Slowly, inch by inch, she removed her soaking wet fingers from herself. She looked at her dripping hand, then imdiately wondered how she was supposed to clean herself off without any running water. Amara was able to use hellfire, but Vee had never tried using her magic for sothing so trivial. Out of curiosity, and a desire to not cover her blankets in bodily fluids, she held up her hands and wondered if she might be able to manifest flas of her own. She knew that other angels were able to use purifying flas, so it was worth a shot.
Closing her eyes, Vee pictured Amara’s hellfire. In the past, it had been a horrible on that had nearly caused her death, but her rejuvenated bond with Amara now brought mories of comfort and support. She thought of cuddling with Amara, her unnatural warmth a beacon of safety in this hostile plane, and rembered that her abilities were entirely rooted in hellfire.
Vee reached for her magic, bowing her head in respect, and imagined holy purifying flas dancing around her fingertips. Her magic seed to respond to her prayer, and she opened her eyes in shock when a burst of light appeared in front of her.
In the center of her palm sat a bright, enochian fla. The embers were impossibly white, with flickers of yellow and gold dancing throughout, and they felt incredible. They were just as warm as Amara, and their light seed to chase away the malaise of Purgatory that had crept into her bedroom. Color that Vee hadn’t even realized was missing now returned, and most importantly, her hands were completely free of all traces of her recent activities. She politely asked the magic to recede, its purpose served, and a massive smile appeared on her face.
I just made fire! I’ve never done that before! Why was it so easy this ti?
With a quiet laugh, Vee relaxed her head against the closet door behind her. She had been so terrified of sharing this mont with Amara, and yet she felt amazing. She’d manifested an entirely new ability with ease, and as she looked inside herself, she didn’t sense anything missing. She felt whole, alive, and invigorated.
I need to tell Amara about this! I’ll bet she’s doing way better herself, too!
Vee knocked on the closet door, paused for a mont, then spoke up. “Amara? How ya feeling?”
There was no response.
Okay, weird. I know she was feeding on ; I felt it the whole ti. Shouldn’t she be on top of the world now? Why isn’t she saying anything?
“I’m going to open the door now, is that okay?” Vee still couldn’t hear anything, and her elation started to fade slightly. Had sothing gone wrong? Would feeding on an angel have any adverse effects?
Suddenly worried, Vee opened the closet door slowly. When she first peeked into the isolated space, she couldn’t see anything. She had been under the assumption that Amara was leaning against the door, just like she was, but that was no longer the case. Vee opened the door further, and finally found Amara hunched further back in the closet.
At least, Vee assud she was hunched. All she could see were Amara’s massive wings, which she’d wrapped around herself. They were shaking erratically, and as Vee paused to listen, she realized Amara was crying.
Vee moved closer, kneeling in front of her friend and lightly placing a hand on one of her wings. “Amara, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
The demonic cocoon tightened. Whatever Amara was feeling, she was clearly trying to keep it to herself. Vee wasn’t entirely sure how to respond, as she didn’t know what had happened. She wracked her brain, trying to think of anything that might explain this before, when sothing clicked. This wasn’t new behavior; Amara was having a panic attack.
Steeling her nerves, Vee reached forward and grabbed the edges of Amara’s wings, then gently pulled them apart. Amara’s resistance crumbled in seconds, and Vee finally saw her friend directly.
Amara was leaning against the back wall of the closet, her legs pulled to her chest. She was hugging herself tight with her arms and tail, and her head was buried in the crook of her elbow. Each breath she took seed painful, sending uncontrollable tremors through her body, and Vee refused to not intervene. Vee slid closer, thought about what she should say, and finally laid a hand on Amara’s arm.
“Please, talk to . We’re friends, Amara, and I want to help.”
Vee had barely finished her sentence when Amara looked up at her. The whites of her eyes had returned, and her amber irises no longer glowed with demonic energy. Her skin was back to its normal color, rather than the deep crimson from earlier. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and the mont after they made eye contact, Amara leapt at Vee. She wrapped her arms around Vee’s waist, burying her face into Vee’s stomach as she started openly weeping.
“I’m sorry!” Amara cried. “Please don’t hate again!”
Although stunned by the response, Vee knew what Amara needed. She reached down, letting one hand rest on Amara’s back while the other lightly played with her hair. With each gentle stroke, she pulled more of the tangled ss from Amara's face. “I’m not going anywhere, Amara. I’m your friend, and I know exactly what you’re going through.”
“But I was terrible! I tried to force myself on you, and I said such awful things! How can you be okay with that?!”
“Because I know you, Amara. We’re in an impossible situation right now, and that’s not your fault. You’ve done everything in your power to stay on top of these new, demonic needs of yours, and you can’t be held responsible for freak accidents that tear away your support network.”
Vee continued holding Amara, letting her cry for as long as she wanted. It might have been a few minutes, it might have been longer; Vee didn’t bother keeping track of ti. The important thing was staying together, holding on to the friendship they’d finally managed to rekindle. Vee rembered Amara’s breathing trick, the one Nick had taught her, and she tried to help Amara push through the worst of it. She would move the hand on Amara’s back up for two seconds, then slowly trace down for four. She repeated this for a while, matching her own breathing to the sa rhythm, and eventually Amara began to calm down.
Once Amara’s tears had finally stopped, she gave Vee one more big squeeze, then sat up. Vee reached forward, cupping Amara’s face in both hands and using her thumbs to wipe away the tears. Amara forced a smile, and one last surge of emotion rushed through her. Vee suspected it would be more tears, but Amara seed determined to pretend it was a laugh.
“You’re too nice for your own good, Vee,” Amara said.
“Yeah, well, I’m an angel, aren’t I?”
Both girls laughed, then Amara reached up to gently hold Vee’s hand. Their touch lingered briefly before Vee pulled away, giving Amara the space to pull herself back together. “I didn’t an those awful things I said, Vee.”
“I know you didn’t, Amara.”
“But like, I don’t want you thinking that I secretly have all these horrible thoughts about you! These aren’t things that have always been there that just happened to co out, they’re thoughts I’ve never had before, I promise!” Amara was now nervously wringing her tail.
“It’s okay, I promise. I’m not going anywhere, we’re still friends, and nothing has changed between us. I an, if anything, we’re closer than ever, aren’t we? You’ve fed on now.” Vee smiled, trying to catch Amara’s eyes and inject so levity into the situation.
“I an, yeah, I guess I did…”
“How did that feel? You seem a lot better, and your skin isn’t red anymore.”
“Wait, what?!” Amara said. “My skin was red? Like, stereotypical demon red?”
“Yup, every single bit of you matched your tail. For the record, you were rocking it.”
This ti, Vee finally got Amara to laugh. “Oh, shut up, you’re just trying to make feel better. I’m sure, in better lighting, I would’ve looked awful.”
“Okay, but seriously, how are you feeling?” Vee asked again. “This wasn’t a normal feeding, I’m an angel. Did it feel any different? You don’t sense any adverse effects, do you?”
Amara shook her head. “No, I feel a lot better. It was a little strange, but I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s like you were… spicy? It was a little tingly, but I also got more energy than I expected to. I didn’t like, dig extra deep like I did at the ritual, but I think your aura is a little difficult for to read.”
“That kinda makes sense, doesn’t it? That I would have a bit of natural resistance to your abilities?”
“It does, but it just wasn’t sothing I’d thought about before.” There was a brief pause, then Amara spoke up again with a smirk. “I an, you could be super into , and I’d never know!”
Vee laughed nervously, desperately hoping that the dim lighting would help hide her blushing face. “Y-yeah, wouldn’t that be crazy?”
Amara seed more like herself with each passing mont. “Hey, if it’s okay to ask, what happened while I was feeding? It was weird ‘cuz like, I was getting a bunch of energy, then it dropped off almost completely, then it ca back again. That wasn’t , was it?”
“I’m sorry, what?” Vee asked in surprise.
I had to have misheard that, right?
“Well, like, I was trying to be quiet so that I wouldn’t distract you, but you also said you could feel feeding. When the energy dropped off, I worried that I might have accidentally done sothing to ss you up.”
Okay, definitely misheard her. Phew.
“Oh, that.” Vee swallowed nervously. “Right, well, um, I promise that thinking of you didn’t distract . I was just, uh, mostly thinking about so smut I used to read, but it’s been a bit since I’ve… you know. Practiced that kind of self-care.”
“Thank goodness!” Amara said with a sigh. She paused briefly, and Vee could tell from her face that she was thinking about asking a question; Amara had a tendency to chew on the inside of her lip when she was making decisions. Eventually, she seed to make up her mind, and she quickly moved forward to give Vee a proper hug. “Thank you so much, Vee. I know it must have been really awkward and difficult, but it ans the world that you did this for . I promise I won’t let it change , okay? I’m not going to tell anyone what happened, and I’m going to assu this was just a one-ti thing.”
They both settled into a comfortable hug, and Vee sighed in relief as they held each other. Amara seed determined to keep their relationship platonic, and Vee knew that was for the best. Even though they were friends again, the scars of their bitter rivalry were still fresh; clear boundaries would help maintain the stability they both needed.
Besides, it would be weird not to think she’s attractive; she’s a succubus, that’s kind of the point. Once we’re ho, things will go back to normal. I did what I had to in order to survive, it didn’t an anything.
Before long, Amara broke off the hug and pulled her legs underneath herself. With a deep breath, and a quick flash of hellfire, she wiped the tears off her face. She ran her hands through her hair, cracked her neck, and rolled her shoulders a few tis. Once she’d pulled herself together, she jumped to her feet and reached out for Vee. “Now, you want to co out of the closet with ?”
The joke caught Vee completely off guard, and the fit of laughter that followed prevented her from grabbing Amara’s hand. When she finally found the strength to compose herself, she accepted the gesture, and the two returned to Vee’s room. “Oh! Do you want to see sothing cool?”
Amara jumped on Vee’s bed, then turned to face her. “Sure!”
After taking a few steps away from Amara, Vee held out her hand and repeated the prayer from earlier. It seed to take longer this ti, but soon enough, she was holding a small enochian fla in her palm. Its brilliant white light illuminated the bedroom, and she took another step back just to be safe. “Check it out! I’ve never been able to do this before!”
A wide smile appeared on Amara’s face. “Vee, that’s incredible! What changed?”
Vee dismissed the fire quickly before sitting next to Amara. “I’m not really sure, to be honest. After we… y’know, I wanted to clean off my hands like I’ve seen you do. In the mont, it just felt kinda natural for so reason.”
“Well, obviously you’re half-demon, and our rekindled friendship is rejuvenating your powers.” Amara stuck her tongue out at Vee before playfully hitting her with her tail.
“Oh, shut up, Hellspawn!” Vee pushed Amara in retaliation, and the demon fell back onto the bed, laughing hysterically. “Maybe you’re half-angel, and that’s why my magic doesn’t hurt you as much!”
“Nah, no way,” Amara said. “If I were a half-and-half, that would guarantee that my mom was either an angel or a demon, and I just don’t see that.”
Vee fell backwards as well, settling in on the bed before turning to face Amara. “Why are you so convinced your mom is human?”
“I just don’t see how she could be anything else. She did her best to give a good life, and I love her more than anything, but I could tell that things were tough for her. I never explicitly confird this, but I know we had money problems.” Amara turned as well, the girls now facing each other as they talked.
“Really? But, don’t you have that entire apartnt to yourself? If money were as tight as you think, how could she afford that?”
“We’ve never talked about it, but I think she gave up a lot of little things to try and provide for . Her als were always suspiciously small compared to mine, and I think she overworked herself to keep providing for us; she always seed a little tired. I asked a few tis when I was small, and too young to understand money, and she always seed to have a decent excuse. Like, ‘Oh, work bought everyone lunch today, so I’m not too hungry’ or ‘I was lost in a good book last night, and stayed up later than I realized’. Once I was old enough, I started seeing the truth behind her white lies, and I decided to stop asking questions. Still, whenever possible, I tried to ask for cheaper Christmas presents, and I worked really hard to get a good scholarship for college.”
“So, you think that if she were an angel or a demon, she wouldn’t have money problems? She would just use her powers to make things better?”
“Exactly! Like, look at , I’m insanely powerful, and I’ve only known about my demon side for a few months. How strong am I going to be in a year? In five? Plus, I an, you’ve t my mom. I love her to death, but she’s a little boring.”
Vee thought back to the last ti she’d seen Amara’s mom, Evelyn. Freshman year had just ended, and everyone was busy packing their cars to return ho for sumr break. Evelyn was helping Amara move boxes, and Vee had stopped by to return a few of Amara’s things.
It was hard to disagree with Amara. Evelyn was incredibly sweet, but Vee had never sensed anything strange about her. Granted, she’d also failed to realize that Amara was a demon, so it was hardly convincing proof in either direction.
“What do you think would happen if you told her?” Vee asked.
“Fuck, I have no idea. I don’t think she’s very religious, so I doubt it would go horribly, but that’s still a huge shock. Maybe she’d faint or have a panic attack? She’s never been the type to get angry.”
“I know it’s a different scenario, but I’m happy my parents know I’m an angel. I don’t have to worry about hiding my abilities from them, even though I have to occasionally withhold details about what the Church has doing. Although, honestly, I’m glad I didn’t have to tell them about our fight.”
The conversation paused for a minute, and Amara seed to be lost in thought. When she did speak up, it was only to change the topic. “Should we try to get so more sleep?”
“Honestly, after all the commotion earlier, I’m not sure I’ve got more sleep left in . Plus, I have no idea how much ti has passed, and I don’t want to risk missing Tessa’s next attempt to make a bridge. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get a full night’s rest, though. How about we grab so food, especially now that your appetite might be back, and head back to Lysander after that?”
Amara quickly averted her eyes. “Oh, you, uh… noticed not eating?”
“Please, it’s not like you were trying to hide it, Amara. I’m assuming you actually need food to survive, yeah?”
“I do, and now that you ntion it, I’m pretty hungry.” Amara’s stomach grumbled in agreent, and the girls got up to pick through Vee’s remaining food. “I still think I might be able to survive on nothing but sex, but Nick won’t let try.”
“Well good, because I won’t either. C’mon, eat.” They both laughed and spent the rest of their presud morning enjoying the tiny sliver of peace afforded by Vee’s apartnt.
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