Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and in fact I don't even own the original settling, which is inspired/continued on from Incubi Gives Life To Fairies by Campionsayn, who this is dedicated to for her Our Equal Silence story. Sorry for the delay! I'm not 100% happy with this (apparently I'm more unseelie suited than seelie) and its feels very OC but I didn't want to be too perfectionist over it and take another year slaving over it till I'm happy. XD Enjoy
Virtue from Vice
It was one of those summer days went the sun shone almost overbearingly down on the world. Like most Incubi, Jason wasn't fond of the sun (he was nocturnal after all) but the intensity of the light today made doubly sure he avoided any light encroaching on his cave. He wasn't in the mood to nurse sunburn.
Outside the shade of the cave however, the forest was teaming with new life and living. Small animals' scurried about searching for shelter, bugs and insects hunted for food and flocks of birds flew between the trees frequently showing off to each other. If it wasn't for the sun, Jason would have most likely stormed out of his cave to show nature what he thought of their racket. As it was, he was sulking away inside, his own mood successfully blocking any appreciation of the sun.
Well, for himself at least.
"Jaaaaaa-sssssson!" a high pitch voice squealed as a small purple glow flew into the cave with the speed of a bullet. The small but wince worthy sound of something breaking as the glow hit it made Jason wish he was still in bed. What a day.
"Stephanie," the Incubus drawled as he stood up, stretching his body in a way that was both disturbingly disjointed and strangely sexual, "try not to demolish my cave, if you would be so kind."
Slithering over to where his small, but nice, collection of pottery had stood but now lay in pieces; Jason tried to not laugh at the mortified/apologetic/offended expression on his fairy sister's face. Standing up shakily, Stephanie shook her purple wings to dust the clay fragments off.
"Sorry about the pot," she muttered, her face as red as the strawberries she so adored.
Jason waved a claw indifferently, "Replaceable. I'll steal one of Tim's next time I'm over," and turned his attention onto his new sister. Under a careful eye the new fairy fluttered her wings and took off, easily reaching Jason's eye level in seconds, none the worse the wear for her collision. She should be used to it by now, her Incubus Brother thought; Stephanie was forever colliding with something in her haste to see everything. His new sister was so clumsy, it was adorable if flinch worthy.
He had no idea where she got that from.
He stretched, "so what brings you to my lair on such a sunny summer's day, I'd thought you'd be chasing baby birds or racing Cassandra through the meadows."
Giggling Stephanie settled down into Jason's horn with practiced ease, it was her favourite place to sit when she was visiting and Jason, for all his whining, never stopped her. He did pointedly ignored Dick's fawning over how 'cute' it was though.
"Am I not allowed to visit my darling brother on said summer's day?" She shot back.
Jason grinned and started to pick up the shattered pots, "I think my pottery might prefer you didn't."
Laughing at the strange spluttering sounded Stephanie made (like a mouse getting stepped on actually), Jason nearly dislodged her from her resting place with his shaking. The fairy huffed sulkily and poked at her brother's triangular ears in a way that she knew irritated him. His ears twitched.
"Actually, I do have a question I wanted to ask you. Barbara said you'd be the best to explain it." Stephanie said slowly, her lace-like wings fluttering behind her.
Finished tidying the clay remains away, Jason turned back to his sister, something nagging at the back of his mind. "What kind of question?"
Stephanie shot up, looking for all the world like a purple firefly in flight than anything else. She was so tiny for a fairy, though Jason supposed she'd get slightly bigger as the seasons changed. She landed gently on a protruding bit of stone, overestimated her speed and tripped up. Sniggering, Jason carefully picked her up and righted her.
Pushing some of her golden hair back, Stephanie carried on, "Well, you know how in summer it is the duty of the fairies to take care of the Woods and all the creatures inside it?"
Jason grunted in acknowledgement.
"And you know how Barbara has been sending me along with different fairies to see what their duties are little and which I might be better suited too?" Again, Jason nodded.
Stephanie started to hover again, her wings beating furiously, "Yesterday I went with Leslie and we were helping a hedgehog deliver its baby…" then Stephanie digressed by pattering on in horrific detail about how cute the baby had been and how disgusting the birthing had been.
Oh shit, Jason thought, please tell me she's not about to ask me where babies come from? The Incubus didn't have a tendency to panic, there wasn't much of a point or need for him to freak out – but the idea of telling his little daffodil like fairy sister about sex (which fairies didn't even have themselves, really) was something worth freaking out over. She was too young to be asking about sex, she wasn't even a season old!
"So, I kind of don't think I'm suited to helping deliver babies, though Leslie told me that I did better than most and apparently Kate was sick when she had to help deliver her first baby. But…." Here the fairy paused and turned her wide blue eyes over to her big brother, "I know how babies are born Jason, but how do –"
"-ohnononono, you're not asking that question!" Jason snapped, holding a hand (well, finger) up to his baby fairy sister, "you're too young to know about that."
Stephanie huffed and sent him a dark look that reminded him of Cassandra (which he supposed made sense since they were sisters in a roundabout way), "Jason!"
He shook his head, "You don't need to know about-"
"I already know about sex!" the fairy snapped, hovering a few inches from his nose, "It's kind of hard to miss it!"
The incubus blinked, "What?"
Stephanie huffed again, "Please Jason, do you think I'm blind? Have you seen what some of the animals do when they're in heat? They go on for ages and everywhere!"
Jason didn't know what to say to that except, "Oh, well what were you going to ask?"
"Well, obviously it takes two animals to make a baby, but when I asked everyone said fairies only have one incubus brother who sires them. How are fairies conceived?"
And that was ten times worse than having to explain sex to his virtuous sister, he thought as the blood rushed to his head. Stupid pretentious fairy, he knew Barbara would try and get back at him for swiping some of their special mushrooms but sending a baby fairy after him to ask about Incubi nature was cruel even for her.
"Um, well," Jason scratched his horns, "Incubi aren't like other creatures." Stephanie had settled back on the stone ledge and crossed her legs, giving him her full attention.
"We're creatures of the night and we exist partly to feed on the dreams of mortals. We also, ah, help them fulfil their sexual desires entangled in those dreams." Funny, the perceived sinful nature of Incubi had never bother Jason before, but then Stephanie was the first baby fairy he'd ever tried to explain it too.
She wrinkled her nose, "You have sex with mortals, why?"
"Well it's fun and pleasuring, and we need that sexual essence to survive. Technically we're gender neutral because we're shapeshifters, but we tend to separate into Incubi (who're born male) and Succubi (who're born female) but we are really both, it just depends on what form we chose. Then we seduce mortals and …"
"Procreate?" Stephanie asked innocently.
"…Something like that. However, sometimes the fairies come to us and asks one of us sire a new fairy for them, because fairies can't birth other fairies."
"Me!" Stephanie's hands shot up and punched the air.
He couldn't help snorting, "Yeah, they asked me to sire you. Anyway, once we agree to do that, we procreate with a male mortal and then are given a special barley seed (which is where fairies come from) and wait. Once you're ready, you're barley seed turns into a flower and blossoms with you at the heart of it. Pure and new."
Stephanie was staring at him, her beautiful purple wings half limp and lifeless. "Fairies come from Incubi who've procreated with mortals and eaten a magic barley seed which then blossoms into a fairy?"
He wasn't sure if there was disgust in her voice or if she just wasn't sure what to think, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. Fairies can't procreate naturally and Incubi are really good at procreating so it sort of balances out."
"Why can't fairies have babies?" The little fairy asked in equal part curious and revolted at the idea of doing what she'd seen some animals doing.
Jason really needed some mushrooms to sooth the headache he had coming, "well, first off, fairies are only girls and aren't shapeshifters – you lack the necessary parts as it were to conceive children traditionally. Secondly fairies don't have the urge to procreate because you're good, benevolent little… beings who are devoted to caring for nature instead of caring for yourselves." Well, some fairy were benevolent, Barbara had a mean streak to rival an irate Incubi and was just as cunning in her vengeance.
"And Incubi, why do you have urges and fairies don't?"
"I don't have all the answers Stephanie, but I'd guess it's because we live fed off procreation and Fairies don't. Asked Barbara, or Dick he might know." Jason shrugged, completely fine with setting Stephanie on his brother.
"Where do Incubi come from then, two incubi or –" Jason picked his sister up with one clawed hand.
"You ask too many questions, little one, and now I've got a sore head. Why don't you be a good little fairy and fine you're poor brother some mushrooms to sooth his head?" Jason pouted, his fangs pressing against his lips.
Stephanie laughed, her wings fluttering again and she darted out of her brother's hand to his left horn. She hugged it tightly, "Of course I'll get you some. I saw a really nice looking patch on my way over too! I love you, brother, even if you do like to procreate with mortals."
His cheeky sister jumped back from his swipe and zoomed out of the cave, her purple glow almost invisible in the bright summer sun. Huffing despite the smile on his lips, Jason settled back into his bed to rest. Fairies were annoying and far too good for his taste but the Incubus enjoyed the fact something as pure, sweet and virtuous as his Stephanie could come from something are sinful as himself.
Now to plan his revenge on Barbara…
R+R?
