Exposition and Exposure

More of the tale of Max, our resident succubus. I'm not entirely sure where this is going to go, or if it will go further.

I could really use some input from you, dear readers. What questions do you have? What do you want to see?

Shopping, Showing, and Shoeing

Two jobs done, and Kevin finally decided it was time to introduce me around. I was going to a party, one with lots of people, none of them human. I thought that meant it was time to go shopping for some new clothes.

Kevin thought it was time to give me a primer on all things political. I agreed to listen to him if he agreed to come along shopping with me and give me his opinions.

The first thing I wanted was pants. Leather pants. Not those fake leather things that are barely more than thick and soft denim. I wanted the real deal. The kind of pants that a biker might wear, that would take a bad spill on the road without tearing off skin. That kind of thing. Black leather like a second skin. I asked Kevin what he thought, but his smell told me all I needed to know. I rubbed my hands over the pockets in back, the ones that drew just enough attention to my ass without painting a sign there.

“Things are a lot more old school among us than among the humans,” he told me as we walked through the lingerie department. I ran my fingers across bras of lace and satin, looking for something I could wear that wouldn't get in the way of my wings.

I'd gotten so used to keeping my wings wrapped around my chest that the opportunity to have them open and visible was kind of exciting. No more stretching when I woke up and when I went to bed, no more cramps as the day wore on.

“You have to be very careful,” he said. “They'll try to use you to further their own ends. It's just a non stop political game, everyone striving for an upper hand.”

I stopped and looked at him. “Who is 'they' anyway? Is there a general name for our kind?”

He shrugged. “You could call us monsters,” he said. “Or supernatural creatures. But there's really no other all encompassing term.”

“Why not? You said I was demon-kin. Are you demon-kin?”

He shook his head. “There are some demon kin. There are also angel kin. And there are fae, there are shifters. There are trolls and giants, monsters of all shapes and sizes. There's no one side, there's no one name.”

“Is there a biological term?”

Kevin laughed. “You turn any man you sleep with into a woman,” he said. “You're about five times stronger than your body should by all rights be. Do you really think science has anything to do with all this?

“Tonight, you're going to meet things that have been alive longer than there have been names for them, things that can do things you've never even imagined. You're going to meet creatures who defy all logic. You might even meet a god or two. There's no connection. No phylum or genus.”

“Wait a second,” I said, picking up a nice satin bra that I could probably fit around my wings. “Did you say gods?”

He nodded. “There are powers beyond your ken, Max.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to deal with that?”

Kevin shrugged. “That's up to you. Don't worry though. It's safe.”

That just made me laugh.

“Safe enough, anyway. That's the whole point. No one uses their abilities at these things. You're not allowed. It's all about peace and being polite.”

“Polite?”

“It's rude to force your will on others,” he said. “So we don't do that to one another.”

I took Kevin over to the shoe department. I definitely needed new boots.

My knees were weak looking at the options. Leather or suede, booties, ankle high, knee high and higher. Red and brown and black and white. Lace and zipper, strap and buckle. I almost didn't know where to start.

But that's a lie. Girls will say that they don't know where to start, but that's bullshit. It's not that we don't know where. It's that we're so excited to see them all. Where I start doesn't really matter. I wanted to try them all on, and I was going to make Kevin watch. I was going to make him give me his opinion, no matter how many times he insisted that he had been straight longer than I'd been alive, no matter how much he argued that he knows nothing of fashion. I could tell he was enjoying it, and I knew he wanted the opportunity to tell me all about what was going to happen that night.

“It's not an every man for himself situation either,” he said when I sent the salesman to the back room for the first set of boxes. “There's a lot of politics that goes on. Factions and families, clans, cabals, whatever. Lots of different sides with old scores to settle.”

The salesman brought out a pair of combat boots with spikes on the toes. They fit, but it looked a bit too obvious. The oxblood calf high boots looked good with the buckles, but as I put them on, I could only think of having someone's tongue sliding along the leather, getting tripped up on the straps. The pair with panels of suede had the same problem. I sent the salesman back for something else. Something more obviously and easily lick able. He flushed red when I told him that, and scampered off to do my bidding so fast I almost laughed at him.

Kevin was not so amused. But maybe he was a bit jealous. Who can say?

Once we were alone again, I went back to his old conversation. “So what are you saying? I have to be careful who I talk to?”

He nodded. “And what you say.”

“Am I supposed to just keep my mouth shut?”

He shook his head. “No, that won't work. They're going to want to talk to you. Do you have to pick shoes that are so... eye catching?”

I ran my hand up the calf skin leather that hugged my leg like it was afraid I was going to leave it behind. But from the second skin feel, from the way it curved up over my knee, from the curve of the heel; no way I was leaving this behind.

“They're gorgeous,” I said. “Look at them.”

He smiled. “I'm not arguing that. They're quite fetching. But you have to admit, they do draw attention.”

“Of course they do,” I said. “So do the pants. Takes attention away from my wings.”

“You really think that's going to be a problem?”

“Probably not. But given the experience I have with your kind – our kind, sorry. I just think that leather will be a good thing.”

“Why?”

“Peter wanted me to kick the living shit out of him. And besides, the more I wear leather, the more people seem to enjoy being near me.”

“You can smell it, can't you?”

I smiled.

“Do you control it, in any way?” I shook my head. “Good.”

“Because that would be rude.”

“Exactly.”

“I need to find a good top.” I looked at Kevin and gave him my most sinister, most sexy, and most dominant look. “You want to be a good boy and help me find something flattering that lets my wings breathe?”