In Which an Elven Servant Suffers a Succubus to Live in Her Home
Chapter 6
***
I tap on the door, "I know hell doesn't really run on a schedule or anything, but 2:30 is late even for you, Lucy. Are you getting up?"
I'm met only with muffled, dismissive groaning.
I knock harder, "Did you hear me? Are you getting up?"
Something unintelligible, but grouchy.
I look both ways down the hall to see if master is nearby, "Come on, hell-slut, this is getting absurd."
More lethargic muttering. Okay, something's wrong, that should have gotten a response. I'm going in.
There's a mountain of bundled sheets on the bed, with a slender tail sticking out the side. Tempting fate, I reach down and grab the tail, giving it a gentle tug, "Hey, you alright?"
"...uhh, I... leemeelone. I'mseep," she mumbles from under the comforter.
I pull back the sheets to reveal her curled up in a ball, looking unusually pathetic, and even more strange, not the least bit smug. I put the back of my hand against her forehead, and she's... cold? Cool, at least. She usually runs quite a bit hotter than us folk on earth. Is this the demon equivalent of a fever?
--
"Thing is, I'm not sure if that's... well, a thing. Demons getting sick, I mean," master says as we browse through his library.
He came down personally to see her, but was at just as much of a loss as I was. So here we are, going through the few books that cover demons to find out exactly what could be wrong with her.
An afternoon alone with master for once. Getting sick is the nicest thing she's done for me.
"Most of what I can find suggests that our diseases don't effect them, but everything has a qualifier. They can't do this, but... they aren't like this, except when..." he sighs, flipping through pages, "It's maddening, but I suppose that's hell for you."
I scootch over next to him and peer into his book, "From what I can tell, chaos is the biggest norm for demons. They seem inconsistent with their very nature. Their forms vary all over the place, some are like humans, some wildly different. Some just look like humans, others actually function like them."
He gives me a smile and ruffles my hair. Instantly, I melt against his shoulder.
"There is something..." he grabs a previously viewed book and starts flipping through it, "about some succubi and how they react to withdrawal from sexual activities. Which would certainly apply to how I've interacted with her. But most of it was about their behavior changing. Maybe we're looking at this wrong, and it's not a case of her having a physical problem."
"You think she's faking?" I ask, trying not to giggle.
"I wouldn't put it past her. She is a demon, and deceit and manipulation are in her nature," he ponders out loud, it's refreshing to hear that he's completely aware of her nature, "But it could also be a case of her acting out behavior without realizing it. Or maybe her body just reacts to it. But if she is faking it, then her behavior should change if she's offered what she wants," he leans in and kisses my forehead, "So it should be easy to find out."
"Lucy..." master tries to gently coax her out from under the covers, "Wake up-wake up-wake up..."
He's being more patient and playful with her than I would.