The noonday sun peeked in through the trees. Birds sang, some chimeric predator made a wild call somewhere higher in the hills, and hunting hawks made their cries high in the sky above. Heat rolled into the cool of the forest and washed over Ivan with the warm rays of the sun. He grumbled at that.
The Shroud of Samiel was cast about him and tendrils of darker, fleshier shadows fought back the approach of the light at his feet where he was curled up against a tree. His body was warm within the shadows even throughout the night even without the help of the sun, and he almost felt as if he had rested well. He glared up at the sun and cursed the God of Light from disturbing him from such restful sleep. Istania had always made sure he knew how important it was to get the proper amounts of sleep his body needed every night.
He missed his gentle, playful, and sometimes very crass Goddess. She always managed to brighten any part of the day she got involved in. Just like Tanya. Waking here in the forest hadn't been very strange to him now. He was just glad he was rested. He just wished he lived another few days of coming down from his room to see Tanya trying to show the Goddess how to cook without making a complete disaster, or to wake early and do the same to cheers from the other kids with Mother Melda himself. Mother was her title as High Priestess of the parish, but she had really earned it in Ivan's case. When he was little and moody Mother Melda had been the one to bring him to the garden and get him to open up about his pains and nightmares. Naturally she had sent Tanya after him too, but Mother Melda had her part in watching over Ivan as she did with all the kids who grew up after being adopted by the parish.
Something moved in the shadows of the Shroud and Penelope sat up suddenly appearing in Ivan's lap from within the folds. She cast up her arms, yawning and stretching before sitting back down and laying against Ivan.
He watched her with a dry and level gaze as she leaned back against him, sighing sweetly as she relaxed. Ivan had noticed right away that she had appeared without her horns or fur. Thankfully he was still very much fully clothed. It was a relief from what he was managing of the memories of last night. It appeared he was alive and not in trouble with the Demon, but she seemed troubled all her own. A good example of that was appearing naked by choice while remaining in the admittedly large shelter of the Shroud.
“How exactly did you just pop out of the shroud?” Ivan asked. He thought he knew more or less by feel, but he was feeling stubborn and like having a proper answer instead of just feeling it out. That desire was a large reason his Scribe Job had reached level 5 at his age. When he wanted definite answers he went and got them.
She smiled at him.
“Why, you invited me in last night of course. You were a bit out of sorts, but it was pretty much the only thing that would have stopped you from gently ravaging this so precious and innocent conjured body of mine. You might have been a Paladin, and still a virgin, but you certainly know how to make a woman shiver in delight. Naughty boy.” Penelope chided, playfully booping his nose with one finger over her shoulder.
He meant just to glare at her, but it came out as a growl. When she started smiling at him again with raised eyebrows he realized what his hands were doing and pulled them away. Or at least he tried.
Penelope grabbed them and guided them back to where they had been on her hips. She grinned at him again, this time changing her eyes back to her demon form to add that special extra menace to her otherwise completely human shape. Ivan had almost not even recognized she had been in human form since she appeared. He had only noted the lack of horns and fur. With his hands. That had been practically stroking her thighs…
He took a deep breath and tried to take stock.
“So...you put me to sleep?” He asked.
Penelope nodded casually, and twisted her hips a bit to adjust how she sat. Her fingers found their way into his and she grinned playfully at him.
Ivan glared at her, or at least tried. She only seemed more pleased by it. So he did something she didn't expect.
He leaned into her mouth and kissed her for all he was worth.
The succubus writhed on his lap and he had to fight to keep his hands doing tame and reasonable things, but he didn't let her go for a good while. When he did she was panting and he was trying to remember just what he was thinking when his mouth took over.
“Thank you.” He told her.
She was blushing and catching her breath, but Ivan wasn't entirely sure if that was just acting yet or not. Still the thank you got a reaction out of her about as good as the kiss had.
She raised her eyebrows at him.
“That's the thanks I get for just putting you to sleep?” She asked, playing coy.
Ivan nodded, and then while gathering a little resolve to hold back against what he was about to do, let one of his hands slip over her breasts and another down between her thighs before he kissed her yet again. This time it was just on the cheek.
Still Penelope reacted by taking a harsh breath. The dark orbs of her eyes flashed at him.
“Naughty--” She began, but he spoke over her.
“You like it. When I fight the temptation of your magic off and then go in for it anyway. You've been doing it this whole time. You want me to give in anyway after fighting you off.” Ivan told her.
Penelope's gaze returned to her normal human blue-gray, and her expression became thoughtful. Her human form looked very much like her true form, if that's what the other was, and Ivan had to admit her chosen form was pretty. She had black silky hair that she made appear longer than normal, but that was still somehow just as real to touch and feel. Her eyes were playful and curious normally, but taken in with her current nudity her looks had completely different tones.
“Maybe I do.” Penelope admitted. “What's that got to do with thanking me?” She asked, one eyebrow raised as he pulled his hands from her body.
“You want something more than what's in the pact as it is now. I think you even told me once, but I was too--” Ivan waved his hand about his head. Penelope grinned at him in a way that told him he was right. “Anyway I'm pretty sure that one way or another that involves me.” He went on softly.
Penelope's grin took on a predatory cast.
“And?”
“You've been true to your word so far. You've taken care of me. Cared for me. You've been patient and encouraging. I know I've been difficult--” Ivan hesitated. “I need that. Especially right now. I need you to distract me. And I need you to keep me focused. I--” He lost the words again and sighed. Distant emotions bubbled up. He tried not to think of how much more he wanted Tanya in his lap than a magically pretty demon. Still he felt bad for striking her the night before.
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He thought for a moment and then just closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers.
“-- Thank you.” He said again lamely.
Penelope seemed to hesitate a moment, but then pushed his head back with one finger. He opened his eyes to see her giving him a curious look as she transitioned back in her demon form. Dark shadows still played up the arcs of her horns as they appeared. The same danced like flames across her limbs where her silky soft fur appeared.
“I'll accept that if you kiss me when I'm like this.” She said coyly, flashing her clawed fingers near his face with a slow and deliberate 'come get me' gesture.
He reached out without hesitation and took her hand in his own as he leaned close. With his other arm he pulled her in, and carefully avoided the bottom curls of her horns as tilted his head to kiss her mouth. He tasted her, and her tongue, each moment of it more intoxicating than any drink Ivan had ever had. Still he kept on until still in the expansive folds of the Shroud under the tree he had Penelope on her back. He was fighting himself from doing more, but before he regained control he had one of her legs resting on his shoulder and had to pry his hand away from his belt.
His breath was heavy by the time he got himself to pull away. Penelope seemed stunned. In fact she appeared to really be blushing this time. Her normally pale face was entirely red, and her mouth hung just open in a way that suggested she hadn't wanted the kiss to end just then. Just that soft and quiet reaction suggesting that she would be pliant to his demands nearly made him go mad with lust.
“I was...” She began weakly. “I was just teasing...” She went on with a smile that somehow blended the embarrassed look and color on her cheeks into something much less innocent.
He had to tear his eyes away from her and pull his hands away from touching her. Instead he focused on the absolutely billowing size of the Shroud. It was like a massive leather blanket right now. The shade under their tree seemed darker and deeper than the others too. He frowned at the massive leather until it began to retract. It closed around him to the size of a normal cloak and then small enough to be a cape. He frowned at that too as he sat up. If he bore Penelope down any longer her scent would get in his head again and he wouldn't be able to help himself.
Instead of giving in to the demon he stood and focused on shaping the shroud. With some effort he made it into a sort of loose duster like he seen on men who came from the Plains. He shook his head and dismissed the magic item. It wasn't a day where he would normally need a cloak at all let alone some great leather thing. He dug into his small bag and produced some of the food he had stolen the night before. His bag rattled with the loose coins that had been thrown into it and the jade mortar and pestle were a solid weight inside their wrappings beside his food.
He ate, but was in a sour mood. He removed the mortar and pestle to see the paste inside. He inspected it. Normally Milk Cotton leaves needed to be dried, ground into a fine powder, and then sieved through a fine mesh multiple times to remove the plant fibers. His Scribe abilities told him it was a potent potion ingredient that was often ignored because the leaves added an incredibly bitter taste. It was the same with carefully gathered and dried mold. Get too much of the root, or sometimes bread, that was used to cultivate it and your mixture might have a contaminant in it.
He hadn't been very careful at all and upon observation now the magic of the item seemed to have included the foreign elements to enhance the result as much as it had seen to skipping several steps. Ivan couldn't tell how much better the ointment would have been had he taken the time to do all the proper steps, but what he did know filled him with regret. This one magic item would have saved Tanya. He had done what he could to make medicine for her, but it was the mundane kind, and his attempts without proper equipment had made it rudimentary even then. She had died of infection at the end of it all. And now he had the cure to it in his hands. In fact now he had the ability to simply gather what he needed into his hands, or spread out on a table before him, and he could just use mana to skip the preparation steps and equipment.
The end result would always be better when he took the time to do them, but it was always good to have the efficiency magic offered. It was the same with healing. First Aid, patching and tending wounds first before healing them cut down on the mana cost for the caster of a healing spell, and greatly reduced the fatigue felt by the one who was healed. Everything was sort of like that. Ivan could rip the proper weeds from the ground and use magic to hastily make medicine now, but if he took the time to purify each of the elements of his mixture before using his new Skill the result would be leagues ahead in potency.
“You should put that away in the Shroud. The magic item too.” Penelope said suddenly human again and stood naked beside him. She grinned at him as his dry gaze took her in from head to foot.
“I could make pockets in it I suppose. It was easy enough to shape it.” Ivan agreed.
Penelope shook her head.
“No silly. Put it into the Shroud's space. Your little mixture won't spoil there, and no one will detect that you have that silly green bowl and masher.” Penelope told him brightly.
He gave her another dry gaze, but couldn't shake the feeling that she was right.
At a thought the Shroud draped around him again, all of its movements coming with a grace that suggested it was under water rather than simply in the air about him.
“Right now just stick that stuff into the Shadows one by one once you have it open.” Penelope told him.
Ivan gave her a curious look again, but once more he had a niggling feeling she was right.
With the Shroud about him like a true heavy cloak he drew out the ointment with his fingers and thrust it into the shade made by the cloak. His hand never struck leather though most of his arm up to his elbow should have by now. He retrieved his arm without a spec of the ointment on his fingers to be seen. He even tasted one finger just to be sure.
There was no bitter taste of the Milk Cotton leaves.
He raised an eyebrow at Penelope. Then after a moment he remembered that she hadn't answered his question. He hadn't felt her weight on him or at his side when he awoke. Yet she had popped out of the inside of the Shroud when he awoke.
Penelope giggled, twisting her feet and hips in a girlish fashion.
Ivan took hold of the Shroud with one arm and cast it over her. Shadows seemed to reach out from inside its folds, and the unnatural darkness faded as he passed by where Penelope had stood. He stared at the open ground, and the marks of her human feet in among the deer like prints of her cloven demon form. He shook his head and looked about; he even dismissed the Shroud to make sure she wasn't just hiding within it using some trick.
He heard her laugh all the same.
“Now I get to tease you from inside your head.” She whispered to him before breaking into gales of laughter at his shocked reaction.
“How...how do I get you out?” Ivan asked aloud, begrudgingly amazed and excited over the use of magic. He had always loved magic, but like so many others he hadn't been born with the Spark for it. Maybe that was another reason he had tried so hard once he had the Scribe Job. It was one of a few basic jobs that could give one access to magic.
“Well you just kind of will it and make sure there's a shadow large enough for me to step out of.” Penelope said. Her reply was happy and reflecting the warmth that must have been in his own voice.
He cast out the Shroud again, the leather floated through the air in a rippling motion too light and airy for a material so thick and heavy. Inky darkness spread from beneath it where it seemed to soak in and darken all the shade around it.
Penelope danced out from under the folds of the Shroud twirling in her demon form. She raised her hands into the air and gave a modest curtsy as though presenting herself at the end of a play.
“Ta da!” She sang out.
Ivan couldn't help the smile that grew onto his face. In spite of everything that had happened he knew he needed to let himself have a little fun. He couldn't be dark and brooding all the time or else he never would have gotten up from his comfy spot against that tree.
Penelope came to him smiling.
“Now your Quixla's dagger and your sword.” She instructed.
Ivan looked at her curiously before quickly feeling at his belt. No wonder he had been so comfortable. He hadn't had his sword sticking into his ribs or that deadly dangerous knife tucked carefully away in his belt. His startled moment lasted only a thought's length as he realized that he still held tight to his precious weapons. The Shroud settled over him like a cloak once more and from it he pulled his Knight's Longsword, and Quixla's Bloodletting Dagger with ease. They simply came into his hands when he reached into the shadow of the Shroud.
“Very good Ivan.” Penelope said, obviously delighted. “You have a good feel for the magic of the Shroud already. That's very, very ideal.” She went on, her voice bubbling with a girlish glee that mixed with the tone of a teacher. She took the wrist of his right hand, and was practically bouncing as she guided him along.
“This way. Come on. We can't stay here for very long. There's a fishing village near the coast on the other end of these woods. There might even be a few monsters to try between here and there too. All the better for the other tricks you get to learn now that you have the Shroud.” For all of her demonic appearance Penelope's voice carried her eager will to be on to the next task, and her enthusiasm for it. Ivan was struck to silence as countless memories of his gentle and lovely Tanya taking his hand to drag him off to whatever village festival or event that was happening at that time. A tiny surge of anger grew within him, but was quickly snuffed out. He didn't know if she was emulating Tanya on purpose, like she had taking her shape when he first conjured her, but he chose to let what charm she displayed work on him instead of burying himself in his anger.
He was quickly learning that his anger was more than just simple rage. It had been so long since he had ever gotten that angry, and now that he reflected upon it he realized that the Goddess had always appeared when he did. She would calm him, get him to laugh, or tell him a story about this or that Hero that had come and passed in the ages before his time. Just the thought of her being gone made his mind drip with sorrow and yet as he looked upon Penelope, shaking his head at her nakedness once again, he chose that even if it was an act on her part he would use it. He needed looking after. At least until he could control whatever his gentle Goddess had been trying to keep him away from.
Odds were he would need it before the end. He would need every trick and tactic he could master to kill a God.