artsy or personable. The more she does this job the more she sees monsters are just people with different circumstances, most of the time ostracized because of “normal people” fear. 

She really has to get out of this line of work. 

Kass turns and a particular statue catches her eye. She walks towards it and a chill runs down her back. This statue is of a shorter, lanky man with stringy hair with an upturned crooked nose that she suspects he got from a bar fight two weeks ago. Her eyes scan over the form, finding  a small detail in the hilt of the sword he had been in the process of brandishing - the mark of the town’s guard. Shit. This matches the description of the guard captain’s son; the problem is, he’s a statue instead of a breathing person. 

Ooooh, this is NOT good. Not an artsy monster but a monster who can somehow statue-fy people. And here she thought it was just a run of the mill cave monster! No! This is a monster with freaky statue-fying powers! 

Kass lets out a groan as she pulls out a book on the various monster’s she’s encountered and other mercs have encountered that she has met. Making statues out of people is a pretty rare talent, she’s only heard of a couple of creatures that can manage that. 

She flips through the book, nibbling on her lower lip. There’s a bird that can do it, a big ol’ snake called a basilisk that can do it, and an unnamed person who always seems to evade the mercenaries that survive their attacks. Rumor has it that to gaze upon this creature is to be turned to stone. Kass hopes for the bird. She feels like she can deal with a bird faster than the other options, especially the mystery monster that is apparently smart enough to elude hunters. 

Kass tucks the book away and reaches up to pat at the braids in her hair. Never know when a monster is going to explode and it’s easier to pick out blood and whatever out of braids rather than the fro she likes to keep. If any of these statues get smashed, though, she doubts she would be able to easily clean dust out of her hair, braids or no. 

“Alright, monster, let’s get this show going, I got a kid at home who needs her mom,” she mutters.  She pulls out her face mask that she uses for sleeping and takes a deep breath. She doesn’t like having to rely on her other senses, but she can do it. Really, if she wasn’t big and grey and behorned, she would be enshrined as a hero. But she is all of those things, so she’s just a reputable mercenary. 

Her hands reach down to assure herself that she has her weapons - a short sword, a dagger, a hand-axe and a lasso on her other hip that is good for many things. 

She keeps her torch lit and walks to a wall where she had seen an opening. She can make out the faintest shapes through the mask with the torch so close. The hallway she enters is narrow and winding and it eventually leads to an antechamber containing three doors. Oh fun, she loves playing “What’s Behind Door Number Whatever!” Her favorite thing, just behind exploding worms. 

“I’m getting too old for this,” she grouses, pulling the first door open. Darkness greets her and after a moment, she steps carefully through, leaning her torch forward. She treds slowly through the room, stumbling against what feels like a raised platform...no, a bath! She can hear the trickle of water and feels the curve of the bath, the stone worn to smoothness. Her hand crests over the edge of the bath, steadying her as she makes her way back to the entrance. She pauses when her fingers find something that is dry yet delicate. Long and thin that feels vaguely familiar. Taking a chance, she lifts her mask to look down at what she found, blinking in surprise when she sees it’s a shed snakeskin. It is small and while it would suggest the snake, the serpent the other mercenaries had spoken of was gigantic. This is small, no larger than a long garden snake. 

Frowning, Kass lets go of the skin and slides her mask back into place. She’s been in a good number of monster dens, and this one...it just feels different. The vestibule, the doors, the bath, replete with grooming instruments and oils - it’s less of a lair and more of a home. 

She leaves the bath and heads out to the second door. Her ear twitches, straining to hear anything. There is nothing, but the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention and she knows the creature that lives here is watching her. 

She opens the door to find another hallway. Before she sets down the hallway, she opens the third door to only find a broom closet. Cautiously, Kass steps down the hallway, feeling the cave slope downward. It’s a short hallway that leads into an open room to the right, and another door to the left. Exploring the room to the right reveals it is a kitchen-like area, complete with tables for meal-prep and eating as well as dishes. 

It makes even less sense for the serpent to live here - the bath and kitchen point to a humanoid creature. And a humanoid creature would also rule out the bird, unless this is a harpy-like monster. Harpies don’t live in caves, though, their claustrophobia forbids it.

Finally, she stands at the door. She gets a feeling and knows that if she goes forward, there is no going back. These moments are always difficult. The intense knowledge that the choice about to made is completely irrevocable and likely completely life altering. Thing is, she doesn’t know how this choice will change her life. Would it be bad? Would it be good?

A long time ago, Kass learned that there is only forward if true change is to be achieved. 

She opens the door. 

A hissing breeze slips through the door and promptly snuffs out Kass’s torch. Knowing that the breeze must have been magical in origin to suffocate the torch, she drops it, and unsheaths her shortsword instead.

“I suppose the boy’s family sent you,” a dark voice says, not surprised, but resigned. Several thoughts race through her head. Not the snake, not the bird, but the humanoid. The creature that has somehow evaded and slain hunters. 

“They did.” No need to deny her purpose here. There is no way to deny who or what she is - a well-armed monster hunting mercenary sent here to dispatch a monster. This monster.

Something moves and she hears what sounds like a bed creaking. She thinks this must be the bedchamber. 

“Did they tell you what a disgusting person he was?” 

“Why would they do that? They wanted me to find him.” 

“And you did.” Their voice grows closer and she drops into a ready stance, following them with her ears. They don’t sound like they are going to attack, but she knows better. 

“He gazed upon you and turned to stone, the family will be very upset to have him back as a statue.”

“It is an improvement, I can assure you,” they reply dryly.

“Is that so?”

“The man they sent you to find is a rapist, I plucked the knowledge from his mind as I turned him to stone. He assaulted five people, and I would have been his sixth.” 

Kass frowns. She knew the man wasn’t well-liked, her stay in the town had confirmed as much. Her canvassing the town had not brought up any allegations of rape. Bar-fights and insubordination within the guard, yes, but not anything related to sexual assault. She isn’t surprised, though, with his father as the captain and his own lofty position as a guard in the town, he could have easily covered up anything that came up against him. He was in a position of power, and Kass knew that those in power rarely were so honorable to not abuse their station. 

Still, they could be lying. 

“Tell me what happened?” She asks softly.

They pause long enough that Kass grows worried, but when they speak, it is farther from her. “I was sleeping when I heard the man knocking about in the entry. Most leave upon seeing the display, they run to tell their families of the monster in the cave that has horrified statues. But not this one. He stumbled his way through to my bedchamber, not unlike you have, though I believe he was thoroughly intoxicated. I heard him fumble with his clothing before I decided enough was enough. I turned to him and turned him to stone. In this process, I can discern pieces of my victim’s life - and I saw that he was a horrid person. The world is better off without him.”

“How did you get him to the vestibule?”

“I carried him. I’m quite strong.”

She has no doubt they are, as well as smart enough to tell her a story she will sympathize with. She wonders if their mind-reading ability is restricted to only during this petrification. If not, they could have seen how her daughter was conceived and spun this tale to entice her to letting them go. 

Kass is not an accomplished liar but she is no fool. 

“I want the truth,” she says quietly.

They scoff, “No one wants the truth, they want convenient lies that allow them to continue their lives without changing. That is why you will not believe me.” They sound almost disappointed.

“I did not say I do not believe you. It is entirely possible he was as vile as you say. What I have trouble believing is that you acted out of self-defense. A strong, clever person such as you? No, I am willing to bet you played with him.”

They pause, “You believe me.”

“Partially, but...yes.”

She does not hear them move but when they speak again, she hears that they are in front of her, “It has been so long since someone believed me.” They sound disbelieved. It’s not surprising, monstrous folk are so often written off and assumed liars. Kass has seen enough to not discount anyone, particularly the monster folks. 

“I did toy with him,” they admit.

Kass nods and thinks for a second. She doesn’t blame them for their actions and quite frankly, this job has felt skeevy from the beginning. The guard captain had kept his hand on his wife the entire time he spoke to Kass and the rest of the guard would either sneer at her or not even try to bring their gazes up from her breasts. She regretted not wearing her full armor, it had been a hot summer day, though, and the layers had been so unappealing. The barkeep had said the man would start up a fight at least twice a week, and none of the girls would speak to Kass. Yes, she believes them. 

“He earned it,” she sighs, reaching up to scratch her horn again. What a shitty job. She should have refused it the moment she started thinking the little shit was...well a little shit. This monstrous person is just trying to live, and judging by the rumors she’s encountered, they’ve been moving far and wide for a while. 

“Look, there is a town full of people who are determined to see your head on a pike. I can buy you some time to get out of her, tell them you’re dead, you disintegrated into...ash or something. I suspect they’ll eventually want to come up here to investigate, so you’ll need to leave.”

“You’re letting me go?” They ask, shocked.

“Yes. There is a town to the north of here called Eastbrook. It’s a five day ride from here. There’s a tavern by the name of Hush, tell the barkeep Kass sent you. Code word is Seeker. They’ll help you, they’re good people.” She turns from where she assumes they are and fiddles with her pack, pulling out her journal. She shoves the mask up over an eye and sets to write out the instructions only to realize it is still pitch dark.

“You wouldn’t mind lighting the candelabras would you?” Before she finishes the sentence, light blooms in the chamber. She thanks them then writes out an abbreviated version of the instructions.

“Why are you doing this?” They ask softly.

“Because more often than not, the true monsters are the ones you never suspect. You are trying to live your life and this man comes into your home and tries to assault you? Yet, you are the one who is held up as a monster. It’s not right. I’m not a hero, I’m too much of a monster myself to be one, but...I do what is right. Helping you escape the mob that is surely to come is right.” She tears the journal page out, shifts the mask into position and holds the paper out.

“I don’t know where you are - oh,” her voice trails off as their fingers meet hers as they take the paper from her. They remain out of sight and their touch is so brief it’s almost as if it didn’t happen, but her skin tingles from where their fingers brushed against hers.

“Your kindness and mercy will not be forgotten. I will repay this one day.” Their voice is thick with gracious promise. It makes Kass smile. 

“It’s okay if you don’t, but thank you. I...need to get going, start this distraction for you.” She fumbles with the mask, sliding it into place.  

“I will light your path back,” they say. They keep that promise, the candelabras lighting as she walks by them all the way out to the mouth of the cave where her horse is tethered. She takes off the mask and mounts the horse, mind turning over what happened in there. She truly intended to bring back the brat, but she agrees with the creature - he was a true monster. Which brings her to question why she had so readily accepted their account of things. They were rumored to be clever and it could have easily been a ruse. 

Perhaps she really is tired enough, disenchanted enough to believe a monster over the people who send her out to kill these so-called monsters. Sullivan over at the tavern is going to kill her for sending another to him. But he owes her, he was after all the first one she helped. She invested some of her coin into helping him set up the tavern so he could live his life without having to be so isolated. Like wolves, and people Kass supposes, werewolves like to be around other people. It just so happens once a month they really shouldn’t. 

These thoughts bounce around in Kass’s head for the entire journey back to the town to deliver the news - both the boy and the monster are dead. No, there isn’t a body, both were turned to dust. She urges the guard captain to simply hold a funeral and move on. They dock her pay, only giving her half of what they promised.

They sneer and spit slurs at her as they hand over the money. She wishes she could say she’s surprised, but she’s not. She’s all too familiar with this. It’s why she still has to work these jobs - whether she completes them or not, her pay is routinely docked for “not completing the job to specifications.” Whatever, she just wants to go home.

She pockets the money, hops on her horse and begins the journey home. It’s late enough in the day that she doesn’t get far. She could’ve stayed in the town’s inn, but she doesn’t want to spend more time around those people. It didn’t escape her that the vast majority of the people she spied were humans. No, she’d rather make camp under a nice big tree on the way home. 

It’s a nice, sturdy tree she finds. She props her tent against it and settles in for the night after making a fire. The horse is tethered and she is a light enough sleeper she’ll wake should anyone or anything get too close. 

Morning arrives with light spilling lazily across the horizon, gradually pushing out the night. Kass wakes almost as slowly. Only when she repeatedly reminds herself that she needs to book it today if she is to return home by nightfall does she fully rouse. She emerges from the tent and stretches, her back protesting slightly. She is really getting too worn for all of this. 

When she looks back down at the long dead embers of the fire, she blinks. That bag was not there when she went to sleep. It’s a leather coin purse and a note rests atop it. She bends down and breaks the seal on the note - a deep green wax emblem of a snake’s head. Only two words mark the page in an elegant script.

Thank you.

She quirks an eyebrow before she tucks the note away and opens the purse. 

Kass lets out a low whistle at the contents, her eyes going wide. Thank her indeed. There must be at least a hundred gold pieces! Enough for her to buy another magic lesson for Ash. Enough to not have to choose between eating three meals a day and getting Ash properly trained for at least two weeks. 

Nigh overcome, Kass bites her lip and closes her eyes. 

Thank you.

**

2 Years Later

It doesn’t take long for Ash to be labeled as a monster. Her magic isn’t the pretty kind that is easily justified away as “well, she can always heal people.” No, Ash’s magic is explosive just like she is. But it is warm like her too, passionate and strong. It’s beautiful magic, but Kass should have known that it was only a matter of time before Ash was seen as too dangerous.  

Kass is returning from another job when she sees a plume of smoke rising from the town she’s called home for the last several years. Her heart leaps into her throat in a sudden grip of fear and she urges her horse into an earnest run into town. They fly through the town, narrowly missing passerby, but she can’t bring herself to be overly upset - the fire is at her home.

She rounds the corner and her body grows cold at the terror coursing through her body.Her house and several houses next to it are ablaze in a brilliant show of fire composed of orange and blue flames. Ash. Kass practically leaps off of the horse, not caring as she shoves through the crowd.

“Ash? ASH!” She calls.

“She set this fire! She can burn!” Old woman Adelaide sneers, stepping in front of Kass.

“Move, or I move you,” Kass growls. The woman protests but she steps out of the way as Kass rushes into the still burning building. She runs through a break in the flames and to the back of the house where Ash spends most of her time. 

There! Just over the top of the flames Kass can see the tips of Ash’s horns. 

“Ashokara!” Kass calls, coughing as smoke begins to cloy at her lungs. Ash looks up, face streaked with soot and tears.

“Mama! They were going to hurt me!” The girl sobs. Confused, Kass steps around the flames into the sunroom proper to find two charred but familiar corpses. They’re of two neighbor boys, their faces distorted in screams, their skin covered in deep burns.

Kass’s heart breaks - for her daughter. It’s out of self-defense, it always is. Mindful of the blue flames licking up the walls, Kass steps inside and picks up her daughter. She’s had a growth spurt, but Kass manages to sling Ash over her shoulder.

“We have to go!” Kass turns on her heel and rushes out of the building. The fire brigade only now just arriving to combat the flames. A furious mob has already gathered, though, brandishing whatever weapons they could find while shouting at Kass and her daughter.

“She did this!” They shout as Kass sets to maneuver the crowd, Ash still slung over her shoulders. The girl is still sobbing, clinging to Kass for dear life.

“She’s a monster!” They berate, shoving Kass, causing her to stumble despite her immense height and strength.

“Monster of fire!” They accuse.

“She murdered my boy!” One of the mothers scream and for a brief moment, Kass sympathizes with the woman. She couldn’t fathom losing Ash...and for that, she gathers what little strength she has left for the day and rushes through the crowd to the horse. 

Kass puts Ash on the horse, mounts it herself, and they flee that night with only the money in her satchel from the last couple of jobs she’s done. All of her savings, all of their belongings - gone. But they’re alive, and that is enough. It has to be.

The next several months are a blur of moving from town to town, doing any odd job she can do to keep them fed and staying at inns. She wants to save up enough to buy another horse for Ash, the poor beast they have now can really only handle one of them at a time. Saving money is hard though, when the jobs don’t pay much and the other costs keep mounting. Kass has to buy new boots since her old ones finally give up the ghost. Ash needs clothes to keep her warm during the winter. Kass gets sick and while she knew she could withstand it, Ash panics and rushes into the local apothecary and buys an expensive tonic. It puts Kass on her feet at least. 

Kass would love to be able to put roots down in another town, but there is now a bounty on Ash’s head, and Kass’s too since she aided in Ash’s escape. It makes life more than a little hard and very tricky. She could go to Sullivan’s, but she’s seen in that area enough that the monster hunters would surely check there. 

The seventh month on the run, however, Kass is seriously considering going to Sullivan’s to end this madness. She is worn thin, literally. She’s lost weight, giving most of her food to Ash to keep her as healthy as possible. Exhaustion weighs heavily on her bones from working nearly non-stop. She doesn’t know how much more she can manage this. 

The sickness is back again, as well. It started out as a cough, but now it’s spread into full body chills and aches. She’s feverish, and while she breathes deeply, it’s as if she cannot pull enough air into her lungs. Her chest aches and her head is beginning to feel fuzzy at the edges. Movement has become more belabored, but she must work, they must keep going. Survive first, details later.

They have moved into one of the bigger cities in the region. The winter is colder, but there are more jobs to be found in a bigger city. They have been here for the last two weeks, staying in the cheapest hovel of an inn she could find. She found work as a guard at a warehouse that pays well and the owner doesn’t ask many questions. 

She is coming off an uneventful night shift, stumbling back to the disgusting inn, when a coughing spell takes her. Her lungs burn as more and more air is forced out of her, head spinning at the force of it. She hacks and hacks and stumbles right into a lovely, upper class person. 

“I’m sorry,” she wheezes, her vision blurring. All she can make out is long, loose hair, and a lovely dark green coat. They catch her as she falls, though, making a noise of surprise. She wheezes and coughs, and blood splatters against that coat. 

“Where are you staying?” They ask, their voice dark and familiar…

The driver guides the carriage through smooth streets lined with well-manicured trees until they are in a district full of large colorful houses. Blues, pinks, greens, and yellow buildings sprawl along the streets, signs hanging invitingly in front of gargantuan double doors inviting all to enter. It’s the Painted District, home to pleasure houses, music and food halls, and expensive lodging. She only knows this from overhearing people speak at the inn. They spoke of the “expensive whores” and “overpriced swill” while still pining for such things. 

It is a beautiful district, centered and grounded by a beautiful garden that she admires as they pass it. The carriage pulls around to the north end of the garden and stops in front of a lovely rose-pink building with gold gilded trim along the eaves and surrounding the great oak door. There is no sign that spells out the name of the house, but a large carving of an orchid graces the door. 

The driver opens the door and Kass exits the carriage, her eyes still on the beautiful building before her. She hadn’t realized Melarue owned one of these places, but it makes sense. 

Well, this is where her work is now, so she tugs on her coat and stride up to the door. She doesn’t even get the chance to knock before it opens from the inside. An elegant man with dark curling hair stands in the doorway, a comfortable smile gracing his features. His eyes are bright and make her think of dances and music with their lightness, of plum wine and celebration. 

“Good morning, may I help you? The house is not yet open,” he says though he must recognize the carriage.

“My name is Kass, I am here on Melarue’s behalf. I have a letter explaining everything,” she fiddles with the interior pocket to pull out the three notes, “I am to assist Suvenin. Oh and to request that Aster return to them with the books.”

He takes the note titled Morwen, opens it, and looks it over for a moment. He glances back to her then the page and tilts his head in curiosity before that easy smile grows into a grin. 

“You are the Kassaran,” he says, violet eyes flickering up to hers. She nods and resists shifting uncomfortably. She supposes they would have spoken to someone about what happened in the cave, but it’s still odd for him to know who she is and something she has done that she has worked to keep secret. 

“Well, come on in! It is so dreadfully cold these winter mornings.” He ushers her inside and then promptly turns and begins to walk at a brisk pace. Kass follows him, her long strides helping her keep up. 

“Suvenin truly is due any moment, fit to burst really. The nobleman, Count du Marche, is a fool to think he is virile enough to have gotten her with child when he hasn’t even succeeded in the task with his own wife.” He talks as they walk, quickly opening a door where a small, elven woman sits at a desk, large spectacles adorning her face that Kass thinks has nothing to do with disguising her features as it does allowing her to read. 

“Aster, this is Kassaran. Kassaran, this is Aster, she handles the books here at the Orchid. Aster, Melarue is requesting you go to their home with the books, they want a look-see.” He hands the woman one of the letters then gestures for Kass to continue to follow him as he leaves.

“Lovely to meet you, Aster.”

“You as well!”

Kass skips back up to Morwen who continues to speak, “The Orchid is one of the most reputable pleasure houses in the city, the other is the Silk Purse, also owned by Melarue. The Purse is located in the Iron District and is the first house Melarue purchased. The Orchid, however, only serves the upper echelon.”

“Clearly; this is the nicest such establishment I’ve been in.”

“Been in many, have you?” He asks and she rolls her eyes.

“A few, mostly as security, once as a worker when I was much younger.” It was a lifetime ago, before she was a mercenary. Before she knew how to fight or anything about fighting, Kass worked in a brothel. She would lay on the bed, bid those to come to her and at the beginning of the day, and at the end of the day, she’d return to her tiny apartment and pray for an end to it. Then she met Ash’s father. 

Morwen turns to her, eyebrow quirked in curiosity but she doesn’t offer anything else. Her past is hers, and in the end, it’s what got her here. Got her Ash, got her to Melarue and this place. That thought catches her by surprise. No time to analyze that right now, though, she’s got a job to do.

They head up two flights of stairs until they come to a corner room. Morwen knocks twice on the door and a pretty, accented voice says, “Come in.” He opens the door to reveal a wonderfully lush and sensual room, draped in red silks. A beautiful woman lies in repose on a chaise, her long form draped by a long pearlescent feathered dressing gown that compliments her dark skin and midnight hair. She wears a headband with descending beads that look like stars against the full darkness of her hair. She turns toward Kass, the movement highlighting the length of her ears and neck, the broadness of her features. In all, she is simply one of the most gorgeous people Kass has ever seen. And very, very pregnant. 

Her face brightens as soon as she sees them, her full mouth spreading into an inviting smile. 

“Morwen, you’ve brought a guest,” she says, eyeing Kass with friendly curiosity. 

“Suvenin, this is Kassaran. Ser Melarue sent her to help out with the situation, she also has experience delivering babies - including her own.” He walks into the room and hands her the final letter. Suvenin takes the letter but she doesn’t immediately read it, instead she looks over to Kass, her warm eyes running up and down Kass’s figure. Her hand runs over the curve of her stomach.

“None of the others have had a baby. I’ve felt so alone even though I’m so excited,” Suvenin confesses and Kass can see the love she has for her baby already. She smiles at the younger woman and steps into the room.

“Having a baby is difficult, it’s not really pleasant - nothing can really prepare you for parenthood, because there really is nothing like it. The love you feel for your baby is unlike any other love in the world.” She gives Suvenin a reassuring smile, “You’re a strong woman, you’ll get through this. Is there a healer on call? I can oversee the birth if need be, but I can’t also maintain guard.”

“A healer will be called as soon as she goes into labor,” Morwen confirms. Kass nods and begins to walk the perimeter of the room, noting the two windows that open outward. She checks that they can only be open from the inside. 

“I just want to have this baby already, I’m tired of being pregnant.”

“Oh pregnancy is literally the worst, I hated it.”

“The cravings I can handle, but the gas and indigestion, the heartburn,” Suvenin groans and Kass turns to her in sympathy. Pregnancy is a terrible thing. She’d suffer it again for Ash and maybe if she wanted another child, but in general...pregnancy is not something anyone should look forward to, in her opinion. Look forward to the baby, to the child, but just being pregnant? She’d rather face a giant worm, and that’s not even considering the labor.

Once Kass finishes making her rounds of the room and the landing outside, she returns to Suvenin’s side. She keeps adjusting her position, her face contorted into an expression of discomfort and annoyance.

“Here,” Kass says, grabbing pillows from the palatial bed. She helps create a nest to support Suvinen’s back and abdomen while keeping her neck properly aligned. The elf groans at the comfort, her muscles immediately relaxing once in the position.

“Oh you are good, why hasn’t Melarue brought you in before?” She says low and happy, big brown eyes flickering open to watch as Kass takes a seat on the bed. 

Kass can’t help but smile, shrugging, “I’m...fairly new in town. I met Melarue years ago, though.” If Suvenin doesn’t know the story, then she isn’t going to say anything. She has no idea how open Melarue is with their employees about what they are. She assumes Morwen knows since he wears a necklace just like Melarue’s, though his is set with amethyst rather than emerald.

“Well, if your first day on the job is anything to judge by, I hope you stay.” She yawns and stretches before her body relaxes and her eyes flutter shut. She’s asleep before Kass can respond, which is understandable. She must be so tired from the pregnancy itself but also fearing the Count could come in at any point and threaten her life. 

Well, she is not about to let that Count get anywhere close to Suvenin. 

Kass rises from the bed and secures the room before shutting the door and heading downstairs to inspect all of the defenses already in place. Melarue has guards at all of the entrances, dressed elegantly so as to not be terrifying, but rather suitably intimidating. Their armor is largely covered by black expensive-looking tunics emblazoned with a silver orchid. Their hips carry a single scabbard each, and gauntleted hands rest upon the hilts of the swords as they patrol near the entrances. Each guard looks so perfectly at ease in the environment, their accoutrements gleaming and befitting such an establishment. 

Kass doesn’t nearly look so at home with her weathered dark brown leather trench coat over trusty plate that no longer quite shines, but nothing has broken it so far. Her weapon of choice, a simple looking one-handed axe, is hidden under the coat, while her short-sword sits outside of the coat. It’s a game she likes to play - her opponents will ready themselves for a short-sword and she’ll come at them with an axe with quick relentless attacks. 

The deception will work well here, she thinks. More to the point, she wonders how exactly the Count managed to get to Suvenin the other day without one of the guards stopping him. Frowning, Kass begins to ask the guards to recount what happened yesterday. 

Apparently, yesterday was the first time the Count had showed any aggression. He had been frequenting the Orchid for the past year. Suvenin was the only woman he deigned to see, said she was the best of any girl he had ever met. According to more than one guard, he had offered more than once to make her his mistress, but Suvenin would have none of it. She entertained the Count and was happy to take his money, but that was where her affection for him ended. 

“Would Melarue have let her go?” Kass asked.

“Of course, if it was what she wanted,” the guard answered without hesitation.

Once Suvenin became pregnant, Melarue had taken her off of the rotation immediately. They allowed her to keep her room, but also offered to let her stay at a small home they owned outside of the city meant just for this sort of thing. Suvenin had accepted initially, traveling to the countryside to live in peace as her babe grew. However, she had grown quite nervous in the last month. She claimed she was being stalked by shadows at night and that she feared for her and her baby’s life. Disturbed by this news, Melarue had her taken back to the house to finish her pregnancy.

Two weeks after Suvenin’s return, the Count came to the Orchid, apparently hearing of her return. Suvenin saw him only to tell him of her pregnancy, or show him at this point, and that she would be unable to see him for some time while her body recovered and she was settled with her baby. Amazingly, the Count had not grown violent. Instead, he left abruptly and silently. The next day, a woman showed up at the Orchid screaming in the street that some elven bitch had polluted her husband. She was escorted away but not before she threatened to slay the witch that had corrupted her family. 

Then yesterday happened. The Count arrived and the guards let him in because he did not seem unhinged or violent. They took him to the office while they sent for Melarue. Carefully, the head of the guard, a nice fellow by the name of Yren, explained to the Count that he could not see Suvenin, that she was in no condition to be entertaining. Melarue arrived to put in more certain words that Suvenin was not available.

“They didn’t offer another of the workers, got to wonder if they saw it in his eyes, y’know?” Yren said as he told the story.

After Melarue explained Suvenin was not available, the Count lost it. He screamed and bellowed and then brandished a wicked looking knife. Before anyone could react and with a quickness no one suspected, he shoved Melarue out of the way and bolted through the house to Suvenin’s room. He threw open the door and charged at her. Just as his knife came down, Melarue was there, his knife buried in their thigh instead of Suvenin’s belly.

“I can’t have a bastard!” He cried over and over. Melarue had him thrown into the street, barred from ever coming into any of their houses again. 

“That’s horrible,” Kass whispers, sitting opposite of Morwen. He nods, sipping his tea.

“It was quite the scare. Everyone was worried he would try to return, many still are. We tried to send for a healer for Melarue but...well, you know them.” He pauses, stirring his tea.

“They do not like receiving help,” Kass replies softly.

“Unless it’s from you,” he says so quietly that she almost misses it. Her face flushes for some odd reason and she only hopes that this new skin tone makes it harder for the color to be detected. 

“I’m afraid I’m just very stubborn,” she says, averting her gaze.

His eyes twinkle, “So you are. I’m glad they found you that night.” She feels his tone is laden with meaning she cannot decipher, or she could, but she really doesn’t want to think about that. Just like she doesn’t want to think about how it feels to have Melarue’s fingertips touch her lips. Those things can just go into Don’t Think About It box in her mind, and she can go about her day. She has a job to do.

After the brief interlude with Morwen in the large sitting room towards the back of the house, Kass returns to keeping watch at Suvenin’s door. The woman is snoring up a storm, so loud that some pass by with raised eyebrows. She overhears a conversation between a courtesan and his patron who remarks quite loudly that he cannot focus on the task at hand with that blasted noise. Kass has to bite her tongue to stop herself from making a snide remark. The courtesan seems to have it under control, however, for the next moment, the patron begins to laugh - then moans loudly before he’s ushered into a room. Well, then. 

How odd it is to be back in a pleasure house. She had sworn to never to return this line of work, she isn’t made for it and it nearly broke her as a teenager, yet here she is - in a pleasure house, standing guard. Things are different now, though. She’s older and wiser, stronger too. Life’s weird, she thinks, how it comes back like this. Still, things are different, she’s different and she doesn’t feel so bad now. 

Kass leans her head back against the wall, listening to the ambient sounds of life in a pleasure house. She listens for anything to indicate the Count has returned and fortunately, there is no clamoring of the guard or screams from the courtesans or patrons. 

“Oh!” A gasp followed by a cry of pain has Kass rushing into Suvenin’s room without thinking. 

“What’s happening,” she asks, her eyes darting around the room, searching for the Count before falling to Suvenin, now sitting up on the chaise, hand clutching her stomach.

“I-I think the baby is coming,” she says. Kass’s eyes widen and then she snaps into action.

“Alright, tell me what you’re feeling.”

“Pressure and my legs are wet...I think my water broke.”

“May I check?” Kass asks and Suvenin nods. She moves to the chaise and checks for the wetness that would indicate Suvenin’s water breaking. After finding the wet spot, Kass nods.

“The baby is coming, I’m going to get Morwen and the healer -

Suvenin reaches up and quickly latches to Kass’s arm, “Don’t leave, please.” Fear and uncertainty fill the woman’s eyes and Kass nods.

“I’m not going anywhere, but we need to send for a healer. I can help birth the baby, but a professional is best.” Suvenin’s are wide but she nods and retracts her hand, allowing Kass to quickly run out of the room to find the nearest worker.

“We need Morwen and a healer, Suvenin’s baby is coming,” she tells them. Their eyes go wide but they say “On it!” before darting down the hall. Kass returns to find Suvenin rising from the chaise. 

“Can I walk? Is it safe? I want to walk, I’m a pacer, I can’t just sit still when I’m nervous and I’m terrified anything could happen, I didn’t really even think this through, I just wanted to be a mother and so did he and he’s not even here!” She’s already pacing, her breathing increasing until she sounds like she’s on the verge of hyperventilating. 

“Pacing is absolutely fine as long as you don’t feel pain doing so. As far as your partner goes, where is he? Maybe we can send for him.” Kass makes sure to keep her voice calm. Suvenin can spin out as much as she wants, she is going to be pushing out a baby, she gets to be irrational.

“Lachlain is...he can’t come. The moon…” Suvnenin gestures and makes a choking sound, “he’s a good man. I don’t care what he is, he’s my best friend.”

“Is he...not your lover?” Kass asks softly and she shakes her head.

“No, but we both wanted a child. I’ve always known what he is and it didn’t bother me. He’s a guard here except when…”

“When he can’t be,” Kass finishes for her, recalling the fullness of the moon. He definitely shouldn’t be anywhere near Suvenin and the baby until the moon is out of its phase. It also makes sense as to why Suvenin is going into labor now. Werewolf babies are often born during full moons, called out to the world by the moon’s siren song. With that knowledge, she wonders if they really should send for a healer. Suvenin’s baby will look elven, or half-elven depending, Kass doesn’t know if Lachlain is an elf or not, but the baby may also...be different. She isn’t entirely sure how the baby will be different, she’s never delivered a werewolf baby before, but she can’t rule out the possibility that the baby will show tell-tale signs of its monstrous heritage.

Suvenin hisses in a breath and from the lines on her face, the tension in her body, Kass can tell she’s having a contraction - the first of many to come. When Suvenin opens her eyes, they’re full of determination.

Kass steadies herself then sets to work. She comforts and guides Suvenin as much as she can until Morwen and the healer arrive. She breathes a sigh of relief when it’s the healer Adair that walks in, his bubbly personality lighting up the room. Fear for the babe quickly abates; Adair is on Melarue’s retainer, he knows and is discreet. Kass shifts her role to support Suvenin as the healer guides her to lay on the bed. Several hours later and Suvenin is screaming and pushing. Her hand is clamped onto Kass’s and while the grip is painful, Kass doesn’t say a word. Births are amazing things, awful things, but amazing. The pain and turmoil of bringing a new life into the world is...magical, and she wouldn’t miss this for the world.

Suvenin’s labor is relatively short, at least compared to Kass’s labor with Ash. It takes only seven hours for everything to happen. The sun has set and the moon has risen by the time the little baby finally comes into the world, screaming (or more like howling) and wriggling in surprise. The healer quickly passes the baby to his assistant then tends to helping Suvenin pass the placenta and healing the subsequent pains incurred by labor. 

“My baby, Kass….” Suvenin gasps, exhaustion and worry so strong in her voice. Kass nods and lets go of Suvenin’s hand to move to where the baby is kicking and howling. Kass looks the baby over and smiles.

“You have a beautiful baby girl, Suvenin.” The babe is wrinkled and pale, never having seen the sun, but it’s clear she is to inherit her mother’s warm, dark skin. Her hair though, must come from her father for it is a shock of bright red curling around the drooping points of her ears. Kass helps the assistant swaddle the babe then takes her so delicately in her arms, instinctively cooing at the tiny thing to calm her. Kass almost fears she’ll hurt the babe, she’s so big and strong and the babe is so very small. 

Carefully, oh so very gently, Kass carries her back to her mother. Suvenin reaches for her immediately.

“Here she is,” Kass says as she transfers the baby to her mother’s arms. 

“Oh! Oooh,” Suvenin cries, cradling her child close. “Look at you, oh look at you. You’re perfect.” The new mother continues to coo and fawn over the babe making Kass’s heart clench with wishful sentiment. There has always been a small part, or maybe not such a small part but an ignored part of her that has desired more children. She could barely support Ash on her own, though, not to mention another child and all the time a baby takes. She could hardly take time from her endless work to care for a new baby. 

Still, this is beautiful and she would not have missed this for the world. She hasn’t helped deliver a baby for six years. With the darkness in the world, it is so easy to forget this purest form of magic. 

Kass stays long enough to make sure Suvenin is settled with the baby and that the house has closed for the rest of the night to allow the new little family some peace. Once cleaned up, the other courtesans begin to visit one by one, each doting upon Suvenin and the child. A child who has apparently yet to be named. 

“I can’t name her without Lachlain here, he needs to see her first,” Suvenin insists. So the little baby remains nameless until the full moon passes and her father can return to her safely. 

It is near midnight by the time Kass leaves the Orchid, sufficiently convinced that the Count will not be visiting in the dead of night for a terrible surprise. She is exhausted, but happy, this was a good exertion and a marvel to witness. The driver is waiting for her when she leaves the building and helps her into the carriage. It takes all her willpower to not lean back and fall asleep as he pulls away from the Orchid to head home. 

Home. How quickly she’s starting to think of Melarue’s home as her own when she really has no business thinking such a thing. Her and Ash are guests.

Thanks to the lack of traffic, the trip to the house is short and Kass is hopping out of the carriage in no time. She thanks the driver who nods, tipping his hat. For a brief moment, Kass catches the reflection of light in his eyes, a tell-tale of red. Kass returns the nod before heading inside, too tired to process the driver’s vampiric status. He’s a vampire, whatever, she’s tired and would like a bath. 

The house is very still at night, the lights low and quiet fills the home. Kass keeps her footsteps as silent as possible to avoid disturbing anyone. It is so very late and she’d hate -

“I was wondering when you would return,” a smooth voice says, jerking her attention to the center of the sitting room adjacent to the kitchen. A tall, slender figure rises from their seated position and her heart calms.

“Melarue, yes, it was...an exciting day. No signs of the Count and Suvenin had her baby! A little girl! Most likely,” she says as they approach. Their glasses and necklace are back in place, making them look like the normal beautiful elf as before. 

“Oh! I missed it. I will have to go tomorrow.”

“Not so fast, how are you feeling?” She asks, crossing her arms to look more imposing, but she’s smiling and she is sure that reduces the effect. Melarue smiles back and gracefully descends to sit on a chair.

“I am healed, but you may confirm with your own eyes,” they permit, pulling their skirts to the side. The trust they show her, it warms her heart and softens her expression. 

“Of course, I’d be remiss to neglect your healing,” she says, following the playful lines of their speech. She crouches by them and shifts their skirts to the side to expose the expanse of their leg. Her fingers move up to gently undo the bandage still wrapped around their upper thigh. The white cloth is stained red, but when she removes the bandage all she finds is smooth, unblemished skin. There is not even a scab or scar to evidence the attack - they are completely whole. She runs a thumb over where the wound was, relief and astonishment filling her heart.

“You’re healed,” she breathes, amazed at how quickly they regenerated, “you truly did not need me last night.” She should...take a note of it, but she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want documentation about them that could be used against them, not even in her personal notes. 

“I am healed, and I have you to thank for the lack of pain, the easiness of it,” they say softly, though she wonders if they are only saying it for her benefit. She hasn’t exactly been doing a great job of taking care of people lately. Kass looks up at them, about to reply when they lean forward, so forward they are a breath away from her. She stops breathing as their hands reach out to her neck. Kass angles her head forward, unsure but not wanting to move. 

They reach around her neck and snap, unclasps the necklace Kass had forgotten. Her skin turns back to grey and she feels her horns shimmer back into visibility. They pull the necklace from her, folding it in their lap, but they don’t remove themselves from her. 

“I -

“You are so beautiful,” they whisper then close the gap between them. Their lips press against hers, soft and asking. Her eyes snap open wide, shocked and pleased and they’re kissing her. 

Oh. 

A million thoughts shoot through her mind in the span of a second. Thoughts that don’t matter because her body has decided to kiss them back. She leans up, moving her lips against theirs, eyes fluttering closed, her body relaxing as she gives herself into the kiss. 

Their lips are soft, a delightful contrast to the sharp angles of their face. But here they are sweet and almost delicate with her. She angles her head as their hands come up to cup her face. Affection and desire flow quickly through her, a heady combination that has her parting her lips, her tongue darting out to run along the seam of their lips. She feels more than hears them gasp, lips parting to deepen the kiss so their tongues meet. 

Not thinking beyond the pleasure of the kiss, Kass leans up and moves her hand to cup their face. Her fingers bump into their glasses and all of a sudden, they’re away from her, their back to her.

How could she be so thoughtless? She could have…

“Melarue, I’m sorry, I didn’t think, I…” her voice trails off, her body still recovering from the sudden passions awakened by the kiss now mixing with the sudden shock of worry.

“The fault is mine, I acted impulsively and…selfishly,” they say, their voice dark and distant. Before she can even reply that she too was impulsive and selfish and hey, let’s be selfish and impulsive again, but maybe with a blindfold in place, they rise from the chair and quickly make their way across the room. They move faster than she expected, but she darts up and follows them.

“Good night, Kassaran. I will not see you tomorrow.” Then they are gone, blending into the shadows and disappearing right before her eyes. 

There is a part of her that whispers that they are a monster, look at how easily they slip away, and they said it themselves - they’re dangerous. Yet there is a larger part of her that has her climbing the stairs, drawn to the locked doors of their private quarters. She lays her palm against the solid wood of the door, knowing they need space and knowing she very much does not want to give it to them. 

The door is locked and there is no moving it. Resigned, Kass turns from the door and makes her way to her room then bathroom. She starts the bath, but halfway through filling the tub, she pulls the stopper and just steps under the deluge. Water sluices down her body, warm and pleasantly forcefulI. Her strained muscles in her neck and shoulders feel massaged by the water and there is something so nice about the fall on top of her head as well. Thoughts of Melarue fill her head, replaying the kiss and the feel of them. Desire coils low in her belly that has her questioning herself. She’s never been attracted to a monstrous person before, not even a vampire and they have a bit of a reputation for being alluring. No doubt she has encountered beautiful vampires, they’re all sort of eerily beautiful in their own way, with their opalescent skin and smooth movements. Yet, she hasn’t felt desire for any of them, though the majority of vamps she’s faced have been coming at her throat in a very non-consensual and unsexy way. 

Melarue is unlike anyone she’s met, monstrous or otherwise. She supposes some of that can be attributed to never having met a monster like them, but she feels that a large part of their uniqueness can be attributed to simply them. They are kind and compassionate, and she enjoys their playfulness when the mood suits them, or the little smiles that will grace their features when something humors them. She likes how they treat other people, and she really likes how they treat her and Ash. 

She shuts off the water and dries herself off, her mind still whirring. They kissed her and she kissed them back and she is fairly certain that it would have grown between them had she not bumped their glasses. It’s easy to imagine what she would have done next, slowing climbing atop them, pushing them back into the plush chaise. 

Such thoughts follow her as she braids her hair and dons her sleeping cap. She’s still contemplating the whole thing when she climbs into bed, soft and warm. Her fingers find her lips, marveling that not too long ago Melarue kissed them. She wants to feel them again, kiss them again. 

Their recoil from her was not directed towards her, she knows she isn’t to blame for their sudden fleeing. They also aren’t to blame, and she isn’t so sure they know that. She wonders if kissing them some more will assuage their fear.