Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Before the Storm

Lorelei failed her exams the following morning. She barely got up in time for class in the first place, having spent the previous night following Theo to the Requisitions Depot, and saving him from a devious elf ‘lady of the night’. When she got home, she was so embarrassed after looking like a fool, that she practically cried herself to sleep.

Waking up proved taxing, in and of itself. Taking a shower, and strapping on her uniform was even more time consuming, and Lorelei felt no desire to hasten her pace. She arrived to class late, barely finished the exam with seconds to spare, and wasn’t surprised to learn the results. 

As soon as she was done, Lorelei returned to her dorm, threw off her clothes, and crawled under the sheets without saying another word. 

She buried herself under the mattress covers, and curled up in the fetal position. Her tail was the only appendage hanging out from underneath the comforter, limply reaching out to the floor. Her naked body shivered beneath the blankets, until enough heat had accumulated.

The thunder outside was rapturous, rain slamming hard against the window. It should've made for decent sleeping weather, and yet Lorelei could not rest easy. She rolled around, laying flat on her stomach while hugging one of her pillows close to her chest.

Now that she was free from any responsibilities, her mind drifted to Theo.

"Stupid man? So what if I didn't want some elf to sleep with you?” She spoke her thoughts out loud. She couldn't stop thinking, mainly about Theo, but also about her classwork, and how much of an idiot she must’ve seemed.

 When Lorelei finally did drift off to sleep, her dreams were no less turbulent. She suffered from nightmares of being chased through the quagmire of trench networks by a pack of cyberwolves. She could still smell the rancid scent of decaying flesh, and burning excrement, as her dreams carried her from one tunnel to the next.

Perhaps it was the thunder, but Lorelei could practically feel the earth beneath her feet groaning from the duress of Behemoths marching to the front line.

Eventually she ran into Theo, who had been standing in the center of the narrow channel without a thought, or care, in the world. He turned to face her, and put his hands up when she ran toward him, but he never defended himself. Instead, he simply watched as she past him by. She could hear him laughing, as if looking forward to the pack of ravenous cybernetic beasts. With each step she took, more and more of the wolves joined in the pursuit, and seemed to get closer.

When she woke up, Lorelei found herself drenched with sweat. Every nerve was tingling, every muscle burned with exhaustion. Her very nipples were stinging against the pillow she held tight to her chest. 

Along the floor, her tail twitched; its tip lolled back and forth, uninterested in anything around it. Lorelei had no idea how long she'd slept, but the storm outside hadn't stopped, and the day seemed almost over.

She groaned, feeling a new weight slither onto the mattress alongside her. Evidently, Marci had come home.

"Hey, wanna go out? Maybe have some fun for a change?" Marci asked her with a curious tone in her voice.

Lorelei poked her head out from underneath the covers. “No..." She ignored her growling stomach.

"But you've been in bed all day, come on Lori, let's let loose a little." 

Lorelei had forgotten to check her phone for some time, and reluctantly reached out to grab it. Her bare skin was given goosebumps as she reached out. She ignored Marci's prodding, but didn't feel like forcing her off the bed. Checking her messages, she noticed a new text from Lucy.

Wait how did she get my number? Lorelei nearly jumped out of her sheets, her hanging breasts swaying in the cool damp air, as she sat upright. Reading over the message, Lucy was asking if she still wanted to meet tonight. The woman had even suggested going to a new hot spot outside of campus.

"Hey Marci,” Lorelei looked over to her roommate, who just so happened to also be topless, and doing her nails. “Have you heard of the Sunset Glade?"

"You mean that Rave place?" Marci smirked.

"Shit," Lorelei fell back, her shoulders landing flat on the sheets.

"I'm game!” Marci let the lamplight gleam off her freshly painted nails. She had gone with a dark red, almost black, color that complimented her hair. “Come on, you can try out that new bustier I got you.” 

"Why did you get me that anyway?” Lorelei had been surprised to find the, rather salacious, collection of garments laid on on her sheets, not two days ago. 

"You hate your uniform, and I thought you might like a pick me up. Plus, I’m sure Theo would like it,” Marci shot her a naughty grin. 

Lorelei threw a pillow at the Lamia, as hard as she could. 

Marci laughed, almost dropping the small brush she was using.

"Have you decided to go on that expedition?" Lorelei asked, hoping to change the subject.

Marci mulled on that, "Only if you want to. I mean, Mike wants to go really bad, so I guess I'll tag along, but there’s no way I'm leaving you behind." 

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That was comforting, Lorelei supposed.

"Theo went to the depot last night," Lorelei sat back up, and leaned forward. Her tail wouldn’t stop fidgeting back and forth.

"So...you gonna go too?" Marci asked.

Lorelei thought on that for a moment. In truth, she wasn’t excited about venturing beyond the walls. She wasn’t terrified at the prospect, but would be happy to never set foot outside the protective wards again. She still couldn’t understand why Theo was obsessed about going out there. There was nothing to see, but wasteland and more wasteland. The poor guy would probably die out there, unless he had someone watching his back. 

“I guess, although I'm not excited by it,” Lorelei answered.

"Aren't you afraid?" Marci twirled around, leaning with one hand pressed against the mattress.

Lorelei shrugged, “It's not like I haven't seen it all before, and besides, the storm season's aren’t so bad this time of year.” 

Marci mused on that, a finger playing with a strand of dark hair. "So rave?" She asked with genuine excitement. 

"Sure, why not." As if on queue, the rain outside lessened, and starlight could be seen breaking through the clouds.

"Good! Also, I got some tasty vodka, so we can pregame!” The lamia slithered to the opposite end of the room, turning on a digital juke box, so that a delightful melody would resume.

Lorelei smiled, “Is it the kind with those little gold flakes?"

Marci smirked at that, reaching under her own bed, and pulling out a rather large clear bottle of liquid. The tiny sparkles of golden flakes swam in the fluid when she gave it a good shake. "You know it!"

 

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Lucy finished her cigarette, throwing the butt on the pavement as two newcomers approached her. The air was clear for the first time she could remember, each lungful of air like a cool balm in her lungs. 

The northern district of Setyrth was packed full of elves, and wolfkin, with only a few human denizens in sight. This late at night, only party goers, and pickpockets, were active. Lucy wore an alluring gown underneath her dress coat, a long silver dagger strapped to her thigh just in case one of the pickpockets dared to mark her as a target. So far they kept a wide berth.

Her phone was buzzing, no doubt from her employer, but she ignored it for now. It was already hard enough, gathering intel with an over eager micromanager constantly demanding one’s attention. There were some days when she regretting taking this job, then again, its not like she had anything against spying on a dirty Redever. Her shoulder ached just thinking about the succubus, a bitter memory from her time in the war. 

Seeing Lorelei, and her roommate finally approach, exiting from a taxi and clearly inebriated, Lucy studied them briefly before leading them down the stairway, and into a neighboring parking garage. She was surprised to find the Redever wearing a cream colored gown, over an accentuated white bustier with dandelions over each cup. The short skirt was complimented by dark black stockings. 

The lamia next to her wore a similar outfit, but without the gown. Her dark hair seemed luscious and shiny in the street light. 

Lucy sighed, she was hoping to lure the succubi out alone. 

Guiding the pair of them through the garage, they following the path until reaching a door marked ‘Access Restricted’. Lucy pressed her hand against it, and it slid open with a soft hum. The three girls were then ushered inside by a man in a cocktail suite. 

"This way," Lucy gestured for them to follow.

“Kind of a weird place for a rave?” Marci muttered.

“It’s invite only,” Lucy sighed. “Technically, I wouldn’t say it was one hundred percent legal. But don’t worry, underground clubs are always the most thrilling.”

Once inside, the rave was truly a madhouse. College aged men and women were packed amid a torrent of ambient sounds and smells. But Lorelei seemed to know that something was amiss when they noticed the tiny vials of liquor being passed around freely. 

Lucy smirked, tonight she was going to make sure she learned all of the Redever’s secrets, and the lamia’s too, while she was at it.

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