Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!-Chapter 405: Awareness

{Melisa}

"Again."

Melisa closed her eyes, reaching out with her awareness. The cottage’s common area faded away, replaced by the soft pulse of essence signatures scattered throughout Foxhollow.

Two kitsune walked past the cottage. Their signatures burned bright—warm, playful, distinctly feminine. Sisters, maybe. Their essences resonated in similar patterns, like two instruments playing the same melody in different keys.

"Two kitsune. Related, I think. Walking east."

"Good. Now tell me which one is older."

Melisa focused harder. The signatures were so similar. Both had that characteristic kitsune brightness, that crackling energy that marked their kind. But the details blurred together, refusing to separate into distinct identities.

"I... can’t tell."

"Hmm." Zephyra shifted on her cushion, her silk robe riding up her thighs. "You’ve made excellent progress, Melisa. Your range has doubled in just a few days. But distinguishing between similar signatures—that’s where the real skill lies."

Melisa opened her eyes, frustrated.

"They feel almost identical. How am I supposed to tell them apart?"

"Experience. Time. Practice." Zephyra smiled, stretching her arms above her head in a way that made her robe gape open. "Think of it like faces. To someone who’s never seen humans before, all humans look alike. But once you’ve spent time with them, you start noticing the differences. The subtle variations that make each person unique."

"So I just need to keep practicing."

"Precisely." Zephyra leaned forward, her grey eyes sharp. "You’re talented, Melisa. More talented than most mages I’ve taught. But talent only takes you so far. The rest is—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Her nostrils flared.

"Melisa."

"What?"

"Your pheromones." Zephyra’s voice dropped, taking on a husky quality. "They’re... stronger than I remembered."

Melisa blinked.

Then she felt it—that warm, honeyed energy radiating outward from her skin. She’d let her control slip during the exercise, so focused on essence detection that she’d forgotten to keep her pheromones reined in.

[Oh shit.]

She pulled them back immediately, clamping down on that part of herself she’d learned to control years ago.

"Sorry! I didn’t mean to—I was concentrating on the detection exercise and I forgot to—"

Zephyra held up a hand, her cheeks faintly flushed.

"No need to apologize. It’s actually impressive. When we first met, your pheromones were normal, for lack of a better way to describe them. Now?" She fanned herself with one hand. "You could probably make half the village forget their own names if you let loose."

[Is that... a compliment?]

Zephyra stood, adjusting her robe with deliberate care.

"We should get going. The village leaders are expecting us."

Melisa noticed how Zephyra kept a few extra feet of distance between them as they walked.

[Okay, definitely affected her more than she’s letting on.]

---

The village council met in a building near Foxhollow’s center—a beautiful structure of carved wood and paper screens, decorated with paintings of foxes dancing under moonlight.

Three kitsune waited inside. The eldest had seven tails, silver hair streaked with white, and eyes that held centuries of wisdom. The other two were younger, maybe equivalent to middle-aged by kitsune standards, with five tails each.

"Melisa Blackflame," the eldest said, inclining her head. "I am Elder Yuna. These are my colleagues, Councilors Hana and Mai. We’ve heard much about you."

Melisa bowed, trying to remember all the etiquette lessons Aria had drilled into her.

"Thank you for receiving us, Elder. I’m honored to be welcomed in Foxhollow."

"The honor is ours. A nim mage who has achieved what you have—it gives our village’s nim population hope." Yuki’s smile was warm but tired. "We understand you’re here to study advanced magical techniques."

"That’s right. Zephyra has been teaching me essence detection."

"An excellent foundation." Councilor Hana spoke up, her voice musical. "We’d like to offer you additional instruction, if you’re interested. Several of our stronger mages have expressed willingness to share their knowledge with someone of your... unique talents."

Melisa’s heart jumped.

[Wait, really?]

"I... I would be deeply grateful for any instruction you’re willing to provide."

"Wonderful." Elder Yuki nodded. "We’ll arrange sessions starting tomorrow. Foxhollow may be a small village, but we have mages who specialize in techniques you won’t find taught anywhere else."

The meeting continued—discussions of schedules, topics of study, expectations. Melisa tried to stay focused, but part of her mind kept drifting to what this meant. Learning from kitsune masters. Techniques unavailable even at Syux Academy.

[This trip might be even more valuable than I expected.]

As they wrapped up and headed for the exit, Melisa caught a snippet of conversation from two kitsune standing near the door.

"—getting worse. My neighbor collapsed yesterday—"

"The healers don’t know what to do. They say it’s not contagious, but—"

"Have you seen how many sick ones there are now? It has to be spreading somehow—"

They noticed Melisa looking and went quiet, hurrying away with nervous glances.

[The sickness again. Everyone keeps mentioning it but no one wants to talk about it directly.]

Zephyra touched her elbow.

"Come. We should review what you learned today before dinner."

Melisa let herself be guided away, but the overheard conversation stuck in her mind like a nasty splinter.

---

That evening, Melisa found herself back at the bar from before.

The bar was livelier than before. Kitsune packed the tables, drinking and laughing, their tails filling the air with motion. In one corner, a group played some kind of dice game, cheering loudly at every roll. In another, two kitsune had given up any pretense of subtlety—one sat in the other’s lap, their mouths locked together, hands wandering freely.

Melisa averted her eyes, her cheeks warming.

"Well, well. The famous nim mage returns."

Sylra leaned against the bar, a knowing smile on her lips, her silver hair flowing down her shoulders, and her red eyes—so similar to Melisa’s own—sparkling with amusement.

"I needed a drink," Melisa said, sliding onto a stool.

"Rough day?"

"Productive, actually. The village council offered to let me study with their mages."

Sylra’s eyebrows rose.

"Impressive. They don’t offer that to just anyone." She poured Melisa a drink without asking—something amber and sweet-smelling. "You really have made a name for yourself."

"I got lucky a few times."

"Luck." Sylra laughed. "You saved a king. You cured a plague. That’s not luck, Melisa. That’s power."

Sylra smiled.

"News travels, you know? Even to little villages like this." She set down the glass she’d been polishing and held up her hand. "Here. Watch."

Her fingers moved, tracing a simple spellsign in the air. Essence gathered, shaped, and released—a small sphere of light that floated above her palm before dissipating.

Melisa’s jaw dropped.

"You can cast?"

"Basic stuff. Nothing like what you can do." Sylra’s smile turned almost shy. "When I heard about you—a nim who could use magic—I had to try. Took me months to manage even this much. But you proved it was possible, and that..." She shrugged. "That meant everything."

[She learned magic because of me.]

Something warm bloomed in Melisa’s chest.

"That’s amazing, Sylra. Seriously, I-"

A loud moan cut Melisa off.

Melisa’s head whipped around. The two kitsune in the corner had progressed beyond kissing—one had her hand shoved down the other’s pants, working away with a lot of enthusiasm. The one receiving the vigorous fingerfucking had her head thrown back, making absolutely no effort to be quiet.

And they weren’t the only ones. At another table, a kitsune had her top pulled down, another woman’s mouth on her tits. Nearby, a third pair had apparently decided the table was a good surface for—

Melisa looked away, her face burning.

[Holy shit. This is even more intense than Yalmir’s capital.]

Sylra’s laugh was warm against her ear.

"First time in a proper kitsune village?"

"I’ve been to Yalmir! The capital!"

"The capital has to maintain some decorum for diplomatic visitors." Sylra’s black tail brushed against Melisa’s leg under the bar. "Out here? The countryside? We don’t bother with pretense."

Melisa took a long drink, trying to cool the heat spreading through her body.

[I guess I left Lessmark before I ever noticed this.]

"It’s... a lot."

"You’ll get used to it faster if you join in."

Melisa choked on her drink.

Sylra patted her back, still laughing.

"I’m serious. Sitting there watching, being a total spectator, just makes you more aware of what you’re missing. But if you participate?" Her hand lingered on Melisa’s shoulder. "Then it’s just background noise after a while."

"That’s—I can’t just—"

"Can’t?" Sylra leaned closer. Her scent hit Melisa’s nose—something floral and warm, mixed with the unmistakable musk of another nim. "Or won’t?"

[Both? Neither? My brain is short-circuiting.]

Sylra’s fingers traced up Melisa’s arm, leaving trails of heat in their wake.

"You’ve got no lovers here, right? No feeding at all..." Her voice dropped. "I can tell, you know. One nim to another. You’re hungry, Melisa."

As soon as she heard that, she realized:

She was.

Gods, she was.

Her pussy was aching at this point.

"I..."

Sylra closed the distance.

The kiss was soft at first—testing, questioning. Sylra’s lips tasted like the sweet wine she’d been serving all night. Her hand cupped Melisa’s cheek, gentle and warm.

Then Melisa kissed back.

Heat flooded through her. Sylra made a pleased sound and deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding against Melisa’s. The bar, the noise, the watching kitsune—everything faded into background static. There was only this. The press of lips, the exchange of breath, the electric connection of two nim sharing essence.

[Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck—]

Melisa’s brain finally overpowered her pussy.

She pulled back, gasping.

"I—I have to go."

Sylra’s eyes were heavy-lidded, her lips swollen.

"Do you?"

"Training. Tomorrow. Early. Zephyra will—I’ll be late if I—"

She was babbling. She knew she was babbling. But if she stayed one more second, she’d end up doing a lot more than kissing.

"I have to go," she repeated, already sliding off the stool.

Sylra didn’t try to stop her. She just smiled that knowing smile and leaned back against the bar.

"Same time tomorrow?"

Melisa didn’t answer. She fled.

[That was close. Zephyra would kill me if I didn’t show up.]

Alas, her pussy would remain unfucked for another day.