Monday, March 5, 2012

Succubus Companions ch 2 pt 2

Those feelings passed, however, and the worry she felt slipped back to lurk in the back corner of her mind as she sensed him focusing on something else. Belatedly, she realized Vician was talking to her and she struggled to pay attention while still adjusting to having another being’s emotions inside her head.

“When I don’t need you, you need to rest, or it is simply too dangerous for you to be out and about, this figurine will serve as a gateway to a kind of pocket realm according to the spell,” the mage was saying. “I figured this was better than sending you back to your home plane, but I honestly don’t know what it will be like for you. You may experience it as a room, or as an empty nothingness, or you may simply go into a kind of stasis. I cannot be certain.”

“If you do not activate the statue will I be trapped inside?” Seraphine asked, the intensity of her fear causing the mage to wince.

“No,” Vician answered. “I put in a provision that if I do not call you forth for a period of three days, the statue will automatically summon you in case I need your aid. In the event of my death, you will be automatically released from the spell in any case.”

Seraphine hoped he was telling the truth, but her fear remained even though she tried to tell herself that being trapped in a statue was still a far better fate than anything that faced her back on her own plane.

Vician looked her over. “You do not yet trust me,” he observed. “I hope in time that will change. In the mean time there is bedding and some provisions in a pack in the corner if you like.” He gestured first to the corner, then to one of the tables that had a portion cleared off. “You may set your books there if you like.” With that he let the spell around the summoning circle drop.

Seraphine carefully picked up the books on the floor and stacked them on the table. She then unpacked the rest from her pack and set them there as well. To Vician’s amusement, she set a simple ward on the books to keep them from being disturbed.

After she was satisfied with the safety of her books, she knelt down in the corner to look through the provisions. There were a couple of water skins, some hunks of bread and cheese, and a few fruits. In addition there was also some clothing consisting of a few almost white blouses, a pair of brown pants and a pair of black ones, and a dark green skirt. All of it was of a better quality than the leather pieces she was wearing. The sizes were all a little big but nothing a little hemming wouldn’t solve. She would need to make alterations to accommodate her wings though if she wore any of it in her natural form.

“I didn’t know how much clothing you would have,” Vician said, watching her sort through it. “I hope they fit. I wasn’t too sure of your size.”

Seraphine looked up. “They will do. I don’t have much I can offer you in return, though.”

Vician offered a slight smile; one that was almost gentle. “Consider these gifts. I can not have you naked in my work area. It would be rather… distracting.” He chuckled lightly, and even Seraphine had to smile a little.

His smile faded and he grew more serious. “There is a chamber pot in the far corner,” he pointed off to one of the disused and still empty corners of the attic before continuing. “And I will arrange that you will have something for washing with. Is there anything else you will require? I am afraid you will have to spend most of your time confined to this attic for the foreseeable future. I am afraid that people would not tolerate you if they knew you were here.”