The Wayward Son

Seiras, Commorragh

After his encounter with the creepy haemonculus Melisara, Seiras tried to get some more rest. He found himself struggling to get the unsettling aftermath of the conversation out of his mind, but unfortunately it only seemed to reinforce his cautious concern about the dangers of the resident haemonculus. His rest was eventually disturbed an indeterminate amount of time later by the sounds of footsteps. He immediately opened his eyes and saw a pack of wyches led by none other than Renfaeda. Her cousin Nelfaera was also with her as well as another familiar looking wych.

Seiras quickly recognized her as the wych he nearly killed before getting captured. He remembered the others mentioning her name was Aelendriel. She had long bluish-purple hair with a white streak in it. The white streak seemed to be a trademark of the cult as every wych had a white streak somewhere in their hair. Every wych he had seen so far also had some variation of bluish-green hair as well.

The ends of Aelendriel's long blue hair were coated with bright purple tips which made her stand out more. Her hair was fashioned into a partial hightail unsurprisingly. She was the most scantily clad of the bunch wearing little more than armored underwear and a midriff breastplate. Both legs had spiked shin guards and both arms had gauntlets that went up to her elbow.

For a very brief and absent-minded moment, Seiras thought of Nelfaera's words in which she claimed to be prettier than Aelendriel. While he was no expert on the matter, he thought Aelendriel had an unusual appeal about her demeanor. Seiras briefly wondered if she actually was attractive by alien standards. This horrible and disgusting thought evaporated a split second later as he remembered they were xenos filth. The succubus wych looked at Seiras and grinned at him when she saw that he recognized her. He immediately refocused his attention to the others as he examined their appearances as well.

The various wyches had a variety of appearances, but they all had a range of bluish green or bluish black hair. Aelendriel was the only one with purple in her hair. Renfaeda's raven blue hair wasn't unique out of the bunch, but she wore the most impressive armour, and was undoubtedly the leader. Considering Renfaeda and Aelendriel were succubi, Seiras wasn't surprised that they were uniquely adorned in comparison to the others. Nelfaera, despite not being a succubus claimed she was a Syren and that she led Renfaeda's Hekatrix bloodbrides. Looking at the group of prominent wyches following these three, Seiras immediately figured that they must be bloodbrides.

Seiras regretted letting his gaze linger on Nelfaera for a moment as she gave him a flexing, sexy pose. He scowled at her with revulsion which only caused her to grin wickedly.

The others noticed this brief, wordless interaction and eyed the Syren curiously. Renfaeda spoke with confusion, "What are you doing, Nelfaera?"

"Posing of course. The monkeigh thinks I'm sexy," she replied.

Aelendriel looked at Seiras and then at the Syren before shaking her head, "That's very doubtful, Nelfaera. Space Marines are immune to sex appeal. I don't even think they breed. They don't care about anything except fighting and dying for their emperor. You won't get anywhere trying to toy with him like that. These brutes are only useful for slaughtering in the arenas to demoralize the other Monkeigh."

"You should have seen the look he gave me when I interrogated him on the ship. He was admiring my beauty. I was also the first one he looked at when we walked in. What's that tell you?" Nelfaera boasted.

"Actually, I was the first one he looked at...but it doesn't really matter. If he did care for such things, then I would have easily noticed it when I fought him. I'm better looking than you are anyways. You're delusional, Nelfaera," Aelendriel said proudly.

"You...better looking than me? Haha! You wish, Aelendriel. Every member in the Kabal of the Twilight Shadow knows me. They probably get off to vids of my arena fights." Nelfaera laughed at the bluish purple haired wych.

"And yet which one of us is a Succubus again? You always seem to forget that I outrank you for a reason, Syren." Aelendriel countered with a smug smirk.

The teal haired syren sent a nasty glare towards the succubus but chose not to respond.

"You're not that popular with the upper echelon of the Kabal yet, Nelfaera. I think your biggest fans are all hellions and halfborn kabalites," Renfaeda cut in with a demoralizing smile.

"So what? Fans are fans…aren't they? I technically have more than she does!" she hissed back with a disapproving stare.

"If you weren't trueborn, you'd probably be in a Hellion gang. You're as graceful as a thug…it's no wonder the lowborn filth likes you so much." Aelendriel chuckled haughtily.

Nelfaera rolled her eyes and chose not to respond. She refocused the attention back on Seiras as she circled him briefly, "He's covered in dried blood…looks like our space marine was the one that killed all of those monkeigh."

"Speaking of the monkeigh, why isn't he in restraints? Did he break out of them?" one of the hekatrix bloodbrides asked.

"I doubt he broke out of them. Even if he did, the cuffs are gone. I didn't see any sign of them in that giant mess he left out there," Nelfaera remarked.

"That incompetent sybarite probably just removed them like an idiot. I think I'm going to kill him later. Oh well, it's not like it matters if he's restrained or not," Renfaeda said with annoyance.

Seiras kept up his feigned ignorance to what they were saying as he attempted to make a confused face.

Finally, Renfaeda spoke in gothic to him. She had no accent and spoke the language much better than any Dark Eldar he had ever encountered, "Come with us, slave and don't try anything foolish."

'She has a very distinctive voice…I can almost sense the authority behind it. I wonder how skilled Renfaeda is in combat? Could I even take her in a fight?' Seiras briefly contemplated.

While he knew he had a slight chance of being able to kill them, that wouldn't get him any closer to escaping. Without hesitation, Seiras obeyed as he stood up and approached them.

Renfaeda looked a bit surprised at Seiras' immediate obedience to her command. She eyed him curiously, "I didn't expect you to be so compliant. Aren't you a good slave?"

Seiras didn't say anything in response as he kept his gaze focused on Renfaeda for further instruction.

"I thought you said he was talkative and willful, cousin. He hasn't spoken one word since I've seen him," Renfaeda remarked as she glanced over at Nelfaera.

"He is! You just have to push the right buttons. Watch this," Nelfaera beamed.

"Do you want to know my name still? " the Syren asked Seiras in gothic. She gave him another sexy pose much to his distaste.

The librarian remained silent as he avoided eye contact with her. He was not going to give this petty wych any satisfaction if he could avoid it.

"I'll tell you my name if you tell me yours," she said in a creepy flirtatious way. It literally made his insides shudder.

Refusing to fall for her bait, Seiras kept up his silence. He briefly glanced over to see her expression and that of the other wyches. They seemed somewhat intrigued by the situation much to his horror.

Seiras could see Nelfaera's joyous face upon briefly making eye contact with her. She beamed with delight, "Was it you that skinned that slave out there? It was rather good for a monkeigh...though you carved too deeply. He bled out long before you removed all the skin. Still, it really terrified all the other slaves in here! They usually only get that scared when the haemonculus shows up."

'Did she just compliment me for butchering those people? First the haemonculus, and now these wyches? I can't tell if they're being serious or if this is all a huge joke to them.' Seiras thought as he kept his blank expression.

It didn't stay blank long as Nelfaera got closer to him and stared at him in a very strange way. Something about the look caused him great discomfort. Before long, the Blood Raven couldn't help but stare in disgust at Nelfaera's expression. She somehow knew exactly how to get under his skin from a mere stare.

"I want your name...don't make me get the haemonculus to extract your memories. Actually...never mind, that's a good idea. She'll probably want to see this art display you left out here anyways," Nelfaera cackled.

'She already has. Wait a minute…I wonder how much information I could gain if I ate the haemonculus' brain? My Omophagea could easily break down any potential xenos prions in her nervous tissue…though I am curious what its composition even is? If it is possible, I wonder what kind of genetic memories I could gain? Melisara is easily thousands of years old.' Seiras thought to himself in a slight revelation.

His distracted thoughts caused the wyches to eye him curiously. One of the unnamed wyches cocked her head, "You weren't lying, Nelfaera...this one is odd. He looks like you just gave him an idea."

"I think he knows what you're trying to do. Space marines aren't usually this...clever. Most of the ones I've seen are willfully defiant and easy to manipulate. He's extremely calm, patient, and obedient. That's the complete opposite of how these overgrown brutes typically react when captured. He was like this when I first saw him too. He's very observant and he recognizes all of us. He also seems somewhat relaxed like he's not going to attack. How peculiar. I would advise caution...this is likely all an elaborate act to lower our guards," Renfaeda said as she looked at Seiras cautiously.

"Do you see what I mean now, Faeda? He seems a bit off for a monkeigh. What do you make of it?" Nelfaera crossed her arms with a curious expression.

Renfaeda nodded her head, "You were certainly right, Nelfaera. He looks like he's learning about us and waiting for an opportunity to attack. Regular space marines are all direct and predictable. I certainly wouldn't lower my guard around this one."

"He's unarmed and unarmoured...you still think he's dangerous?" one of the bloodbrides asked Renfaeda.

"Without a doubt...if he grabs you, then you can expect to end up like those monkeigh corpses in here. But enough of this, let's get moving. Bloodbrides, follow behind the monkeigh and make sure he doesn't try anything." the raven haired succubus ordered.

"Finally! I tire of the smell in here, so let's go already!" Aelendriel complained.

"Come slave," Renfaeda waved as the wyches guided Seiras away. He had the two Succubi and the Syren in front of him with the rest of the hekatrix bloodbrides following behind. Several had impaler spears and splinter pistols pointed at his back as he followed a body's length behind the front three. Nelfaera made sure to be directly in front of him much to his annoyance.

"I'm surprised he killed his own kind in here. The slaves look terrified. That's not what I was expecting him to do," Renfaeda admitted as the wych pack passed by the mutilated corpses and escorted Seiras out of the chamber.

"You have to admit though...it is rather effective. They usually only get this scared when Melisara comes down here. I would have loved to have seen him do it," one of the bloodbrides noted as she pointed at the impaled gang leader's skinned corpse.

Many of the slaves cowered in absolute terror as they saw Seiras and the Hekatarii escort with him. Seiras briefly glanced into the crowd and noticed the same teenage girl from earlier. She shrunk under his gaze as if he was a monster.

'I'm not like them...I shouldn't feel sympathy for them,' Seiras told himself as he looked away with a feigned carelessness.

The wyches continued to guide Seiras out of the chamber as they got into conversations with one another about various uninteresting things. Seiras only tuned back in when her heard them speaking about him.

"I'm telling you, Faeda. This one's smart for a monkeigh. When I get him to talk, you'll see what I mean. He knows a lot about Aeldari," Nelfaera broke the brief silence.

'She thinks I'm smart? Didn't that xenos fiend call me stupid multiple times during our talk?' Seiras thought bewildered.

"How so?" Renfaeda tilted her head back interested.

Before Nelfaera could answer, Aelendriel interrupted her, "I honestly could care less. He's a Deathwatch Marine, Nelfaera. They know more about the Aeldari and Drukhari than most of their kind because they specialize in killing us. There's nothing unique about his knowledge."

"You really think so?" Nelfaera said doubtfully.

Aelendriel nodded, "Without a doubt. I think you're just grasping at air here."

The teal haired syren rolled her eyes before changing the subject, "Are you excited for your rematch, Aelendriel?"

The blue and purple haired Succubus sent a sour and smug look Nelfaera's way, "I'm going to eviscerate him! He embarrassed me in front of Faelan! The archon and all of his incubi saw the fight! Not only that, but the monkeigh killed all of my bloodbrides!"

"That's unfortunate for you, Aelendriel...sorry to steal your spotlight during the raid," Nelfaera chuckled with an obvious lack of remorse.

"You cheap shot him AFTER I had already weakened him! Not only that, but I had to deal with his psychic powers! You would have died had you been in my position!" Aelendriel protested.

"I find it strange he was able to use psychic powers that close to Faelan. Did my brother not have his null with him?" Renfaeda interrupted.

Aelendriel nodded, "Oh his pet was there…but it didn't really seem to be effective at stopping the space marine's powers. That's part of what caught a lot of my bloodbrides off guard. Taeri was electrocuted to death by lightning."

"By the way, Aelendriel, you never did thank me for saving your life. I guess that means you owe me, doesn't it?" Nelfaera said condescendingly.

Aelendriel scowled at Nelfaera with obvious hatred, "Don't test me you petulant thug. I owe you nothing. Keep your pretentious nonsense to yourself, Syren!"

"It's a shame my exalted cousin Faelan had to see you fail. He always did favor me though. I'm glad I could keep it that way," Nelfaera kept goading her.

"Shut your mouth! Faelan will recognize my perfection sooner or later," Aelendriel said with evident fury.

"Not with that Lhamaean skank following him around everywhere…" one of the bloodbrides muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

This caused Nelfaera to start laughing and Aelendriel to get angry. The succubus shook her head in disgust, "I hate her! What's Faelan even see in some fake, frilly little slut like that anyway? She's not even pretty, and I can see through her pathetic attempts at manipulation from a planet away."

Nelfaera shrugged, "She's probably really good at sucking cock. If I had one, I'd let her suck mine. She definitely has the mouth for it. I can see the appeal in breeding with her."

"I'd hate to break it to you Aelendriel, but you might as well give up on Faelan. You'd have a better chance at impressing Vect, because I highly doubt he's ever going to fancy you. Ever since Faelan became Archon, the only female he trusts is that stupid concubine of his. Trust me, I hate her too. She's got Faelan convinced that I'm trying to kill him," Renfaeda cut in.

"Well, Aelendriel, I guess you could always find a suitor among the nobility or just settle for one of the male wyches like everyone else does..." one of the bloodbrides spoke up.

Aelendriel jerked her head back and sent her an icy glare, "I'm NOT like everyone else!"

"O-of course mistress," the bloodbride replied a bit nervously.

"Well if you get desperate, there's always monkeigh. That seems more appropriate for you anyway," Nelfaera laughed. None of the other bloodbrides looked like they had the courage to join in laughing with her, but a few had slight smirks.

Nelfaera was directly in front of Seiras, and couldn't see the look on his face, but he was appalled she would even think of something so disgusting.

He briefly glanced over to see Aelendriel's reaction and was surprised to see that she was looking at him.

Seiras mustered a look of confusion on his face in order to conceal his previous expression a moment ago. Part of him was worried that she saw his reaction. It wouldn't take her long to figure out he could understand them if she did.

Luckily that didn't appear to be the case as she looked forward again shaking her head, "I'd sooner join a Craftworld...monkeigh are so disgusting and completely unaesthetic."

"True, but a lot more Drukhari have a monkeigh fetish than you might think. Besides, they're not all hideous. I've seen a few decent ones," Nelfaera replied.

Aelendriel made a sour face, "You would be into fucking animals, wouldn't you? Is it the body hair or the repugnant smell that turns you on?"

"Oh, I've never tried it personally. I'm not really into males that are weaker than me. Though there were a couple times I thought about doing it out of boredom. I suppose I wouldn't be opposed if I found one I liked…though most would probably like it too much," Nelfaera replied.

"What about him then? You keep flaunting yourself in front of him," Aelendriel asked as she looked back at Seiras.

Nelfaera looked at her amused, "That would be a much better option for you considering your inability to get laid."

"What?! I have no problems in that area! I partake in many carnal delights that would make you jealous! I simply aspire to have the absolute best because I am the best!" Aelendriel countered.

"The best who got her ass kicked by a monkeigh," Renfaeda interrupted.

"Renfaeda! I…It wasn't like that! He has psychic powers, I couldn't exactly defeat him with combat skills. You've fought against, psykers, surely you understand how it was!" Aelendriel tried to defend herself to the queen succubus.

"Of course, I understand, Aelendriel…that's why I'm letting you fight him in the arena," Renfaeda said with a grin.

"Well if he could beat you in a fight, then I think he qualifies as admirable at least. Besides, he's not hideous. A bit burly for my tastes, but I'd definitely go for it in your position…especially considering your lack of viable options," Nelfaera remarked.

"You're disgusting, Nelfaera!" Aelendriel hissed as she rolled her eyes.

"Not really. I'm surprised a picky prude like you became a succubus if you think that's disgusting. I mean even my beloved cousin Faelan gets blowjobs from Monkeigh slave girls whenever his concubine Maeralya isn't around. Sometimes they incorporate a few in their mating sessions just for the hell of it." Nelfaera said maliciously.

"WHAT?!" Aelendriel shrieked.

"Seriously?" another one of the bloodbrides gawked.

Renfaeda glanced back and sighed, "Yeah, he does. Faelan isn't worried about monkeigh girls trying to kill him or manipulate him. They make easy and safe sex slaves for a paranoid archon, and for some reason that courtesan whore is into it too. I know for a fact she fancies Monkeigh girls. She likes to collect all the best-looking ones as her personal slaves. She calls it her living doll collection."

"As if I didn't have enough of a reason to hate her! I will never understand why Faelan would rather mate with her and some animals over a succubus. I'm all for some exhibition, but that's deplorable! It's an insult to my beauty!" Aelendriel said with disgust.

"If you really want Faelan to like you, then get rid of Maeralya first. You didn't hear that from me though," Renfaeda said softly with a malicious giggle.

'So, she likes the Archon. I could possibly use that information to manipulate her later,' Seiras thought as he examined the Aelendriel's expression.

Her pink eyes shot back at him a split second later. It was almost as if she could sense his gaze. She didn't say anything, but she made it clear that she knew he was looking.

Aelendriel was staring at him now which was more than a little unsettling. Seiras ignored her as he glanced over at some of the bloodbrides who were now flanking him. One with a standard hightail of blue hair had an impaler pointed towards his side. The bloodbride wasn't that unique looking compared to the other unnamed wyches, but she had bright silver eyes which made her stand out a bit.

When she saw him look over, the wych held up her pistol and began to lick it in front of him. She maintained eye contact the entire time while doing it too.

'What in the warp is she doing?' Seiras thought bewildered.

She moved closer towards him a moment later and stared maliciously. The wych was right next to him now. Seiras had no idea what type of emotion she was expressing. She licked her lips a moment later and gave him a taunting come and get it gesture. Seiras stared blankly at her as she then followed up by blowing a kiss.

He did not understand what the display was supposed to mean, but he quickly figured she must have been trying to mess with him. Dark Eldar were notorious for being masters of manipulation. She was very likely testing whether or not Seiras had any kind of attraction to them. He understood why too. It was an easy way to manipulate weak-willed males. They were looking for any type of mental weakness in the Astartes, and he knew it.

"Why are you trying to provoke the monkeigh, Kaerith?" Aelendriel said with amusement.

"He was looking at me, I was just messing with him," the silver-eyed bloodbride now identified as Kaerith responded.

"Space marines are immune to that kind of thing...so don't bother trying to toy with him like that," Aelendriel replied.

"I don't know what she's talking about...the monkeigh thinks I'm attractive. Are you sure you're not just jealous, Aelendriel? Maybe he thinks Kaerith is attractive too," Nelfaera added with a petty smugness.

"There's nothing to be envious of, fool! I have yet to see him react to you in any way other than disgust. I think you're making all of this up to just piss me off," Aelendriel shook her head.

"Why would it upset you if it doesn't concern you?" Nelfaera countered with a smug expression.

Aelendriel leered at the Syren hatefully, "Don't project your fetishes onto me, Nelfaera. It isn't true, so stop wasting everyone's time with your baseless assumptions!"

'For the love of the Emperor, I cannot show any emotion to their bizarre alien seduction techniques. If I maintain indifference, they'll stop testing me,' Seiras told himself.

"Well there's only one way to know for sure. We should test it to see how he reacts to something more personal. Kaerith, kiss him for us since you seem to like him." Nelfaera smirked.

"What?!" Kaerith gawked with disbelief.

Nelfaera smiled wickedly, "You heard me...test the waters. I'm curious to see what he does."

"Seriously?" she said with a doubtful expression.

"Do it so I can prove Aelendriel wrong again," Nelfaera beamed.

"Why don't you do it, Nelfaera? I mean if he is as enamored with you as you say he is, then show us," Aelendriel countered.

"I'm not trying to reward him here. Besides, Kaerith looks like the type who'd be into it," she countered with an arrogant smile.

"Fine then. Do what she says, Kaerith," Aelendriel commanded.

The wych in question looked horrified now as all of the surrounding wyches snickered at her with joyous amusement. They had no remorse or empathy for their fellow bloodbride's unfortunate situation.

"I…I don't want to," Kaerith found the courage to say.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you, Kaerith…surely you didn't just say no, right?" Nelfaera said dangerously.

The bloodbride reluctantly swallowed her pride and shook her head, "Of course not, Nelfaera. I'll do it if that's what you want."

'These bloodbrides seem to fear Nelfaera more than Aelendriel even though she's a lower rank…I've never seen an Eldar back down like a traumatized child. Nelfaera must be truly terrible for them to fear her like that,' Seiras thought curiously.

"Don't act like you didn't want to anyways, Kaerith. I saw that look you were giving him," Nelfaera laughed.

"Can we test this for a moment, Renfaeda?" Aelendriel asked the succubus queen. Renfaeda briefly stopped and glanced back at the other wyches with a bored look.

The raven haired succubus nodded, "Fine, but make it quick. Also, don't blame me if he loses his mind and tries to kill you."

'What the hell is happening right now?!' Seiras thought horrified.

"Space marine, we have a surprise for you." Aelendriel spoke up in gothic.

He pretended not to hear her as he focused his gaze forward. A moment later he felt himself being stopped as all the wyches surrounded him and pointed weapons into his skin. An electrowhip immediately lashed across his bare back a moment later causing a surge of pain to cover his body.

"Kneel, monkeigh!" Aelendriel ordered in Gothic as she and the others curiously watched his reaction.

Reluctantly, Seiras did as he was told. Kaerith wasted no time as she leaned over and got uncomfortably close to his face. She looked a bit hesitant and nervous to get closer, but ultimately had no other option.

Seiras looked over at Renfaeda and wondered how she was reacting to the situation. She was watching with a silent interest at his reaction.

A second later, he felt cold lips press against his. They tasted very strange. It had some type of narcotic aroma and a bizarre alien taste that Seiras couldn't recognize. Whatever it was, he did not enjoy it.

"Is that it, Kaerith? I don't even see tongue action. You call that a kiss?" Nelfaera said wickedly.

Kaerith dug her sharp nails into his skin drawing blood from the back of his head. A moment later she bit his lip causing it to bleed heavily. The savage and unholy act only intensified as he felt her tongue licking up the blood from his lip and attempting to force its way into his mouth.

This did not last long before Seiras attempted to resist. He tried standing up but was forced back down when a multitude of weapons lightly pierced his flesh.

"Don't move, Monkeigh!" Aelendriel announced seriously.

The librarian knew he could have overpowered them, but he wasn't in any position to fight wyches on all sides. He reluctantly endured the rest of the bloody kiss as Kaerith finally forced her tongue into his mouth.

The moment it entered, he felt violated as it went deep towards his throat. Her alien tongue was longer than he was expecting. He briefly felt his Betcher's glands tense up and his eyes went wide, 'Hold it in, Seiras...if they find out I have acid glands in my mouth, it'll ruin my escape. Hold it back. Damn it, what is she doing with her tongue?'

"I've seen enough of this...let's go," Renfaeda said in gothic as she finally stopped them much to Seiras' relief.

All of the wyches backed off upon hearing her words. Before Kaerith could even back up herself, Seiras hatefully pushed her off of him with extreme prejudice. She went flying a considerable distance back before slamming into a nearby wall and narrowly missing a spike on it. The others laughed as she leapt to her feet a second later wiping her mouth in disgust.

If it wasn't for his long-term escape plans, Seiras would have gone berserk and killed anything he could before dying. It took considerable willpower for him to mentally endure what just happened.

"How was it, Kaerith? You really seemed to like that. I guess we should all call you Monkeigh Lover now haha," Aelendriel laughed.

"I did not enjoy it!" the bloodbride protested immediately.

'I can't go through this again...first chaos cultists and now xenos?! I have to get out of this place! I can't stay here!' Seiras thought furiously.

"Maybe she's attracted to him?! Hahaha, she went in deep on that kiss too." Nelfaera laughed at Kaerith causing the silver-eyed bloodbride to look at her confused.

The wych looked down with utter embarrassment and a bit of anger, "You're all making assumptions here. I'm just doing what I was told!"

"Nobody told you to get all intimate with him. I was just joking when I said give him some tongue. You didn't even hesitate. I guess I was right...you do like him," Nelfaera giggled cruelly.

Kaerith bit her lip in anger, "This isn't funny!"

"Really? Because I think it is. I never knew you were into monkeigh," Nelfaera countered.

"I wasn't into him! He was just hating it so much that I enjoyed his suffering!" Kaerith protested.

Nelfaera laughed, "Sure...it's okay, Kaerith, I'm not judging you."

"Weren't you the one who said you thought he looked decent for a human? Let's see you do it then, Nelfaera!" Kaerith countered with renewed bravery.

The teal haired Syren shook her head, "Oh no, I don't think it would be very nice of me to steal your boyfriend a minute after you got him. I'm mean, but I'm not THAT mean."

Kaerith sent a hate-filled glare towards Nelfaera but looked as if she didn't have the courage to retaliate further.

"Nevertheless, it looks like you were wrong, Nelfaera. The monkeigh looks absolutely disgusted by it," Aelendriel said after she finally stopped laughing.

"Maybe I was, but whatever. Anyways, like I said earlier there's deviants with monkeigh fetishes everywhere these days. At least I proved that much," Nelfaera giggled maliciously as she continued to ridicule Kaerith.

"Sorry I have to kill your monkeigh boyfriend, Kaerith. I'll let you keep his skin to wear if it'll make you feel better," Aelendriel laughed at the bloodbride again.

'Aelendriel and Nelfaera seem to hate each other, but they both teamed up to ridicule their underling? What kind of sick psychology drives these inhuman fiends? They act like children, but they're way more intelligent than an adult human. Is this how the craftworlders would act if they didn't restrain their emotions?' Seiras wondered as he noticed Kaerith getting visibly upset now.

She endured several more jokes in silence as she simply lowered her head in acceptance. Seiras couldn't help but find the entire scene abhorrent and very strange.

'They ordered her to defile me with a kiss, and then they make fun of her for it? This is petty bullying that I would expect from adolescents. These xenos are even more bizarre than Craftworlders. I don't even know what to make of this nightmarish place,' Seiras thought to himself as he tried to remain calm.

The rest of the walk was spent in relative silence minus the odd conversation here and there. Kaerith had kept her head down the entire time, and eventually the others got bored with making fun of her. Seiras tuned out most of their pointless banter as he silently stared at Renfaeda.

The main succubus glanced at Seiras and spoke to him for the first time in a while, "You'll be staying in the wych training grounds in a cage. You will be held there until your battle in the arenas…do you understand, monkeigh?"

Seiras nodded in acknowledgement at her. After entering the wych training grounds, Seiras looked around and spotted a host of young and bloodthirsty gladiatrixes staring intensely at the newest arrivals. Many looked excited and amazed when they realized Seiras was an Astartes.

The librarian was quickly guided to a display cage in the corner of the chamber, where a large gathering of Dark Eldar came up to stare at him as if he was some prize-winning animal.

After several minutes of being a circus event, the wyches all dispersed as well as the original escort that brought Seiras there.

As everyone went about their own business, Renfaeda remained behind and spoke to the librarian casually, "Space marine, I have a few questions for you, that I expect answers for."

He glanced at the Succubus queen and waited for her to speak. She smiled when she saw he was being receptive, "Why are you acting so passive?"

"How else should I act? I'm in no position to do anything else," Seiras replied bluntly.

Renfaeda nodded, "Yes, but you're far too calm about your situation. You do realize what's in store for you, right?"

"If you expect me to grovel and despair, then you clearly don't understand Astartes," Seiras replied sharply.

"Oh I understand you just fine…and I know the look of hope when I see it. Do you really think you're ever leaving Commorragh?" Renfaeda asked.

Seiras stared blankly at Renfaeda and remained stubbornly silent.

The succubus shook her head, "Your refusal to answer says all I need to know."

"Then I suppose I'm doomed," Seiras said half-heartedly as if it wasn't a big deal to him.

"Indeed you are, Seiras…" Renfaeda remarked with a wicked grin.

The librarian maintained the most indifferent face he could as he remained silent. Renfaeda shook her head, "Wondering how I know your name, I'll bet…aren't you?"

He refused to answer as he looked away carelessly. His mind however was racing over the possibilities of how she would know him.

"Faelan told me your name…he overhead the other space marines saying it as they tried to rescue you," Renfaeda explained.

"Who's that?" Seiras asked calmly.

"The Archon…my older twin brother Faelan. He was very impressed with your abilities. I'm not even joking either. I'll be looking forward to seeing how you fare against my wyches," Renfaeda beamed.

"You'll see soon enough, Eldar…" he said stoically.

The succubus was silent for a brief moment before speaking, "Renfaeda...you will refer to me as Lady Renfaeda or master. Is that understood?"

"Of course, master," Seiras replied carelessly.

"Is Renfaeda too difficult to pronounce?" she asked.

Seiras simply shrugged, "It's longer than master...why tell me anyways?"

"All slaves should know who they belong to. Nevertheless, farewell, Seiras..." the succubus spoke sadistically before leaving.

'Why did she tell me her name I wonder? Was she trying to get me to say it? That's awfully suspicious,' Seiras thought curiously.

Wych Cult Training Grounds, Many Hours Later

Seiras had been chained up in a cage of the Wych Cult's training grounds for almost half a day now. Although it was difficult to see them, from his position, Seiras could watch the various wyches training endlessly to perfect their graceful death-dealing movements. Some were sparring, some were doing acrobatics, and others were managing their wargear.

His cage was isolated from all of the other ones, but oddly enough, he was less noticeable than he expected to be as they had him tucked away in some grotesque corner. Most of the wyches seemed to ignore his existence now, and from his location, he could watch them with subtlety. He almost couldn't believe at how careless they were in allowing him to do so. He couldn't tell if it was simply ignorance or blind arrogance. Whatever the reason, he was not about to pass up the chance to improve his chances of survival. Seiras spent this time in captivity stealthily memorizing the way the various wyches moved. Certain attacks with certain weapons had specific movements which broadcasted where their bodies were going to be. Using his perfect memory, he made sure to take in as much as he could during the long and boring isolation.

Eventually, his spying was interrupted when a familiar wych drug an archite glaive across the bars of his cage to catch his attention. He heard a feminine voice call his name, "Seiras."

He turned his head expecting it to be Renfaeda, but much to his surprise, it wasn't. The wych standing there was none other than Aelendriel the other succubus. A multitude of questions fluttered through his mind as he tried to make sense of how she knew also his name, why she didn't say anything to the others if she did know it, and why she would possibly choose to address him alone.

'Maybe Renfaeda told her?' Seiras pondered on the most likely possibility.

"Wondering how I know your name?" she said quietly.

The most unusual thing about her being here, was the tone of her voice. She was trying to be quiet and inconspicuous. Seiras looked at her with silent curiosity. There was no telling what this was all about.

"Of course you are. The others were all too naïve to actually read the inscriptions on your armour. You monkeigh like to write your names on everything you own," she immediately explained.

"There's a lot of names on my armour," Seiras replied to her calmly.

"I got first pickings on your stuff whenever we captured you. There was only one name on that sword of yours and one on your shoulder plate. Both were the same. It was pretty obvious at that point. The halberd had a different name inscribed on the shaft...I'm guessing it didn't belong to you? Something else you had on you was this," Aelendriel briefly flashed the webway generator remote that Seiras always kept with him.

"Where did you get one of these?" she asked quietly making sure not to display it where her kin could see it.

"From a craftworlder," Seiras vaguely told the truth.

She scoffed at him, "Obviously...did you kill them for it? Do you even know what this is?"

"Xenos junk," Seiras shrugged as he feigned ignorance.

The succubus crossed her arms, "If it was junk, you wouldn't have kept it on your armour. Do you think me a fool? Only Harlequins and high ranking Craftworlders are allowed to carry ones like these. How did you come to possess this?"

"I don't even know what it is," Seiras lied.

She looked at him slyly, "It's a webway generator remote...and not just any kind, but the kind that gives one access to most of the webway. This one in particular has he path to the Black Library opened to it. That would mean it belonged to a Harlequin. Who did you kill to get one of these?"

"Nobody, it was a gift from a farseer," Seiras said truthfully.

Aelendriel concealed the remote again and smirked, "A gift huh? I doubt that. No Aeldari in their right mind would just give one of these away...especially to a monkeigh. To be honest, I'm actually surprised you managed to steal one. That's twice you've impressed me now."

'Why would she keep that information from the others? She practically dismissed Nelfaera's claims that I was knowledgeable on Eldar. I should be wary of this wych. Also, If the webway remote was this valuable, then why did Iruna give that thing to me?! No wonder that warlock was upset...' Seiras couldn't help but wonder.

"Well it's yours now. Enjoy it, master," Seiras feigned carelessness.

"Master? While I do find pleasure in your subservience, I didn't expect to see you so well-adjusted in such a short time here. We haven't even tortured you yet." Aelendriel remarked with amusement.

"Every second I spend here is torture, so I beg to differ," Seiras said calmly.

'I should avoid mentioning that bizarre kiss thing they did earlier. If I keep feigning indifference to it, they might just forget about doing that as opposed to standard torture,' Seiras thought to himself.

The succubus cocked her head and gave him a sly look, "How'd you like your surprise earlier?"

'She's reading my every reaction. I can't mess this up…' Seiras mentally prepped himself as he kept a stoic expression.

"I don't understand what the purpose of that act was for? Were you trying to poison me?" he asked feigning ignorance.

Aelendriel smiled at his question, "Hmm…a poisoned kiss does seem like a good idea. I like the way you think. So, tell me, Seiras…did you enjoy that kiss with Kaerith? It looked like she certainly enjoyed it. I didn't know she had monkeigh fetish hahaha. If you want I could properly introduce you two."

"What is a kiss? Is that what she did to me?" he asked hoping Aelendriel would give up this route.

"You're not fooling me with your little act here, Seiras. I know you know exactly what a kiss is, so answer my question…how was it?" She followed up with a teasing tone.

"I actually don't. Astartes are bred for war and nothing else. I don't know what that alien nonsense you did earlier was," he said keeping up the act.

Aelendriel twirled her archite glaive a few times in boredom as she rolled her eyes, "It's a sign of affection, fool. It's one of the few cultural similarities our race shares with yours."

"Why would that wych do it to me then?" he asked.

"Because she likes you, obviously," Aelendriel chuckled.

Seiras gave her a hateful and blank stare, "This might work on regular humans, but Astartes have no romantic or sexual interest in even our own kind…let alone vile xenos filth like your race. It won't work on me."

'Why is Aelendriel testing me? Isn't she the one who didn't believe it to begin with? These xenos are very contradictory,' he thought concerned.

"Well, some of my fellow wyches seem to believe you're different. Given the fact that you know a decent amount about our race, I'm willing to believe it. You also wouldn't stop looking at me the entire time we escorted you out of the slave chamber. Care to explain what that was all about?" she remarked.

'Why would she dismiss Nelfaera's claims about me if she believes her?' Seiras couldn't help but think.

"That's because you're still alive, and I want to kill you," Seiras dissuaded.

Aelendriel nodded, "That is understandable given you almost killed me before the bloodbrides took you out. What do you think about the other wyches in our cult?"

"You're referring to that teal haired one with the ridiculous hairstyle?" Seiras clarified knowingly.

Aelendriel beamed, "Yes, I take it you don't like her?"

"If I had to choose between killing you or her, I'd choose her," Seiras stated coldly.

"Hmph...yes, that's Nelfaera. She is rather intolerable, isn't she? I can't fault you for disliking a delinquent like her. She may be trueborn and a Syren, but she's as graceful as a street thug. It's rather ironic that her biggest fans are the local hellion gangs. Even a lot of the lower ranking Kabalites like her. Most of the upper echelon of the Kabal think she is too ambitious and annoying," Aelendriel said condescendingly.

"Why didn't you tell her my name if you knew it?" Seiras asked.

Aelendriel grinned wickedly, "Why would I? Watching you make a fool of her was rather funny."

"So...the other wych told me that I'd be fighting one of you in the arenas. Which one of you is it?" Seiras asked. He already knew the answer but had to keep up appearances.

"Me, actually. Although...I'm starting to have second thoughts about fighting you," Aelendriel trailed off.

The librarian looked at her unconvinced, "I doubt that."

"Oh, but it's true, Seiras. Maybe I can give you the chance to kill Nelfaera instead. The match would go to her if I declined it. Wouldn't that be a mutually beneficial arrangement?" the succubus smirked.

"You must have great confidence in my abilities if you'd allow her to steal your glory like that," he said doubtfully.

"You doubt yourself? Odd...I thought you were a great warrior," she sneered at him with haughty smugness. Her expression and tone made it seem like she was making fun of him.

"I'm no great warrior. I'm a psyker and I've always focused more on battlefield command and support over martial skill. Not to mention, I'm at a huge disadvantage fighting in your arenas since I highly doubt you're going to let me use any weapons or armour anyway," Seiras said dryly.

She looked at him with an uncertain face and did not respond for a long moment. Seiras knew why she wasn't speaking. Aelendriel was more than likely wondering why he didn't boast about his chances despite defeating her.

The succubus sighed at him finally, "Do you doubt your ability to win without those things?"

"No, but it seems odd that you're confident in my ability to defeat your friend," he countered.

"She's not my friend. I actually want you to embarrass her since she's been bragging about capturing you. That little bitch needs a reality check. She thinks she's better than me because she ambushed you," Aelendriel said darkly.

"What if she defeats me? Don't you care about your reputation? That'll make her look superior to you." Seiras taunted her.

"Oh, I do care...but letting you fight Nelfaera would solve a lot of my problems. I have no doubts that you could kill her. You almost killed me...and I'm way better than she is," Aelendriel stated factually.

"I imagine you intend on fighting me immediately after I get rid of her for you?" Seiras figured out instantly.

"Exactly. You're surprisingly smart for a human. She was right about that much at least. Either way, you're going to die a horrible death. Though at least you'll get some vindication. If you let Nelfaera kill you, I'll personally bring you back to life just to torture you to death for the next thousand of your human years," she threatened.

'Nelfaera mentioned the Haemonculi could bring people back to life if they are killed. If I could get my hands on that kind of knowledge and technology, there's no telling what I could do with it!' Seiras thought somewhat intrigued by the idea.

"So, the haemonculi can bring me back to life once you kill me?" Seiras asked her.

"Typically, they can only do it for our own kind, but Melisara is a uniquely gifted haemonculus. She resurrected a monkeigh girl for the Archon a while back. She'd be more than willing to try it on a space marine..." Aelendriel said maliciously.

Seiras looked a bit confused, "If your race can revive its dead, then why are you all so afraid of dying?"

"That's because only the most esteemed and rich of our kind could pay for such a service. Only high ranking trueborns would have any kind of political power to buy the haemonculis' services. Seeing as how I'm a succubus and a trueborn, it's no issue for me to bring you back to life if you try to take the easy way out," she licked her lips.

Just then, an idea crossed Seiras' mind as Aelendriel eyed him like a predator.

"You know my name...What's your name, wych?" he asked.

"You already know my name, monkeigh...it's master. Why so curious all of a sudden? Are you hoping I'll kiss you too?" she laughed at him.

Seiras looked at her unamused and responded, "Is your name Aelendriel or Renfaeda? Nelfaera mentioned those names when she first interrogated me," Seiras lied.

The succubus' eyes lit up with shock. It took her a moment to actually respond as she looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. She leaned in closer to his cage and whispered, "What did she say exactly?"

"She said I wasn't very impressive for being able to defeat Aelendriel in combat. I'm assuming that's your name?" Seiras asked.

The succubus leered at him, "So, you already knew my name, and yet you asked me anyway? What kind of game are you playing?"

"I was just curious to see if you'd actually tell me. I guess not...Aelendriel," he replied.

The Succubus gave him a slight chuckle as she grinded her sharp nails over the bars of his cage, "You pronounce my name very well for someone who's only heard it once."

"You pronounced mine correctly having only read it from my armour," Seiras replied.

"What can I say? Monkeigh grammar and language is childishly easy to understand," Aelendriel giggled.

"Nelfaera mentioned your name a great deal. Maybe I can tell you what she said if you answer some of my questions," Seiras followed up.

"Did she now? Are you sure you want to play this game with me, Seiras? You might not like where it goes or what I tell you." Aelendriel smirked wickedly.

"You might not like what I tell you...or maybe you will," he countered.

"Okay then...tell me what Nelfaera said and I'll answer any of your questions," she grinned.

"She boasted about how important she was after I asked if she was a messenger. She told me she was the highest ranking wych in your cult beneath the Succubus Renfaeda. I asked her if that was you and she said no. That's when she mentioned my lack of achievement for defeating Aelendriel...you. I believe the exact phrase was: 'Don't go assuming you're a match for me just because you bested that ugly failure, Aelendriel.'" Seiras lied.

Aelendriel looked visibly upset by his lie, "Not only did she call me ugly, but she told you that she was the highest ranking wych beneath Renfaeda?! I'm a succubus and she's a syren! I outrank her in the cult!"

"Isn't the dark blue haired wych the Succubus of the Cult? She's Renfaeda, right?" he asked.

"She's the ruling Succubus yes..." Aelendriel said slowly.

"I wasn't even aware there was more than one succubus per wych cult. How does that work?" Seiras shrugged.

"Usually, there are three in a triumvirate...though one rules the cult and the other two are raid leaders and advisors. Nelfaera is a syren. A Syren is the commanding wych of the Hekatrix bloodbrides...the personal handmaidens of a succubus. Below them are the regular Hekatrix who lead squads of Hekatarii. Below them are the standard Hekatarii, and then the new recruits...the debutantes. Do you understand now?" she explained.

"If you and Renfaeda are both succubi, then who is the third one?" he asked.

"That would be Mokaela. She's out raiding right now with some other Archon, or you'd probably have seen her already. She's been rather disappointed in our lack of good opponents in the arenas lately, and so she went out to find some. Mokaela should be back any day now though. She's like me and is easy to spot, so you'll know her when you see her. She has silver-blue hair and beautiful red eyes. Mokaela is my rival...though I don't dislike her. She's surprisingly likable," Aelendriel explained.

'That probably means she's a horrible and evil sadist who bathes in the blood and tears of children,' Seiras thought doubtfully.

"Well, after her introduction, Nelfaera also told me that she was the Archon's lover and his favorite wych," Seiras lied again. He was curious to see if the succubus would actually fall for it. He knew that she liked Archon Faelan thanks to his eavesdropping. Not to mention, his story seemed believable because there was no possible way he could have learned their names without being told. At least that's what they would think. They would never consider the fact that he knew their language. At least that's what he was hoping for.

"She...what?!" Aelendriel gasped with evident anger in her voice. She looked like she was about to go on a childish tantrum before calming herself.

She looked furious as she bit her lip. After a short pause she spoke with bitter disgust, "They're cousins...she told you they were lovers?"

Seiras shrugged, "Pretty much. I didn't know about the cousins part, but I'm honestly not surprised you xenos indulge in foul practices like that. Incest seems mild compared to most of the things I've seen here so far."

"She's on my last nerve," Aelendriel hissed.

"Out of curiosity, master Aelendriel, why doesn't Nelfaera like you?" Seiras asked after a brief silence.

Aelendriel looked somewhat bitter as she gripped her impaler tightly, "We both used to be bloodbrides and had to compete with one another to become the third succubus. I won obviously and she's been upset about it ever since. She's just jealous that I'm better than her."

"Better how?" Seiras tilted his head with confusion.

"You don't think I'm better than her?" the succubus tested him.

"You certainly are. I'd much rather have you torture and kill me. That makes a real difference in my experience here," he said with a straight face.

"Was that supposed to be a joke? I didn't realize you were funny," she laughed as she leaned in closer.

Seiras remained silent as he chose not to respond to her laughing.

The succubus eyed him slyly and after a short pause she spoke up again, "Do you think I'm better looking than her?"

"I don't understand what you're asking. You all look the same to me," he lied.

Aelendriel flashed a strangely wicked grin, "Then why were you staring at me so much earlier?"

Seiras wasn't sure how to respond to her. He finally said the first thing he could think of, "I already told you…because I wanted to kill you."

"You sure that's all you wanted?" she said foxily.

He gave her a hate-filled glare, "Nothing would make me happier than to rip you apart like I did to those idiots in that slave chamber."

"Assuming you even could…would you really want to? I could make your life much better here if you cooperated with me. What do you say?" Aelendriel asked with a snake-tongued voice.

Seiras gave her a doubtful glare, "Better how, exactly? I'm just a caged animal waiting to be slaughtered here."

"Some animals make good pets," she laughed.

"Some pets kill their masters," Seiras countered.

"I didn't think it was possible, but I actually kind of like you. Kill Nelfaera and I'll let you try out those fantasies," Aelendriel giggled.

"What fantasies?" Seiras scoffed.

"Whichever ones you want…" she said vaguely with a suggestive smile.

'She finds humans disgusting, but she's being overly suggestive. I know for a fact she's lying to me. I need to outsmart her and find a way to get her killed. If I have any hope of escaping Commorragh, I'll need that webway generator remote back. Maybe I should pretend to be cooperative with her.' Seiras reflected on the situation.

"I'll humor you, Eldar, but don't expect anything else from me. I have no misconceptions about what awaits me here…" Seiras replied stoically.

Aelendriel shook her head, "That's what you think, Seiras…also, call me Aelendriel. I rather liked hearing you say my name properly. Get rid of Nelfaera for me and maybe I will change my mind about killing you. Having a pet space marine would make for a pretty good trophy. Would you like that?"

Seiras did not respond as he knew it was a bad idea. If he said no, then Aelendriel would do it to spite him. If he said yes, then she would ridicule him for it. Either way, he was in a bad position.

"See you around…Seiras," Aelendriel smirked before walking away a moment later.

'She needs to die as soon as possible. She'll be an even bigger problem than Nelfaera at this rate,' Seiras sighed mentally.

Later

A few wyches came by to look at Seiras after one of their breaks. All three had blue hair and were scantily clad unsurprisingly. Though he wasn't looking directly at them, Seiras knew they were staring at him.

One began to speak in her alien tongue, "That's the monkeigh that bested Aelendriel?"

"Yes, he's the one. I was part of that raid...he killed over a hundred kabalites too. It took Renfaeda's Hekatrix Bloodbrides and a few of the Archon's Incubi to finally take him down," another answered.

"Really? He killed that many of our warriors? Why was he so hard to defeat? He doesn't look very strong." the first wych said shocked.

"Ask Nelfaera...she's told the story about a dozen times now. At medium and long range his psychic powers made him unstoppable...but in close combat he's slow and the Hekatrix bloodbrides were able to sweep in and take him out with focused effort," the second wych explained.

A third wych shook her head, "Nelfaera was only able to do that because he was fighting Aelendriel at the time. Which version of the story did you hear?"

"Everyone I've spoken to about that raid all says the same outlandish nonsense about how powerful that human is. It's all a bunch of hyped up nonsense if you ask me. They're just trying to make themselves seem more impressive and hype up his reputation for when they actually kill this animal tomorrow," the first wych ranted.

"Who's fighting him?" one of the others asked.

"Aelendriel obviously...she's going to lose all her notoriety if she doesn't," the second wych interjected.

The third one shook her head, "Actually, Nelfaera has the match now. Aelendriel passed."

"What?!" one gasped.

"She must have convinced Renfaeda to let her fight him instead of Aelendriel. Those two are going to be at each other's throats now," another giggled.

"As if they weren't already?" the first wych said shaking her head.

The second wych simply laughed, "I'm surprised Aelendriel hasn't killed her yet. Nelfaera doesn't know her place and Renfaeda sure won't do anything to stop her. The only reason Nelfaera's still alive is because she's Renfaeda's cousin."

"Talking about me I see..." a voice interrupted the three wyches. They all froze in fear when they spotted Nelfaera standing behind them.

The teal haired syren had a malicious glare as she grabbed the second wych by her hair, "The only wyches who don't know their places around here are you three whores! You want to settle this in the arena with a blood duel?"

"N-no, Nelfaera! I...I didn't mean that," the wych replied fearfully.

Nelfaera then took her wristblade and carved a large scar over the wych's face causing her to shriek. She then threw the wych to the ground and spit on her, "There's a little scar to remind you of your place in comparison to mine! Next time I'm going to dip your face in acid and scalp that pretty blue hair of yours!"

The wych immediately leapt up and began to flee away holding onto her bleeding face. She looked greatly upset though not wounded. Seiras figured it was probably more emotionally damaging than physical as the Hekatarii greatly valued their appearances.

The other two wyches didn't even bother to stick around while their friend was getting cut and were now long gone as well. Nelfaera licked the blood off of her blade before making her way over to Seiras' cage.

She took in his reaction and chuckled, "I could teach you a thing or two about how to carve people up, space marine."

"If you say so...Nelfaera," he replied.

The syren's eyes lit up with shock as she tilted her head confused, "You know my name?! You even pronounced it correctly too...that's unbelievable. How did you learn my name?!"

"Aelendriel told me her name and yours," he said casually.

Nelfaera seemed surprised as she looked away for a moment. She turned her gaze back upon him after a short pause, "She passed her match with you and gave it to me. What made her do that? I heard rumors that she spoke to you earlier. Tell me what she said."

"She asked me some questions about my life and my belongings that she took. She also did the same boring thing you did and threatened me a bunch as well," Seiras shrugged.

"That doesn't answer my question! Why did she pass the match?!" Nelfaera demanded.

"You'll have to ask her that. She didn't tell me. Though I think she's hoping I'll kill you. She didn't seem to like you very much," Seiras replied.

The teal haired wych sighed over-dramatically, "Nevermind that, why did Aelendriel tell you our names?"

"I promised to give her my name if she told me yours," Seiras lied.

Nelfaera gave him a smug grin, "Really now? And here I was starting to think you hated me. I'm flattered that you desired to know my name so badly. Did you want the name of the bloodbride the kissed you too? Her name is Kaerith by the way…and she likes you."

"Spare me your nonsense, alien. I only wanted to know so I could curse your name after I kill you." he said with cruel bluntness.

"Are you sure about that? I think you have a crush on me," she laughed at him.

"A what?" he asked. Seiras had never heard the expression before.

The wych deadpanned at him, "You seriously don't know what a crush is? Am I saying the word correctly? Huh...your language is too simple to articulate exactly what I'm talking about."

"What a shame...I'm sure it was completely relevant," he said with lackluster sarcasm.

"Well, since you're fighting me tonight, I wanted to ask you. Should I wear my skimpy wychsuit?" she asked with amusement.

"Sure, it'll make you easier to kill," he responded dryly.

Nelfaera burst out laughing at his remark, "We'll see about that. You have no idea how the arenas are, monkeigh. I'll enjoy humiliating you in there. Aelendriel is going to regret passing the match to me. You don't stand a chance!"

Seiras said nothing in response as he simply looked away.

"Nothing smart to say, monkeigh?" Nelfaera asked smugly.

He continued to ignore her as he stared blankly at a wall that had recently become far more interesting. The syren quickly got bored when she realized Seiras wasn't going to speak anymore and began to walk away without another word.

'I can't really do much to prepare for fighting Nelfaera, but I should be prepared for Aelendriel afterward. She feints three times in opposite directions before every incoming swing, so I should always block in the opposite direction of her first movements. She's primarily left-handed and moves her right leg forward with every sweeping blow. She likes to switch hands with her weapons during charges and when she circles. I should try to focus more on her non-dominant side and throw her off with my own ambidextrous alternations. I need to anticipate her moves. It might also be a good idea to let her get in some not-fatal blows, so I can grab her. If I get a hold of Aelendriel, I can win. I wonder how Nelfaera fights though…I need to be cautious in my fight with her. I wonder what'll happen if I kill both of them?' Seiras began to plan his battle mentally.