“I’m coming across as a bloody prat, aren’t I.”
Jadis smirked, a ripple of amusement flowing across her three bodies. Both Jay and Dys had drinks at their lips, but her Syd self didn’t, so she set the glass in her hand down to focus and respond to Sorcha’s statement.
“You’re nervous. I don’t think that makes you a prat.”
“It doesn’t do me any favors,” Sorcha groused, her green eyes focusing anywhere but on Jadis. “Gods, why did I have to go first…”
Syd arched an eyebrow at the mumbled plea. The rest of the girls had been surprisingly competitive with the dice rolls when they had sorted out the dating order. It was all random chance, but that didn’t stop a few of them from getting a little riled up in the moment. When Sorcha had won with the highest numbers, there had been some good-natured grumbling, but no one had thought ill of the goblin witch so far as Jadis had noticed. The order of the dates didn’t ultimately matter, when it came down to it. It was the time spent together that was important. However, it seemed that getting to go first had given Sorcha a bit of a complex.
Since she was first, there hadn’t been a lot of time to come up with a date plan. Not that Jadis was certain what she’d do with the goblin woman even if she did have more time. Jadis didn’t really know Sorcha all that well. What she’d seen of her once they’d gotten past the whole “enemy combatant” thing had interested Jadis enough to allow the witch to hang around during their rituals, but they hadn’t had a lot of one-on-one together. That was the problem, really. Jadis didn’t know Sorcha that well. But she wanted to, at least enough to give her a chance.
So, with little prep time and few options, Jadis had opted to stick with the simple plan of having lunch with Sorcha. She’d gotten what amounted to a picnic basket from the temple kitchen and the two had donned their coats and found a quiet spot in the gardens behind the temple to have a meal and chat. The gazebo they’d chosen to eat in had served well as a pleasant bit of scenery, even if it was a bit cramped for Jadis and a little too big for Sorcha, but that was fine. The conversation so far, though, had been what Jadis would call strained. Not to the point of being unpleasant, but there was some definite awkwardness between them that was making it difficult to make any real connection.
“I’m glad you got to go first.”
Syd’s words caused Sorcha’s gaze to flick up at her, at least for a moment. The direct eye contact didn’t last long as the goblin soon turned away, a dark flush coloring her cheeks.
“Yeah, best to get the annoying shit out of the way first. Do the chores in the morning so you can relax the rest of the day, or so my ma used to always say.”
Sorcha’s words had been said with an air of self-deprecation, and had probably been meant as a joke, but Jadis frowned upon hearing them. She could sense the bitterness behind the light tone.
“You aren’t a chore,” Jay spoke firmly as she leaned forward, one elbow on the table. “Why would you think you are?”
Sorcha looked furtive at Jay’s pressing question. In fact, she looked like a hunted animal, ready to bolt. Considering how confidently sassy the goblin was around Sabina or the others, her current attitude was throwing Jadis off. If she didn’t know better, Jadis might have thought Sorcha was… scared of her?
“I’m not one of your… companions,” the witch motioned towards Lyssandria’s temple. “I mean, I guess I kind of am since I’m in your merc company now. Which I’m really thankful for! I’d be kind of screwed otherwise. But I’m, you know, not really one of them. I’m not a—a mate of yours, or anything like that.”
“Isn’t that why we’re having this date?” Dys asked, doing her best to keep her tone neutral. “To see if that’s the direction we want to go?”
“I don’t think you had to do any dancing around the idea with the others,” Sorcha pointed out, her words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush. “They just clicked into place like puzzle blocks. If we fit together like that, we would be there already, right? So, yeah, this is probably all a mistake. I think I should probably go and you can get one of the others to come out here and show ‘em a good time. No sense in wasting any more effort on me.”
Jadis regarded the goblin woman carefully. She took in her words, the way they were spoken, and her body language as well. It would have been perfectly reasonable to take Sorcha’s words at face value and let her go like she wanted. They didn’t have to have a relationship. She could be a simple member of her company, no different from Hans or Nevan and Orla. As Sorcha put it, if they didn’t click, they didn’t click. No need to try and force either of them into a shape that didn’t fit.
But Jadis did think they clicked. Or at least, had the potential to. Maybe she was just being led by her libido, but she was attracted to the goblin woman, and not just physically. She liked it when she was being sassy. She liked the way she kept the people around her grounded with her acerbic wit. She liked the ease with which she seemed to gel with her other lovers. Those were all strong points that intrigued Jadis, made her want to know the goblin more. And, if she was reading the woman right, she thought she wanted to know Jadis more as well.
There was just a hurdle or two getting in the way.
“Sorcha,” Dys pronounced, her voice commanding. “Look at me.”
The witch flinched, her large ears twitching. She slowly turned to look up at Dys from across the table. Her big, emerald eyes were wide and unblinking.
“Are you scared of me?”
Sorcha cringed slightly, her shoulders hunching as a grimace crossed her face. She seemed to think for a moment before some resolve was found within her and she braced her posture.
“I find you bloody terrifying, actually.”
The frank honesty was nice, but the answer still made Jadis’ heads tilt in some confusion.
“Why?”
“Why?” Sorcha repeated, her tone incredulous. “Look at you! I mean, you’re a bloody giant! First time I ever saw you, you came out of the fucking fog like some kind of armored nightmare, tossing people around like dolls! You can crush men and demons underfoot without even breaking stride! You could probably flick one finger and knock my fucking head right off my neck! You’re a monster!”
Jay set her elbow on the table next to Dys, then rested her chin on her fist. When she spoke, she did so with the slow deliberateness of someone who was trying to puzzle out a mystery.
“Noll’s probably stronger than me. We’re at least even. You aren’t scared of him, are you?”
“…I mean, he still makes me nervous, too,” Sorcha answered with a frown. “He’s kind of a creep, you know? Just staring at everyone and growling in a corner like a grumpy dog all day.”
“But you aren’t scared of him,” Jay pressed.
“…No, I’m not.”
“But I scare you?”
Sorcha struggled to find a response, her mouth silently opening and closing several times. Before she could formulate an answer, Syd spoke up with another question.
“It’s not because we fought before, is it? Because I don’t hold any grudge against you for any of that. We were on opposing sides. There wasn’t anything personal between us, we were just doing what we had to do in the moment.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Sorcha let out a huff. “I mean, I’m sorry any of that shite happened, you know? I never should have signed up with that moron’s crew. I just didn’t think things would go so far…”
“It’s water under the bridge,” Syd motioned with one hand. “Who gives a fuck? We’re on the same side now. I don’t have any hard feelings towards you. Do you feel any towards me?”
“No, not really.”
“Then what is it about me that scares you?” Syd asked again. “It’s not because we fought each other. It’s not because I’m big and strong.” Syd’s eyes narrowed in a sly expression as she continued. “Is it because I have a big dick? Because I can understand some nerves about all that if you’ve been thinking about how we’d do the deed. I’ve been thinking about the logistics and I think we’ll be okay—”
“No! Shut the fuck up already!” Sorcha screeched, her cheeks dark green with embarrassment. “I’m not nervous about your damn dicks! I mean, I am, because you’ve got fucking horse cocks swinging between your legs, but gods dammit all that’s not what I’m talking about here!”
“Then what are we talking about?” Jay asked, drawing the goblin’s attention back to her.
“This!” Sorcha motioned at Jadis. When she only gave her a confused look, the goblin continued by waving her hands around her. “All this! The temple! The princes! Heroes and Demons and gods knows what else! The actual fucking gods that you actually talk to! Holy shit in my socks you’ve actually met three gods! You’ve talked to them!”
“Four gods, actually,” Dys corrected. “Though I didn’t really talk to Samleos, we just sort of stared at each other.”
“That!” Sorcha pointed emphatically at Dys. “That’s what I mean! That’s bloody well terrifying what you just said, and you said it like it’s just a normal day at work! I’m terrified of all this power and importance and everything all swirling around you like a damn chaotic whirlwind, and I’m not sure if I should be holding on for dear life or running for the hills! I’m just an herbalist that happened to get a witch class and then made a stupid mistake by joining the wrong mercenary company. I don’t know anything about any of these big matters that are for big people like you. I’m not important. You are. And I’m scared shitless about what might happen if I stay anywhere near you.”
Having exhausted herself, Sorcha slumped back in her raised seat, all the energy from a moment before gone. She gave Jadis’ selves an almost petulant look as she grabbed the glass of warm cider from the table and gulped it down before thunking it back onto the metal surface. She waited for Jadis’ response, a sparkle of defiance in her eyes.
For her part, Jadis got it. She totally got it. Sorcha was right. Jadis’ life was absolutely insane. Even if she took out half of the things she’d done since coming to Oros, she’d still have a massive story to her name, filled with crazy, unbelievable events. Her very existence on Oros itself was an impossibility that boggled the mind so far as Jadis was concerned. So yes, she understood exactly where Sorcha was coming from.
Jadis didn’t have too much of a choice anymore. She’d made her Faustian bargain and now she had to fulfill her end of the deal. Sorcha, on the other hand, didn’t have to get involved in any of the chaos surrounding Jadis if she didn’t want to. She was well within her rights to wipe her hands clean and step away. After all, who would want to purposefully involve themselves with someone who was so consistently courting disaster on a regular basis?
Someone who was interested in that person, that’s who.
“Can we walk?”
Sorcha looked confused by the question, but she shrugged her shoulders in a noncommittal way. She got up from her seat, following Jadis’ selves as she stood and walked out of the pleasant little gazebo they’d been eating their lunch in.
The gardens behind Lyssandria’s temple were mostly barren with winter, but there were still some plants that were green despite the chill. Jadis was sure that in warmer months the many hedgerows and flowerbeds made for some beautiful scenery, but the view was more somber in the winter. Jadis had hoped the secluded spot would have helped Sorcha feel more comfortable and willing to open up to her. Well, it had worked, Jadis supposed, though not in the way that she had expected.
Leading Sorcha down one of the winding paths that were surrounded by tall, highly manicured bushes, Jadis thought the goblin’s outburst through. She was pretty sure she knew where she stood now that Sorcha had aired out all of her concerns. Hearing someone else talk through their feelings had strangely helped orient her own. Now she just needed to act.
“I want you to know right now,” Jay explained with a grave tone, “that if you want to stop associating with me, I understand and will do everything possible to help. If you want to become support staff and stay at the base with Hans, I’ll make that happen. If you want to leave Fortune’s Favored and switch your custody to some other company, I’ll talk to Vraekae and that’s what’ll happen. If you want me to smuggle you in a box out of the country so you can live a free life without any obligation to the empire, then I’ll do that, too. It’s your choice. Your life, your will. You’re what matters here.”
“But if you want to know what I want,” Dys said as she slowly paced next to Sorcha. “Then I want you to stay. I want to get to know you better. I don’t think I love you, not like I do the others, but I want to see if I will. You are funny and sassy and cute and you have a good heart. I want to see where our connection brings us. But I refuse to hold you against your will. It’s your choice.
“I can’t promise that staying with me will be easy. In fact, I can damn well guarantee that staying in my company will bring all kinds of hardship. That’s just who I am. However, I can also promise you that if you stay, I will protect you with all my heart, exactly the same as I would any of my lovers, no matter where our relationship ends up. I’ll never abandon you. I’ll never reject you. I’ll be your friend. Always.”
“Question is, is what I’m offering worth all the trouble?” Syd spoke wonderingly into the chill air. “That’s your call. I do want to add, though, that even if we don’t end up in the kind of relationship I have with my lovers, that doesn’t mean you won’t be invited to have some pretty awesome sex with us for our rituals. Nothing wrong with being a friend with benefits. I mean, mind-blowing orgasms on a regular basis has to be at least one good reason for putting up with everything else that comes with me, right?”
Having said her piece, Jadis silently continued to stroll forward, trying her best not to reveal just how anxious she was to hear Sorcha’s response. She wanted to present an air of confidence so that Sorcha didn’t feel pressured to pick an answer just to please her. Jadis wanted Sorcha to stay. Everything she’d said about how she felt about Sorcha had been true. So had been the part about letting the goblin make her own choices, though. She wouldn’t force something to happen between them if the little green woman didn’t want it. If her feelings truly weren’t returned, then she’d just have to let the goblin go, even if it hurt to do so.
Jadis stopped walking when she realized she couldn’t hear Sorcha walking next to her. Turning back, she saw that she’d come to a standstill a few paces back, her head bowed in a look of intense concentration as her fists clutched at the hems of her coat sleeves.
“Sorcha?”
The witch glanced up, a determined expression on her face. She raised one hand, beckoning Jay to come towards her.
“Can you come down here, please?”
Closing the distance, Jay knelt down on one knee, putting her head more on level with Sorcha’s, though she still had a significant height advantage over the smaller woman. To bring herself further down, she knelt fully on both knees, then sat back on her legs.
Now on more of an even level, Sorcha took a step forward so that she was standing in the gap between Jay’s knees, her body just a few inches shy of being pressed against Jay’s. Her hands went on either side of Jay’s face, cupping her cheeks with cold fingers. With an unreadable expression, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Jay in a firm kiss.
Jadis accepted the kiss, a little thrill of electricity running through her. The experience was both familiar and yet strange. All of Jadis’ lovers were much smaller than her, and so kissing them meant her lips tended to overshadow and overwhelm them. With Sorcha, that experience was amplified since she was just so petite in comparison. Still, her lips were soft and warm and as the kiss continued, Jadis found herself melting into the smaller woman.
Sorcha took the lead, probing Jay’s lips with her tongue. When she opened her mouth to accept her, she eagerly slipped inside and showed some true erotic skill. Her tongue was small but dexterous, running all over her teeth and tongue in an exploratory dance. As the dance continued, Jay responded by pushing back against her, slipping her own tongue into the goblin’s mouth. Sorcha’s teeth were just as sharp as they had looked, and Jadis had no doubt that if she wanted to, the goblin could bite through bone. But instead of biting, Sorcha lewdly sucked on Jay’s tongue, at least as much of it as could fit inside her mouth.
After a far too short amount of time, the kiss was broken as Sorcha pulled back, panting heavily. She gasped in a breath, her eyes foggy with lust but clearing as she took a moment to breathe. Clearing her throat, she stepped away from Jay, leaving the Nephilim feeling much hotter than she had a minute before, as well as much more constricted by her pants.
“Now that I’ve finally got a sample of the wares… You might possibly be worth the trouble,” Sorcha said, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Let’s just hope neither of us experience any buyer’s remorse later, yeah?”
“We won’t,” Jay grinned, before pulling Sorcha back in for another kiss.
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