The Wolf’s Daughter

Phaedra nervously poked at the food on her plate. It wasn’t bad, though it was oddly sticky. The sauce reminded her a lot of honey and the main part of it seemed to be some kind of vegetable cooked down into a mash. Oddly sweet and savory.

It wasn’t bad, though. She still couldn’t help feeling nervous while she poked at it. Across from her, Yroth was sitting. For this meal she’d adopted her much smaller kobold form. Between the two of them, Dixxy was sitting. She was, likely, the source of the tension. She didn’t seem to notice it, though. Or she didn’t care. She just focused on nibbling her food, enjoying herself.

“You’re still angry,” Yroth said.

“Angry isn’t the right word,” Phaedra said.

“Then what is?” Yroth asked.

“Distrustful,” Phaedra finally said. “I guess. But… maybe… I don’t know… I want to trust you, but…”

“She didn’t kill me in the end,” Dixxy said.

Phaedra blinked and just glanced at her cousin. Of course, leave it to the underage demon to only look at that aspect of it. “Barely. I just… I need to know I can trust you,” she said, before looking to Yroth again. “I need to know I can depend on you. If we’re… you know…?”

“Is she going to be your queen?” Dixxy asked.

Phaedra blinked a few times and felt the red growing in her cheeks. She wondered if she was supposed to be the ‘king’ in that sense, which she definitely didn’t want to imagine. Then again, Dixxy might have meant she’d be the servant of Yroth and, nope, that just made her face get redder. She struggled desperately to stop her wool from poofing up in defense, but she couldn’t help it. It was even worse when she heard Yroth snickering at her growing embarrassment.

“We are doing what she calls ‘dates’,” Yroth said. “Not as in which day it is, but a time where we go out and we kiss. I sometimes stick my tongue down her throat.”

“YR-- DRAGON!” Phaedra screamed, her wool poofing out so much it shoved the table slightly and she only barely managed to stop herself from yelling her name. “She’s too young!”

“To know about kissing?” Yroth asked, cocking an eye. “She’s a succubus, I imagine she has done it by now.”

“Oh, a few times,” Dixxy said with a shrug.

“Nooooo…” Phaedra said before reaching a hand out to rest on her cousin’s shoulder. “Listen. Dixxy. If anyone ever tries to do anything more than kissing you, like asking you to take off—”

“I’VE HAD THE TALK!” Dixxy practically SCREAMED, her cheeks going almost as red as Phaedra’s and her wings sticking out straight in horror.

Yroth didn’t even TRY to suppress her laughter then, shaking her head and sliding another spoonful of the meal into her mouth.

“Well, if anyone ever tries, just let me know,” Phaedra said. “Not until you’re a century old. At least. Maybe two.”

Dixxy rolled her eyes, but stuck another spoonful into her mouth, talking around the food. “Okay mom,” she said.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Phaedra said before sighing and reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache stirring already. “I know you’ve had manners taught to you…”

“Uggggh,” Dixxy said, giving a low whine. “You know, I know your secret now. You should try and be cooler, not all about rules and boring things.”

Phaedra gave a shrug. “Well, I’m not sure what you expect from me.”

“I don’t know. What were humans like?” Dixxy asked. “What did you do with demons there?”

“We didn’t have demons back home,” Phaedra said. “Well. Okay, we had myths and stories about demons back home, but they weren’t there. And our stories were a lot different. Depending on where you went for them, some demons were fallen angels, others were fallen gods, others were just monsters that existed. But nothing like what we actually have here. All we really had were humans and like… animals. No dragons, no angels, no dryads, no demons, not even elves.”

“Really?” Dixxy asked, confusion on her face. “So… like… there was NOTHING but humans? Was… was that just… how it always was?”

“More or less,” Phaedra said with a shrug. “I heard that in like… a long, long, long time ago there were other humanoids that existed, but they died out many millenia ago.”

“Really? What happened to them?” Dixxy asked. “Was it some big, amazing war? How’d you wipe them out?”

“I mean, as far as I can tell, humanity just kind of slept with all of them,” Phaedra said with a shrug. “Mixed populations until we kind of had what became modern humans. In the end the thing we were best at was breeding with just about anything human-like. We were apparently very good at cooperation.” She took another bite of her food and, after a moment, realized they were both staring. She then gave a squeak and shook her head. “W-wait, no, that’s not, I mean, I saw a documentary about it, and it was, I mean, it’s not like we, I just—”

“So humans were just cubi?” Dixxy asked.

“N-no!” Phaedra said, her cheeks going even redder. “We don’t, we didn’t… it wasn’t… Stop looking at me like that!”

“It would explain quite a bit,” Yroth said, a hand moving up to her chin. “Lilith did often talk of you—”

“Lilith and I barely even held HANDS!” Phaedra yelled, her cheeks practically sizzling. “And this was like, hundreds of generations before I was born! Possibly thousands! There was a whole… thing! It’s not like humans were… were…” She trailed off and buried her face in her hands. “Oh stars…”

“What?” Yroth asked.

“I’m just wondering if this is why things like furries were so popular…” Phaedra said.

“Fur is pretty great,” Dixxy said. “A lot of my favorite forms have fur, but it’s probably the hardest part to do right.”

“Not… not the same,” Phaedra said. “How did we even get on this topic?”

“I was kissing you,” Yroth said.

“R-right,” Phaedra said. “Dragon, I just… I need to know I can trust you.”

“So you can trust me only if I don’t protect you?” Yroth asked.

“I can only trust you if you take what I think, and feel, in consideration,” Phaedra said. “If you try to ‘protect’ me from people I don’t want you to hurt, and you kill them? I can’t. Because, well… then you’ve killed them. I don’t need you to be my executioner. I need you to be my… friend. If you can’t, if you… if you’re going to just… decide what is and isn’t okay for me to be a part of, when it’s okay to just… kill people because they might be a threat… I don’t want that. I don’t need that.”

“And if they are a threat?” Yroth asked.

“Then please trust me to take care of myself,” Phaedra said. “Don’t kill the people I care about because you think they’re dangerous. I understand that can be asking a lot, I know that you see most of them as your greatest enemies. But… they’re not that for me. I think I can handle them.”

“And if that gets you killed?” Yroth asked.

“I’m trying my best to protect you from damage if that happens,” Phaedra said. “To protect you from getting hurt.”

“It is not your duty to protect everyone,” Yroth said softly.

“It is my fault if you get hurt,” Phaedra said.

Yroth gave a soft sigh and just stared at her. “Do you understand this is why I desire to protect you? You ask to carry the world on your shoulders… but then get so fiercely objective when someone tries to shield you from the consequences. There are many who will kill you should they find out. Or try. And that softness of yours will not protect you.”

“I know,” Phaedra said softly before glancing towards Dixxy. “But I think there are some things I can manage. I just need you to have a bit more faith in me. That I know what I’m doing. Please.”

Yroth gave a soft, exhausted sigh, before nodding. “I will… try. I cannot promise I will always be able to do it. But I will try to put a bit more… trust in you. In your… methods.”

“Thank you,” Phaedra said with a small smile. She let out a yelp when suddenly her chair was yanked to the side and then around the table, to Yroth’s side. She looked down at her chair and saw Yroth’s tail curled around one of the legs. “… I didn’t know your tail could be that long in this form.”

“I can do many things in any form,” Yroth said before taking another bite of her meal, her tail slowly curling around Phaedra’s waist. “As can you, actually. Your ability to access traits of both of your forms, even as a sheep, is quite impressive. Not to mention your ability to harness magic and even wound me. You are quite a bit more powerful than even I would have guessed.”

“Gib taught me well,” Phaedra said sheepishly, though she could feel her tail wagging a little bit and wished she could get it to stop.

“You’ve got a while to go, yet, Phaedra,” Yroth said. “But… you are powerful. Perhaps… with time and effort, you will even be able to achieve all of your dreams you crave so desperately.”

“Here’s hoping,” Phaedra said before leaning over against the dragon. “I hope you know I’m not trying to be difficult.”

“I imagine it just comes naturally to you,” Yroth said.

“Something like that,” Phaedra said before glancing at Dixxy. Or, at least, where Dixxy HAD been.

“Dixxy?” Phaedra called out. “Where did she—”

“She made a ‘gagging’ sound and then left,” Yroth said. “Around the time I coiled my tail around you. Few desire to watch their family experience—”

“NOPE!” Phaedra said, her cheeks going red again. “Just… just stop. I swear you’re as bad as Lilith sometimes.”

“Mmmmm… am I now,” Yroth asked. “Perhaps Lilith is as bad as me. Does this mean I am forgiven?”

Phaedra let out a little squeak when she felt Yroth’s claw sliding down her back, tugging at the wool as it went. She took a slow, deep breath. “Can I trust you?”

“I believe so,” Yroth said before leaning in to gently nibble her ear. “You are the most interesting sheep… but yes. I will try and do things your way, Phaedra… but…”

“But?” Phaedra asked.

“I will not just stand idly by while they kill you,” Yroth said. “I will trust you to control them where you can. But if they hold no mercy for you in their hearts and you cannot defeat them, I will not stand by and watch you die.”

Phaedra gulped and gave a small nod. “I… understand. That seems more than fair…” She moved a little and laid herself against Yroth’s side. “I’m sorry I’m so confusing and confused. I’m just doing this as it comes. I’m trying my best, I swear.”

“I know,” Yroth said. “This is a… strange situation. You are a strange creature. The effect you will have on this world I cannot yet say, but I think it will be intriguing to see. Who knows? Perhaps you will gain all you wish. But I would not expect all in your family to be so easily tamed.”

“I’m not sure any of them can be,” Phaedra said. “I’m definitely not sure I can do it. But I want to try. Speaking of taming things, I do need you to do something for me.”

“Mmmm?” Yroth asked.

“I need to leave for a bit,” Phaedra said. “Demon things. I’ll be giving some of my demons an ‘opportunity’, it seems, to get power and glory. If I leave Dixxy here, can you keep her safe?”

“You intend to go without me?” Yroth asked.

“Yes,” Phaedra said. “It’s a demon thing. Everyone saw you and me ‘fighting’, so if they think I depend on you fully, my position will weaken. For now, I have demons that follow me because I’m young and they think they’ll be able to get more notice. If they think I’m weak, they’ll either leave me or worse. The weaker I am, the more likely dad is going to come in and try to ‘save’ me.”

“Managing demons sounds like a truly frustrating experience,” Yroth said. “This is why dragons do not manage other dragons.”

“It’s not as different as you think,” Phaedra said. “You have more in common with some of your kobolds than I do with some of my demons. Can you keep her safe or do I need to bring her?”

Yroth was silent for a few moments, her wing moving out to wrap around the sheep. Finally, she nodded. “I will keep her safe.”

“Thank you,” Phaedra said before closing her eyes. “There’s another reason I need you here. Lilith.”

“She is close,” Yroth said.

“Exactly,” Phaedra said. “And if she’s close, she may try to contact you. I need you to tell her that it’s… not safe. But that it’s as safe as it can be.”

“And if she doesn’t believe me?” Yroth asked.

“I don’t know,” Phaedra said. “We’ll figure out something then. Because if she won’t believe you, she definitely won’t believe me.”

“I don’t know,” Yroth said. “She always did have a soft spot for you.”

“All of you did,” Phaedra said before shaking her head. “But it’s not quite the same. Not not, anyway.” She nestled into the wing. “I… have a soft spot for all of you, too. You know?”

“I know,” Yroth said in a soft, gentle voice. “There is plenty of time, Morgana. We will figure this out.”

“I hope so…” Phaedra mumbled before closing her eyes. There was still a lot of work to do today, but just resting for a little bit would, hopefully, do her good.

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