Spread your wings and fly

Nick braced himself for the worst when Holly fled the stage, knowing who would be coming next.

Sylvia… she was an enigma. Predictable in some ways, yet completely baffling in others. In hindsight, the knowledge that she was a magical construct without the developed norms of a real human being was something that made a strange amount of sense. So factoring that in, he knew that there were only so many different costumes that she might choose.

He didn’t have the faintest clue about any of them, but it was Sylvia, so he knew they would definitely be sexy. Nick just hoped he could restrain himself.

Then, the little minx pranced onto the stage, and Nick found his worries were sadly warranted.

The girls had all approached this little show from different angles. Rose had started off strong, with an old classic in the sexual roleplay book, acting the part of a naughty nurse. Marley had gone next, also dusting off the classic sexy schoolgirl, though in a way that stood out from her temporary sister due to her charm, innocence, and complete ineptitude in matters of seduction. Kim had switched things up a little by going as a belly dancer, which was far less common in terms of standard fetish outfits, but still well within the acceptable wheelhouse. And then there was Holly, whose costume wasn’t quite any one specific fetish, but looked alluring and sensual nonetheless with most of her covered in see-through silk.

Of all the girls’ costumes, Sylvia’s resembled Holly’s the most. It had certainly broken the norms, while the other three were more standard- that wasn’t to say that her outfit wasn’t something designed for the purpose of inducing arousal, no, quite the opposite, in fact. It just wasn’t something that one would be likely to find in a sex shop.

Sylvia smiled flirtatiously down at Nick, clasping her hands behind her back to show off every last tantalizing bit of her costume. One could almost call it modest- she actually concealed a great amount of her skin. But it was what the outfit promised that spoke to the dirtiness of it all. She wore a midnight-colored leotard even more revealing than Holly’s, due in part to her more generous bust, with a far sharper “V” shape that rode high on her hips, almost up to her waist. A heart was carved out of it right below the swell of her chest, with the cups of her outfit hanging down so low it seemed as though they would have to be glued to her breasts to get them to stick. Her legs were clad in purple tights so thin they were practically vapor, patterned with dark bats, and just as sheer as the long gloves that clad her arms. Nick doubted that Sylvia was aware of the source of her costume; even he could only recognize it vaguely from pictures on the internet. But he knew that Carly, Dani, and almost-certainly Morgana would absolutely approve. No, it was clear that Sylvia had picked out this particular outfit because of what the accessories that accompanied it symbolized- long bat wings extending from her waist, twitching slightly like they were real, and horns atop her head where Nick would have expected a second pair of wings; apparently, someone had made a few adjustments to the outfit in order to dodge and legal complaints. The spaded tail was another example of that, probably, because Nick couldn’t remember whether or not the character possessed one.

It didn’t really matter if she did or not, though, the costume spoke for itself.

Sylvia had decided to go as a sexy succubus.

Because of fucking course she did.

“What do you think, Daddy?” She cooed, becoming far more liberal with using that name than Nick was comfortable with. “Do you like what I picked out?”

She did a twirl that made her tail spin and her fake wings twitch, showing off her youthful figure. The leotard wasn’t exactly new to Sylvia, and while her breasts had faced a significant reduction, they were still plenty large enough to be appealing. Seeing that he noticed, Sylvia leaned forward, showing off her cleavage. Nick couldn’t help but glance at it, even as he tried to maintain eye contact; it felt like the whole costume was designed to draw his gaze to her chest.

“Or… do you think I’ve chosen something too naughty?”

Damn it. He had severely underestimated her, that much was obvious. This was Sylvia! Her youthful appearance and naïve attitude had fooled him, but this was still the woman who plotted out those twisted challenges and come up with countless erotic transformations to try and seduce him with other women’s bodies.

She wasn’t some innocent, she was exactly what she had chosen to dress as- a devious little imp oozing with sexual temptation, determined to corrupt him into sin.

…Honestly? It made the whole “Daddy” thing not quite as gross, in his mind. Sure, he still wanted her to stop calling him that, but the reminder that, no, there wasn’t an 18-year-old girl in there but rather a manipulative hell bitch, actually made him more comfortable.

Sylvia’s eyes ran over Nick, though for a very different reason than he was doing. No, rather than drinking in his body, she was more curious with studying how he responded to her. He’d been so guarded since she was transformed, that it was hard for her to get a read on just how sexually appealing he found her.

His guess as to why she’d decided to go last on purpose was right on the money.

Having been suitably turned on by the other girls, he was having a harder time restraining his desire than he had on the walk here. Sylvia licked her lips as she spied his erection, and the way his fingers dug into the armrest on the couch only furthered her delight.

Nick was turned on! And he really didn’t want to be. He was fighting his base instincts, the way he had since he first stepped foot in her office over a year ago and saw just what a bombshell his therapist was.

Sylvia had her claws in him now, and she was going to milk this for all it was worth.

“You know, Daddy, I was thinking,” she said, straightening up. She caught a brief flicker of disappointment in his eyes that made her shiver. He really did want to check me out! Yes!

But time to celebrate later.

Sylvia reached up and twirled a finger through her hair. “I really did like my long hair, you know?” She sighed, shaking her head. “But then I got transformed into your little girl, and now… well, I miss it. I know you find short hair to be extremely sexy, but I look way too much like Rose with my hair this short, don’t you think?”

Well, that certainly made sense. Nick vaguely remembered something Dakota had said, about Sylvia being crafted to suit his tastes. And given that she’d specifically sourced Rose’s mother as one of the people to base Sylvia’s design off of, it wasn’t a surprise that a haircut would make the two look close to sisters.

Still, they didn’t look that alike. Sylvia was definitely baiting him for something or anoth-

“What if I wore my hair in pigtails, Daddy, would you like that?” Sylvia cooed, reaching up and grabbing two fistfuls on the sides of her head to make some pigtails, while shaking her booty the whole time. “I know how much you like them on Mary…”

Pigtails? Was she serious right now? She actually wanted to look even more like a child?

“Sylvia…” Nick’s voice was low and even, not intended to disrupt her in any way. But that was more than enough for the little succubus on the stage. Up until this point, all of his reactions had been involuntary, physical ones. But for the first time, he was actually speaking to her!

Her legs shook with excitement.

“Yes, Daddy?” She batted her eyelashes at him, trying her best to look as innocent as a girl wearing a succubus costume could be.

“Acting like this and leaning into the whole ‘Daddy-Daughter’ thing isn’t going to earn you Dakota’s approval, you know.”

It was a cruel thing to say. He could see it in Sylvia’s eyes as the words left his lips. But he needed to say it. Sylvia was trying to make her mother proud of her. But… Nick just couldn’t see that happening. Not with how Dakota was right now.

But maybe he’d gone too far in saying that.

Sylvia’s hands fell to her sides and she started to shake. Tears welled up in those big blue eyes of hers, and she began to bawl.

“Uwaaaaaaah!” She sobbed, bursting out crying. She turned and fled off the stage, and Nick’s heart sank in his chest.

Yeah. He definitely might have been too harsh with that one. The costume show was over, that was for sure.

Sylvia didn’t join back up with Nick and the other girls after the show unceremoniously ended.

“Where is she?” Nick asked, starting to worry. He’d already explained to the others what had happened and what he’d said. And none of them knew where Sylvia had run off to.

Kim shook her head, wearing her lingerie uniform again. All the girls had returned to their original clothes. No one felt like making any purchases after that disaster.

“She didn’t return backstage with the rest of us,” she informed him with a sigh.

“Can’t say I blame her, honestly,” Rose admitted. “Come on, Nick, there’s a thing called tact.”

“Okay, no, I’m not hearing that from you,” Nick snapped, narrowing his eyes. But Rose was still right. He should have handled that with a little more tact.

…Assuming Sylvia was actually hurt by what he said, and this wasn’t some ploy to gain his sympathy. At this point, it was impossible to tell.

He sighed and shook his head. “We need to find her,” he told the others.

Marley glowered at him. “So you can apologize?”

Nick was caught by surprise. “What?! Apologize?”

“That’s what you’re supposed to do, right?” She pressed him, narrowing her eyes. “When you hurt someone? You’re supposed to apologize.”

Nick? Apologize to Sylvia of all people!?

The idea was laughable. No, really, Nick actually felt like laughing out loud when she said it. After everything Sylvia had done to him, to all of them, HE needed to apologize? Simply for telling her the truth, that playing along with Dakota’s whims probably wouldn’t get her anywhere closer to what she really wanted?

But then he remembered Sylvia’s tear-filled eyes, and he hesitated.

Maybe… maybe Marley was right.

Maybe he SHOULD apologize.

“Yeah…” Nick nodded glumly, resigned to the fact that she was right on the money. “I think you’re right. I probably shouldn’t have been so harsh with her.”

“Well, you guys have fun with that,” Kim sighed, walking back behind the counter. “I’ll still be here, you know, doing my job…”

“Where do you think we should look then?” Holly asked, turning to Marley. “You’re the closest with her. Is there anywhere she might go, if she was upset?”

“…The garden, maybe,” Marley guessed after a moment’s thought. “She would often come talk to me when she was feeling down…”

“That’s a pretty good idea,” Rose nodded. “We’ll go check there. You guys… I dunno. But if we split up, we can probably cover more ground that way.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nick agreed. The two sisters headed off on their own, while Nick and Holly retraced their steps back towards the elevator.

Now that they were alone, Holly had to ask.

“What did you say, exactly?” She turned to Nick. “You know, to make Sylvia run off crying like that? Was it really just about Dakota?”

“I already told you,” Nick muttered. “I told her that there was no point in playing into the role Dakota wanted her to play.”

Holly nodded thoughtfully.

“What? Do you think that was wrong?” He frowned.

“…Maybe wrong to say,” Holly admitted. “She’s in a **** place right now, Nick. She nearly got erased from existence, you know. And there’s a chance that she still might, if the other girls don’t pick her. I don’t think she wanted to hear right then that her mom wasn’t ever going to love her.”

Nick winced. Hearing it on his own… she was right. That was probably the last thing Sylvia had wanted.

“…Fuck, this is such a mess,” he groaned, scratching his hair. “You know, when I woke up this morning, I thought that the biggest worry I had would be who was getting eliminated. I had no idea that something like this was going to happen.”

“Dakota really changed the whole game,” Holly nodded. “And Sylvia… I don’t know. I just don’t know, Nick.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wet. “Part of the reason I wanted to be your sex **** was so I didn’t have to make decisions like this, you know?” She giggled, but her trill carried a note of sadness. “I could just rely on my master’s decisions.”

“And what if your master was a fucking moron who kept saying the wrong thing all the time?” Nick sighed in reply.

Holly scooted closer to him and ducked under his arm, wrapping it around her shoulder as she pressed into his side. “Then I’d love him anyway, of course,” she replied with a wink.

Nick laughed. That actually did make him feel a little bit better.

“You’ve always been good at picking up my mood, you know that?” He told her, causing her to join him with a laugh of her own.

“Well, yeah, duh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What do you think sex slaves are for?”

Nick’s eyes widened. He glanced up at the sun, which was just beginning to set.

“What they’re… for… Holly, you’re a genius!” He pulled her up into a hug and kissed her on the lips out of reflex, causing her eyes to bulge out in shock. But then he set her down before she could turn it into something steamier. He picked up the pace, running towards the elevator. “Come on! I know where she is!”

“O-okay…” Holly stammered, a little dazed from that. She smacked her lips together, trying to keep the lingering sensation of the kiss for a little bit longer.

“Wow. Didn’t see that one coming…”

“I knew I’d find you here,” Nick said softly, stepping out of the elevator and looking down at Sylvia.

She sat with her back against the door of the Master’s Suite, her face buried in her knees as she hugged her tights-covered legs to her chest.

She didn’t respond to him, save for a slight glance up that she quickly took back.

“You’re still doing what Dakota wants, after all,” he said gently, crouching down beside her. “Since you’re the Auditionee, you have to spend the night in the Master’s Suite with me. That’s what you’re for, right? In Dakota’s eyes? Something to give me sexual pleasure.”

“No,” she hissed, shaking her head. Nick could see tears staining the translucent pink-purple fabric. “I’m not… I… she loves me.”

“Sylvia…”

Dakota had tried to wipe her out of existence. And Sylvia was still convinced that deep down inside, she loved her?

Nick didn’t know what he could say to that.

“I just wanted to make you happy, Daddy,” Sylvia whispered, finally looking up and meeting his eyes. “I want to be your good little girl… or your naughty little girl… whatever I’m supposed to be…”

Holly watched the exchange quietly from the elevator. She could sense the desperation coming off the other woman from here.

“Sylvia… I don’t want you to-”

“You want me to make you happy, right, Daddy?” Sylvia rose to her feet, her legs still shaking. Her eyes seemed to have lost their shine. “How can I make you happy? Just tell me, please…”

She reached for the top of her leotard, and Nick immediately realized what she was about to do. He caught her hand before she could try.

“Stop that,” he pleaded with her. “Please. You don’t have to do something like that.”

“But I want to!” Sylvia cried. “I want to make you happy, Daddy! That’s why I’m here, didn’t you see?! I was made… to make you happy… to please you… however you want… these feelings of mine, they… they’re not…”

She broke down and collapsed into Nick’s arms, sobbing in his chest.

“What am I supposed to do?” She cried. “If I’m not able to please you like that, then how… how should I go on? My mom doesn’t want me anymore… she threw me away like I was garbage! And now, you don’t even want me either… what do I do now?”

Nick wished he could answer that question for her, but he didn’t even know where to start. This wasn’t like Morgana, who had spent her whole life feeling inferior and insignificant and tried to delude herself into behaving a certain way to be special. Sylvia knew for a fact that she wasn’t special, after all, there was no deluding herself there. And she wasn’t like Mimi, either, who had started out a blank slate and tried to learn as she went, changing herself to appeal to him; Sylvia had started out with so much, and had it taken from her, and now she was trying to redefine herself after her purpose had been lost. And she wasn’t quite like Rose, who thought she had to play a role in order to appeal to him, even if it meant she was suppressing the real her; Sylvia’s role had been chosen for her long before they’d even met, and as far as she knew there was no “real her” she was suppressing.

Sylvia… Sylvia was unique in her own way, and yet Nick couldn’t quite determine what that was. But as much as he hated everything she’d done to him, he realized that he had stopped hating her as a person a long time ago. Maybe even before today, when he’d seen her suffering first-hand.

Not having any words to say that could stop her tears, he raised his hand and cupped the back of her head, holding her close to him while running his fingers through her hair.

Sylvia let out a tiny, surprised gasp, as if she hadn’t expected that from him. She looked up at him questioningly for a moment, and then… surrendered.

“I didn’t know that hugs could feel this warm…” She sobbed into his chest.

Hugged the Master! +1 VP