Succubus

*Andy’s POV*

Feeling a draft round my nethers and back, I realized that my clothes had torn from manifesting. Fuck it, I refused to grab at my ass in front of everyone. Let them stare.

“Andy-“ Crow started.

“-I know already, dammit! It’s not like you’re wearing any clothes either.” Right after I turned into the guest room and sat cross-legged on the bed, I saw Crow’s hurt expression, and regretted being such a dick. I patted the bed next to me, and Crow jumped up, looking at me.

“Crow, has everything been fake? I mean, do you even like me?” I didn’t mean to, but my voice waivered a little at the end of the question. Crow-Bear had always kind of been my, like, little right-hand man, ever since we’d had him. The idea that maybe that had been some kind of illusion-

Crow jumped in my lap and then alligator rolled a few times into me before wrapping around my torso and making muffins into my back. It kind of hurt. “Ow!” I chuckled, and tried to extract his claws without displacing him from his comfy spot, happy to hear him purring.

“I’m demonstrating my love for you, Andy! It is, indeed, genuine. You are my father-figure, and I would gladly lay down my life to protect you. I am even willing to do the unspeakable, and be with you during this most uncomfortable of calls, even provide assistance. May I give you a bit of advice?” I pet his sleek fur and nodded. It was weird to think I couldn’t scratch his chin because he was talking, I would just be in the way. I could still scratch his little head, though.

“Juliet is very strong-willed, but she is a young being. As soon as she arrives, she will be overwhelmed by all the energy present, especially as she will not have fed from you, eh, you know, she won’t be ‘topped off.’ With Penemue and Sebastian in the room, and you and Oona in your present state, she will need to feed immediately on arrival, before she will be able to think clearly.” I shook my head.

“I really doubt that, Crow. I’ve never seen her go insane and lose her mind, I mean what are the odds, we’ve been together for-‘ Did my entire family interrupt as much as I did? Was this karma?

“-Andy, have you ever had Juliet excuse herself suddenly, insistently?”I nodded

“Of course, but everybody does that.” I rolled my eyes. Chicks get periods or whatever. It was girl stuff, right?

“Juliet’s reasons are different. Besides, how often have you seen her travel through an electric cable into a room you knew was full of supernatural beings?” I snorted and then decided to lightly poke my finger in his little, cute kitty-ear for being a smartass.

He batted at me. “Ugh, Andy, stop it! I put forward the following as advice: don’t deliver all you have to say over the phone. Perhaps just let her know that you have important news and need to talk to her in person, right away? We never know who’s listening. Then, you put me on the phone. She will recognize my voice. I’ll tell her to come, and that should be enough to convince her that something serious is afoot. That something major has changed, as it were. Once she's here, we can shove you at her and let her feed, to give her enough of a clear head that you two can talk.”

I thought about it. I honestly didn’t have a better plan. I took a second to think as I petted Crow.

I realized I trusted my cats. I trusted Oona.I wasn’t entirely sure what I thought about Grampy or Penamoo. I loved Grampy, and Oona seemed to trust him. I didn’t really know anything about Penamoo, other than being kind of uptight, but he had apparently saved our lives, so that was in his favor. I was still wary of both of them, though. Relatives or not, they definitely reeked of favoritism when it came to the whole angel versus demon thing. At least I hadn’t heard any fighting from the living room. Maybe if Jules came by, she could at least charm them into cooperating better than I could. I wasn’t in the mood to play peacemaker.

Right then, I only cared how I would make things right again, how I could possibly explain all of this to Juliet. How could I prove I loved her, that I still truly loved her, with all my heart, when I had-

Crow started licking at the hand I was holding the phone with, then stopped. “Andy, one thing at a time. Hold it together for the phone call, ok? You don’t want to alarm her, make Juliet think you are injured, right? She might attack everyone she sees when she gets here if you are in tears when you call. Be strong, my father. I am here for you.” He head-butted me in the chest, and I felt a little better.

I picked up my phone and checked the time. It was pretty late, Jules was probably just getting asleep, if not there already, and wondering why the fuck I hadn’t returned her calls the last few days. I took a deep breath, let it out a little too quickly, went to my favorites, and then called her.

J: “Buhbe?”

Oh man, I had woken her up. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. I leaned down a little so that Crow would be able to hear better from my lap.

A: “Hey sweets, were you asleep?”

J: (giggle) “Yeah. What have you been up to, I haven’t heard from you in days, you’re an asshole!”

A: “That’s what I called to talk about, and it’s actually important. Where are you right now?”

J: “What do you mean, some hotel in Miami? Are you ok baby, what happ-“

A: “I’m ok, I’m ok, hold on a second! Are you by an electric socket?”

(pause)

J: “Why?”

A: “I need to talk to you in person, it’s really important. But… I wanted to tell you something even more important before that. I love you, I love you with all my heart. Just remember that, ok?”

(pause)

J: “Andy… What the fuck is going on? Are you sure you’re ok? Do I need to fly back?”

A: (groans) “Hold on, I'm passing someone else the phone for just a sec, ok?”

J: “-Wait!”

C: “Juliet, it’s urgent.”

(long pause)

C: “Juliet, you need to pay Andy heed. There are a few guests here, and they are trustworthy.”

(pause)

J: “Honey, put Andy back on the line, please. I’m not mad.”

A: “It’s Andy, Jules. Will you come?”

J: “I need to get dressed. See you soon.”

A: “Just remember that I love you.”

J: “You too, troublemaker.”

I looked at the phone for a second. Crow knocked me out of my momentary fugue. “Quickly, Andy! Go get some suitable clothes on and be ready to throw yourself at Juliet, whatever outlet she pops out of. Unless you want to watch her make out with your grandfather, that is." I ran for my bedroom and have never changed so fast in my fucking life.

Notes

happy Martin Luther King Jr. day.
as some may know, my favorite quote of his is, "The time is always right to do what is right."

where did that come from? the short answer: two speeches. the speeches concerned were given at oberlin college. first said in october of 1964, during a speech on the ‘Future of Integration,’ King used a similar phrase again in his commencement address there in 1965, titled, ‘Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.’

i may be caucasian and agnostic, but MLK Jr was a great man that affected wonderful and incredible change. my hat will forever be off to you, Reverend.