The sun had finally poked its head out from behind the clouds, warming Cobalt's bones as he peered out of his bedroom window. He felt antsy. Nervous. But not hungry, at the very least. The fire in his gut had burned down to a low simmer, and the fatigue that sapped at his strength had abated for the time being. Swallowing hard, he glanced over at the bottle sitting on his kitchen table.
It was blood for sure. Cold, thick and coagulated... but filling. These Iron Hound Faithful kids... where did they get it from? And more importantly, how did they know that it was just what he needed?
Following that line of thinking disturbed him, and in all honesty, Cobalt really didn't want to upset himself. Not when he had so much to mentally prepare himself for.
It was the mid-term break. A few well-earned days of rest for the students of B.I.D. Cobalt had exchanged his work slacks for a pair of hard-wearing jeans and had pulled a jacket on over his shirt, his tie still hanging proudly from his neck. He felt a little bit concerned; he had to tighten his belt by a few notches since he last wore them. The Incubus' weight hadn't changed, but he felt like he was losing body mass.
"You gonna keep staring outside all morning?" Lilith quipped, snapping him out of his little reverie.
He took a shuddering breath.
"I don't know if I can do this, Lilith," Cobalt murmured, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, well, you already promised her to do this. This bed's ready for you to lie in."
"Don't say that in the context of Karazelle, please."
"What's the issue? You've slept together before, right?"
"We slept adjacent to one another! Don't phrase it like that!"
Lilith sighed wearily.
"Then either fuck her already or just kick her out altogether. You've been sitting so long on that fence that the post has lodged itself right up your ass," the Devil grumbled, irritated by Cobalt's indecision.
He bit his lip, but couldn't think of anything to say.
"I... I need to pack," he mumbled, turning to the open suitcase on his bed.
A change of clothes sat within, leaving plenty of room for other things. The issue was, Cobalt didn't know what to take with him. He never really went on holidays.
"What should I take?" he wondered aloud, scratching the back of his head.
"I don't know. A book, maybe?"
"Some light reading for the journey... yeah."
He reached over for the book on his bedside nightstand. It was a fairly trashy crime thriller that he had read a dozen times during his tenure at Oxford, but that kind of drivel had Cobalt in a death-grip, and he couldn't help but reread it constantly. As he tossed the book into his case, he stopped and stared at the drawer.
"Can't forget the entire reason you're doing all this," Lilith chimed as he slid it open.
"Shut up..." the Incubus responded, retrieving Alison's syringe case from within.
He carefully packed it into his case, sandwiching it between his clothes to prevent it from getting damaged.
"What else?"
"Uh... Clean underwear?"
Cobalt furrowed his brow.
"I'm just saying; it's a Succubus town you're headed to."
He sighed. Regardless of her reasoning, Lilith did raise a good point; only a fool underpacked the essentials. With a few extra pairs of boxers and socks packed, Cobalt squinted into his suitcase. It still looked empty.
"What else?" he mused, scratching his chin.
"This?" spoke a voice from behind him, pushing a camera into view.
He picked it up and looked it over. It was an old polaroid camera, the kind that printed pictures right off the bat. All things considered, Phrodival was a beautiful place; it would be nice to get some snaps to bring back home. His mother would certainly appreciate it.
"Good call," Cobalt said, carefully placing it into his case.
"Kid. You're not alone."
"Hm?"
Realisation struck him like a bolt from the blue. The Incubus whipped around, almost crashing into Karazelle Terna, who was struggling to contain her laughter. Behind her, the window lay open, his curtains rustling in the morning breeze.
"K- Karazelle! Please, knock before you enter!" he cried, clutching his chest.
"Sorry sugar, I couldn't help myself! You were so caught up talking to yourself!"
Ah. She saw that. Cobalt reminded himself to be more careful; he had gotten so used to bickering with Lilith that he almost forgot that other people couldn't hear her.
"All ready for our trip?" the Succubus asked, clasping her hands behind her back.
She looked... wonderful. Cobalt was so used to seeing Karazelle in her uniform or her pajamas that he almost forgot how good she could look in her casual clothing. She wore clothes suited to a trek through the countryside; a pair of hardy boots, trousers and a long jacket, underneath which she wore a t-shirt that she had cropped herself, if the loose threads were anything to go by. Noticing the Incubus' lingering stare, she grinned at him.
"See something you like, sugar~?" she asked with a wink, sidling up close to him.
"S- Sorry, I zoned out there for a second," Cobalt immediately spluttered, turning his gaze away.
She just laughed and patted his shoulder, whereupon his cheeks began to burn.
"Don't worry, I couldn't sleep either. Hey, we'll get enough rest on the trip down there though, right?"
Cobalt swallowed hard.
"Well... We can only drive half of the distance. The rest of the journey will have to be on foot."
She shrugged.
"Well, I'm no shrinking violet. I've been on hikes before."
Cobalt decided it was best not to tell her that the trip to Phrodival was about as far from a casual hike as one could get. They'd have to forge through forests, plains, and a couple of rivers before they even got anywhere near the town. Cobalt chose a carry case for that reason. He looked over Karazelle's shoulder to see a rolling case and began to feel bad for her.
"Do, um... Are you going to need all of that?" he asked, nodding to the suitcase in question.
The Succubus nodded enthusiastically, causing the amulet around her neck to glint in the light.
"Yup! Gonna need the space for souvenirs!" she laughed, fluttering her wings.
Cobalt cocked his head.
"Souvenirs...?"
"Believe me sugar; I plan to take as much of Phrodival back with me as I can manage. Ah, I'm so excited~!" Karazelle laughed, hopping up and down.
This really was her dream come true, wasn't it? The guilt in his stomach hadn't relented since he handed the amulet to her. Taking a deep breath, Cobalt rubbed his eyes and zipped his case shut.
"I must stress that Phrodival is very much... well... in the sticks. I need you to be on your best behaviour," he warned, looking his student.
She nodded with a smile, but he could tell that she meant it wholeheartedly.
"Best behaviour, got it."
"Thank you-"
"But only if you tell me to be a good girl."
The Incubus nearly choked on his own tongue.
"A- Alright, that's quite enough joking around, Karazelle!"
"Oh I'm not joking around, sugar."
He looked into her eyes. Karazelle was staring right back at him, all levity completely gone from her face. She folded her arms and tapped her foot, tail swishing behind her.
"Go on. Call me a good girl and I promise to behave," she said in a curt, matter-of-fact tone.
It was scary how similar she sounded to Viola when she spoke like that.
"But-" Cobalt stammered, a little put off.
"Unless you want me to be a bad girl, then that's fine."
"I didn't-"
"Choice is yours, sugar."
"Ugh, just bit the fucking bullet kid. This is insufferable."
Sweat streaked down Cobalt's forehead as a lump formed in his throat. Swallowing hard, he took a deep shaking breath and clenched his fists.
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"Karazelle, could you... p- please just be a..."
"Go on~"
"... a g- good girl?"
"Say it like you mean it."
"Could you please be a good girl?!" Cobalt repeated quickly, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Now pat my head."
"Karazelle, come on-"
"Pat my head or it doesn't count!"
Feeling the will to resist drain from his body, he gave a defeated sigh, placed his hand atop Karazelle's head and gently stroked her silky-smooth hair. Her giggly smile returned as she made a peculiar little tittering sound, before she pressed herself up against her teacher and latched on to him tight, her breath hot and heavy in his ear.
"I'll be your good girl for as long as you want, sugar; just make sure to punish me if I step outta line~" she purred, running a hand along his face.
Dazed and confused by everything that had just happened, Cobalt could only stand there with a baffled look on his face as she turned to pick up her suitcase, all normalcy returned.
"Ready to go? I already called for a taxi," she asked, holding up her phone.
He snapped himself back into focus, already feeling a twinge of regret in his heart.
"Y- Yeah, of course. Ladies first."
-----
"Almost there, lad."
Cobalt blearily opened his eyes. He was sitting in the back of a taxi, with his head slumped against the window. Beside him, Karazelle was resting against his shoulder. She was clinging tightly to his left arm, to the point where he couldn't feel it anymore. Up front, the driver nodded at him through the rearview mirror.
"Or at least I think I am. Where exactly are we headed?" he asked, sounding a little uncertain.
The Incubus stifled a yawn. A quick glance out the window told him that they were driving along a coastal road. On one side of the car were endless fields of red wheat, while the other faced the great burgundy ocean. He recognised the place.
"Just keep driving until you spot a scarecrow. We'll stop there," he explained, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
"You, uh... You sure?"
"I'm sure."
He nodded and kept driving. Yawning again, he nudged Karazelle, who yawned and fluttered her eyes open.
"Are we there yet?" she murmured, trying and failing to blink the sleep away.
"Nearly," he answered.
"Ngh..."
She pressed her face back into the Incubus' shoulder, be he managed to push her upright, forcing her to keep her eyes open and try to stay awake. Before long, the car came to a stop.
"Here you are, lad. I have to ask... you sure you want to stop here?" he asked again, glancing back.
Cobalt just nodded and handed over his fare.
"I am. Thank you."
With some encouragement, Cobalt managed to free his arm from Karazelle's clutches and exit the taxi. She joined him on the side of the road as he was retrieving their luggage. She looked around with bleary eyes, clearly confused as to where in Hell she was.
"Where...?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes as the taxi sped off.
"We're just on the Brimstone border. Head east down that way and you'll be in Karner's Cry," Cobalt explained, handing the suitcase to her.
She accepted it and crossed over to the fence at the other side of the road. Staring out at the ocean, she looked down and was surprised to find a sheer cliff on the other side.
"Don't lean on that; it's older than you are," the Incubus called, turning around.
There, posted just a few feet away, was a large scarecrow carved from wood and dressed in a tatty black coat. Despite its age and the clear wear and tear, it still looked like a fine example of worksmanship.
"What way are we walking?" Karazelle asked, crossing back over to the left hand side of the road.
Cobalt reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass. The needle pointed north, but was twitching ever so slightly.
"This way," he explained as he hefted his suitcase over the fence and into the wheat field.
"What?"
"Just trust me."
She gawked at the scarecrow with a perplexed expression, but obliged him. With both them and their luggage over the fence, Cobalt began to lead his student straight through the rows of crops, demonstrating how to pass through without damaging any of the plants.
"Isn't there a path we could use?" the Succubus asked as she was whipped in the face by a particularly aggressive stalk of wheat.
"No roads lead to Phrodival, I'm afraid."
Upon reaching the other side of the field, the pair passed through a gate onto an agricultural road. Guided by Cobalt's memory, they walked down it for a spell before passing into a wide open field, this one devoid of any crops.
It was blissfully peaceful. The red sky above them was marred only by a few fluffy clouds, and the sun shone down warmly despite the early month. A few shaggy goats trundled about the meadow, but they didn't run at the sight of the two Lust demons, preferring just to stare at them with their peculiar eyes. Eventually, after trudging through a sea of grass, they wound up at another fence, and upon jumping over that, a stream.
Here, a second scarecrow had been erected, this one bearing a mischievous grin as it pointed downstream with splintered arm.
"Another one?" Karazelle asked, exhausted from dragging her case through thick grass.
"I believe it was Matriarch Bernadette who came up with the idea to signpost the way with these things. The old markers were just a bit too subtle. They're still around, though," Cobalt explained, checking his compass.
The needle was rattling around inside the casing. Intrigued, Karazelle peered over his shoulder.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Remember what I told you about Phrodival's effect on the nearby landscape?"
"Uh..."
He sighed.
"Compasses and sensitive electronics don't work around it. It helps keep it safe from outsiders."
"I see."
As they passed by the scarecrow, she squinted at it.
"The Matriarch... she's the leader, right?"
"Correct."
"And a direct descendant of Lady Fesser herself?" she continued, growing a little more excited.
Cobalt nodded wearily.
"Yeah. The current Matriarch is Felicity Fesser."
"Can we meet her?!"
He frowned, thinking about the needle in his suitcase. Felicity Fesser was an expert in alchemy, but a downright prodigy when it came to toxins and poisons. She'd know what to do with Cordelia Fesser's supposed "cure."
"I'm counting on it. Now get a move on."
With that, they set off down the stream, making idle chatter as the water flowed along beside them. They stopped a few times to gaze at the fish that swam through the crystal-clear stream, and Cobalt named the alchemical properties of each different variety they saw. Karazelle was impressed with his knowledge, but he attributed it simply to the fact that this kind of information was drilled into his head as a young boy. Eventually, they came across a few flat stones that allowed them to cross the stream, as well as a third scarecrow. It was bolted to the side of a tree; the landscape had changed from agricultural pastures to wild, open forest.
The lands surrounding Phrodival were untamed; it was an unspoken city-state in of itself, despite bordering both Brimstone and Karner's Cry.
As Cobalt checked the wildly-spinning compass, his student gasped for breath and leaned against a nearby tree stump. She was slicked with sweat, her wings flapping in a desperate attempt to fan her.
"Fuck me... how much further is it?" Karazelle asked, wiping her forehead.
This scarecrow directed them deeper into the woods. He'd have to keep an eye out for the old trail markers to ensure they didn't get turned around.
"About halfway there," her teacher replied, stooping down to tie his laces.
She gave a defeated laugh.
"Agh... I didn't think the journey would take so long..." she complained, raising her hand to block out the sun.
"We could turn back if you'd like," Cobalt suggested innocently.
"Don't make me spank you, sugar..." she murmured, though her threat didn't sound quite as daunting when she was this tired.
Reaching into the Succubus' case, Cobalt handed her a bottle of water.
"You'd have to keep up with me for that. Now come on; we're burning daylight."
It was strange. Despite his companion's enervation, he felt absolutely fine. The blood in that bottle... Such a macabre gift, but if it kept him going this long...
He shook his head. No, it was still a horrific thing to receive from someone. He'd have to talk with that Olive girl if he ever saw her again.
Travelling deep into the woods, he picked out small markings carved into trees and rockfaces, each one leading them closer to their destination. At first, Karazelle seemed impressed, but she immediately burst out laughing once he tripped over a root and landed face first in the undergrowth.
"Ha! Jeez, sugar, you really oughta watch your step!" she guffawed, pointing at the the downed Incubus.
He didn't reply. In fact, he didn't move at all.
"Oh shit."
Stooping down, Karazelle grabbed Cobalt beneath his arms and hoisted him to his feet. He gave a few short coughs and wiped the dirt off his face.
"S- Sorry, I'm not in great shape at the moment," wincing as his world spun around him.
That was putting it lightly. It seemed what the cat said was true; he had been seeking mere band-aid solutions. The pain had stopped for the time being, but he still felt unbalanced and sluggish.
But he wasn't about to tell that to Karazelle. He didn't want to worry her.
"I'm alright though. Come on, let's keep moving."
Uncovering a few more small markings, the hidden path eventually led the pair up a steep incline, much to the now-exhausted Succubus' dismay. However, once the trees thinned out at the crest of the hill, they were met with a beautiful sight.
There, far out in front of them, was a simply massive crater, gouged out of the earth millions of years ago by a meteorite. Grass and other greenery hand grown over and around it, creating a lush green bowl set right into the earth. Pooled within the center was a huge lake, and built on top of said lake was a rustic country town. From what they could see, the streets were narrow and winding, too narrow to fit a car. Not that the citizens had any use for them, as a great deal of boats bobbed around on the water. A couple of grand villas were also dotted around the edge of the crater, home to the town's wealthier citizens and larger establishments.
Cobalt checked the compass. It was spinning so fast that it didn't even make noise anymore. It was just a metallic blur within the rapidly-vibrating casing.
"And here it is. Phrodival," Cobalt announced, planting his hands on his hips.
Karazelle stared on at the town, her mouth wide with equal parts shock and delight.
"This... This is it?" she stammered, barely able to speak.
"Of course it is. You want to go in now, or keep looking around?"
She grabbed his wrist firmly and gazed deep into his amber eyes.
"What are you waiting for?! Let's go!" cried the Succubus, before tearing off down the loosely cobbled road, dragging her poor teacher and their luggage along behind her.
As they approached the town, Cobalt directed her to a small tunnel had been bored through the side of the crater, to allow access to and from the town. Within was a mighty gate carved from the solid rock, and dozing in front of it was a Succubus dressed in armour. Tooled leather banding, but as they drew closer, they could see a more modern cardigan lying beneath it. Cobalt knew for a fact that the armour was symbolic anyway; it was older than his mother.
Motioning for Karazelle to stay where she was, he crept forward. The guard was sitting slumped against the gate, her mouth hanging open as she snored. A pair of silver rings were threaded onto her horns, and there was a noticeable birthmark on her left cheek.
He remembered her. A girl from a few classes above him who used to pull his tail when he was younger.
"... Tabitha?" he said aloud.
Her eyes snapped open as she yelped, leaping to her feet and summoning her Leather Whip in a display of impressive reflexes. She looked around frantically before she noticed the Incubus in her midst.
"Oh shit... Ye here by yerself, son?" she asked, rubbing her head as she straightened her back.
He cocked his head, prompting her to sigh and dispel her whip.
"Sorry, I'm used to ye lot bringin' family. Ye... Ye here for the Undercroft?"
The hairs on his neck bristled.
"Tabitha, it's me," he said firmly.
The Succubus guard leaned in close and squinted at him, as if trying to remember something. All of a sudden, her eyes snapped wide and she broke out into a sharp grin, grappling Cobalt in a rib-crushing hug before he could step away.
"Fesser's tits Cobalt, it's been fuckin' ages! I haven't seen ye since ye were a lil' tyke!" Tabitha cackled, spinning him around.
Karazelle watched on - mightily confused - as this seemingly serious guard laughed and cooed, holding Cobalt in a headlock and giving his hair one Hell of a tousling.
"So, how've ye been?" she laughed, finally letting him go.
"W- Well, my student and I have decided to visit Phrodival for the mid-term. She's always wanted to visit," he explained, gesturing to Karazelle.
"H- Hi," she stammered, completely overwhelmed.
Almost immediately, the Tabitha's smile faded.
"A student, huh? Yeah, Jezzy did say ye wanted to be a teacher or somethin'."
She marched up to Karazelle and planted a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Right, listen here, girly. I know ye may think yer hot shit'n'all, but lemme tell ye somethin'; This here town is home to more than four hundred Succubi, and nearly every last fuckin' one of them has a great deal of love for lil' Cobalt over here. So if ye dare lay a fuckin' finger on him, yer gonna be answerin' not just to me, but to the whole fuckin' town. Ye hear me?" she hissed, her voice low and threatening.
Karazelle's face fell as her skin went pale, clearly thrown off-guard.
"Y- Y- Yes ma'am..."
The uniformed woman bared her teeth and growled, but suddenly gave a hoot of laughter and roughly slapped Karazelle on the back.
"Ha! I'm just fuckin' with ye, girly, I'm just fuckin' with ye! Ride him all ye want; no-one here'll judge ye! Hell, half of the folks here will probably join in!" she cried, much to the concern of the Incubus.
"Tabitha!" Cobalt cried, clearly distressed.
"What? Don't gotta worry about me; I had my shot with ye years ago. Remember our kiss in the apiaries?"
"You headbutted me in the mouth! You knocked my front tooth out!"
"Ha, yeah!"
Turning back to Karazelle, she reached for the amulet around her neck.
"Ah, a guest key! Heh, big honour, that. Well, any friends of the Trayers are friends of Phrodival! So, without further ado...!"
Tabitha raised her hand and snapped her fingers, causing a miasma of shadows to suddenly burst from the stone gate. They anchored themselves into the walls of the tunnel and slowly wrenched them open with a horrendous scraping noise. Grinning, the guard clapped a hand on both Cobalt's and Karazelle's back and pushed them forward.
"... Welcome to Phrodival, friends!"