"So." Hadrian paused, gathering his thoughts.

"What the fuck?"

The group was sitting on some rocks after cleaning up slightly (by which that meant, finding a spot that wasn't drenched with blood and guts). Aiden was holding Reuben, who was happily snuffling and trying to nibble on Aiden's arm.

Aiden wasn't taking the time to be annoyed by the pig apparently trying to eat him, though- not considering just how bewildered Hadrian looked.

Jack kneaded his temples. "Okay, let's recap. I turn around. Aiden's doing his thing with a spirit of an Old Lord inside of him."

"Gashadokuro."

Jack hesitated as he sifted through his memory to try to place the name with the person. Or demon, he supposed.

"... ah, the giant skeleton made up of even more skeletons... that lord was... uh, strange."

That was putting it pretty mildly, to be honest, but he wanted to be kind of delicate about it, since Aiden was sitting right there.

"Did he ever take a human form?"

"No, apparently he found it very fun at meetings to break open the meeting hall ceiling and cause them to have to rebuild it repeatedly, though," Aiden responded drily.

Jack blinked at the comment. "Uh... I've never seen that in a history book..."

"You wouldn't have. He told me himself," Aiden said, simply.

Jack blinked again."You can hear him?"

Aiden shrugged at Jack. "He likes to have conversations. 80 percent of them are of him trying to 'twist' me, of course, since soul magic is forbidden and all that and this is why, but you know."

"Do the other Old Lords have conversations with the other October Children?"

"I'm pretty sure Petra said like, seventy percent of her conversations with Jorogumo are about knitting or something."

Jack took a moment to process that, before evidently deciding he didn't need to worry about it anymore.

"Anyway, so Aiden's doing his thing with Gashadokuro's power. Then I turn around and there's someone dead two feet away from Aiden with his intestines displayed on the ground and Hadrian's looking at the goddamn pig like it grew a third eye."

"A katakirauwa..." Hadrian scratched Reuben's head. Reuben snorted and rolled a little.

Jack took in a short breath. Aiden just looked confused.

"A cat-a-keer-what-now?"

"Katakirauwa. It's the usually malicious spirit of a piglet with no shadow and a single ear."

Aiden blinked. "That doesn't sound that ba-"

"It can steal your soul by running through your legs."

"Never mind, I stand corrected."

Jack rubbed his head. "I haven't seen one of these... let alone one as a soul vessel."

"Yeah, soul vessels are pretty... normal, right? Stella's got that llama?"

Hadrian nodded. "Most souls don't have anything heavy in terms of protection. As it turns out, it's pretty normal for beings with a soul to be open and honest, so even people who have up walls will have something that just has a more combative temperament."

"Like the llama."

"Yes, like the llama."

Aiden glanced at Reuben. "So... does that mean Jesse's dangerous, or something? Close to... I don't know, snapping?"

Hadrian adjusted his glasses a little, brow furrowed. "I don't really know. But, some food for thought... Reuben only attacked that demon because you were in danger."


"Oh, good, we're stuck here," Gill mumbled. "Now we can just sit here and watch as Aiden, Hadrian, and Jack walk into a trap."

"Stop being a sourpuss, asshat."

"Do you have any ideas on how to get past the damn guard without alerting this entire giant complex to our presence?"

"No."

"Great. Neither do I. That's why we're stuck here."

"Fuck off."

If Gill and Maya's bickering bothered Stella in any way, she didn't show it- she just quietly regarded the entrance ahead of them.

The Eastern Entrance was overly fancily named for what basically amounted to a large and very big cave opening. However, a quick magical peek ahead revealed dozens of guards just out of sight and sound from the one guard currently guarding the entrance, looking about diligently.

Well, that's what most sentries were supposed to do, this one looked as though he wished to fall asleep.

Gill suggested just incapacitating the guard and sneaking in, which Maya then countered with the fact that his consciousness was tied to a magical "alarm" that would go off the second it was gone.

Maya had then offered her own suggestion of just sneaking in, to which Gill pointed out that the rock they were currently crouching behind was the only proper thing to hide behind that was within 50 meters of the place and that even an illusion wouldn't help, since Maya didn't specialize in that.

(She'd then called him a dick, but she'd agreed reluctantly.)

Stella turned and interrupted them both. "I can give it a try."

Maya and Gill froze, looking like they were halfway through a fistfight- Gill had a (very gentle, Stella noted) grip on a small tuft of Maya's hair, while she held his lapels like she was about to throw him onto the floor.

Stella might have chuckled at that.

"Uh... you? You're sure?"

"I know I'm not as blood-rending as you both are, but I am a baroness of Cosmos," Stella said, rather sweetly.

Maya glanced at Gill, but he was nodding thoughtfully.

"Sure."

"Gill-"

"Look, I'm just here to help Jesse and Romeo. Romeo because we literally die if he does, but Jesse because... well, you know. I couldn't care less if Demon Number Twelve Billion's got beef with our lord, all the lords, or none of the lords; we're here for Jesse. And Romeo," Gill added as something of an afterthought.

Gill shrugged a bit, spreading his palms (and letting go of Maya's hair). "Way I see it, if neither of our methods are working, we go with someone else's."

Maya frowned at him, but finally nodded.

"Fine. Stella-"

"Ahead of you already, darling," and Stella was indeed already making her way ahead. Judging by the way the guard had straightened up, he'd definitely spotted her.

Maya was about to say something, when Gill put a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Gill-"

"He's not raising the alarm yet," he whispered.

Maya looked back. She'd been ready to jump out and help Stella, but he was right- Stella was remarkably unharmed. If anything, the guard seemed confused.

So she settled back to just... watch.


Stella strolled up to the guard casually. She could feel his eyes on her- but confused. Wary, on-guard, but... confused.

Good.

She usually dressed impeccably- a suit, the angles sharp on her own angular body, framing her in a subtly less sultry way than most succubi.

For this trip (to Petra's silent disapproval), she'd changed into a significantly less businesslike outfit. A frilly top with short sleeves that showed off toned arms, a slight touch of makeup to her eyes that made the red glitter and match the bright lipstick she'd put on, a shorter (way too short, actually, there was a breeze) skirt that showed off long legs that seemed even longer with heels she'd slipped on.

She'd even tied her hair up in a style that she'd never wear it in normally.

But it worked- she didn't look nearly like what she usually did, and even if her slightly-hooked nose and almond eyes were familiar, she looked like every other succubus she knew, if on a slightly more modest level.

In other words, she looked nothing like the baroness of Champion City.

"Um... ma'am, you can't be here," the guard said, confusion obvious in his tone.

Stella tilted her head to the side, quirking one of her eyebrows slightly. "Oh... is that so? Pity... I wanted to ask for directions. See, I was on my way to Enchantra, but..."

She lowered her eyes, feigning embarrassment. The guard stepped closer, as if seized by an urge to comfort her.

"... well, I went off the path, just for a moment... and see, now I seem to have gotten myself very lost..."

Stella looked up at him through her lashes, before giving a shy sort of smile.

"Would it be too much trouble to ask you for directions?"


"Ick," Gill mumbled from where he was watching the exchange. "Never realized Stella can be that flirty."

"She's a succubus, fucking dumbass."


The guard seemed nervous.

Maybe it was the perfume of the Rayiha flowers that Stella tended to wear.

Or maybe it was just because she was currently resting her chin on his shoulder, practically up against his back as he pointed out how to get back onto the main path.

"Oooh, so that's how to get back to the main path..." she said, breath gusting onto his ear.

He flinched a little; Stella could see his Adam's apple bob.

Good, she was having the right effect on him.

"Thank you so much," she gushed, latching on him in a hug. She felt his heartbeat speed up, just that tiniest bit.

"Um... no-no problem, ma'am..."

She smiled.

Fast heartbeat, averted eyes, thoughts of raising the alarm far, far in the back of his head...

Perfect.

Then she kissed his cheek.


It was too hard to see what was happening from twenty feet away, but after a few minutes Stella straightened back up and waved.

Both of them half expected the guard to start hollering, but the moment they got within sight of the guy, they immediately understood why.

The guard's eyes were blank. He stared blankly ahead, clearly conscious, but also... seemingly unaware of what was happening around him.

Maya waved her hand in front of his face as Stella adjusted her hair, ignoring the fact that not even a single strand seemed to have been knocked out of place.

No reaction.

"What the hell?" Maya mumbled, slightly put-off.

"He won't trip the alarm, darlings," Stella hummed- a very different sound than what they were used to. "Don't worry, he's not dead, either."

"Uh... then what did you do?" Gill asked, each word rolling off his tongue slowly as if he wished to taste it.

Stella smiled.

It wasn't a flirtatious smile, but it wasn't a genuine one either.

It was the sort of smile a shark would've been afraid of.

"I don't just feed off of love, sweetheart."

She stepped back and gestured at the cave entrance, smiling and licking her lips a bit.

Something about her had changed.

Maya and Gill could spot it in tiny changes about her. The single wrinkle in her brow from tired days was gone, the signs of crows feet near her eyes had vanished, eyes bright with a juvenile mischief. Her back was straighter and her fingernails were suddenly the color of blood when they could've sworn she'd painted them gold before they left.

She looked... younger. More energetic.

More powerful, in a way.

"After you," she purred. "Let's go get Jesse back."


A/N: Stella's sure not hungry anymore.

x.X. A.L. X.x