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Grace Smith - a basic name that would grow to feel odd to say out loud. Grace hadn't used her voice in a long time, not since she got trapped in here. She couldn't even remember when she entered. Must've been at least a few years.
Either way, she thought she was alone in this Ikea. Sure, there was slightly scurrying she heard every so often, the occasional scream, but nothing worth actual interaction. Nothing worth staring more than a few seconds. Grace had set routines, been able to keep track of days she knew probably weren't what everyone else was following. More importantly, the time. She knew to ignore things, be back at her base at least a minute before night hit, never waste a second on unnecessary wandering. Not even a glance.
Although, one of these days, which from what she marked as a Thursday, she couldn't help herself. She was venturing off to the closest food court to her base, which was surprisingly only half a mile away - a pretty good distance for an infinite Ikea - when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Grace actually had to pause for a moment. What..did she just see? Were those wings? The woman, adjusting the stolen Ikea work uniform she'd been wearing for years now, stopped and just..stared at whatever this creature was.
It had those stupid head wings, three pairs that disguised themselves as possible additions to its short hair, with larger ones on its back. Grace swore if that entity spread them to their full extent it would look like an angel's humongous wings. Larger than any other wings she saw. The entity had a long dress on, tight enough to define just where her torso ended and her hips started, nothing too clingy to the skin. Modest. It was a cute dress, from what she could see of it. The..thing was standing back facing her, so she couldn't define much about the front dress. As if warning Grace of staring too long, the entity's wings shifted and she slightly turned her head. It knew she was there. Staring. Admiring. Grace instantly forced her head down back to look at her long worn-out shoes and kept walking.
What had she just seen? That was not a regular employee. Definitely not. She was sure that it wasn't just some other unfortunate soul who got trapped here, none of them looked like that. How tall even was that thing? It looked like one of those darn pillars. Okay, that was exaggerating, but it was taller than anything she'd seen before!— Taller than the tallest employees, and that was saying something.. Either way, she probably wouldn't have to run into it again. Not like it was going to try and find her or something.
Oup, oh- no, she.. she was wrong. She knew she was wrong. She could feel eyes bore into the back of her skull. Or..eye? Maybe thousands? She couldn't tell. All she knew was something was watching her, and she had a feeling it was that darn creature. Grace started walking faster subconsciously. She could hear rustling behind her. Surely she'd be okay—
“Stop walking.”
…Oh no. Grace sped up.
“Travler, stop.”
Against all better judgement, she inhaled sharply and stopped. Grace could've swore she heard a mutter of praise as she ceased walking. She didn't turn around, waiting for the entity to come toward her instead. Was this her end? Was this really how her little scavenger hunt of a life came to a close? Oh, please Lord, don't let this be the end.
A soft, warm hand came to rest on Grace's shoulder. She tensed. “There's no need to be afraid of me,” that same voice cooed. “Please, turn to me.” Grace obeyed. In front of her now? The thing she saw earlier. Just now, up close. It was quite taller than her. Grace had to practically wrench her neck to look at it in the eyes. Seeing this small dilemma, the entity crouched to be at eye level with the traveler. The entity had eyes she'd never seen before. A silver hue, white pupils. Her hair was white as well. Her gaze delved down to admire the entity's obvious curves, realizing that indeed was not a corset she saw. It was just her actual body. If she thought there was even an ounce of a chance this thing was human, she'd be concerned. It had a beautiful shirt comparable to a tube top on, baggy enough to not show off anything outrageous. Attached to the sleeves were flounce-like, going down to its wrists before elegantly cuffing off. Its dress looked the same, cinching itself off at her waist with the same bags as the top. It looked like a fabric that could perhaps be used for frills, but with a white sheen underneath it. Grace was about to scan more details, but the entity snapped her back to reality.
“What is your name, little traveler?” The entity asked. It sounded calm, maybe a bit too calm. Even the corny ‘voice like honey’ was too generous for what it sounded like.
“Grace..” She stammered out, subconsciously taking a small step back.
“Grace?” The entity repeated, committing it to memory. The woman gave a small nod. It looked like she was about to try and say something else, but the entity's palms cupping her face stopped any other rational chain of thoughts. The entity hummed, studying Grace's features. How all of the sudden, with any touch it gave, she'd tense. Not in a way it was used to either, not the one of fear she gave like when she first heard its voice. Something else it couldn't quite comprehend - oddly enough.
“Do—” Grace finally spoke. Her throat felt dry. “Do you have a name, ma'a..sir?..mmh—”
“Ma'am.”
“Ma'am! Hahaah!—” She was fumbling like a stereotypical flustered schoolgirl.
“I do not.” It answered.
“Ah..okay.” She couldn't muster anything else. She could feel herself burning up. This was so embarrassing. “Why?”
“There's no need. Not for someone like me,” The creature answered. When it got a confused look from the traveler, it still decided not to elaborate. It had no need. Its hands fell from Grace's face, leaving the woman with a momentary jolt of shock and desire to be held again. The look did not go unseen by the entity. “What brings you to scavenge, Grace?” It asked.
Grace couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt good to hear someone say her name. Especially.. this entity. She would never admit that. “Well, I..” She cleared her throat. “I needed to get some food.”
“You are aware it is almost night, correct?”
“Wha..what? No it's not, I just—” Grace stammered again only for the entity to cut her off.
“Quiet.” Grace obeyed. “It is almost nightfall, and I have seen my fair share of souls get attacked by those vile beasts—”
“The Ikea workers?”
“I told you to be quiet, did I not?” Grace did not respond. She hadn't the guts. “Good. But yes, those workers are quite violent. Mmh..” The godly entity stood silently for one too many beats to make it comfortable in thought. “I shall accompany you back home.” It finally proposed.
“But I need food, I have to restock..” The godly creature didn't even react to her protest of necessity.
“Lead me to your home.”
“But I need—”
“I will not repeat myself a third time, Grace, lead me to your home.” Its voice held an edge she'd never heard before. Sharper, commanding - daring her to disobey. Dare she say it was..hot? Was that the right word? Just about, she'd assume.
“Y..yes ma'am.” Grace complied and began walking back to her built home, if you could even call it that, making sure the creature was following her as she did.
They walked for what felt like about twenty minutes, but Grace knew it was shorter than that. She came to her home, which from the bottom looked like just a staircase built up with pallets. The godly entity studied what it could see, her soft smile not fading yet.
“A..staircase? This is your home?”
“Yeah! It's not just a staircase, ma'am.” She said, strolling toward her makeshift entrance on the side of the pillar. “Taaah-daaah~!” Grace did a small display of jazz hands toward her entrance, which only seemed to receive an amused hum from the entity. It was cardboard boxes built up into two mini-pillars on either side of the starting pallet.
“You do not have to walk me all the way up there, Grace.” It said, walking toward Grace and suddenly pulling her against its own body by her waist. Its fingers wrapped delicately around her hips, slightly digging into the skin for stability. At this, Grace tensed and flushed pink. The entity noticed yet didn't bring attention to it. With a hard beat of its wings, the entity and Grace became quickly airborne as the entity moved to fly to where the makeshift stairs ended and her actual base began. Grace ended up clinging to the entity, her cheek flush against its abdomen.
When they got to top, the entity gracefully landed on its feet, setting down Grace with a small hand to run through her hair like a caring partner - or something akin to that sort of nature. With a deep breath from the woman just carried to the top, she opened the actual entrance to her base. Grace stepped in first, the entity after. There was no roof, so there was no need to dip down to get in. Once inside, Grace pointed to a few things.
“That—” She began, pointing to her couch with the obvious glass table in front of it. “Is where I spend most of my time organizing, or just.. staring. I used to have a TV, but it didn't display anything but slop, so I put it back.” She took the entity around her small base, pointing out everything. Her food cubby, her bed, her toy collection she'd begun recently to keep her from going insane — everything! The godly entity studied every bit of it, but not as much as it studied Grace herself. This woman was so…strange. So magnificent. So endearing. It couldn't keep its eyes off of her. When said woman was done giving it the grand tour, she guided the entity to the couch again so they could both sit on it. Grace sat slightly manspread, the entity on the other hand having its legs put together, knees pointed the same way. Its hands delicately folded in its lap, waiting for Grace to speak up first again. After a few beats of silence, she did. “If you don't mind me asking, why don't you have a name?” Grace turned toward the entity to look at its still looming figure. She would love to wrap those wings around her, maybe even help the entity preen if so needed. She forced that thought deep down.
“I don't need one, I find it trivial.” Was the entity's response.
“Then..why did you ask for mine?” Grace asked.
“..Because you humans—”
“No, why did you ask for my name?” The entity was almost astounded by the sheer audacity this woman held for cutting it off. “If you find it trivial, as you said, why do you feel the need to know mine?” Grace asked. The entity kept quiet for a moment.
“Because I know you - like all humans -” When it spoke of humans again, it gave her a glare as if challenging her to interrupt once more, “value names. Especially you, because of just how long it appears you've been trapped here.” Grace didn't respond. It was..right. Of course it was. She hummed. She turned away to stare at the glass table for a second before back up at the entity.
“Can I give you a name?” Grace asked. The entity's white pupils dilated like a cat seeing its favorite toy. It had to restrain itself from acting like one, as well.
“...If you would like.” It responded casually. To this, Grace suddenly sat closer to it and hummed happily.
“—Eve?”
“No. Too…Bible-y.”
“Sammy?” The two had found themselves cuddled together, Grace sitting in the entity's lap as she shot out names like orders.
“My lovely peon, do I look like a Sammy?”
“...No, ma'am. I don't know what you look like, I'm not good with names!”
“Come on,” The entity ran a lanky hand through her hair. “I'm sure you can think of one. Use that brain of yours I know you have.” Grace was silent, her gaze ultimately shifting down to stare at the floor below them. She was sure these pallets were just holding on by sheer luck at this point. The Ikea dweller seemed to be a bit lost in thought, the entity having to poke her on the shoulder to snap her out of whatever she was thinking about so hard in that little, feeble mind of hers.
“How about.. uh, Lilian?” Grace offered up.
“Isn’t that also a biblical name?” The godly creature asked again, its gaze being met with the inferior being.
“No-! Well, er,” Grace stammered. “Sort of. Lilith is biblical, Lilian is just sort of.. there. I guess you could interpret it as biblical, mostly because of the implication of Lilith, but I don’t–”
“Silence, Grace.” The entity cooed, snapping her out of her small tirade. “I understand what you are trying to say,” It confirmed. The wings on its head twitched slightly, forcing a slight uncomfortable pause as it thought over the name. “I admit, it does fit me, doesn’t it?” It giggled quietly, as well as Grace did. Grace tilted her head up to look at the entity with expectant eyes, almost close to a puppy waiting for their owner to pass them their favorite toy to fetch. “If that is what you would like to call me, I will not object.” It finally agreed, noticing how its peon’s eyes filled with light and joy. She smiled and wrapped her arms around the lanky deity’s body in a soft embrace. The entity wrapped its wings around the small woman, its hand coming up to gently stroke her hair as it reciprocated the hug with its free arm. Once the little hug was done, Lilian did not release Grace. Rather, just kept their wings wrapped around her in a protective manner.
“Wait a second, ma’am–” Grace suddenly had a burning thought, it seemed. “Since I do refer to you as a ‘ma’am’ does that–”
“Yes, I am a woman.” She finally admitted. Good, now we can stop calling this poor lady an ‘it.’ Grace nodded along with the admission, snuggling back into the goddess’ chest. It seemed she was a bit tuckered out already - although not really being able to do much all day. Maybe it was just because she felt safe.
Just as she was starting to feel even more of that unfamiliar comfort, the ominous toll of the lights going out all around the Ikea sounded through the unroofed base. She sat completely up, realizing they had been talking for all the precious time she could have been scavenging for her necessities. Sensing her distress, Lilian folded her wings further inward to shelter her more and slid her hand down to Grace’s waist for some sort of gesture of comfort.
“Grace, are you alright?” Lilian asked, staring down at her beautiful peon. Her hand tightened its grip on her slightly.
“Yeah, I.. darn it, I forgot to go get food..” Grace murmured, leaning into the protective woman once more. She heard a few employees walking below them, but it was very faint - as she did build quite a bit up on her pillar.
“Oh, yes.. Hm.” Lilian hummed as she pried the other woman off of her with obvious reluctance. It was nice to feel her warmth, but not right now. Her Grace needed something. She stood from the couch and went off to a more open space, the woman on the couch being left there to watch whatever was about to unfold. With a quiet clear of her throat, each pair of Lilian’s wings began to subtly tremble. The ones on her head were what was moving the most. She had her eyes closed, but there was a soft light that seemed to begin emanating from her. Before Grace could even comprehend what was happening, it was already over, and in the direction the goddess was looking was suddenly a supply of food to last Grace more than a month, if not expired by then.
“Wha.. huh?” Grace looked dumbfounded. She stirred slightly in her own amazement before standing up and stalking toward her goddess. “What did you just..?”
“I spawned you food.” Lilian answered like it was the most common thing in the world. “It does not expire. You can have as much as you like, or as little, I will spawn more when you need it, my love.” Grace nodded, barely understanding what this even really meant. The one thing she did? My love.
“What?” She asked again. Lilian repeated the word as she looked down at her human. “What did you just call me?” Her voice sounded slightly accusatory, but nothing even close to malice could be traced.
“My love.” Lilian repeated. Grace just stood there, staring at the woman she had met not even a day ago. What did she mean ‘my love,’ they weren’t dating, they weren’t in love. …Were they?
“My.. my love?” She stammered. Grace obviously wasn’t hearing that correctly, right? She couldn’t be.
“Yes, my love.” Lilian repeated for the third time. The goddess left the everlasting food literally floating in the air as she began walking over to her muse again, towering over the smaller woman. Grace could do nothing but stare up, swallowing balled up saliva gathering in her throat from sheer anticipation and..excitement, dare she say. “Why are you looking at me like that, Grace?” She shivered as her name slipped off Lilian’s tongue. She didn’t know why she was feeling this way all of the sudden, it wasn’t her, it wasn't right, she couldn’t –
“I.. I don’t-” Grace began to stutter as she tried to stand from her position on the couch. Lilian blocked her way from standing up, instead pushing her back down on the couch with a soft hand to the middle of her chest.
“Do not. You are fine, my love.” Lilian sat next to the other on the couch, keeping herself close to Grace. Almost glued to the woman’s side. Grace turned her body to face the goddess at her side again, only to be pressed down onto the cushions below her, the practical beast looming over her as she looked down with those damn eyes. The woman above her almost laughed at the way her peon looked beneath her. Not in any cruel way, there was obviously still not a hint of malice in those eyes - but they did seem to hold the slightest challenge to tease the already horribly flustered woman.
“Lilian, wha..” She couldn't even finish her sentence. That name on Grace's mouth felt too good to hear, and Lilian felt like she needed to really claim that name as her own. For her peon. With a dip down, the two women's lips locked together with a surprised yelp from the smaller one. Lilian adjusted herself to better be able to press Grace down, making sure this moment lasted as long as needed. She hummed on the other's lips, leaning into it with something close to greed. Lilian responded by intertwining her fingers in Grace's hair, pulling back before she got too carried away. She swallowed, looking down at her peon.
“Mmh, you..” She licked her lips, diving down for a few more quick pecks at her lips. “Taste lovely, Grace..” That only heightened the poor woman's embarrassment and need. Grace pulled away, though only served to push herself further into the rather uncomfortable cushion from the display couch. She herself swallowed, staring up at the woman still steadily above her with a mixture of emotions she couldn’t quite comprehend at this moment.
“We– We’ve only-”
“Yes, peon, we’ve only known each other one day, I know.” Lilian cut her off and pecked at her lips a few more times, “Can’t I just enjoy the person who was willing to not run from me the moment they heard me?” Grace didn’t answer. She was right, although they’d only met hours ago, it felt like second nature to be with this goddess already. It was odd, really, but she knew deep down it was true. Without a second thought, the woman simply leaned up again and indulged in more kisses from her new.. girlfriend? Friend with benefits?.. God? Whatever they were classified as.
Eventually, they slept through the night. Nothing inherently sexual occurred, other than the occasional bite or so on. Unfortunately, Lilian was too tall to fit on her bed to snuggle, so they just slept on the couch. Grace had been the last one to wake out of the two, groggily getting up. She could instantly tell that not only was she off schedule - the one she’d made for herself to keep her from going absolutely insane - but also that Lilian wasn’t by her side. She lifted herself up off the couch and traced her eyes around the room, or what she could see of it without moving much yet, and sighed. Grace called out for her, and just like that, her god was at her side.
“You called, my dearest?” Lilian cooed, standing at the side of the couch she had before the attack of kisses last night.
“I didn’t know where you went..” She answered sleepily, the tiredness still not jarred from her system yet.
“Aw, sweet little thing.” The entity stalked toward her peon and softly stroked her head in a gentle sweep of pets, much akin to the way one would pet their bunny. Grace only let out a small hum of gratitude, leaning away to stretch out.
“When did you wake up?” She asked, her hands clasping together above her head as she leaned back, her shirt slightly riding up to expose the little chub she had on her person. It was cute to Lilian, for some odd reason.
“Well, I never really went to bed,” She answered. When she then received a confused look and tilt of the head from Grace, she decided to elaborate further. “I don’t need to sleep, so I can’t really force myself to. Not like you humans can.”
“Ahh.. Yeah, that makes sense I.. I guess.” Grace yawned in the middle of her sentence. Thankfully, the sleepiness was beginning to wear off already. Grace sniffed the air like a little bunny, smelling an odd freshly cooked food smell. She looked around, noticing a plate of food on one of the counters she stole from the store. “When did you..?” She asked, her voice trailing to leave the question hanging in the air as she turned back to Lilian.
“I spawned it,” Lilian simply spoke, walking over to the plate and taking it in her hands to transport it to her bunny. “I apologize if you don’t like it. If anything, I can spawn something you do.” All the while she was speaking, her peon was absolutely chowing down on the meal she had just been bestowed. Upon seeing this, Lilian's unrelenting smile turned into something more genuine, humming a small laugh. “Though, as I can see.. That will not be necessary.” She spoke gently, making sure to try not to word it in a discouraging way. Grace looked up from her delicious breakfast and softly giggled, realizing from that tone that she was really trying not to discourage her from eating.
“Lilian, sweetie,” She spoke with her mouth full. “You can call me fat. I am.” Lilian’s gaze completely locked onto her.
“Do not.” The deity commanded. “You are anything but fat, dear.” This only caused Grace to yet again giggle. Hearing this, Lilith shot her a glare - nothing with real malice or heat - just one to shut her up for a second. Grace did as silently instructed.