Annaia

The softly curvaceous female reclined gracefully on her side, carding slender fingers through what could've passed for grass at a quick glance. It wasn't quite as she remembered, the tactile quality of the herbage wasn't the same as the real thing but the colour was almost right. It wasn't a bad facsimile given her limited power and skill and it still felt good against her pelt.
       Annaia rolled on to her back and gazed up into the leafy canopy with a happy smile. The trees however - she was very proud of the trees. Again, they weren't perfect copies but somehow she'd managed to capture the essence of the tall plants. Of course there was no sun to shine through the leaves and create that dappled light that had so enchanted her, nor was there any breeze to stir the pseudo-leaves and make them rustle, but if she half-closed her eyes she could almost imagine she was back in the mortal realm she'd visited briefly a long, long time ago.
       The doe-demon's tapered ears flicked irritably and she sighed. If she hadn't been sired by a mortal she may have had enough power to return to that world. Annaia sighed again and sat up - but then it wasn't simply raw strength that enabled one to travel out of the kingdoms. Traffic between the demon and mortal realms was restricted and strictly monitored. Only a tiny proportion of the (mostly higher status) demons were allowed to travel back and forth. It was supposed to have something to do with the 'balance of forces' but Annaia held the private belief that the greater demons simply didn't want to share the bounty of the mortal realms with anyone else.
      Annaia smiled, revealing sharp canines that sat incongruously with what was essentially an herbivore's face; she'd only got to go because a friend, a very powerful friend had snuck her through the barrier. Their stay hadn't been lengthy, but long enough for the beautiful, vibrant place to make an impression on the young demon. Even now she could almost taste the air, so redolent with a profusion of unfamiliar scents she had little hope of identifying most of them.

Dangling on a fine chain between Annaia's full, velvet-furred breasts was a scrying gem, a perfect, clear sphere, maybe as big as the space formed when she brought her thumb and first finger together into a circle. The gem floated serenely in the middle of a flattened silver ring, held in place by a subtle but strong magic. It'd belonged to Annaia's mortal father and been given to her when Drebia, her demon mother, realised she couldn't bend the thing's powers to her will.
       "Pah! This is useless!" Annaia could vividly remember the beautiful demon's disgust with the artifact, "Take it," she'd thrust the gem into her young daughter's hands, "It's a pretty enough bauble - you may as well have it."
       Annaia had readily accepted the prize - gifts from her mother were rare and usually pointless - holding it up to her eye and marvelling at the clarity of the stone. Everything seemed so much clearer through it… The child watched, breathless as an image sharpened into focus in the centre of the gem. A scene; water flowing over rounded boulders, swirling into small vortexes of chaos at their base, tendrils of something green swaying with the currents -
       "How did you do that!?" Drebia snatched the gem back, screeching in frustration when the image vanished. She turned sharply to glare, narrow-eyed, at her daughter.
       "I didn’t do anything!" Annaia protested, shaking with fright. "I just looked…"
       Drebia growled then huffed out a disgruntled breath.
       "There's more of your sire in you than I thought, obviously." She handed the gem back, reluctantly. "Keep it safe, brat, don't let anyone know what you can do with it."
       The child bobbed her head dutifully, newly grown spiralled horns glinting in the persistent half-light.

Decades of secretive trial and error later and Annaia was able to focus the gem more or less as she wished. She regretted not having known her sire though, maybe he could've shown her how to use it efficiently. According to Drebia the mortal had been some sort of primitive magician, though what such a tool was doing in the hands of a being who was virtually powerless was anyone's guess!
      Annaia held the gem up to her eye now and formed an image in her mind of the one she wanted to see.
      Nothing happened, just as nothing had been happening for a long time.
       "Why do you persist?"
      Concentrating as hard as she'd been, the darkly smooth, male voice took Annaia by surprise and she jumped.
       "Your pardon, I didn’t mean to startle you."
       "You should wear a bell, Yoshami," the doe-demon grumbled, quickly dropping the scrying gem.
       He chuckled and flowed a little closer, the lower half of his body a mass of never-still tentacles that roiled like oily, black clouds. Annaia watched the shadow-demon warily. Yoshami's accidental discovery of the gem's ability was still a worry but he hadn't, to her knowledge, betrayed the secret.
       "Why do you keep looking for her?" Light seemed to fall into him, leaving an impression of shifting darkness. "Enarrilin is dead."
      "Why should I believe that?" Annaia responded, large liquid black on black eyes gazing steadily at him from within their vertical splashes of soft white.
      "Because Prince Wildern said he killed her and it's generally considered… polite to take something a High Demon says at face value."
       "She's not dead." The doe-demon stated firmly.
      "Why are you so sure?"
      "Because I would know if she died." A simple statement of fact.
       Yoshami blinked then smirked.
       "I can think of a more constructive use of your time." Something long and flexible snaked out from his lower half to brush lightly over her russet-pelted ankle. Annaia tilted her head to one side while she considered. Yoshami was a rarity amongst the more powerful demons in that he usually asked before engaging in carnal relations, and if he was refused then he simply shrugged and smiled in such a way the one who turned him down was left with the impression they'd just missed the opportunity of their lives. This… not simply taking what he wanted was looked down on by some as weakness but Annaia knew better. By showing courtesy Yoshami was far more likely to find a partner receptive - then and in the future - and there was more pleasure to be had, for him, from a willing participant than one forced.
       "Why should I submit myself to your lusts?" Annaia smiled coyly up at him through thick, dark eyelashes.
       "Because - " Yoshami was grinning now as the tentacle slid smoothly up the inside of her leg, " - you want to."
       The top half of the shadow-demon's body had the look of a broad-chested, smooth-skinned mortal male. His face was almost delicate in its angled features, his eyes glowed like amethysts lit from within, and long, umbra locks flowed around his head and shoulders like smoke. He was beautiful in his own way, Annaia thought.
       "I have no wish to be impregnated," she eyed the short, horizontal slit low on his abdomen, the slit that was beginning to open.
       "Why not?" Yoshami grinned. "Your eyes, my - uh - " he glanced down at the seething mass below him " - tentacles. Our offspring would be enchanting!"
       The doe-demon lifted an eyebrow.
      "Enchanting?"
       "Don’t you think so?" he asked with syrupy innocence.
       Annaia's laugh choked off into a indignant squeak as more of the supple, serpentine extremities writhed around her legs and she was tugged towards the shadow-demon.
       "I haven't said yes yet!" Her thighs were gently but inexorably being prised open.
       "Then please, sweet one," Yoshami's voice dropped to a husky murmur and his purple eyes gleamed, "say it quickly."
      Annaia shivered.
      "Yes."
      Tentacles, strong and sinuous flowed beneath her, around her waist and arms, caressing and stroking her as she was lifted from the counterfeit grass and borne towards the male. Yoshami's abdominal slit had opened fully and the shadow-demon's reproductive organ was unfurling sleekly, questing towards her promised heat.
       "I'm serious about being impregnated, Yosha." The doe-demon growled somewhat shakily, all too aware that held as she was there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Yoshami laughed, breathlessly, the fiery red of his teeth and tongue making him look like he had a mouthful of fresh blood.
       "I'll bear that in mind."
       The tip of his organ trailed slowly down her groin, probing lightly at the entrance of her cunt, making her squirm, before dipping down to slide between round buttocks. Annaia closed her eyes, quivering as Yoshami manipulated more of his mobile appendages to stroke and tease between her legs, nudging their way into her body. Beneath the pale little tuft of her tail the shadow-demon's inseminator wriggled and twisted, working its way into the other, tighter orifice. Which was fine - Annaia thought hazily - it wasn't pleasant but what Yoshami was doing to the rest of her made up for the discomfort.
       The doe-demon always enjoyed sex with this particular male even though she had no choice but to be passive. She was held gently but securely against his body, her legs wrapped around his waist, unable to do more than writhe and gasp as Yoshami teased exquisite sensations out of her body. Annaia keened, throwing her head back as she climaxed...
      She hung in his arms, panting and nipping gently at the inky skin of his chest while he shuddered to his own orgasm.
       "So? Is that it?" the young female teased.
       Yoshami assumed a wounded expression.
       "Do you have something else you'd rather be doing?"
      The shadow-demon politely waited for her answer though Annaia seemed to have suddenly lost the power of speech. Yoshami smirked - the fact that he was flicking a tentacle tip over and around the exquisitely sensitive spot deep in her body might have had something to do with the silence. No, not silence, exactly, Annaia was making the most interesting noises…
       The doe-demon came again, mouth open and panting, her nails digging painfully into her palms as she strained against her confines.
       "You were saying?" Yoshami chuckled, bending the upper half of her supple body back so he could nuzzle soft breasts.
       "N-no - there's nothing else - I'd rather be doing," Annaia gasped out between spasms.
       "Good." The shadow-demon stroked the straight, silken abundance of her hair, marveling again at how it seemed to flow through his fingers like a cool mist. He lifted a handful of it to his face so he could breathe in her sweetly piquant scent.
      "Admit it, Yosha, you're a hair-fetishist." the doe-demon was grinning broadly at the look of sensual delight on his face. Yoshami chuckled and slowly smoothed the fistful of deep, earthy-red over his cheek.
       "Only when it's as beautiful as this."
       Using his fingers, Yoshami combed some of Annaia's thigh-length tresses forward, over her face then he kissed her with a slow and gentle passion through the filmy veil.
       "I want to touch you." Annaia said, breathless, when he pulled away.
       The demonic male half-smiled and the restraints slid away from her wrists and elbows. Annaia sighed happily, wrapping her arms around the demon's broad chest, running her palms over his back and shoulders, fingertips delving lightly into the smooth dips and mounds that defined his musculature. Yoshami began to respond to her touch, clasping her to him, tightly, the various appendages invading her body starting to twitch and stroke again. Annaia relaxed into the sensations, closing her eyes and resting her cheek on his shoulder, happy to let Yoshami take control of her responses. It was something he excelled at and in her opinion, anyone who passed on his attentions was insane…!

Yoshami couldn't lie down, he simply wasn't built for it, but that was hardly a problem when he could easily sleep upright. He wasn't asleep though, despite his sated weariness. Annaia drowsed, cradled in his arms, one hand resting lightly on his chest, her blood-red hair draped over her body like the finest of linen. She trusted him - the thought brought a surge of warmth to the shadow-demon - and maybe she even liked him a little? Yoshami's smile was tender as he gazed down into her delicate, triangular face. So beautiful, so fragile but with a hidden core of strength. She still missed Enarrilin though, even after all this time - the male had glimpsed the truth of that in her soul when she'd unknowingly 'opened' to him - and was convinced the demoness wasn't dead. Very well, he had connections in Wildern's court…
      Yoshami decided there and then to make some discreet enquiries: it was the least he could do in exchange for the hours of pleasure Annaia had afforded him.

© 2003 December 9^th Lutra


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