There is a sobbing sound coming from the darkness behind the door and guilt grips my heart momentarily, before I cut it down leaving nothing but numbness in its place. I throw open the door and a young girl wearing a white dress is sitting curled up in a ball watching me with eyes full of fear and despair. She looks to be about fourteen.

“P-pl-please,” she begs with one simple word as the color drains from her face.

I bite the inside of my lip while trying to keep a straight face as I step forward and adjust my grip on the dagger in my hand. Before I make another mistake and let her say anything else I lean in and quickly bury it between her ribs. Neither her gown or flesh offer much resistance to stop my blade, and I can feel her heart shuddering through it, as it sits in her chest.

She looks surprised for a moment before her eyes clouds over and she slumps forward with a wet wheezing sound as her body desperately tries to recover. Moments later I can no longer feel her heartbeat running up my arm and I pull my blade away, leaving only a vivid red stain spreading on her dress

 

I sit up with a jolt as my breath catches in my throat, and the thin blanket slides off of me exposing me to the cold air.

I shiver slightly and stand up as I take stock of the area. Through the window I can just see the tendrils of dying light against the darkening sky, and my stomach weakly rumbles. Shiva must be sleeping since she hasn't said anything to me as of yet, and the rest of the house is silent and dark as well.

I turn and head for the kitchen to grab something light to eat but as I am passing the sisters door I hear something that causes my heart to freeze.

There is the faintest sobbing sound coming from the other side of the door and I can feel my fur stand on end. I stand there for several minutes as I try settle my nerves, and the sounds don't subside.

I grit my teeth and mumble, “It was just a nightmare... that's all.”

I reach out and grasp the cold knob in my palm and quietly open the door. There is light coming from the fireplace, and I can make out a curled up bundle on one of the beds.

My lungs start to burn and I release the breath that I didn't realize I was holding. The fact that there wasn't a girl in a white dress behind the door leaves me feeling immensely relieved and exhausted at the same time.

I walk over to the edge of the bed and gently pull the blankets back. Iris is curled up in the center of the bed and she looks up to me and sobs slightly. Her eyes are red and puffy, her makeup is a mess, and she has a lost hollow look in her eyes that I haven't seen for quite a few years; like some of the children that would come back from whatever hell they had been forced into.

“What happened?” I gently ask her.

“I-I,” she stammers and starts to sob harder, “c-couldn't d-do any-thing.”

She stops as her tears begin to flow freely again and she curls up again. I pause, unsure what I should do.

“Sit down on the edge of the bed, and reach out and gently stroke her cheek,” Shiva sounds serious as she interrupts my thoughts.

“I-I'm not sure-”

“Just do it,” Shiva barks interrupting me again.

I stop arguing and sit down on the bed like she told me to and Iris looks over as the bed sinks slightly under my weight. I have to lean over but I reach out and cup her cheek with my palm, and slowly wipe away her tears. Her skin feels soft and warm, but she feels quite tensed up as well.

She seems a bit surprised but she doesn't pull away from me. “Stop having useless thoughts,” Shiva scolds me for some reason and then continues, “Give it a few minutes of comforting her like this and then get her into the bath.”

“I'm not good at comforting people,” I meekly complain.

“I blame that man for that,” she spits back, “and everyone else from there as well. They just left you to wallow in your own misery before I came along.”

I can't think of a rebuttal to her words so I remain silent.

I pull my hand away after sometime and she follows it slightly and looks a bit sadder as well. “Come on,” I whisper gently to her, and I take her hand in my own, “Lets go take a bath.”

“I-I don't wanna,” she shakes her head and weakly tries to pull away from me. I remember how mama would take care of me when I was getting restless so I keep a loose grip on her hand and I use my thumb to rub small circles on the back of her hand.

“You won't?” I ask while looking over towards her. She shakes her head again, but doesn't try to pull away and she has settled down quite a bit. “What do I do now?”

“Hmm, carry her?” Shiva suggests.

“That's not an overly helpful suggestion,” I sigh, and then I turn my attention back to Iris. I lean in and gently squeeze her fingers while making my voice softer, “Won't you come take one with me?”

She looks away from me after a moment and doesn't say anything. “I said comfort her not seduce her,” Shiva says.

“I wasn't,” I complain but before I can continue Iris nods her head.

“O-kay,” hiccups slightly, and starts to move off the bed. She nearly falls off the bed but I manage to catch and support her, and I notice the distinct smell of alcohol on her as we are pressed together.

“Scratch that, seduce her,” Shiva cheers, “Use those looks to your advantage.”

I ignore her, grab a candle, and lead Iris out into the hallway and into the bathroom. I walk over to the tub and start to fill it and light one of the oil lamps before I step back around the privacy screens. Iris is standing there looking unsure, so I step over to her, reach out and start to unbutton her shirt and she looks a bit surprised again.

“W-what are you doing?” she is starting to sound rather hoarse and I consider making her some tea but put the idea away for now.

“Undressing you,” I respond as I quickly finish with the buttons, exposing her chest and abdomen. She is lightly toned, and I notice some light red scales around her hips and up her sides. She quickly moves to cover her chest and hide her bra.

“I-I could handle this,” she hiccups again as she lightly protests. I stop and step back slightly letting her take over.

She strips her shirt off and I find my gaze dropping lower. Her hips and upper inner thighs look relatively human like, just with some light scaling similar to her sides, until it changes into her long tail. She is wearing a pair of panties matching her bra, that are tied with strings around her hips.

“Wandering from your task now?” Shiva asks me teasingly.

“I'm curious,” I admit feeling myself blush slightly, “I've never seen a Lamia's and...”

A hand enters my vision and a moment later my vision is completely covered by darkness.

…

…

The only sounds that I can hear are our breathing and the water as the tub slowly fills up.

“D-don't look,” she whines sounding like she is ready to cry again.

“It's okay,” I try to reassure her, “How about this I'll keep my eyes closed until you let me know that you are in the bath.”

“Y-you promise?” I nod my head and after a moment I can feel her take her hands away from face. In the darkness i can hear her slight shuffling and her breathing sounds a bit heavy before I feel her lightly brush passed me. “A-all right,” she hiccups and I open my eyes back up.

There is a small pile of clothes on the floor in front of me, so I gather them up and put them in the small basket nearby, while ignoring the faint scent of blood, and ask, “Now what should I do?”

“The girl could probably use some food,” Shiva sighs after a moment, “But I would rather you didn't leave her alone. And you did ask her to take a bath with you.”

My stomach rumbles at the thought of food as well eliciting a further sigh from Shiva. “D-don't say anything,” I stammer.

“I won't,” Shiva mumbles, “I understand why food is important to you. Now just comes the issue of how to solve said problem.”

“Hmm,” I hum and then step out into the hallway without closing the door. I spot a small stack of paper and a closed vial of ink on one of the small stands nearby, and I step over to it.

Beatrice,

I have a request. Something has come up and it would be helpful if you could make a simple dinner for two people, and for yourself if you want of course. If you are not available send the messenger back.

Lily.

I finish writing and summon the same pixie from the day before and she just looks at me through her half-lidded eyes. I fold up the paper and take out my key and pass them both to her. “Deliver these to Beatrice,” I instruct her as I form an image of Beatrice and her cafe in my mind, “And wait for her reply if she can not come bring the key back.”

She doesn't respond but after a moment she flutters off in the direction of a window. I hear Iris start to gently cry again from behind me, and I turn towards the door and ask, “What should I do now?”

“Go and comfort her,” Shiva responds as if it should have been the most obvious thing ever.

“R-right,” I nod my head and step back into the bathroom, close the door behind me, and my memory goes back to some of the nights that Annabelle would spend with me. I quickly strip and walk around the privacy screen and Iris has curled up on herself again. I walk over while making noise so as to not startle her.

I step into the tub and slide in behind her. She turns and looks shocked, but before she can say anything I use my hips to push her lower half forward and pull her head down on to the top of my breasts at the same time.

She lightly resists me, but I hold her next to me and gently stroke the top of her head and rub her back, “S-something like this?”

Shiva doesn't answer me, but she doesn't scold me either and after a little bit Iris wraps her arms around me pulling us closer.

“What happened?” I ask her as gently as I can.

“There was an accident,” she responds slowly without looking up at me, “a-at one of the t-training fields. S-several of the people there were i-injured, so they called all of the Nightingales that were in the area...”

She pauses and her voice fades away, and she clutches onto me even tighter than before.

“W-when I arrived... t-there was so much b-blood,” she continues shakily, “and t-the screams, I-I can s-still hear t-them-” she sobs to a halt again, but continues much quicker, “I-I couldn't do anything t-to help them...n-nothing I did helped.”

“It isn't your fault,” I tell her but she just shakes her head.

“I-if I had arrived sooner, or if I w-were better I-I-”

“Shh,” I whisper and rub her back, “You could not have arrived faster than what you did, and you did everything that you could. It was not, and is not your fault.”

“B-but-”

“No,” I interrupt her, “You are not the reason that they died.”

“H-how c-can you s-sound so s-sure?”

“Because I know death,” I squeeze her, “And anyone that tries to help the dying isn't at fault if they couldn't save those people.”

She doesn't say anything else, and she even tries to pull us even closer than before. I gently wash her face with a rag, and then lean back a bit more to try and give her a more comfortable position to relax.

“I suppose that will do for now,” Shiva whispers in my ear.

After quite some time Iris finally settles down and is just resting on top of my chest, but the water is starting to get cold since that sigil burnt out, we really need to get it fixed. “We should get dried off,” I gently suggest to her, “or else one of us will catch a chill.”

She slowly nods her head and sits up off of me and moves to climb over the edge of the tub. I pull the plug and follow behind her. I start to quickly dry myself, but she moves slower and yawns deeply.

“Poor girl must be exhausted,” Shiva sighs slightly.

Once she finishes she moves towards her pile of dirty laundry, but I quickly move next to her and take her hand. “Come on,” I urge her as I lightly tug at her. She blushes lightly but she doesn't resist and follows me out into the hall.

When we step out I let go of her but she reaches out and timidly grabs my hand again and asks, “C-can I stay with y-you tonight?”

I gently squeeze her hand and start to move towards my room, and along the way I notice the pixie lazily floating around the dinning table, and I can hear a quiet humming coming from the direction of the kitchen, but I ignore them.

I step into my room, release her hand, and shut the door behind her as she moves in. I step over and quickly use the candle to start a small fire to heat up the room. I turn around and Iris is standing in the middle of the room looking off the the side while rubbing her arm.

I reach out and take her hand again and pull her towards my bed. I sit down on the side of it and she does the same, and yawns again. “It's a bit cold,” She mumbles.

“The fire will warm up the room soon,” I respond to her and she nods her head but continues to rub her arms. She scoots closer to me after a moment, and pushes our bodies together again, and I smile weakly, “I'm only good a stealing heat away from others.”

“Being next to you is comforting,” she sheepishly mumbles and tries to get even closer.

“I see,” I nod my head.

“You should wrap her up in those tails,” Shiva tells me, “She would like that.”

“They are still damp,” I sigh, “So it would just make her colder.”

She surprises me by laying some of her weight on me and she yawns, “Sleepy.”

I find myself struggling slightly to support her as I ask, “D-don't you think that you should eat something first?”

She shakes her head and mumbles, “'M not hungry.”

“You should at least eat a little bit,” I gently suggest to her.

She doesn't respond and she gets noticeably heavier as well. I sigh slightly and lay her down in the bed. I get off of the bed for and move to lift her lower body up on to the bed as well.

I wrap my arms around her, lift, and then find myself grunting as she is heavier than I had anticipated, especially since she is halfway in the bed already. Shiva is just laughing at me at this point without offering any helpful advice. After a couple minutes of struggling I manage to get her completely into my bed without disturbing her and I stop to catch my breath. I stand back up and she has rolled over onto her back.

I glare at her sleeping face for a moment before I sigh and sit back down on to the bed. I look down at her thighs again as curiosity grabs my attention again. I readjust myself to get a better look at her without touching her, and she has curled up slightly giving me a fairly clear view of her.

“So princess pervert, what do you think? Shiva asks.

“Looks pretty normal,” I nod my head, “It might be a bit hard to get to, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.”

“Oh, and what would that have been?”

“I'm not quite sure.”

There is a light rapping on the door and I turn my head as Beatrice walks in carrying a tray. She looks me across me before turning her gaze to Iris's sleeping form. She turns her gaze back to me with a raised eyebrow but doesn't say anything, and just walks over in my direction. I feel my cheeks heating up as I straighten up and try to act like I wasn't just examining another woman's body by gently draping the edge of my blanket over her. The pixie ignores my plight as she flutters in through the open door holding a large chunk of an apple in her arms and she moves to Beatrice's shoulder where she lightly lands and starts to eat.

Beatrice pulls a chair over to the side of my bed and sets the tray down onto the small table next to my bed before she sits down and picks up a sandwich. I pick one up as well and bite into it happily.

“So what happened?” she asks me quietly.

“You've heard of the accident at the training grounds?” She nods her head and waits for me to continue, “Iris was there.”

“Ah,” she nods her head and she looks back to Iris, “She seems to resting well enough.”

“I couldn't convince her to stay awake to eat,” I shrug, “Thank you for this by the way.”

“Think nothing of it,” she smiles, “I had already closed for the evening. I'm glad I could be of use and I can even use this as a reason to visit Melodiana.”

We quietly eat for a few minutes and then she looks back over to me, “So you've spent the evening with her?”

“Not the full evening,” I shake my head, “I found her in her bed and just followed Shiva's instructions. And she didn't want to be alone so...”

The weight in the bed shifts and Iris rolls over, yawns and looks around looking slightly confused. “Did we wake you?” Beatrice gently asks and Iris shakes her head.

I pick up another sandwich and pass it to Iris and tell her, “You should eat.” She doesn't say anything but she obediently takes it and lightly nibbles on it.

Beatrice stands up, stretches and says, “I'm going to go wait for Melodiana at the dinning table. Sleep well.”

“Thank you again,” I call to her back as she puts the chair away and walks out the door. I turn back to the side and look down at Iris. She moves and drops half of her sandwich back down onto the tray, and throws a glance my way.

After a moment she reaches out and lightly tugs at my arm while looking away shyly. “Seems like she wants to cuddle,” Shiva whispers in my ear.

“Annabelle likes to as well,” I sigh slightly, resigning myself to my fate.

I crawl over her and she turns to follow me and I lay down on my side in the middle of the bed. After a moment she slides over next to me and hesitantly wraps her arms around me. I rub her shoulder lightly and she draws us closer and yawns deeply into my shoulder where she settles down. I throw my blankets over top of us and feel justified that I don't make my bed neatly.

She is back asleep after a few minutes, and I close my eyes as well.