...but they were all getting better.

Here's to W0lf-X-Taker, and anyone else who's been waiting! Sorry this is so inconsistent - I still plan on writing it out to some kind of completion, but, well, life is a bitch. Hopefully it's up to par!

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Jade really liked magic training. And, as it happened, she was really good at it. Tyler had given her a pair of, of all things, brass knuckles, scribed with runes that glowed when she casted spells. Those spells were bright green, apparently healing magic, but on occasion the magic came out red, when she got frustrated casting. According to Tyler she was a vitamancer, or a life mage. Healing magic came naturally to her, but with the right motivation or the right headspace, she could convert it into a kind of **** that sapped life **** from the target.

Isaac was… getting along, but every time he used the Wraithrider, he felt like he had sandbags on his shoulders. The analogy used at the beginning stayed true, even as he got better and better. He could more easily summon that power, but shaping and focusing it was difficult still.

Isaac watched from the sidelines as Ophelia clashed with Jade. The former wore her typical shorts and tank-top, while the latter had only a chest wrap and flowing pants. Tyler and Torik had helped Jade learn hand-to-hand fighting to augment her more visceral style of spellcasting, and while she wasn’t an expert, she could stand her ground against even the brutal, experienced swings of Ophelia’s axe.

Ophelia fought not with practiced swings, but a rolling, explosive style, improvisational, honed to a razor edge by sparring with Torik. She and Jade were almost going blow-for-blow, but Ophelia’s skill was giving her the upper hand.

Then Jade got a strike dead in the center of Ophelia’s abdomen, and Ophelia went tumbling, down for the count.

“Ow,” the demon said after a moment, staring up at the sky. “Not fair.”

“I got lucky, but sometimes that’s all you need.” Jade held out a hand as if to help Ophelia stand, but Ophelia just pulled her down, and the two of them tangled together, rolling in the grass and laughing. Eventually, they ended with Jade straddling Ophelia’s stomach. The human kissed the demon, then they both clambered to standing.

Isaac watched with a smile as the girls wandered back to him, Jade passing over Ophelia’s wounds and her own with green glowing hands. They settled into the lawn chairs on either side of Isaac, clearly exhausted and sweating from their fight, but in a good mood.

“So.” Ophelia said, holding up a hand to block the sun out of her eyes. “When are we doing this, Isaac?”

“Huh? Doing what?” He replied, raising a brow.

“Going after the enemy, or whatever.” She grunted, muttered something about being hot, and stripped off her top, her breasts shining with sweat.

“I, uh,” Isaac paused to recover, eyes locked on her chest. He managed to pull his eyes back to her face, and her sharp grin. “A few days is the plan. Tyler says he knows how to get there, he’s rallied some backup.”

Jade, who was reclined, eyes closed, spoke up. “Y’know, I wasn’t feeling great about all this when we started, but I think I could punch some weird cultist fuckers, or whatever it is we’ll be facing.”

“Worse than cultists, I’ve found,” Ophelia said with a grimace. “Mercenaries. Working for a madman.”

“That’s assuming they’re even still there,” Isaac cut in. “We might be raiding an empty complex.”

“That’s the hope, love.” Ophelia sighed, rubbing at her shoulder. “Looking for leads, not a fight. We’re preparing just in case.”

“But…” Jade cracked an eye and pointed at her. “I’m still hoping for some goons to beat up.”

“We can always hope, Jade.”

“You two are really something,” Isaac said. “It was awesome to watch you fight. I’m honestly scared of ever fighting you.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that,” Ophelia said with a laugh. “You’ve got tricks we don’t, though. That glove of yours.”

Isaac looked down at the gauntlet on his hand and the glowing purplish core set into the back of the hand. He flexed his fingers and the power within it, ghostly pale tendrils reached out from the fingertips to twirl through the air. “I guess I do.”

His thoughts briefly wandered to Aoife. The ghostly woman was mostly absent, working quietly and briefly passing through the house while the rest of them planned and trained. When not training Isaac, she was inside, away from the sun. She was distant, cold. Isaac hadn’t gotten the chance to speak to her. Had he done something?

He’d found out eventually, he supposed.

His thoughts were broken when Ophelia stood and stretched, showing off all her beautiful curves and especially her hefty breasts, bare to the world. She nearly shined in the sunlight, still damp with sweat, each scar in stark relief on her body, her musculature even more toned from the recent training. She turned away from Isaac and rolled her shoulders, muscle rippling under her skin, those big curved scars distinct in the way they stayed stiff when the rest of her back shifted. Her self-satisfied grin faltered just a bit as she turned back, but she still stood as a pillar of strength, confidence, and power.

Jade made a strangled sound and shot to her feet. “Holy fuck, woman.”

Isaac blinked slowly, drinking in the sight. “I concur.”

“I gotta admit,” Ophelia said with her fanged grin, “I’m feeling a little riled up. Anyone want to…?”

Jade instantly had her hands on Ophelia, running her fingertips over the demon’s abs and gently caressing her chest. “Yes. Please. Now.” Her voice was hoarse with lust, her lips an inch from Ophelia’s skin.

Ophelia’s eyes darted from the shorter woman to meet Isaac’s gaze, a brow raised slightly in questioning. Isaac, knowing what she was asking, nodded.

Ophelia gently took Jade’s face in her hand, leaned down to kiss her on the lips, then slipped a hand into Jade’s baggy pants. Jade gasped against Ophelia’s lips, arching her body to press against the demon. Ophelia smiled and kissed her again, then nestled into Jade’s hair. Jade began kissing Ophelia’s chest, hands roaming her torso, moaning softly all the while.

Ophelia murmured softly to Jade, words that didn’t reach Isaac’s ears, but watching how the human woman reacted, her back arching, eyelids fluttering and mouth hanging open… Isaac shifted in his chair, hoping his growing bulge wasn’t too obvious.

Ophelia slipped a hand down Jade’s back, first deftly undoing the chest wrap and letting it fall from her form, then bracing Jade’s lower back. Jade laughed softly, reaching up to hold Ophelia’s breasts, gently massaging the flesh, sucking on a nipple, as Ophelia easily pushed Jade’s pants off her hips and let them fall, leaving the human woman nude. Ophelia’s hand worked quickly and tirelessly between Jade’s legs, the cause of the shiny slick starting to run down her thighs.

In only moments, Jade was shuddering, mouth open in a silent cry, then she sagged against Ophelia. The demon slowly withdrew her hand, picked up the sweat-and-arousal-slick, nude Jade, and set her in one of the chairs to recover.

“Isaac?” She said, voice husky and growling.

“Yes, love?” Isaac replied, starting to stand.

“She’s satisfied… I’m not.” Ophelia took Isaac by the chin and guided him to standing. “Can I fuck you here in the grass? I won’t fit in that chair with you.”

Isaac nodded and kissed her.