Raziel knew very well what she was, how her body worked, and what that meant back home. Now, here, in a whole other world where her kind did not even exist, ‘Somehow I’m still a fetish.’ Every lewd act, every single position, the art portraying succubi tore her down to becoming nothing more than the receptacle of other people’s wants, or the cause of their destruction.

Her fingers shook as she tried to control the mouse and clicked it far more often than she meant to. When she figured out how to set the browsers side by side, she couldn’t help herself. Raziel searched for angels, and found the miracle stories, the beautiful valiant representations of her sister’s race, every noble and virtuous trait seemed to be attributed to them.

For her own self, it was not so. ‘In the best case we’re nothing but whores… enjoyable temptations to play with… the worst though…’ Every vice, every wickedness, every disgusting trait and flaw was heaped upon her. By the time she couldn’t bring herself to keep looking, she was convinced… ‘This is why he’s helping us. My sister because she’s supposed to be everything good, and me, because he wants me to be… that, or at least assumes I am.’ Raziel’s despair clawed at her mind while her sister slept soundly, snoring softly and drooling a little into her pillow.

‘I can’t even get trapped in another world without escaping that!’ She cursed her very birth, and glared at the sleeping Albaer. Every kind thing, it felt ‘tainted’ now. ‘Maybe he doesn’t really think I’m that way.’ She told herself, but it rang hollow.

He hadn’t tried anything… yet. ‘But maybe he’s just waiting, I wonder if humans have a heat cycle or something…’ Raziel’s despondency was briefly distracted by the question of her host’s uncertain biology. She set it aside, in Hylarim there were multiple story elements, including romances, and none of those involved anything resembling a heat cycle. Not even that one with the slutty lizard maid she kept finding in game books about. ‘If there’s no heat cycle, there’s no mating season, if there’s no mating season, that means that their sexuality is year round, like the apes in my world… which means when he looks at me…’

The despondency was mixed with anger, anger at him, anger at her world, anger at his world, and anger at herself for not being used to it by now.

Her red eyes burned down at him, while she was less innocent than her sister, Raziel’s lack of innocence had not always ended as well as her sister assumed it had. Even among demons, succubi had a reputation, one that followed her into every first hello and out of every last goodbye. Whether she’d done anything or not, nobody wanted to be the one who ‘couldn’t even get laid by a succubus’ and so it always ended the same way. If she didn’t do anything, they said she did, ‘And who would believe a succubus’ denial?’

Which left Albaer, a point of confusion in her head.

And if it was one thing Raziel hated, it was not understanding something. She clenched her jaw and fought back her tears, she cleared the browser history to hide what she’d been up to, then went to lie down beside her sister.

All that, it required answers, answers she didn’t think she’d get by just asking.

She slid into the sleeping bag and pulled the top tight over herself. She stared up into the darkness and tried to get all the lewd images and art out of her head, and while she did manage to eventually go to sleep…

They did not leave her even in her dreams.

She woke up to the sound of the falling water he referred to the other day as a shower, and saw that her sister was not beside her.

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She unfurled her wings and stretched out, the memory of her findings last night coming back to her in the moment, she scratched her horns for a a few seconds, then ran her hands through her hair so that the dark strands tumbled down her back.

He must have heard her get up because she heard him shout from in the bathroom, “My mom works long weekend shifts at the hospital, so you’ve got the run of the apartment today, as long as she doesn’t call me, we’re fine, so just keep an eye on my phone, alright!”

“Your what?” Raziel called back to the door.

“Uhhh, little rectangle thing, it’s sitting on my desk, it’s black, if you see numbers on the screen and it starts to vibrate, that’s her. Nobody else ever calls me.” He shouted back in an offhand way. “Don’t answer it, just… hand it to me through the door or bring it to me if you ever see it vibrate or make noise.”

“Right… right.” Raziel replied and glanced over at the desk where she saw what he referred to as a phone.

“What does it do?” She asked loud enough for him to hear.

“All the same stuff as a computer with an internet connection, and a little extra, it lets you talk to people all over the country.” Albaer said and went back to humming.

“Ah, can I try it, maybe?” Raziel asked, suddenly intrigued.

“Yes, just don’t hit the green button! Code is two-four-six-zero-one.” He said, and Raziel snatched the device up.

“Thanks.” She said and tapped out the code, figuring out all the little pictures meant different programs were easy, figuring out how to use them all, that took time. But she got faster and faster at it, and grew more and more confident. Her thumbs flew over the screen and her fang filled smile grew broader with happiness as she played with the new instrument.

Until she hit the green button.

‘Damn, how do I leave?!’ She hit the contacts list and saw only two names, ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’. ‘Maybe if I hit history it will take me back?’ She thought, and a black, blank screen came up. She glanced over her shoulder at the bathroom door, the water was turning off, she heard Albaer’s foot on the floor.

‘Damn it!’ She cursed, the one thing he’d asked her not to do, and she’d done it. Given what his world thought about succubi, ‘There’s no way he’ll believe it was an accident! Maybe it’s no big deal but…’ She had no idea if it was or not, and finally she found out what to do. She swiped up, closing the application, and quickly selected something else.

Her wings were still twitching when he stepped out of the bathroom wearing a thick white robe tied at the waist.

He looked at her cockeyed, “Raziel… is everything alright, did you… see something wrong, do something wrong, I mean?”

“Oh ah… no, no, no nothing…” She turned to look over her shoulder and flashed her fierce but sweet smile at him, “Just… flustered a little bit. All these new things, you know.”

“Right, right… forgive my question, this is a lot for all of us to take in.” Albaer smiled back at her, “But unless you plan on taking in more, please excuse me while I get dressed.”

“Oh! Yes of course…” Raziel laughed half heartedly and set the phone down on the desk again.

“Your sister is making breakfast… she’s trying her hand at scrambled eggs and bacon, why not join her, I’ll be out in a minute and then you two can have a shower… take turns with the shower I mean, there’s not comfortably enough room for two in there… not that you would… or that there’d be anything weird if you did because you’re sisters and there’s nothing… never mind.” Albaer stopped his rambling as best he could.

He took a deep breath, then stammered out what he should have said in the first place, or meant to, at least. “Ah, yeah, just go-go get breakfast, I’ll be out in a second.”

Raziel’s lips were smiling, but her jaw was clenched. When he finished though, she said, “That’s a good idea.” She then went out the door and closed it behind her.

Albaer went over to the phone and took off his robe, he glanced back at the shut door and looked down at the device. Nothing ‘seemed’ odd. ‘So why so flustered?’ He sorted through the browser history and checked the open apps, and found that the phone app he always kept open was closed.

Albaer shut his eyes, “Can I possibly look more pathetic?” He asked himself, and quietly began to get dressed.