Incubus Among Us #4

But you're of the incubus world, right? I mean, if I needed, say, training to control the power I have over men, you'd be able to teach me something, wouldn't you?" I persisted.
The end of his tail twitched. "Do I look like an incubus?"
I looked him up and down, and a sly grin slipped onto my lips. "You are pretty handsome."
He puffed out his chest and I swear he smirked. "I have been known to woo the female felines," he boasted.
"Well, how about you help a damsel in distress and at least give me a few pointers on dealing with supernatural powers? You have those," I pointed out.
Mo's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "All right, get a mat. This could take a while."
I squealed and gave him a bone-crunching hug. "Thank you so much!"
He squeezed from my grasp and jumped onto the back of the couch. "Don't mention it. Really. To anyone. I have a reputation to keep among the others," he warned me.
I eagerly nodded and hopped off the couch to search for a soft mat. "Sure, no problem. Lemme just find a mat or something."
‘Something' turned out to be the option. I wasn't exactly into yoga, but I did find an old, fluffy quilt. I folded and placed that on the floor behind the couch. I sat down on my mat with my instructor seated in front of me.
"All right, let's start with taking deep breaths, and then we'll see if we can clear your self of emotions," Mo instructed me.
I closed my eyes and breathed deep. "Gotta clear my mind. . ." I murmured.
"Feel nothing," Mo chanted.
A tickling of humor swept over me. I furrowed my brow and focused harder on suppressing my amusement, my desires, everything. My body vibrated with the mental effort. I ground my teeth together and tried to control everything at once. I felt a pulse of something exude from my body, and my eyes shot open when Mo purred his body against my side.
"You're not helping," I growled at him.
"And you're not succeeding. You're giving off worse succubus vibes than before," he scolded me.
I sighed, and that little action released some of the tension inside of me. It also got Mo to stop rubbing against me. "This isn't easy, you know. It's not like I'm a robot that can shut off my emotions with a flip of a switch," I told him.
"You're trying too hard. Focus on relaxing your body first, and your mind will follow," he advised. I nodded my head and closed my eyes. Focus on the body. My nice, calm, relaxed body. Feel the relaxing. My body obeyed my soft order and I felt my limbs slip into a state of restfulness. There was quiet around me but for my deep, steady breathing. My emotions were swept away and replaced by a relaxed state of being where there was only a smidge of joy and nothing else.
I took a deep breathing and felt a wind escape from my body. I was too relaxed to be afraid, even when I opened my eyes and saw the wind itself. It was a whitish tornado that slowly spun around me. I could see Mo seated on the other side of the wind. "What's happening?" I whispered to him.
"The wind is a physical manifestation of your succubus self, or rather a beginning succubus. The finished form is more of a fleeting shadow," he explained.
The wind shifted. The swirling waves spun together in front of me and morphed themselves the form of a heart. The winds beat to the tune of my own heart. A heat emanated from the heart and warmed my body much like David's presence. "Is this. . .me?" I wondered.
Mo shook his head. "No, that's the allure of the succubus. It's created the heart to tempt you to accept your fate."
My pig-headed self didn't like that at all, and my eyebrows crashed down. A sudden onslaught of anger swept over me and into the winds that still surrounded my person. The whiteness turned to black and, in one powerful pulse, the winds pushed outward across the room. Mo screeched and pawed at the floor, but it was vinyl and he slid backwards and tumbled into the wall near the back hall. The lamps on either side of the couch blew over, and all the pictures on the walls swung and crashed to the ground.
I looked over the devastation and cringed. "Oops."
Mo righted himself and the end of his tail flickered like an angry snake. "A little more breathing and a little less focus, and watch your emotions," he scolded me as he stomped back to his spot.
I snorted when I noticed his fur was slicked back by the wind. "Sorry."
He plopped his furry tush in front of me and glared back. "Women and their overreactions. . ." he muttered.
I folded my arms and scowled back at him. "I did not overreact."
He snorted. "You're a woman. Women overreact."
"Come closer and say that," I challenged him.
I started when there came a knock on my door. "Liz? Liz, you in there?" came Tiffany's voice from the other side.
"Um, one second." I whipped my head to Mo. "Hide! I'm not allowed to have cats in the apartment!"
The end of his tail twitched. "I may look and act like a cat, but I can go where I please."
"Looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. . ." I muttered as I scrambled to my feet and hurried over to the door.
I opened it just a smidge and smiled at my concerned friend. "Um, hi. Something wrong?"
"I don't know, you tell me," Tiffany returned. She leaned to her right to see past me, and I copied her movements like a reflection. "You got somebody in there with you?"
"N-no, of course not. Did you need something?" I asked her.
"I swore I heard you talking with someone," she argued.
"No, that was the-um, the TV. I was yelling at a game," I explained.
"You weren't yelling, and I don't hear your TV on right now," she countered.
"That's because-um, because."
"Meow." With that self-introduction Mo sauntered up and wrapped his slinky little body around Tiffany's leg.
Tiffany looked at the evil feline in bewilderment and fascination. "A cat? You know pets aren't allowed in the building," she scolded me.
"I didn't have a choice. He sort of invited himself in," I argued.
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea." She picked up Mo and slid past me into my apartment. I reluctantly shut the door behind her. "I was wanting to talk to you about a couple of things." Her roaming eyes fell on the lamps, and she nodded her head at the broken items. "Problems?"
I came to stand beside her and nervously smiled. "Oh, those. The-um, the cat knocked them over. You know how klutzy they can be." Mo glared at me from Tiffany's arms, but I ignored him and turned my attention to my friend. "But you said something about a couple of things."
Tiffany set Mo on the back of the couch and turned to me. "Yeah, actually, I've been talking with Ann and -" I held up my hand.
"Wait, as in my coworker Ann?" I asked her.
"Yeah, and she's really worried about you. She thinks you're freaking out about this whole Christmas party-"
"Festive party," I corrected her.
"Whatever. Anyway, she thinks you just need a guy, and I know you need a different guy than that weirdo, so we kind of-well, we kind of set you up on a blind date."
"You what?" I shrieked. Mo jumped from the couch and rubbed himself against my leg. I knew what that meant. Remain calm. I was as cool as a cucumber, if that cucumber was roasting in hell. "How could you do this to me? You know I don't like blind dates! Nobody likes blind dates!"
Tiffany held up her hands in front of her. "Listen, Liz, you need a new guy, and this is the way to go. You two will probably hit it right off. The guy's looking for somebody just like you. I'm sure you'll be perfect for each other," she argued.
"And we'll get married, and settle down, and have kids, right?" I retorted.
"Yeah. Sounds great, doesn't it?"
"It sounds like a fairy tale, and you two are the evil step-sisters trying to set me up with a frog who really isn't a prince," I told her.
She shrugged. "Just as long as I get to be the pretty one. Anyway, we've set up your date for tomorrow-"
"Tomorrow? As in the day after today?" I questioned her.
"Yeah. Ann and I were afraid you'd chicken out, so we made sure if you did think about doing that it'd be short notice and rude and stuff, so you wouldn't do it," Tiffany explained.
My hands at my sides flexed in their eagerness to ring my friend's neck. "You two are a pair, you know that?"
Tiffany grinned. "Yep. Anyway, the date's going to be at one of the snazziest places in town. One of those joints where you can't read the menu and the food comes in small portions. Ann said the guy could read the menu for you, so that'll help with your bonding."
My twitching hands balled into fists and I glared at Tiffany with such hatred that I should have burned a hole through her head. I felt the familiar pulse of energy ripple through me. Another big bang was about to go boom.
"Meow," Mo called beneath me.
That broke the spell, or at least reminded me I shouldn't go boom or bang in front of anyone who wasn't privy to the world of the supernatural. I took a deep breath and my shoulders slumped. My hands un-balled and I ran a hand through my hair. "I guess I can try it. . ." I muttered.
Tiffany squealed and wrapped me in one of her tough hugs. "That's my girl! Now we just need to get you dolled up, buy you a dress, fix your hair-"
"Tiff?"
"Get you some shoes-"
"Tiff?"
"Maybe repaint your car-"
"Tiff!"
She paused and frowned at me. "What?"
"I think I'll just go as myself, frazzled hair, dirty car and all," I told her.
She shrugged. "All right, but this guy's supposed to be a little on the rich side."
"If he doesn't think he can afford me then that's fine," I quipped. I sighed and shook my head. I felt exhausted. "Anyway, I'm just going to hit the hay."
Tiffany scrutinized my appearance and raised an eyebrow. "You do look really pale. Been trying to apply makeup?"
"No, trying to apply life into my life, and it's not working," I replied.
"Huh?"
I shook my head. "Never mind. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure thing," Tiffany agreed as she strode to the door. She opened the entrance, paused, and looked over her shoulder at me. "You know, if something's bugging you, even if it isn't just that guy, you can tell me. Really."
"I swear I'll tell you when I'm ready," I promised.
She smiled and nodded her head. "Good. See ya."
"See ya," I returned. She shut the door behind her and I fell back onto the arm of the couch.
Mo jumped up beside me and slithered his lithe body against my arm. "You okay?" he wondered.
I shook my head. "I don't know. I just feel-I don't know, really stretched."
"That's the two parts of you pulling against each other. Even if you choose the path of the human that feeling wouldn't go away," he explained.
"Great. Another bit of good news. . ." I muttered.
"Perhaps you need to sleep on your decision. Tomorrow may help you decide," he suggested.
I sighed and pushed off from the couch. "May as well. What do I have to lose other than more humanity?"