Judy had to admit she was content with her situation. As awkward as it was for her to visit someone just for cuddles, it did have its perks. Beast was happier than Judy had ever seen her and once she'd gotten over the awkwardness, she found she enjoyed his company, more or less. He was sarcastic and a bit rude, but he had experienced a huge number of things she'd only ever read about.

Every evening for the first two weeks after finding the vampire, she found herself dragged to his little hollow in the woods by Beast. She still had her usual patrols and checks to perform, but she made sure to visit the fox's hollow at least once a night. The one evening she had suggested otherwise, Beast had thrown a tantrum and flatly refused to do anything. Being the one in charge, She had control. Judy had tried to reason with Her for over an hour before realizing it would be faster just to give in. Once she did, Beast had sprinted to Nick like a shot and cuddled him viciously.

That had been awkward. That wasn't to say that Judy didn't find it amusing. For as cool and collected as Nick acted, he was stripped of any dignity as soon as Beast got her paws on him. Being treated like a stuffed toy was hardly conducive to the persona he liked to present, after all. Judy learned that the day after her first encounter.

Judy had woken early and guzzled coffee until she felt mildly functional. Then, she attended to her chores and gotten through classes as quickly as she could. Her bus ride home was made with another carafe of coffee under her belt and she tossed together possibly the most half-baked paper she had ever written as soon as she got home. All this impatience was due to Beast and the constant pestering to get back to Nick.

After all the years she had possessed her alter ego, Judy had thought she understood Beast well. Now, she was completely at a loss. The reason she had skirted the bare minimum of her responsibilities for the day and was foregoing her usual nap was because she and Beast needed to talk.

Once inside the confines of the forest Judy relaxed. Few mammals came there other than her and the sun was only a sliver on the horizon. She settled on a rock and forced her mind to calm. To anyone outside her family, she would look like she was meditating, or communing with nature, or something. In reality, she was just talking to herself.

Alright, Beast. What's going on?

Nothing. We go?

Don't give me that. The vampire!

Yes. We go?

No. You answer. Why didn't we kill him? Why did you stop us?

I'm curious about that myself.

Judy fell off the rock she was perched on. Vampiric telepathy. Of course. She'd heard of it, but that was all. This was the first time she'd experienced another mammal's mind touching her own. She felt intruded upon. Almost violated; certainly, from a privacy standpoint. She was going to thrash that blood drinking jerk when she saw him next and no mistake.

Of coursed all her plotting for immanent dismemberment of the vulpine variety were curtailed when Beast shouted in her head.

Dolly can hear me!

Judy found herself stuffed into the back seat as Beast took control and barreled through the woods. She was glad that Beast removed her clothes on the fly, before transforming. Bursting seams and ripping cloth was good in the movies, but nothing was as uncomfortable as seams digging into your flesh. She'd tried it once. Gnawing your way out of your clothes was not dignified. It was also expensive.

Nick's vague complaining and confusion echoed through her head, but she ignored it. She was too shaken by the utter joy Beast was experiencing along with a strange sense of expectation. It only got worse as she burst out of the underbrush and sighted the fox.

Judy heard "I'm not a-", before Beast had her arms clamped around him in a crushing hug. Then, it was "I'm a dolly! I am a dolly! I'm a dolly that needs air! Carrots! Let me breathe!"

I thought vampires didn't need to breathe.

Ugh... we don't. Mostly. Born vampires never experience breathing. I was turned. It's mostly psychosomatic, but I need to breathe for at least another four or five years. After that it'll be a habit I'll lose over time.

That got Beast to hold him up and they looked at him oddly. "A little of me is still mortal."

I've never heard of that. Don't you die or something and then come back?

Beast stuffed him back against her and trilled happily, to Judy's embarrassment. Switching between vocal and telepathic speech was confusing as all hell, but Beast was not giving up control.

In made for TV movies, yeah. Becoming a vampire is a lot like going through puberty, again. Only it lasts about a hundred years.

Eww...

Yeah. The whole "new urges" thing is fun, let me tell you. Suddenly having lust and hunger linked in your head is not at all comfortable. Getting turned on when your stomach growls is really weird for the first year or two.

That comment gave even Beast pause and that allowed Judy to negotiate a quick swap of control. Even Beast wanted to hear more and not mentally.

"Oh, another thing," Nick continued aloud once Judy was changed back to bunny form and he was released. "We don't spend the first decade of life as vampires as slavering blood junkies. It's mostly a series of adjustments. Not fun ones."

"Like what?"

"Food doesn't satisfy, or taste the same. I can eat as much as I like, but it won't nourish me. The most it'll do is give me a belly ache. Beautiful, sunny summer days are horrible. Everything smells weird for a long time. The synesthesia thing sucks getting used to, too, until you figure out how to control it. Ever hear a smell? Not a fun experience at first."

"Wait. Synesthesia? As in linked senses? Hearing colors and all that?"

"Yeup. My first experience with that was in the hold of a fishing boat. I'll let you imagine..."

"I think I'll pass."

"Hmm..."

"So, why did you do it?"

"Because I loved my family. My dad died when I was in diapers. My mom raised me until I was ten. Then, she got sick. I went to live with an old friend of hers after she died. He was a vampire. They became my new family."

Now, this was unexpected. Candor and honesty from a night-stalking blood sucker? Possibly the last thing she had ever expected. As odd as it sounded, she wanted to know more.

"So, what's it like?"

"Annoying, so far. A fledgling vampire is basically a mortal with some allergies and dietary restrictions. The powers rarely come in fully, at first. It'll take about a century for a fledgling like me to get to where my sister was born. Supposedly, on the 100th anniversary of my turning, my powers will come to me, but that may just be a story they tell fledglings to help them endure the change."

"You sound sad. Do you regret being turned?"

"No. It's just hard finding out that really being a part of the family is a hundred years off. I still have 79 years and eight months to go and that's assuming I get my full powers on my century. What about you, Carrots? Ever regret being a lycanthrope?"

She was surprised at the question. It wasn't something she really thought about much. She didn't see the point. However, she did feel a touch of empathy for her trespasser turned guest. A little reciprocation was in order.

"I can't say I do. It's lonely sometimes, but I always have my Beast with me."

"Convenient. You always have company with you."

"Sort of. I love her and she's a part of me, but it wasn't always so easy. I ascended young. That means I didn't have much of a childhood."

"Really?"

"Yup! Once my parents were sure I wasn't in danger of being overwhelmed by Her, I became a full clan member. I've been doing patrols and protecting my family's lands since I was eleven."

"So, no sleepovers, or prom? Boyfriends?"

"If I could fit them in. Wasn't often. It's hard to find a boyfriend when you have no free time after sunset. Harder to sneak one into your room when you live in the Barracks with all the other Werebuns."

"Ouch."

They shared a small laugh that evening. It was one of several surprises. They chatted the evening away as Nick accompanied her on patrol. At the end of the night Judy offered a meal, as agreed and Nick accepted, but only took a small sip. When Judy asked why, Nick joked about her being too rich a meal. Apparently, he'd suffered a bellyache for most of the daylight hours and barely slept at all.

From that night on, they settled into a routine. Most nights, either she would collect him, or he would find her in the forest and they'd patrol together. At the end of the night, he would feed from her in Beast form and they'd go their separate ways. It wasn't every night. Sometimes they'd meet up just for his meal and a little conversation, but most evenings were spent in one another's company. It was not trusting at first, this little acquaintanceship they had formed. Over the passing weeks, they became more comfortable with each other and, with Beast's encouragement, an unlikely friendship of sorts grew.

That little meeting of the minds was weeks ago, now, and Judy had shed her distrust for the most part. She appreciated her new friend for both how different he was and how similar. Yes, he was a vampire and came from the city, but he was also very much an outlier. Not really at home with his family. Few friends. Not many mammals he trusted, or liked. Somehow, they worked nicely together. They were good company. Good enough, anyway, for her to tolerate several evenings in a row, each week, at least.

That was why she smelled like him when she came home so often. That scent in turn was what her mother had noticed, sparking the request she had made. That request was why Judy was nervously approaching the place she thought of as Foxhollow where Nick was staying, just after sunset. Seeing her companion of many evenings waiting for her, she suddenly felt a touch shy.

"Hey, Carrots. Ready to go?"

"Um, not yet. I have to ask you something, first."

"Really? What's that?"

"How would you feel about meeting my family?"