Lilithana approached the illusionary training simulator assigned to Zagreus. The cameras still showed the girl sleeping in his room. But the room door had opened and closed over an hour ago. The door to the sim-room had been held open for most of that time. Lilithana saw nothing in the area, but when she looked into the sim-room, there were several sets of small footprints, in the sandy ground, near the door. The girl had clearly tried to go into the room but something kept her back.

A white sandy beach marked a trail between a dense forest on the left and open ocean on the right. The sky was dark and starlit. Lilithana went inside.

A set of small footprints cautiously followed, far behind her.

When the newcomer was several paces into the sim-room Lilithana said, “Remove sky simulation.” The stars vanished, exposing the cold stone ceiling and walls with a grid of dimly glowing crystal arrays covering it.

The footprints froze for a long moment, but continued slowly after her.

She used her mecromail to command the sky to return.

Sand flew and the girl clearly fell as she spun then bolted for the safety of the doorway. From the safety of the corridor the invisible girl growled then said, “Emoo kai imu-un.”

“A fast learner. Maybe you are the one I am looking for.” Lilithana smiled. “Remove sky simulation.” The sky vanished again. With her curiosity sated, Lilithana focused on the more important task and continued towards her target. The footsteps followed distantly. Once the girl was well inside Lilithana commanded the door to shut with her mecromail. She also raised layers of illusionary stone to hide the wall with the door and shifted that end of the illusion to lead to a different section of wall. With the girl's corrosive arcane, a lock was useless. But with careful manipulation of illusions, she could keep the girl trapped in here.

The girl followed cautiously, darting from tree to tree along the wood line.

Lilithana found Zagreus sleeping at the water’s edge near a bamboo hut. She activated her alive form. For the first time since she could remember there was someone new who’s opinion of her mattered. Maybe it was just the fact of how important he was. There was no time to dwell on useless emotion. But she still felt a dull bit of guilt for what she was about to do. She thought You should have stayed in your room.

***

Zagreus woke as he felt someone’s presence near him. He found himself still on the sand but now under a light grey dome, barely taller than himself. Lilithana was kneeling beside him.

“Eat this.” She stuck a small brown cube in his mouth.

It was sweet and rich. He devoured it.

She smiled and removed her cloak, dropping it in the sand. Her nude flesh was warm and inviting, she had an intoxicating scent and an unmistakable desire. He was now her prey. She ran her finger down his arm. “I was right. I can feel what you feel when we are touching. She rubbed a hand on his bandaged cheek. I can feel your pain and your pleasure. You must have had so much fun with this.”

He shook his head, “No…”

“Don’t tell me you are a virgin.” Her hands explored his body. He was both experiment and a play thing.

“No. I… I…” His head throbbed.

“You have been through a lot. Forget I asked.”

She pulled down his shorts. She grabbed his cock, then gasped. “Oooh. That feels mmmm.”

Despite his injuries, his body was warming quickly as his thoughts clouded. “What did you give me?”

“A little, encouragement.” She sat on his thighs, “Touch me everywhere you want.”

His eyes rolled back as he felt her wet slit grind against him. He tried to push her away. “Not like this.”

“You are my claim. I am seeing to your needs. Don’t you want this?”

“I don’t. I do. I mean…” He really wanted it. But even with her occasional teases, he had done everything he could to avoid contact with her. He hadn’t wanted to risk her discovering his power. But now, she knew. He had lost his reason to resist. His body was completely agreeing with everything she did.

She lay down on him. Her soft warm flesh pressed against him as she hummed into his ear. “That shyness is so cute. Too bad it’s about to go away.”

He felt her burning lust. See seemed to focus on that to hide any other feelings. This was too, much too fast. What is she hiding?

“Don’t fight me. This is happening. You don’t have to be awake for it. The chocolate will work fine even if I have to put you to sleep. Don’t you want to experience this?” A deep kiss smothered any further protest. She writhed across his body teasing and taunting.

He was lost in a sea of pleasure and confusion as he tried to make sense of it all at once. He surrendered to the assault, running his hands up her soft hips, clawing up her sides and gripping her shoulders. He pushed as she impaled herself on him. Both moaned deeply. She gasped, her eyes fluttered. “How could you, ever hide, this ability? You’ve been, a very, naughty boy. I should, punish you, for not, screwing me, in the elevator, when we met.”

They clawed and bit and bred. He emptied himself into her, but she would not relent. Whatever she fed him was working. On his second release they exploded together in a torrent of pleasure. Then she fell limp over him.

She whispered into his ear. “I needed that.”

He nodded, drenched in sweat. His face and leg throbbed from their wounds.

She rubbed his bandaged face. “I can feel this too.” She sat up, letting out a soft moan. His somehow still stiff member inside her.

He felt a pang of regret from her.

With a flick of her finger, pain exploded between his eyes. “What did I tell you?” She spat.

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” he held his face as a red warmth covered his hand.

“I told you to, STAY IN YOUR ROOM. And what did you do? You opened your door and almost got the two most important test subjects we ever had KILLED. You don’t deserve pleasure right now. I screwed you because I needed to collect more sperm from you. I can’t risk you dying without some kind of contingency plan. You haven’t even used the companionship programs enough to get a good genetic backup. I would seriously be letting Cinder punish you if you were not in such a fragile state.”

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“I’m fine.”

“No! You are NOT, fine! That girls arcane is corrosive. We have managed to limit the damage for now but we have no safe way to get rid of it yet. I’ve never seen arcane so aggressively destructive. It still might kill you.”

He felt a desperate, angry presence rushing towards them. He shoved Lilithana off and snatched his shorts up as the bubble around them shattered. A hissing and clawing thing came through it. He managed to get between the girl and Lilithana. “STOP!”

The girl almost slammed into him before she caught herself then jumped a step back. Her hands were cat paws. Thick stone walls and a ceiling materialized around them with another wall appearing between him and the girl.

“Stop that!” He shouted at Lilithana.

“I am protecting you, you idiot.” Lilithana said.

Tendrils of deep green energy flowed through growing cracks in the wall.

“So is she. Back down and let me handle this.”

“She attacked us for no reason.”

“She is alone and scared. I am the closest thing to a shadowcat here, and she knows you hurt me. Let me do this.”

She hesitated for a moment then relented, “Ok. But one wrong move and I will bury her in meters of illusions.” A wall appeared between them as the wall in front of the girl finally failed. The other walls faded leaving Lilithana sealed in alone.

The girl’s eyes scanned the area for her target but only found the stone box. She slammed her hands flat on the stone. Tendrils of dense green energy glowed around her as she attacked it.

“Stop that.” He said firmly.

*Fake-Girl lie. Fake-Girl bad. Fake-Girl die.*

“It’s ok. Calm down. Fake-Girl is ok.”

She glared at his bloody face. *Cat protect cat. You bleed. She die.*

“It’s just a scratch. I am ok. Please stop. You are safe here.” He slowly reached out to her.

She tensed and the flow of energy into the wall slowed.

He patted her softly on the head. He felt her desperation and fear. He made a link with her. *It’s going to be ok.*

The girls resolve broke. Her energy dissipated, her hands returned to normal and she threw her arms around him, drenching him in tears.

He sent to Lilithana. *Have the golems bring us some food. And get some candy for you to give to her.*

*Were you calling me ‘Fake-Girl’?* Lilithana snapped back.

*Be pissed at me later. She was fully intent on killing you. I don’t think you would have liked any outcome of that fight.*

He carried the crying girl to the small bamboo hut nearby and sat on the steps.

She stayed balled up in his lap clutching his chest until she had cried herself out.

He said. “Are you hungry?”

She nodded softly.

He set her on her feet and went to stand. Her head was hung low but she held a grip on his shoulder. “What?”

*I bad. You hurt.*

“I told you, I am ok.”

She moved her hands up to the bandages on his face. *I help.* He felt a little burning. Dark green arcane flowed up her arms and the pain almost vanished completely. She repeated the process on his leg.

Lilithana, now in her cloak, cleared her throat nearby.

The girl spun and growled. He patted her head. “It’s ok.” She moved to his side and took a tight grip on his hand.

A healing unit appeared in Lilithana’s hand and she slowly moved to scan him with a pink glow. After a few moments she said. “Almost all of her energy is gone from the wounds. For such a young age, she has amazingly fine control of her arcane. That explains how she is so able to break everything she touches.” She used the healing unit to clean up his face and fix the small cut she put on his forehead.

The girl stretched her neck to try and see the display on the scanner.

“It says you did a good job. I feel a lot better.” He told the girl.

She sent him a warm happy feeling.

Lilithana removed his face bandages. “It looks like the wounds will fully heal but I think there will be some scarring.” She ran her fingers down his cheek.

The girl hid behind him. *I bad.*

He turned but she wouldn’t look him in the eye. He said, “It’s ok. You were scared. Just promise you will be careful with your power from now on, ok?”

She nodded softly.

“Ok. Let’s eat.” They walked towards the door. “You too Lilithana.”

Lilithana made a motion to protest but gave in. They sat around a small table in the bamboo hut as the food arrived. She poked at a palm sized ball made of triangles, then set it on the table.

“Does this girl have a name?” Lilithana asked.

Zagreus shrugged. “All she talks about is food. She thought you were trying to kill her with the nutrient paste. She calls you ‘Fake-Girl’ and Cinder ‘Bug-Girl’.”

“Bug-Girl?” Lilithana laughed. “I’m starting to like this one.”

“I am Zagreus,” he pointed, “This is Lilithana, do you have a name?”

The girl stopped eating for a moment to scratch her head, *name… ? No name… I forget.* She shrugged.

“You forgot? What do you want us to call you?”

*um . . . . Green Stone.*

“Emerald?” He sent his best image of the stone he could remember.

She shook her head and sent a different image back.

“Jade? Do you like Jade?”

She smiled wide and nodded. “Jade.” She repeated roughly. The first word he had heard her speak. She finished up her plate and held it out for more.

Lilithana sighed. “I really appreciate your help. She is more valuable than I can put into words.”

“Do you normally take children this small?” He asked trying to hide his disdain.

“No. She was a sacrifice given by a tribe after she attacked them. From her feral behavior I suspect she may have been living with shadowcats for some time.”

“That much is clear. I lived with shadowcats for a while myself, but I was older. I suspect something happened to the cats she lived with or she would not have approached a village.” He said then sent. *Where are your cats?*

*click bugs* the girl sent with a familiar chittering sound, she hung her head.

“Anterra got them.” He shook his head and gave her another head pat.

Lilithana sighed deeply. “Five millennia on and those things are still a pestilence on this planet.”

Trying to lighten the mood he asked. “So what is that triangle-ball thing you dropped on the table?”

“It’s a ball of silence, a counter surveillance tool so we are not observed or recorded. It uses a simple warding system that can block light and sound to varying degrees. There is a large bubble around this hut right now. I was using it earlier, before we were interrupted. I still need to talk to you, about your powers, in private.”

“Oh. That.” Yea, this is a much better mood…. Ugh.

They finished eating and went back down to the shoreline. Jade pulled him towards the door to the sim-room. *Move. Move.*

“Hold up.” He said then looked back at Lilithana, “Are there any programs similar to the orientation one? With birds or other small animals for her to chase? Minus the Dragon.”

Lilithana took a minute then smiled. “How about this?” The room brightened.

Jade buried her face into his stomach. *OW OW*

“Oops. Set light levels ten percent.” Lilithana said. The lights dimmed.

“It’s ok now.” He said to Jade.

Jade rubbed her eyes and took in the sight before her. Wide eyed and slack jawed she stood in awe. The beach had vanished, replaced by an expanse of flowers and grass, in a rainbow of colors, blowing in the breeze. Birds, butterflies, rabbits and other small creatures ran and flew all around under a clear blue sky.

“Go ahead. Run and play. It is safe here. Just us three are in this sim-room.”

Jade took a step away from him as she examined a cluster of butterflies. She repeatedly looked back like she expected him to disappear the moment she took her eyes off him.

He and Lilithana leaned against a tall tree.

It took a few minutes but she became more comfortable and more curious. She examined creature after creature. Then a large squirrel ran past her and she took off after it. Soon she was chasing one creature after another. When she caught them they popped into twinkling lights. She would giggle then take off after another one.

“I would like to apologize for earlier. But I cannot. I did what was necessary.” Lilithana moved close to him and took his hand. “Since you are feeling better, I would like to do it again. Repeatedly.” While he had been focused on Jade, Lilithana had done well to keep her thoughts and intentions calm. But now Jade was distracted and he was not.

Resistance was not an option. “I…um.”

She smiled. “I have more chocolate if it has worn off.”

“Jade. I want you to play by yourself for a while, ok?”

Jade ran up and looked at them curiously. *Loud time?*

He stifled a laugh and nodded. Shadow cats mating cries are legendary in the Deep Dark. Anyone who hears them better take shelter unless they want to be given as a present by a competing mate or taken as a meal afterwards. She would obviously have some idea of what they were doing from living with wild Shadow-cats.

*Tell Fake-Girl, no hurt, no mean.*

He nodded, “Ok. I will.”

“What are you two up to?” Lilithana said.

“She wants you to promise that you won’t hurt me.”

“I promise. I will be very nice to him.” Lilithana said and he repeated. Lilithana spawned the bag of candy and gave Jade a few pieces of the hard sugary treats.

Jade’s eyes lit up as she ate one. She gave Lilithana a big hug then ran off after another bird.

“Let’s go have some, um, loud time.” He said with a chuckle.

“Loud time? That girl has a way with words.”