The first flakes of the December snows had begun to fall, but Cobalt barely even registered them. In fact, he hadn't been paying much attention to anything lately, not since what Alison had told him just a few days earlier. Whenever there was a lull in classroom activity, he'd catching himself replaying those words in his head, over and over again.
"Cordelia found a cure."
The night when Cobalt failed to advance to his third stage, after his weeping mother brought him home, he remembered sneaking out of their family home and climbing in through the window of the Phrodival Matriarch's villa. Sequestering himself in the library, he grabbed what few books about Incubi he could find and read them under lamplight, desperate to learn what information had been denied to him all these years.
Incubi - his kind - had always been the greatest tragedy of the Succubus race. Throughout history, their births were seen as ill omens, and in ancient times young Incubus boys were often killed out of mercy or left alone to starve in the wilds. Some villages sought to raise them with love and kindness, hoping that enough care would avert their fate.
Those villages would disappear after twenty one years.
Eventually, when the Undercroft's lowest levels were excavated on the orders of Lady Fesser, she sought to gather the Incupsychotic demons of the world and hold them deep below the earth, in order to keep them save from others as well as themselves. Down there, they could be fed, clothed and treated with what little dignity could be afforded, but at the end of the day, the Incubi were still little more than savage animals that wore the faces of once-beloved sons, fathers and lovers.
A lump formed in Cobalt's throat. And to think that his own father was down there somewhere, unable to remember the legend he left behind, unaware of the fact that he had a son.
But this talk of a cure, developed by Lady Fesser's own descendant... It could change everything. If Alison managed to get it working, then all those lost souls deep in the belly of the Undercroft could be freed from the shackles of their own mind. They could finally walk upright as men again. Incubi would no longer be seen as ticking time bombs, but as people with real, genuine futures ahead of them.
They would no longer need to be fetters. Never again.
"Kid."
Cobalt flinched at the sudden voice, nearly sweeping his desk clean as he whipped around in his chair. Lilith was over in the kitchenette, sharpening one of his kitchen knives. Her brow furrowed over her one eye.
"Quit spacing out," she told him, holding the blade up to the light.
"S- Sorry..." the Incubus murmured, returning his attention to the papers in front of him.
Permissions slips, information brochures, a list of costs for transportation and access... all for the class trip. With a month of snow on the way, the excavations into the ruins outside of town had halted, and were open for outside viewing for the next few days. Cobalt managed to grab an available timeslot, but arranging the trip itself was nothing short of a nightmare. He had floated the idea past Mistress Viola a few weeks ago, but she was incredulous as to how seeing some ruins whose purpose is as-of-yet unknown would benefit a History class.
He wouldn't risk asking her again, not after the conversation they had. He felt a little remorseful about the things he said, but when he remembered how the Headmistress had asked him to step down, such feelings were replaced with anger once more.
"Kid," Lilith called again.
"What?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
"This cure thing... It's not gonna happen," the Devil said, laying the knife down on the counter as she picked up another.
Cobalt gritted his teeth.
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. Every aspect of an Incubus was made to kill. It's not something that can be flushed out with a few chemicals. And even if it does miraculously work, have you asked yourself whether it's even morally right?" Lilith asked, scraping the blade against the knife sharpener.
"What the Hell are you talking about?" the Incubus asked, growing more annoyed with her.
"You'd essentially be denying an Incubus his very purpose."
"You're saying that an Incubus' purpose is just to kill?!"
"Yes. It's how it's always been."
"So what about me, then?!"
She raised an eyebrow.
"You've already got a body count, Cobalt. You don't have a leg to stand on," Lilith said coolly, gently running her finger along the sharpened blade.
Shooting out of his chair, he fixed the Devil with a furious gaze. Maddened by her words, heat began to spread through his body, setting his veins alight.
"I'm not letting you ruin this for me," he growled, pointing a finger at her.
Lilith shrugged and gripped the knife.
"Look, you can go chasing your tail as much as you want. Just so long as you remember priority number one; dealing with the rest of the Alpha Corps. They'll strike when you least expect it, at any given moment."
Her eye flashed red.
"So think on your feet, kid...!"
Without warning, Lilith threw the kitchen knife directly at her host. He let out a sharp gasp and crossed his arms in front of his face as a surge of terrified adrenaline shot through him. Teeth burst from his flesh, tearing through the sleeves of his shirt and forming a protective layer of enamel right as the knife made contact. It bounced off the ivory scales and clattered to the floor.
"Lilith, what the Hell?!" Cobalt roared, balling his fists as hot blood dripped from his arms.
"You're gonna need to be quicker than that if you're gonna stand a chance."
"Don't you lecture me-!"
"Shh."
The Devil raised a finger, silencing them both. Just outside the window, he could faintly hear the telltale sounds of footsteps echoing across the support beam.
Before he could say anything, Lilith melted away into a mass of ferromantic magic and refused with Cobalt's body, prompting him to hiss through his teeth as his head briefly throbbed.
"Remember the deal, kid; you help deal with my pursuers, and I'll get out of your hair. And if you wanna see that deal through, then you gotta get stronger. Now go tell your company to politely fuck off," she told him right as he heard a knock at the window.
Cobalt stepped over to the window and reached forward to open the blinds, stopping only upon realising that his arms were still covered in teeth. Frowning, he watched as blood slowly oozed from between them and dripped onto the floor. Funny, it didn't hurt as much as it used to.
He heard another knock. Shaking his head, he pulled away the blinds and opened up the window.
Out on the sill, Karazelle squatted with a devilish grin on her face.
"Howdy, sugar. Just wanted to drop by and see how you were-"
She cut herself off upon noticing his arms. Smile fading, she glanced at the countless malformed teeth before looking up into his exhausted eyes.
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"... Caught you in the middle of something, huh?" the Succubus said after a moment.
"Something like that..." he murmured, flexing his fingers and listening to the fangs click against one another.
Nodding slowly, she shivered as a gust of cold wind blustered past her.
"Can I come in?"
"Of course."
Stepping aside, Karazelle swung herself into his room, her wings spreading wide as she landed deftly in the middle of the floor. Standing up tall, she frowned and peered at the bloodstains on the floor. Glancing back, she forced on a little smile and nodded at his arms.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
"A little bit. I'm getting used to it, though," Cobalt replied, clenching his fists.
He tensed his muscles experimentally. His veins flashed as his body temperature suddenly spiked. Eyes widening, Karazelle shielded her face as the teeth launched themselves out of Cobalt's flesh in an explosion of blood and bone. The Succubus just about managed to backpedal out of range of the spray, her face twisted with shock. Blinking a few times, she glanced down at the crimson mess before peering into the Incubus' tired eyes.
"Oh sugar..." she breathed, carefully tiptoeing around the bloodstains.
"I'm sorry. I know this is gross," he murmured, wiping his soaked arms and tattered sleeves off on the front of his now-ruined shirt.
"Hey, none of that, alright? You're just working through some stuff," the Succubus told him, stepping into his bathroom.
She quickly returned with a damp towel. Holding his hands, she set about tenderly washing his arms, taking care not to disturb the countless little cuts in his skin knitted themselves back together. She looked up and watched as the red steam rose from his wounds, allowing him to scrutinise her face.
Karazelle's face... when she wasn't laughing at her own jokes or oogling him with lusty, half-lidded eyes, Cobalt found her to be... well... beautiful. Her features were gentle and kind, and her eyes... there was something about them that made a lump form in his throat.
A lump that made it hard to ask her what he wanted to ask.
Did she really try to poison him...?
"Karazelle?" Cobalt asked as she wiped away the last of the blood.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you here?"
Flashing him a grin, she slipped back into the bathroom in order to wash the towel off. He heard her giggle from within before she stuck her leg out from behind the door.
"Oh, I do wonder, sugar~?" she purred, bending her knee as her skirt slowly inched upwards.
Feeling his cheeks burn, the Incubus tried to look away, but her just... couldn't.
"K- Karazelle, come on... enough of this..." he mumbled, feeling rather warm.
Pulling her leg back in, the Succubus coyly peered out with a lurid smirk.
"Hm? Enough of what~?"
"This, um... joking around."
Her smile widened into a brilliant grin. Reaching up, she loosened her tie and slowly undid the top button of her shirt.
"Oh, but I'm not joking, sugar~"
She undid another few buttons, allowing Cobalt a view of her ample-
He tore his gaze away at last, much to her delight. Her tail swished rhythmically and her wings fluttered seductively as Karazelle began to sashay towards her teacher.
"You've been so stressed lately, sugar. You know you can ask me if you need any help 'relieving' it, right...?" she breathed huskily.
Her words stirred his blood, causing his veins to dimly flash in time to his rapidly-quickening heartbeat. Karazelle's eyes widened at the sight of such a phenomenon.
"Oho, now isn't that something~? Tell me sugar, does that glow go all the way down?"
"I- I don't know, th- this has never happened before," Cobalt stammered, equally alarmed by both what was happening to his body as well as what Karazelle was doing. She sighed dramatically and took another step forward-
- right onto some of the Incubus' discarded teeth. The Succubus winced as they crunched underfoot. Frowning, Cobalt peered down at the sanguine mess on the floor.
"I- I should probably get this cleaned up," he said quickly, silently thankful for the sudden interruption.
As he grabbed a cloth and began to frantically dab at the blood on the floor, Karazelle hunkered down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Here," she said in her usual, sweet tone of voice, "I'll help."
"N- No, you don't have to-"
"Hey. I meant it when I told you I'm here for you. Through the good times, the bad times, and the times where we gotta pick bloody molars off the floor," she told him with a gentle giggle, gingerly plucking one of his teeth off the stained floorboards.
She squinted at it for a moment.
"Though I think this one might be a canine. Or an incisor. No offense sugar, but it's hard to tell with your teeth; they're all kind sharp and pointy."
"S- Sorry."
"Don't be. Between you and me; sharp teeth? Pretty hot."
"Wh- What?!"
"Let's get these picked up, shall we?"
Both on their knees, the two Lust demons set about cleaning up the mess left in the wake of Cobalt's sudden bout of carnimancy. Cobalt scrubbed the blood up with damp clothes as Karazelle meticulously collected his discarded teeth up, disposing of them in his kitchen bin. Despite the macabre situation, he felt oddly comfortable doing this with her, and by the time it had all been cleaned up, he felt much calmer.
"Hey sugar," said the Succubus, sitting down on the bed behind him.
He peered over his shoulder at her. Her shirt was still unbuttoned, but looking at her like this... he didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable.
"We should go the movies sometimes," she told him, leaning back with a little smile on her face.
He frowned.
"I don't think that would look very appropriate to the outside observer."
"That's why we should go after the Summer Festival, when I graduate. Ooh, maybe we could go for your birthday!"
Cobalt's frown deepened. After the Summer Festival, which meant after the Rite of Maturation. She would look older than him at that point.
Noticing the look on his face, Karazelle's gaze softened.
"Or, we could have a night in and watch movies on my laptop. I have all your mom's movies downloaded. Didn't even torrent them either," she told him.
The Incubus let a quiet laugh escape as he shook his head.
"I'm afraid I would have to decline, then. I just can't watch Mom's films in one sitting; she's so over dramatic."
With an overplayed gasp, the Succubus held a hand to her chest and playfully prodded him with her foot.
"Hold your tongue, Cobalt Trayer! I'll have you know that Jezebel Trayer is one of my personal idols!"
He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked.
Karazelle shrugged.
"Well, her and pretty much all Fesserites."
Leaning back, the Succubus gazed up at his ceiling.
"I'd really like to go to Phrodival some day, you know. It's kinda like a crucible of our people if you think about it. The way I read it, most other Succubus settlements didn't seem to last all that long."
Cobalt held his tongue. He wasn't about to tell her way.
"Couldn't point it out to you on a map, though. I'm useless at Geography," Karazelle sighed.
"Well, that's no surprise."
"What do you mean?"
"Phrodival is built in the impact crater of a meteor. Whatever kind of metal it's made out of, it messes with compasses and other kinds of electronics. Makes it hard to map."
He didn't tell her that the Undercroft had been carved from that very meteorite. Behind the cold stone tiles of its deepest chambers was hard, unfeeling metal.
Grinning, the Succubus lay down on his bed with her head propped up on her hand.
"Well well, sugar; with the way you talk the place up, you really gotta take me there sometimes. Another potential date idea~?" Karazelle suggested, her tail flicking behind her.
He knew she was joking, but it still pained him to tell her that it wouldn't be possible.
"Strangers aren't really allowed in Phrodival unless they've been specifically vetted by the Matriarch. She mostly only lets in victims of predators or those struggling with having kids," he told her, sitting down next to her on the bed.
Her gleaming teeth flashed as she suddenly hooked a leg around his waist. In one clean movement, she simultaneously threw Cobalt onto his back whilst maneuvering herself on top of him. Grabbing his wrists, she gave him a wink and pinned his arms above his head.
The Incubus' veins began to pulse once more.
"So what you're saying is that if I'm trying to get pregnant, I could potentially visit Phrodival~?" she asked, leaning in close to his face.
Her perfume was overpowering, but in the sweetest way.
"K- Karazelle, that's not what I meant!"
"Hah, I know!"
She loosened her grip on his wrists, only to suddenly thread her fingers through his.
"Unless...?"
Cobalt tried to cry out, but only wound up choking on his own saliva. Giggling like it was the funniest thing in Hell, she rolled off her teacher and lay next to him, her hand still in his.
"You still stressed, sugar?" Karazelle asked, glancing over at him.
The Incubus thought for a moment. Surely enough, some light conversation and kind words from the Succubus was enough to settle his nerves, but still his suspicions lingered at the back of his mind.
He trusted her. What happened in the gym with the water she gave him... it had to have been some kind of misunderstanding.
Yes, that had to be it. He trusted Karazelle not to hurt him, just as she trusted him not to hurt her.
Cobalt swallowed hard.
"Karazelle?" he asked after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Usually, no. But for you, sugar? Of course."
He took another deep breath.
"There's going to be more."
"More what?"
"Devils."
He could practically hear her breath catch in her throat.
"What...?" she breathed.
"There's going to be more Devils, and they're going to come for me. I can't tell you how I know. I- I want to, but I just can't. I just... want to know if I can trust you."
Her grip on his hand tightened. He felt warmer with her next to him.
"Of course you can, sugar. Devils or no, I've got your back."
She clasped his hand with both of hers as she rolled over to face him head-on.
"I don't know what's going on with you, sugar, and you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I'm here for you. And the others are here for you too."
Cobalt swallowed hard.
"I... don't know if I'm ready to put them in harm's way yet."
"I know, sugar. But you gotta remember that we're all ready to fight alongside you if needs be. You just gotta say the word."
Smiling, she reached over and patted his cheek.
"So don't worry, okay? Any mean old Devils show up, I'll help you kick their asses."
He didn't flinch at her touch. He didn't shy away. He didn't feel nervous or shocked or scared.
Cobalt felt safe with Karazelle beside him. He didn't say anything, but he just shut his eyes and lay next to her. She did the same before long.
Their hands lay clasped, and as the alluring embrace of sleep gradually overtook them, the last thing Cobalt felt was his tail slowly coiling around her's.
Fear and uncertainty seemed to stalk his daily life, but with someone as stalwart as Karazelle by his side, he didn't feel quite so scared.
Maybe he...
No.
It was best not to entertain such thoughts.