Faline

A sound comes from me that I've never made or heard before, succeeding to embarrass the hell out of me that it even came out. My eyes widen as I clap my hands over my mouth, my face flaming red from the massive amount of blood in me. All the animals laugh at me.

I wanna die. Actually, cancel that, already did that today.

"Someone know what the hell that was, 'cause I sure as hell don't, and it better never happen again."

The way they're all laughing, I figure they know what it is. Orion having a big ass goofy grin lets me know he knows what happened, so I glare at him as if he made me do it. Probably did.

"Wanna explain to me why whenever you come around, something twerky happens?"

"Part of my charm it seems. Never happens to anyone else. You're just weird."

"Ha! You made a funny."

I throw a cabbage at him. It isn't a shrubbery, but it works. He catches it with no problem. Maybe I should find something shiny...

An evil grin crosses my face before I start laughing. He and the others look at me as if I've sprouted a new head. I try to get it out, but have to stop and bend over. Lifting a hand to tell 'em to give me a second.

After a few more minutes of cracking myself up, I can finally get it out.

"Oh my God. That was great. I threw a round object at you, yes? I was thinking since you didn't react, I had to make it something shiny..."

I get so far and start in again, but none of them have caught on yet. I actually giggle.

"The latest shiny thing I've seen lately, I thought to myself that it looked like a disco ball - Madaline's face. I need to toss her glitter coveredness at you, that'll learn you."

They all finally get it and laugh with me. Not as hard as I am, but no one finds me as hilarious as I do. Retrieving my cabbage, I rinse it and toss it back into the fridge.

"No one answered my question. Time?"

After finally getting told it's around dinner time, I can actually start figuring out what to make.

"Kerry? Do we have any shrimps?"

She stops and looks at me. Blink blink.

"Shrimps?"

Oh. Whoops.

"Shrimp. Do we have any shrimp?"

She nods, lips raising in a smile. Right now she's working on making different flavored puddings.

I miss pudding.

Shrimp in pasta, breaded and fried mushrooms, and deviled eggs sound good. I groan, swinging to look at Orion who's looking at me with a raised brow.

"I miss food."

He smiles, nodding his head in mock sympathy. The tall ass man had pulled over a stool and is sitting on it at the end of my counter. It drops him down several inches, but he's still tall.

I glare at his legs, which are encased in tight jeans, paired with boots and a tucked-in blue t-shirt topping it all off. I glare harder.

"You're gonna set me on fire if you keep glaring like that. Face might get stuck too, then what are you going to do?"

"Be a short cranky wench like I am now. How tall are you again? I swear you have stilts. And you suck for having clothes."

He blinks at me till I think how that came out and the assumption.

"Err...Dammit. Not like that. I miss real clothes. You are wearing real clothes."

Orion starts roaring in laughter. Standing there in my apron-covered hippi-Vamp couture, I cross my arms and tap my foot. Reaching into one of the drawers on the main counters, I pull out the aluminum foil. Unravel, shear off, ball up, then toss right at his big head. Again, it's caught easily. Slows his deep laugh though, so I guess it's a start.

I get two huge pots of boiling water going and my sauce started up while waiting on him to collect himself. He still hasn't answered any of my questions.

I stop and think for a moment. Has he ever answered anything I've asked? I can't remember. My sauce is gone back to, but I rewind through everything and still don't recall.

"Anyone gonna tell me what that noise was? That wasn't normal."

Orion and the crew grin. The three canines have smirks while all the felines conspire with their eyes. Someone finally answers me though.

"Most felines will make a noise like that when they get very excited about something. Humans will get a high pitched squeal, whereas felines, of all races it seems, make that...caterwaul."

I gape at the lion as he actually relays information. Not too happy about said info, but I did ask. Scrunching my nose, I go back to my massive pot of sauce that I start stirring vigorously.

Recalling him saying he would get more detail of a prophecy and anything on my sister, I get closer to him. I do it casually, so I think he knows what I'm doing. Looking to him though, he shakes his head, looking frustrated.

At first I thought it was directed at me, but then he whispers that everyone is being super closed-mouthed about things nowadays.

"By the way, heard you died. Glad to see it wasn't true."

My eyes slide away first before I go over to Kerry and ask her to taste the thick mix. She approves, so I have it on warm while I dump noodles into one pot of readied water. He clears his throat and I wince.

Know I have to go back to him, since I have to find out how he heard of it, yet I don't want to. Sighing, my feet take me closer. Have to get the eggs anyway.

"Tell me."

I wince again at his tone, hating that a friend is using it on me. He reaches out, fingertips touching on my arm before he pulls away.

"You're warm."

Nodding, I keep my head down. All the souped-up blood in me, I'm very warm for a Vampire. Could almost say feverish. My voice goes low and thready when I finally reply.

"I did die, kind of."

Not satisfied, he motions to keep going.

"The Big Who-Hah got a little overzealous with a punishment, either not realizing or not caring that I hadn't fed for some time and her repeated taking from me wasn't being replenished. She drained me damn near dry."

Tears burn at the back of my eyes as I recall how she acted. The woman had said before when she first took from me, that she would beat me down. She was right.

When I glance up at the lion, his eyes are furious. I just shake my head and give him a weak smile, not wanting to cause any more trouble. I suddenly remember Danica and the human who tried to take her. My spine stiffens and I can feel my features darken as I look up to his face.

"What happened with the human? She said he sang like a little bird after awhile, but I'm not trusting her word on much these days."

Orion nods, his fury turning to another subject, and hopefully stays off me. His black eyes do look at me weird, so I know something is coming.

"He did indeed. Admitted everything you had already told us. Don't think any of us believed you at first, just making up an excuse to torture someone."

I exclaim heatedly, having to lay my head on the counter.

"Why does everyone think that of me? Do I really come off as someone who would hurt another without reason? Here I am, thinking I have friends in this place, only to find out that each one thinks me to be the same as everyone else here; a heartless, cold, dead, thing."

I can feel the others in the kitchen, feel them actually hunching in on themselves, but I can't find it in myself to feel guilty when we all know it's true.

"I am sorry Hellcat, but you have to look at things from our point of view. You're new to this world, everyone here isn't and knows very intimately that it isn't warm and fluffy. None of us have come across a Vampire like you. Many may start out the way you are, but that changes over time."

I lift my head and glare right at him, stepping as close as I can to his body folded in the stool, anger in my features.

"Then I hope to God that if I ever turn out like that, someone will toss my ass out into the sun. I would rather die, would rather burn alive, then become like anyone here."

The whole room goes quiet. It had been before, but you could still hear snippets from across the room. Now, everyone is dead silent. Seems I did say it kind of loud. Oh well.

Every Were, Shifter, human, and Vampire within range hears me. A clapping comes in from the hallway to my right. Can already tell who it is before she comes in. Good, I could use someone to take my frustrations out on.

"Bravo, bravo. The 'Kitten' has teeth after all."

I sneer at her, gold eyes flashing as my body tingles with adrenaline, the need to move.

"I think I've already shown you those teeth, Madaline, seeing as how it was my teeth that skinned your little bobbed tail. How'd that heal by the way?"

Her blue eyes glitter at me. Vampires come up around her, at first I think they're joining with her, but then see them surrounding her in a loose circle. Four males and one female, all blocking her path from me.

She looks at them in surprise then disgust, fairly spitting at them.

"You will side with that over one of your own? Is she sleeping with everyone then? Even you Patrice?"

I'm surprised too, to be honest, especially with what I'd proclaimed not two minutes before. Does she seriously think I've been sleeping around? Jeebus. All the ones I can see the faces of, smirk at the flamboyant female, who's yet again wearing something ridiculous.

Today's colors are blue and teal with a peacock theme. Literally, a peacock. Looks like she plucked the poor bird, glued its feathers onto some colored silk, and called it a day. I take that back, I don't see her doing it, she'd make someone else get their hands dirty.

Might actually be pretty, if someone else were to wear it. The bodice sides are teal-striped silk edged in blue with the feathers framing the center of her body. They're what makes up the front of the top, holding her in it. Can't tell about the back. The short skirt is flared out with more feathers, the eyes the same colors as the silks making up the frame of the outfit.

Pale shoulders are left bare, stockings with garters are worn with another pair of heeled stilettos. Could kill someone with those things, they being at least five inches. The matching colored gloves go to her upper arms, and some weird thing is stuck to the side of her head with the same kind of netting as her stockings, it also has tall feathers waving around.

She could pass as one of those burlesque women, just a shoddy one instead of pretty and alluring. Blinking with unamused eyes, I look around the room at the faces who are facing either her or me. Raising an eyebrow, my eyes get directed to the female Vamp she called Patrice.

"Patrice is it? Am I sleeping with you? Was I a good lay? I must have been drunk, 'cause I don't recall sleeping with anyone here. Oh, wait, yes I have."

I get more eyes looking at me as Madaline looks smug.

"A few days ago when I had been feeling like shit, I had awoken with Kerry and Maii. We were all in animal form and curled up in the middle of the bed. So yeah, I have 'slept' with somebody, but I have not been screwing everything in sight, like I imagine you've been doing."

The Vampires around her start snickering, guess they agree. Wow, burn. Patrice had been smirking when I had talked directly to her, it became a grin as I continued on. The look on Madaline's face is murderous.

Stepping off to the side so my counters aren't in front of me, I start bouncing from foot to foot, taking up that boxing pose where you motion the opponent to come at you in a daring matter. I'm sure I look quite ridiculous myself in my apron-covered emo-hippie-ness, but not as much as she does. My whole barefoot, barely five-foot frame egging on someone who is almost six feet in her heels, and looking like a raging peacock bull.

"Come on Maddy, I've had a really rough day, and would love to take it out on someone who's so deserving of it. And here I was, saying that I wouldn't hurt another just for the sake of it. But for you babe, I think I shall make an exception and doubt anyone here would fault me for it."

She tries to come closer but is stopped by the surrounding Vamps who are either laughing or eager in wanting to see bloodshed. All of the slaves have moved out of the way, not necessarily leaving, but making a wider space by hugging the walls. Orion is still on his stool, shaking his head, expressions going between exasperation and great amusement.

The whole kitchen crew has found their spines somewhere and spread out behind me, bracing themselves, even Maii. Don't know what they plan on doing since they're all subby, but the attempt is warming, I guess. Orion gives them all a look of warning to back off, but they look to me before they do.

Nodding for them to relax, given they're supernaturals, they're not in a position to be fighting here. Madaline, who'd seen them backing me, had stopped trying to move forward. Even the other Vamps have a look of surprise as they look over those who are looking over me.

Apparently, it's uncommon for a Vampire to be protected by the submissives here unless they're ordered, and there was clearly no ordering going on other than to back off. When Madaline makes another attempt at coming closer, Orion stands and crosses his arms. Everyone needs to back off, this is my fight, dammit.

"Oi."

He just shakes his head with a grin, so I stop my bouncing and cross my own arms. My standing up to an almost seven-foot barrel-chested male looks for all the world, like a petulant child with an adult who just told them 'no'.

"Ruining my fun."

"Do you have to get into a fight every time you're in here?"