Suddenly A Succubus
Chapter 32.4

Eventually, time caught up with them, and Vee began to feel some exhaustion creeping into her body. It was strange, she felt like their days were growing shorter and shorter, and she wondered if that was a side effect of being in Purgatory. They had no sunlight to reinforce their sleep schedules, so for all Vee knew, they might be spending less and less time awake. Still, she needed sleep, as much as she dreaded trying to get some.

Amara pulled together some food for the two of them, but just like this morning, Vee noticed that she didn’t seem too interested in eating. She had a suspicion Amara was putting on a brave face, but she didn’t want to say anything at the moment.

Vee changed back into her pajamas, opting against wearing her thicker pair. She was slowly realizing that all the blankets in the world weren’t going to keep the cold out, so she figured it was pointless to pile on clothes that were far too heavy to wear comfortably in bed.

Of course, there might be another way to stay warm…

Her mind lingered on that strange thought as she got dressed. Instead of longer fleece pants and a thick sweater, she was now wearing shorts and a crop top. She only realized afterwards that she now matched Amara, at least a little bit. The demon wasn’t wearing a crop top, instead a tight sports bra that seemed to be stretched to its limits around her bust, but it was close enough.

Amara had briefly visited the kitchen to put their dishes away when she returned. She looked at Vee, her eyes briefly running over her new outfit, before she spoke up. “That doesn’t look nearly as warm as your other pajamas, Vee.”

“Ordinarily I’d agree with you, but last night was honestly pretty cold. I think my clothes and blankets are starting to lose their efficacy, so I might as well be comfy, right?”

“I’m not sure I agree with you, but I guess I’ll take your word for it,” Amara said. She was frowning as she spoke, but seemed determined to trust Vee.

“I actually had another idea, but… um, it might sound a little weird,” Vee said quietly. Amara cocked an eyebrow, likely curious at what was coming, but gestured for Vee to continue. “It’s just, well, you know how the cold doesn’t really affect you? This morning, I noticed that you were still really warm, and… well, I…”

Amara’s eyes went wide, and Vee caught her blushing. “Oh. Oh! You mean… right, yeah, I see why that might be weird.”

“If that’s okay with you! I know things are kinda awkward right now, but I just had a lot of trouble sleeping last night, and we might as well do everything we can to stay safe, right?”

“Of course, obviously. I mean, if you’re comfortable with that, it's okay with me.” Amara was stammering just as much as Vee was, both girls trying to avoid eye contact with each other. A few moments passed before they both tried to speak up at the same time.

“So, how do you—”

“Do you want to—

They both paused again, then started laughing nervously. The laughter did nothing to diffuse the tension, but eventually Amara gestured again for Vee to say something.

“I was actually thinking, if we’re going to do this… I’m a little curious what your tail feels like? Is that weird?” Vee said awkwardly.

“N-no, we might as well get comfortable with each other before we try to get some sleep, so that makes sense.” Amara pointed at the bed next to Vee. “Um, may I?”

Vee nodded, and soon Amara was turning to sit down next to her. Vee couldn’t bring herself to look at Amara quite yet, but soon a long, red tail had crept in front of her. She swallowed nervously, then reached out and gently placed her hand on the tip of Amara’s tail.

C’mon Vee, get over yourself. You’re both grown adults, aren’t you? This is only weird if you make it weird!

She noticed immediately how soft Amara’s tail was. She hadn’t expected it to be coarse, but in her hands the tail felt no different than a hand or an arm. Her touch caused the tail to twitch slightly, spurring Vee to say something. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s totally fine. Just… I mean, you know. Trying to get used to this, and you’re being so careful it’s almost a little ticklish.” Amara was fidgeting slightly as she spoke.

“You can feel everything?” Vee asked.

Amara nodded. “It’s just as real as any other part of me. I’m a little sensitive around the base of my tail, actually. Like, full-on ticklish. But, other than that, it’s completely prehensile, and surprisingly strong. It can support my entire weight if I need it to.”

Vee was strangely absorbed by the experience, and was glad that Amara was trying to fill the silence. She ran her fingers over the tail, eventually wrapping her hand around it and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You can also change it, right? I think I remember you giving it a bladed edge the night of the ritual.”

“Yeah, I can do a lot of things with my exoskeleton. I shouldn’t right now, it takes energy. I really shouldn’t have punched that pillar earlier, honestly.”

“Hey, you needed to vent, I get it!” Vee said, slowly letting go of Amara’s tail. She had just wanted to ease the awkward tension a bit, even though she was more curious than she cared to admit.

Amara pulled her tail back, wrapping it around her waist. “So, how should we do this? I feel like, normally, we would sleep back-to-back, but that’s where all my extra limbs are, which makes it a bit awkward. Also, the only person that’s shared a bed with my true form is Tessa, but that was after… I mean, you and I are just friends. I don’t know how I might move around in my sleep.”

“How about you just face inward, and I’ll face outward. Easy enough, right?” Vee asked. Thankfully, Amara quickly agreed, and the two girls crawled into bed. They pulled the covers up, and as they tried to get comfortable, Vee’s feet brushed against Amara’s.

“Sorry!” Amara said, quickly pulling away.

“N-no, that was me, you’re good.” Vee said.

Silence fell again, and after a few more moments of shuffling, it seemed like they’d both found a comfortable position. They weren’t touching each other, but Vee could already feel waves of heat pouring off of Amara. It felt amazing, and she wished she could just stay in this bed forever. Of course, that thought made her even more flustered.

It’s going to be fine, Vee. You’re just… sharing a bed with a demon. But you have to, right? You're just trying to survive.

The seconds ticked on, eventually turning into minutes. Vee was more comfortable than she’d been in days, and she quickly felt the specter of sleep beginning to circle her. Her thoughts calmed down, the novelty of the situation began to wear out, and she found it easier to relax. Memories of their conversation yesterday returned, and Vee couldn’t help but think about how happy she was to be friends with Amara again. Although she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, something felt right about all this.

Before she fell asleep entirely, Vee whispered something to herself. Initially, she had no idea if Amara was awake or not, nor any inkling of which she preferred. She got her answer when Amara spoke up, her voice slightly muffled by the comforter.

“Vee? Did you say something?” Amara asked.

With confirmation that Amara was awake, Vee took a deep breath, and repeated herself. “Vequaniel.”

There was a pause, then Amara responded. “I-I don’t understand.”

“It’s my name,” Vee said quietly. “Vee is short for Vequaniel.”

Vee swore she heard Amara gasp. “Oh, I… thank you for telling me. You really didn’t have to, I was just being an ass before.”

“I wanted to. Like you said earlier, we’ve got a lot in common, don't we? If we’re going to be friends again, we should do it right. No more secrets; I know your real name, you should know mine. Though… maybe keep it to yourself. I’ve never actually told anyone before.”

There was a quick, tiny exhale behind Vee; a sign of Amara quietly laughing to herself. “You have my word.”

Vee hesitated. She wanted desperately to say one more thing, and wrestled with herself over whether or not to speak up. Eventually, she decided to throw caution to the wind. “Amara?”

“Yeah?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Vee didn’t clarify what she meant, and thankfully, Amara didn’t ask her to. Instead, after another moment, Amara whispered back. “I’m sorry too, Vee.”

Vee shifted her foot under the covers, moving it backward slightly. She heard more rustling, and then Amara’s tail found her ankle, gently squeezing it. After a moment, they broke off their gesture of solidarity and returned to their own sides of the bed.

“Good night, Vequaniel.”

“Good night, Amara.”

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