Elucidation

Aisha woke up after probably the best sleep she had had in her entire life. She felt… light, and relaxed. She was so warm too, and it felt so good, rubbing against something so soft, so squishy, so firmly wrapped around herself. It made her feel safe, feel warm... loved.

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It felt so good to be loved again.

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Aisha's eyes shot open. Fuck! What was wrong with her! What was wrong with this woman!? Forcing her to sleep with her, and then- then- hugging her like this! Cuddling her so softly, holding holding her firmly, as if- as if- as if she actually cared about her!

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Dammit! It was all a ploy! A part of her act, to try and trick Aisha! She was just hugging Aisha so gently, so softly, so that she could get her to... to return the hugs! Er. No. To get into Aisha's pants.

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Aisha removed herself from the embrace, and glanced down at Lorian's sleeping face, so beautiful, so cute and pure, adorned with a stupid, stupid, corny, dopey grin that wasn't cute at all- Aisha wanted to wipe it off her face.

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This woman didn't deserve to be happy. She didn't get to be happy after admitting she was a bad person! It was supposed to eat at her! The same way it had consumed Aisha.

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She angrily tugged at the corners of her mouth and cheeks, attempting to rearrange her face, which woke the sleeping girl up.

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(Why did I do that?)

"Mmm... good morning." Lorian muttered groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes cutely. "Come back to bed… it's not time to get up yet…"

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Lorian playfully stretched her arms out and pouted, inviting Aisha to come back into bed and return to peaceful slumber. Aisha decided to not take the offer, forcefully grabbing her clothes, exiting the bedroom, all the while being watched by half-lidded, warm, brown eyes.

She reached the main room, and continued to clean the kitchen, taking a cloth and wiping down Lorian's dusty countertops. After 30 minutes, Lorian exited the bedroom as well, still undressed. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head.

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"Hey, so today I need you to buy a few things from the town… I don't usually use a lot of parchment, so we're going to need that, and we're running low on teleport crystals...."

She pulled out a torn piece of brown parchment from in between her cleavage. She handed it to Aisha.

"Everything we need is on the list. I hope you can read it."

"How am I supposed to get to town?"

"You telepo- oh."

Lorian thought for a bit, and her lazy expression soon turned into a despaired look.

"Let me get dressed..."

Lorian almost wanted to cry as she slid on her pants and shirt, staring at the bed longingly.

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Soon the girls were walking down into the forest, down the little hill that Lorian's house sat on. Aisha squinted at the first real sunlight that she had been exposed to in weeks.

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"So, how did you end up as a slave?" Lorian asked, turning towards Aisha.

"..."

"You know, usually people at least try to make conversation."

"I don't want to tell you. You can force the information out of me with the slave mark if you want."

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Lorian thought about doing that, but she decided that even though she had succumbed to using it when needed, that she still wanted the girl to like her.

"How about this." She proposed. "Let's play a game! We'll trade information about ourselves. I'll tell you something about myself, and you'll tell me the same thing about yourself. Then we'll switch."

"..."

"I'll start. My name is Lorian Izec."

"..."

"Now you say, ' my name is Aisha…' "

She looked expectantly at the girl, who was still staring blankly ahead.

"I don't have a last name. Fey do not use them. We are all born of the wood."

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"It's my turn now. I was in the cells because I was captured by hunters."

Lorian froze. She had not thought this game through. She forgot that she would have to answer Aisha's questions as well.

"I, uh, I needed a maid-"

"That's a lie. It's obvious."

Lorian swore under her breath. Obviously she would see through such a blatant lie.

"You are not hume, are you. You are daemon."

"..How did you know?"

"You're not from here, the house is too new. You don't eat, since your kitchen has no food in it, and you haven't used it in a long time. And you body is too warm for a hume."

"I could be a... a fire spirit!" Lorian offered, panicked.

"You could be, but your eyes give it away." Aisha muttered, staring into Lorian's warm brown eyes. "You should know that you won't gain anything from eating me. I have no soul."

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Lorian's eyes flashed bright gold for a second, but quickly returned to their soft brown.

"We don't eat souls." She whined. "We feed off the life energy that leaks out humes as they live. I'm not going to kill you."

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An uncomfortable silence passed.

"You can't tell anyone." Lorian whispered, worried.

Aisha's narrowed her eyes.

"I don't have anyone to tell."

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The girls finished their walk in silence. Soon they reached the town, filled with smooth, dark grey buildings. Two guards met them, dressed in plated black armor, with goggled helmets and glowing rifles. They recognized Lorian, but stopped Aisha.

"Who is this?"

"Oh, she's my… friend."

"Your friend has an active slave mark on her neck."

"I, u-uh.. s-she."

Lorian stuttered, panicking. She had forgotten... that slavery was illegal.

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The guards looked at each other and nodded. Lorian was a nice girl, and always was friendly to them. It also didn't look like the slave was in distress either. She just kind of... sat there. Looking creepy.

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"Go on ahead. Cause no trouble. Make sure to cover up the mark."

Lorian's expression slowly relaxed. She smiled brightly at the two guards.

"Thank you so much! Lushien! Varis!"

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She hugged both guards, who returned the gesture. They held their hands out for Aisha to shake, but she just walked by, ignoring the outstretched hands. The two guards watched the girls' retreating backs as they headed into the town, and put back on their helmets.

"You think I should ask her on a date?"

"Don't do that. She's obviously not interested."

"What about the other one?"

"Don't ask another person's slave ou-"

"No, I mean… she was weird right. Why would the Lorian buy her?"

"Maybe she took pity on the thing."

"Mmm. Maybe."

Soon the two girls reached the center of the town. A fountain, pulsing with blue energy, spewed out water, which drained into the ground, to be sent to all the buildings in the town.

"I have to go to the university now. Stay safe!" She said, starting to walk away.

She waved to Aisha, who did not wave back.

She looked down at the piece of paper in her hand, and began to walk aimlessly, searching for a pattern in the buildings' numbers to find her destination. She walked for a while, turning a corner and bumping into a large man, dressed in leather armor and a helmet.

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"Hey! Watch where you're going, fey dog!"

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Aisha ignored him, walking along.

"Maybe if you weren't wearing that helmet you could see where you were walking." She muttered, under her breath, but loudly enough for the man to hear her.

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The man turned around angrily.

"What was that?"

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The man's friend put his hand on his shoulder.

"She's not worth it. She's just some Fey dreg."

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The offended man scoffed, turning around.

"Whatever."

"Loser."

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Aisha ducked pre-emptively to dodge the wild swing that the man threw at her. She attempted to throw a punch at the man's throat, but her fist stopped a foot from the man's body, stopped by an invisible barrier. She hissed in pain as she held her fist, knuckles bruised. Her body was still so weak...

(The damn shield!)

Aisha was blown back by a strong gust of wind, knocking her onto her back. Her head hit the ground, ringing. She groaned, a foot planting itself on her chest.

"Bitch." The soldier spat.

"...Fuck you."

Her vision went white as the man stomped as hard as he could on her chest. She coughed up blood, as an intense pain flashed through her body. Her breathing came out labored as the man's friend rushed over, preventing a second stomp.

"What are you doing!? You fucking killed it! We have to get out of here!"

"Tch. It's not as if she'll be missed. She's just some slave."

Aisha continued to cough up blood as the two men left. She could feel her conscience leaving her, as she struggled to draw in breath, but failing, as shards of bone punctured her lungs.

(Damn... Is this really how I die? What a shit death. I didn't even... last five seconds. I couldn't even touch him. I guess... It was coming, though.)

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(I wonder... what it would be like, if I was stronger.)

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(I could have... made something of myself. I could have... beat that guy. I wouldn't be... dying here.)

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(It's no use wondering.) A deeper, more rational part of her mind reasoned.

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(You're dead now. You're dead... now. Finally... free from this cursed existence.)

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(You're going to be free... leave everything behind. Disappear. I can... spite the world... prove the elders wrong... in the next life.)

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(You're not getting a next life. You don't have a soul.) The rational voice spoke again.

(You're going to die, and nothing will be left of you. You don't get another chance.)

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(The elders were right.)

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A small voice, barely audible, sounded in Aisha's mind.

(I don't want to die.)

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She could see a black shape enter her blurred vision, as she continued to cough up blood. A deep voice spoke.

"You want to become stronger... I can help you with that."

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Aisha could not respond, but the words ignited a ghost of an ember in her heart. One that she had thought had gone out long ago. Suddenly, she felt like a child again, full of hope. Full of dreams, with determination in her chest.

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But it didnt matter now. She was dying. It was over. Wasn't this what she wanted?

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She tried to reach out towards the voice, but her body would not listen to her, and despite how hard she tried to lift an arm, or even twitch a finger, all that she could feel was pain. She finally lost consciousness, as agony blanked out her mind.