A twenty-something rabbit sat at his desk, scented candles and incense providing the gloomy basement with a hint of joy. He removed his glasses to rub at his sore and deeply sunken bloodshot eyes.
A voice came from the chamber door behind him. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Mr. Robertson." He slowly turned to face the wolf, in her full cubi glory. She'd really gone all out in forming her costume, extra revealing and seductive, breasts larger than his head. He could feel her charm, her glamor, radiating all around him, but wasn't directly affected.
Sighing, he stood up. "I assume the adoption went through. Now that you've gotten all you need from me you've come to end my suffering? As tempting as it is to let you, I've invested too much in this world to leave now."
A clang of blades struck inches from the rabbits face. One blade traced back to a thin shadowy trail of darkness emerging from the black wolf's tail tip. The other trailed into the shadows under the rabbit's desk.
He hadn't even flinched, "I'm sure you know my bodyguard, Falkonio. I understand you frequently beat him in your combat training, but even if you did win, we would both lose."
Testing her brother's defenses, Delphi casually clashed with the shadowy tail all around the rabbit. He trusted the skill of his guard and kept talking. "You see, I have the full names of many cubi, and have bound them fully to my service. I can take over their bodies at any time to run my various companies and espionage operations. But I never got your full name, so, I thought I'd never have use of you. Then my sister, the only good thing left in my life, went and died, leaving me her daughter."
As he stepped closer to the succubus, the figure under the desk slowly emerged to keep defending him. The incubus, Falkonio, was a lanky mink wearing a mixture of revealing armor and seductive bondage gear.
Delphi was curious at how the rabbit could remain so calm, especially if he already knew that she always beat this particular brother. "And how would we 'both lose' Mr. Robertson?"
He smirked and pushed up his glasses, "If you kill me, then Maltricaro will kill Melody." The bladed tails stopped, hooked together near his shoulder. "Yes, if I die by any means that she determines is your doing, then she will snuff out the last thing I actually care about. That's why I bound you to her. Even if she ordered you to kill me, you can't take action that you believe would lead to her death. Control via extortion is the next best thing since I can't fully bind you like the rest of my cubi."
Delphi knew Maltricaro's skills well enough. While Maltri wasn't much of a one-on-one fighter, she was an expert at stealth, deception, and investigation. Delphi would never be able to trick the High Inquisitor herself. And even if Maltri didn't kill Melody immediately, there was no way Delphi would be able to stay on watch at all times. If she killed him, even by some elaborate means, Melody was dead.
He turned his back to the wolf and walked back to his chair, slumping into the seat with exhaustion. "Good. Now just focus on the job I summoned you for. Take care of my niece. Let me hold onto that. Let there be at least one spark of hope and joy left in this world as I corrupt its financial institutions."
"You know this is killing you, right? Mortals aren't meant to wield the mind of a cubi, let alone several of us. That's why we guard our full name so well, to keep you from hurting yourself. Your cubi are suffering, having to watch helplessly as you use them to destroy yourself. They just want to love you, to feel your love for others, but it seems you've lost even that."
"Yes. And I deserve to die. But I still have work to do before I can."