"Denpa Wave Chick Saki" co-wrote this with me. Enjoy!
Kristi put on the finishing touches to her make up, heading out of her dressing room to meet with her boyfriend and the other performers.
Ash picked up the white mask, placing it on her face and covering the hideous 'scars', which she had to admit, had turned out quite nicely. The lycan grabbed her cape as she left the dressing room, moving to lean against the wall and watching the others scramble about.
"HAS ANYONE SEEN THE CHANDELIER? I CAN'T FIND IT!"
Ash rolled her eyes, as Bethany came tearing into the room again. The stage manager was close to hyperventilating, having already believed she'd misplaced the orchestra and now the chandelier. "I think Kristi stole it!" the lycan called.
"KRISTI DID YOU STEAL THE CHANDELIER?"
"No, I didn't! Ashelin is just being stupid again!" The blonde joined the search, finding the missing chandelier. "It's over here, Beth!" she called. "But it's not supposed to be over here. I don't know how it got moved..."
"HANG IT UP, HANG IT UP NOW!"
"Bethany, you spaz, sit," Ash said, pushing the brunette into a chair. "You're going to make your heart explode."
"E-everything has to be p-p-perfect!"
"Seriously though, Beth. You're driving yourself crazy. I'll take care of it." Kristi gathered a few of the stagehands, directing them as they put the chandelier back in its place.
Bethany continued to gasp for air, and Ash recognized that she had moved past just yelling and was now entering the first stage of an asthma attack. The lycan moved to stand in front of her, hissing, "Take your medicine."
The stage manager pulled out her inhaler, doing so quickly before anyone could see. She looked at Ash. "Thank you."
The lycan nodded. "Now calm down. Everything will be fine."
Kristi came over to them. "Alright. The chandelier is back where it's supposed to be and the landing pad is there to catch it. You don't have anything to freak out over, Beth. It's going to be fine."
Bethany stood, fixing her headset. "All right...five minutes until curtain. God, I hope nothing catches fire." She left, and Ash looked at the blonde.
"Ready to do this?"
Kristi nodded. "Are you ready?"
"As much as I'll ever be..." Ash threw her cape around her shoulders. "Let's show them how it's done," she said with a grin before moving to take her place in the wings. The blonde took a deep breath, standing just off stage, ready to go on. The curtain pulled back as the house grew dark and the play began. Ash thought she detected a familiar scent, but she ignored it, waiting for her cue. Kristi sang her first song, afterwards moving to the onstage dressing room with Jill following her. Ash opened her mouth to say her lines, but another voice beat her to it, saying, "Bravi, bravi, bravissimi..." The lycan looked around, trying to figure out where that had come from.
Kristi was confused as well. That was definitely not Ash's voice... The blonde kept to her part, though, acting as though nothing was different.
The play continued, and try as she might, the lycan could not find where the mystery voice had come from. The time eventually came for Ash and Kristi to dance together on the opera 'stage' and as they moved, Ash could feel a harsh gaze on her back. The blonde tore off Ash's mask, immediately noticing a man standing up in the rafters near the chandelier. She could tell by his smell and the smirk on his face that he was the werewolf who had killed Ms. Dubois. Kristi couldn't hold back her anger, holding her hand down low and shooting a bolt of electricity up at the man. However, she missed, snapping the rope to the chandelier instead.
Ash heard the rope snap, and instead of looking up, she grabbed the blonde. She yanked her back as the chandelier crashed to the floor, sending glass and metal everywhere, the pad having been moved and the prior system of lowering the chandelier obsolete because of the vampire. Ash gave Kristi a look before pulling her offstage as the house went dark. "What the hell was that for?" Ash hissed at her, as the stagehands moved to change the scene.
"That bastard is here!"
"Who? Damn, Kristi, you could have hurt someone!"
"He deserves to die after what he did!"
"Who are we talking about?"
"The bastard who killed Ms. Dubois!"
Ash paused before saying, "How do you know? Did he tell you that? Where were you even aiming?"
"No other werewolf would have any reason for sitting up in the rafters."
The brunette felt her heart skip a beat. "I-I see..." She turned away, "Let's get ready for our cue."
Kristi crossed her arms but took her spot off stage, ready for Ash to pull her out. The lycan grabbed the blonde's arm, dragging her onstage, but her gaze was down. She waited for Erik to come on stage before throwing the ropes at him and tying him to the grate and wrapping the rope around his neck before turning to Kristi. As she was supposed to, the blonde sang before moving to kiss Ash. The minute their lips met, Ash felt the same harsh gaze on her back, and she shuddered, quickly moving away from the blonde. She released Erik and looked at Kristi, but by now the lycan was so distracted that she stared at Kristi, her mouth opening, but nothing coming out.
From where she was watching, Bethany covered her face with her clipboard. "She forgot her lines!"
Kristi whispered to her, hardly moving her lips. "Leave...Ash, say it."
The brunette quickly turned, shouting, "Take him and leave! Forget me!" as she ran up the stairs and off into the wings, trembling slightly once she was out of sight. Kristi undid the rope from Erik's neck, taking his hand before leading him away. The rest of the play finished before coming to an end. The cast came out to take their bows and when it was Kristi and Ash's turn, the brunette found herself distracted, sneaking glances up into the rafters. Where are you hiding...?
The blonde shook Ash's hand. "Ash...bow..."
The lycan responded to the command without thinking, and once the audience stood to leave and the other cast members headed for the lobby, Bethany came running onstage. "Are you guys okay? I knew that rope wasn't enough to hold the chandelier up! And Ash, what happened?"
"I...I just...froze, I guess."
"What happened to the landing pad? It should have caught the chandelier," Kristi asked.
Bethany shook her head. "Someone must have moved it...damnit!" She sighed. "You guys did a good job working around all this. We'll deal with the mess tomorrow, okay?" The brunette gave them a smile before she hopped offstage, disappearing into the lobby.
"I...I'll start clearing this mess...and I'll close the house..." Ash said, turning away from the blonde.
"Alright then." Kristi went down the stairs, heading out into the lobby to meet Paolo.
Ash locked all the doors into the house, going back onstage to turn the lights out. When she did, the godlight came on, causing the brunette to pause. She looked towards center stage, taking a deep breath as she approached slowly. "That was quite the performance, Ashelin. Very moving actually. Did you feel something in common with the misunderstood phantom?"
"Why'd you kill her? She didn't do anything."
"She was annoying, and besides, she saw me fooling with the chandelier, and you know how I feel about people spying on me."
"Neil-"
A sudden whoosh of air, and Ash felt a metal hook sink into her flesh right below her right shoulder. Before she could pull it out, she felt herself being lifted off the ground. The lycan let out a cry of pain, holding onto the rope in an attempt to relieve some of the weight. She looked down, seeing the sandy-haired werewolf stepping into the light.
"It has been some time, hasn't it? I didn't realize you had such a fancy for the fine arts...or for other women...specifically a vampire. Intriguing...don't you think?"
"Where's Ash?" Bethany asked, when she spotted Kristi in the lobby.
"She said she was going to start cleaning and lock up."
Bethany went to door leading from the lobby to the house, and she found it locked. The brunette paused for a moment before leaving, heading around to the stage door.
Ash let out a grunt, as she continued to try and free herself. But Neil was not making it easy on her, yanking on the rope every so often.
"So tell me what this vampire means to you."
"She's no one!"
"You kissed her."
"It's acting, you idiot! Now just leave her out of this!"
Neil paused. "The fact that you want me to stay away from her only convinces me that she means something to you, and either you'll tell me, or I'll find out on my own."
"Don't you dare!"
Neil dropped Ash to the floor and approached her, holding her down. "You can't say you didn't miss me, Ashelin." The sound of a door opening reached his ears, and Neil leaned down close, breathing, "We'll finish this later," before he released her roughly and disappeared.
"Ash, are you in here?" Bethany asked, walking onstage. She spotted the lycan sitting up, yanking the hook free. "What the hell-"
"I...tripped and fell on it...no big deal." Ash stood, putting a hand to the wound. "See you tomorrow."
After seeing Paolo out to his car, Kristi changed out of her costume and headed back to her room. The blonde froze right when she walked through the door, the smell of blood drifting to her nose. "Ashelin, what happened?" She stood over the brunette with a hand on her hip.
The lycan froze at her roommate's voice. She hugged her pillow tighter, sniffling a few times. "N-nothing..." she managed to say. A few more tears slid down her face.
"Don't tell me 'nothing.' Something happened. You reek of blood." Kristi ripped the pillow away from her, pointing at her shoulder.
Ash rolled away from her, grabbing another pillow. "I...fell on the chandelier hook...so go ahead and laugh." The lycan didn't care what Kristi did. Her past had finally caught up with her...Neil wouldn't stay away now.
"Don't lie to me, Ashelin."
"Just go away, okay? What the fuck do you care? I would have thought you'd be disappointed it didn't go through my heart and kill me, because then you'd be rid of me!"
Kristi softened. "I don't want you to die, Ashelin. You may piss me off an awful lot, but I don't want you dead."
"Yeah, sure, you're real sweet. Now please leave me to bleed in peace. You can have your meal later." Ash curled up tighter, stifling another sob so only a whimper escaped.
The blonde crawled on top of her, pinning her down. She bit her own wrist hard, holding the bleeding cut over Ash's wound. When it was healed, she sat up. "Now, stop whining."
"Get off..." Ash pushed her away weakly. She buried her face in the pillow, as more tears started down her face and her shoulders shook. Kristi slid off of the werewolf. She went into their bedroom, returning a few seconds later to drape a blanket over Ash's curled body. The lycan muttered a quick "thank you" before pulling the blanket closer, sighing before she closed her eyes and drifted into a troubled sleep.
Ash didn't leave her bed much the next day, doing so only twice: once to go to the bathroom and the other to bring a bottle of water back with her. It wasn't until the sun began to set that she discovered an important fact. "Kristi?" she called, her voice hoarse from not being used the entire day. "You still here?"
The blonde stepped into the room. "It depends on what you need me for."
Ash rolled over. "Tonight's the full moon. I need you to make sure I stay here."
"And why the hell would I want to spend my night babysitting you?" She crossed her arms.
"Simply put: full moons make werewolves horny. There's a male werewolf running around. If we find each other, that means baby werewolves running around."
The blonde frowned at the thought. "And how do you expect me to keep you here anyway?"
"A lot of raw meat...and possibly occasional blood drainings. If I lose blood, I get hungry, and if I eat raw meat, it distracts me from my sexual frustration. I get full, you take blood again, the process resets."
"Am I getting anything out of this besides not having to deal with your bastard offspring?"
"Like I said: you get to drink my blood all night."
Kristi thought for a moment. "Fine. But I expect you to pay for your own meat."
"Fair enough." Ash pointed to a book on her desk. "Open that up. My money's in there...ten pounds of meat should do it."
The blonde went over to it, opening the book box and taking out her money. She left with a sigh. When Kristi returned soon after, she tossed the meat onto the kitchen counter. "You so owe me for this."
"Fine. What do you want?" Ash said, emerging from the bedroom to rip open the first package. She could start to feel the effects of the full moon.
"Right now I want for this to be over...but we'll see when I actually need something from you."
Ash shrugged, biting into the meat. She looked up at the blonde, smiling slightly. "You're pretty...beware, I might try to fuck you tonight."
"Ugh." Kristi stuck her tongue out. "You're just lucky I need your blood anyway to heal my arm."
The sun had fully set now and darkness was settling. Ash shuddered as she felt fur ripple across her body, and she willed it away. Her eyes had turned orange, when she looked up at the blonde. "You might want to start...now," she said, her nose running along Kristi's arm. "Because I'm about to lose it." The blonde turned Ash's head away, biting hard into her neck. The taste of her blood aroused her like always, but she made sure that Ash didn't feel any of that...only pain. Her eyes flashed silver. The lycan let out a growl and pulled away, sulking back over to her meat.
The full moon...Neil knew Ash was too smart to leave her room tonight. And showing up now would give everything away. The sound of footsteps caught his attention, and the werewolf turned to see a lone figure walking down the path. His eyes narrowed, as he recognized her as one of the actresses from the play. Neil approached silently, emerging from behind a tree and stepping into the light from a lone lamp a few feet ahead of her. Jill looked up from her phone just in time to see the figure in front of her. She looked back down and kept walking past him, the tiniest bit faster. "Going somewhere?" Neil asked, walking backwards and falling in step with her, giving her one of his famous smiles that made all the women melt.
She blushed, shaking her head and walking a little faster. "Yes, I'm going to see my boyfriend."
"Ahh...I see. Your performance today was quite impressive. Tell me, why were you not cast as Christine? You suit the part so well."
"Well, I can't really hit those notes too well. Kristi is much better at it than me."
Neil caught her arm, stopping her. "Is that what they told you? Why, 'tis a lie."
Jill blushed again. "N-no. It's true. I'll never be as good as Kristi."
"Do you want to know Kristi's secret?" he leaned in close to her. "Your friend is a vampire...tell me: would you like to live forever?"
"W-what?" Her eyes widened. "I...um..."
"Don't believe me? Why don't we find out..." With a growl, Neil changed forms, sinking his canines into her neck, severing her vocal cords before pulling her into the darkness.
About an hour passed in silence before the brunette paused, her gaze on Kristi. Her urges finally overruled her stomach, and she leapt at the vampire, kissing her before Kristi could react. Shocked, the blonde didn't move for a few moments, slightly returning the kiss. When she realized what she was doing, Kristi shook her head, shoving the werewolf away and wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "Eat the meat, Ash!" She threw another one of the raw steaks at the werewolf.
Ash growled, smacking the meat aside. "Not hungry." She tried getting at the blonde again.
"Damn it! I am not going to have sex with you, Ashelin!" She darted in and bit her again, drinking deeply.
And for the two roommates, that was how the rest of the night went. It was only when the sun began to rise that Ash finally fell asleep on the couch, mumbling, "Thank you..." once in her sleep. The blonde plopped herself down into the sofa, sliding down with a soft moan. Vampires could drink a lot of blood, but Kristi had drunk so much over the course of the night that her stomach felt disgusting.
Bethany punched in Kristi's number, listening to the phone ring. "Pick up, pick up!"
The blonde answered her phone. "Hello? What's up, Beth?"
"Kristi! I need you and Ash to meet me in front of the theater RIGHT NOW!"
Kristi pulled Ash from the couch, successfully waking her up. "Beth, what's wrong?"
Ash groaned, her head pounding. "Leggo...five more minutes..."
"It's...it's Jill...she's dead..." The blonde froze in shock, her phone falling from her hand and clattering onto the floor.
"Dropped your phone..." Ash said, picking it up. "Hello?"
"Ash?"
"Yea..."
"Are you hungover? It doesn't matter! Just get down here."
"Mkay..." Ash held the phone out to Kristi. "Gotta meet Beth..." Kristi moved as if she were in a stupor. She took her phone and walked out the door, not taking in any of her surroundings. The lycan followed sleepily, feeling only a little more awake when they reached the theater.
Bethany looked up upon seeing them. "Finally!" She stood, approaching them. "Hey...Kristi, you okay?" The blonde immediately went to Beth, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face in her shoulder. Bethany was not expecting that, but she held Kristi close, running a hand through her hair. "It's okay..."
Ash knelt beside the mangled body, noting the harsh bite to the throat. It was Neil, all right. He always disabled the vocal cords first. The lycan sighed. "Damnit...he knew I wouldn't go out."
Kristi pulled away from Beth, growling at the werewolf. "He knew? It's him again?"
"Unfortunately...damn it, Neil! What do you want...?"
"Whatever he wants, it apparently has to do with you! Why can't you see that? And why are my friends the ones who have to die for it?" Tears started to stream down her face.
"He thinks they're my friends, okay?" Ash stood, facing the blonde. "And I don't know what he wants from me. I haven't seen him in over fifty years!"
"Then find out! I won't let any more of my friends die because of a fight between you and your boyfriend!"
The lycan inhaled sharply. "He is not my boyfriend."
"It doesn't matter who he is. Ash, you have got to do something about him!" Bethany said.
"Don't you think I'm trying?"
"Then try harder!" Kristi glared at her again.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
"Yeah! Talk to him for Christ's sake!"
"We did talk! It ended with me getting a hook in the shoulder!"
Kristi punched her across the face. "Find out, Ashelin. Or I'll kill you myself before I let another friend die."
"All right, children, enough!" Bethany said. She put a hand to her head with a sigh. "I've decided that...the musical just needs to be cancelled. We can't take much more of this. I'm sorry..."
"Aww, don't do that. Everyone will be so disappointed."
Ash froze, turning to face the voice. "Neil!"
The werewolf grinned from his perch in the tree. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends? Well...the living ones."
"You bastard! Why the hell are you killing these people?" The blonde growled at him.
"Now, now. There is no need for name calling...Kristi, was it? Short for Kristianna, I assume..." He turned his gaze to Bethany. "Ashelin, I'm disappointed. Why do you prefer the company of these humans and...glorified zombies to me?"
"Neil, don't you dare..."
"And to answer your question, Miss Kristianna, I am merely a child wanting attention."
"Killing people is not the way to get it!" The blonde took a few steps towards him.
"And what would you suggest I do? Drink their blood whilst having sex?" He looked at Ash. "Perhaps if your friend hadn't left...these people would still be alive."
"At least I don't leave a trail of dead bodies behind me!"
"Miss Kristianna, you are beginning to irk me." Neil suddenly lunged for her.
"Don't!" Ash shouted, jumping in between them instinctively.
Neil caught himself, and he grinned. "So she does mean something to you...interesting." He jumped back. "Catch me if you can, Ashelin..." Neil then changed forms before taking off.
"NEIL!" Ash changed forms as she bolted after him with a growl, vowing that she wouldn't return until she'd caught him.
The blonde growled, kneeling down next to Jill's body. "That bastard..."
Bethany looked at Kristi. "Damn...do you think he'll...kill her?"
"I hope she kills him first."
The world was a blur as Ash ran, keeping Neil in her sights. That bastard...she'd make him pay. The sandy werewolf suddenly threw himself back towards her, knocking Ash off her feet. She crashed to the ground before getting to her feet, throwing herself at him, only to be tackled again. Ash sank her teeth into his leg, feeling his own canines in her neck. She struggled beneath him, and he headbutted her, slamming her head into the ground. Spots danced in front of her eyes and when he did it again, she was fighting just to remain conscious, slowly changing back into her human form.
Neil changed back as well, holding Ash down. "I made you, Ashelin. You always belonged to me...so don't you ever forget that." Just as Ash felt him violate her, her head was slammed into the ground again and the darkness overtook her.
Erik stepped out of his car, looking down at his phone, as he texted Kristi, "Babe, I'm headin to your building now. You there?"
The vampire replied, "No. But I will be soon. Wait for me."
"Erik?" Neil asked, from where he was sitting on top of the blonde's car.
At the sound of his name, he turned around. "Hey! What the hell are you doing on my car?"
"I am merely sitting on it."
"Yeah, but it's my car. Get off!"
"Someone sounds a little selfish," Neil said, but he slid off the car, extending his hand to the blonde. "Perhaps you are familiar with Ashelin Valente? Your girlfriend's roommate?"
"What about her?" He eyed the man's hand. "I'm not friends with her at all, so if you're looking for her, don't ask me."
"Oh, I already found her. She and I...we are of the same species, if you know what I mean." He grinned. "Your girlfriend on the other hand...she is quite the woman to look at...even if I am to be forced to kill her."
The blonde's fist tightened. "Don't you dare touch Kristi."
"Oh? And what will you do? Punch me? Go ahead. I dare you."
"Don't act so cocky, asshole!" Erik swung his fist at the man.
Neil caught his fist, bending his wrist back and snapping it. "I did give you fair warning," he said, forcing Erik to his knees. "If I am forced to use you to flush the vampire out...then so be it."
The blonde shouted out in pain, grimacing. "...you...bastard...you'll pay...for this..."
"It amazes me how you humans are so convinced you'll win when you are clearly losing. I'll tell you something: there is no saving grace for you. You will die at my hands...and then I will kill your girlfriend." Neil kicked him in the stomach, twisting his arm and breaking that as well. He changed forms before he began to maul the blonde, severing his vocal chords. Neil would have killed him, but the sudden scent of death reached him and he paused, changing back. The human would die from blood loss anyway. Neil fled the scene, leaving Erik behind.
When Kristi got closer to her building, the smell of blood hit her hard. Immediately recognizing it as Erik's, she ran to him. "Nonono! That bastard!" The blonde picked him up, quickly taking him up to her room and setting him on her bed. She gently stroked his blonde hair, bloody tears streaming down her face. "Erik...Erik, darling, look at me." She cupped his cheeks so he could weakly look up at her. "We've talked about it, but I need to know that you're sure about this..." A gurgling sound escaped Erik's throat, but he managed to give her a tiny nod. Kristi used her fangs to gash open her wrist, holding the wound over her boyfriend's mouth.
The blonde sat there on the side of the bed, quickly growing weaker as Erik grew stronger. Her blood had started to take effect. When his fangs started to emerge for the first time, Erik left her wrist, pinning the blonde down and biting her neck to get more of her blood. He tore off her clothes and the remnants of his own, thrusting himself into her.
Kristi gave a small cry, not really in pain, but she wasn't expecting it and was too weak to enjoy herself as her boyfriend built his own pleasure higher. After Erik climaxed, he collapsed next to the blonde. He turned Kristi's head to look at her, his eyes flashing a metallic green. "You're mine. Forever..." Kristi's eyes drooped shut, as she was overtaken by blackness.
Ash awoke to the feeling of someone sniffing her hair. She looked up weakly to see a blonde werewolf was a culprit, and she let out a cry, her mind telling her it was Neil. The werewolf yelped, changing back into a human. "Damn it, Ash!"
The brunette sat up, recognizing that it wasn't Neil. "Reid?"
"Who did you think I was?" the blonde asked, pouncing on her.
The two rolled around a few times, before Ash pushed him away, laughing. "What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up.
"I heard Neil was looking for you, and I wanted to make sure you were all right."
Ash sighed. "I'm alive, if that means anything." She looked at her friend, the only one who had stood by her since the beginning. "Reid...have you seen him?"
"Not recently. He...he got you again, didn't he?"
"Yeah..."
Reid took her hand. "I know you want to go after him...but you need to rest first."
"How can I? What if he goes after Kristi?"
"Who?"
"Just...nevermind. I need to find him."
"And we will...but first you need to recover. And we need to figure out how to play his game."
Reviews are always welcome. Comments, suggestions, anything really, are helpful and nice :)
