Chapter 25: “Some Things to Handle”

ZELTARIA

Zeltaria peered out from a second-floor window, watching Mika, Iro, and Rebecca stroll away from the mansion.

A smile of approval lit up her face. As she turned to head back to her room, she absentmindedly ran her hands over her naked body. She had chosen to stay undressed after their shared bath.

After all, it ~was~ her house. The red-skinned Succubus gently kneaded the soreness from her muscles, soothing her arms, abdomen, and thighs as she made her way to her room.

Finally, she let her hands wander over her full double D-cup breasts and gave her shapely vagina a gentle touch, simply enjoying the pleasurable sensations.

Suddenly, the demoness stiffened and slowly straightened up, her tail flicking aggressively. “~Holly~,” she said with a hint of venom, turning toward the door. “How many times have I told you to ~knock~?”

Standing in the doorway was Holly, a zombie made up of roughly similar body parts stitched together with durable line. She was rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

Well, her ~other~ hand, since she was using her detached hand as a neck scratcher and chuckling nervously. She was dressed in short shorts and a cutoff tank top, indicating to Zel that she had just recently woken up.

“Sorry, Zel. I couldn’t wait. Lost a hand, and my leg was starting to go.”

Zeltaria sighed and briefly hung her head before pointing at her bed. “Go on. Let’s get you fixed up.”

Holly limped over to the bed and flopped down, placing her hand on her stomach. She watched as Zeltaria went to her vanity, pulled a box from underneath it, and brought it to the bed, sitting within arm’s reach of Holly.

Holly had seen Zeltaria naked often enough that it didn’t ~bother~ her, but she was always captivated by the Succubus’s form. And not just because she owed her, quite literally, her life.

Zeltaria threaded a suturing needle and held out her hand, palm upward. Holly placed her stumped arm in the demon’s grasp.

Zel inserted the needle and grabbed the detached hand, beginning to carefully reattach the lost limb with practiced movements.

“How’d you lose it this time?” Zel asked casually, a question born from years of asking it.

Holly turned her head away, not wanting to face Zel as she answered.

“I tried to grab something off a high shelf…slipped. My hand’s grip is better than my seams.” She winced as the hand started to regain feeling, bonding to her form as Zeltaria sewed it on.

Zel snorted at Holly’s explanation. “Is that why the leg’s loose too?”

Holly nodded and winced again, feeling the needle repeatedly entering her wrist. “You know I can’t help it…these things degrade. It’s part of being…well, ~dead~.”

Zeltaria tied off the wrist thread and let Holly flex and rotate her wrist, making sure it was secure. “That’s why I keep telling you to ~let me do it~ for you. We both know you don’t have the fine control for this anymore.”

Holly hummed regretfully, looking back up at Zeltaria as the Succubus rethreaded her needle. “You…didn’t have to, you know.”

Zeltaria was quiet for a moment as she positioned Holly’s leg and started to pull out the loose seam just above her knee.

She pressed the suturing needle to cold skin and pushed it in, Holly not reacting to the sensation. “I didn’t have to do a lot of things, Hol.”

She passed the needle through the seam between Holly’s upper and lower leg a few times before continuing, “But I wanted to. I…I didn’t want you to fade.”

Holly shuddered as her knee began to tickle from Zeltaria’s delicate touches and piercing needle. “We all fade, Zel…you know that.”

Zeltaria finished suturing Holly’s zombie leg back together and put the needle away. She grabbed Holly’s head with both hands and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “I know.”

She stood and stretched again, still a bit sore from carrying the weight of two people on her pelvis the night before. “But we do what we can, don’t we?”

Holly nodded and got to her feet, performing a short range of stretches and jumps to test the repair on her leg. “Much better…anything else, Zel?”

Zeltaria slowly shook her head. “Not today, Holly. We’ve had a busy week. Go rest. Well, ~take it easier~ than usual.”

Holly grinned and nodded, her energetic and cheerful attitude returning now that she was all back in one piece. “Will do!”

She headed for the door, pausing and turning back just as she was about to leave. “Also, Cerys was looking for you. Said it was ‘that time again.’” Holly shrugged before being dismissed by a wave from Zeltaria.

“Thanks, Holly. I’ll go find her.”

Zeltaria moved toward her closet, digging in to find a loose robe to wear. She tied it around her slender waist, her bust making it difficult to close all the way, and leaving her tail free to move beneath the open garment.

It was a classic Zeltaria look when she didn’t feel like putting in real effort to dress or even invoke some clothing.

Heading for the door, she decided to grab some food before making her way to Cerys’s room, where she was sure to find the centaur.

Stepping into the kitchen, Zeltaria found Skalla, the tall and powerfully built shark-like woman, working on a new recipe.

“Smells like…~pork…~with—”

“Burns,” Skalla replied without looking up from her work.

“Not going well, before you ask. Airy needed a quick hand, and that distracted me long enough to burn the roast,” she said with a gruff tone and a scowl. “Going to have to start over.”

Zeltaria smiled sympathetically as she raided the refrigerator, snatching a couple strips of preserved meat.

Zeltaria quickly conjured a small flame in her palm to warm her food, nibbling on it while Skalla chatted about her cooking process. Zeltaria wasn’t really listening, though. Cooking wasn’t her thing. That’s what Skalla was for.

“Sounds great, Skalla. What’s for dinner?”

Skalla shrugged, looking down at the charred roast. “I’ll give it a shot. Are Iro and Beck coming over?”

Zeltaria tapped her chin, thinking. “Maybe. Make enough for them just in case. If they don’t show, you can have their share.”

Skalla grinned, revealing rows of sharp shark teeth. “Deal. See you at dinner, boss.”

Zeltaria smirked, brushing past Skalla and running her fingers over the shark-like tail peeking out from Skalla’s tight workout clothes. “Or whenever you need a break, ~big girl~.”

Skalla smirked back, rolling her shoulders. Her whole demeanor changed from frustration to confidence. “I’ll remember that. We’re still even, you know.”

Zeltaria snorted as she reached the kitchen door. “In your ~dreams~. You owe me seven.”

Skalla’s face tightened. “You couldn’t have faked ~that~ many.”

Zel smirked and disappeared, leaving Skalla to chop vegetables with renewed energy.

Zeltaria made her way through the manor to Cerys’s room. “~That~ time already, Ceri…jeez,” she muttered as she approached the oversized door.

She knocked loudly and waited for a response, thinking she should have brought Holly along to teach her some ~manners~.

“Z-master Zeltaria?” Cerys’s voice came from behind the door, sounding a bit strained.

“Yep. Are you decent?” Zel asked.

“J-just…come in,” Cerys mumbled.

Taking a deep breath, Zeltaria pushed open the large door and closed it behind her. She looked around Cerys’ room. The centaur needed a lot of space, and Zeltaria was happy to provide it.

The room had a glass door that led to the backyard. The carpet was soft and grass-like for Cerys’s comfort. The bed was designed to support her upper body, while her horse half could rest on the carpet.

There was also a large basin for Cerys to bathe in, complete with long-handled brushes to reach her horse torso.

But Cerys was nowhere to be seen. Her ~silhouette~ was visible behind a large, semi-transparent screen in the middle of the room.

“I apologize for my appearance, Master Zeltaria,” Cerys said as Zeltaria approached. She walked around the screen to find Cerys naked, struggling to remove her horseshoes.

Zeltaria giggled at the sight of Cerys, who was usually so dignified. She handed Cerys a towel, which the centaur quickly wrapped around her upper body.

“Don’t worry about it, Ceri. We’ve been here before,” Zeltaria said, pulling over a stool and taking the horseshoe tools from Cerys.

She sat down and patted her lap. “Hoof,” she said playfully. Cerys blushed, avoiding Zeltaria’s gaze as she obediently lifted her foot onto Zeltaria’s lap.

“~Good girl~,” Zeltaria said, knowing she was embarrassing Cerys, but also knowing the centaur could handle it.

With skilled hands, Zeltaria removed the horseshoe and began to clean Cerys’s hoof.

“What made you start without me, Cerys?” Zeltaria asked as she prepared the hoof for the new shoe.

Cerys hesitated, clearly not wanting to answer. “I…I didn’t want you to see me like this, master.”

Zeltaria looked up at Cerys, raising an eyebrow. “We’ve done this plenty of times before, dear.”

Cerys shivered. “Y-yes…but it’s still humiliating. A centaur shouldn’t be so…~degraded~ in front of her master.”

Zeltaria rolled her eyes and attached the new shoe, making sure it fit snugly and wouldn’t cause any discomfort.

“Next one,” she said, patting her lap again.

After nearly an hour, Zeltaria finally stood up and stroked Cerys’s flank as the centaur tested her new shoes.

Cerys, still clutching the towel to her chest, gently bumped her head against Zeltaria’s. “T-thank you, Master Zeltaria.”

Zeltaria stroked Cerys’s horse-like ears, humming softly. “Of course, Cerys. We help each other here, you know that.”

Cerys nodded and stepped back, not wanting to take up too much of Zeltaria’s time. “I-is there anything else, master?”

A loud crash from outside the room startled them both. Zeltaria scowled at the door. “Not anymore, Cerys. Stay here. And finish your bath, ~your arousal is showing~.”

Cerys squeaked in embarrassment, quickly pulling away from Zel. Zel responded with a playful flick of her long, slender tongue before heading towards the source of the noise.

Upon entering the library, Zel found Airy sprawled on the floor, surrounded by a sea of books. Aranya, the spider girl, was trying to check on the harpy.

Both girls looked up as Zel walked in, her face framed by scales and etched with exhaustion and disappointment.

“Did you try to fly in the library again?” Zel asked, directing her question at Aranya rather than Airy. She knew she’d get a straight answer from the shy spider girl.

Aranya nodded as Airy finally sat up, looking quite dizzy. “I’m afraid so, mistress. She just doesn’t seem to learn.”

Zel glanced at the wall clock and a grin spread across her face. ~I have time~. She looked from Aranya to Airy and back again. “~Ara~? Could I have some thread? ~Bondage quality~, please. Two lengths, if you don’t mind.”

Aranya squeaked in embarrassment but nodded, quickly beginning to spool the requested material. Zel approached Airy, the succubus’s movements confident and assured.

“Sometimes, lessons need to be ~physical~, don’t they?”

With skilled hands and swift movements, Zel quickly had Airy hog-tied and suspended from one of the library’s banisters.

“Think about why you’re tied up, little harpy,” Zel said, turning to Aranya who was shivering from having produced so much silk so quickly.

“Thank you, Ara. If you’re not too busy, could you untie her in about an hour? Send her to me when you do.”

Aranya nodded, her eyes drifting to the scattered books. “Y-yes, mistress. Would you like me to clean up these books?”

Zel glanced at the books and then at Aranya, appreciation in her eyes. “If you wouldn’t mind, that would be wonderful.”

Leaving Aranya and Airy in the library, Zel walked into the main foyer of her manor, taking a deep breath.

“Now it’s time to tackle some of my ~own~ chores…”