After months of hiatus, I have finally found the motivation to continue. I hope the delay hasn't been too frustrating. To make up for it, here is the next chapter of Step Sister Succubus. I hope to upload more stories as well now that I'm writing again.
Enjoy.
---
Marc grumbled and pressed his hand into the side of his head; he didn't think choosing University courses was going to be so difficult, but it would seem planning for one's future wasn't all that simple.
He'd borrowed Maria's laptop so he could set up on the dining table, trying to choose a university and a course he thought would suit him, but when he thought about going into the 'sciences', he didn't expect that to be so broad.
Well, he should've. And now he was bemoaning his generalised take.
"Physics, chemistry, metallurgy... computer sciences... fuck."
The course list at one of the local universities was rather comprehensive, and that was Marc's problem; scrolling through it just left him indecisive. Whenever he leaned towards one, thoughts popped into his head about another that might've suited him. Worse, there was also the thoughts that intruded with their lack of confidence, second guessing whether he actually would've done well in a certain course.
Though it wasn't leaving him dejected, just exasperated.
He heard the front door open and shut.
"I'm home!" came Sophia's voice. Musical as ever, and it even seemed to buoy Marc's spirit.
Just a tiny bit.
She entered the kitchen, placing some shopping bags down on the counter, before leaning over.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked.
"Looking at uni subjects. And choosing none of them," he muttered in response, as he scrolled back to the top of the screen.
"I didn't figure you were thinking about going to uni so soon."
"Well, that talk we had the other day
got
me thinking, maybe I should plan ahead. You know, maybe look at my future and stuff."
She smirked at him and then wheeled around next to him, leaning her back against the counter, elbows on the bench all casual-like.
"You know you don't have to do it
now
, right. You can always wait a bit," she said.
"I know, but I talked with dad, he thought that it might be a good idea to get it done sooner rather than later. Then, I have the education to help with future jobs, and I'll be a little older, so I might be able to get better interim jobs while I look for something in my area of expertise."
He paused for a moment, and then ran his hands down his face tiredly.
"But I know it's never that simple. People get their diplomas and their PhDs and still end up in office jobs or working minimum wage nine to fives."
"Like they say, it's more often who you know than what you know," Sophia added.
"Yep... though I suppose that's not a big deal for you," he mused.
She gave him a narrow look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked pointedly.
In a moment, Marc felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, adrenaline going through him as he panicked; did he just insult her real bad?
He was scrambling for an apology before Sophia mussed his hair and chuckled jokingly.
"I'm just messing with you, bro," she reassured.
He deflated a little, but gave her a moderately annoyed look.
"That was uncalled for, I thought I just put my foot in it," he complained.
"You kinda did," she confirmed. "But I can't really get mad about it because it's true. We do use our...
talents
to gain favourable outcomes for us, be it physical or supernatural. Of course, mum's been rather clear on the fact that getting anywhere, even for us, requires a bit more effort. She could snap her fingers and make any deal for the company she wants, no one would bat an eye. But even she's not above the all-encompassing behemoth of market forces.
Someone
might notice a pattern if companies start failing one after the other because poor deals keep getting made. Mum has to know what she's doing for her talents to be the most use. Know what I mean?"
Marc listened, and paused for a moment.
"I think so... there are still things bigger than charm magic, and getting involved in those things means you can't just boop someone's brain with a suggestion and expect to always get away unscathed," he said.
"Exactly," Sophia confirmed again, leaning in to 'boop' him on the nose, no doubt because of his choice of words. Her smirk confirmed it. "Otherwise, you have to coast along in the shadows off the work of others. Which may strain our already rather parasitic nature to limits that we don't want to test, or things might go bad very suddenly. Or worse."
Marc saw her get a little serious with those last two words.
"What do you mean, 'worse'?"
Sophia seemed to stiffen a little, and then shook her head slowly.
"Nothing," she said.
Marc didn't accept that.
"I know that's bullshit, what is 'worse'?" He'd turned on his seat, facing her directly and staring her down.
Sophia sighed out, and sat down herself.
"I didn't really want to tell you this. But, I guess our history is something you should know. I won't go deep into the many,
many
things my kind's been involved in over the millennia. Just that, in times past... well, there were others that knew what we were. Not just our partners... and slaves, in some unfortunate cases."
She looked aside, as if telling Marc this was something she thought was shameful.
"Not all of us were the nicest sort. We kept to the shadows, succubi and incubi alike, for good reasons, though some of us effectively enslaved humans, as servants at best, cattle at worse, though they were never open about what they were, lest that draw violent attention. But as I mentioned, there were others that
did
know."
She paused again, tapping her fingers on the counter. Then she continued.
"You know how I said the morning after you found out I was a succubus that my mother said there were dedicated hunters? Succubi and incubi, to deal with 'dangerous demons'? Well, that came about because others started doing that. Humans. And they found ways around our powers. Ways to resist, or to shield themselves, so they could get close and... 'exorcise the demons'. Usually with fire, or steel. Often both. We're not indestructible, just resilient. It
really
pushed us into the shadows further, and made the... well, 'kinder' among us, for a lack of better word, really hide what we were, be cautious, and like I said, make sure the more wicked among us were dealt with before they could threaten the rest of us with the consequences of their actions."
She sighed out, crossing her arms against the countertop and looking off into space.
