Suddenly A Succubus

After sitting through Professor Luxnor's class, which dragged on much longer than Amara would have liked, she found herself with nothing to do for the rest of the day. Nick's Tuesday schedule was packed full, and he wouldn't be free until close to dinner. She thought about returning to her apartment to work on some homework, but being alone didn't sound all that appealing. Instead, she pulled up Chloé's number and shot her a text.

Amara: What's up? Still in classes?

Chloé: Nope! I just finished up lunch and I'm handing at home

Chloé: Hanging*

Amara: Can I come over? Got nothing going on

Chloé: That sounds awesome!

Chloé: I'll meet you at the entrance :)

Sighing in relief, Amara picked up the pace and made her way to her friend's place. Chloé was the only one of her friends that actually lived in a dorm, so the walk was pretty short. She did her best to enjoy the feel of the sun on her face, but its rays kept getting swept away by the cool autumn breeze. As happy as she was to be immune to the changing weather, she was still vaguely aware that it was getting colder.

As she approached the building, she saw her friend leaning against the wall in the main lobby. She moved closer, opened the door, and the two hiked back up to the third floor.

It felt like ages since Amara had been at Chloé's place. They used to hang out fairly regularly, but that tradition had been neglected in the chaos of Amara's transformation. Thankfully, the trepidation creeping at the edge of her thoughts vanished as soon as she stepped inside. Everything looked unchanged, as if nothing had happened over the last few months. It felt like stepping into a time capsule, a relic of a bygone age where Amara hadn't yet been swept up in demonic chaos.

Chloé led the way to her bedroom, then jumped on her bed and picked up her controller. She seemed to be in the middle of a game, and Amara happily let her start it up again while she made herself comfy next to her. After some careful rearranging of the stuffed animals on the bed, Amara ended up laying her head on a large plush shark while resting her feet in Chloé's lap.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Amara asked.

"Not much, to be honest. I've got a few things I'm waiting on for the charity, and I can't really do much until those finish up. Until then, the day is mine! I was probably just gonna play games, eat dinner at some point, nothing much." Chloé leaned back, resting against the wall as she talked.

Amara pulled out her phone, half-heartedly scrolling through various sites as she kept talking. "Hey, whatever happened with the guy you were into? Did you ever make a move?"

Chloé blushed, stammering for a few seconds before managing to speak. "N-no... nothing yet. We still talk somewhat regularly, but every time I try to say something, I freeze up!"

"Girl, you just gotta go for it! Put yourself out there!"

"We talked at the Halloween party! I almost asked him to dance, but I froze up and couldn't think of what to say. Plus, later I saw him dancing with some other girl, and she was super pretty..."

"So? I danced with a bunch of people, even kissed some, but I'm not dating any of them. There's a big difference between letting loose at a party and actually looking for a partner." Amara playfully jabbed Chloé with her foot, "And how many times do I have to tell you how cute you are? You can't keep comparing yourself to other girls like this!"

"Well, yeah, but... It's not..." Chloé buried her nose in her sweater, blushing profusely as she failed to think of anything to say. Amara was used to these kinds of pep talks, and she knew from experience that trying to push further wouldn't do any good. Instead, she decided to change the conversation and ask about the game she was playing.

Chloé's mood immediately shifted. She loved video games, and loved talking about them even more. The change in her demeanor was so drastic it was almost comical; no longer was she nervously trying to be part of the conversation, instead she charged ahead as she happily shared her passions with her friend. Last year, when they'd first started hanging out, she'd been nervous about oversharing and dominating the conversation, but Amara had eventually convinced her that she loved listening.

In Amara's opinion, everyone had a spark inside of them. A passion that burned bright, that could only be seen under the right conditions. Whether it was food, music, movies, or games, everyone had something that truly made them come alive. She loved to find that spark, to encourage people to share it, and she suspected that was one reason she felt drawn to photography. If she timed her shots well, if she asked the right questions, she was able to capture that joy and immortalize it in a picture.

Today, Chloé was playing a game about farming. She'd inherited a farm from her grandpa, and she had to get it up and running again while also getting to know the local townspeople. It was really cute, and at first Amara had thought it was an older game due to its pixelated graphics, but Chloé assured her it was purely an aesthetic choice.

After an hour or so of relaxing, with the girls talking about nothing in particular, Chloé's phone went off. She paused her game and grabbed her phone, then her eyes grew wide.

"Amara!"

"Everything okay?"

"It got delivered! Quick, we have to go see it!"

"That... doesn't exactly answer my question." Amara quickly moved her feet as Chloé jumped off the bed, running for her shoes. Confused, Amara joined her friend as she started down the hallway.

After a quick jog down the stairs, they left the building. Amara had expected this to be the end of the journey, but she didn't see any sort of package or delivery. Instead, Chloé kept walking. She was staring at her phone, frantically texting, and Amara had to steer her away from other students a few times as their mysterious journey continued. It took another ten minutes or so for Amara to realize where they were heading, and she did her best to steel her nerves.

The Jade Palace.

"Amara, look! There it is!" Chloé said excitedly.

With their destination now in sight, Amara finally saw what Chloé was so excited about. The Palace remained unchanged, its blackened walls a horrid reminder of her actions, but it was no longer alone. On the back of the lot, further away from the street, sat a massive green dumpster. Its metal was worn, the deep green paint clearly chipped in numerous places, and one of the shorter sides was designed with a latch. Amara watched as Chloé ran closer, undoing the hinge and pulling at the massive door. She was clearly struggling, and Amara ran in to help her out. She pulled the door open with ease, barely even registering its size.

"Thanks Amara!" Chloé said, gasping for air. "This thing is huge! It's just what we need!"

"What happens now?"

"We can begin cleanup! It's gonna take a lot of time, and we'll need a lot of help, but I already have that planned out. We can start recruiting volunteers now, designate specific cleaning hours so everything stays supervised, stuff like that. I just need to check in with some of the other members--"

Chloé continued talking, and after a few seconds Amara realized she was likely just talking to herself to keep her thoughts straight. Amara, instead, wandered closer to the burnt remains of the old party house, staring at all the destroyed lumber and drywall. She would definitely be needed to take pictures of the cleanup, that much was obvious, but it didn't feel like enough. She closed her eyes, a deep breath filling her lungs, and flinched as the embers from that night brushed across her face again. She heard the house groaning and snapping, threatening to collapse on top of her. Her claws squeezed tight, Vee's blood running down her--

No. That's not who I am.

She shook her head, pushing the memories away as she wiped a tear from her face. Another deep breath, this one shaking with worry, and she turned to her friend. "Why can't we start now?"

"What?" Chloé asked, her thought process interrupted by Amara's question.

"The cleanup. We're here, why can't we start now?"

"Oh! Well, we don't have any of the materials. Obviously we'll need protective gear; safety glasses, gloves, hardhats, all that, but we're also not dressed for it. Look at your clothes, you'd ruin them!" Chloé paused, looking at the remains of the Palace before continuing. "Plus, even if we had all that, I doubt I'm going to be much help. I lost a lot of muscle after I started hormones."

"Right, silly question. I guess I'm just... I want to help." Amara paused, moving closer to her friend and pulling her in for a hug. "You're a good person Chloé. Thanks for putting this together."

"You're already doing so much!" Chloé hugged back for a moment before pulling away. "Want to help put together a schedule?"

Amara laughed, then politely declined. With nothing else to do here, they picked up their things and began the walk back to campus. They continued talking about the charity efforts, Chloé sharing updates on what they could afford at the moment, and Amara explaining how they could structure their social media presence. Before leaving the lot completely, she turned back to look at the burned ruins, her thoughts lingering on the cleanup that was ready to begin.