𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 犬夜叉 ♡ ; 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚡 𝚘𝚌

tainted primrose in the garden

Mei and the older woman sat across from eachother for what felt like an elongated moment of silence. Sipping her tea carefully out of the stone cup, she affixed her focus on the substance in the cup instead of looking up at the woman with her crystalline eyes.

Nervously, she turned her head upwards to the older woman who just smiled back. Her face was.. So young-looking, but her hands and neck said otherwise.

"You have such beautiful skin." Mei gazed in amazement, speaking what was supposed to be  buried in the back of her mind.

"Why thank you! Its been a long time since i've been complimented by another woman." the old lady giggled, covering her mouth with a dainty expression one might expect out of a courtesean.

"Luckily for you," she continued, "I am one of the newest members of this village. And quite a lucky one to be exact. My old village was burned to the ground by some vile thunder God or what you could call one to be a Demi-god."  She spat. Mei could hint the disgusted undertones leaving her lips as she spoke, but she didn't push her to explain further.

"A shame." she sucked her teeth, sipping on her tea between downturned lips. The tea that Mei was drinking relaxed her entire body, she even felt a tingling in her feet that nulled the surrounding pain as well. What a relief, she thought.

"But anyways, enough of my own life's quarrels," her lips turned upwards like a sneaky kitten who just came across a cooked piece of trout. "I'm sure you have many tales that could surpass mine by a long shot." Mei's body stiffened, what did she mean by that? The old woman's eyes peeled open and what Mei saw almost made her jump. They were no longer the warm, welcoming brown but instead a piercing dark-golden hue. Her iris sharp and pointed, seeping right through Mei as they continued to stare.

"Don't be afraid, my dear." how could she not be?! "I don't hurt other demons. Especially women. Had you have been a man," she poured herself another cup of tea, the smile never leaving her face, "That would have been an entirely different story."

Her reassurance eased Mei a very small amount. If she was not to harm her, then the very least she could do instead of escaping would be to shift her body. But- something was off.

"Huh?" she still had control of her upper body, but her lower body was stone-stiff! "W-what did you do to me?"

"Nothing, my dear." The old woman tugged at her bun, releasing her hair from its constraints. Long, silvery locks dropped all the way down her back, stopping just a few inches from the floor. Its tips transitioned from a silverish grey to a jet black, creeping its way up to the root of her scalp. Instantly, she looked Mei's age, just what was this sorcery she was performing?

"You honestly have nothing to fear. This is a demon refuge. Well, one of many that have littered the perimeter." she rested her face in her hands and Mei watched them transition from old, wrinkled, tanned hands to supple, pale hands. Her face blemished with dark purple markings across her cheeks and in between her eyebrows. When the woman took a breath, she felt like she had removed a weight from her shoulders. Now relaxed, she leaned over to Mei, brushing her cheek with an amused smile.

"Your mate has good taste. Had you not been accounted for I would have taken you under my wing as an apprentice." she cooed. Mei was visibly uncomfortable but too afraid to jolt back. Instead she swallowed her tongue and leaned forward back, resting her hands on the table between them.

"What is this magic that you've done?" Mei quizzed. "And what do you know of my mate?" The woman's lips curved in amusement again."

"My dear, your smell can be picked up miles away. We demons are just not worried about such small things as far as who we court to the bedroom. But he must be a selfish one," she pointed at her passion marks, circling the air to mimic its diameter spread across her collarbone. "He makes it apparent to anyone with a peering eye that you are spoken for. He must know that us demons like to share among the pack."