Chapter 12: Student
Do you have any idea...ANY idea, of how good it feels to be free? I'm not talking about the feeling you get when you put down a heavy backpack. That just means you set down a weight you have been carrying, that's like when you let go of an old grudge or resentment. While that does feel good, I still got plenty of those. I am talking about being FREE! When you can take a breath and the joy of life fills your lungs. You look at the world with new eyes and an appreciation you didn't have before, you feel like you can do anything and BE everything. It's like you can only contain 10 cubic feet of happiness in your heart but somehow you found a way to push twice that in there! It's the most unbelievable feeling ever!
I still have not experienced it.
Sorry to let everyone down, nope...I'm not better. I feel better, having not locked a bunch of myself away, but I am still a damaged human. Do I have a new appreciation for life? You bet! Do I still have a tough patch to hoe? Well, looking across the table at a succubae with a death-grip on my hand tells me all I need to know about that. My life just got a whole lot more complicated. For some reason, I can't stop smiling. I mean, come on, my life was just going to work and come home, over and over again. I was in a trench that I had made for my own safety. "Routine is King." and all that nonsense. I used to take my paychecks from my old job, hop in my truck and just drive one direction to see where it would take me, then use the other half of the paycheck to pay for gas to get back home. Sure I would be broke, but who cares? I had stories to tell!
Looking at this scary, and yes, beautiful woman in front of me...I am going to have one hell of a story to tell!
Lucretia wiped her eyes with her left hand, and looked down where we were still joined. She watched as my thumb continued to gently caress the back of her right hand. "Why do you touch me?" she asked.
"Comfort." I replied simply. My voice cracked, and I cleared it. I looked over and saw Mother's mug of coffee half-empty and probably cold sitting on the table and took a drink. Yes, I look at things as half-empty, and yes I did guess the coffee was cold. It was, I was right, so there!
I glanced at Mother who was still smiling, but not as wide, thankfully. I was starting to like her, but those choppers of hers, they gave me the heebie-jeebies. "Is that it, are we bound...uhm...binded...whatever the word is?"
"Yes, little mage...you are both one." She smirked. My jaw fell open. ONE? That is, that is...what the? She laughed that creepy laugh again.
"Oh the look on your faces!" She chortled. I turned my face and saw Lucretia with the same expression of shock I must be wearing.
"Being on this Plane is so refreshing!" Mother continued. "I seem to be developing a sense of whimsy." She took the mug I was still holding in my hand and polished off the dregs of the coffee inside of it.
"Release his hand now, daughter." Lucretia did so, and Mother took her clawed hand in hers and kissed the wound in her daughter's palm. When she took her lips away, she looked into Lucretia's eyes and murmured something I didn't catch. The grey skinned succubus bowed her head and nodded, then Mother kissed the top of her bald head between her horns. She came nearer to me, and took my hand in her own, I almost pulled back, then thought better of it. Old reflexes and all, but if Mother wanted to hurt me, she'd had plenty of opportunities already and hadn't done it yet.
She turned my right hand palm up and then kissed the wound, she paused, did it again. When she looked at me her eyes were puzzled, then cleared as she gave me a knowing grin. "So, you're one of those Brooks?" She said softly, her white eyes searching mine. I could see a touch of red on her lips from the tiny puncture in my palm. I reached up with my other hand and gingerly wiped it off.
"If this is going to be another type of bloodline, lost royalty, prince, and kingdom bit..." I began.
She giggled, sounding very human as she did. "No, young mage. You have already made your feelings known to me on that subject!" Her finger's traced my cheek. She seemed about to move away and stand, but then moved in close to whisper in my ear. I could feel the soft brush of her hair on my cheek.
"I will only say this once, Gregory Bastion Brooks..." She began. Her voice was soft, but strong in a way that reverberated in my mind down to its core. Like it was imprinting itself on the Foundation of Thought itself.
"There is a great Power in being a Teacher, in the passing on of knowledge to a Student. It is one of the most sacred of all traditions, and one of the most looked over. There is also a form of Protection as well. For when you guide another, you become more than you thought you were able to be. While the one you guide becomes more as well. You hope one day they become more than you ever were, and so the cycle goes on. Become...Grow...Learn...Surpass!"
She slowly pulled back and I looked up into her face as she picked up my hand and licked the blood I took off her lips with my finger. She winked at me and said coquettishly, "I have your scent Greg!" Then disappeared. Seriously, just disappeared! No theatrically raising arms and poof of smoke, no ripple in the air, or portals or anything. Just...gone.
I took a deep breath and scrubbed my hands over my face. I had scooted my chair back from the table when Mother came around to talk to me. Now, I leaned over my lap, elbows supporting my head and just sat there, absorbing everything that just happened. I was tired, sitting in my kitchen barefoot in gym shorts and grass stains and sore ribs. My head hurt, and I was filled with emotions I hadn't felt in a long, long time. It was quiet, except for the light dripping sound from my sink that I never got around to tightening. There was a light tapping noise, like a fingernail on wood, I could hear it under the table. I turned, bending over more and I saw a pair of bird-like feet with long black talons tapping on the floor slowly.
Right...this is going to take some getting used to.
I exhaled slowly and sat upright, staring at my new...uhm...roommate? She had crossed her arms under her naked breasts and had a challenging look to her, like she was waiting for me to give her orders just so she could flip me off. I wonder, do succubae flip people off or just...ah heck. I need a nap, how am I going to get work done with all of this... oh crap! Work! I looked at the clock; it was only 5:45pm. Whew. I do have time to take a nap.
"I need sleep." I said suddenly and Lucretia jolted in her chair. I guess she was expecting me to say something else. "You tired?" I asked. She appeared to think about that for a moment.
"I am mentally fatigued, but my body is fine." She said quietly. I raised my eyebrows at that. Oh yes, her body was MORE than fine to my eyes! It was also naked, crap, she needs clothes. I don't have anything that would fit her. Can I leave her here alone to go shopping? Maybe I can borrow some clothes from Gwen? No, Lucretia's too big off a girl...Jemima? No, Jemima's too tall. Hildy is right out way too big unless Lucretia wanted to swim in her shirts, and how would the wings fit anyway? None of this thinking is productive, I need some rest first, then go to work. Everything will be clearer with a nap. I stood up and so did Lucretia, she moved back keeping the table between us. I saw her reaction and shook my head.
"Really?" I asked. "After all the stuff that took place in my head, that really is how you react to me?" She looked all around, then grimaced at me.
"What someone says, and what someone does are two different things...Master!" she said in a clipped tone. I winced at her title of me. "Names Greg, not...that other word."
"You are my Master and I will call you Master!"
"Well if I am your Master, then call me Greg!"
