Venus was pleased.  From Orchid,  'It's not grotesque' was the highest praise she'd probably ever get! Not only that,  but she continued to drink it she wouldn't let it reach her face,  but inside she had a sense of pride.  A compliment from Orchid was a rare thing indeed. 

Venus lip curled into the slightest of smiles whet Orchid insistent she shouldn't share Akkarina's secret. Emotions were kind of Venus's thing.  And there was no doubt in her mind that Orchid was excited to share some gossip! She wondered who Orchid spent her quality time with when she was home? Did she have a group of snooty friends who went around talking about how low class everything was with her? Did they go to different establishments,  throwing shade on the services,  all while absolutely enjoying them? The thought was almost enough to force a laugh past her red-tinted lips.  But she held it in.

She locked eyes with Orchid a she predictably agreed to explain everything.  She would offer her the gaze she promised,  starting now.  She followed every word without ever interrupting or asking for clarification.  Because they didn't talk often,  Orchid was probably unaware that Venus was already royalty before meeting Rina, or that she too, was part demon. She had no difficulty following and it all made perfect sense. 

She thought about all the time she'd noticed the shifts in Akkarina's appearance.  She had assumed they were her version off getting doomed up our putting on makeup.  Hearing the true rain made her a bit sad.  It also made her sad that Akkarina had kept all of this from her for all these years.  But she didn't express any of it now.  Occasionally,  her eyes would fall from Orchid's, take on her body,  and met her gaze once more. 

When Orchid suggested that she should stop now,  Venus wanted to object.  She wanted to tell her to keep going.  But instead she nodded in understanding.  Out was best she hear the rest from her wife anyway. 

"I thank you for being forthcoming with me.  And of course,  you can enjoy my gaze as much as you like." She said with a wink. 

Knock Knock

The sound pulls you out of an unintended sleep on your couch, passed out after a glass of bourbon and scrolling on TikTok. The daze still had its hold on you when you heard the knocking again, soft yet desperate.  Rubbing your eyes, you head to your front door to investigate the sound. Looking out the window, you see nothing but the pouring rain and flashes of lightning that illuminate the dark streets. Knock knock. You jump as the sound catches you off guard; this time sounding from the back door. The rapping was more frantic and louder, echoing through the house even more than before. Your heart felt like it was going to leap through your throat or break through your rib cage. Your hands are shaking, your vision blurry. You grab your glasses to fix your vision as you approach the back door. “Hello?” You call out, not sure who would be knocking upon your door at this hour during this storm. Why didn’t they just wait until you answered the front door?

You look through the window of the back door to see who was there, yet again; the source of the sound was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, you shrug and try to justify to yourself that it was just the wind or the trees, until the knocking appears again. This time louder, shaking the glasses in your house. The sound emanating from both the front and back doors and even shaking the windows near the doors. “What the hell?!”  You cry out as you retreat to your couch and curl up into a ball as the pounding grows louder and louder and nearly breaks the door from its hinges. You cover your ears with your hands, just hoping for the noise to cease. “Please!” You cry out loudly, the tears streaming from your eyes.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The pounding only seems to grow louder, surrounding you and closing in as if you were its prey. Only for it to stop abruptly. The silence is palpable, making your ears ring due to the suddenness of it all. The only sound was the torrent of rain beating down upon your house and the thudding of your heart through your ears.

You sat there for what felt like hours, waiting for the pounding to resume or some semblance of normalcy to return to your life. You finally release the air from your lungs that you didn’t know you were holding hostage, within the cage that is your chest. Slowly, you unfurl your body from your self-imposed coil like a snake that had evaded their threat. You listen carefully, trying to find any remnant of the audio assault from earlier; the hammering of blood through your ears calming slightly. High on adrenaline and fear, you make your way to your front door; fingers slowly wrapping around the golden knob. Curiosity took over, overriding every survival instinct that was screaming for you to do otherwise. On the other hand, turning the lock, the audible click causes you to jump.  You inhale deeply to compose yourself and slowly open the door. The darkness was thick and oppressive.  The rain was cold and needle-sharp, falling sideways as it beat down upon the pavement. Lightning illuminates the dark street for a second before you’re again bathed in the choking darkness.  Your heart nearly jumps out of your chest as the lightning shows the oddest visitor: a little girl.

About twelve years old from the looks of it. Pale skin as if she had been denied sunlight all of her life. Her eyes, though heard to see through the cover of darkness, seemed to be as dark as the streets around them. Her raven hair, soaked through from the torrential rain, hung around her face like a living frame and stretched down to the middle of her back. She was wearing a red shirt with a black skirt, clinging to her body due to being soaked through. Her bare feet shifting uncomfortably as she turned her dark eyes up at you, pleading. “Poor thing..” You say as you meet the girl’s gaze. “May I come in. I’m lost..” The girl said between cold shivers and a trembling lower lip. “Of course!” You offered, opening your door to the little girl. Her feet were tracking an oddly black liquid across your floor. You offer her a place to sit and wrap a towel around her shivering body. You go to your kitchen to make a mug of hot chocolate as you decide what to do about this situation. So many things running through your mind, like how could this girl knock so hard? Where did she come from? And where are her parents? “What’s your name?” You ask, finally gaining some form of cognitive agency. The girl looked up toward you and smiled a dark and brooding smile as she replied. “Alma”

“Alma,” You repeat as you allow the name to digest. You take a seat next to the girl as you ruminate on your next action. It was too late, and you were too stressed to deal with the police at the present moment. Maybe you and the girl will rest for the night and get the authorities involved in the morning. You were pretty sure that the little girl was tired and stressed out as well. As you decided that was the proper course of action, you stand to your feet and reach out to the guest with an open hand. By this time, the hot chocolate was finished, and her shivering seemed to have fully ceased. “You are not a good person,” She whispered, her voice even more childish than before. “Excuse me?” She said, shocked at the words that left her lips. With a speed that was inhuman and a strength that was unbecoming of her age and size, the girl grabbed your wrist. You could feel your bones compressing due to the force applied to them. “Ow, you’re hurting me,” You say, trying to remain as calm as you could to not provoke the girl any further. “YOU ARE NOT A GOOD PERSON!!” The girl said menacingly as she turned her gaze toward you. Her face was nearly covered by her jet black hair. All except for her eyes, which were as dark as a nightmare, so horrific that light refused to come near them. She smiled, her teeth blackened blades of needles. You tried to scream….

…..You jumped awake; your heart jackhammering against your chest, causing you to clutch at it, hoping that it didn’t give up just yet.  You took a few seconds to collect yourself while looking around and assessing your location. The mall. You must have fallen asleep while on the massage chair and had a bad dream. You chuckle to yourself as the relief washes over you. That was a very strange dream. Why would you dream about something like that? You always felt that you were a good person, and you felt you had nothing to feel guilty about. Your conscious was clean. Now that your rest was over, you thought it was a good time to finish doing what you came there to do. As you looked up, you noticed the people who were passing by looked off, out of focus. It was as if their features were smeared with a thin layer of Vaseline, especially their faces. You rub your eyes, thinking that the stressful dream and just waking up had some effect on your vision.  As you turned to the right, your heart almost leaped out of your chest. The girl was there wearing the same red clothes, bare feet, long inky black hair that draped over her face like an eerie frame. She was staring directly at you as if she was beckoning you toward her. Maybe you imagined her while you were dreaming because she was near you. Maybe she tapped you while you were dozing off, and you had this conversation with her while being tired and out of it, and don’t remember it? That HAD to be it, right? No reason for her to be here and in your dream.

“Okay,” You said as you prepared yourself. That had to have happened. Maybe you did something rude, and the girl got mad. You laugh to yourself as your lucid thoughts start to make sense and nod as you stand to your feet and approach the little girl in an effort to make amends for how you must have acted during your time while you were out of it. Again, you fight against every instinct of self-preservation in doing so.  As you approach, the girl turns to walk away from you, causing you to huff out a heavy sigh. You didn’t think you’d find yourself following a little girl in a mall, but here you are. “Where are you going!?” You ask out loud, trying to get the girl to turn around. The least you could do is help her find her parents; you didn’t like the idea of her walking around this place alone. As you pass closer by the distorted faces of the people around you, you notice their heads vibrating at an unnatural speed, and the dark void where their mouths should be is open wide in an eternal silent scream.

Your heart is pounding as the eerie sight boggles your mind; you walk faster in an attempt to catch up with the girl. She walks through corridors and around corners before disappearing through the maintenance door of the mall, where civilians are not allowed. “Oh, great . . .” You complain as you follow the girl around the corners and into the forbidding door. As you push it open, you notice that it is far too heavy for the girl to be able to open as quickly as she did or at all. As you enter, you notice that the corridor was hot a muggy as if there was no air flow at all except for the furnaces.  You hear the skittering of the girl’s feet against the concrete floors of the inner sanctum of the mall, and you follow. The girl’s giggles echo around you, seemingly emanating from everywhere and nowhere all at once. “Come and find meeeee!” The girl said in a singsong way as if taunting you. You shake your head and laugh to yourself, wondering what the heck is happening here.
The area seems to get darker and darker as you pass through numerous hallways, each one seemingly a copy of the other. You walked for what seemed like miles through repeating hallways; same signage, same cracks in the walls, same pipes that ran across the walls and ceiling like the building’s metal veins. The only difference is that the light was slowly going out and bathing you in darkness, and a smell that gnaws at your senses; rot and sulfur. The further you moved, the stronger the smell got, the darker it got, and the hotter it got. Soon, your footfalls stopped echoing due to the hard concrete and started to slightly sink into the floors, creating a squelching sound with each step. You wonder to yourself if there was a flood back in this area, which could be the reason for this standing water, but in the back of your mind, this didn’t feel like just water. Each passing step seems like you were stepping deeper into muck, thick and sloppy, making each foot step harder to maneuver in. “Almost therrrerere. . “ The voice was brimming with excitement as you were drenched in sweat. The stench of rotting meat and sulfur was now mingling with burning flesh.

You begin to hear echoes of screams and wails, the likes of which you’ve never heard before. They were erratic and desperate, cursing, praying, and begging. “What is this?” You ask yourself as your pursuit of the girl turns into something entirely different.  “Yoou deserve this. You deserve it all. All the pain, all the suffering, all the hatred..” The girl’s voice calls out to you as the area grows hotter and hotter, the floors grow even murkier as if you were walking through thick mud. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You scream as the darkness and stench consume you. The smell becomes so overwhelming that the contents of your stomach force their way up and out of your mouth in retreat. The spattering of the bile against the wet floor stirred up the rotten smell even more, making it harder for you to continue, but there was no turning back, only forward for you now. Leaning against the walls, you feel the same wetness that you were stepping in. As if the walls were made of meat. That realization made your breath hitch and your heart skip a beat. With little light you have, you pull your hand away from the wall; its gooey substance reluctant to allow your hand to abandon it. Your hand trembles as you notice the particles of flesh and bone and the thick redness of the blood that drips all around you. “Oh God. Oh God. OH GOD!!” You breathe out, hardly able to form even those words while falling to your knees. The girl laughs and says in a shrill, taunting voice. “God? God doesn’t see you, but I DO!!”

The walls and floors writhe and spasm like living tissue as the complete darkness sets in. The dark is so absolute, so pure that it has weight and viscosity; literally choking darkness.  You find out that this place is a catacomb, made of human remains. The walls and floors are decaying flesh and bone. You can’t help but cry loudly as the hopelessness sinks in, kicking yourself for falling for such an obvious trap. Even through the darkness, you could see the visage of the girl approaching, but in the form of a woman around twenty years old and fully bare. Her eyes were glowing like windswept embers fresh from a fire. You could do nothing but whimper as she approaches.  “You..” The woman started as she stopped a few short feet from you and reached her right hand toward you, extending her index finger at you. Her flesh began to decay from her arm, exposing muscle and then bone. Staring at this grotesque visage forced a scream to finally free itself from your lips as you behold this blasphemous impossibility of the scene before you.

 “You treated people as if they were blips in your life, stepping stones to walk over. You’re a liar, manipulator, thief, and murderer. You ruin people’s lives, relationships, and health. Used them until nothing was left and discarded them like they were trash. Hearts were broken, lives were lost, and futures were destroyed because of your selfishness. Now you are to be judged. I am your reckoning. Your judge. Your executioner. All for the pain, loss, death, and turmoil you’ve wrought will be brought upon you one hundredfold for all of eternity. There is no redemption, no mercy, no respite, and no hope. Just like you abandoned others, leaving them to perish, hope has abandoned you. You will not know peace. This is what you deserve.”

You sob loudly, your voice joining the cacophony of other voices that are facing torment as rotted bony hands reach from the walls and floors take hold of your body. You struggled to no avail to free yourself, but the strength of the hands was overwhelming. The pain is excrutiating as your flesh began to sear from your bone, popping and bubbling as the heat, unlike any heat you’ve ever imagined, envelopes you fires that cast no light. Your blood boils, your muscles rip and tear, your bones snap and reform only to snap again. You choke up maggots as you body began to rot. You could feel the agony of your flesh melting and rotting with no reprieve in sight. Puss and maggot filled boils burst from your charred flesh. You claw at your skin, looking for some form of relief, but find none, only more agony as the flesh is torn off even more. There was no literal lake of fire, no lava pit. Just choking darkness, unbearable heat that devours your very soul, and loneliness the likes never before felt. The truest feeling of abandonment. No more love. No more light. No more peace. Just the feeling and knowledge of agony that could not be described while dwelling in a pit of dark despair of your creation. Time doesn't exist anymore and pain is the only constant. The torment is immeasurable. Eternal.  Deserved.

You are severed from the grace and mercy of God.

Jolting awake in a cold sweat, you bring your trembling hands to your chest to try and calm your thudding heart before rubbing them over your arms in an attempt to put out the flames that you swore you could feel. It was another dream! The feeling of relief washes over you while you regain your composure. You never had a dream as intense as that before, and you took this moment to consider slowing down drinking. Something you should have done after the accident that only you walked away from. You reach for your glass of water on your bedside table and are taken aback by how hot the liquid is. You shrug and are ready to return to sleep, but an intense feeling of dread consumes you as the unmistakable scent of sulfur and rot looms thickly in the air. . . .

Slowly, the dense fog began to drift away, as if funneled through the numerous drains that the forest canopy provided. Sanguinous particles drifted upon the leaves, coating them in a dark crimson, giving them a gruesome visage. The white hot pain wasn't new to Tempest; she had trained against all types of weapons, though this was an exception. "DON'T TOUCH..." She started to yell as the woman approached and tried to help her. Her voices boomed, not like thunder, but thunder itself. Loud and crackling, shaking the air around them. She calmed herself before finishing and took a few deep breaths.

"I'm . . Sorry" She apologized, though she remained incredibly caustious of the woman before her. Taking a very long and deep breath, Tempest leaned into her touch. If there was any foul play, Tempest knew she could destroy her. However, the curiosity has won over her trepidation regarding the woman. Her chains, dirty skin, and absence of clothes were disarming, yet her powers were not. . .In a way.

As Tempest submitted, ball lightning appeared orbiting her like tiny familiars begging their Mistress’s attention. They were ultimately harmless to the women and created a spectacle around them. The pain soon diminished and then stopped as Tempest nodded and laid down as the woman suggested. She was in a state of pure bliss and couldn't understand how this was happening. However, it was coming about, Tempest would allow herself to relax. "This is wonderful. ." She whispered, her blue eyes taking in the visage of the woman who was treating her. "I'll allow this. But answers later." She said, not questioning, not bargaining, but telling the woman what the plan was.

As Orchid made her approach to her sister's abode, she was shocked to see the door open before she even set foot upon the doorstep. It was also a surprise to see that Venus had recognized her, given the Disaster Demon genes had changed her hair from a golden white to a molten lava red. However, she shouldn't be too surprised since her beauty had remained intact. As her sister in law greeted her, Orchid looked down upon the shorter woman and smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes.

Venus, being pretty attractive in her own right, never seemed to be able to acknowledge the beauty that Orchid held, and that frustrated her. Deep down there was a little resentment toward the woman, in addition to what she held toward her sister. Now, what was his name. . .Ciaran. . Yes. He at least took notice and stood in genuine awe of the beauty that stood before him. He was definitely interesting. "I didn't come here to be inundated with your constant prattle. . ." Orchid said as she took in the scenery before her, sliding her fingers along shelving and furniture as if she were a drill sergeant doing an inspection. "How. . quaint. " She mumbled under her breath.

"You know what. ." She said, trying to be as nice as possible. "I'll partake in your pleasantries." She said as she reluctantly sat upon the offered seat, as if it were layered in a coating of disgust, while crossing her legs, right over left. "Ahh.. My timing could not have been any worse, it seems. That little sister of mine has taken to the trip to keep herself held together, hmm?" Not a question, but rather a confirmation. " I guess this time could be used to better our relationship." She said, rather smugly. "I'll have some of your tea, sounds rather delightful. I do hope you use refined leaves, and not some pedestrian brew." Struggling to get comfortable, she decided to make the most of this time with Venus. "You refuse to gaze at me, why?" She asked, dumbfounded by someone who is clearly into women, not being enchanted by her beauty.

It wasn't unusual for visitors to stop by.  Calyx often visited,  hoping to see Adelaude. Ciara visited to check on Venus' wellbeing.  Even Rai would make the occasional visit! This one v unexpected,  however! Throwing on a simple red dress and heels,  Venus made her way down to answer the door.  How unusual it was,  to see Orchid of all people!

"Will isn't this a pleasant surprise! Welcome! She said as she opened the door and invited her sister-in-law inside.  If you're here for a catch up,  I'll throw on some tea! But I'm afraid of you're here for Akkarina your timing is bad.  She's off on one of her t training trips with Akkarin at the moment." She released a tiny huff.

"There's plenty of space of you want to stay and wait,  but I'll have to confess I have no idea when she'll be back."   As always. 

She didn't include that part.  Venus lived a pampered life.  She seldom had time to be lonely,  even when Akkarina was out.  But being surrounded in love ones was hardly the same as being with her love.