As they ascended the elevator, Samarie noticed something.
The Green Hue around the town was getting stronger. Which could only mean one thing.
The domain of the divine was encroaching on the material world.
The girl gulped, her nerves growing unsteady as a sudden pain seemed to flare on her nape. Her hand moving to cover the mark, as it spewed blood.
Wherever they were going, there was something up there that wanted her dead.
"Is there something wrong?" Bella asked, moving to look at what was bothering Samarie. "It's best if we take a look at it now rather than later, you know?"
Samarie weakly grinned as she shrugged her shoulders. "Just got a bad feeling. The air in here doesn't just feel stale, but also oppressive as hell."
This earned a smile from the mechanic as she tried to ease the situation, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Then, if there's anything that you need, I'll be here to help."
Suddenly, the doppelganger pressed her lips against her forehead, a blush blooming on Samarie's face as they parted.
"H- Hey! We aren't alone here you know!" The girl pointed to August, who meekly waved. "You could at least try to have a little bit of decorum…"
Abella rose her brow, as the elevator came to a halt. The doors whirring to life, as they opened. "Decorum? Are you really going to pull that card when you looked like the kid who got-"
"I think that's enough teasing for one day, miss Abella," Amicably, August butted in before much else could be said. "Samarie already said it well enough, we need to keep an eye out for any danger."
"Right." The pair replied in unison, as the doors fully opened to the space.
Although, it was quite jarring to go from industrial steel, to now… Cobbled stone, and brick work.
Seeing the material, Samarie experienced some deja vu. A churning feeling in her gut that she couldn't let go off, no matter what.
Something was off. More than just her brand alerting her to danger, her senses were telling she'd seen this place before.
Taking steady steps forward, they entered dimly lit hallways, the flickering light their sole company.
"Say August, where did you say we were again?" Abella asked in Samarie's stead, finding the silence from both of them concerning enough to voice it.
August paused in his steps as the man fished something from his pockets.
He produced a dirty folded up map, as he read it in the dim lights, both Samarie and Abella were able to read it from over his shoulder.
It was a layered map stapled together with various diagrams and more than a dozen references pointing to other locations in Prehevil.
"Says here we should be right underneath the station," moving from one map to the other, he pointed to the city plans. "However, going to the surface now means potentially encountering the roaming band of lunatics calling themselves the 'Devils of Prehevil'."
Abella flinched at their mention, but Samarie held the mechanic's hand, gripping tight, as the latter found herself becoming weak in the knees.
"Then, what do you suggest we do?" Samarie stressed, her gaze pensive.
Instead of answering, August instead pulled out a pencil from his back. "Look, it might not be better because of that Beast from Vinland. But the church is comparatively better since the green hue of Rher doesn't seem to penetrate its walls."
He struck a line through the basement there were at, and crossed it with an x. "If we can head east from this entrance here, the map says there should be a sealed off entrance into the sewers, leading back to the church via another sealed entrance."
With the amount of secret tunnels, Samarie was starting to think that the city was what inspired Phantom of the Opera, especially with the dates she was able to glance at on those maps.
But one way or another, they were going to be knee deep in shit in order to get to their next safe haven.
Although, as they moved further into the train station's basement, Samarie's gaze couldn't help but turn back to Abella.
Her goals, priorities… loyalties.
For a while, she did not want to think about it. How her heart still ached and yearned for Marina.
Of what she was now doing with Abella.
The doppelganger turned to her, brow raised. "Is there something wrong, Samarie?" Her eyes were filled with concern, their hands intertwining as the girl held on tighter. "Is there something on your mind?"
August moved further, his intentions carrying through the wind as though they were spoken words. He did not want any part in hearing what was to come, for it was none of his business.
Initially, the taller girl wanted to shake her head, reassuring her…. partner(?) that there was nothing wrong.
But, she inevitably nodded, seeing just how worried the girl was for her, there was nothing else she could do.
With all the grace of a swan, she laid her thoughts out on the table. "What are we?"
Unfortunately, that swan happened to be disturbed by a 5 year old waving its arm at it.
Taking a deep breath, poor Bella halted in her steps, leaving them the only ones illuminated under the dim lights of the basement.
"What do you mean?"
The mechanic replied with another question, one which Samarie found hard to answer.
It was hard to clarify something she had no experience in, let alone a relationship that was nothing but unconventional. And that was discounting what Abella really was.
"Before we move further, I just want to understand what we are. Put a label to the madness before this city breaks us to the point we aren't able to see what's what."
Abella's face scrunched like she had eaten a lemon. The woman felt a flurry of emotions all at once, registering to Samarie's senses as a cloud of indecipherable data.
"This isn't the place for this kind of conversation, but from your situation, I can see why you need it." She looked troubled, her face shifting back to her wide mouth self for a moment, before returning to the human Abella's appearance.
Abella's hands grasped at either side of Samarie, pulling her in, as Samarie almost tripped at the difference in their height. She pulled them both into the dark, the shadows cloaking them, as Abella placed a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead.
"We are whatever you want us to be, Samarie," There was a crooked smile on Abella's large lips. "I know you might not be ready for anything because of your prior commitments, but I am okay with that. I entered your life well aware that was the case. Not because I expect it was the only way I would have made you stable, but because I genuinely saw something beautiful inside of you."
For whatever reason, something about those words felt wrong to Samarie. Even though she was the one given the choice to do as she pleased in the relationship, it still felt wrong. As if her ignorance was the cause of her bliss.
Ignorance, huh?
"So then, why does it hurt that I have to choose?" Wet streaks ran down Samarie's cheeks, her tone steady, as she rapidly understood her emotions, but lacked the wisdom on how to deal with them in other way than simply lashing out. "Why does it feel like I'm making a choice between you and Marina?"
Bella's hands brushed against the taller girl's cheek. "Because, for what it's worth, you know that whatever happens, I will always be here. But the moment you choose Marina, and she does not choose you back, I will disappear into the wind."
It wasn't the same. But Samarie desperately wished it had been.
All of her confused emotions were becoming too much all at once.
And yet, she would have to deal with it alongside everything else.
"So why even choose in the first place?" Samarie's voice was shaky. "Why can't I choose the option where everyone is happy with the decision, and everyone gets what they want."
"Because we're more than just someone's second choice, Samarie. Even if it is you."
It struck a chord with Samarie. Even as she looking at Abella's almost teary state, she found it hard to choose.
In the end, despite all that happened just recently, Samarie chose the easy way out.
"I see. I guess it's just too soon." Abella whispered underneath her breath
"Too soon for what?" The young girl wondered
"Too soon for your heart to decide, my little pumpkin."
With her massive lip, she pressed another, bigger kiss on Samarie, her form melting back to her human visage.
"Well, whatever your choice may be, I will respect and understand it," There was pain in her eyes, even if she tried to hide it. "Even if it hurts to face."
Samarie fists balled, but thought back to how she would feel if Marina found someone else.
Then she was reminded of what happened in the bunker.
Trying to pursue both endings would only end in mutual pain. Nobody would come out better for it.
And if she only considered Abella as a trial to learn from, for when she eventually got with Marina, then she also wouldn't be better than the people who used her in the Vatican.
They were more than acquaintances, and more than whatever friends were.
But having those deep intimate emotions, perhaps they weren't there yet. Sure, they were physically intimate, Samarie could see that much.
But on an emotional level, it didn't register as hard as when she remembered the intense fire that burned inside of her when she thought about Marina.
There was a barrier that only time and intimacy would break.
"Maybe it could be best…" Abella's breath still, but her heart hammered in her chest. To the point Samarie could feel it over her hands. "If we tried getting to know each other better and set our boundaries."
The wave of relief was visible on poor Bella's face, a wave that also rocked Samarie as she pulled the mechanic into a deep caress.
Just then, her blessing granted her yet another boon. However, Samarie noticed that nothing changed with her. In every one of the previous blessings she was granted, there was always a shift in the way she was.
But through the vision of her Byakugan, she felt a tether go out to Bella's chest, a mote of light locking with the woman in her arms.
"Then I trust your judgement will help us grow into better people."
'I hope so too…'
Roll:
[Natural Weapons]
|Uncommon Ability|
Allows you to weaponise any part of your body, nails into claws, teeth into fangs etc. only works on biological parts attached to your body.
Given to Abella
{---}
The sewers were far worse than Samarie remembered.
Pinching her nose did not even help with the lingering scent. But looking at the disturbed August…
Perhaps she had it better than he did. The man seemed to have a heightened sense of smell. It was just unfortunate they had to pass by the smelliest place in the city.
Luckily, they eventually reached what looked to be the maintenance crew break room, a quiet escape from the smell, as the air was cycled from the surface instead of the city's toilets.
Unfortunately, when the city smell of smoke and gun powder, they were only trading it in for a lesser evil.
"Alll-mer's balls!" Abella cursed, coughing into her elbow. "We're almost there, but it feels like we've been at this for years now."
A grimace marked August's face, as he shrugged. He set the fans at their highest, as the smell was quickly flushed out. "The church should be a bit more tolerable. At least, the incense should wash out the smell."
Abella mimed retching, but Samarie had the distinct feeling she hadn't suffered at all. The smug look the mechanic shot her was proof enough that Bella's nose wasn't actually smelling anything.
It turned out when a person's body was like clay, there was very little they couldn't change about themselves.
Case and point, the girl that was strutting towards her.
"Say, how much further do we actually have?" Abella asked, pointing to her eyes. "You have some sort of ability for that, don't you?"
Samarie nodded, although, her range with her eyes meant she couldn't see any further than a couple corridors ahead of them. Leaving the exit just out of reach from the safe room.
Reluctantly, she gave her partner a shake of the head. "Not in the cards, I'm afraid. We're still a tiny bit off from where we need to be."
Well, that was unless Samarie gave up her normal sight in exchange for more range. But that locked her out of normal vision when her Byakugan weren't active…
Right, surely she was only hesitating because the risk out weighed the pro?
Right?
Her range exploded five fold.
In the near 360 degree vision she held, she could see all the way up until the surface, and into the sky.
Samarie glanced at herself in the infinite expanse that was now available to her.
But wait!
Out of the corner of her vision, she noticed something.
Her brand bled, a trickle of blood trailing down her nape as she watched that thing move with impunity.
"Bella, get back," Samarie whispered, her voice weak as flashes of a certain clown entered her mind. "I have a feeling things are about to turn ugly…"
"Huh, what do you-?" The look in the girl's eye spoke for her, Abella taking a step back as she audibly gulped. "I- alright, I'll trust you."
There was much reluctance in her voice. But with the way Samarie was practically begging her, she relented.
Letting out a shuddering sigh, the girl calmed herself, her mind flashing with images of a certain clown.
Samarie's blood ran cold, Kagune erupting from her back as she pushed both August and Abella away.
It was something close to that creature in the bunker, the same kind of monster that would kill with a smile on its pale face.
Although it had no way of seeing Samarie, it waved in her direction, as if it could feel her gaze on it.
It then produced a lighter from out of nowhere, finger on the striker. For a moment, the creature chuckled to itself, grinning ear to ear.
Before Samarie knew it, the world turned white.
Her ears rang non-stop as her balance failed her. She stumbled to get a grip of herself, only coming moments later.
There was a hole in the wall. Better yet, it was like the wall hadn't been there to begin with, collapsed little more than rubble.
The smell of the sewers permeated the air, alongside the smell of cooking meat.
Cooked meat?
Looking around her, she found both Abella and August no worse for wear, just disorientated.
However when she looked at herself, Samarie found more than a few problems ailing her.
Hair singed to her shoulders, her skin burnt to a crisp, as her clothes fused with parts of her flesh.
Right, she was cooking. A bit morbid to realize she was the one getting baked for the second time in 12 hours.
Grunting, Samarie stripped the rest of her clothing away, donning a new set with a flash of light.
As for the tattered rags, she used them as bandages, wrapping whatever injuries she had while they still had time.
"Samarie, what happened?" Bella asked through a blurry daze. "Whe-Where are you?"
Her healing factor kicked into high gear, lessening the severity of her injuries. It was not enough to fight at her best, but it would be enough to hold out for a minute or two.
If she could just get something to eat, then maybe the worst would come to pass soon enough.
"Improvised explosives," She replied, spitting a wad of blood that surfaced in her throat. "Keep an eye out, with this much noise, there's practically a horde coming this way."
A pit formed in Bella's stomach.
Meanwhile, August grippes his bow tightly, pulling on the drawstring as he manifested an ethereal green arrow.
"Heads up, ladies," He announced, losing the arrow as it struck something through the cloud of debris. "We've got company!"
It was not just one or two, but a whole horde.
Mutated men who walked on all fours, they scampered through the sewers like rats.
From older accounts in the church, they were creatures known as Skaven, folk that bore the appearance and mannerisms of rats.
They were the children of Fear and Hunger, born from the dregs of society. Though, very few sightings of these creatures lived to see the light of day, leaving behind only their scraps as evidence.
But when those scraps tended to be small animals and the remains of children...
Their presence was surely felt despite that fact.
They came like a flood, bodies piling on top of one another for the chance to get at them first.
"Why are they doing this?" Abella questioned aloud, nervoisly looking around the rubble for a weapon to use.
"It's this festival," August answered swiftly, taking out another with a twang of his bowstring. "The constant buzz in your head, the heat, and the Green Hue. The Moon God wants a festival of carnage, to remove the illusion of morality and society."
To Samarie, no explanation mattered. After all, she just needed to make sure-
Bang!
Her Gae bolg spun, the spear's tip catching a bullet aimed for Abella's head, causing the mechanic to fall to her ass in freight.
"Sniper!" Samarie bit down on her rage feeling the walls around herself close around her
She needed to do something about it first. Her experience with firearms said enough about which she should prioritize first. Alas, she couldn't use her repertoire of spells as she did last time...
However, as her gaze flipped back to Abella...
For any prior vow that included Marina as the catalyst include Abella as well in its clause.
Samarie grit her teeth, as her body felt twice as heavy as it was a moment ago.
At the cost of half of her strength, she was now able to use the rest of her abilities while staying by Abella's side.
"Don't worry," She leveled with her partner, pressing her forehead against the older woman. "I'll make sure we make it out of here together, okay?"
Weakly, Abella nodded back, pulling Samarie in for a kiss.
August snorted in the background, sniping another rat. "Right, take your time, why don't you? Let me lay out the wedding bed while I'm at it."
Smoke poured from both their ears, Abella coughing into her hand, as Samarie stoically faced the horde.
"Right, my bad." She said, tilting her hat to cover her face. "Just needed to make sure neither of you will get hurt from this."
"Make sure how?" The older man pressed, firing another volley.
"By calling as many of these things as you can."
Leaping into the fray, Samarie was like a whirlwind of violence. Each pass of her spear cleaved through a half dozen of the skaven at once, making short work of those in front of her.
Not only that, but the ratfolk also felt a weight pressing against their bodies. As if Samarie's presence on the battlefield was enough to shake their minds.
Bang!
The sound of gunfire echoed deeper into the tunnels, right where the the skaven were pouring out from. However, with the lack of a flash, it was hard to discern where the sniper was firing from.
And with those bastards capable of feeling her Byakugan's gaze, it was not out of reach to say they were purposefully skirting its range to avoid detection.
Samarie grit her teeth, swiping through another wave of the horde. But with each one she took down, five more would take its place in an instant.
There was no way this many were living down here!
Her brows furrowed, her kagune flashing through several hand signs.
"Equivalent exchange, yield my flesh to claim their bones," The words thrummed with power, the ground quaking as a pair of wing sprouted from Samarie's back. "0 roots reap what you've sowed."
The walls of the sewers caved, as massive spikes erupted from the cracks! They skewered many vermin in their path, blocking further entry and sight.
Samarie's chest heaved with effort, her mind feeling cloudy. Vinushka's spells did not imbue any particular emotion in a person. Instead, the God's spells took them away, leaving the user more apathetic or lethargic.
Still, with how thick the barrier was, there was no doubt the spell did enough work to balance out the loss.
The girl looked at the destruction and smirked. A quiet acknowledgement of her strength, and more importantly, her resolve.
"The spell is feeding off the corpses it took," Samarie explained, flicking the blood of her spear. "In the meantime, we need to find the exit before any more of the Skaven find another entrance."
Both August and Abella looked at one another. The older man nodded silently, while the doppelganger let out a shuddering sigh.
Looking back on the other side of the roots, many of the ratfolk seemed to have gotten to their senses. Many confused at their state, while others angrily clawed at the thick growth.
But in their midst stood two clear outliers.
One was all white, naked, and disfigured. He stood at 210 centimeters, a head taller than even Samarie. His muscles were like cords of steel cable, tightly bound and clearly visible all throughout that physique.
The other… had no organs. It had no facial features, only a mouth. No hands, only tendrils that had their shape. And in its arms was the facsimile of a rifle. Fleshy, writhing, but a rifle in all the ways that mattered.
The sniper, and their demolitionist.
Both stood stock still at her attention, their bodies shifting to stare back at her. The former aimed his rifle, cycling a bullet into the bio-weapon.
The latter grinned ear to ear, his hands signing a heart as he blew her a kiss.
Samaire felt disgusted to her core.
"Sam, are you ready to-"
BANG!
The round echoed through the corridor, shaking Abella out of her thoughts. Her eyes glossed over, as she seemed in a daze.
Without another word, Samarie gently placed her hand on Bellas' back.
The round might not have punched through the roots, but the sound was enough to startle the woman.
Though, from what Samarie gleamed from her mind, there didn't seem to be any memories that could have resulted in such trauma.
Samarie bit her lower lip, fists tightening as she thought back to her wrathful actions the day before.
The mere idea of it being her fault struck the girl at her core.
Although, it would only be right if she were to take the steps to be accountable for her actions.
'I just have to start with small changes' Samarie thought to herself, meeting back with August.
"Are both of you alright?" August asked, slinging his bow on his bag. "That damn sniper almost got us a couple of times. If it were for Samarie's reflexes, I'd be no better than a block of cheese."
Although he was relieved, the older man couldn't help but raise a brow, glancing to the pair of ethereal wings on the girl's back. But then his eyes drifted above her, seeing something she hadn't noticed yet.
"I guess that your changes are something new to you?"
Samarie nodded, passing her hand through one of them. It felt like soft feathers, feeling more like a cloud than a bird's wing.
But it was not just that. There was something hovering over her head.
A halo, like the ones the four great spirits bore. It was just one she could not see, as it had no physical mass, only appearing as a dense network of energy.
"They just appeared without me knowing," The girl explained with a deadpan. "You could say a lot of things changed when I woke up earlier. Too many that I don't even know where to begin."
August snorted, looking away into a hallway on their right. "Then we need to find the next safest place to find out what's happened to you. Don't want it somehow backfiring on us. Take this time before we reach the church's catacombs to figure out your new capabilities. Just in case we find something else down there."
Samarie could only agree, nodding her head. Meanwhile, Bella broke from the stupor she was in, grabbing a hold of her partner's hand with a reassuring caress.
Comforted by her partner's calming action, the tension in her shoulders receded, finding her new appendages and her halo to disappear along with it.
The air became lighter, and the sewers became several degrees cooler. No longer was the girl actively exerting her will over the area, and it showed in the faces of her companions.
Samarie looked down at the hand she was holding, squeezing just a little bit tighter as her collective stress ebbed away.
For now, she would need to recover. The spell had taken more out of her now that the adrenaline was no longer carrying her actions, not to mention the toll the rest of her abilities put her through.
It was then that her blessing deemed it the right time to activate again, granting Samarie knowledge on… the bed room arts of all things.
Roll:
[Adept Kama Sutra]
|Rare Skill|
You are very talented in the carnal art, being able to spot signs of arousal and attraction, in addition, you instinctively know how to pleasure your partner in bed and be a very pleasant recipient, enhancing pleasure for both of you.
Survive the Ambush
Full encyclopedic knowledge on how to make any partner she had incapable of walking for several days, no matter who or what they were.
It stunned her in her tracks.
She glanced down at the hand she was holding, tempted to test her new skills on Abella, but deeming it an inopportune time.
Perhaps once they were able to find safety in the church, she would have the time to practice these things with the older woman. Preferably where August wouldn't be able to hear them as well.
{---}
But that did not mean she could try something with a skill Samarie had only ever used once.
As Abella and the group were walking to their next destination, her body suddenly shuddered despite the control she had over her nerves.
She was feeling quite damp down there, and it was growing more distracting by the second. Like a burning itch only she could feel.
Her attention was drawn over to Samarie who shot her a sly smirk, a finger over her lip as if to silence her.
God, this girl was going to be the death of her. Freaky witch and her freaky magic.
Phantom sensations ghosted over her nether regions, brushing against her moistened folds like a cold wind.
It felt agonizing, down right evil.
Her teeth grit, eyes going crossed as she clenched her fists.
It was hard to focus when her mind was being distracted. Especially when she just wanted to pounce on Samarie as though she were a wild doe.
A faint wetness trailed from the corner of her cheek, and traced along where her real mouth would have been, slobbering her lip. And yet, when Bella brushed a hand over her face, she found nothing there but the blush on her cheeks.
Her inhuman body reacted in the way only a human would, like she lost control over herself.
And it was so good.
The group reached a ladder, their last stop before leaving the sewers.
August went up first, scouting over the edge to look for any danger on the other side.
"All clear," The older man announced, slinging his bow back. "But stay quiet, there might be more shadows in the dark."
It was understandable. The exact thing she would have said if she were in his place.
Unfortunately, her partner was doing the equivalent of flicking the mechanic's bean whilst in the theater. And doing a better job of it despite likely being the first time she had done it to someone else.
Bella would get Sam back for this. It was only a matter of time before this backfired on the gothically dressed girl.
"Just you wait," She muttered under her breath, climbing on the ladder step by step.
However, just as she reached the middle, Abella felt a pair of hands cup her from behind, groping handfuls at a time. Her chest was feeling off, tingly in the way only groping would elicit. And yet, there were no hands to touch her. In fact…
The taller girl got on the ladder the same time she had, and purposefully put herself just underneath Abella.
But… She couldn't. It- It was too dangerou-
The witch's ministrations hastened, her hold growing more ravenous. She felt her breast get pulled, tugged just the way she liked them. At the same time, she felt her cavernous depths get plundered by a dexterous set of digits, teasing her insides, as another pair pinched and licked at her clit.
Bella's eyes crossed, her legs clamped down on each other, as she bit on her tongue hard enough to sever it.
She- She just-
"Are you two alright down there?" August asked, concern in his voice. "Might want to get a move on, I hear something happening just above us."
"Got it, no worries." Samarie replied in her stead, holding out a thumbs up.
But when Abella looked down, she saw the girl wiping at her lips, a cheshire grin on her face as she mimed zipping her mouth.
The mechanic closed her eyes, counting 1 to 10, before continuing like nothing ever happened.