On the treetops of Golding, Virginia, the sun was glowing warmly. Yet, rain spattered on the leaves, giving everything a certain serenity that humankind oftentimes took for granted. Standing outside of a coffee shop to witness the uncommon phenomenon, a young woman with exceptionally long hair that was an exceptionally rich shade of autumn orange. She was taking a break, so it seemed, but she had yet to realize she was being observed.
Morpheus stood yards away, seeking refuge from the summer rain beneath a lone gazebo, and though he wasn't turned directly to the shop, his eyes watched her intently through his peripheral vision. He had been watching Selena for a few days now, and when she was behind closed doors, he had Matthew, his ever-faithful, ever-observant raven, get a better look.
"When are you going to tell me more about this girl?" Matthew insisted, perched on his master's shoulder. Morpheus had to admit, he had been quite patient thus far, and he did everything asked of him without knowing hardly any of the details.
"She has the necklace?" he asked the raven, who had once been a man before he died.
"Doesn't even look like she's taken it off once," Matthew clarified.
Morpheus walked away. At first, it didn't seem as if he was going to appease his follower's curiosity, but Matthew's unwavering helpfulness proved rewarding enough, that he felt obligated.
"Selena is a child of The Lunar," The Sandman said simply, as if the bird was supposed to understand.
"Uh... okay? What does that mean? Is she not human?"
Morpheus smiled, but so briefly that Matthew didn't spot it. "Far from it. What she is... there are many names. I believe humans sometimes use the term succubus."
"Woah," the raven squawked. "She's a demon?"
They crossed the street, adding distance between themselves and the quaint, coffee shop. Morpheus had a place close by that he resided in - a manor that one of his siblings, Death, had allowed him to acquire. Since the necklace in question was a vital talisman for him to collect in order to fight off Lucifer's impending forces on The Dreaming, she was willing to provide whatever he needed to get it done, but at the same time, she could not intervene.
"I suppose you could say she is," he confessed. "Some may say a sorceress."
"But...she seems so... normal! I mean, she works in a fucking coffee shop," Matthew said. "She hardly acts like a lusty, sex demon, don't you think?"
"Indeed," he said matter-of-factly. Morpheus had no response for that. It was as if Selena had forgotten her previous escapades, but he certainly remembered every bit of it.
Truth be told, Selena had been the only other love in his life, aside from Calliope. She came after the Muse, and even presented herself as a relief for him during his heartache. In those days, when Dream was much less humane than he was now, he indulged in his primal instinct to fill a void. Selena, once Princess Scylla of the Lunar, who merely got her rocks off on seducing the King of Dreams (and who knew who else), played with his heart. Already fragile from the death of his son, and the separation from Calliope, Morpheus had been desperate to just have something to hold onto, and so, he appeased Selena for as long as he could.
It was no secret that Scylla frequently sought pleasures from others. She seduced the powerful Lilith into leaving Lucifer's ranks to run her own circle of hell, convincing her to take many, female demons with her that rebelled against their heinous master. She toyed with the hearts of gods such as Loki and Freyr, taking amusement in seeing wars erupt from a spark of jealousy.
The escapades went on.
Then, one day, her mother, Hecate, had enough of her daughter playing games with powerful men's hearts. It caused chaos, and for her, caused trouble. Scylla proved to be the most troublesome of all of the Children of the Lunar. As such, Hecate binded her powers of seduction with a mystical, silver pendant. Despite its simplicity, it was a talisman of immense power - one that would quickly put an end to the turbulent, unhealthy relationship between Dream and Scylla.
Scylla's inability to quench her thirst through the consumption of lust eventually transformed her, to the point that she became more and more human every day. In a way, he was sorry to see her banished to the human realm, to live amongst them like a sheep.
And the wolves were coming.
When Dream discovered that Hecate's moon-shaped talisman might change the course of the battle against Lucifer (which wasn't exactly going too well), he sought Scylla out. She wasn't hard to find. The dificulty lied in approaching her. Somehow, each time he found himself getting close, he backed out. Matthew even noticed his reluctance, and now, would understand the meaning behind his behavior.
Dream's feelings for her never fully ceased, but not could he deny that what they shared was anything more than just good fun. He had to remind himself regularly that she never loved him.
Little did he know, when he would finally approach her, that not only would she not love him, but even worse, she wouldn't even remember who he was.