Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Aylin threw her hands in the air.

"Very well. Half-elf then. Since you're going to be all sensitive about it," she said without any bit of an apology in her tone as she continued,

"The point I was making remains fairly the same; Do we have your Elven side to blame for your lack of hospitality?"

"You bitch," Kaya said, sounding and looking outraged that Aylin seemed to want to wiggle out of the issue she just raised.

Aylin smirked lightly.

"See? Right there," she said, "You're doing it again. I have come with no hostility..."

"That's a lie. But also, why come at all?" Kaya asked, "Caius isn't even here? Why impose yourself on us when he's not even here for you to bother with your annoying presence?"

"Unlike you… Kaya, my plans don't all revolve around Caius and his schedule," Aylin said. Something about the pause before she said Kaya's name made it easy to tell she had been about to use a more condescending term and had barely stopped herself from doing so.

Kaya ignored that though and focused on the rest of what Aylin said.

"Please," she scoffed. You're here because you're jealous, and you know it. You feel left out. You feel like we enjoy a privilege—a privilege you so desperately want. It's really so obvious to see."

Aylin smiled trying her best not to show how much of a bullseye Kaya's words had been and stretched an arm to the side to collar Eloise's neck and pull her close until their cheeks were pressed against each other.

"I'm here to make friends," she said, "This seems like an interesting group—Even with you being so rude—that I just can't bear to not increase my circle to include it.

The Mid-semester Tests are coming up after all. It would do well to have even more friends for those."

Kaya glanced at Eloise whose eyes were half lidded now as she felt the warmth of Aylin's skin and a tingling chill of it. Aylin's ability to put people at ease was at work again. Its effectiveness was piggybacking on just how great Aylin's body felt.

Eloise caught Kaya's eye and she cleared her throat before pulling away from Aylin to focus on her food.

Kaya returned her eyes to Aylin then.

"Friendship is a two-way street. You don't force yourself on people to make it happen."

"I don't think I'm forcing anything on anyone, actually," Aylin said and gestured at Eloise and Delia,

"None of them seems to have a problem with this. It's only you who's been complaining."

Kaya glanced at the others.

"Is that true?" She asked, "Are you fine with this? With her?"

"Well—" Eloise started but Kaya held up a finger then.

"Not from you, Eloise," she said gently, "I love you dear, but your judgment is compromised."

"Yeah, I think so too," Eloise said with a bit of a somber nod.

"Well, then I have you on my side," Aylin said, grabbing Eloise close again, almost in a complete hug that had their chests pressed against each other. Aylin's large breasts against Eloise's substantial ones.

A lot of faces went red in the cafeteria because of that interaction. For a while now, their table had been the focus of their entire class. The conversations had certainly not been had in low voices.

There were some notably different reactions though in the sea of spectators;

Doran mostly averted his eyes as the experience two days ago remained fresh in his mind. Plus, the less he looked at Aylin, the less infatuated he was and the less likely it was that he would repeat the same mistake as two days ago.

Baler didn't avert his eyes but they were contorted in a deep frown. His face went red with rage and not lust like most other males in the class and it was directed at someone who wasn't even seated at the table at that moment; Caius.

This was all happening because of that deplorable bastard (as Baler liked to refer to Caius in his head). Not only had Caius turned his sister-whom Baler didn't particularly care for—into someone who was publicly vying for his attention but he also had Eloise's attention. Eloise being someone Baler still very much liked.

No one at the Kaya's table really knew of Baler's current rage. Or really cared for the attention they had drawn at all for that matter.

Kaya just rolled her eyes.

"Actually, Eloise just won't count," she said and then looked at Delia, the only one whose opinion mattered on whether Aylin could indeed remain at the table or not.

Delia paused. Her eyes moved between Kaya and Aylin a few times before she shrugged.

"Let her stay," she said.

"What?" Kaya said.

"Really?" Aylin answered and she looked surprised. She didn't think Delia would be on your side. She hadn't thought her passive ability would affect the usually steely-looking Mage-Knight-in-training. She recovered quickly though and nodded,

"Ha! I knew you were not like her."

Delia rolled her eyes at Aylin but focused her attention on Kaya.

"She'll sit here whether she's allowed or not. You can't really exclude her unless you turn it into a fight. I'll be on your side, of course, but I don't think you want that…"

"Actually, I do," Kaya said and her motes of Nature Magic began to appear.

Aylin just smiled but didn't do anything in preparation to retaliate. She was either confident Kaya wouldn't attack or she was confident she'd be able to defend herself whether she began acting now or not. It was likely the latter.

Delia rolled her eyes lightly.

"No, you don't," she told Kaya, "And that would be the inelegant solution."

"What's an 'elegant' solution?" Kaya asked, her motes still in appearance.

Delia dropped her voice low now. Making it clear that this part was only for their table and not to reach eavesdropping ears all trained at their direction and conversation.

"The elegant solution is, you let her stay and discuss with Eloise as you normally do. You discuss in your huddled whispers that never leave the table. All those intimate details you really have no business talking about in the presence of someone 'not in the know'."

Aylin looked a bit confused.

Eloise looked intrigued.

Kaya paused and then, a smile began to play at her lips as she could somewhat see what her stormy grey-eyed friend was getting at.

"I'm listening," she said to encourage Delia to continue.

"I know from experience that it can really suck to hear all that. It's so uncomfortable…"

"It is?" Eloise asked and she sounded so apologetic.

"Yeah. Always makes me uncomfortable to hear it. Like I'm intruding on something private," Delia said.

"Oh Delia," Eloise cried then and pulled closer to the bronze-skinned beauty to wrap her in a hug, "I didn't know that."

"So you'll stop talking about it at the table?" Delia asked.

Eloise looked taken aback like she hadn't at all even considered that.

"Gods no," she said, "You just have to share as well. You'll find it really fun when you gab about… You know, your experiences too."

"Gods," Delia said with a bit of groan as her cheeks flushed and then she shook her head and directed her words to Kaya again,

"In any case, if I were uncomfortable, imagine how Aylin would feel."

"It'd kill her," Kaya said with a wide grin. She turned off her Nature Motes. What was the point of inflicting physical pain when she could inflict a psychological one?

"Well, I don't know about 'killing' her…" Delia started but Kaya interrupted with her grin looking almost unhinged now.

"No, no, it WILL kill her," Kaya insisted, "It's killing her now just thinking of 'sharing'. Hearing about it in detail would destroy her."

"You realize I'm sitting right here, don't you?" Aylin said with her perfect brows furrowed and a frown on her lips.

Kaya ignored her with her attention on Delia.

"My gods, Delia, you're a genius. You're right. Why bother trying to send her running when I can make her want to leave? Can't believe it never occurred to me."

Against anyone else, this would have hardly been a viable tactic. Delia had proved that, while uncomfortable, the conversations could be endured. But Aylin's possessiveness which was definitely not yet gone from her psyche would make endurance a much more difficult task for her. Maybe impossible.

Kaya turned her face back to Aylin then, that near-unhinged, but still beautiful, smile still on her lips as her eyes were wide in just delight at the possible success of this 'genius' idea.

"Aylin, you're welcome to stay," she said.

'I don't think I WANT to stay anymore,' Aylin thought in her head, her eyes on that smile.

But she had been trained for this. She had been trained to, no matter the turmoil in her mind, remain composed.

She managed a fairly natural-looking smile.

"Well, thank you," she said, "I was hoping you'd be reasonable."

Even as she said that, she was doing her best to reinforce her thin skin and make it a little thicker in preparation for all she was about to hear and just how annoyed they were bound to almost make her feel.

'Almost' because she wasn't going to give Kaya the satisfaction of ever leaving this table.