A Breath

I bit my lips but still, I had to ask, ''Are you gay?''

Ender took the tattoo needle away from my skin and looked at me, ''No,'' he said. Without any further explanation, he dipped the needle into the little bowl of ink and returned to drawing the shape of the crown.

''See?'' the fox said in my mind, ''He's not interested in you.''

I was sitting on the bed, covering my breasts with one arm, my other hand in the air. He was drawing the tattoo on the side of my breast, under my armpit. When it got hard to hold my hand in the air I held onto his shoulder. He didn't complain, so I ran my hand through his shoulder to the back of his neck.

Touching over clothes didn't increase my powers as much as touching his skin, yet it was better than nothing. I tried to take a peek into his heart, but for some reason, his mental defenses were stronger. Facing a mind sharp as knives, I had to retreat.

I looked at his face, it was calm. He wasn't pretty in any way. Instead, with all of those tattoos on his face, he was looking dangerous. Still, he wasn't ugly either. I tried to imagine what he would look like without all those tattoos, would he be handsome?

''Does it hurt to change the face shape?'' I asked.

''Yes, it hurts. Don't talk to me, you're distracting,'' He said. I shut my mouth. If he'd ruin it, I wouldn't know what to do. I had no idea how difficult it would be to remove a tattoo made of unicorn blood, but I also didn't want to find out.

''Don't you put your trust in him too much?'' The fox said.

I was about to shrug my shoulders, then I realized it wouldn't be a good idea right now. ''I'm not sure about his intention, but I have no doubt about his capability.''

''Done,'' Ender said and took a step back to watch his art. It didn't look bad to me, but I wish I had a room at the hostel. At the same time, I got a notification about a seal activating. I changed my breed status from demınic, succubus into neutral, human for everyone else to see.

I watched with envy as Ender disappeared the needle and ink as if in magic. I have never seen anyone using the space element as comfortably as he. In fact, I was suspecting he was the one who made space spells on his pockets and bags.

''Keep it clean, don't touch it, and wash it with antibacterial soap, act like an open wound,'' he said.

As I reached for my shirt to dress up, If I had to act like having an open wound, I would have to skip the bra. "Maybe you should invite him to bed,'' the fox said.

I put on the shirt and start buttoning, "Yeah, sure. Maybe I should write 'I'm trying to seduce you for my own purposes.' on my forehead."

"How will he know that having sex with you will provide you an influence on him?" the fox said.

"He doesn't need to know this whole succubus thing. I have a bounty on my head, he's a bounty hunter. We have a deal for today, but I have to secure myself for tomorrow. One way, or another," I said.

"Oh? How will you do that?" the fox said.

"Ender's not someone who would privilege someone for he's having sex with her. Somehow I need to prove that my partnership is worth more than money," I said.

"I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the winter fairies," Ender said. I had finished buttoning the shirt.

I took a deep breath to think, I needed to provide valuable information to prove my usefulness, but if I tell everything I know, he won't need me anymore.

Finally, I told everything and added, "The more I focused and meditated, the more I remember the memories they erased."

"I see," he was leaning on a wall, next to the only window of the room. "You sold all the honey you bought from the dungeon to the guild, and the guild sold it to the soldiers as stamina potions. Do you know who made the potions? Or is there anyone other than the soldiers who purchase mass?"

"I made them," I said. "I don't know who is buying. I can learn."

"Ah, " Ender said. "Sweet. Now everything makes perfect sense."

I frowned, "What makes perfect sense? Did I miss something?"

Laughing, "Nothing important darling," he said and sighed. "I'm just trying to decide what to do with you." He closed his eyes and waited like that for a few seconds. "May I ask how you got the seal I tattooed and what is it for?"

"I can't say," I said.

"Very well."