Raven Eyes – Part 2 – Crashc(o)urse {Alice}

For the first time in my life, it felt as if time was flowing slow enough to stop. One moment I was staring at the car barrelling towards me like a deer in the literal headlights and the next my gaze was drawn to its back seat where a young woman was comically slowly raising an eyebrow above her stylish sunglasses. Unlike the two burly men in the front of the car, there wasn't even the slightest indication of neither shock nor panic on her face. No, she was entirely composed; with her long silver hair and that flawless honey tan, she looked the perfect picture of aristocratic beauty. It didn’t even seem like I was staring at a person, but just the cold, emotionless statue of one; my soon to be demise was only a mid morning distraction, barely worthy of her attention. Perhaps it was because of that lack of surprise that in turn all of my attention was focused on her. Not the car, not the drivers and certainly not a way to escape my demise, it was all… her. It irked me how such a beautifully plucked eyebrow could be made to rise up into such a picture perfect arch. That she even dared to be so composed and in control, while I was so scared and utterly out of my depths. Her entire existence seemed to be taunting me, as if just by sitting there and looking so annoyingly perfect she was saying: "So, what now? Go on, impress me, little commoner!"

Another long, drawn-out honk ripped me out of my spite-fueled reverie in an instant and right back to the reality of the situation. Despite the driver slamming the breaks, the car was already less than a meter from caressing my shinbones. If I didn't act now, this was going to be it; my story of becoming a great and powerful witch would be over before it had even begun. Even I, with my enhanced regeneration, couldn’t easily bounce back from a car crash. Instead of receiving a diploma, I would be strapped to a hospital bed recovering from full-body fractures. I’d be witch-pancake! Or perhaps if worse came to be… road kill.

‘No… no, I can not let it end here; I still have so much to accomplish!’ But no matter how scared I was, no matter how I begged and pleaded, my magic, as well as my body, refused my command. In my mind I screamed at my body to do something, anything really. But I didn’t move, because subconsciously I had already accepted that there was nothing I could do; instead my gaze moved once more to the back seat of the car.

My eyes locked on to the rich girl and hers onto mine, and I could have sworn that she was… smiling? Her lips moved, and though I couldn't hear her words, I could feel them affect me right down to the very core of my being. Whatever it was that she had said, I instinctively knew it to be vile and repulsive, anathema to my very existence; my soul felt as if stung by a dozen of nettles. Something buried deep inside, something that should have been long forgotten, stirred once more. This thing in me strained against the invisible shackles that bound it and it was pissed! Burns. Hurts. Hate!

As sudden as a gust of wind, the familiar feeling of magic welled up in me. Though what flowed through me in this moment was different from anything I could have willingly conjured. Wild arcane power ripped through me in a maelstrom of half-forgotten memories and buried emotions. Wind beneath my wings. Bones cracking under my claws. The sweet taste of death on my tongue. A thing, that was me but also not me, looked at my body and was not impressed. Drawing as much magic as my frail soul could possibly hold, it set to rework my body to survive whatever was thrown at me. Muscles hardened and reactions sharpened, nerves were rerouted and redundant organs were removed. And then, instead of being frozen in fear and shock, the thing simply... acted. Physiological limitations, pain, gravity? The thing cared little for any of that, right now it was going to make me come out unbroken and there was that, no more questions necessary. My breathing slowed to a stop, my eyes narrowed and without my say so, a sick toothy smile crept across my face. Can't crush what you can’t catch!

The car no longer rushed towards me, but seemed to be driving through molasses so slow had it become to my eyes. As if it was the most natural of things my foot lifted up and stomped down on the still moving hood, catapulting me forwards and upward. My stupid squishy foot slipped due to the inertia carrying the car forward but that was okay. Luggage. Garbage. Heavy. Useless. I let go of my suitcase, sending it flying towards the sidewalk. Putting my soft pathetic hands on the top of the car, I bend my arms, arched my back and pushed against the black roof with more power my than lithe body should have ever possessed; Not only doing a perfect jump roll over a moving car but somehow even acing the landing after. Unharmed. Fight, Flight? Behind me, the car came to a screeching hold. I turned around and glared at the laughable metal box. They had tried to hurt me! Naughty driver. Stupid humans. Rip off their hea...

“Wait, what?” All of a sudden the magic and adrenaline flowing through me crashed simultaneously; all that was left behind was confusion, a massive headache and a cramping gut.

“What the hells was I just thinking? What the fuck am I doing on the street? Lords... not again!”

I grabbed at my head as the familiar pain bloomed behind my skull. Apparently I’d fallen victim to “The Whispers” again; usually they were just annoying, if sometimes disturbingly helpful, auditory hallucinations in the back of my mind, but sometimes I had these... blackouts. My doctor said they were likely caused by drawing on too much magic, which was a fine thing for her to say as I never remembered what I’d been doing beforehand that had caused them! Sadly, I knew for a fact that neither the headache nor the cloudy feeling in my mind would to recede anytime soon. Where my memories should have been was just white noise, and I was left trying to piece together what had happened.

“So, first things first, how did I ended up here? And where, by Hecate, is my damn luggage!?

Before I could answer any of the questions currently floating through my mind, my attention was drawn to the expensive black car behind me. The door on the front passenger’s side opened up and a terrifyingly tall man in a black suit stepped outside. He looked around for a second in front of the car almost as if searching for something when finally his eyes fell on me. Immediately his facial expression went from worried to pissed. Maybe he just didn't like women with black hair?

“You!” He yelled at my while walking closer.

“Who?” I turned around in the hopes of having missed someone behind me. Yeah… there was no-one else. Well, there was a car with a terrified-looking woman inside and several onlookers on the sidewalk so maybe he meant one of them? Sadly my hopes were crushed when a meaty hand fell on my shoulder.

“You!” This time his voice was laced with anger.

“Me?” I pointed at my face with a finger.

“Of course I fucking mean you! Who else could I be talking too!?”

“Well… shit, I dunno? I for sure have never seen you before, so why would I assume you were talking to me? Far more likely that you're yelling at somebody else!”

“Never seen …” He face palmed. With the way he was looking at me seemed almost as if he thought I had a few screws loose. Rude. "Are you fucking with me, little girl? We looked each other into the eyes not even a minute ago!"

“Okay… if you say so. Can I go from the street now? I need to find my suitcase; I must have lost it somewhere.” I looked around, still a bit lost but perked up when I saw my electric blue suitcase lie on the other side of the street. I was just about to walk towards when once more a strong hand seized me by my arm.

“Just where the heck do you think you are going? First, you run in front of the Lady's car and jump over it like some damn monkey, and now you just want to run away without even an apology!?"

“What the hells, dude!? Let go of me!” Much to my surprise, he did as I asked quicker even than I had expected. The only problem was that he now no longer looked at me with anger or frustration, but straight up disgust.

“What did you just say, scum?”

“Nothing? Wait, do you mean the swear? So what, it isn't forbidden to mention the hells or swear on them!”

“Just because demon lover scum like you are allowed to practice your craft doesn't make it right! I have half a mind to teach you little shit a lesson…”

Now it was on me to facepalm. You may remember that my family owned a café? Yeah, that was only half of the buisness, in addition to the café; we also acted as a shop for a specific clientele. In our case, it was mostly witches that specialized in forming contracts with demons and drawing power from the seven hells. We offered ingredients, literature, summoning rooms and even magical assistance for those interested. My family had been in this business for hundreds of generations. Even throughout the dark ages, the Dutrar clan had stood strong against anyone trying to rob them of their freedom and heritage. As my grandmother was with two-hundred and eleven a bit too old to do a lot of the work, my mother together with her sister and sometimes my cousins ran most of the store.

And now came the problem with being a so-called "dark-witch", we were generally not that… well received by the public. While it was an entirely legal craft and there was even a state-funded culture-grand for keeping the tradition alive, a lot of people tended to think a bit negatively of it. Most of the time it wasn't really all that much of a problem; normal people might be reserved about the topic, but usually, curiosity overshadowed animosity. Well, only most of the time, for there were a selected few people that viewed our mere existence as heresy. These hardliners could be found all across society but most of them came from old aristocratic families or people who worked for them. Just like the delightful man in front of me, apparently.

I could have tried to convince the man that his viewpoint was offensive. I could have told him about how it is a risky but strictly controlled craft. I even could have made the point that conversations with individuals from a place with such a rich and diverse culture could lead to impressive steps forward in the fields of science, engineering and philosophy. Or I could have just plain told him that due to my volatile magic I had never before summoned a demon and therefore technically wasn't a dark-witch. I could have done all that, easily even, but I had a bus to catch and so I did something radically different.

“Well, screw your bigoted ass!” I yelled at the man three times my weight and flipped him the bird.

Suffice to say, he wasn't all that pleased. It didn’t take two seconds of pause for him to charge after me while I was running towards my suitcase. He was surprisingly fast for a man of his size, and I couldn’t help but pride myself for wearing sneakers over flats or high heels today. I had honestly thought my luck would run out this time but much to my surprise a single word changed the entire situation.

“Stop.”

She - and it was obviously a woman - hadn't even yelled but simply raised her voice just loud enough for us to hear. Yet the effect was undeniable. In a split second both the tall guy and I stopped dead in our tracks and looked towards the car. I also learned something else about myself at that moment. Maybe it was due to a lack of a male authority figure growing up or because I was so drilled on obeying my mother and aunt that I was kind of primed for it, but either way, I apparently was a sucker for commanding female voices.

And damn me if she hadn't exactly that. While she sounded about the same age as me, there was a self-confident certainty to the way she spoke, that made more than clear she was expecting to be obeyed and nothing else. It must have had more of an effect on me than I thought because I couldn't even tell how long I had been standing there waiting for her to speak again. A small part of my mind yelled at me to grab my luggage and run after the bus, but that was quickly silenced by the rest of my brain in favour of what she would say next.

“Leave her be John. She isn’t worth it and we are already late. Gerald, start the car again, we’re leaving.”

The so-called John didn't seem to like the way things were going but still, he complied... after spitting on the ground in front of me. What a charming fellow, oh how I hoped I would never have to see him again. I just jinxed it didn't I? Still, I was kinda disappointed by how mellow this whole situation ended up becoming. I mean, yes, I was about to get floored by a guy with at least a hundred kilos on me but still, him just getting called off like that? It kinda made me feel a bit unimportant. Then again it was basically the story of my life. Alice Dutrar the one Witch in the entire world that can't use her magic and is additionally “Not worth” getting beaten up by fascists. I sheepishly watched the car drive off without so much an explanation as to what had just happened. So in the end I just shrugged and made my way over to my luggage. I was just about to walk towards the bus stop when I stopped in my track.

For a moment I wasn't sure anymore if I should cry or just start laughing. My whole running here and even apparently getting almost driven over by a car didn't matter anymore because the damn bus had just left the fucking station! First day of my first semester at the Royal Academy of Witchcraft: Officially the worst day of my life...

“Why!? WHY!? WHY!!!!” Despite myself I simply collapsed right there on the sidewalk.

I didn't even react when some people came closer. There was no reason for me to care; I had already fucked up after all. The bus was gone; I wouldn't make it in time for the train. And because I wasn't on the train I could say goodbye to my application for the Academy. Because for some archaic reason they operated under the logic: “You came too late? Well, too bad, just apply next year.” This meant that right now I could just as well go home and take a nap. I was already about to get up and walk back home, when a hand lightly seized my shoulder.

“Ah!” I whirled around, a bit scared that I was going to be beaten up after all, but instead of “big, tall bodyguard guy” I looked up at a young police officer with short brown hair.

“Miss?” Instead of angry he actually seemed concerned.

“Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

“Oh, okay, that is fine. I just have to ask you a few questions.” He tipped his hat in a friendly gesture to some of the bystanders, who in turn realizing that they were staring walked on.

Considering he had actually cared for my comfort and I had nothing better to do, I decided to humour him. “Sure, not like I have to get anywhere in a hurry anymore.”

“Really? But with the luggage I had thought…”

“Ha! No, I already missed the bus, so ask away officer man!” The look he gave me was actually kinda pathetic, as if I was a confused and lost child. I grit my teeth but kept my mouth shut, I didn’t need to mouth of to a police officer today.

“Well,” He began while scratching his head. “If you say so. So, the questions I have are related to a supposed hit and run that you have been involved in? Now according to the reports I got you ran into the streets about five minutes ago and were about to collide with an oncoming car, correct?” His voice sounded a bit unsure as if he didn’t quite believe his own words.

I could only shrug in turn; I actually had no clue as to what had happened either. “Kinda? I guess?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Wait, so you aren't sure if you were hit or if ran into the street?”

“Both, maybe, yes... no?”

“Hold on, you are telling me that you don't know what happened, while I have other people telling me that you flew over a car!? But looking at you, it is more than obvious that you didn't run into a car because you aren't even wounded! Now, can you please tell me what am I supposed to believe here?”

“Wait, repeat that again!” Maybe he actually had a good idea there?

“What am I supposed to believe?”

“No, no! The first thing!”

“Uhm, people said you flew over a car?”

“Yes, that's it! How could I have been so stupid? I can still make it!” I grasped my head in frustration, how had I not thought about this before? I simply had to fly!

“Wait, what now?” The policeman seemed to be even more lost now than before, but I artfully ignored him.

Instead of answering any further questions I dropped my suitcase on the ground, opened it up and then started stripping out of my clothes. When my overcoat went off flying into my luggage the young officer looked on in confusion. But when I began removing both my skirt and shirt he went into full on panic mode. He tried to, at the same time, avert his gaze, stop me from taking off even more clothing and stop others from gazing upon my almost naked figure. Honestly if I hadn't been in such a hurry, I probably would have found his attention sweet, but as things stood right now I couldn't care less. Once I was down to my underwear and fishnets I quickly grabbed a simple black tube top and put it on.

“Lady, by the gods! Why did you do that!?” Even if all my naughty bits were now covered he was still not looking into my direction.

I had to use this distraction! Before he could fully turn around I quickly closed the suit case and began running off. “Sorry, officer, I'm in a hurry!”

“He- Hey! Hold on! I said hold! Stop right now!”

I could barely stop myself from laughing and screamed back: “Nope!”

With this I threw my little suit case into the air and jumped. No matter how often I had done it by now, it was always the greatest feeling in the world, as if a weight was falling off my body and soul. I could feel the magic washing over me like a wave as my body stretched and contorted and took on another form. In less than a second the boring human Alice Dutrar was gone and in its place a large majestic raven snatched my electric blue suitcase out of the air and lifted off.

“Cawwww!”

I screamed my delight out into the world as my wings beat against the wind. On the ground the policeman looked on both confused and worried as I soared ever higher. The feeling of the air rushing over my wings was something incomparable to anything other people could possibly experience. Despite the fresh morning the sun on my black feathers was enough to provide me comfort. Thanks to my large frame and impressive wingspan I had no problems lifting my light luggage in to the air. I guessed it must have looked weird from the ground to see a bird as large as a condor carry a suitcase away but I cared little. For now I simply relished in the freedom my body granted me.

At times it almost felt as if this form was closer to the true me than my human one could ever be. In some underlying primal way it just felt right to have feathers, wings and claws. Some days I felt more as if the human me was just a mask I used to hide who I really was. And yet at the same time deep in me I knew that my raven form wasn't the true me either. Once I had asked my mother if other Shifters felt the same way, she had just laughed and said it was puberty messing with my brain. I had never told her that even now years after, the feeling persisted. A melancholic caw escaped me in a weird bird version of a sigh. It didn't help thinking about this and so I focused on flying to the train station.

For several minutes I just flew, occasionally flapping my wings and watching the city rush by beneath me. While I hadn't been able to find the black car again, I did see the traitorous bus a small way off. Sadly I didn't have enough time or else I would have left a present on its front shield. A cackling caw escaped my beak as I recalled what I had done a year ago to an ex-boyfriend of mine. Let's just say crows are vindictive jerks and I had a habit of styling myself as their queen. Even now I could spy several of them tailing me, which was both cute and at times a bit creepy. While their open affection was really adorable, there had been situations in which particularly adventurous males had tried courting me. And honestly no matter how much I liked being a bird; I really had no interest in… well, mating with one. While the creepy implications of it were off-putting enough I was more scared of it actually working. I had heard rumours of it being a lot more possible than one would want and even worse rumours of Shifters losing themselves entirely to their animal side. A shiver ran down my spine and quite literally ruffled my feathers. I understood having needs and desires but that? No thank you! I mean, hells, most humans weren’t even worth having kids with!

Instead one should just do it like my family had done for decades: find a man of a good bloodline, seduce him and have him fuck you pregnant, then proceed to dumb his ass and never see him again. As far as I knew, all of my relatives had been conceived that way. So technically that made my mother and aunt only half sisters but, eh, for the Dutrar only the maternal line mattered. The men themselves should consider themselves lucky we didn’t sacrifice them afterwards anymore! Though despite being proud of my heritage, part of me had always wondered what my father had been like. He would have to have great magical potential for me to be born a conduit. ‘So, I guess Mom was really good at seducing men from very powerful bloodlines… which by the way just, eww, eww, eww! Damn you brain, now I have to think about poop again just to get that disturbing image out of my head.’

I was so immersed in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice when all of a sudden the train station appeared right in front of me. Startled out of my thoughts I had barely enough time to dodge the droves of people and by the hells there were a lot of people. But the joke was on them, hahaha! For I as a magnificent, beautiful creature of the sky wasn't bound by the confines of the ground. All I had to do was find the correct platform and fly over! After scouting the grounds for a bit I had it, platform six! ‘Ha, the train is still there! Down we go!’

“Holy shit! That's a big ass bird!”

‘Wait, what? Where, I wanna see it too!’ The second I realised that the bird in question was probably me, it was already too late. Excitedly looking around instead of straight ahead, there was no way to stop, lift up or prevent in any way what was going to happen. Because in the very next moment I felt the side of my face, well beak in this case, collide with something that was both squishy and surprisingly hard. Like the bird brain I was I had not run but flown straight into another person. The shock was big enough for me that I changed to my human form almost out of reflex. And so I shot through the air like a cannonball made from lose feathers, luggage and half naked girl. Flying face first into a person I could have lived with, that I shot even further and crashed straight into the train, severely damaged my pride, but the fact that my suit case also crash into my face knocked the wind right out of me.

“Ouch. Fucking hells who puts trains in the way of flying by witches?”

“Holy shit, are you okay?” An eerily recognizable voice called out. “Wait... It’s YOU!”

It took me a bit to recover from my fall but when I did look up; it was in to a familiar face wearing an expression I could for the love of it not pin down. I cocked my head to the side, hoping that a different angle would give me more insight but I would've bet all that did was make me look like an even bigger bird brain. Still, even if the face before me was confusing me, it was still exotic and beautiful and… bleeding. Well that wasn’t good, though her expression still troubled me more, her eyes looked pretty worried from behind her sunglasses, but her lips seemed to be pulled into a condescending smirk? Was she... angry? Worried? In need of the loo? Before I could even come up with a snarky response the girl - woman? Lady? - approached me with a surprisingly confident stride.

“Now, isn't this a surprise.” The tan, silver haired beauty sneered and put her hands on her hips in a pose that seemed a little too smooth to not have been practiced beforehand; especially on heels that high. “First you run in front of my car and almost cause me to be late, and now you have the audacity to crash into me like a simpleton on a backwater country fair. I do hope that you have an explanation for both these situations or do I have to simply consider you exceptionally stupid?”

My half formed reply got stuck in my throat when I laid eyes on the imposing black raven sitting on the woman's shoulder. In a moment's notice my face went through a myriad of expressions. Shock, glee, childish curiosity but all that quickly changed to disgust and repulsion when my hand got closer and I felt what it really was. This was no fucking bird; it wasn't even an imp that looked like a bird. No, this was a spirit and if I knew one thing, than that spirits hated me and I them by extension in return. But even worse was the feeling of magic it gave off, it felt dead, cold and stagnating, an entropy spirit. In an instant my disposition to her changed from confused but curious to hostile.

“What the actual fuck, Lady!? You annoy me for crashing into you while carry that thing around with you?” At that she actually raised an eyebrow – again with that? - like I had just asked the silliest question she could imagine.

“Oh, you mean Hugin right here? What about him? He is just the best isn't he?” I had not expected that response or her happy dumb smile.

“What?” I was pretty sure now that this girl was a little coo-coo. “I mean sure, for a spirit, but I meant more the fact that those are gods damned illegal!”

Apparently I had said something funny, because she just... started laughing! I was standing right in the middle of a busy station platform and was getting laughed at by a haughty bitch with supermodel body and a face straight from a make-up commercial. And to make matters worse it was kind of getting to me, though not in any way that was even slightly appropriate. Imagining what it would feel like to put her in her place, went right up against imagining what it would feel for her to step on me. While I was still fighting my own body's conflicting messages she must have stepped even closer because all of a sudden I felt a cool hand on my cheek.

“Oh my, you do seem a bit confused, don't you? Well, let me explain, while we're at it. It is true that in most cases the bonding with an entropy spirit is against the law, but what you may not know is, that I am a Dawnstar and therefore rules only apply so much to me.” She shook her hand from side to side in a gesture to show what exactly she meant by that. “Now, you on the other hand should worry about something else entirely, and that is about the fact, that while owning Hugin may technically be illegal, so too would it be for an unbound demon to run through the city, correct?”

I wasn't even sure on how I should answer that! For once I was actually befuddled enough to draw a complete blank. An emptiness the whispers in my mind were only to happy to try and fill, somethign I could really do without right now. Not only had I apparently managed to piss off some crazy witch with an entropy spirit, but now she also belonged to the most powerful witches family of all times. And to top it all off she asked me legal questions completely irrelevant to the situation, while insidious voice were trying to get my attention. Thankfully my incredibly vast intellect came to help me out.

“Huh?” ‘Damn it brain! You fucked it up! And you, whispers, shut up already I need to think!’

“Hmm, maybe I was mistaken after all?” She squinted at me as if searching for something I couldn't see and made me even more uncomfortable. “But I thought... then again... hmmm... It’s normal again?”

“So, can I go now?” Seeing as she was utterly absorbed in staring at my barely existing chest, it was probably time to leave. But it seemed as if my vis-a-vis had different ideas.

“Go? Hahaha, uhm, no! After all, you not only got dirt on my clothes but also cut my face. Therefore a small punishment is in order don't you think so too?”

“Sure, I guess so?” I couldn't help but wonder about what such a person might consider a “small punishment”. I was certainly intrigued and she was looking more than excited enough for it to affect me too.

My rising blush must have been clearly visible, for the woman, whose name I still didn't know, awkwardly petted me on the head and told me to follow her. Considering that the height differences, and her impressive high heels, made her almost two heads taller this must have either looked condescending or - and I'd bet my money it was meant that way - like she was petting a cute little animal! I honestly couldn't say what would have been worse right now. Considering half the fucking station was watching us with interest, neither notion was anything I wanted to entertain.

Not wanting to prolong whatever the other people might think this looked like; I grabbed my suitcase and sheepishly followed behind her. The girl I still only knew as “Some Dawnstar Witch” kept walking all the way to the back of the train and only stopped when we had reached the absolutely last cabin on the train. The whole way she hadn't said a thing, not to make small talk or even mentioned my choice of clothing or the fact that I didn't have a familiar. Instead she had just strutted down the hall in those ridiculous heels with a balance I could only envy. Only when she finally sat down, with more grace than I would ever have, she actually looked at me again. And to my surprise her expression had changed into an actually sincere smile. I couldn't help but awkwardly smile back at her, which was until I heard her next words.

“Very well then, ass naked and lay across my lap.”

“You want me to do what now?” I stared at the tall beauty before me in surprise.

“Well, I thought it was a better idea than slapping you in the face!” For a second her face fell as she stumbled over her own words. “Shit, forget that! Ah, you have been quite the bad girl today, haven't you? And bad girls need to get punished!”

‘Huh, not quite what I had expected there...’ I cocked my head in confusion and looked her over again; had I missed something? All the while the voices in the back of my head were screaming at me to listen, and it was gettig harder and harder to ignore them. After I stared at the other girl for another few seconds without getting any smarter, I finally sighed and gave in; sometimes they did have some useful things to say after all. The whispers, insidious things that they were, quickly cut through the fake veneer around the other witch. The look they gave me beneath her so carefully constructed facade, was eye opening to say the least. Soon a new picture of Ithelyn began to form in my mind; the other witch was clearly not as commanding or even slightly as in control of the situation as she had been acting. In fact, now that I knew were to look, she seemed to be mostly nervous, excited and… fearful? The way how she constantly tried to fix her skirt reminded me of a puppy that had finally gotten a treat after perfectly nailing a trick. Had she... tried this act before? I could barely hide the grin that had already started creeping onto my face. Before my eyes, the character she had tried to portray broke into pieces and behind it I saw a witch not much older than me with far too much anxiety and quite the awkward smile.

“So. Okay…” She began, scratching her head. “Not going to lie, I'm a little creeped out by the whole “Staring at me like I'm a juicy piece of meat” thing. Maybe I should have started with introducing myself? So, uhm, my name is Ithelyn! Uhm, hi? Sorry about the, well, “Mythic Bitch” thing I did. When I get nervous I have that, uhm, weird habit of becoming kinda… an asshole? But I really didn’t want to scare you away! And...”

Before she could talk herself even deeper into a hole made from social anxiety, I placed a reassuring hand on her knee. And like a charm, she calmed down in an almost immediately. I could actually see her eyes grow wide in surprise behind her sunglasses.

“Hi, Lyn.” I smiled. “I am Alice and I’m happy to meet you.”

“Uhm, me too! Well, not like that! I’m happy to meet you, not me! Hells, I sound like an idiot.”

Hearing this I couldn’t help but be surprised in turn; I hadn’t expected someone of her birth to use such a phrase. Especially not after the run in with her bodyguard. I mean considering that she seemed to be from the fucking Dawnstar family and her familiar was a Spirit and not a demon, she should have normally cursed to the heavens.

‘There's a story there it seems… an angle perhaps. Shut up whispers!’

“So, uhm, Alice.” She had clearly missed my own internal debate. “I guess I should apologise for attempting to spank you... I really don’t usually do that with other people. I mean not like I do much of... anything with other people...” Her fingers played with the rim of her glasses as if she wanted to take them off but something stopped her. Just a second later her embarrassed smile returned. This time I really did grin, for part of me had actually been really looking forward to this more... hands on development.

“You know Lyn…” I drawled, dragging out every word as much as I could. “Perhaps I wouldn’t mind getting my ass spanked if someone like you did it?”

I could have sworn that her eyes lit up in pure adoration as soon as the words had left my mouth. And as if to underline her own pent up arousal that before adorable and awkward smile of hers, changed into a wicked and deeply sexual grin.

“Huh, I... hells... okay! Let’s do this!”

“Fuck yeah,” I chuckled and placed myself over her spread legs “Go on, rich girl. Hit me!”

I was already bracing for the impact when instead of a satisfying slap I got a meek mewl from above me.

“Are you, like, okay there?” I twisted around to look at her and saw that instead of that breathtakingly gorgeous smile from before she was just awkwardly biting her own lips. “You are aware that spanking usually involves the movement of your hand? Like, in a slapping motion... on my butt?”

“Yes, uhm, no?” I frowned and was about to get up when another mewl from her made me reconsider. “Hnng! Gods, Alice could you please not move so much!”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to if you had actually gone through with it!” I grinned at her. “And here I thought you were all big and in charge but now I wonder if you wouldn’t rather have it the other way around?”

“No it’s not...” Lyn’s breathing came forceful as she bit her lip even harder. “It’s not that! I... I... Oh shit! I’m so sorry!”

Another teasing retort got stuck in my throat when I felt something suspiciously wet, warm and surprisingly hard poke me in my crotch.

“What the...” Surprised by the sudden, and rather unexpected, sensation I dropped off of Lyn’s knees and onto the floor. “Okay, I certainly didn’t expect that!”

“Wait!” Lyn was desperately trying to hide the offending bulge with her hands but there definitely was no hiding that kind of tool!

“I mean, just wow.” I stared at the interloper in fascination as it grew bigger and bigger, my mind torn between awe and concern. “I mean I have seen my share of... equipment in my years but this is... this is like porn sized!”

Almost without my input my hands were drawn towards the frankly humongous tent that was being pitched in Ithelyn’s skirt. The pleated fabric barely holding on even as a distinct wet stop formed in the middle of it. Of everything that could have happened today I certainly didn’t expect to be confronted by the most massive fucking meat-stick I had ever seen; especially not attached to someone as breath taking as the Dawnstar heir! It was only when my hands had almost seized control of the jaw dropping popsicle before me when I was ripped out of the stupor by the cabin door crashing open.

“HEYOOooooohhhh.... what the heck did I just walk in on!?”