They named her Liath - "grey", in the language of their conquerors. And they taught her the law of their new land, and the joys of freedom and prosperity. 

To her, the stories of her parents' home were just that - stories. She had never known the place of her ancestry. And so she did not know enough to know what she had lost, not fully. 

There were rumors, at her school, about the winged girl with the spade-tipped tail; but the empire was large, and there were ever so many different kinds of people in it. 

She was still cruel, at times, in retaliation and in the callous way that children can be; but she was a good student, and listened well to her parents' examples and those of her teachers. She never had to be corrected more than once.

Eventually, though, she grew up. And no-one on Arcbright knew what that meant, for demons, not even her mother and father. 

She grew beautiful, first. Toned and curvy and with a full and buxom figure. There was succubus in her ancestry, one of the old duchesses of Lust; and on the other side, a baron of Wrath. And so she gained in strength and beauty together, intertwining. 

It was when she was sixteen that her black nails hardened into claws, and her tail became dark and serrated. It started to twitch and move with a mind of its own, following some darker, subconcious urge. 

When a boy slighted her in thaumics class - it was such a small slight, an inflection in the wrong place, sarcasm when he called her the best mage in the class - her tail lashed out, and cut three grooves across his cheek. 

Her parents were furious.

When they were told it had happened without her wishing it, they became scared. 

A solution was sought; control exercises. Training with her new limb, to practice using it with her concious mind and not her instincts. To temper her. To refine her.

And so she trained. Oh, how she trained. She was a perfect student. She was so good at learning. 

But every day it got worse. She began to have visions. Fantasies. The wish to tear at skin with her nails, all tangled up with the desire to kiss. Her tail lashing out. Blood against the school's tiles. Destroying the practice targets her parents got her helped, but not enough. Not enough. 

She wanted to hurt something that would suffer for it. 

She told her parents so.

Her parents had learned control looking down the barrel of the OTC's guns. 

They told her it was unacceptable to want to harm another. They told her she was just like the old demons. The bad demons. The kind they had left Cthonia to be free of. 

They doubled her control exercises.

And so she learned. 

She learned control, over the sound of screaming in her dreams. Over the fantasies of blood and gritted teeth and hurt. 

Eventually she began to dig her claws into her own forearms, just to feel something hurt. Even if it was herself. Even if it wasn't the same. 

It was perverse. The fantasies only redoubled when she liked someone. Caring only seemed to make her want to see someone suffer more. 

It was impossible. 

So she locked it away. 

It got easier, after a while. She found her first love, with the girl from her class who enjoyed her teasing most; and cautiously, they began to cuddle and kiss. 

It was good. It was so good. The fantasies got worse whenever she was with her but that didn't matter, she cared, she loved her, she was beautiful -

Until one day, Liath went in for a kiss, and her lips burnt her girlfriend to the touch. 

Her girlfriend left her, over that. 

And her parents told her it was her fault. 

And she knew that it was true. 

She threw herself back into the control exercises, and chose not to love again.

Eventually - very eventually - she graduated from college, and moved out.

And then it was just her, in a small apartment, out in Arcbright. 

Her and her fantasies.

She knew by now that it was wrong to hurt people. 

She had had that drilled into her again and again and again. 

But the fantasies wouldn't go away. 

So she kissed her own wrist with her branding lips; and cut at her skin with her claws; and hid, and hurt, and did her best to be the person she wanted to be in her heart of hearts. A person who didn't want to hurt people. A person who was okay. 

It didn't work.

And her parents were no longer there to watch her. 

And there was a very large internet available. 

"Hello, would you like a hard drive full of torture pornography?", said the internet.

And Liath said, "No thank you but I'll save this one particular story." 

"Would you like to PM the author?" Asked the internet.

"You know what?" Said Liath. "I think I would."

Dear Palmbrand666: 

I'm a... fan of your recent work, particularly the scene with the shock prod. Having Silvia laugh and delight in it so much was... terrifyingly hot. Where do you get all your ideas for these scenes? I've had similar fantasies all my life, but... I know they're far too extreme for reality.

To: ClawsThatCatch

The scenes in my work are largely based on real encounters I've had in the Rose Bowers - with the serial numbers filed off, of course. Experimenting with people is something I deeply enjoy, and exploring the different kinds of pain I can inflict matters a lot to me. I'm really glad the series landed so well with you. Who knows, maybe someday you can experiment yourself! 

WHAT

PEOPLE DO THAT? 

- okay, hold on just a fucking second - 

To: Palmbrand666

People let you do that to them???????

To: ClawsThatCatch

Yeah! in controlled conditions ofc

you must be really new to the community if you don't even know that. Have you ever heard of the rose bowers before?

To: Palmbrand666

No, never. What is it? 

to: ClawsThatCatch

Google it, lol. 

She Googles it. 

There is a brochure. It would be glossy, if it had been printed; it shows sweeping terraced gardens. The overlaid font is an elegant cursive. 

The Rose Bowers

Welcome to the Origin Trade Consortium's premier clothing-optional resort. For anyone interested in pursuing romance, sexuality, or simple luxury, the Rose Bowers has it on offer, in a multitude of shapes and forms. From the Rosethorn Hotel's manicured grounds and structured activities to the bustling nightlife of Terra-luna City, this resort world provides all at a very reasonable up-front price. Whether you come alone, with friends, or with a partner or partners, you're guaranteed to have an enjoyable and edifying stay thanks to the latest in state-of-the-art fateweaving. 

On the inside of the brochure, a nude woman reclines on a vinyl chaise-lounge, her back to the camera as she looks over her shoulder. There is a table of prices beneath.