Outer Demon

Joshua groaned tiredly. She felt her own strength beginning to wane, as well, beginning to feel just how heavily draining her combat form truly was. They had perhaps two minutes left in this form, at most.

She glanced up at the man running in terror. In the past, that might have encouraged her predatory instincts, the succubus nature instilled in her, to chase after him and pounce him for some fun. But even with the full moon affecting her, she felt no such drive, not even a twitch.

Her mouth curled up in a gentle smile, knowing that she would never be bothered by such thoughts again.

The final slaver had exhausted himself, slowing to a desperate crawl as he inched away from her. Julie came up behind him and flicked him with a single finger, knocking him over. He was too tired to even struggle as she covered him with the ooze.

Her breaths were growing heavier, but she couldn't stop now. There was still one thing she had to do before she could rest.

********************

The men and women inside the slaves cages huddled together, scared out of their minds. The same creature that had just wiped out the entire camp was now standing before them. Shoulders heaving, its head bobbed up and down as it panted for breath, dripping violet ooze onto the floor.

Were they to share the same fate? Covered in some unknown substance and rendered unconscious? What did the creature plan to do with them?

Stepping forward, the creature extended its massive claws and gripped the iron bars of one of the slave cages..and began to pull. With brute force, it bent the metal to its will, causing the iron bars to groan and buckle under the pressure. The bars snapped with a loud clank, and popped out of their sockets, creating a hole in the cage just wide enough for a person to wriggle through.

Esther blinked, looking at the creature carefully. She was scared, of course, just like everyone else. But...this creature didn't seem like it wanted to hurt them. Even before, she had noticed how the creature avoided killing anyone, even when it had the chief slaver pinned beneath it. And...it seemed to be in pain.

The creature stumbled over to the cage that she was in, the second of four. She did not flinch as the creature ripped the bars apart, watching its arms falling to the ground, weak from overexertion.

Her eyes gliding over the purple tips of the creature's horns and tail, Esther paused. She knew these colors. As the creature panted, she inched forward, and slipped through the new hole in the cage.

"Get back!" another girl in the cage cried. "It's going to-"

"No," Esther said calmly. "It's okay." Holding her arm out, she cautiously approached the black monster.

The exhausted creature tilted its head up to look at the approaching girl. It had no eyes, but she knew it could see her.

"Julie," Esther said, offering a soft smile. "That's you, isn't it?"

The creature gave a weak nod.

"I knew it," Esther smiled. "You came to save us. Thank you, Julie."

"But you can rest now," Esther assured her. "We can just find the keys. Save your strength."

She reached her hand out to pat Julie's head, but the black ooze coating her began to ripple and contract, making Esther recoil. The mass of Julie's new form shrunk into itself, shifting and bubbling as it reorganized itself. She tried to stand up, supporting herself with one arm, but no longer had the strength. She fell back down as her body became an indistinguishable blob of black ooze.

Slowly, the ooze condensed and withdrew, revealing not one, but two distinct shapes lying unconscious in the dark goo. Julie, she recognized, although she blushed when her eyes brushed against her naked backside. And lying beneath her, equally naked, was a man...

"Oh," she gasped, hand flying to her mouth as she turned away. "Oh, merciful Aeris, I really did not need to see that..."

Recovering quickly, Esther coughed and turned her back to the new couple. No one else had left their cages yet, eyes transfixed on the man and woman that had been a single monster just a moment ago.

"Everyone!" she cried, bringing her hands together to her mouth to amplify her shout. "We're safe now! These two saved us!"

Many pairs of eyes flickered towards her. These...were their saviors?

"Let's not linger!" Esther cheered, clapping her hands together. "If your cage is open, step out! Come on now, we need to gather up the people who threw us in here!"

Tentative steps as people inched out of the cages. Nervous, uncertain looks. Esther linked her fingers together and offered everyone her most reassuring smile.

Two of the freed men crouched over and examined one of the incapacitated slavers. They prodded their boots into the man's ribcage, but he did not react.

"Could you two search them for the cage keys, please?" Esther asked, and the two men nodded, moving out to pat down the rest of the unconscious slavers.

"And could someone please find a blanket to cover these two?" she sighed, her blush returning.

********************

Groaning blearily, Joshua awoke and blinked the darkness out of his eyes. Muffled pain echoed throughout his entire body, and his head was awash with exhaustion and foggy memory.

"Welcome back," a gentle voice greeted.

"Ngh," he replied, leaning up and looking around.

He was lying on the forest floor, in the middle of the marauder campsite. And his sister was looking down at him.

"Esther?" he blinked. "Does that mean we won?"

"Yep," she nodded, offering her gentle smile. Gods, was that a welcome sight! Joshua glanced over his younger sibling, checking her for signs of distress. Thankfully, she seemed to have only a few minor cuts and bruises.

"I'm fine," she said neutrally. "None of us have serious injuries. We're rounding up the slavers that you...slimed, and we found the keys for the other cages. Everyone should be free in a moment. But I'm more worried about you two!"

"Julie!" he gasped. "Where is she? What happened?"

"She's right next to you," his sister giggled.

Turning over, he saw Julie's head - noticeably lacking her horns - poking out of a green blanket that covered the rest of her body. Her eyes were closed, but her chest was rising and falling at a steady pace.

"We collapsed," Joshua realized. "I didn't realize...how draining that was..."

Joshua glanced down at his own chest. He was wrapped in a blanket, too. But...wait! He...he looked human again! There wasn't so much as a single drop of ooze on him!

"The fuck?" he muttered.

"I'll say," Esther nodded sagely. "I guess Julie finally made her move, huh?"

"Uh..." Joshua's eyes darted away. "Yeah. I...guess so. You...saw us, huh?"

"Unfortunately," she sighed. "But you did save everyone's lives, so...I guess that's a small price to pay."

Joshua glanced upwards. The moon had sunken beyond the treeline, and the first rays of the sun were cresting over the other edge of the horizon. They...they had really done it. They had saved everyone. Even the slavers!

"Nn," Julie stirred, eyes opening and glancing around. She sat up, clutching her blanket to her chest. "Joshua? Esther?"

"Good morning," Esther giggled. "You did it, Julie."

"Ah." Julie's cheeks flushed, and her voice returned to a monotone. "I see. That's...good."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the three of them, broken up by the distant sounds of hooting owls and rustling leaves. Two of the freed men returned to the camp, carrying an unconscious slaver by his arms and feet. They swung their cargo backwards, and chucked him onto a growing pile of the defeated marauders.

"That's ten," one of them sighed. "Not sure where the last two are."

"South," Julie and Joshua replied simultaneously, sharing a glance with each other. They blinked at each other, and the corners of their lips twitched up a little.

"Well," Esther sighed, pushing herself to her feet. "I have a mountain of questions, but you two need to rest."

"We should help-" Julie started.

"Nope," Esther frowned, crossing her arms and looking down at the older woman with a firm gaze. "You're going to stay right there and rest."

Julie hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Esther's stern expression broke into an excited grin.

"We've been cooped up in there all day," she said, crossing her arms above her head. "We're all eager to stretch our legs, you know? Now, you two just rest there. We'll throw these sacks o' crap into their own damn cages, tie them up, and bring em' back to town with us. I'll go see if I can find you some more blankets."

With a wave, she left, leaving the pair to look at each other.

"Well," Joshua hummed, "I guess we did it."

"Yes," Julie nodded.

The silence threatened to turn awkward. Joshua's eyes avoided hers as he searched for something to say.

"Thank you," he eventually decided on. "For...stopping me. It...would have been a mistake. To kill them."

"You are welcome," she smiled. "I am glad that we succeeded."

"So..." Joshua coughed. "Now what?"

"I don't know," Julie said, lying back down. "But the stars are beautiful, tonight. Let's just watch them for a while."

He cocked his head upwards. There it was - that sense of wonder had felt earlier, looking at Julie's eyes. He smiled and lay back, crossing his arms behind him and cradling his head. There was a lot to think about. What was his relationship with Julie going to be from now on? How was the town going to react when everyone learned that a monster had been living among them for years? How would they react when they learned that the same monster was responsible for saving everyone's lives?

How was his own life going to change? He may have looked like a normal human at the moment, but he knew that was a monster to the core, now. He could feel the potential power inside him, exhausted as he was. Once he recovered from all this, he knew that he could shift his form again - if he wished to. Did he wish to?

He wasn't sure. Sure, being a rampaging monster was fun, but it was terrifying. He had almost lost himself!

And...doing whatever he had done with Julie, back in the cave. That was great fun, but...

He stifled a sigh. All of these thoughts could wait. He had earned this moment of respite; the time for reflection would come later. His eyes drifted upwards, tracing out the familiar constellations.

...the stars really were beautiful.

********************

Not long after, everyone returned to town, the slavers waking up inside their own cages. Esther held the door open to her home for her brother, giggling as Julie stumbled after him. The pair went to the far bedroom - Joshua's - and immediately collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep on top of each other, far too exhausted to be concerned about their nudity.

Many hours after that, Joshua woke up alone. A pile of clean clothing was waiting for him on the edge of his bed, which he changed into. Having clothes on again felt...redundant. His entire body could change to meet his whims, now, so what use were clothes? Recalling his sister's mortified expression from earlier, he decided that it would be best to comply, at least for her sake. Besides, he wasn't quite ready to go full nudist.

But where was Julie? And for that matter, how long had he slept? Was it even the same day?

Dressed in a clean, olive-green shirt, he pressed his bedroom door opened and glanced around. Something from the kitchen smelled appetizing - cooked meat?

His stomach grumbled, as if on cue. Gods, how long had it been since he had eaten?

Flexing his shoulders, he stepped into the kitchen. He felt surprisingly good, even if there were still a few dull aches in his back.

"There's hero number two," his sister greeted without looking up, her attention concentrated on preparing some kind of stew in a cooking pot. "Sleep well?"

"Shockingly well," he admitted.

Julie was in the kitchen, as well, sitting at their small dining table. She was still in her human guise, her tail, horns, and wings all absent. She was dressed in a simple black sweater and skirt, her usual clothing when she pretended to be human. She must have gone and fetched it from her room in the herbalist's attic. However, she had not tied her hair up in her usual ponytail, leaving it hanging freely.

Julie offered him a nod and a small smile, which he returned. She looked good as a human. He had always thought that she was rather pretty, but now...

He had to force himself to look away. There were still things he needed to address before he could think about her like that.

"How long were we out?" he asked. "What happened to the marauders?"

"About eight hours," Julie answered softly. "A group of the villagers are escorting the slavers north in their own cages, to a military fort. The army can deal with them, after that."

"I'm surprised that people went for that," Joshua admitted. "I thought the village would be out for blood."

"Oh, they were," Esther hummed, stirring the stew with a wooden ladle. "But I managed to convince the elder to talk them down. In the end, they settled for a few thrown tomatoes and a couple kicks in the ribs."

"They deserve worse," Joshua said, moving to sit down across from Julie.

"That's not a good way to think, brother," Esther chided. "But they're going to get their fair share of punishment. If the military doesn't hang them, they'll likely be thrown in the labor camps. That's good, I think. Make 'em contribute to the world that they tried to spoil, right?"

"I guess," he shrugged, dropping the issue. "What else? How did the town react when they learned about Julie?"

"They haven't learned about it," Esther corrected. "Not yet. I had all the freed prisoners swear not to talk about it until tonight."

"Why tonight?" he asked.

"The town is going to celebrate," Julie explained. "And you and I are the guests of honor. I am...going to reveal my secret, tonight."

Esther stuck a spoon into the stew and blew on it gently, taking an experimental taste. Nodding with satisfaction, she turned her attention towards the pair for a moment.

"So when did you two, um...hook up?" she asked, tilting her head.

Joshua's lips tightened, and he said nothing.

"Um," Julie mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers and interlocking them, "I do not...know if we have."

"Huh?" Esther blinked. "But you told me that you've had your eyes on Josh for months! And you had to have married him by now, right? Didn't you say you couldn't use your powers without a husband?"

"Um, I..." Julie stuttered. "It is, um...that is-"

"It's complicated," Joshua interrupted.

Esther blinked at them, then her face curled up into a wince.

"Ooh..." she cringed. "Um, you know, I think the stew needs to simmer for a minute, I think I'll go take a quick walk..."

She slipped out of the kitchen before either of them could say a word.

The kitchen was silent for a minute, filled only with the sound of the bubbling pot of stew. Where to even start with this?

"Joshua?" Julie asked, head hung low. "Do you...hate me?"

"Look," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just...need some time. To process all of this, you know? This is the first chance I've had to actually sit down and think for hours."

Julie's eyes shone up at him. Joshua drifted into her gaze briefly, then darted away.

"I promise that I don't hate you," he said, shaking his head. "I just...I can't be around you right now. I need to go think. Alone."

Her eyes trembled, as she looked him, body frozen. Gods, he almost broke right there.

He wanted to rush over, to embrace her and assure her that it was all okay, but he couldn't. Not yet.

"Okay," she breathed, bobbing her head in a nod. "Do you want...should I leave?"

"No, stay and help Esther if you want," he said. "I'm going to go for a walk."

Joshua moved to exit his home, but paused and gripped the door frame.

"I'll..." he started. He glanced back, but avoided making eye contact with her. "I'll come back soon, alright?"

"Bye," he added, shutting the door before she could get a word in.

Joshua sighed once more, and started moving. He didn't know where he was going yet, but he knew where he would end up.

********************

Joshua stuck to the outskirts of Brunswick, not wanting to be near people who would make him deal with their questions and curious looks. Wandering around with his hands in his pockets, he sighed intermittently, and occasionally paused to kick some dust around. Every time he did so, he silently cursed himself. He said he had come out here to think, so why wasn't he?

His brain wasn't cooperating.

He wasn't certain how long he wandered around, but it couldn't have been more than an hour. And in the end, his predictions proved correct - he ended up at the roof of the town library. The library was a large, red-brick building that saw a lot of traffic from the populace of Brunswick. For a little village in the middle of the forest, it certainly had an above-average library, stocked with hundreds of almanacs, novels, and educational books.

Thing was, nobody ever came to the roof. Joshua never understood why, it was a perfectly suitable place to read. Perhaps it was because the stairs to the roof were partially hidden by the bookcases? Anyway, seeing as how nobody ever came there, the building's owners had decided to convert the roof into a garden. Nowadays, it was lined with plant pots and garden boxes, full of herbs, flowers, and easy-to-grow vegetables.

It was comfortable up here. The air flowed more freely on the roof of the three-story building, creating a soothing atmosphere. Crouching down on the roof, the plants poking out over his head - it was like a miniature forest. It was a microcosm that mimicked the safety that Brunswick offered, an oasis in the middle of the woods. And while the actual forest was also a nice place, it had a few too many dangerous predators for him to completely zone out and relax in.

As Joshua lay down in-between the garden boxes, eyes shaded from the sun's rays, his mind finally allowed itself to wander. And of course, the topic of the day was Julie.

Julie...just how did he feel about her? What did he feel for her?

She had kidnapped him. She had raped him, turned him into a monster. Whatever else he might have felt, he couldn't just ignore that.

"Might as well go over it piece by piece," he sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of his face.

She had kidnapped him, yes. But she had done so because she thought he was about to get himself killed. And he couldn't deny that his original plan of a fire attack had a high chance of failure. So really, there was a strong possibility that she had saved his life.

Okay, he could let the whole kidnapping thing go, at least. This wasn't so hard...

The next part was more difficult. He understood now that Julie had already been in love with him, and her succubus nature had been inflamed by the effects of the full moon. She had tried to hold her desires back, but ultimately failed. She had even apologized for forcing herself on him! But in a way, she had used sex to sedate him, preventing him from fleeing into the woods and running into the slaver camp or a stray wolf. Again, a potentially life saving action.

He still felt terrible for acting the way he did towards someone that loved him. But...could he really be blamed for reacting the way he did? Surely, if they traded places, and she thought that he was a terrible monster planning to do something unspeakable, wouldn't she have screamed and tried to run?

He couldn't say.

But the truth of the matter was, in order to unlock her full powers, he would have had to have sex with her and be turned into a monster, one way or another, right? Now he understood what Julie had meant when she claimed that it had to happen.