Kierra

The Vampire body next to me is decaying. Not the normal wet, smelly, eww decay, his body is drying out, caving in on itself, and falling to dust. It reminds me of what bodies do when revealed into an oxygen-rich area after being sealed for centuries. Instant decomposition. Just not so instant here. I crawl backward as deadman dust puffs up in the air. Well, I did want self-cleaning, right?

I sit a few feet away and watch as a man disintegrates into nothing in my front yard. His clothing doesn't, it just falls as his skeleton collapses in on itself. The whole process takes around ten minutes. Apparently this man's life equals to the sum of just ten minutes.

A small clink of metal is heard as the last pieces fall to ash. The glint of silver lays where his neck had been. Using the tree I had crawled back into, I make my way to my feet, hands digging into the rough texture.

There's no wind tonight to scatter anything, yet it seems to be slowly flying away, dissolving in the air. Vampires really do fall into nothing, not even the ash stays for identification. It may be harsh, but I can find no guilt for killing him. No remorse over taking a life. He was a threat to me and mine, so he had to go. I don't even know his name.

That part is what's sad I think. There are many who deserve to die with no name, but this one seemed really young. Walking carefully closer, I find the silver is a chain necklace, a small fang dangling from it.

Seeing it drags up a memory of another silver necklace I had seen, but haven't seen for the past several days. Asher's pendant. I'd caught glimpses of it over those first few days, but then it was gone. With all that had been going on, I never thought to ask where or what it even was.

I toe at the last few ash clumps, making them fall into nothing. My right arm is held over my middle as it continues to dribble a few drops here and there from his bite into it, undead creatures may be self-cleaning, but I, on the other hand, am not. Glancing around, I wonder if any of his blood has gone.

It takes me a while but I get my laundry into the house. The bloody mess of my front yard can wait till I get cleaned up. Better yet, after I sleep. Asher must have told Bastion what it was I had been fighting because he doesn't ask any questions.

Before I forget, I very painfully pull down my up to date animal encyclopedias for him, laying them on the couch before I go to the bathroom. I take first a very hot shower, then a cool one when I start feeling sick again.

Going to my room afterward to get dressed, my mind whirls on what the leech had said;

'Once I get rid of you, he will see me as an equal.'

'He' who? Someone wanting to be viewed as an equal, which probably means this 'he' is stronger. Looking over at the mirror on my closet door, I don't think I can do stronger. My ribs are busted, jaw had almost been dislocated, a chunk of meat in my forearm is gone, and my neck has been savaged.

Again.

I don't like going to a doctor for anything, so I keep lots of gauze and other first-aid crap. I'm extremely colorful in all my bruising, the black-eye had receded its swelling in the hot shower. Can see I'm already healing pretty fast.

Probably helps that I had eaten not that long before, so I still retained all that energy. That's how that stuff works, right? Eh, works for me, so I don't bother with any doctoring on myself.

Sweatpants and a thin t-shirt see me dressed. Since becoming what I now am, I've noticed my shape getting leaner. All that running I love doing on four feet is paying off I guess. Having loved running as a kid before puberty, that isn't too much of a shocker.

I pad barefoot back out to the main room. Bastion, my little savior, already has some of the leftover meatloaf heated up and waiting for me.

"Bastion, you're an angel."

He waffles his hands at me, his cheeks turning pink as he forks a reheated piece of his own into his mouth. I lower myself carefully into a chair. Asher has taken over half my couch since it was turned to face the kitchen instead of the T.V. that nobody watches.

Seems to have claimed one half of the 'L' shaped seat, and he's so big, his body length is even with the length of that leg. That end of the heavy piece is over six feet long, and he takes up all of it.

He lays there now with his ears perked high, eyes closed, I know he's aware of everything though. I whisper into his head asking if he would like something, I receive an image of him having hunted while we were at Ava's. A big fat rabbit was his dinner.

Thinking about it, when home, we're all either training, eating, or sleeping. Asher and I spend a lot of time in wolf form as he teaches me to wolf as well as how to fight as one. Since he can't go into his giant monster form, he can only give me direction for mine.

Bastion is either somewhere near us, with us, or in the house reading. I'll be having him stay in more since it's getting colder. Late autumn is turning into winter fast, and he's so tiny.

Asher rotates between staying inside on the couch at night, or out in the woods somewhere. After spending twenty-five years alone, being around people near constantly now probably gets to be chafing.

I must be thinking very loud, for I feel him in my head again. Either again or he never left, hard to tell.

"I don't mind Bastion's or your company. Helps that neither of you are very big talkers, so my ears aren't getting talked off."

His amusement is strangely comforting.

More often than not lately, I shift to wolf form when I sleep. I'd told Bastion he could have Faline's room for now, and he keeps his stuff in there, but he tends to sleep with me. We end up in the basement in the corner nest, Asher either being in his spot on the couch or outside. With all the emotional rollercoastering I've gone through today, as well as the past few days, I know I'll probably be sleeping as a wolf quite a lot. I yawn, which causes the boy to as well.

We clean up, Bastion having put all the food away earlier. Can't recall if I'd thanked him or not, so I do so. He smiles at me.

The basement door pretty much stays open now, I nibble at my bottom lip as I look at it, asking Bastion with my eyes and a head tilt if he would mind company. His smile this time is larger, looking over to Asher then to me, then my nodding. He imitates the motion as he goes to change clothes.

I follow after for my room but stop at my doorway. Safe distance I think and I can't see him from here, so it lowers that whole embarrassment factor. Asking him from there if he would like to join us tonight.

I can feel his surprise, his tentativeness. He's slept wrapped around Bastion before, but never next to me. There's no answer, and he pulls out of my head. I grimace, but go into my room and shut the door.

Not all the way, but enough to where once on paws I can scratch at it to get it open. I'm saddened by his withdrawal, but I understand it too. Tossing my clothes onto my bed, my body protests, yet I shift anyway. A lot of protesting there as well.

While in pain, I work on speeding up my change, seeing how fast I can go while battered and tired. Down from four minutes when I had first started, to two, so that's not bad. I need to do better though. I will do better.

My stomach does some flipping tricks as I settle onto four feet, core temperature rising a few degrees more.

No good.

I hurriedly scratch through my door, Bastion at the top of the basement steps, is waiting for me.

I rush to the front door, scratching at it frantically, whining. He opens it fast, letting me out to run and empty the contents of my belly. Good going down does not mean good coming up. In fact, the better it is going down, the worse it is when it returns for another round.

A wind has finally picked up, all traces of Vampire gone. Aside from the clothes, of course, they've stayed. Blood still decorates the trees too.

The cold air feels heavenly on my face. Lifting my nose into it, my eyes close. Turning my whole body so it's blowing right at me, thick fur takes away the chill from it, leaving the coolness to feather along my frame.

Bastion is at the opened door looking out, so I let him know I'm alright and that he can head down and I'll be there shortly. The screen door settles shut but the heavier door stays open. My peeking eyes close again.

Heating bill is gonna hate me, or love me, depending on which side you're on I guess. Just standing there, tail straight out but in a relaxed state, ears alert and feet braced, I keep my nose pointed into the wind. Need to head in, but I don't want to.

This is when having responsibilities sucks. I can't keep leaving the boy by himself, especially since it's clear someone wants me dead. So I take deep breaths instead, pulling them in and holding. Ribs protest, reminding me that even though I heal fast, it still takes a little more time.

The anatomy I now have affects my cold air intake, as my nose is designed to warm the air as it comes in. I counter it as much as I can, even opening my jaws to pull more in. My mouth tastes gross. Opening my eyes, I look around further into the trees, finding what I want.

I walk purposefully towards a patch of grass, dead and frostbitten. Perfect. After sniffing over it to make sure nothing overly gross has been on it, my tongue gets dragged over it.

The frost melts instantly but wets down the appendage running over it. Canines aren't exactly meant to spit, so I have to roll the moisture around then center it back on my tongue, then wipe it off on the dead foliage. Tada, wolfy mouthwash.

Tastes are enhanced, but to a canine's standards, not a human, so things that would taste like ass as a human, don't as a wolf. Same for smells, but you won't catch me rolling in it to collect it like normal animals do.

Feeling a little better, I go back in, able to push through the screen rather easily. The bigger door needs a little more oomph to close, a well placed back leg kick takes care of that. Let's hear it for supernatural strength.

Not paying attention to just how much I'm using, I slam it a little too hard. Whoops. Tigger had been on the cat tree but now takes off to hide again. Been doing a lot of that lately. I've already warned Asher if he eats my cat we're gonna have many harsh words, accompanied by teeth. Wolf or human, either way.

Ignoring said wolf who's still on the couch, I go down to my nest. Could say den, but 'nest' is more apropos. A small child waits patiently among the bedding that smells heavily of me, tufts of shed undercoat everywhere.

Yes, I shed. Not crazy heavy, but enough. Winter coat growing in an all.

Nuzzling his cheek with my nose as I lay down, it's too hot to curl up, so I just fold my feet under me. End up laying on my side though. Have to readjust the bedding a couple times.

Bastion is used to it, but he's getting cranky. Being tired will do that to you. Settling back down on my side, he lays behind me, his back pushed against mine. Sleep takes us fast, even as my belly is cramping and knotting up with uneasiness.