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raajHolly came face to face with a creature unlike any she'd ever seen on Luxendarc--a huge beast shaped like a caterpillar, but with a head just similar enough to a human's to be terrifying in how it was not, with hollows like a skull and a receding crown of dirty gray hair. The horns and pointed ears were less alarming in comparison.
"So you're the one who's been taking care of Agnès, hm?" Its tone was sickeningly sweet, but still ominous with how its voice reverberated in its giant frame.
"Barras, you useless lump, get in here!" Holly shouted, firing off an aeroga at the creature's face. It flinched--but only flinched. While some of the body's many appendages were as stubby as a caterpillar's, only good to carry it along, others higher up were shaped like muscular arms, and the fingers ended in claws. The larval beast surged forward on its legs, but it was the hand that grabbed Holly about her neck and pinned her to the wall that she found most pressing... literally.
"He's not coming," it said with a giggle. "It's just you and me... and I wanted to say thank you. You've been enjoying her, haven't you? How do you humans do it--?"
Holly jerked and snarled as another of the thick hands pressed between her legs. There was no subtlety in its touch, but neither was there interest, not of the sexual sort, even though she was still wet with her own arousal; it was like being investigated by a too-curious dog.
"You've hurt her so, so much. I've been listening... I adore her new prayers. All that sickening sweetness, finally gone. You've done something I was never able to do! I've always had to play the good fairy. Well... now that she's known you, I might be able to look like the good fairy even when I indulge my own wickedness." The monster smiled, even as her grip around the white mage's neck tightened. "What pleasure that would be.
"So thank you, Holly Whyte. But it's time for me to save what you've left of my vestal. So I have a simple last request... suffer."
Airy laughed with delight as she lifted the white mage by the throat, causing the blonde to choke. The woman's eyes turned wide with horror; her boots kicked against the wall as she struggled. Uselessly. Magic would be faster, but she wanted to have the full measure of the one who had scarred this world's Agnès so wonderfully. Besides, there was the chance she'd broken Agnès entirely, in which case Airy would be delayed on this lowly world at least until the water vestaling was found and trained, and if so the ignorant wench deserved a much, much slower death. Airy was being merciful, really.
When the woman finally went limp, Airy snapped her neck and threw the corpse aside. She was impatient to finally see this Agnès in all her pain and agony, and she was free of having to take the guise of a fairy for the rest of their acquaintance. Agnès was a stupid girl, but not so stupid she'd miss the bloodbath waiting outside her cell. She would either accept Airy in this superior form... or she would die.
There was a low whimper as soon as Airy wrenched open the door, and her head turned toward the furthest corner of the room. Agnès stared back from a crouch, her long hair filthy and matted, obscuring half her expression--but the visible half was gratifying enough with its wild-eyed terror and the unvoiced scream parting her lips. The girl jerked, rattling the chains binding her to the wall, but she knew she could not escape. After that first reaction, she instead tried to hold herself still, as though hoping Airy worked only on motion and might ignore her if she did nothing. Airy supposed in the circumstances, it was her only chance at saving herself... which only reminded her how irritating it was that she had to rely on such a pathetically weak creature in serving her lord.
Perhaps she should just kill the girl anyway? She took a moment to savor that thought and let Agnès stew in her quivering terror before finally affecting a cringe and a tremor in her voice, as if she were hurt by the lukewarm welcome: "Agnès? I-it's me. Airy."
The girl's head raised as she looked at Airy more directly, though her shoulders stayed hunched, still anticipating blows. Holly had been true to the words she'd spoken when Agnès had surrendered herself: she might have healed the physical damage of her torture, and yet Agnès' body still screamed of pain in how she held herself, the memory of it etched in her mind. "...You're...Airy?" Her voice was hoarse. "What's happened to you?"
Heh. Was she doubting her, or actually still concerned for others after all this? Airy repressed a sneer, mustering all her acting ability to convey human-like emotions on her now rigid face. "Agnès... I'm a cryst-fairy, remember? Bound body and soul to the vestals."
Such an old, familiar lie, but it had always been useful. And the subtle new spin was her gambit to keep Agnès faithful to her. Humans in general, and Agnès in particular, could be so irrational and self-centered, taking responsibility for everything that happened to them. Airy had little doubt that Agnès hated herself for every abuse that had happened in this room.
Now the question was if Agnès would swallow that crock of them being connected and believe she was responsible for Airy's changed form as well. The girl's expression was already morphing from the initial disbelief when she buried her face in her chained hands, shaking, and Airy decided to hammer it in, just a little harder: "The crystals heard your prayers, even buried in the darkness. They saw what was in your heart... and I was changed..."
"Change back!" Agnès snapped. She wasn't even looking up, but screaming into her knees. "That can't be--I didn't want you to become a monster!"
"But you wanted them dead for letting her hurt you. Don't lie to me, Agnès. There's no point in lying about that now." Airy had heard that scream after all, heard that wish made in pain, desperation, and anger. Agnès had never, in tens of thousands of worlds, shown the bloodthirst she'd need to wipe out an airship's entire crew, no matter how angry she'd gotten at being so easy to trick. But how funny it would be if she believed she truly was capable of that murderous rage! All because she thought she'd forced a poor little cryst-fairy to turn into a monster and slaughter dozens.
The girl choked and made a truly embarrassing noise as she broke, just broke down, sobbing grossly. "Airy... Airy, I'm so sorry," she cried. "P-please change back. Please. Or if my heart is really... so dark... kill me? I cannot... I can't..." Her words were lost as her sobbing grew uncontrollable, stealing all her breath.
She'd said enough, anyway. "Get a hold of yourself, Agnès! You're the only one who can awaken the crystals." Perhaps. There was also the chance that her mind had been weakened enough that the crystals would no longer heed her, another case where she'd have to kill her anyway. They would cross that bridge when they came to it... or one of them would, anyway.
***
OKAY MAYBE THIS IS OUT OF MY SYSTEM NOW?? I REALLY JUST NEED TO GO BACK TO WRITING THE FLUFF
But basically the idea is that Holly has ALL THE FUN with Agnès (it's not fun for Agnès) on the way to Eternia, not realizing that Airy stowed herself away on board to keep track of things... and when they land, and Airy realizes things are about to get even more complicated because Agnès has clearly failed to rescue herself HMPH, the fairy goes absolutely nuclear. And then screws with Agnès' head when she's already traumatized from Holly's torture to make her believe that she's actually the one responsible for Airy's transformation and subsequent massacre, Airy transformed to save her etc.
This first draft is pretty much missing the mark but I picture this as something where Agnès sees Airy's actions as for her sake even if she's utterly horrified by the results in every way and starts to cling to her, while it's entirely obvious to the reader that the hurt/comfort undertones are just an act on Airy's part.
Basically there was a vague thought of "maybe Tiz could save her at the end" and then it turned into "NOPE AIRY WOULD SAVE HER. AIRY WOULD SAVE HER IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE. EVERYONE WHO KEEPS HER FROM HER VESTAL CAN JUST DIE" ahahaha... this fic would not be good for Agnès in anyway
"So you're the one who's been taking care of Agnès, hm?" Its tone was sickeningly sweet, but still ominous with how its voice reverberated in its giant frame.
"Barras, you useless lump, get in here!" Holly shouted, firing off an aeroga at the creature's face. It flinched--but only flinched. While some of the body's many appendages were as stubby as a caterpillar's, only good to carry it along, others higher up were shaped like muscular arms, and the fingers ended in claws. The larval beast surged forward on its legs, but it was the hand that grabbed Holly about her neck and pinned her to the wall that she found most pressing... literally.
"He's not coming," it said with a giggle. "It's just you and me... and I wanted to say thank you. You've been enjoying her, haven't you? How do you humans do it--?"
Holly jerked and snarled as another of the thick hands pressed between her legs. There was no subtlety in its touch, but neither was there interest, not of the sexual sort, even though she was still wet with her own arousal; it was like being investigated by a too-curious dog.
"You've hurt her so, so much. I've been listening... I adore her new prayers. All that sickening sweetness, finally gone. You've done something I was never able to do! I've always had to play the good fairy. Well... now that she's known you, I might be able to look like the good fairy even when I indulge my own wickedness." The monster smiled, even as her grip around the white mage's neck tightened. "What pleasure that would be.
"So thank you, Holly Whyte. But it's time for me to save what you've left of my vestal. So I have a simple last request... suffer."
Airy laughed with delight as she lifted the white mage by the throat, causing the blonde to choke. The woman's eyes turned wide with horror; her boots kicked against the wall as she struggled. Uselessly. Magic would be faster, but she wanted to have the full measure of the one who had scarred this world's Agnès so wonderfully. Besides, there was the chance she'd broken Agnès entirely, in which case Airy would be delayed on this lowly world at least until the water vestaling was found and trained, and if so the ignorant wench deserved a much, much slower death. Airy was being merciful, really.
When the woman finally went limp, Airy snapped her neck and threw the corpse aside. She was impatient to finally see this Agnès in all her pain and agony, and she was free of having to take the guise of a fairy for the rest of their acquaintance. Agnès was a stupid girl, but not so stupid she'd miss the bloodbath waiting outside her cell. She would either accept Airy in this superior form... or she would die.
There was a low whimper as soon as Airy wrenched open the door, and her head turned toward the furthest corner of the room. Agnès stared back from a crouch, her long hair filthy and matted, obscuring half her expression--but the visible half was gratifying enough with its wild-eyed terror and the unvoiced scream parting her lips. The girl jerked, rattling the chains binding her to the wall, but she knew she could not escape. After that first reaction, she instead tried to hold herself still, as though hoping Airy worked only on motion and might ignore her if she did nothing. Airy supposed in the circumstances, it was her only chance at saving herself... which only reminded her how irritating it was that she had to rely on such a pathetically weak creature in serving her lord.
Perhaps she should just kill the girl anyway? She took a moment to savor that thought and let Agnès stew in her quivering terror before finally affecting a cringe and a tremor in her voice, as if she were hurt by the lukewarm welcome: "Agnès? I-it's me. Airy."
The girl's head raised as she looked at Airy more directly, though her shoulders stayed hunched, still anticipating blows. Holly had been true to the words she'd spoken when Agnès had surrendered herself: she might have healed the physical damage of her torture, and yet Agnès' body still screamed of pain in how she held herself, the memory of it etched in her mind. "...You're...Airy?" Her voice was hoarse. "What's happened to you?"
Heh. Was she doubting her, or actually still concerned for others after all this? Airy repressed a sneer, mustering all her acting ability to convey human-like emotions on her now rigid face. "Agnès... I'm a cryst-fairy, remember? Bound body and soul to the vestals."
Such an old, familiar lie, but it had always been useful. And the subtle new spin was her gambit to keep Agnès faithful to her. Humans in general, and Agnès in particular, could be so irrational and self-centered, taking responsibility for everything that happened to them. Airy had little doubt that Agnès hated herself for every abuse that had happened in this room.
Now the question was if Agnès would swallow that crock of them being connected and believe she was responsible for Airy's changed form as well. The girl's expression was already morphing from the initial disbelief when she buried her face in her chained hands, shaking, and Airy decided to hammer it in, just a little harder: "The crystals heard your prayers, even buried in the darkness. They saw what was in your heart... and I was changed..."
"Change back!" Agnès snapped. She wasn't even looking up, but screaming into her knees. "That can't be--I didn't want you to become a monster!"
"But you wanted them dead for letting her hurt you. Don't lie to me, Agnès. There's no point in lying about that now." Airy had heard that scream after all, heard that wish made in pain, desperation, and anger. Agnès had never, in tens of thousands of worlds, shown the bloodthirst she'd need to wipe out an airship's entire crew, no matter how angry she'd gotten at being so easy to trick. But how funny it would be if she believed she truly was capable of that murderous rage! All because she thought she'd forced a poor little cryst-fairy to turn into a monster and slaughter dozens.
The girl choked and made a truly embarrassing noise as she broke, just broke down, sobbing grossly. "Airy... Airy, I'm so sorry," she cried. "P-please change back. Please. Or if my heart is really... so dark... kill me? I cannot... I can't..." Her words were lost as her sobbing grew uncontrollable, stealing all her breath.
She'd said enough, anyway. "Get a hold of yourself, Agnès! You're the only one who can awaken the crystals." Perhaps. There was also the chance that her mind had been weakened enough that the crystals would no longer heed her, another case where she'd have to kill her anyway. They would cross that bridge when they came to it... or one of them would, anyway.
***
OKAY MAYBE THIS IS OUT OF MY SYSTEM NOW?? I REALLY JUST NEED TO GO BACK TO WRITING THE FLUFF
But basically the idea is that Holly has ALL THE FUN with Agnès (it's not fun for Agnès) on the way to Eternia, not realizing that Airy stowed herself away on board to keep track of things... and when they land, and Airy realizes things are about to get even more complicated because Agnès has clearly failed to rescue herself HMPH, the fairy goes absolutely nuclear. And then screws with Agnès' head when she's already traumatized from Holly's torture to make her believe that she's actually the one responsible for Airy's transformation and subsequent massacre, Airy transformed to save her etc.
This first draft is pretty much missing the mark but I picture this as something where Agnès sees Airy's actions as for her sake even if she's utterly horrified by the results in every way and starts to cling to her, while it's entirely obvious to the reader that the hurt/comfort undertones are just an act on Airy's part.
Basically there was a vague thought of "maybe Tiz could save her at the end" and then it turned into "NOPE AIRY WOULD SAVE HER. AIRY WOULD SAVE HER IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE. EVERYONE WHO KEEPS HER FROM HER VESTAL CAN JUST DIE" ahahaha... this fic would not be good for Agnès in anyway