What We Do to Survive

Miranda was whistling cheerfully as she left the merchant’s lavish, two-story home, a sprig of coulgeit sticking out from between her ruby red lips. The scandalously short skirt of her brand new dress––a splendid and rather expensive gift––fluttered gently in the afternoon breeze and threatened to expose her lack of anything under it to passersby with every step.

She was limping slightly, but it was a good limp and would pass soon enough. The young man had been very enthusiastic and surprisingly skilled, and she felt both wonderfully full and fulfilled. She’d really lucked out. For such an easy victim––lured in with nothing but a bright smile and a flash of bare skin––he’d been much more experienced than she’d expected.

It had been far too long since she’d had a chance to feed properly. The vials that Orion provided for her were a wonderful substitute, and her current roommate meant that she was never lacking in enthusiastic companionship, but there was something special about watching a handsome man writhe in ecstasy as she drained his life and energy through his cock. Or a pretty young lady; she wasn’t picky, but those tended to be a little harder to hunt. Stupid overly-cautious prudes.

It was just getting too dangerous to feed within Avalon itself and the last few weeks of classes had left her with precious little time to hunt down men that wouldn’t be missed in Xethis. The stupid, frigid island with its stupid, black-haired homogeneous population made her usual strategies much harder. Pale blonde hair stood out like a spotlight and made her both memorable and unapproachable.

Sex on its own was fun, and good food was good food no matter if it came in a vial or out of a body, but the two together were always so much better. Plus, a single flavor––no matter how rich and decadent––grew old after a while of eating nothing but it. She’d almost been tempted to sample a bit of Leana, just a tiny taste––the other girl wouldn’t even notice––if only to break up the monotony.

However, even without the oath she’d sworn to Orion, she wasn’t that stupid. She knew now that her master did care for her, in that horrible, terrifying way Orion cared about anyone at all, but she also knew that his feelings for her were greatly overshadowed by his all-consuming, dominating, possessive love for Leana. If Orion thought for a single moment that she’d done something, anything, to hurt his friend, she would spend the rest of her very short life in agony.

No, she loved living far too much to ever consider pissing off Orion. Not that she could consider angering her master, her soul utterly rejecting the mere notion of doing so. Orion was her lord and god. She could no more wish him harm than she could stop the tides.

Miranda let those useless thoughts drift out of her mind like leaves in a fall breeze. Years of living with the original, amateurish binding Orion had used on her had quickly taught her how to avoid thinking dangerous thoughts. Even though her new binding no longer caused her pain whenever she so much as considered doing something foolish, it was still better not to let her mind move in those directions.

It was much better to instead think about her wonderful evening, night, and rather late morning. Gulivinian men tended to be on the shorter side, but her prey had more than made up for it with size in other places and some wonderful muscles. He was hung like a horse and, unlike far too many young mages with shapeshifted cocks, knew exactly how to use it. Size was no substitute for proper technique, but both together were a rare joy. All in all, the man had been an utter delight––so strong and eager to please.

It was a shame that their night together would have to stay a one-time thing, but a single mundane man, no matter how fit, just didn’t have enough lifeforce to survive a second night with her. Even the fun they’d had this morning had been pushing it––the merchant would find himself tiring easily and requiring more food and sleep than usual in the coming months until his body and soul recovered. Perhaps if she ever returned to this city in the coming years she might have to find him again, but until then she would have to find a new meal ticket.

Miranda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her belly was full, the sun was pleasantly warm on her face, and her mouth felt wonderfully cool and fresh. Finding freshly picked coulgeit herbs at the market had just made this already lovely day even better. The unpleasant, lingering taste of the merchant’s seed was all but gone after just a few minutes of chewing on the bright green leaves. Manaless cum was better than choking down human food, but it was still rather unpleasant. She’d have to make sure to buy some more later and ask Orion to put it in stasis for her––the dried stuff was just no substitute.

Glancing up at the sun, she judged that it was about two in the afternoon. The exact time didn’t matter too much––she had nowhere she needed to be today and could take her time––but it was good to know that she still had a few hours of daylight left. That gave her plenty of time to take care of some important tasks and then find a nice bar or club for her evening hunt.

Hopefully this time she’d be able to find someone who wouldn’t be missed. As much as she’d grown used to leaving her victims alive after feeding on them, it was so much more satisfying––and productive––to drain her toys dry. She’d thought she’d found someone like that last time––he’d checked most of the boxes––but the man was just a little too affluent to just disappear. She was glad he’d told her about his two maids before she turned him into a withered husk.

If she was lucky, maybe she would stumble on a young mage. Mages were always so much tastier than regular humans. She was unlikely to find someone as mind-blowingly delicious as Orion’s cow’s, or even Leana’s weirdly pleasant juices, but it was so much nicer to blow a man when their cum didn’t taste like ash or sawdust. Plus, draining even a weak baby mage would do a lot of good for her own magic. Maybe she’d even be able to impress Orion during their next joint training session!

She wandered down the street for several more minutes, just enjoying the fine weather and the lovely buzz of decadent lifeforce swirling in her belly. Then with a sigh she pulled herself together, made sure her illusionary veil and magical defenses were all still in place, and dug out the list of realtors she and Camille had put together over the past few days. Orion had told her to enjoy herself, but she understood that work should still take priority over pleasure. As much as she’d like to go find a new target, finding a home for Orion’s friend was much more important. And anyway, she’d already had lunch. Dinner could wait till after the sun set and business hours had ended.

She frowned slightly as a flash of discomfort followed that thought. For all the Orion was clearly intending to find Leana a new home somewhere in the Gulivine Republic, she wasn’t totally certain that that was what he actually wanted. It was rather…atypical of Orion to let something he cared about so much out of his direct control. It would be fine for a few months while the portal was still in the country, but Miranda didn’t think that her master had fully realized what it would mean for when Avalon moved on.

The girl was very important to her master. More important than she was, certainly. More important than any of Orion’s slaves were. Her bond with him made that very clear.

Still, Orion had commanded that they find Leana a new home, and it was not her place to question a direct order from her master. She’d have to make sure to bring up her concerns the next time they spoke, but until then her course of action was clear. Miranda had never gone shopping for real estate before, but how hard could it really be?

Really fucking hard, apparently. Four hours later Miranda had made far less progress in her task than she’d either hoped or expected. Hopefully Camille was having more luck than she was, because she’d found a grand total of one property that even loosely fit Orion’s requirements, and the quaint little cottage was way more expensive than she found at all reasonable. Sure the view was nice and the location was excellent, but she was absolutely certain that she was getting brutally scalped by the sleazy bitch who’d shown her the place.

In hindsight, perhaps Miranda could have gone about things slightly better. Gulivane was a nation with strong traditions and a culture she wasn’t nearly as familiar with as she’d like. Sure she’d studied the major pitfalls ahead of time, but that sort of high level approach always missed things.

She had felt rather talked down to the entire time she’d spent with both of the salespeople she’d met with today, a clear sign that they weren’t taking her very seriously. She’d even gotten the impression from the first man that he didn’t particularly want to sell her anything––a rather strange trait to find in a merchant.

Perhaps when she went to meet with the next group she should try something a little more formal. The dress she was wearing was rather lovely, but the looks she was getting on the streets were telling her that its style had a less-than flattering meaning around here. Her opinions of her last night’s victim soured slightly. Sure he’d basically been bribing her to sleep with him, but it was still rude.

Maybe something a little more concealing, along with some of the more expensive, obviously-magical jewelry she’d accumulated over the years. And with her Avalon token on display. Miranda rarely flaunted her magical abilities––intimidated men were less likely to invite her to bed––but as a mage nearing the fourth circle, her magical strength exceeded something like ninety-nine percent of the population.

She’d probably still be discriminated against as a foreigner, but this way she’d look more like a foreign mage and less like an expensive, exotic prostitute. Sure she kind of was an expensive prostitute, or in some cases a rather cheap prostitute if the man was handsome enough, but it was still a demeaning stereotype. She wasn’t ashamed of her body, nor her appetite, but she’d gotten kicked out of or barred from far too many establishments to not be a little annoyed by it all.

Well, no matter. Like Orion always said, today’s failures were merely a learning opportunity to pave the way for future successes. Well, as long as today’s failures didn’t kill you. That was always an important caveat with him. Failure was acceptable in training, never in practice.

Miranda walked away from the unpleasant saleswoman without a backward glance. Mana pooled around her fingers and she swiftly shaped a well-practiced cleaning spell. Sweat and dust vanished, tiny wrinkles in her clothing were smoothed out, and a few stray hairs were brushed back into place.

Her sensitive hearing picked up a soft curse from the woman––ha, serves her right. Few people ever expected someone like her to be a mage. Even other mages were often fooled by her rudimentary mana-concealment skills combined with her outward appearance. It made hunting much easier, but sometimes, like today, it also backfired somewhat. Sometimes it was good to dress like a whore and be underestimated. Other times it got her kicked out of nice restaurants and was much less nice.

It also gave her plan for tomorrow more credence. Maybe she should even just go to a tailor and eat the cost of a dress in the local style. Or even better, convince tonight’s prey to buy her a nice dress. And maybe take her to the theater. This city had a bounty of high-class entertainment options that she was just itching to sample on some handsome man’s coin.

Now then, where to start. The place she’d gone last night was nice, but a bit poorer than she’d thought at first glance. She’d been taken in by the outer decor, but the patrons had all been moderately wealthy merchants, not nobles. She wanted someone yummy tonight. Someone who could really spoil her in every way that mattered.

An image flashed through her mind. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair and dark eyes that burned with intelligence and barely restrained power. She could feel his strong hands caressing her skin, sending fiery waves of pleasure right down to her core. The way he held her, the way he looked at her, his hands wrapped tightly around her slender neck as he––

Miranda bit down on the inside of her cheek, her fingers trembling slightly.

Someone blonde, she decided. And if they were a mage, no one stronger than second circle. She gave herself good odds against any non-Avalon mage at her own circle, but there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.