"Thanks again Shu, take care!" Ares had shifted over to Shu, picked up the pie, as well as a few other desserts Shu kindly made for Enyo and Bellona, and was taking his leave. Shu quite liked the Legion family, Rhea, amongst the other Vraizon matriarchs, were offering her full time support and investment so giving their kin, who were in a close relationship with Ares anyway, some freebies here and there was only natural to her. Actually Bellona and Enyo received a lot of discounts and freebies all across Red Sun, and the same would be true of Sandy eventually too, so that was nice. It felt like they were already a part of the community here so Ares was relieved to know he could leave them back here while he went on his adventures and there would always be a friendly face or two they could visit. There were still a good deal of other shops out there Ares hadn't introduced them to yet, non-food shops that is, but they could maybe discover some of those on their own as he'd need a week straight to take them everywhere.
Ares arrived back home and began setting up the food in the kitchen when he heard a knock at the front door and Shifted over to open it up. He didn't know who it was but figured it might be Charity and Gladius or Onno and Esme as they were the only two sets of neighbours he hadn't seen since returning as of yet. The first two would just be saying hi but the latter might have some business talks to conclude regarding the Bead stall and / or Hunter's soul. Nibbler would want to see it at some point so Ares was expecting a visit. When he opened the door, however, the tell tale Legion armor was front and centre and gave the game away... Partially. It actually wasn't Gladius or Charity, it was another friendly face he hadn't seen in a while but he new why she was here. "Sadie? Did you sixth sense for food kick in and bring you here? If so, good timing, I was just making a bunch of food for a large dinner and you're more than welcome."
"My nose never fails me. You got beer?" Sadie greeted Ares and immediately got down to important 'business'.
"Fresh from Bahru's so you won't find any better throughout all of Sheryashka." Ares led Sadie into the living room where she spotted Sandy leaning back on the couch with a beer and a satisfied expression.
"My people." Sadie instinctively recognised a fellow foodie and chose to go sit over there after she was done talking to Ares. "That another new lady friend of yours? Seems nice. By the way, I shouldn't really talk too much about this, your mother and Rhea decided it didn't involve you yet and you didn't need to know the specifics, but I think you should at least be aware that the Legions are starting to make a mess in Vraizon. Revenants are going missing regularly and not returning so when you finally head up to the next domain be careful you don't end up on that list."
"Mmm." Vargaraad's words from back in Isaz struck a chord once more now that Sadie was saying something to similar effect. Ares had no idea what was going on up there but it seemed like a war might restart any minute with the way things were going. it probably wouldn't affect Sheryashka for now, at most a few Legion devotees might go off script and come down to 'party', but whatever Major was doing up there would be contained as he wasn't stupid enough to openly antagonise a peace zone. Unless he wanted a full scale war on all fronts against all other clans he knew better than to unload all his unjustifiable methods and means right from the get go. Coffin was already overkill but it wasn't exactly something that could be easily confirmed and so he was still treading along the lines of grey morality without being accusable of anything substantial yet. Attacking the clan's young in Sheryashka would be ruinous and self destructive so Ares, though concerned, wasn't feeling any immediate danger. "There's still a few things I want to get done down here in Sheryashka before I go up there but I'll definitely keep my eyes open. Thanks for the reminder. As long as I can keep raising my cultivation it should be fine though."
"Oh right, you're in bloodline awakening now right? That's excellent, keep up the good work." Sadie took her seat and Ares handed her a cold beer to relax with as he went back into the kitchen and finished some more prep. About another twenty or so minutes later and everything was done and ready to be served so he began handing out dishes galore before he headed over to go and talk with Bellona. She was hiding away in her old room right now and so Ares knocked and waited fora response.
"Who is it and what do you want?" Bellona, the gatekeeper, asked her questions two.
"I am your husband and I have arrived to bully you."
"At least try and hide your intentions!" Bellona couldn't hold back a small laugh half way through her advice and Ares seized that momentary weakness to sneak into the room. He found her on her bed, curled up and still hiding away in her knees. She would occasionally peek up at him and then hide again like an ostrich, burying her red face somewhere Ares couldn't see it.
"Aww, c'mon, why don't you say something funny and stick your tongue out at me like you usually do?"
"Pft, get lost idiot."
"Saying that just makes me want to get even closer to you." Ares knelt behind Bellona on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her warmly from behind.
"I don't think you can get much closer..." Bellona mumbled in a muffled voice.
"You'll learn in time there's still a small gap between us right now that can absolutely be crossed." Ares' words were ominous and hinted at a deeper relationship but he wasn't here to make such a thing transpire right now. "Let me see it."
"See what?"
"What else? Your tongue. I didn't get a proper look earlier." At Ares' behest, Bellona lifted her head up, with her hair slightly messy and partially covering her right eye, and obediently stuck her tongue out. Her face, which was starting to return to normal colour, blushed again but Ares paid that no mind and placed two fingers along the mark on her tongue. He smoothly rubbed it back and forth and used his thumb to gently pinch the tongue. Bellona's eyes were in a panic and darting left and right but Ares wasn't having any of it. "Look at me." With great resolve, Bellona inched her eyes upwards to look at Ares and keep them there. Ares used his hand to stroke Bellona's face and then gave her a long kiss that slowly turned into a tongue tasting session. The mark didn't have any sort of feel to it but it seemed to stimulate the tongue by acting as a sort of humidifier. Bellona's tongue was incredibly wet along the body but that only made Ares more aggressive in swapping saliva. Despite her embarrassment, Bellona grabbed Ares' head and held him closer, locking him in her tongue and soft lips. Their kiss earlier was good but, if Bellona was being honest, she wasn't satisfied and wanted more attention. She was ok to go back into the living room a long while ago but figured if she waited here long enough her very own prince charming would find an excuse to sneak into the room and spoil her. Now that he was here, she was taking full advantage of it and keeping him to herself for a while and enjoying his affection and petting. She was feeling hot in the face for a very different reason now, it wasn't shame but something else she wasn't going to act on. She'd already decided tomorrow was when she'd take the first step but she couldn't deny she was feeling an urge to make things go quicker today. If Ares wasn't in the middle of hosting a big dinner she would have eaten him up instead... Or, well, let him eat her up actually. Bellona wasn't confident enough yet to be the aggressor when going all the way, that would take time and experience. For now, being marked and tongue was good enough.
This woman's charm is so much more lethal than she knows... Ares was struggling to detach himself form Bellona but the worst part came after he did. As he breathed hard, and sighed to himself, Bellona's wet, panting mouth was practically begging him to return. Her beautiful eyes were staring him down without backing down and she almost looked like a temptress challenging him to go again. Enyo was a softer approach but Bellona was pretty hardcore, no gimmicks, and made her wants extremely obvious. Her head was tilted slightly down, she licked Ares' saliva off her lips, and stared up at him expectant and daring. Ares had never seen this side of Bellona so it must have awakened after being subjected to Enyo. She was more willing to express her own horniness and this was the form it took. Nothing vocal, just a silent stare and offer that was hard to refuse. Her eyes were trained on Ares, not running away for once, and there was a seriousness that was urging Ares to pounce. He felt like he wouldn't be able to call himself a man if he backed down from this strong gaze so he pushed Bellona down onto the bed, held her hands above her head, and took her mouth by storm as he grinded his lower body against her provocatively. Another minute or so of rough domination he lifted his head up for air and regretted his impulsiveness because it had only gotten worse. Bellona's makeup was a mess, her panting was rougher, and her hair even messier... But she was still directing her amber eyes right into his soul and encouraging him to go further. 'Do it, coward.''I want it, you want it, do it'. Bellona's honesty, and ability to ignore her own shamefulness, was on full display as she kept up her piercing stoicism and taunting sternness. Her appearance was a disheveled disgrace but those eyes... Those damn eyes refused to give in and Ares' pride was fully caught in this twisted web. The more she refused to buckle, the more he wanted to push her further. One more won't hurt, maybe I'll finally exhaust her, let's see if she can keep staring at me like that after I'm done with her. A dangerous trail of thought that would only lead Ares further and deeper into the rabbit hole Bellona was dragging him down.
Ares had to get off her. He rolled to the side and stared at the wall, breaking eye contact first and now he was the one embarrassed for a change. He ery nearly couldn't control his impulses. Even Enyo had yet to cause his emotions to spiral so wildly out of control. All it took where those beautifully captivating eyes to refuse to budge an inch. Ares' instinctual desire to bully Bellona and make her feel shame, to divert those eyes and make her give in, almost made him do something he couldn't undo. Maybe Bellona was the real succubus all along... And she was so uppity about her chest size too. Turns out it didn't matter in the slightest, her womanly charm was out of this world regardless. Ares was turned on in a very different way than he was with Enyo, Bellona felt like a hurdle that kept growing every time he leapt over it. If she kept looking at him like that, he would be unable to extricate himself from her grasp until he considered the deed done. It wasn't confidence, Bellona was still flushed red. It was arrogance, a refusal to be bested and give up first. Part of it was her own stubbornness but part of it was an immense regret at what happened last time with Enyo. That sense of having been thoroughly toyed with without offering anything in return. It was a desire to outlast the other person's lust and let them unleash it all on her without giving up or backing down. She would take everything Ares gave to her until the end of time but that was just sparking his own competitiveness and ego! She vowed to go forever if need be and he vowed to keep going until she stopped! It was a war of attrition but one Ares felt he needed to back down from today. Doing it with guests over, while everyone was still waiting for more food, felt like it wasn't the right time. he'd be rushed, and have to give up eventually, but he refused to let his first time with Bellona result in a loss on his end. He needed to set a good example and put Bellona through her paces. She'd learn that she couldn't keep up that provocative eye contact forever even if he had to shag her to sleep and knock her out mid act. One bull-headed lover to another, Bellona didn't have what it takes to go head to head with Ares right now. Her cultivation was high, so that was helpful, but she wasn't experienced and couldn't tango for that long; she'd learn this the hard way sooner or later.
Now, though, Bellona was pretty ecstatic. The feeling of riling Ares up and getting him hot and bothered was intoxicating in its own way. For someone who thought she'd be unable to, someone who convinced herself she was lacking in womanly charm, this was an eye opening experience. Enyo was lust incarnate, so Bellona ignored that encounter, but Ares was far more neutral in that regard. His love and affection was unyielding but his lust was honest and she really felt it as he pined her down. That natural manliness and passionate desire in his eyes, and the movement of his waist, along with the growing toy in his pants, all of it was exciting for Bellona. She thought it would be somewhat anxiety inducing but not in the slightest. Whether that was because of Enyo nudging her in the right direction and giving her some experience or whether it was because she was overthinking things as per usual she didn't know but it was easier than she thought. Much easier. Forget being apprehensive, in the moment she wantedit and her body moved on its own to try and make Ares give it to her. She wasn't even conscious of her own staring, she was just looking at the man above her and silently pleading with her eyes. She wasn't the type to ask openly but she wasn't the type to lie either so it seemed like that stare of intense desire was going to be her new method of communicating her wants and needs to Ares. He'd be walking around the house, minding his own business, and see Bellona staring at him from the corner of his eyes with that passive aggressive glare... Could he really ignore such a look? He wasn't sure he had it in him. Bellona had found her own weapon and it was not something Ares could brush off lightly... Though she didn't know where to go from here. She'd won but now what? She didn't think this far ahead... Fortunately Ares broke the silence himself.
"Ahem. Seriously, stop looking at me like that, we can't get frisky right now and I'm not sure I can control myself." Ares turned back around and took another deep breath. Bellona had put the hypnotic eyes away as she recognised now wasn't the time... Though she did feel incredibly unfulfilled. "We're going on a date tomorrow so hold it in until then ok?"
"Pft, are you talking to me or yourself?" Bellona pulled herself together and poked Ares' chest.
"Both, definitely both." Ares admitted. "You are a dangerous woman. More dangerous than your sister in your own way. I came here to bully you but you bullied me!" Bellona couldn't resist smiling at her own accomplishment and the praise. She often compared herself as a woman to Enyo, which she knew was silly but did anyway, so hearing a positive comparison was probably the last barrier in her confidence that needed breaking. Ares had a gut feeling doing so would be helpful to her and he was ultimately right as Bellona would never again bring up anything to do with feeling lacking as a woman. Point in case. "To think even someone as flat chested as you could do me in..." Ares was testing the waters here as she would have beaten him up for saying something like this before. Instead, though, she just laughed.
"I'll poke your eye out with my 'flat' chest's nipple if you don't watch your mouth!" Bellona jumped on Ares and wrestled with him a bit all over the bed. She wasn't acting ok, she wasn't pretending to be unbothered, she just didn't care. She'd learnt a valuable lesson in that all women have some sort of charm in one way or another and she was no exception. So what if her chest wasn't packing two big balloons like her overinflated sister? She had her own weapons! Also, her ass wasn't that bad either as Ares made a fair few attempts to grab it during the scuffle. Enjoying the feel of his hands, Bellona occasionally 'slipped' and let him get a feel. Not too much, though, otherwise they'd end up in the same mess as earlier, lose track of time, and leave the world behind as they got entangled in one another's bodies. Instead, the two wound up in a close hug with Bellona on top, leaning her head on Ares' chest.
"Are you two done yet?" Enyo was standing at the doorway and tapping her feet against the floor with her arms crossed. "Sister Sandy is waiting patiently for her pie while you two are playing house and keeping her waiting!" Enyo was very protective of the adopted rhino and seeing her twiddling her thumbs and waiting for the pie without raising a fuss was too hard to accept without doing anything about it! Sandy had been given some starters and whatnot to keep her busy but obviously she plowed through them in no time flat!
"Ah, sorry sorry. Come on you heavy sloth, get up." Ares pushed against Bellona's shoulders and flicked him on the face for calling her heavy. Ares ducked past Enyo and ran away to the living room but Bellona was halted at the door by Enyo whose arm was blocking the way out.
"Had fun in here did you?"
"Yeah?" Bellona had no reason to deny it. "Gonna have some more fun tomorrow as well. Before you ask, no, you aren't allowed to watch. Ask Ares for the memories after if you want."
"Spoilsport." Enyo sighed and accepted defeat. "Here." Enyo held out a ball of light.
"This is?" Bellona knew it contained memories but not which kind.
Enyo checked the corridor to make sure nobody was listening. "Me giving Ares some oral service. I know you enjoyed watching it whenever you happened to be in the room, and I know that's what you're planning tomorrow, so here's some 'ideas' you can use." Enyo's observational skills for anything lewd were in full force once again and she was, naturally, correct. Something about giving head to Ares really seemed to be Bellona's weakness and she was oddly excited for it. Maybe it was because of the way Ares liked to hold and stroke his partners head, maybe she wanted to look up at him and show off her eyes, maybe she liked seeing him be pleasured and groaning out loud, or maybe she this was an extension of her headbutting / nudging Ares all the time and so it felt familiar to her. Either way, Bellona was pretty determined to become good at fellatio and Enyo had seen her practicing with her fingers in secret though never brought it up because Bellona would be mortified. She wanted to get it right and become proficient at it, that was for sure. For Bellona, it was a matter of everything Enyo guessed it was all combined into one. It looked satisfying and she thought it would be fun.
"Thanks but..." Bellona was about to reach out to the ball of light when she realised it wouldn't be that simple. "... What's the catch?" Enyo wasted no time in explaining the price she was after and simply took Bellona by the mouth much like Ares had done. Both his and Bellona's taste still resided on her lips so she got to taste a bit of everyone as she pushed her sister up against the wall. Bellona's buried lust was sparked and her stubborn eyes returned, leaving Enyo in much the same predicament Ares was just in.
"... Those eyes are going to get you into a lot of trouble Blo Blo." Enyo was better at controlling her own state thanks to her pillar so she was able to resist the temptation. "If you don't make sure you thoroughly please Ares tomorrow he's going to find a way to vent the rest of his stress on you, especially if you keep looking at him like that." Enyo's words might have sounded like a threat but they were actually a piece of advice. If Bellona wanted to go all the way this was her ticket to doing so. Half heart the initial fun and keep provoking a riled up Ares. She shook her head and denied it though.
"I'm serious about getting good at oral though. I want to be the best in the harem at it, that's my goal. You might think that's a weird goal but it's what I want. When there are multiple woman running around, and he doesn't have time to play with them all, if he wants quick relief who do you think he'll go to?"
"Sly woman!" Enyo, in all her Ares related wisdom, hadn't even considered this! Bellona was pulling the rug out from under her this whole time and she didn't even realise it! It was undeniably a brilliant strategy and Bellona had thought about not just how to please Ares but also the way that was most convenient for him in the long run. Enyo was reminded that her own love for Ares was massive, yes, but it's not like Bellona was taking things lightly either. "I know you're honest to a fault, and wouldn't ever lie to me, but why are you admitting this? What if I try and do the same now that you've put the idea in my head?"
Bellona shrugged. "I'll be better than you at it no matter what. I have my eyes and marked tongue, remember?"
"You..." Enyo was taken aback as yet another reason for the tongue marking was revealed. Bellona was crafty! She hadn't shown it in a while but her wiles hadn't disappeared, they were merely in hiding. She was using her innovative craftiness to play to Ares' heartstrings now instead of toying with him and that was going to be tough for even Enyo to combat. Enyo's pleasure pillar might not even be able to help her beat Bellona at this game and so she was genuinely impressed with her little sister's ambition. "... Fine but only as long as you do it properly. If he's not weak in the knees after you're done then your position is being given to someone else."
"I'll be sure to get in a lot of practice." Bellona smirked as she declared her intention of robbing Enyo of her time with Ares. She was dead serious about this. Ever since she first saw Enyo going down on Ares she was heavily invested. Something about the act called to her and she wanted to try ever since. She had the advantage of being close to Ares early in his cultivation journey so she had plenty of time to get used to his preferences and deliver accordingly. Maybe she'd be crap at it when she first started, perhaps, but her aim was to get better at it than anyone else could ever possibly be and she wasn't taking any prisoners in that regard. Bellona was feeling particularly headstrong, one might say, and tomorrow she'd begin her long journey to becoming the oral exemplar!