[Congratulations! You have unlocked the profession: Songstress.]
[Do you wish to accept it?]
Arianna blinked at the system screen through tear-blurred eyes.
She had finally stopped her useless sobbing, and now this strange surprise was waiting for her.
Her chest still hurt from crying. Her fingers rested lightly on the keyboard, the last notes of her song fading slowly in the quiet room.
A profession.
She didn’t know why the system had chosen now of all times to give it to her. She had been singing quite a lot today. So why now?
But…
She liked the sound of it.
Songstress.
Softly, almost instinctively, she pressed accept. The screen shifted.
Profession: Songstress
A Songstress channels mana through voice and melody. Her music subtly influences emotions, strengthens the spirit, and stabilizes mana within those who listen. A Songstress can awaken powerful emotions in her audience or soothe troubled hearts, shaping the atmosphere around her through song.
Profession Boosts:
- Gentle Resonance: The Songstress can soothe the emotions of those who hear her music. Fear, panic, and anger are calmed, allowing listeners to regain emotional balance.
- Locked: Gentle Guidance: The Songstress stabilizes both the emotions of her listeners and the surrounding mana fluctuations. This makes meditation easier and increases the effectiveness of mana recovery and control.
- Locked: Invocation: The Songstress can invoke a specific emotion within her listeners through targeted song. The strength of the emotion depends on the intensity of the performance and the listener’s resistance.
(Restriction: The Songstress must be a higher level than the listener, or the listener must be willing)
- Locked: Order: Through her music, the Songstress can impose a simple command upon mana creatures.
(Restriction: The Songstress must be at least one rank higher than the target creature, and the creature must not be fully sentient) - Locked: Living Song: A Song performed by the Songstress may manifest as a physical creation shaped by the meaning of the melody. The creation may gain sentience.
(Restriction: The song must be performed with deliberate intent toward the creation, and once the being is formed, that specific song can never be sung again.)
When she finished reading, Arianna leaned back slowly. Excitement crept into her chest.
It was strange.
She hadn’t really cared about Dr. Makimovich’s idea of getting a hobby. At the time it had sounded like one of those well-meaning suggestions adults gave when they didn’t know how to fix something broken.
But somehow…
Somehow this had become something much more.
The emptiness left behind by her tears slowly filled with something warmer. Something lighter. Excitement. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt that.
Maybe before her kidnapping. Maybe even before that.
Her gaze drifted over the list of abilities again. The first two were gentle. Supportive. Helping people calm down. Helping them meditate. That fit her.
But the later abilities…
Her fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the keyboard. Those could be powerful. Even useful in combat. And the last one—
Her eyes lingered on the words.
Living Song. Could she really create something with just a song? The idea felt impossible. And wonderful. She almost wanted to try it right now.
But the restrictions were clear. She would have to grow stronger first. A small smile touched her lips. So, in the end… Dr. Makimovich had won. She would sing. And sing. And sing again.
But it wouldn’t be just for the abilities this new profession offered. Her fingers brushed lightly across the piano keys, producing a quiet chord. The last song she had played tonight…
It had changed something inside her. Now she understood what the doctor had meant when he told her she wasn’t fine. And even after this song, she still wasn’t fine.
But the muted world inside her, the dull grey emptiness she had been drifting through since she’d been captured, it was beginning to change.
Slowly. Carefully. The colours were starting to come back.
Arianna closed her eyes briefly and wiped away the last traces of her tears. They probably wouldn’t be the last ones, but maybe that was alright. For today, though, she was done with crying.
She pushed herself up from the piano bench, suddenly eager. Cassis needed to hear about this. About the profession. About the abilities. About the strange, exciting feeling blooming in her chest.
But as she moved toward the door, she paused.
She could sense Cassis right outside the door. And then she realized something that made her blink in surprise. She had been sensing him for a while now, just hadn’t realised it because she’d been so concentrated on singing.
Why hadn’t he come in? Had he… heard her? She sighed softly. She hadn’t wanted him to know she’d been crying again. He would worry. He always worried.
But it had already happened. So she walked to the door and pulled it open, thankful that it opened inward.
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The moment it moved, Cassis tumbled into the room with a startled sound and staring up at her in surprise. So he hadn’t been standing in front of the door, but sitting and leaning against it.
For a moment they simply looked at each other.
Then Arianna noticed the tears streaming down his face. Her breath caught. Cassis’ eyes widened slightly before he quickly scrambled to his feet, turning his head as if he could hide it.
But Arianna reacted before he could. She stepped closer and gently placed her hand against his cheek, guiding his face back toward her.
Yes. Those were definitely tears. Her heart tightened. What had happened? Why was he—
Then the answer hit her. Because of her.
New tears threatened to gather in her own eyes, but she forced them back. Crying again would help neither of them.
“Arianna…” Cassis said quietly.
But the silence after his words stretched. Awkward. Uncertain. She didn’t know what to say. Her fingers still rested against his face.
She couldn’t seem to move them away. Finally she found her voice.
“Cassis…”
But the words she wanted refused to come.
His ears had turned bright red, probably from embarrassment, yet he didn’t look away this time. Instead, a small smile appeared on his lips.
He stepped closer. Slowly, his arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her gently against him.
Arianna felt warmth spread through her chest. Yes. That felt right.
She smiled softly and let her hands slide from his face, moving up around his neck as she leaned into the embrace.
For a moment they simply stood there. Then Cassis spoke softly near her ear.
“Are you better now?”
Arianna nodded.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “Thanks for listening.”
And she meant it.
The Cassis from the early days of the apocalypse would have tried to fix things immediately. He would have rushed in, tried to comfort her, tried to push the pain away.
But he had changed, just like she had. He had given her space. He had trusted her to find her own footing. And all the while he had been there, supporting her from behind, even when she hadn’t noticed.
Why had she ever doubted him? Of course he loved her, just like she loved him.
She buried her face slightly against his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. She had missed this. Missed him.
Before her thoughts could spiral again, she simply acted. She tilted her head and placed a small kiss on his cheek. Then another on his chin. Then his nose.
Cassis blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting the sudden affection. Arianna smiled softly before leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss against his lips.
At first, he only stared at her in surprise. But then he relaxed, returning the kiss. She had only meant it to be brief, just something simple. But the moment their lips met, something inside her stirred.
She had been craving this warmth ever since she’d fallen in love with him all over again. And now finally they could share this with no secrets between them anymore. Nothing held them back from this closeness, this connection anymore.
She kissed him again. And again. Her hands wandered across his shoulders, down over his chest, then around his back before returning again, as if she needed to confirm that he was really there.
That this was real.
Cassis’ hands tightened slightly on her waist before beginning their own slow movement, one sliding along her back while the other rose to rest lightly near her neck, keeping her close.
As if he was afraid she might pull away.
Arianna smiled quietly to herself. She never could.
When his lips brushed against hers again, lingering a little longer this time, she welcomed the closeness without hesitation, letting the warmth of the moment wash away the last lingering shadows of the evening.
Their tongues met, and as if they’d done this a thousand times already, they moved in the same rhythm.
Slowly they made their way to the bedroom, not even looking where they went, until suddenly Cassis fell onto the bed, taking her with him.
This was the second time today he was looking up at her after falling on his back. And this time he was surprised again, like he didn’t even know how they’d gotten here.
She couldn’t help herself. She started giggling and couldn’t stop. Even hiding her face in his chest didn’t help. But that’s when she heard his own laughter, free and relieved.
Her head bounced on his chest, he laughed so hard. This in turn triggered her own.
Thankfully after a while, they both stopped. She looked up at him, then started giggling again. He pushed her head into his chest again, trying not to start himself. Though he lost that battle.
After another round of laughter, Arianna tried again. Cassis was prepared this time and immediately put his hand over her eyes.
“Don’t start again. I can’t laugh anymore. It actually hurts.” He spoke slowly, like he was afraid he’d start laughing any second now. But nothing came out.
Arianna took a few short breaths. The urge to laugh finally faded. Then she smiled. She still couldn’t see him because his hand was still covering her eyes. But for the next part she didn’t necessarily need to see him.
She slowly pushed her hand upwards his chest until it was at his cheek again. Her head sank down at the same time until she could feel his breath. Just a bit further and they’d kiss again.
She smiled. This felt a lot more exciting because she couldn’t see him.
“Ari…”, Cassis started, but this wouldn’t do. She didn’t want to talk right now. She had far more interesting plans involving him and her, and talking would only ruin them.
So she quickly closed the small gap between their lips. At the same time as her tongue brushed his, she moved to straddle him. His hands immediately went to her hips. But they didn’t keep her still.
No, they urged her to move. So, she did. And it felt glorious.
After a while, however, it wasn’t enough anymore. She needed more. And he seemed to think the same, as his hands had wandered under her shirt, caressing her stomach and back.
Arianna smiled while continuing the kiss. She’d definitely return the favour.
Her own hands crept under his shirt, raising it up and up. She loved feeling him like this. He was all warm and hard, and at the same time soft, under her touch.
She wanted to kiss him there, too. But then she’d have to stop kissing his mouth. Both actions had their advantages. What should she do?
In the end, Cassis decided. He broke their kiss to sit up, then nipped down her neck while still keeping his hands on her body.
Arianna moved with him again. Thanks to gravity she was sitting on his lap more heavily now and the friction had intensified.
A quiet moan escaped her as Cassis lightly bit at where her shoulder met her neck. She could feel the satisfied smirk he wore against her skin. Then she smiled. Two could play this game.
She gathered the bottom of his shirt in her hands and urged it up over his head. Soon after her head sank onto his chest, kissing and licking a path up, over his neck, back to his lips. His grip on her tightened.
They broke apart, both breathing heavily. Cassis stared into her eyes like he was searching for something. She only smiled, then took off her own shirt.
He started grinning. His hands wandered all over her, his eyes practically drank her in, especially when she took off her bra, too.
Their lips met again, his hands went back to her hips and she pushed against him faster and harder. And suddenly Arianna was on her back, Cassis above her.
He froze. Arianna grinned, sliding her hand up his chest again. She wanted to pull him down by his neck, back to kissing her, but he resisted.
She frowned. “What’s wrong?”
He looked away for a second, then immediately back to her. “Is this ok?”, he asked as he settled his weight fully on her.
Her heart trembled. She kissed him quickly on the mouth, then said. “Yes, only with you.”
The smile he gave her made her melt. Then, to her confusion, he lifted off her to rummage inside his bedside table.
The confusion soon dissolved when he settled back over her, gave her a quick kiss and showed her what he’d gotten. A condom. Now that was more like it.
Still, she had to ask. “And why exactly do you have a condom right here? We weren’t together like that before.”
He grinned. “A man can hope.”
She rolled her eyes, though she had to grin, too. “I wasn’t the one always putting on the brakes.”
He suddenly became serious. “Yes, but you know why.” She sighed and nodded. He was such an idiot at times. But an honourable idiot. And most importantly, her idiot.
“So…,” his eyes searched hers. “Is this really ok?”
She wanted to immediately say yes, but she took the time to filter through her own emotions. It would hurt him if she wanted to stop later on. He’d stop. Of course, he’d stop. But he would be afraid he’d hurt her. So, she needed to be sure for both their sakes.
In the end, she needn’t have worried. She couldn’t feel any fear or even tenseness inside herself. The only things she could feel were warmth, desire and love.
She smiled. “Yes. I love you. I want to be with you in every sense.”
He returned her smile. “I love you, too. Let’s be together, now and in the future.”
And that night, they made their declaration of love and their promise of a shared future not only with their words, but also their bodies.