Nyx Nyghtingale
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Rough Draft - Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 14
🕑 Added 2024-03-27 23:38:16 +0000 UTCAmara stared at the inside of her wing. The bony frame, the deep red skin that stretched between it, the way it twitched when she repositioned. It was pitch black under her covers, but ever since Halloween, she'd developed impeccable night vision.
Even the darkness couldn't mask how much she'd changed.
She was lying on her side, her wing holding up the comforter she'd pulled over her head. Her phone rested next to her, as she was desperately waiting for a text. It vibrated, and she hurriedly grabbed it, then sighed with disappointment after seeing who it was from. Looking through her messages, she counted 57 unread texts from Nick, 21 from Tessa, and 6 from Chloé.
None from Vee.
How many times had she texted her? Dozens, easily, and she had no idea if they were even being received. She wouldn't blame Vee for blocking her, not after what happened, after she’d almost—
Shut up Amara, you didn’t, doesn’t that matter?
She threw her phone down again, burying her face in her hands and pulling her knees closer.
But I almost did. I can still feel her blood.
She looked at her hands, running her fingers over them. Her skin was smooth, warm to the touch, and completely unblemished from the fight. She had no idea what had happened to them, what they’d turned into that night. She’d only ever used her shapeshifting to turn into other people, but could she alter her own body? What other explanation was there?
Her curiosity urged her to try, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She doubted she could shapeshift anyways, she’d just passed a week without sex. Food had long ago lost its flavor, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept for more than an hour or two.
11 AM
She reluctantly left bed to use the bathroom.
12 PM
Unread messages from Nick jumped from 57 to 59.
1 PM
Grabbing her phone, she opened her most recent tab. The local newspaper's website stared back at her, and she read the article in its entirety, despite having the whole thing memorized.
-
STUDENT INJURED IN HALLOWEEN FIRE
A local Halloween celebration ended in disaster last night when the site of the party unexpectedly caught fire. Although most students were evacuated safely, one student was injured in the blaze.
Emergency services were dispatched at approximately 12:30 AM, having been automatically notified when the building's fire alarm activated.
The residence in question, commonly referred to by local students as The Jade Palace, had long ago been converted into a Chapter House for a local fraternity. As part of the renovation, a full fire suppression system was installed.
Authorities are still uncertain as to the cause of the fire. While students on scene confirmed that the sprinklers were activated, the fire was able to consume the building despite this countermeasure.
Foul play is not suspected at this time, although the investigation is ongoing.
-
What if I turned myself in?
No, they’d want to know how I did it. It’s not like I can tell them I’m a demon, and I don’t actually know how to start fires.
I’ll bet arsonists can burn down buildings without beating their friends half to death.
Amara flinched as she recalled her last moments with Vee, seeing her friend utterly convinced she was about to die. The image had been seared into her brain, haunting her every time she closed her eyes.
She wanted to cry, but had run out of tears days ago. Her body wretched and shook as it attempted anyways.
The hours kept passing, and the most exciting thing Amara did was turn to her other side. Even that took quite a while, given the size of her wings. Her phone went off a few more times, texts from Nick and Tessa, but she continued ignoring them. It was almost 4 when she heard a knock at her bedroom door.
“Amara?” Nick asked, “I know you’re in there.”
“Go away!”
“Not this time, Amara. When’s the last time you left the house? Ate something?” He paused for a moment, than awkwardly mumbled, “Had sex?”
“Is that why you’re here? Need a slut to get your rocks off?” Amara hissed.
“C’mon, that’s not fair. We both know that if you’re not having sex, your body shuts down. I just want to help.”
“Maybe you should help yourself, and leave me alone!” Amara threw the comforter off, shouting at Nick through the door. “How do you know I won’t snap? That I won’t go berserk and you wind up dead?”
A different voice spoke up, and Amara realized that Nick had brought Tessa with him. “Vee attacked you, what choice did you have? You were defending yourself!”
“You know why she attacked me, Tessa? Because I lied to her! Because you told me to! Still think that was the right call?”
“Of course I do! The instant she found out, she ambushed you and tried to cast you into hell! What did I say about those church idiots? To them, you’re just a monster, that’s all you’ll ever be. You really think a literal fuckin’ angel is going to give you a pass because you used to do each other’s makeup?”
Amara pulled the covers over her head again, burying her face in the pillow without saying anything. Another few seconds passed before Tessa spoke again.
“Amara? Great, real mature, just ignore us, I’m sure that’ll fix everything.”
“C’mon Tess, don’t make this worse.”
“She’s the one ignoring me!”
The two continued bickering for a while, but Amara tuned them out. She screamed into her pillow again, and eventually heard them leave. After a few minutes, someone walked back inside, and a quiet voice traveled through the door.
“Um, Amara?” Chloé asked, her voice barely audible.
“Oh, Chloé, I… didn’t know you were here too.” Amara crawled out from the under the covers, moving closer to her bedroom door. She readjusted her zip-up hoodie, which mostly rested on her hips since her wings prevented her from wearing it properly. “Did you… hear any of that?”
“No, I was waiting outside. How are you feeling?”
Amara paused, unsure what to say. “What did they tell you?”
“Well, they said you and Vee were talking at the party, and didn’t get out in time when the fire started, and she got hurt.”
“That’s… yeah that’s about right.” Amara sat down, leaning against the wall near the door. “Here to tell me it’s not my fault?”
Chloé paused for a moment. “I’m not a therapist, I don’t think… that’s not why I’m here. I just… I missed you, is all. I miss eating lunch with you, talking about our projects, telling you about what I’m playing. You’re great company, and we both know I can’t say the same about Tessa.”
“…Nick’s still around.”
“He’s a boy! It’s not the same!”
Surprisingly, Amara had to stifle a laugh. “Alright, well, how’s your charity thing going?”
“We’re gonna launch it this week!”
“Shit, really? Chloé, that’s great!”
“Well, the whole point is to make fundraising easier and more transparent, and now we’ve got the perfect excuse to launch. We’re gonna raise money for the fire relief!”
Amara froze, a response escaping her. Another minute passed in silence before Chloé spoke up again.
“I know you’re in a rough spot, but I was kinda hoping you would help?
“Oh, I don’t… I’m not much of a charity person.”
The exact opposite, in fact.
“Well, you said before we could maybe work together, that you could help with the social media side of things? Plus, I know you’re really into photography, and we could really use some high quality pictures for our campaign.”
Chloé remembers that? I feel like that was ages ago… though, her life hasn’t been as hectic as mine has recently.
Amara glanced over at her closet, remembering that her photography stuff was packed away in a corner. It had been one of her first passions, and was the reason she decided to get into marketing in the first place. She had figured the two skills would pair really well, give her a lot to offer when searching for a job. In the chaos surrounding her transformation, she’d completely forgotten about it.
“Gimme a sec?” Amara asked. She heard a muffled response from the other side of the door, and got up.
Digging through her closet, she pulled out her camera bag. She looked through all her different lenses, carefully laying them out one by one, smiling at the memories. When she finally took hold of her camera, she remembered how good it felt in her hands. She turned it on, and began flicking through the old pictures stored on her memory card.
She found pictures of Nick, mostly headshots she'd taken so he could have something to put on resumes. There were a few of Tessa, sometimes with her partners, sometimes flicking her off when she realized Amara was taking pictures.
There was even a picture Amara definitely didn't take, that appeared to be Tessa winking at the camera while angling it up her skirt.
She found shots of Chloé out in the quad, leaning up against a tree while sketching in her notebook. She looked amazing in the first couple, but after seeing the camera, she'd hidden behind her book.
She stopped when she found her first picture of Vee. It was a simple profile, her face slightly illuminated by the sunlight bouncing off a building behind her.
Vee had always been the most supportive of her photography. Unlike the others, she was eager to pose, and Amara had plenty of pictures of Vee smiling, but also of her goofing off. Scrolling through the pictures, she remembered the day she took them, smiling at the memories.
Eventually, Vee had insisted that they switch, that Amara be the subject for once. The next batch of pictures had been taken by Vee, with Amara struggling to find good angles for herself. She'd always been more comfortable behind the camera, but Vee had walked her through some tricks, and she'd ended up enjoying herself. The shots Vee had taken that day were still some of her favorite pictures of herself.
The last picture was the two of them laughing. It was horribly off-center, blurry, and angled heavily to the right, but that was Vee's fault for trying to take a selfie with something other than a phone. It was, without question, the worst picture on the camera, and yet it was so evocative.
Amara couldn’t look away. As she stared at the picture, her mind warped the image. Vee’s face grew sharper, the blur fading, only to be replaced with blood. The soft, warm light grew more intense, flickering as flames surrounded them, threatening to collapse the building on them both. Tears fell from her face, which was begging Amara not to continue, yet utterly convinced that she would. Her clawed hands soaked in blood, tightening slowly until—
I DIDN’T DO IT! I STOPPED MYSELF!
“Amara?” Chloé asked, her voice tense.
There were fresh tears on her face, apparently. Had Chloé heard her crying? She looked down at her camera, no longer in her hands, but thankfully it was safely on the floor.
She took a deep breath, her body still shaking slightly.
Photos. Human Amara loved that, she was great at it.
“I-I’m still here.” Amara said, crawling closer to the door. She wiped her eyes, brushing away the tears as she thought about Chloé’s question.
“I'll do it.” She finally whispered.
“Yay! I'd hug you if I could!” Chloé said, ecstatic.
“I appreciate the thought, though…” Amara looked back at her tail and her wings, “I'm not really decent at the moment. Tell you what, I'll join you for dinner tonight, and we'll talk everything over.”
“That's awesome! I'll put together all our fundraising material and we can look through it!”
“Oh, and Chloé?” Amara asked, “Can you send Nick in on your way out? I need his help with something.”
-
In the time it took for Nick to say goodbye to everyone, Amara had half-heartedly picked up her room. It was still leagues beneath her typical standards, but she was more than willing to settle today. As he entered the room, he caught her in the middle of a yawn.
“So… talking with Chloé helped?” he asked.
“Look, I know you want to ask a million questions, but can we not? I’m gonna focus on what’s in front of me, one step at a time. Which means, well…” Amara flexed her wings, “I need your help putting these away.”
Nick was clearly nervous, and Amara could see his thoughts racing as he tried to think of something comforting. “Of course. Did you have anything in mind?”
She paused, the awkwardness of the situation staring her in the face. “Obviously I need to do this, but there’s a lot I haven’t shaken off. A distraction would be nice, would you want to put something on? Got any favorite pornos?”
The thought clearly caught Nick by surprise. “Uh, yeah, we can do that. What do you like?”
As she thought back to her porn watching days, Amara lazily began undressing. Her sweatpants came off easily, especially with the help of her tail. “What about… something with anal in it. That used to be my go-to for a while.”
Without saying anything, Nick pulled up his phone and started scrolling through a porn site. While he looked, Amara had an idea and ran back to her closet, looking through her photography equipment. After a moment, she found what she was looking for - a ring light on a tripod, with a designated phone mount in the middle. She’d bought it first semester with the intention of using it for some of her marketing assignments, though she’d never gotten around to using it much.
“Wait, we’re not filming this, are we?” Nick asked, finally looking up.
“Absolutely not! I just figured we need a place to put your phone so we can both see it.” Amara set up the stand at the foot of her bed, and grabbed Nick’s phone. Turning the mount sideways, she attached the phone and hit play. “So what did you find?”
“I don’t really have any favorites, but I found a video from an amateur couple I’ve seen before.” Nick said as he undressed.
After an awkward moment of staring at each other, both unsure how to initiate things, Amara finally spoke up. “Alright, look, this isn't gonna be the world's best fuck. I just need you to cum, and I'll get what I need. How about you get behind me, get yourself excited, and just… go for it.”
Amara repositioned so she was lying on her stomach, facing Nick's phone. She felt him get behind her, and bit her lip as he started massaging her ass. She had a feeling he was going to try and make this enjoyable for her, though she didn't know if that was possible today.
In front of her, the girl in the video was showing off her bikini, bending over and spreading her legs to show how little it covered.
Nick's hand reached between her legs, his fingers running up and down her pussy before settling on her clit. He started rubbing in small circles, his other hand carefully pushing a finger inside her. Surprisingly, it felt better than expected, and she spread her legs further to give him better access.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, Amara enjoying the laid-back finger fucking while letting herself get lost in the video. The amateur actress was on her knees now, eagerly gagging on the thick cock of whoever was manning the camera. As she pushed herself further down, the camera catching every detail, Nick pushed another finger into Amara.
She moaned, pleasantly surprised that she was actually enjoying this. She laid her head down and started teasing Nick with her tail. She ran it up and down his legs, eventually wrapping it around his cock and stroking it slowly. She let herself experiment with all the different things her tail could do; its dexterity still caught her off guard sometimes. She practiced stroking him up and down, but wrapping his entire shaft and flexing different pulses to simulate being inside someone. Based on his aura, and his moaning, he was clearly enjoying himself, and Amara happily started feeding.
Eventually, the slow pace grew annoying, and Amara wrapped her tail around his waist and pulled him closer. He clearly got the hint, lined himself up, and pushed inside of her.
Nick’s aura intensified quickly, and she continued pulling energy from it. The lethargy that had been hanging over her head since Halloween started to thin, her aches faded, and she felt her body waking up. Looking back at the video, she saw the couple had switched it up. The girl was now lying on her back, holding her legs in a split, as the cameraman pushed his cock deep inside her ass.
Suddenly remembering how much fun porn could be, Amara kept watching as she started meeting Nick’s thrusts with her own. She could feel through his aura that he was close to cumming, and she was eager for the energy of his orgasm to top her off.
Focusing her attention away from the video, she read his aura close enough to see exactly what he wanted, and gave it to him. She threw herself harder and harder, letting his cock bury deep inside her pussy, and within seconds she’d achieved her goal. Energy from his aura, as well as a full load of cum, rushed into her. She could feel her body returning to prime form, her inner fire roaring, and soon the excitement overwhelmed her.
Her orgasm was nowhere near as spontaneous as Nick’s, but it was enjoyable all the same. Slow, powerful waves of pleasure washed over her, wiping away the last of her aches and pains. She took care to monitor her body, ensuring that no errant flames appeared as she came.
By the time she finished, and had caught her breath, she noticed that Nick’s orgasm had long since past. She fell forward, releasing her hold on Nick as he pulled out of her, and took a deep breath.
“Well, I won’t say I feel better, but… I certainly don’t feel as bad.” Amara said.
Nick moved to the edge of the bed next to her, grabbing his phone and turning it off. “Glad you got something out of it. Other than your energy back, I mean. I heard you’re gonna meet Chloé for dinner?”
“That’s the plan. She’s gonna show me her charity plans and… and I’m gonna see what I can do to help.”
She readjusted, swinging her legs to the floor slowly as she watched Nick get up. He seemed ready to ask a question, but his expression changed quickly and he stayed quiet. Amara was barely paying attention to him anyways. Her own morbid curiosity had returned, and she was staring at the back of her hands, slowly flexing them.
I have to know.
She connected with her inner fire, pausing for a moment as she let herself bask in its warmth. It had been so long since she’d felt its glow, she’d forgotten how comforting it was, even if it was now tinged with uncertainty. She tapped into that strength, directing it at her hands as she tried to alter them. It was a slow process, and it required thinking about what they looked like before, but she fought through the painful memories.
After a minute, she watched as a collection of bony ridges grew on the back of her hand. The material was black, and seemed to match her horns and wingtips. It was hard to the touch, reminding Amara of some kind of exoskeleton you might find on an insect. Flexing her hand, she watched as the various plates seamlessly layered over each other, allowing her complete freedom of movement despite their rigidity.
“Whoa, that’s really something.” Nick was halfway through putting his pants on, but seemed to have stopped to watch Amara.
She jumped in surprise, having forgotten he was there, and she shook her hands to get them back to normal. “It’s nothing, I shouldn’t have… just forget about it.” Amara stood up, and after a small flurry of embers, no longer had her demonic features.
“I’m jumping in the shower. Just… do whatever you want.” She took a few steps into the hall, paused, then doubled back. “And… I’m sorry about earlier.”
Nick simply nodded, quietly smiling at Amara. Through he said nothing, they both knew what he meant.
After a long, lukewarm shower, Amara finally got dressed and left the house for the first time since the party. Loathe as she was to admit it, locking herself inside maybe hadn’t been the best idea. She did her best to smile, to laugh with her friends and enjoy dinner, but the pain was still there.
It came in waves, sometimes paired with guilt, sometimes with anger. As much as she tried to hide it, she could tell that her friends noticed. Still, they seemed willing to leave the matter alone, and Amara appreciated it.
They spent most of the dinner listening to Chloé’s plans, including a run down of how her platform worked. It seemed to focus on two main ideas; keeping all the spending transparent, and giving a platform to everyone raising money for the charity. As Chloé explained it, anyone that wanted to contribute to a specific charity could link their efforts through the platform. Then, people that wanted to donate money could scroll through everyone raising money, and look for ones that stuck out to them. Someone might commission art from an artist, then realize through the platform that another creator was offering personal training, and buy from them as well.
Ideally, she explained, creators would be incentivized to advertise their services, while potential donors would have more reasons to donate other than the goodness of their heart.
Amara was thoroughly impressed with everything she heard, and eventually took over the conversation as she explained how she could help manage the social media side of things. She explained peak traffic hours, which content would work best on different platforms, and tried to help set reasonable goals when it came to setting donation goals.
After spending considerably more time talking than she’d imagined she would, and eating her first real meal in days, Amara felt the exhaustion of the week catch up with her. She hugged each of her friends tight, thanking Chloé in particular, and went home to finally get some sleep.
-
It was dark, the only light coming from the occasional streetlamp. One flew by every few seconds, whizzing past the car at impressive speeds. She checked the dashboard, and saw she was driving much faster than the speed limit. Laughter filled her ears, and she realized she wasn’t alone. To her right, a woman sat in the passenger seat, her phone illuminating her face.
A tight miniskirt left her legs completely on display, and the sight of them drove her crazy. She reached out, grabbing the woman’s thigh before sliding her hand higher. It was playfully slapped away, and the passenger smirked as she said something, but the words were muddled, almost as if she were underwater.
Without a woman’s body to enjoy, Amara instead reached for the drink in the cupholder. The beer was starting to warm, and she finished it off before throwing the can in the backseat.
A scream filled her ears, and when she looked back at the road, she couldn’t find it. The car rattled as it veered into the grass, colliding with a small barrier before smashing through it. The car left the ground suddenly, jumping into the air before veering down and crashing into a river.
The water slammed into the car, hurling her forward before—
Amara sat up in a panic, her body shaking. Sweat dripped down her face, and her hands were gripping sheets so tightly they’d ripped holes in them. She looked around the room, nervous and disoriented, as she tried to catch her breath.
“What the fuck?”
-
It's time for Book 2! As always, I appreciate any spelling or grammar errors you may find in my work. I do my best to edit, and I always give a second, more detailed pass right before final posting, but every bit helps. It's also great to hear when specific sections or lines come across as unintentionally confusing.
Chapter specific questions:
-I tried to paint a clear picture of how Amara is reacting to the events of last chapter. However, this is also where she decides to kick herself back into action again, so to speak. Ideally, both moods feel like they have time to breath, and there are enough clues as to why Amara decides to return to society. Was I too vague? Or just the right amount?
Thanks in advance!
Nyx <3
Comments
Nyx Nyghtingale
I appreciate your thoughts all the same! Regarding Amara and Chloé, I'll admit I was a little vague on purpose, but the goal was to hint that it wasn't the relationship that changes Amara's mind, but the way the conversation was approached. I definitely see how the dream might have been set up a little more directly as well. At this point, since the chapter has already gone live to all patrons, I won't be making any changes, but I'll definitely keep these points in mind for future chapters. Thanks!
Dadhiker
(It's still another good chapter and the brooding human side of Amara comes through nicely). I'm new to this format and will keep my comments to one post in the future.
Dadhiker
Maybe it's just me, but it takes me a while to adjust to some of the dialog and flashback scenes. I need to reread the conversation several times to be able to figure out who is speaking behind the door (or through it?) between Nick and Tessa. Likewise, the last section - is it a dream? Perhaps you could add a few clues about that (Tessa replied or Nick said angrily). I'm assuming the last section is a dream? Any way you could clarify that section and still keep the suspense?
Dadhiker
Some thoughts: Based upon your story so far, there doesn't seem to be a lot of previous connection specifically between Chloe and Amara with the exception of one conversation. You might want to indicate some additional reason(s) why Amara should respond specifically to Chloe when she ignored both Nick and Tessa.
