The Pleasures of Hell 02.024

~~Mia~~

"Vinicius! Put them down!"

Vinicius stood his ground. Surrounded by the walls of the tunnel they hid deep within, they were safe from future angel scouts on suicide missions to kill any unmarked they spotted. Unfortunately for the demons who'd been told to guard Vinicius, that meant they were within pouncing distance. And judging from the splatter of blood on the walls and ground, Vinicius had pounced and grabbed not only the incubus Gallius, but the fujara tetrad Julisa as well. Gallius he held in one hand by the waist, but Julisa was much bigger, ten feet tall, and the twelve-foot-tall four-armed demon had to work a little harder to keep the tetrad and her four arms under control.

"We are leaving," he said, speaking to Mia, but eyes on the tetrad directly in front of him. The incubus didn't warrant checking.

Julisa grinned, but half gargled, half choked as Vinicius tightened his grip around her throat. Her feet and tail tangled, and her talons lightly clawed at the empty air underneath her. If she found the opening, she'd probably use her raptor feet and tear open Vin's chest, but at the moment, that'd just cause Vin to pop her head off. And she kinda looked like she was enjoying herself, anyway.

"We're not leaving! The Damall helped us," Mia said.

"We only needed help because you stopped me."

"Yes, you're right! You're right, okay!" She stomped up to his giant, bleeding leg, and punched it. A wooden door had more give, but it was enough to earn a grunt from the demon. "Even though those angels hurt you enough you're bleeding all over the place, and still bleeding, yes, obviously, we didn't need the Damall's help at all." Not the time for sarcasm, but she couldn't help it.

He aimed an eye at her before snapping it back to the giant woman in his grip. He didn't bother looking at the other two tetrads behind Mia. Livian and Romakus thought the situation was cute, judging from their smiles.

"I feasted on the human souls. I will heal," he said.

"Yeah, I know." And he definitely was, considering he could already use an arm that'd taken a sword right through its shoulder. "But you still need to find a place to rest while you do that. And if we're going to run into more angels, we can't have you half dead when they find you again. So, just, put the demons down, sit down, and relax."

He brought the demoness in close, and growled into her face.

"We can't trust the Damall."

Julisa smiled, but did nothing but squirm in his grip. Mia had seen that look before. That was the look of a woman who liked being abused a little more than was probably healthy, or safe.

"Why not?" Mia asked.

He rumbled, deep enough Mia felt the vibration in her toes. But he said nothing, and let the silence of her question linger until Mia had no choice but to look back up to Romakus. Who was, of course, grinning.

"The Damall," Romakus said, "have a history of conflicting with children of the Old Ones."

"We are the rightful rulers," Vinicius said.

"Tell that to your parents. They wouldn't really appreciate the mess you made of the house."

The child of Belial growled. "Irrelevant."

"Pretty relevant," Romakus said. "You children have a habit of leading giant armies and stirring up all of Hell, when you get a spire under your thumb."

"Then--"

"We intervened," the Zel-look-alike Livian said, stepping forward, "because the unmarked is important, and we're not about to let her die on the whim of angels. Even Yosepha and Galon don't think that's a good idea."

Faustinus stepped up. "I think we should all just calm down, take a deep breath, relax, and not kill each other. The Damall don't plan to kill you, Vinicius. We just want some answers."

"Why should I tell you anything?"

Sighing, the incubus walked up to his fellow, currently dangling and squirming incubus, and gestured up to Vinicius.

"Something is going on, and we're all trying to figure out what that is. You let us know a thing or two, and we'll help you out. A little, anyway."

"I haven't told them anything yet," Mia said. "And I won't, for now. Twilight's gonna be here, soon. So let's do what Faustinus and Romakus want, and just relax for now. We can talk about this tomorrow, right?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Romakus said. "Rest for a few days, even. Galon or Yosepha will be back tomorrow. Whichever doesn't return will help those three angels you nearly killed get back to the vortex and back to Heaven, and hopefully get back to us without tipping Heaven off to what they're up to."

"How'd you get an angel to be your ally?" Mia asked.

The big winged demon smiled. "We're not sharing secrets yet. Later."

Vinicius rumbled a few times, but as everyone went silent and watched him, the big demon relented. First, Gallius. He let the incubus go, and the tall man, barely half Vin's height, rubbed his sides where he'd been held. For some reason though, Vinicius took a little longer with Julisa, leaning in so he could glare into her eyes. After some sort of psychic conversation, he let her go, and Julisa rubbed her throat as she stepped back.

Fujara tetrads like Julisa looked oddly similar to the children of Belial. Four arms, big horns, a tail, raptor feet, no wings. She was like a mini-Vinicius. Maybe there was a connection there? Something in Hell's weird evolution or biology rules?

The fact a ten-foot-tall demon was small enough to be a mini-other demon was ludicrous, and even after having been around Vin for so long, seeing him tower over a tetrad struck Mia still. After a few seconds of staring, she wiped the shivers away, turned, and stood beside him as she faced the rest of the demons.

"Thank you, for saving us. I nearly got Vin and me killed. And, uh, now that we're here, is there a place we can rest?"

"Together?" Julisa asked, and she rubbed her throat as she squatted down in front of Mia.

"Ye--oh, not like that. I mean, uh, just the same room. He's my protector. I need him nearby."

The mini-Vinicius demoness smiled down at her, then up at Vin, and gestured for them to follow. They did, and Mia snuck a few glances up at her bodyguard between his heavy, lumbering steps. He didn't look at her, not once. He was angry.

She'd make it up to him. Or Julisa would, considering the hungry glances she gave the giant.

The thought of the tetrad having sex with Vin sent a spark through Mia's body, and she squashed it quick before it could turn into a brushfire.

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~~David~~

Twilight came. The amber veins on the cave walls pulsed as they grew dimmer, and the invisible weight of night tugged at his mind. Some strange rustling sounds moved along the ground underneath their alcove, and Caera prepared to kill anything that tried to get up the hole into their little hideaway. But whatever hellbeast it was, it moved on, either unaware or uncaring of their presence.

The blood that soaked them faded, too, like shower steam. All gone in a few hours, as if Hell wanted to make it clear killing twelve people didn't even warrant thinking about.

Caera remained by the alcove's entrance, a small hole at one end of the tiny cave, the only way in or out. Back on Earth, oxygen would have been a concern, especially with this many people breathing the air, but Hell didn't seem to do oxygen. It did do needing to breathe, but not oxygen specifically, as if only certain circumstances could actually lead to asphyxiation. Just another quirk on Hell's list of strangeness.

The spire mother, the gargoyle, the satyr, and the two imps and two grems were all asleep. Caera took first watch, and it was soon time for her to switch off, but she remained where she was, half sitting, half lying and looking at the hole. Even looking at her back, with only her spikes and giant tail visible, the tiger lady looked upset.

David got up, careful to not bump Dao or Jes, and tiptoed over to Caera. Sure enough, her eyes were hard, glaring, and set on the exit hole. Whatever unlucky fool poked their head up was going to get a pair of claws through the eyes.

"Caera," he whispered. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"Fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional?"

She lifted her head up and aimed a cocked eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind. Seriously though, you okay? We got twelve of the Cainites, only got minor injuries, and everyone got fed. I even learned some more runes... I think. I thought today went well, angel attack aside."

"It did go well."

He sat down beside Caera's head as she looked back at the exit in front of her. Part of him wanted to put a hand on her back and rub it, like he might if he had the mystical upgrade known as boyfriend status. Maybe even scratch her back between her spikes like she liked. But he didn't. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and watched the exit with her.

"But?" he asked.

"But..." Sighing, she looked back at the group of demons sleeping quietly behind them. Maybe it was a special demon evolution, but not a single one of them snored, and even their breathing was quiet. "You were a pretty boring guy when you were alive, David."

He touched his chest. "Ouch."

That managed to get a smile out of her, a small one, but her tail did wag for a half second.

"I'm just repeating what you told me. And you said you didn't have close friends, or lovers."

"I did not, nope. Ouch, again."

Another smile.

"Kia and Marquez were my companions, my friends, and sometimes, my lovers. We had sex all the time, but sometimes, we got... comfortable with each other, and... romantic." She gestured back to Dao and Jes, who were sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder. "You have any idea how rare that is in Hell?"

"No, I don't. I'm guessing very."

"It is. And coming back here where they died... died because I made a mistake, is..."

Fuck it. He slid a little closer and set a hand on her back between her big shoulders. No response, which was a lot better than the hiss or dismissal he half expected. He pushed his fingers against the firm muscle beneath her scapula and between her spine spikes, and Caera sighed with relaxation as she lowered her head until her chin rested on the back of her hands, very cat-like.

"I could give you some empty platitudes, if you like?" he said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like in the scrying pool, I bet you've seen people say things like 'I'm sorry for your loss' and stuff like that."

"I have. A lot."

"But, that shit just rings hollow, right? I don't know what it's like to lose someone. I don't know what it's like to have close, true friends, or what it's like to have a girlfriend or wife. I definitely don't know what it's like to lose them. I can't say shit that means anything. So..." He shared a somber look with her, and resumed massaging her back. Purrs made him bolder, and he slipped his hand up into her shoulder-length black dreadlocks. They were smooth, each a single strand of hair half an inch thick, and he combed them with his fingers, earning more gentle sighs from the tiger.

"So you'll say nothing?"

"Yeah. Just, sit by, be with you, and say nothing. Sound good?"

Her smile grew. "It does. But don't let Daoka hear you say that you don't have friends. She's getting attached to you."

"As a pet."

"A pet, sure, and a friend."

He looked at Dao, and smiled. The way she slept was so peaceful, and strangely cute; probably because she was half snuggling with a huge gargoyle lady. Acelina slept like a spoiled princess; not really, but her half sitting half leaning position just gave him that impression. The four little critter demons, on the other hand, slept in a dog pile.

"What I meant before," Caera said, "is... I'm not going to be happy about this... ever. You don't need to cheer me up. Just don't get in my way, let me deal with this, and then we can move on."

"I won't get in your way. I'm going to help, remember?" He gestured to the extra bits of armor they'd collected from the corpses, and the smallest weapon they could find. Still too heavy to use, but the smaller sword was at least manageable.

"I know, I know. I'm just... tense. We're close. We're so damn close to something I've been wanting for years, but with angels showing up randomly, and this whole saving the world business, it's like everything is trying to get in my way." Sighing, she rolled onto her side slightly so her shoulder pressed to his leg. An invitation to scratch her more, and he obliged. "Ever had that? Something you've really wanted to do, but it feels like the... uh, the word is stars, right? The stars are aligning to stop you?"

"Nope."

She chuckled as she lifted her head and leaned in close to him.

"Just, nope?"

"Nope. I don't think you realize just how boring I am. Mia and me, we did nothing but drift through life, happy to coast along, do well in school, masturbate ourselves raw the moment we knew how, and go to university so we could get jobs pursuing our interests. I never really wanted to do anything special until I came here."

She rubbed her horns into his side, so the back of her head pressed into his waist over his leg, before she set her temple against his thigh. Free rein to comb her dreadlocks, scratch her scalp, and dig his thumbs into the muscle of her neck around the spikes. She purred and nuzzled closer.

"In retrospect, she said, "you're taking all this stuff pretty well. I could understand if you were a soldier who'd been through a war, or something like that. But you're just a nerd. A recently dead nerd."

"True, very true. I'm pretty much bouncing back and forth between panicking but keeping it hidden, and convinced this is all a dream."

"It's not a dream. And I didn't think you were the panicking type, either."

"I'm not. But sometimes, yeah, in a little dark corner of my mind, I have myself a little panic, and then I pull myself together." He dug his fingers into her neck hard enough to really hurt a human, but of course all that did was make her purr more. "I can guarantee if it wasn't for you, Jes, and Dao, and I'd be having a mental breakdown in a hole in the ground. Curled up in a ball, foaming at the mouth, repeating something silly like 'Hell isn't real Hell isn't real' over and over."

Laughing, Caera pushed herself up enough so she could bring her head in, and she kissed him. He blinked at her, and she smiled at him through half-closed eyes, and kissed him some more. A lot more.

She pushed him over, lay on top of him, and squished him. Uh oh. The eight-foot-tall tiger woman smiled down at him, snuggled on top of him with some weight on her knees and elbows, and got cozy.

She didn't move for a good thirty minutes.

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~~Day 37~~

~~David~~

He woke up to some clicks. A quick glance up at the amber veins told him it was twilight. Morning twilight, then, and still a good hour or two until proper daytime.

With a yawn and a stretch, he looked around and found Jes and Caera sleeping, the imps and grems too, but not Acelina and Daoka. The satyr and spire mother sat in front of each other, Daoka kneeling comfortably, and Acelina in her typical feminine hip-lean sit. It was their turn to take watch.

Dao and Acelina clicked softly to each other, more softly than needed. Keeping a secret? Daoka had taken her breastplate off, and was taking something from the much bigger woman's claws.

With a few excited but still quiet clicks, Dao took one of her breasts in one hand, and... pushed a tiny piece of metal through her nipple. A piercing. She did the same to the other nipple, and casually wiped away the drop of blood that came with it. A second was all it took to heal such a tiny wound.

Acelina had a lot of piercings along her body, some made of tiny bones, most made of tiny slivers of black metal. She had a lot of necklaces too, and she'd found a way to wear them in a sort of knot that didn't make noise as she moved. With a very un-Acelina-like soft chirp, she undid one of the necklace chains, and hooked it onto Dao's nipples. It was too long, and she chuckled lightly as she adjusted it so the necklace double hung from each piercing, so two chains dangled from the satyr's nipples.

Chirping a couple times, Dao raised her head, and looked David's way. Her smile grew until it was beaming, and she turned enough to aim her chest at him and purposefully twist left and right so her breasts, still mostly dark and firm, bounced and showed off her new jewelry.

"Wow," he said, and gulped. "Just... wow. That's... pretty."

Beaming brighter, Dao chirped once and nodded up at Acelina.

"Naturally," Acelina said. "I am zotiva." And, of course, she didn't bother explaining what Dao said.

Dao chuckled as she came closer to David, and crawled in the most provocative way she could, too: on her palms and knees, back arched, breasts swaying underneath her, nipple chain doing the same.

"You're uh... accessorizing?" he asked, gulping again.

"In the spire," Acelina said as she undid her necklace knot so the dozen necklaces she had could hang freely, "Zelandariel owned thousands of such items, and she shared them with her spire mothers."

"I... oh." He gulped again once Dao was directly in front of him, and she parked on her knees, between his.

"Did you not think demons could enjoy jewelry?" Acelina asked.

Dao nodded and flicked David in the chest before idly coiling a claw around one of her two nipple chains.

David put up his hands. "Forgive me. I was a fool." Preemptive surrender, the only option when dealing with someone like Acelina.

Chuckling, Daoka got closer, reached out, and took his hands. He knew that look. No eyes, but he knew that look. She guided his palms until they cupped her breasts, and as they softened, skin growing redder, they grew heavier, less weight on her shoulders and more spilling onto and over his fingers. Eventually, they softened into teardrops, and the nipple chains hung over his wrists.

Hypnotized, he gently bounced them in his palms, softly squeezed them, caressed them, and let them slide off his hands so they jiggled, only for him to lift them up again and admire the way the two chains moved in response.

Dao chirped and nodded, smile growing, but she looked Jes's way, and sighed. After a few clicks, she gestured to Jes, before she sat down beside David against the wall, her between him and the gargoyle.

"You're right. She needs her sleep," he said. "She got hurt pretty bad. Caera, too." And Dao wouldn't want to fuck him without Jes awake.

Dao nodded, and pulled her knees up to her chest. Squish. Her breasts pressed and spread around her knees and thighs, somehow conveniently avoiding getting stabbed by the black spikes on her kneecaps.

Nodding, David took a deep breath, and looked down at the ground. The imps and grems, closer to the hole, slept soundly, and Caera and Jes did the same. They didn't notice the aura that began to pulse from him, and despite all attempts to stop the aura, one glance at Daoka and the way her huge breasts molded to her legs was enough to crush any want to stop it. No thoughts about baseball or walking on broken glass or the cold shower he needed could stop his penis from growing harder by the second.

Daoka clicked a few times and bopped herself on her forehead plate with a palm.

"Don't worry about it," he said, squirming a bit as his hardening cock pushed out from under his leather skirt. "We can just... wait... for Jes to wake up. In... an hour or two."

Dao leaned in and kissed him on the shoulder. David leaned in and returned it, earning a few more giggles from her, before he pulled his legs up and sat the same way she did. With knees up against his chest, his thighs pinned his ridiculous penis to his stomach, and sternum, and chest. But at least it was out of the way.

"You cannot be serious," Acelina whispered, baring her shark teeth. "That aura will drive me insane. It is like... a vibration, along the ground and in the air. It is no sin aura. It is... sneaky. I cannot fight it. Daoka, give the man an orgasm."