[OOC: This post covers the rest of this interaction, since I'm taking over Eden's character for here on.]
But, as was the fate of many dreams, this paradise that Adel had constructed inevitably faded. T'was true that the meal was good: tailored to fit Eden's every whim. That much was not in doubt, for the girl ate heartily and happily, never assuming that Adel was anything more than a friendly caretaker. Yet, as she continued with her massage, my steward began to notice the negativity building inside of her chosen one. For now, Eden remained passive and accepting toward her advances, but for how long would that continue?
For this reason alone, Adel formulated a plan. For once in their encounter, she finally started thinking on how to finalize her claim; and so she grew silent until Eden had finished eating. The outburst that occurred shortly thereafter just happened to coincide with the end of that planning period; and thus we arrive at the end of Eden Silverstein's story.
The girl did not make it easy for Adel to court her in those final moments. Their emotions were already so thoroughly intertwined that every fleeting expression, every flippant thought passed from one head to another. Eden's shock over her change in appearance was no different, leading Adel to frown whilst adopting a consolatory tone and submissive stance.
"Nothing at all," she said while kneeling before the crying Eden after her sudden and erratic display. Adel helped the girl back to the bed she had just escaped afterward, carrying her as if she were nothing but a feather rather than a person. Then, with the same tenderness she had displayed that entire morning, she wiped away her bride's tears with a gentle hand and locked eyes with her."No matter what you look like on the outside, I still see the same Eden: beautiful, special and with just a sprinkle of sorrow mixed in."
That was the first time they kissed, much to Eden's surprise. Adel leaned in, stuck her tongue in Eden's mouth, and then backed off before she overstayed her welcome. The young Silverstein had little time to react to this development; for she was completely shocked that a girl would be romantically interested in her. She didn't realize that the act was the cause of her death; or rather the death of the girl she had once been.
Eden, up until that point, had been an ordinary woman with ordinary goals. She was born a girl and had been attracted to men for as long as she could remember. In fact, the only spice to her story was the fact that she had some wolf characteristics about her. Left alone, and even with that curse, she probably would have stayed in her village in Virens, gotten married to a hunter, had some kids and then settled down before dying of gods know what. Overall, a story like hers was never meant to be anything but mundane.
That changed the moment Nami and Katerina entered her life. The search for her family that followed led Eden into Adel's clutches, and, subsequently, the erasure of her former self. See, back when they were still flourishing on their home world, Adel's people had a tendency to ensure cooperation from their chosen mates via a form of personality override. This mechanism, which led to copious amounts of hatred being directed at Adel's race as a whole, was born out of the fact that, often times, the best mates were unwilling to become brides and husbands to a race that was seen more as monsters than people. Rather than risk a lack of suitable partners and the inevitable extinction derived from this world view, Adel, and people like her, would abduct mates irrespective of their family structures or situations and then forcibly alter their personalities. The end result was a perfect mate: someone who was intensely attracted to their kidnapper and more than willing to become a spouse.
Ironically, this practice was what led to the near extinction of Adel's people when it eventually caused the witch hunts. Yet it was so ingrained in their biology by the time of said extinction that the temptress continued its practice long after leaving her world. She used the personality override on Eden out of instinct, utilizing her saliva as the transfer mechanism. Reducing Eden's guard in order to allow that action was simply the plan she had devised earlier; and so everything had led up to that kiss.
Why? Because it was all that Adel needed to begin her mate's transformation. That kiss contained something similar to a love potion but on a level far more powerful than what Katerina had ingested months prior. It was already changing the second eldest daughter the moment she swallowed, making her into someone else. She could have avoided the transformation had she vomited in that instant to avoid ingesting the toxin, but Adel prevented this behavior via an eloquently devised speech.
"Oh, Eden," she said in her real voice. "You've lived your life always so focused on sadness, ever searching for the happiness that was right in front of you this entire time. I was looking for you; as I have been for so long to end your misery. For that, I want you to stay with me; to allow me to ensure you live your life with a smile on your face: the way you were always meant to."
And with that, her fate was sealed. Eden's body began to change, growing hotter and more sensitive as the transformation began. On some level, she was excited, but it was impossible to determine, by this point, whether said excitement came from her new personality or her old one. Physically, she fought against it. She started pulling away from Adel's embrace like a wounded animal; hobbling out toward what she thought was the way out.
"I'm sorry," the young woman apologized while getting up from the bed. "Thank you, Adel, but I really should get back to my sister in the mountains. She's waiting for me." Eden limped along, trying to get out, but soon found herself stopped by another image of her mysterious caretaker. The temptress's essence had already infiltrated her mind, and, unlike they had been with Katerina, these illusions were immensely strong. Two of them restrained the young woman from either side in the realm betwixt dreams and reality, causing her to stop while also supporting her leg. This was the point of no return; the time when Eden's personality faded in a glorious death wail.
In the end, however, it became apparent to Adel that Eden did not want what was coming. Up until the change took full effect, the young woman continued to fight the advance – albeit meekly. She might have been willing to experiment, true; yet she was definitely not madly in love nor willing to have sex so soon after meeting. These things were exactly what Adel wanted, though, so she had little choice in the matter.
Eden was redirected by the clones back to the bed before she could say yes or no, and was gradually stripped of her clothing by the real Adel. All the while, a clone stuck her tongue in the young woman's mouth, preventing her from speaking until the temptress had finished her address to the old, rapidly fading Silverstein.
"You are my soulmate, Eden," she began whilst undoing the girl's top. "I wish to spend my life with you: the same wish I've had for many long months. Don't you want the same?" Thus, the young woman finally broke. Young Eden did not particularly want the same, but the oncoming pressure was too much for her to resist anymore. Just before her old personality faded completely, she stopped kissing the clone and kissed the real Adel instead; sealing her destiny for better or worse.
There were no words beyond that point. Adel allowed her clones to disappear after she finished undressing herself and her mate; and then she approached Eden much like a man approaches a woman in the missionary position: tenderly but with more than a hint of predatory intent.
Before we get into those steamy bits, however, one characteristic of Adel's people is of particular importance to discuss. I've gone over how they find mates – what with the emotional frequencies and all that – but not the purpose of mating nor the mating ritual itself. For them, the purpose is the same as any other biological creature: to reproduce. Yet they are also unique in the fact that they are technically unisex and not bound to their own species.
A member of Adel's race – hereby referred to as dreamers – can mate with any member of any other race so long as they follow heterosexual protocol. If the mate is a male, for example, the dreamer will adopt female characteristics and carry the children of the family. After each birth, the dreamer will then get pregnant again and again until a sufficient number of dreamer offspring are born. They do this because neither a dreamer nor their mate will necessarily birth another dreamer with each pregnancy. In fact, it's random if the child's race will be that of either parent, so they must keep trying until the "biological quota" is met.
Because of this, it is a general rule that all mating rituals performed by dreamers produce enough semen and/or fertility agents to give a 100% impregnation rate. In Eden's case, that meant that Adel was not just going to have sex with her; she was going to make their first child. And in the case of female-to-female mating like was about to happen between the two women, the ritual was going to be a little more creative than usual.
Adel didn't follow the normal protocol of a dreamer, having long abandoned what was actually a cultural custom more than a biological necessity. So, when she started mating with Eden, she did not turn into a man like she might have years prior. She did, however, grow several phallic tendrils from her back, and used those to tease the young woman whilst they made out with intense passion. Adel and Eden were french kissing with reckless abandon as the tendrils snaked over both of their bodies, stimulating every area at once as more and more bodily fluids exchanged between them. No penetration had occurred just yet, though, at least not until both lovers had climaxed from foreplay alone.
Only then, and just as the tendrils approached the vulvas of both lovers, did the elder woman look softly into her partner's eyes. Their thoughts were intertwined, no longer needing vocalization, and so the silent affirmations were exchanged. Adel entered herself as well as Eden at that moment of ecstasy, producing an extremely strange sight filled with ecstatic moaning and screaming from both parties – the loudest of which came from Silverstein herself. She had been so thoroughly gorged on aphrodisiac by then that her sensitivity was through the roof. Even just losing her virginity made her scream in utmost pleasure, not to mention the many other instances that occurred thereafter. The only thing that silenced this banshee's wails was the locking of tongues that Adel quickly engaged her with, and so the two roamed each others' bodies with tender voracity as those tendrils pumped in and out of them.
This continued for several minutes as both hand and tentacle wriggled across goose-bump skin, producing squeals and moans at every stop. Eventually, Eden tried speaking to say how good it felt, but the words were gibberish. She was so high on pleasure that she couldn't express herself coherently anymore, and the next time she came was the first time that Adel pumped seed deep into her womb.
The mating didn't stop there, of course. Eden and Adel continuously climaxed for at least an hour altogether; and Adel kept ejaculating inside Eden each time an orgasm occurred. She was not like a normal man who could do so only once. Heavens no. In fact, eventually she filled the young woman so much that semen started seeping out, at which point the temptress made one final push into her mate. She removed the tendril after its movement elicited a final scream, but not before applying some temporary webbing over the girl's cervix to keep her seed from flowing out.
Eden passed out from this effort, her body thoroughly covered in sweat and other juices by then. She was now definitely pregnant, and Adel was left breathing heavily at her side.
~Don't worry, Eden.~ She said while retracting her tendrils in the afterglow. ~You've lasted through the first mating and will feel back to normal after you rest. From now until the end of our days, we are together. My happiness is yours, and I look forward to our firstborn as well as our impending marriage.~
Yes, marriage, for Eden's fate was could not be broken. Even if someone tried to "rescue" her after the mating – and even if that someone had been a former husband – she would relentlessly defend the last dreamer over siding with them. This new Eden, this Eden Yamauchi as she would soon be called, was completely devoted to her fiancé, even though she still retained bits and pieces of her memory and personality from before she felt that way. Anyone who tried to separate her from Adel would be met with fierce resistance, just as Adel would always protect her.
But for the moment, and as a sweet aside, Adel snuggled up to her sleeping partner and joined her in blissful slumber.
