Vol II, Ch 73 – Well, f*ck.

I couldn’t help but find it somewhat ironic that we never got into the large pool, despite it being central to the bath. It made some amount of sense, I supposed. I wasn’t exactly clean when I arrived, and rather than getting all that dirt and soap in the water, washing off beforehand was sensible. The pool itself was likely for soaking and relaxing in afterward, something that we mysteriously didn’t end up having time for, somehow.

I was happy to skip it, though, feeling positively famished after both the bath and massage. The ache in my fangs wasn’t going away, and a low, hungry lust still lingered in the back of my mind. Not for the first time, I felt like some kind of horny vampire.

Did they have vampires in this realm too? The simple question had me wondering if vyxa were somehow related to them as well. Vampires tended to be just as elusive and mysterious as demons.

I wondered what it would be like to fuck one…

My head shook, dispelling the queer thought. There were other, much more important things to ponder about than screwing vampires. Like the… outfit that I was slipping into.

Moments earlier, I’d fantasized about wearing something completely indecent, but after the discussion that followed, I was having reservations. When they showed my apparent outfit to me, I’d at first thought that it was meant to be worn over something else.

It wasn’t.

Then I thought to be offended at Hetkala and the rest of the temple for forcing us to wear such patently obscene attire. I quickly found out from the others that this was the sort of thing that vyxa preferred to wear—when they wore much of anything at all.

I was thoroughly scandalized.

Though that at least partially explained why I rarely saw any vyxa out on the streets. This sort of clothing wasn’t exactly suitable for public viewing.

Would the high priestess allow me to switch to another outfit were I to request it? It would be worth asking, and her response would certainly be telling.

I shuddered as the robe slid down against my red skin. The black fabric was exceptionally soft, but that only helped so much with how delicate to the touch the slick oil had made my body. The robe, if it could be called that, was full of embroidered patterns and held the Sanctum’s flowery symbol stitched in gold in the front. It had only two holes, one for my head and one for my tail. Its circular shape draped over my arms and body in folding waves. Or at least, my upper body. Much like the rest of the clothing I’d seen vyxa here wear, the fabric barely came down to my hips. Though, at least mine didn’t seem to show off the slit between my legs like Favelle’s did.

I stared down, tugging at the robe to make sure that was the case. It did still mean that I couldn’t lift my arms without showing some amount of skin to anyone watching. Perhaps that was the point, though. The robe allowed for teasing glimpses—and more, if I wanted. It also gave very easy access to… all of me.

Of course, the others called it a vestment, just as they’d called Seni’s quite similar outfit a vestment. And perhaps they were religious garments in a technical sense.

I couldn’t help but feel like it was a bit of a misnomer, however.

Saryn and Thera’s outfits were more like Favelle’s, though varying slightly in style. Thera’s seemed particularly elaborate, with something similar to a corset and long stips of ribbon that swayed when she moved. All three of them were dressed primarily in white, with other colors as accents. They also each wore thin white chokers.

I was tempted to ask them about the latter, though given that Seni and I weren’t wearing one, I assumed it was perhaps just a stylistic choice on their part. Vyxa had to have styles of dress much like humans did.

As we made our way to the supposed lounge, I was reminded how much Seni liked to ramble. Except this time, I could understand her.

“I was kind of nervous when the high priestess first asked me to help you out. I mean, it’s difficult to know what newer vyxa are gonna be like, you know? Especially the ones from, umm, less fortunate circumstances. Not that I’m saying that’s you,” she hurried to amend with a frantic gesture. “I’m just glad that you ended up being really nice!”

She gave me a glowing smile.

“Right,” I hedged, giving her a simple nod.

Not sure that “really nice” were the words that I would use, though she hadn’t exactly had any proper interactions with me yet.

“How is it that you know another language and not Rhuyi?” she continued on. “I thought everyone knew the Rhuyi tongue! Well, I guess I’ve heard about people speaking different languages in places that are really far away. Like, umm, Selisthal? Are you from Selisthal? Wait, I’m sorry, is this too personal? I probably shouldn’t be asking you stuff like this.”

“It’s fine.” I shrugged, knowing that she couldn’t really understand me otherwise. There was little point in voicing my thoughts, but it felt silly to respond only in nods and shrugs.

“Well, I bet you’re from somewhere really sharp.”

The olia flower spewed several meanings to the word in my head all at once, indicating that “sharp” meant more than its literal definition. It was apparently common slang here for “awesome” or “stunning.” More interesting was how the flower seemed to let me hear this all at once, indicating that there was more going on with it than just forming sounds through my ear.

Not at all noticing my mind drifting, Seni continued speaking, and I struggled a little with keeping up.

“…heard that things are really different in places like that. But, you know, I think you’re going to like it here. The high priestess mentioned that you probably don’t know much about the Sanctum, but there’s a reason so many vyxa want to come here. I guess you might not know about that either, would you? There’s only really two ways to get into the Sanctum. Either you have the connections and money to be admitted, like Thera, I suppose, or you’re invited. Most orphans, like myself, come here once we come of age, and anyone who’s, well, been rescued from less than ideal situations tends to end up here too. You can kinda tell from what vestment they wear at first, as the, umm, black ones tend to be for special cases.”

My eyes trailed down to the deep black fabric of the robe draped around me.

“Like, umm, like yours, yeah.” Seni’s words were full of apprehension. “Not that it necessarily means anything in particular. I mean, there’s lots of potential reasons for it. I bet they’d give it even for just the language issues, and not just because they found you out on the—”

“Seni, ease up on the poor girl,” Saryn teased as she strode up beside me. “You talk so fast I’m not sure the olia flower can babble quick enough to keep up with you.”

Seni pouted at her.

Then, from behind us, Thera cleared her voice. “I don’t believe that’s how it works. As far as I can recall, it’s a rather complicated magical process that sends something like the intended meaning of the words through the ear. Though I can’t say I know much more than that.”

“I’m sure it can still be overwhelmed,” Saryn said with a shrug. “Plus, Favelle said something about it giving headaches, didn’t she?”

We all turned to look at her. Having been addressed, the quieter girl finally spoke up once more.

“That’s what the priest told me.”

At that, Seni’s eyes widened, and she turned to me. “Oh no, are you feeling alright? Do you have a headache?”

I shook my head to appease her, though now that they’d mentioned it, I did have the beginnings of one stirring.

“That’s good. If it starts bothering you, you can just take it out for a while, alright?”

“Alright,” I replied with another nod.

“Anyways, I guess what I was trying to say was that I’m happy you seem so sweet and easygoing, and I’m hoping that we can maybe be good friends. I don’t know if I really mentioned, but I’m pretty new to this role. Like, the previous vyxa ended up accidentally bonding to someone, apparently, so they ended up sending me over from the Inner Sanctum to take her place since that’s not something I’m really interested in doing.”

There was that ominous word again: bonding.

As I tried to figure out how to ask about it, Seni continued without pause. “And I guess I’ve only helped one other vyxa with acclimating here so far, but she was way more difficult. So I was really nervous at first, you know? It’s probably obvious, but I wasn’t able to do much over there anyways, so I’m kinda glad they sent me to help out here in the Outer Sanctum. Plus, High Priestess Hetkala is super nice, even if I get nervous about not really knowing what I’m doing and messing up. I mean, I haven’t actually—”

Thera cleared her throat. “Perhaps we should shelve the rest of this conversation for a later time? I do believe we’re here.”

We’d made our way through the winding garden paths to a different side of the massive temple building. Just before the looming structure sat a circular brick plaza. Comfortable-looking couches and other seating were scattered around it with tall pergolas hanging over them to hide from the weather. In the center area were four multi-layered fountains, a single trickling stream of water running down each before splitting toward a central pool. I could see several birds playing in the fountain nearest to us.

A small number of vyxa sat or stood across the wide plaza, even a couple of male “incubi,” which I had to remind myself were included in that count. All of their outfits varied, though white and green were the primary colors they consisted of. It was a confirmation that they had some, but not full control over what they could wear. Which was still a big step up from the standardized uniforms at the academy.

What I hadn’t fully anticipated, but perhaps should have, were the handful of other demons also here. Two ogres, one of those moth demons, and a harpy demon, at least by my initial count. None of them looked like priests or priestesses of any kind. Instead, they each wore intricate, fanciful clothing somewhat reminiscent of human nobility, with a heavy nature theme added in for most of them. The harpy woman in particular, who was sitting on a couch not far in front of us, had on a green dress with layered fabric made to imitate large leaves. Flowing off from her left shoulder was a red flower bigger than my head.

She also had a vyxa straddling her leg, one of her wings curled around him as he kissed her exposed breast.

My feet slowed, and I looked away, cheeks flushed. Momentarily, I wondered if the plant-like theme and accents that three of the four non-vyxa had on was a style made specifically for the Sanctum or if it was a more general trend.

The attempted distraction didn’t work even a little bit. Suspicions that had been lingering just beneath the surface began to float up, and my nerves gradually rose with them.

None of the other groups were doing anything so blatantly sexual. In fact, they seemed to be mostly just chatting or sipping on drinks in groups of two or three. Still, I didn't like the picture this was already painting for the supposed sanctuary. My annoyance began to simmer.

Reluctantly, I allowed Seni and the others to guide me forward, though many curious gazes came our way, or to me specifically.

We moved through a tall arched doorway, both doors propped open, and into what I assumed was the lounge. Sticking out from the wall in the center was a half-circle bar. A sharp-eyed bat demon in priestess robes watched us from behind it. Her expression was inscrutable, but she was staring our way.

Several non-vyxa sat on stools around the bar. Unlike the demons outside, they seemed to be entertaining each other, rather than being entertained by vyxa.

Off to the far left was an empty stage, followed by an open floor presumably for dancing. Most of the rest of the large room was filled with couches and cozy chairs, similar to the outside. Tall windows with fanciful tracery let lots of light in, but there were still a few hanging and standing lamps that gave off a soft pink-ish light. From the ceiling and along the walls, strings of garland with pink heart-shaped flags hung loosely, looking only a little tacky.

The others split off from our group as Seni managed to pull me toward the bar. It took just a moment for the demons sitting there to notice us. Much like the ones outside, their clothes were plainly expensive and custom tailored.

I got the impression that they weren’t sure what to make of me in my black robe, which was clearly different from what the other vyxa wore.

Then my eyes trailed to one of the many alcoves within the lounge, and I stopped.

Two large couches sat opposite a wide table. In one, a reptilian looking demon leaned back, his arm around a vyxa woman that was drinking blood from his neck. Another vyxa was between his legs, her mouth slowly bobbing up and down his admittedly large cock.

For a second, I just stared. The three of them were far too engrossed in each other to notice or mind.

“Well, fuck.”

My annoyance burst into a flash of rage, and I turned, pulling myself out of Seni’s grasp.

“Aqua?” she called after me as I marched back out of the lounge.

Or was it perhaps more accurate to call it a brothel? That was certainly what it looked to be. My face twisted into an ugly, furious scowl.

“Aqua, wait!”