Rebirth of the Nephilim

“Noct, would you mind giving me and Amarantha a moment?”

The winged woman nodded agreeably before taking a few steps back. Only a few steps, though, Syd noticed. She was still absolutely close enough that she would be able to overhear the conversation between her and the Lares. Mentally shrugging, Jadis chose not to worry about keeping their discussion private and turned her attention back onto Amarantha. If Noct wanted to eavesdrop on them, it was no skin off of Syd’s nose. Besides, Jadis and Amarantha were basically the Oros version of celebrities. If she heard one celebrity ask another for a cup of their semen, she’d probably be curious to want to listen in on the rest of the conversation, too.

“Okay, why do you want my semen?”

“Logical next step, really,” Amarantha demurred with a delicate shrug of her feline shoulders.

When Syd continued to silently stare at her with one eyebrow raised, the fiery little witch eventually elaborated further.

“I’m trying to make a potion. I thought some of your hair would be enough to get the mixture to work the way that I wanted, but the reaction was extremely limited and, frankly, unimpressive considering the quality of ingredients I was using. So, I was thinking about what I could use that would have a more direct connection to Nephilim essence. Semen just makes the most sense.

“With Seraphim, their most obvious divine feature are their wings, hence their feathers are the perfect reagent for alchemical concoctions that involve flight. With Dryads, it’s their leaves and their sap, since they’re basically walking and talking trees, and those bits are great for growing-related potions. For Demons, we use their eyes, because that is the part of them that serves as their core being. Super powerful ingredient for magic replenishment potions, by the way. Anyway, I thought your hair would be enough to represent your beauty, since that’s what Lyssandria’s avatars are supposed to embody. You do have really nice hair. But that didn’t really work.”

Pausing in her explanation, Amarantha made a face that Jadis assumed meant she was amused. It wasn’t always easy to interpret emotions on a cat’s face. With one paw, the Mystic pointed at Syd’s crotch.

“Then I thought about it, and I realized that sex is just as big a thing with Lyssandria’s worship as beauty. And you definitely embody that aspect. So, I need some sex stuff from you. Semen seems easiest to me, but I guess the female equivalent would work just as well. Either way, fill the jar, Jadis. Some of my other reagents are only potent when fresh so I don’t have all day to wait.”

Syd stared blankly down at the little fire cat. The reasoning was, at its heart, sensible. In fact, it was the same reasoning that Jadis had used herself when trying to help both Sorcha and Sabina with their wand and enchantment ingredients, respectively. Nephilim seed did seem to be a potent component to certain magical constructs. It made logical sense that an alchemist like Amarantha would come to the same conclusion.

However, as both Sorcha and Sabina had found in their own experiments, Jadis’ seed was really only good for creating magical effects that were sexual in nature. There was some magic in her semen which could be used as a substitute for more basic components in enchanting, but as Sabina had pointed out, Demon seed was actually far better for general enchanting purposes than Jadis’ own emissions. And, as Sorcha’s wands proved, any time she incorporated Jadis’ seed into the process, the result skewed towards the lewd.

It was possible that Amarantha didn’t know that Jadis’ stuff was effectively only good for making sex-related magic items. However, the Lares had spent a lot of time around both Sorcha and Sabina, as well as the rest of Jadis’ companions, so it seemed unlikely that the topic hadn’t come up. Especially considering Kerr and Maeve, who were happy to talk about those sorts of lewd things all day, just because they thought it was funny. So, presuming that Amarantha knew the limited uses for Jadis’ seed, the question became, what kind of potion was the fiery cat witch trying to make?

“I’m going to start by saying that I’m not saying no,” Syd said as she crouched down to make herself closer to Amarantha’s eye level. “You have my trust, Ammy, and that means I’ll always help you in any way that I am able to.”

Syd made sure her eyes were locked with Amarantha’s before she continued.

“So. What potion are you trying to make that explicitly needs my seed? Because so far as I can tell, there aren’t many effects that would come from my contribution that would be useful outside of sexual situations.”

The little Lares did a good job of keeping both her eyes and her ears completely neutral. However, Jadis did not miss the way the tip of the cat-like avatar’s tail twitched from side to side.

“I want to try something,” she replied after a long pause.

“Try what?”

“It’s personal.”

“Personal enough that you want me to cum into a jar for you,” Syd nodded slowly. “You trust me enough to ask for that, but not enough to tell me what it’s for?”

Amarantha’s tail twitched even more at that question. Her green eyes ran over Syd’s face, and Jadis got the distinct impression that she was being judged. She kept her silence though, giving Amarantha the time she needed to decide her words and make whatever judgements she felt she had to. Jadis was happy to be patient, in this instance. Whatever was going on with Amarantha, she needed an honest answer.

“Do you… think I’m pretty?”

Syd opened her mouth in surprise before quickly shutting it. Out of all the things that she thought Amarantha might say, she had not expected that question. Hesitating for only a moment, she quickly decided to answer with complete honesty.

“I think you’re very pretty. Cute. Maybe even adorable, at times.”

“Cute,” Amarantha repeated, her expression undecipherable. “Adorable. But not, say, attractive.”

“Attractive,” Syd echoed back. “Well… I guess that’s not the first word that comes to mind, no.”

“Not beautiful, either. Not, maybe, good-looking. Enchanting. Eye-catching. Desirable. Possibly even… sexy.”

Syd felt some part of her brain fizzle as Amarantha’s words forced her mind to catch on to what the fiery cat person was implying. It was a significant mental adjustment, as Jadis had not directed her usual radar towards the Lares at all. She didn’t think that sort of… feeling would form between them, considering the difference in species. However, it seemed that she had misjudged things. A lot.

“Not that I find you two-legged types attractive myself,” Amarantha hurried to say into Syd’s looming silence. “I mean, I’m pretty used to your kind since I’ve always been around mortals pretty much my whole life, but that doesn’t mean you all don’t look just plain weird to me. All gangly and walking around on two legs. No fur, no claws, no tail. I mean, what’s with the ears? So, so weird. Definitely not anything like a Lares. Though I guess I’ve been around mortals long enough that I can tell the attractive ones from the not-so-attractive ones. Some of them are more aesthetically pleasing than others. And you, you’re not a mortal, so I can’t call you that, but you’re basically the same proportionally to your size, and you’re definitely one of the ones I would call attractive. I mean, attractive for a mortal. I mean, you’re not. A mortal, I mean. But you are sexy. For what you are. What I mean to say—”

Syd cut off the struggling Lares from her rambling with one hand raised before her. Amarantha fell silent, her fur flames blazing to the point that she looked half-again bigger than her normal size. Her tail was swinging back and forth uncontrollably, and the expression on her feline face made her look like she was going to be sick. It was a worrying sight, and under other circumstances, Jadis would have reached out to comfort the Lares. But considering the conversation, she held back from physical touch.

Taking a deep breath, Syd rocked back on her heels for a second as she processed everything Amarantha had just said. When she spoke next, she kept her tone calm and level.

“Ammy, are you interested in me?”

Another swing of the tail, coupled with a twitch of the ears.

“…I might be. Would that… bother you?”

“No, it wouldn’t bother me,” Syd answered. “But I will be blunt. I’ve never thought of you in that way.”

Amarantha took a deep breath before responding.

“Is that because of the way I look, or because you don’t like me?”

“I like you a lot,” Syd replied instantly. Then, she had to take a moment to think about her following words. “I like you as a friend. I haven’t thought of you in any other way. And to be honest, I would say that the reason why I haven’t considered you for more than a friend is because you aren’t physically attractive to me. I think I have a pretty wide range of types that I am attracted to, but I’m sorry. Your type isn’t one of them.”

While Jadis was worried that her words would hurt Amarantha, she knew that her friend deserved her complete honesty. Jadis truly did like Amarantha as a person. In fact, if she wasn’t a tiny cat and instead had a more human appearance, then Jadis might have been happily flirting with the Mystic since their first meeting months ago. Her personality was certainly the kind that Jadis loved to banter with, if nothing else. However, the truth was that Jadis wasn’t going to be able to overlook physical appearance. Not in this case. There were some lines that she just couldn’t cross.

Despite her worries that her bluntness would cause Amarantha pain, Syd was surprised to see the feline calm down. Her tail twitching slowed and her posture straightened. Her whole demeanor seemed to brighten even as her flames settled into their more usual state.

“So, to be clear, if I was more physically in line with your type, then you’d be interested in me?”

“…I’d be open to exploring things,” Syd answered carefully. “But to be clear, I don’t think it’s right for a person to change who they are for someone else. You should be happy being you, not chasing after some dream of me.”

“Yeah, yeah, be comfortable being your own self,” Amarantha rolled her eyes. “I heard all that from Maeve already. Great advice. Couldn’t agree more. But you would be willing to experiment with me, if I had a more compatible appearance, right? Just to see how things fit between us? Maybe fool around and have some fun in our off time, when we aren’t busy trying to save the world?”

Syd couldn’t help the smirk that played across her lips at Amarantha’s cavalier attitude.

“That does sound like something I’d be interested in,” she admitted. “Pending approval from my girls. I don’t sleep around without permission, you know. We’re a package deal.”

“That’s fine,” Amarantha chirped happily. “I’m not a prude like Jocy, so that doesn’t scare me.”

Motioning towards the end of the hall where her walking stone cauldron was waiting, Syd saw a small jar held in one of its wooden hands.

“Then if it’s alright with you, go ahead and fill this up for me, okay? Just make sure you aren’t mixing in any saliva or whatever from your mates. I need a pure sample, no contamination.”

“I’ll bring you a fresh supply in a little while,” Syd drawled as she suppressed her laughter. “That’s not something I’m going to do in the hallway, as much fun as that sounds.”

When the cauldron started to walk over, Syd waved the construct away as she stood to her full height.

“I don’t need the jar. I’ve got plenty of containers that I can borrow from Sabina. I’ll drop off what you need at Charos’ temple.”

“Good,” Amarantha nodded as she, too, got to her paws. “I look forward to experimenting with your seed, Jadis. In more ways than one.”

With that saucily delivered line, the Lares turned tail and strutted back down the hallway, quickly disappearing from sight as her cauldron followed slowly behind her.

Syd let out a loud puff of air as she ran the conversation back through her mind. She had not expected to have a conversation like that with Amarantha of all people. She was definitely going to have to talk with Aila and the others about the unexpected development, though it was probably a discussion best left until they were all gathered together. She didn’t want to have to repeat herself.

She also wanted to have a serious talk with Kerr and Maeve. If those two had known about Amarantha’s growing interest in her, then she really would have liked to have had a little forewarning. A hallway ambush was not Jadis’ ideal location for such a personal discussion.

With a grin and a shake of her head, Syd turned around to continue walking down the other way of the T-intersection hallway. While she had no issue performing some self-love, she would prefer to do so with one of her other bodies, at a minimum. Her Jay self and Severina were about done talking, so maybe the Seraphim would join her, if she wasn’t too tired still from her overnight flight? An offer to rub her feet would probably be enough to convince Sev to have some fun.

Syd nearly let out a scream when, after fully turning around, she ran directly into Noct.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry!” Syd said as she quickly took a step back. “Fuck, I, uh, I forgot you were there!”

Jadis realized a second too late that admitting that she had forgotten that Noct was standing in the hallway, waiting to talk with her, was more than a little insulting. The jolt of surprise had knocked the honest truth out of her, though, and she couldn’t take the words back. She had just been so engrossed with her conversation with Amarantha, that Noct’s quiet presence had fallen completely out of her attention.

“Sorry,” Syd repeated after taking a calming breath. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Yes,” Noct said simply before holding out a small envelope.

Taking the folded piece of paper from the strange woman’s outstretched hand, Syd carefully opened it and read the opening sentence.

To Jadis Ahlstrom,

I, Noct of House Astrum, am writing you this letter to formally convey my intention to pursue you sexually.

Syd’s eyes slowly closed as she once more voiced her sincere reaction.

“Gods dammit, what the fuck is up with this hallway?”