It was exactly as she remembered. At first, anyway. Madison's heart skipped as Lucia's lips pressed against hers. A tender gesture, a soft affirmation of her desire. A delicate kiss that eased the witch's suffering, melting away the hours of unspeakable horror the two women were dragged through in the war against Titanius. And then, it was as if something inside the priestess snapped. Madison's eyes shot open in surprise as Lucia threw herself into the embrace, catching her off-guard. A jolt of pain shot up her wrist as the woman's grip on her hand tightened. Her chest throbbed from being squeezed. Lucia pinned her to the boat. She was helpless. She was frightened. This was all so sudden. And yet... so enjoyable. Madison closed her eyes and took a sharp breath as Lucia bit down on her lip. A wave of desire, of need washed over her. As the priestess's tongue explored the inside of her mouth, Madison opened herself up to give the woman more room. With her free hand, she reached for Lucia's neck, her fingernails pressing into her skin as they gently raked across her flesh. She had lost herself in the unexpected intensity of the moment. Her breathing was growing shallower, more ragged. She wrapped her leg around Lucia, pulling her in closer, badly craving the feel of the woman's soft body as she writhed on top of her. Her free hand tangled in the mess of the priestess's black hair, pulling it softly. A fire burned hot in her chest. Whether it was lust or panic, Madison didn't know. Nor did she care. What truly mattered was that Lucia accepted her gift. For that, she was eternally thankful. A gentle moan escaped her lips as she pulled Lucia's away from her. Madison stared into the woman's eyes for the briefest of moments before she thrust herself forward, pressing her mouth into the woman's own, her tongue dancing across Lucia's lips and exploring the depths of her mouth before moving on. Madison delicately kissed the woman's cheek as she moved down towards her neck, inch by inch, pulling her head back to expose more of the woman's tender flesh. The witch gave Lucia's hand a quick squeeze as she gave her a teasing kiss. Then, her heart pounding in her ears, she softly bit down on her skin, holding it for a brief second before releasing it with a second, softer (and more apologetic) kiss. I'm fine, Madison thought to herself, for once believing the words as they floated around in her mind.
With Madison being a bit more forceful, Lucia bit her lip, a coy grin on her face as the woman bit her neck and lip, matching her smooth tongue movements when their lips met, she enjoyed Madison's attention well. Though it was after the soft apologetic kiss that Lucia exhaled a sigh, after all, at the end of the day Lucia did see herself as more of the aggressive one. When others pushed back she often felt the need to confront them and push back, but Madison was still adjusting, still trying to understand thoughts and feelings like this. Lucia didn't want to spook her by escalating too much. Her hesitation showed, briefly she stammered in silence, unsure of how to respond, finally she couldn't help the desire in her that had welled up. A wet moist tongue slid out licking at Madison's lips slowly, rounding them idly before sliding down her neck, licking and kissing, farther and farther down to her collar and collar bone. Without teeth, just lips and tongue, she enjoyed Madison's skin the taste, the texture, sliding even further down the neck of the woman's shirt to her cleavage. Lucia's tongue met with the sides of Madison's soft chest, still hugging her tightly affectionately. Once more feeling warm in the embrace of Madison's leg and arm, now if only she had both legs wrapped around her it would be perfect. Her licking continued on for quite a while until her cleavage was moist, there wasn't enough to dive deep into, but at least enough for her to enjoy. With a soft longing sigh she laid her head down on the softness of Madison's chest once more, her hand slipping up to rub and massage the other side as she relaxed. It was comforting, 'fine' was not an adequate word to describe Lucia's current feelings. These rare moments when she could forget herself, where she could focus on someone else was so rare and delightful. After enjoying Madison's skin-- at least what she could reach, a second longing sigh soon followed behind her first as she spoke in a hushed whisper. "It's a shame, I really wish I could have seen and tasted more. It's so pretty and soft, It would just be so perfect to have 'more'." She murmured, clearly not expecting Madison to hear, or even care. It was a selfish desire, it would have been a shameless request, one that Lucia refrained from asking, but for a brief moment, a flash of light shine din her eyes so brightly, so full of life and slender. In that brief moment, imagining such a thing, Lucia certainly felt glad she was alive.
Madison laid in the back of the boat, her arms wrapped tightly around the priestess. Her mind swimming with foreign thoughts, the sensation of Lucia's tongue dancing on her skin and exploring the curves of her chest lingering in her mind. She gazed up at the dark tsunami of clouds overhead, giving the woman a tight squeezing hug. A reminder that Lucia was there, and that this was not a dream. Her heart was finally slowing down and no longer threatening to explode. Madison practiced a few deep breathing exercises to try and relax. Breath in. Hold. Exhale. Breath in. Hold. Exhale. The fog in her mind was beginning to clear up, the brief wave of carnal desire that washed over her receding. All that was left was this quiet numbness as everything returned to normal. Madison felt like she was in control of herself again. She'd sort out her feelings about what was transpiring with her friend and mentor later. For now, she was truly content to lie there, holding on tight, nothing interrupting them but the rocking of the boat and the soft paddling of the water as the shadow-clad wraith continued rowing. As she began to close her eyes, Madison heard a soft whisper. More. She wanted more. ...Anything you wish, Lucia. Madison softly offered a hushed apology as she began to sit up, disturbing the priestess from her preferred place of rest. As she rose, Lucia moved off her, propping herself up, that same warm, wanting smile etched on her face. The plagueslinger couldn't help herself as she raised her hand up, lightly caressing the back of Lucia's neck once more as the look she wore began to fade. Anything.... for you. She closed her eyes as she reached for the hem of her tunic. Her hands shaking almost imperceptibly, she began to peel the dark olive green garment off. Inch by inch she revealed herself, her breath catching in her throat as she drew closer to her chest. Madison absolutely hated herself in real life. She hated how she looked, how angular and scrawny she was. How pale and marked her skin was. When she designed her avatar for Terrasphere, she set all of the sliders for her physical form to "modest". That way--she hoped, at least--she'd have nothing to get jealous over. The first time she saw her virtual self in a mirror, she was immediately filled with embarrassment and self-loathing that she could never look as good when she took off the headset. No matter what, Madison tried to keep herself covered at all times, so she wouldn't have to look at herself and be reminded of her inadequacies in the real world. The woman steeled herself, exhaling deeply before she slid off the remainder of the tunic. As she tossed it aside, she locked eyes with the priestess. Her hands fumbled with the clasp on her bra for a moment before that too was discarded. Madison could only hold Lucia's gaze for a moment before the heat of shame colored her face. Her mind was consumed with the thought that Lucia would find her ugly and cast her aside. She wasn't sure if she could take it. More, the priestess had whispered. Well... If she didn't like what she saw, at least she got what she asked for. It was more than Madison had ever offered another living soul--in VR, or the real world. Reaching out for Lucia but still averting her gaze, Madison slowly pulled her back down on top of her, resting the woman's head on her exposed chest, trying desperately to dismiss the sinking feeling deep in her gut and hoping that Lucia would accept her even more.
Lucia was perplexed at first, discomforted by the movement. A soft and playful pout came to her, clearly and adorably displeased. Lucia enjoyed that place, her favorite spot was comfortable and soft. She enjoyed laying there, and being pushed back made her frown up until she noticed Madison's efforts. Her expression softening quickly into a gentle smile, after all how could she be bothered when Madison was going through such effort to make it more comfortable for her. When she was pulled back down, Madison would be able to feel the soft brush of her smooth cheek against her skin. The ticklish feeling of her hair brushing past her body. Lucia rested comfortably against Madison's chest, one hand idly playing with her pink chest on the opposite side. Comfort was clear on her face, safety equally clear. She was very happy it seemed, if Madison looked back for a second she'd find how happy Lucia was. After a short while of playing, it was clear Lucia was well relaxed. "Thank you." She'd finally murmur out sweetly. No real sappy words, nothing cheesy or intense. A very simple but very sweet thanks. Thanks for showing her, thanks for letting her enjoy it, thanks for just being herself even. Lucia was indeed thankful if this sweet gift, snuggling into her new place affectionately, a loving sigh occasionally coming from her lips when she stretched from time to time. If Madison ever got curious, or ever looked back at her, Lucia would flash her a bright and dazzling smile. Lucia didn't think she shined, clearly, but at times like this her expression was so immaculate and lively. "Madison's are nice..." She spoke firmly, suggesting that she would have been satified with them even if they were different, purely because they were 'Madison's'.
Thank you, Lucia had said. Thank you. ...For what, though? If anything, Madison should be thanking the woman instead. For drawing her out of her shell, for accepting her for who she was, physically, mentally, and emotionally. For having faith in her, for her unending kindness. A few errant thoughts lingered in the back of the witch's mind. Maybe this was all just a ruse. Maybe this was just a ploy to keep her involved with the development of Lucia's undead society. Because, hey, she didn't deserve to have someone be so nice to her in the real world; why should it be any different in a virtual one? That's what people do when shrouded by anonymity, right? Take advantage of others through avatars? It was something Madison knew well, having been on both sides of the equation in the past. It threatened to ruin the moment, to blanket her in darkness, to suffocate her. Madison looked down and caught Lucia, who looked so comfortable and happy, smiling back at her. And she dismissed the thoughts. Madison wrapped herself tighter around the priestess, giving her a reassuring hug that everything--that she was fine.
Lucia held onto Madison affectionately as the boat moved, content in her position, resting against the girl's soft chest. It was a comfort that she wouldn't trade for any other as she relaxed happily. It was a nice change of pace after the roller coaster ride of the event, but at the same time, Lucia flashed a small smile, knowing that it wouldn't last forever. Unlike Madison, Lucia had no disparaging thoughts about Madison, no doubts or second thoughts. It showed in her expression that was full of trust and faith. Though the reason was slightly unfortunate; no matter what Madison, what anyone tried to do to her, it couldn't be worse then leaving her alone. After a few blissful moments of skin to skin contact, Madison would suddenly see the rush of light from over head. As if suddenly exiting a dark tunnel the light was blindingly harsh and toxic, with no time to adjust, the bright sun in the sky beat down from above without mercy. The sounds around were peaceful, quiet, there was not a soul around for as far as the eye could see, it was clear that the river had dumped them out onto a real river somewhere else in the world. Rather then suddenly panicking and pulling away from the light though, Lucia grabbed hold of Madison firmly, gripping her body tightly to make it hard for them to separate. The reason was clear at least in Lucia's mind, Madison clearly had a hard time being seen, had a hard time accepting herself or just being satisfied with things as they were. She always seemed to have doubts, worries and the like, it came with having such transient and far reaching hope. Lucia gripped her tightly so Madison wouldn't be exposed, just to give the woman comfort that no one would be able to see her while her eyes adjusted. Even if no one was there, Lucia expected the assurance to be comforting. "It looks like our pleasant time is up... We should do it again though, in my tent maybe with a book, or in my sleeping bag if we go on a long trip. I fear things might be changing with the recent developments... So we should set some time aside to recharge right?" She asked with a gentle smile, though whether or not Madison could see her same plastic smile was unknown, she wasn't sure how quickly Madison's eyes would adjust. For Lucia, who didn't rely on them all the time to see in the first place, it wasn't as big a deal. "For now let's see how things go. If it gets too tough, I have a pet project we can start if the Ziggurat is too challenging a task at the start." Lucia offered, wanting Madison to be comfortable and have things to do with her time rather then twiddling thumbs without a clear goal in sight.
"--Ah gahd shet--" Madison didn't have the time to prepare for the return of the sun shining over Terra. She squinted her eyes shut as her arms shot up to block the harsh brightness from doing any more damage than it already had. It was a bit hard to do that without clobbering Lucia upside the head; but to her credit she did. Slowly, her eyes grew used to the light. But it was then she realized that she returned to Terra completely naked from the waist up. "Oh, fuck," she muttered in panic as she scrambled for a solution to her problem. Immediately sensing her panic, Lucia quickly moved to cover her up--which was nice and all, such a great friend and everything, but it presented her with a whole new set of issues. For example, she was completely pinned to the bottom of the boat, physically and emotionally uncomfortable. The witch's fingers grasped for her tunic, at the very least. The bra was well out of reach, but at long as she felt the cotton of her top, she could feel just a little bit of peace. It was then that the priestess commented on their current situation, lamenting its end but the promise of it continuing in the future. "Yeah," Madison replied, color returning to her cheeks as her mind began to wander towards the possibilities of a whole night spent in Lucia's arms. "That sounds lovely." She looked down, meeting the woman's eyes once more. "A vacation sounds great too," she added. "Gods know that after this fucking disaster, we all could use one." Shortly after, the woman began talking about the next step in her dream of completing the ziggurat, and brought up another potential side project. Madison hummed to herself. "I dunno," she wistfully said, flexing her fingers because that was the only part of her body she could move--the rest of it being held in place by Lucia's soft frame, naturally. "I feel... somehow... stronger after today's battle. I can't explain it, but I feel like I could tear through the rituals I drew up for the ziggurat. But maybe that's something I still need to work the kinks out of. What was the other project you had in mind?"
Lucia only smiled, seeing how frantic Madison was, Lucia could understand, with a soft reassuring brush of her hand, she stroked the woman's hair tenderly as she tried reassuring her. "No one's here. Don't worry. Just wait a minute." She reassured. If Madison had faith in her, Lucia would lift a hand, with a few sharp gestures Madison would notice a ripple through the air, but not much else. She might be upset, even perplexed, but Lucia would only chuckle and stroke her hair a bit to calm her. "Illusion magic, in the eyes of outsiders we'll just be an idly floating log, nothing special." Lucia explained with a mellow chuckle, letting Madison know they were essentially invisible or cloaked as something else. For the pet project though, Lucia only slowly relaxed against Madison once more, letting the water carry them a bit further. With a soft sigh against the woman's soft chest, she buried herself in Madison's cleavage as if escaping the light before finally speaking through that valley. "I've been stressing for a long time about shining. I've given up, I won't be convinced, clearly." She explained bitterly but after another calming sigh, she glanced up at Madison resting her chin on her chest. "But, I have you. I have others. I can't be completely worthless if you're willing to stay with me-- to be so dedicated.... You are dedicated, right?" She asked, peaking at Madison's gaze a little self-consciously. A small smile on her face as she tried to continue. "I'm going to try and take a big step then-- If I can't shine brightly, then I'll try to rebuild until I can do 'something'." Lucia explained with a soft breath, her words a little hard to understand, she was clearly thinking of 'something' but having a hard time putting her words to the feelings. "I'll be counting on you to help me with that step, if you don't mind." She spoke with a soft mellow smile.
Madison still had a problem wrapping her mind around how Lucia firmly believed that she couldn't shine as brightly as she believed Madison could. Although, if she dwelt on it for too long, she'd realize how hypocritical it was--especially with how down on herself the witch constantly was. But she would stick by the woman as long as it took, no matter what it took, to get her to see the value in her own actions. "Fully dedicated," Madison affirmed with a sheepish smile. She ran a finger through Lucia's hair, from her temple down around her ear, brushing stray locks out of the way. "I'll be here for you no matter what." The conviction she put behind those words still felt odd to the woman, but she would not lie to the one who put so much faith in her and showed her so many new things. "I'm yours," she whispered, her voice as soft as the afternoon breeze. Madison wrapped both of her legs around Lucia, pulling her in closer and giving her a quick squeeze. It wasn't long before Maddy's voice returned to normal. "Inquiring minds must know, though. What do you mean by rebuild? And what do you mean by something?"
The bliss showed on Lucia's face the moment Madison wrapped her up once more. It was clear from her expression that this was the best way to comfort and relax Lucia, this was the type of position where she would smile brightly and relax fully. Where that sadness inside couldn't reach her and that loneliness of her reality didn't exist. Wrapped up with arms and legs she felt safe and protected from those tragedies. Though at Madison's question, Lucia's content eyes opened, sharpening briefly. "It will be a work in progress, but I'd been putting off the first step for a long time. I didn't feel it was something I could do-- That I was worthy of or capable of..." She spoke with a faint self-mocking tone. Clearly Lucia felt like she was destined to fail if she made an attempt at it alone, after all, Lucia herself couldn't be special, she often asserted that without hesitation. "With Madison though I'm sure it would work out." Lucia explained with a soft smile. In the end though she flashed a warm grin, knowing that she'd be punished a little with some pain and discomfort maybe even scars and disfigurement if she failed, but if she succeeded it would work out well. "I'm going to try and start the change to being an undead-- To see if I can have undead in my body and be fine... Not like Alice making me armor, but real undead attached to me. What do you think?" She asked wanting Madison's help to do some work in mad science.
Madison blinked. Once. Twice. "You want to be undead?" The witch tried to wrap her head around Lucia's request. It wasn't working. "W-wait, you want to become an actual undead? Like a resurrected corpse or something? I mean, from what I've gleaned from texts I've read, being undead isn't like a status effect, like poisoned or paralyzed or something. To become undead, you'd have to die and be raised by a necromancer--but you being a player, I'm not entirely sure how that would work because of the whole respawn thing... Like, would the necromancer have control of your corpse for a few minutes while the cooldown timer ticked away, and then you just spawn in your body but everything's restored to its original condition? Or--" She paused for a brief moment, a dull ache forming around her temples. "Or... do you mean a different kind of undead? Like a lich, with a phylactery and everything? You're certainly powerful enough to attain something like that, but then again with the whole respawn thing once you die and put your soul into an object. Or what about a vampire? I haven't read much on vampirism here in Terra, so I don't know if it'd be a curse or a disease... but in other games I've played, you don't actually die to become a vampire, so there would be very little risk of your avatar rejecting the process. It's a status effect with a bunch of benefits on top of all the weird and horrible shit it does to you." The pain wasn't going away. Madison tried to focus on Lucia's soft body pressed against hers and how good it made her feel. But it was too late--the gears were already turning. "But you said attached to you. Not like Alice, who can wrap herself around you and protect you, but actually sticking bits of undead to your body? Like grafting extra limbs to you, like some spooky--" She paused long enough to caress Lucia's face. "--A really, really pretty but still spooky Doc Oct or something?" Madison stammered for a moment while her imagination kicked into overdrive. The pain rose and rose into a dull roar. She raised a hand to massage her temples. It always happened whenever someone presented her with a problem that required the darkest, most creative solutions she could think of. "I-I-I suppose it would be possible," she finally said. "This is just me taking stabs in the dark without any real research to back it up, but I do suppose it could be done. Between the two of us, we have enough black magic knowledge and experience that animating extra limbs and attuning them to your unique biological signature shouldn't be a problem. I've been looking into tinkering, mostly for potions and shit; but I could also bolt the limb to your skeleton to give it some extra support, rather than having it flopping around in the breeze--I mean, are we talking actual human limbs here? Or are you thinking of getting a bit more creative? Anyway, if you're not cool with me sticking bits of metal into your spine, I could probably figure out a way to root the limb to you with some nature magic--" The witch went on and on and on, spinning plans off the top of her head, hypothesizing without any real research to back up her ideas, quietly hoping Lucia would tell her to just shut. up.
Lucia couldn't help a soft chuckle hearing Madison musing endlessly about the possibilities. Particularly the parts about using metal supports and the like, it was amusing to hear other people's theories about her potential. She couldn't help but feeling like she was being underestimated a twinge though, after all, this had been a plan that she'd had for a long while. Lucia had resolved herself to become an undead since long ago, ever since she first raised Sylvanas from the dead. Ever since the birth of the first 'Wight Knight' Lucia had mused and studied the potential of that type of fusion magic and it's usefulness in humans. After a bit of playful snickering she gave Madison's forehead a soft poke with a gentle finger to get her attention. "Madison, shut up~" She teased, giving the woman's chest an idle kiss, to make it clear she didn't mean so offensively or harshly. Instead she reclined against the woman's body still, resting her head against her soft chest as she continued on. "I've already worked out a lot of the kinks and practiced it on normal undead. We're just going to see if it works on the living too." She explained with a mellow smile. "If it does, then we'll have taken a slow first step towards a gradual change." Lucia explained patiently. "What I need you to do is make sure my health doesn't fall too low during it, and use some dark magic if you can. A nice healthy balance." Lucia explained with a small smile before that gentle poke turned into a soft rap on her forehead, drawing her hand back down to Madison's chest to keep giving her playful squeezes. "At any rate, I'll explain the details later once we get farther down river. I don't want to get up from here for a while... Maybe just 30 more minutes." She spoke with a tender tone settling in.
Madison felt a bit of color return to her cheeks. Oh gods, I've been rambling again, haven't I? She didn't take offense. The witch knew she had a problem learning when to shut up when she was having ideas. Not much could get her excited enough to talk off the top of her head at length; generally, she liked to keep it to one or two sentences unless she was threatening someone. But when someone approached her with a problem that needed solving? Hoo boy, watch out. And Lucia slowly beginning the process of becoming one of her undead? Definitely something that excited the plagueslinger. Madison fought the urge to talk more about the subject and ask for the details right then and there. "Sure, yeah, sorry," she apologized with a growing smile as Lucia's hand returned to her exposed breast, giving it a quick squeeze. Maddy winced slightly, still growing accustomed to the gesture but enjoying it nonetheless. The witch tried her best to relax, her back against the floor of the boat, arms and legs wrapped tightly around the priestess. She shifted around just an inch or two to allow Lucia to become more comfortable, giving the woman a little more room to wiggle around. Her right hand softly rubbed Lucia's back while her left slowly rested itself on the one cupped around her chest. Madison gave it a quick squeeze before pressing it against the curves of her body. As she held Lucia's hand, a quiet thought formed in her mind, a thought most scandalous--but it was quickly dismissed. After the hell that had been the past twelve hours, Madison was happy enough having the priestess lie in her arms.
