Chapter 2

At the front of the classroom, the chemistry professor was droning on about the different steps of today's lab, and Amara was having difficulty paying attention. Every few minutes she found herself scanning the classroom, trying to catch if any of the other students were looking at her. Thankfully, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that would change in a heartbeat if anyone saw her tail.

In the past, Amara had taken pride in looking her best every day, always picking cute outfits that showed off her style. These last couple of days, however, she had decided against her more form-flattering options, opting instead for large baggy sweaters. If nothing else, she was thankful autumn was here, and temperatures were already dropping.

Inside the pouch of her sweater, she was holding the end of her tail tight. After a few failed attempts to push it into her sweatpants, she had taken to wrapping it around her waist. Every so often she would give it a squeeze, hoping to discover it had disappeared, but every time it remained frustratingly present.

Her mind wandered back to Sunday, to the moment she had first learned about her body's new addition. At first she had been frozen in disbelief, but soon after she had succumbed to a full-blown panic attack. Nick, used to keeping her grounded during these times, had done his best to keep her calm.

When the initial panic had passed, they had run through some rudimentary tests. They confirmed her tail could register touch just like the rest of her, and she was able to move it at will. Moving it around felt awkward, as if trying to run on a leg that had recently fallen asleep, but the amount of control she had over it was surprising.

In the end, she had fallen asleep incredibly early. The combination of physical exertion and emotional outburst working together to bring her to utter exhaustion.

She hadn't seen Nick since then, though they had been texting constantly. Today, Amara's plan was to meet him at the library after her lab. He was the more studious of the two, and she hoped he had a plan to figure out what was happening to her.

Why is this happening now? Shouldn't this happen during puberty?

A hand grabbed her arm, interrupting her thoughts, and she jumped in surprise.

"Hey, Amara, you ready?"

Suddenly shaken back to reality, Amara realized the professor was done talking. Her lab partner, Vee, was halfway through setting up their experiment for the day.

"Sorry, I must have spaced for a second there," Amara muttered, "are we ready to start?"

"Not quite, could you grab the solutions we need?" Vee asked, caught up in lighting the Bunsen burner.

A few minutes later, after pretending she didn't need to skim the instructions to remember what they were doing, Amara returned with everything they needed.

"You've been a million miles away all class, Amara, it's not like you. Something on your mind?" Vee looked at her with mild concern, her bright blue eyes eager for answers.

"I just... haven't been sleeping well. I think all the stress of school is finally getting to me." Amara sighed.

"Well, that's why we went out Saturday, right? Wait, is this about that? Did something happen?" Vee shifted closer, her voice lowering in suspicion.

"I'm fine, and I promise nothing weird happened. I ended up getting tired earlier than expected, and Nick walked me home, nothing special."

"Hm, that does explain why he went missing too... Shame, he and I were really hitting it off." Vee smirked as she turned away from Amara.

"Wait, that was you?" It was Amara's turn to lean in, eager to get more details and thankful for the distraction. The two continued gossiping, and the rest of the hour passed without issue. Soon enough, it was time to clean up and get ready to meet Nick at the library.

Amara took over the cleaning, washing out all the beakers and tools while Vee finalized the notes and turned their papers in. When she returned, Amara had just finished washing her hands, and left the water running for her. Grabbing the soap, Vee moved her hands under the water, before immediately jumping back.

"Ah, fuck!" Vee yelped, "Amara, this water is scalding hot!

Amara ran over, her hands grasping the handles, but she paused briefly. Everyone nearby was looking at Vee, so she quickly ran her hand under the water. Surprisingly, it felt fine; She would have guessed it was slightly warmer than room temperature had it not just burned her friend.

"Here, this should be better, come run some cold water over it." Amara finished adjusting the water as she called Vee over. "It was fine when I was cleaning up, I think I just left it running too long."

"That... feels nice, thanks. I don't think there's any real damage, it just caught me by surprise." Vee finished washing her hands, hopefully none the wiser. Amara sighed in relief, happy her friend was okay, but made a mental note to tell Nick about this.

Once they cleaned up, they said their goodbyes and Amara started the long trek to the library. The incident at the lab had her thinking about Vee, the concern for her friend outweighing the confusion over what had happened.

The two of them had become fast friends after meeting last year in freshman biology. They both held themselves with an air of confidence, which combined with their natural looks to attract a fair number of suitors. Despite this, they both were more interested in studying, keeping a strong eye on their future and securing a path there.

Amara giggled to herself as she thought back on their meeting. She had been jealous of Vee, the taller of the two, with long blond hair and a toned figure, but that feeling had faded fast; Amara had decided she preferred her curvier features and more prominent bust. Now, she lingered on that feeling of jealousy as it flared again, this time wishing she could have a normal, tailless body.

Wait, does she have a tail? I guess I haven't checked... I'll take a look next time, just to be safe.

After another, heartier laugh, she pulled up some music on her phone and continued walking.

---

After wandering around the library for longer than expected, Amara finally found Nick huddled in a secluded corner. He already had quite a few stacks of books on the table, with a laptop open in the middle. His brows were furrowed in concentration, and he likely didn't see Amara quite yet.

His light brown hair was fairly curly, but he typically kept it short; He claimed it was too difficult to manage when it got long. The one time he tried, their junior year, Amara had thought the long hair flattered his sharp features nicely. His deep green eyes darted back and forth across the pages, and his arm was propping up his face as he read. He was hunching slightly, no doubt the library chairs weren't very comfortable for someone close to six feet tall.

Nick had wrestled in high school, and while he didn't play sports anymore, his body was still quite athletic. His muscular frame was sometimes hard to notice, due to his uninspired wardrobe, but today he was wearing a button-down flannel that was quite flattering.

Amara moved in, sitting down across from him and tossing her backpack to the floor.

"You know, normal people use the internet these days. Heard of it?" Amara grabbed the nearest book, pretending to read it upside down as she stared at Nick over the top of it.

"Very funny, Amara, but my roommate is hogging the room again. Plus, a lot of the books I need for my classes are locked behind paywalls." Nick put his book down and leaned back, stretching his arms behind him. "Not to mention all the books that haven't been properly digitized yet, especially on older campuses like ours."

"Whatever, nerd." Amara rolled her eyes, "What is all this anyways?" She gestured to the stacks cluttering the table.

"I've been here for a while, so it's a combination of most of my classes. Calc, History, all stuff you hate." Nick leaned in, his eyes more focused as he changed the topic. "And, of course, some research about your...condition. How are you holding up? Anything new? Weird?"

Amara set her book down as she quieted her voice, "Other than, I don't know, my fucking tail?" She sighed, planting her head on the table before groaning. "I'm sorry, you don't deserve that. I've just been so stressed ever since Sunday. Every single time I catch someone looking at me I'm scared they'll see it."

Nick reached across the table, grabbing her wrist. "Hey, I get it. I'm confused and scared too, and this isn't even happening to me." He squeezed one last time before letting go. "So, nothing else? Just the tail?"

Amara switched to leaning on her elbows, "Ugh, I think I almost burned Vee during our lab. I was washing my hands, and left the water running for her, but she shrieked and said it was practically boiling." She pushed her head into her hands, sulking. "I'm starting to think my building doesn't actually have issues with its water heater."

Nick paused, thinking to himself for a moment. "So now, it's just the glowing eyes, the tail, and a tolerance to heat. That would make sense..." Nick started rummaging through the books on the table, looking for one in particular.

"Make sense? Did you figure out what's happening?" Amara had to remember to keep her voice down.

"I've got a theory, the book is here somewhere." Nick moved a stack of books to the floor as he kept digging, "Have you looked into this at all?"

"I tried! I learned a lot about a group of fighter pilots in World War 2 called the Red Tails, it was pretty inspirational." Nick glared at her, likely not surprised she had gotten distracted. "Hey, you know I'm terrible at research."

"Well, maybe if you actually focused on what's around you," he muttered, grabbing the book under her arms and turning it right side up, "You'd find something useful once in a while!"

Nick triumphantly held up the book, its tattered hardcover reading "A Complete History of Demons & Demonology".

Amara stared at him in disbelief. "Nick. You can't be serious."

He leaned in again, matching her gaze. "Let me at least walk you through it, okay? Keep breathing, focus on my voice, I'm here with you." He walked her through a familiar routine, keeping her grounded as he opened the book.

"So, we don't have a lot to go on, but the tail is a pretty big clue. There are a lot of stories from mythology about creatures that are mostly human, except for the addition of a tail."

Amara kept breathing, in for 2 counts, out for 4. A steady rhythm, one Nick had helped her piece together over years of friendship.

"Often, the tail is based on an animal. Satyrs have horse-like tails, kitsune have fox tails, things like that. There's very little overlap, which makes it helpful to figure out what you're dealing with."

She squeezed her tail through her hoodie, listening intently to Nick's words.

"Now, yours is pretty unique, and doesn't really match up with an animal. It does, however, match a lot of descriptions of various religious demons." He started flipping through pages, showing off all the different depictions of hellish creatures. Many of the demons depicted had smooth, red tails, with flared spades at the end.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense... but this book is huge! How are we supposed to narrow it down?" Amara's eyes lingered on a picture of a snake offering a woman an apple.

"That stumped me for a bit too, but then I remembered another detail. When did this start happening?"

"It was... right after the party. Right after I finally had sex!" Amara shifted in her seat, leaning closer to Nick.

"And with that in mind..." Nick flipped to a dog-eared page, "meet the succubus. A demon that gains power and energy from sex."

Amara picked up the book, properly this time, and spent the better part of the next hour reading everything she could. She wasn't the fastest reader, but with the scope of her research narrowed, she was able to be much more productive. She managed to find another few books Nick had missed, but also found quite a few websites that proved helpful. Eventually, her stomach rumbling, she was forced to start packing up.

"So, how are we feeling? Better or worse?" Nick asked, returning from dropping off his last pile of books.

Amara's eyes lost focus, staring into the distance as she pondered his question. "You know how monster movies always have that one scene? Where the heroine finds an old library and learns all about the thing trying to kill her? It's like I'm living that movie but... but I'm the monster." There was a slight hitch in her voice, which she countered with another deep breath.

Without even realizing it, she found herself stuck in Nick's arms as he pulled her in for a hug. "Hey, you are not a monster. So what if you're not quite human? You're a good person, full of love. Nothing can change that." He squeezed tight, letting a few moments pass as their breathing started to synchronize. "Let's move to the next thought. Push forward, leave the stress behind."

Amara exhaled, listening to his advice as he guided her through her scattered thoughts.

"I'm... glad we've got a working theory. I feel like I've established some parameters, and this doesn't feel as scary." Amara took care to speak in a steady tone, giving voice to her feelings to keep them from overwhelming her. "But, Nick... there's so much conflicting information! Some cultures say Succubi mostly operate in dreams, and others say they walk among us, constantly changing shape! One book says they just want to eat cum all day, and another says they actually feed on human souls. Souls!"

Nick sighed, pushing her away slightly before tilting her head towards his. "Well, a lot of these stories are hundreds of years old, and most people assume it's all made up anyways. Can't say I'm surprised." He handed Amara her backpack, slinging his own over his shoulder.

They started towards the main entrance, but Amara only took a few steps before pausing. "Nick, wait up, I've got an idea!" She grabbed his hand and started pulling him in a different direction.

Confusion on his face, Nick let Amara drag him through the library, dodging between shelves as they went. He took care to be quiet, unsure what the plan was.

"So, this library has a basement, mostly used to store older materials. Ancient newspapers, books too tattered to put out, stuff like that." Amara finally stopped when they reached a small door. Its lack of a window betrayed its age, and it creaked ominously when she pushed it open.

"And... you're hoping to find more information down there? I thought we were calling it so we could get dinner?

"Oh shush, let me finish. Anyways! When they remodeled, they added a second staircase downstairs. It's much easier to find, which means this one is basically never used anymore!"

As the door closed behind them, what she was saying became obvious. The lights weren't even on, which Amara took care of quickly. A series of lights hummed to life, bathing the area in a dull orange hue. Many of the handrails were covered in dust, their paint chipping and falling to the floor.

"Amara, as much as I love a good architecture lesson, how do you know about this? I thought libraries were for nerds." Nick pushed her in jest as he started down the stairs, his steps obvious as they echoed off the yellowed tiles.

Amara started after him, pushing him back as she raced ahead. "I know someone that used to work here! Heard a lot of fun gossip!" She paused at the landing between the staircases, turning to face Nick again.

He paused as he caught up to Amara, her body blocking the second set of stairs. "I'm still waiting for the point of all this, Amara." When he looked down at her, he noticed her eyes had started glowing.

"The point, Nick," She laid her hands on him, suddenly pushing him up against the wall, "is that I want to say thanks!" She moved closer, her hands wrapping around his chest as she pulled him into a kiss. Her hands began to wander, first exploring underneath his shirt, then moving down as they started undoing his pants.

"I mean, what kind of succubus has never swallowed cum before?" She smirked deviously, kissing his neck before sliding down onto her heels. Her hands hooked into his pants, pulling them down just enough to free his cock.

"I-I mean... here? What if someone finds us?" Nick muttered, his cock growing harder by the second as she wrapped her hands around his shaft.

"I think it's kind of exciting!" She leaned in, licking him from base to tip before locking eyes again, "Now are you going to complain all day? Or let a beautiful girl suck you off?"

"F-fuck Amara, you know that's not what I'm saying..." Nick shivered as her tongue explored him, precum starting to form on the head.

Kissing the tip, his precum now decorated her lips as she pushed forward. His cock slid inside her mouth, and she moaned in pleasure as she felt how much he was enjoying this. She began to bob back and forth slowly, her tongue working the head every time she pulled back.

Amara could feel her own arousal building, but she was too focused on the task at hand to bother undressing. Shifting slightly, she moved to her knees instead of squatting, and found it to be much more comfortable; Here, she could really explore this experience. Her hands moved back to his cock, grabbing the base and accentuating each pass her mouth made with a gentle squeeze.

She was enjoying taking her time, no longer in a rush to lose her virginity or scratch an impossible itch. The feel of her mouth wrapped around him was incredible, and she loved every small grunt he made as she pleasured him. Taking a deep breath, Amara pushed forward a little more, feeling his cock push against her throat. A soft gag escaped her, and she pulled back grinning.

"It always looks so easy in porn..." Amara whispered, her hand slowly stroking his cock.

She licked it from base to tip again before opening wide, slapping him on her tongue. She smirked as she watched his face contort with pleasure, then took him back in her mouth again. She continued sucking, long strokes as far as she could comfortably go, each time gagging ever so slightly; She was determined to fit more of him in. The sounds of her gagging filled the staircase, echoing around them as she kept testing her limits. Nick's cock grew increasingly wet as she sucked, and she felt it was time to be bold.

With a deep breath, she pushed down hard. She relaxed her throat, willing it to open and let his cock inside. Another gag, much louder than the rest, reverberated around her as she felt the tip push deeper into her. She managed to hold herself down for a few seconds before finally pulling back, a look of satisfaction on her face.

"Fuck! I think I'm getting good at this!" She giggled as she went back to stroking his cock, precum dangling off her lips. She locked eyes with Nick as he glanced down.

"Amara, I don't know how much longer I can last!" His breathing was erratic, and he was attempting to steady himself on a nearby railing.

Eager to finally taste cum, Amara redoubled her efforts. She went back to sucking with long, slow strokes, building up a rhythm. She moved her hands to his hips, holding him tight as she let her mouth take full control of his cock.

Down, relax the throat.

Up, breathe.

Down, feel the entrance give.

Up, tongue his cockhead.

Down, a little deeper.

Up, feel his body quiver.

Amara moaned as she kept going, thrilled she was getting better at opening her throat for Nick's cock. Her hands slid behind him, working harder to pull him in as she sucked.

She wanted to feel more of him, and a devious thought crossed her mind. Without moving her hands, or stopping her mouth, she uncurled her tail from around her waist, letting it slide out of her sweater. As she freed it, Amara looked up and was surprised to see Nick looking down at her. She was used to him closing his eyes when they fucked, lost in the moment. Now, however, he watched keenly as Amara presented her tail, whipping it back and forth behind her. It moved closer to Nick, coming to rest near his ankle before starting to curl around it.

The tail crept higher, covering more of his leg until Amara ran out of length. She felt her eyes flare with passion, and suddenly she knew that Nick only had moments left.

She pulled back, taking one last deep breath, then pushed towards Nick. Her hands and tail held him perfectly still as she felt her throat open again, completely swallowing the rest of his cock.

"Fuck!" Nick yelled, one of his hands moving to Amara's head. His body tensed, quick pulses of pleasure shooting through his body as he finally orgasmed.

Amara moaned as she felt his cock pulse, and she pulled back so just the tip was in her mouth. Load after load pumped into her, filling her mouth with his cum. She was shocked at how delicious it was, and she eagerly swallowed every drop he gave her. Her whole body tingled, and she felt a wave of heat pulse out of her body. A strange flicker of light danced around her head, but she had trouble focusing on it, instead eagerly tonguing Nick's cock for the last few drops of his cum.

Nick relaxed his grip on her head, and she realized just how tightly he had been holding her. She took his cue and pulled her hands off his hips, her mouth letting his cock free as she moved her head back. Her tail loosened its grip as well, though she gave it one last flex out of curiosity.

"Fuck, that was fun!" Amara took a deep breath, standing up and stretching her arms. She watched as Nick pulled his pants back up, slowly regaining his composure as he dressed himself. Moving in, she gave him a quick hug from the side and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for the snack, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!"

"Believe me, that was fantastic." Nick finally returned her hug, now that he was fully dressed. "Now, do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Amara pulled back, eyeing him with suspicion. "Um... let's say the good news."

"Well, I think we've proved our succubus theory correct!" Nick chuckled to himself as he fished his phone out of his pocket. "The bad news, however... well, see for yourself."

Holding up his phone, Amara realized he had turned the camera inward, giving her a mirror. Her hair was a bit of a mess, and there were definitely traces of spit and cum on her chin. Her eyes were also glowing, more than usual, but one feature stood out more than all the rest.

A few inches above each of her eyebrows, two small horns had appeared. Each one was roughly two inches long, protruding out from her head before angling back, following the curve of her skull. They were black, but had red undertones that became more apparent as light reflected off them. She ran her fingers over them, thankful the only sensation was in her fingers. Although smooth, there was a fair amount of variation on the surface, almost like tree bark.

"God dammit, these are going to be way harder to hide!" Amara grumbled as she tossed her backpack to the floor. After a few seconds of rummaging, she pulled out a red, cable knit beanie. "Thankfully it's already pretty chilly, if it were summer it would be easier to just drop out!"

Pulling out her own phone, she took a few minutes to tidy herself up. It was awkward styling around her new features, but thankfully the beanie covered them up quite well.

"Good enough?" She asked Nick, both of them starting up the stairs.

"It's like they're not even there!" Nick chuckled as he held the door open. Amara turned off the lights in the staircase, and the two of them backtracked their steps until they were leaving the library.

The brisk autumn air filled her senses as they started towards the cafeteria. Amara thought back to previous years when the weather had turned cold; She had always been the first to pile on the extra layers, but now her sweater felt stuffy and restrictive. Her tail twitched as she repositioned it, and her walking slowed as a thought crossed her mind.

"Huh." She wondered aloud.

"What's up? Nick slowed his pace to match hers.

"Back in the staircase, I uh..." She looked around, checking if anyone was close, "I took His name in vain. Should I not do that?"

"That's... Hm. You raise a good point." Nick went quiet for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed as he cycled through his thoughts. "Does your existence prove His existence?"

"I keep worrying about other students finding out, but maybe... we should be worried about bigger things?" She shivered slightly, though not from the chill breeze.

"Hey, whatever happens, we'll face it together." He paused for a moment, "I should take a religious studies class, make you my final project. It'll be the easiest A I've ever gotten!" Nick laughed.

"If you out me just to boost your GPA, I'll kill you myself so we can find out if the afterlife exists!" She grabbed his arm, digging her nails in before shaking him slightly. The two of them burst out laughing, drawing a few looks from students that had wandered closer. Putting their existential dread to rest, they walked into the cafeteria to finally get dinner.