In the Blood or in the Soul

She was hesitant at first as to whether or not she wanted to know what this 'hybrid vigor' was. Clearly the golem was trying to talk about her parents and relation to herself but it still felt weird to talk about such matters to a creature she had only just met. "Y... Yes... I would like to know..." Slowly, she looked up to the golem.

the golem continues to 'sit' there for a moment "the simplest answer is a hybrid sometimes is stronger then what it's parents were." the golem shakes it's head "you are not a succubus, you are not what ever you want to classify ignacy as, you are both." it pauses "Have you ever noticed you seem resistant to blessed objects, they still hurt but not as bad as they would if your mother touched them?" it asks carefully

"I have yet to touch a holy object. They are not kept in the den and from what my mother says, I dare not try." Her voice was filled with sadness.

"What of other abilities your mother does not show signs of?" she asks, partially killing time "or i could show you a scan of the energy output you have shown the entire time you have been here" it says

"I don't understand." She sniffled a bit as she looked to the golem. "What energy? What abilities?"

"the things you feed on as a succubus, basic energy no matter the form is still energy and when you were making your little sculpture you gave off more because you were balanced" the golem states almost clinically

She gave the sculpture a worried look. "But... If I expend too much energy, I will die... Why would you want that?". Her gaze moved back to the golem. "Do you hate me truly hate me that much?". She got a faraway look as her mother's words rang in her head. Those outside the den would try to kill her if they found out what she was.

"you misunderstand Aruna, everything uses energy and most living things create energy, if they create more then they can use it comes off as an aura, this was the energy i was refering too, being happy won't kill you, at least not in and of itself" it states "though i bet that made you hungry didn't it?"

She nodded sadly. "I hunger but there is nothing to feed from here..." She sighed and settled back in with her chin on her knees.

"there will be some food arriving shortly my apologies for the wait " The golem seemed oddly excited by the prospect of food

She remained where she was as she tried to conserve all the energy she could. The stupid sculpture had taken much from her and she was at a loss. Moving required energy and she would need it to capture her prey when it arrived.

one of the bots returns very banged up with several boxes in a small compartment " sorry this isn't the food you are likely used to" the golem states "though if you wish to hunt it i could make one of the drone run around the shop for you to chase" it takes a box and opening a compartment on the side of the arm begins feeding noodles into it.

She looked up and watched the bot intently as it appeared to be preparing some sort of meal. She knew what food was, she had seen humans in the den often eating or drinking. Her mother had been clear on the subject though. Food is not, and never would be, for her. Her eyes darted to the golem. "I... I can't eat that... I feed off people. I don't... I don't have to be intimate with them, but I do need to touch them. Could... Could you send a bot out for a person?"

"was I incorrect about your caloric needs?" the golem queries clearly confused "subsisting on energy can not be healthy for your internal organs nor for your natural strength." as the golem continues feeding noodles into the hatch that it made " I still need some caloric intake since I am no longer bound to a host and therefore can no longer derive that specific energy type from them."

It finally dawned on her what the golem intended for her. "You... You expect me to eat those...strands?" She watched as the noodles disappeared into the golem. "I... I don't believe I can eat such things...."

"much like with the play doh, you never know until you try correct?" the Golem seems to smile "if your system can handle that we can try pizza later on" it seems oddly refreshed from the small amount of noodles it placed within it's arm.

Reaching out slowly, she left the corner long enough to reach for a box of noodles. Opening it, she sniffed it lightly before pulling a few out with her fingers. She couldn't remember a time when she had eaten food and worried that this would not end well. Taking a moment to ready herself, she put the noodles in her mouth and slowly began to chew them. Her brow furrowed as she chewed. This whole process just felt so strange to her despite the somewhat pleasant flavor of the noodles.

After a long chew, she swallowed and winced as body fought to accommodate something it was not used to having. Her throat ached as the food stretched it in a way it was not accustomed to. It fell like a stone into her stomach and she groaned a bit at the feeling. Setting the box down, she curled up again as her stomach cramped lightly.

"you are showing signs of malnutrition, my apologies i should have gotten something less starchy for you. though scans show your body is trying to adjust to the intake of food indicating that you are capable of eating" the golem seems very confused " would water help your stomach or something more comfortable to sit on?" it also seems concerned

"Water?" Yet another thing Succubi, or any demon really, never took in. There was too much of a chance that it was holy water in disguise. She stomach lurched and she rolled onto her hands and knees with a dry heave.

The golem moves over and takes a couple hand fulls of hair pulling it out and away from the heaving girls face "you will be ok I believe, you do not seem to be showing signs of catastrophic organ failure which is good though I think next time broth would be better"

Her tail thrashed behind her as another wave of dry heaves ripped through her. Mid-way through it, her tail wrapped around the golem's leg seeking support in more than one way. By the time she had finished, the chewed noodle and bile laid on the floor. Tears streamed down her face as everything inside her ached in ways she had never known.

Too lost in her ache, she opted to just lay down on her side and looked to the golem. "No more... Please..."

The Golems cold fingers lightly pry the tail off it's leg "that won't work on me little one, I am not human and lack the soul you would feed on." it is calm "I am a Symbiote that works similarly to you, albiet by nature less harmful then your mother would be"

"I wasn't... I didn't mean to..." She blushed in embarrassment as she realized her tail had wrapped around the golem's leg seeking comfort from the startling pain and heaving. "I'll not do it again..." She swore to herself not to do it again. Doing it would only make her weaker than she already was.

"Breath Little one, you have been here a lot longer then you think." the golem says slowly "do you actually want to leave or is it you are afraid you have to?" it ask slowly carefully

She looked to the golem with a look of a lost and confused child. For a moment she looked almost human as she sat there with her tail wrapped around herself. "i... My mother made it clear... I... I was to never leave... They... Outside they would hurt me... Kill me.." She took a slow breath. "That the people outside would kill me if they saw me. I... I have never been good at covering up my form like mother can... She can look human and blend but I cannot."