My Rotten Goddess [WW4 Training Arc] [Mana/Cali]

Christ, what the hell was she even doing in this instant? A great part of Mana's essence screamed that this was all so disgusting. She was The Queen Of Demons, yet she was having such a horrid time trying to express the sentiments of bittersweet weakness which love and attachment yields a being. So, a snarl exited out of The Demoness's mouth as Calypso held her in for a close hug.

"You don't know that."

That voice that exited the lips of Mana was snappy and agitated. What did Cali even know of the enemies which The Queen had? What type of mystical insight to the future did this child possess within her being which foresee everything being alright? Gah. It made her sick. But perhaps it was just her own fear coming to the surface after many years of repression.

"You don't even have a fraction of my power, yet you are uttering such absolute statements? Maybe it is my own weakness talking then. Things are more certain in life when the only thing you need to concern yourself with is you."

There was a tired sigh that came out of Mana when speaking those truths into existence. Trying to find faith, trust, and belief in something outside of her own power was a hard thing to sell. It is why The Queen had half a mind to keep her sealed in this realm, but caging a bird that she herself raised wasn't exactly The Demoness's style. So, instead, The Queen allowed the daughter to melt into her arms as she closed her eyes and tried to take all this in; while all the while even her emerald green tendrils were seen embracing Cali as Mana brushed her pale hand against the child's hair.

"Please. Do not hurt me by lying to me. That is all I ask."

Once those foul words were uttered, The Queen continued trying to piece together her heart to express what needed to be said.

"Life has no certainties, but do everything in your power to avoid death. 'Cuz I ain't sure how I'll take that..."

With that, Mana just savored the moment and waited for Cali's response.

She could sense it, all of it, all the feelings of disgust, confusion, and retching her spirit performed. She could tell, this all was buried so far down in the woman, she possibly wasn't sure of it's resurfacing to be possible until now. But, here they were, both bearing bleeding hearts to each other. Calypso's hand gently went to pat her mother on the head, as she uttered the girl's inability to know all of this for certain, that she knows not of her enemies, of what horrors she'd likely have to battle. All Calypso did was look up and smile at her,

"Of course I don't know, but that doesn't mean I don't have faith."

Her voice was gentle and sure as she looked into the woman's eyes, a soft sigh leaving her lips, "I can't see the future. I can't guarantee I can prevent everything. That simply isn't something I can do, but clearly it's something that isn't guaranteed to you, either. I doubt you ever would have thought being able to be open to another person was possible, but, here you are."

She could only chuckle gently as her fingers gently traced down the Queen's cheek, "...Because, isn't determination, the will to do, the greatest weapon of all? A strong enough will can make waves, and I can say, I have no interest in backing down and dying."

Caly slowly shut her eyes, her face lying against the woman's chest, "Because I myself was born of the wills of all, doubly so. The strength of my will, is the strength of me.."

A visible wince was seen from The Queen as her child began to pat her head. There was a violent impulse within herself which cringed at the notion of accepting the affection of another so foolishly following her into the pits of hell. There was a great desire for her to flee away from this and banish the brat back to the depths of Demon World, but she eventually relented and allowed her to have that moment, at least.

Instead, her eyes darted toward Cali more intently as she started to speak. Having faith? In this world? Eh, it could work. It's wired, constructed and made to run on supernatural bullshit. So, when Cali finished, Mana returned the physical gesture of affection and began to hold her close to her bosom so that she could feel her foul heart beating ever so slowly.

"Chaos runs through your veins like blood now, child. So perhaps our capacity to shatter the logic of reality can see the non-sensible drivel you are spewing at me to victory."

With her batty wings twitching out of uneasiness, The Demon Queen let out an irritated sigh and simply uttered these words in a hushed tone as those same black wings enclosed around them both:

"Demons feel many things, but I do feel a love for you, child. That is a dangerous thing if our minds get carried away. Always remember that."

...


"...as if I should ever die, you will feel a pain flow through spirit and mind like no other because of that love we share..."

Calypso was in a state of utter calm as she rested against her mother's chest, trusting in that the woman wouldn't be so easy to give into her instincts to clam up and push her away. It was okay, she didn't judge or criticize her mother for having such rabid emotions underneath, that wouldn't help either of them for her to claw at her over it.

"Call it whatever you want, i'm not changing my mind..."

She spoke softly and surely in response to her mother's still rather pessimistically toned words. No amount of it would stop Calypso from extending her hand.

But then, her mother brought up the subject of her love towards her, only to quickly turn it unto a subject of her death, and how painful such an event will be to the girl. She didn't look afraid, she didn't look up to back off, if anything, she let out a gentle, yet indignant sigh,

"Good lord woman, must you try to find the bad in everything good coming your way?!"

Calypso couldn't help but give a gentle laugh, "I'm willing to suffer if it means I can show that I care. Even if it's a world-tearing level of suffering, I wouldn't allow something like that to stop myself from loving others, and, loving you! No matter what you've done, I... I can't stop loving you. That would be far too cruel of me, and i'm not interested in closing myself off to protect my own emotions... Because.. You just can't really live a life, without some form of pain."

Naive optimism was such a quaint commodity. Yes, youth is such a joy to have when you are drenched in the serenity of inexperience. It blinds the foulness of reality, the heaviness of existence and the curse which acquired experience and knowledge has over an exhaustingly long life. So, to that end, it was rather nice to savor the flavor of Cali's endless maddening positivity.

"When ya' got as bad of a karma as me? It's only an inevitability, s'ugah."

Mana gave a grim chuckle before her pale-skinned hands covered the sight of Cali.

"Besides, that wasn't only a warning for myself, but for the others in this family."

Foul amusement echoed from the lips of The Demon Queen when uttering those words. The woman was half-dazed at that point, but as usual, she was crazy like a fox. When that raspy laugh ceased, The Demoness let go of Cali and carried on:

"Your sisters are quite the love-starved creatures. You should be ever so careful around them and me if you value your personal safety."

After giving a pause, Mana placed her finger on the stomach of Cali as she felt her seal with her cold, bare hand.

"But you are right. Such maddening pain will make you stronger, child. I can only hope you'll be ready for whatever comes. As I worry you still might not be equipped to handle it because your naivety really hasn't grasped the full reality of it all..."

"Ehck, I sense the pessimism in that sentence alone so much, I think i'm gagging on it."

Calypso lightly joked about her mother's attitude, sighing as she only dwelled on it in her thoughts; she wasn't sure if there was any way to get her mother to stop being so sour towards something genuinely good, but that wasn't exactly going to stop her, especially after the events they had gone through. She didn't seem startled as Mana once again covered her eyes, remaining relaxed with her mother's blocking of her sight,

"Mhmm? How's that?"

She listened to her mother speak of her love-starved siblings and other family, such a thing Calypso was aware of, but was entirely convinced she could fix. Everything was fine, she loved everyone, she would give them her love too, it'd all be fine, right? She wasn't intimidated by the idea of there being a few bumps in the road when it came to aiding her family, it wouldn't be fair of her to abandon them when they.. Simply needed to be loved.

"It'll be fine. I will be fine. Even if there's a bump or a kick here and there, I want things to be fine, so they will be. Even if it takes time."

She felt her mother's cold digit touch her seal, the dark mark standing out upon her body as she simply gave her mother a slow blink in response,

"I assure you, even if I may not be ready at the start, I will be made ready. I have time. We have time."

Demons were durable creatures. So, in a sense, she was designed to suffer and grow from it. It made the futility of worrying for a creature of sin pointless. Hence, Mana let out a satisfied sigh and decided to indulge this moment of maddening positivity flowing through her creation of flesh and blood.

"If that is the route you wish to take, why not show it to me in the material form?"

Mana's voice seemed to perk up ever so slightly at that moment. Having a source of new mania to drink from, the woman's own claws could be felt sucking away the madness bleeding in the essence of Cali. It felt nice to have the influence of another entering into the void of delirium which was her mind and heart. So, why not open her daughter up further to these wonders?

"You've displayed a chaotic form of courage to me today in the realm of dreams, so what can your maddening positivity do in the real world? Let me see if it is something potent enough to quench my everlasting thirst for highs, darling."

At that point, the woman was breathing in the air of Cali as her body increased in height and she started to feel a desire to feast upon this bright nature of her daughter. These weren't lustful feelings, rather, it was an intense hunger to feel warmth in her vessel to carry out the duties as the Chaotic Queen she was at her core.

"Show me what you can do with that mad love, daughter."

Calypso only smiled as she felt the dark claws of her mother plucking away at her positivity-fueled madness. Even if it was a twisted way of showing it, Calypso knew some part of her mother wanted to believe her words, and with the beckoning of her to show her, materialize this madness into physical form, the young one welcomed it. Suddenly, strands of the girl's hair would turn a radiant white, starkly contrasting the soft black curls, as her irises suddenly obtained that white glow.

"Was this what you wanted?"

Her tone was gentle, dry, as a hand was suddenly struck into Mana's chest.

However, no blood or pain flourished from the entry, if anything it looked more like Calypso's hand had suddenly become ghostly, and phased inside of the woman, rather than cutting through her flesh and blood. Warmth in her cold chest would flicker as Calypso had focused this light born within her outward, and to her mother, to her heart, staring deep into the woman's eyes as her own bore a strong intensity to them, almost as if the girl was possessed.

The gentle white light of her energies would circulate within her mother, if allowed, causing no pain compared to the white flames that burned in their battle within the dream, rather providing a comforting flow if it were allowed to take root in the woman.

There was a raise of the eyebrow given with how her child of chaos shifted the tables and transformed into some ghastly haired maiden. Though, at the same time, it was a welcomed change as The Queen did not seem to mind it much. She decided it was better to let things play out as her lush green eyes observed the hand flowing into her chest.

"Perhaps."

Coy as usual, The Demoness still maintained her sense of control in this circumstance as she let out a low chuckle. It was entertaining to see her daughter try to go through so much bullshit merely to please her mother. Twas sweet in a demented way, but fortunately for Cali her mother was not in the abusive mood. Hence, she allowed for this bright light to course through her veins.

"Oh, you really are trying to give me the world here, huh?"

That laugh was more lively than before as Mana licked her lips and savored the rich, thick sweet flavor of Cali's maddening love. A person could compare it to gorging one's self on an endless buffet of cakes, candies, and other such sugary delights. And in response to this delectable moment, The Demoness energy started to brighten as a world of warmth swelled around them.

"Is this what you want to share with the world? This feeling of jubilation n' pleasure?"

With literal stars in her eyes, Ol' Mana then gave a shit-eating grin to her daughter and continued:

"If that's the case: perhaps you do have a thing or two in your favor if you can keep such a sweet flavor of spirit from becoming tainted, broken and eroded by this world."

Now snickering at this point, the woman's batty wings spread apart and her youthful vigor started to return as she then had a simply placid idea:

"Oi, kiddo, why don't I suck you dry when I need a bite of somethin' spicy? I ain't one fer sappy shit, but it's a bit nice having that boost to keep me from bein' a depressive bitch."

As Mana rubbed her Cali's head, the woman got past her pride and blurted this out:

"So thank you for that, brat."

"Yes."

Any and all outward expression of happiness and care were somewhat absent, considering her mind was greatly busy externalizing and weaving the intensive positivity she felt within herself outward, so such short answers came naturally to someone who was already so intensively focused. Her pupils looked as if they were literally on fire, a bright white haze within the usually dark space as her sheer focus kept her body from shaking and keeping the flow of positivity consistent.

"YES."

Her second yes was far more intensive than the first one, the sheer power of her voice making the ground tremble slightly, as if expressing how much she wanted it. The young demon was serious about wanting to spread some sense of peace and ease, with how things were playing out as of now only fueling that desire to bring her dreams to light. The madness in her veins didn't drag the desire out of her, if anything it unearthed just how fucking absolutely badly she wanted things to be better.

"I am not interested in being bent or broken. That is not my plan."

A few signs of veins would appear around her eyes, the raw concentration alone certainly being a strain, however, she wasn't up to stop unless her mother asked her to.

"That's fine. My love is limitless."

She spoke that truth so blatantly and calmly, as her breathing was strict and focused, as to not interrupt her flow, not even her mother patting her head made her avert her gaze.