Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

The Wrong Soulmate [TinyThings x SoftStroke]

July didn't spend anytime looking at Hazel's body. She didn't comment on anything she saw, even as each inch of flesh she saw just made her angrier. She'd seen what Hazel looked like when she wanted to pretty. She'd seen Hazel at her absolute best. Someone had taken her down to her worst like this. As she peeled back her bottoms and revealed her legs underneath, she first took in the bruise. She needed to deal with the fractures there, which would be tricky. She could handle it, but it would be a painful process. She didn't take the time to look at what Hazel's other parts were like, even if she was slightly curios. She wasn't in that situation. She could see the way that she was crying as she had to take the hoodie off, and July felt her heart throb as she saw the way that she almost clung to it as she helped to pull it off.

Taking the top off was a process, but July managed it. When she had it off, she could see just what had been done to it. She moved to lay it on top of the dresser, then went back and took a look at what was there underneath. If Hazel had looked, she would see what could only be called pure rage in her eyes as she saw the state she was in. The strangulation was bad enough, that was a sign that whoever had done this to her had led off with that given the darkness of the bruises. But seeing the fact that she'd clearly been struck or punched several times in the chest was even worse. Someone had been determined to hurt her. And nowhere was that more apparent than when she saw the main spot right there on her stomach. She could clearly tell it was bad. It was even worse than she wanted it to be. She just starred at it for several seconds. Her fist gripped up tightly as she realized how bad it was. The fact that she'd managed to actually run in this was a miracle. The strength that Hazel had to make it this far with injuries this bad was.... it was nothing short of a miracle she'd even made it to her office.

"Okay..." July inhaled, forcing herself to calm down, "I'm going to do your leg first, then we'll get your bruises bandaged and I'll look at this. I don't think anything is that bad right now... It's going to hurt, but right now I'm going to keep an eye on it," July looked to Hazel, "I'm going to be right back."

July took off with that. She flew into action, grabbing a variety of things. A large first aid kit was in her hands first, then she had hold of some some long slats of old wood in the garage for a splint. She brought several water bottles. She finished off her trip by getting an extra pillow to help prop up Hazel's head. Right now, she didn't have any damage to her lungs. That was a saving grace here. When she returned. she'd also throw off her work clothes and slid on a t-shirt. Hazel would catch a glimpse of her in a simple pair of purple lacy panties, but she was quickly on her knees by the bed and working to start the process.

"Here," july passed Hazel a stress ball, "Bite down on this if it gets bad, alright? I'll start the bruises first." July unwrapped a large roll of elastic bandages, getting to work. With one water bottle and a rage, she cleaned each area that there was a bruise, the first painful step. She rubbed special ointment on them, then she tightly wrapped them up in the bandage to compress the vessels. This went on for some time, starting with the most severe ones and working her way down to the smaller ones. The only ones she didn't treat were the ones on her stomach. Once that was done, she moved to her blackened eye and helped to clean the air, brushing her hair back to keep it away. She simply wrapped the eye up in a simple bandage for now, keeping it pressed closed so Hazel didn't have the urge to open it. For her other eye, she placed a cold pack down and let her use it to help stop the swelling.

"...This is the fun part," July grimaced. She went down to her fractured leg and placed the two slats of wood against it. Once the area was cleaned, she wrapped it up tightly to form a splint. She went as tightly as she could for now without cutting off blood flow so she wouldn't shift around in her sleep and disturb the bone. The pain of tightening the wraps would likely drive even a strong man off the bed. But she did it quickly and deftly. She worked each part of her body quickly, an experience in her hands. And soon, she'd taken care of it, even if she did end up leaving it throbbing in pain.

"Right now... I can't do much about this," July gestured to her belly, "...I think right now I need to just make sure the bruising doesn't get worse. You're likely bleeding but... well. I'm not cutting you open," She grimaced as she leaned down and took hold of her ointment. She rubbed it down in it, which was likely another source of pain. She wanted to do something about it, and the only thing she could do was just wrap it in bandages like the rest of the bruises, feeling horrible knowing what she was doing. But this would keep pressure on her blood vessels and prevent further internal leaking. It wasn't much, but she had to do it. By now, Hazel almost looked half mummy with how many bandages she'd worked with. She'd almost cleaned all of Hazel's body by now as well, leaving her mostly clean and glistening in watery sweat.

"Drink?" July then slowly moved to gently tip a water bottle to Hazel's lips. She wouldn't dare make her eat right now, but she had to drink. She made sure that Hazel had enough water, then sat it aside. She looked at her handiwork and felt a sense of dissatisfaction. She hadn't done that much. She needed to do more. But... she didn't know what else she could do right now.

Instead, July reached under the bed to pull out several blankets. She spread each one out over Hazel, gently laying them over her. She left Hazel's right arm, the one that looked less damaged, out so she could grab the water she sat on the bedside table. She finished laying the blankets down and looked down to Hazel. She'd left her head out, and she bit her lip for a moment.

"I don't have anything I can give you right now for pain... if your stomach is damaged then giving you something like aspirin would be a horrible idea..." July shook her head, "Right now... I'm just going to stay here." She left the room and returned with a chair she plopped down by the bedside. After everything she'd done, she finally had a chance to slow down. To look at Hazel and slowly relax. Exhaustion washed over her, knowing how long she'd spent nursing this girl back to relative health.

There were too many thoughts in July's head. Hazel ,her best friend, was a succubus. Someone (her boyfriend, money on it) had just beaten her to near death, it seemed, and she'd escape. Hazel was really pretty, even when she was like this. But she had horns now. And she was tired, in pain, and she couldn't even take her to a hospital right now given that she was a succubus. She looked down at Hazel, yawning a little as her eyes glazed a bit. She was so high strung right now, she could jump like a spring. But she looked to Hazel more, and her mind began to clear. Well, not clear. It opened. Opened to tell her she needed to do something. Hazel was scared. Nervous. Terrified. And right now, a fear was gripping July she had to address.

"Listen, Hazel," July looked down to the woman on her bed, bandaged, wrapped up in blankets, and with her true nature on display. There were so many things she wanted to say. But she could feel the apprehension from her, and could guess what was going on right now, "...I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not confused about this whole, succubus thing. But...." She reached out to place her hand on top of Hazel's hand, "...I can guess what happened. I can really, really guess what's going on. And right now... I want you to stay here, with me," July leaned in closer, letting Hazel see her face, each feature of it through her good eye, "Right now, I need to see if you're going to be okay. I know you're probably really scared right now, and you're upset about a lot. I'm not gonna lie and say that I'm not a little freaked out too. But... listen."

July's fingers wrapped up tighter in Hazel's own, "You're my friend. My best friend right now. I... can't say I blame you for hiding the fact you're a succubus. I know about them and all of that. But... well. I know that you're in need, and you've helped me through a lot. A lot more than you maybe needed to. And I can't just leave you alone. So... please," July's eyes shone for several minutes, "Would you be willing to stay here with me? Stay as long as you need to. I'm really worried about you and... I just don't think I'm okay right now with you leaving, Hazel." She looked away, "I don't care about the succubus part right now, we can talk about that later. Right now... I don't want you to get hurt again. Please, stay with me?" She brushed her thumb over Hazel's hand, "Please?"
 
Hazel's golden eyes looked up to July as she started, explaining what she was going to do. Her head nodded weakly, pressing her lips together as she took a heavy breath through her nose. It caused her to squirm slightly, her fists tightening as she looked up at the ceiling. She was pathetic... Sprawled out, naked, on a friend's bed, abused by something she could've easily run from a long time ago. All of this time, she'd thought she'd been strong. Strong enough to stick with him. Strong enough to live through the pain, physical but mainly mental.
No. She'd been weak... Too weak to see, there were better options. Anything, was surely better. She could've gone back to who she used to be. She could've easily kept her work a secret from July, she'd hardly even asked much about her profession in the first place. She could've lived happily as a prostitute, if it meant she could've kept July as a friend, and not be sore every single day. Couldn't she?

When July returned, Hazel's eye looked up, glazed and exhausted. Even in that state, she couldn't help herself looking over July for a moment, her eyes pausing by her panties, a weak, strained smile showing on her lips, a hand raising just slightly to point towards July as she sat down.
"I like your panties. They're cute..." She mumbled silently, her words a little slurred, suggesting there might be a bit of a concussion. Her silly little smile remained, as her eyes shimmered for a moment, the weakest little giggle escaping her. Thinking about panties, in a moment like this? Silly...

Hazel took the ball, nodding weakly a single time, nuzzling slightly into the pillow her head had been comfortably plopped up on. She kept the ball close to her lips, almost kissing it, as her golden eye followed what July was doing. Her fingers clenched a bit around the ball, seeing July pepare to clean the bruises on her legs, before closing her eyes and just anticipating it. That was almost worse, and she was about to open her eyes, when July started. Hazel clenched her teeth, hissing with a low whimper, her fingers practically malforming the ball. If anyone looked closely, there was a little hint at her slightly increased strength in moments of distress, as the stress ball, build to take a lot of pressure, threatened to start cracking under the pressure of Hazel's iron grip.

Hazel continued to hiss with each cleaning, her fingers taking turns clenching the ball, as well as the sheets bellow her, the process clearly painful, but not overwhelming. Her breathing intensified a bit, seeing July bring up the splits, pressing her lips hard together for a moment, gulping. She brought the ball to her lips, leading it between her teeth, as she closed her eyes.
With the deftly experience July applied it, the pain was short, but it was also gut-wrenching. Instead of biting down on the ball, however, Hazel just let it lose, pinching her eyes shut as she screamed out a short cry, arching her back against the bed. This caused more pain in her torso area, but at least that could distract her from that immense pain in her leg.
After the pain lingered and she was back on the bed, Hazel panted heavily, little sobs breaking the rhythm from time to time, a tear streaking down the side of her face again.
"... Fuck." Hazel muttered a curse under her breath, something July would've never heard her do before. She'd hardly even put a bad words in her mouth before, let alone that one. She didn't even look sorry as she looked back up to July, blinking a single time, as her lips curved an affectionate smile.

Hazel blinked as July continued explaining, her smile grown a bit, a weak, almost delirious little giggle with the mention of cutting her up, her head shaking slowly. She raised a hand, gently reaching for July, grasping a hand if she was given it, or finding a shoulder or anything to rest her hand against, not really looking where she touched.
"I... It's okay, July. M. My body. Will heal itself. Y. You've... You've already. Done so much. I. I am going to be fine." Her head slowly nodded as she muttered, eyes shimmering slightly, before clenching as another sting ran through her body, causing her to flinch with another sobbed whimper.
As July continued, Hazel clearly put up a brave face, even though it hurt a lot. Her breath hitched every time she was touched, and her fists clenched whenever July moved, but she remained still. She didn't want to worry July anymore. She hated this... She hated seeing her this worried! She was way too good to her. Why did she go to July's place of work? What was she thinking? Dragging her into this? She should've known July would take good care of her, and take time out of her day for it. Waste it, on her.

Hazel looked back up, teary eyed when asked if she wanted something to drink, the weak affectionate smile returning to her lips as she gave a single, weak nod. She parted her lips to accept the water, probably enough for July to see her tongue, and how it was thinner and seemingly longer, able to retract itself a bit. It wasn't all too obvious, but it looked a little bit like a snakes tongue. She gulped down the water very carefully, letting a bit spill if necessary, not to take too large gulps, completely ignoring if a bit of water slipped passed her mouth. Swallowing, she moaned silently, closing her eye again as she squirmed a bit.

Hazel's golden eye fell upon July, pressing her lips together for a moment. She had so much she needed to explain. To apologize for. She'd been such a bother. So pathetic. Taking time out of poor July's mid-week spare-time. She was such an awful, inconsiderate friend, bringing her own problems down on July like this, and those thoughts caused her to frown slightly. But. She still couldn't find words. Weakly, she moved her hand for July again, golden eyes drifting between July's eyes, and her hand, hoping to get to hold her. If she did, her fingers would gently try to mingle with July's, almost playfully so, fingertips gently stroking the other's hand. Her tail, meanwhile, had slipped off of the bed, snaking it's way to July's nearest ankle. Carefully, it wrapped itself around it, desperately seeking closure in the woman who was so nice to her. Too nice.

Hazel blinked a single time as July started, looking a little nervous for a moment. She was entirely expecting July to explain to her, that she had to get out. Had to leave, so she could focus on work tomorrow. Or, so she wouldn't get in trouble with the ones who'd hurt her. She desperately hoped not... She didn't want to be a bother for July, anymore than she already had, so she was going to leave, but. But she couldn't, right now.
Hazel frowned lightly as July continued, looking down for a moment, while still listening. She blinked a few times with July's request, eyes slowly shifting up to meet with July's again, filled with confusion. Her lips parted, as if wanting to say something, but she paused, seeing July still had more to say. She couldn't be serious? Why would she actively want to waste her time on Hazel? They were friends, sure, but that didn't mean she just had to 'accept' that she was a Succubus. Hazel didn't expect that from her, at least.

Hazel's golden eye couldn't let go of July's, as they looked down to her with such warm affection, she'd never seen before. She blinked, some confusion and awe still present in her face, lips still slightly parted as if she wanted to speak, but nothing came out before July continued. She gulped for a moment as July repeated that please, such a desperate request, all to help Hazel? Her lips parted again, clearly taking a moment or two to put everything together, closing her eyes for a moment to try and focus on one thing at a time. Her request... Could she stay? Would she not endanger July? What if he found them? How would he, he didn't know July? There was also the issue of being bothersome... What if July didn't like having her around, all the time? She could always just stay in one room, maybe July didn't use this one a lot, she could borrow that?

Her eyes opened in a slight blink, looking up to see July's hopeful face, and her lips slowly edged up the outline of a smile, as she nodded her head a single time.
"O... Okay. J. Just till. I get better. Right? I... I don't. I don't want to be a bother. And. And you. You can't have a creature like me, r. Roaming around your house. A... A Succubus roommate? Heh. Could... Could be the title of. Of one of those silly Smutt, slash, romance novels for. For Housewives..." She spread a playful little smile, a giggle bubbling out from her, causing her to cough slightly, which immediately had her wheezing in a pained breath to stop herself from coughing any further. It quite literally felt like she was about to cough out a lounge. A weak few giggles followed with what she'd suggested, but her smile had slowly turned melancholic, eyes shimmering near closed, as her fingers gently stroked at July's hand, her tail firming it's grip a bit.
"I. I am not going to. To apologize. For hiding what I am." She stated, rather bluntly, looking back up to July's eyes, with a weak little frown, a shoulder raising lightly. "That's. The clutch I live with. N. No one. Wants to be friends with the... The nasty slut, who spreads her legs t... To win her promotion... We are... We are just the worst of those around, s. Spreading our... Our legs for far less." She continued, now unable to look July in the eyes, the one golden eye looking back down at nothing particular, eyes glossing over even more, as a tear streaked from it, down onto her bandage. "I couldn't have told you that. I couldn't have been your friend like that, and. And I really liked you. I've. Never liked anyone, like I did you, before. You take time, and. And put effort into. Into keeping me happy. Making m. Me smile. I couldn't lose you... And. Especially not. Just to make myself happy. M. My origin. Is my clutch to bare. It. It shouldn't have been yours... I. I shouldn't." She moaned, closing her eyes as her breathing slowly started calming, exhaustion really starting to build, eyes suggesting she was quite close to falling asleep at this point. "I shouldn't. Have made myself y. Your problem. I... I'm. Sorry." She slowly mumbled, as her mind started drifting towards unconsciousness, unless July opted to stop her.
 
Hazel's remark on her underwear was one that definitely sounded like Hazel, the little pervert that liked cute women and always would find some way to make the ones in the movies sound way more lewd than they were. Or maybe Hazel just liked girls. Well, July did too, so there wasn't something there that was going to make her upset on that. But she hadn't even realized she wasn't wearing any pants. She had just gotten into the room and right to work. She'd have been naked if there wasn't enough time. She had to work on Hazel, not go and act like modesty was an issue here. Hazel was laid out naked on her bed and she wasn't even interested in it, just the parts that needed her helping hand.

Seeing Hazel so vulnerable like this... stung. It stung in a way that left her almost wanting to go and let lose on something. This beautiful, loving little woman was left in her room like this. Beaten. Bruised. Almost dead. Each time Hazel reached for her hand, she would take it and hold onto it. She even felt how the tail snaked around her ankle and let it happen, just enjoying the sensation of someone wanting her like that. She was just... enjoying Hazel's touch. Because she knew as long as Hazel was holding her, she was okay. She was alive and kicking. Hazel looked so upset and vulnerable, she needed someone right now. And July needed to be that someone. She wanted to help more, but hearing that her body could heal itself sent a small pulse through her. She'd heard something like that, that succubi had regenerative properties. If that was true, she could stop worrying about the mark on her belly. But she didn't know how much of that was Hazel telling the truth and how much was her sparring her the truth.

"Well... that does make this a little easier," July grimaced hearing that, "I guess we have something good on our hands right now." July could feel something inside of her friend. Something negative and festering deep within her. And so she let Hazel listen for her. For her request. For her rather selfish request for Hazel to stay with her and keep her from actually leaving again.

"...What do you mean I can't have a creature like you in my house?" July asked with a frown on her face, "You're my friend. You're Hazel. I'm not going to let you go back out into the world knowing that someone basically hurt you like this! I mean, sure, it does sound a bit like a dirty premise but that's not the point here. You were beaten Hazel, and clearly, you don't want to go anywhere right now. Stay here." Both the tail and hand gripping onto her made her more worried. Something was wrong with Hazel. Something that had a deep seated self-loathing festering to the surface that she'd only glimpsed before. And the more she listened, the more she just wanted to hug Hazel, but didn't. The pain would likely knock her out.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," July leaned in as Hazel finished, having expended her energy just to say it, "You're right. Nobody wants to be friends with a nasty slut. Same here. But you're not a nasty slut. You're Hazel, you're my best friend. Succubus or not, you were hurt and I know it's you. Only you would comment on my underwear like that," July let out a small chuckle, "Hazel. You're staying here with me for now. I need to know you're safe and that you're not going to go get hurt again. Don't apologize for hiding this. I know why you did. But... right now, I don't care. I don't care that my best friend is a succubus. I just, don't. I care that my best friend got hurt and she came to me, of everyone in the world, for help. So I'm going to give you that help, whatever that entails. Whatever you need," She leaned down and planted a small, platonic kiss on Hazel's forehead, "Sleep, Hazel. We'll talk about all of this in the morning."

July didn't go to work the next day. Instead, she took one of Hazel's spare pillows, laid it against Hazel's leg, and bent forward in the chair to fall asleep on it. If something happened with Hazel during the night, she had to be there for her friend. And when Hazel awoke, July was left sleeping, just like that. Her shirt had rolled up due to how she was laying, revealing her smooth belly underneath and just the slightest hint of a matching lacy bra underneath. Her fingers were curled into the pillow, keeping herself firmly planted on it. She moaned a little in her sleep, the angle of rest hurting her back to no end. But Hazel's tail and hand were still wrapped up with July, the girl refusing to move to make that stop. She was going to be there for Hazel. And so she was. She laid there and slept there all night long, texting her HR friend she was taking a day off. Given that she hadn't taken one since she started with the company, the office was shocked. But she wasn't. She had Hazel to take care of.

As Hazel stirred, so did July. July blearily looked up towards Hazel, then smiled, "Morning..." She let out a long yawn, looking around the room until she saw the water bottle from last night. She stood up, making her shirt slide back down and cover herself. She picked up the water bottle and held it up to Hazel's lips, "Here, drink this. You need water right now." She would tip the bottle, perhaps a bit less gently given her sleepy state, but slow enough nonetheless. She gave Hazel the water, then slowly yawned and looked down at her.

"How you feeling...?" July asked, rubbing her messy hair back, "I'll get started on breakfast... you hungry for anything? If you don't feel like it I can get you some fruit... soft fruit goes down pretty good for these sorts of things..." She let out another yawn and stretched until her back popped, causing her to jerk upright as a lightning bolt of energy rammed through her, "Oh there it is! Whew...." She put back on her characteristic smile and took Hazel's hand again, "I should also be able to give you some pain medicine now."
 
Hazel heard every word July said, even as her mind slowly drifted towards unconsciousness. At this point, she was far too weak to try any kind of response. She just lay there, eyes closed, the tiniest shade of a painful smile across her broken lips. Her hand gave a weak squeeze at July's, her body wanting to curl up, but only managing an inch before pain stopped the motion. Instead she remained flat on her back on the bed, eyes shimmering slightly as July finished, kissing her forehead. It sent a warm feeling through the young Succubus, her weak smile growing for a second, before dropping back into a base emotion, as she was overtaken by exhaustion.

Sleep was different for Succubi. They require a lot less than humans, and mostly take it to recharge their abilities, rather than actually clearly exhaustion. On a normal day, Hazel could go to bed, and fall asleep, to seem normal for the human she was around, but this sleep wasn't that. Wasn't some 'show' for those around her, in an attempt to seem more normal. This sleep was necessary. It allowed her body to allocate more energy to her wounds, and more rapidly heal any ruptures present. All the internal damage was quickly repaired, and her ribs set straight and proper again. With that, her body started healing surface damage, which would be a somewhat longer process, because the urgency wasn't there, and having so rapidly healed the internal damage had taken a big toll on her energy reserves.

Hazel didn't have much in the way of dreams, but July's words never escaped her. Her dreams were almost like a really long ponder, about what her friend had said. How her words had affected her. How it made her... Feel. July wanted her to stay so badly, it almost sounded like she'd begged her to. She also, genuinely, didn't seem to mind Hazel's origin. She really seemed to care about her. It almost felt deeper than a friendship... Hazel wanted it to be. She felt an affection towards this woman, deeper than she had for anyone in the past. That scared her a little bit. She couldn't explain these emotions. Couldn't pin-point them. It was a new sensation. One she knew she didn't deserve. One she knew she couldn't afford, as a Succubus. No one could care for a Succubus, like she did for July. That was... Unlikely.

Slipping back into consciousness, Hazel's mind picked up with a jolt, golden eyes shooting wide open. She was used to waking like this, but also not to moving when she did. When she woke up, she never wanted to wake him up. Didn't want to disturb his sleep. The more time he spent sleeping, the more time she was alone...
This morning was different, however. This morning, she woke, not wanting to be alone. Instead, her head quickly rose, looking around the room, to see if she was, in fact, alone. Instead, she saw July fairly quickly, causing her to rest with a soft sigh. In her little stir, she seemed to've woken July as well, causing a weak smile to spread on the Succubus' lips. She still, actively, made sure not to move too much. She was afraid to test it. To see just how badly she was hurt. To feel how bad it was going to be.

"Hey." She meekly replied, a small smile growing bigger. Her voice, while meek, sounded a bit healthier, and more straight this morning already. Her breathing was far more regular and balanced, and her eyes not as glazed over. "Oh, dear, that... That can't have been comfortable..." She mumbled silently, a weak giggle escaping her, watching July sit herself back up, noticing just how her shirt as climbed, causing her to press her lips together slightly. It made her all too aware of her own 'un'-clothing situation, but didn't think much about it. July didn't seem to mind, so it Hazel wouldn't either. She nodded, raising her head as she was offered to sip from the bottle, drinking down far more eagerly than she had the night before, clearly having regained a good amount of her energy. "Thank you..." She whispered, pressing her lips together again.

With the question of how she was doing, Hazel sighed slightly, looking towards the ceiling for a moment, closing her eyes before July continued. She looked back up to the other woman, giving her a small smile, as her tail gently tightened it's grip of July's ankle, requesting she wait.
"Let me just..." She started, but paused, opting to show, rather than tell. With another sigh, building up courage, she finally started stirring, slowly trying to slip her legs off of the bed. She managed it, with less groaning and moaning than really expected, but still a few grimaces. Movement was clearly still painful, but nowhere near as much as the night before. It was now plausible.
"I... I'm doing. Okay." She stated, as she finally managed to slip into a sitting position, sighing softly as she stretched her back as well. Hearing July's pop caused her to giggle slightly, putting a hand in front of her mouth as she painfully grimaced, just causing her to giggle a bit more. "Awh, July... You shouldn't have slept like that. You. You could've just scooched me over, and gotten into the bed as well... You're. You're going to feel that all day..." Hazel complained with another short giggle, having realized she could giggle, just not laugh a whole lot.

Hazel took a moment, looking down towards her feet, her leg in a splint still pointing out a bit more straight. Her toes curled, as she thought for a moment, before looking back up towards her friend, pressing her lips together for a moment.
"J. July? I... I'm." She struggled a bit with her words, gulping slightly as she looked into the other's eyes, her ears perking downwards in shame. She whimpered slightly, as a tear slowly started creeping out the corner of her eye, her arms starting to raise her off of the bed, her one good leg helping. She would stumble a bit if July didn't come in to help, and if she did, Hazel would drop her arms around the woman's neck immediately. If she didn't, she would drop forward, and do the same, arms wrapping desperately around July's neck as she started sobbing silently.

"Th... Thank you. So. So much..." She whimpered, pressing her face into July's neck, as her eyes and throat let lose, sobbing heavily against her friend, embracing her. That desperate grip was so longing and affectionate, Hazel herself wasn't really sure what she was doing, it just... Felt right. "I. I am so sorry for dragging you into all of this, and... And then you just. Just still try to make me feel happy. To feel cared for?" She sobbed again, a painful whimper as the tight closure caused a bit of pain in her chest. Her naked form wrapped against July, wasn't going anywhere for a moment, so she'd just have to live with that. "I... I really don't deserve a friend like you... But. But I can't thank you enough. And I could... Could never fully describe how much you mean to me. Or. Or repay what you've done for me." She continued, still crying heavily, sniffling against July's shoulder, if she hadn't yet pried her off.

Hazel took a short while to get herself together, sobbing silently against July. For the first time, in a very long time, Hazel felt... Safe. Felt comfortable. Felt like she was somewhere she could belong, even though she knew she never could.
Finally letting go of July, Hazel sniffled, drying her face with the back of her hand, whimpering a weak chuckle a single time, as she took a limped step backwards. She seemed to have enough strength to stand 'somewhat' straight, but showed no interest in moving the split. She could still feel the pain in her leg, and wasn't quite sure the internal healing was far enough to just up and forego the splint.
"I... I'm sorry. I. Go your neck all wet, there." She chuckled lightly, gently biting on her lower lip, immediately regretting that decision, almost opening the wound in it as she gave a somewhat comical squeak, placing a finger on the small scar.

Hazel looked down herself for a moment, a finger fumbling a bit with the bandage on her stomach, pressing her lips together as she looked back up.
"Uuuhm. Perhaps... I mean. I don't want to pry, or. Or anything. But... Perhaps, you have some clothes, I could borrow, before we think about breakfast?" She humbly requested, a weak little smile on her lips, heat finding her cheeks in a weak little blush, her blood circulation clearly strong enough to allow that now. "I mean. At least, just so. So you don't have to look at this mess... I'm sure that wouldn't help your appetite." She joked, referring to herself as a mess, another weak giggle, as her tail finally let go of July's ankle, instead curving around Hazel, moving into her hands in front of herself, fingers starting to fumble with the appendage. It still felt... Strange... To be revealing these features to someone. If she'd just been in her human form, she'd feel fine! But, she wasn't. She felt more than just naked. She felt exposed. All the vile that was in her, free for July to see.
 
Since Hazel had now gotten a chance to drink some water and was talking, July was able to surmise that she'd gotten Hazel out of the worst of all of this. She wasn't healed by any means, but she was certain that her stomach and lungs likely weren't ruptured. Of course, she had no idea that Hazel's body was stitching itself back together as they spoke. From what she saw, Hazel looked about as bad as she did last night, just without all of the immediate gasping and danger. Looking down at Hazel, she felt the tail suddenly tighten around her ankle, a feeling that made her jump out of shock that she hadn't felt it again yet. She wasn't used to the idea of being touched by a tail, but she should have been a lot more concerned with what it signified.

"Woah, woah!" July leapt forward as Hazel started to stand up, "Don't try that! You might..." She blinked in surprise as Hazel actually managed to sit all the way up. Given that massive mark on her belly, Hazel shouldn't have been able to bend like that at all. For now, she just had to assume the damage wasn't as bad as she thought. At the very least, Hazel's remark about her back was enough to get her to start thinking a little more about something else.

"Eh... I'm used to getting weird amounts of sleep," July stretched out her back a few times, by now actually and truly regretting how she'd slept, "When I was in university I kinda had a sleep schedule that went all over the place. If I stayed up too late I'd go lay down on my couch. I could just barely fall asleep on it but I would wake up pretty quickly," July rubbed her back, "And, well. I kinda naturally grab things when I sleep. 'S why I have a body pillow. I didn't want to risk hurting you. Plus, you know. I didn't think waking you up to that would b ea good idea." July wasn't sure exactly how much her friend could tolerate her talking this much right off the bat, given the fact that she had been beaten within a good few inches of her life last night. Or so the situation had seemed at the time. She hadn't even realized she'd stripped Hazel down until now, when she was made to look on Hazel's nude body in all of its bandaged glory.

"H-Hey now," July instantly went to grab onto Hazel as soon as she tried to stand up. She hadn't exactly made a world class splint for her, and just seeing her stand up was enough to make her about as worried as Hazel sitting up had. But the moment she felt how Hazel was holding onto her, she realized that it was for far more than physical support. A feeling of worry filled her as she saw the way that Hazel immediately broke down, her emotions right on display to see. With how hard the naked succubus was clinging to her, July was quickly to embrace her and just quickly move to hold onto her. She didn't want Hazel to feel alone right now. Hearing her sob, feeling the hot and wet tears rolling down her neck, the desperation that was in that grasp, she didn't need to say anything else. There was no need to. She let Hazel speak all she had to do before she leaned down and pressed her chin gently to the top of Hazel's horned head.

"That's what friends do, Hazel," July muttered to her, "You don't need to apologize, or repay me. You came to me for help, so I helped you. That's how I work. I just... above all else I'm glad you're safe right now," Her hand moved to gently stroke up and down Hazel's back, rubbing her fingertips around Hazel's shoulderblades. Her body moved to start gently rocking the succubus side to side to help her calm down from everything that wracked her, "And of course I'm gonna make you feel cared for. This is the first time you've seen my house, I gotta be a good host," She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood somewhat," She pressed her fingers a more firmly into Hazel's back to help calm her down, "You mean a lot to me too, Hazel. I'll do everything I can to make sure that you're safe here. And that you're okay. You don't need to worry anymore, I promise."

With all that said, as Hazel pulled back from her embrace, July just gave a small shake of her head, "Don't worry about it. It's just water, it all dries up," She waved her hand. She reached out and took hold of Hazel's arm, helping to prop her up so she could stand up without having to feel she was going to fall over. Even with a splint, she couldn't imagine standing up like this could be comfortable, at all.

"Sure, my room is just down the hall," July gave a gesture to the right side of the door, "I'll help you over there. Don't know how much of my stuff will fit you..." Her eyes pointedly went to Hazel's chest, "...But I'm sure we can find something for you. Take whatever you like. I'm not really attached to anymore and all," Hazel's remark made her blink, "Oh come on, you aren't a mess. A mess implies that you haven't been taken care of. You're all bandaged up, so let's get to it," With Hazel's arm in hand, July took her on an adventure to her room.

When the two entered July's room, the first thing that hit Hazel was pink. July's walls were a beautiful, vibrant pink. Her bed had light blue sheets on it with various modern looking swirls and shapes and... no, it was hard to focus on that with just how pink the room was. On top of all of that, the bed was filled to the brim with stuffed animals. There was a small spot on the bed where July obviously would lay, and she had a little gray body pillow as mentioned before. She had a small computer set up in the room as well, along with a large chestnut dressor and a small table that was filled with various knicknacks, including a set of DnD dice, a traditional fan, various bits of charms and buttons from random shows, and a ball of rubberbands with several girlish bracelets wrapped around its exterior. There was a large blue and yellow rug in the room that took up a good bit of space as well. The walls weren't decorated, but a massive window did look out towards the backyard above the bed. In truth... it looked like a young teenager's room.

"...Heh," July rubbed her neck as they entered, "It's uh, not what you expected, right? I didn't pick the wall color, but I don't dislike it. And, well. The stuffed animal thing I might have mentioned. Uh. I don't really have time to go and organize this place a lot, so I just throw it all together really. Heh, here!" July pulled Hazel over to a closet door, opening it to show all of the clothes that she wore. Half the closet were just sets of her business clothes. The other half were the more vibrant, playful and colorful ones that she normally put on, "Go for it. Take anything in there."
 
All of July's concern and care was entirely appreciated, but Hazel still powered through. She wanted to sit, and later stand, no matter how much it hurt. She didn't want to lie around like a dead fish anymore. July had already done so much for her, she had to show that it helped. How much it'd helped. She honestly wasn't sure she could've made it through this, without July. Part of her knew what would've happened, if July hadn't found her. She would've withered away on that corner, her self-loathing keeping her from taking any more conscious, sound decisions. She would've probably died on that corner, her body unable to heal that kind of damage, without some comfortable rest. A wet puddle on a dirty street, was far from comfortable.

Getting into July's arms, the young Succubus was ever grateful that she was just allowed to talk. Even if words took a time to form, and she spoke slowly when she did speak, July waited for her to finish. To let it all out. And, again, she was wrong. Hazel simply couldn't believe, this was just something 'friends' would do. None of the kind she'd come to know, would've done that much for her. Would they've tried to save her? Sure, but they wouldn't have brought her to their home to do it. They would've taken her to the nearest hospital, and right back into his arms. But not July.
Hazel giggled lightly with July's remark about her being the host, shaking her head lightly against the woman's neck, leading into her nuzzling it for a moment as she sniffed.
"N. No, July. Not. Not all friends would've done, what you did..." She disagreed, looking up to July as she kissed her head, the slightly taller woman causing her to smile brightly for a moment. "You. Could've saved my life, by bringing me to a Hospital. But. There, I would've been shamed for my species, and barely cared for, Physicians knowing my body's healing capabilities. And. I would've been brought back into... Into his..." She paused for a moment, looking down, another silent cry escaping her, as she shivered heavily, shaking her head. "No. You knew exactly what I needed. Not all friends would've been observant enough to make that call. Not all friends would've, even if they could." She muttered, looking down herself as she gulped, realizing her situation, shaking off the dismal mood. July had tried to brighten it, she wasn't going to just darken it again. That brought her onto something July had mentioned, shortly before Hazel had fallen into her arms, a more shy dispocition to the smile that crept up, with a very light blush to her cheeks. "And.. Waking up in your arms? Would. Probably be the nicest way I've ever woken up." She suggested in a low voice, her smile showing a tinge of honesty, even if the tone had been a bit playful. She had meant it. She'd woken up in many different arms in the past, but never someone she'd cared for quite as much as she did for July.

July's pointed look caused Hazel to giggle slightly, looking down herself for a moment, nibbling lightly on her lower brow. Strangely, it was a bit exciting to be naked in front of July. It was strange, really, considering her body was still half covered in bandages, but. It felt visually intimate. And, with July only in her panties and shirt as well, only helped complete that image, making Hazel smile back up as she nodded. Her bossom, almost seemed slightly larger, than they most usually did. It almost gave the impression, that when she wasn't wearing loose, comfy clothes, she was wearing bra's to make them look a little smaller. Weather that be on her own, or her boyfriend's behest, was up in the air.
"I'm sure... We'll find something. It's not like yours are that much smaller, July, don't be modest." She teased, a warm little smile on her lips, giving the impression that was meant as a compliment.

With the offer of a hand for support, Hazel instead wrapped her arm around July's, if she was allowed, holding onto her and keeping close, as they limped down the hallway. This caused her breast to graze slightly against July's arm, but Hazel didn't seem to care, her golden eyes looking around the halls they walked through, her smile glimmering.
"Your place is really nice, July. Didn't think..." She paused, having taken a bad step, causing a bit of pain in her stomach, causing her to grimace for a second before continuing. "Didn't think you'd have a house?" She mused, looking shortly up to July, before they entered her room, causing the young Succubus' brows to peak for a moment. She certainly was not expecting anything like this... Sure, she knew about the bed of stuffed animals, but the colors of the walls? The mix of girlish knick-knacks and nerdy items, it was all just such a blast to look at. Her room was fun, rather than just 'all business', as July had the tendency to seem like.

July's almost nervous response to Hazel seeing her room, just caused the Succubus to giggle slightly, her tail having raised a bit taller behind her by now, her confidence tingling it's way back. She was feeling comfortable. Happy. In such a short time, she'd been turned around on a dime, because if Hazel had learned anything, it was how to take all of the joy she could, out of the joyous moments in life. She knew, they were often so very far apart.
"Don't lie to yourself, July. Even if you had found the time, you wouldn't have organized your 'Animal Kingdom'..." She teased with a little giggle, looking down to the bed. "I think it looks really comfortable, and looks best when in a 'Wild' state." She suggested, smiling lightly as her attention was turned towards her friend's wardrobe, her eyes practically gleaming with glee and excitement. She blinked a few times, looking up to July as she was offered anything she'd like, her smile slowly growing as she chuckled, looking over the closet again.

"Ooh, July, are you suure, you'll let me loose on all of this?" Hazel snickered. A rhetorical question, obviously, as Hazel had already limped a step closer to the closet, starting to looking through the items inside. She was battered. She was bruised. In pain. But she was still Hazel, and she took to looking through July's clothes, like a little girl in a candy-shop. She took out almost every outfit she could get her hands on, checking it, and putting it back in. She never gave the slightest hint that she found something she didn't like, rather, she gave compliments to most of them, saying how she felt they fit July's eyes, her form or her demeanor. Even the ones she was less excited about, she still looked upon them with a smile, and put them back inside.
Hazel also noticed shelves at the bottom, and wasn't going to be deterred from looking through those as well, just because of a bit of stomach pain. Of course, her split made it impossible to bend the knees, so instead she bend her back, leaning forward to look through shelves as well, giving July a... Complete view of the Succubus' soft bottom, and the petals even showing a bit bellow because of the way she had to spread her legs a bit. She didn't bend over like that for long, however, a painful little mutter escaping her as she held her side, standing back up with a little hop.

The Succubus finally went back to one of the items she'd found before. She took the largest, most comfortable looking hoodie, or sweater she could find. Due to the difference in height on the two, it reached well bellow her waist, hiding the nakedness of her lower body. After a moment she realized, that she didn't want to rub her sex all over the bottom of July's shirt, so she went back to looking at her undergarments. She picked out a pair of nice, red panties, picking them up with her tail, a bright smile across her lips.
"These are also really nice. You have great taste in underwear, July." She complimented, sending her a smile, before preparing to bend over to put the panties on. Doing so, she grimaced again, realizing she wouldn't be able to do that again for a while. She looked thoughtful, and instead just dropped the panties on the ground. She stepped into them, and her tail started deftly pulling them up her legs, clinging eagerly, but somewhat losely to her curves. July's thighs were a bit more shapely than Hazel's, but the panties still fit on fairly snug, when she got them all the way up, and tugged the shirt down to cover herself a bit more.

Finally finished, she looked back up to July with a warm smile, limping over to join her side, her breath a little more labored than it probably should've been, probably due to the pain she was constantly feeling, but hiding.
"Thanks, July. I feel... A bit less like a deviant, invading your house, now." She giggled a bit nervously, wrapping her arm back around July's. Her tail had crept inside of the large shirt, now wrapped around her own waist, hiding it away. It was one of the few features of her origin, she could always hide. Her ears were still flat most of the time at this point, but pulling up the hood of a hoodie wouldn't really help a lot, due to the horns.
"Uhm. About breakfast? My body... Don't really 'need' food, the same way human's does. If I eat, I... Mostly just do it, for the taste, and. Well... To feel 'normal'. And, well, it also helps keep me in shape, since I still burn it much like humans do, I can just... Go a lot longer without it, getting my necessary energy from. From other. Sources..." She muttered those last words, shaking her head a bit, as she looked back up with a weak smile. "What I am trying to say is, that you don't have to make anything big for me, I'll be okay." She chuckled, but didn't let go of July's arm. "But I wouldn't mind joining you, for your breakfast. I. I already. Took you out of your normal routine... Didn't I?" She asked, a small frown on her lips. She had a feeling July'd taken the day off from work today, for her sake. It was a normal Thirsday after all, she doubted she just 'luckyly' had a day off, on the day she was taking care of her friend...
 
The way that Hazel held onto her as the two of them walked was... nice. It was hard to really describe how, but she enjoyed feeling Hazel reaching out to her for support. Feeling that Hazel was by her side was a wonderful feeling. It reminded her of all the small friendly dates they'd gone on, spending time with each other and enjoying just being around the other person. Only now, Hazel was in her house, and right now on an indefinite stay. She didn't want to comment on it at the moment, lest she make her friend panic and want to bolt. Hazel needed comfort, after all. Or... well, maybe she was just overthinking this. She did do that a good deal so far.

"Aren't you just a really clever little jokester?" July rolled her eyes as Hazel saw her room, "I've tried organizing them before, but if they're on a shelf then they aren't being used! And, well. After awhile I just started putting them on the bed, and now I have that mess to deal with. Comfy, though," July chuckled. Her business side and her personal side were about as separate as they could be. A driven woman like her, living in a room that could belong to a young girl? It wasn't in line with the girl that spent hours on overtime, drove herself to perfection, had a good standing relationship with almost every figurehead in her company.... essentially, it was just wasn't in line with the view that a house of a working woman would have.

But for now, July just let Hazel go wild on her wardrobe. She wasn't a girl that went out of her way to collect 'fancy' clothes, or really dig that far into fashion. She just bought what she thought looked pretty. And looking pretty seemed to be a theme that went through all of it. She cleared away a spot on her bed to sit down ,swallowing up the space she normally slept in, and just casually hummed as she let Hazel go at the closet. Her little mentions and comments almost made it sound like some sort of commentary, as though she was on some sort of show. She managed to keep silent until Hazel went to bend right over at the hips, making July suddenly blush at the feeling of seeing such a thing.

"I didn't know I could see a full moon with the sun out," July chuckled, "Maybe I do, but I don't think you quite need it right now." That... was perverted, yes. She couldn't quite help it! She could see almost all of Hazel down there a girl like her would want to see. Her cute little tush, the curve of her thighs as they went up into it, the loving little gap they created... the petal that suddenly looked rather enticing now. She cleared her throat and turned her eyes towards Hazel's feet to try to regain something here. Something that wasn't exactly perverted. She let Hazel find an old hoodie, one that used to have the logo of some event on it, now faded away from countless rewashes and leaving just a prickly set of shapes on the front. She let that comment that had just, slipped out of her slide as she saw Hazel stand in front of her, looking slightly more normal now.

There was something about the way that Hazel spoke about herself when she was dressed that made July's playful smile fall into a frown. Something about it that made her worried. Hazel... was talking badly about herself. It wasn't out of character for her, but it felt wrong. Wrong to hear it. Wrong to be standing there. And as Hazel went to just hold onto her and move past it like it was nothing, she felt the need to address it. No friend of hers would be making those sorts of comment about themselves.

"Let's make something clear here, Hazel," July moves forward and took hold of Hazel's shoulders, pulling her so Hazel was right in front of her, "I don't care about the succubus thing. It's not that I'm not confused, but right now it's just, not something that I really want to worry about. You're Hazel right now, you're my loving, amazing friend Hazel. I don't mind if you got a new paint job and some nice head ornaments," She looked down, "You've said a few times already that you feel wrong for being like this. I can understand why. I know most succubi hide themselves. But," July leaned forward to pull Hazel into a long hug, squishing her chest up into Hazel as she tried to impart as much comfort as she could put forward, "I don't want you thinking I'm going to throw you out, or get mad. Even if you were secretly a dog I'd still have helped you back there. Succubus, inu, fish girl, whatever, my friend was in danger and I needed to help. And that's why you're here," July pulled back from the hug, "...Don't take this as me sounding like some perfect goddess. I just care about my friends. So... please don't talk about yourself like you're some horrible thing. You're not, at least. Not to me you aren't."

With that, July gently pulled Hazel a bit closer to herself, walking her down the hall with one of her arms wrapped around Hazel's sides. She guided her up into the kitchen, which was perhaps the most 'dated' place in the house. The countertops looked a bit plastic-like with their sheen, the fridge, microwave and oven were all white and clearly from several decades ago, and the flooring in the house transitioned from wooden floors to a sort of mid-tier tiling set up in a crossing pattern. It was clear July didn't have the money or ability to renovate. She guided Hazel to a large, light brown wooden table and plopped her butt down in a chair. She smiled to Hazel again, then she was off to the races that was cooking.

"You may not have to eat, but I'll at least give you the option," July bent over herself to pull out a pan, not entirely caring at this point what Hazel saw and didn't see, "I'm used to making some simply bacon and eggs in the morning. Gotta get that protein," She gestured to the fridge, "I have milk, chocolate milk, OJ and some of those water flavor packets if you like. Oh, and coffee, can't forget that," July tapped a small instant coffee maker, "It isn't that great but I got creamer in there too. Go nuts."

With that, July was off to cooking. She went about doing the eggs first, humming as she scrambled them up on the heat on the pan and slid her bacon out to work with as well. There was a clear, practiced motion to her actions. She'd clearly done this enough times she wasn't even really thinking about it. She just casually would glance to the time, then shift something in the pan. Watching her was sort of like watching a chef on a show that truly knew their craft, if only because she made her own food so often. She slid in a bit of melted cheese into the eggs and slid them off into a bowl, right as she went about cooking the bacon right away. That would leave the grease in the pan, and after that she could collect it and be done with it all. Just as she laid the bacon down, she slid one of the small coffee pods into her coffee maker and let it start brewing with water in its tank, sliding a large cup that read 'CATfinated' under it. It was timed so that just as she slid the ten or so slices of bacon from her pan, the coffee machine was hissing and squirting out its liquid. She popped the fridge open and unscrewed a bottle of creamer, pouring in just enough to barely miss the top of her cup. Another few steps and July had the bowl of scrambled eggs, bacon, her coffee, two plates and silverware on the table. Notably, July slid a chair over right beside Hazel and sat down beside her there.

"Eat as much as you want, or nothing. Just means more for me," July chuckled, "And you're free to help yourself to anything in the house. I mean that. Well, maybe go a little easy on the paper towels, I'm almost out. But otherwise," July yawned, "Go for it."
 
Being bent over, looking through July's underwear, her brows rose slightly, her point little ears perking with July's remark. She paused for a moment, leading her lower lip between her teeth as a gentle blush build on her cheeks. She'd been lewdly complimented before as a part of her job, as well as cat-called on several occasions, so she wasn't foreign to perverted comments in her direction. From July, though, it felt a bit different. She wasn't usually flattered quite like this, when people made such comments, but she was this time. Her flattered little smile turned to a smirk as she rose back up with a pair of panties in her hands, looking over her shoulder, an almost sultry look to her eyes as she rose a brow.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You little pervert..." She mused playfully, a small smirk on her lips, the gentle pink hue remaining on her cheeks, not exactly afraid to show that she was a little flattered by such a comment. The name-calling was very clearly also in joking, both girls knowing Hazel was probably the quickest to be perverted, and that the word was far from a taboo in Hazel's vocabulary. She'd said before, that she thought everybody was a little perverted, most just boringly kept it to themselves!

Still, even with the invitation to go bottom-less, Hazel still struggled those panties on, her blush remaining, remembering that little comment from July's. The longer the comment sat, the warmer Hazel felt. It'd sounded so much like an invitation... An Invitation to stay half-nude. Should she have taken it? She was used to being told what to wear, ad when to wear it. To be controlled. She'd never wanted to comply to his commands, but when she tried to imagine being told what to wear, or do, by July? She wouldn't mind following her commands. And just thinking that, caused her flush to brighten a bit, the little red dots across her cheeks flaring up in the process.

Hazel looked up to July with a few blinks, her hands grasping onto the lower hem of the borrowed hoodie, fumbling lightly with the edge, as her un-splinted leg stroked it's toes into the ground. July's tone was clearly serious, and for a moment Hazel was worried she'd said something wrong. She'd done something wrong... Or maybe it was just more 'conditions'? It would only be fair that July put down some conditions on her stay, and behavior. She'd done so much for Hazel, why shouldn't she want something in return?

Instead of any conditions, July went on to try and build up the young Succubi's confidence, causing her eyes to calm into a loving gaze, focusing on July's eyes. There was a hint of water at the edges of Hazel's eyes when July pulled her in for a hug, a weak little squeak of happiness escaping the young Succubus as she was pulled in for a hug. Her arms wrapped up July's back, gripping her shirt around her shoulder-blades, holding her tight. There was a low, almost strumming hum coming from Hazel, as she hugged the other woman tight, sniffling silently a few times. The hum almost sounded like and extended moan, as she nuzzled her face into July's neck.
This felt... Good. Good, in a kind of way she couldn't explain, because she'd never felt anything like it. No, that was wrong, she had. Every time she'd hugged July this morning, she'd felt it. Even when her body was battered and broken, being carried by July, she'd felt it. It was. Weak, but it was almost a little bit like... It was pleasure, undoubtedly. Pleasure, that warmed Hazel's heart in a way, it'd never tried before, and it had a hint of satiation with it. Like... Her hunger would've been stilled for a moment.

Hazel snapped out of that strange sensation, probably looking up at July a bit surprised for a moment, her hands now holding onto the other woman's shirt by her sides. She quickly snapped out of it, focusing back on July's eyes, a small smile slowly growing on her lips, as she nodded a few times.
"I... I'll try. But. But I can't promise you anything...." She chuckled lightly, drying a few tears away with the sleeve, her hand hidden inside of it, clearly being a bit long for her. "It's just..." She paused for a moment, her one hand still holding on to July's shirt, gently fumbling with the fabric, also stroking the raven haired woman's side through it. Her grip was a little firm, like she desperately needed July to wait a moment, for her to find her words, tugging a little bit at the fabric, as she looked towards their feet.
"Never mind... Or. At least, not right now. I. I want to. To tell you... Everything." She admitted, looking up to July, pressing her lips together nervously. "I've kept so many things from you, and. You deserve to know. At least some of it. Try and... Help clear up your confusion, yes?" She asked, a weak little smile on her lips. "And... And, I'll answer any question you might have, about my kin. Maybe. Sometime tonight." She suggested with a few nods, more or less declaring, rather than asking or suggesting. She didn't feel fit to really explain things right now, but. She wanted to. Eventually, she really wanted to. "For now, let's... Let's get breakfast." She repeated, nodding a single time, her smile growing a bit.

Hazel happily wrapped her own arm around July's waist, her head leaning gently against the other's shoulder, as she was guided into the kitchen. Her golden eyes looked around, a warm little smile on her face, as her hand gently fumbled with July's shirt. It was all so... Homey. So warm. So welcoming. Sure, it looked like it needed some renovation, but that just made it look used. It was fulfilling it's purpose, and July was taking care of it as well as she could.
Hazel sat down with a little squeak, having to adjust her leg with a small grimace, but was quick to look thankfully up to July, folding her hands in her lap. Her ears were standing a bit more at attention at this point, no longer as nervously pointed down. She blinked a single time as she watched July bend over, tightening her lazy panties to that shapely rear quite nicely, causing Hazel to smirk, resting an elbow on the table, and her chin in her hand, a finger-nail playing at her lower lip.
"The moon does look nice this time of day, even with a bit of cover..." She 'agreed' with July's perverted statement from earlier, but her eyes were quick to look around the room, innocently, if July looked back at her, still playing at her lip with a finger.

"Uuuh, yes, I... I really could go with a cup of coffee today. Haven't had that in a while now." She mused, putting her hands on the table, starting to get up on her feet, but quickly realizing that action was still quite exhausting, and having stood up for an extended period of time, she didn't quite feel like it right now. She looked to July, a pleading little expression, pressing her lips together. "Could I... Could you. Maybe make me a strong coffee, with chocolate milk?" She asked, in the most humble, pleading tone she could. She didn't like being a bother, but she also really wanted a coffee. And, so far, July had cared for her without question, so she felt a bit braver about asking.

Hazel just silently watched July go at the cooking, tilting her head a bit with the woman's expertise. She'd clearly done this quite a few times before, making Hazel wonder for a second, if she ate this good every morning. With the cooking done, Hazel watched with a warm smile as July approached, her eyes widening a bit on the food brought back. Her lips pressed together for a moment once again, looking over the well-done eggs and crispy bacon, chuckling a bit.
"Smells and looks really nice, July. You do a lot of cooking?" She asked, looking to July as she waited for the other to dig in first. When July did, Hazel shifted a bit in her seat, and leaned herself up against July. It was almost subconscious, that she took one of July's arm's hostage in her own, hugging it close to her chest as she looked down at the food. One of her hands reached out, picking up a fork of her own, taking a bite of eggs from July's plate. Hazel wasn't going to eat much, so figured she'd just take a bit from her plate, if she wasn't interrupted.
"Mmm, that's really good." She mused, looking up to July with a warm smile, her hand gently stroking July's arm, still clutching it if she hadn't taken it back. This had July's hand hovering 'dangerously' close to Hazel's crotch, if she didn't shift it to place it on her naked thigh instead, but Hazel clearly did not seem to mind.

Again, a warm feeling spread inside of her. It was now familiar, yet unknown. Why hadn't she ever felt this before? She'd cuddled up to clients before to get the nice and excited, but it'd never felt anywhere like this? Was it perhaps something special about July? Was it perhaps the emotional need she felt for the human? Or, a shared emotional connection? Hazel didn't have the answers, and honestly didn't care, she just wanted more of it... It was soothing. It felt nice. It felt sweet. It was... Almost. What she imagined, the big word; Love, felt like. Not that she'd know.

"What do you wanna do today?" Hazel asked, sparking up conversation, tilting her head as she observed July eating, a warm little smile on her face, half of it still bandaged. "If. If there's anything you 'need' to do today, I don't want you to hesitate, okay? If there's some work, you can do from home, or something like that? I. I feel like I'll get tired quickly, my body still healing and all, I can just take a nap, when you need to get some things done, yes?" She suggested with a warm smile, resting her chin on July's shoulder, looking affectionately at the side of her face as she ate. "Or, I can just sit and watch. Or, sleep on your lap." She suggested with a little giggle. Being this close, July would probably feel and smell Hazel's warm breath meeting her neck. Maybe somewhat of a surprise, it carry much of a scent. Definitely didn't suggest that she hadn't brushed her teeth the night before, or even smelling like the blood there'd been in it. Her teeth were still a pearly, clean white and her breath was warm and fresh, as she chatted happily.
 
Maybe July had intentionally dipped her head down so she and Hazel were even on their apparent mutual appreciation of the other's butts. July had let Hazel introduce a certain amount of perversion into their friendship, something she couldn't quite say was a bad thing. She was more or less just happy that Hazel was being more of herself. Speaking of herself, without saying anything, when she handed the coffee over to her succubus friend, she also sat down a small half gallon of chocolate milk beside her, along with another cup. She smiled at Hazel, making it clear she'd listened. Given how odd Hazel could be at times, she actually didn't know if she would pour the milk into her coffee like that. Well, that wasn't that weird, so she wasn't sure. But still, she didn't want to upset Hazel! Being a good host meant listening to her guests. Maybe she was overthinking a lot of this.

"Most days, yeah," July replied as she sat down, "I have to. If I break my habit then I'll go back to just getting fast food on the way there and that's a no-no for my wallet. I can operate this whole kitchen half asleep by now... which is because I do," July gestured to the food in front of her. Most mornings, she wasn't awake enough to even say her name. But by muscle memory, she could start warming up the stove and get the coffee machine going with her eyes shut. Everything after that was just a matter of picking what items she was making and then doing it. She could select anything from pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, toast and an omelette and make them in any order. She'd trained herself to make them by now. Oh! And French Toast. She loved making French Toast, even if the way she made it could likely give a world class athlete diabetes.

July didn't move to take her arm back from Hazel. Firstly, Hazel was too damaged right now to really make her think about something like that. Likewise, it wasn't a bad feeling. She did scoot their chairs to be right next to each other so she didn't have to stretch, and her hand came to gently rest on top of Hazel's thigh. She wasn't sure why it landed there, but it was better than leaving it somewhere else. For now, she indulged in her own food, letting the worries of that night and the day wash away by just refilling her fuel tank. She couldn't help her friend out if she was hungry, after all.

"Hrmmm... well, I do want to get some work done, but I can do that in the living room with a laptop," July noted, "I'll tell you what, then. You can sleep in the lap while you watch shows and I do some work. Then later we can think of doing something more, together. How does that sound?" She wiggled her arm in Hazel's embrace, moving it to gently pull up and out of Hazel's grasp so she could start collecting her plates. But even before she could, she could feel Hazel's warmth and breath on her neck. The sensation was a nice one, making her pause to figure out what was going on. And when she figured that out, she looked to Hazel for a moment with a small smile that showed she had to get up.

"I won't be that long," July called back, gathering up their plates, "If you aren't finished, you can take it into the living room. I eat in there all the time. Trust me, I'm not someone with that many standards." Once she'd finished with that, she helped to stand Hazel up and walk her towards the living room, optional plate in hand. July's living room wasn't as large as the house suggested it was. It was larger than the bedroom, but not by much. It was dominated by a large, light tan couch that wrapped around in a L-shape into one corner with a lamp mounted on the wall above it. The diving wall between the kitchen and living room had a TV mounted on it, which the couch was looking at. To the left of the TV was a large, old looking wood cabinet. Between the TV and couch was a small coffee table with nothing on it other than a letter that looked to be junk mail. A large window was behind the couch, looking out towards the front yard and currently shut by blinds. There wasn't much more to the living room.

"Be right back!" July helped sit Hazel down on her couch, confirming it was indeed a couch. July returned to the room, holding something, odd. It looked like the top of an old school desk, the ones with the L shaped top students were meant to write one, had been ripped off. The small L-shaped platform was connected to a piece of metal that bent down and then flattened out parallel and below the top of the desk. July sat the flat part on the couch, then held it up as she slid her butt on top of it. Said butt was holding down the metal piece and steadying the desk, and was hovering a good foot above her lap. July reached up to show her laptop in the other hand as she sat down, flipping it open and showing some boring company website. Once she had herself online and such, she turned to Hazel still sitting beside her.

"Alright, c'mon," July patted her lap. She moved to gently help move Hazel so she was resting with her head on top of July's thighs. The odd 'desk' setup was above her head, but as long as Hazel didn't move much, she wouldn't hit her head on it. It created a little spot for her head, right under that odd setup and July's lap, "I got this thing off one of those infomercial things. Best purchase I ever bought off an infomercial. Perfect for this sort of thing," July moved to slide the laptop a bit, handing a remote into Hazel's hand.

"There, now you can sleep on my lap, or watch a show," July chuckled, "TV is connected to the internet, hit the blue button on the remote to pull up the browser if you wanna find something. Oh! And if you want movies, I have most of the good ones in that cabinet." The position was, rather nice all things considered. Her thighs had a bit of plushness to them and were very warm. Her little laptop setup wasn't going to interfere either. But she hadn't considered the implications of the position. Of putting Hazel's head on her lap, right next to her panties, which were all that was there after all. She wasn't thinking of Hazel as a succubus, though. So her own mistake there was one of affection, if one that wasn't the smartest move.
 
Hazel listened happily, watching her friend eat as her tail had slowly started squirming out of the hoodie. It swayed slowly behind, much like a content cat, as she just observed and listened. She only let go of July, in order to pick up a fork and take herself another bite of food, cherishing the taste with sweet little hums of joy and pleasure. Most of that pleasure, however, came from the warm feeling spreading inside of her. Primarily, around her heart. This joy. This pleasure. It was entirely foreign to her, and it was one of the most comfortable things she'd felt in a long, long time. Feeling July's hand on her thigh to accompany it, only made that warm feeling spark into little shivers, her tail shivering a little with the pleasurable tingles, ears wiggling a single time. Absentmindedly, she tip-toed under the table, nuzzling her thigh a bit against the hand. It was a discreet change, possibly too small to take note of.

"Now I just imagine you walking out of your bedroom, like a sexy zombie, cooking up your meal..." Hazel admitted with a little giggle, nuzzling a bit closer as she looked back down to the food, one hand taking another bite of bacon, humming sweetly with the savory taste. "I haven't cooked much myself... Done a lot of baking, though. Particularly proud of my Cheesecakes, and Red-velvet." She hummed happily, resting the side of her head on July's shoulder for another moment. He'd really liked her Red-Velvet cakes, in particular. A thought that had her frowning for a moment, fingers gently clutching onto July's arm for a moment. Part of her feared, she'd never be able to make it again. All she knew about them, was that he liked them. Making them, could make her happy for a little while, and keep him from hurting her. She wasn't sure she could ever make them, without feeling like she was just catering to that asshole again. But she wanted to... She wanted others to like her baking as well. She wanted to bake for July. Wanted to see if she'd like it too. If she could give someone some sweet happiness, who deserved it. July deserved it. July deserved it all...

Hazel looked back up with July's suggestion, her smile growing a mile long as she gave a few quick nods. The idea of cuddling up to July, while not being a bother to the woman, exsited her more than it probably should. July could get her work done, and Hazel could be comfortable. She couldn't ask for more. And she could get to watch television? That made her wonder, if she got to chose...
"Sounds great! Then I can... Uhm. Can I watch what you're doing? I've. Always been a bit curious, since I never. Really. -Entirely- understand what it is that you do, to be honest..." She giggled nervously, at first about to suggest she just do something, but quickly crawling back, becoming humble, and asking if she could. She didn't want to snoop, after all. "I don't think you've failed explaining it, though! I... I think. I might just be a bit dense, sometimes." She admitted with another little chuckle, biting her lips together for a moment, with a warm little smile.

With the little wiggle of July's arm, Hazel clutched it for a short moment, looking up to her with a cute little smile, before letting go and nodding.
"I am done. Thanks for breakfast, July. It was lovely." She humbly thanked her, giving her another warm little smile, her hands folded in her lap. She was about to get up, but quickly remembered how difficult moving around was right now, and decided against it. Watching July clearing the table made Hazel blush slightly, a weaker smile on her face. She wanted to do things for July as well... She felt so helpless. So... Useless. Pathetic. It enforced an urge inside of her, she'd had for a long time, but for very different reasons. She'd done things for him, because she felt like she had to. She wanted, desperately, to do things for July, just for that reason. Wanting to. She wanted to treat her. To make her smile. To make her happy. To give back some of those amazing things, she'd made her feel.

Hazel stood up with July's hand, no longer hesitant about taking her friends help, having realized how warm it made her feel. She hugged into her friends they walked into the living room, her eyes curiously looking over yet another room, a warm little smile on her lips. She happily flopped onto the bed, grimacing slightly as she'd let herself fall a bit further than she probably should, giggling with her own clumsiness. She pressed her palms together between her thighs, waiting patiently for July to return, bright golden eyes looking around with a curious little smile.
As July returned she looked up, head tilting and one ear perking, the other flattening, in a curiously confused expression. She scootched a bit, giving July more space, watching her set up the little 'couch desk'. It caused her to snicker slightly, looking it over again with a small smile.
"That's a really curious setup... Then you can work, with a movie running in the background? That's smart!" She mused, looking down to July's bare thigh as she patted it, a small blush forming on her cheeks again as she looked back up. July seemed serious, and Hazel wasn't about to refuse that.

Carefully, Hazel curled up on her side, moving her head under the little desk, resting the side of her face on the other woman's warm, soft thigh. She bit her lips together for a moment, closing her eyes as she realized how warm her 'pillow' was, exhaling a deep breath. July would feel her light breathing against her bare skin, as Hazel got herself comfortable with a little hum, and a squeal, as she accidentally tried to bend her hurt leg. She quickly found herself a very comfortable position, breathing in through her nose, releasing in a comfortable sigh. Resting under the desk gave her a strange sense of security. Like she was safe here. July could look over her, while she could sleep comfortably and safe down there. She also realized a pleasant sent forming in the area, causing her lips to curve a subconscious smile. The warm smell between her friend's legs, was more than a little pleasant...

Hazel turned her head a bit as she was offered the remote, her tail raising behind her, stroking back and forth on the couch as she hesitantly took the remote. For a moment she just lay with it in her hand, as if she didn't know what to do with it, partly because she didn't. She'd been told off from using the TV in his house. Getting to do so now, wasn't really strange, but it still felt... Good. She nuzzled her cheek into July's thigh, as she reached the remote out, starting to look through what July had.
Hazel spent a little while clicking through things, seemingly not knowing what she was looking for. She'd only ever watched things online, on her laptop. Eventually, she found her way to a subscription-based platform, and found herself a show she thought she might enjoy. The cartoon show: Adventure Time went up on the screen, and Hazel put down the remote with a happy little sigh, folding her hands in front of her chest, close to July's thigh as well.


Hazel ended up being so comfortable, she didn't even really pay attention to what July was doing, as she'd said she would. Content, happy little giggles bubbled up from bellow the desk whenever something funny happened on screen, July feeling every little smile and jump from the young Succubus against her thigh, accompanied by her warm breath, streaking over that plush, creamy skin.
As time went on, a few episodes into the show, Hazel slowly grew quite, nuzzling into July's thigh a bit tighter, one of her hands coming up to join her head. Her slender fingers gently rested on July's thigh, fingers feeling the skin for a second, as she slowly drifted into the most comfortable sleep she'd ever had. She was so completely lost in the rest, that her mind actually avoided any of the usual nightmares she suffered from, during her usual sleeps. Instead, she slowly slipped into a dreamless, comfortable rest, her tail slowly trailing up to flop lightly against July's arm.

Hazel didn't sleep long, slowly coming into consciousness about a few hours later, her body scrouching up a bit with a little squirm, before stretching with a little yawn, the hand on July's thigh moving to cover the yawn. Her eyes blinking a few of those yawn-provoked tears out of the way, she looked down to notice a faint mark on July's thigh, from where her hand had been planted, causing Hazel to blush slightly again, preparing to look up, and see how July was doing.
 
"Oh you call it curios but this thing is great!" July patted the top of the desk, "Since I'm sitting on it I can keep it level without having to adjust the couch, and it's stable! This is how I eat most of my dinners if I'm eating in here!" July was, perhaps overhyping this thing a bit. It wasn't perfect, and if she was that desperate for something like this, it was easier and more practical to just mount this thing on the side of the couch and sit there. But she was someone that didn't really take time to think about the other options. The little 'couch desk' wasn't expensive when she bought it and it was a good way for her to relax. The only downside was she was sitting on something other than the couch, but that was a downside she'd gotten used to over time.

Feeling Hazel relax on her lap was a nice feeling. The way the succubus curled up like this almost reminded her of a cat. A cat that was happy to sit there and relax with her. Granted, the way Hazel was situated meant she was laying with her vision turned to the side, but the succubus wasn't complaining about it, so July wasn't going to bring it up. it felt nice, having Hazel's head against her like this. She was warm, and her breath tickled against her lap. At first she wasn't quite sure what Hazel was planning, but watching her at least go for the TV gave her some relief knowing she was happy.

Right now, July decided to remain quiet. She hadn't gotten into this one particular show, more so due to lack of ever actually doing so, more than not liking it. She'd seen it online and watched two or three episodes -namely the ones with the vampire girl, she was cute- but never actually taken her time with it. But feeling Hazel laughing and sounding happier by the minute was enough to make her stay quiet and let her enjoy the show. She was only paying half attention to it, but she chuckled along with Hazel to show she wasn't just being absentminded about it. July was able to more or less multitask after many, many years of working on a computer.

July's boss was in direct contact with her through an IM on the company site. As Hazel grew more and more sleepy, July secretly took the remote and lowered the volume on the TV just slightly to help coax her into sleeping. Her boss was wondering why she'd taken an emergency day off, something she hadn't done ever. July had mentioned to Hazel before she'd gone to work on both a sprained ankle and when she was so sick she'd worn a mask all day and worked in the corner. She was a woman that worked hard for what she was given, even if she shouldn't have. All she was able to say was she had a family emergency, and she'd work the day for free. She left it at that, and plunged down into her work. Pictures of houses and spreadsheets were all over her screen in a chaotic mess that looked like something from a dramatic movie. Nothing about what she did looked normal. But it was. At least for her.

When July shut her laptop almost four hours later, she hadn't even realized that Hazel fell asleep. Slowly, she slid the little desk out form under her, careful to not disturb Hazel, letting her look directly down at the woman sleeping on her lap. To some people, having a succubus on their lap, sleeping so close to their underwear, would be a sexual sight. For for July, it was so much more. To her, this was her best friend, hurt and beaten, coming to her for help and love. she was here to ensure they were given that love. As she watched how the succubus relaxed and rested, she felt that resolve growing inside her again. She would keep Hazel safe. She would help her friend. No matter what it took.

And as luck would have it, as the succubus raised her head, July smiled down at her and slowly reached down to help prop her head up, "Heya. You slept for a little bit." She stretched. Given how early the succubus had already gotten up when she first went to bed, it was only the afternoon now, leaving them plenty of daytime left, "How are you feeling? Hope you were comfy down there. You're welcome to do it again if you like."

Gently, July moved to help pull Hazel up, leaning her up against her side like propping up a plank of wood on a wall, "Did you want to take a shower, by the way? Just realized you might not have gotten a chance to this morning. You should be good to right now. If you do I'll change the bandages when you get out."
 
Waking up from her slumber, Hazel blinked a few times, noticing the table was gone, and turning her face upwards for her golden eye to meet July's. A warm, affectionate smile spread on her lips, as she blinked some sleep out of her eyes with a giggle.
"Yehea, guess I did. Shame, really, that was a really good show. I'll have to see if I can find out how far I got... Got in." She paused, noticing a little bit of dripple on her cheek, a finger drying it away, before softly gasping. She quickly looked down to July's thigh, and bright, embarrassed blush spreading across her face, emphasizing her freckles once again, as she noticed the tiny little pool of saliva on her friends thigh. "O... Oh, dear, I am so sorry July, I... I drooled on you." She whimpered, quickly whipping off the tiny puddle with the sleeve of the borrowed hoodie. It really wasn't much, but she'd apparently been so heavily asleep, her lips had parted, allowing for a little bit to slip through. "Mh... That's... A bit embarrassing..." She apologized, chuckling as she started sitting herself up, July helping her out in that process.

"Uhm... Apparently. I was a bit too comfortable." She moused a weak, embarrassed chuckle, pressing her lips together as she pressed her hands between her thighs, the splint only a bit in the way. "But. I feel better. And. Like I have a bit more energy." She admitted, a warm smile growing wider across her lips, seemingly getting over her embarrassment. She snuggled up against July's side, with a bit of struggling, looking down to the splint on her leg. She wondered if it was even necessary anymore, pressing her lips together with a thoughtful gaze.

With the suggestion of a shower, Hazel looked back up to July with a wider smile, blinking as she noticed a lock of her red hair sticking to her forehead, fluttering down just in front of her one eye.
"Oho, yes, I think that'd be great." She agreed with a happy nod, her tail subconsciously swaying a bit, also causing her to realize it was out. She snuggled it back into the bottom rim of the hoodie, as she sat up, preparing to get on her feet. "I... Can practically. Feel. Sweat and blood starting to crust in there." She mumbled, a finger gently nudging her thigh's bandage. The fractures weren't large enough to draw a lot of blood, but there was some gentle darkened patches here and there. "Actually... No reason to downplay it. I am disgusting. I need a shower. Please!" She chirped, turning it more into a funny thing, than the very real issue creeping up on her. She was filthy in July's presence, and she didn't like it. She wanted to be clean. She wanted to be herself. This time, she held up her hands, physically asking for July's assistance in getting up. Not much longer, though. She felt how her body had healed, and was confident she wouldn't need the splint anymore. Bandages though? Maybe not... But. Maybe she'd still like them. Just. To feel July's fingers tending to her again.
 
July had felt the drool over time, but it was something that she wasn't going to bring up, even if the succubus felt the need to, "Nah, you don't have to worry about it. Really, it's fine," She felt Hazel working to try to clean it up and just rolled her eyes; Hazel was taking everything so seriously, it made her wonder if the succubus was worried about making her upset. Why she would be, July couldn't tell. She put it down as something for later and just moved to gently hug onto the succubus as she cuddled into her side. She let Hazel talk and move her hands around her body, taking in each bit of what she was seeing. Hazel was adorable like this. For some reason or another, it felt nice having her so happy to cuddle into her side like this. July went as far as to wrap her arm around Hazel's side the longer the two remained cuddled up like this, enjoying the warmth the succubus brought to her. It was a nice warmth, one she wanted to have more of, the more she thought about it. But that was a thought that wasn't here nor there.

"Glad to know the details," July reached down and gently helped to pull the succubus up to her feet, holding Hazel's arm to help keep her steady, "There we go. Alright, let's go for it," July smiled warmly, leaning in to help walk Hazel back into the house. She hadn't shown the succubus the bathroom yet, but it wasn't hard to find. She stopped at a small closet in the hallway, opening it up to show the bottom half was cleaning supplies and the top half towels and various rags. She pulled down a fresh one and gently handed it off to Hazel, walking her over towards the bathroom door and then gently cracking it open for her. She helped the hobbled succubus inside, then flipped a light.

It was clear that, while the rest of the house was a bit, dated, this room had clearly been redone. It looked the closet to 'modern' when one looked at it. It was a larger bathroom, with a large glass sliding door shower dominating the left side. The tiles inside were a dark tan, contrasting the white and blue the rest of the bathroom had. There was, of course, the large and standard toilet, vanity and sink, and there was a small wicker basket for a hamper. The shower has a raised section inside that had all of the various supplies to wash on it, leaving a good amount of room otherwise. A warm white light was shining above, also preventing this bathroom with no exterior windows from feeling like it was dingy. There was a little bathmat on the floor, but other than that, it was just a nice, renovated bathroom.

"Alright, this should take care of it," July looked down, "Do you need help in there? You can use that little thing in there to sit down. But if you need something, I'm happy to help," July smirked, "I mean. I've seen you naked by this point."
 
Hazel stood with a small smile, seemingly immediately feeling fine about her little 'accident', July putting that worry to rest. She was a mess, and she knew it. This was starting to weigh a bit more heavily on her, darkening her spirits just a tad. This wasn't something she showed, but she could feel hr anxiety starting to creep up. She had to stabilize herself somehow, and used July to that effect. With July's arm wrapped around her own, she clutched herself closer to the other woman, following her lead.
"Thank you." She humbly thanked her again, her fingers gently stroking her friend's arm, as she was lead for a short while, towards the bathroom. Again, her eyes looked around curiously, observing everything July did, and everything she was shown.

Entering the bathroom, Hazel looked around with a warm smile, a little surprised to see how modern, and renovated it seemed, compared to some other aspects of the house. It was still sweet and humble, something Hazel was starting to find herself quite appreciating.
Hazel let go of July's arm when introduced to the bathroom, folding up the towel she'd been handed, and putting in on the vanity, looking over it for a moment with a small smile across her lips. She turned to July as she spoke up, nodding a few times. She'd looked towards the shower to see the thing she could sit on, when July smirked out a little comment, causing her to look back quickly with a small grin.
"Doesn't mean you get to give me a shower, July... I can take a shower, get out of here, scootch, shoo." She ushered her out playfully, bubbling with giggles as she nudged July out of the door, grinning out of it as she closed it. "You pervert..." She teased, with an expression suggesting she didn't really mind the idea. By accident, maybe liked it.

Closing the door she leaned against it for a moment, her wide smile remaining, feeling a strange sensation running through her. Her heart was fluttering, something she'd never really tried like this before, and it was... Strangely exciting. She turned around, leaning her back against the door for a moment, back of her head stroking against it slightly as she looked towards the ceiling. She stood in bliss for a moment, before finally pulling herself together, limping over to the toilet.
Getting all of her bandages off took quite a while, the soreness very much still sending painful stings through her body whenever she pressed something too hard. Slowly starting to reveal her body again, she saw a massive dark spot on her thigh that'd been fractured, but no longer any traces of actual wounds. No more than a large, blue mark at this point, but still immensely sore, sensitive and hurt when she walked. It was basically the same story around her chest and stomach, with the mark on her stomach having shrinked the most, her body deeming that the most important spot to heal.

Moving along to a shower, Hazel took her time. Partly because it hurt to stand up, and some movements sent pings of pain through her, but also partly because she... Really needed it. The luke-warm water she'd gone for, a stark contrast to the hard, icy pebbles of rain that'd soaked her the night before, and this was just all-together comforting.
After a nice long shower, Hazel proceeded to dry herself up, putting extra attention to her hair, not wanting to soak July if she should end up snuggling with her again. In doing so, she also moved over to the vanity, looking through some shelves for a hair-drier. Weather she found one, or not, she got back up, carefully dragging July's old hoodie back onto her body. This caused her to look into the mirror, only just now really realizing both her eyes could open somewhat properly. The bulbous bruise had shrinked almost entirely, allowing her to open the black eye enough to see properly. At first, this caused her to smile, before she realized what she was looking at.

Slowly raising her hand, fingers gingerly touched the black hue around her eye, a frown slowly developing. Tears started welling in her eyes, as her confidence did a complete 180, crashing straight to the ground. She was a mess. She was pathetic. Worth nothing. She heard his voice in her mind, remembering his daily reminders of that. She wasn't worth anyone's time. She didn't need to get out, because who would care to see her. She was just a Succubus. A slut, worth nothing but a cheap fuck.

As her anxiety welled up, her body starting to tremble, actively crying. With a silent sob her hand dropped, clutching at her shirt. In doing so, she remembered... July was here. July cared?
With a cry, Hazel spun around on her heels, rushing towards the bathroom door, first clashing against it, not getting the door handle properly. Fumbling with it, she got the door open, and rushed as fast as she could in her limping state, into the rest of the house. Frantically, she searched for July, and the second she saw her, she rushed over, wrapping her arms around her with a quiet sob. When first meeting July's body, her's were trembling terribly. As if she'd been in a freezer for hours, she shook and shivered against the other woman, her panic attack leaving her completely unable to talk or think coheerently for a moment, just clutching onto July, wherever she found her, nuzzling her faze against the other's neck, now very audibly crying.
 
Would July truly have protested taking a shower with Hazel? No, likely not. She wasn't going to deny that she found Hazel cute and somewhat sensual, even if it was a situation where she'd never been willing to act on it. She could find her friend attractive and still not want to do anything about it. And she was more so in the idea of wanting to take care of the girl for now. Hazel had appeared on her doorstep -or her workplace's doorstep more so- and as far as she knew, the girl was one that was in need. So for now, she let Hazel take her time in slowly bathing herself, waiting by the door for a moment before simply calling out, "Well, if you need anything, just let me know!"

That wasn't to say July wasn't going to start looking at things on her own. She returned to the living room once she heard the shower go off and ensured that Hazel hadn't fallen down and hurt herself somehow. She retrieved her little couch-desk and opened her laptop. She wanted to know more about succubi right now. Namely, about how they worked. It wasn't something that most people talked about; in fact, there were many people that claimed they didn't exist. The nature of succubi to blend in with humans was one that made tracking them somewhat difficult. But it wasn't like they weren't documented in some fashion. The good news about the modern day was the ability to get almost anything that one needed when they needed it, since there was always at least one other person out there who wanted to find out what you did.

A few clicks and she was off to the races. Succubi had been present in human society for a rather long stretch of time. Sources differed but many agreed somewhere around the medieval ages was where the integration had occurred, if only evidenced by literature actually referencing them in that time (even if it was in a negative light). From the non, succubi had been present in many places, but in terms of their abilities, they weren't that different from humans. Sources were unable to agree if incubi existed; given that succubi did, it stood to reason incubi did as well, but the only documentation of them were later shown to be succubi that simply had the required tools for the job. What was agreed on, though, was that succubi could both disguise as humans and mimic them, yet required sex as sustenance.

What July was more interested in was their nature. She soon found a reputable medical report that, once she got past the study methods, concluded that succubi were able to convert energy directly into whatever form the body needed, this most prominently showing up in a healing factor. She wanted to know why Hazel looked like her gut had been broken open and yet now was drinking coffee without issue, and this seemed to be it. The source went on to theorize that perhaps this nature was linked to their biological needs of sex, but she wasn't interested in that. After a few more sources, she was able to find one that gave her pause. One that described a 'mating phenomenon, 'in which a succubus in a case study claimed to no longer require new biological needs. The study found that the succubi's body was producing energy from intake (which she guessed was sex) at a rate nearly quintuple that of a regular succubus, in effect meaning they weren't in need of sex the same way their partner was. The source referenced the succubus claiming this was apart of their nature, but she couldn't find a quote. There weren't any followup articles, and tracing the ones doing the report yielded nothing. She wasn't that surprised; doing research on succubi was a rather controversial field.

"Wha?" July had about enough time to see Hazel limping down the hall to push the couch-desk away enough so Hazel's sudden fling into her arms didn't cause her to add to the list of injuries the succubus had. For a moment, she was so stunned she couldn't respond to Hazel properly. Hazel pushing her face into July's neck was enough to get her moving, though. Whatever had happened to Hazel, July couldn't tell. But, slowly, she moved to wrap her arms around Hazel, gently reaching down to grab hold of Hazel's legs and slide her up into her lap. She just held Hazel like that, keeping her up and cuddled in her lap. What had triggered this, she didn't know. But the tears that were coming form Hazel were real enough, she didn't care.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," July reached up and brushed her hand against Hazel's head, sliding up her little horns for a moment and ignoring the feeling, just trying to pet her head like she felt would help, "It's okay. Really. I'm here. I'm right here." She didn't say anything else, just moved to slide her laptop a bit further away and ensure the lid was shut so Hazel wouldn't get any ideas about her looking up more on succubi. For right now, that wasn't important. Even if it was, she just wanted to know more about her friend. But she didn't have any time to think about that. She just had to keep Hazel calm. She held Hazel, working to try to keep her stabilized. Warm. Calm. Hazel was small enough she could almost smother the girl if she laid on top of her. She didn't, of course, but she did move to embrace her with a nearby blanket, awkwardly fumbling with her shoulder to knock it down so she could wrap the succubus up inside.
 
Seeing July on the couch, Hazel rushed as much as her leg would allow her over, sobbing quite audible as she went. She practically fell into July's arms, flopping down on her lap, legs bend up as tightly as she could, completely ignoring the pain she felt in the process, the pain of her mind far outweighed it. Crying against July's neck, feeling her comforting touch, and soothing words, sent small shivers through her body, as she made herself as small as possible, huddled up against the others warm body.
"Why? Why d. Did I have to find him?" She whimpered, nuzzling her teary face against July's neck again, clutching on to her as if her life depended on it. Her body continued to tremble with the welling of emotions, only starting to slow down proper as July applied a blanket. "I. I wish I. I'd never found my Soulmate. Th. That he'd lived in another country. Th. That he was just far, far away!" She cried out, spilling out all of the anxiety and stress she was feeling, as her body slowly started calming down, with July's soothing attention.

It took a few minutes for Hazel to calm down proper, her body relaxing against July, as her arms grew more slack, just resting on the other's shoulders, fingers still cuddling a bit with her hair. Hazel sniffled as she moved back a bit, her slightly pointy ears still lowered as far as they could. Leaning back she gulped, looking to July's neck, a hand curling up in the sleeve of the shirt, drying the spot she'd covered in tears.
"S.. Sorry. I don't... I. No, I. I Do know, where that came from..." She gulped, correcting herself. She didn't want to keep anything from July anymore. She wanted to be honest. To tell her. She gulped again, slowly letting go of July, instead moving her hands to pull the blanket she'd been given a little closer to herself, still huddled up in July's lap, her legs pulled close up to her chest, her soft tush resting on the other's thighs.

"I... I was. Uugh, this is so hard to talk about." She admitted, fumbling a bit with her sleeves, stroking the side of her head against July's chest. "But. I want to. Feel like. I need to." She admitted, looking up to July, for any hint that it was alright. That she could open up her heart, and admit some things to her. And, if July didn't stop her, or told her to do so, she would continue. Even if she said she didn't have to. She did want to. She did need to.
"I worked. As a... A Prostitute. For... For far too long, before I met him." She finally admitted, looking down to her hands, fumbling inside of the blanket, careful not to touch July with her horns as her head moved. "Many Succubi do, for. For obvious reasons. Easy access to energy. Some enjoy it. W. Well... We all enjoy sex, but. But I. I never liked being a prostitute." She admitted, nuzzling in a bit closer, closing her eyes. "I... I w. I was cheap. I didn't need the money, I just needed the sex. And, I needed a lot of it. I was, and am still, in my fledgling years, after all." She continued, taking a short pause then, biting her lips together. She didn't want to talk about this. Didn't want to admit it. But she felt like she needed to. No, she knew, that she needed to. She had to get this out of her system.

"It was so demeening... N. No one. Appreciates a prostitute. No one likes a 'slut'. And. I was slowly becoming that. Slowly becoming a worthless whore, sometimes just. Just giving free-bee's, because I was just so. S. So hungry..." She curled up a little tighter with that, like a string ready to pop, sobbing a few times before managing to relax again. "Being looked down on by everyone, I. I started hating myself. I. I didn't do anything, in my spare time. Just. Sat in my sorry excuse for a dump-in-a-hole, and stared out the window. Felt sorry for myself. Pitiful. Pathetic." She continued, clearly having a lot she needed to get off her chest, and needed July to hear.

"And then. I... I m. Met him." She started, gulping, clearly finding this the most hard, taking another pause. "He picked me up off the street one day, brought me to his appatment. Th. The sex wasn't excellent, he was... He was more than a bit drunk, and focused entirely on his own pleasure, but... But the energy... The energy was. It was magnificent... I felt so full... Fulfilled. Like I would never have to feed again. He... He gave me energy, to last for days. He. He was my Soulmate..." She admitted, eyes pinching shut for a moment. She talked about it, as if presuming July just know, forgetting most Succubus tried to keep this knowledge somewhat secret, along with their identities. They knew how humans worked. They know how they just had to know everything... If they knew there was something called a 'Soulmate', they would try to research it, and find out why these people were better for Succubi? Why? Probably for the hell of it, or for some way to learn how to control Succubi. Some nefarious reason, no doubt. Some humans were just cruel, why others became it by accident, with the best of intentions...

"At first, I just kept him as a client. It worked out for a while, before he found himself a lover, he didn't have to pay for. I was... I was distraught, having to go back to regular customers. It left me more and more hungry, until. Until I just couldn't go on. I revealed myself to him. Begged him... To take me in. And... And, take me, he did. In such... Horrible ways." She cried a single time, hiding her face into her blanket for a few moments of quiet sobbing, gulping.
"Th. That's why we hide... Hu. Humans can. Be so cruel. If they get a foot ahead... If they know they have a leg up on someone." She finally concluded, slowly turning her teary, golden eyes back up towards July. "I. I should've... I should've known. You were better then that, July. And. And I hate myself, for being so afraid to reveal myself to you, I just... Grew up. Fearing humans. And he.. He just. Solidified that fear. Gave me. First hand experience... With how humans take advantage of anything they can..." She gulped, biting her lips together, before leaning back up to hug herself around July's neck again.

"But not you, July. Y. You're the best... Friend. The best human. I've ever met. I... I still don't. Entirely feel like I deserve your kindness, but. But I could never fully explain, just how thankful I am. Could never repay you, for the kindness you've shown me. If. If you ever need anything. If. If you ever have any questions. I'll do everything within my power, to help you. I. I promise you that." Her words muffled a bit by July's neck, Hazel nuzzled up with another little whimper, finally going silent. She'd finally felt like she'd gotten it all out. Let it all loose. She'd put up a facade of 'being alright', just to make July happy. She wasn't alright. Her confidence was crushed. Her heart was broken. She was the literal mess she'd explained herself as earlier. Anxious. Pitiful. Pathetic. She would never deserve the affection July was showing her, so she would do anything within her power, to repay it in some other manner.
 
July knew that something was wrong with Hazel from day one. THe first day that she'd met the succubus, she'd been upset, cowering in fear and something had been off with her. She knew that Hazel needed to tell someone about this now, and she had to be the one to listen. At the moment, though, she was only concerned with making sure Hazel was comfortable. She let Hazel cry, knowing that she'd likely get upset about 'ruining her clothes' later for it. She wouldn't have brought it up even if she knew Hazel would. She just gently took hold of Hazel under the blanket and held her there, gently trailing her hands up and down Hazel's spine as she listened. She didn't want to talk. For once, July didn't need to talk. Hazel was going to tell her all she needed, and all she needed to do, was to listen to her.

A prostitute... it wasn't surprising. July knew that Hazel was a succubus now, and it wasn't like humans were thrilled about interacting with one if their dick wasn't getting wet. It was a sad reality of how society treated those that were considered 'sexual deviants' overall. Hazel, though, made it very clear what had happened to her. As sad as she was to admit it, July could picture it without thinking too much. Hazel had such positive and happy energy, it would be easy to exploit that for a prostitution ring, or even just on her own. Someone that needed food like that... well, July knew she'd do a lot to hold onto the life that she'd made for herself. But that didn't mean hearing it out of Hazel didn't boil her blood. It didn't mean she wasn't upset to hear her friend had whored herself out just for that. Her grip on Hazel tightened a bit more as she heard those words, but she held her tongue. The self-loathing talk just made her fingers dig in a bit too painfully for those few moments.

From the start, July had suspected that her boyfriend was behind this. She knew that something had been going on there, and she wasn't dumb enough to miss the textbook signs of abuse. But she'd believed in Hazel. Believed in her friend. And part of her was starting to get the picture. Of course Hazel was smart enough to know it was a horrible relationsihp and wanted out. Of course she had found him through prostitution, that just set them up in a bad place from the start. But that 'mating phenomenon' that she read about, this sounded like the 'Soulmate' that Hazel was talking about. Both her and that study had said they got more energy out of sex with them. Which would mean their needs were satisfied. And if it was only one person... that made too much sense. Why Hazel stayed. It didn't sound like she wanted to make him a better person, or cared about him. She needed him. She needed someone to take care of her needs, and so when he'd turned out like that...

July decided to start talking by letting out a sigh and gently running her hand over Hazel's had again, "Hazel, I'm not asking for you to figure out some way to repay me here. That's not what friends do. And even if I was a big enough bitch to ask, I wouldn't feel right taking anything from you. You're not with him anymore. You're here, with me. And from the sound of it, you shouldn't be going back to him... ever, really." July reached up to gently roll the blanket back enough to ensure she could look at Hazel's head through the reflection in the TV across the room, "I can't say I know what it's like to be a succubus, or what it's like to have to stick around for him... but, and this just might make me sound like a bitch, but I know what it's like to want to hold onto something and make it work. I spent years in my job holding on through shit just to get where I am today. I don't want to say that I'm anywhere near what you've gone through... but I get that feeling of wanting to at least see through what you started."

Her hand moved to gently cup Hazel's shoulder and tug her a bit so Hazel was facing the TV as well, so she could more clearly look into Hazel's eyes, "I don't really care about the succubus thing. I get it. Like, I really do get it. And you're my friend. I'm here to help. I've already forgiven you for hiding this all from me, before you ask. And I'm not some saint here. I don't understand everything. What I do know is that my friend came to me half beaten to death in the rain and right now I'm doing what I can to help her on her feet. And right now, knowing that you're not with him is enough to make me happy. You're with me right now. And I won't let you go back to someone that's going to hurt you like that. And if he does come here..." July let that comment hang. She owned several guns, and her grandfather had taught her how to use them. She wouldn't say that to Hazel, but the impliation was there. She would protect Hazel if it came to that.

"I'm not gonna treat you like a prostitute, or like he did," July hugged Hazel a little more, "Just, like my friend, okay? If you need me to do more or anything, I just need to know. I just want you to promise me one thing, Hazel," July's grip tightened a little more, "If you need someone right now, anything, please tell me."
 
July let her speak, and Hazel would forever be grateful for that. She wasn't sure she'd been able to continue, if she'd stopped. Even for a second. It was the tiniest crack in her anxiety, allowing all of this to flow out like a waterfall, and it could've easily been plugged up. It wasn't, however. July let her speak, and clutched onto her.
Hazel somehow understood that hard clench she'd felt with some of what she'd said, causing her eyes to pinch shut for a moment, stopping the derogatory way of speaking, before continuing. It wasn't physical pain from that clench, but a mental one. She'd been taught so long to think of herself this way, and it was so hard to let go of. She wasn't sure she ever could. But she would try. She would try to forgive herself for all of the nasty, derogatory things she'd done to herself, to satisfy other's needs to, in return, have her own satisfied. She'd needed them, and they'd wanted her. And now? She'd have to go back to that. Back on the streets. Back to whoring.

But she couldn't think about that right now. Not really because she didn't want to, but. Because her focus was slowly being turned towards the warmth she felt, running through her body. Cuddled up against July, she felt that, now somewhat familiar warmth, spreading through her body again. It had her breathing heavily in between a sentence, exhaling in a silent little squeak, on the verge of a moan, her body shivering for a second, before it went completely calm against her friend's. Her fingers had moved to clutch July's shirt now, folding the fabric between her fingers, as she kept close.

As she finished, and July started exhaling, and speaking, Hazel remained silent for a moment, before that firm, loving embrace had her shivering again. A low humming build up from the Succubus as she closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the warmth spreading through her entire body, tingling every single part of her. That sweet, nearly inaudible humming coming from her chest, could easily be compared to a purr, but a little more pitched, making it sound a bit like an extended, squeaked moan.
Hazel's head slowly nodded with July's words. She knew that she didn't have to find a way to repay this. July didn't need her to. It was such a foreign kindness for the young Succubus, but she'd started realizing it by now. Realizing, July wouldn't hear it, so she'd no longer press it, but instead just find ways to try and still repay her, with the same thing. Kindness. Gestures. Things she knew July liked. She was going to keep that decision to herself, for now.

Hazel's head remained, resting the side against July's chest, golden eyes open and looking down by the other's side, just silently listening. Her head slowly shook as July suggested she might sound like a bitch, but the Succubus still remained quite, letting her friend speak.
When tugged, Hazel looked confused for a moment, looking the way she was turned, before realizing she could see July's reflection through the TV. A weak smile slowly spreading on her lips as July continued. She really didn't care. There was a genuine look to those pretty eyes as she spoke, Hazel fully believed. She knew she could be gullible, but... For the first time in her life, she was absolutely sure someone was telling the truth. July, was telling the truth.

As she suggested he might come here, a light shiver ran through Hazel, but she kept focusing on that reflection, seeing a strange resolve in the woman as she spoke. Hazel had already felt safe, but in that moment, July solidified it. She'd be fine here. She could stay here, without putting July in danger. July was strong. Resourceful. Hazel could find some way to get back up on her feet, from this house. She'd have to find a way to make some money, so she could help pay some rent, or something, but she'd figure that out when she got better. For now... She was safe.
As July hugged her a little firmer, and gave that final suggested, Hazel exhaled in a silent squeal, her toes curling up a bit under the blankets. She felt a pulse of hunger tingling at the edges of her resolve, but she repressed it immediately. No! That was just something she couldn't ask her friend for... She couldn't expect her to feed that hunger. It was so insatiable. So needy. Greedy. That could not become July's burden. July didn't show these thoughts, but kept a weak little smile as she slowly nodded, starting to shift in July's lap, scootching and turning so she could look into July's eyes, her golden hues still rimmed with a wattery surface from her tears, but a light happiness had returned to her features, as she nodded a single time.

"Thank you. July. I. I will. I don't. Don't really know how. How I deserve all of this." She smiled, a weak, somewhat melancholic giggle as she started drying her tears away with her sleeves. "Do I... Do I R... Hngh!" She whimpered, her right, bruised leg practically shooting itself lose from July's leg and straight, her muscles having started to cramp up. In a mix of little laughs and painful murmurs Hazel's head dropped back down on July's chest as she reached out a hand to clutch the leg. "Ahaauh... Heh. F. Forgot about that..." She giggled lightly, grimacing as she sat up a bit, looking down to her leg. She nudged the blanket slightly out of the way, revealing the dark, bruised skin to them both. She turned her leg a little, bent it a little, and looked back up to July with a small smile. "It's a lot better now, though. Thank you. And! I can open my eye again." She smiled, some of her characteristic happiness slowly returning, as the heaviness of the moment started subsiding.

"This is almost healed entirely." She explained, lifting up the shirt, revealing the dark patch on her chest and stomach. The skin was still discolored, but it looked a lot like it was recovering nicely. In pulling up the shirt, however, she also revealed those naked, rosy petals between her legs, reminding her that her panties were still in the bathroom. She quickly pulled the shirt back down, clearing her throat with a small smirk on her lips, and a light blush on her cheeks. She knew July had already seen her naked, but that was in a moment of care and nursing. Not her sitting in her lap.
"Guess... I forgot those in the bathroom." She snickered, sitting herself up a bit. "I. Don't think you really need to bandage me up again, though. There's no fractures anymore, and. I seem to be healing nicely." She explained, with a little bit of hesitation in her voice. She didn't exactly mind the idea of being bandaged again, but. Didn't want July to bother, unnecessarily. Instead she leaned back, clearing her throat a bit, keeping her leg resting out to the side as she looked to July. "Thank you for listening, July. E. Enough of that now, though... I don't. Want to bring the mood down anymore. Did you have any ideas for something we could do? Do you have some games? Or do you just wanna watch a show? A movie?" She asked, her smile slowly growing as her cheerful mood slowly returned to her. Her eyes were still slightly stained, red lines running over them, showing the aftermath of their heartfelt moment.
 
July wasn't a perfect person. She might not have even been a good person. From the minute that she was given the chance to go out into the world, she hit the ground running. She ran, and she ran, and she ran until she had almost nothing left. And maybe that wasn't the smartest move. Hazel had seen it just by talking to her. She didn't have friends. She didn't keep any good relationships outside of the ones that were good for work. Her idea of going out and having fun, with 'friends,' was sitting at a cafe after work before going home to do even more. She was the ideal worker in a sense, someone that put all of her effort into her work, and then didn't ask for anything in return. Someone that was so driven that she would do anything to get ahead. And right now, it had all paid off for her. A house of her own, a good setup for a retirement plan, a working car and comfortable living...

In truth, Hazel was the first person to actually challenge that. She was the first person to ever actually push herself in the place of her normal, everyday life. The first one to ever make her stop running and actually look to see who else was around her. It was... odd. Odd to her that she had no issues with this. She thought she'd have been worried about giving up time, or thinking about others. But Hazel didn't do that for her. She didn't ever think about what she could be doing instead of hanging out with Hazel. She made time for Hazel, like anything else. And it wasn't out of obligation. She did so because she wanted to. That... was the strangest part of all of this. She wasn't sure why. Or how. But she knew that Hazel was special. Special to her.

Just taking time to look into those golden eyes sparked a feeling inside of her that she wasn't quite sure of how to take. After feeling how the succubus reacted to each of her words, she felt the need to keep her calm. Keep her there. Keep her... keep her feeling wanted and warmed. And so, she reached out to hold onto her. To hold onto that feeling that she had for Hazel. She didn't get that feeling. She wasn't sure where it was fully coming from. But she knew that it was there for Hazel. So once more, she smiled, and acted as Hazel's rock. The succubus needed someone to hold onto. She would be that person, no matter what it took for her to be it.

"Well, I'm glad to know you're healing," July chuckled a little bit and helped to move her body so as not to exacerbate any of Hazel's injuries, "Look, just to put this out in the open, I did read up a bit on succubi. Just the basics! Nothing stalkery. So I know you have the ability to heal. I just had to know to make sure if I would have to get you to a hospital or not," She watched the way Hazel moved her new leg around, putting her in an odd position of not knowing if that was good for her or not, "Don't move it around too much. Even if you are getting better, still not a good idea to make it worse."

July had a rather distinct reacting of giving a bit of a blush as she saw Hazel showing off her lower lips without much shame, a reaction that likely reminded Hazel that July had flirted with her in the past and had already done so many times with the two already being here. Neither of them were ashamed of that fact, but July just let out a small chuckle for now, "W-Well. If your wounds look like they're getting worse I'll bandage them. I uh. Later tonight I'll redo the splint on your leg. You might not need it but it'll help, take the pressure off of it. And, erm, don't worry about it. Both girls and all that, you know?"

Thankfully, Hazel gave her an out to all the oddities of their situation and talk, "W-Well. I don't have many board games, but the cabinet over there is filled with movies. You're welcome to grab one. I think about every movie we've talked about is in there. And if there isn't, I have all the services for them. Or we could go about that show you were watching earlier... Adventure Time, I think? I wasn't paying close attention but it looked cute. I'm not someone to turn down a fun show. That, or I can just, you know. Put on some music and we go vibin'," She spoke those last few words with the grace and elegance of a corporate executive, "...Or I can make us some food." For the moment, she moved to put the remote for the TV back in Hazel's hand. She didn't want to act like she was passing responsibility off onto Hazel, but the girl talked like she hardly got a choice in life. She wanted to give some of that to Hazel, even in this smaller way.

For now, July moved to tug the blanket down and fold it in their laps, giving Hazel a nice spot and a bit of covering over them.
 
Hazel didn't look surprised when July mentioned she'd looked up on her species, a weak smile on her lips as she nodded a single time. When she explained why she had, however, for a second those golden eyes did look up, ears perking a bit curiously, seemingly a bit surprised with the reasoning. Hazel had just expected July would've looked up the dangers and downsides of knowing and having a Succubus around. There were so many false 'warnings' out there, about her kin. Sure, some of her kind, in the past, had been quite ruthless, but could the humans feign any innocence in their past? Succubi, as any other species, had their dark past, taking their victims souls. This was something the far majority had grown out of, however. Taking a human's soul didn't give any more energy, and it just brought negative attention towards them, as well as removing a potential source of food. It was an archaic, dead practice.
"It's okay, July, I can understand your curiosity. And. And, if you have any questions, you can also ask me. I. I might not be able to answer everything, though, I am... Still just a fledgeling, I don't... I don't actually know a lot about myself, and my species. Not like. Heh. Not like we can just open up a webpage, and just find all the answers." She chuckled lightly. Succubi preferred to keep most of their secrets to themselves, and the internet was governed by humans, making it a risky place to share information. "And. Parenting, and Guardian-ship isn't. Really a thing either." She admitted, a somewhat melancholic smile at that thought. She'd always wondered what it'd be like to have a mother. Succubi could have children, but they were mostly of their partners origin. Most Succubi was 'created' in a different way. A way, she was also foreign to.

She nodded with July's demand not to move her leg too much, letting her leg rest back down. She'd only shot it out because of the cramps, but she'd only gotten those, because she'd huddled up the way she did. She was the architect of her own pain, which July wanted to try and stop her from doing. And, she would. She'd gotten that out of her system, and didn't foresee a mental need to huddle up quite like that again.
Hazel noticed the light blush on July's cheeks with what she'd been 'introduced to', causing Hazel's to brighten slightly as well. That little stammer in July's first word, somewhat out of character for her, made Hazel's heart flutter for a moment. Had she liked the view? Was she interested in that way? Perhaps... Hazel had to keep her thoughts down, ears lowering a little, but lips spreading as July mentioned they were both girls. She chuckled lightly at that, fingers fumbling a bit at the lower hem of the shirt.
"Well. Both girls, who like other girls, that way... Not fair to tease you like that." She mumbled lightly, before, indeed, quickly trying to switch the subject. It wasn't fair to tease her. Tempt her, even. But. Hazel wasn't going to apologize for it. She wasn't ashamed of it, and a part of her liked it... Liked playing around such a naughty subject with July. Such was her nature, and July knew it, and had always seemed to enjoy it as well.

She didn't mention the bandages, or the splint, part of her a bit unhappy to hear the idea with the splint, but she didn't show it. She didn't like being such a limpy fool... But, she did like the idea of being touched by July again. A thought she had to suppress as July continued, causing Hazel to perk up slightly. Hearing that she had a bunch of her favorite movies on those shelves caused her ears to peak, and her tail to creep out behind her, slowly raising behind her form to start swaying happily again.
"Uh! I wanna see if you have that one!" She chirped happily with the idea of a movie, about to shift out of July's lap as she noticed how her shirt had crumbled up a bit by Hazel's clutching fingers. Remaining in July's lap, both her hands reached down to gently straighten July's shirt, stroking her stomach in the progress, which made her realize something. "Oh. Don't. Forget to mention, if you get hungry, okay? I don't need food like you do, remember? So, I won't get hungry. We can always pause the movie if you do get hungry, make you some food, and then return when we're done." She suggested with a smile. Remembering to cater to human needs, was something she'd gotten used to the past few years. Mainly because she'd been punished if she forgot. Which would work to her benefit now. She actually cared about July's needs, after all.

With an agreement about food, Hazel made her way out of July's lap, happily hopping towards the cabinet, with only a slight limping to her steps. She opened the cabinet if it had a door, looking through with a cheerful little smile, eyes gleaming, even though that dark patch on the right eye. She shone like herself again, hands folded in front of herself as she looked over the collection. Absentmindedly her tail had raised behind her, lifting the hoodie up a bit, once again. She didn't really know this was a thing, not really having worn clothes while in her true for that often. But it gave July a gentle view of her bare butt, and when she bent slightly to look closer to something, the petals beneath as well.
Hazel's tail swayed happily from side to side, as she picked various movies from the shelves, looking at the cover. On occasion she even turned to July, telling her strange facts about the movies. How it was the first movie, the lead Actresses had been fully nude. The lead Actress had an injury during the shoot, but kept going. A side Actress had a major fight with the lead Actor. She knew a tone of little trivia about the movies she really liked, and the stuff she shared, was mostly based around the Actresses. She knew July's preference.

Looking over a line of horror movies, she seemed to realize something, looking back to July with a wide smile.
"Uh, have you seen Sinister? It's on Netflix, and I was told it was really good. I haven't seen it yet." She chirped, looking back to the shelves, and finding a movie she'd picked out earlier. "Do you want to see that later? Feel like it deserves some darkness." She snickered lightly, instead bringing out one of her new, favorite drama movies. She'd only watched it a few times by now, and had wanted to watch it again. She held it out for July to decide if she wanted to see it, a happy smile across her lips.
 
There were many things July knew she'd be taking a lot of time to learn. She didn't know hardly anything about succubi. What she had found quickly enough online had been digging into older studies done before the taboo had set in in force. Most people were willing to make it so succubi had no place in this world... others were willing to say they didn't exist. She wasn't exactly keen on how the internet seemed to take the facts of reality and distort them. Plus, it'd taken time to really get into the information on succubi that wasn't all speculative. She liked studies, hard facts and sources of real information by professional databases. Which, sadly, seemed to shun succubi about as much as regular reality.

"Yeah, not really all that fair," July chuckled, hoping to pass the moment off. She couldn't deny she was attracted to Hazel. She was long before she'd known Hazel was a succubus. In truth, the succubus part neither subtracted nor added to that feeling. Hazel had a body type she could get behind, and she was just the right amount of energetic and lively to truly make her start thinking about Hazel in more ways than just a friend. Plus... yes, she did like what she saw between Hazel's legs, and seeing it more than once already was starting to make her imagine getting it flashed even more. She had to come up with something else to get her mind off it, lest she end up making Hazel feel even more awkward.

"Huh?" Hazel's comment about food was just odd enough to really make her mind halt for a bit, "You ate food whenever we went out to dinner and such! Not like you can't taste it and all. You may not get hungry but sometimes you just wanna taste something good." July thanked herself for making that sound the worst possible way she could have put it, "Don't worry about me so much, Hazel. I'll make sure I eat, trust me. I was never one to do that. Even when I was working overtime I always had at least a protein bar on me. There's nothing healthy or attractive about being super skinny!" July crossed her arms at that, almost like declaring herself. It was, somewhat true she was. She always found girls that looked like twigs to be offputting. She'd prefer a girl with some slightly bigger curves to one that looked like she needed a sandwich any day!

"Just let me know if you can't find anything, I tried to put it all in alphabetical order," July's warm smile of appreciation soon turned to her fighting down a blush. She really needed to get Hazel dressed at this rate. Her hopes of not finding her friend amazingly gorgeous were dashed as Hazel seemed all too perky and willing to show off her ass to her, rather frequently at that. Those little flashes of what lay between her legs only made it worse! By the time Hazel had gone down the first row, she ended up with her legs crossed and thinking a bit harder about how she was going it make it through all this with Hazel acting like... that. But she knew Hazel wasn't trying to act like that, so she put her own thoughts down. At least, for now.

"I'm always down to try something new. Never know what you might find out there," July worked her magic on the remote, gliding her way through the app like she'd done it hundreds of time... which she likely had. She already had it set up and ready by the time that Hazel came back over, at which point she looked around and stood up herself, pulling up one of the couch cushions to reveal there was a compartment underneath for blankets. She dragged a second one out, tossing it over the spot where Hazel was sitting.

"They aren't the biggest blankets," That was the only explanation that July gave. For now she sat back down and reached up behind her to turn off a lamp, letting the main source of light turn into the screen itself and smiling to Hazel in the darkness, "Good atmosphere, right? Just don't get too scared on me." July herself wasn't one to get scared easily. She'd seen so many horror movies she knew how to handle them. But she was just playing with Hazel with that line.
 
Hazel snickered slightly with July's comment about food, giving her a gentle bat with a hand, both knowing what she meant. As she went on to ask her not to worry about her, Hazel's lips curved an affectionate smile, as her fingers played slightly with the hem of July's shirt. She nodded in agreement with her statement, and shrugged her shoulders lightly.
"I know. But. I can't help but want to worry about you. Or. At least care about you. You've been so worried for me, and taken care of me last night, and today. And, I fear you might forget to think about yourself, sometimes. Which is why I want to do that, for you. So, you don't forget." She smiled, a genuine tone in her voice, as she tried not to sound too obvious. She wanted to stay. She wanted to take care of July, as she had her. Not as repayment. But because she liked her. A lot. "Not much of a cook... You've got that handled too. But, maybe I'll bake you something, some day?" She suggested with a smile, before her attention was turned towards movies.

Hazel snickered with July's offer, nodding her head a few times with an affirmative hum. As Hazel went through the rows of movies, she shifted a few of them, noticing a few having gone out of order, probably because Hazel had watched it recently, and made a mistake when putting it back. There was a lot of movies, so she couldn't really be blamed much for that.
Finishing up her search, turning to face July, she thought she caught her, for a second, looking towards the Succubus' rear. She told herself she was just kidding herself, but even if she wasn't, she felt herself flattered for a second. Then, she blushed lightly as she smiled sweetly, realizing she'd probably been flashing her... She wasn't really used to walk around, casually, in her Succubus form. She'd forgot about her tail... It'd probably. Oh, she was not being very nice to her host at all, was she?

She opted not to mention it, nodding with a happy smile as July agreed to a horror movie. She put the movie she'd picked out back in it's place, happily hopping back over to July, sitting herself down next to her. She watched her moving around channels on the TV, hands folded in her lap, feet slightly apart. She looked up, curiously, her ears perking a bit as July stood, head tilting to look inside of the compartment. July's place was really resourceful, for someone who liked to live comfortably. Simple, but comfortable. She giggled as July tossed it over, a hand quickly stopping it from covering her, instead pulling it into her lap.
"Big enough." She chirped, guiding the blanket over herself, watching July as she sat back down.

Hazels shifted a bit closer to July as she reached back to the lamp. For a second, she pressed her lips together thoughtfully, before quickly snuggling up to July's side, forcing her arm to rest on top of the Succubus, if she wanted to be comfortable.
"Perfect. I'll be scared... But. I have you." Hazel mused, a small smile on her face, looking to the TV as she snuggled herself closer. She curled up her good leg, letting the other remain somewhat straight, not wanting to repeat past mistakes. She pulled at the other blanket, guiding it over July's body, giving them both some comfortable cover. As her head snuggled back against July's chest, she'd see the horns slowly starting to shimmer. The shimmer grew stronger for a second, before they were completely gone from her head. The second they were, she snuggled the side of her head up against July's, the lack of horns now allowing her to get more comfortable. Hazel hardly even seemed to react to this fact, as if she didn't even notice, because she honestly didn't. The lack of horns also made her pointy, emotive ears a bit more obvious, pointing out of her fiery hair.


The tension of the movie was quite intense, the young Succubus tensing up on several occasions, snuggling closer and even hiding her face against July several times. In many ways, Hazel seemed the kind of person who was 'horrible' at watching them, squeaking with the few, big jumpscares, and generally just tensing up at the intense atmosphere. It was a little strange to imagine horror films as her favorites. But, Hazel loved the tension. The suspence. The horror. She was a bit of a 'Gorehound' on that subject. She loved a good romance, with a sweet ending, but she also loved the thrilling experiences of a tragic story. She didn't talk much during the movie, other than 'uh', 'ah' and 'no', preferring to immerse herself in the movies, when watching horror.

As the movie fell unto it's outro, Hazel huffed slightly, a shiver running through her as she sat up, squealing slightly.
"Oouh... So sad. But a cool turn it made there. I hadn't really noticed that." She mused, slowly sitting herself up from July's side, stretching her back, arms reaching up to join it. As she did, a shimmer showed itself on top of her head, as her horns slowly materialized once again, looking a bit more like they just grew up out of her red hair this time. "That was reeeally good though! I loved the music, and general audio, it was so... Jarring! Almost too much at times. And then, there weren't even that many jump-scares. It just kept you in suspence." She chirped, letting her arms drop back down, looking up to July with a happy smile. "Did you like it?"
 
Hazel sitting down on the couch gave July a bit more time to relax herself. The chaos that was unfolding between them was something of a beautiful wreck, a feeling and situation she couldn't quite get her head wrapped around just yet. Well, maybe that was too much there. She was just having issues with the act that Hazel had been continually flashing her and that she was attracted to the succubus. She was just overexaggarating in her mind. She took a few seconds as Hazel got comfortable under her blanket to focus on getting her thoughts back under control. It wasn't difficult for her, just something she had to acknowledge she needed to do. And thus, when she sat down, she had control over herself.

Watching as Hazel's form shifted was something that she found rather engrossing to watch. She knew that succubi were able to change forms, since it was one of the main things used against them in terms of negative stereotypes. But she didn't even see Hazel truly acting like she wanted to change it, instead just opting to not have them anymore. Was all of it like that? Could Hazel simply decide what parts to have and not have? That was interesting if it was the case, and it certainly gave July many ideas about what living with Hazel might be like. But, just like the flashing, she didn't mention it further. She just put that thought down and let the two enjoy the movie.

In truth, July wasn't one that was made for thrillers. She had nerves of steel in a sense, and hardly ever got scared at these sorts of movies. She was the on you watched it with to have someone more grounded to hold onto. which, she found out quickly that Hazel was in need of. The two had gone to see movies together, but they'd always been rom-coms, not something quite like this. She was somewhat intrigued by how Hazel could handle these movies given how long she spent all twisted up and scared. But July just subtly leaned into Hazel and moved to eventually put an arm around her, giving her at least a bit of an embrace so when the horrible jump-scares came, she was prepared for them.

"HRmm... I can say that's a good one," July admitted honestly, "I can see what they were going for, but well. I've just seen too many movies and kinda guessed that whole plot sooner than I think I was supposed to. But.... this also has some more tastefully done jump-scares so it's better than 90% of all the shlock that most of these movies are... so I think I can settle on a good 7/10. Good moments, better than average." July was smiling the the whole time she spoke, almost like some sort of movie critic. She did tend to watch a lot of movies, so rating them was just a common thing for her.

"Alright!" July sat up in full once hte movie had finished, stopping the annoying little trailer/autoplay bits that always came with the platform, "I say we do something far more relaxing and engaging now." July looked down to her coffee table and smirked, "At least for a little bit. Not to change paces too much, but I have to do this now or I'll forget to do it entirely."

July slid a large piece of what looked like recycled wood up from under the coffee table, setting it on top. Sitting on top of it was a barely stated puzzle. A box of a warm, beautiful looking countryside view, with a large rainbow against an early morning snowy set of houses, was filled with the other pieces that weren't there. It looked like this particular puzzle had 500 pieces to it, and she'd maybe gotten half the outside border done.

"Alright, I'm contracting you to help me with this puzzle!" July declared, "And no I'm not an old woman for doing these, my mom did them with me for years and it's just a habit now!"
 
While it didn't make her little yips and gasps any less frequent, having someone with July's nerves was an entirely new experience for Hazel. For the past few years, she'd basically been a Housewife, locked away at home most days, and all of her time had been spent watching movies, and other casual time-spenders. She enjoyed the shock and the thrill of a horror movie the most, and having someone to cuddle up against, was such a pleasant experience. A little part of her was afraid July wasn't enjoying it at all, with how little reactions she had to it, since in her experience, the immersion and imagining the situation from the characters eyes, was the best part. It didn't outweigh the comforting feeling of someone caring and brave to snuggle up to, however.

Hazel tilted her head lightly, listening to July's casual review of the movie, looking towards the outro for a moment, looking thoughtful. She felt like she should give her own rating now, and that was seemingly more difficult than it was for July.
"Mmh. I caught on to some of the plot, but not the whole idea of it striking, when the family moved. Caught onto the kid's theme fairly quickly, though. I think I immerse myself so much in the characters, it just comes natural to me, not to analyze what is going on, from my own perspective, but from the characters." She pondered, pouting her lips a bit. "For a Horror movie, it was an A+ plot, in my opinion. Acting was great too. And, I agree, not too many cheap scares, like most newer horror movies. For me, it was probably an eight... Mmm maybe a nine, out of ten." She smiled, looking back to July. She already knew July wasn't one to start 'correcting', or explaining why she thought her opinion was wrong. They'd discussed stories and plots many times before, and July was open to other's opinions, and that it was a matter of personal opinion.

Hazel looked curiously to July as she sat up, seemingly having an idea for something to do. She observed as July brought something out, smiling as she explained. Seeing the Puzzle brought out, Hazel's golden hues widened a bit, slowly slipping from the couch, to sit on her knees, closer to the puzzle and able to lean over it a bit more.
"Uhh, I haven't done a puzzle in a long time!" She awed, looking up to July with a happy smile, as she continued. Hazel giggled, placing a hand on July's knee, a finger gently stroking her as she looked back to the puzzle.
"Noo, you aren't. You're an old woman, for having physical copies of movies..." Hazel teased sarcastically with a little snicker. "No, I think puzzles are really fun. Just. Haven't done them in a while." She smiled, looking over the warm colours, her golden hues swerving over the scene for a moment in a very analytic way.

She seemed to snap out of it for a moment, blinking back up to July, placing her hand back on her thigh.
"You aren't hungry yet?" She asked, and seemed to immediately regret it, raising her hands, waving them a bit. "No... No, sorry. You'll make dinner, when you're hungry." She snickered a bit shyly. "I should stop asking. You're not a child, and you aren't dense..." She pressed her lips together a bit. She'd already explained that she'd not really get hungry that day, and she didn't need to explain it again. It was obvious Hazel wanted to make sure July understood that point, however. Weather that be out of worry that July would just sit with her, without considering her own stomach, or just because she herself was a bit dense? Up to the viewer.

There were many things Hazel wasn't good at, and she wasn't afraid to admit that. There was no sports she excelled at. She wasn't a very good cook. She wasn't brave. She wasn't even very good with patterns. One thing she was good at, however, was colors. She had an inherent talent to see the smallest differences in colors, and generally just seeing them match. Something she quickly proved, as they got started on the puzzle. She found pieces, even in the blue expanse of the sky, like it wasn't even a challenge. She was quick to see color patterns, and just where the pieces she picked up fit. Even then, she almost seemed to compose herself, leaning over to July on several occasions, seeing what pieces she was working on, chatting and imagining where pieces fit. She even asked if July could see if pieces fit on her side of the puzzle, even though July might have an idea she knew it would fit, just didn't want to be rude and reach out in front of her.
 
"Oh hush, I have physical copies because I don't want to have to be bored out of my mind if all the internet goes down. I just like having things to put on whenever I want and not having to worry about internet connection!" July stuck her tongue out. Really it was just because she liked having them on display. Having a bunch of movies like that looked rather nice when you lined them all up like that. And at the same time, they had a good presence. She could pop a movie in and watch it whenever she wanted, and sometimes just getting to sit down and pick one out from it all was a nice feeling to go with. Or at least that was what she wanted to say. She wasn't that old. Barely even an adult!

"Glad to know you don't think I'm a freak for having puzzles on hand, though," July shrugged, "And it's k. I get it. If you don't need to eat you have to worry about if I do. I'll eat, don't you worry your little red butt off," July chuckled, "Now let's get down to this. We got a few hours of puzzling to get through. And sadly, this one doesn't require you to start thinking too hard for it." She winked; her joke was barely even one at that and she knew it was bad. She just liked to act like she was clever or funny.

Thus, July got down to it. She'd done puzzles for a rather long time, long enough that she knew the general gist of them. She knew how to work at first making the border, then staring with the general shapes and colors that were easily identified. The good thing, though, was that it looked to be that HAzel knew even more about this than she did. She was incredibly fast, which spoke to her skill given July's experience. She had an entire closet half filled with old puzzles, ones that she occasionally broke out form time to time. She liked to have one ready to start up in case she ended up getting a free night from work, or just couldn't stand the thought of another show. It was nice to do something that didn't need her to start going crazy and thinking about things that hard. She just had to find puzzle pieces and shove them together.

Plus, it gave her another chance to decompress with Hazel. Small talk was nice, but when they faded to silence, she had a reason to. She could fall back on the puzzle if their line of thought died out, and just think. And then chat a little more, and chat a bit more about the puzzle too. Just a nice, relaxing time with Hazel. It was something that she valued given how long she'd been working at full speed. Moments like this, where she got to relax and just enjoy herself.

"Auugghhh...." About an hour an a half in, July finally stopped and leaned back, yawning as she did, "I think I've hit puzzle critical mass. I'm gonna knock off right now. You can keep going a little bit," The two had completed about a quarter of the puzzle together, "At this rate I might have to go buy another one. Probably more pieces. I've done up to a thousand before." She smirked, "Yeah I'm that crazy. Anyways!" July suddenly rocked up onto her feet, "I think right now we should check your injuries and maybe get you bandaged again. After that I'm gonna get some food and we can think about maybe either watching something or whatever. It's getting a little late," July nodded to the outside window, "And, well, I do have to go to work tomorrow. Sorry, but duty calls."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom