Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 7.

Kara smiled as she rested her head against Sam’s shoulder. Her arms were currently looped around Sam’s neck, and his own were gently resting around her hips as they swayed gently. They had gone out with a group of friends to one of the very few dance clubs in the city, and Kara was enjoying the slow song the clubs dj was currently playing.
Kara smiled as she thought about how sharp Sam looked in his black shirt and dress pants, and how her own red cocktail dress complimented the crimson handkerchief that peaked from his breast pocket. With her heels on she was actually slightly taller than Sam, though if anyone noticed no one said anything. She knew from the looks and some of the whispered comments that she and Sam looked good together. Yet one thing still bothered her.
“I should have put on some hose,” Kara winced as her leg brushed against Sam’s as they danced.
“Why? You look fine,” Sam reassured her.
“I changed earlier,” Kara replied softly. “I’m always a little hairy afterwards.”
Sam chuckled lightly, “I wouldn’t have noticed if you didn’t say anything, and I don’t think anyone else could even tell.
Kara growled lightly, “It’s not funny. It’s itchy and gross.”
Sam quit laughing, but he kept his amused smile. “Sorry it itches.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re mocking me.”
“No,” he replied. “I just don’t get why girls make such a big deal about shaving.”
She smirked, “Yeah? Well, when our legs aren’t all smooth and shiny you guys seem to think it’s a big deal.”
“Ah I don’t know. I happen to think you’re quite pretty when you have hairy legs. Especially when you also have a busy tail to go with them.”
“Shush you.” Kara giggled and playfully hit him upside the back of his head, but she smiled as the music changed and she spun around to face away from him.
Her smile grew as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her gently back into him and he whispered into her ear, “I love you.”
There was no hesitation in her answer, nor was there anything but total and complete honesty when she answered. “I love you too, Sam.”

Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 6.

Sam met Shelly’s eyes. “What about you?” he asked.
The blonde vampire’s eyes flickered from Sam’s to Kara’s and back. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly, “but I don’t base my friends on who or what they are.”
She looked to Kara and tilted her head. “Jacqueline likes you and speaks highly of you. If she considers you friends, then I will too. Whether you decide to consider me one or not is up to the two of you.”
Jacqueline softly spoke up, “Kara, Sam, I know I don’t have the best track record when it comes to judging character, but I trust Shelly really wouldn’t have introduced her to you if I didn’t think she was a good person. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first.”
Kara leaned over and patted Jacqueline’s hand reassuringly, “Now you know for next time, and it is nice to see you making friends.”
Something chirped and Shelly pulled out her phone looking at it. “I need to call my family,” she looked at Kara, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell them about you. Mom and Dad like to check in on me every week though.”
Kara shrugged. “It wouldn’t even matter if you did, it’s gonna get out eventually.”
Shelly shook her head. “Not from me. Especially not my family. As I said, I consider you a friend.”
She slid back her chair and slid away. “Sam, Kara, it was nice meeting you. I’ll see you around.”
“Nice meeting you too,” Sam said graciously. Kara echoed him.
“I’ll go with you, Shelly if that’s okay?” Jacqueline asked.
“Of course. I could use the support. I love my parents but they can be very… overbearing.” Shelly winced.
Jacqueline collected hugs from Sam and Kara, and then followed her roommate out the door.
Kara resumed eating, wincing as she realized her meal was now nearly room temperature. “Well, she seemed nice enough,” she said at last.
“For a vampire you mean,” Sam finished for her.
Kara shook her head. “Sam, I’m scared of vampires, but that doesn’t mean I hate them all.”
“Are you scared of me?” Sam asked softly.
Kara sighed sadly. “I try not to be, but it’s hard to fight instincts and twenty years of having my parents instilling in me that every vampire I meet will try to kill me.”
Sam wrapped his arm around her and they finished their meals in silence.
***
A couple of days later Jacqueline found herself walking up the hill toward Stuart hall with Trina, a beautiful half-Asian girl with soft brown eyes and dark hair. Though she often seemed very submissive and rarely met anyone’s eyes, or spoke up, Jacqueline found Trina to be a sweet, cheerful girl with a wicked since of humor and a penchant for mischief.
Trina had just finished a story about her latest prank on her roommate with whom Trina was in a good-natured prank war with, when Shelly came up from behind them. “Hey, girls,” Shelly greeted them brightly.
“Hey Shelly,” Jacqueline smiled.
“Hello Shelly,” Trina gave a wave then turned to Jacqueline. “I just remembered I have a report due Monday, and I want to get it done before the weekend. I’ll catch you later, okay?”
Jacqueline blinked, “Um okay.”
Shelly sighed as Trina hurried on ahead. “She’s definitely afraid of me.”
Jacqueline shrugged. “Maybe she just remembered the report.”
Shelly shook her head, “Even, if she does, she’s just using it as an excuse. She is terrified of me, though she hides it well. Most people wouldn’t notice.”
Jacqueline looked over at her friend. “I guess I am one of those people, then. She looked the same to me.”
Shelly bit her lip and lowered her voice slightly. “I’m not sure how much Kara and Sam have told you, but Weres have much better hearing and smell then humans. They can even see in the dark better humans. Vampires don’t have quite as good hearing or smell, though we do have better vision.” She paused and hesitated slightly. “Vampires and weres can smell fear really well. Vampires can also sense things like heart rate and muscle tension.”
Shelly kicked a rock on the pavement venting her frustration slightly. “She was relaxed while she was talking to you. The moment I said hi her heart rate went way up, she tensed up and grew afraid. Her voice changed slightly too.”
“Wow, you guys are like superheroes,” Jacqueline observed. “With all these awesome powers you have.”
Shelly stopped suddenly and grabbed Jacqueline’s arm spinning the girl around till they looked each other in the eyes. “We are not better than you Jackie. We may be stronger, faster, and have senses that are more sensitive then you, but that doesn’t make us better,” She spoke angerly.
“In fact, in many ways it makes us worse. Many of us have an enhanced brutality and savagery to go with those enhanced senses, speed and strength. And we have other weaknesses too. Never forget that Jackie. It just might save your life.” With that, she stalked on ahead while Jacqueline hurried to catch up.

Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 5.

The weekend came and went without Kara, Sam, and Jacqueline seeing much of each other. Kara spent the evenings in her room shut away, riding out the effects of the full moon. Sam spent allot of his free time either in the art labs or in his dorm working on his art. Jacqueline was spending time with her new roommate whom was fast turning into a good friend.
By Monday, all three were feeling tired and dragging themselves to classes. During the one of the classes she and Sam shared, Kara kept stealing glances at him as she took notes.
After the class, she hung back to ask the professor some questions. By the time she was done, Sam had already left. She looked for him in the humanities plaza but didn’t see him. She headed on to the cafeteria and grabbed herself a pita pizza. She took her time eating it. When she was done she headed over to the art building.
She found him in one of the drawing classes. There were about fifteen students in the room seated in a semi circle with their easels in front of them.
They were facing a model that Kara didn’t know whether she was a student or not. The model was in a quasi-Victorian dress with fishnets. Although the model was in a suggestive pose, Kara was amused to discover she was relieved the model wasn’t nude.
The professor, a woman in her forties with chestnut hair that was just beginning to show signs of grey, waved Kara in. Embarrassed, Kara walked over to the professor. “Can I help you?” the woman asked Kara quietly.
“Sorry, my friend is in your class and I was curious,” Kara said.
“Well, we’re just doing some position exercises, the professor stated, but you’re welcome to stay and watch if you like.” The professor looked up over her class and called out, “Time.”
The students all tacked fresh paper on their easels while the model changed positions. She stretched out on her back, giving it a slight arch and raising one knee up to reveal the fishnets she wore under the gown. The sensuality of the model’s pose wasn’t lost on her audience and many were paying more attention to her then their sketches.
Even Sam didn’t seem quite immune though he didn’t seem quite as distracted as some of the others, especially the other men. Even so, he didn’t seem aware of Kara’s presence as she pulled up a chair beside him and Kara ruefully felt a pang of jealousy for the look that the model was able to present and the attention she commanded and secretly wondered if she were a vampire.
As she settled in beside him she noticed in the minute or so he had already managed to lay out the general shape of the model on paper, the dark charcoal lines stark against the white paper. As he began to fill in the shape with more defining lines, Kara noticed Sam was being a bit more generous with some curves and a bit less with others. In fact the general body shape didn’t quite match the model’s at all, even though the lines of the dress that Sam was making seemed to match. It was almost as if he was drawing someone else in the exact same pose and dress.
Knowing the extent of Sam’s talent Kara couldn’t believe that usch a discrepancy was anything but deliberate. Intrigued she looked down at the pile of sketches on the floor beside the easel and saw a consistency in the discrepancies that carried through all his drawings. In face even the texture of the model’s hair was consistently different then that of the model’s.
“A more egotistical and self-centered girl who saw these might think that you were drawing her instead of the model,” she whispered.
Sam blinked and seemed to notice her for the first time but went back to drawing quickly. “If that self-centered girl was sitting beside me right now, she would be right,” he whispered back.
“Time.” The call cut across the room causing Sam and the other students to add their current sketches to the piles and start over as the model chose a new pose. As Sam settled into his new drawing, Kara impulsively leaned over, tilting her head against his shoulder. One of his lines went errant and he paused for a moment blinking, but then he smiled and adjusted for the unexpected motion.
Something inside Kara that she could no longer deny crept into her thoughts and she admitted to herself that this felt right to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the professor looking at her, and she wondered if she was about to be thrown out of the classroom, but then the professor flashed a smile and winked. Taking that to mean that the professor was condoning her behavior she continued to snuggle against Sam while he worked.
Allowing herself to shut her eyes and take in the scents of the wood, charcoal, dried paint, and sweat that permeated the room, she focused in on the smell that was Sam and found to her surprise that though it still triggered racial instincts buried deep within her, the smell was also deeply comforting to her on a level that she could not describe. In that moment she realized that deep inside she had already made a decision, and that despite the fact it petrified her, that she couldn’t imagine any other future. Taking a deep, terrified breath, she let it out in a single word, “yes.” Reaching around to squeeze Sam’s arm as he paused his sketching she repeated herself as if to reassure herself of her resolve, “Yes.”

***

Sam hadn’t really been paying attention during the class, and while he realized that many of the other students, male and female were seemingly ruptured with the admittedly sensuous model, he was not. Instead, he was zoned into his own thoughts, daydreams really, imagining it was Kara that was modeling and not some sensuous housewife the professor happened to know.
He was startled then when Kara was suddenly beside him commenting about the lack of accuracy off his drawings with a wry amused expression. Her amusement relieved him, though he was embarrassed that she realized what he was doing, at least she didn’t think he was obsessed. In fact, judging by the way she was resting her head on his shoulder, she seemed to find the gesture somehow comforting or reassuring. He wasn’t sure which.
Aware that the professor was watching them, he quickly resumed his work. However a new energy and passion poured itself though the simple charcoal and made itself present on the paper. If Kara wasn’t modeling for him, at least she was beside him. Beside him in a way that she had never been before, and the sheer power of the emotions he felt were translating themselves to the page. He allowed himself to be lost in the moment.
So it was understandable that the sudden smell of fear radiating of Kara caused him to be distracted and he almost missed her first whisper. He blinked, uncertain at first as to what she meant, but then she squeezed his arm while repeating herself, and the way in which she snuggled closer to him, as if drawing strength from him left little doubt as to what she meant. He wrapped his arm around her, and though it was an awkward way to draw, he spent the remainder of the class like that.

***

Early that evening after their classes were over, the two of them were in humanities plaza, Kara laying with her head resting comfortably in Sam’s lap. Kara still felt nervous, but that nervousness was mitigated somewhat by Sam’s reassuring touch. Even more reassuring were the smiles of some of their mutual friends. Even Erica paused just long enough to flash a wave as she passed by.
As it started to get dark they decided to grab food. For reasons neither would remember later they both agreed on the cafeteria in Virginia Kettering hall. Both were feeling exceptionally hungry and their trays were quite loaded by the time they were ready to sit down.
As they swiped their meal cards, and looked for a place to sit, Kara noticed Jacqueline seated with a group of girls laughing and seemingly enjoying herself immensely. One girl in particular, a blonde seemed to be sharing allot of laughs with Jacqueline. She seemed to notice Kara staring at Jacqueline and gave her a nudge. Jacqueline looked up, and seeing Kara flashed a big smile and tossed a friendly wave.
“Jacqueline seems to be looking a little happier,” Kara remarked as she and Sam sat down together a few tables away.
“Yeah, looks like she made some new friends,” Sam replied. “I’m glad for her, she seemed kind of lonely.”
“Yeah definitely,” Kara nodded thoughtfully. “I just hope they treat her well.”
“Better then that creep from last summer, for sure.” Sam’s brows darkened. He tried unsuccessfully to suppress a shudder at the unpleasant memory.
“I’m sorry you had to kill him,” Kara stated softly. She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder.
Sam wrapped his arm around her. “I’m not,” he replied honestly. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t enjoy it, but in the same situation I would have done it again. I probably would have even if he hadn’t come at me with the knife.”
Kara looked up at him questioningly. “It’s one thing to hurt someone cause you need to eat, to defend someone, or to defend yourself. Hell, it’s even one thing to do it as part of a consensual sex act. But there is nothing more evil then to hurt someone simply because you enjoy it. And that creep did. Trust me I could smell it on him,” Sam explained. “People like him are far and away the most dangerous kind of predators.”
Kara looked away. She knew Charley hadn’t been the first kill for either of them, although until that point all of Kara’s had been animals. She wasn’t sure about Sam, and she really didn’t want to know.
“So what do you think of the ribs,” she asked changing the subject.
If the abrupt change in topic surprised Sam he didn’t let it show. “Better than I would have expected from a cafeteria,” he admitted. “But overall the food here is pretty good.”
Kara nodded. “You should attend an event that the university does the catering for,” she grined. “The catering here is amazing. Better then allot of restraints even.”
Sam grunted. “You’ll just have to take me to some of them.”
Kara smiled. “If I’m allowed to bring a date, I will.”
She looked up and noticed the group that Jacqueline was with cleaning up and taking their trays to the conveyer. She was about to wave a farewell when she realized that Jacqueline was dragging the blonde their way. “Hey, Jacqueline,” She stood and greeted the younger girl with a hug then moved to the side as Sam followed suit.
“Hey Kara, Sam,” Jacqueline beamed, as she then moved around the table and sat down across from the couple. The blonde girl sat next to her. “Shelly these are the people that saved my life last summer. Guys, this is my new roommate Shelly.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Shelly reached her hand across the table to Sam and then Kara. As Kara shook it her eyes met Shelly’s and she froze while they reacted. Sam also noticed the reaction and tensed up. As Kara drew her hand back, Jacqueline also froze realizing from Kara’s look and Sam’s glare that she might have made a mistake.
Shelly, cleared her throat and tried to stay relaxed. “Jacqueline told me allot about you,” she said softly so that only the four of them could hear, “but she didn’t tell me that either of you was a vampire or a were. Please don’t be mad at her, I don’t think she realizes we can recognize each other.”
Jacqueline was pale as a ghost and looking down like she was about to cry. “I thought that if Erica knew Shelly, it would be alright,” She floundered helplessly. “What did I do wrong now?”
“You just endangered Kara and me,” Sam was looking livid at this point, and Kara reached out to squeeze his arm.
“Relax Sam, she didn’t realize what she was doing. I’ve barely started to explain things to her.” Kara’s voice trembled more then she wanted but she tried to calm Sam down.
“Jacqueline, remember how allot of weres are still afraid of vampires?” Shelly asked gently. When Jacqueline nodded, she continued, “sometimes, they have good reason. Vampires are allot like humans, some good, some not, some prejudiced, some not. Weres, at least the few that I’ve met are much the same. It’s not always a good idea to bring the attention of a were to a vampire or vice versa, at least without asking first.”
Jacqueline looked down, “I’m sorry.”
Surprisingly it was Sam that reached across and patted Jacqueline’s arm. “Just ask us next time, Jacquie. Okay?”
Jacqueline looked up at the nickname and nodded. Despite being upset, the fact that Sam used a nickname for her both pleased and relieved and a wisp of a smile briefly touched her lips.
Shelly gave her roommate an uncomfortable smile. “I think I am making your friends nervous, I’ll just meet you back at the room.” She turned to face Sam and Kara. “It was nice meeting both of you.” She hesitated briefly then continued in a very soft voice that Jaqueline could just barely hear. “You two look good together.”
Jacqueline nodded sadly but Kara shook her head. “Stay if you want.”
Shelly blinked and looked at Kara. “You sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Kara shrugged. “There seem to be allot of Kindred here, and as you figured out, I’m with Sam so no doubt I’ll be meeting allot more. I may as well start getting used to it now.”
Sam’s hand reached for Kara’s and gave her a reassuring squeeze, but he remained quiet and Kara sensed he was feeling as nervous as she was.
Shelly chewed her lip lightly. “For what it’s worth, I’m a little nervous too. I don’t really have many were friends. At least that know what I am. It was kind of…discouraged when I was growing up.”
She shrugged apologetically. “My family isn’t exactly what you call progressive."

Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 4.

Kara looked up from her screen, startled as someone knocked on her door. “Come in,” she called. She flinched as the door opened to reveal Erica carrying a brown bag.
If Erica saw the flinch she ignored it and gestured to the edge of Kara’s bed. “Mind if I sit?”
“Go ahead,” Kara saved her work and turned to face Erika trying very hard to hide her anxiety. “Thanks again for switching with me.”
“No problem, I hope Monday is enough time for the moon’s effects to be less…” Erica hesitated searching for words.
“Problematic?” Kara supplied helpfully. “Yeah. Saturday is the full moon so by Monday it will have waned enough that I can handle it without shifting.”
“Good, that works out for me anyways. I have an exam on Tuesday that will be a bitch.” She reached into the bag she had brought with her pulling out two cans. “Want a beer?”
“Please,” Kara shrugged reaching over to nudge the door shut. “Aren’t you on duty?”
“Not for a little while yet,” Erica shrugged as she popped open her own can and took a sip.
Kara sipped her own and awkward seconds passed slowly as she and Erica sat eyeing each other over their beers. Finally Kara broke the silence. “So somehow I doubt you just stopped by to share a beer, so what exactly is it you do want?”
Erica sighed and sat holding her beer in both hands. She let out a slow breath before meeting Kara’s eyes, wincing at Kara’s flinch when their eyes locked and reacted “Sam is in love with you.”
Kara nodded slowly never taking her eyes off Erica. “I know. He’s made it pretty clear.”
Erica studied Kara’s face intently. “And do you feel the same about him?”
Kara sighed setting her beer on the desk behind her and leaning forward. “I told him not to pressure me,” she growled.
“Relax, he doesn’t even know I’m here.” Erica held up her hands as if to shield herself from Kara’s anger. “I came on my own. I realize you and I have never exactly been as close friends as I would have liked, but I always liked you almost as much as Sam does. Haven’t I always treated you as a friend?”
Kara relaxed a little and nodded. “Yeah you have.”
“Then can you accept that I might have my own reasons for wanting to know if you feel the same about my cuz as he does about you??”
Kara hesitated for a few seconds before finally nodding slowly. “Okay, I’ll accept that. I guess it would only be natural to know if a were dared to love a vampire.”
Erica sat up and slamed the remains of her beer onto the desk next to Kara’s, leaning down so she looked Kara in the eyes. Kara flinched and backed away as the dark-haired vampire glared at Kara. “I don’t give a damn that you’re a were, Kara. What I care about is the fact my cousin is so in love with you that it sometimes hurts to watch. He has never even looked at another girl. You are the girl he wants.”
The vampire continued to glare at Kara. “I know he does,: the werewolf said softly.
“Do you love him?” Erica pressed.
“Of course I do.”
“As much as he loves you?” Erica’s eyes searched Kara’s.
Kara hesitated. “Probably.” The vampires arched her eyebrows but Kara continued before she could speak. “He is so intense about it, and at times his intensity almost scares me. I do love him, Erica. I just don’t know if its as much as he does me, or even if I love him enough,” she admitted softly, her eyes dropping to stare at her lap.
Erica backed away from the werewolf, taking her beer with her. She sipped it thoughtfully, the silence in the room building into a palpable tension. At last she tossed the empty can into the trash and headed for the door much to Kara’s relief.
As she opened the door Erica turned around to face Kara. “Kara, I can’t tell you what to do, but I think you are causing yourself and Sam both allot of unnecessary pain.”
Kara sighed, “What if they come after us?”
“This isn’t the seventeen hundreds anymore Kara. It’s not even the nineteen hundreds. I doubt that many will come after you, and if they do, you’re not alone.”
Kara blinked. “You don’t care if I date your cousin?”
Erica shrugged. “You gotta follow you’re your heart Kara.” With that she walked out and pulled the door shut behind her.
She’s so scared of vampires she can’t see what’s in front of her, she thought to herself sadly. She’s missing out because she is afraid of what the vampires will do to her if she goes out with Sam. She shook her head sadly. Well, there might be some that would do something stupid, but there’s bigots everywhere. I just hope she won’t let her fears prevent her from a chance at happiness.
Back in Kara’s room, Kara was turning thoughtfully back to her computer, her mind only half focused on her assignment.

***

The next day Jacqueline came back to her new dorm room to see Shelly stocking up the refrigerators. “Hey, probably only want to use the one in front,” she suggested, as the dark haired girl came into the room and closed the door.
“Why’s that?” Jacqueline asked.
“Well I store the blood in the back one,” Shelly explained. I hide it behind some pop cans, and it comes in sealed packs but, I find the smell and taste still tend to get into everything else,” she scrunched her nose up. “And if its unappetizing to me, I can only imagine what it would be like for humans.” She shrugged.
“Um yeah, I’ll use the one in the front then,” Jacqueline smiled. “Thanks for the warning.”
“No problem. Thanks for not getting all grossed out by your blood drinking roomie.”
Jacqueline chuckled. “It’s just nice to have a roommate that doesn’t seem to hate my guts.”
Shelly shrugged. “Well I haven’t had any problems with you yet. I’ll admit it’s a challenge living with humans, but it is easier now that I don’t have to hide what I am from you.”
She gave a warm smile as she finished with the refrigerator and stood up. “The other girls want us to join them for dinner at VWK. I figured we could hang out a bit until then if that’s okay?”
The darker haired girl couldn’t contain her grin. “Sounds great. What did you have in mind?”
Shelly cocked her head to the side. “Well I figured we could talk while we figure out while we rearrange the room a bit. What do you think about moving the desks around to the side and putting the refrigerators over there?”
By the time the knock on the door told the girls it was time for dinner, the two had managed to rearrange the room at least twice to find the maximum open area and were already coming up with ideas for how to spend the weekend. Shelly couldn’t help but notice how happy her roommate seemed just to have someone that genuinely wanted her around and couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to make her so sad and lonely.

Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 3.

Twenty minutes later Jacqueline heard the sound of a key turning in the door. She turned around in time to see a slender girl with long wavy blond hair and narrow rimmed glasses glide into the room. The girl sat her backpack just inside the door and paused running her hands nervously down her crimson turtleneck and jeans before shutting the door and turning back to Jacqueline.
Cracking a smile, the girl shyly extended her hand. “Hi you must be the new roommate. I’m Shelly. I was told you know what I am even though you’re um… a human.” She finished lamely.
Jacqueline smiled taking the hand and shaking it lightly. “Yeah, I do. I’m Jacqueline. You can call me Jackie if you really want.” She glanced Shelly over as shelly picked up her bag and went to her desk.
As Shelly powered up her laptop she looked over. “I um, had the top bunk when Michelle was here, but if you want it we can trade. I really don’t have a preference, I just took it cause it was easier for Michelle and me.”
Jacqueline shook her head with a grin. “Nah bottom bunk is fine with me. I’m just glad to get out of the floor I was on.”
Shelly frowned, her brown eyes focusing on Jacqueline intensely. “That bad huh? Must be if you agreed to share a room with me, knowing what I am.”
Jacqueline shrugged. “Not really, just none of the other girls wanted anything to do with me.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have that problem here. Everyone on this floor seems friendly,” Shelly shrugged. “I think everyone is human except for Erika and me. Well maybe not Trina. I kinda suspect she might be a werecat.”
“Werecat? Don’t you mean werewolf?” Jacqueline blinked.
“Nope. There’s many kinds of were creatures. I’d know if she was a werewolf. I am pretty sure she’s a were though, the way she avoids directly looking at anyone’s eyes but tries to look just above or below them. Usually that means were or vampire. On top of that she doesn’t smell human.”
“So if she’s a werecat what will you do?”
“Why would I do anything? Unless she or her family try and attack me, I’m not going to do anything. She seems nice enough.” Shelly smiled uneasily. “I guess you’ve been told a bit about the history between vampires and weres.”
Jacqueline nodded as she plopped herself down on the bunk. “Some. I was told weres and vampires don’t get along real well.”
Shelly’s smile disappeared. “Yeah that’s true, though things aren’t as bad as they used to be. I don’t know what you know about the history, but from what I know there’s fault on all sides of it, but the majority of it rests with us. We didn’t treat any of the were races well, enslaving some, killing others, playing them off against each other, that kind of thing. We can’t change history, but I hope someday we can all get along.”
She turned back to her laptop. “Like computer games?” she asked as she loaded one up on her system. “Personally, I’m addicted to RPGS and online worlds.”
Jacqueline shook her head. “Tried Second Life a few times. That’s about the most of my gaming.”
“Ah played that for a couple years. Got tired of the drama.” Shelly let out an exaggerated sigh. “All the roleplay sims were all about who was sleeping with whom, or who got changed from a neko to a demon by what virus. Got pretty stupid and predictable after a while.”
Jacqueline fell back into her bed chuckling lightly. “Yeah that was pretty much my experience there too. I just couldn’t get into it.” She smiled over at the vampire. “So mind if I ask you a personal question?”
Shelly looked back and arched an eyebrow. “Shoot.”
“You’re not exactly what I expected as a vampire,” Jacqueline began.
“Ahh, you want to know why I don’t have the whole goth wannabe or Lolita seductress thing going on?” Shelly cracked a wide grin.
Jacqueline blushed and nodded.
“Well, don’t believe all the stories you read. Real vampires are as diverse as humans. I never really got into the goth scene. Too pretentious for me. Besides I always felt more at home with books, pencils, or computers then I did with people, though I probably was the only nerd homecoming queen in the whole history of my high school.”
“You were homecoming queen?” Jacqueline blinked.
Shelly giggled. “Yep. I hadn’t planned on running but the little high society socialites picked on one of my friends led by Dana the lead cheerleader, and I decided to teach them a lesson. Dana was so sure she would be homecoming queen but she messed with the wrong vampire. By the time I was done, I was homecoming queen, Whitney was runner up, and Dana didn’t even get a single vote.”
“Wow, how did you accomplish that?”
Shelly grew more serious and her brown eyes intensely peering into Jacqueline’s. “I used my vampire abilities. Whatever we are, we are still predators. One of our natural abilities is to attract humans—and each other—to our selves. Some of us are better then others at it.” She shrugged. “I happen to be quite good at it when I want to be. That was one of the few times I wanted to be.”
“Must be nice, to be able to charm anyone you want like that.” Jacqueline couldn’t quite keep all the envy and pain out of her voice.
“It can be, but it can be a curse too. You tend not to know if someone likes you for you or if they like you because of your pheromones. You also tend to attract allot of creeps.”
“I know all about creeps,” Jacqueline said softly. Unbidden tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away.
Shelly blinked then walked over to sit beside Jacqueline. She was actually a little shorter then Jacqueline but she pulled the darker haired girl into her arms holding her close till she quieted. “Shhh. I’m here. No one will hurt you if I can help it. And if I can’t I’ll make them pay.” Shelly’s words were intended to comfort Jacqueline, but the vampire was surprised to find she meant every one.

Jaqueline's Song (Roses and Fangs)

Everyday
I wake up wondering
Just what I will get from you
Everyday
I lay here shivering
Praying I’ll find something new

Every night
I hide all these bruises
I feel very deep inside
Every night
I wish nightmares of us
Were something I could confide

‘Cause every day with you
It’s It’s like roses and fangs
And you know it’s such a shame
‘Cause you know that I love you
What will I get from you?
And every day with you
I never know how it hangs
And you know I hate this game
What will I get from you?
Will it be roses or fangs?

Every time
I feel the sting of your hand
I die a li’l more inside
Every time
I decide to make a stand
Instead I must run and hide

‘Cause every day with you
It’s It’s like roses and fangs
And you know it’s such a shame
‘Cause you know that I love you
What will I get from you?
And every day with you
I never know how it hangs
And you know I hate this game
What will I get from you?
Will it be roses or fangs?

You know your love can be the sweetest thing
But your anger makes you a tyrant king
And you’re killing the queen the way you reign
Oh can anyone out there end this pain?

‘Cause every day with you
It’s It’s like roses and fangs
And you know it’s such a shame
‘Cause you know that I love you
What will I get from you?
And every day with you
I never know how it hangs
And you know I hate this game
What will I get from you?
Will it be roses or fangs?

What will I get from you?
Will it be roses or fangs?

What will I get from you?
Will it be roses or fangs?

Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 2.

Jacqueline nervously allowed Erica to lead her toward Marycrest trying hide to hide her nervousness. She felt a touch on her shoulder and jumped before she realized that Erica was trying to guide her around some kind of unidentifiable mess on the pavement.
“Geeze relax, girl,” Erica shook her head in a mix of annoyance and amusement. “You’re too jumpy.”
“Sorry, I guess I’m still kinda creeped out from the other night,” Jacqueline replied. “So what did you want to talk to me about? I swear I haven’t said anything.”
“Jeeze as I said, relax. Actually I was gonna make you an offer.”
“What kind of offer?” Jacqueline looked over at Erica, half curious half suspicious.
If Erica saw the look she ignored it. “I’m an RA in Stuart Hall. I was talking to your RA and she said you were having trouble fitting in. She also mentioned you were having trouble with some of the girls on your floor. As it turns out I have a girl on my floor who is a little… uncomfortable… with her roommate. She’s trying to get a new room and has her stuff packed. If you like, student housing has given us permission to swap the two of you.”
Jacqueline stopped and turned to Erica. “My RA thinks I’m a problem?”
Erica snorted. “No, actually she likes you allot. You just don’t fit in well with the other girls on your floor. We think you’d fit in better with the girls on mine. There is a catch though.”
Jacqueline looked up at Erica. “Okay you already mentioned that the girl moving out was uncomfortable with her roommate. What’s the deal?”
Erica eyed Jacqueline. “Well your roommate would be a vampire. Can you live with that? You seem very jumpy around me.”
Jacqueline blinked and thought about it a few minutes. “Well, Sam and Kara don’t make me uncomfortable and Sam’s a vampire. You really creeped me out the other night. That’s why I’m scared of you.”
Erica pouted. “I didn’t mean to scare you quite that much. I only wanted to make sure you wouldn’t go around blabbing about Kara and Sam. As much for your sake as for theirs.”
“I wouldn’t have anyways. I owe them.”
Erica shrugged. “Well, I had to be sure. Sorry.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Really, you sure? Even though you’re scared of me?”
“Yeah it has to be better then where I am.”
Erica smiled. “Let me call your RA and let her know then.” She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. “Hey Sherry, its Erica. Jacqueline agreed.” She paused a moment. “Yeah if you could that would be great. She’s nearly packed anyways.” Another pause. Why don’t we do it tonight then. I can help Jacqueline pack.” She winked at Jacqueline. “Yeah that would be awesome. We’ll meet you there in ten. Thanks.”
She hung up the phone and gestured for Jacqueline to lead the way. “time to get you moved, girl.”
When they got to Jacqueline’s room, Sherry was standing there with two carts. “I borrowed these, I have to return them but should be enough to load everything up. Need my help? If not I’m gonna go get another cart and help Michelle move her stuff.”
Erica glanced to Jacqueline who shook her head with a smile. “Aside form my clothes and a few other things I hadn’t really unpacked too much yet. We can just throw most of them into some garbage bags. I think the two of us can handle it. Thanks, Sherry, for everything.”
Sherry smiled and gave Jacqueline a hug. “No problem. I’ll go help Michelle then. Take care and if you need anything feel free to stop by or call.”
Two hours later Jacqueline and Erica were in Stuart Hall, Erica unlocking the door and handing Jacqueline the key. “There you go.”
The room was a little smaller then the room in Marycrest, but somehow even with the bare closet and bed, it still felt welcoming to Jacqueline.
Erica helped unload Jacqueline’s stuff into the center of the room then stacked one cart on the other. “I’m gonna go return these to Sherry. Oh and I need your key.”
Jacqueline smiled and handed Sherry the key to the room in Marycrest. “Alright I’m gonna start unpacking then.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be back to check in on you later. Shelly should be back soon. I told her a little about you so things should be good.” With a slight wave she left pushing the carts down the hall towards the elevators.
Jacqueline had barely finished putting her clothes away and was still setting up her laptop, printer, and knickknacks on her desk when she heard a knock on the door. She cautiously opened it and peeked out. Several girls were standing outside. The one in front smiled. “Hi we heard that someone was switching with Michelle. I guess that’s you? Anyways I’m sure you’re busy, but we just wanted to come by and say hi and welcome to the floor. We often eat dinner together at VWK if you want to join us.” She proceeded to introduce herself and the other girls though Jacqueline didn’t really catch any of the names. “Well we’ll leave you alone now, but we hope to see you around.”
“Thanks. I’ll try and be at the next group dinner,” Jacqueline smiled as the girls all waved and headed back to their rooms.

Roses and Fangs: ch. 3. Convergence pt. 1.

It was about a quarter till eight when Kara pulled into the s2 parking lot a bit down the hill from Stuart hill. Aside from a quick side trip to Wendy’s to get food, they had come straight back. Even though Kara had offered to drop them off at their dorms, both had elected just to walk.
As they unloaded the backpacks and Kara’s bag from the trunk, a school van pulled in a bit further down the lot. At first, Kara didn’t pay any attention to the students piling out of it as she shut the trunk to her own car. She suddenly sensed Jacqueline tensing beside her and turned to look to see a dark-dressed figure heading over towards them.
She tensed herself and took a few deep breaths to get herself under control.
“That’s Sam’s cousin,” she hissed to Jacqueline. “She used to look out for me and Sam when we were younger. Her name’s Erica.”
“I know. We’ve met,” Jacqueline’s voice trembled slightly, though the dark haired girl made a valiant attempt not to look scared. Her scent still gave her away.
She’s learning, Kara thought impressed but turned her attention back to Erica as she approached.
“Hey cuz, think fast!” Erica tossed a small bag at Sam, who snatched it out of the air one handed. It looked like some kind of candy. She turned to Kara and Jacqueline with a big smile. “Hey Kara, Jacqueline, what’s shakin’?”
“Hello,” Jacqueline half stepped so she was slightly behind Kara who tried to offer a friendly smile.
“Not much, how have you been Erica?” Kara offered a friendly greeting, by winced at the slight edge of tension that carried through her voice. She liked Erica well enough, but Erica was part of Sam’s family and, as far as she knew, a vampire too.
Erica rolled her eyes slightly and walked right up to Kara putting her hand on Kara’s right shoulder. Kara held her ground, though the hair on her neck stood up as she tried to look anywhere but in Erica’s eyes. Glancing at Sam, “Oh for God’s sake, you haven’t told her?”
Sam fidgeted looking guilty.
She turned back catching Kara’s gaze before Kara could look away. Kara flinched as Erica’s eyes went from brown to golden with catlike slits and back. Her own changed briefly in recognition and she tried to face down the rising terror she felt.
“For God’s sake girl, relax, will you?” Erica rolled her eyes again. “How long have we known each other? Almost as long as you’ve known Sam, right? If I haven’t hurt you in all this time do you think I am now?”
Kara sighed and relaxed. “I guess not. But you can understand why I would be a bit uneasy. How long have you known? Did Sam tell you?” She cast a glance at Sam.
Sam shook his head. He nudged Erica till Erica backed up giving Kara and Jacqueline some space. “No, I never told her. In fact I’d like to know how she figured it out myself.”
“Yeah, I’ve known for years. So has Sam’s mom.”
“She does?” Sam nearly shouted the same time as Kara let out a shocked “What?”
Erica simply shrugged. “Who do you think told me? Why do you think I looked out for you both so long? Some of those fights I got into over the two of you were pretty bad you know.” Her eyes sparkled a bit. “They were damn fun though.”
“But mom hates weres,” Sam was clearly stunned. “She was always talking about how bad weres were.” He looked at Kara hopelessly. “I never agreed with her obviously.”
Erica smiled tightly. “Yeah, well despite all her talk, and she does have reasons, she still seems to like you, Kara.” She paused and tilted her head. “Well maybe like isn’t quite the right word, but she accepts you. You don’t need to worry about her anyway.”
She paused again. “I think that Sam, me, and Sam’s folks are the only ones that know what you are. You’re secret is still safe girl. None of us is gonna out you.”
Kara smiled tightly. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Oh one more thing, you know we’re both on the RA schedule this weekend right?”
Kara winced. “Oh hell.”
Erica smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve already asked to trade with you so you don’t work on the full moon. You just need to sign off on it.”
Kara was starting to feel a little less uncomfortable now. “I’ll do that on my way in. Thank you so much.”
“No problem. I need to talk to Jacqueline though.”
“What about?” Jacqueline stammered from behind Kara. “I’ve kept my mouth shut. I promise!”
Erica laughed. “God you’re all strung tighter then a French corset!” She shook her head. “I was gonna come see you tonight anyways. I know your RA. She and I have an idea I’d like to talk to you about if you’re interested.”
“Erm okay,” Jacqueline eased out from behind Kara as Erica guided her towards Marycrest.
As the two women walked away Kara turned to Sam who looked as lost and confused as she felt. “So your mom knows huh?”
Sam gave a dazed half shrug. “Apparently. She never told me. Either she either assumed I knew she knew or she didn’t want to tell me. I don’t know what that means.”
It was Kara’s turn to shrug. “I dunno either. One more thing to think about. Anyways, thank you for a great time today.” She gave him a hug and left him looking as bewildered as she felt.

Roses and Fangs: ch. 2. Broken Paths pt. 4.

***
A couple days later, as their last class of the day let out, Kara caught up to Sam and grabbed his arm pulling him aside. “Look, I’m not ready to make up my mind yet, but I was thinking about heading over to Sugarcreek Reserve for a bit. If you want to come along, I wouldn’t mind. As friends I mean.”
“I’d love to,” Sam smiled. “Right now, or?”
She looked him over a minute. “I was kinda thinking now, unless you wanted to change to a different pair of jeans.”
“Nah, I’m good. Wanna take your car or mine?”
“Mine’s closer, if that’s okay?” She looked up at him as they watched. He was glancing at her but looked away quickly.
“Makes no difference to me. Lead on.”
As they pushed through the front doors of the humanities building, they saw Jacqueline sitting on the plaza. She was off to the side by herself plugged into an mp3 player looking a little dejected. With a silent glance to each other they both walked over and sat down on either side of her.
It took a moment for her to sense the people next to her, but then she took out her earphones. “Oh, hi,” she said hesitantly, brushing her dark hair out of her face.
“Something wrong?” Kara asked, noting the girl’s demeanor.
“I don’t think I fit in here very well. My afternoon classes are cancelled today and most of the girls on my floor went off together, and I wasn’t invited. As usual,” She finished softly to herself, probably not realizing that both Sam and Kara could here it.
Kara looked over Jacqueline to Sam and caught his questioning expression. She nodded ever so slightly. “Well, Kara and I are going to a park. You’re more then welcome to come along if you wish.”
“I don’t want to be a third wheel,” Jacqueline said softly.
“You won’t be, I promise,” Kara answered and Sam nodded. She grabbed Jacqueline’s arm and pulled her up. “Come on, it’s too nice a day to sulk.” Jacqueline looked about to protest a bit but then shrugged and allowed herself to be lead away.
They walked to Kara’s car, with Sam and Kara joking around and trying to cheer up Jacqueline. By the time they reached the silver sedan, she was starting to relax slightly, but still seemed a bit on edge. As they loaded their backpacks into the trunk Sam breathed into Kara’s ear. “She’s scared.”
Kara mouthed back, “I know,” as soon as Jacqueline was looking away. She noticed that Jacqueline immediately went for the back passenger side seat, and sat looking out the window. She slipped the car in gear.
A little over twenty minutes later they were hiking one of the loops, Sam and Kara pointing out favorite spots and noteworthy plants to Jacqueline. Slowly, she started to come out of her shell, asking questions, offering opinions. Kara and Sam were starting to think she was pulling out of her shell when she suddenly blurted out, “So did you invite me because you were feeling sorry for me, or is this a way to get me on my own or?”
Sam stopped in his tracks a little taken back. Kara frowned and grabbed Jacqueline’s shoulders and spun her around so two girls were face to face. “Okay, lets get something straight, okay?” Cringing slightly at her repetition of the word she went on, “I’ve never been one to choose my friends based on who I felt sorry for. Nor am I the type of person that goes around eating people. To my knowledge, Sam has never done either of those things either. We invited you because we like you.”
Sam chuckled lightly as he stood a bit behind Kara, “I don’t really feel like talking about my eating habits out here, but I don’t go around just biting people. It’s bad manners, and really not very hygienic.”
Jacqueline looked between them, a look of confusion. “Then why did you invite me?”
Sam sighed, “Look at it this way, yeah I’ve had human friends, some I like allot and consider good friends, but although there’s some I think I could trust with knowing what I am, I still can’t risk it. You already know. You seem nice. And you seem like you could use a friend.”
Kara nodded. “It’s pretty much the same for me. Not many close human friends. As a were, you’re pretty much brought up to really only stick to your own kind. You’re taught to never get to close to other races.” She looked back at Sam with a wry smile, “Especially, vampires.” She turned back to Jacqueline, “but, that’s not the only reason. You offered to be someone I could talk to. Aside from Sam, and my Mom, I never really had that. And for the longest time I still hid that I was a were from Sam.”
“So you just invited me because you want to be friends?” Jacqueline’s expression and tone suggested she was both hopeful and afraid to get her hopes up at the same time.
“Yes!” Sam and Kara said in unison.
Jacqueline turned off and headed along the path. For the rest of the hike she remained quiet, and when they returned to the commons area by the parking lot she sat in the grass watching a bunch of kids play with a couple of dogs while their parents prepared a picnic and Kara and Sam tossed a Frisbee they retrieved from Kara’s car.
Jacqueline noticed the dogs seemed a little uneasy if they got too close to Kara and Sam and tended to avoid them. She watched with envy as the kids wrestled and played fetch with the dogs. For a few minutes she didn’t notice that Sam and Kara were sitting on either side of her again.
She blinked. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if you liked dogs.” Kara stretched out beside Jacqueline.
“Yeah, I do. I always wanted one, but I wasn’t allowed to have one as a kid. Mom said they were too much work and dad… well lets just say dad didn’t like dogs much.” She smiled sadly. “Sometimes, I envy the kids I see playing with their dogs. Selfish, I know, but sometimes I just wish I could have had a dog growing up.”
Suddenly, she went red and looked at Kara as if just realizing something. “No offense, Kara.”
Kara smiled broadly and let out a light laugh. “None taken.” She leaned forward toward Jacqueline and Sam. “You two want in on a dirty little secret?”
Sam arched his eyebrow, “Oh?”
Jacqueline nervously shifted, “Sure?”
Kara giggled. “I’ll be right back!” She sprinted off to her car and returned with an almost empty duffle bag. She pulled a collar out of it and fastened it very loosely around her neck. “I used to enjoy shifting and wondering the neighborhood in wolf form and play with some of the neighborhood kids. Used to drive my parents nuts. But because of my coloring I could get away with it. Eventually, they broke down and got a license for a German Sheppard.” She giggled a bit then headed to the restrooms.
A couple minutes later a large canine with golden coloring peeked out from the entrance then sprinted over to Sam. Kara gave her tail a couple of saucy wags as she swiped the Frisbee from him, teasing him with it then dropping it into Jacqueline’s lap.
Wide-eyed Jacqueline scrambled to her feet and tossed the Frisbee. Kara chased it and snatched it from the air in a way that showed she was well-practiced. She brought it back to Jacqueline, wagging her tail heavily.
Sam joined in and the three of them played fetch with the Frisbee for a while. When Sam and Jacqueline started to tire, Kara snuggled up between them letting them scratch her ears for a while. Even in her wolf form Kara could see the change come over Jacqueline as she relaxed and finally truly enjoyed herself. She let the girl hug her and pet her to her hearts content.
When seven rolled around, Kara snuck back into the restroom and emerged looking both human and dressed. She slipped the collar and Frisbee into the bag meeting Jacqueline and Sam’s smiles with her own. “We should start heading back.”
As they walked back to the car Jacqueline leaned over suddenly and gave Kara a big hug. “Thank you.” She kept smiling the whole way back to campus.

Nalandra (A Rappelz Story) pt. 1

She woke up shaking her head trying to clear it. She was on a pad at the base of the stairs to some strange tower. As she pulled herself to her feet she realized two things rather quickly; that she could remember her name and nothing else.
She didn't even know who she was other then that she was called Nalandra or Nala for short.
"Hey get up, you need to get moving!" a voice called to her. A stranger standing nearby said. "We have other recruits coming so either come over and start your training or get out of the way."
Still trying to gain her balance she wandered over and tried to ask some questions but was cut off quickly. "Welcome to Trainee Island. Don't worry about the memory loss, its natural and expected. Now lets begin your training."
Before Nalandra could protest she was sent on a whirlwind of various tasks by a collection of about a dozen people. Each of these quests seemed to involve finding someone, killing a bunch of roaming monstrous creatures, or gathering items. Though she was paid well for these tasks, she couldn't help noticing the urgency with which she was pushed through them, and that other "recruits" around her were pushed just as hard. Most questions were deflected or outright ignored, especially anything about who she was or why she was here.
She quickly learned she was proficient with monsters and began training a giant catlike creature called a Pantera. They came in many different species but generally all looked alike. She also learned she had magic-like abilities to heal these creatures, herself, and to sometimes damage the various hostile creatures.
She also had something like some kind of radio in her head that never shut up letting her hear thousands of voices in her head. Eventually she learned how to control them, filtering them, and even responding to them.
After a few weeks she was transported, again seemingly magically to a city on the continent called Lasky, a metropolis floating in the air filled with shops, warehouses, homes, and in the center a massive church. As she learned to navigate around the continent she figured out that the society was divided into about a half dozen cities and each one seemed to operate under different monarchs but tied together by the mix of magic and technology and by the church that seemed to rule all.
Besides Lasky, there was Horizon, a city in the plains; Katan, a city built into a volcanic crater, Rhondo, probably the largest and most "traditional" city, and a city that called itself the hidden village that you had to receive special passes to get into. Additionally, other small camps and villages splattered the landscape.
Very quickly, Nalandra learned that monsters were plentiful and friends were few in this beautiful but hellish world.
Because she had an affinity for some of these monsters, although she wasn't so good at actually taming them, she eventually bought or traded a few including two pixies and a human-like creature called a siren. She didn't use the siren much, finding it to be weak and troublesome, but she liked her pantera and her pixies.
These creatures were controlled from a devices that looked like oversized tarot cards and each had its own personality and skills. Some like the pixies and sirens could talk some could not.
Because friends were rare, Nalandra usually took jobs that allowed her to hunt on her own with just her pets, the creatures she had tamed or bought. However, eventually, she eventually took a job in a set of ruins where she kept running into some of the same people over and over again.
Among the most notable of these were Tatty, a healer that could heal people as well as creatures, someone that came across as a cross between a mage and a fighter named Sin, and another breeder similar to herself who refereed to herself only as Gidion's Girl after her partner, Gidion.
After a while, Nalandra started joining in parties with one or more of these people and sometimes others in order to survive the tougher jobs. Many times these pople helped Nalandra with more then simply shear survival, giving her equipment, tips, money, and perhaps most important, trust.
Nalandra loved the times she spent with these people, and one day Sin asked her why she didn't join the guild they were all in. After a few days of debating it with herself, Nalandra joined Requiem.
As time wore on and she became increasingly involved in the guild, she began to grow nearly inseparable from Tatty, and considered Gidion, Gidion's Girl, and Sin close friends as well. She began to think things were looking up.
But then one day she had an argument with Tatty and Tatty disappeared after radioing another guild party she was going to join them, never to be seen again. Nalandra searched everywhere she could but never saw her friend again. Everyday thereafter she always thought of her and felt a horrible emptiness in her heart.
Though she meant more friends she grew close to both in the guild and out, such as Tumm, Girus, Pokey, and others, she felt uneasy and continued to question her existence and her identity.
Then one day new monsters began appearing. Some of the most vicious were the harpies, creatures with fearsome tempers that were both hard to tame and viciously proficient with the bow and arrow. The harpies and other new monsters had a higher attrition rate on on the various adventurers that wandered the globe and even several of Nalandra's friends were injured by these creatures.
Despite that Nalandra grew fascinated by the harpies and began saving to either tame or purchase one.
Rumors of the arrival of a new ship guarded heavily on trainee island also appeared during this time. Some of the rumors said the crew was dead, other said the crew were turned into zombies and skeletons, and some even said the fearsome witch, dead some thirty years was responsible. The church sent a team to the ship and it disappeared.
Nalandra eventually went to investigate for herself and found the crew was indeed undead. As she made her way through the ship she found members of the team that the church sent, most of whom seemed to blame the witch. As she killed off the various zombies and creatures and rescued the remains of the team she found two things that shook her. The first was the spirit of a girl that encouraged her to question everything she thought she knew about the world, the witch, the church, and her own existence. The other thing she found was it was a member of the church itself that had caused the disaster.
As she returned home from that ordeal, even more strange monsters appeared. One of the new monsters, called a naga, nearly killed Nalandra, and it shook her to the core.
When she returned to the guild she found out that Gidion and Gidion's Girl had left, as well as another friend called Frostboarder. The news devastated Nalandra, who felt it was not only a betrayal to the guild but to her personally as well, and it took her a long time to even speak to any of them again, even though Gidion's Girl eventually came back to the guild. Nalandra never recovered from this.
During this period of sorrow, Nalandra eventually was able to trade for a harpy. It was a bit older and more powerful then she wanted, and badly trained, and though she liked it, they didn't get along well at all. Nalandra eventually found herself nearly giving up on the harpy.
As more members of the guild left or went missing, Nalandra increasingly threw herself recklessly into hunting and increasingly dangerous jobs. She no longer cared if the creatures she hunted were so extremely powerful that they were beyond her skills or abilities to fight. Most often she fought with her harpy, whom she named Adorable, by her side, and the harpy became increasingly agitated and hard to control as their close calls came increasingly closer.
Then one day in a patch of deep woods Nalandra and Adorable found themselves horribly overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters. Nalandra had in her grief blindly led them into the very nests of several creatures. Though Adorable fought harder then she ever had, a pantera got through and dove for her.
Nalandra saw the pantera leap at Adorable. Seeing what at the time she considered her last companion about to fall, Nalandra spun around placing herself between Adorable and the pantera, and shoved the pantera out of the way. Nalandra felt the impact knock her face down into the ground. She felt the powerful claws dig into her back and jaws clamp down on the back of her neck. Then she blacked out.
***
A persistent nudging in her side and repeated worried sounding croaks and squawks eventually caused her to awake. Through she was in pain all over she eventually opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the worried eyes of Adorable looking down into hers, a reproachful look on the harpy's, surprisingly human-like face. The second she saw was her gear strewn about behind the harpy, a trail of bandages leading from her pack to where the harpy was trying to gently tie them up as best she could with her sharp claws.
Nalandra smiled weakly, taking the gauze gently from the harpy to finish tying the knot then gave the harpy a soft smile. "Thank you Adorable. I'm sorry I got us in this mess, I'll try and be more careful in the future."
The harpy offered a smile, then cast a spell that allowed Nalandra to fall back asleep, her wounds already healing beneath the bandages...

Roses and Fangs: ch. 2. Broken Paths pt. 3.

Kara slid into her room and shut the door. It had taken some doing but she had managed to secure herself a dorm room to herself even though her scholarship did not cover the cost of private rooms. Sighing softly she tossed her backpack in the corner and her jacket on the foot of the bed. She opened the door to the cheap built in wardrobe and reached up to the top shelf taking a book from the top shelf and closing the doors. Plopping down on her bed, ignoring the jacket, she set the book on her pillow and opened it staring at the pictures contained within.
Outside her door a pair of high-heeled boots made absolutely no sound as their owner walked away.

***

Later that night Jacqueline was in the laundry room at Marycrest residence hall. It was sometime past midnight, and although a couple of dryers held long since dry loads of laundry, she was alone in the room as she pulled a couple of loads from dryers and tossed them onto the folding table. She moved a couple of more loads from washers into dryers and set yet two more loads into washer. I really have too many clothes, she thought to herself. Maybe I should donate some to Goodwill or something.
She was midway through folding the loads she had pulled out when the click of the door closing startled her. She spun around immediately on guard since the door was meant to remain open.
A dark-haired woman dressed like she might have just stepped out of Bizarre or Goth Today magazines stood blocking the door. Her raven black hair swept down behind her ears and well down the front and back of her equally dark leather jacket. A leather skirt, tights, and knee-high buckled boots of a matching black completed the outfit. Her pale face and over dramatic midnight blue eye-shadow and crimson lips set of a round face.
“Um, Can I help you?” Jacqueline stammered, something about the strange girl setting her on edge.
The girl crossed her arms and looked Jacqueline up and down sternly, biting her lip a bit. Jacqueline felt like she was being examined as the girl adopted a speculative expression. Finally, she met Jacqueline’s eyes and stated matter-of-factly, “You aren’t supposed to know about us.”
“Excuse me?” Jacqueline backed up staring at the girl. She made a quick glance around the room but didn’t see anything immediately useful but she moved herself in reach of her laundry detergent, a little uncertain of what good it could do.
“You aren’t supposed to know about us. It could get you killed if the wrong people found out.” The girl said, cocking an eyebrow as she watched Jacqueline move.
“Like you, I suppose?” Jacqueline’s voice grew tight as she reached out grabbing the detergent and trying to twist off the cap.
Before she could, the girl was suddenly across the room right in front of her gently, but firmly taking the detergent bottle away and setting it on the table. Jacqueline gulped and tried to step back but the girl grabbed her by the shoulders, again gently but firmly, holding her in place.
“No, not like me. You have spunk, a backbone. Allot like her, I like that. I told Sam I had their backs, I think I’ll have yours too.”
“You’re one of them, aren’t you? Which are you? Vampire or Were?” Jacqueline asked, her voice trembling slightly with fear but she didn’t take her eyes away from the girls.
“Very good. Yes I’m one of ‘them,’” she smiled slightly; “I’m a vampire. A daywalker like Sam.”
“So you gonna kill me? For knowing what you are?”
The girl smiles slightly and let go of Jacqueline backing up slightly and offering a thin smile, allowing the tips of her fangs to extend slightly. “No, like I just said, I think I will have your back. I’m not as paranoid as some about people knowing about our existence, and I think you might do them both some good.” Her expression softened a bit. “Lord knows that I wish she would realize they already are together whether she realized it or not.”
“You want Sam and Kara together?” Jacqueline asked her curiosity tempering her fear somewhat. “I thought they could be killed for that.”
“My, my, someone has been talking. Don’t go around sharing what you’ve heard, but yes that is true there are many that would kill them. Allot of people, vampires and weres alike don’t like it when vampires and weres mate. Some might overlook a short term casual fling, but definitely not anything serious which is probably part of what holds Kara back.”
“But not you,” Jacqueline eyed the girl.
“Perceptive. No not me. I want my cousin to be happy. I really don’t give a damn about what races people are if they love each other, though I do know there are some that want Sam and Kara to succeed because they think it would improve relations between our races. A kind of modern Romeo and Juliet,” the girl shrugged stepping back closer to the door, still watching Jacqueline.
Jacqueline noticed the girl made no sound when she moved at all. It freaked her out a bit though she tried to keep it under control. “So where do I fit in? Besides being food.”
The girl chuckled for a moment. “Well, you aren’t food to any of the three of us, not unless you want to be.” She seemed to appraise Jacqueline for a moment before continuing more seriously. “I think you might become a sort of neutral party. A friend both of them really need who they can be themselves around without fearing what they let slip, without fearing that they will have a knife in their backs. Everyone needs friends like that,” a soft, sad inflection in her voice. “Especially them.”
“I already consider them friends. They saved my life,” Jacqueline eyed the girl. “I just don’t know how much they like me. I’m not going to be the pesky little freshman that follows them around.”
The girl smiled and chuckled. “Not saying you have to, but I’m glad you like them.” She suddenly crossed the room to whisper into Jacqueline’s ear. “I don’t suppose you’re into girls are you?”
Jacqueline blinked. “Um, not really.”
“A shame. You’re cute and sometimes I am,” the girl retreated slightly and pulled out a card placing it in Jacqueline’s hand. “My work card, though I’m also a junior here. My cell phone is on there. If you get in trouble, change your mind, or just want someone to have a beer with, give me a call. My name is Erica.” With that, she turned around and walked out of the room leaving a very confused Jacqueline looking after her.

***

Kara tossed and turned on her bed. After staring at the pictures of times she and Sam had spent together, she had tried to do her homework and eventually gave up, unable to focus.
He drew a picture of me. He only saw me as a wolf once when he knew it was me and yet he drew a picture of me.
She rolled over pulling the covers tight against her as she hugged herself, tears rolling down her cheeks. He loves me so much and yet all I do is hurt him because I’m afraid but I really don’t want to be hunted for the rest of my life. But I love him too. It’s so unfair.
The last thought she had when the merciful darkness of sleep finally over took her was he deserves someone better then me.