Fervor

"Who's there?"

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"Just an admirer."

"..."

"..."

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"Explain how you're here, or die now."

"Information spreads fast."

"Not if it never enters the public."

"Nothing is hidden to me."

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"Enough. What the hell do you want!?"

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"You're a man who needs dirty work done. And I'm someone who needs power. …I'm here to suggest a partnership."

"You're a fool. I don't even know who you are."

"That's a good thing."

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"...You're amusing. But I've gotten far too tired of funny people. So I'm afraid-"

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"Don't act too hasty! There is… information that I can spread. That you would not enjoy being out in the public. As well as some things you might wish to know."

"..."

"..."

"What kind of information are you offering?"

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"I didn't know you knew healing magic." A hushed voice whispered.

"Healing is relative." Another mumbled, voice scratchy and nasal. "In a way, bodies just balance out different types of poison. It's just a matter of how quickly you die."

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"Enough of your ramblings." A third voice said with disgust. "This is disgusting. I can't believe we let him touch her."

"Shut up."

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"She looks so peaceful." The first voice mumbled.

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Aisha's eyes snapped open, feeling… not a comforting presence. And indeed, when she took in the figures around her, instead of waking up in the comforting embrace of Celeste or Hana's arms, or even the friendly, smiling face of one of her other friends.

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No, the faces in front of her were gaunt. Adult. Weathered, by age, time, experiences.

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"What happened?" She asked quietly, feeling around her face for her missing mask.

"You hurt god, that's what happened." Raxas said quietly, crossing his arms. "There isn't a single person who isn't talking about… how you cut his arm off. How the hybrid bathed in the blood of gods."

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Aisha was silent for a bit, and the judges assumed that the girl was reflecting on her actions. However, a different line of thought was crossing through her mind.

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"Wait." She cried hoarsely. "W-what about Celeste? Hana?"

"Who's that?" Tylich mumbled quietly.

"Her…" Raxas's face twitched uncomfortably. "Friends. Partners."

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Vayne frowned, her face setting into her natural position. "How uncouth."

"What happened to them?" Aisha demanded.

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"They're fine." Raxas reassured. "I relocated them to a secure location."

"Can I see them?" Aisha whispered.

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"You have to answer a few questions first." Tylich said quietly, locking his eyes onto Aisha's. The fey raised her eyebrows in surprise. His eyes were a deep aquamarine, glowing eerily, but in a strangely calming, almost beautiful way.

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"Like what."

"Like your relationship with Ifrit." Vayne huffed. "Us Judge Magisters have barely even spoken a single word with him. And yet… he despises you. Enough to stoop to your level and fight you."

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Aisha felt three curious gazes on her, shifting uncomfortably. The judges had never really paid any attention to her before, too confident in their own powers to regard Aisha as any more than just a strange outsider.

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But now, Aisha was on the board. And they couldn't ignore her anymore.

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"I know as much about him as you all do." Aisha said quietly.

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"We know hardly anything about him." Raxas replied. "Again, barely any of us have even talked to him."

"Anything will help." Tylich added quietly.

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"He's just a man." Aisha said, after a short silence. "I don't know what to say. He believes that he is above the rest of us. It hurts him to stoop to my level."

"So why did he stoop to your level?" Tylich asked.

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Aisha thought for a bit.

"I don't know. Why do humes fight among each other?"

"You're saying that he acts like a human?" Raxas raised an eyebrow.

"He is just a human." Aisha leaned back wryly. "As human as you are, at least. He… he bleeds red, just like you."

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Raxas furrowed his eyebrows, and he shared a look with the other judges, before turning back to Aisha.

"This doesn't particularly help us."

"Why not? You can kill him."

"That has always been the end goal." Raxas sighed. "But his power far exceeds ours, even all put together. Even then, his existence is important for military stability. The presence of patron gods prevents armies from wiping cities off the map with mage-fire."

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"Tch." Aisha's eye twitched. "You humans and your politics."

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"Politics is what keeps us from anarchy." Vayne shot back. "Perhaps you fey barbarians don't mind, but civilized-"

"Stop." Raxas growled.

"Hmph."

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"Anything else you're leaving out?" Tylich asked.

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Aisha paused for a second.

"His powers come from worship."

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"Sorry?" Raxas gave Aisha a confused look. "What do you mean? You think he… gets his power from a higher deity?"

"No, no." Aisha shook her head. "I think his powers might come from all the people that worship him."

"What, he gets powers from people believing in him?" Tylich asked. "That's stupid. You-"

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Raxas put a hand up, cutting off Tylich.

"It's an interesting theory." He said quietly. "Do you have any evidence?"

Aisha thought for a bit, but given the circumstances in which she came by the information… "...No."

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Raxas sighed, closing his eyes. "Then I'm sorry, but we cannot act on it yet."

Vayne shook her head. "This was a waste of time."

"That's not true." Raxas said absentmindedly, sitting down back in his chair. "Something… something is going to happen soon. I can feel it. And I want all the information we can get."

"You're growing superstitious." Vayne scoffed.

"It's not superstition." Raxas shot back. "It's experience."

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"Can I go now?"

"Sure. Tylich will escort you." Raxas waved his hand off.

"I don't need an escort."

"Do you think you could beat Ifrit again?" Raxas asked.

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"...No."

"Then take Tylich with you. Besides, you don't even know the way."

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"..."

"..."

"What are you looking at, kid?"

Aisha flinched as one of her furtive glances was caught by the tall judge, his harsh eyes locking directly onto Aisha's.

"Nothing." Aisha mumbled.

"You're trying to read me, aren't you."

"No." Aisha lied.

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"Hmph. You can try, if you want."

"You don't have a lot of friends, don't you?" Aisha asked, annoyed.

"No, I don't."

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Aisha was surprised at the genuine acceptance in Tylich's voice, his words coming out firm and without hesitation. There wasn't a hint of sadness, or loneliness, or even indignant anger, as so many others would have responded with. It was almost frightening - the words of a man who truly knew what he was, and had no difficulty accepting it.

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"What's your stake in this?" Aisha asked quietly. "Everybody else has a reason that they're a judge. What's yours?"

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Aisha was met with nothing but silence, and after walking a block, Aisha just sighed, shaking her head as she prepared to walk the rest of the distance in complete silence.

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"What do you think animals dream of, kid?"

"Huh?"

Tylich turned his head to Aisha, his greasy, messy hair whipping across his face.

"The rats." He said, pointing to a family of the aforementioned animals, scurrying along a gutter. "If a rat controlled his own life, what would it look like?"

"...I don't know what you mean."

"They travel in packs. Families, even. They're pack animals."

"...Yes."

"They work together to get food." Tylich mumbled. "They steal. They attack other animals. Or scavenge. But they do it together. Because they have to. Because they're too weak to do it by themselves. What a rat fears most is death, not betrayal. Do you know what that means?"

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Without warning, Tylich stomped violently on a rat, a splatter of blood exploding out from under his metal boot. Aisha jumped back in surprise, avoiding getting any entrails on herself. The rest of the rats quickly scurried away in terror, afraid to meet the same fate.

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Aisha looked up at the man in bewilderment, a snarling, hateful expression on his face.

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"When things get tough, they'll rip each other to shreds." He snarled, grinding his boot into the ground. "Their family. Their pack. Doesn't matter anymore. They'll turn on each other in a heartbeat."

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Tylich spat in the gutter, corroding the concrete.

"What a rat wants most is to live without fear."

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Aisha just stood there dumbly for a second, confused, before she finally spoke, her mouth dry.

"O-ok." She said.

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"We're here." Tylich mumbled, voice even again. "Nice talking to you, kid."

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Aisha was completely dumbfounded as Tylich leapt away, heavy armor not seeming to encumber his movements at all as he jumped on top of a building, leaping away rapidly. For a second Aisha didn't know what the hell she was even doing, before she saw the door in front of her, a sunken-in metal wedge in the middle of a narrow alleyway.

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Hesitantly, she knocked on the door a few times.

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"It's open."

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Aisha stepped inside the premises gingerly, closing the door gently before looking around, searching for the bedroom she knew Celeste and Hana would be in. It wasn't that difficult, as Aisha could feel Celeste's soul, radiating a calm, soothing energy. But what was concerning was that she couldn't feel Hana.

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"...Celeste?" Aisha whispered, as she slowly opened the door to the bedroom.

"Hello, darling…" The enchantress whispered back sadly.

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Aisha's mouth went dry when she saw Celeste on the bed, cradling Hana's face in her lap as she stroked the demon's face, looking weak and stained with tears.

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"Come here, Aisha." Hana begged weakly. "Let me hug you."

"Y-yeah, o-of course." Aisha whispered, sliding off her boots and jacket.

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Aisha's blood ran cold when she felt Hana's arms, weak and lacking warmth. Something was definitely wrong.

"T-thank you, Aisha…" Hana sniffled, burying her face into the small girl's shoulder. "Nnnh."

"What's going on!?" Aisha demanded. "Y-you're… she's cold…"

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Hana just closed her eyes, and Aisha's eyes followed Celeste's finger as it trailed down Hana's body, until she pointed at a marking on the demon girl's navel.

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Aisha's voice came out coarse. "W-wha…"

"It's a seal." Celeste whispered, a look of immense grief on her face. "On her soul. She's…"

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Aisha just stared, horrified, at Hana's face, her eyes squeezed shut as if trying to shut out reality. Aisha's blood ran cold as she took one of Hana's limp, cold hands in her own. That meant…

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"No…" She whispered, her voice cracking. "No no no no! No! I can't… This is all my fault."

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"Aisha…" Hana whispered, squeezing the small girl. "It's not your fault."

"But it is!" Aisha protested. "No, if it wasn't for me… I… this would have never happened! It's my fault! I dragged you into this. I-I-I I thought the worst that he could do was… was kill me. B-but…"

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"Aisha, it's okay…" Hana whispered sadly, a smile adorning her face, even though her body shoo, and her voice trembled. "These few months… have been the best months of my life. I'm glad I-"

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"DON'T SAY THAT!" Aisha yelled suddenly, tears coming to her eyes as she buried her face into Hana's chest. "How can you say that… when you could have- could have had so many more years… "

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Aisha's words came out choked, and eventually the girl couldn't even form any more words, making only sobbing noises.

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"I don't-" Aisha choked out. "No! I don't want you to die! I…"

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When Aisha felt a cold hand on top of her head, she only wept harder. It wasn't fair. She was supposed to be the one putting her life on the line - the one who would die, the one who would suffer the consequences. She had never planned for someone she cared about to die like this. Hana wasn't an adventurer. She wasn't a part of their stupid, stupid game! Why did she have to-

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"I… I saved your book." Celeste whispered, motioning to a tattered old journal on the nightstand. "It was under the bed with all your other things… um, sorry, we couldn't… save your snacks or anything."

"No, I dont-"

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Suddenly, Aisha froze as her eyes locked onto the book, the thing almost falling apart from Aisha's extremely careless handling of the thing.

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"I'm going to save you." Aisha whispered.

"No… Aisha…" Celeste frowned.

"NO!" Aisha yelled. "I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU THIS TIME! I SWEAR!"

"This time…?" Hana whispered.

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"I'll save you." Aisha choked out. "I'll save you. I swear on my soul. I'll-"

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Celeste smacked Aisha across the face, freezing the girl's face in a tearful, shocked expression.

"Aisha, stop!" She said firmly. "It's… there's nothing we can do. It's bad enough that… that…"

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Celeste wiped at the side of her eyes.

"Just… I don't want to lose you. Too.." She croaked. "Okay? Just stay… here. That's the best… haughh…"

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Celeste just sighed as Aisha bolted off with the book, slamming the front door shut behind her. Hana smiled up at the frustrated woman as she buried her head into her hands, golden tresses matted and unkempt.

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"You're taking this well." Celeste mumbled.

"There's no point in stressing about it." Hana pouted. "Haha."

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Hana reached up a cold hand to tweak Celeste's face, and slowly, her expression turned from concerned anguish, to a sorrowful smile.

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"I wish I could… face these things as well as you can." Celeste smiled, hanging her head.

"It's not that bad." Hana whispered. "You just have to learn to… let go."

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Aisha clutched the pages of Sen's journal tightly, her knuckles white as she gripped the edges of the journal, flipping through the pages rapidly. Her hands trembled as she took the pages in her fingers, shook as her eyes flitted across the pages, barely even taking in the words, written in extremely sloppy handwriting.

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(Go slower!) Her shadow whined. (I can't read that fast!)

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Aisha let out a growl of frustration, but nonetheless, she turned the pages slower, giving herself enough time to properly take in the shape of a few letters before turning. Of course, Aisha wasn't good enough at reading to take in the incredibly advanced text. But her shadow had taken in the memories of dozens of scholars, at this point.

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(Stop! This one's a spell)

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"What kind of spell?" Aisha asked hurriedly.

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(It's not really a spell, perhaps… um… but it seems really important.)

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"Just read it out to me!"

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(Okay, okay! The principles of "magic," or so to speak, are…)

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[

Aisha smiled, letting out a small little giggle. "Hee hee."

"What are you thinking about?"

"You."

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Lorian blushed, pouting and resisting the urge to bop Aisha on the head. She knew this was a sentiment she thought of often, but… it just wasn't fair how cute Aisha was! She couldn't ever get back at her for teasing her. It hurt her pride. But even thinking about disciplining the adorable little kitten made her heart ache. She wanted Aisha to look that happy forever. So much that she was willing to be her hug pillow, her headpat dispenser.

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Gods, what was happening to her? She was - she would never be caught playing sub to another demon, even the massive, eight foot, horned demons, so prideful, so powerful, eventually ended up under her heel. But for this dumb, little, adorable, mewling, stupid, beautiful, loving, fluffy girl, she wanted nothing more than for her to jump on top of her, using Lorian's big, voluptuous body however she wanted.

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Lorian's heart fluttered as she saw Aisha's eyelids drooping, along with her adorable little ears.

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"Aww." She cooed. "Is my cute little kitten sleepy?"

"Mhm." Aisha yawned, letting out a pleased sigh and nuzzling into Lorian's neck. "Sho comfy."

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The big demon blushed in response, pushing the fantasy aside into the back of her mind, joining the thousands of dirty thoughts she had of Aisha. It would never happen. Aisha was just too subby. So fucking subservient, so affectionate and loving and caring and sweet. She literally ate out of her palm. There was no way she would ever push Lorian down onto the ground, demanding that she…

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"Good night, mistwess…" Aisha mumbled sleepily into her shoulder. "I wuv you I wuv you…"

"Ah, don't go to sleep yet!" Lorian protested softly, her heart breaking in her chest as Aisha let out a sad mew. "I-I… I still want to play with you a little bit…"

"But you're so…" Aisha moaned, squeezing her small little arms around Lorian's midsection and taking a deep breath, all the while snuggling deeper and deeper into the hug. "But you're so… love… I looooove youuuu… I wuv you I wub you… Lem me be yow… luv slabe… I wub yu. Hee hee. I dun no wha tow sayw… I love you!"

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At that point, Lorian had to let the girl sleep, before her heart exploded, and her cheeks lit on fire. She was so precious. She literally- god, it took all of Lorian's willpower to not jump out of the bed and squeal.

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"I love you too." Lorian whispered quietly, right into one of Aisha's big, fluffy ears, the lovestruck little Fey smiling in her sleep.

"Luv… nnnmistwess…" She mumbled happily, before curling up and falling into restful, fully content sleep, mewling one last adorable mew. And Lorian gasped, as something inside of her broke.

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Lorian couldn't help herself. She started to kiss Aisha, worship her all over, kissing her fingers, ears, face, tummy - anything. She just had to fucking kiss her, do anything to release the torrent of butterflies in her chest. She blushed madly, going light in the head, as she left another kiss on Aisha's stupid little lips, the same lips that tormented her with the sweetest feelings in the universe, the same lips that spewed those fucking cheesy, adorable, heartwarming words..

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God, kissing her wasn't enough. She wanted to- wanted to marry her, right there, give her full control of her body and mind, worship the little girl until she turned into a real goddess. She needed to kiss every part of her - she NEEDED to, before her heart exploded, before she lost her mind forever, before she couldn't think of anything but loving Aisha. Of anything but kissing her all over.

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She was so glad Aisha didn't have a single dominent cell in her. If she did, if she were to see how desperate, how needy Lorian was- The thought was sooo degrading, but in her current state of mind, if Aisha woke up and asked her to bark, she definitely would have happily played doggy, anything for Aisha. That was how powerful her adorable charm was- it overrode all of her thought processes, all of her heart - she just wanted to love her, love her until they both died of love, why did she love - fucking she loved Aisha so much - fuck fuck fuck!

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Lorian's mouth felt dry when she stopped, the butterflies in her heart finally calming down. She no longer felt like she was going to die if she didn't hold Aisha.

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Lorian blushed. She no longer felt the urge to bark for Aisha, or use her mouth to do... sexual things, or any other perverted, deviant... She just… felt her normal urges. Like her urge to kiss her. Or to have sex with her. But none of the… none of the feverish worshiping.

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It would be so sexy if Aisha had a - ah, no.

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(Stop stop stop!) Lorian wailed. (You're just making yourself hornier, you dummy!)

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But try as she might, she couldn't get those damn submissive thoughts out of her head. Fantasies of spanking Aisha turned into fantasies of being spanked by Aisha. Visions of Aisha's adorable face, twisted into a goofy, fucked-stupid expression, turned into a sly, dominant Aisha, eyes gazing downwards in a confident smirk.

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Why was she so horny!? Or, well, she knew the answer to that, but why did she feel the need to worship Aisha so much!?

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Was this… Aisha's love? The feeling of loving someone so much that you wanted to devote your entire being to her?

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She didn't know if she loved or hated the feeling. On the one hand… it was… Degrading. Embarrassing. Scary.

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But on the other hand, it was a pleasure unmatched by any sex that she ever had. Every moment with Aisha was like that. Just… being with her…

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Lorian took a second to just take in Aisha's sleeping form, so peaceful, serene, and now covered in hickeys. But despite that, the girl's face was in an innocently happy smile - one that never seemed to leave her face. She just looked… so content. So… cute, so adorable, so… vulnerable.

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Oh, what was she thinking!? She should just be content to hug and hold this amazing girl, devoting herself to pampering and snuggling with her. Aisha made her so happy. The happiest woman in the world. She should have been in bliss. Ready to spend the rest of her life, sex be damned.

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But demons were greedy, and Lorian wanted so much more. Being in bliss wasn't good enough for her. She wished so badly that it would be enough for her, but her heart ached for a deeper connection with Aisha. She wasn't satisfied with just owning her, owning her body, owning her heart. She wasn't satisfied with Aisha adoring her, with being the center of her existence. She wanted to own her past and future, she wanted to own her forever, own her memories -

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Lorian suddenly widened her eyes as she smelled smoke, the bedsheets starting to smolder under her passion. Hurriedly, she started to take deep breaths, reigning in the heat that she was unconsciously letting go wild. Panicking, she quickly checked Aisha for burns, turning the little girl all over, but oddly enough, the girl was completely fine, no marks anywhere visible on her body.

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Taking off Aisha's chest wrappings, her breasts and back were fine too, and Lorian let out a sigh of relief, dropping her head in exhaustion.

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She desperately needed… a break. She needed to get away from Aisha, until she could think straight. Every second she spent with the girl made her fall even more in love, and honestly…

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She kind of wished she didn't love Aisha so much. It seemed like since they first kissed, loving Aisha more only brought her pain. It made her fear losing her so much more. It made her scared to touch her, to tease her, out of an irrational fear that… that maybe eventually, Aisha would get tired of her.

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The thought of it terrified Lorian. More than even death. It froze her limbs like frostbite, burning her from the inside out. Akasha and Fen told her that she was stupid, and they were right! But something deep inside of her, something ugly… kept her up at night.

]

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"You look different." Aryn pursed his lips, at Aisha's strange expression, a mix of… well, a lot of emotions, her face somehow resolute but still desperate, at the same time. It was a strangely human expression for the girl, usually so simple.

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"I am different." Aisha whispered.