Not dead yet, The Lamia in Love is on it's way! This is just a little extra to make the wait a little easier.

CoA

Lala the Dullahan, the Agent of Death, Reaper of Souls, and She Who Sits On The Riverbank, stepped softly as she wandered the empty halls of the Kimihito household during the quiet night.

Night, the rare hours when the other occupants of the house slumbered, the constant noise ceased, and silence and shadow ruled.

And she, the Grim Huntress, ruled over the silence and shadow...

... Finishing the sandwich she had made for herself in the kitchen, Lala ended her internal soliloquy, flicking a few stray crumbs from her purple, skull-patterned pyjamas and observing her bed-hair in a hallway mirror.

She saw her annoyingly floofy white hair spring out in all directions and let out a mildly distressed whine.

She was Death Incarnate, gosh darn it! She was the most feared among the Unseelie Court! The Ferry Woman, The Black Rider, a thousand other (completely self-made) titles!

So why was her hair defying gravity? That wasn't very ominous or cool...

She was thankful that her host was most likely asleep. She wouldn't be able to bear the humiliation of him finding out that she was too awkward to come out during the day for a snack.

Giving up on adjusting her hair, Lala resumed her lonely vigil of the house.

Kurusu Kimihito was a fascinating subject for the Dullahan. A human who died repeatedly, and simply "got better" as it were.

There was nothing special about him, a rather typical, perhaps even generic Japanese teenager. But after observing him for a while, her simply curiosity have evolved into something entirely different, and Lala had discovered something special about her host.

He was kind.

He was kind, helpful, brave, strong-willed, even rather... Sweet...

He was someone worth waiting for, in her opinion.

In the darkness, and caught in her musings, Lala didn't see what knocked her head off her neck this particular time. Rolling her eyes at her clumsiness as her suddenly panic-stricken body flailed around in the dark, Lala rolled to a stop outside of a bedroom door, the Centaur woman's room, she believed.

Blinking rapidly, she stared openly at the scene she could make out through the small opening of the shouji door, a look of pure disbelief on her usually stoic face.

CoA

Kurusu stood before a subserviently kneeling Centorea, testing the sting of the riding crop in his hand against his palm.

Cerea was naked and bound, breathing raggedly through her nose, her mouth was stuffed with a black ball-gag tied around her head, soaked with spit from her attempts to scream in pain/pleasure. Her eyes were covered by a simple black piece of cloth, also tied around her head. Around her neck was a tight collar, attached to a leash which Kurusu held in his hand.

Her arms were tied behind her back, with her hands near her neck, her elbows twisted far enough to leave her in dull, but constant agony.

Her entire body, her stomach, lower back, breasts and the entire equine half of her body - basically anywhere he could reach and could be covered by clothes - was covered in harsh red welts, courtesy of the crop in his hand.

"So." He began, running his hand along her stomach, listening to her muffled whimpers. "Maybe now you'll be a bit more talkative, little mare?" Kissing her ear, he brought the crop down on her flank - hard.

Cerea jerked her body and let out a short shriek. She nodded desperately and tried to scream her agreement through her gag.

"Good girl." Kurusu smiled, untying her gag. "Now what do you have to say for yourself, you dirty little pit pony?" He whispered harshly, striking her hip.

Cerea took several deep breaths to steady her trembling body. "Yes! Yes! I confess! I am dirty! A dirty and rude creature unworthy of being call a Centaur!"

Kurusu gripped her chin fiercely, looking into her covered eyes. "Tell me!" He demanded. "Say it out loud!" He brought the crop down on her breast to urge her on, with another whimper of pain, she began.

"Today, at a cafe, a waitress brought me the wrong order twice. I left only half my usual tip! Hurt me more, I need correction!" She begged.

Kurusu blinked, scratching the side of his head with the crop. "What? That's all?" He asked, breaking character for a minute.

That's not what he had expected when Cerea had returned from her morning jog and demanded that she be punished later that night.

Cerea twisted her lips downwards, somehow looking stern. "Master, the economy is rather tough at the moment, especially for those in the hospitality sector. What if she had been saving to make a deposit on a vehicle? Or even struggling to pay her rent? How could I be so callous? Make it so I will never show such pettiness again!" She shouted, sounding rather demanding for a submissive.

"I-It's just that for this kind of play, the reasons are a bit more-"

"I burned down an orphanage then! Just punish me more!" She shrieked in frustration.

"... And that's a bit too much, but hey! We're both new to this sort of thing, and-" Kurusu's words were interrupted again when the door was suddenly opened and in walked Lala's body, searching for her head.

The oddly expressive body shrugged her shoulders in Kurusu's general direction, silently requesting his help.

Stunned, he shakily pointed towards the door frame, spotting Lala's mortified head, futilely trying to roll away from the room.

Lala's body gave him a thumbs up and placed her head back on her neck. Then, with her head back in control, Lala's body tensed up to the point of petrification, staring at Kurusu and the bound Centauress.

"Uh, right, I know this looks a little odd," he said, giving the crop a nervous shake.

Lala flinched, looking ready to bolt, fearfully eyeing the crop with a mixed look of curiosity.

"Oh, crap!" Kurusu dropped the crop, realising his mistake. "Yeah, no, sorry, my mistake!" He laughed nervously, while Cerea struggled behind him, wondering what the devil was going on and why she was not being so rightly punished for her transgressions against a hardworking member of the service industry.

"Would you believe this is Cerea's idea? I wouldn't really be into this whole sort of thing, but she loves it! It's a Centaur thing, I think" He rambled at the Dullahan, who looked like a blue-skinned rabbit in headlights. "But you know how the strict types like to let their hair down now and then, I guess? Wow, why am I still talking? And why aren't you leaving? I really don't know how to handle this situation, this is uncomfortable, huh?"

Lala lowered her eyes a fraction, her face taking on a light purple hue.

"Naked..."

"Oh, shit!" Kurusu exclaimed, cupping his crotch in embarrassment.

Lala didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes and fell backwards, hitting the floor with a thud, her head rolling from her neck for the second time that night, her unconscious body girlishly clutching the space where her cheeks should have been.

"Well, crap..."

"Master? What is going happening?"

Kurusu sighed and smacked himself in the face. Well, at least she didn't walk in while he was with Mero and Rachnera.

Mero acting out her fantasy of being a cuckquean while Rachnera got to dominate both him and her would have been a lot harder to explain...

Ugh, breakfast was going to be awkward...