The Nature of Monsters, Part 6
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Remember a pre-COVID time where I was regularly posting this? This isn’t regular, but here’s an update!
Melarue belongs to @justanartsysideblog
This is NSFW
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When Kassaran wakes, she feels amazing. Better than amazing - superb, extraordinary, exceptional. She stretches languidly in bed, relishing the softness on her still naked skin. How lovely would it be to just...roll over and have sex again. But alas, she didn’t go to sleep with Melarue. Truthfully, it makes sense why they’d be hesitant about sharing a bed. In an early wakeful state, they could end up accidentally petrifying her - which no one wants. Still, Kass would be a little over the moon for some morning sex right about now.
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.”
Their smile is small and polite, and she doesn’t need their glasses removed to know it doesn’t reach their eyes.