519 CHPT 519: The Rippers Reapings

"You…..THINK SHE NEEDS OUR HELP?!"

"Man WHAT?!"

"Why do you think a Vampiric Death God would be swayed by a call for help? HE IS AROUSED BY SUCH THINGS?? HELLO??! Did you want the bastard to get a hard-on?" Rupont's accent sharpened in the darkness as they all argued.

"Sorry, I'm not a fucking supernatural salesman."

"I mean come on, partner…. He was wearing a skirt of corpses. Literal damsels tied over his vamp junk."

"Cassidy whatever you just said never say it again." Ursula wrung out the Druidic Cloak on the bar floor in the darkness.

Water continued to leak off of everyone else's clothing as they stepped through the portal made by the Alpha WereWolf Sloane.

The only source of light was the suns rays reflecting off the bright blue waters below them. Claude would've shivered at the memory of what he felt within if he never met The Lord of the Herd. Bigger fish and all….. no pun intended.

After a few seconds the bar was full of Vampires, Lupines and WereWolves. Only this time they weren't split. They were jumbled and soaking wet from swimming through the waters below in a rush to get the hell out of The Isles of Indus.

It was safe to say the first meeting with other Vampire factions didn't go well.

Especially after Claude remembered Abis' words. Spoken from his crow form as a liquid whisper while Rupont spoke with the others.

"So did you lie to me….. or my father about who you are? Claude…. Or Dolion? You interest me more everyday…. I'll save our dance until next time."

"I don't need help, by the way." Maris commented out of nowhere as she held her hand up, magically pulling the moisture out of everyone's hair and clothing.

"Of course you do. And there's nothing wrong with that— but I understand the frustration" Ursula replied, "You can't do all this alone and expect cohesion…. Or even the smallest bit of safety. You need help. We are helping."

Maris played with her collected water sample, "But today didn't help any of us in anything."

"Well that was to be expected." Rupont butted in from behind the counter of the bar as he poured himself a cup of blood. The other Vampires joined him.

"Rakshasa Vampires aren't as direct and opinionated as our other closer related cousins. They enjoy disruption and treachery as much as what causes it." He held up his glass.

"[That explains—]"

"Which explains why Abis was perfectly fine with you lying to his father…. Also, did anyone else know those two twats were related?!?!?"

"[Damn he's good.]"

The Vampires mumbled to themselves in a quiet hum.

"Enough. Leave us." Rupont waved them off and they all exploded into blood colored smoke while others turned into sleek black cats and bounded off elsewhere.

All that remained was Adjua, Abina, the WereWolves and the Lupines…. Plus Maris.

"So what then?" Maris asked them.

Claude turned to face her, "Nothing. I wanted you to see the others— and get a chance to make a choice. You got to see the Rakshasa Vampires in their turf. Rupont got to run some ideas by Pacu Pati along the way. Tommorow we do it again."

"Oh we do?" Rupont questioned with a smile.

"Yea. We do….. if you don't mind, Sloane." Got to accommodate for the Alpha.

Sloane's strained long nosed face relaxed, "I don't. If I'm going to be changing her I'd like to be involved in the process beforehand."

"Yes— there you go, Sloane! Apply yourself! Become friends with her while you're at it!" Rupont scarfed down another cup of blood.

"Don't ask for too much, Rupont." Sloane headed to one of the back rooms with her betas.

Rupont shrugged. "What a day, huh? You were on the other side of the globe minutes ago... still amazes me. I feel like people don't realize how incredible that is. The power of a HexBlade is truly something else….. she's new to you know. Reborn no more than a year ago."

"A year in and she can't use her Element?"

"[Lack of proper training and Alpha responsibilities is all the makes sense. That or a mental blockage.]"

"Well, folks. I think it's high time we hit the hay. I'm sure people are beginning to question all of your whereabouts." Cassidy cut in.

"Right." Claude replied before facing Rupont in the dim blue bar.

Rupont nodded, "Don't mention it. You've got a lot to learn….. but you've also learned a lot. Share that knowledge with your people. You'll all need it and more….. we could change the world….Be patient Maris."

"I'm as patient as I need to be."

Rupont chuckled.

Claude turned and flanked his group as they exited.

***

The sun was setting. The air was hot— not in a suffocating sauna type way. In a way that said the sun was close. But so was the moon. He could feel the pull grow every night. He could hear the animals howl and scream at the stars. Madness was close.

Closer than usual on such a mundane night.

They entered Ra's Stadium. Ursula took Maris to their lodgings inside the Dug Out. Cassidy stuck close to Claude after he'd made a request mid-walk.

Which unfolded into Loba joining them as they traveled to the Infirmary.

Her sleek auburn fur was unseen as they stepped down the halls. Over the tile floors, illuminated by the magical blue railway line running the perimeter of the ceiling. Following the contours of digits representing time in Sunlandian form. The wall of windows showed the encroaching night. He was in the most dangerous part of the world, yet it looked so beautiful. The night sky tended to have that effect.

"Why only one this time?" Cassidy questioned through their mental link.

"She likes cats…"

They rounded a corner and found a name written on the patients door.

"Stella Rose Faline."

"I thought your classmates hated you?"

"They do…"

Claude sniffed at the door.

Loba did the same before looking up at Claude. Her lime green eyes glowed beyond her invisible form.

"Two inside."

Claude gently opened the door and they slipped inside.

It was a small room at the back of the Infirmary— quiet and away from vulturous reporters who'd use her mentally handicapped visage for sales at their companies back home. Or maybe they'd hidden her away to continue to glorify the event. Either way. There she was.

On a small bed at the center of the room. The waning moons light had just begun to crawl across the floor towards her through the windows on each side of her. Below them two couches were placed. Small. On the left side Conroy and Goren slept on eachother. Stress lines clear on their face in the moonlight. Their dreams were surely unpleasant. He'd been there.

He stepped in further. Taking in the smells of everyone who'd visited and left letters…. Flowers …. Stuffed animals.

Stella stirred in her bed. Sniffing. Reaching. Analyzing.

Claude took the right side silently not to wake the others. Cassidy joined him.

They stood over Stella.

She was... she was gone.

She watched the ceiling blankly, slack jawed and numb. Her hands dug into her bed— claws bitting deep into the fabrics as if she'd been hard at work on it all day. Bandages wrapped her head and arms to hold in the intravenous tubes and such but he could tell she'd been pulling them out anyway. It was all she could do.

Her blond hair lost its glow. Her brown eyes glossed over inhumanely. Her eyes looked like marbles. Like fakes. Her usually pink glossed lips were chapped and cracking. Fangs leaving small holes in them.

She looked feral and vegetative at the same time.

All because of Jack. Because he still wasn't put down…

"All this can happen after you lose a Companion?" Cassidy watched.

"Damn near anything can happen. Beast Tamer's risk to reward ratio is completely shot. You could be one of the most talented prospects of your class. If you lose your Companion you could lose your entire mind in a flash. You could do this weird post-mortem hybridization thing where your body and System try to make up for the loss by forcibly shifting you into a permanent Trait borrowing state based off your previous connections. Or you could die from shock." Claude explained.

"It seems Stella opted for option two…. Hot damn."

"Not like it was her choice."

Jack...

"You sure know a lot." Cassidy commented, "Naturally."

"My…. My dad wrote a paper on it once. He asked me to proofread."

"I can't help but feel like that's not why you bring it up now." Cassidy commented.

"Yea…. I remembered for another reason." Claude flicked his head towards Stella.

Silently Loba approached her, sniffing her digging hands before licking one. Stella froze. Intelligence slipped into her eyes if only for a second. She dug her fingers out of her torn mattress and reached for the unseen feline.

Silently, he grabbed her gently and scooted her over. She'd already lost a ton of weight. Picking her frail body up made him sick.

Loba hopped up onto the bed beside her. She wasn't the nicest feline…. To others at least. A lot like Maris in some ways. A lot like Ursula in her elder sisterly manner with younger canid species. Claude stayed firm in her mind as Stella recognized a fellow Feline and began pulling at the skin of her nape and smelling her ears like a fascinated and sensory deprived child.

"I'm terrified Cassidy." Claude relented. "I'm not just a Lupine. I'm a Beast Tamer. My source of power is so fragile... so easily lost in our world. It can happen so fast... it's crazy. One wrong move. One bad day against a fucking murderous scumbag and Stella's gone. Just her. What happens if I'm gone? What happens to all of you? ...Would I be so wrong to fight against my fate?" His jaws itched suddenly. His fingers burned. His muscles tightened and he grew in the dark room. Ever so slightly…..

Stella cried silently as she held Loba.

"What are you talking about exactly, partner?" The hooded bounty hunter questioned

Claude sighed and every slight physical change reversed in the bizarre moment.

"I'm not entirely sure."

Cassidy nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Fear does that to the mind. I don't have anything quirky or insightful to say like the Gardener, but I can tell you this. You have a way to change your fate. You don't gotta tip toe with me, wolfboy. I'm set in my morals and understandings. I think you are too— you just need to rip off them training wheels."

Claude glanced at Cassidy.

All he could see was Cassidy's wolffish grin beneath the shadows of his hood.

"But anyway, we crashing here tonight? If so I'm taking the couch. And I'm not resting on your shoulder like sleeping beauty over there with the Elemental Mage. You ain't my type."

Claude nodded. "I'll stand here for a while. I'm thinking."

Cassidy nodded and the two bumped knuckles before he silently took the couch.