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.

FF: Kyle and Jasmine.

“I'll keep you by my side. Journey on through our adventure, eyes open wide, we'll see the light. I know we'll be alright.”
~Give Me the Power Voodoo and Serano

Kyle stood on the balcony. Below him lay the normal hustle and bustle in the streets of the ruined city. The sounds of engines, car horns, shouting, and bird chirps all mix to form a kind of symphony. Only the rumble of the warplanes and tanks, and the craters in the streets and buildings spoiled the effect. Feeling naked in just his pants, Kyle took in the scene with a quite, almost resigned sigh.

He could still remember when the city was whole, when his neighborhood was filled with bright, shiny high-rise apartment buildings with shops on the ground floor. He could still remember when the sounds of children laughing, shouting, and playing could be heard coming from balconies, rooftops, and sidewalks. He could remember, but that was all it was, memory. Everything had changed with the return of the multitude of angry races known collectively as the Fae.

He was dimly aware of a shouting and gunfire somewhere in the streets below him. Even as his mind barely registered the noise below him, a loud crash and a scream from somewhere above brought him back to his senses. “The roof,” the thought ran though his mind disbursing the remaining fog of nostalgia.

Running back through the doorway and through kitchenette into the living room, he paused at the door. Quickly sliding on his sneakers he grabbed his cell phone, badge, and .38 glock before heading out the door. Sprinting down the hallway to the closest end, he threw open the door to the stairway and bound up the stairs.

Several flights later, he came upon the top of the stairway and the door that led out onto the roof. Drawing his gun, he carefully opened the door, jamming a piece of rubble into the hinge preventing the door from being able to fully close. Looking around cautiously, he slipped out the door onto the rooftop.

The rooftop was a maze of pipes, vents, poles, air conditioning compressors, ventilation fans, clotheslines and rubble. He looked out over this maze looking for the source of the crash he heard earlier. He didn’t have to look far. Snapped clotheslines, a broken vent pipe, and a trail of crimson smears led a path almost directly toward one of the large compressors.

Thumbing off the safety, he cautiously made his way to the side of the compressor. Pausing just long enough to listen for any hints of what might lie around the corner and hearing none he took a deep breath and then spun himself around the corner, making a complete 180. He didn’t see anything at first and was about to lower his weapon when a sharp inhale drew his attention down.

She was trembling. That was the first thing he noticed as her crystal pale blue-green eyes peered up at him from between raven black locks and crimson smears. The right side of her face was completely scraped up, her pale creamy skin reddened and bleeding. The second thing he noticed was the wings. Giant black and dark blue wings that reminded him of a cross between a butterfly and a dragonfly sprouted from somewhere on her back. There seemed to be four of them although judging by the angle, the shredding, and the blood it appeared one was almost sheared off.

A closer look showed her clothing wasn’t much better. She wore what appeared to be a dark jumpsuit or coverall of some kind, the side of which was almost completely shredded with additional tears around the chest, arms, abdomen, and legs. Her right boot was curled under her at an awkward angle, but Kyle could still tell it was scuffed and even torn in places. What was probably a belt encircled her at an odd angle, the clasp broken. Hanging from the belt was a sword that seemed to have a slight blue glow to it, and not too far from her lay the remains of what looked like a bow.

Still keeping his gun trained on her, Kyle kicked the pieces of the shattered bow further away. Her eyes followed his movements unflinchingly, though she continued shaking. Although Kyle had heard rumors that here were Fae fighting on behalf of humans, he wasn’t going to take any risks. He reached for her blade. His fingers were just about to grab the metal blade when her hand grabbed his.

“Hey!” He immediately straightened up his gun centered on her head. He watched her tensely, ready to fire. She made a reply in a language he couldn’t understand even when he had her repeat it. Finally, realizing that he didn’t understand her she gripped the blade and slowly slipped it free. Finally looking away from him for a minute she ripped free a dangling piece of her bodysuit and wrapped it around the blade before handing it to him. He relaxed slightly as she handed to him, making gestures not to touch the blade. He took it and slid it into his belt, careful to make sure the wrapping did not slip.

“Can you stand?” he asked, looking at her injuries skeptically. She just stared up at him. “I said can you stand?” He asked again, but not seeing her react he suddenly chuckled. “Wait you don’t understand what I’m saying at all, do you?” He took her lack of response as an affirmative.

“My name is Kyle” He pointed to himself. “Kyle.” He then pointed to her. She looked confused so he again pointed to himself. “Kyle.” He pointed to her again. Her eyes grew wide in fear and her shaking increased. When he repeated the process a third time, she let out a sigh. “J’zmin” Her voice was neither a soprano nor an alto, but a pleasant midrange despite the trembling but it definitely had a defeated tone to it.

Kyle nodded as he quickly analyzed the situation. A Fae that didn’t seem to understand English didn’t necessarily mean that she was one of the invaders, but odds were heavily in favor of it. Looking down at her clothing, he didn’t see any sort of identification immediately visible, and given her condition she needed medical treatment anyways. Time to call it in and let someone else deal with it.

He was about to reach for his phone when he heard the access door on the far side of the roof open. “She has to be up here,” a deep baritone voice stated.
“I wonder if them fairy bitches are any good for a fuck,” A second answered.

“Much as I hate the fairies, no one deserves rape,” a female voice retorted. “We simply kill her.”

Kyle turned, his free hand digging out his badge and displaying it openly to the quickly growing crowed coming out of the far stairway. “Police!” he shouted. “This fairy is in my custody. She is a prisoner. No one is going to harm her further!”

“Oh yeah?” One burly man holding a 12 gauge shotgun pushed himself to the front. Just what cha gonna do about it, eh Kyle?” Kyle recognized he man as Justin, the complex bully.

“I think Kyle here is a fairy lover.” A thinner version of Justin stepped forward, his little brother Paul. “I say we show him what happens to traitors.”

“Traitor, my ass. The law is clear. Unknown Fae without identification are to be taken in for questioning. This has nothing to do with who or what she is. She is a prisoner in my care, and I am not going to let anyone hurt her. I don’t care if she’s Fae, human, or whatever monstrosity it was that gave birth to the two of you brutes. While she’s in my care, I’m responsible for her.” Kyle’s voice took on a dangerous edge.

Some of the crowd began to disperse, but Justin stepped forward and pumped his shotgun at Kyle. “I ain’t letting no asswipe stop me from giving the fairy bitch what she deserves just cause he gots a badge and thinks ‘es better than me!” He leveled it at Kyle.

That was his last mistake. Training took over and Kyle reflexively fired two rounds into Justin. He needed have bothered with the second. The first ripped apart a good portion of his heart. The second destroyed what was left.

“Bastard!” Paul launched himself at Kyle, only to be dropped by another round. Everyone else that was armed dropped the weapons and everyone backed up a step or took off running.

“If anyone else wants to be foolish enough to attack the prisoner go right ahead. Otherwise get the fuck out of here.” Kyle was pissed. Shootings were never good, and he knew that killing two brothers in front of several witnesses to save a fairy would not go over well with some of the brass. Regardless, he was committed and he knew he was right anyways.

The rest of the crowed dispersed, but Kyle knew they would be back. Trading his badge for his cell phone he dialed into 911 to report the prisoner and the shootings requesting ambulances and backup. After assuring him help was on the way, the dispatcher patched him through to a lieutenant.

“Keep the prisoner and protect her if you can until we get there, but put your safety first, even if it means letting the prisoner escape or releasing her. We don’t know she’s even an enemy for sure so no use in risking either of your lives.” The lieutenant reasoned.
Shouting erupted from the far stairwell again and Kyle looked up to see several people emerging onto the rooftop, all of them armed. “Bloody hell,” he muttered. “Better hurry it up boss, getting to be quite the party here.”

“Get the hell out of there. Find someplace to hide…”

“Way ahead of you there, boss.” Kyle cut him off slapping the phone shut and reaching down to scoop up the fairy. Shaking J’zmin reached out to accept his help up but then screamed as the gravity tore away the remaining scrap of flesh holding the sheared wing to her body. Without thinking about it he let go of her to catch the wing. It was heavier than it looked.

Giving him a grateful look, J’zmin reached behind her to take the wing from him, leaning heavily on him as they hurriedly made their way to the stairway. She gasped in pain as her remaining three wings caught on the doorway to the stairs but kept her limping pace up. As quickly as they could given the condition she was in, they hurried down the steps.

They just made it past Kyle’s floor when they heard pounding and voices below them. Turning them around, Kyle led her back up the stairs to the landing. Opening the door he checked to be sure the hallway was clear. Seeing it was he led her into his apartment. He had just gotten them inside when she collapsed to the floor.

Kyle quickly locked he door then turned around and gently picked the fairy up and carried her into the bedroom. J’zmin tensed as he laid her into the bed, her eyes looking up at him with a mix of fear and near-hatred. He laid her upon his bed, somewhat embarrassed that it wasn’t made. Noticing her look, he stepped back “Well Jasmine,” he tried to approximate her name, “I know you can’t understand me, but I’m not going to hurt you. This is just the best place I can put you for the moment.”

He walked into the bathroom. Taking some towels he wet them down. He then pulled the first aid kit out from under the vanity. Heading back into the room, he found the fairy trying to sit up on the bed. Her eyes snapped to his and she said something that Kyle could not understand but assumed by the tone of her voice wasn’t particularly nice. He set the first aid kit on the floor and then laid he stack of towels on top of it.

Kyle sat on the bed and picked up the top towel reaching towards her. Flailing desperately she tried to beat him off. He held still for a few moments until she realized that he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her and only wanted to help. Slowly she relaxed and let him sponge off her scrapes and cuts. He bandaged up the more serious wounds. Several of the towels were bloody by the time he motioned her to roll over.

When she rolled onto her stomach, a pool of blood was left behind on the sheets. He examined her back. A tailored cutaway on the back of her bodysuit allowed for the three wings and a stump that sprouted between the small of her back and her shoulder blades. He couldn’t quite see how the three wings folded up but he guessed that each wing folded up something like a paper fan and that normally the upper wings would fold over the larger lower ones. Only the upper left was folded up like that however. Where the other wing should have been was what resembled a jet black shoulder socket sprouting form her back ending in a jagged stump oozing puss and spurting blood.

As gently as he could, Kyle dabbed at the wound eliciting a series of gasps and whimpers from the fairy. Taking the last towel, he wrapped it around the stump then secured it in place using gauze bandages and medical tape. He was almost done when he heard sounds of a commotion coming from the hallway. Finishing quickly, he hurried into the living room.

By the time he reached the front door, he could hear lots of shouting in the door. He had just pulled out a gun when there came a heavy pounding on the door “Kyle, you there? Open up, buddy!” Relived to hear a voice he recognized, Kyle opened up the door, to reveal several cops, most of which were keeping a quickly growing crowd at bay.

The cop at the door offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry it took us so long but there was a crowd out here trying to hold us back. Probably so their friends up here could finish trying to quietly break in.” He gestured to the damaged door knob. “Figured it was best we secured things first. Medics are on their way up now.”

“Thanks Adam.” Kyle felt relieved.

A noise pulled Kyle’s attention to the hallway. J’zmin was limping out, one arm wrapped around her severed wing, hugging it close to her body. Her raven hair, still matted with blood fell around her face wildly and her crystal eyes moved from Kyle to Adam worriedly. Kyle motioned her to join them. She came up behind Kyle, just out of his reach.

Adam let out a long whistle. “So this is what all the fuss was about. Managed to land yourself quite an interesting one there. I gotta admit she’s pretty though.”

The two female medics arrived and pushed their way through the crowd. J’zmin was very nervous at the crowed and backed up away trembling. She nearly collapsed again, and Kyle quickly grabbed her holding her up. One of the medics stated that though she didn’t know much about Fae, that it was pretty obvious J’zmin needed to get to a hospital.

The medics, Kyle, J’zmin, Adam, and a couple of the other cops went back to the hallway and took one of the elevators down to the lobby. On the way down, Kyle felt the weight on his left side increase a bit. Looking over, he saw J’zmin had pressed up more against him, her arm wrapped up against him. Unsure what to do, he grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

The elevator opened up into the lobby. It was unusually busy. Several groups of people stood around on the dirty white marble linoleum tiles. In the laundry room across from the elevators a couple of middle-aged women were folding clothes as washers noisily tumbled behind them. In both the vending machine area to the left of the elevators and in the central lobby, groups of police officers were interviewing people, some in handcuffs.

Off the far right, about halfway to the main entrance a police officer was talking to a young woman with a baby in her arms and a small girl at her side. Off behind them were the planters of roses and lilacs that decorated the front windows that sandwiched the front doors to the complex. Through the windows and doors, multiple police cars and an ambulance could be scene.

As Kyle stepped out of the elevator he was so distracted by the little girl suddenly breaking free of her mother to run to the window pointing up at the sky to notice that he inadvertently ran J’zmin into the potted rose bush that stood between the elevators or hear the thud and gasp that accompanied it. He failed to notice J’zmin suddenly pulling her arm free of him. He was also looking the wrong direction to see her suddenly tense up her eyes widening as the little girl pointed up at the sky asking loudly “Mommy what’s that?”

What he was not too distracted to notice however was the thorny vine that less than two seconds later suddenly shot along the ground past his foot to wrap around the ankle of the girl, knocking her down and dragging her back. Kyle heard the safeties click off weapons, heard people shout “What in the hell?” and “Hey stop that!” He barely begun his spin to face J’zmin when a fiery mass dropped from the sky striking a police car and causing an explosion so powerful the plate glass doors and windows shattered sending glass into the area the girl had just occupied.

All this had taken less than 5 seconds. The vine released the little girl that was now lying on the floor with a bloody ankle looking in shock at the place she just was in openmouthed shock. Her mother was also looking that direction. “Incoming!” someone shouted as a second meteor-like object struck the parked ambulance turning it into a fireball.

One of the officers dropped the gun he held trained on J’zmin to scoop up the girl, dragging her back into the dubious safety of the elevator. Most of the other people in the lobby also took cover in the snack bar or the laundry room.

The remaining police officers called for backup or requested firefighter support. Several took defensive positions behind what cover they could find or shielding the civilians, drawing and checking weapons. “Think they’re coming for her?” Adam asked Kyle. Kyle could only shrug in reply.

“Probably.”

“She saved my girls life,” the mother stated, clearly still in shock as the officer interviewing her herded her toward the elevator. The shaken woman gave the fairy a grateful look as she knelt down hugging both her baby and her daughter to her. “I am in your debt, miss.”

Kyle followed the woman’s gaze to the J’zmin, belatedly realizing that the fairy had the index finger of her free hand pointed on the rose bush, the tip of it both touching the rose and glowing with lavender light. The rose bush was several times its previous size and had several huge vines sprouting from it. Even as he watched the vines slithered toward the planters digging into the soil. A moment later a thick hedge of rosebushes grew obstructing the windows and doorway only to be incinerated by a third explosion.

Immediately following the third explosion several Fae in dark uniforms came flying through the openings and coming to various landings, some one knee, some on both feet. All were armed with either what looked like bows or guns. One that came through the door appeared to be the leader. He looked past Kyle. “J’zmin, alsthe’a ma’thorae?”

Kyle found himself suddenly jerked back, and suddenly J’zmin was in front of him, her arms spread as if shielding him, though she still clutched her severed wing with her left hand. Her right hand, finger still glowing reached out to grab part of the vine. She entered into a verbal exchange with the other fairy that became almost a shouting match.

Suddenly there were vines everywhere. Vines that were growing, thickening, weaving to form a huge living wall separating the humans, except for Kyle, from the Fae. Kyle began feeling nervous, especially as some of the vines began wrapping around him, one pulling his own gun away from him.

All the while the raven-haired fairy with the severed wing continued her exchange with the male fairy, her face growing red, and anger seeping into her voice. This continued for several tense minutes, made tenser by the fact that the humans behind the wall were obviously scared and frustrated by the still expanding living wall behind him. At last the Male fairy seemed to give in with a shrug barking out something. He and the other Fae lowered their weapons and J’zmin released her grip on the vine to limp over to him.

Looking at Kyle with obvious contempt, the male fairy spoke in thickly accented and almost archaic English. “Human, Thou beist lucky this day. J’zmin states thee has saved her life thrice over. Thus, she argues on thy behalf that thy might continue thy pitiful existence. She also states thou hast given her aid for wounds she sweareth are not of thy making. I have agreed to let thou live in exchange for her canceling her blood-debt to thee. Though should know the name she doth giveth you is not her true name, and thy cannot summon her with it. Know too, that I would have slain thee without her intercession on thy behalf.”

With that the group turned and walked out the door. Two of the fairies supporting J’zmin between them, they took flight leaving a relieved, confused, and tired Kyle behind.

****

Kyle stood on the balcony. Below him lay the normal hustle and bustle in the streets of the ruined city. The sounds of engines, car horns, shouting, and bird chirps all mix to form a kind of symphony. Only the rumble of the warplanes and tanks, and the craters in the streets and buildings spoiled the effect. Feeling naked in just his pants, Kyle took in the scene with a quite, almost resigned sigh.

He could still remember when the city was whole, when his neighborhood was filled with bright, shiny high-rise apartment buildings with shops on the ground floor. He could still remember when the sounds of children laughing, shouting, and playing could be heard coming from balconies, rooftops, and sidewalks. He could remember, but that was all it was, memory. Everything had changed with the return of the multitude of angry races known collectively as the Fae.

Fae like the pretty raven-haired fairy with the blue and black wings that had crashed into the rooftop some three months ago, sheering off one of those wings only to be rescued by what he assumed were her friends or fellow squad members. Sometimes he still wandered about her from time to time. What was her name? Jasmine? No, not quite but that was as close as he could pronounce.

He was dimly aware of a sudden breeze out of nowhere. He heard a slight buzzing and then a soft click behind him. Before he could react, something pressed up against his back and two arms wrapped around him to envelope him in a tight embrace. Silky black hair brushed against his face and down his shoulder and a warm breath played across his ear. “Kyle,” the whisper was tentative, but the emotion behind it was not.

“Jasmine?” His voice squeezed in surprise.

A giggle and a slight brush against his head as he felt her shake her head no. “J’zmin,” her voice was soft, patient. “J’zminnatre” The name seemed to echo in his head and somehow he knew there was power in that word..

“J’zminnatre” He whispered. He felt that power call out to her, saw the slight lavender glow that suddenly emanated both from the arms around his chest and from the corner of his eye on the side her cheek was pressed against. He heard her squeal of delight and then felt himself being spun around. And then he was kissing her.

FF: Cast

Character Cast:

Humans:
Nathan/Nathanial: City boy. Engaged to L’lillianth
Kyle: City dweller. Cop.

Fae:
L’lillianth/ L’lillianthara/Lillian: Fae in the house of House Gossamer. Engaged to Nathan.
T’Floriáll/T’Floriá/Flora: Fae in the house of House Gossamer. Youngest sister to L’lillianth. Flame Fairy.
C’lestria: Fae sworn to the service of House Gossamer. L’lillianth’s handmaid.
Rhaul: Fae sworn to the service of House Gossamer. Lt. in the house guard.
Lady F’Eleanora L’Rissastemyre I’Amorthflame/ L’Rissa: Head of House Gossamer

V’letta: Fae in the house of Ast’raelle. Sworn in service of House Gossamer. Best friend of L’lillianth. Telepathic War Fairy.
Lady Ast’raelle: Head of house Ast’raelle.

J’zminnatre/ J’zmin/Jasmine: Nature Fae.

FF: Christmas Excerpt

The weather had turned colder and it didn’t help that the camp was on an exposed hilltop overlooking the ruined city. Nathan and L’lillianth sat side by side, Nathan’s arm around her shoulder, her head leaning on his. Her wings were furled in tight against the cold and wind, bits of emerald, scarlet, and sapphire glinting off the sun and contrasting to his dark hair and complementing the scarlet of hers.
As I walked up I heard L’lillianth say, “Merry Christmas, love.” She moved slightly and I assumed she was giving him something.
“I didn’t think you celebrated Christmas,” Nathan’s smile was evident in his voice and in the emotions pouring off of him. “But, I got you something too.”
“Well, we predominately worship the goddess, but we recognize Christ too,” L’lillianth replied. “Besides, we—or I should say some of us since our religions are as diverse as humans’ are—believe without him, our Goddess couldn’t have been able to ascend back to heaven, and by extension, neither could the rest of us. It’s really complicated but the long and short of it is, that Christmas is as important to many of us as it is to you.”
I started blushing started to turn around even as I heard rustling and heard her exclaim, “Oh, Nathan! It’s beautiful!” Her emotions of contentment and gratitude and admiration washed over me and I blushed more grateful that no one was able to see my face at the moment.
I felt a similar wash of emotion come from him seconds later and I assumed he had opened his gift as well. “Thank you, Lillian. I love it,” I heard him say.
I quickened my pace away. I should have realized they wanted a private moment when I was told they had come up the hill. I was so anxious to give them my gifts that I didn’t think that maybe they wanted time alone together. Familiar sadness and jealousy bit at me. I didn’t sense anyone else around but still I hid the attempts to brush my tears away by acting as if I was brushing my lavender bangs out of my face. Dafiah it all! I scold myself. Stop begrudging them their happiness. I made up my mind to give them their gifts later.
I was almost out of ear shot when I heard L’lillianth speak up again. “You know, someone’s missing though.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I heard Nathan’s reply as I hurried down the path. I winced. They were referring to L’lillianth’s sister T’Floriá, who had been almost constantly at their side up till the moment she had fallen and been taken away from us. Almost as close a friend to me as L’lillianth, her absence left a deep rift in my heart as well.
So convinced they were referring to T’Floriá that I almost fell when I heard a thought come across my mind. “V’Letta, I know you’re there and I know you can hear me so stop all the pretence, the hiding, and the running away and come here.” I turn around startled and see both Nathan and L’lillianth looking over their shoulders at me expectantly. “Come on, we’re waiting for you!”
I hesitantly make my way back up the path, giving Nathan a suspicious glance. “You told her, didn’t you?” I asked, somewhat hurt.
“Told her what?” He thought back, confused.
“You told her I’m telepathic.”
“No, I made a promise and kept it. Why do you think I told her?” His puzzlement was so genuine; I couldn’t help but believe him.
It was my turn to be confused. “If you didn’t tell her, then who did?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
I was nearly on top of them at this point and as I started to circle around beside them, L’lillianth reached up and grabbed my hand, pulling me down into her lap with a grin.
“About time you got back here, V’Letta. I’m a little miffed at you for sneaking up and then trying to sneak off. I’m even more miffed that you hid the fact that you’re telepathic from me all these years.” Her green eyes pierced mine and I flinched at the hurt they revealed as her smile disappeared. “You’re my best friend. Why did you hide that from me?”
“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I saw you together and I decided to head back and wait for you.” I looked away in shame. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was a telepath. I… I didn’t want anyone to know. I was...” I searched for words and found them. “I was scared. I was scared of what you would think of me. I was scared of how you would treat me and act around me. I was scared you would hate me if you found out.”
She looked down at me with sad eyes. “V’Letta, you’re my friend and I love you very much. I always thought you loved me too, until I realized how many really important secrets you kept from me.”
“V’Letta does love you, Lillian. I’ve known that from the time I met her,” Nathan said softly.
“I do, L’lillianth. More then I think you know,” I looked down, blinking to clear some of the tears that fell. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should have. I wish I knew who told you though. I’ve only ever told one person and I know they didn’t tell you.”
“No one told me, V’Letta. You gave yourself away, reacting and responding to things that I and Nathanial had never said. When that happened enough, I figured it out.” She hugged me close. “I also am pretty sure Nathan is the person you told by the way he never seemed too surprised by it.” At his worried look she smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry I’m not angry with him, but please no more secrets, okay?”
I nodded. “No more secrets. There’s some things you should know though. About why I joined your house and what happened to my father,” I told her. “I joined your house in the hopes that I could eventually restore my own. And my Father…”
She cut me off. “I always figured that was at least part of why you joined our house, V’Letta. It’s also part of why I hated it; because you shouldn’t have had to. And whatever you have to say about your father can wait.”
She looked over to Nathan who handed her a box. She took it and held it for a moment as he fingered the remains of the collar she had given him nervously. “We have something for you… something a bit more then a Christmas present but before we give it to you, we have a couple of questions for you.” His voice sounded nervous and his thoughts were so conflicted I couldn’t make them out. “The first is do you love “Lillian as much as I do?” he asked.
I blinked. I knew he loved her deeply. I hesitated as I saw both of them were looking at me, waiting for my response and watching my reaction. “I don’t think your love for her can be measured,” I said softly. “But I know you would die for her in a heartbeat without a second thought and that you would do anything to make her happy. I love her too. I would die for her, for either of you in a heartbeat. But I don’t know if I love her any more or less then you do. I don’t know how to measure it.”
He searched my face. “Let me rephrase that. Are you in love with Lillian?”
I blinked. How do you admit you’re in love with your best friend to her fiancé? I looked down and sighed trying to pull away from L’lillianth. “I’m really uncomfortable with the way these questions are going.” I stated.
L’lillianth held me in place and said softly, “Its okay, V’Letta, just answer and be honest. It will be okay I promise, but please answer.”
“Yes,” I sighed. “Yes I’m in love with her. I’ve been in love with her for years.”
I felt a little bit of jealousy from Nathan, and a little surprise from L’lillianth, but neither said anything for a moment. Instead, Nathan nodded as if something he suspected was just confirmed.
I winced and stiffened, looking away. I tried to get up again but L’lillianth held me in place still, both arms wrapped around me, holding the box Nathan had given her in one hand, the other clasped around her wrist.
Her next question took the fight out of me and made me slump across her arms. I was already crying, but the tears seemed to come even more freely, leaving dents in the snow under us. “And what about Nathanial. Are you in love with him as well?”
The only thing worse then admitting that you’re in love with your best friend in front of her and her fiancé is admitting you’re in love with your best friend’s fiancé in front of both of them. I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. “Yes,” I admitted softly.
This time Nathan was the one that seemed more surprised and L’lillianth a bit jealous, but I sensed something else. I expected them to be mad at me. I even expected that one or both might even hate me for my admissions. What I didn’t expect was to sense a little bit relief and more then a bit of nervousness and fear from both of them. Nor did I expect to have L’lillianth press the box she was holding into my hands and whisper in my ear. “Open it.”
Hesitantly, awkwardly, I opened the box. It was hinged and the inside was lined with black velvet. Lying on the velvet was something that looked like a kind of glove or armband made out of emerald wire. In the center of that sat a ring that looked almost identical to the one that L’lillianth wore, only instead of bits of emerald surrounding the diamond, it was bits of amethyst.
It took me a minute to realize the significance to these gifts. When I did my eyes went wide as I looked up into first Nathan’s eyes and then L’lillianth’s. Both had too many emotions and thoughts running through them for me to be able to tell what they were feeling or thinking, but their faces were both expectant as I looked back and forth between them speechless.
After a few seconds I found my voice. “Are you sure? This isn’t… it has been ages since… I mean are you sure?”
It was Nathan that spoke first very quietly as he reached out and took my hand. “We’re sure. Lillian and I talked this over for quite a while. It was her idea, but I agree with it. The question is how do you feel about it?”
I looked over to L’lillianth and saw her nod. “It’s up to you. We won’t force you if this is not what you want.”
I looked down at the glove and took a few ragged breaths as I tried to get my thoughts in order. Finally, I slid the gifts on, first the glove then the ring. “I… I will make yours as soon as I can,” I stuttered completely overcome. Tears were still flowing, but they were tears of happiness.
“I don’t know I can ever really be able to fulfill your needs sexually,” L’lillianth directed her thoughts to me. “But we both love you with all our hearts and if its possible to be in love with you without being attracted sexually to you I am. But if you give me time maybe I can try.”
“I will never ask more then you can give. Just knowing you love me is enough. I’ll not touch Nathan either if you wish me not to.”
“He will be your husband as much as he is mine, silly. Do what you want with him. I’ll be a little jealous, at least at first but I’ll get over it. It’s between you and me that might be the problem. I’m not the least into other women. I just know I love you and am worried that I will disappoint you.”
L’lillianth embraced me into a tight hug. “Merry Christmas,” she purred.
Nathan shifted so he could wrap his arms around the both of us. “Merry Christmas,” he echoed.
I directed my thoughts to them both. “Well if I am going to be your wife, it’s only fair you both know my true name, especially since I know both of yours. My true name is actually a human name. I am Violet.” I couldn’t see their smiles, but I could feel them even as I heard myself whisper. “Merry Christmas.”

Nya's Story: ch2 (still unfinished)

After they left the hanger, Kilan started to lead the young girl toward his home but suddenly made a detour into a seedy shop. From the outside the shop looked like any other pawn shop in the spaceport, but inside the shop was filled with new or carefully restored jumpsuits, vacuum suits, and weapons.

Kilan smiled down at the girl as he selected a couple of adjustable jumpsuits that looked about her size. “Say what’s your name anyways?”

The girl didn’t even look up as she replied, “Nyadass’tic”

“Nya? That’s a pretty name. Nya, do you know how to use a blaster?”

The young Twi’lik blinked and looked up shaking her head no.

“How about a vibro-blade?”

This time the girl nodded.

Kilan looked over several vibro-blades selecting a twin set that he liked the balance of. He also selected a set of blasters that came with a small but rugged black leather holster. He paid for the jumpsuits and weaponry before handing the vibro-blades to the girl. “Take these. If anyone tries to hurt you and you can’t get away—even me—use these. I’ll teach you how to use a blaster later.”

Nya looked up at Kilan confused ans suspicious. Hesitantly, she reached out to take the blades, her small hands shaking nervously. She looked back and forth between the female shopkeeper who smiled at her and Kilan who stood there impassive watching her. When her hands closed around the blades she tucked them into the sleeves of her simple tunic and out of sight.

Kilan nodded approvingly, and held out his hand invitingly. “Ready to go?”

She nodded and hesitantly took his hand, though she kept looking at him suspiciously.

He led her through the small area of shops and cantinas and through the corridors that connected the main pod of the spaceport and the residential pod he lived in.

At the end of a corridor, an airlock led to an area of open air under a huge nearly transparent bubble like canopy that held in the atmosphere. Inside the bubble smaller bubbles and collections of bubbles dotted the otherwise featureless ground. Some were shops, one some kind of repair center, another obviously a brothel, but many were much smaller and more haphazardly put together.

Kilan led Nya to one of the later, a structure that looked like three grey bubbles had been overlapped and merged with an airlock tacked in the middle for good measure. Kilan entered a code into the keypad by the airlock and the outer door opened.

Once the computer determined the pressure inside the building and inside the airlock were equalized and the inner door opened, Kilan and Nya were standing in a mostly round room that seemed to be a combination kitchen, living room, and study. Doors led off to each side and to the back.

Kilan led Nya to the door on the right which opened into a bedroom. “Refresher is through the middle door in the common room. This was my parent’s room. It’s now yours. Sorry it isn’t really appealing, but we can redecorate it for you over time. Feel free to set the locks when you’re in here. I’ll show you how to program the latch if you want. Otherwise just hit the delta key. My room is across from yours if you need anything.”

He turned to go when Nya hesitantly spoke up. “Why?”

Kilan turned around. “Why what?”

“Why are you doing this?”

Kilan sighed. “I couldn’t just leave you there in the hanger. I know what the people that would have bought you would have done.”

She cocked her head, her eyes watching his. “You bought me, will you do the same things?”

Kilan met her gaze unflinchingly. “Would you honestly believe me if I said no?”

Nya hesitated then finally replied, “Probably not.”

“Then there’s not much point in me answering is there?” He walked out of the room. “Dinner will be at eight,” he stated just as the door sealed behind him.

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

It was Kara’s turn to sigh.
“I didn’t know in kindergarten, I learned what you were the day we kissed. I didn’t want to remain your friend after that. But you’ve always been very persistent, and I’ll admit you’ve been a good friend, but now you know what I am and it is time to accept that being friends is a childhood fantasy.”
Sam hung his head resting his chin in his hands as he tried to think of how to put his feelings into words. He started to open his mouth when a shadow fell across him and Kara.
“I was right it is you,” the dark haired woman stated as both Sam and Kara looked up. Taking a cross legged seat facing them, Jacqueline smiled nervously. “I thought I was losing my mind again for a minute.”
“No office, but we’re in the middle of a private conversation,” Kara tried to smile but couldn’t quite bring herself to do so. “Maybe we can talk another time?”
“Oh, sorry,” Jacqueline leaned back, “Well, um, I’ll let you two talk then, but I just wanted to thank you for saving my life.” She moved to get up.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sam said getting to his feet before Jacqueline could reach hers. “I think we have said all there is to say.” He offered Jacqueline a weak smile. “And I’m just glad we were there to help.” With that, he walked away.
Kara watched him leave. When he was out of sight she sighed again and looked down, a couple tears falling down her cheek. “Damn it all anyway,” she muttered.
“Uh, it’s probably not my business, but are you okay?” Jacqueline fidgeted feeling a little uncomfortable seeing the redheaded woman crying.
Kara motioned for Jacqueline to take the seat Sam had just vacated. “Not really. I just broke his heart for the umpteenth time, and it never gets any easier. But he doesn’t understand that we’re just too different,” She explained. “I hate this.”
“Do these differences have anything to do with that dog trick you did and the fact that guy could throw a bigger man like twenty feet without effort?” Jacqueline asked softly.
Kara flinched and nodded. “Yes, except that it is wolf not dog.”
“Sorry, I don’t really know the difference between wolves and dogs. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It’s alright. But you probably shouldn’t talk about this too much.”
“Around here?” Jacqueline chuckled and gestured. “Everyone will just assume I’m either talking about some book or D&D game.”
Kara shook her head. “There’s a few that might not, and those are the ones you need to worry about.”
Jacqueline blinked as sudden insight hit her. Her voice dropped to an awed whisper. “That wasn’t a trick was it? The wolf thing, I mean. You really did turn into a wolf.” At the redhead’s resigned nod she continued, “And the guy that just left, he can do that too?”
“No, and that’s the problem,” Kara shook her head. “Sam is a vampire. Traditionally our kinds are mortal enemies.”
“Vampire? As in suck your blood vampire?”
“Yes.”
“I thought vampires were supposed to only come out at night or they would burn up or something.” Jacqueline looked confused.
“Some do, but some, like Sam are what’s called day walkers. The sun doesn’t bother them, and they can eat real food, but they are weaker then the others.”
“Ah, okay, I think I understand it now. So you are some kind of werewolf and Sam is a day walker but he likes you even though you’re supposed to be enemies.”
Kara shook her head. “Not exactly. Vampires and werewolves are generally enemies. We just have a truce to avoid open warfare because we decimated each other in the last real war. But Sam and I were friends, really good friends before he knew what I was and even though I knew what he was since we were thirteen, I was careless and let him fall in love with me.”
“You let him fall in love with you? I’m not exactly the best person on relationships, obviously, but I don’t think you can control who a person falls in love with.” Jacqueline shook her head. “Hell, I’m not even sure we can control who we fall in love with.”
Kara shrugged, “If I hadn’t relented and remained his friend even though I knew what he was he wouldn’t have had the chance to fall for me.”
“And you know this for a fact? Look I realize I don’t know either of you real well, but what if he was already in love with you back then?”
Kara blinked and shook her head. “That’s impossible. We were only thirteen.”
This time it was Jacqueline who shrugged. “My grandparents met when they were eight and nine, and married at fifteen and sixteen. I fell in love and had my first relationship at fourteen. It turned out to be a disaster but still doesn’t change the fact I was in love.”
Kara sighed, “Even if you’re right, it doesn’t change anything. I still should have just walked away when I learned what he was. It would have spared him allot of pain.”
“You like him don’t you?”
The question took Kara off guard. “Well, yeah, it’s hard to be friends for so long and not like a person.”
Jacqueline shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”
Kara looked down. “Yeah, I know. Yes, I like him. I like him allot. But there are too many reasons why it won’t work starting with the fact that a lot of vampires and werewolves alike would kill us both just for trying.”
Jacqueline sucked in her breath. “And he knows this?”
“If he doesn’t he should.” Kara looked up. “It’s practically ingrained into our heads by our parents and our pack or clan leaders.”
“Then assuming he knows this, what does that tell you?”
“That he is either the biggest idiot out there or that he doesn’t care.”
“I just met you, but you don’t strike me as the type to be friends with a total idiot.”
“No, Sam’s not an idiot,” Kara sighed, “It would be easier if he was.”
“So the fact he either isn’t scared that your,” Jacqueline paused to search for the word she wanted, “races will try and kill you both, or else he loves you so much that he’s willing to take the chance scares you.”
“More then you could possibly know.”
“Because you’re afraid of dying or because he loves you so much?”
Kara looked down studying the grass as she thought about it.
“Both really. I’m not sure I love him enough to be able to risk dying to be together.”
Jacqueline was about to say something when the alarm on her watch went off. She patted Kara’s shoulder gently. “Sorry I have to get to class, but I’m in third floor Marycrest if you want to talk later. Just look for the door that says Jackie and Elise on it. Thanks again for saving my life.” She grabbed her bag and ran off to class as Kara just nodded.

***

She found him studying some pictures hanging in the display case outside one of the art labs. He noted her reflection in the glass and tightened his hand around the strap to his backpack. He didn’t look at her.
She looked at the picture he was looking at, a pastel of a wolf skulking through a field of rose bushes. She somehow found that fitting. She reached up and pointed to it. She realized she was trembling. “I like that one. It’s pretty.”
He nodded.
“Yours?”
He nodded again.
“Is that supposed to be her?”
He nodded a third time.
She took a deep breath. “You know they will hunt you down?”
He nodded a fourth time. “Some will. Not as many as you might think, but yes some will.”
She smiled. It was a tight worried smile, but a smile just the same. “I always did kind of like her. I have your back. You know that right?”
“Thank you. That means allot to me.”
She patted his shoulder then turned, her long stilettos somehow making no sound as she walked away.

***

Jacqueline sat at her desk barely hearing the lecture as she scribbled notes down. Her thoughts were distracting her. At least now I know I’m not crazy. I really did see her transform into a wolf that day. She startled as she heard the professor asking her a question.
“Uh, I’m sorry, what was the question?”
The professor, a middle aged woman with a hint of grey showing in her dark hair was slightly leaning over the desk. “I asked if you were feeling okay Jackie. Class ended ten minutes ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I just have a lot on my mind.” Jacqueline hurriedly gathered up her things.
“Jackie, you know I live down near Oxford right? I read about what happened to you. If you need to talk my door is always open.”
“Thank you, but I’m alright.” Jacqueline lied, heading out the door and leaving a worried professor staring after her.
I’m not sure how much I should be relieved I’m not crazy after all, She thought to herself as she headed to her dorm. Although they seem nice enough and they did save my life, it is scary to know that this Sam guy really is a vampire and she is really a werewolf and that they could kill me without even breaking a sweat. Still, scary as it might be, they seem nice and they are the first people that ever gave a damn about me even if it was only for a few minutes.
She reached the dorm, went through the lobby to the elevator taking it to her floor. When she got to her door she saw a note taped to it.
“Jackie, it was nice to see you again. I’m sorry I wasn’t much company. Thank you for talking to me earlier and for your kind offer. I realize now I need to face some things. Take care of yourself, and I hope to see you around, Kara.”
For some reason she couldn’t explain, the note made Jacqueline feel better. Smiling she unlocked the door, pulled he note down, and walked into her room. Collapsing onto the bed for a quick nap her last thought was Maybe my life is finally getting better.

***

She found him studying some pictures hanging in the display case outside one of the art labs. He noted her reflection in the glass and tightened his hand around the strap to his backpack. He didn’t look at her.
She looked at the picture he was looking at, a pastel of a wolf skulking through a field of rose bushes. She somehow found that fitting. She reached up and pointed to it. She realized she was trembling. “I like that one. It’s pretty.”
He nodded.
“Yours?”
He nodded again.
“I always did like your work.” She hesitated then
He nodded a third time. A flicker of a smile crossed his face for a second then disappeared. He fidgeted.
She took a deep breath. “You know I don’t want to hurt you right? You know I do like you.”
He nodded a fourth time. “I know. It doesn’t make it any easier but I know.”
She smiled. It was a sad worried smile, but a smile just the same. “I’m scared. I’m not as strong as you, but I don’t want to keep hurting you. Give me a few days, alright? I promise I’ll either stop running, or I’ll be gone from your life for good so you don’t keep getting hurt. One way or another I’ll figure this out within a few days.” She paused then finally admitted. “Whatever I decide, do know I do love you. I guess maybe I always have.”
“Thank you. That means allot to me.”
She patted his shoulder then turned, her long stilettos clicking on the tile as she walked away.

***