Sunsday, 18th of Summertide (6), year 713 of the Gofarran calendar.
The Kingdom of Alancorn, Le Puy-en-Velay region, town of Ornans.
The music was the latest hit from the girl group huānshi and as their name suggested it was a fast paced and lively routine. Veshrya had spent the last two hours in her friend Mari's bedroom as the both of them danced and sang to their new favoured single. The track ended and as it did both girls collapsed down onto the floor. They looked at each other and burst into a fit of laughter.
"Ci-x can ya bring us a drink?" Mari asked the house A.I. as she moved to sit against her bed.
"It will be there in a moment young lady."
"So Rya, how's ya training going?
Veshrya sat up next to Mari who grabbed hold of her hand as she did so.
"It's fine really. Just exercise and yet more lessons."
"Ya sure? It was quite early for ya to get a notification, and you already spent five outa six days at Yasmine's. Not tryin ta do too much are ya?"
She could hear the concern in her friend's voice and it made her smile. While she enjoyed being with the others and none of the local children treated her badly, even with Mari's brother Florian it was a case of teasing rather than actual malice, but really, she only had the one friend close to her age. As if to try to express that she snuggled up to her side resting her head on her shoulder.
"My mom and aunt worked out a new schedule for me. Cyllenesday and Mnemesday I'll be at Grand-mère's all day, then Helicksday, Starsday and Sunsday I'll be training with my aunt from twelve bells. So the actual amount of time hasn't really changed. I'm actually sad I'm going to see less of Grand-mère."
Both girls looked up as the bedroom door opened and a small drone holding a tray below it hovered into the room.
"A cold glass of grape juice each for the young ladies. Would there be anything else?"
"Na it's fine Ci-x, thanks tho." The drone placed the tray on the floor near the girls then exited the room, the door closing behind it. They both reached for a glass, they'd danced quite a lot this morning.
"Its not just that tho is it?" Mari asked after they'd downed the glasses. "Ya not... I don't know. There's something about ya that's not right." She placed an arm round the younger girl's shoulder and pulled her back close. "Ya gona say it's nothing but am not letting ya go anywhere until ya spill it, and it's getting close to twelve bells."
Veshrya knew she would do just that or at least try her her best to.
"You know Succubus are not counted as Folk right? And that means that we start with a racial Class?" She looked up at her friend waiting for the reply.
"A knew about the Folk bit so a guess ya do got a Class, didn't really think about it. Tho it explains why ya can always beet Florian when ya playing together. Why's it matter tho? Its not many people round here that care about that sort of thing, and even if they did ya Ma would sort them real quick."
"Its not the Folk part it's the Class. You know we need some type of energy to live when we reach adulthood. Do you know how we get it?" She wasn't really sure she wanted to talk about this with her friend but she couldn't hold back a snigger when she heard the answer. It was quite cute, she thought, even if it was to be expected.
"Ya have too kiss someone right? What? That's what ma Da told me."
"You been told how babies are made?"
"Not really, Ma said I didn't need to know till later. What's babies got to do with it?" Mari asked with a genuinely puzzled expression.
There was a part of Veshrya that knew she probably shouldn't be doing this, and it made her slightly queasy to know it was the Succubus part of her, the larger part, that was doing to do it anyway. And that part gave her butterflies.
"It called sex. Its what makes babies and how we get the energy we need to live. You've seen your dads or brothers' bits? The ones girls don't have? Well they put that in side us and that's how we have sex." As she was saying this see saw Maris face redden. It seems she new more about it then she had thought.
"Why? No, I mean… I don't."
"You ok?" While it was cute how red she'd went it really did seem as if something had broken in the girl.
"No. I mean, yeah I'm fine, it's just. I think I saw my Ma and Da do it some night not so long ago. Just didn't know that's what it was. Anyway, still don't see why that's got ya down. Ya not an adult yet."
"No, I'm not, but the more I learn about the Class the more I realise that almost all its good for is in making sex better or tricking people into having sex with you. "
"And ya not one to like lying to people are ya Rya?" Mari said as she tightened her hug.
"Aunt Kelona said its because no Succubus likes fighting. If we have to fight we will but if we can run away, we will almost always will."
"But ya sister is a mercenary, she fights monsters every day. And ya Ma's probably the strongest person in town. How's that work?"
"Lots of practice, a real drive to do so, and strong people she can trust with her life fighting next to her is what aunt Kelona said let my sister to be one. And she said mom's powerful because she' old, and she's old because she ran away when she could. A lot."
"Well, ok. But just because you got that doesn't mean you can't pick what else to be right? Ya could learn ta fight like Cahrya if ya wanted to. Or ya could be an herbalist like me and my Da. Mabey grow plants for your Ma? I've not even started ma apprenticeship and you've got six years until you start yours. Its not like ya aunts at the Palace need to lie to anyone if ya right about the…ah…the sex thing." Mari's voice had started to quieten as she reached the last part and Veshrya couldn't stop the snicker from escaping. Which in turn made the older girls blush to deepen once more, which, of cause, made her laugh harder. It didn't take long for her to be crying for the tickling to end when the older had decided she needed to be punished for finding her embarrassment amusing.
As the both laid on the floor panting once more Veshrya turned to face Mari.
"I'm going to have to go or I won't make it for the bells. See you Starsday morning?"
Again, Mari sat up against her bed moving her short hair back into place.
"Yup. Florian will be out again so we'll have the place to ourselves like today. But if ya want to hang out just come when ya need to Rya."
Veshrya got up and placed her arms round Mari's neck, hugging her tight. Just saying what was getting to her for the last few days had helped, a lot. And even if her mother and aunts had said almost exactly the same things it had been today that she had needed. She moved back so she could look into her friend's storm blue eyes.
"Thank you, Mari. I did need this I think. I really love you." She leaned forward and lightly placed her lips onto Maris. It lasted only a moment until she moved back and got to ger feet. She gave a smile to Mari, who had turned rigid with a slow, deep blush spreading over her face and ears, before she turned and left.
OH GODS! OH GODS! OH GODS! WHY? OH AALURAN.
It had taken an extremely short time for her to lace up her knee-high boots and grab her black, zip-up hoody from the rack. The one with the cat ears on the hood, the one Mari had said made her look cute. She'd almost sprinted from the house and down the street to where she was now. Hiding in the shadows of some ally, her hoody draped over her as if she was trying to hide from the world.
'No, it's ok. Its fine. She's my best friend, almost family, and I've kissed all my aunts like that, not to say anything about Soeur or Mom. Even if they were all Succubus it doesn't change anything. I mean I've given a kiss to almost all my aunts partners. On the cheek, but still. Ok Veshrya up you get, it wasn't that big of a deal, and we need to get to aunty Kelona's so we can change before twelve bells.'
She stood up, brushed down her ankle-length, yellow sundress, put on her hoody and walked back into the street. Not before putting up the hood, hoping no one would notice the rose red blush on her cheeks.
It was a ten minuet walk to her Aunt's house up in the hillside to the south. The house's in this part of Ornans where newer then the rest of the town. They were larger with an open plan design and large privet gardens, even if they were still made out of the towns trademark stone and slate. Kelona had moved there just over a year ago with her partner so they would have more room for the equipment she owned.
The walk was good for Veshrya as it had allowed the heat in her cheeks to go, so when she walked into the house and found Remie sat at the table doing paperwork she believed that she was back to normal. The woman held up her hand in a small wave, obviously busy with whatever work was in front of her. Veshrya unlaced her boots, noticing the eyelets she'd missed in her previous haste. She did keep the hoody on with the hood up. You know, just in case.
"Take a seat Veshrya, Kelona won't be long. She had to go help on of your Aunts meet a new client" Remie said without looking up from the mess of paper in front of her.
"Thank you Remie." Veshrya said as she sat at the table opposite. It wasn't long until the door opened and her Aunt entered. Kelona was one of her mothers' younger sisters and resembled her quite closely, being only slightly taller than her at five foot two inches and with short cut blond hair. High-heels clacked as she strode over to the table and letting her disguise drop, ruffling Veshryas hair as she passed her.
When she reached Remie, who hadn't looked up from the work she was typing up, she reached out and held her chin moving the face up towards her and took Remies lips with her own.
Veshrya sat waiting, already used to scenes like this in the few days she's been training here. The seconds passed into minuets, long enough for the midday bells to be heard over the sound of the increasingly intense kiss in front of her. She had a slight blush on her cheeks as it ended as Kelona stood and turned to face her, Remie just sat there looking up at Kelona with a slightly spacey expression.
"So young'un, you going to tell me what happened?" Kelona said to Veshrya as she ran a hand through her partners hair.
"Excuse me?" the question had caught Veshrya of guard.
"Your sister saw you running full pelt out of your little friend's house, and not because you were going to be late getting here. She gave me a heads up to make sure you're ok. So, what happened?"
She could feel her face heating up even as she willed herself to look her Aunt in the eyes and her face blank. She wouldn't say one word about what happened today, especially when she knew her family wouldn't let it go for the next year or so. Unfortunately, said family were masters of social interactions. Every single one of them.
A grin slowly spread over her Aunts face as she read the entire situation from Veshrya's reaction.
"Oh ho, wait till your mother hears about this."