Intober 2024: Day 1 - Hades 2

Melinoe glanced quickly up toward Nemesis and then cast her eyes back down. The goddess was staring daggers into her, daring her to approach as she waited on the edge of the hot springs. Mel was going to meet her at the top, but it wasn't exactly going to be easy with Nemesis in the kind of mood she was in.

It was, at least partially, her fault. Nemesis's brow had been perfectly shaped for somebody who was always going to have it at least partially furrowed, but Mel certainly hadn't helped her own case. They had met in the crossroads and their sparring had turned more into a cat and mouse game. Mel striking the top of one of the goddess's broad thighs with her heel hard enough to get a grunt and see the knee wobble, then pulling away just in time to only catch a glancing blow. One that left a stinging welt on her chin or ruffled her hair and lightly bruised a shoulder. Nem's fighting style had outgrown her around the time Mel stopped growing. That was around the point that Nem started complaining about the frustration of fighting witches and tacticians.

And she pushed her luck. Sparring implied holding back, and one of them certainly was. Nemesis not pulling her punches looked like a wound that took months to heal. But perhaps Mel was a bit tired of hearing her huff and talk about what she could do if she fought without hesitating. Perhaps she had driven her heel with more force than was appropriate for a friendly spar. And perhaps, just perhaps, she had enjoyed feeling the harsher sting of glancing blows as Nemesis matched her pace back. Enjoyed seeing the predatory angle to her eyes as bracken snapped beneath her sandaled feet. Dancing just on the edge of something like a duelist with a rose clutched in her teeth, tongue trying to lash the thorns without being pricked.

Nemesis, clearly deciding Mel was close enough, reached behind her and started to unfasted the clasps of her bulky armor. It made sense, her disrobing was a long and involved process while Mel mostly just had to shrug out of a tunic. But she was well enough used to it that she managed to keep glowering at Mel as her thickly calloused fingers released ties and buckles. Pulling small pieces of it away at a time like she actually meant to untie a Gordian knot instead of just cutting it. There was an illusion in that, one which she made great care to disabuse in Mel from literally the first day they had started training. To cut was not the more elegant solution, nor the one which showed greater force. It was impatient, impulsive, mortal. For a god, you either understood the knot, or you grabbed at both ends and then pulled with enough force to unmake it.

Her armor came off, down to the bangles and decorations. Skin gray and lusterless as corpseflesh or raw iron. Untied black hair long like a dark tapestry. Broad-shouldered, muscles tight against veins which did not bleed, driving them to the surface where they rippled like the chop of waves. The hair on her body was both sparse and dark as pitch. She didn't seem to have relaxed at all.

As Melinoe let herself drink in the open attempt at intimidation, Nemesis eased herself into the bath down next to where Mel usually sat. It's not as though there were marked seats or any sort of dibs, but every time before now, Mel's companion had let her sit first and then settled across from her.

Mel looked at her for a moment before Nemesis turned her head, slowly and lazily as a grazing animal, and kept staring daggers. Melinoe swallowed and finished slipping out of her clothes before she eyed the bath. Taking a slow, calming breath, she refused to be moved and sat down in her usual spot, directly in the crook of Nemesis's arm.

"Nem, I-" Melinoe started after a moment's silence.

"Quiet," Nemesis's voice was dry and soft like the start of an avalanche. Her eyes were closed. "I want a few seconds of peace before we argue."

"I'd prefer not to argue." Mel sat with her hands folded in her lap. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears, despite the lack of outward threat.

"Yeah, me too." Nemesis sighed slowly.

"Then why do we have to-"

"You're naive princess. You always have been." She opened her eyes again. The anger wasn't there, but frustration was. "You understand what certain things mean, and that makes you think you get the whole picture."

"I don't understand what you mean," Mel tried to meet her gaze, but craning her neck up to do so only made the situation feel worse.

"I mean for all you witches talk about careful consideration and planning, you see an enemy in retreat and send your troops running in. Odysseus can tell you; that's not bravery, that's folly."

"Why don't you say what the problem is directly?" Melinoe dug her fingernails into her palm.

"We pull punches in a sparring match because it keeps us safe." Nemesis started.

"Oh please," Mel wanted it to sound indignant, but she wound up almost spitting it out. "I'm tired of hearing about how if you really tried, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"That's not what this is about."

"Isn't it?" Mel sat back and tried to look as casual as Nemesis did. "That's usually what it is with you. Hecate denied you the right to-"

"You keep losing the line between teacher and friend," Nemesis shifted slightly and sent ripples through the bath. "You don't want to spar, you want to win."

"And you don't?"

"Of course I want to win," Nemesis smirked. "But we're not playing the same game."

"Aren't we?" Mel tried smirking back.

"No." Nemesis responded flatly.

"Okay," Mel frowned. "In what way are the rules for you different?"

"I'm here to help you, not fight Chronos." She rolled it around her mouth with enough bile that she made it clear she didn't approve, as if she needed to. "If I don't pull my punches, it brings this whole operation to a standstill. If you don't pull your punches, we have to smile and ask you for another."

"I didn't think you'd be complaining about getting hurt," Melinoe hesitated and swallowed uncomfortably. She had expected to be chastised, not guilted.

"Huh," Nemesis snorted. "As if."

"Then what are you complaining about?"

Nemesis paused for a long moment before she forced even the frustration out of her eyes, trying to look at Mel as a teacher more than anything else.

"Somebody takes your seat and instead of sitting elsewhere, you sit as close to them as you can to make a point." Nemesis said it almost condescendingly slowly. "It doesn't prove anything. It's bratty, is what it is."

"Bratty?" Mel spat the word back indignantly.

"Yeah, bratty." Nemesis dug in and smirked. "You don't care about learning a lesson, you don't care about passing the test, you care about the teacher telling you how good a job you did."

"You think I don't care?" Melinoe stood up in the baths, but it made her shorter in comparison if anything.

"I never said that," Nemesis responded casually. She seemed a lot calmer than Mel was, it was a dynamic that she tried to maintain whenever possible. "I said that winning isn't what motivates you. If it was, me pointing out I was holding back wouldn't bother you."

"Why do you feel so strong of a need to remind me that you're holding back?" Mel dug.

"Because you gloat." Nem's eyes narrowed just slightly. She seemed a lot calmer than Mel was.

"You make it seem like my taking joy in victory gets under your skin just as badly as you think reminding me you're holding back gets under mine." Melinoe took a step toward Nemesis and pointed an accusing finger.

"Of course it does," Nemesis's voice was flat, but it kept threatening to spike up at the edges. "I tried to tell you. It's not a contest, it's a lesson. If I win, it was probably a good lesson."

"What lesson exactly am I supposed to be taking away from you winning?" Her finger jabbed toward Mel more sharply.

"The way you fight... it's compensation." Nemesis spoke slowly again, bordering on condescension. "Same with Hecate. If you aren't strong enough to beat somebody head-on, you figure out how to circumvent them. Figure out the areas they can't cover. Same reason mortals invented slings and arrows."

"That sounds like an excuse," Melinoe crossed her arms.

"You're not stronger than me." Nemesis didn't move.

"Only if you're talking about literal strength!" Mel protested.

"Strength is strength. What you have is skill. Skill can substitute for strength, but it can't completely replace it. You can only dictate the terms of a fight so much. The second you have to play off of your heels, I'd rather be strong than skilled."

"It sounds like you keep inventing situations in your head where your abilities beat mine," Melinoe beamed her smuggest smile. "You're really full of excuses, you know."

Nemesis looked at her flatly for a moment and tilted her head slightly to the side, then sat forward in the bath and reached a hand out slowly, setting it in the middle of Melinoe's solar plexus. Mel stood and watched as she did. She half expected Nem to strike her, slap her or something. But all of the goddess's movements were slow and considered. With her hand still on Mel's chest, she pushed suddenly and strongly. Melinoe yelped as her feet slipped out from under her and she topped backward into the baths. Head going under the surface for just a moment, her mouth filled with thick, loamy water. She scrabbled for a second and then came up out of the water, hair running in her eyes and indignant with anger. But Nemesis was smirking, chuckling under her breath even as Mel started shouting.

"Don't do that! I could-"

As casually as she breathed Nemesis reached out again, much faster this time, and kicked one of Mel's legs out from under her. Another awkward landing in the center of the bath brought with it another mouthful of sulfur-heavy, salt-heavy water. She came up again and Nemesis was full-on laughing. Before Mel could even protest this time, Nem grabbed one of her flailing arms and yanked her down into the water. This time when Mel came up, she lunged at her clumsily, if only to keep from getting dunked again. Nemesis caught her easily and pulled her back toward the bench.

"You're not strong, princess. You don't always win fights where other people dictate the terms." Nemesis sighed contentedly. "It's part of life."

"It's not a fair comparison," Mel protested, though she realized as she was saying it that she was playing right into Nemesis's hands. "The floor of the bath is slippery, and you caught me off guard."

"Now who's full of excuses?" Nem took the easy victory and blew at a tuft of hair. "It could have been worse. You're lucky I didn't put you over my knee."

Without really hesitating, Mel splashed Nemesis with water as soon as she was close enough, then tried to flounder away as quickly as she could on the slick floor. Nemesis barely had to lift from where she was seated to grab Mel with one of her lance-length arms. Her hand gripped a fistful of hair, which was enough to stop Mel and get the fingers of her other hand around an arm. Melinoe was yanked back toward her with force that bordered on the upper barrier between playful and cruel. Then she literally pushed Mel over her knee.

"Wait, you actually-" Mel started

She was cut off by her own yelp as one of Nem's buckler-sized palms crashed against her backside with a force that pushed toward spite even more closely. Then again down on the other cheek. Both made Mel rock forcefully into her knee, her hands darting to cover her mouth.

"I warned you." Nemesis kept a handful of hair as she slapped again.

"I didn't think-" Mel shrieked. Nemesis had waited for her to start talking to slap again, baiting her into thinking it was done.

"Isn't that right?" Nemesis leaned down and patted Melinoe's rump gently, "You didn't think."

She put another spank on either cheek. Melinoe felt a twinge of shameful excitement. Nemesis was gripping her hair and pulling her face back, nearly enough that she could push her eyes up and look at Nemesis but not quite. Her presence was massive enough. A tree trunk-sized thigh sitting under her stomach, the stinging marks where a pair of handprints were almost certainly going to show up later. There was a needy, gnawing sensation at the bottom of her stomach flowing down through her crotch and seeming to pool in her inner thighs and groin. Mel needed Nemesis to stop this before things got out of hand, but she couldn't possibly tell her the reaction she was starting to have. The teasing would be merciless. It certainly wouldn't help the brat allegations.

"But you're strong, right?" Mel turned her hand so that her smacking scooped upward, making Melinoe's butt jiggle with her slaps. "Feel free to break out and get your revenge any time now."

"You made your point!" Mel protested with a hiss so that Nemesis wouldn't slap the words out of her mouth. "Let me go!"

Nemesis responded with a slap that fully crossed the line into harsh. Melinoe nearly bit her tongue as she tried to clamp her mouth shut and keep from whimpering. She wasn't going to be able to sit back down after this, but if Nem kept going like that, she could probably break bone if she wanted to.

"I think I want you to beg for it," Nemesis set her hand softly and tauntingly in the exact spot she'd just slapped.

"Please let me go," Mel could feel herself starting to drip down the inside of her thighs. She was ready to do just about anything to get out before Nemesis noticed. "You're stronger than me."

"Yeah," Nemesis laughed to herself and lightened her grip on Melinoe's hair, taking her hand off of Mel's butt. "As soon as I felt you leaking on my leg, I figured I could get you to say it."

Mel had to jerk her hands forward to cover her mouth again as one of Nem's massive middle fingers started stroking her pussy. The grip on Mel's hair wasn't tight enough to yank any more, but it was certainly firm enough that she couldn't riggle out. And Nem pulled a little harder, until the edge of her face was actually in view. She was making Mel's back arch uncomfortably, but as she teased the tip of her finger inside, she pressed down toward her own leg. Melinoe shuddered, her pussy spreading around Nem's finger was more of a stretch than she'd feared... or perhaps more than she'd hoped. And the rough tip of it ground down in a way that made a steady, wet clicking. Mel squirmed slightly, not wanting to put more strain on her hair than there already was, but her body wanted both to pull away and push back toward the large hand settled on her rear.

"We can't-" Mel started, her voice a shaky squeak that forced her to pause and lower her voice, "The camp will hear-"

"Only if you raise your voice," Nemesis flicked the tip of another finger against Mel's clit and made her whimper. Her voice was a breathy snarl. "Cover your mouth if you have to."

"They'll see-" Mel had to slap a hand over her mouth as she felt Nem pushing another finger against her slit.

"Nobody can see you, princess." Nemesis exhaled slowly as she shifted her leg slightly. "You're too small for me not to hide you."

"We can't-" Mel kept protesting.

"If you want me to stop. Say stop. Anything else is you making excuses." Nemesis's voice was low and rumbling.

For a moment the words formed on Melinoe's tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to push them out. Nemesis's fingers were a huge, mind-melting presence between her legs. Pushing down against a particularly sensitive part of her cunt, stroking the outside and playing with her clit. The burning discomfort of her hair and her back felt like a rolling pins-and-needles wave that flowed right into her sex. Mel's nipples were poking out into the suddenly cold night air, her feet kicking impotently and slowly in the water. Nemesis's motions were not fast, precise, or determined enough to be bringing her close to orgasm, but Mel didn't doubt that was intentional. What Nem was doing, and doing much better than Mel had thought possible, was making her desperately, pathetically wet. Her eyes were starting to water from the haze of the bath and the growing, unbearable need to release all of the pressure that Nemesis was building up inside of her.

"That's what I thought," Nemesis rasped. Then pulled her fingers out and spanked Mel one more time.

Nemesis reached around and grabbed one of Mel's wrists. Then she let go of her hair and grabbed the other. Passing both wrists into one hand, she lifted Melinoe up out of the water and let her dangle for a moment. She lowered Mel until her legs were spread to either side of one of Nem's tree-trunk legs, pussy resting on the meat of her thigh. She kept her just at that same height, then leaned back and rested her cheek on her free hand.

"What-" Mel swallowed heavily for breath, waving her hips gently to try to grind herself.

"You wanna cum, don't you?" Nem responded with a forced boredom.

Mel didn't respond, looking at her desperately and continuing to wiggle her hips slightly.

"I mean, you can say it, or we can wait like this until somebody comes to check on us," Nemesis chuckled.

"Yes," Mel didn't want to look her in the eyes. Nem's expression was more amused than aroused. With how easily she was holding Mel up, Melinoe was more her plaything than anything.

"Well," Nem raised her leg just slightly, grinding it into Mel's crotch, "Then work for it."

"You're not..." Melinoe looked down and wiggled her hips weakly, then looked up at Nem pathetically. "You're not serious."

"It'll be good exercise," Nemesis responded with the slightest hint of a sneer.

"I can't... cum like this," Mel looked down and back up desperately.

"Then we'll be here a while," Nem rolled her eyes.

Melinoe didn't doubt for a minute that Nem meant it. After a second's pause, she started trying to sway back and forth in place, pumping her hips up and down, trying to grind her clit on the knobby bones of Nem's knee or up toward where her thigh thickened with muscle. She managed to find something at least resembling a method that worked with the slow method, so she started to twitch her hips more abruptly. She exhaled heavily with exertion and it came out ragged and high-pitched. Before long, sweat had started to bead on her forehead and down her back. Nemesis was watching her, hand resting on her fist like she was bored but eyes alight with humor and lust. Mel bit her lip and tried to muscle it out. Her stomach was starting to burn, her shoulders beginning to ache. Nem's leg shone with her wetness.

She tried to focus on Nem. The hard cluster of muscles beneath her skin, the slowly rising and falling shape of her perky breasts, the stiff shape of her stormcloud-colored nipples. Between her open legs, her clit poked hard and shockingly pink through a tangle of coffee-black pubes. She reclined like a queen on her throne, not even seeming to consider shifting to touch herself or to aid Mel. Her only focus was the performance, moreso, her focus was on not just watching but making Mel perform.

Through sheer, dogged effort, Mel could feel the rumblings of herself getting close. Nemesis seemed to realize it, because she raised her leg just a hair. Melinoe started to writhe and rock in her grasp, desperately trying to find the strength and the angle that would get her through the last of it.

As Mel finally felt the build up start to release, Nemesis lifted her just enough to break contact. Mel's eyes went wide as she squirmed and her mouth slipped open. She was cumming, Nemesis had made certain not to move until it had actually started, but as the tension released like glass breaking, she left Melinoe untouched in the air. Her pussy clenched, her legs drawing up and trying to close as she shuddered. She wanted to be touched like nothing else. Even as her head swam with pleasure, Mel's pussy felt frustratingly empty. Her breasts longed to be squeezed. She wanted to be stroked or filled or gripped, even just to be able to do it herself. Nemesis did bring her closer, but it was only to kiss her forehead and then stare ravenously.