The knock on the door startled Netta. Dropping the box of cereal that she had been wearily eye-balling for the last ten minutes in a stupor, Netta hurried to answer it. She was surprised to find Calliope on the door step.

Struck by the events of the last twenty-four hours and unsure of how to state them, Netta stared, open-mouthed at the older woman.

Sighing impatiently, Calliope swept past her, going inside.

"Not going to invite me into my old home - Neith, you look like you've just lived through an earthquake."

Netta finally managed to close her mouth as she followed the woman inside.

"Calliope - I - I -" She was struck then how only then, when faced with Calliope, did she seem to recall the horrible murder not even a whole day ago.

"I killed Xi. And then I - I took him - Ash, as my own when I - because I -"

Calliope, who had been busying herself with her coat, paused.

She turned around and dropped her coat on the floor, Raising a hand to her mouth, she said, "I knew that one of us had to be the reason that I felt the energy changing so drastically. But... you killed her?"

"She attacked me and - was talking nonsense. She believed that the rest of us wanted her to die. She said that she had to save her own Familiar before It wilted away."

Calliope sighed deeply, sorrowfully. " She must have grown - unnaturally obsessed - with her Familiar. After Hera died, I was so certain that I would be the next to go. Oh, Goddess, but this is - what a tragedy."

Netta rushed forward and took a hold of Calliope's hands in her own. She decided to not think overmuch on what the woman had said about "unnatural obsession" - and how it could tie in with her.

Callie gently shook Netta's grip off of her and looked up into the younger woman's eyes.

"Now, that's not the only thing you just mentioned, as terrible as one of our deaths is. Now, you just went through certain hell, but do you mind obliging me by explaining just why you bonded directly with one of Its kind."

Netta blushed and found it hard to continue to make eye contact with the older woman. She looked down at her feet. "I don't - I think that it doesn't matter. I have reason to believe that he - It's passed from the exertion of burning the initial first wave of the curse away. And then - attempting to bond afterward."

Calliope n0dded soberly. "I would say that it's better that if you had bonded with It, that It had passed from the exertion of It. A direct bond with such a thing - further dalliances down the line could jeopardize your ability to keep control of yourself, no, dear?"

Netta closed her eyes. Shame, fear and sorrow all beat at her. She had taken the first step past the gateway of losing herself to an insidious will, and they both knew it. Still, she could not make herself view the creature who had gifted her such a memorable first time as a terrible beast, even if Its overreaching greed may have killed It.

Netta didn't want to overthink something else as well. If Ash had survived the night - the ordeal - then he would be there with her then. Gloating, among other things she blushed just to think of.

Netta finally found her voice enough to say, "I understand." Netta was silent, staring down at her feet blindly.

Calliope hesitated, then came up to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

The sudden show of affection shocked Netta, and she jumped a bit at the weight of the older woman's arm.

Calliope softly spoke against Netta's ear. "I'm certain that It went to Its death gladly, even for an Incubi. I am certain that it is ingrained in every Monster to see the sacrifice of themselves for our good to be the utmost act of devotion to a Witch. Why else would It have agreed to it?"

Netta closed her eyes and tried to wrap her mind around the thought that he had left her to die with no good bye, no warning. She simply could not get her mind around the concept of Ash, gone forever.

No tears sprang to her eyes, but a terrible sense of foreboding and worry seemed to tinge her world a dark, muffling gray.

She was brought out of her melancholy with the sudden feeling of Calliope bringing her fully into her arms. Pressing her into her shoulder, Netta registered the smell of incense musk that clung to her hair and clothing.

"Now, now," the older woman said soothingly. "I'm certain that Ximenia wouldn't want to be remembered as a maniac, so it sounds to me like you put her out of her misery, no horrible sense of guilt needed. She has been acting erratically since Hera's death and this must have been the precipice of it."

Calliope gently pushed Netta away so that she could look in her face. She was smiling tenderly. Netta felt in that moment a rush of love for the woman that had never been so powerful.

Calliope spoke, saying, "We carry a terrible burden, to be responsible for those that we claim a blood tie to. There is no such thing as unfortunate circumstances for a Witch that can be the excuse for why they are not responsible for those of their Coven. We all know of our duty to provide and care for our Sisters, but the duty to stop those who go beyond their bounds is one that is, thankfully, normally forgotten about. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with the pain of having to extinguish that flame."

Netta accepted her embrace and felt the warring pains of her sister and what she was certain was her best friend's death like a weight on her chest.

Calliope continued. "Parasite though Its kind is often regarded, I do believe that there is some - certain - dignity and honor to their kind. The curse It had worked to drain away is too large a burden for a Witch to carry on her own for too long. I will need to give you support, what I can offer to stave it off. By giving Its life force to save yours, It saved you from being consumed, utterly. And for that, I am grateful to It."

As she pulled clothing from out of her bags, trying to find something that was a comfort to wear, Netta found herself wondering what the context of her life was to be.

Every time she returned to the mirror to examine herself, Netta could not stop herself from looking at her face.

She wondered what her face looked like to others - worried, depressed, pitiful? She looked, outwardly, so plain and human that it again brought to mind what something as strikingly unique as Ashwood would want with her.

Unerringly, she felt her mind returning to Ash.

She failed to swallow a lump that had appeared in her throat ten minutes back. Some time later, she discovered that she was sitting on the end of her childhood bed. had to of been sitting there for a long period of time.

She stared up the length of the bed and found herself unable to not recall the night before.

It was taken for granted that Monsters, no matter how beloved they become, were oftentimes rarely something worth crying over the loss of.

In the recent past, it had been downright gauche to not view a Familiar as a resource to be expended and little else. Who would weep over a tick's passing, even if it had a voice, a personality?

Even if it were the reason for a Witch to be able to use her power?

She forced herself to pull a sweater on and was about to pull her jeans onto her feet. Ever movement was agony, terrible.

It was as she bent down to pull her pants on, she thought that she could somehow smell Ash. She stopped, frozen.

The smell of clover and ancient wood filled her nostrils. Netta felt her heart break at intimate knowledge of the smell.

She leaned forward and, pressing her elbows on her thighs, she felt the tears that she had been holding back pour out of her. Netta had been sitting on the end of the bed, crying her eyes out when she heard his voice on the right side of the bed.

"I did tell you that I would be coming back - didn't I?"

Netta gasped and looked over her shoulder.

Standing next to the bed, Ash, back to his blond, skinny self, looked fresh and almost bright. He smiled at her.

She jumped up and, without thinking about it, jumped on him. By chance he had opened his arms up, which meant that she ended up embracing him.

Ash laughed and spoke into her hair.

"You've never been this excited to see me - mmm, you smell wonderful. No pants - were you waiting for me to come back like this?" Ash had grabbed her and he pressed her onto the bed, leaning over her.

Looking up into his eyes, Netta was in disbelief as she realized, fully, that Ash was leaning on top of her.

The surprise at seeing him was so great that she missed his hand climbing up her leg, catching onto his quick movements only as he flicked her panties to the side.

His large left hand was covering her naked vulva.

Netta squirmed and managed to kick away from him - It - where she rolled onto her knees and began to quickly try to cover herself back up.

Her face burning in embarrassment, Netta climbed off of the bed and glared at Ash. "Y-you!"

Ash sighed and shifted Its weight in his pants uncomfortably. Netta could plainly see, in the moment that her gaze had dared to drop to the front of the fine designer jeans that he wore, how Its penis was almost clearly imprinted against Its left thigh.

"Some things never change," It lamented. "but now I have the comfort of the fact that you can't push me away so easily. I've tasted your forbidden fruit, so to speak. Or, more properly, you've taken a huge bite out of mine, haven't you?"

Netta clutched a hand to the front of her thighs, her heart beating a mad rhythym that she could hear, clearly, in her mind.

The grin on the Monster's lips told her everything she should feel about this change, and made her every sorrow about being worried at Its passing, transform.

Netta struggled up, then almost fell back against the full lnegth mirror that she had been gazing at only a few moments before. Her hand reached out to the carved arm of the thing, shaking.

We can't have come so far, only for it to turn back into - this.

Ash's gaze shifted over her and he walked up to her. With every step, Netta recognized the unnecessary movement for what it was. It could, if it wanted to, simply be in front of her. The power, the ease and the blatant, seductive deliberate movement, all meant to frighten and, possibly, arouse her.

If the Monster wanted her to panic, It got what It wanted when Netta jolted back against the mirror as tough she had forgotten it was there.

And then Ash walked to her. As she stared, deeply, into Its eyes, Netta was surprised when she saw the wicked upturn of his lips falter. Its gaze seemed to freeze on her face.

It reached his hand out, Its thumb jutting.

Netta flinched, closing her eyes. Then felt as that smooth, hot thumb traced a line down the curving side of her nose, down her lips. She realized, as she felt the wet smoothness of the movement, that Ash had traced the line of a tear that had fallen down her face.

Netta opened her eyes, witnessed the Monster drawing Its thumb closer. It rose Its finger to Its face, stared at it as though confused.

At first when Ash spoke, It stared at the tip of Its wet thumb, mouth fallen open, softly. "I can't say I've ever had a woman cry for me." The Monster's tongue flicked out, and before Netta could imagine what It meant to do, Ash brought the thumb to Its lips, lapped.

Netta shuddered at the sight, overcome for a moment by a horrible desire.

Ash's gaze flicked back up to her, Its smile all but a memory. "You're due some reprieve. But I won't wait forever. The pieces are already in place. You'll be mine, you'll find more enjoyment if you succumb."

Netta flinched, felt her spine stiffen. "I won't ever - not again, not with you." I can never afford to. He must be a powerful Monster, uncontrollable if he could survive and seem to be powered by our binding.

Indeed, perhaps it was only her imagination, but Ash seemed more robust than ever, flush with energy. Its touch even, it seemed, was hotter than it had ever been before.

Ash sighed, the sincere, dark moment seeming to have passed as the Monster smiled an almost soft smile. "You thought I would be content to have to coddle you through our first encounter? No, Netta. I want you aware. I want you to be very aware of every feeling, every hidden and previously unknown emotion I wring out of you. I want you to bend to me, because you admit to your depraved perversions."

Ash paused, sweeping its thumb over the slightly pouting indentation of Its bottom lip. When it spoke again, the Monster spoke with its eyes shut. Its voice seemed to rumble from deep in its chest, the ragged, rough and unfitting intonation seeming to only juxtapose with the youthful, handsome form It had taken.

"I want you to swear to your unnatural hungers, where you know, instinctively, that human exertions would only leave you hollow. And only when you tell me how badly you've always wanted my hands, my fingers, my lips, my - tongue," Ash shuddered, snaking out a tongue from its mouth that only seemed to grow and thicken. It ran the turgid, obscene mass of it over Its bottom lip, chin. "my cock -" the Monster reached over then, secured Netta's hand before she could realize what It meant to do. The Monster pressed it over the writhing, heavy bulge that down the front of Its thigh. "to infect every portion of your flesh, then I will grant your wish to grant me care of your lust-starved body."

Netta snatched her hand back, grabbing it as though it had been burned. She bit her lip, forced her gaze up to Its face.

Ash's eyes fluttered open as a dreamy haze seemed to cloud Its eyes. The Monster looked as though It had just been telling her a beautiful dream It had had, not threatening her with what could only be, in her opinion, possession.

Netta spoke, unthinking of what she was saying. "Thank - thank you for saving me."

Ash froze, Its gaze sharpening as the Monster stared into her eyes. It seemed to regard her warily, as though Ash expected her to strike It.

Uneasily, Ash said, "Yeah, don't worry about it. I know it wasn't likely what either of us would have expected -" It stopped, as though realizing how foolish It believed it sounded. Ash chuckled, running a hand over Its face. "I couldn't have my lovely Host die. Not without my permission."