87 Corrosion

"Can I see that?" Aisha asked Aryn, holding out an outstretched hand, with evident boredom in her voice.

.

"Uh, sure."

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Aryn gazed at Aisha intensely, the elf boy sensing something wrong with Aisha. She seemed more… twitchy than usual, and her magical aura, which usually just flowed out of her carelessly, was strangely twitchy. Impatient, even.

.

But Aryn was not about to poke that bear. Nooo thank you. Aisha was hot, but Aryn had learned a long time ago that all the hair lost was not worth the pretty face.

.

But damn, Aisha was beautiful, under that mask, and all those heavy clothes!

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"Why is this a silver contract?" Aisha furrowed her brows, pointing at the brown paper. "This is a protected trade route, and a fortified city. Why do they need help?"

.

Aryn's face paled.

"Um."

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"It's because of the dragon." Morgan said harshly, walking up to the two and shooting a glare at Aisha. "Think you can handle it?"

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Aisha's eye twitched. "What?"

"I-it's just a rumor." Aryn mumbled. "Um. But…"

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Aisha raised an eyebrow, not that it was visible. "But?"

"Um. Nothing."

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The fey girl narrowed her eyebrows, glaring at Aryn through her mask. While she planned on killing a literal god, she was not nearly close to ready yet. And the group of boys was definitely not ready yet.

"This is stupid."

.

"I don't care!" Kayle snarled, walking in front of Aisha and stopping her. "YOU have to protect us! I heard about what Judge Raxas said! You'll be in big trouble if any of us die, so if there is a dragon, you-"

"Yeah, yeah." Aisha pushed Kayle to the side with an arm, continuing to walk. "Annoying brat."

.

"Bitch!"

.

Aisha shook her head and continued to walk, fingers twitching. She desperately wanted to get back to reading, for the first time in her life - Sen's journal had the literal secrets of the world inside, it held the key to her victory, her evolution. The key to saving Hana.

.

But she couldn't bring it with her. If Feng saw it, she would definitely take it, and the woman was fully invisible at all times.

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Aisha's saving grace was that she didn't show up in the capital, out in the open. Whether she couldn't, or just didn't want to, Aisha didn't know, but it was her saving grace, allowing her to pore over the secrets of the book without fear of being incinerated on the spot.

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Thinking about it left her twitchy. She needed to finish reading it. She had to. But she also needed to entertain these stupid children, or else -

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Aisha let out a breath of frustration, resisting the urge to grip her hair with both hands. She needed to calm down. Calm down, or else -

.

"He's been like this ever since the last contract, you know." Aryn said quietly into Aisha's ear. The girl whipped her head to face the blonde elf, with an irritated look.

.

"Good." Aisha said stiffly. "Er. Whatever. I don't care. It's not my fault, anyways."

"I guess not. But he's just a kid." Aryn said softly. "Couldn't you have handled this a bit better?"

.

"I have no obligation to do that. He's doing an adult's job. I'm not going to coddle him. Neither should you."

"Nobody said anything about that." Aryn sighed. "But you didn't have to just crush his dreams like that."

"It was going to happen eventually." Aisha responded petulantly. "Besides, he shouldn't have had dreams that were so easily crushed."

.

Aryn shook his head, pursing his lips.

"You have dreams?" He asked nonchalantly.

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"Yes."

"Care to share?"

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"You first."

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Aryn raised his eyebrow for a second, before smiling a slow smile, gazing up at the sky with a dreamy look.

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"My dream is to become a pirate!" He smiled, bobbing his head side-to-side cheerfully. "To sail the open seas! To conquer beautiful women and men!"

"Men?" Aisha mouthed silently.

.

"Ah, what a life!" Aryn exclaimed, exhaling a big sigh. "Free of worries, free of politics."

"What about starving."

"-Free from these chains that we call society, Aisha!" Aryn continued. "Plundering booty, Aisha! Of both kinds! And-"

.

Aryn scrunched up his face and turned on his heel to glare at Aisha, as she laughed unabashedly at the blond elf. He held back a smile - Aisha had a beautiful laugh. He just wished she wasn't laughing at him.

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"That's not very nice, you know." Aryn mumbled.

"You clearly know nothing about actual pirates." Aisha laughed. "Or sailing."

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Surprisingly, Aryn didn't protest, instead smiling, as if Aisha had complimented him.

"Maybe so." Aryn sighed, kicking his legs up. "Maybe it's just a fantasy. But you know what? I don't really want to know what it's actually like to be a pirate."

.

Aisha frowned, furrowing her brows as she processed what Aryn had said.

"...Why?"

"What else are dreams for, other than fantasizing?" Aryn shrugged.

.

"Setting goals." Aisha crossed her arms. "You and I are literally immortal. You have an infinite amount of time to achieve anything you want! I would say, in fact, that it is extremely likely that if you put in the effort-"

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"Ah!" Aryn held his hand up in a defensive manner, palm facing Aisha, as if to block out the negative feelings emanating from her. "Stop! I don't want to hear it."

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For added measure, he blew a raspberry. Aisha rolled her eyes.

.

"You're unbearably stupid." Aisha mumbled.

"And you look like you're in a hurry to kill yourself, for someone with infinite time." Aryn shot back, sticking out his tongue. "Nehhh!"

.

Aisha laughed, a genuine laugh, radiant and pure. It almost made Aryn gasp out loud, it was cute and beautiful - he could hardly believe that such a sound would come out of the black devil.

.

"You're in this line of work too." Aisha smiled, under her mask. "It looks like you're also looking for a quick death."

"Adventure and death are different things." Aryn pouted, pointing at Aisha. "You are on a suicide mission. I'm just here for free travel."

"It's not free, you have to walk everywhere."

.

"I'm not talking about money."

"Then theoretically, you could go literally wherever you wanted." Aisha rolled her eyes. "Without adventuring."

"But there wouldn't be such charming company."

.

Aryn smiled a sly smile, betraying the playboy underneath that femboy-ish exterior. Aisha could kind of see why people would be attracted to him. He was cute, and while his words were cheesy and stupid, he didn't take himself very seriously.

.

Overall, Aisha thought he was alright. Perhaps Aisha would consider him a friend, if not for…

.

Eh, why not?

.

.

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The first thing that Aisha felt when she entered the garrison was an intense sense of unease. It wasn't necessarily because of any gut instinct she had, but more because she was met with nothing but a massive pile of rubble. The destruction reached for miles around, destroyed buildings and corpses littering the city.

.

"Guess it wasn't a rumor." Aryn whispered.

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The party walked slowly through the destroyed landscape, treading carefully over rocks and corpses, faces frozen into shocked expressions, arms and legs clammy and cold.

.

Aisha frowned, bending down to look at a dead woman. Something felt… off. Things felt… oddly, too clean. There was destruction, fallen buildings, for sure, but some still stood tall. Some of the corpses didn't have visible wounds. There were fire marks, but the landscape was carved out, craters lining the scorched earth.

.

"There's someone still alive!" Kayle cried, rushing over to a mound of rubble, where an elderly woman sat, a gash on her head. Thick, sickly blood flowed down the woman's head, and while the woman was still breathing, Aisha guessed that it wouldn't be long before she wasn't anymore.

.

"I…" Kayle said, his mouth dry as the elderly woman wheezed, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "I-... I… I'll get you some help. I can bandage that wound. And I… I have water."

"Daren?" The woman whispered. "Is that you?"

.

"No, I'm… I'm…" Kayle stuttered. "My name is… Kayle."

"I'm sorry I wasn't ready for your visit." She rasped. "You've always been such a good grandson…"

"No, I'm not your grandson!" Kayle shouted, choking out his words. "I'm not… I can't…"

.

"Just keep your grandmother company for a bit…" She whispered, before closing her eyes, clasping Kayle's hands in between her own.

.

Kayle just squatted there, shocked, until eventually, the elderly woman breathed her last breath, her hands going limp around hers. For a long while, nobody dared move - Kayle just sat there, completely still, until he rose, his legs unable to support his squat over.

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He walked over to Aisha, his head downcast, Aisha watched him with careful eyes as the kid made his way over, until they were only a meter apart.

.

"You're right." He mumbled. "You win."

Aisha narrowed her eyebrows. "...What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can't save anyone." He whispered. "I give up."

.

Kayle started to walk away, but he only made it two steps before Aisha violently yanked his jacket back, slamming her fist into the side of the boy's face. Kayle was sent violently spiraling to the ground, but was able to stop his fall with a hand, gasping at the pain in his cheek.

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"What the hell!?" Kayle yelled.

"You're just going to give up like that?" Aisha snarled. "What a joke! If you give up, then you should just fucking die here!"

"Hey!" Morgan yelled. "What the fuck are you doing!"

.

"I'm not-" Kayle started defiantly.

"Your brothers spent their entire lives taking care of you!" Aisha snapped. "My friend, he- he died, for YOU! A FUCKING DREG! SOMEONE WHO GIVES UP HIS DREAMS IN A SINGLE DAY!"

.

Four hands attempted to restrain Aisha's fist as she raised it again to strike Kayle, but all of the strength in the boy's bodies couldn't withhold Aisha's monstrous strength, and Kayle's face was sent smashing into the ground.

"Stop!" Aryn cried.

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"So what?" Kayle said in a low voice, coughing and wiping at his mouth. "Just kill me, if I'm such a failure."

"You're so incredibly lucky, you know." Aisha spat. "To have people that care about you. And you're prepared to throw away all their sacrifices, just for your selfish feelings. YOU SHOULD DIE! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"

.

Both Morgan and Aryn screamed.

"NO!"

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Aisha readied a mass of violent energy in her fist, ready to vaporize Kayle in irrational anger, when a hand on her face forced her backwards. She snarled in annoyance, reaching up a hand to remove the offending appendage, but her arm was quickly bound by a cage of elvish magic.

.

"Let go!" She roared, straining against the hold.

"No!" Aryn yelled. "You're not thinking right, dummy! Calm down!"

.

"No, I-"

.

Suddenly, Aisha stumbled forwards as the hand on her face slipped, her mask flying off of her head as it was yanked off her face, pushing her hood backwards as well and exposing her ears and face to the air. Aisha grunted in surprise, bending down to pick up her mask, but stopped when she saw Morgan's shocked expression.

.

"Y-you!" He whispered. "T-t-t-the…"

"Oh, right." Aisha mumbled. "Yes."

"You tricked me." Morgan said dumbly.

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"I did no such thing." Aisha muttered, picking up her mask and grimacing at the dirt that lined the inside, stuffing it inside of her coat. "I'm not responsible for any of the conceptions you have about me."

"Y-you… I told you… everything." Morgan whispered. "You… YOU MONSTER!"

"Hey, no!"

.

Morgan flung a fist at Aisha, but his arm barely extended a foot out in front of him before Aisha's punch landed square in the middle of his face, pushing him flat on his ass. Furious, he scrambled up to his feet, winding up another punch, but Aisha could only look at him with contempt, his furious expression red in the face. But before she could send him flying again, she was suddenly sent off balance, as Kayle violently wrenched one of her legs under her.

.

"Stop, stop!" Aryn cried, rushing over. "You guys, we- Ow!"

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Aryn rubbed his tummy, where a stray elbow had poked him in the stomach, and bit his lip, deciding intervening was not worth it.

.

A full on fist-fight broke out amongst the rubble, Aisha the very clear winner as she cruelly beat up the child and the femboy - although she herself looked like a little girl. A bystander would surely be perplexed, seeing what looked to be like the world's most violent middle-school playground fight.

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Aisha blocked a punch from Kayle and quickly lodged her boot in the side of his ribs, and was about to grab Morgan by the collar, but paused when an unfamiliar voice shouted across the destroyed city, a silhouette in the distance.

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"Hey, what's going on over there!?"

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Aisha wiped the blood off her gloves to face the stranger, as Kayle and Morgan groaned from the ground aside her, also wiping blood, but from their faces.

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The stranger had purple hair, although the dye in her hair was starting to fade, turning yellow, and the roots of the hair were black as night, forming a strange-looking gradient on her head. Although, her hair was hardly the most prominent feature on her face, that being the three massive, inch wide gashes on her face, the scars marring a relatively young face.

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Aisha frowned. She was dressed in what looked to be rather drab leather armor, made for mobility rather than defense, but the massive spear in her hand, vibrating with magical power, suggested that she was very seasoned in battle. A quick glance at her neck confirmed Aisha's suspicions - the woman was a ruby adventurer.

.

"Yo, I don't know what you guys are arguing about, but- Hm?"

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The stranger's eyes locked onto Aisha like a laser beam, for just a split second. She quickly removed her gaze, and cleared her throat, attempting to hide the glance poorly, but Aisha saw how a single eyebrow raised, if only a millimeter.

.

"Um, anyway." She attempted to continue. "This place-"

"You know me." Aisha interrupted softly. "You recognize my face."

.

"Haha, um, nope. I don't remember you from anywhere!" The stranger said cheerfully, before extending out a hand to Aisha. "My name's Vega, nice to meet you!"

.

Aisha didn't bother shaking her hand, but the stranger snatched her hand from her side anyway. Her grip was incredibly strong, stronger than Aisha's.

.

"You are a poor liar."

"Yeah, whatever." Vega grimaced. "This place isn't safe."

"Are you here to kill the dragon?" Aryn asked.

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Vega's gaze hardened.

"This wasn't a dragon." She mumbled. "I've seen many dragons, and this…"

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Vega looked at the destroyed garrison, an eerie cleanliness about the destruction.

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"This ain't it. You guys need to leave."

"But the contract." Aisha protested.

"Hey kid, there is literally something here that is stronger than a dragon." Vega frowned. "I know they say that all adventurers have death wishes, but there's probably more glory or whatever to be found in dying somewhere else."

.

"Hey, you're the dragonslayer!" Aryn cried excitedly. "You're incredible! And so beautiful, too!"

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Vega smiled, the scars on her face twisting along with her face. She put a hand up to her chest in a flattered gesture, genuinely happy about the compliment.

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"Aw, that's very nice of you, sir."

"Hu- SIR!?" Aryn sputtered.

"You're like, ten years older than me." Vega smirked. "And I'm gay, too."

.

"Why are all the beautiful women gay!?" Aryn shrieked indignantly. "And the men too - why is everyone gay!?"

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Vega laughed, putting a hand on Aryn's head and ruffling his fluffy, well-conditioned hair, soft as down feathers.

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"You're cute." She chuckled. "You would be very popular in my guild. One day you might join! There's a lotta beautiful women there, who'd eat up a cute boy like you. But ya gotta be alive to do that, so take your friends and leave, alright?"

.

"I can handle myself." Aisha mumbled.

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"No you can't, go home."

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Aisha casually chucked the unstable ball of mana she was holding in her hand at Vega, and was met with the tip of her spear at her neck. She froze. It had been so fast, she had barely even recognized it.

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"Go home." Vega said softly.

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"..."

"..."

"Fine."

.

.

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Needless to say, the party kept a six-foot distance between each other on the walk home, in a very uncomfortable silence. Not only had they just been beating each other senseless a few minutes ago, the contract had been left… impossible to complete,

.

Aisha left her face uncovered, her mask grimy and absolutely drenched in blood and dust. It was annoying, but she smirked internally, knowing it was much better than what Kayle and Morgan had gone through, the two boys' noses bandaged in copious layers of cloth.

.

For some reason, Aryn also seemed to be nursing an injury, despite never at any point joining the fight, the elf boy rubbing his navel with an upset expression.

.

[

"You got really heated there." Her shadow crossed her arms in a disapproving manner. "They're just boys, you know."

"Yeah, consider it parenting." Aisha muttered. "Or something."

.

"How unusually unclever of you." The demon twisted its face into a concerned frown. "Is it because of…"

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Aisha felt a wrenching in her gut, a coldness sweeping across her heart like she had missed the deadline for something incredibly important ten times over.

"I don't…" Aisha curled up into a ball. "Why can't I just… be heartless? And not… care…"

.

"That's impossible." The shadow sighed, sitting down next to Aisha, one of the only things in the blank expanse of her mindscape. "Deep down, you're a romantic. Isn't that why you started all of this?"

.

"I know." Aisha croaked. "But I didn't think… I didn't think it would hurt so much. Why does my heart hurt? Why can't I just-"

"It's just part of being human."

.

"I'm not supposed to be human!" Aisha shouted. "I'm supposed to be able to- to not care… to be a monster…"

.

"You know, monsters were once human too."

]

.

.

.

[

"I'm home!"

.

Lorian flung open the door to the cabin, smiling radiantly as she tossed aside her shoes away into some corner. Hearing an adorable little squeak, she smiled wider - god, it was like a dream, coming home and having someone waiting for her.

.

Waiting for her.

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"Hey." She frowned. "Aisha. Where's my welcome home?"

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There was no response from the girl, and suddenly, Lorian spotted a pair of ears lift up from the back of the couch, followed by a pair of eyes, a few fingers gripping loosely onto the worn loveseat.

.

Lorian sighed in exasperation. It was going to be like this, huh?

.

"Come on, Aisha." She said, frustrated. "What are you doing?"

"..."

"Remember our contract." Lorian growled.

"W-welcome back, m-m-mistress." Aisha squeaked, before ducking even lower, getting on her hands and knees and attempting to crawl away. To where, she didn't know. Just away from the big-boobed menace, anywhere was-

.

"EEYAH!" Aisha squealed, as a pair of arms circled around her waist, lifting her up into the air. Her cheeks burned scarlet with embarrassment as she squirmed in the hold, but a pair of arms much stronger than her's stopped her movement, closing around her arms as she was sat on Lorian's lap. She tried to squirm a bit more, but a pair of big, brown eyes stopped her, freezing her in fear.

.

Lorian looked at the terrified expression on Aisha's face and smiled lopsidedly, half enjoying Aisha's adorableness, and the other half just tired. It felt like every single day, she would get Aisha to love her, to hug her, to cuddle with her, lavishing the cute fey with affection and love and hugs, only for the little girl to fucking change her mind the very next day.

.

It had been a long day. She had been looking forward to a pair of soft arms around her chest, and a big, adorable smile. But instead, she had to go through this again. It felt like every day, she had to make her love her again. Despite the fact that those scared little eyes held so much affection in them.

.

"Oh, Aisha." Lorian sighed, as she wrapped up the little girl in a comforting hug, laying her head on top of Aisha's. "I really wish… mmh. Nevermind."

.

Meanwhile, Aisha was in her own little hell. She was trying desperately not to mewl, to give into the demon, with all her promises of hugs and love and kisses and amazing warmth - they were lies!

.

Yep, they were all lies! That was what Aisha had decided - Her mistress was tricking her - into thinking that she loved her, that Aisha loved her back - all so that she could farm Aisha for her - for her…

.

For something! Something for sure, but she just knew that she couldn't give in. Couldn't give into the hugs. Couldn't give into the headpats. Despite how good they felt, despite how badly she wanted to just bury herself into her mistress and snuggle herself into oblivion-

.

"Aisha, you know you're supposed to hug me." Lorian mumbled. "It's in the contract."

.

Lorian hated bringing up the contract. It was an exercise of her ownership over Aisha - the part of their relationship that she was both grateful for, and absolutely despised. Grateful because it kept Aisha from running away, because it was literally what had brought them together. But it also prevented her from truly expressing her desires. She couldn't. Because… because she didn't want to force Aisha to do things. It hurt her to cause any discomfort to the girl, to force her outside of her comfort zone, squirming and flailing.

.

But it was what she had to do. She had to constantly remind herself that… Aisha was broken. Just a little ember, burnt out from years of… loathing, of self-hatred, of loneliness… Lorian wanted to cradle that ember back to life, but she had to do it carefully, slowly. She had to stoke the flame, but if she blew too hard, the fire would go out.

.

"I-I am hugging you." Aisha mumbled. "W-w-w-w-w-we're so c-c-c-close to e-e-each other howcouldwenotbehugging?"

.

Lorian just shook her head and sighed, as she lifted up a hand and began to stroke Aisha's ears. She smiled a small smile, feeling Aisha relax against her body, and her breathing start to even out. A few more pats, and Aisha unconsciously hugged Lorian back, her small little arms not even long enough to touch each other behind her back. Lorian let out a breath of contentment at the gesture. It felt good.

.

"Good girl." Lorian whispered lovingly into Aisha's big, sensitive ears, and smiled with delight as Aisha looked up at her, panicked expression on her face.

.

"W-w-wuh?" The little girl stammered. "D-don't… I'm not…"

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"You're a good girl." Lorian beamed, relishing in Aisha's red expression, and the smile tugging at the girl's lips. "My good girl. The cutest, most adorable, most beautiful little kitten."

"Stop!" Aisha squeaked, hiding the delight on her face terribly. "I-I…N-no, I-I'm not a… a good girl. O-oh gods, I-I-I…"

.

Lorian giggled, as Aisha hid her face into her chest, rubbing it side to side in a poor attempt to mask her smiling face, and quell the lovey heat in her chest.

.

"I lo-" Lorian bit her lip. "You're being such a good girl for me. So nice. So cute. So obedient. Good girl."

"Noooo…" Aisha whined, her head going light. Or was it her heart? Oh god, her heart was beating so fast - her chest felt so warm, and light, and fluffy, and she wanted to kiss mistress sooo bad!

.

"Do you know what good girls get?" Lorian asked rhetorically.

"...No?"

.

Lorian lowered her voice to the most sultry register she could muster, and breathed out her words directly into Aisha's big, sensitive ears.

"Anything they want. Snuggles, kisses, hugs. Cake. So what do you want?"

.

"...Can you… can you pat my head?" Aisha whispered.

.

.

.

The next day, Lorian was sure that Aisha had come through. She would come home, and she would be waiting there, shy, but still ready to receive Lorian's love. Lorian would open those doors, and she would hug her good girl, after such a dreadfully long, boring day.

.

It had been raining the whole day, and Lorian was wet, and cold, and she just wanted to lay down and cuddle.

.

"God fucking dammit." She growled.

.

At the furious expression on Lorian's face, Aisha screamed in terror, bolting out from behind her hiding spot and running face-first into the bedroom door. She scrambled up to her feet, but wasn't nearly close to fast enough, a massive weight dropping on top of her legs, the door cracking behind her as Lorian slammed her hand on top of it, right next to Aisha's head. The little girl didn't dare look at the damage on the door, fear paralyzing her entire body.

.

She had never really felt the difference between their sizes until just now, Lorian's huge, seven foot frame looming menacingly over Aisha. She could crush Aisha's neck with a single hand, if she wanted. She wouldn't even have to use any magic.

.

"I'm so fucking tired of this." Lorian growled, eyes starting to melt into golden color. "What the hell do you want me to do? Do you want me to never touch you again? Set you free and throw you out onto the streets?"

.

Aisha gave no response, save for the terrified expression on her face, mouth slightly open, but no sound coming out.

.

"TELL ME!" Lorian roared.

"I'm sorry!" Aisha cried, putting her hands up in front of her face for protection. "I-I'm… I'm sorry! I don't…"

.

At the tears leaking down Aisha's face, a wave of guilt instantly washed over Lorian, the tall girl's expression melting into concern and regret. She stopped sitting on Aisha's legs, backing away from her and hunching over to put her face level with Aisha's. She didn't dare touch the girl, not after she had - had basically threatened to punch a hole in her.

.

That was right. Aisha had never… loved someone before. Or been loved. She was still working out her feelings, and Lorian had… she had…

.

Suddenly, Lorian was the one who felt fear freeze her heart, as she realized that her temper may have damaged her relationship with Aisha permanently.

.

"I-I'm so sorry." Lorian whispered. "I'm… No, Aisha, don't cry, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you, I'm…"

"Please don't hit me-" Aisha choked out, voice wavering. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

.

"No, no!" Lorian cried. "Aisha, I would never hit you, I'm so sorry, oh my god, please, forgive me Aisha, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm a bad girl." Aisha whispered. "I-I…"

"No, Aisha!" Lorian said, anguished. "I love you, okay! I'm so sorry that I got upset. You didn't do anything wrong. You're a good girl. I love you. Please don't hate me!"

.

With trembling arms, Lorian carefully wrapped her arms around Aisha's back, dragging her into a careful embrace, as if she was afraid she was going to crush her.

.

"I'm sorry." Lorian whispered. "I love you. I love you. Please, Aisha… I…"

.

"I…" Aisha gulped down a load of saliva.

.

Lorian's mouth went dry.

"I'm sorry, mistress." Aisha whispered. "I… I l-love you too."

.

Instantly, Lorian's entire body relaxed, as she scooped Aisha up into a tight hug, arms still trembling. Aisha returned the hug, and Lorian felt a few tears of her own leak from her eyes.

.

"Oh, Aisha…" Lorian whispered. "I don't deserve you. I should have… I…"

"You're wet, mistress…" Aisha mumbled. "L-let me… let me get you some dry clothes… I…"

"No no no!" Lorian cried, hugging Aisha tighter. "You don't have to do anything! Don't go. Don't go. Okay?"

.

"...Okay." Aisha said in a small voice.

.

For what seemed like an eternity, Lorian sat there, hugging Aisha for dear life. She was deathly afraid that if she let go, that Aisha would run away and never come back. She was so selfish. So fucking stupid. The love of her life - She could… she could have lost her, just because she just wanted some fucking hugs, because she wasn't damn patient enough to just let Aisha figure out her feelings at her own pace.

.

She wanted to tear her hair out.

.

"Mistress?" Aisha whispered.

"Y-yes?" Lorian whispered back.

"C-can we…" Aisha mumbled. ""U-um… I… I'm c-cold. C-can we… can we snuggle? I-In… In bed?"

.

Lorian's eyes widened.

"Y-yes, yes, o-o-of course, anything for my good girl."

.

.

.

The next day, Lorian was prepared to never see Aisha again. She couldn't blame her if she did. She was such a rotten, awful person. It would literally tear at her insides, and she would scream, hurt herself, destroy everything in her house, but perhaps it would be for the best, if Aisha stayed away from such a terrible person.

.

Aisha had been there in the morning, but who knew if she would still be there when she got back. She had almost skipped all her classes to keep an eye on her, but… no, if Aisha wanted to leave, Lorian couldn't stop her. Shouldn't stop her. She couldn't just force Aisha to stay, it was wrong. She couldn't do that to someone she loved.

.

She felt bitter. Unbelievably bitter.

.

"I'm home." She mumbled halfheartedly, staring at her shoes. She didn't want to look. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

.

But then a small, shy voice piped up, and a pair of small arms circled around her hips.

.

"W-welcome home, mistress." Aisha mumbled shyly, looking up at her mistress with those adorable doe eyes, shy, but filled with affection and love. Lorian's eyes widened, and tears began to well up at the corners of her eyes.

"G-good morning." Lorian choked back. "I…"

.

Aisha wrapped her arms around Lorian's neck, snuggling deeply into the big girl's chest. And then Lorian was no longer able to hold her tears back.

]

.

.

.

Aisha awoke the next morning to a deafening screech and the sounds of battle, explosions and arcane spells booming around the forest like fireworks. Aisha's eyes snapped open, and she quickly scrambled to her feet, jerking her head around to try and find the fighting.

.

Aisha's blood ran cold - the aura she felt was much stronger than her own, feral, but not exactly corrupted like a monster's soul. A beast's soul - a powerful, powerful beast.

.

The dragon. Judging by the sound and feeling, it was far away.

.

But just as quickly as the sounds and crashing started, they stopped abruptly, and Aisha felt the dragon's mana fade, and the forest went quiet once more.

.

Aryn scrambled over to her, almost tripping over a log, his hair unkempt, and his eyes still groggy with sleep.

.

"W-what the hell is going on?" He whispered. "Did you feel that? Did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Aisha nodded.

"Was it… was it the dragonslayer?"

"I don-"

.

Before Aisha could even finish her sentence, Aryn had run off in the direction of the sounds. Aisha hissed. Stupid idiot - it still wasn't safe. The dragon could have killed Vega, and was simply hiding its presence, and when the elf boy would run over to investigate…

.

(I want the dragon soul.) Her shadow growled.

.

Aisha ran off, chasing Aryn.

.

.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Aisha hissed, gripping Aryn by his hood and yanking the elf backwards. "We don't know if it's safe yet!"

"But the dragonslayer might be leaving!" Aryn whined. "I want to go see!"

.

"Who's got the death wish now!?" Aisha snapped. "That's not worth potentially dying!"

"Well it's too late now." Aryn shrugged. "We're already here."

.

Sure enough, the stench of burnt foliage soon met Aisha's nose, as well as an intense sense of foreboding. It was true that this close, the dragon wouldn't be able to hide its presence, both due to its immense size, and because of its massive power.

.

But something was wrong. Even as she stepped into the clearing, and saw the corpse of the dragon, something was very, very, very wrong.

.

Why didn't she also feel, or see Vega?

.

Why was the dragon corpse completely unscathed?

.

Adrenaline filled her body, filled her head, until all she could hear was her heartbeat, even as Kayle and Morgan entered the clearing behind her. Something was terribly wrong. Every instinct in her body told her to RUN.

.

Whirring.

.

The sound of something…

.

Mechanical.

.

Aisha looked to her right, where Aryn lay, dead.