Out in the golden lit streets of Keaton, Patience fitted Anax over her head once again. People no longer occupied the road or sidewalks and instead flocked to pubs, restaurants, and home for supper. The girl strolled amongst twirling phantoms kicked up by a gentle wind. The crunch of dirt and pebbles under her boots tickled her ears. She smiled. The melody of Schuler’s song percolated into her mind even though she did not remember paying attention to it.

“How did it go?” asked the skull.

“It went much better than I feared. It was like he never left,” Patience replied.

Anax grunted in acknowledgement.

“I forgot how much I missed him.”

Anax grunted again.

“D-do you mind me going to see him?” Patience asked.

“What are we supposed to do with Schuler?” Anax muttered.

“What do you mean?” Patience slowed her pace.

“He still has his eyes on you. I can’t share my pet.”

“And why not?” warbled the girl, heart fluttering at the notion of Schuler’s continued interest.

“I’ve claimed you. No one else can touch you,” growled the skull.

“Is that the way of your kind?” questioned Patience, furrowing her brow.

“We do not touch other females if they’ve been claimed, unless we seek a fight. We are a … patriarchy.”

“‘Patriarchy’?” repeated Patience incredulously.

“From what I figure, reading the books on your shelves.”

She stopped in her tracks. “You read those?” marveled the girl.

“I do some nights as you sleep.”

She pictured his tendrils snaking to the parlor and bringing back books to her bedside. Patience thought she had been needing to refill the kerosene lamp more often than usual. She supposed the skull would eventually have to do something to alleviate his boredom while she slept. At least he was considerate enough to return the books to their places.

Shaking off her astonishment, the girl continued down the street. “Claimed or not, this is my world. You said you wanted to learn about it,” she huffed.

Anax burbled an acquiescing grumble.

“I’ve still got a mind of my own.”

“Only I’ve allowed you to. Do you really want to see what my kind can do?” rumbled Anax. He suddenly steered Patience into a dark alley with jabs from his tendrils. The afternoon drifted away from the girl in a fleeing canvas before her vision.

“Need I remind you of what I’m capable of?” he hissed.

Anax wrapped Patience in his own body faster than she could blink. Held in the suffocating grip of his mist, the light escaped from her eyes. Alone in the powdery dusk of the alley, the girl was at the mercy of the wanton will of the skull atop her head. Unshaken, the smallest chortle bubbled at the back of her mind. Anax appeared to be jealous. What a thought.

Her face softened. “Of course, Anax,” Patience cooed. “We have something special. Nothing could break the bond we have. Not even Schuler.”

Anax released his hold and allowed Patience to walk back into the light. The girl smiled, she knew she could learn to talk him down. She did hold some power over him after all. “Come on, let’s go find something interesting before we leave for home.”

“Okay,” muttered Anax.

Patience walked away from that alley with a slight spring in her step.

Having already seen her usual stops the past couple of times, Patience took Anax to the streets less trampled in Keaton. They passed by a lot where traveling merchants were allowed to park their caravans for a small price. Their draft animals were boarded in stables across the road. These mobile homes thrummed with life. People casually sat around their outer steps, chatting and playing cards. A few children ran about, chasing each other. A pair of cats sauntered over to Patience, rubbed against her leg, and promptly flopped onto the dusty road to soak up the dying sunlight. Patience watched Anax’s marble of an eye drift around its socket. Heavy scents of stewing meals and incense wafted through the air. Steam and smoke drifted across the lot, casting a hazy sheet over the migrants.

Anax began to stutter, “Is—is that?”

“Anax? What’s wrong?”

But before he could respond, Patience felt the skull slip from her head. Instinctively she reached up, holding it in place. Something was not right, Anax always held fast to her crown.

“Anax?” repeated the girl. He was absent. Fear slammed into her heart. Patience hurried to a quiet section of road. To her horror, she removed Anax’s skull from her head with no resistance. Even when he allowed her to, she always felt a slight force whenever she dislodged him, like pulling apart magnets. The skull rested in her hands as lifeless as when she first held him above the wooden crate in her kitchen.

“Oh, God! What’s going on?”

Not knowing what else to do, she turned on her heels and headed for home. She ran as fast as she could, keeping Anax on her head with trembling hands. As if her feet were carried by the winds, Patience sprinted down the road. A mounting feeling of dread loomed over her. With each step she took, the fear knocked harder in her chest. It was difficult keeping the skull in place. The girl was beginning to lose her breath to exertion, to panic.

All this time she thought Anax in his second life to be invincible. Weeks ago she might have been glad to have this creature gone from her life. Now it was the last thing she wanted. When she had just began feeling comfortable around him, when she began to value his friendship, he was stripped away. What was worse than having him gone was not knowing the cause of this. Anax was so strong and far removed from the physiological standards most creatures had. The thought of anything being able to harm him was beyond Patience.

The old pangs of loss welled in her stomach. Not again. Not another person. Even if he was difficult, he was invaluable. He was the one to spark life into her being again. He awakened a part within her she never even fathomed existing. Even if he found her boring at times, she had to keep him as long as she could. She had to try.

Keaton quickly receded behind the bounding figure. The corners of Patience’s eyes started to sting. Every footfall sent a shock of blood up her heavy legs. Her throat cinched. Her breaths came out ragged. Desperation grew as lumps of leaded hopelessness formed in her veins. Patience gritted her teeth.

The dread grew, threatening to swallow her as the horizon did the sun. That was until she had crossed the bridge and a distinct pull tugged her crown. Patience stopped in her tracks to be certain it was not just her hair catching on the skull somewhere.

“Anax?” she whimpered.

“I’m here,” he replied distantly.

Instantly relieved, she leaned against a stretch of fence along the road. “Thank God! What happened?” Patience cried, chest heaving.

“Burning lavender. As a second-born, our bodies naturally retract into our skull and we become inert.” His voice was stronger now.

“Wh-why is that?”

“It is poisonous to us. In our first lives as well. If we are exposed to too much, it corrodes us. To become inert is a safeguard to protect our bodies from the smoke. I am fine now. ”

“Oh thank God,” the girl repeated. Having caught some of her breath, Patience resumed making her way home. “I’m happy you’re okay.”

“As am I,” said Anax sounding as he usually did again.

“I was really concerned …” she sighed.

“I’m glad.”

Patience’s heart finally returned to its normal pace. She glanced at the setting sun, eyes shaded by Anax’s skull, and continued onward. Still unnerved, the girl ventured to distract herself with questions.

“What happens to the life-donors when a skull becomes inert?”

“In such an instance they have full control once more and can remove us. The humans in my homeland have caught on to this. Mostly. They say burning lavender wards off us monsters and can bring back lost souls. A superstition that actually holds some truth.”

“Thank you for telling me. Are there any other plants or herbs you know are poisonous to you? I wouldn’t want to accidentally burn supper one night and have you go limp on me,” said Patience, rubbing her shoulders. The sun was fading fast and home was still a ways away.

“That is all that is known to us. I cannot say for certain that flora from exotic lands won’t harm us though.”

“I’ll be sure to be careful.”

Just as the violet of dusk faded to dark, Patience entered her front gate.

“Glad we got back in time! It’s a new moon tonight and I don’t know if I could have found our way home,” she laughed.

“Good. I’m no help,” Anax remarked.

“Really? Your night vision is poor?”

“My kind are active during the day,” he explained.

Patience made an interested noise, her mind occupied elsewhere. The lunch with Schuler continued to stave off her hunger, but the girl started preparations for a light supper regardless. She cut a potato, laying the slices on the bottom of an iron ramekin. A splash of egg and spinach followed in alternating layers with the remaining slices as the girl built up a small casserole. Patience hummed happily, thankful to have a quiet night with Anax. Realizing that the skull meant a lot more to her now than she initially thought, she knew she had to tell Schuler.

“Say …” Patience mused as she put her supper in the oven, “are you feeling peckish … for flesh?”

“Hmph, after having to go nearly a whole day without you and then a forced sleep, yes. I would like to mark you,” Anax grunted, his form already straining to solidify behind her.

She laughed to herself. He was all hers. With a quick nod, Patience permitted him to proceed. At once a flurry of tendrils exploded from his manifested body, whipping around undressing her and binding her against his front. His arms formed and groped her all over, seemingly to re-familiarize himself with her body. With ease, he lifted her up and brought her to the bedroom.

Their coupling quelled any concern in Patience. Anax was here and back to his normal self. In fact he seemed especially determined to make his presence known. His arms wrapped over her chest so closely they partially phased into her bosom. Anax clung to her as if he would lose her the moment he relinquished his grasp. Never did Patience imagine anyone desiring her nor her body to this extent. Strange as it was, it felt fulfilling.

Atop of her bed, she lay cocooned in his embrace from her neck to her feet. Her eyes traveled across the ceiling, its surface as blank as her mind. All she sensed was Anax writhing below her, the fire building in her pelvis. Loud growls ripped around her head, announcing to the world he had sole claim to her body. He planted his clawed toes into her quilt, pistoning upward with each thrust. Patience could have very well flew off had it not been for his coils keeping her tight against him.

A few misty ropes had bound Patience’s legs together, rendering her immobile. Only her forearms had enough room to move around, and they were currently gripping onto Anax’s arms for dear life. Encouraged by their reunion and the tightness between her legs, Anax bucked furiously. Had the ceiling in the cottage been lower, Patience was sure her feet might have touched it with how high he propelled her. The intense jostling nearly became too much to bear.

Patience’s silent prayers were answered when Anax fell back onto the bed. He splayed out his legs, resting for a moment. Patience breathed deeply to settle her stomach. Then she felt the coils around her grow tighter. Slowly they forced her body to fold up. The skull’s teeth rested on her knees as Patience curled into a tight ball, Anax’s body encasing her.

A low grumble rolled over her neck when Anax resumed thrusting. His pelvis barely left her backside as he ground into her cavity. His ropes bound her tighter and tighter. Anax’s body seemed desperate to place itself impossibly close to Patience, a meted response to their time apart and the scare of almost losing each other. It flickered between solid and smoke, ultimately choosing a solid being if only to feel the intense pleasure. A pressure engulfed Patience from all around, but the spot needing release the greatest held fast between her legs.

More tendrils strapped across her skin. He was not warm, but Patience felt the nerves all over her body fire off against his heavy presence. She felt hot. It was her own body heat being reflected back. Like a sauna, it was almost suffocating.

“A-Anax,” Patience gasped.

He pumped harder. A final, additional rope formed. This one emerged from the base of his cock. It glided against her slit, wedging between her legs up to her navel, and pressed into her front. Patience moaned, rocking her hips into this new member. Whether it was Anax’s slick surface or her own flowing juices, she delighted in feeling the sliding wetness along her folds. Anax’s cock filled her. His tendril titillated her. Together they touched Patience’s tipping point.

They opened the gate, and all the pressure felt over her body released through her sex. Patience whimpered, bucking and grinding into Anax’s cock and its assistant. The skull’s rumbles turned to chuckles. He let her enjoy her climax until she calmed.

“My turn,” he said. Still bound tightly, Patience allowed her body to go limp. She was satisfied. Now she could simply sit back and let Anax fulfill his own desires.

He withdrew the tendril at her front and resumed his more accustomed rhythm. Thrusting vigorously, he drove deep into her hole. Rolling over onto their sides, Anax then slowed his pace, making each push more intense than the last. Finally a growl erupted around Patience’s ears. His seed began spurting before he pulled out to paint streaks onto her body and bed. With its remaining stiffness, he inserted himself for the final time, pumping his last stream inside her.

Emptied and yet filling to the bring with pleasure, Anax dissipated into a river of fog cascading over the edge of the bed. Freed from her bindings, Patience stretched out on her quilt. She ran a finger through the smears of Anax’s seed. It looked much like the rest of his vaporous body, slightly cloudy, mostly clear. Wet at first, it evaporated within a minute, leaving Patience’s skin as dry as before. She checked the stains on the bed and they were gone as well leaving no trace behind.

“How curious,” mused the girl. She then rose to clean up and return to the kitchen just in time to take her supper out of the oven.

Patience bit into a slice of potato, watching Anax’s slim tendril dip into the ramekin. Her eyes softened. The skull was now cemented into her life. She could not imagine herself without him. He had changed her; for the better, the girl believed. The grainy starch tumbled around her mouth before she swallowed. Now was as good a time as any to make her statement.

“I have to tell Schuler about you. He’s the most important person to me still on this earth and he’s not going away any time soon.”

Anax’s tendril lifted away, disappearing back into his body. He sighed dreamily. “Are you sure he won’t bring trouble to us?” The skull was still relaxed from his release.

“He still cares for me. I trust him …” said the girl. “He could even help us, should we ever need it.”

Anax huffed. The orb of his eye rolled. “If you’re sure. Very well.”

She beamed.