Suddenly A Succubus

Chapter 60.3

Hours passed in relative silence as they traveled. On several occasions, Tadhgán began describing features of the jungle he assumed might be confusing to Amara and Vee, who were both endlessly amused by which things he found worth explaining and which things he didn’t. Plants that perched atop trees and slowly nibbled away at the falling light? Completely ordinary. Snakes that ate leaves to impossible excess, only to become trees? Mundane to the point of boredom. Yet, when Amara complimented the coloration of an orange and purple flower that resembled a lily with too many petals, she earned herself a stern talking to about the dangers of such flowers. Ingest them the wrong way, he warned, and she risked losing the ability to sleep unless hanging upside down.The more she saw, and the longer she spent in this permanent twilight, the more her sense of time failed her. The only true measure she had was her own hunger. Tadhgán seemed happy to forage the occasional handful of berries or fibrous plant roots, but Vee and Amara agreed to stick to their prepared rations until absolutely necessary.

It was shortly past their second helping of rations that Tadhgán found the first natural phenomenon that seemed to trouble him. From Amara’s perspective, it appeared to just be a thick collection of shrubs, bushes, and trees that obscured their view of the path beyond, but Tadhgán shook his head adamantly at her dismissive attitude.

“Do you see the way the plants overlap? The fact that we can truly see nothing of the way forward? This is the edge of someone’s influence, no doubt about it,” Tadhgán muttered fearfully.

“So, what, we’re about to enter someone’s home?” Vee asked. “Should we, I dunno, knock or something? Maybe find a path around?”

“Not possible, I’m afraid. Our path is through.”

Amara pulled a leaf from Vee’s hair before looking at the boundary. “Do we know what kind of creature we’re about to meet? Is there anything we can do to prepare?”

Tadhgán shook his head. “No, and nothing. Just watch your words carefully, let me do the talking, and hopefully we can escape unscathed. If we do find a faerie on the other side, it might help to hold yourself with poise and elegance, just to be safe.”

With nothing else to do, the three of them nodded at each other and walked towards the boundary of influence. Amara clasped Vee’s hand tightly in her own, just to be safe. Her heart rate climbed, ever so slightly, at the thought of encountering something that instilled fear in Tadhgán, but she knew this was necessary to save Nick.

Thick leaves, vines, and sticks completely obscured Amara’s vision as she pushed through the boundary. No matter where she looked, no matter what plants sprang forth to block her vision, it was impossible to see more than a few inches in front of her. In every other part of the jungle thus far, she’d always been able to keep eyes on the ground, or perhaps a bit of light, but this boundary presented nothing but total obfuscation.

Stepping free of the boundary invited a deep breath of relief, and while Amara had been prepared to pull remnants of the thick underbrush off herself, nothing clung to her as she left. Instead, after confirming that Vee and Tadhgán were safely through as well, she began to look around.

Amara now stood in a small, circular grove no more than thirty feet across, and the canopy above them was unusually low; standing up straight brought her horns dangerously close to the thick blanket of leaves above her. The clearing itself was lit in a drastically different manner than the rest of the jungle up to this point. Instead of soft, pale lavender, it was cast in a warm orange glow that emanated forth from a series of twinkling leaves hanging around the outskirts of the grove. The ground, rather than soft dirt and crunchy, colorful leaves, was entirely composed of plush green moss. Even through her hiking boots, Amara knew that this moss was unusually soft and fluffy; it felt more like standing atop an incredibly expensive mattress rather than an overgrown jungle floor.

The clearing was also heavily decorated with a series of plants and decorative trinkets, and as Amara’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she even began to recognize some of them. Many of the plants seemed native to the area, such as the patches of colorful, undulating moss and the thick patch of blueish-green grass near the far wall, but others Amara had never seen before. A series of thick, plush, purple vines hung from the ceiling off to her right, all of them woven together in something approximating a hammock.

To her left, much to Amara’s surprise, she found a pile of items that seemed to be from Earth. In the pile she saw a massive collection of fluffy, colorful socks, a few plush, knitted blankets, stacks of soft stuffed animals, and a small stack of pillows that resembled large leaves. In the center of the clearing, atop a short wooden tree trunk, sat a large bowl made of bark, sticks, and other lengths of fibrous material. Inside this bowl, which was roughly the size of a large bathtub, was another pile of soft, fluffy moss, blankets, and other such items. Additionally, Amara saw a large patch of white fur that she suspected was some kind of massive pillow, though how all these familiar items had arrived in The Wilds, she had no idea.

Amara, Vee, and Tadhgán shared a brief look of confusion, though none of them dared move from their current spot. Nervously, Tadhgán took a deep breath, seemingly in preparation to speak up, but his words were cut off by the sudden appearance of a creature inside the large bowl.

Staring out at them was a furry creature with sharp, greenish-yellow eyes and thin, intensely curious vertical pupils. Most of the creature’s face and head were completely black, save for small tufts of white fur nestled just in front of its delicate, twitching ears. Its chest, as well as a small stripe of fur covering its mouth and nose, were completely white, almost making the creature appear as if dressed for a formal gala. Its nose, lined on either side with thin, adorable whiskers, twitched as it looked at them, and despite everything Amara knew about the nature of this plane, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking one simple thought.

Thankfully, Tadhgán spoke up just moments after the creature appeared. “Good evening, kind friend. I humbly apologize for our intrusion this fine day. We are simply trying to make our way back to my home, and happenstance requires that we pass through this clearing. I humbly ask permission to travel in your domain, and offer you familiarity in exchange for hospitality. You may call me Tadhgán, and you may call my companions here Amara and Vee. May I ask by what name you are known?”

The cat jumped closer, perching on the side of the large bowl. As it did so, Amara finally noticed notable differences between this creature and the cats of Earth. For one thing, it was slightly bigger; likely around three feet tall if it were to stand on its hind legs, which honestly seemed quite possible. Its body did not seem designed purely for walking on all fours. Its back legs bent in such a way that they seemed to hint it could stand up entirely if it wanted to, though at the moment, it happily crouched on all fours as it looked at them.

Several tense seconds passed, and Amara began wondering if this were some kind of prank, a joke played by The Wilds themselves to trick them into talking to a cat. Her fears vanished when the creature took a breath and spoke.

“Hail, travelers,” they said, their feminine voice laced with a thick air of formality. “I accept your apology, and recognize that your reason for being here is sound. It is a pleasure to meet you, Tadhgán, Amara, and Vee. You may call me Ciara, and I welcome you to my grove.”

Tadhgán bowed deeply, prompting Amara and Vee to do the same. “Is there anything you require from us before we depart? If not, I would humbly request that you point us towards the nearest exit.”

Ciara bowed in response, though her movements seemed somewhat reluctant, as if it were an insult for her to stir at their presence. “You will find no threats, violence, or danger in this grove or by my paws. In exchange for your passage, however, I must make one simple request from each of you.”

Tadhgán swallowed nervously. “And what might that be, kind Ciara?”

Their feline host looked at each of them in turn, her eyes flashing with a glint that sent shivers down Amara’s spine. “Before you leave, I would request that each of you briefly cuddle with me.”

Amara looked to Vee, then to Tadhgán, but their expressions betrayed that they’d heard the same thing. Still nervous about saying the wrong thing, Amara stayed quiet to let someone else speak.

“In what manner would you request this, Ciara?” Vee said, breaking her silence. “And for how long? We are happy to agree to this request, though regretfully, our journey enforces a fair amount of urgency on our part.”

Ciara rose to her feet, then began carefully tiptoeing around the edge of the bowl. “How long? Hm. A single nap, at most, but only if I find comfort in the arrangement. I mean no offense by this statement, but at first glance, none of you appear to be very comfortable. Are we in agreement?”

After exchanging another quick glance, during which they silently agreed on an answer, Tadhgán spoke up. “That sounds fair, kind Ciara. A cuddle each in exchange for passage through your grove.”

“Excellent! Now, I was already in the middle of a wonderful nap, so let’s be quick about this, shall we?” Ciara jumped down from her perch, landing gently on the ground. She then rose to stand on her back two feet, just like Amara had predicted might be possible, before moving over to the pile of socks, blankets, and pillows. After several seconds of rearranging some of the pile’s contents, she looked back to the group. “Perfect. Now, whoever would like to go first, simply lay down here.”