ᴇᴍʙᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴅʏɪɴɢ ꜱᴋʏ | ᴛᴇɴᴢᴀɪ & ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇ ᴅɪᴇᴍ

[Tenzai]

More. Ophelia saw her as someone more meaningful than any ordinary sister or simple weapon. There was stock in the feelings she placed in the vampire which motivated this side to come out. Whatever she once was, she stood apart from the team that she served alongside, let alone any other knight that might have graced the princess before. "... You don't need to ask for something like that so formally..." "...Its only right. After all, I come to you as a stranger while you come to me as... More than a friend." The finger that ran down her jawline made her blush in anticipation. It was a quiet offer of intimacy, a whisper through body language. Feeling her chuckle against her lips as the princess lingered close, she closed her eyes in response to the sight of Ophelia closing her own, only to be met with the warmest touch she had ever felt before. Gasping, the resistance in the hands that had bridged the gap in between them had faltered, melting to the pleasure of her flesh. Though, Ophelia had yet to be finished. Upon letting go the first time, Neon panted, trying to recompose herself in front of the princess only to become subject to another one of her heated kisses. Her knees trembled upon the second, her legs tightening closer together to avoid embarrassing herself any further with her inexperience. This feeling was addictive, made even more potent with the strength of her new nerves combined. "Ophe... Lia..." Neon couldn't speak her name properly with Ophelia's saliva coating the tongue of the vampire whose mouth yearned for her all the more. She was making the naive woman a disorderly, desperate one. However, Neon wasn't going to complain. Then came the kisses to her jaw, her neck, her ears, and even her shoulders. Empty was the canvas that coated her beloved, the lipstick marks of what was once there now long gone and faded away. "I... I can't think." Her mind was overheating with the flood of new data that came with these new feelings. They were intense yet intimate, passionate and frustratingly impatient. "Please..." Falling back against the couch, she laid down, looking up at the woman that kept showering her with physical praise. "Mmm..." Only then, when the intensity of her lipstick offensive was at its height did she do something that the past Neon never did. She whimpered. "Please give me more." Covered in her lipstick marks, as Ophelia pulled away, she felt lonely. To be showered with affection for it to end had felt like a bittersweet truth she had yet to learn. She wanted to feel what it was like to be spoiled, to be treasured as a woman deserving of the same love her sister was showered in. Pouting as she recollected herself, once Ophelia got up, she sat back up in return. "Is something the matter?" "Sorry about that. I guess I had a lot of, uhm... desire pent up. I'll go get some wipes to clean you up. And... I should definitely go check on August now." Before Ophelia could stand up, Neon grabbed her hand. "...Please don't go for too long." Still bashful after that whole experience, instead of hiding her feelings, she made sure it was known. "I'm gonna miss you." With her other hand brushing against her fingers, Neon let go. "I'll be back in a moment, okay?" "Okay. Come back soon!" Looking towards Ophelia as she moved towards the door, upon having her leave, Neon's fingers ran down her body to sate her heat. The princess sparked a stubborn fire in her that only sparked further whenever her eyes traced over Ophelia. "...I don't think I could handle being too long.. Ahn~"

"Hey, Gust...?" Further down the hall, well beyond the door that led to the living room, August looked at herself in the mirror, wondering whether she was strong enough to speak to Neon about this in the first place. Elaine's role was to have the difficult discussions with the rest of the team before. Now with her position vacant and no one else quite being able to replace the gap made in her absence, August had become the face of their team, speaking where few others would. Though naturally, that would come with its own risks. Eventually, she would stumble upon a topic that even she couldn't broach. "Lavender is gone, August." She spoke to her own reflection, trying to instill the courage to break Neon down again. Unbeknownst to her was the fact that she was able to be heard from those close outside. "What's left of her isn't her. Just a corporate slave." There was history that the two didn't share quite yet, a troubling past that they hoped before that they moved well beyond already. "Just tell her. How hard could it be? She was strong enough before. She'll be strong enough again... Right?" Shift. The panel door behind her opened, causing her to bounce back from the sound. The tears that once ran down her face were washed away with a splash of water from the sink, though in spite of that, it was clear that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy. A sniffle had followed every one of her breaths. "Ophelia?" The princess' prior words to coming in weren't heard. She was too focused on her own anxieties to notice. "How are you doing? Neon was concerned for you... and so am I. I know you've been dealing with a lot of the weight being thrust upon you after Elaine's passing, and this must be a very difficult time, but... I just want you to know you can lean on me for anything." "... Thanks for checking in on me but I'll be-..." Spotting herself nearly lying again just to ease her girlfriend's worries, before it had the chance to fully escape her mouth, she closed her mouth, shaking her head. Ophelia deserved to know the truth, no matter how ugly the truth could seem from the surface. "Actually... If you're offering anything... Can I get a hug?" August leaned her head against Ophelia's shoulder, unable to hide her tears from falling. At least this way, Ophelia wouldn't get to see how much of a crybaby she could be, even if the tears on the princess' skin would tell her all she needed of what was going on. "I don't know what to do." Her voice cracked no higher than a whisper as she clung close to Ophelia. "I know you and the others say I'm enough, but... I... I don't know if I'm fit to handle this. What if I fail? What if Neon hates me?" "Someone has to tell Neon that her sister isn't around anymore." Her fingers tensed on Ophelia's dress, causing it to fold at her grip. "She's alive... Yeah... But she's not the same... And I don't think Neon would be able to tell the difference at this point." She was there when the two had separated last. She remembered when she told the other members of her team that her sister was dead to her. "I'm afraid that the void shades would tell her whatever she wants to hear to bring her back under control... And I don't know if I'll be enough to convince her otherwise." Wiping her tears off, she pulled back to find some sort of confidence in herself by knowing that Ophelia was by her side. This was no easy responsibility. Unlike fighting on the battlefield where there was a clear victor, when it came to conversational and emotional tact, there was no guarantee that her words had worked until the moment that Neon would inevitably come to making a decision: To return to her facade of a past family or to remain with the family that she chose. "Maybe... Maybe we could convince her together if you would help me." "I'd like to show her that she has a home she belongs in. Whatever it takes." Feeling safe in her arms with Ophelia by her side, with a simple tug of her hand, she pulled her close to peck her on the lips, happy to be a part of their little romantic polycule. "Sorry about my mess. Sometimes, I just need a little space and a little bit of you to pick me up." Slowly interlocking her fingers with Ophelia's, she walked to her side, turning towards the door. "Will you help me convince Neon to stay?... Or...." Spotting Ophelia's reaction, she smirked, trying to rebuild her confidence back on the spot through familiar gestures of love. "Will you need me to convince you too?" Back in the living room, before the two came back, Neon gasped in relief as her fingers dug to where she craved touch the most. Her panties were dropped to her ankles as she got herself off. "Shit..." Her face was red, still smelling Ophelia's scent all over her skin. Though despite her initial release, there was something missing. The fire in her had refused to go out. She was needy. "...Ugh... Why can't I calm down?" Whatever lipstick kisses Ophelia had left behind on her partner had appeared to transfer over the same frustration she was feeling herself. Groaning and needy, as she heard the sound of the panel door to the bathroom open, she hastily adjusted herself, hiding her panties to save on time to avoid getting caught. "O-oh, hey there." She looked over at the two from over the couch, adjusting her skirt to hang further down than usual. "F-found the wipes?"

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "... Thanks for checking in on me but I'll be-..." Ophelia was ready to give August a piece of her mind for trying to act tough when she was clearly struggling yet again, her arms crossing under her chest in a none too happy fashion and her brows furrowing down, but let up when August immediately when she immediately retreated from that bad habit of hers. At least she was learning that she could stop shouldering everything on her own. Little by little. It was the best any of them could hope to achieve. "Actually... If you're offering anything... Can I get a hug?" "Well, I meant it more on the 'give advice' or 'lend an ear' department, but-- oh sure--" Her arms lifted up awkwardly as August threw herself into her arms, the feeling of wet, warm tears letting the princess know all about what she was going through. Potential was a curse that everyone was born with, and self-doubt was one of the many afflictions that such a curse came with. It was only because August understood that she could do better that she was able to doubt herself, for one who didn't even know their own potential would never be bothered with doubting themselves. Moreover, it was because she underestimated her own potential that she could not see the truth of herself. "I know you and the others say I'm enough, but... I... I don't know if I'm fit to handle this. What if I fail? What if Neon hates me?" "If you fail, we'll be here to help you pick yourself back up. As for Neon, she won't. She might not remember us, but I think part of her understands. Let her come to her own conclusions." At the end of the day, none of them could predict exactly how Neon would react to the information regarding her sister. Ophelia, still technically an outsider to the dynamics of their group prior to joining it, didn't know what she would do or how precious her sister had been to her. "I'm afraid that the void shades would tell her whatever she wants to hear to bring her back under control... And I don't know if I'll be enough to convince her otherwise." "So at the end of the day we still have to deal with the void shades..." Ophelia sighed, shaking her head. They'd gone through a suicide mission specifically because they wanted to sidestep dealing with them, but was there no way to avoid them after all? Were they destined to butt heads with them over Neon no matter the circumstances? This was becoming increasingly annoying. "Maybe... Maybe we could convince her together if you would help me." "Sure." She smiled, stroking the back of August's head. "And if that doesn't work, why don't we just smash the void shades? We've already gone through one hell to get Neon back, so what's another? Besides, the more I fight, the more I'm getting my grasp on my patron's powers back. Give me a few more near-death experiences and I'll be able to raise their dead to fight against them with ease. That'll show them to mess with a cursed princess." She chuckled, but there was a hint of malice in her voice, as well as excitement at an excuse for bringing the fight to others. In reality, Ophelia shared more with her mother, a born warrior, than she had ever shared with her father, a leader and a diplomat, although one who preferred intimidation and duress over negotiation. She could do her fair bit of intimidation if she really wanted to, though. It was one of the few boons that came with making a pact with the unknown; there were very few beings in the universe who did not fear it. "Will you help me convince Neon to stay?... Or..." Ophelia quirked her brow at August, wondering where she was going with her sentence and getting a sense of what she was going to say before she even uttered the words. "Will you need me to convince you too?" "Methinks you ought to work on thy flirting if thou desirest to court a princess. You dork." Ophelia flicked her girlfriend on the forehead with a smile, dashing any ideas of 'convincing' her that August might have swimming in her mind. "If you're making those kinds of comments, then I think you'll be doing just fine. Just keep that confidence and I'm sure we'll be able to do something together." 'Really wish Medina was here to help, though.' If she wasn't here the moment Neon had woken up, it was probable she was sleeping. Knowing her, the ghost girl had probably worked herself to the bone even after their mission. And since Rei hadn't brought her back, it was likely that she was either not responding or the doctor simply refused to have her woken up. She was, in the end, still a doctor, so she probably had a code of honor she followed. "O-oh, hey there." Ophelia quirked her brows at Neon's strange behavior, though she was pretty sure she heard a couple of moans before they walked in. She had sharper hearing than most, so even if Neon tried to play it off, the princess was fairly certain she knew what she'd been doing before she scrambled to compose herself. "F-found the wipes?" "Sure did." She threw the small, light box of wet wipes to her, giving her a smirk as she walked over to the sofa, but not before taking August's hand in her own. "Should I have brought you a towel too?" Ophelia teased, openly relishing the opportunity to be the one teasing Neon for once. She was usually so nonchalant about everything, yet this version of her had her own charm. Her innocence and neediness was adorable. "Hey, listen..." But flirting and teasing had to take a back seat when something more important was hanging in the air. Squeezing August's hand with her own, she nodded at the witch as they both walked over to stand in front of Neon. Ophelia's smile faded into a more serious expression. Not quite a frown because she didn't want to make Neon too anxious, but she couldn't treat this with the levity she usually gave most things. "We have to talk about something serious. Well, August has to tell you something, but we're both here to support you, so don't get too worried... and don't do anything brash, okay?"

 

[Tenzai]

"Methinks you ought to work on thy flirting if thou desirest to court a princess. You dork." "Blessed be the truth that the lady I admire is one who wants me in return." Ophelia was swiftly becoming August's strength. Her image and her comfort were pillars of confidence that the witch felt she could lean on, even when her heart was at its heaviest. "I don't think I'd prefer to court any other princess... So that advice might not be right for me." "If you're making those kinds of comments, then I think you'll be doing just fine. Just keep that confidence and I'm sure we'll be able to do something together." "Gotcha! Thanks for being there for me." In truth, she was still scared of saying the wrong words. This Neon was someone that was most likely emotionally volatile, one that couldn't be predictable. Though with the flick of her forehead acting as a stinging reminder that she wasn't alone and the banter afterwards hinting that regardless of what she would say, it would be okay, she finally mustered the emotional endurance to follow after Ophelia's footsteps, her hair still messy from the embrace and the welcome head pats. "I really appreciate it, Lia."

"Sure did." Right as she adjusted herself, the tossing of the box of wipes had summoned her hands from behind the couch, a glimmer on her digits hinting at what transpired just moments earlier. "T-thanks. Its a little hot in here so I've been sweating a little." The blush was still ever present, obvious enough to the point that even August was able to tell that something was off. With Ophelia taking the witch's hand over to the couch, by the time they made it by Neon's side, Neon had done a hasty cleanup. "Should I have brought you a towel too?" "N-no need. I think I'll be alright with just these." The vampire was bashful, concerned that her previous intentions were too vulgar and desperate to share openly. Though, with August and Ophelia not commenting on it, she assumed that they were unaware, praying that her assumption was the truth and not her mind's attempt to cope. "Anymore and I think it'll be too much, haha." Her teasing was getting to Neon, flustering her all the more after being made subject to her lips. Everything Lia did was new to her. "Hey, listen..." However, this sudden flurry of emotion wouldn't last for long. A shift in tone warned her that a serious topic was about to approach; One that couldn't be simply whimmed away to another time. "What is it? Is something the matter?" A subtle squeezing of her hand was enough body language for August to understand her signal; The princess was buying her an opportunity to speak, this time, at her side. ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ᴘɪxᴇʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴋɪꜱꜱᴇꜱ | ᴊᴏᴊɪ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ "We have to talk about something serious. Well, August has to tell you something, but we're both here to support you, so don't get too worried... and don't do anything brash, okay?" "Why would I-" "Your sister isn't with us anymore." Ripping off the social and emotional band aid as soon as she could, August bowed in apology for the truth that she shared. "She's alive, yes, but she isn't the same woman that you know. She's... Different." Greed had corrupted her, making her once heroine a villain. Whatever happened to her in the time that the two sisters spent apart had changed her deeply, turning the once caring older sister that would do anything to keep her only family safe to someone unrecognizable. "Lavender was changed by the void shades. She's one of them now." "I... I don't understand." Her sister made a promise to always be there for her. To think that she would've thrown their bond away over the sake of her loyalty to some sort of organization was beyond her. However, the more she looked at her own body, the more she realized just what went into her. Hardly any piece of her was a part of the original her: It was as if she was replaced in her near entirety as well. "... Did she change for me?" Clutching her fingers against her skirt, she looked up at the witch and the princess for answers. "I don't know. I'm sorry." The reasons behind it weren't clear, but what was known for certain was how eager she was to sell sister's soul off to the void shades. "But she tried to sell you off before. She has... And if it wasn't for that, for your contract being bought by the hero here, who would've known where you would've been shipped off too." She remembered the anger that the past Neon felt, adopting it as the family's own emotion. It was unfair for her, even if they were to give her a second chance, to strip her of her personhood. To August, the void shades were no different than their enemies, if not worse. Even if they ensured that more people would come out alive by putting themselves at risk for profit, it still didn't take away the fact that it corrupted her image of what they were fighting for in the first place. "She threatened to scrap you before to prove a point." Sinking into the couch, Neon laid there, crushed by the allegations of what her sister became. "... Surely.... Surely there has to be more to this than that." This was a nightmare, a reality that her mind was refusing to agree with. Unfortunately for her newfound family, the Neon that she was reset to was the very same that clung onto every part of her sister, from wanting to adopt the same sword-fighting style to even the way she acted with confidence around others. "Can't we just ask? Can I just talk to her once?" August turned to Ophelia, a look of concern in her eyes. Their people were injured and recovering. To invite more risk was to play with their odds once again, threatening their lives over a naive Neon's hopes for something that simply wasn't there. "I... I don't think we could do that. But... That's not my decision alone to make. Ophelia, what do you think we should do?" In contrast to the prideful warrior she was before, Neon fell to her knees, displaying an image that many aboard the citadel thought was impossible. "Please. Ophelia. I'm begging you. Please let me see her again. I just want to know the truth... And if this is real... If she is as you say she is, maybe I could change her... Or at least, I'd like to try." With her knees to the floor, she brought her head to the ground, fully prostrating herself, hoping that the princess would give her a chance to do as her heart felt was right. "Will you give me a chance?"

"Serena." The angel sat quietly, resting her princess' head in her lap. "Serena." Saying her name over and over again, she found the feeling of Serena's syllable's rather pleasant on her tongue. "Ah, there you are. How was your sleep?" While Shiro's own wounds were bad, they were something she had some control over. Serena on the other hand required a bit more attention from the medical staff. "Cea said you're looking good. You're on the road to making a full recovery." Spotting Serena's body shifting, Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. "Relax. I'm here. She told me to let you rest and well..." A small grin cracked over her usually stoic lips, just enough for the princess to notice. "I thought you would prefer me instead of an ordinary medical pillow to wake up to." Stroking her head, Shiro brushed Serena's hair out of her eyes to check in on the healing progress she made in the meantime. "...So was I right?" For a moment, she felt peace in the quiet. Alone in the medical room with the woman that caught her attention, the markswoman dropped her guard just for a moment, only for her eyes to sharpen towards the door. Reaching for her pistol, she lifted it as the door opened, pointing the barrel towards the familiar, unwelcome face. "What are you doing here?" "Relax Shiro, I'm not here for you. I'm here for your princess." Armed gunmen all dressed in similar uniform raised their weapons at the sight of Shiro holding up her own. In front of them all was a purple-haired woman, a smirk on her face lacking any fear from being held at gunpoint. "Serena, yes?" "I have a few questions about the doctor you "rescued" to work on my sister."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "Huuuuhhh..." Complicated family matters, an (unsurprisingly) unpleasant topic for Ophelia. With her free hand, the princess uneasily twirled her hair while August and Neon talked, with August mostly being the bearer of bad news and Neon being mostly confused. She hadn't expected anything good given August's adamant refusal to talk to Neon about her sister until Ophelia gave her a little pep talk, but she was surprised by how awful the reality was. Even with all of the gruesome memories that swam in her head rent-free, Ophelia couldn't recall a single time someone had sold their own sibling off. It was the kind of thing that even the worst of people couldn't fathom. To work so hard to protect someone only to turn around and betray them... 'Maybe I really should go and smash these void shades on my own...' She could do it. Probably. It might cost her a couple of precious memories, limited as they were at this point, but it would be worth it just to blow off some steam. And then they would stop being a problem altogether. If Sen or whoever wanted to give her shit about it later, then she could deal with it then. At least, that was her impulse reaction. In reality, she knew that going scorched earth wouldn't help anyone other than herself. And it would just be instant catharsis. "I... I don't think we could do that. But... That's not my decision alone to make. Ophelia, what do you think we should do?" "... Eh?" Apparently, she'd gone off on her own thoughts for a while now, because she looked at August like a deer caught in headlights, not expecting to be completely blindsided by her question. She'd been listening to August this whole time, thinking about just how awful things had been, but as someone who hadn't been around to witness any of it, she hadn't expected for her to be asked for input. She still maintained the position of an outsider in these matters, for better or worse, looking on like a detached observer. But the others didn't see her that way. August looked to her for guidance. Neon looked to her for approval... At some point, she had become a sort of anchor to these two girls and a source of reliability to the others. "Please. Ophelia. I'm begging you. Please let me see her again. I just want to know the truth... And if this is real... If she is as you say she is, maybe I could change her... Or at least, I'd like to try." "Ehhh, why am I the tiebreaker here? This whole thing... it's too complicated for me." She slowly let go of August's hand, the tips of her fingers brushing against it as she took a step back and hugged her own arm, looking down at Neon with a troubled look on her face as the cyber-samurai dogeza'd, pleading her case to the princess. "... Please raise your head, Neon. To prostrate yourself like this is unbecoming of a warrior who forced me to acknowledge her." Not only by protecting her, but by exchanging blows with her equally. Were it not for Ophelia's multiple sources of power, Neon would certainly be the better of the two. "Will you give me a chance?" "Hells, it's not like I'm a stranger to complicated family dynamics. My own father pushed me off into an abyss to die. Did I ever tell you two about that? But I know why he did it. I've had five thousand years to make peace with the fact that he couldn't let a heretic like me live. But this is different, Neon. If your sister tried to sell you off... there's no telling what she might do if she gets to meet you again." While she could sympathize with Neon's plea, she could also understand why August wasn't too thrilled about the idea. It was dangerous. Dying might be the best outcome if the worst were to pass. "Why don't we settle down for a bit? Emotions are running high. We've been talking for a while now, but maybe we should just wait for Medina to wake up? If there's a way for you to regain your memories, then you might find yourself not wanting to go back after all. If you still do, or if there's no way for you to get your memories back..." "... I'll personally help you, Neon."​

​

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞ ​ "Serena." "Mmnghhh... just five more minutes..." "Serena." "I said-- Oh, S-Shiro. I'm sorry... I was just having this very sweet dream where I, u-uhm..." Actually, maybe it was better if she didn't tell her that dream involved her? There were some things that would probably turn Shiro off if she went on a detailed account. Well, even now, the dream was already, regretfully, escaping her. Maybe it was for the best. After all, no dream could be sweeter than the reality of being in Shiro's presence. Sleeping on her lap, of all places! She wouldn't even dare dream of it, yet here she was. "Cea said you're looking good. You're on the road to making a full recovery." "Nghhh... that's good, but... shouldn't you be resting yourself? How come they let you leave your room, but I get a guard posted by my door at all times?" She pursed her lips together, pouting at the catgirl as if she was somehow the culprit for this arrangement. All while being willfully ignorant of the fact that it was her own fault for always trying to sneak around. It was in her nature to try and be stealthy though. In some ways, she might be more cat-like than the angelic cat herself. She was certainly more mercurial in her mood than the markswoman, who was incredibly hard to read given her stoicism. Then again... ... There were moments that surprised her, like that small grin of hers that made Serena's heart skip a beat. "Mmm... I suppose I can thank this new pillow for the sweet dream I had. So yes, I'd say the intended purpose was achieved..." She allowed herself to smile back, slightly twisting her body to face Shiro and giving her back to the entrance. She was so relaxed that she actually lowered her guard in that very moment, not noticing the various figures coming in until it was too late. Not that it would've changed anything. "Shiro...?" She looked up from her lap when she sensed Shiro tensing up, only to twist around to look in the direction of an uninvited guest when she grabbed her gun and instantly pointed it at the entrance of her room. "Relax Shiro, I'm not here for you. I'm here for your princess." Amber hues wandered from Shiro to the source of the voice, her gaze cold and unfeeling towards the one who had dared to break her peaceful time with Shiro. Were she in better shape, she'd make sure that these knaves paid for their transgression, regardless of who they were and who sent them. "Serena, yes?" "You would be correct... but I don't remember ever giving my name to someone like you." She pushed herself up to a sitting position, reaching over and gently pushing Shiro's gun down with her palm, giving her a reassuring smile and a shake of her head. There was no need for her to put herself at risk for her. If they wanted to harm them, they wouldn't have come in from the front door, regardless of what their intentions were. As much as she didn't like it, they probably did just come to talk. Although bringing so many people was a bit overboard, wasn't it? And guns? "I have a few questions about the doctor you "rescued" to work on my sister." "This is a place of healing- what need do you have for so much firepower? Are you that afraid of two injured girls?" Brushing off the woman's words at first, she gave a smug smirk as she raised her hand to cover her mocking expression behind slender fingers, taking a page from a certain, arrogant princess. When engaging in a battle of words, it was best to throw one's opponent off balance to gain an advantage. To goad one into giving more information than they wanted to was a quintessential part of being a royal, though Serena had admittedly favored a knife over the lashings of her tongue. "I'm afraid I know little of her myself. We were briefly acquainted as allies to the rebels-- but never truly accepted as part of them." She didn't lie; her relationship with the doctor had been brief before the rescue mission. She only knew of stories about her, difficult to parse what was true and what was fiction. "But if you're looking to hire her, I would advise you against wasting your time. She doesn't do work for murderers... anymore, anyway."

 

[Tenzai]

"Hells, it's not like I'm a stranger to complicated family dynamics. My own father pushed me off into an abyss to die. Did I ever tell you two about that?" Both of the girls shook their heads at the question. Complicated family dynamics were always what was expected whenever it came to nobility, but to cast your own kin into the darkness was a level beyond what they could have ever expected. "Why?" August looked shocked. "...Why would your dad ever do such a thing?" All she heard was that her beloved princess was locked in a tower for generations; Not that her father had directly attempted to murder his own child. "That sounds terrible. I'm... I'm sorry that you went through that, Miss Ophelia." A look of concern splashed over the vampire's face. It looked like she wasn't the only one who had her fair share of issues when it came down to her family. "But I know why he did it. I've had five thousand years to make peace with the fact that he couldn't let a heretic like me live. But this is different, Neon. If your sister tried to sell you off... there's no telling what she might do if she gets to meet you again." "But would it be wrong to try? M-maybe if I had you both by my side, things would be-" Before she could continue, it appeared that Ophelia had made up her mind. To act while she was unstable with her memories would most likely lead to someone that August was warning about to take advantage of her lapse in judgement. "Why don't we settle down for a bit? Emotions are running high. We've been talking for a while now, but maybe we should just wait for Medina to wake up? If there's a way for you to regain your memories, then you might find yourself not wanting to go back after all. If you still do, or if there's no way for you to get your memories back... ... I'll personally help you, Neon." Hesitant to wait any longer at first, upon seeing the honesty in her eyes and feeling it through her words, Neon finally relented. "...Okay. If getting my memories back could help, then I think I could wait." There was no point in fighting them when she needed their help. This world was very different from the one she remembered. Instead of stone walls that she was used to back in the cottage of her home planet, she was met with plasteel plating and neon lights that warmed the atmosphere of the room. Without them, she would immediately become lost. "I uh... Was curious a-about what you did with me earlier." Noticing how close the two were to each other, then came the question as to whether what she heard before was just the princess flirting with her or whether there was a more genuine connection underneath. "Umm... I... Uh... I really liked it b-but you shouldn't d-do those things with me if you're with someb-body else you know!" The sudden purity on display eased the anxieties of the witch who only saw the Neon that wanted to pursue her sister. It was a night and day difference from the outspoken woman she was before. "Oh, Neon. You're precious." Feeling a bit of warmth, to breach the initial wave of skepticism for her own relationship, as if the witch could easily read the room, she pulled Neon into a surprise kiss. "Ophelia is ours. Our princess." "H-huh! How does that work? ...Does that mean I'm your knight too?" The witch shook her head in refusal. Perhaps if she was a princess as well, she would be able to give her the same curtsies as Ophelia would. However, what lay between them was different and unique on its own. "No. You're my girlfriend. And I'm yours too." There was no jealousy in her words; No competition in her speech. As long as the two of them were happy by her side even when she wasn't happy with herself, that's all that mattered. "Well... As long as Lia is willing to share. That being said, are you planning on being greedy with both of us...? Or..." "P-please forgive me for being embarrassed about this all! Its m-my first time being with others like this and I... I'm still a virgin."

"This is a place of healing- what need do you have for so much firepower? Are you that afraid of two injured girls?" "I'm afraid of risk. And something about the way you came out of that ship alive tells me that I reserve every right to believe that I shouldn't underestimate you." The mercenary refused to let up with her security. After doing her research on the newest prisoner turned recruit, she believed that the princess was someone still very much capable of slinging the same magic that wounded her sister in the first place. "Especially after what you did to Neon even while outnumbered." With Shiro's weapon dropped but her tail still revealing the true emotions of how anxious she felt, she kept her hand on her gun, prepared to bring it up and blast at any time. Constant vigilance and a preparedness for any threat that could come in advance was something she planned on leveraging against the woman who knew of her foresight. She would shoot her before she had a chance to think a violent thought. "I'm afraid I know little of her myself. We were briefly acquainted as allies to the rebels-- but never truly accepted as part of them. But if you're looking to hire her, I would advise you against wasting your time. She doesn't do work for murderers... anymore, anyway." The woman shook her head, unwilling to respond to her mocking tone. Hiring people that were deemed enemies were risks to the organization that forced complete loyalty on its subordinates. "I'm not looking to acquire her. I'm rather more interested in how she was able to bypass our hardware." Lavender enforced some of the strongest, most restrictive controls on her mind in order to keep her from being targeted by the higher ups in the organization. To have it be removed by someone from outside the org must have meant one thing, there was a vulnerability that had yet to be known about, something that others could use to their advantage. "If you don't have any knowledge about her, there's little use in talking with you then." "Just know, if she doesn't want to end up in the crosshairs of people she really doesn't want to fuck around with, I recommend she reach out to me." Pulling out a card from her bag, she placed it in the princess' hands. "I'm sure you'll be meeting with her again soon, no? I trust you would be smart enough to warn her in advance. Working with the void shades beats working with some of the other rival companies that won't take no for an answer." As she turned around to leave, she looked towards Shiro. "Oh, and do me a favor. Tell my sister I said hi." Their interaction ended as soon as it began. Moving efficiently, Lavender wasted little time on idle talk, finding no purpose in trying to speak to people convinced of her animosity. "..." For a moment, the catgirl held her glare towards the door, only for her to finally relinquish her finger's tightness around her pistol's grip. They were gone and they weren't due to return anytime soon. "I'm sorry for being as tense as I was. Just bad memories with her is all." Sighing, she placed her weapon aside as she turned back towards the woman she was meant to be watching over. "We have history on this ship, both good and bad. It was only a matter of time before the bad would arrive." A flash of light came from the back of her eyes as she sent the message to the other girls of the team: They knew. Whether it was because of a remote tool used to observe her movements going dark or something magical connecting her to her sister, she didn't know. However, that didn't change the fact that they were on the void shades' radar. "Though you handled yourself well. Much better than I could do myself. I'm proud of you. . . Beauty assassin." Caught up with some of her lore that came during her own recovery earlier, Shiro was rather curious about some of her more peculiar quirk's origins. There was little point in putting too much focus on the topic of Neon's sister for now. For as long as they would remain in the citadel, they were safe. Outside, however, Sen's authority would not be able to offer them amnesty from the ire of the vampire professionals. "Tell me. What went over you when you came up with that nickname? Medina and August were bantering about it and I couldn't help but be curious."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "...Okay. If getting my memories back could help, then I think I could wait." "I do, Neon. I think having access to those memories can give some context to your decision, it's worth it." Only past Neon could know what she was thinking at the time. Why she had cut herself off from Lavender in the first place. It wasn't an easy affair, cutting off someone you'd known for so long, let alone a family member, but it was what was necessary to have a healthier, happier life sometimes. Like cutting off a necrotic limb in order to keep the infection from spreading, sometimes difficult decisions like that could seem downright impossible. But Neon had done it with the help of others. Though it was Neon's decision in the end, it would be unfair of her to just go off on her own after everything everyone around her had done to help her take back her freedom. However, if she wished to be caged again, then there was nothing any of them could do. Eventually, she'd be able to leave on her own and none of them could stop her, short of forcing her to stay. And then, how different would they be from her sister then? "I uh... Was curious a-about what you did with me earlier." "Hm...?" Sensing a change of topic incoming, Ophelia's ears perked up. She'd do anything to move on from this unpleasant topic for now, so she was eager to hear what Neon's concern was. However, she couldn't have expected her to bring up the fact that they had kissed. If they really had done something, she was sure that she'd feel guilty about it, but all Ophelia could do was let out a soft "Pff," when she revealed what it was she was so torn up about. And to do so in such an innocent, precious way too. She supposed the idea of a polygamous relationship would not be one's first instinct, but she still couldn't help but let out a soft giggle while August explained their situation. That was right. They hadn't really hashed out what they were even before Neon had gone into coma. They kind of danced around it, mostly because of Ophelia's only flip-floppiness. Or rather... her inability to sincerely say "I love you" back to August. She wanted to, but she was unable to because of her... circumstances. "Ophelia is ours. Our princess." "Excuse me, I'm my own princess," Ophelia crossed her arms under her chest, pushing up her breasts inadvertently while she pursed her lips in disapproval. "But yes... I suppose you could say I'm yours. As long as you two can keep up with me." But then she relented, smiling wistfully as she turned to look out the window, towards the starry sky. Like a bird, she wished for nothing more than to spread her wings and fly, but that didn't mean she had to do it solo. "Well... As long as Lia is willing to share. That being said, are you planning on being greedy with both of us...? Or..." "P-please forgive me for being embarrassed about this all! Its m-my first time being with others like this and I... I'm still a virgin." "Oh, you aren't. I made sure of that." Again, she smirked, brushing her fingers over her lips as she remembered the way their kisses felt. Neon had been the pushier one of the two when they were together, but that didn't mean Ophelia didn't take the lead for a bit. After August had her fun with her, she had some pent-up frustration she needed to get out; a reminder that she could still be in control even if she could barely feel her legs. "And I do plan on being greedy. My whole life, I've been nothing but selfless. I believe I've earned the right to be a bit greedy. But as far as the three of us go... No, I don't plan on having you both be my girlfriends only. It would be awfully selfish of me." Hells, she could barely handle August alone; she'd welcome Neon into the fold if it meant dividing their mutual attention on her. She liked the affection and attention, but even she had her limits. She was kind of like a cat... where too much love could actually make her feel smothered. "It's good to have you back, Neon." ​ After all that, Ophelia smiled at the cybernetic vampire. "The team has felt empty without you. It's a small team as-is. And while you're not as loud as you were before... it's still good to have you back." Finally feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she took a step forward, nearly stumbling onto the couch, her eyes closing for a moment. All of the exhaustion she'd been holding back had suddenly hit her, causing her to feel a bit dizzy. "Huh... I'm, uh... I'm starting to feel a little tired all of a sudden..."

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "Just know, if she doesn't want to end up in the crosshairs of people she really doesn't want to fuck around with, I recommend she reach out to me." "Ha. Thinly-veiled threats say a lot about how afraid you really are." Serena scoffed as she considered tearing the business card in two right in front of Lavender, only for her to begrudgingly set it down on the nightstand next to her bed for the time being. If it was her on the line, she wouldn't hesitate to piss off these mercenaries, but she had no right to decide that for Rei. If she wanted to help the void shades out, then it was up to her, but she didn't think the doctor would be too interested in exchanging leashes so soon after ridding herself of her previous one. "I'm sure you'll be meeting with her again soon, no? I trust you would be smart enough to warn her in advance. Working with the void shades beats working with some of the other rival companies that won't take no for an answer." "I've had the displeasure of working with your types before. I think death would be a better option." Ruthless mercenary companies were great at what they did, but they had no loyalty, no integrity, no solidarity. If one were to fail, it was basically a given that they would be discarded as soon as they stopped being profitable. The void shades sounded no different than other sordid companies she'd taken freelance contracts from in the past. And their middleman fees were shit. Seriously, who took 20% of the cut just for giving someone details on a job? She had to do all the prep work herself. "Oh, and do me a favor. Tell my sister I said hi." "I'll consider it... Not. Blehhhh~" Somewhat childishly, Serena pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Lavender's retreating figure, only stopping once the older woman was gone. "I'm sorry for being as tense as I was. Just bad memories with her is all." "I understand. It must be really bad if she got you like that, but I'd prefer it if you were a little more cautious in the future. With your foresight and my assassin's skills, we should be able to tell danger from a mile away. I think we'd make a good team like that." With the source of their stress gone, Serena smiled at Shiro, reaching down and rubbing the catgirl's arm in an attempt to soothe her, all while leaning into her. She rested her head on Shiro's shoulder, letting out a small, purr-like noise of pleasure. Adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she needed a way to output all that extra energy her body was producing and she did it by rubbing her cheek against Shiro. "We have history on this ship, both good and bad. It was only a matter of time before the bad would arrive." "Mmm, don't we all. Everyone has a bit of good and a bit of bad. For me, though, it's mostly bad. But being here with you... it's the start of a lot of good in my life." She really couldn't remember all that good in her life. For much of her younger life, she'd been subjected to hard labor and harder lashings, taking the punishment of the younger children as the heir to the Lamprosian throne, as good as that was. She was taught to always put the needs of her subjects above her own. The only good memories she could remember were of her knight, a slightly older woman who, despite not being part of their lineage, had risked her life to help them out of slavery. Now, she was lying in bed with someone who would put herself in danger for her sake yet again. Only this time, butterflies danced in her stomach whenever she looked into the angel's eyes. "Though you handled yourself well. Much better than I could do myself. I'm proud of you. . . Beauty assassin." "Ugh... you heard about that?" She had thought it a distant memory at this point. A silly mishap borne out of her desperation to join in on the fun -- err, to help the friend of a friend in need. Not even Shiro's compliment could lessen the impact of her embarrassment as she swiftly pushed herself off Shiro and twisted around to throw the blanket over herself and a pillow over her own head. "Tell me. What went over you when you came up with that nickname? Medina and August were bantering about it and I couldn't help but be curious." "... It's an old Lamprosian story. From before we ever left our home planet. There were legends of a woman so beautiful, yet so deadly, she could end wars on a single night. She would kill the generals of the enemy country and leave behind a rose on their body, letting people know it had been her. It's said she was the chosen knight of a queen, but her name was never registered in our people's history books. She was known simply as... Beauty Assassin." A silly childhood tale, but one that Serena had idolized for as long as she could remember. It was her one true ideal when it came to assassinations. To be as elusive as that nameless assassin from so long ago. From before even Ophelia had been born, or her father before her. "... Speaking of roses! I was actually looking at some flower shops close by. Once I'm cleared to leave the hospital, I was thinking of making a tour through the shops. I couldn't find anything on lavenders... but I'm sure they must have some! Somewhere..." She wasn't all that confident, actually. But if they didn't, maybe she could find lavender seeds elsewhere. But she'd also have to get information on how to grow flowers before she got to show them to Shiro. "The only real problem is... I don't know where I'd plant them. And what kind of soil to get. And how much water to water them with and... actually, I've no idea where to even start."

 

[Tenzai]

"Oh, you aren't. I made sure of that." "Eh?... EHHHH?!!!" The vampire was about to faint. Neon couldn't imagine what circumstances would have led them to getting intimate with each other in the past life. "What do you mean?!" Though instead of being met with a response, as if Ophelia wanted her mind to linger to the possibilities of what may have happened, Neon was forced to remain there flustered while she turned her attention to August. "And I do plan on being greedy. My whole life, I've been nothing but selfless. I believe I've earned the right to be a bit greedy. But as far as the three of us go... No, I don't plan on having you both be my girlfriends only. It would be awfully selfish of me." August grinned. "You're too humble, you know?" Given the fact that this was her first relationship, she had yet to know the concept of what could be seen as too much love and too little. With her own preferences being for too much love over too little love, she felt comfortable with pushing Ophelia's buttons her own way. "Be as greedy as you like. Its hot." "It's good to have you back, Neon. The team has felt empty without you. It's a small team as-is. And while you're not as loud as you were before... it's still good to have you back."" The two women were too much for the vampire. Opposite of the women they were before, it seemed as though August and Neon swapped places in their relationship dynamic. "I- Uh... I love you too!" The vampire spoke the first thing that came to mind, hoping that it would be the right answer. "I meant you all! I love you all." Sighing, she muttered to herself. "I don't know how you all do this. I-its exhausting." Though, before she had a chance to recover her lost composure, the sudden stumbling of her princess had led to Neon's arms reaching out in advance. "Huh... I'm, uh... I'm starting to feel a little tired all of a sudden..." "Oh... You all must have been up late worrying about me, haven't you?" Hugging onto the princess, she reached nearby to grab a blanket for the three to share. "I'm sorry for getting you all concerned about me. I'll be alright, I promise." Resting the princess on her shoulder, the vampire used her own body as a support for the tired beauty, only for the witch to sandwich her in between them soon after. "I sure hope so. After all we've been through together to get you back, I would've been surprised if Lia was still awake." In truth, August kept note of the look of anxiety present on Ophelia's face whenever she visited her in the hospital after their castle offensive against the rebels. Neon must have meant a lot to her if she was losing sleep even when sedated by mind-slowing chemicals from the resident fae plant species. "Relax, Lia. And thanks for being there for me too. Sleep now. I'll make sure Neon is caught up with a lot by the time you wake up." Giggling as the princess fell asleep, a scheme formed in the mind of her human lover. Ophelia was due for a surprise. "Goodnight and sweet dreams~"

"Ugh... you heard about that?" Shiro was eventually going to know about it given how close the woman was to the rest of the group. It was not a matter of if, but when. As she hid for cover from Shiro's gaze, the angel patted her on the back, simply accepting that this was another quirk of the princess she chose to place her interest in. Slowly shifting the pillow from her head to see and hear her properly, the angel gave her a smile upon meeting the princess' amber gaze. "... It's an old Lamprosian story. From before we ever left our home planet. There were legends of a woman so beautiful, yet so deadly, she could end wars on a single night. She would kill the generals of the enemy country and leave behind a rose on their body, letting people know it had been her. It's said she was the chosen knight of a queen, but her name was never registered in our people's history books. She was known simply as... Beauty Assassin." "She sounds fascinating." It was old tales and legends that had made her come out to this side of the galaxy in the first place; To live out her existence like the other angelic heroes who had their names scrawled over the gates of Heaven. To know that she too had her own stories to share piqued the angel's curiosity all the more. For August, Medina, and Neon their chosen heroes they idolized were reflections of their own personalities. Believing that it was to some extent, the same with Serena, she voiced her interest. "I would like it if you told me her story sometime. I'd like to learn about the people of your world too sometime." Behind every star was a story; Behind every planet untold amounts of history. Given the fact that the angel had forever to live despite being so young herself, she wanted to hear out the stories of the many who lived out their lives prior to hers before they were gone. It was her duty as a guardian angel to preserve their memory in her mind. "Whenever you're done recovering, of course." "... Speaking of roses! I was actually looking at some flower shops close by. Once I'm cleared to leave the hospital, I was thinking of making a tour through the shops. I couldn't find anything on lavenders... but I'm sure they must have some! Somewhere... The only real problem is... I don't know where I'd plant them. And what kind of soil to get. And how much water to water them with and... actually, I've no idea where to even start." Spotting the sudden confusion in her eyes, Shiro placed a hand on the princess' own, letting her presence act as a salve to her anxiety. "Even if we don't know now, we could find out together. I'm sure there are some experienced gardeners on the ship we could reach out to; Take Cea for one. She's rather spectacular with her own garden." Remembering the private forest that lay within her studio apartment, she felt that if there was anyone around that would know how to take care of plants, let alone living things properly, it would be her. "If you'd like, I could properly introduce you to her sometime... Maybe she would know a good place or two where you could buy lavender seeds and pots from." Scratching her chin at where they could grow, the thought of following in her footsteps and growing a garden in their own apartment had sounded more and more as a perfect option. "With some grow lights, we could even grow the lavender inside our home too." Slowly coiling her fingers around Serena's hand, Shiro held onto her tight, growing increasingly comfortable with the peaceful side of Serena that came in between the storms. "Of course; That is, if you prefer for me to accompany you and keep you safe on our little excursion." Promising her the company of a guardian angel, Shiro's eyes flared with a quiet conviction. Angels like her were not known to go against their promises, preferring to keep to their words to the best of their abilities. "So how about it? I think, given what happened here, it would be in our best interest if we kept each other company." Using the recent events to her advantage, while it may have looked otherwise, Shiro felt that it was only right for them to remain close. "Though, if you prefer, I could ask one of the other girls if you tire of my company." Her eyes scrolled through the list of her contacts, only to find both August and Ophelia showing up as busy on their statuses. '...Oh? How odd.' "Looks like they're busy. I hope you don't mind settling with me."

Shlick. Shlick. "Mhmm~ Ahhnn~" August wasn't afraid of waking up Ophelia and getting caught. After being used enough times herself, she wanted a chance to take a taste of her princess in return. "G-gust? You sure we should be doing this? What if I do a bad job?" Whispering, Neon's breath tickled the lap of their princess. With both women on their knees, she hoped that the princess wouldn't wake up after all they were doing. "Ah... Isn't a knight supposed to be brave?" A trail came from the witch's lips as she waved the samurai closer. "Come on Neon. Have a taste. I'm sure she won't mind rewarding her knight." 'Please! Please! PLEASE!!! Don't wake up!' Slowly inserting her upper half in between Ophelia's thighs, the vampire nervously closed the gap in between them, just for her fang to press against the princess' lips. "I guess its only right if you t-took my first time... Right?"

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "With some grow lights, we could even grow the lavender inside our home too." "O-Our home? I-I..." She couldn't help but stammer. It hadn't been that long ago that she was trying to kill all of them, yet Shiro was willing to figuratively and literally open up theire home to her? The princess was in disbelief. Sure, she might've helped save their friend, but that couldn't be nearly enough to make up for what she'd done, let alone to accept her so intimately into their lives. ... No, maybe she was the one that needed to get over her past. Constantly doubting herself, punishing herself for the things she'd done, all while still stuck in the very memories that haunted her. How could she ever begin to atone for what she'd done and rebuild a life for herself if she was always second-guessing herself and others? How long until Shiro and the others got sick of this beaten dog act of hers and tossed her aside? She had to find value in herself if she was going to keep living. "So how about it? I think, given what happened here, it would be in our best interest if we kept each other company." "Just because of what happened today...?" Serena pouted up at Shiro. If it was just to keep each other safe, then she could handle herself just fine. If Shiro felt obligated to be with her because she felt like Serena was incapable of keeping herself safe, then she had no reason to accept. Her pride wouldn't let her. Besides, she already had a knight that was meant to be by her side and protect her. It was just... that they were currently not within range of each other. Serena touched the single earring on her left ear, the small piece of jewelry ringing in her ear. She waited for something before slumping her shoulders. "Looks like they're busy. I hope you don't mind settling with me." "I don't think I'm the one settling here, Shiro. But... I wouldn't have anyone other than you to accompany me. But, before that, there's something I want to get off my chest..." Serena pushed herself to sit up, gently bumping her shoulder against Shiro's and looking up at her. "I'm... I like you, Shiro. Like, like you. I don't think I've been that good at hiding it, and maybe you've just been looking for a moment to... let me down easy. I understand if that's the case. After all, how could a mere mortal like me ever hope to be with an angel like you...?" She chuckled self-deprecatingly, twirling her hair as she looked away, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "... Humans are especially short-lived. I know that, even if you were to reciprocate my feelings, the time I'd be with you would be like the blink of an eye for someone like you. E-Even so, I... I don't want to deny my feelings anymore. I've lived all of my life just... killing my emotions. I want to be able to love. And it's okay if you don't love me back. Just feeling butterflies in my stomach when I see you is enough for me." She smiled up at Shiro, slowly lifting both of her hands to cup her face in them. She looked into her eyes, her own glistening as she fought back tears of embarassment and sentimentality. "I can't ask you to feel about me the same way I feel about you, but... if I could make one selfish request? Even after I'm gone..." She lifted herself, her warm breath crashing against Shiro's lips as she dared to go for a kiss. "... could you remember me, Serena, not as a princess, but just as a girl who... lived her life in the best way she could...?"

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "Mhmm~ Ahhnn~" "Nghhh... mmmnnn..." Dreams of rose petals and poignant fencing were interrupted by the sounds of what she could only describe as pure, unadultered lust, as well as waves of pleasure that followed. Or rather, the electricity that her sensitive nerves sent to her brain were what awoke her at first, her eyes fluttering open and gazing up at the ceiling. She'd just closed her eyes to rest a little, when had she fallen asleep? ... Furthermore, where were her panties? She could feel a slightly cool breeze, as if the inbetween of her legs was cold yet warm at the same time. And what was that constant feeling of something licking at her...? She wasn't the kind to have wet dreams like this. August wasn't the kind of girl that would let her go sexually frustrated that long. And besides, she'd spent five thousand years without ever caring to explore that part of herself. Was this part of some sexual awakening...? "...? ......???" No, this wasn't some sort of lucid dream. She had plenty of experience with those. Her patron often had her experience her nightmares vividly, to the point that she sometimes had trouble differentiating dream from reality. Because they were synonymous to her. Maybe that was why it took her longer than it should've to realize what was going on. Her sleepy eyes met Neon's just as she gently nicked her privates with that vampiric fang of hers and the princess jolted. The cheeky little-- "... Just what do you two think you're doing...? Even if you're my lovers, don't you think assaulting me during my sleep is too much...?" She yawned, slowly waking up as she trapped Neon between her legs, squishing her face between her thighs. "Gust... Little Gusty... just what are you teaching my knight here? A knight shouldn't do this kind of thing to her princess..." She looked over to the witch, then down at Neon, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. "Or maybe you're just too hungry...? If you wanted a taste of your princess... all you had to was ask. I wouldn't mind giving you a bit of blood if that's what you wanted..."

 

[Tenzai]

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ᴍᴏᴏɴ | ꜱᴄʜᴏʟᴀꜱᴛᴜᴍ ᴘʀᴏᴠᴏꜱᴛ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ "I don't think I'm the one settling here, Shiro. But... I wouldn't have anyone other than you to accompany me. But, before that, there's something I want to get off my chest..." "Hmm? What's on your mind?" In truth, her concern stemmed far beyond just protecting the princess herself. To the catgirl, she knew that she was in far worse shape than she let on, being unable to fight properly, let alone fight against tough odds should they have come to blows against the void shades right there in their room. Her foresight had become a curse then, revealing to Shiro her own demise should she have made the wrong choice. "Do not be afraid, Serena. I'm here." Assisting her up to sit beside her, she tilted her head upon having Serena turn to meet her face to face. "I'm... I like you, Shiro. Like, like you." The calm facade she wore didn't disappear. Though, she wasn't so dense as to ignore the feelings that the princess had. A slight red contour decorated her cheeks. It was the first time any person, let alone a girl, confessed to her. She was seen as a tool; A machine by others given her rather stoic expression and common lack of a reaction. "Like me?" "I don't think I've been that good at hiding it, and maybe you've just been looking for a moment to... let me down easy. I understand if that's the case. After all, how could a mere mortal like me ever hope to be with an angel like you...?" "You'd be surprised, Serena." Shiro didn't distance herself nor did she seek to hide her own face. "I've known a great many that have. Others that say they would never have wished it any other way. The goddess of love lives in Heaven, you know?" She wasn't going to turn her away, no matter how much Serena's own anxieties would act as a barrier for their relationship. "... Humans are especially short-lived. I know that, even if you were to reciprocate my feelings, the time I'd be with you would be like the blink of an eye for someone like you. E-Even so, I... I don't want to deny my feelings anymore. I've lived all of my life just... killing my emotions. I want to be able to love. And it's okay if you don't love me back. Just feeling butterflies in my stomach when I see you is enough for me." Reaching out her hands to catch her gaze, as Serena cupped her fingers around Shiro's cheeks, Shiro lifted her chin up for her to see the genuine feelings she had in her own eyes. The smile she gave was as precious as the companions she often placed herself at risk for in the first place. But unlike their smiles, this one was just meant for her. "I can't ask you to feel about me the same way I feel about you, but... if I could make one selfish request? Even after I'm gone... could you remember me, Serena, not as a princess, but just as a girl who... lived her life in the best way she could...?" A kiss. Meeting her halfway, the angel answered her prayer, not with mere words alone, but with action. "I don't plan on doing any less... And for as long as you live, I want you to love. I want to learn what love looks like to me too." Just giving her enough space to speak, instead of letting Serena wait for another answer, the catgirl kissed her, her tails relaxed as she fell to pure instinct to meet Serena in the middle. Her hands slowly reached towards Serena, only for her dominant left to slowly work its way down towards Serena's hand to clutch. "Care to show me what type of love you want? I don't care if you're human. I just care that you're here." The angel was aware of what fate she would end up in; That this love would one day cease to be until she found her again in the next life. However, if there was anything that serving alongside the women in her team taught her, it was that it wasn't right to take life for granted; That everyday could be her last, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the journey to the afterlife together. "I've never known the touch of others. Let alone the feeling of one's love up close." Her voice was cool, as was her kiss. Sterile and divine, while the angelic part of her went well beyond ordinary romance, the organic side of her had always sought something more. "I never thought I would get the chance to feel it. To know the feeling that so many other angels were willing to die to protect." Her parents had born her of a similar union: Between a catgirl and an angel that sought to make the most of mortal union. Even if that were centuries ago, that never stopped her from imagining the same dream for herself. "...And I'd like to get to know that feeling once. To feel loved." Massaging the princess' arm, an idea had come to mind. "...If you can. For now, don't see me as an angel. Just see me for the me without a halo." If she wanted to be loved, she didn't want to be loved as a tool but rather as a person like everyone else she cared about. "Will you do that for me, Serena?"

"... Just what do you two think you're doing...?" 'Oh shit.' "Even if you're my lovers, don't you think assaulting me during my sleep is too much...?" Right as Neon was about to withdraw herself from the lower lips of her princess, a sudden pull of thighs and curled legs had trapped her in place, forcing her mouth deeper into Ophelia's lap. "MHMPH!" Without realizing it, the vampire had fallen to the trap of her sleeping moans, not noticing the sudden shifting of the woman she was eating out that was soon bound to wake. Once her eyes met, the vampire could only return the look of panic as she searched her mind to formulate any reason why this could be happening only to come up short every single time. "I don't think its too much~ We just wanted to wake you up feeling good!" The witch didn't mind if some romantic punishment was in order for her; To the human herself, there were always new things to try out, all byproducts of an imagination that came from reading so many texts in libraries like Medina's for so long. "You're not going to punish your knight for trying to make you feel better, now would you?" The fact that Neon was panicking had added onto the joys of teasing Ophelia. "Gust... Little Gusty... just what are you teaching my knight here? A knight shouldn't do this kind of thing to her princess... Or maybe you're just too hungry...? If you wanted a taste of your princess... all you had to was ask. I wouldn't mind giving you a bit of blood if that's what you wanted..." The sounds of clicking tongues and disappointment had given Neon just enough strength to pull away for the moment to speak. "I- I JUST WANTED TO T-TRY IT OUT!" She blurted, flustered beyond any embarrassment she ever endured before. She couldn't tell whether or not she was doing well or whether or not she was being a good partner. "Did I-" Without giving her another chance to doubt herself, August smiled, petting her head. "Didn't you hear the sounds she was making when she was asleep, Neon?" The fact that Ophelia pulled her closer rather than throwing her off was all that the witch needed to know. "You were doing great~ Don't stop, yeah?" Slowly lifting her eyes towards Ophelia, August's smile turned lewd. "I was just teaching her how to love you right. After all, there's nothing wrong with teaching her what she already did before. Maybe she just needs a little practice." Slowly pushing Neon's head into Ophelia's lap, the witch loomed closer, giving her princess a kiss. "And besides, its not like you told us no. If you want us to stop, just tell us stop." Before Ophelia had a chance to speak, August clasped her lips around hers, indulging Ophelia's top half while Neon began to hungrily explore Ophelia's bottom half. To be told that she was doing a good job was all she needed for her to lose herself to the sudden vampiric thrill of feeling another's flesh against her mouth, even if it was in the acting servitude of said partner. Groping Ophelia's chest, August began to act out a scene from a doujin she read earlier; Of a princess and her two servants. "Come on, Ophelia. Stop me~ I don't think I could hold myself back if you make sounds like that." Bringing her lips down to underneath Ophelia's chin, she left her lip's marks dotting the outline of her face while she exposed her partner's chest to the air. "I wonder if that makes me no better than a vampire knight~" She giggled against her princess' skin, moving her mouth from Ophelia's chin to the side of her neck to suck and give her a hickie. "You wouldn't mind if I gave you my own little love bite right?" Realizing that she wanted some of Ophelia's attention too, Neon squeezed the princess' thighs as she looked up towards her princess. "Ah~ P-please tell me I'm doing a good job! P-please!" This Neon had yet to build her self-confidence, craving not only the touch of her princess as a reward but also her praises as well. "I promise I'll do my best!"

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "Care to show me what type of love you want? I don't care if you're human. I just care that you're here." Serena was speechless. She expected to be let down easy, that Shiro would be the voice of reason to her unreasonable desire and bring her back to reality. Her lips trembled against the angel's, her one eye slowly fluttering open. She felt a smile forming, one that she had to actively push down. "But one day, I... I won't be here anymore. I'll grow old, and eventually, I'll... be gone. Meanwhile, you'll still be here. A-and as much as I want to say I'd be fine with you moving on after grieving me for some time, I..." She lowered her face, the very thought seizing her chest, carving a hole into her heart. Like a deep gash, where the thought of Shiro moving on from her was the knife and she was er own tormentor. "I know it's selfish, but... but I don't want to be forgotten. And if you moved on, then... eventually you would forget me. I know you would...!" It wasn't a matter of want or not. Unless she found a way to make Shiro remember her for as long as she lived, then she would be forgotten, lost to time, without any evidence of her existence. "I've never known the touch of others. Let alone the feeling of one's love up close." "I-I can't promise to be a good lover. I've never had a romance of my own either..." But of course, she had no chance to linger on those thoughts when the elation of her feelings being accepted eclipsed them. She had to stop herself from smiling like a fool - stupid facial muscles! - as Shiro continued on unfettered. It was hard for Serena to believe there had never been someone else who would see past her stoicism and admire her devotion to the ones she felt were under her protection. Although, perhaps, that same stoicism made it difficult for her to see those feelings, lest the other party came out and spoke them freely. "...And I'd like to get to know that feeling once. To feel loved." Lips parted slightly, hazel eyes stared at Shiro, unable to form the right words. What could she even say? She wanted that very same thing herself. To be more than what the world had forced her to become. To feel warmth when all she'd ever felt was the cold. "...If you can. For now, don't see me as an angel. Just see me for the me without a halo." "Will you do that for me, Serena?" "... I can't, Shiro..." The princess muttered softly, almost scared to speak the words. She recoiled at her own admission, realizing how it might sound and scrambling to continue, her first few words coming out as pure gibberish before she composed herself. Her heart was beating so loudly against her ears that she could barely hear herself. But, even as her body ached in protest, she slowly lifted herself onto Shiro's lap. "... Because doing so would mean denying a part of you. And I... I want to accept every part of you. I want to understand, so that I can love you more fully. So that I can... find the part of myself that I've lost. So that I can bloom, just as the flowers we plant and care for together will bloom." She smiled down at Shiro, pressing her lips to the angel's. "So don't ask me to deny you. Any part of you. I want to love you, Shiro. All of you..."

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "I was just teaching her how to love you right. After all, there's nothing wrong with teaching her what she already did before. Maybe she just needs a little practice." "Nghhh... Gust... I was thinking this sweet, innocent Neon was going to be fun to break in, but you just had to go and put ideas into her head..." To say she was a little frustrated with the current turn of events was an understatement. It wasn't enough to get her pissed off, but it was like putting a delicious pastry in the fridge to eat later, only to wake up and find it had been eaten by someone while she was napping. It was that kind of disappointment she was feeling right now. And yes, she was aware of the irony of equating Neon, the blood-sucking vampire, to a snack. But out of the two, she was certain that Ophelia was the scarier monster in the room. But maybe this was good. Rather than go through the troublesome process of breaking down Neon's inhibitions, August had made it clear that Neon wasn't against intimacy, especially not with a woman she'd just barely met in her own eyes. "And besides, its not like you told us no. If you want us to stop, just tell us stop." "Nghhh... W-Why should I...? You two are my servants; you are meant to give me pleasure. It is my right to indulge in this pleasure..." While she could still hold onto her dignity for now, it wasn't going to be easy with the two-pronged attack. It was hard enough to deal with Neon's insistent licking, but with August kissing her and occupying herself with the princess' chest, it was turning into a fool's errand really fast. "Come on, Ophelia. Stop me~ I don't think I could hold myself back if you make sounds like that." "Y-Youuuu... I'm going to get my payback eventually..." She muttered through gritted teeth, hands reaching down and squeezing both of August's ass cheeks. It was the best she could manage in terms of defiance, something that she was unwilling to give up even in this situation. She wasn't just going to give in because of the pressure mounting in her lower body, causing her breaths to become hotter and steamier with each lick, each squeeze, each twirl of their tongues. "You wouldn't mind if I gave you my own little love bite right?" "A-Ah, hey...! You could at least put it somewhere a little less conspicuous... geez..." "Ah~ P-please tell me I'm doing a good job! P-please!" "Ahhh, Neon. When you make that kind of face, it makes me want to bully you~ But you're doing... an amazing job... Mmmfff..." Ophelia leaned back on the sofa, letting her hands fall on top of Neon's head, her fingers threading through the pink-haired vampire's locks, her eyes looking down at her with both affection and admiration. She smiled down at her, brushing her fingers over her cheeks. "You're such a good girl, I'm gonna... ahhh~ Ahhh~...!" She let out a loud moan as she arched back, shutting her eyes so tightly that she could see stars even in the darkness behind her eyelids. "Fuuuu~ I... I really needed... this after everything..."

 

[Tenzai]

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇꜱꜱᴏɴ ᴅɪꜱɢᴜɪꜱᴇᴅ ᴀꜱ ᴀ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ | ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ᴄʟᴜʙ 傷心の事務所 ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ "But one day, I... I won't be here anymore. I'll grow old, and eventually, I'll... be gone. Meanwhile, you'll still be here..." Shiro did not refute her words. She didn't complain nor did she offer any false promises she could not keep. Instead of denying her the right to feel the way she did as a mortal, Shiro listened. Her story deserved to be remembered. The feelings she would hold deserved to be heard. Even as she offered to love her as a mortal, Serena denied it. This wasn't the sort of love she wished for if it didn't involve all of the guardian angel. "... I can't, Shiro... Because doing so would mean denying a part of you. And I... I want to accept every part of you. I want to understand, so that I can love you more fully. So that I can... find the part of myself that I've lost. So that I can bloom, just as the flowers we plant and care for together will bloom." She deserved to be loved as she was too, not just for a single part of herself, but for her entirety. "...Then let's find this lost part of you together." The angel crested her arms around the princess' back, holding onto her to ensure that she didn't feel alone for any part of her confession. "I want to see what you look like when you're whole." Reaching towards her head in order to stroke her scalp as a form of comfort, instead of simply going through with her plan, something else interrupted her: The feeling of Serena's lips on hers. Due to her not feeling the need to use her foresight, she opened herself up to surprise, though this surprise was far from unpleasant. It was welcome. "So don't ask me to deny you. Any part of you. I want to love you, Shiro. All of you..." Upon breaking their kiss, there was a concern she felt in her heart; Of how possible this love could be if she wanted to know Shiro for all of her rather than the parts of her she wished to admit. "...Are you certain that you want all of me? I know I can be rather... Cold... Sometimes..." In truth, Serena was far from the first person that took interest in her. Others in passing had attempted their shot before they knew what dating an angel would've entailed, only to be left in disappointment when their attempts at attracting her interest were for naught. "I don't want you to waste your energy trying to love the parts of me that only a god could love." Save for the people she felt comfort with, she was a machine. And even then, with those that she felt comfortable enough around to display emotion with, there wasn't many times where she would express herself in public. "I can't force you to do that." Shaking her head for the moment, the angel looked back towards the human in front of her. Stripped from the role and responsibility of being a guardian angel, perhaps this could work out. "I... Don't want to burden you. You've been through enough already. Far too much for me to-" The look on her face brought the angel's mind some pause. Little did she know about how much her emotions were beginning to run high. Without her foresight guiding her, she was much more normal than she ever took herself for. Taking a deep breath, she sighed at her own relational shortcomings, confused as to how August and Medina are able to figure this out without the help of some divine talent. "... I'm afraid you'll be disappointed in me." Confessing her truth, Shiro looked her in the eyes. "I'm afraid that the me you want isn't the same girl that I am and..." For a brief moment, she explored what future they would share together, only to be limited by minutes. "...I don't know. I can't promise you that I'd be a good fit for you if you want the angelic side of me too... But if this is what you want, then I'll try." Her voice had dropped to a whisper, her mind shaky as her consciousness was drifting through an emotional storm. "No matter what happens, I'll promise to remember you.... Though I don't think I could help it... After all, you'll be my first love."

"A-Ah, hey...! You could at least put it somewhere a little less conspicuous... geez..." August couldn't help but be amused at the sight of her princess being reduced to an ordinary girl when met with the stubborn confidence of a human that wanted to hear her moan. She wanted her love bites to be placed where Ophelia could wear them with pride, regardless of how lewd it would appear or what ideas others would get of them. "Oh? Why are you being so shy now? If you show that you could be flustered, Neon might learn how to make you feel the same way I do~" "Ahhh, Neon. When you make that kind of face, it makes me want to bully you~ But you're doing... an amazing job... Mmmfff..." The two women were vying for her attention, assaulting both of her flanks to the point where she would not be given any respite from the pleasure. Looking up with pleading eyes, as they made eye contact, Neon's tongue began to move quicker, worshipping the woman that offered her praise. Due to her inexperience with sex, everything had felt new, and after a lifetime spent chasing the approval of others by doing the best she could in her limited circumstances before her transformation, Ophelia's words were far more potent than she could ever realize. "You're such a good girl, I'm gonna... ahhh~ Ahhh~...!" Her moans were growing louder by the minute. She was getting better at this. "Fuuuu~ I... I really needed... this after everything.." Ophelia needed this. She needed her. Claiming responsibility for her pleasure, the vampire closed her eyes as she learned how to kiss the princess' lower spots, forcing her partner's body to succumb to the tender curiosities of a girl that was eager to please. Bringing her hand down towards her lower half, upon feeling pressure in between her legs, Neon began to finger herself, her wet schlicks being audible enough for both other women to hear. "Such dirty sounds you're making Lia~ And the way your face looks. Mhmm~ Please." Shedding her top and her bra underneath, the witch placed Ophelia's hand on her chest, putting pressure on her fingers to grope her while she tossed her bra to the side of the couch. "Don't keep me out of it. I want to feel you too." Kneeling on the couch and angling herself, the witch began to kiss Ophelia from above, cradling her head as she rested back to ensure that their acts of service wouldn't leave the princess sore. The last thing she wanted was for her to ache to the point where they couldn't do more to her. Feeling her legs shift, a thirst began to take over the mind of the vampire. The feeling of blood rushing towards the princess' lower half had brought out an instinct to give more. Not even just her touch alone was arousing; Even the very temperature shift that came from her moans and her skin melting at the touch of her two lovers had driven a possessive nature in Neon to claim that of which was hers before. Gripping Ophelia by her thighs, she forced her legs open, burying her mouth against Ophelia's pussy as she felt her head be drawn inward. If she was going to be her knight, she wanted to be the best when it came to service. The last thing she ever wanted was to be replaced. "Puah~" Saliva dripped from the mouth of August as she gazed towards the sight of her princess unraveling. "Looks like it didn't take long for her to learn, did it?" Grinning, the witch began to fall to her knees in front of Ophelia, gently massaging Neon's back as she nearly forgot to breathe while in service to her princess. "Oh Neon~" With a tug of her shoulder, the vampire was released from her trance, panting as her hand in between her legs grew busy. "Haaa~ Haaaaa~" "How do you think August would sound if we worked together?" With a lewd look in her eyes, August reached into her bag hanging from the side of her skirt, pulling out lipstick before remarking her lips in the same colors that once smudged against Ophelia's surface. "Let's leave our marks~ Just so that our Lia won't forget we were here~" Leaning in, she gave a kiss to the flesh above her lover's pussy, marking the exterior of her womb with her mouth before kissing downward. "I wannaaaaa hearrrr... I really wannaa kisss toooo....." Love drunk, due to the fact that August was currently in the way of Ophelia's slit, instead, Neon began to prioritize sloppily kissing at her inner thigh, tracing her fangs and marked lips across to mark as her own signature. "Can I...?" With slurred speech, the knight looked up to her princess whimpering, her knees rubbing against each other as she asked for permission to cum. If the past her had dedicated her body to this princess, why shouldn't she do the same? "Please... Princess Ophelia.... I need it."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "I don't want you to waste your energy trying to love the parts of me that only a god could love." "... You know, I'm closer to a god than you give me credit for. Did Ophelia never tell you about the divine blood that courses through our bloodline's veins? The first from our generation was made from the blood of a god. I may never be able to attain that divine spark, but..." Serena chuckled, shaking her head. She had seen what was on the flipside of mortality, what divinity would do to her. Her forefathers and foremothers had chased after that power for no reason other than to achieve godhood, but it had come at a great cost. But the things that power did to her when she wielded the Crown of Lampros... it had come too close to taking a chunk of her she didn't know she was unwilling to part with. "I can't force you to do that." "No one can force me to do anything, Shiro. All that I've done, I've done by my own will. Even when I was a slave. Even when I had to tuck away my humanity and my conscience to give my people hope... I did it all of my own will." She stated proudly, giving the angelic catgirl her own brand of a cheeky smirk, her expression reminiscent of Ophelia's own sardonic, wry expressions. It ran in the family, it seemed; the confidence to defy all, no matter how big or insurmountable a hurdle was. "And you for damn sure won't force me not to love you in my own way, so give it up already. Unless you like the chase. But I'd think, given your... nature, you'd be more kin to chase after me instead. Should I be more meek and submissive, like a little mouse for you to toy with? Hehe, sorry... I've never been that kind of assassin. The ones that draw you in by putting in a helpless act." Too strong-willed, to rigid. She would break rather than bend. She would shatter before she was forced to kneel. "I... Don't want to burden you. You've been through enough already. Far too much for me to-" "... Haa. You know," Serena's fingers played around Shiro's collar, gently tugging at her top as if she was struggling not to jerk it off of her. The tension she was feeling needed a release. Her eyes darkened slightly with a mixture of frustration and lust. "All of you... you've never once bothered to ask me what I've done. What the skeletons in my closet are like. You say you don't want to burden me, yet you haven't even bothered to know what I've been through. Nto unless I offered it myself. How can you decide what is too much for me? Who are you to decide, Shiro?" She didn't mean to be too confrontational about it, but she didn't want to be coddled by her and the rest of the group. She was no saint, not some innocent girl who would crumble at the slightest push. And with her determination to find a path towards redemption, she knew that the path ahead would be nothing short of thorny. "...I don't know. I can't promise you that I'd be a good fit for you if you want the angelic side of me too... But if this is what you want, then I'll try." "Why don't you let me decide? ... Hehe. I think I like this side of you. You're so much more vulnerable..." She leaned in, kissing Shiro's throat, then the side of her neck and finally moving down to her collarbone and sucking hard enough to leave a mark. "No matter what happens, I'll promise to remember you.... Though I don't think I could help it... After all, you'll be my first love." "Good, 'cause you're mine too. I won't forgive you if you easily forget me after this. I'll come back from the afterlife, the Fugue Planes or wherever I have to crawl back from to haunt you. Maybe I should... leave a more permanent mark on you so you can never forget me." She came back up, her smile mischievous, but her eyes hiding a more obsessive darkness behind them for an instant before they regained their light. "Just kidding, of course! I could never bring myself to harm you. If I ever hurt you again... I'll slit my own throat to make up for it. I don't... I don't want to hurt you ever again."

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "Don't keep me out of it. I want to feel you too." "I-I'm not... trying to keep you out. D-Do you even realize how... distracting it is to have two girls on top of you...?" Ophelia could barely cling on to her sanity right now, yet August had the audacity to act like she wasn't part of the problem. Ophelia's hand squeezed, feeling August's breasts with both of her hands. Her warmth, and her heartbeat. She flushed, envy and awe at both things that the princess couldn't have. Only two emotions in the maelstrom that was the myriad of feelings she was currently experiencing. She huffed, returning August's kiss with the same fervor, pushing her tongue against the witch's as she tried her best not to be overwhelmed, her unshakable resolve to not be outdone shining through against the assault both women were putting her under. Her legs draped over Neon's shoulders, going slack as her hips bucked against the vampire's unforgiving tongue and jolting every few seconds as she clung on and refused to climax so easily. She was stubborn to the end, unwilling to give in just yet despite Neon's desperate lashings. The cybernetic woman couldn't be any more passionate, or so Ophelia thought, only to be proven wrong as Neon continued to find more of her weak spots, drawing out long, winded moans from the princess with each lick. "Looks like it didn't take long for her to learn, did it?" "Haa... haa... sh-shut... up..." Breathless, Ophelia struggled to catch up as August left her lap, joining Neon on the ground. She could barely move her legs and her eyes were glazed over, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes as she looked down at the two, both fearing and anticipating what they would do next. Her hand fell on top of Neon's head, gently ruffling her hair, affection winning over any other emotion she had. Not even the frustration of being toyed with was enough to get her to treat both girls with the affction they deserved. "Go easy on me... for a second..." she pleaded, though she knew her request would fall on deaf ears. Both girls were clearly too far gone with their lust to even listen to any reason. Not that Ophelia could bear to be honest about her feelings. "Ah...!" Brunette locks fell over Ophelia's eyes as she felt August's lips press against her skin, the unbearable heat inside her only being stoked by the simple yet alluring vision of her planting her metaphorical flag over her womb. "Haa... ahh...?" She was almost too drunk on arousal herself to reason with what Neon was asking at first, only for her eyes to slowly focus back as they fell on Neon's trembling knees. They lit up with recognition, crimson hues meeting the vampire's own with a hint of sadism behind them. Only then did she realize what Neon was doing by submitting completely to her to the point of edging herself just to give Ophelia power over her own body. There was a moment where she simply hummed, though her throat was so hoarse from moaning that it hurt her to do it. She coughed slightly, breaking the illusion of superiority she was trying to create. "Y-Yes, Neon... cum. Cum for your princess. Let me see you, all of you. Your shameful face as it loses itself in the throes of lust. And then... make me cum too. That's an order from your princess..." She lowered a hand to Neon's chin, lifting her face towards her as if looking down at an adoring puppy, her gaze transfixed in the wonder that was Neon's drunken fervor, her total devotion apparent in those hazy yet somehow still innocent eyes of hers. "Show me... what a good girl you are."

 

[Tenzai]

"Haa... haa... sh-shut... up..." August could only get so smug as the witch shot her princess a lewd grin, her mouth so focused on servitude just to watch her lover fall apart. "Make me~ Shut me up with your legs, Lia~" She was stubborn with her love, enjoying the feeling of her tears dripping against her scalp as Ophelia was overstimulated. "Go easy on me... for a second..." The pleading for mercy had gone unnoticed. The human herself was too thirsty for more of her princess' essence to slow down now. "I don't think... Mhmm... That she's gonna stop. Gosh... She's so good at it." Watching Ophelia getting eaten out by another was a lesson for the vampire. Believing that it would only serve her well to learn from someone that could make Ophelia feel so good, she looked on eagerly, her eyes recording every single moan and drunk muttering each lick could emit from Ophelia's mouth. Her trembling knees were something she noted in conjunction with her tearful, rolling eyes. Whatever it was that August was doing with her mouth, she wanted to do the same. She wanted to know that same feeling herself; Of being praised to orgasm. "Y-Yes, Neon... cum. Cum for your princess. Let me see you, all of you. Your shameful face as it loses itself in the throes of lust. And then... make me cum too. That's an order from your princess..." Finally being given that right, Neon hungrily pushed herself in between August and Ophelia, looking up at the woman that gave her permission. With her tongue rolling deeply against her folds, she brought her fingers against her own slit to toy with herself in front of the woman that loved her too, only to feel her chin rising to meet Ophelia's gaze. "O-Ophelia? I'm... Ah... I'm so close." Nearly drooling, she showed herself at her most aroused, her tongue hanging as she exposed her body to her favorite spectator. "Show me... what a good girl you are." Closing her eyes as tightly as she could, she wound her body up for her most intense release, shuddering once she finally felt her dam breach. "C-CUMMING!" With her eyes opening wide, she twitched as she spilled onto the couch and carpet, squirting her climax against Ophelia's feet. "F-Fuckkk... I-I mean... Uh... S-shit..." Her knight couldn't help but curse now that her mind had faltered in its defense against her own shameless nature. Being called a good girl was all she ever wanted. To have its intention be warped for pleasure was the corruption she needed in order for her wants to shift. She liked the feeling of being seen, of being loved by another. If this was what her past life received in exchange for Ophelia's defense, she wanted more. "Did I do a good job?..." Her clothes were soaked as much as her fingers. Still feeling a need for more validation, she looked up to the two girls beside her, just to feel August's lips on hers. A small kiss went a long way in communicating what words struggled to alone. "You did great~ Look at how you left, Ophelia~" Waving her hand towards the woman that could barely hold herself together just moments before, August instilled a feeling of pride into the vampire. "You made her feel good... So good, she could barely keep herself together." Covering her face with her hand, Neon blushed, bashful at the amount of sin she partook in just to pursue what her body felt was most right. While her brain might have been reset, the organic parts of her body on the other hand refused to forget the touch of the woman that made it feel so good to begin with. "I... Made everything so wet... Oh gosh... I'm sorry." "We'll clean it up once we're done~" The witch's persistence had shocked the vampire. She was human. The idea of someone like her outlasting a cybernetic vampire over the sake of lust alone was hard for her to imagine, let alone fathom happening right in front of her. "Once we're done? You're saying... Its not over?" Without waiting to give a chance for Ophelia to recover, August climbed back up onto Ophelia's lap, slotting her leg in between the princess' thighs while she herself rose on one of her lover's legs. "Of course not. I've yet to cum~ And she owes me an orgasm or two after teaching you how to eat her out." She smirked. "You're not gonna leave me horny, will you, Lia?" Placing both of her hands on Ophelia's shoulders she slowly pushed her down onto the couch, only to grind herself against her. "Don't think that you're the only two people that are allowed to have fun here~ I'll get jealous." August held Ophelia's gaze. "Look at me. Moan for me. I wanna hear it. I've been good too." Her hips began to gyrate, moving opposite of Ophelia's own. "I could feel how wet you are too, you know?" Smirking, she lowered her hand down just to finger her, kissing Ophelia's neck in the process. "Don't think I'm just gonna let you cum only once~ Now what type of girlfriend would I be if I left you unfulfilled?" Oddly enough, it appeared that Neon and August had taken each other's spots when it came to how confident they were with Ophelia. After having her confidence be stoked with proper support, August felt pride being her switch. She wasn't going to lack the experience of giving and receiving love. "Come on, princess. Let's teach Neon how to make love too. I think she earned her lesson." Untying her hair, she let it fall down just for the others to see the witch at her most natural state. Her hair was long, reaching down to her elbows as she kissed Ophelia's cheek. "I'm sure she would appreciate a little show. Let's make sure not to disappoint~"

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "Did I do a good job?..." "H-Haa... ah, mmm... y-yes..." Chest heaving up and down, sweat causing her pale body to shine slightly and her clothes feeling just a tad too tight, Ophelia had trouble catching her breath for a moment, struggling to give a proper answer to Neon's desperate desire for approval. If she had known her two lovers would be so reliant on her affection and approval, she might have... not changed anything at all. There was a certain swelling in her chest that she felt, like pride or maybe just arrogance that she had this much influence in how they felt. ... Now, if only that influence didn't make a certain little witch so damn cocky... "You did great~ Look at how you left, Ophelia~" ... and so damn adorable too. Her demeanor was so different from just a few minutes ago, when she had holed herself up in the bathroom because she didn't feel like she had the guts to tell Neon the truth about her sister. Ophelia gave August major side eye when she spoke for the princess with the shuddering legs, only to roll them when she decided she didn't have the energy to come at her with some sarcastic comeback. Not that she could anyway, given how hard it was to just keep herself conscious. She let out a shaking breath, her eyes falling over her eyes as she sat back and thought that the ordeal had come to an end. "We'll clean it up once we're done~" "Once we're done? You're saying... Its not over?" It wasn't over? She'd already cum and she was spent, her legs barely answering her commands. What else could she want...? "Of course not. I've yet to cum~ And she owes me an orgasm or two after teaching you how to eat her out." "... And why exactly am I the one paying the price here...? Shouldn't... Neon be the one you should be smacking with the bill...?" She could hardly find a method to August's madness, but it was clear that there was none when it came to intimacy. It was as if all her confidence became hyperfocused in pleasure and lust when they got like this, with the girl becoming insatiable. Even succubi and incubi from the Hells would probably be intimidated by how proactive and aggressive she became. "Don't think that you're the only two people that are allowed to have fun here~ I'll get jealous." "I refuse to believe there's a jealous bone in your body, Gust-- Ahh~!" While she was busy snapping back with a smirk despite her powerless state, August had climbed over her and had their sexes connected. Ophelia bit her lip, trying to keep her voice from leaking out yet again. "Look at me. Moan for me. I wanna hear it. I've been good too." "Y-You're so needy sometimes. I swear... I'm always looking at you, yet it's not enough. Or maybe you just aren't looking back at me enough to notice...?" If August was going to resort to guilt-tripping her, then Ophelia was going to fight back. "Don't think I'm just gonna let you cum only once~ Now what type of girlfriend would I be if I left you unfulfilled?" "Mmm~ I'm pretty fulfilled, though--? Ahh~ Nghhh~" Still feeling sensitive after the first orgasm, Ophelia couldn't muster up the strength to give a proper response, her brows furrowing together weakly and her eyes crossed slightly, unintentionally biting down on her lip hard enough to bleed slightly, a thin streak of blood sliding down from her lip and to her chin. "I'm sure she would appreciate a little show. Let's make sure not to disappoint~" "H-Hmph...! I'm a prin... cess! Don't think I'll just... take this the entire time. I came already, but you're probably teetering on the edge yourself, aren't you~? Doesn't that mean you're... really sensitive right now?" Turning her frown into a smirk, she fought back against the waves of electric pleasure to grind back against August, taking the initiative to August's slow rhythm by rubbing her pussy against the witch's in a faster, more aggressive rhythm. She reached for August's head, wrapping her hand around the back of it as she pulled her into a rough, sloppy kiss, moaning into her mouth as she felt every nerve in her lower body scream at how overly sensitive they were, yet she didn't stop. It was at times like this that her mental fortitude and high tolerance for pain came in handy. She could numb herself to the mind-melting pleasure long enough to bring August down to her level and make her a mess just like herself if it meant that she wasn't the only one giving a shameful display. "Puahhh~ You know what's not fair~? That only I get to be a mess... If you're gonna show Neon this shameful side of me, then you should show yours too. Look, Neon~ This is the girl who fell in love with a sinful princess~" Ophelia gave a little yank to August's hair, pulling her face back so that Neon could see August, both the princess and the witch finding themselves lost in the throes of pleasure. "She's so shameless, isn't she~?"

 

[Tenzai]

"Mmm~ I'm pretty fulfilled, though--? Ahh~ Nghhh~" August would not be simply satisfied watching her get off to another. Her ego wouldn't let her. While the talk earlier had dulled her libido for the moment, it was often after the adrenaline that came from making her way out of a mission did she feel herself at her most needy; Each grind back against her placating the desire for more just for the moment. "H-Hmph...! I'm a prin... cess! Don't think I'll just... take this the entire time." The tides of power were in her favor. "But you're dolng so well, princess~ You deserve to be spoiled rotten." If her eyes could, they would be filled with hearts set for the woman she grinded against. Only then did she feel something sudden that made her knees grow weak: Ophelia taking on the offensive on her own. "I came already, but you're probably teetering on the edge yourself, aren't you~? Doesn't that mean you're... really sensitive right now?" She bit her lip, only to feel her mouth part upon tasting the flesh of the mouth that was once moaning protests against her. Closing her eyes, she fell for Ophelia's tactics, going from violator to victim as her legs spread openly for her to be fucked back. "Puahhh~" "Oh gosh... G-gods, Lia... F-fuck... I needed this... I needed this badly." The human began to drool as she opened her eyes to reveal to the other two that they began to roll from the sudden stimulation of both above and below. "You know what's not fair~? That only I get to be a mess... If you're gonna show Neon this shameful side of me, then you should show yours too." Her mouth was agape as she drooled openly, gasping and groaning to the feeling of her princess' slit rubbing against her own. "Look, Neon~ This is the girl who fell in love with a sinful princess~" ​ "Wow..." While there was a small pang of jealousy she felt not being the once in the same position as August, it did little to curb the feeling of curiosity that came from knowing that others could be rendered so vulnerable through exerted intimacy. "Can you show me how to do that to you later?" Naive and hopeful, she treated the lesson that took place in front of her as a learning experience, believing herself to be a student of love while these two dueled for euphoria in front of her. "I think it looks... Wonderful." Learning her corruption, the scent of blood from each and every word was intoxicating. "She's so shameless, isn't she~?" August wasn't afraid of being what Ophelia wanted, even in front of others. It was a beloved consequence of her ego; One she would proudly be responsible for. "She is. But he looks really pretty that way too." Only then, when she shifted her body to gaze up at the woman she called her partner did she feel her insides tremble in love as the possessive attitude she took. "Ophelia-" August used her full first name, hinting at the signs that she was losing control of the attitude she wielded as a weapon just minutes before. The princess was right. She was already close. The sight of watching her being toyed with when she was asleep as well as enjoying the feeling of Neon's lips had made her all too sensitive to the sudden act of shifting power in her favor. "KEEP GOING!" She curled her legs around her lover's body in the hopes that she could feel more of her affection. "FUCK ME! TOUCH ME! LOVE ME! I NEED IT." She screamed. Closing her eyes and clenching her teeth, she shuddered as the first splash of her own release had washed atop of Ophelia's pussy. "Liaaaa~" Her words were slurred, her body drugged with sex. She twitched not once but twice, her hips grinding against Ophelia as she rode out the waves of her own climax in front of Neon. With arms extended, she lifted herself up to kiss her princess. "Hold mee..." Her hair was a mess as was the couch underneath them. Too exhausted to act or think, she leaned in on her instinct, simply indulging in the connection that lay between them and their bodies placed against each other raw. "Thank youuu..." Gust kissed her again, letting her tongue pierce her mouth to embrace her insides as much as she did her outsides. Fatigued, as she clumsily stumbled through her kiss through gasping breaths, her eyelids grew heavy right before she slumped forward into a sex-induced nap. However, unfortunately for the princess herself, there was another girl there looking up to her. "C-can we practice next? I want a turn."

By the time that evening came and Medina awoke from her nap, as she spotted the doctor awake and busy, she slowly slipped her way outside only to find the three slumped over each other, asleep. The mess they made of each other made Medina sigh at the sight, though at least, while they made a mess, she knew they were safe. "You guys..." Grabbing a blanket from nearby, she tossed it across the three to ensure they were comfortable before turning down the lights to let them sleep for longer. After what they endured together, she believed that they earned it. "... You all really need to get your own room." She chuckled before returning back into the place where the other doctor was. "Hey Rei, I always wanted to ask you," Despite her room being on the smaller end, given the fact that she herself was small, there was more than enough space for the both of them to move freely. "What got you working for the rebels in the first place? Someone like you would've probably been accepted to work at most places in the galaxy." Sitting beside her, she avoided getting in the way of whatever she was doing, simply spectating as her eyes flashed with the many colors of different screens displaying the news of what occurred in her sleep. "And I can't help but think that your research would've also warranted a high position at any of the universities around. Did they have something you wanted that you couldn't find elsewhere?" Unlike Ophelia, Dr. Alco was someone that wasn't a princess of her own. She didn't lack the same technical experience as the rest of them, nor was she born of that time period. "Not that I'm against you being here, of course. I quite like having someone else around that understands the work I do. Its just... It makes me wonder, you know? Every doctor has a reason why they serve the people they do unique to them and I want to hear yours."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Dr. Alcor ✬ ​ "Ahhh, don't go into that bush! The jungler's obviously waiting-- aghhh... what did I tell you?! Damn supports just never listen..." Given the fact that she wasn't so lucky as to be unconscious during the girls' loud and harmonious lovemaking, Rei had to turn her attention elsewhere. Thankfully, she had installed aural suppressors in her ears for times when she needed to focus. And for times when she'd rather not have her attention taken by other, somewhat troublesome... acts. The amount of pheromones in the air was surely as high as it could be and the doctor would sooner avoid anything to do with sex. Instead, she had turned her attention to a good old game of Confederation of Champions. She hadn't played in a while; just at the start of the season to get that sweet Gold rank reward, and had left it soon after. Most of the time, she was too busy to play games, even though they had been an anchor to her mental health when she was studying to be a doctor. Now? She actually found herself without much to do. The idleness was troubling and her synthetic fingers twitched for something to do. Of course, her teammates quickly made her regret that decision, as she found herself paired up with a bunch of idiots who seemed more like unintellectualized baboons mashing their big hands into their keyboards and mouses. "--... tor. Doctor." "Wha-- What are you forfeiting for?! I'm still scaling! If you're gonna feed, at least let me carry before giving up!" "Doctor...!" "What! I thought I told you to stay in hibernation mode unless something happened-- Oh." "Medina." The doctor spun on her chair, clicking past the results screen in her computer as she turned her attention to the ghost girl. She was reminded of how small the girl was when she sat next to her like that. Rei wasn't all that tall or big herself, just about average in terms of height. Small for her species, but only when compared to the males. Most females of her race were her size, if not a little taller, and boasted of above average physical capabilities, but also very fragile limbs and organs. It was part of the reason she'd become a doctor; to study what made her own species tick. Even her younger sister had heart problems growing up that had made it impossible for her to enjoy in the physical activities her people liked to engage in. "What got you working for the rebels in the first place? Someone like you would've probably been accepted to work at most places in the galaxy." A valid question, and one Rei had expected to arrive sooner. What kind of person would put the life of their friend in the hands of someone they knew nothing about? "Maybe, but I didn't want to work at most places in the galaxy." Rei half-scoffed. Not because she found Medina's suggestion silly or ridiculous, but because she found herself repulsed at the idea of working most everywhere. She had a certain idea about herself, one of talent and boundless potential that would only be stifled by most organizations. After the promise she'd made to herself and to her late sister, she couldn't bear the thought of letting herself settle for something simple and easy. She had to reach heights that no mortal or god had ever even imagined. "And I can't help but think that your research would've also warranted a high position at any of the universities around. Did they have something you wanted that you couldn't find elsewhere?" "Freedom." ​ Rei reached into her pocket, fishing out an unmarked pill bottle and popping one into her mouth. A dietary supplement made by her. It had enough nutrients to feed her for the next eight hours, although it would do nothing to stifle the feeling of hunger. It wasn't hard to make the brain think she was full, but she found that being just a little hungry made it easier to focus on tasks. "A lot of institutions say they're willing to give unlimited budgets to those who earn it, but it always comes with strings attached. And of course... ethical expectations. Let's just say that... I know someone who holds a lot of authority within the rebel army, despite not officially aligning himself with them. He's also very rich. Rich enough that an unlimited budget is actually a feasible concept. And my research... it required a lot of money and very little supervision." She wouldn't hide the fact that she wasn't free of sins. There had been a lot of things, a lot of jobs, that had tested her morality... and she had chosen the easy path in many instances. "I provided weapons and bots for the rebel army and exchanged certain information with him. In exchange, he would give me what I asked for and ask very little. Often only out of sheer curiosity, rather than because he wanted a return on investment. He's the one that created Yukihime, the cyberswordswoman on my ship... and Arashi." Rei didn't elaborate on the latter, her expression darkening as some less-than-enjoyable memories crossed her mind. "Not that I'm against you being here, of course. I quite like having someone else around that understands the work I do. Its just... It makes me wonder, you know? Every doctor has a reason why they serve the people they do unique to them and I want to hear yours." "Haha..." She chuckled, turning back to the computer to queue up for another game while they talked. "Well... Despite having a PhD, our operation on Neon was only my second time doing surgery. I might've mentioned that. My first one was my sister. While we were escaping from our planet, we got hit by a stray artillery strike trying to take down the evacuation ship. I lost my leg, but she... she was nearly charred beyond recognition. I desperately did everything I could to keep her alive, but the ship's supplies were limited. I'm afraid all I did was prolong her suffering. She lived for three weeks before her heart finally stopped, and not once did she ever regain consciousness long enough for me to say goodbye to her. Ever since then, I... my hands would shake at the mere thought of healing someone." They still did, even now that she recalled the operation. It was good that they had managed to bring Neon back, but... she couldn't believe she'd done it. She was certain she would mess up somewhere. "So yeah... that's my story. Some time ago, I would've scoffed at the idea of helping with something like that. But after I... after Kotone gained consciousness, I think I've... finally let go of something I'd been holding onto for a very long time. I think I'm ready to turn over to a new chapter in my life."

 

[Tenzai]

Freedom. It was a simple ask yet a powerful one. While the doctor queued up for her game in front of Medina, the ghost gave her answer some thought. It was easy to fall under the controls of another over the sake of an easy life and yet, here Rei was, being able to choose both ease and autonomy all at the same time. In exchange for weapons, she bought her fate, though in the end, it made her wonder how far she herself would go in order to achieve the same. "Well... Despite having a PhD, our operation on Neon was only my second time doing surgery. I might've mentioned that." The second? A cold sweat formed across her face. If the others knew of her lack of experience, they wouldn't have easily accepted her performing an operation on their beloved teammate. Though, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, especially now that Neon was awake again. "You've done a really good job." She smiled, watching as the count of her waiting timer ticked up with every passing second. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've always been doing this." Scratching her chin, she tilted her head. "If she was your second, who was your first?" "My first one was my sister. While we were escaping from our planet, we got hit by a stray artillery strike trying to take down the evacuation ship. I lost my leg, but she... she was nearly charred beyond recognition." Medina grew silent, focused on listening. Many times she heard stories of why others had gotten into her field in the first place, it was often because of a want to do better after a harrowing event. "I desperately did everything I could to keep her alive, but the ship's supplies were limited. I'm afraid all I did was prolong her suffering. She lived for three weeks before her heart finally stopped, and not once did she ever regain consciousness long enough for me to say goodbye to her. Ever since then, I... my hands would shake at the mere thought of healing someone." Placing her hand on the doctor's shoulder, she offered Rei her presence, even if it was cold. "So yeah... that's my story. Some time ago, I would've scoffed at the idea of helping with something like that. But after I... after Kotone gained consciousness, I think I've... finally let go of something I'd been holding onto for a very long time. I think I'm ready to turn over to a new chapter in my life." In front of her was someone that placed great care into her work in spite of the inexperience she held before. Neon's condition necessitated someone who understood the ins and out of her anatomy without the pride that would come from stagnancy from decades of ordinary busywork. "...I think... I think you came a long way." The woman she saw in front of her was no fearful girl but a doctor of action, one capable enough to craft her ideas into existence. "And I think you should be proud of that. I know things might be a little different here now that you're stuck with us and all, but, I think if there's any place to start a new chapter, there's no better place than here." Her tail wagged behind her back, its fluffy exterior brushing against her own medical coat. "Thanks for sharing that with me. I really appreciate it." Around them, there were bookshelves upon bookshelves of study material as well as fiction, though hidden in between the crevices and above each shelved surface were piles upon piles of notes and journals from the encounters she had. Everyone and everything had a story; Whether or not they would be happy to share them with her was another thing entirely. "Its not often that I get to meet people like you. People with good reasons." Ambitions grew rampant in a galaxy fueled by overblown egos to prove a point. For every gem, there was its flawed counterpart, though luckily enough, she felt as though she struck diamonds with each and every member of her team in spite of their quirks and curiosities. "I think you'd like it here... Better once uh... Everyone else is done cleaning up outside." She chuckled, aware of the lust that was on display outside. "What game are you playing, Rei?" A sudden ping drew her attention as the doctor was finally loaded into another ranked promo game. Unfortunately for her, many of the same names had appeared in her lobby on her side. The others she had played beside before were on the same team, immediately threatening another loss. Quiet upon realizing the sudden movements of her fingers on the keyboard, as the game began, the poor ghost girl was met with slurs slung towards her friend from others across the galaxy, each teammate eager to wound her with verbalized revenge before they would inevitably become muted by the game. "W-why would they call you such a thing? That's horrible!" While she may have been alien to the gamer terms spoken by the modern PVP community online, what she wasn't foreign to were the taunts that Neon often threw against her enemies. These people were no different than her at her most egotistical. Whether they be motivated by the fact that everyone was faceless or whether they simply hated each other enough, whatever the reason was, it was beyond her. [You're playing like a ******] One of them spoke, pinging her while a death was already listed on the screen minutes before the game started. [At least they had enough brain cells not to die within the first minute ****** (¬_¬ꐦ)] Their words were auto filtered; Censored in the vain attempts to make their game a less toxic place. Before long, open mics had come into play, both by her allies and her enemy. Upon hearing the corrupted verbiage of vitriol forcefully fed through her monitor speakers, Medina paled, giving her a nervous pat on the back as she attempted to not hear the perfect sounds of her competitors bitching through in-game comms. "Uhh... Is this normal? K-Kotone?" Distracting herself, she turned towards the doctor's AI companion. What she heard was far worse than any warzone she visited before. At the least, the sounds of gunfire kept the insults to a minimum where live fighting was concerned. Here, there was nothing stopping them from saying whatever they wanted.

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Dr. Alcor ✬ ​ "And I think you should be proud of that. I know things might be a little different here now that you're stuck with us and all, but, I think if there's any place to start a new chapter, there's no better place than here." "Heh... we'll see. I'm not one to be seduced by the thought of a place I can call home. My home is long gone, burned to ashes along with my memories. And with it, a large chunk of me has also burned away, the wounds cauterized and seared into carbon. I may just be a drifting meteorite waiting to burn up in the atmosphere..." Rei sighed, pressing the 'accept' button on the screen when she was finally matched up in a new ranked game. She went through the motions, waiting for her turn to pick a character before letting out a soft, detached chuckle. "Sorry, I have a bad habit of turning into a poet when I haven't had my coffee. I would've prepared some earlier, but your friends... Well, I didn't want to intrude on their touching reunion." "Its not often that I get to meet people like you. People with good reasons." "I find science to be amoral at best, but... I suppose I'd rather do good than harm, if I had to choose. In the end, though, I'm nothing more than a selfish woman with even more selfish desires..." The game was already counting down, her teammates bickering at each other in the chat already because one of them had picked a suboptimal or strange character for the role they'd been assigned. The teammate in question lamented that they usually never played their respective role, and at least one of the other teammates already had a defeatist attitude, saying 'go next' before the game had even started. There was an imperceptible twitch in the corner of Rei's mouth, like she was cracking a smile at the deja vu she was currently experiencing. Though, if it happened more times than she could count, could it even be considered deja vu? This was more like the usual environment she played in, and it only became more and more ubiquitous as she went up the ranks. This was why she had stopped playing the game seriously. That, and the fact that Kotone had a bad habit of backseat gaming her when she played, telling her about when the jungler had shown in the map under a ward or something. While she imagined most players would jump at the chance of cheating their way into a higher rank, Rei wanted to get there on her own merit. "What game are you playing, Rei?" "Confederation of Champions. It's this popular MOBA where you go 5v5 against another team and the first to destroy the other team's base wins--" First Blood. ​ Before she even had a chance to finish explaining the basic premise of the game, Rei turned her head to the screen almost mechanically, her gaze going blank as she stared in disbelief at the death timer of one of her teammates, ganked in one of the most obvious bushes in the game where low-level players would just group up and wait for a poor sucker to bush-check them. And then the question mark pings and curses came rolling in, some of the blame being thrown towards Rei who had just reached the first tower of her lane on the other side of the map, as if somehow it was part of her fault for not going out of her way to help the idiot jungler invade or something. "W-why would they call you such a thing? That's horrible!" "... Heh... hehehehe... ahahaha..." Rather than answer Medina's innocent question, Rei began to laugh maddeningly, her eyes losing their light and her expression becoming one fitting of her mad scientist persona. She had shown quite a bit of restraint and composure all this time, but it was as if something had snapped inside her, her metal digits quickly typing away at the keyboard. [Shut up you *@$!$% jungler, you should've @#$$(!$* known that they might try something like that. It's one of the most @$$@!$% noob things. No wonder you're @$!!~!$ hardstuck in Silver with your smooth $@*!&^( brain.] She typed with abandon, letting out all of her built-up frustration by blasting abusive language over and over until she suddenly found herself unable to send messages. It seemed she had been banned from text chat for a few days. Ah well... it was better if she just focused on the game. "Uhh... Is this normal? K-Kotone?" "Hmm? Yes...! In fact, this is quite mild compared to the stuff some people say sometimes. Sometimes, if people find out that Rei-- I mean, the doctor, is a horsegirl, they will say the most foul things... and the doctor will fire back with ten times the force. This is actually her tenth account this year. A two-day chat ban is quite mild compared to what she usually gets for flaming." "I have learnt the art of restraint over the years, hehehe... though I'm still banned from streaming the game online. That used to give me a nice bit of pocket money for some of my pet projects..." "Well, doctor... you did dox that troll that one time..." "That guy was stream-sniping me! Plus, it's his fault for playing the game without a VPN. Seriously, who goes online nowadays without one?" She chatted away casually while farming, taking pokes at her HP from her lane opponent every once in a while as her HP was slowly chipped away at. Then, as soon as she hit level 3, she went on the offensive, pulling her opponent in and performing a perfect full combo on them, killing them without a sweat before going back to farming. The opponent, obviously frustrated, used their teleport spell to go right back in as soon as they respawned, figuring they had a chance for a revenge kill with half of Rei's HP shaved away. Rei mechanically proceeded to perform her full combo again, one-shotting the now-raging opponent. [Busted #@$%!! champ. Go KYS you stupid @#$!.] "... Hehe. My day just got a little bit better. Oh, Medina, would you be interested in playing? I've been looking for a duo partner ever since my last one tried to dox me. I promise I won't flame you." Rei turned to Medina as she went under the safety of her towered and went back to base to buy some items, smiling sweetly at the ghost girl. "Don't believe her, Dina. She'll definitely flame you if she gets tilted enough." "Shut up, Kotone. If I do flame, it's out of love. Tough love."

 

[Tenzai]

[Shut up you *@$!$% jungler, you should've @#$$(!$* known that they might try something like that. It's one of the most @$$@!$% noob things. No wonder you're @$!!~!$ hardstuck in Silver with your smooth $@*!&^( brain.] Reports had immediately started rolling in as one of her own allies preferred to go AFK out of spite, letting everyone else suffer in the team over over-inflated egos that were far too easy to bruise. "Hmm? Yes...! In fact, this is quite mild compared to the stuff some people say sometimes. Sometimes, if people find out that Rei-- I mean, the doctor, is a horsegirl, they will say the most foul things... and the doctor will fire back with ten times the force. This is actually her tenth account this year. A two-day chat ban is quite mild compared to what she usually gets for flaming." The fact that this was her version of normal spoke a lot about the sorts of pressure she was accustomed to. The ghost girl couldn't imagine herself in the same condition, constantly berated only to have her own species be used as an edge against her. "I have learnt the art of restraint over the years, hehehe... though I'm still banned from streaming the game online. That used to give me a nice bit of pocket money for some of my pet projects..." "Well, doctor... you did dox that troll that one time..." "That guy was stream-sniping me! Plus, it's his fault for playing the game without a VPN. Seriously, who goes online nowadays without one?" "Wait- You've been livestreaming this? L-like to other people?" The /all messages were immediate upon having their character be executed. [Busted #@$%!! champ. Go KYS you stupid @#$!.] Not only was she forced to go against the other members of her team, but she had to deal with handling communication from the enemy as well. "I- I don't know if-" Looking from the message back towards the horsegirl, instead of finding frustration like she expected, what she found was a sinister smile. Rei was enjoying this far too much. "... Hehe. My day just got a little bit better. Oh, Medina, would you be interested in playing? I've been looking for a duo partner ever since my last one tried to dox me. I promise I won't flame you." She gulped as she heard the offer. Though, as much as she was hesitant, a part of her wanted to have something to distract herself from the debauchery outside. Besides, she thought to herself, how hard was learning how to play the game compared to piloting a ship under combat? "I mean... If you really want to, I don't think I'd mind giving it a shot... As long as there's a way to not see what everyone else is saying of course." Pulling out her laptop, the dog girl didn't hear what Kotone said as she interfaced while logging into her computer. Upon jacking out however, she heard a little tidbit of their chat. "...it's out of love. Tough love." Medina turned around, tilting her head. "Tough love? What do you mean?" By then, the game had reached its middle point. Instead of simple duels on the side lanes with occasional ganks, her enemies had begun to rotate as a team to take objectives, going from destroying her base's defenses to scouring the jungle over the sake of hunting down the primordial squid for its buffs. [Let me guess. You and the ******** AFK mid laner are a duo! No f***** wonder.] The terms were alien to Medina who always preferred the co-op RPG and casual titles in between her missions. "A duo? What does being a duo mean?" Medina asked while a team fight was about to happen. Despite the added time pressure coming from the squid respawning soon, the players from both sides of the battlefield had begun to argue in chat. [I bet they're afk sucking tentacles or some shit.] One of them mentioned, only for another to respond from the other side. [What? Don't cry about not being good enough to carry.] "T-tentacles?" There weren't many others that bore that appendage aboard the ship. While they were around, she never heard of the term duo being related to them. "I don't think I could be a duo if-" A sudden notification played from her laptop speakers. Thanks to the terrifyingly fast download speed of the internet aboard the station, before she could even give it a second thought, the game had called for her attention, showing a menu for a tutorial. ". . . Hey Kotone?" If Rei was too busy to help, she felt it was only right to ask the AI that watched her for so long. "I'd really appreciate it if you could guide me. My laptop is modified to act a little differently than most computers so. . . I apologize if I get confused." Interfacing herself with her computer once again, instead of simply playing the game as a spectator, Medina herself had entered into the game, seeing through the eyes of her blank character that had yet to be selected. Around her was an abandoned industrial site filled with beams and other objects to grant cover. With the numerous characters on screen, she chose the one that most reminded her of herself: A champion dressed in a doctor's white coat armed with a flask in one hand and a pistol in another, one that was labeled as a "support." "Huh. This isn't all that different from what I'm used to carrying." She spoke as she loaded in, finding little cloaked troops armed with rifles and magical swords walking around her as they approached their lane. "What do I do, Kotone? Do I follow them?" As she pondered, one of the minions waved her forwards, only for an arrow to display the direction of where the game wanted her to head. With the bit of added advice, she was able to guide herself to where the minions were beginning to clash, only to find a character similar to Rei's chosen champion on the other side of the battlefield. "Oh! Its Rei!" She formed a digital keyboard to type with as she waved, having her message display over her head to no avail. Whatever was taking on Rei's avatar saw Medina differently. It was an enemy. Her very first PVP encounter. "Uh... Why can't she hear me?" The game will not let her play with Rei without a fight. ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ꜱʟᴜʀ | ᴅʏꜱᴍɴ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Dr. Alcor ✬ ​ "I mean... If you really want to, I don't think I'd mind giving it a shot... As long as there's a way to not see what everyone else is saying of course." "There is, but the doctor insists on keeping chat on despite me telling her it would be better for her mental health if she just muted chat outright." "Ughhh, but I just know they'll be talking shit about me even if I mute and I won't be able to retort if I don't know what they're saying! Not that I can say anything anyway. Stupid 2-day ban..." "... It's a compulsion at this point." "It's either that or back to cigarettes. And I don't know if this station sells my favorite brand..." For a moment, Rei considered it. Falling back to old habits was a tempting idea, if not an ultimately foolish one. Before cigarettes, it had been alcohol, and before alcohol it had been stealing painkillers off her old ship's infirmary. Painkillers that the countless war victims needed, and yet the only thing that made her numb to the pain. It was always pain that she was running away from, looking to replace it with something equally as destructive, but at least she didn't have to think about it. In the end, videogames had become the one habit where she could stop feeling like shit. Well, besides the sleepless nights, but those came to her naturally. "A duo? What does being a duo mean?" "Hehe... A duo is tantamount to a soulmate. You promise one another to support each other during hard times, to never flame one another and to... son of a bitch, this godsdamned jungler! That's the third gank he whiffs on my lane and he's even stealing my minions! I swear to Theth if he does it one more time..." Still engrossed in the game, Rei couldn't give a straight answer to Medina, oblivious to how unnerved the dog girl was to the whole thing. ". . . Hey Kotone?" "Yes?" The AI appeared as a hologram on a small interface on the desk, her hands neatly placed in front of her as she looked up at Medina, even though she wasn't actually looking at her through the hologram. She was glimpsing at her through Rei's eyes, right on her periphery. All it took was a second of Rei taking her eyes off the screen for the AI to see and study Medina's expression in milliseconds and process the information. "I'd really appreciate it if you could guide me. My laptop is modified to act a little differently than most computers so. . . I apologize if I get confused." "That's fine! The doctor had a lot of trouble when she first started playing. She blamed it on the button configuration, but I think she just didn't want to admit she didn't get it at first. Still, everyone plays differently! They've even managed to make it accessible to blind and deaf people, and even those without hands!" She sounded like a bot advertising the game, complete with her pristine and sweet smile. "The doctor thinks this is cheating, but I can actually interface with your computer to offer you information you might miss. Teeechnically AI is against the terms of service, but lots of people use it anyway. Even the company uses it to hand out bans!" "Which is stupid. I'm pretty sure it was one of those damn clankers that got me banned-- shit, sorry." There was an awkward silence as both the doctor and the AI fell silent, the derogatory term clearly being a sore spot for the latter. "Doctor... Even I am not unique. Sentient artificial constructs such as I are fairly common. I'm sure this station has some as well, so you would do best to mind your language." "I said I was sorry already, alright? Medina, you know it was a slip-up, right?" Kotone let out a sigh, shaking her digital head before turning her attention back to Medina's own game. "What do I do, Kotone? Do I follow them?" "Yes! Follow those to your lane. Oh-- your lane is the role you pick for the game. Since it's a tutorial, it seems you were automatically given a lane based on the information the software read from your computer. The game tries to steer you into a role it thinks you'll enjoy the most. It seems you were given the support role. Some people prefer to ignore it, like the doctor." "I tried playing attack damage carry, but I couldn't find a duo that actually supported me. Do you know how frustrating it is to not get heals when I need them?" "Uh... Why can't she hear me?" "Oh, that's not actually the doctor. In the actual game, there's a pool of over 500 characters you can choose from, and they keep adding more every year. The doctor's character is actually one of the older ones and it's gone through a lot of balance changes and reworks to keep up with newer releases." "Oh, you got matched up with a Pariah bot as a support player? Ha, that would be funny to watch if it was an actual person you were playing against. Go ahead and poke it. Oh, 'poking' means to use ranged attacks to slowly whittle its HP down. You wouldn't be able to get away with that if it was a real person, but the bots in this game are really dumb..." As if to show this, The Pariah, the character Rei was playing, was simply hitting the minions without a care in the world, not even trying to farm gold properly. It would aggro onto Medina's character if she did attack it, but would just as quickly forget about it and go back to farming if Medina went back a few steps. "Oh, you leveled up! Once you hit level 3, you can probably kill the enemy with how low its HP is even if you're playing a support champion. Ahhh, this makes me want to get into the game too. Maybe we could get two of the other girls to play with us and make a full party!" "Ehhhh... I have to carry four people? I'm fine carrying Medina while she learns, but I don't know if they could play with me. I guess I could smurf to play with them, but then I'd have to buy the skins I like for my champions..." "Oh! You got a kill, Medina! Good job! Don't worry, the bots don't flame, so you don't have to worry about that. We'll go ahead and change your settings after this is done so you can mute the chat. Now, you should teleport back to base to buy items and--" Double kill. Triple kill! Quadra kill! ​ "Come out here and give me my penta kill, you coward!" "... And buy some items. Oh, ignore the recommendations. Those are for when you're playing support. You should buy damage items for right now, but usually you'd buy the recommended items."

 

[Tenzai]

"Oh, that's not actually the doctor. In the actual game, there's a pool of over 500 characters you can choose from, and they keep adding more every year. The doctor's character is actually one of the older ones and it's gone through a lot of balance changes and reworks to keep up with newer releases." 'So that wasn't her.' Where the doctor may have found things ordinary and routine, for Medina, she needed to prove a point. Like hell she was going to let some AI get in the way between her and their good times. Even if it were a tutorial bot, it was something she was going to take on seriously. Any obstacle to their shared happiness was an enemy that deserved to be eliminated. "Oh, you got matched up with a Pariah bot as a support player? Ha, that would be funny to watch if it was an actual person you were playing against. Go ahead and poke it." "Poke?" "Oh, 'poking' means to use ranged attacks to slowly whittle its HP down. You wouldn't be able to get away with that if it was a real person, but the bots in this game are really dumb… Poking. Right as Rei spoke, a tooltip formed over the head of her enemy, suggesting the right skill and how to use it. "I sure hope so." Following the instruction, she threw a flask in the air above her enemy, only to shoot it with her pistol to enable the splash area of effect it would have against all within proximity. Within moments, gold flooded her inventory as the minions on the opposing side had found themselves decaying under acid. A level up appeared right after, a white flash over the skill hinting at what she should level up next. "Oh, you leveled up! Once you hit level 3, you can probably kill the enemy with how low its HP is even if you're playing a support champion. Ahhh, this makes me want to get into the game too. Maybe we could get two of the other girls to play with us and make a full party!" "Ehhhh... I have to carry four people? I'm fine carrying Medina while she learns, but I don't know if they could play with me. I guess I could smurf to play with them, but then I'd have to buy the skins I like for my champions..." "I think Neon, August, and Serena might find this fun- They might be a lot better at this than I am." Smiling upon finding out that she had the power to change things in this digital world, her fists clutched excitedly as she watched the aftereffects of her leveled ability. Where the minions that fought on her side had found themselves revitalized, to the ADC that was meant to be her first training opportunity, instead, they had found themselves under the influence of multiple debuffs and crowd control effects. Poisoned, slowed, and armor pierced were displayed in terms under its health bar, only leading to the sudden aggression of her little empowered troops to finish off the job for her. Remaining stuck as Medina immediately moved out of range, the minions whittled the fake Rei's health bar down to zero. A CHAMPION HAS BEEN KILLED. "Oh! You got a kill, Medina! Good job! Don't worry, the bots don't flame, so you don't have to worry about that. We'll go ahead and change your settings after this is done so you can mute the chat. Now, you should teleport back to base to buy items and--" Not even being injected into the game could prevent her ears from picking up on the sounds of her friend's notifications as her ranked enemies fell to her slaughter. If this was what her supposed soulmate "duo" was capable of, she had a lot to catch up on in order to stand by her side. "... And buy some items. Oh, ignore the recommendations. Those are for when you're playing support. You should buy damage items for right now, but usually you'd buy the recommended items." "Like this?" Immediately following the prompt to head back to base, the poor girl was left with too many options to choose from. From different outfits that would keep her safe to different weapons that amplified her damage, and even the accessories and tools that altered her abilities, instead of being left with an easy to understand experience, she found herself lost at the different options. However, if there was something she recognized when it came to understanding gear, it was that big numbers followed by the damage keyword were often a safe bet. Clicking on one of the most expensive weapons available, she found her own character carrying a cannon more befitting of Rei's chosen character instead of a mere pistol. "Isn't this a little uh... Bulky for someone like me?" Without so much as another second to waste, the tutorial pushed her eyes towards the enemy base. With a massive indicator hovering above pinging which direction to head next, the doctor sighed before slowly making her way back through the entire battlefield without the help of boots. If damage was all she needed, she believed that the added mobility wasn't worth the slots. "HNGHHH." She grunted, lifting the virtual cannon over her shoulder. While whatever turrets that were in the way were quickly made into rubble, the main fact was that without boots, the very walls of the place she was meant to destroy had appeared to be miles away. Given the amount of time it took to move from one tower to the next, only to wait for her wave of minions in the process, it didn't take long before she could feel the very eyes of her soulmate duo hanging on her. "H-hey, doctor." Her virtual avatar reflected how nervous she felt. Performance anxiety when it came to medicine was one thing, but when it came to gaming in front of people that wanted her to get better, it was another. "Are the games meant to be lasting this long?" The clock on the top right corner of her screen ticked up to nearly 30 minutes already for this bot match. Where the other bots were fighting for control of the other lanes, it appeared that they had begun to lose. The random characters that were chosen to mimic a real Confederation of Champions battlefield did not roll in her favor. She was losing, but it was far from her fault. "The others are really holding me back." It didn't take long for the fast learner to realize the state of the map. It clicked with her why others might've gotten so toxic as a result of playing her game: If this was the norm, especially with strangers, then perhaps it wasn't all that abnormal for others to become frustrated. However, if this was her friend's biggest vice, she would do her best regardless. "I think I got this though." No matter how long it'll take, she was sure to win, even if she had to carry the rest of her team on her back as a damage support. "Right there, Kotone, right?" She pointed towards the enemy base right where a glowing massive object was with a health bar hovering atop. "You just need me to break that?" Drinking her ultimate herself rather than offering it to anyone else, she enhanced her own ability, becoming much larger and likewise, increasing the caliber of her weapons exponentially as well. With three shots, a sudden crackling had come from the nexus, only for it to burst. VICTORY. As the nexus dismantled itself, the match was over, only to find herself immediately back within the menu showing a notification that she unlocked her first character. "Haa... And you're telling me you do that a lot?" Panting, she unloaded herself from her machine, already sweating from the mental load that playing the game for the first time had on her cybernetics. "...That's really impressive. I... Uhmm.. I wouldn't be against playing my first game with you today if you'd like. I wanna know how it would be playing right by your side."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Dr. Alcor ✬ ​ "Isn't this a little uh... Bulky for someone like me?" With her pentakill completed, the opposing team had realized that Rei had completely snowballed them out of any chances of winning, leading to them forfeiting the match. The doctor couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment at having her game cut short just as she was getting to enjoy it, but maybe it was for the best. Letting her game screen linger on the victory screen, she turned instead to watch Medina's game, pulling out a lollipop and popping it into her mouth. "Heh, this is why I can't with virtual reality. They just make the games too realistic nowadays. I'm sure it's a great selling point for some people, but I use games to escape, not to put myself in the shoes of my character." She watched with amusement as Medina initially fumbled with the game mechanics, but slowly and intuitively began to understand how the game worked and how to win it. If Rei ever entertained having a child, she figured this would be how it would be like. The wonder of watching someone learn on their own was pure joy in and of itself. And to know that she had a hand in nurturing and helping them thrive... Well, maybe that would be worth everything she'd gone through to be here today. But Medina wasn't a kid; she was probably older than the doctor, at least chronologically. Given that she was a ghost, she was probably frozen biologically in terms of age. "H-hey, doctor." "Mhm?" Twirling the lollipop around in her mouth, the horse girl watched Medina's face neutrally yet with unmistakable curiosity in her eyes. It looked like she was having a tough time playing, so why was she still struggling through it? "Are the games meant to be lasting this long?" "No..." She looked at her own screen in comparison, the game having lasted only about twenty minutes by comparison. "But you'd better have nothing else to do in the next hour if you decide to queue up for a game. There's no such thing as a quickie here. Well, unless you wanna play on the Bridge instead... but we'll get to that." Rei crossed a leg over the other, her lips curling into a playful smile as she watched her bot teammates fumble over and over, much like people. The AI had become so advanced that it was hard to tell a bot from a person nowadays. "The others are really holding me back." "Heh, you just stumbled upon the game's single player experience. You get idiots trying out new characters on a ranked game, idiots who've never played a specific role getting shoved into it and idiots who only know how to play one role and so they flounder when they don't get that role." She chuckled, popping the lollipop back into her mouth as she slid her chair closer to Medina, her leg brushing against the ghost doctor's. She was cold to the touch, but Rei enjoyed the cold. "Sometimes you're the one being held back... sometimes you're the one holding others back. This game has a way of... driving people mad." She whispered into Medina's fuzzy ear. Despite her reservations, Medina did eventually win the war of attrition. It wasn't just her teammates that were dumb, but pretty much every bot. It was pretty much a tutorial on what not to do as a player, and Medina had passed with flying colors by winning. It wouldn't have matter if she lost, given the RNG aspect of the game itself, but winning did offer a little extra frame for her user icon, like a medal of honor. "Haa... And you're telling me you do that a lot?" Rei let out a laugh, not one filled with that aloofness she was used to showing, but a mirthful, genuine laughter that surprised even Kotone. "It's a lot more fun when you're playing with people you know, I promise. I used to have a gaming group I played with regularly. Some were from the same college I attended while others were from my evacuation ship. We used to have a grand old time together. It's been a few years since then." She pulled out the lollipop, rolling it around in her fingers before popping it into Medina's mouth, giving her a mysterious look. "Want me to pop your CoC cherry? My, but we've barely known each other that long." She joked, rolling back to her side of the desk. She quickly logged out of her main account, creating a fake mail address and making a new account in the matter of seconds. She skipped the tutorial, put in her bank account information and bought a few characters to choose from. "Just so you know, being by my side takes a little bit more of effort than just that. I don't slow down for anyone, so you best keep up." Rei winked at Medina, giving her a girly smile as she sent her a friend request from her new account. "... But maybe I'll keep my foot off the gas for a while so you don't get left in the dust just for a little while. After all, it's a lonely road ahead. A cold, lonely road." She looked at the friend request, waiting anxiously for it to be accepted. Her eyes trembled for a moment, wondering if Medina might have second thoughts. This was more than just about the game to her. Part of her was scared of letting anyone into any part of her life, no matter how minor. She'd gotten used to putting up a wall and this was the first time in years she was allowing someone to see her for more than just the mad scientist she purported herself to be. Perhaps sensing her anxiety, Kotone turned her visual and auditory receptors off, essentially putting herself to sleep so that the anxious doctor didn't have to go through the sensory feedback loop that having two consciousnesses in one brain put her in. "You better be serious about this, Medina, because..." "... I won't let you take it back once you've taken the plunge..."​

​

 

[Tenzai]

"It's a lot more fun when you're playing with people you know, I promise." With friends. Wiping the cold sweat from her face, she ran her head back against the chair she was playing in, looking up at the ceiling to let her eyes correct itself to the outside world. It wasn't too hard to imagine for her how the other girls would be like should they join them as well. Gust would've been the perfect midlaner while Ophelia and Neon could easily take top lane and the space in between on their own. "I used to have a gaming group I played with regularly. Some were from the same college I attended while others were from my evacuation ship. We used to have a grand old time together. It's been a few years since then." Curious about what happened, right as she was about to speak up, the sudden presence of a lollipop in her mouth had muted her lips for the moment. The doctor wouldn't leave that point up for discussion, nor would Medina's mind be stuck on it. The fact that she was looking at her so closely with that new expression made her blush all the more. "Want me to pop your CoC cherry? My, but we've barely known each other that long." "And? If you used to have fun playing with others, I want to help you relive a little bit of that if I could, even if I'm not the same." Licking her lollipop, Medina shifted her legs to rest on her knees, her tail wagging at the opportunity to play with each other. "And if its gonna be fun, I want you to pop my cherry." While she may have been alien to gamer terms in competitive MOBA settings, she wasn't when it came to the flirty metaphors that often filled up the pages of her manga. "Will you take my first time?" "Just so you know, being by my side takes a little bit more of effort than just that. I don't slow down for anyone, so you best keep up." Ping. The sound of a new friend request caught her attention, shifting her vision towards the corner of her cornea, but not before catching the smile of a woman wishing to dispel years of loneliness. "... But maybe I'll keep my foot off the gas for a while so you don't get left in the dust just for a little while. After all, it's a lonely road ahead. A cold, lonely road." Hovering her eyes over the accept button, for a brief moment, she held some hesitation. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she was going to be like her own AI teammates, holding her back due to a lack of game knowledge or finesse. "You better be serious about this, Medina, because ...I won't let you take it back once you've taken the plunge..." Her spot was never on the battlefield; She was only good at playing the supporting cast for her team. In spite of that however, there was one thing she felt strongly about. She wanted to change. She wanted to do her best to remain by their side. ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ꜰɪᴇʟᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴍɪʀʀᴏʀꜱ | ᴀᴢᴀʟɪ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ If this game would offer that same level of battlefield pressure that the others had experienced on a regular basis, who was she not to get tougher? Medina needed to withstand the anxious tremors that came along with risk. Otherwise, what happened with Ophelia, Serena, and Neon getting hurt would be bound to happen again, this time because of her fault. With a renewed conviction, she accepted the request. If they were trying their hardest, she wanted to try her hardest too. "I am serious. I want to be better. If that means I get to spend time with you? All the better." Grinning with the lollipop stick hanging out of her mouth, she gave it a couple swirls of her tongue, taking in its sweetness to ground herself. This was no dream. This was an opportunity. "I can't promise you I won't hold you back a little, but what I can do is promise you my best. If this matters to you, then it matters to me too." Plugging herself back in as she felt an added vigor from promising her more, she waited until she was invited into her party as she linked herself back into the game. On Rei's screen, given the software cross-compatibility, she was able to find Medina sitting beside her character as they waited on the living wallpaper of a lobby and loading screen. Feeling the simulated sunset on her skin, as she looked at the time on her wrist, she made note that the others were likely to wake up soon. They most likely had time for only one game, but she planned on making it count. "I mean it, you know?" Medina's voice came through Rei's speakers as she made her lonely lobby appear more like a cutscene to one of Medina's RPGs. "Whenever one of my friends ask me to spend time with them, I try to take it as seriously as I can because..." Thinking of Rei being in Neon's position, the ghostly doctor was moved by instinct, reaching out to grab the chin of her duo's avatar so that she was sure Rei would see her. "...I don't know when it will be the last time so I want to make it count." Upon hearing the queue sound, Medina gave her a smile before slowly letting go. "I'm sorry in advance for any mistakes I'll make. I'm not perfect. Heck. I might not even be that good." She chuckled quietly to herself, remembering the first teams she was assigned to, finding herself bouncing back and forth from one team to another until finally ending up in the care of Elaine. "But I'll be here. I'll make sure you won't be playing alone anymore if I can help it."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Dr. Alcor ✬ ​ "I am serious. I want to be better. If that means I get to spend time with you? All the better." Rei gave a conflicted smile, her eyes falling back to her screen. She rested her chin on her hand, spinning her mouse wheel up and down anxiously. "Better, huh? What's wrong wtih just staying the way that you are sometimes? Being better, working harder every day... it's so exhausting. After all the time I've spent working on my projects, watching them go up in flames with my ship made me realize... I've hit a rut." All of the pain she'd been pushing back for years had suddenly hit her, as if those very projects were protecting her from herself, from facing all of the trauma she'd partitioned into a corner of her mind where even she couldn't dig it up. With a good chunk of her consciousness being digitized at this point, it was easy to hide it where no one would go looking, but being around these girls had made it resurface all the same. She remembered those phantom pains of her missing limbs that she had become so accustomed to ignoring, the fatigue that came from spending so many sleepless nights working on everything her mind could think of, but also... the warmth that came with having someone by her side. Of course she had Kotone, but the sentient AI had only come to gain a consciousness somewhat recently. Before her, the doctor had little in terms of companionship. "I can't promise you I won't hold you back a little, but what I can do is promise you my best. If this matters to you, then it matters to me too." "It matters, but... what really matters is that I'm not alone anymore. I know Kotone will say I haven't been alone for some time since she came into my life, but..." "I mean it, you know?" "Mmm?" Amber hues flickered up to her screen, her eyes locking with Medina's avatar's eyes as she held her face and made her look at her. She quickly pulled away, her cheeks growing a light shade of pink at how close they were. It was virtual, but it somehow felt so intimate when the two of them were not that far apart in reality. "Whenever one of my friends ask me to spend time with them, I try to take it as seriously as I can because..." "...I don't know when it will be the last time so I want to make it count." ​ "... Idiot. All that means is you have to take as many opportunities to spend time with them as you can. So that you don't regret it when you realize when the last time was. And... make sure that when you do have to say goodbye, the last memory you had was one worth remembering..." Rei could still remember the last time she had talked to her sister before their planet was ravaged by war. It had been a stupid argument about her sister's career choice. While Rei had already graduated and gone on to get a PhD by the time her sister enrolled into university, her younger sister had chosen a less... competitive career, and Rei was concerned about her work prospects. Still, her sister had insisted that it was what she wanted. It was Rei's stubbornness that drove a wedge between them, leading to them not talking for months before she was practically tearing down her sister's door in search for her. She was packing a violin as she walked in, causing yet another argument between them. If only she hadn't argued back then, maybe they would've had enough time to get off the planet together... "I'm sorry in advance for any mistakes I'll make. I'm not perfect. Heck. I might not even be that good." "It's not about being good. It's about..." "But I'll be here. I'll make sure you won't be playing alone anymore if I can help it." "... Yeah. No more flying solo, huh? You'll be here... I'll be here. Together..." Rei looked down at the desk, at her hands. For the first time, she didn't feel that tingly feeling of anxiety right before a match. No trembling fingers. Before she had to replace her limbs with prosthetics, she would've had clammy hands. But all of that... was gone in this moment. She didn't feel any kind of nervousness or anxiety like she usually did. Her caffeine-addicted body felt steady. "... Kotone, turn on VR." "Yes, doctor." Something in her brain whirred as she changed from analog keyboard and mouse to the VR setup. Although unfamiliar, Rei's avatar, which was made to look like herself save for a few pink streaks in her hair, turned towards Medina's. "Thank you, Medina. Just being here with me... It means more than you might think..." It was her turn to grab Medina's face, pulling her up to press a light kiss to her cheek. "Chu~" She made a cheeky, girly sound as she pulled away, the match found animation playing right on time for the doctor to save herself from lingering in what she'd just done. The selection screen popped up, their teammates already picking their roles. It just so happened that destiny would have the two remaining spots be the two of them in the same lane. "Heh. Looks like we're gonna be able to be real close to each other for the next thirty or so minutes..." Rei chuckled softly, her cheeks rosy as she picked a ranged attacker to suit the team's needs and locking it in with ample time before the match started.

 

[Tenzai]

"... Yeah. No more flying solo, huh? You'll be here... I'll be here. Together..." Medina was aware of just how lonely the world could be. If not for her newest team, she would've remained bound to her quiet, empty room, refusing to go out for anything more than the flight missions she was assigned to. For her, together was an incredibly potent term, one she never took lightly. Right as Rei took her eyes off the screen, the doctor reached out to hold her character's hand, massaging her knuckles as she placed her fingers atop. "I'll figure this game out fast. I promise." Only then, when her character began to move differently than her character's animation sequence did she realize she wasn't alone in this lobby. "Thank you, Medina. Just being here with me... It means more than you might think..." Rei's lips synced with her hovering character's, her aesthetic shifted to have a little bit of her real life counterpart's flavor. "Really? I'm glad. I-" Medina smiled innocently before feeling Rei's lips touch her cheek. "Chu~" MATCH FOUND. Right as the screen displayed in front of Medina's eyes, Rei's character was forcibly frozen in place, blurred into the background as her character quickly moved away. It was clear what happened. Evidence of her own knowledge was left as a red stain on the ghostly girl's face. "Heh. Looks like we're gonna be able to be real close to each other for the next thirty or so minutes..." Selecting the only character she was familiar with, Dina found herself back in the same doctor coat as she was in the game before. Spawning quickly into the base, she found her soon to be allies: One of them, a knight with an ego handling one lane. Another, a cat girl wizard dressed in less than ideal clothes given the battlefield. Finally, they held a robot for a jungler, leaving the two to their own lane. "I don't think I quite mind that." Dina blushed, walking towards Rei's side, maintaining her hand's position to avoid being separated after breaching the loading screen. "It's thirty minutes with you." With the speed of computing hardware each player wielded, they were nearly brought into the game immediately upon everyone settling on their decisions. It was a casual match, skipping the draft picks and bans, though in spite of that, the others on their team were vitriolic already. Comments shared between them had made her imagine that they must've come from a long losing streak, though with the help of a perfectly timed tooltip, as she muted the rest of her team, she was given a chance to be truly alone with her partner duo bot-side. "I wonder if this is what the other girls would've considered as a date. What do you think?" As the two walked down their lane while the others were bickering behind the muted silence, she couldn't help but feel rather special. "I mean, its just the two of us and all and-... With the kiss on the cheek and- ...Is that what being a duo like?" Still new to romance save for what she saw with the others and in her romantic novels, she felt curious as to how the doctor felt. The minions that advanced ahead of them didn't seem to mind their presence much, letting them have a conversation to themselves. "Y-you could correct me if I'm wrong of course! I uh... Don't know how intimate a relationship being a duo could be and uh- ... I-I'm single too if that's what you're thinking about! O-or a solo?..." As if the prospect of a date was what began to overwhelm her wiring, Medina displayed her flustered face to the gaming doctor. Her blush had reached from her cheeks to her ears, being well represented in their simulated space. Only then, when she heard Rei's weapon fire did she turn around to see their competing duo: Another two girls eager to use them as practice for their ranked match. "Are they like us too?" "Awww. Would you look at that, a level 1 support and a low level ADC. How cute." A dark grin cracked over their lips. "It almost makes me feel bad that you're being matched against us. Oh well. Blame the matchmaking." The enemy ADC taunted, believing that Rei was simply another scrub to be stomped. Smurfs had ensured terrible first experiences for many new players hoping to enter the game. It appeared that even for Medina, it would be no different. "...What assholes." Medina wouldn't let them ruin their first game together. "...Hey, Rei. I would really like it if you could teach me how to use this character better. I don't want to let them win." Just one tutorial would not be enough. If Rei had been in this game for years, Medina assumed that she would pick up on some tricks that were not as obvious, especially against these silver-ranked players. "Don't slow down or go easy on me. I'll be able to learn quickly." Gripping onto her character's flask, she swapped her skill for something much more aggressive. "Trust me. Just promise you'd be a good teacher~" "Oh look. One of them isn't moving. She must've DC'd already. Pathetic." Medina's eyes quickly scrolled through the tooltips over each one of her abilities, ensuring that she recognized the range, the cooldown timers, the mana costs, and even the damage types. "Hey, hey. FF already so we could move on." The enemy support joined in the bullying. "Unless, you wanna waste thirty minutes of your life getting abused together. Either way, it's your loss."