“Arabella is a succubus,” Chio said, and Terry could almost feel the statement pierce into his soul. He didn't want to believe it, but it just made way too much sense. That is why Chio needed his sperm, that is why she always kept it in her mouth before running off to meet her lover. That's why Arabella herself wanted him to jerk off to her the previous night. He was being used... by a demon.

The redhead even showed him her black claws as evidence – she could materialize them in her human form too. The boy was frozen in place with shock at first, then he jumped to his feet, and hurried to the cabin door. He tried to open it, but of course it was locked.

“Terry, wait!” Chio stood up.

The young man threw himself at the door with his shoulder, attempting to break free, like a panicked animal. Arabella grabbed Chio's arm to get her attention, looking at her questioningly. The angel knew what she was considering, and it terrified her. She shook her head desperately and signalled to the succubus to step back, then she lunged forward (the towel she was wrapped in fell to the ground) and hugged the boy from behind. A bit of a struggle followed, which ended with the naked Chio wrestling Terry down to the ground between the two beds. Arabella watched them from the other end of the cabin, past the wooden tub they used to wash themselves; some of its water got spilled out as the struggling boy kicked it. Finally, he gave up. He was lying on his stomach, his hands held together behind his back by the unusually strong girl, his head turned to the side. He stared at the angel from the corner of his eye, shivering. He was utterly overpowered and helpless, which made Chio feel quite guilty, but she had to do something.

“Terry, please! Please try to calm down and listen to me!” the angel begged, tearing up.

Terry remained still. Both him and the girl were just breathing heavily for some long moments. Chio had a hard time thinking; she knew that something like this may happen, but now that it actually did, it was just horrible. The thought of losing all of Terry's trust just like that, and the possibility of damning everyone on this ship (by virtue of the truth getting known by someone who is terrified of them, and who might alert everyone else), it was just a lot. But as she was kneeling next to the boy, Arabella crouched down behind her, hugged her gently and whispered into her ear: “He loves you. You got this.”

Chio sighed deeply, and she was about to say something, but Terry was faster. “Please lemme go. I ain't telling anyone, I swear. So please. I have a family.” He spoke fast, and with a shaky voice.

“We are not going to hurt you, I promise!” Chio replied. “Just... stay here a little longer, okay? That's all I'm asking you. Let's talk things through!”

The boy didn't answer, and as Chio let go of him, he sat up quickly and distanced himself from her, resting his back against the locked door. He remained in that position, but he avoided looking at the two women. Chio grabbed her towel mechanically, covered herself, and sat on the bed.

“She is not evil. She is a succubus, but she is not evil,” she stated. “If she was... she could have done horrible things to you already, right? But that's not what she is like, and neither am I.”

Terry stayed silent.

“Do you feel like we deceived you, or used you? What am I asking, I'm sure you do. Of course... no one could blame you for that. I wish I knew how to do these things better, I really wish.”

“Can I just go?”

“I'm sorry, but please bear with me a little longer! You... you asked me a question. You asked my why I did those things to you back when we stayed with your family. You get it now, right? Me and Arabella, we had a difficult journey behind us, we were so exhausted, and she was starving. I had to help her, and so I needed... someone. It is true that I needed your seed. But that's not all. There is more to it. You see...”

Chio paused, hesitating. Should she just tell him that she used to be a futanari? Wouldn't that only further startle him?

She shook her head. “Let me ask you something too. Back when we stayed with your family, why did you let me do it? Why did you put it in my mouth? Why me?”

“W-why?”

“You were a complete stranger to me... and I was a complete stranger to you. So why?”

“That's... because... you did it! You were the one who...”

“You didn't resist, Terry. You gave in. It was so easy, wasn't it? And then you even followed us here. Why?”

“I... don't know.”

“I think you do, deep down. I understand that it's difficult to see it right now, but... what you felt, what led you after us, it's not all that different from what we feel. Me and Arabella.”

The angel slid off the bed, and sat on the wet ground with crossed legs, but not too close to the boy. Terry flinched a little, but he seemed slightly calmer now, like he accepted that at least he is not in immediate danger.

“The way you felt in those moments,” Chio continued, “When you were with me... on this ship too, when we made love the other day, when you were inside me, everything you felt in those moments was real, and same goes for me. It was... exactly as it was. Does that make sense? I know you loved it... I did too. Truth be told, I was really glad that you turned up here. Sure, in big part because it meant Arabella could have her food source, but also... I knew you already. Maybe just a little bit, but we shared a moment of... of some sort of connection, we did. And realising it affected you so much that you would come after us... it made my heart shiver. It made me worried, surprised, relieved and happy all at once. When I revealed to you that I'm an angel, I told you already: I believe in the beauty of sex. That's why I returned to the mortal world. It's what I wish to live by, I want to... to explore it. Redeem it. To make it work. I want to help Arabella and be by her side for the rest of her life, and that means... that means stuff like this. When I realised you followed me, I thought I knew why. At least partly. It's the same desire, is it not? You had a desire for the bliss you felt, that's all. You wanted to believe in it. I think that's beautiful.”

As Chio stopped talking, she was sniffing back her tears, and just staring blankly in front of herself. Terry gazed at her with his mouth open. Moments ago, he was hit with horrible feelings and thoughts, but now they disappeared just as quickly, at least for the most part. The girl explained herself, and once again, it just made way too much sense. She was so sincere that Terry was suddenly ashamed of himself for freaking out. She has so much love in her heart that she even wants to help a succubus. A succubus! It takes someone special to do that. She is a literal angel, and he just made her cry.

“Wow, what a preach,” Arabella broke the silence. “Well said. Basically, it's fair to say that a boy who enjoys his dick getting sucked by a stranger is also kind of using that stranger. But hey, that's sort of what we do too, so it's okay. Get it?”

Terry nodded, and inched closer to Chio, shyly reaching out to touch her. “I'm sorry.”

The girl laughed relievedly. “Me too. I'm sorry too.” They held hands.

“Now kiss!” said the redhead.

“Arabella, come on!” Chio rolled her eyes. “We just made up!”

“So make out!”

“Maybe we shouldn't do such things tonight...”

“Why not? We just agreed that it's all good, no?”

The angel turned to Terry, and she grabbed his other hand too. They were kneeling face to face on the floor. Her torso was once again covered by the towel, but her smooth legs and arms were exposed, and her slightly red eyes (from the crying) were sparkling. “What do you say?” she asked. “Should we give ourselves some time to process things? Or...”

The boy leaned forward and kissed her.

“That's the spirit!” Arabella grinned, and jumped on one of the beds, hanging her towel on the end of the bed frame. She then positioned herself so she had a nice look at the other two, sitting with her legs spread wide and leaning back against the wall.

“Arabella... can't you be a little more discreet?” Chio complained.

“It's fine!” said Terry, gulping. He was now rock hard. “I... I don't mind.”

“That's the fucking spirit!” the succubus approved. “Now why don't you get naked too?”

While the boy undressed, Chio too hung up her towel, then she sat on the other bed, waiting for the male. As he climbed up next to her, she kissed him and grabbed his dick, starting to gently stroke it. Lust filled the cabin, and they all gradually loosened up into it. Chio sighed, let go of Terry's penis, and hugged her, pressing her forehead against his.

“You are such a good boy.”

“T-thanks.”

“Look!” she nodded towards the masturbating succubus on the other bed. “She is so responsible, she is keeping her distance. Last night, she avoided touching you because she didn't want to mess with your head, and that was her own judgement, I didn't even ask her yet. Her touch would have a strong alluring effect on you, but she promised she won't ever do that to you. I think that's for the best. Unless... what you think?”

“Uhm, yea, that's for the best,” Terry agreed.

“Right. So that shall be our arrangement then. Isn't she beautiful though?”

“Yea. But you're too.”

Chio noticed that the boy is kind of bashfully avoiding staring at the unashamedly horny redhead, and is instead focusing purely on her.

“You can look at her! I know you already masturbated to her, it's okay!”

Terry faced the other woman obediently.

“You know what?” Chio asked. “Let's admire her together!”

And so that became the theme of that night's session. At first, Chio and Terry sat next to each other, touching each other's genitalia while they both watched the succubus. She was putting on a bit of a show for them, showing off her body, twisting and turning, curving her back, swaying her hips, spreading her pussy lips or playing with her nipples.

“She is a good person,” Chio moaned as her clit was being rubbed by the boy. “She saved me before too. She is so brave and... and honest. And fun.”

“Fuck yea, praise me more!” Arabella was now on all fours, and she had two fingers up her pussy.

“She is strong... she is very sexy... she had a really hard life, she tried to be a prostitute in Plankwelle, but... ah... next time, I'll tell you more about us next time!”

“Uhum,” Terry panted.

Chio then got on the floor again, and put Terry's dick in her mouth, staring up at him. Arabella asked them to turn a bit to the side so she can have a better view. As he was being sucked off, Terry kept switching between looking at Chio and Arabella, enjoying both of their hotness. The angel's words echoed in his mind: I believe in the beauty of sex. It was so simple, so easy. With them, it was. Because they are special, unlike other people, both of them. He should have known that. What did he even expect?

Chio noticed that he is getting close to the climax, so she quickly stood up. She turned her backside to the boy, and sat on his cock, it slipped right in. Terry moaned, and his muscles tensed up.

“That's it, cum for us, for Arabella!” the angel murmured.

Terry leaned forward and hugged the girl, while looking past her shoulder, straight into the lustful green eyes of the sex-demon. It was amazing.

While he lay down to catch his breath, Chio went over to the other bed, playfully pushed down Arabella, and sat on her face, giggling. Even though Terry just came, he still couldn't take his eyes off of them. When the angel finally got off the redhead, Arabella turned her head, looking for the male's gaze.

“Thanks for the meal!”

“Y-your welcome.”

Chio dashed over to the boy, and kissed him. “That's enough for tonight. Time for you to get back to your crew mates, lest they get suspicious of your absence.”

Terry nodded, and began to dress up. Before he left the cabin, he turned to Chio once more.

“Can I stay with ya even after this voyage? Even at Scorched Lands?”

“Of course! We value you greatly,” the girl smiled. “Oh, and Terry! We aren't just strangers to each other anymore, right? At least not as much as before.”

“Yea.”

“I'm looking forward to spending more time with you!”

 

From the fifth day of the voyage, somewhat of a state of equilibrium was reached on the ship called Annabelle.

Terry now knew the gust of what Chio and Arabella were about, and he was mostly okay with it, but his feelings were still a bit all over the place. Thinking back on his family made him feel quite lonely, he wondered when he will be able to see them again, and what they would think if they had any idea of what he got himself into. Would they understand at all? Probably not... But with every visit to the lovers' cabin, his heart was more and more at ease with his new fate. In Chio's embrace, the outside world almost didn't matter, her goodness was simply undeniable to him. On the night of the fifth day, the girl told him about how she used to be a futanari, which was yet another shocking revelation, but at that point, Terry wasn't too startled by it, even though he heard from his mother that futanari are girls who got cursed by the devil. He already knew that Arabella was a demon, after all, and Chio's retelling of her early days as a futa was actually quite touching. It once again fit into the picture, it further explained why she was the way she was. She could relate to the feeling of having a penis, of being horny like a man, and that made a lot of sense. It was a soothing thought in a way. She also clearly suffered a lot back then, which made Terry determined to protect and support her, the both of them. With every night, more and more of the lovers' past was revealed to him, and with every night, his dedication deepened. He wondered how things will be once they are off this ship, once they reach those wild lands. One thing that still bothered him was that according to his contract, he was supposed to be serving on this ship on the way back to Midridge too, but as the succubus said, much bigger crimes have been done in this world than a sailor running away.

Now that she had a secure source of food, Arabella was fairly content, although she did express some frustrations to Chio from time to time. Even if Terry will stay with them for a while, continuing with this arrangement of providing sperm for her through Chio, she still definitely didn't want to give up on actual sex with men. If not with the boy, then she will have to find others, she said. The angel was of course understanding and supportive of that need of hers. At the very least, looking for new sex partners won't be such a severe issue anymore, so long as they have Terry with them. But for now, the succubus had to be satisfied with these half-touchless threesomes. Being part of the sexual tension, teasing the boy visually, and taking turns with him in making out with Chio was still pretty fun, definitely better than nothing.

Porco told Madam Birch not to worry, that Chio is doing okay, and that the redhead is simply kind of an eccentric person, but she really is a great friend of the girl. Without going into too much detail, he hinted that something might be developing between him and the eastern girl. He tried to act like he is bashfully excited about it, knowing that the idea of him paying special attention to Chio might put the widow's mind at ease. It was better if she wasn't suspicious – let things stay calm, and keep an eye out, that was Porco's current plan. Of course he had some mixed feelings of his own, his suspicions weren't at all gone: he still felt like the angel and the succubus might be a ticking time bomb, even if they themselves don't mean to be that.

On the sixth day, the madam invited Chio, Porco, and Friska to yet another card game, this time Mr. and Mrs. Clearland joined them too (Captain Kraus and Goldman did not). Chio was acting all nice and polite, and throughout the game, she still glanced at Porco curiously from time to time, which he tried to reciprocate, mainly to keep up Madam Birch's impression of them. Truth be told, playing mind games with such a pretty girl – one he has even kissed before – was kind of entertaining, but ultimately Porco preferred to keep his distance from her for now. He wanted to just observe. At the end of the game, the girl actually approached him (discreetly and briefly, while the others were still engaged in conversation with the madam), asking if he is interested in hanging out alone, but Porco declined. And that was that.

Friska on the other hand started to regularly hang out with the angel. On the fifth day of the voyage, she took her aside after lunch, and apologized for acting kind of nosy before.

“It's none of my business, if you like Porco, you like him. Truth be told, I shouldn't only talk to you when I'm drunk, not that it's an excuse, but it just gives me a loose tongue. Anyway, I'll try not to be an asshole from now on.”

“You are fine,” the girl smiled. “But thanks.”

“I never drink during the day, though. Okay, I usually don't, but the point is, maybe we could hang out at times like this. When you are bringing back your plates after lunch, maybe. Just feel free to hit me up! I'll be around.”

“Oh. Uhm, all right. Sure!”

“Then how about now?”

The fairy led the way to her cabin, and on every single day from then on, Chio visited her there for an hour or so. Friska, like any other lone passenger, had a whole room to herself. The mattress of one of the beds was taken out, and her chest was placed on it instead, with her own fairy-sized bed next to it, both tied to the human-sized bed frame to prevent them from shuffling around in the rocking of the ship.

The first time Chio stepped inside the room, she was a bit anxious, trying to think up some good explanations for her surprising strength, which Friska already noticed on the first day. The girl expected her to bring that up again, but the fairy didn't, and so that topic was simply mutually avoided. Instead, Friska showed her some of her stuff, talked about her interests, and played some music to her – she had a tiny flute and a lyre. Apparently, she did not like to play in front of an audience, but she was fine with just Chio. She was quite talented, but surprisingly, she mostly played some emotional and sad songs. The melancholic passion she slipped into once she got an instrument in her hands was a visible contrast to her usual snarky, brash self, so the angel sort of understood why she wanted to hide that from others. Chio honestly felt honored that she was allowed to see that side of the little woman.

The sadness of her songs combined with her occasional little comments and rants about men being untrustworthy assholes eventually drove Chio to ask her if she ever had some bad experiences with men. She admitted that she in fact did, but she didn't want to talk about it. What she did like to talk about was history, and she had a way of telling these real stories in a gripping manner. Chio was easily engaged in her tales of ages, while the fairy enjoyed having such a curious listener. She taught her a lot about the history of fairies, their kingdom, which was once huge and influential, and which still existed on the far western shores of the western continent, past Cesanitia. She also talked about Midridge, where she lived for the past ten years as a librarian and independent researcher. She told Chio that she wrote a couple of books of her own, some of which was well known amongst scholars. She used to have a great interest in the Republic of Midridge, this relatively new, unique society, but she got somewhat disillusioned with it over the years, and so she took on this journey to Newchance on a whim, to freshen things up in her life.

Chio also told her a bit about herself too, but only of the times before she turned into a futa – she did not want to reveal her secrets to yet another person, if it wasn't necessary. Friska inquired about her experiences living in the Sekiguchi Empire, which was a place she never got to visit herself. The angel felt like she didn't have much to say to her though, as she only ever lived in that small village, not knowing much about the world at large. But the fairy was pretty interested even in just the everyday life of eastern common folks.

And so the days went by, things settled down, and it seemed like the voyage will be complete without a major incident. On the eighth day however, Annabelle's equilibrium fell apart.