First Demonic Dragon

Abaddon didn't know why he left Valerie.

It wasn't frustration.

It wasn't because she hurt him.

Abaddon just felt… confused.

It is difficult to conceive what it is like for a deity of intimacy or romance to contend with the loss of a partner.

Beyond the scope of feelings of possession, whether it is right or wrong- they possess an inborn need for connection that facilitates their entire way of being.

Aphrodite still keeps in contact with every orgy partner that she's ever had until this day. Whether it's by text, sending birds, or social media.

Losing a partner isn't much different from losing an arm to them. It doesn't really matter how many they have had or will have- that distinction will never change.

Valerie hadn't actually gone anywhere yet, but Abaddon was doing his best to think about what his life would be like without her there every day.

When he left home all those years ago to live a primitive life on earth, the burden on him was lessened a bit because he sealed his own memories.

They didn't come back to him until his body turned twenty, and even then, he couldn't wait to go home.

He didn't find out till later that the girls were always with him. Watching from every sliver of shadow. Every blade of grass. Every act of violence he committed.

Perhaps that was the reason why he always went to sleep so comfortably at night. True, heavenly angels were always watching over him.

He didn't know how to just be normal after Valerie was gone. How to just pick up and continue on like nothing was missing.

Obviously, the loss of one person in his relationship shouldn't mean that all of the rest fell apart.

And yet, the Tathamets were so finely in tune, so used to their idyllic normalcy that a change of that magnitude would hurt them all terribly.

To know Valerie was to worship her. To be in love with her. No one understood that more than them.

Despite her brashness and relative unseriousness for life, Valerie had an extremely big heart.

She naturally cared for everyone and everything in a way that was not only infectious but also admirable.

Valere, more than anyone else, was like the guiding hand that continually ensured the family's morals and principles never saw a 180.

Abaddon always believed she would be around to keep that up. But now it seemed like she wanted to pass that responsibility over to him.

And he couldn't help but find that to be woefully unfair.

Abaddon wasn't Valerie. He couldn't imitate her outlook on life. She was special. The way she saw creation was all her own.

Even if he shapeshifted, he couldn't fill her shoes. He hated that she even asked him to try.

But he was going to do it for her anyway. He owed her that. He owed their family that.

Amid a clustered asteroid field, a single nude figure floated amongst the masses of rock.

In the silence of dead space, no words or outbursts of any kind could be heard.

It was, all things considered, the perfect place to sit and ask oneself those hard-hitting questions.

Abaddon was no longer sure if what he was doing was preparing himself to follow Valerie's request or if he was just giving himself the time needed to breathe.

It was hard to tell the difference right now.

'Oh my. Trouble in paradise?'

Abaddon cracked one eye open.

His irises were bloodshot. And quickly turning a deep and ominous black.

A figure was standing above him on a meteorite. The smile on his face was exactly as annoying as Abaddon remembered.

'We never did get to have that little tussle we were promised. Are you feeling up for a little bit of exercise, or are you too busy napping?'

-

The way Lailah's heels rattled off the floor of her home, it was clear that she had an attitude.

Nubia and Tatiana were a couple of paces behind her, trying their very best to stay out of her way and pretend that they weren't even there.

"Unbelievable.. the nerve of that man to appear in front of me with that strumpet and put the lips he walked away from my mother with on her... disgusting. Men are fucking disgusting." She muttered venomously.

""..."" Nubia and Tatiana put three more paces between themselves and Lailah.

At that moment, the door down the hallway opened and Sei emerged with her nose in her textbook. Like her daughter, she was muttering to herself, only this time she was going over her lesson plans.

"Mom!"

Sei looked up just in time for Lailah to come barreling into her with her arms wrapped around her.

Knowing Lailah was particularly unforthcoming with physical affection only made her question this outcome even more. "H-Hey, sweetie.. I'm glad to see you're home."

What Sei really wanted to say was: 'You're hugging me. Am I dying?'

Lailha suddenly grabbed her mother by the face and stared into her eyes seriously. "I just want you to know that I am going to find you a partner in the next week. You deserve to make me so happy that I physically want to wretch."

Sei blinked a couple of times.

She glanced beyond her daughter's head and stared at her blue-skinned daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

"I'm sorry... What exactly is wrong with her?"

"We ran into Geb." Tati confessed.

"Ah..."

Sei looked at her daughter and smiled at her apologetically.

"As touched as I am by your commitment to playing matchmaker, I'm afraid I don't really need something like that. I don't have the time or commitment skills necessary for something like a relationship to work. I can stop inside a massage parlor for a few hours if I feel lonely."

Nubia now had an urge to retch over the knowledge that her grandmother liked visiting brothels. Tatiana just pretended she didn't already know.

"But-"

"I have a class, sweetheart." Sei kissed Lailah on top of the head. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness though."

Sei disappeared in a flash of golden light, leaving Lailah standing motionless in the hall for just a few short moments.

Eventually, Lailah balled up her fists and began muttering to herself once again.

"...Damn that bastard. He's broken her beyond repair... I should have cursed him today when I was thinking about it!!"

Tatiana timidly raised her hand. "Or, maybe she's over it and truly feels that a relationship just isn't in her best interest right now."

Lailah glared back at Tatiana with a look that screamed: 'Speaking any further will severely impact your chances of having sex with me again'.

Tatiana began backing away with a wry smile. "I'm just going to go make dinner. You hungry for anything in particular? Yes? No? I'll just make all your favorites to be sure."

The sea goddess vanished out of sight, leaving Lailah in the hall with her daughter who was also looking for a way to escape that didn't seem to be there.

"W-Well, Mom, I-"

"MOTHERRR!!!"

Whirling around, Lailah saw Gabbrielle running toward her in her adorable and diminutive form.

Behind her was the ever-tall and imposing Straga, who looked to be a hair's breadth away from a full breakdown.

"My babies? What's wrong?"

"I THINK WE ACCIDENTALLY BROKE UP MOM AND DAD!" Straga cried.

"WHAT!?"

-

Lailah strode right up to Gabbrielle's bedroom door and threw it open without even bothering to knock.

It just so happened that Valeire was also leaving at that moment, with a sniffling Daphne trailing behind her.

"Oh? Love, when did you get back? How was your trip?" Valerie tried to hug her.

Lailah palmed Valerie's face and kept her from coming even an inch closer. Her forked tongue was continually slipping out of her mouth as she hissed.

"Ssssave it. You were planning on leaving us without warning, and you think I'm going to hug you? You're ssso damn lucky that I-"

"Mmfm. Mprhm. Mmmf. Mhmm."

"I don't want to hear it." Lailah tightened her grip on Valerie's mouth. "We're supposed to talk about things like this, Valerie, we're married! You can't just-"

"Mmmfpm!"

"What do you mean you don't have to go anymore? Do you think that fixes anything, or-"

Valerie held up the blue booklet in front of Lailah's eyes.

She slowly flipped through the pages for her, allowing Lailah to witness every painfully planned-out detail.

"Those are my designs..." Gabbrielle suddenly announced.

Lailah's gaze softened, but only by a small margin. "Peach, what is this..?"

Gabbrielle smiled pitifully. "...An idea, I suppose. They're plans for a construct capable of tending to and mending decaying realities. I-I haven't figured out how exactly to make it work yet. There are a lot of issues with power source and the overall structural integrity of the-"

"Peach… you are a genius." Lailah said breathlessly.

Gabbrielle slowly formed a prideful, arrogant little smile that was even more adorable in her child-like form.

"So you think it could work too??" Straga asked- equally excited.

Lailah nodded slowly as she kept flipping through the pages. "We'll need your Great Uncle Darius' help, as well as your Grandfather's and likely even yours too, but... I think it's definitely possible."

She finally returned her gaze to Valerie, whose mouth hadn't been uncovered, and was staring with an apologetic look.

"Where is our husband?"

"I thought you just said you hated men, ma." Nubia snickered.

Lailah responded without looking back. "Your daddy doesn't count, that's my red-haired Boo-Boo Bear."

Three different 'ews' filled the hallway in unison. Lailah just ignored them as she focused on Valerie.

"Where is he?"