If you haven't already, check out Fang High Academy by ROLF-Wolf-Of-Thunder.
Jade took a moment to scent the air, easily detecting the handful of vampires inside the broken down building. Scouting missions told them their numbers were growing. It was a good place to hide, close, so that they could attack then hide again should they fight back until the sun rose. It provided good shelter so that they could try another attack. She and Tori were sent to clear them out of the building. It wasn't a big group but it wasn't small either. To avoid placing any human in danger, they wanted to try out a tag team between hybrid and vampire to see how they worked together. After the display the day they found Tori, it was a possibility they would work well together. From how they interacted during training Tori felt that their enemies would be hard pressed to ever win a fight against them. Jade was reluctant to agree but it was too apparent not to see.
"Do you want to just bust in and kick ass or do you have a plan?" Tori questioned. Jade quirked a brow at Tori's use of a curse word and smirked.
"Just plain old ass kicking," she replied. Tori cracked her knuckles and then let her teeth as well as nails sharpen. Her eyes flashed gold in the dark.
"Show off," Jade remarked yet couldn't hold back a half smile. Tori took the lead and kicked in the crooked door, sending the pieces flying across the floor. Her nose rose to the air and tracked down their targets further in. Jade followed close behind, watching the hybrid's back for any sign of movement. There were no signs of a threat until they had advanced three rooms deep. The building looked like it could have been a type of restaurant/bar but she wasn't sure. A snarl made both of them tense, back to back. A shiver ran down Tori's spine when she came in contact with Jade's cool body. Whether it was a negative or positive reaction she wasn't sure. It took a back seat to the sudden appearance of their enemies surrounding them. She growled and Jade hissed when a vampire got too close. Another lunged at Jade but Tori was quick to send it flying through a wall. Jade quickly took down another going for Tori's back with a shot to the head and then all hell broke loose when the rest descended on them.
"We need a plan!" Jade screamed over a vampire's shriek when she broke in a leg and then kicked it away. Tori nodded.
"Follow me!" she shouted, knocking another back and then darting out of the room they were in. The ten vampires left were hot on their tails. Jade had no idea where Tori was going or what she had planned but trusted her enough to know what she was doing. Tori skid into a hallway that looked to be an exit out the back of the building but it was blocked when she pushed on it.
"That was your daring plan?!" Jade shouted at her.
"No, just hold on!" Tori demanded, checking the two other doors on either side of them that looked to be bathrooms.
"Tori…" Jade intoned gravely, looking to the group of vampires advancing on them. Tori tossed something down the hall towards them and then tackled Jade into one of the bathrooms. She fell through the door, which swung shut, and stumbled back to hit the counter of the sink with her back. Tori fell against her, hands braced on the counter on either side of her, their noses brushing. Her breath caught and Jade's eyes locked with hers. The moment would have been awkward if it hadn't been for the massive explosion outside that shook the unstable structure. Tori yanked Jade against her to shield her against the pieces of debris falling from the ceiling.
"Fuck Vega, what did you do?" Jade inquired, too busy questioning Tori to fight her protective hold on her.
"I had to test out the new grenades Robbie made," she answered. Jade pushed her away and walked over to peek out the door. The room full of vampires was now a bloody mess of shrapnel impaled, blown apart, bodies.
"You can tell him it was highly effective," she mentioned, moving so that Tori could see.
"Whoa," she gasped. Jade glanced at her, wanting to question her actions now that the danger had passed, but Tori must have sensed her curiosity because she quickly looked for some way to escape the moment. She didn't know why she did it, just that she did. She sized up the blocked exit before taking a deep breath then throwing herself against it, her small frame busting it open. Wood splintered and flew. It had been boarded shut from the outside.
"Shit!" Tori cried out, holding her shoulder. Jade rolled her eyes, deciding on dropping the questions, then walked out to see what happened.
"You didn't lean into it enough, did you?" she asked, carefully touching Tori's injured shoulder. She cringed and stepped away automatically. Jade calmed her with a glance and then rubbed her palm over her shoulder blade again. The cool skin of her hand soothed the burning pain.
"Take a deep breath and then relax. Let it out slowly," she coached softly. Tori wanted to marvel at the tone but was in too much pain at the moment so she did as she was told. When she exhaled, Jade swiftly popped her arm back into alignment. She let out a snarl of pain and flinched, but as soon as the pain came, it left. Jade kept her hands in place, waiting out the tremor running through Tori's frame. She rubbed at her shoulder until the hybrid relaxed.
"You ok?" she questioned. Tori nodded.
"Yeah, thanks," she replied. Jade slapped her back.
"No problem," she said with a smirk, knowing she was inflicting minor pain to make up for her gentle behavior. Tori knew it too but didn't address it. She just rolled her eyes and rubbed at her shoulder.
"So, mission accomplished?" she asked, rolling her shoulder now. Jade looked back at the slaughter house they left behind then nodded.
"Let's head back," she said, brushing past Tori to lead the way. She took them back to the front of the building before stopping and looking over at Tori who stood there puzzled.
"The map," she reminded her. Tori jumped to attention and pulled it out before reorienting herself then setting out in a fast paced stride.
"We make a great team, huh?" she mentioned, looking up from the map to properly take the right turn before looking over at Jade.
"Sure," she agreed easily, if only to keep the bright girl from bringing it up again.
"I've been thinking…" Tori began.
"Good, you wouldn't want that brain of yours to get dusty. Especially after you spent, how long was it, twenty-something years as a popsicle?" Jade cut in, playful for once. Tori frowned and put her hands on her hips, fighting a smile in order to look offended. Really she was just happy to see the nicer side of Jade once more. It was a privilege most hadn't seen often.
"Are you done?" she checked. Jade cocked her head and her brows creased in mock thought.
"Mmm, yeah, sure," she replied with a nod.
"Ok then, I was thinking we should do this more often," Tori finished.
"You mean blow up vampires?" Jade teased.
"Ha, ha, no. I mean tag team. I'm sure not all outings need a big group," she corrected. Jade really did look thoughtful now.
"I suppose it wouldn't kill me. Or maybe it would if you don't watch my back properly," she responded in a light tone. Tori smiled at her.
"But don't think we're buddies now, Vega," Jade warned, a sharp edge to her voice again. Tori raised her hands to placate her.
"Of course not," she said, her smile widening. Jade scoffed and then began laughing when a gust of warm wind snatched the map from her raised hand. Tori scrambled to get it back, making herself look like a newly born pup in the process. How she was a vampire killing machine was beyond Jade sometimes. She scrambled over broken concrete and tripped on some rubble before catching the piece of paper by pouncing on it. She triumphantly gripped it in her hand before freezing, her nose picking up on a vampire right in front of her. She glanced up into a pair of eyes watching her from a hole underneath a precarious pile of rubble. She growled and the vampire crawled out, body emaciated and fangs bared at her. She had been too caught up in her opponent to see a second one getting ready to leap from above, but Jade saw both.
"Tori!" she warned, darting forward and knocking her aside just in time for both vampires to attack. They lunged at her, one tearing into her torso and the other immediately latched onto her neck. She cried out when both brought her down to the ground hard, her blood spilling freely for them to feed on. She grabbed the skinnier of the two by the neck and snapped it, shoving the body away, then reached for the other, but before she could, Tori was back on her feet to come to her aid. She tackled the vampire, slamming it into the ground and then tearing out its throat with a roar. Another tried to attack out of nowhere but she caught it by the neck mid jump and sent it flying into a window of a nearby building. Jade forced herself up onto her hands and knees but Tori was the one to get her on her feet. Her side was bleeding heavily and so was her neck but both were already healing. It was a good thing she had human blood today.
"You saved me," Tori told her, grateful. Jade held onto her tightly, using her solid body to stand up straight.
"It wouldn't have killed you had I let it attack you anyway," Jade replied, brushing her aside. She took two steps and stumbled. Tori caught her before she could fall.
"Hey, let me help you," she whispered, her lips awfully close to Jade's ear. She turned away but allowed Tori to prop her up again. She felt a little weak from blood loss, which made her hunger return, but once her injuries were healed she pushed away again.
"I'm fine," she stated gruffly. Tori made sure she could stand on her own before fully letting her go.
"Jade…" she began only for the vampire to shove at her halfheartedly.
"Shut up. I'm fine," Jade insisted. Tori eyed her a moment longer. Jade ignored her, slowly picking up the pace again. Tori decided to stay close just in case.
"You lost the map, didn't you?" Jade spoke up after a while. A look of realization crossed Tori's face.
"Dammit!" she swore. Jade chuckled.
"I like this influence I have on you," she taunted.
"You would," Tori responded.
"Hey, you aren't the human you used to be, ok? I'm only showing you what's been hidden, and maybe even released, when you became something else. Accepting it is the first step to controlling it," Jade told her, stumbling over a pothole.
"Fuck," she spat, glaring at it before carrying on.
"Jade? Are you ok?" Tori asked. Almost in answer, Jade suddenly swayed and then teetered towards the ground but Tori leaped forward to catch her. She gathered Jade in her arms and held her close. She had never seen Jade like this before. Unconscious, her face was relaxed. There was no scowl or frown; no judgmental tick of her eyebrow or jump of agitated muscle in her jaw. Her face was flawless. The only thing Tori didn't like about her like this was her silence, the stillness of her unresponsive body no longer moving. It made her feel like she really was gone. Her hold tightened on Jade as she looked around. She remembered where they were. She took off down the path, retracing her steps in reverse until she had made it back to Sanctuary. She knelt down next to the slab of concrete, pulled it aside, and then jumped in all without fully setting Jade down.
She only set her down once she was in the tunnel so that she could block it off, but now it was dark. She blindly searched for the torch fixed in the wall, planning to light it, go get help, then come back for Jade, but then discarded the plan. Instead, she embraced the wolf part of her, bringing it forth so that her eyes sharped in the dark, cutting through it. She picked Jade up and began heading down the right path. As she walked she felt Jade stir. Her eyes fluttered open, met golden yellow glowing above her, and reacted. She struck Tori in the face, nails digging in, and Tori dropped her from sheer shock. She had snarled her pain but knelt down to grab at Jade after she had fallen. Tori had to wrestle her down, coaxing her to relax with soothing words. She had her on her back, arms crossed over her chest, and straddling her waist until Jade seemed to come back around.
"Vega?" she mumbled, voice wavering.
"Yeah," she replied.
"Leave me here," Jade told her.
"Why?" she questioned.
"The hunger…I don't want to hurt anyone…" she panted, groaning when the familiar pains ached her stomach. She wanted to curl in on herself but Tori held her flat. The hybrid could feel her contracting muscles though and frowned in concern.
"I'll be right back," she promised. Jade nodded and Tori let her go. She curled up on her side instantly after Tori got up. She quickly ran the rest of the way, muscling aside the manhole and replacing it then running right to their apartment. She found the blood packet and then rushed right back out. She dodged everyone fluidly and ignored the questioning guards when she returned to the manhole. She dropped in and ordered them to cover it before running off again. She skid to a stop where she left Jade but she wasn't there. She considered checking the streets in case she had left but rethought the decision when she passed a different branch of the tunnel to see her leaning against the wall. She approached carefully, her senses warning her of danger. Jade sensed her too, and the blood she carried.
"Jade, it's just me," she called to her. Jade's dull gaze lifted to her golden yellow and it wrenched at her heart. She had thought she would see that same feral hunger like the vampires they encountered, but she had nothing to worry about. There was a reason Jade hadn't ever attacked a human in so many years. When she felt the hunger it wasn't instinct she listened to, it was her heart. She made sure her brother was the only thing in mind, to drown it out, to temper the monster waiting to strike. She tortured herself mentally until she was too sick to eat. It broke her down emotionally but also kept her from killing. Jade let out a pitiful sound and slid to the floor.
Tori rushed forward and crouched next to her. In her rush to erase the pain in her eyes she bit into the pack lightly and then lifted Jade's head gently by her chin so that she could press the barely flowing blood to her lips. At the first taste she took the blood from Tori and sunk her teeth into it, opening bigger holes so that it drained into her mouth at a steadier pace. Tori watched on at the efficient and quick way she sucked the pack dry then dropped it. She leaned back against the wall, focusing herself, before looking over at Tori. The red at her chin contrasted sharply with her pale skin. Tori silently reached out and wiped it away. They stared at each other a moment longer before Jade cleared her throat.
"Thanks," she whispered, barely audible. Tori nodded, averting her eyes as her body began to relax.
"No problem," she replied. Jade laughed without humor then smacked Tori in the shoulder.
"Not so useless after all," she remarked.
"Hey! I just stopped you from a blood induced rampage!" she shot back playfully, knowing an insult from Jade lacking any seriousness or anger meant she didn't mean it. Really it was her showing gratitude by way of insults to cover it up.
"Yeah, you did," Jade confirmed.
"And don't you forget it, Dracula," Tori teased, plopping down on the dusty ground next to her. This time Jade laughed genuinely and turned her head to look at Tori. The hybrid froze in place, enjoying the small half smile on Jade's lips. She was such an asshole, but Tori couldn't help admiring and looking up to the vampire that was supposed to be her enemy.
"You're staring," Jade told her, breaking eye contact. Tori pulled her gaze away with a cough.
"Um, sorry," she mumbled. Jade inhaled and then exhaled in a loud, dramatic, sigh.
"It's fine. I do that to people," she commented lazily, smirking when Tori became flustered. It was exactly what she wanted. She was too easy to rile up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded. Jade just smirked and pushed herself to her feet, slightly unsteady.
"Let's get back before we waste the night away sitting here. I'd like to get home before the sun comes up," she said, ignoring Tori's question. She huffed but got to her feet.
"Are you going to be ok?" she questioned tentatively, her fingers messing with the hem of her shirt. She needed to know for sure, even risking Jade's wrath, but to her surprise the vampire briefly brushed her hand and nodded.
"Yeah, I'll live," she replied. Before Tori could properly react to that, Jade snatched her by the wrist and led the way back to the manhole. Tori didn't bother pointing out that she was still capable of finding her own way. Jade's grip wasn't as tight as it usually was. With Jade facing forward, Tori was free to let the smile grace her lips. She could get used to spending more time with the irritable vampire. Walking across the colony to their apartment was interesting to say the least. Everyone stopped to stare at Jade's torn and bloody form. Tori just kept up a jaunty pace next to her, oblivious to it all. Jade took a quick moment to glance at her, wondering why she was suddenly so happy.
"Ugh, go shine your sunbeams somewhere else," she griped, scowling. And there was the Jade, Tori missed yet didn't.
"Too bad. You'll have to live with it now. Well, you already do," Tori responded.
"And I regret accepting every day," Jade drawled with no venom or malice beneath the words. It let Tori know that she didn't mean it. As much as Jade was playing dumb as to why Tori was acting the way she was, she actually was well aware why. She had been vulnerable and Tori took care of her without hesitation. Most days they barely even got along yet they both watched out for each other when needed. Tori was even kind enough to let her indulge in denying it. She wanted to hate the hybrid even more at this point but disliked the fact that she couldn't. Once they were home, Jade went to her room but stopped at the hallway.
"I really hate that I can't hate you like I did before, Vega," she said under her breath. Tori canted her head questionably but Jade left it at that, turning away to find a change of clothes and then clean up. Tori figured it was just another Jade way of saying that she didn't mind her around. She decided on getting something to eat and just relax, but by the time she could finally wind down, there was a knock at the door. Frowning and whining to herself, she got up to see who it was. Beck stood at the door, a serious expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" she questioned, stepping back to let him in.
"Where's Jade?" he answered with his own question.
"Shower by the sound of it. Why?" Tori replied.
"I need to talk to you guys; the whole group actually," he finally revealed.
"What's going on?" she inquired next. Beck was pacing now, fists clenched.
"Will it be alright if we all meet up here?" he continued, not answering her. Tori crossed her arms and leaned her weight on one leg.
"I don't know if Jade will say yes to that. She kinda had a rough night," she responded. Beck stopped to look at her, concerned. He wanted to ask what happened, however, he knew Jade enough not to, especially from another person. The best thing to do would be to let her share her own business if, and when, she wanted to.
"How about tomorrow?" he persisted.
"Honestly, I'm not the one you should be making plans with so I'd have to say I don't think Jade will say yes to that either," Tori told him truthfully.
"Say yes to what exactly?" Jade's voice questioned from the hall as she made her way over to them dressed in her rather revealing sleepwear. She was toweling her hair dry before folding the towel over her forearm to then toss back her damp black locks over her shoulder, getting it out of her face. Both Tori and Beck stared.
"Are you making plans without me?" Jade said, profound eyes on Tori who shifted under their heavy gaze.
"Actually, I was. Tori was on your side the whole time," Beck spoke up.
"Interesting," she mumbled, eyes still on Tori a moment longer before flicking to Beck.
"What's going on?" she asked him.
"We need to hold a meeting, preferably here. I need to talk to you guys," Beck shared. Jade's brows rose with interest.
"Fine. Around what time?" she questioned.
"I don't want it to be noticed so early morning when no one is busy," he answered.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, how early are we talkin'?" Tori interrupted. She'd barely have time to sleep.
"Aw, will the poor wolf have no time to get shut eye?" Jade spoke up, voice accented in a mocking way. Tori just narrowed her eyes at the smirking vampire.
"I'm so glad you're feeling better," she responded sarcastically. Jade's smirk just widened in accomplishment.
"How about around nine? So, yes?" Beck told them. Jade took a while to purposefully deliberate before shrugging a confirmation and turning away.
"Ok then, see you guys," he said in farewell.
"Nine a.m., right?" Tori made sure.
"No, nine p.m.," Jade sarcastically commented. Beck offered Tori an apologetic smile and a shrug before heading for the door.
"I'm used to it by now," she muttered, to which Beck laughed on his way out. Tori headed for her room, seeing as Jade was already in her own with the door shut. Tori knocked on it twice as a sort of good night then walked away to clean up before bed. The second her head hit the pillow she was asleep.