carl@fire

Ir'alith turned to follow beside him, but Becca's body surged forward, narrowly squeezing between the two of them without touching the taller woman, and her hand captured his nearest arm, casually locking it into place against the side of her chest in a single motion as her feet propelled her along at his side. Her head tilted up towards the surprised-looking Ir'alith at the same time. "Ir'alith, how did you gain entry to this place?" her mouth asked. "It's very expensive."

What are you doing?! Becca felt like her face would burst into flame with how…bold and useful her body was acting with her complete consent.

Attempting to provoke a response, fool. Having experienced your thoughts and memories for some time now, I am not surprised that you have been unable to remain in any form of romantic relationship for long, Rebecca. Thirty three years old? The wise and knowledgeable of your world would say you are already too old to bear children. Yes, I know of your secret desire to birth two girls and raise them to share a strong bond, living vicariously through them since you cannot repair your own bonds. Idiot.

The word stung, and Becca's thoughts roiled at having one of her formless desires, an idle daydream at most, revealed to her with such directness.

"Yes, I was told this when I entered," Ir'alith said as they walked, drawing away a little.

"Probably not a big deal for you though, huh," Carl said.

"I said that I would not destroy the tower if I was not refused entry, and I was not asked any more questions," Ir'alith said in a pleased tone.

Carl chuckled as they started down the crystalline stairs. "The ol' I don't have time for this. That's awesome."

"And you chose to disguise yourself as a human," Becca's mouth said. "I think I'd heard that you despised humans?"

"I choose which humans to despise," Ir'alith replied in a tone that might have been the one she used when commenting on shoes.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Carl said with an annoyed sigh. "You wouldn't believe the kids in these magic classes. Just sitting there, acting like they're bored most of the time. This one kid came in late to the first class and didn't even bring anything to take notes with. Teacher chewed him out, and it was like he didn't even care."

Probably wasn't half as bored as I was.

"Magic classes," Ir'alith repeated in a curious tone. "If we will hang out tomorrow, perhaps I will attend this with you?"

Now this shall prove greatly entertaining.

Why's that?

She will see what the foolishness of her ancestors has wrought. Mortals have twisted the knowledge they learned from her kind because they could not comprehend it. In so doing, they have reduced it to a state of uselessness.

That's really vague. I mean, yeah, I'm sure mortals are nowhere near your level of expertise and wisdom!

If I were not so amused at what is to come, I would be displeased with you now, Rebecca.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so—

I will overlook it on this occasion.

Thank you so much!

"—good," Carl was saying. "First one starts around nine-ish, and…" He trailed off to yawn. "Ugh, really catching up with me all of a sudden.

Becca's mouth opened in a yawn. "Yes, I am feeling tired as well," her mouth said for her. "Perhaps Ir'alith should lea—"

"Yeah, Ir'alith, do you have a room or anything to sleep in?" Carl asked, looking over Becca's head at the taller woman.

"I do not need sleep," Ir'alith said.

Is that like, a literal thing?

She and you now share many similarities, among which is the lack of a need for sleep.

Wow. I mean, thank you so much, Lucia!

"C'mon, you don't need to act tough," Carl said. He stepped off the staircase and onto the landing of the sixty eighth floor. "You can stay with Rebecca, I'm sure. These rooms are freaking hu—"

"What?" Becca exclaimed, feeling her pulse begin to race at the idea of staying in such close proximity to someone who might try to kill her and only continuing to maintain her balance and position thanks to the benevolent aid of a deity.

"What?" Carl said while looking down in confusion at her. "It's just for a night. Not a big deal if you two share a room, right? Ir'alith's cool. You'll get along great."

"Of course, Carl," Becca's mouth said before forming into a broad smile. Her head turned to face Ir'alith. "I'm sure we'll have much to talk about."

"I thank you for your generosity, sister-in-law Rebecca. I would speak with you as well," Ir'alith agreed.

"Thanks," Carl said to Becca in a quieter voice.

They reached her door and came to a stop, at which point Becca's arm unwound from his.

Now hug him.

What? Becca blinked.

Are you questioning—

Nope! No, not questioning! Becca moved forward quickly and gave him a hug, the act reminding her of when she'd teased him and Annie with a similar act earlier in the week.

No, like this.

Her head burrowed into his chest, and her arms squeezed tighter, pressing herself against him.

Why are you doing… Her thoughts struck an idea that was too bizarre to keep thinking about, so she stopped. His hand came down to pat her shoulder, and it was then that she realized something. He has no smell. How's that possible?

Now that is a keen observation, Rebecca, and one that I had yet to consider. You may stop whenever you desire. If you desire to stop.

If? Becca thought about it for a fraction of a second before she pushed away. "Um, thanks," she said, looking up at her brother-in-law and feeling again incredibly grateful that she had a benevolent deity with her who was suppressing the bright blush she knew she'd be displaying otherwise from how awkward she was being. "I had a nice time today," she continued. "It feels like we made some progress," her mouth added as her head tilted a little.

"Yeah, it's kinda nice having things be more normal," he said, giving her a half-smile and a nod before his mouth opened in an even bigger yawn and he clamped a hand over it. "Wow, sorry." He blinked a few times and looked between the two of them. "Yeah, I'm gonna hit the hay. Uh, you wanna just knock when you get up, or I'll knock if I'm up first?"

"Sounds good," Becca said. "See you tomorrow."

"Until next we meet," Ir'alith said.

Carl turned and continued down the hall, one hand rising to wave back at them.

"Let's, um, go in?" Becca said. She tried to turn the knob, then looked at the door and the conspicuous keyhole. How do I get inside? The door clicked, and her hand turned the handle again, this time unlatching the door as her feet walked her inside.

"So these are the quarters of humans," Ir'alith remarked as she followed.

"Yeah, they're… They're our quarters," Becca said. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? She continued forward, her anxiety growing with each step.

The door clicked shut behind her.

"You possess a strange aura, sister-in-law Rebecca," Ir'alith said with a narrowing of her eyes as she neared.

Fuck, does she know? Is she gonna kill me? Becca's left hand flexed, and she leaned on the high back of one of the chairs to steady herself as she looked towards the taller woman. What is she anyway?

A devil.

"I'm from another world," Becca's mouth said, and her hand reached up to unhurriedly run itself through her hair.

"Yes, perhaps that is what I sense," Ir'alith said, her tone undecipherable. She stopped a couple steps away, continuing to stare down at the shorter woman.

Becca felt that her stomach was contorting itself the same way it had just prior to when she'd been pushed out of the plane on her first time skydiving.

Control your fear. She may sense it.

She began thinking of the sea again, as she so often did when she was stressed. "Shall we sit?" her mouth asked as her feet carried her to the chair farthest from the devil. If she's a devil, why was she so chummy with Carl? He's not a bad guy.

Or perhaps she has been working to manipulate him to her ends.

Her body sat in the chair, and Ir'alith circled around to sit across from her with an odd, upright posture that left her perched on the edge of the cushion. "Sister-in-law Rebecca, does your world know of deities?" the other woman asked.

"Deities?" Becca's mouth repeated while her face manifested an expression of befuddlement. "No, we have no such thing."

Ir'alith sat perfectly still in her chair, her lack of motion and breath unnerving to the extreme. "How strange," she murmured.

"And 'sister-in-law' isn't part of my name, it's just how I'm related to Carl," Becca's mouth said as her expression changed to a pleasant smile. "I'm his wife's sister."

"You are a sister to Annie?" Ir'alith asked.

What the fuck, how does she kno—Oh, Carl probably told her. "I am," Becca's mouth said.

"She is strong for a human," Ir'alith said, sounding vaguely approving. "A worthy partner for one such as Carl."

"You've met her?" Becca's mouth asked. Her body leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other, resting her hands on her knee.

"I have," Ir'alith said with a nod.

Annie, what the fuck.

Your sister has concealed much from you, it seems.

A moment passed in silence. "You are…close with him?" Ir'alith asked with slight hesitation.

"Close how?" Becca's mouth asked in a teasing tone.

"Are you lovers?"

"We are," Becca's mouth said as it curved into a salacious smile.

What?!

"It seems he truly does love humans," Ir'alith remarked. "Have you borne his children?"

"Not yet," Becca's mouth said.

What the f—

I am attempting to discern her motivation. Calm your emotions.

Oh.

"And Annie has consented to this?" Ir'alith asked, continuing to remain motionless and expressionless.

"It was her idea," Becca's mouth said. "We're sisters, after all."

"I understand," Ir'alith said.

"You're asking a lot of questions about us," Becca's mouth said. A yawn forced its way out between her lips. "Do you desire him?" her mouth asked in a lazy tone as she slouched onto her left elbow.

What the fuck's going on here.

As I said, she intends to twist him to her evil will. I will prove it.

"I…" Ir'alith's purple brows fell over her eyes. "At one time I had believed that I did," she said after several seconds.

"And now?" Becca's teasing voice pressed.

"Now I am distant from that time," Ir'alith said slowly. "I wonder whether my feelings were caused in part by…circumstance and not genuine emotion."

"What do you feel inside?" Becca's mouth asked. This is too weird. Why are you giving relationship advice to a devil? And what is a devil, anyway?

A moment. Watch how convincingly she lies to you.

"I would call him friend," Ir'alith said confidently. "Always."

"No, not what you feel here," Becca's voice said, her hand reaching up and tapping her head. "What you feel here." Her hand slid slowly down her torso to rub just above her crotch in a languid motion.

What—

Watch.

Ir'alith grimaced. "Is this the only method by which such a thing can be known?"

"Do you not feel anything there when you are with him?" Becca's voice asked as her hand relaxed to hang over the arm of her chair.

The devil's expression changed to a frown, and she remained silent for a while. "I would not do such a thing with Carl," she said at last.

And this is important because…

Because she is lying, Rebecca. She says this, but this is also her.

A vision came to Becca's mind at that moment, and she knew it was a memory that was not her own. Before her, in a small room of pure whiteness, a blue-skinned woman with an outrageously proportioned body, small horns on the sides of her head, spiked heels on her feet, and a collar around her neck attached to a leash held by a young man was having passionate sex. Not just once, either, The scene accelerated, showing the duo engaged in every imaginable form of intercourse, complete with her continued moans of obvious pleasure interspersed with fragments of shouts that sounded a lot like "Die" being repeated over and over.

The face of the woman was, without question, the same face as Ir'alith had.

This is her true form. She lures men in and then fucks them until they die of exhaustion. Her every word now is a lie, a manipulation so that you will aid her in capturing her intended victim.

What?! Becca stared at the woman sitting across from her. Are you—

Why else would she dress so enticingly? Change her form to resemble a human? Possess a voice so seductive? Speak with you about such matters now?

But… Why Carl? That's so… Creatures like that actually exist?

One sits before you, does it not? They are a filth I have tried to cleanse from this world for longer than you can imagine. This is why I need you to be useful to me. To aid me.

That's a lot to take in.

Consider it as you wish. My methods may be harsh, but now you know my cause.

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Becca's mouth said. "But you still came all this way to see him."

"I did," Ir'alith said. "My friend Vol, who is also Carl's friend, intended to meet with him, and I thought to make certain matters clearer in my mind."

"Who is this Vol I've been hearing about, anyway?" Becca's mouth asked. "Is she another of Carl's lovers?"

Ir'alith laughed, and it was a sound that sent a brief shiver through Becca's body. "No. She is a friend!"

"What's her full name?" Becca's mouth asked.

"Full name?" Ir'alith looked perplexed for a moment, then the skin of her entire body turned bright pink. "Vol is a short name?!" she exclaimed.

Wow, she really isn't human.

She chooses this form only to deceive, Rebecca, the same as her words.

"This is not right," Ir'alith muttered, reaching up to press both hands to her face. "I must…"

"You don't know her full name?" Becca's mouth asked.

"I did not know Vol was not her full name!" Ir'alith said, now sounding distraught. "Perhaps… Perhaps she is unaware…"

This Vol person seems really mysterious.

How can she not know the full name of her so-called friend?! Fuck!

Are you okay?

Yes. I sought only to learn the name of her accomplice. They must be working together. She seeks to deceive you into aiding her in some way now.

I wanna help. I can't let anything happen to Carl.

You have a good heart, Rebecca.

Becca's mouth opened, and a yawn came forth. "Sorry, Ir'alith, but I find myself tired," her mouth said. "Perhaps we will speak again in morning?"

"Yes, I would enjoy this," Ir'alith said in a distracted sort of way. "I thank you for this advice, Rebecca."

"Sure," Becca's mouth said. Her body rose from the chair and walked to the bed, taking a circuitous route to avoid passing near the devil. Her feet stepped out of the shoes, and her body climbed onto the bed, laying on its back in the center and closing its eyes with its hands clasped over its chest.

Dream well, Rebecca.