Chapter 114

Silva looked thoughtful. "If I asked to be transformed... would you allow it?"

I nodded my head. "If you wish to become a succubus I offer it to you as well."

She looked away for a few moments before smiling and shaking her head. "Not now. Maybe someday."

I returned the smile. "Sure. The offer will remain open. It's not my wish to force this change on anyone, nor would I be able to, based on the way the oath and ability is worded."

Silva looked lost in thought, so I gave her a moment. When it didn't seem like she would continue asking any questions I looked around at the rest of my party. "So, like I said, I was thinking about offering it to the people living and working here. What do you guys think?"

Morrigan cupped her chin. "It's honestly not a bad idea. We talked about other potential candidates but this group seems perfect. You said you were going to ask the Madame for suggestions? Do you think you can trust her?"

I nodded. "I do. Our first experience with her was a bit tense but I think it was because she was worried about our intentions. After Bella proved we were actually here to help she warmed up to us a lot. She looked genuinely relieved that one of 'her girls' was healed. I spoke with Raya for a while last night, she sees a lot of the people here like family and the Madame as a surrogate mother. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the other girls here felt the same way. Based on how she has acted, I think Oceane feels the same way about them."

Bella shifted in her seat before speaking up. "What about healing? There were still others to heal."

"We'll do that first of course. This isn't meant to be an exchange like that. I'll only accept the people who want to be succubi, I won't allow there to be any kind of misunderstanding about our intentions. We heal them first, free of charge as we have been. After that, we'll speak to Raya and Madame Oceane about whether they and potentially others wish to become succubi."

"I think it's a good idea." Torien chipped in. Finally distracted from all the blushing she's been doing. "You are an Origin, spreading your species will start to solidify what it means to be a succubus and how they behave. Naturally, the sex part is non-negotiable from what you've told us, so focusing on people you believe to be kind-hearted and would take well to the lifestyle here would create a foundation that would remove a lot of the vulnerability in being an Origin."

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

"Origin species are vulnerable because finding one early enough means you can impose your will on the entire species. But if you spread your species more, they will be imprinted with what it means to be a succubus at the time of their transformation. Once there are enough succubi, your ability to change what it means to be a succubus will instead become more subtle and less susceptible to becoming like the moraley. Any value in capturing you for that purpose will be gone."

I nodded. "That's good. I am still harboring some doubts but spreading my race will actually protect me then."

"There is one thing to keep in mind here though," Silva said. "You are aware that you would be spreading your race to a bunch of prostitutes right? In the same way the moraley was turned into a race of slaves that literally can't be anything but submissive pets, you would be creating a race of people who all spread their legs for money."

I shrug. "I don't particularly have a problem with that, or with prostitutes in general honestly. I am more concerned that the people I choose are good people. Enjoying sex, even if it's for money, is a more important trait than anything else for a race of people who have to have sex to live."

"And that part is something that definitely can't be changed?" Silva asked.

I nodded. "Succubi were mythological creatures from the world I came from as a [World Traveler]. There is exactly one common thread for all succubi, they survive by having sex. I would have to completely lose my memory of them for that to change. Whether I like it or not."

I paused for a moment before grinning. "Is there a problem with a race of people who would be proud to be a prostitute?"

Silva's hands went up. "No, Of course not. I was just trying to make sure you considered the potential consequences."

Morrigan's brow scrunched in thought. "Actually, she has a point. You may want to make a conscious effort not to pick only prostitutes after this. Otherwise, you might lock in future succubi into only being capable of prostitution. Or at least heavily incentivized to be one. It can be a tricky balance."

"That sounds reasonable, after this I'll need to consider other kinds of people." I looked around again. "So, are there any other concerns?" Everyone shook their head. "It's settled then. After we heal everyone we'll talk to Raya and Oceane. Oh! Raya also wanted us to go help her scavenge food today. I didn't want her to go out into town alone after we just saved her yesterday. We can either go as a group or split into two groups depending on how Bella feels after healing people."

Bella smiled. "I wouldn't mind going out to look with Raya. She seems... nice." Bella looked away with a blush, clearly recalling all the flirting the vixen was putting my poor deer girl through.

I scratched the base of my horn and looked around. "It's odd not having any idea what time it is. I didn't realize how disorienting it could be to not have windows without any kind of clock."

Morrigan nodded. "I haven't heard any city bells since we've come to town yet either. It's probably something that got destroyed, even medium-sized towns have at least one clocktower."

I stood up. "I'll go downstairs and see if anyone is up."

Torien eyed Silva before standing up too. "I'll go with you. We should... talk."

I grinned. "Of course."

I opened the door for the two of us and led her out of the room. Before Torien could head down the stairs I stopped her. "Why don't we talk on the rooftop for a few minutes? I think any kind of talk we should be having shouldn't be in a rush while going down the stairs."

Torien blushed and nodded. "Sure."

She followed me up to the rooftop entrance and we let ourselves out onto the roof. The morning sun was bright, my eyes hadn't adjusted yet after coming out of the cave like brothel. I glanced over and saw that I wasn't the only one squinting at the drastic change in lighting. I scanned the horizon for a bell tower but I didn't see one.

I leaned against the wall in the same spot I had talked to Raya in last night. "So, you wanted to talk?"

Torien fidgeted for a moment before leaning against the wall next to me. "I... What..." She cleared her throat and composed herself again, becoming more like the cool and collected person I knew her as. "Would... you be against it if I started a relationship with Silva?"

I laughed. "It looks like that ship already sailed."

Torien blushed and looked away.

I smiled. "No. Honestly, I am surprised. But no, I would not be against it."

Torien's ears went back. "What if it goes badly? Doesn't work out? What if we fight and are stuck with each other?"

I scooted closer and put my hand on her shoulder. "If something like that happens we'll deal with it then. If she's someone you think you could come to like then I think you should go for it. I think that's doubly true for you since you told me you didn't fall for others easily. Is this the first time you've felt this way?"

Torien sighed and her tail flicked back and forth showing her agitation. "I dunno, maybe? I don't think I've ever felt this way but... is what I'm feeling now love? It's all so confusing..."

I shrugged. "It might be love, it might just be infatuation. Either way, it led you here so I think you should give it a try. It beats sleeping with me just for the experience."

Torien flushed with embarrassment and shrunk down against the wall. "I never did talk to my sister about that... maybe that's for the best now. Sure we share a lot of things but it still probably would have been a little weird." She turned to look at me. "I... don't feel the same way about you as I do Silva... I like you a lot, maybe even love you, but only as family. Like I love my sister." She sighed and looked away again. "This is so weird, I've never felt this way before, I totally don't understand myself right now..."

I scanned the city, despite the general wreckage there were a lot of people out and about doing various things. I wasn't sure how many of them were doing honest things and how many of them were stealing and scavenging while the guards continued to be busy at the gates. Either way, there sure were a lot of them out, despite the early hour. It did look like some of the rebuilding was already happening despite how potentially dangerous other parts of the city still were, so that's good.

I turned to Torien. "You don't have to understand everything, love is weird and difficult. Just do your best. Not everything needs to make sense, it's times like these that you go with your gut." I said with a smile.

Torien's ears flattened on the back of her head. "I'm as worried as I am excited, I feel... exhilarated when I'm with her but I can't help but think of all the ways things could go wrong when I'm not. I didn't even know I could feel this way."

I rubbed her back. "It can be just as confusing for people who do fall for people easier than you do. Like I said, it doesn't always make sense."

She sighed, sat up straight, and looked me in the eye. "So... to be clear, I have your permission to continue a relationship with Silva?"

"Of course, who you choose to be in a relationship with is not something I will ever restrict. I know you're still my slave and it can be hard to know how far the freedoms I've extended to you go but that's not something I'll ever oppose as your mistress. Perhaps I'll have opinions about them, as a friend, as family, but never as your mistress. As far as I'm concerned the final decision is yours and anything I say about it is just me voicing my own opinion. ...Though for practicality sake you'll have to at least tell me, it's hard to plan around things I don't know about."

Torien turned away from me and looked back at the door. "Th-thank you Lilith. We should get moving."

I followed her from behind, allowing her to lead the way and rein in her emotions. I didn't need to be a genius to see the storm of conflicting thoughts going through her head right now, but that was okay. I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't known Torien for long, not really. But I felt like she is truly one of my closest confidants and I'd like to believe I'm that for her as well.

'-maybe even love you, but only as family. Like I love my sister.'

My heart swelled and I even teared up as I thought about the small slip-up she had. In her haste to explain herself she didn't even realize she had told me how much she really cared for me. She loves me like family.

I had to take a breath to calm my breathing, to stop myself from getting choked up. Her words hit me in a sore spot I didn't even know I had. Family. It was something I didn't realize I needed, something that I had been unknowingly chasing. Family.

I thought about Raya, the Madame, and the other girls in the brothel. I thought about the way [Soultouch] was worded and suddenly my thoughts clicked into place. I wasn't just a 'progenitor' as gross and clinical as that sounded. I was the mother of the Succubi. I wasn't spreading my race, I was building a family. It also cleared up the fuzzy guidelines I had for who I would offer the transformation to. I would be asking them to join my new family, not just building some impersonal club. It suddenly meant even more to me that I picked people who would be good to each other, not just people who would benefit from being a succubus.

I nodded to myself and resolved my heart. It's time to grow my family.