Somewhere cold and hollow (A Lover's Despair) [ Preview ]

I don't register the landing.

When I wake, it's cold. I'm wrapped in a thick, warm blanket and yet what skin is bare is cold. This place is freezing - as if the window were left open-midwinter.

Something scratches. The sound of a pen scrawling over paper without smoothness, alongside a quiet and measured breathing which reverberates throughout an otherwise silent room. Why is it so quiet?

I open my eyes and - careful not to shift my body - glance to the side.

The pen stops before I'm halfway there, and the figure across the room turns from her desk halfway to face me.

She's beautiful. I want her. I want to love her, marry her, and give to her my- I blink.

What... what was that? Despite myself, and my caution, I reach for my forehead almost expecting a flash of pain but... there's nothing.

A cold but gentle grip firmly guides my hand away, then its seemingly-plated fingers trace their way to my wrist. Something warm washes over me.

"Are you well, my love?" Her voice is gentle and - objectively - beautiful, and yet incomplete. I glance over, and the woman - demon? Succubus? - is standing beside me. Her brows are furrowed with concern, and she handles my wrist as if it is made of glass. Tears glisten faintly at her eyes, and despite worry her gaze crinkles with abject relief. And desperation. "I nearly lost you. Even now, I can barely feel you. Please, tell me if anything feels amiss..."

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[ Unique Options (Personal): Race-Change (Doppel, Succubus), Class-Change (Odr Cleric/Paladin, Hero's Scion) ]
[ Possible Starting Locations: Aphelios ]
[ Starting Boons: Affection of the Goddess, Ur-Demon's Love ]

[ AN: After going to bed and getting up, the author realized he accidentally implied the possible options were restrictive instead of additive. No, you can vote for 'mom' and stay a human male if you choose, 'lover' and stay human, etc. ]