Sandra sighed in frustration. She had a sneaking suspicion that the little white rectangles Ashley popped into his mouth every few hours were NOT chewing gum. Getting the bassist to part with the little plastic jar, however, seemed impossible. But when she saw Ashley playfully push the band's lanky singer away, then slip away, popping one of those little squares into his mouth, she snapped.

"Pockets," she demanded, making sure to lock the dressing room door behind herself. The half blood planted herself in front of the door, essentially trapping her cousin in the small space.

Ashley let out an annoyed growl and flopped onto the small couch. "Is there a point to this harassment? You know I haven't touched the stuff since..."

Sandra just crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Well I've seen you popping something."

With an annoyed huff, Ashley began emptying the pockets of his leather jacket, tossing keys, phone, wallet, loose change, tissues, guitar picks, an extra steel guitar string, capo clamp, and finally the little white chewing gum jar onto the glass tabletop. "Satisfied?"

The tiny drummer snatched up the jar, flicking it open with a scowl. "What's this?" she demanded, emptying the contents into her hand. She took a slow sniff at the carefully cut squares.

Ashley's face flushed red. "Just an alternative to the chewing gum. Aunt Janet sent it."

Sandra raised an eyebrow. "This is not a chewing gum alternative," she stated blandly.

"Well then can't we just pretend that it is?"

Daggers. Sandra's eyes were daggers. "You know better..."

Ashley sighed. "It's...Dammel Root."

"For dampening urges." Sandra closed up the jar, but refused to set it down. "Damn it, Ashley. How long?"

"Since they started? Or since I couldn't ignore them anymore?"

The drummer twitched her nose a bit. "Both?"

With a deep sigh, Ashley relented. "They started last tour when he cut himself on the scaffolding."

"Makes sense. Blood is often a trigger..."

"I stopped being able to ignore it a couple weeks ago when I, uh...walked in on him..."

A smirk painted Sandra's face. "You know he thinks of you."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sandra. He's straight."

"Have you seen him with a girl since Scout?"

Ashley shrugged. "I've seen him sneak off with a few."

Sandra shook her head. "But nothing serious. You don't get it. He's been in love with Scout since he was 16. And they split. A month after you joined the band. You don't think that's suspicious?"

Ashley hurriedly began shoving the contents of his pockets back where they go. "Look, Sandy, I love you. I do." He stood abruptly. "But I'm not going to risk breaking up the band just because I can't control my cock." He held his hand out for the little white container.

"No," Sandra insisted, dropping the jar into the deep pocket of her cargo pants.

"This isn't a joke, Sandra. This band means too much to all of us. I'm not gonna risk it."

The half bloods eyebrows shot up. "Yeah? And what happens when this isn't enough? What happens if you run out, or forget it somewhere? Urges can get painful. Life threatening, even."

Ashley growled, warningly, eyes flickering an annoyed orange. "I've got it handled, Sandra."

"Then handle it. But no more of this. I don't like what it does to our kind."

The older man rolled his eyes and shoved Sandra to the side, flicking the lock open and fleeing the too small dressing room.