Chapter 1: High and Dry (ALT BERS Chapter 30 Ending)
"You really are an idiot… you know that?", Velvet muttered to the young Shepherd.
"I gave you a true name.", Avernus calmly and charmingly said, caressing her smooth hair, "I couldn't come up with a virtue… since you have many. So I decided to link it directly to my longing…"
His magical eyes stared into hers, "Fwuleiok Kumkus… It means "Precious Velvet"."
The Lord of Calamity's piercing golden eyes stares into Shepherd's emerald crystals, locked into a never-ending conflict. Despair versus hope. Avernus is relentless and determined to see this through, and he's unyielding to Abbey's schemes, surprises, along with Velvet's stubbornness and desire to burn the world. The moon illuminates the tiny jades on his feather earrings. His eyes radiate green magic of hope wherever he decides to glance.
"After we kill Artorius, I'll take you and Laphicet to the far continent, away from this madness.", Avernus promises her, confidently and in a soft tone of voice.
Velvet moves closer to his chest, she frowns. She wants to bark at him, telling the sincere man that he was wrong, that he's naïve if he thinks that it will end well for them. That there is any shred of hope for redemption.
"What if they don't accept us? What if you're a wanted man back home?", Velvet protests, pessimistically. She is calm, but a happy ending is too far out of reach.
The Shepherd smiles, glancing at her lips then moves his focus back at her eyes. "We will go to a faraway land, living under new aliases. I can work as a teacher, scholar, and even a bounty hunter. I can make enough to support both you and Laphicet.", he promises positively.
Velvet lowers her head. Her amber eyes hiding behind her raven hair.
"For what?… I'm a daemon… you're a human. I don't age. I have to endure seeing you get old and…", Velvet stops as if a lump in her throat prevents her from breathing, "…and inevitably die, you dumbass!"
She looks up, and her eyes pour flame into Avernus' calm soul. She grits her teeth. But Avernus will not falter. The Shepherd grabs her arms and pulls her closer to him, embracing her.
"I'll make it work…"
The Shepherd's song is alluring, inescapable. Avernus's determination isn't going to break, not even by the Lord of Calamity. Velvet reaches for his cheeks. He is so pure, so innocent. Like a lamb that a wolf gawks at before tearing it apart. His eyes don't lie. Velvet wasn't too sure before She thought Shepherds were all the same. The bigger picture mattered most. What Velvet doesn't understand is that she's the bigger picture. A raging storm. A burning sun that will wash away everything if the efforts of Avernus and Laphicet ends in naught.
Velvet tasted his soft lips before her secret haven for a warm touch. Their tender skin has always pulled her back for more rounds. He said that would make it work. Velvet wondered; what can he do about her sudden bursts of desire? Can he fix those too?
She clutches his shoulder and pulls herself up. Their lips touch. Velvet stops. Something has changed. She goes for another kiss. This time, Velvet squeezes his lips between hers. She wants more. Avernus obliges. He tilts his head slightly to the side. Stirs of delightful pleasures surge through her body as his tongue touches the seam of her lips, massaging, and waiting for proper permission.
Velvet parts with hers, allowing his tongue a safe passage. All that talk with Niko suddenly erupts from the dark corners of her mind. Velvet always thought that having another tongue in her mouth would feel weird and odd. But Niko wasn't wrong. That felt just right. The slow fluttering movements of his tongue and the touching of the back of her scalp sends her into a dreamy state.
Velvet instinctively moans as his tongue makes a slow, circling motion around hers. She gently presses her tongue against his in response. Her spine thrums with excitement. Abruptly, a sexier thought invades her mind.
She slowly pulls away from him. Avernus's languishing eyes stare at her, wondering why. Velvet's face remains cold. She is not going to spoil her intentions for the sorcerer. She jumps and wraps her legs around his hip. Avernus complies and grabs her back, holding her up. Now she is a little bit higher than him.
Velvet's yellow eyes glitter in the dark like a predator. Velvet's urges flood her thoughts. Suddenly, she started craving for his flesh, for his existence, and his innocence. There are no more smooth or calm gestures. If the Shepherd wants the wolf, then he must know how to dance with the devil.
She strokes his hair, "You look so innocent… and perfect, Shepherd Diphda.", she whispers. The first time she gave someone a true compliment or, to be precise, another man. Or is she toying with him? The lupus always enjoys playing with its prey and, at this moment, Avernus is the flawless meal to feast upon. Velvet's demonic nature takes over, encouraging her to devour the young man, her destined enemy, to his last drop of blood. Velvet is going to comply with her desires but in her own terms.
She slowly moves toward his left ear, Velvet bites his feather earring, violently pulling it off and spitting it on the deck.
"That was in my way."
Her rough action already left a scratch on his ear. Velvet smells the blood and goes in for the kill. She nibbles and bites on his earlobe. Avernus let out a pleasurable hiss but his eyelids stutter in pain. Claw, devour, consume. It feels suitable for the lord of the daemons. Hearing him moan is the sign of her credibility and sensuality for her hungry soul. Velvet felt the urge to consume light and to consume life. But the taste of his blood… she cannot forget it. A sour taste, like an apple, and much like Seres. He is her exclusive plaything to be used freely by her wicked emotions. He thought himself to be a Dragon or a… what he calls his primary hand-to-hand arte… the Lion's Howl. However, to her, Avernus was a delicious little morsel.
But he's not going to be submissive. Avernus knows how to play. Even falling into her demonic side's trap is the way to dance with the lord of daemons.
The sorcerer retaliates with his charge, surprising the confused Velvet.
She feels his smooth lips again. This time on her neck. She releases his ear for a second to let out a pleasurable moan, to provoke him to push further, to guide and manipulate his virtuous being. Velvet can feel his tongue and sometimes teeth sliding across her neck, moving in a rhythmic pattern, planting more subtle kisses wherever his lips go. A tingling sense follows his mouth wherever he decides to suck her smooth skin, and Velvet suddenly parts from his ear completely. She whimpers as he sharply nips below her cloth choker and conjecture of her neck. Avernus stops as he reaches the leather belt above her chest and drags his tongue to her left shoulder, biting it.
Velvet giggles, silently and maliciously. She knows that he is frustrated, denied erotic treasures from the lord herself. Velvet's attire left nothing to the imagination. The people are always bothered by how messy and torn up her outfit was. For Avernus, it's a whole different story. Velvet noticed the longing stares that he always gave her. He was too slow to turn the other way when her eyes caught him ogling. Sometimes, Avernus was even distracted during their fights. If it wasn't for Tia, he would've suffered some serious injuries. Velvet chuckles again. He probably undressed her with his eyes a thousand times. It was time for him to see the true merchandise.
Velvet touches his face. The Shepherd stops. Her hand calmly and suggestively moves to the leather belt strapped around her chest. With a click, it comes off. Her cloak moves to the sides, revealing her shoulders completely.
Avernus stares into her eyes, that green hue dims. Velvet has been waiting for this moment for a long time. Avernus was now permitted to explore but with the cost of his innocence. The therion side of her wants that glow in his eyes and his purity gone forever. He was too virtuous to ride with the wolf pack.
Velvet's hand moves to the silver brooch between her chest. She twists it. The pin behind it comes off. The red cloth that was holding it has been released, darting to the sides. As Magilou once said, her round young breasts finally freed themselves of the tyranny of the lupus. She feels his hot breath on her chest.
"How do they look? Do you like them?", she murmurs. Her seductive tone compared to nothing for what he feels.
Avernus glances at her eyes. There are no words for him to speak of. He then leers at her pink, stiff nipples. Avernus chooses the right one first.
Velvet's body suddenly arches to the back. Her long hair hangs over the railings of the Van Eltia. A sense of a soft touch and wetness consumes her right chest. He licks her breast, sucking her nipple, swirling his tongue around it. His left hand slowly creeps on her left breast. She feels her left nipple trapped between his soft yet strong fingers. Avernus strokes and squeezes it. Velvet moans into the night. They're still near the coast of Northgand. She can see her breath, steaming towards the night sky.
"Don't hold back!", she screams. Avernus pulls her closer, tightening his grip. Velvet underestimated the sensitivity of her breasts. Each touch of his fingers, each twirling of his tongue around her nipples sent pulses of electricity through her body and ultimately, in between her thighs.
"Are you using magic?!", her voice is breathy. Avernus is relentlessly sipping at it. He hauls his wet tongue from the defiled one to the other. A small drop of saliva starts to go down. Velvet squeaks and shivers as she feels the sea breeze, chilling the traces of his saliva on her breast for the first time. Avernus was definitely using magic, or all she needed was a man or someone who was willing to follow her every whim. He bites the second nipple slightly harder. Velvet groans loudly in pleasure.
"Bite it harder if you dare, Shepherd… or are you too scared to hurt your "Precious Velvet"?", she encourages and teases him, panting. Being gentle has no effect on her at all. It has to be a serious bite, enough to make it ache.
Then, she feels the teeth. Velvet forgets to breathe, only letting the blood pump into her cheeks. Avernus switches back to the first one, sharing the pleasure and pain equally.
The Lord of Calamity didn't expect this level of thrill. Her plaything delivered enough.
Velvet gulps for air, her mouth gaping open. She barely opens her eyes, staring into the silver moon. She finally achieves the out-of-body and mind experiences she always ignored. A howling is coming fast.
Clenching Avernus' golden hair, Velvet pushes her crotch against his body. The slick sounds of her ministrations against her shorts are loud enough to be noticeable for both of them. She was already wet for the taking. The rogue tongue departs for a new area. Avernus slides it across her abdomen, between her refined muscles as they rise up and down. Finally, it stops in her navel.
Velvet's plan backfires. She unleashed an animal. He is the hunter and she is the prey — She closes her eyes, sinking in the flood of arousal seeping into her core. She pulls herself up, embracing his head, pressing her fingers into his scalp, hiding her head behind his golden hair, squirming and shivering as he approaches her drenched bottom.
"Yes!", her cheeks heat up. Her voice is nothing but a whisper in the night.
"Avernus, where are you?"
Suddenly, they both hear Tia's voice.
Velvet stops breathing. Both of them return to the cold world of Desolation. A rude awakening follows. She lets go of the sorcerer and pushes his body into the wooden wall behind them.
"We'll continue this another time, and never forget what you promised me…", she murmurs to him and leaves.
Velvet tightens her vest, hiding her chest behind red cloths, locking the pin of her chest brooch, and her cloak belt, firmly, leaving the messy Shepherd behind. Avernus leans against the wall, looking at the sky, panting hard, and with his eyes wide as possible. He brushes his sweaty forehead. What has he done? What was that? The rush of adrenaline, the blood pumping faster than ever? Velvet wasn't a sweet and innocent village girl anymore. All that chastity training and lectures about purity from his masters were all for nothing. Avernus fell for the daemon of daemons.
If it means that she'll be saved, then so be it. Avernus will always be her right hand, her sword, and her Shadow.
Velvet hears Tia again, "There you are! Wait a minute… what happened to you? Why do you smell like sweat and shame?"
A satisfying grin forms on Velvet's face. Her nipples ache behind her tight vest, but she enjoys the pain before the healing factor kicks in and the only pleasure she knows disappears behind the malevolence that nests within her heart.