Chapter Text
Off of Columbus Circle there was a large indoor mall, which in addition to having plenty of eateries and stores, also had a movie theater, which the trio were keen on using. Besides being right beside Central Park, it didn’t have the negative memories of the other theater. While Liz did think it was a good idea to make better memories there at some point, she was not eager to relive those moments in her mind, so was fine with the mall approach.
As they parked the truck in front of the place and went to head inside, something by the entrance caught Liz’s attention.
One of the mall’s front windows was smashed inward, as was another behind it. It was the case that mall’s front doors were closed to the renovations, and while they had picked the locks in the past to get in, Liz didn’t recall every smashing the front windows. They were the sort that went from the floor to the ceiling, so the damage was pretty obvious. “Did we do that?” Liz asked, snagging her companions’ attention as they stood under the front awning, gesturing to the shattered glass.
“Probably.” Siobhan intoned, approaching the ruined window, and then stepping through it. “I guess it didn’t reset? Since Havani isn’t around to keep everything in order.”
“We haven’t been here in ages. Not since we were able to roam around up here freely.” Liz said, “It would’ve reset well before then.”
Siobhan nodded, stepping deeper into the entryway, through the second broken-open window and into the mall proper. “Well… I don’t see or hear anything.” She said casually, “If it was someone besides us, I don’t know that they’re here.”
Liz didn’t like the idea of there being ‘someone else’ out there. She’d played that game before with invisible foes, and hadn’t enjoyed it. Had she actually created an Ahriman recently and not remembered? “Maybe it was the Alan-thing…” Liz mused, “Hm.”
The last time they’d seen that lanky horror had been when they buried Havani. It had slid off into the shadows in the days thereafter and not made itself known again.
“Maybe it’s one of mine.” Siobhan said with a grin, and Liz blinked at her in confusion. “Since I’m a human now.” She explained.
“That’s… Well, that’s a terrifying thought for a few reasons.” Liz said, half-joking as she followed the redhead into the mall, Arshtat taking up the rear. His hooves crunched heavily over the broken glass as he stepped in behind them. They bypassed the front renovations area, heading into the mall’s promenade proper. “An Ahriman from an Ahriman… What demons could they even pry out of your head?”
“Probably pieces of you.” Siobhan said with a shrug, “Maybe my prick ex, or one of my lovers.” Her fictional ex and fictional lovers.
“Maybe.” Liz said softly, “Hopefully not… We’ll just have to keep an eye out.”
With Liz a little on edge, Siobhan did not immediately beeline for the theater. Liz watched with a puzzled look as, after checking the building’s map, Siobhan about-faced away from the direction the theater was in. Liz glanced at Arshtat, who shrugged all three arms, and the two followed the redhead onward.
“You want to see something else?” Liz asked.
Siobhan hummed, “Mhm. Remember the other day, when you said you wanted a massage?”
“...If by ‘other day’ you mean like a month ago, yeah.”
The Irishwoman grinned, “Yeah, whatever. Well there’s a ‘massage parlor’ there.” She pointed toward the end of the promenade, where there was in fact a day spa. “So we can get you a massage.”
Liz blinked in surprise, “W-Well, there’s not gonna be a masseuse there. It isn’t just a machine.” She said, but Siobhan was ahead of her, waving a dismissive hand.
“How hard can it be?”
Oh no.
Liz picked up her pace, trying to catch up with Siobhan’s brisk walk, “W-Wait,” She stuttered, “I don’t want you to mess up my back!”
Not eager to be slowed down and probably knowing Liz was gonna follow her regardless, Siobhan popped up into a jog across the smooth, shiny floors, snickering as she stepped into the day spa’s front area.
It was one of those places with actual private booths for getting massages, but also a public area for things like facial masks, manicures and pedicures, so on and so forth.
Siobhan, pretending she knew what she was doing, meandered vaguely around the front area, then slid into the back. Liz grumbled and followed her, stepping into one of the private booths. It had a massage bed, plus a little sofa, and various cabinets of things like oils. Siobhan snagged a magazine off one of the cabinets’ tops, flicking through it.
“It’s just… rubbing shoulders and stuff.” She said, “Can’t be hard.”
Liz whined, looking at Arshtat for support, but he simply stepped past her and sat down on the couch. Apparently content to let them work it out themselves.
“You really don’t gotta do this.” Liz said, “When I was alive, I’d sometimes hear horror stories about people getting fucked up massages, and their backs hurt forever.” She despaired.
Siobhan snorted, “Hey – Trust me, it’ll be fine. I ain’t gonna wail on ya willy-nilly. Now get naked.”
Liz blinked, “Wh-What?”
“All the ladies in this are naked and oiled up.” Siobhan said, showing Liz one of the pages. There was indeed a blonde woman laying down on a massage bed, nude save a towel about her rear.
Huffing, Liz didn’t argue. She stepped closer to Arshtat, so he could help her carefully get out of her outfit, as Siobhan continued to research. As Liz undressed, she looked at the Yazata.
“Hey, Arshtat?” And he ‘looked’ up at her as she continued, “If I can create Ahriman, can you? I don’t really know how it works for Yazatas.”
Arshtat paused, tilting his faceless, hairless head. He seemed to consider it for a moment, then tapped one of her wings three times to indicate he was unsure.
Liz nodded, lifting her wings a bit to help him get her top off. “Hopefully not. I think the ideal would be we only have to deal with one person making them, and I’ll try my best not to do that…”
Siobhan stopped reading, “Hey… On that note.”
Arshtat took Liz’s jacket and shirt, and as best as his clumsy hands could do, began to fold them to set them on the couch. She shivered in the cool air of the parlor, and looked back at Siobhan.
“Didn’t you try to create an Ahriman while you were out?” Siobhan asked, “The werewolf.”
“Oh…” Liz nodded slowly, “I did, but nothing happened. No matter how hard I focused, I couldn’t summon one, and Oliver showed up before I could give it much time anyway.”
“Hm.” Siobhan hummed, and then after a moment looked back down at the magazine. Liz didn’t let the thought go, though, as Arshtat’s fingers found her belt. She gasped at his touch, then smiled a bit as the Yazata began to work her pants down. She lifted a leg to help.
“You think maybe I did summon one, and that’s what broke the window?” Liz asked as they worked to get her undressed, her bare ass slowly coming into view.
“Maybe. Don’t think I could say for sure.” The Irishwoman said without looking up from the magazine, “But let’s hope you didn’t, honestly. You didn’t even read the full comic, right?”
Liz nodded, stepping out of her bundled pants, then carefully sitting on the couch beside Arshtat, naked except her socks, which she started to push down using her toes. Arshtat collected her boots, set them aside, then began folding her pants. Ever the gentleman. “The comic was mostly trash.”
“But it means you didn’t experience it.” Siobhan noted, “So if you did create an Ahriman out of that woman, it’s gonna have very limited material to work with.”
“Oliver came from just a poster on the wall and he became friendly.” Liz said, kicking her socks off. The realization that she was nude beside her two friends, in a ‘public’ place, made her blush a little. She was very comfortable around both her partners, but the mortal part of her still associated being out and about with the ‘public’, and so it felt taboo being nude in a place like that. Even if she’d had massages while alive, nude massages included, it was a different sensation.
“Oliver also had a year to develop his friendliness, and a catalyst to look for alternatives, that being Havani.” Siobhan said, flipping a page in the magazine, and stepping over to a cabinet to look for something. “It takes a while to dredge up the Ahriman part of yourself, and override the source material.”
“Hm.” Liz wanted to fold her hands in her lap, but couldn’t due to the wings, so relented to just settle the feathery appendages in front of her. Which also helped hide her modesty just a touch.
Although as Siobhan searched the cabinets for whatever she was looking for, Liz couldn’t help but look over at the other person on the couch. Arshtat, sitting beside the fully naked Liz, was slowly getting hard… He was always naked of course, but Liz had largely learned to tune out his cock. It was hard to as it slowly increased in size, though.
Blushing, Liz might’ve ordinarily given him a sneaky handjob… But her options were reduced in that department, and her feathers probably didn’t feel good enough. She leaned on Arshtat, and he slid his asymmetric left arm around her waist.
Siobhan spoke again, as Liz shifted from beside Arshtat to straddling his waist. “So I need to find ‘massage oil’... Apparently there’s a gun too!” She said, a bit too excited.
“A massage gun.” Liz said, half-distracted by grinding her exposed, and admittedly rapidly slickening, folds across Arshtat’s length. The Yazata’s hands settled onto her hips. “It doesn’t shoot…” She groaned, “...bullets.”
“Yeah,” Siobhan intoned with a little disappointment in her voice. “I’m gonna check the other–”
And turned around just in time to see Liz sliding down onto Arshtat’s dick, moaning needily as she did. The redhead’s eyes narrowed at Liz’s back, “Really?”
Isabella’s pussy felt a lot different than Liz’s ‘home body’. Liz liked to think she had a pretty sexy body, but Isabella was on another level. The woman had to have had a lot of sex, given how easily she took Arshtat’s length, how heavily her insides gripped and clenched around him, and how things that would’ve been uncomfortable to Liz were pleasurable in that body.
It didn’t make Liz feel any better about being in Isabella’s body on the day-to-day, she still missed her own (and having hands), but it was at least one small perk…
“S-Sorry.” Liz drawled through a moan, resting her wings on either side of Arshtat’s bulky body. “H-He asked for it!”
Arshtat, who had not initiated anything, shook his head at Siobhan. Siobhan snorted, “Uh-huh. I’ll be right back.” And stepped out of the private booth.
Liz lowered her voice as she began to roll her hips, “Way to be a…” Her voice crested as he slid deep, “W-Wingman…”
The Yazata pressed his forehead into Liz’s in a gentle ‘kiss’, but as she dipped lower onto his length she went too low to maintain it. He really was big… He’d actually, somehow, gotten bigger, she was pretty sure. Liz wasn’t sure if it was just that Isabella’s cunt was deeper and thus could take all of him, or that he’d actually grown in the past week.
There was a lot she didn’t understand about Arshtat. He kept changing, slowly but surely. From feet to hooves, from invisible to visible… She supposed she’d take ‘bigger cock’ over some sort of negative transformation, though she wasn’t sure what was causing the shifts.
Bracing her wings on either side of Arshtat, Liz used him as leverage to steadily ride him. His tip brushed against her cervix, an act that would ordinarily be pretty painful, but Isabella’s body registered as a sort of sickly-sweet pleasure-pain. As she bit her lip in time with the sensation, a darker part of her mind wanted more. To let him go deeper, go harder, take her more heavily. But she carefully navigated the horny impulses, pushing them back.
Liz rode Arshtat of her own volition for about a minute, occasionally leaning forward to grace his rough pale skin with her soft kisses. “You wanna… t-take some initiative, big guy?” Liz teased.
That was all the permission Arshtat needed, as his hands took a firmer grip on Liz’s hips. He stood, and she yelped, lifted on his dick and held in place his hands. It paused her motions, but also drove his dick deeper. Striking that sacred barrier and making her mewl in a too-girly way that had her blushing.
Arshtat sat Liz on the massage table, and she wrapped her legs around his broad frame as best she could. A hand braced on her shoulder, two more on her thighs. He pulled back, and Liz’s new cunt gripped his cock like a warm, velvet-soft vice. The Yazata shivered visibly, and Liz moaned whorishly.
Then he drove forward, back into her, and the wet, lurid ‘shlick’ of their bodies connecting filled the room for just a moment. Liz’s voice raised into a higher pitched moan, toes curling as his cock dragged backward, the bumpy, hard thing dragging over so many new and sensitive places.
“Oh fuck.” Liz wheezed as he pushed forward again, another wet clap as their hips connected. Looking down between them, she could see he was actually getting all the way in. Maybe it was just that her ‘home body’ was more shallow normally?
If she were still on Earth, taking a dick like that, he’d probably be guaranteed to knock her up. In Heaven though, they’d more than proven that either impregnation was impossible, or humans and Yazatas weren’t cross-compatible. Liz didn’t mind either way, really.
Alan had asked her about kids once. Liz had said something like, “I don’t want to ruin my belly.” And he’d been disappointed, but accepting of her preference. She’d made fun of him for asking the question so early into dating when she gossiped with her friends later the same day.
Earthly Liz and Heavenly Liz had diverged a lot though, and Liz probably would’ve been a lot happier to get someone who wanted to share a future with her… She wished Arshtat could speak and ask for that kind of thing, even if it was impossible. But she was sure if he did have those feelings, he’d communicate them somehow.
His thrusts got progressively faster as another minute passed, and Liz flexed her wings tighter to hold onto his body, letting her head fall back as another moan burst from her lips. Each thrust he made pushed into her nearly completely, his progress of getting into her blocked only by her thighs holding back that last little bit of dick. Sharp, needy moans erupted from her each time he thrusted forward, and then whining, mewling ones when he pulled back.
Siobhan stepped back into the room with a small box of things, casually stepping past the two, and Liz didn’t even notice she’d returned. Too enthralled by Arshtat rutting into her. She felt his length twitching inside of her, and knew in moments he’d be done, but she was still a ways off. Liz was picky about climaxes, but Isabella got off a lot easier. Both of them still needed a good bit of working up regardless.
“Arshtat–” Liz moaned as she felt him slam forward as hard and as deep as he could, the fat head of his cock pressing up against Liz’s deepest place. A sudden eruption of warmth flooded her midsection, and Liz’s eyes crossed as the sensation very nearly brought her to orgasm, but not quite. “F-Fuu…” The word got halfway out as Liz squirmed in pleasure, but any attempt at finishing it was stolen by Siobhan’s lips.
She leaned in between them, stealing a kiss from Liz, having to bend at the waist a little to get in there. After a moment of surprise, Liz moaned into the redhead’s mouth, and Siobhan’s tongue found and wrestled Liz’s for dominance. Siobhan won that fight very easily.
The kiss continued as Arshtat rode out his orgasm, pumping load after thick, creamy load of probably-wasted divine swimmers into Liz’s incompatible hotbox. When at last he began to ease up a bit, Siobhan broke off the kiss, nipped at Liz’s lips, and stepped away again. Liz took a needy gasp of sex-tainted air, her cheeks bright red as Arshtat withdrew from her then-sloppy sex.
A small flow of cum drooled out in his wake, and as the Yazata’s softening cock slid free, Liz shivered needily, bringing a wing down to desperately try to do something to pleasure herself.
Siobhan smacked it away though, causing Liz to yip. She started to protest: “I didn’t–”
But Siobhan cut her off with that wicked, charming wry grin. All it took was that look to shut Liz down. The woman had too much power.
“Lay down.” Siobhan commanded, snagging one of the objects from the box she’d grabbed. It was a bottle of massage oil, coconut-scented, and strong at that, as the moment Siobhan popped the cap on it Liz could smell it.
She laid back on the massage table, and Siobhan clicked her tongue at Liz, “On your front, dumbass.”
Huffing, Liz obeyed again, squirming to roll over. She could brace herself on her wings, but they weren’t as stable as hands. The massage table had two spots to rest her chest, and a place to lay her forehead. Liz’s new chest was quite ample, so she was happy to not be laying on a flat surface as she settled in.
“Siobhan…” Liz murmured, resting her wings on either side of her.
The redhead didn’t reply. Liz instead felt something very cold strike her ass, and yelped again – the massage lotion. Siobhan’s warm palm pressed into it though, and what was initially a startling sensation turned into warm, arousing pleasure, as Siobhan worked the oil into Liz’s bare rump.
Arshtat stepped around the table, his length dripping with the remnants of his climax, and Liz’s love juices. Liz looked up to see his dick half-erect still, but slowly twitching up to full mast again. “Not satisfied…?” Liz asked quietly, cheeks freshly red. Arshtat brought a hand down to caress her cheek. The angle was a bit awkward, craning her head up at him, but she made it easier by pushing her upper body up with her wings.
Just to feel her balance buckle, as Siobhan worked the oil down the crack of her ass, down and under up against her freshly-fucked folds. Liz gasped suddenly, and then belted a whorish moan.
Siobhan whistled, “Fun noise…” And her oiled-up fingers glided across Liz’s clit. Her slick palm ground into it, then she drew her fingers back, diving them into the cum-stuffed hole, displacing some of Arshtat’s seed. Liz moaned again, harshly, eyes nearly crossing. Siobhan’s fingers curled inside of her, striking another good spot, sending bolts of electric need up Liz’s spine.
With her free hand, Siobhan dug around in that box of her, and pulled something out. Arshtat stepped forward, his cocktip prodding Liz’s cheek. She couldn’t blush any harder than she was at that moment, and gave it a quick lick, catching the familiar taste of his seed. He twitched insistingly, and as Liz moaned again, she held out her tongue like a landing strip for him to push across.
Gagging was also something Isabella’s body did a lot less than Liz. Liz had gotten really good at sucking dick for Arshtat, but she could never deepthroat him very well. Isabella’s body however could deepthroat like a champion, and only really gagged if presented with particularly rough use. That was something they’d figured out almost immediately, during one of Arshtat’s daily need sessions.
And so the Yazata’s dick slid across Liz’s tongue and teased the entrance to her throat, but not fearing gagging, she wrapped her lips around him and issued a strong suck. Then the suction broke as she moaned again, Siobhan’s fingers replaced abruptly with the gentle thumping of something soft and vibrating across her mound. Siobhan had found a massage gun after all.
The sensation of vibration drove into her body, a wholly new and definitely appealing feeling that had her toes curling again. She moaned around Arshtat’s dick harshly, one eye half-lidded and the other rolling back, as Siobhan flicked the gun to its maximum setting and drove it up against Liz’s clit.
The massage gun was truly a weapon for teasing however. It could drive pleasure into Liz, but couldn’t quite drive her pleasure up as it were. It was a heavy, teasing, constant source of pleasure, but it wasn’t doing the work of targeted attacks. Liz squirmed as her folds were tortured in the best way possible, wings twitching, mouth salivating as she did her best to suck Arshtat’s dick.
Her sloppy oral was appreciated it seemed, as one of Arshtat’s hands settled onto her head, and Liz’s eyes watered as Siobhan clicked the massage gun up another level. “We’re definitely keeping this thing at least…” Siobhan mused. “Gonna use it to shut you up whenever you annoy me.”
Though the increased level of vibration directly on Liz’s clit prompted a needy wail from her around Arshtat’s dick, and Siobhan had to correct herself, “Or make you louder, I guess.”
Then she pulled the gun away, and Liz heard it click off. Her hips bucked, her needy cunt twitching. Hot and red and throbbing with arousal, positively drooling evidence of that. Siobhan’s fingers finally granted her relief, pressing into her, palm on her ass, curling into her at a delightfully new angle.
Arshtat gripped Liz’s hair as her sucking faltered, and he slid himself forward to take pleasure from her tongue, since her brain was too busy malfunctioning to suck. He sawed his dick across the wet muscle, which was licking as best it could given the circumstances.
Liz’s climax struck hard the moment Siobhan’s fingers pulled back again, and then pushed into her clit, rubbing furious circles into the puffy nub. Liz wailed again, and Arshtat, perhaps afraid she might choke, pulled out of her mouth.
It was without a doubt one of the hardest orgasms Liz had ever had, though it being one of the first in that new body probably helped. Her toes curled, her wings twitched, her tongue lolled out as she moaned like she was in heat. Siobhan’s thumb jammed into her as the rest of her fingers rubbed on Liz’s clit, hooking her like a fish.
Thighs jittering, Liz squirted harshly, eyes crossing as her voice filled the room with sounds of pleasure. She came once, but Siobhan kept up the assault, her fingers expertly seeking out places she’d noted were sensitive and teasing them with cruel ease. Liz came a second time, then a third, and then came so hard the fourth time that she literally pissed herself. The arcs of fluid gushing behind her, and dripping off the table. Another new experience, but Liz barely registered it, so lost in the hazy sea of pleasure.
Siobhan snickered at that, a wicked gleam in her eye, apparently very proud of having managed to trigger such a shameful display. Liz slumped forward on the massage table, moaning pathetically as the aftershocks of each consecutive orgasm hit her with dying-off intensity.
“Hope I didn’t upstage you, big guy.” Siobhan said to Arshtat as she rounded Liz, leaning in to kiss the head of the blonde in her brunette body. Arshtat waved a dismissive hand. He’d have a chance to prove himself another time, probably.
Liz was way too busy coming down from the high of her explosive climax, pressing her face into the padded part of the table meant for it. Mind empty, tongue unable to form words, but body definitely no longer stressed out…
It took Liz almost a half-hour to be able to stand again, but once she could, Arshtat carried her to an adjacent room, which had showers for cleaning off. The three of them showered together, though Liz’s footing was so wobbly that she didn’t dare try to stand on her own, leaning on one of her partners for support.
Siobhan was a merciless tease.
“Best climax of your life, huh?”, “Bet you never came like that with Arshtat.”, “See? This is why I’m better.”
Everything had to be a competition. Arshtat didn’t seem to have any rebuttal, Liz doubted he cared too much about the comparatives. Or he just recognized he couldn’t quite prove Siobhan wrong, given how thoroughly fucked Liz was after that.
Liz took the dirty talk in stride though, and after Siobhan’s fifth or sixth comment, stole a kiss from her. The women spent a lot of the shower making out, cleaning when they came up for air, or when Arshtat pulled them away from each other like kittens in love.
Liz loved both of them equally, but in different ways, and the massage parlor interaction had definitely shown that off…
Once they were cleaned up, Arshtat and Siobhan helped Liz get dressed. She felt pretty cozy back in her cold-weather clothing after the hot shower and mind-blowing orgasm.
“Tonight you gotta repay the favor.” Siobhan said once they stepped out of the parlor, back into the mall promenade.
Liz blushed, “Will do… So, home now?”
“No way.” Siobhan gestured back down the mall promenade, “We still gotta see a movie, remember?”
Liz’s shoulders slumped, wings twitched. “I really want a nap…”
“You can nap in the theater.”
“I can’t sleep in movie theaters.”
Siobhan waved a hand, “We’ll do some calm documentary or romance flick or something. You’ll pass right out.”
Liz wrinkled her nose, “If I can just sleep through it, why don’t we just go home and watch something on the couch?”
“It’s for the…” Siobhan groaned, “...Novelty of it. It feels different.”
She was right, it did feel different. Liz could tell if nothing else that it was important to Siobhan, and finally relented. “Okay.” She said with a smile, “One movie.”
Siobhan’s face lit up, and she turned to once again lead them down the promenade. They walked its length from the massage parlor, down passed the entryway, and back toward the theater.
As they passed the under-renovations entryway, Liz glanced over at the way they’d come in… The front window was still broken. Cold air blew in through it as just the right angle to make her shiver. She rushed to catch up with Siobhan.
Arshtat stomped along behind Liz, always keeping near her side. Even when it was ‘Siobhan Time’, Arshtat was never far from Liz, ever eager to keep a proverbial eye on her. Liz felt his proximity, and appreciated him for it, always.
The mall’s theater wasn’t like the dedicated theater across from their home, but rather was just one large theater, which showed only one film at a time. Siobhan was probably hoping they had spare film in the projector room though, and beelined for the employee-only area, leaving Arshtat and Liz to collect snacks.
They did so, hitting up a cafe right beside the theater’s entrance. Collecting various cakes, candies and bottles drinks, piling them into a bag. Arshtat did most of the grabbing and stowing, with Liz just gesturing wingtips at what she wanted.
As they were getting ready to leave, Liz rocked on her heels, taking a moment to bask in the scent of the cafe. Coffee, cake… She scooted over to use one of the machines properly, hoping to prepare a couple hot cups for her and Siobhan. As she did, she looked at Arshtat, who was holding the hoodie-stuffed back in his third hand.
“Arshtat.” Liz said to catch his attention, gesturing to the machine. He moved closer, and she gestured with her wingtip at two cups, and then the machine to use. The Yazata obeyed.
“Havani said you remembered him.” Liz said, and the Yazata glanced at her without eyes. He continued working on making the coffees. Liz rocked on her heels again, “And you did seem awfully pissed off at him. Which, y’know, I super-duper understand.”
Liz whistled out a breathe, “So do you remember him?”
Arshtat paused, rolling his upper set of shoulders. He pulled a lever on the coffee maker and stepped back, letting the cup pour. He’d made Liz coffee before, out of kindness, now out of necessity. Arshtat tapped the countertop thrice, to indicate ‘Unsure’, and then used sign language. He signed the symbol for <Long> and then <Time>.
“A long time ago?” Liz asked, and Arshtat nodded. “I know you have trouble with memory. Does remembering something from a long time ago mean you’re starting to recover your memory?”
Arshtat tilted his head, and then signed, <Sort of.>
“Hm. I don’t suppose you know how you ended up in my Heaven yet?”
Arshtat glanced around the coffee shop. Liz watched as he walked further along behind the counter, and snatched a chalkboard off the wall. He set it on the counter. It was a list of employee jobs for the week, the final week the shop had before assuming its status quo. At the top of the board read, ‘Assignments for the Week’. Arshtat swept his hand over the board, rubbing off the ‘s’ on ‘Assignments’, and then smudging ‘for the Week’. Leaving behind only ‘Assignment’.
Liz furrowed her brow, “Assignment? You were assigned here?”
Arshtat nodded. Liz asked then, “Do you know by who?”
And then he shook his head. Liz sighed, “Foggy memory there? But it’s a strong feeling, you’re here intentionally?”
He nodded again, tugging the filled coffee cup from the machine, slotting a second in. Liz moved to clutch a bottle of creamer with her wings, holding it up to Arshtat. He popped the cap off for her, and she was able to pour it herself. Speaking again as she did. “Maybe it was Zamyat… She’s the only Yazata so far besides you who’s been nice to me. But I guess two out of three isn’t bad.”
She smiled a little, “Do you… remember any of the other Yazatas?”
Arshtat ‘looked’ down at the floor, and for a moment did not reply. Liz listened to the sound of the second coffee cup filling. When Arshtat forgot to stop it, she leaned over to tap the lever back up, so it’d stop filling.
The faceless Yazata looked at Liz, then stepped around the counter. He held out one of his hands to her, and she stepped closer, settling a wing on his grip. “Spelling?” Liz asked, Arshtat nodded.
“A… B…” Whenever she got a letter right, he’d tap her wing, and then she’d restart from scratch. R… Ra… Ras…
“Rashnu?”
He nodded.
“Aren’t you Rashnu? That’s how I asked Zamyat about you.”
Again, a nod. Then he squeezed her wing very gently. “Okay, you’re just saying you remember the name now?” Nod. “More spelling?” Another nod.
“A… B… C…” They hit ‘M’, and Liz instantly guessed, “Mithra?” An important one. Arshtat nodded again.
“You and Mithra, and Sraosha, guarded the Chinvat Bridge together, right?” Liz asked, pulling from the Avesta. Arshtat tapped her three times, then released her wing. “Unsure?” He nodded again.
“It’s progress… it’s definitely progress.” Liz smiled, “Hopefully we can get you back to full form in no time. Memories are important, I think.”
Liz went to pour creamer into the second cup, and Arshtat attached lids to both. He picked both cups up, and then the bag of sweets in his third hand. He looked pretty cute, holding all her stuff for her.
Siobhan stepped into the coffee shop as they were wrapping up. “Good timing,” Liz said, “Did you find a movie?”
The redhead nodded, “Yeah. I think you’ll like it, it has fifteen tomatoes.”
Liz snorted, “You mean a 15% score.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Siobhan waved her hand, “The point is it’s a bad romance, which you love.”
Liz did love bad romances. There was something about dumb, shlocky nonsense fiction that she just really enjoyed. Anything that let her just turn her brain entirely off.
“Though there’s also another I wanna see, it’s like a chainsaw guy.” Siobhan said, nodding with excitement. She’d mentioned before wanting a chainsaw, so a movie about them probably fed the obsession.
“A guy who is a chainsaw?” Liz asked, as the trio headed for the theater.
“No, he has a chainsaw hand, and he kills demons. I watched the trailer on the screen.”
“Oh, I know that one. We’ll watch it after… if I’m awake.”
As they headed into the theater, Liz was eager to let herself slide into the comfort of her friends once again…
Isaac flinched as he heard Norah’s voice behind him, spinning on his heels away from Rasanstat. He’d heard the cathedral doors opening, but hadn’t bothered to look. How’d she caught up so fast?
“There you are.” Norah said, stopping a few feet shy of Isaac. She bowed politely to the Yazata just beyond him.
“Norah,” Rasanstat said, a smile appearing on her face. “Good morning.”
“N-Norah.” Isaac said, trying to even out his voice.
“You didn’t say goodbye.” Norah said, looking at her husband. She caught his eyes, but he couldn’t hold the eye contact, glancing away.
“I, uh…” He cleared his throat, “I was going to, but… I was in a hurry.”
“Nobody’s in a hurry, Isaac.” Norah said, “Even if you must get back down to your quest, you could’ve said literally anything.” She wanted to chew him out, but also knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything. Isaac was not like any standard man Norah had met. Rather, he was a man who absolutely could not fight back against her, and would probably relent and break down if actually pushed into a corner by her verbally.
And Norah didn’t want to see him sad, nor did she want to make him feel bad. She just wanted him back. Norah stepped closer to him, and he didn’t realize she was only a foot or so away until he looked up again. The woman was quiet on her feet, despite boots on tile.
“I…” Isaac looked into her gray eyes, and his soul melted anew. He felt so weak.
“It’s okay.” Norah held her hand out. Isaac took it without thinking. “I’m sorry.” She said, “I should’ve talked to you.”
She was always so good at keeping her voice even. Neutral in tone, focused, clear. Isaac wished he had that ability.
“I was afraid that…” Isaac began, “I didn’t want to…” He couldn’t find the right words, but he didn’t need to. Norah knew him better than anyone. She stepped closer, her hand found his cheek. He leaned into it.
“I know.” Norah smiled, “We both made mistakes, but I don’t want to lose you again.”
Isaac swallowed dryly, and nodded. “I’m sorry, Norah.”
Rasanstat’s eyes glowed behind them, and she smiled as the two humans embraced. The Yazata’s brows perked as they began to kiss, and she turned away with an, “Ooh.”
The noise snapped them out of the initial excitement, after just a moment. Norah decoupled herself from Isaac just enough to bow again, “My apologies, Rasanstat. Did I interrupt your conversation?”
Rasanstat looked off into the temple hall, fully turning her back to the mortals. She was a little prudish… At least when it came to most humans, anyway. “No, no. Do as you would.” She said, “I shall be here when you are ready.”
“We can handle business first, and–” Isaac started to say, but with permission given to take her time, Norah stole his lips again.
It was pretty remarkable to Isaac how rapidly they’d resolved that. Six-hundred years of worrying about what Norah might say to him in a serious conversation, and the key had always just been to say ‘Sorry’. Isaac knew he was a pretty flawed person, but he didn’t realize he was capable of that level of craven stupidity. Norah would never have called Isaac a coward, as he routinely ran into Heavens to save people, nor would she call him stupid. Norah knew that most of Isaac's awkwardness was due to fear not of conflict, but of loss. He had spent so long in torture, he was afraid of losing the comfort he'd attained.
From Norah's perspective, she was fairly sure she'd driven him away on accident. She should've realized that, when confronted with such a disastrous argument, he'd just shut down and flee, for fear of not-quite-rejection, but the act of losing her. It was easier to run and hide in other Heavens for him than it was to face the concept of losing a love of ten-thousand years. She resolved to herself that she wouldn't make that mistake again. Though she did want to try to rein him in a bit later, and ideally mellow out his crusader ideals... She'd go along with it, as long as it meant not losing him.
Norah clung onto him, stealing a long kiss, and when it broke she grinned up at him. It was rare to see her smile so happily. Isaac’s cheeks heated up a bit, as she gave him a look that said she likely could jump him right there… But in front of a Yazata, Norah restrained herself.
Her expression calmed to her usual gray neutrality, but she definitely had a little more pep. Isaac could see the very subtle ways her eyes were a touch wider, her lips less firmly frowning, brows straighter. He’d missed looking at her so closely like that.
“Okay.” Norah said, stepping back from Isaac, but keeping his hand held. “So what’s going on?”
Rasanstat turned around again, carefully looking over her shoulder to make sure the mortals weren’t fucking or something, and then let out a small relieved sigh and turned fully.
“Isaac was telling me about a misplaced human, and an invisible Yazad he believes may be Arshtat, who we have not seen since the schism.” Rasanstat said.
“This, I knew.” Norah said, “It is surprising. You are sure it is Arshtat?” She asked, looking at Isaac.
“Uh– Yes. Well, no.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, “According to the last messenger trip, anyway.”
Isaac was referring to Nairyosangha, the messenger of Ahura Mazda. After the schism, an event long ago most of the Yazatas do not like talking about, Ahura Mazda went quiet, and a number of ‘factions’ broke out within Heaven over the future of eternity. The Academy did not know what all the factions were, but did know the ‘patron deities’ of the Academy itself made up one of them: Rasanstat, Ushahin, Asman, Havani, Rata and Mångha, who all served beneath a power ‘Archangel-like’ Yazata known as Zamyat.
Zamyat ascended to the role of Amesha Spenta, basically an Archangel, after the death of another Yazad. The fact that Yazatas could die at all was a matter of fear and debate within the Academy.
This faction was ostensibly, according to Rasanstat, ‘pro-mortal’, and sought to improve the lives of humans within Heaven. How there could be Yazatas that followed any other creed was strange to many members of the Academy, but having long suffered under a cruel Yazad before the Academy, Isaac could understand it.
Nairyosangha, the messenger of Ahura Mazda, had apparently come to Zamyat long before the Academy was ever founded, but long after the schism. Several trillion years prior, a length of time Isaac, who was a million years old, could not begin to fathom. Heaven was far removed from time, as were the Yazatas, but the numbers were so mindbogglingly huge they might as well have been irrelevant. The Academy, for all its longevity, was just a single water molecule in an entire ocean of time.
During Nairyosangha’s visit to Zamyat, he had described several ‘Scattered Yazatas’, who had been cursed during the schism. They were Arshtat, Mithra and Havani. Havani had been rescued by Ushahin well before the Academy’s founding, but Arshtat and Mithra both remained missing, scattered to one of the infinite Heavens.
Nairyosangha’s description of Arshtat however had been, “An invisible being of might, a defender even in servitude, bound by human desire”.
The thing in Elizabeth’s Heaven that had claimed to be a Yazata was invisible, defending her, and seemingly bound to sexually abuse her. It all lined up from Isaac’s perspective.
Isaac relayed this information to Norah, catching her up to speed fully on what he knew, and what he’d told Rasanstat, which was ostensibly the whole of his encounter with Elizabeth’s Heaven.
“I will go to Zamyat,” Rasanstat said, “It will take some time, but she will want to know about this. We can likely find Elizabeth Conway based on your description of her Heaven. Getting her and Arshtat here will be the challenging part.”
Isaac nodded, “I can make the ascent outside, if I can get climbing gear from the Priest, and someone sets up an anchor.”
Rasanstat wrinkled her nose. “I do not like that option. Allow me to exhaust Heavenly pursuits first. Wait to take further action until I return.”
She spoke firmly, and Isaac’s shoulders slumped. “I promised Elizabeth I’d be back as quickly as I could.”
“And you will be.” Rasanstat bowed her head, “But we must be cautious. We know not which Heavens are dangerous, both for our enemies and for this unknown plague we have found in some Heavens.”
“A lot can change in just a few years.” Norah chimed in, “If we act too slowly, Arshtat may not be there when we return.”
Isaac was surprised she was so eager to get moving. And protesting against a Yazata as well.
Norah glanced at Isaac, and he caught the slightest of smiles. She looked at Rasanstat, “Allow us at least to prepare an anchor. That will take a month, you will be gone around a month, yes?”
Rasanstat tilted her chin down, eyeing Norah for a moment. The human woman shrunk a touch, suddenly less sure of herself, until Rasanstat smiled freshly. “I am happy to see you both working together again. Even if I do not entirely agree…”
Gesturing to the cathedral entrance, Rasanstat nodded, “Very well. You may prepare an anchor, but do not create a breach, and do not descend, until I have spoken to Zamyat. There is decent likelihood she will already know of this Elizabeth, and have a plan already.”
“Thank you, Rasanstat.” The coupe said in near-unison, and then Isaac blushed when he realized they had. Rasanstat smiled, raising her hand.
“Be well until then. I shall return with haste – Please tell Connor I will be back within a month.” And then she snapped her fingers, and vanished in a burst of golden light.
Norah exhaled slowly, looking back at Isaac, “Okay. Connor’s house, then the Mills?”
“I didn’t think you’d be so… proactive on this.” Isaac admitted.
Norah pressed her chest into Isaac’s, “As I said, I do not want to lose you.” She squeezed his hand, “I will go on whatever crusade you need me to.”
Isaac smiled, “And I, uh… Will also… do that for you. Yeah.”
Norah beamed at him, “Yeah.”