Chapter 38
Upon leaving Port's forge, Glynda led Ilia back into town with Ruby and Pyrrha close behind. They were heading to Velvet's shop, but ran into a familiar face along the way. "Salutations!" Penny exclaimed. The automaton walked up to the group and bowed. The schoolchildren were close behind, and wasted no time in gawking at a creature they had never seen before. "I do not believe we have met." Penny addressed Ilia. "I am Penny."
Ilia was visibly unnerved by the robot, so Glynda spoke for her. "This is Ilia, my daughter. She'll be staying with me for the foreseeable future."
"It is an honor to meet you Ilia." Penny bowed. "I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I have." The automaton offered a smile, but Ilia still cowered behind her mother.
"Penny helps protect the village." Glynda explained to her daughter, gently nudging her forward. "Like you, she's only been here a short time."
"And I already feel right at home." Penny added.
"Hello...Penny." Ilia managed.
"Miss Glynda, how is Ilia your daughter?" One of the children asked. "She's a snake!"
"That's a good question, and for the record, Ilia is a lamia." Glynda responded, bending down to meet the children on their level. "I wanted to have children, so I laid some eggs, and when they hatched they were all snakey. Ilia's sisters live far away, but she's going to be staying with me for a while so I can teach her magic. Go on Ilia, say hi."
"Hi." Ilia hesitantly waved.
The children began asking questions, eagerly answered by Glynda. For her part, Ilia was extremely uncomfortable being the center of attention. She shifted herself to be partly shielded by her mother. The lamia looked to Pyrrha and Ruby, who offered reassuring smiles. That helped her feel a bit more at ease. At least the children were somewhat focused on Glynda now, not just on her.
A flash of movement in her peripheral vision caught Ilia's attention. A plump seagull flapped its way to a halt, landing just a few feet away. Scanning the ground for food, the bird waddled about, approaching the group. It apparently had no fear of humans, lamia or whatever Penny was. No one else even seemed to notice the bird, but Ilia was transfixed. Her hunting skills were frankly pathetic, but this prey was making things almost too easy. Ilia lunged at the bird. It was slow to react and she easily caught it. With one swift motion, she wrung its neck and lifted it to her face. Her jaw unhinged and cheeks stretched to accommodate the whole bird, which she hastily jammed into her mouth. Her throat bulged as her prey disappeared down her throat.
Ilia was suddenly aware of the silence. Her gaze darted about, and she noticed that once again all eyes were on her. The children looked on in terror. Even Pyrrha looked disturbed, shocked if not outright disgusted. Only Ruby and Penny seemed unperturbed, and Glynda still had her back to the lamia. Had she done something wrong?
"Birdie no!" One of the children cried. Glynda spun around to catch sight of the last of the bulge descend Ilia's neck. In an instant all the children were screaming and crying. Penny frantically tried to calm them, but her efforts were in vain.
The loud noises...the looks of terror...Ilia did not know what to do. So she fled, darting down the street as quickly as she could, heading for one of the only landmarks Glynda had pointed out to her. Hopefully there she could hide.
"Ilia wait!" Glynda called after her, but the lamia ignored the shout.
There were few things as annoying as an itch she could not scratch. Perhaps she was busy holding something she could not put down, or it was in an intimate area and she was surrounded by respectable individuals. Velvet did not care about that. Itches were natural, and comfort was paramount to enjoying life. People could think what they liked. She would run through the streets stark naked if it stopped this damned bloody itch plaguing her body.
Right now it was worst on her head, somewhere burrowed within her scalp, which by now was starting to hurt from how often she had scratched at it. It was maddening. If it were only there she would have been mostly fine, but itches had been cropping up in random spots all morning - her chest, her shins, forearms, and right above her ass. At least the last could be scratched with a quick bump against a table.
"Hey Hon." Coco's gentle voice suddenly crooned from behind her.
Velvet started with a jump. "Huh! Ah, hey Coco." She sighed, running her hands through her hair and looking up at the succubus behind her. "Sorry, was kinda'..."
"Frustrated?" Coco guessed, raising her own hands to thread through Velvet's hair. The girl felt the glamour fall, fingers turning to hard chitin, gently scraping across her scalp. "Still not gone huh?"
"You would know…" Velvet groaned, Coco's nails running across a particularly pleasant spot, then returning to focus upon it. "Gods Coco."
"I can do this for as long as you like Hon." Coco grinned, her claws trailing across every inch of Velvet's scalp, sending waves of relief through her body and soul. "Quite literally forever."
"You're evil." Velvet croaked, her hands clasping desperately in her lap, Coco's leering visage barely visible through her lidded gaze. The sight was beautiful.
Slam!
Velvet screamed at the sudden sound and flurry of movement, tumbling out of her chair and pressing herself against a cabinet door. Her skin felt numb, blood rushed to her ears, heart thrumming in her chest. She tried to breathe but found the ability stunted at the sight before her, a long brown tail slithering into her backroom. "W-what the fuck?!" She finally managed, sucking in a desperate breath. She glanced up at Coco, who seemed more amused than anything. "What the fuck was that?!"
"Big scared snake lady with bad fashion sense." Coco replied, blase, as if having her home invaded by a foreign species was a common and expected occurrence. "You having fun down there?"
"Oh, I'm having a whale of a time!" Velvet snapped, accepting the hand Coco extended. "Why is there a lamia in my store?!"
"I'm terribly sorry Velvet, this is partially my fault." Came a familiar response, as Glynda strode through the door. Pyrrha and Ruby were just behind her. "As it happens we were intent on coming here next, so we're on schedule!"
Velvet fumbled for her chair, flopping into it with a long sigh, burying her face in her hands. Coco chuckled, patting Velvet unhelpfully on the back. "So the scared snake girl is yours I take it?"
"Quite literally in fact." Glynda confirmed. "Oh yes, Pyrrha, Ruby, meet Coco, Velvet's new companion." Coco gave a wave of her fingers.
Pyrrha seemed surprised for a moment, before returning the wave. Ruby was far more enthusiastic. "Heya, I'm Ruby!" She cheered.
Gods, what an adorable little morsel. "Aw, you didn't tell me you were friends with a cutie like this." Coco nudged Velvet, who groaned in response.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I will be back momentarily." Glynda headed into the backroom. It took a little time for the witch to locate her wayward daughter. Several steel racks had been tossed aside, their contents dragged into a pile beneath the stairs...the end of a brown tail poking out clear as day, twitching as Glynda approached. "Oh, my dear, you've had a trying day, haven't you?" She sighed, kneeling before the pile of coats and dresses, which shook at her voice, a small muffled whine coming from within. "I know Ilia. I'm sorry I didn't warn you...children are easily upset."
"They hate me too." The pile mumbled
Glynda chuckled, pulling away several garments. "They'll probably forget in a few days. Don't worry yourself over them." Shifting a shirt, Glynda was met with wide blue eyes and halted, smiling. "Sweetie, you're not in trouble, no harm will come to you."
"I wanna' go home." Ilia plead.
"Then we can, right away." Glynda nodded.
"But I can't, they don't want me…" Ilia sniffled.
Glynda stifled a wince at the sting in her heart. This was to be expected, but her haste and excitement had blinded her. It was too early to introduce Ilia to the town. The environment change had been too sudden, the expectations too different, her survival instinct had told her to flee. They were fortunate that was all they had told her. It was a somber reminder that Ilia was not human. As close to her as she may seem, Ilia was an alien in this environment, and needed far more education, far more care to be taken in her integration.
"I am sorry dear, I know this is a difficult experience." Glynda sighed, edging closer to Ilia's eyes. "I know it's frightening. This is a whole new world to take in, and I have poorly prepared you for it, but it will get better, I promise you." Slipping a hand into the pile, Glynda searched for Ilia's shoulder, smiling gently as the scaled skin came into contact.
"I broke the room." Ilia slumped.
Glynda chuckled, brushing aside the garments covering her daughter's head and nuzzling the girl affectionately. "Don't worry. Let me show you what you'll be capable of someday."
Offering her hand, Glynda pulled Ilia upward, the lamia slithering gracefully from her cover. It was a sight Glynda would never tire of seeing. Long gone were the twitchy, clumsy crawlings of an infant serpent, her daughter was becoming a woman, and it would never cease to pain her how much of her life she had missed. How much of all their lives she had missed. But now she got to behold another truly wonderful sight, a genuine look of awe as with a single wave of her hands, Glynda willed the room to reset itself. The racks stood themselves upright, the many garments returning to their hangers, as if given lives of their own and the singular desire to achieve order.
Ilia giggled, and Glynda found herself falling in love all over again, observing her daughter's joyful expression as she looked from the now tidied room to her own hands, which curled loosely against her stomach after a moment of consideration. "I won't disappoint you." Ilia promised.
Glynda pulled her daughter into an embrace, planting a kiss upon her hair. "You never have."
"Velvet, Coco, meet Ilia, my daughter." Glynda stood proudly by the lamia's side. Ilia struggled to stay still, hands clenched in her lap as she weathered two new stares.
Coco pulled her glasses down, running her gaze over the lamia in an appraising manner. Glynda felt a twinge of protectiveness. Succubi were unpredictable at the best of times, and Coco was not truly bound. Velvet, on the other hand, seemed...shocked, to say the least. This was not altogether surprising. The implications were likely dawning on her. Lamia were not exactly unknown amongst common folk. Depending upon the location, they were considered a danger of which children needed to be educated, particularly maturing maidens between the ages of seventeen and twenty five. Velvet simply stared, mouth hanging open in a silent exclamation.
Ilia gave a nervous little wave. "Hi?" Gods she was adorable.
"I have a new challenge for you Velvet, when you collect your jaw." Glynda teased, stifling a chuckle when the shell shocked girl shook free of her funk.
"Uh, hi, Ilia, it's nice to meet you...now...sorry this is just…" Velvet rambled.
"Believe me Velvet, I understand how you feel." Pyrrha chimed in sympathetically. Velvet shot her a grateful look.
"What challenge?" Velvet asked curiously.
Glynda lay a hand upon her daughter's shoulder. "Ilia needs clothes."
"Clothes?" Velvet questioned, a bemused look crossing her face. "Well...I may be able to help…" She stood, faltering a little as the reality of the situation resettled. "I uh, don't know if there's anything specific you want here."
"Ilia is identical in proportion to most humans from the waist up, though quite a bit slighter than the rest of us, for the time being that is." Glynda explained. "Clothing will need to grow with her, as she has entered maturity."
"By how much?" Velvet inquired.
"Roughly double in circumference." Glynda answered. "Fully grown, Ilia will be larger than myself."
"Easily done, uh, any preferences?" Velvet asked. "Style, or…" She shook her hands vaguely in Ilia's direction. Ilia quirked her head in question, looking to Glynda.
"Did you see anything you liked in there sweetie?" Glynda asked, waving toward the backroom. Ilia stared blankly for a moment, before suddenly twisting around and slithering back into the room.
"Uh, what was she doing back there?" Velvet questioned.
"Hiding." Glynda replied. "She scared the children, and they scared her."
"But why here?" Velvet asked, baffled.
"We were outside, and I did tell her we planned to visit...so I apologize for the fright." Glynda offered a slightly weary grin, just as the sound of slithering scales prompted Ilia's return, this time with a bundle of black and white cloth, which she unfurled to lay over her body. A maid outfit.
"Oh, that's…" Glynda started.
"A work in progress…" Velvet blurted as Coco snickered beside her. "But I do plan on making more...gods this is a weird discussion. Is there anything else I can do?"
"We will take three sweaters, two head warmers and a pair of mittens please." Glynda requested.
That smile was too bright for a woman like Glynda, Velvet thought.
Winter rarely spent time alone with Blake. Really, no one spent much alone time with Blake, aside from Glynda. Still, given the option, Winter would have preferred to keep it that way. She had never quite been able to bring herself to trust Blake. It was not just the snide remarks and sarcasm, it was Blake's history too. The aspect had not always been so friendly. Well, friendly was the wrong word. Not openly and murderously hostile was probably a better descriptor.
Blake had once been bound to another, and her old master had not been nearly as philanthropic as Glynda. The aspect had killed dozens of humans, and the tally Winter was aware of only included Templars. It was hard to be sure how large her body count had truly been, as she was not in the habit of leaving bodies behind. It had taken a massive strike force, led by General Ironwood himself, and assisted by Glynda, to take Blake down. That might have been the end of her story. Ironwood had insisted on the aspect's annihilation. Instead Glynda set her free, and Blake had pledged herself to the witch in return...after she slaughtered her old master.
Ironwood had always considered Glynda's decision a foolish one, and Winter was inclined to agree. Sure, Blake was nice enough now, but she had the capability to wreak untold havoc if she so chose. Winter was not expecting this to happen, nor would she currently call for Blake's destruction, but she would not entirely let her guard down either. Then again, even if Blake had always been kindly and helpful, the Templar in Winter would not have allowed complete trust. She had been trained to mistrust all that was not human, and though she had gone a long way toward breaking that prejudice thanks to Glynda's help, it never fully subsided, always tugging at the edges of her mind.
Today Blake seemed kinder than usual, even if she was in a noticeably irritated mood. When Winter had arrived at the house, expecting to find Glynda, the aspect had invited her in for tea. It seemed a love for the beverage was one thing the pair had in common, and it was just as well. It was a long trek from Winter's home in the mountains to the village, and she had been dragging along a large suitcase of her possessions besides. Magic helped, but she was tired and thirsty all the same.
"So why is Glynda in town?" Winter asked, placing her mug on a coaster. She sat in an armchair, across the coffee table from Blake, who reclined on the sofa. "And why aren't you with her?"
"She's showing off her daughter." Blake rolled her eyes. Not the answer Winter was expecting. "I'm opposed to the idea of her being here, so I decided to stay away to avoid any unpleasantness."
"I didn't know Glynda had a daughter." Winter noted.
"Not many people do." Blake chuckled. "And strictly speaking she...well, it's a complex situation, and I would rather not have anything to do with it."
"What's her daughter like?" Winter asked. "How old is she? Who's the father?"
Blake smirked, just the way she did after making one of her snide remarks. "I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough." She gestured toward the door. "They're on their way back."
"Come on now, won't you tell me anything?" Winter insisted.
"You know I won't." Blake grinned. "Now drink your tea before it gets cold."
Winter snapped her fingers and a flame appeared just above her hand. "I don't think that will be an issue." Still, she knew better than to bother pressing the aspect for answers. Winter was stubborn, but Blake was stubborn in the way only an immortal creature of immense power could be.
Fortunately, Winter did not have long to wait. After a few minutes, the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord, and Glynda walked in, accompanied by the sound of footfalls and an odd shuffling. Glynda stopped at the doorway to the lounge room. "Ah, Winter, I was not expecting you for another day or two."
"I was eager to get back to my sister." Winter explained, standing to greet the witch. "Unfortunately she's currently sleeping."
"I had been planning to visit Weiss today, but circumstances led me to alter my plans." Glynda said.
"Blake tells me…" Winter started. Just then a new figure slid into view, short and slighter than even her sister...and sporting a snake's tail...a lamia? Winter's mouth hung open as the creature stared at her wide-eyed. The bright blue of the creatures gaze captured her attention. She did not even notice how nervous the lamia looked.
Glynda chuckled, no doubt amused by the usually unflappable Winter's speechlessness. "This is my daughter, Ilia. Ilia, meet Winter. She's a good friend of mine."
"Hi." Ilia waved.
"H-hello." Winter stuttered in response.
The lamia tugged at Glynda's sleeve. "Can I go back to my nest?"
Glynda looked down at her daughter and smiled. "Yes, of course dear." She approved, planting a kiss on her forehead.
Ilia breathed a sigh of relief and hurried up the stairs. "Ruby and I shall assist her." Pyrrha said, hidden from Winter's view. In a flash of crimson, they too rushed up the stairs.
"So...your daughter...is a lamia?" Winter managed. She glanced at Blake to find her looking on with smug satisfaction.
Glynda circled the couch and took a seat beside Blake. "Yes, I carried Ilia and her sisters."
"Sisters?" Winter questioned.
"Yes, but they're not here." Glynda nodded. "Ilia developed an affinity for magic, so I brought her here to train her."
"How many sisters?" Winter asked, still stunned.
"Three, though there were seven eggs in total." Glynda replied. Winter looked down at Glynda's belly, then back up. The witch laughed. "I suppose you'd like to know more?"
"Well I am certainly curious." Winter confirmed.
"I'm happy to answer any questions, but I believe this will be of more use to you." Glynda waved her hand toward the nearby bookshelf and a pair of tomes floated free, levitating their way to the table before Winter. "I wrote a book about my experiences, and took copious notes besides." She smiled. "I have several copies of the book, but the notes are irreplaceable, so I must insist they remain here."
"When Blake told me you had a daughter, I was not expecting anything remotely like this." Winter admitted.
"It seems everyone has the same reaction." Glynda observed. "Though this is hardly surprising."
"There's...so much I want to ask." Winter shook her head, still struggling to believe the situation was real. "Would you mind?"
"Not at all." Glynda replied. "Ask me anything."