Morning. Or, rather, evening. Esper James awakens with eyes bleary, makeup smeared, and mouth dry. It takes her a few moments to even look around and see where she is: a comfortable but compact bedroom, with a large closet on one side, an expansive bed (which she currently laid in), and a notable chest of drawers amongst the rest of the common furnishings. To her right an indent in the bed spoke of a partner that had vacated not so long ago, barely-lingering warmth and saccharine perfume hanging about the sheets like a memory. Puri.

EJ’s instincts kicked from weary comfort to fear in an instant. Where was she? What time was it? What day? Had Puri taken her here? Other questions better left unsaid were assuaged with a quick check of her body - her underwear was untouched, the borrowed pajamas without ruffle or crease, and her dignity wholly intact so far as she could tell. A deep breath assisted in the steadying of her nerves, her hands going up to rub at groggy and dried eyes. She felt like shit. She’d slept horribly and fitfully, despite how comfortable the satin pjs and soft bedsheets were, and her whole body had the lingering desiccation of a night drinking with no water.

She swung her legs out from beneath the covers and dropped them to the plush carpet, taking a better look around. Grey synth-wood paneling trimmed with gold embellishment made up the walls, with the floor taking a comforting cream shag approach and the ceiling returning to faux gold plating in art deco style. A computer desk was set up in the corner, expensive-looking PC set atop it with a tripod tucked beneath. The desk is surprisingly clean, save for a pair of headphones designed to resemble animal ears. Cute, if you like that sort of thing. The rest of the room is quite sparse, strikingly so, and not much additional can be gleaned from it.

Footsteps pace casually towards the door, and EJ quickly hops back into bed - feigning sleep but keeping as alert as she can be, ready for some perceived impending threat. The plain black door to the bedroom opens, and there stands Puri: plate of bacon and sausage in one hand, door handle in the other, wearing a sheer ebony nightie that would have made Esper James’ eyes pop if they were able to see the other woman. Puri smiles gently and tuts to herself, padding over to the bed and sitting on her side of it, free hand covering herself once more. She gently shook EJ’s shoulder, trying to ‘wake’ her.

“Heyyyyy, sleepy-head… Wake up! Come on, it’s one PM, time for breakfast! It’s Saturday, I hope you don’t have work or something… Come on, I washed your clothes for you and everything. Open those eyesss…” EJ’s eyes opened as requested, slowly and warily, until she caught sight of Puri and the food. Her stomach rumbled beneath the covers, and she couldn’t deny her meat-hunger anymore. She reached for the food and was obliged by Puri, who passed it off with a kind smirk. EJ’s hostess was free of the makeup and cosmetics she had worn last night, but looking at her now, she was still lovely - a comforting, feminine figure who had kept her safe from harm, took her in, and now fed her. The ghoulette’s heart panged for a moment despite herself, eyes lingering on her perfect smile, teeth normal and white and human.

“Ah… Thank you. I’m, uh, a bit f-fucked up from last night. Could you get me some water, too?” EJ rasped the words out from a barren throat, weary eyes wincing at how shit she sounded. Puri simply laughed and nodded, leaning forwards to peck EJ’s forehead, and - before EJ could even react, the blood still rushing to her cheeks in a blush - slipping out of bed. She walked away while the ghoul’s mouth tried to form a response, settling upon closing with a bit lower lip.

It was different than when Judas did it. Judas was sadistic. Controlling. Teasing. Dominating. Her vampiric nature was poured into everything she did, draining the life and energy and joy from all around her in a way only describable as addictive. She used her gifts to work EJ up and drop her back down, keeping her close only to cast her away again. But touching Puri had been… normal. There was no rush of unnatural pheromones, no intense physical reaction, no addictive undertones - instead, her lips were soft and plump and left a lingering imprint of warmth on EJ’s cool skin. She had smelled like last night’s perfume, and had made the wayward little secretary feel comforted, not endangered. It had felt good.

Bacon and sausage drained into EJ’s mouth like so much meat for the grinder, fork ignored for fingers simply to sate that lust for sustenance. It was minutes and moments until she realized the fetishist had returned and was watching her eat with a coy smirk, pale contacts removed to show lovely blues. EJ’s face reddened with slight embarrassment at her piggish consumption, but she smiled sheepishly rather than back down. She was a guest, after all - it was ok to indulge a little. A whole pitcher and glass were offered as EJ set the plate of meats aside, glass taken in hand before being filled and drank. Between a few more fillings and emptyings, Puri and EJ made conversation.

Puri, born Purity Aloise Francharde, had lived in Vitus for four years. She moved there for job opportunities and schooling, but dropped out, and now stuck around for the night life and the locals. Second-living still remained almost exclusively in Vitus, and so - to EJ’s surprise about how open Puri was with this info - Purity was swayed by her own preference for bodies more cold than warm. She was 20-some odd years old and preferred women, but had known men in the past. She rented this apartment independently, through money she earned ‘performing’. She got a sly smile on her face when EJ inquired further, and simply said she’d have to find a time to have the ghoulette help her with her routine - that it would be ‘a real moneymaker’.

Breakfast was finished. Puri sat beside EJ on the bed, putting the empty plate and glassware on a nightstand so she could get closer. It was just the two of them now. The sun had already begun to dip down in the sky, barely piercing the choking skyline, giving everything a twilit glow despite it still being early evening. The night was still young, as it is said, and so were the two of them: worlds apart yet here now, sharing a quiet moment. One cursed to eternal life, the other condemned to eventual death.

“You know, Esper James… I’ve been thinking. A lot, recently, but mostly about myself, and where my life is going. I’m twenty-whatever, I’m ambitious, I’m fun… and yet, I keep hitting walls instead of doors. I’m getting blocked off instead of opened up to. I know we just met last night, but… Well, I’m happy you seem like you’re having fun. I know I am.” Purity’s smile was dazzling as EJ took in her prose, helping her relax into the cushion beneath her. The secretary nodded after a bit of stricken silence as the warmth in her chest welled into words. “I know what you mean, Puri, like, exactly. I… I dunno how to say it, though. I’ve been here all my life, from all the way before people like me even existed, but these days I feel like I’m stuck. Nothing I do seems to work, I never seem to be good enough for people. No one believes in me. No one even wants to try. Except you, I guess.”

It was EJ’s turn to smile now, her own pearly whites on display for the coffin jockey across from her to appreciate. Puri laughed softly, a hand over her mouth, her eyes crinkling with mirth. She rolled them before answering, leaning forwards on her left hand to look the ghoulette in the eye. “Psh. You were good enough at dancing, right? Maybe not so good at drinking, though. I’ve gotta be honest, I could tell you were new, and I didn’t want to leave you hanging… but you’re cute. You’re fun. You’re a breath of fresh air from all the stale fuckers I see in my everyday. I’d love to get to know you more, EJ - I mean it.”

She did. There was something genuine in her eyes and smile and the tone of her voice, putting herself out there for EJ like a friend and lover, not a stranger. Her right hand slid out along the bedsheets to rest on one of her guest’s, giving it a ginger squeeze. EJ laughed, too, out of nerves and delight in equal parts. It had been more days than were worth counting since she had felt this kind of affection: a true, heartwarming affection that came from within. She squeezed back with a wink. “I’m all yours then, Puri. Get to know me however you want.”

Ah, the magic words. There was a change, then, in the way the pink-haired club girl positioned herself. The way she looked at EJ. The way the air in the room felt. Some of that electricity from the Jezze was back now, making every motion feel deliberate and notable. Puri’s eyes rolled over EJ’s slim body in a gesture only describable as hungry, and EJ could feel herself tighten up from the nerves. “Maybe I will, EJ… We’ve got some unfinished business, after all. Don’t think falling asleep can get you away from me this time…~”

There was a pang in EJ’s chest, her pupils drawing down into slits. Adrenaline again. She could feel that giddy uncertainty welling in her chest even as Puri got up to go to the window, drawing the curtains shut. The room was cloaked in a dim glow through the linen drapes - unlike EJ, Puri enjoyed the light sometimes, so they weren’t completely opaque. The flesh-eater simply watched from the bed as her partner drifted across the room to set the scene: lighting candles, putting music on from a portable speaker, and pulling a smallish pink square from the top shelf of her dresser. That last item was thrown to the bed-bound ghoul with a lewd grin.

EJ’s heart caught in her throat like a fist, green eyes wide, tongue dry. A thousand thoughts were beginning to trickle into her dumbstruck and spellbound noggin: was this a good plan? Was this what Puri wanted the whole time? What would Puri do when they got undressed - would she rebuke her? EJ had more than just scars to hide. A body like hers knew love more rarely than most. Apprehension threatened to break her confident wave, to send her reeling away from what lay next and cast her out of the apartment through coarse rejection. It wasn’t too late, or so she thought.

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And then, Puri was getting closer. Despite wearing only a baggy band tee over black lacy lingerie, she looked just as confident and composed as she did at the Jezzebelle. Her hand reached out to touch EJ’s hip, thumb hooking past the waistband, using it to pull the blonde closer. It was sudden, and a bit frightening, but she stopped before EJ was truly caught unawares. Inches away, breath crashing against one another’s bodies, warmth from one echoing to the other… Puri’s other hand took Esper James by the back of the head with a tender grasp, pulling her close for an expression of interest. Puri took the lead, and her ghoulfriend was happy to follow. Their lips touched and locked, the blonde’s nervous and excited and wary, the pinkette’s confident and eager and bold. Puri shut her eyes first, and then EJ followed; their arms slowly entangled, no words necessary to announce what they both felt. Last night had been interrupted. Here, however, there was nothing to stop them.

Kissing became invasive after some time, a cool and pointed tongue against one still bearing warmth, but EJ gladly allowed it. Puri tasted of rock candy and bubblegum and a soft undertone of diesel - some chemical intrigue that didn’t fit quite right. EJ in turn tasted like blood, rum, and a bitterness that meant more than it let on. The pills kept away the rot and the brushing kept away the flesh, but the tang of a deeper imperfection was harder to mask. EJ was pushed back onto the bed, head pressing into forgiving pillows as Puri assumed a superior role. Lips separated without fully breaking away, tongues and hands maintaining connection as things intensified. The borrowed pajama top slipped away, and the pale skin beneath was exposed to the apartment’s warm air.

EJ is bared. Her chest is small and perky and pleasant but nothing special, though beneath the meat her heart is beating like a snare drum set to march. Looking lower, her ribs are nearly exposed beneath taut skin and thin, barely-padded flesh. She’s been blessed with a slender and feminine physique, youthful and a bit athletic if she ever cared to put on muscle. Her tummy has just enough to it that you could grab it if you tried. Puri pushes off of her for a breath, taking in the sights with a smug grin. She rests her ass on Esper James’ lap, grinding her hips left and right to tease the stiffness in her partner’s lap. Esper James winces and whines, wordlessly petitioning for more.

Puri's eyes widen as she realizes what she's pushing up on, but they narrow again as a teasing grin spreads her plush pink lips. She had been aware since last night, of course - this was all part of the plan. The top took a second more to raise her hands over her head, giving her bottom a full view, before bringing them down to her own hips. A moment more before Puri was back on her, lips hungry and hands searching, seeking soft and untouched flesh to grope - she started at the ghoul’s chest but one snuck lower, down to the waistband again, pulling insistently. Inside the secretary’s head, her mind was ablaze with thoughts, feelings, and instincts. She could hear her own blood rushing.

‘This is amazing’ started the cascade of ideas, but was quickly followed by uncertainty and doubt. It was all happening so fast - was it always like this? Obviously Puri was genuinely into her; she hadn’t had a drop to drink this morning and both of them were disheveled and worn out. This wasn’t a drunk hookup. This was the real deal, or at least as real as EJ had ever known it. And yet, Esper James still felt like she was out of her depth, or at least out of control. Puri was leading her along as she pleased, taking what she wanted, and while EJ didn’t disapprove per se, the taint of trepidation stained her enthusiasm.

And then her womanhood was freed from the silky pajama bottoms, a standard size but admirable for her height, and her brain was back to a primal state. She may be nervous, but she wouldn’t be the one to stop this. Not yet. In her mind, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have sex with a woman like Puri: someone confident, sexy, kind, and built like a pin-up model. Someone who could get past it all. All the bullshit she had been putting up with. The pajama pants are greedily drawn down to her knees and then abandoned, Puri’s own panties merely pulled aside for ease-of-access to provide a flash of bare flesh - shaved. EJ braced herself, biting her lower lip, both hands placed on Puri’s ample hips…

A crinkling sound snapped her from her preparations, one eye peeking over to investigate. That hot pink square was in Puri’s hands now, torn wide open; a condom packet. EJ choked back nervous laughter - the undead were anything but virile, though sometimes it was better safe than sorry. She shivered as the cold latex was applied, and gave Puri a timid smile once it was fully embodied. Puri laughed back at her, her lube-free hand going to brush some hair from Esper James’ face so she could be kissed on the forehead. The gesture was small, but it did much to soothe her raging anxiety.

Those experienced, deft hands trailed away from Esper James once more, finding her again soon as they were placed on her shoulders. Puri used the ghoul as a support to position herself as necessary, straddling the blonde’s lap, giving her a gentle tease as she did. “Safe word is taxes. No one likes ‘em, y’know?” Puri’s smirk at her own supposed wit was more than enough to get EJ smiling too, leaning back into the wall of pillows to give Puri an ideal angle. “I dunno, taxes can be sexy. Like, uh, a sexy accountant, or an office lady, or something like tha-” Puri put a single finger over EJ’s mouth to cut her off, rolling her eyes playfully. EJ was obediently silent - she had been rambling anyways, just stalling for time without knowing.

Puri took a deep breath and, eyes locked with EJ’s, lowered her hips with practiced motion. A split-second before contact, and then, the embrace. EJ’s worried eyes shut, and she trembled as she felt herself fill her partner as best she could, Puri’s bareness and flesh like a space heater for the cool-skinned cannibal. Esper James let out another soft whimper as Puri’s body rested against hers, lower lip quivering as she moved to speak - but then she gasps as the hips on her lap begin to roll slowly and steadily, taking any thoughts of speech from her mind. Her eyes shut once more, and she’s swept up in the rock and sway of Purity.

It’s a new experience to the submissive ghoulette. Her first time, the sensation of being so wholly enveloped in another - in Purity’s arms, breasts, and femininity - is euphoric and overwhelming and surprisingly messy even so early. The bed is roused into rhythmic motion as Puri’s hips buck, the taller and more confident woman doing the work , the smaller one relaxing into it. They went at a gradual but building pace, nothing too extreme or adventurous - good to start off, at least in EJ's eyes.

EJ sighs into Purity's chest as she's ridden, hot breath rolling from her mouth and onto her lover's flesh. Puri's gestures, her subtle tells and motions both voluntary and involuntary, they told the ghoul more than words ever could. The women worked in tandem to reach their goal, EJ's loins beginning to wane weak in their action. She's seen porn before, and plenty of it - but she's no AV star, by any means. The feeling of pleasure was electric, holding her in place just as much as the weight of her lover's body was.

The bed starts to creak as she's given her due diligence, rising and falling, body-on-body sound and touch drawing those faint vocalizations from both women in turn. EJ's were warbling and fresh and surprised; Puri's are sensual, pleased, and a touch husky. Sound doesn't come naturally to the blonde; she's too worried it'll be distracting. Puri, however, is intent on teaching her.

"Ngh... EJ... You look so good like this, under me... But I want more from you. Open up those cute little lips and moan for me. Don't be shy; you're a dirty girl under that soft exterior, I can tell. Now lemme hear it." A pointer finger and long fake nail touch upon the bottom of EJ's chin, beckoning her forth - trying to pull the sound from her physically, to goad her into giving in. Esper James's cheeks go rosy from the attention leveled onto her, but she complies wholeheartedly: a deep breath as Puri's hips lift from her, and then a long, whining moan as she's brought back down to the hilt. The lewd sounds of lovemaking mingled with Purity's selected soundtrack, the drifting memories of club dancefloors and blood spiked with booze like migrant mirages in the ghoulette's pleasure-addled mind.

One moan became more, which led to gasps and coos and exclamations. Purity smirked when she felt her lover's twitches and shivers of delight, beautiful blue eyes drinking in every inch of ghoulflesh she could see; her body drew in what sight could not. She had EJ wrapped around her finger completely, and that thought alone was wholly satisfying in and of itself. For her, this closeness was craving; this intimacy was both the journey and the destination, and the submissive little secretary was her vehicle of choice.

A rising emotion - lightning crackled within EJ's body as pleasure went from tender and fluid to harsh and electric. Excitement and ecstasy were twin serpents, and their coils entwined our protagonist as deftly as Purity's thighs. Her muscles tightened in her chest, her arms, her abdomen, her loins... Another quivering exclamation declared what words could not. Puri didn't even miss a beat, lowering herself further to press chest-to-chest, her body flush with her quarry's.

Words were unnecessary. The feeling of a heightening, a rush, a peak, a climax... and then the descent, gentle spasms in the thighs, the little death for one already dead. EJ cried out, eyes shut tight, tears of emotion welling in the corners; Purity held her and whispered sweet encouragement into her ear, coaxing every drop free, experienced hips gyrating in just the right way. It only lasted a few moments, as such things do, but to EJ it was a lifetime of bliss.

And then, near-silence. Heavy breathing and barely-audible club beats were the symphony of the morning, played out between sweaty sheets and gasping, rolling bodies. Puri lifted herself away after a few moments and took the liberty of disposing of the evidence, letting the ghoul simply lay and languish in the afterglow of carnal action. EJ's heavy eyelids remained shut, focusing on the sensation within her hips and hereafter, hands drifting to wipe at some of the wetness on her waistline.

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Snuggling and aftercare were delivered in spades: the touch of flesh-on-flesh now different, free of sexual implications but still beholden to a deep sort of intimacy. The music was switched off, their clothes piled on the floor, the blinds now opened to let in twilight's dearest embrace. Outside, Vitus seemed to be in a miraculous lull. No screeching cars down the interstate... no junkies brawling in the backalleys for food... no blaring adverts demanding your undue attention. Purity lived in the nice part of town, but to EJ, it was a whole other world.

The secretary was the first one to speak. She cleared her throat, face pleasantly close to Puri's in their tangled mass, emerald eyes turning tentative focus upon her fling. "So... th-that was, uh..." She wasn't sure what to say; or rather, she was unsure what to say first. Amazing? Exciting? Terrifying? Anxiety-inducing? Unexpected? Uncalled for? Now that her finest warrior had settled between her loins she was given some time to actually consider the interaction, and yes, Puri had obviously been interested in her since last night... but was this how it was supposed to go? Virgin no longer, EJ still was too green to the hookup scene to say for certain.

"Pretty good, right? Hahaha...! You're not what I expected when I headed out last night, EJ... But I'm happy I snagged a cutie like you." A kiss was laid upon EJ's cheek then, soft and sweet, and speaking of better times. It was a footnote for a midday morning of lovemaking, a sign that things were back to normal. Puri was smiling like a smug cat, eyes narrowed and lips parted in a cheshire, prideful grin.

EJ left it at that, nodding absentmindedly. It was good. She didn't have much to compare it to, nothing except for the love of the self, and that wasn't the same. A sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and fear gripped her heart with sharpened claws. "Puri, where's my shit? My clothes, my phone, my wallet... Where the fuck did you put my stuff?"

"Oh? They're in the kitchen on the table. Go get dressed if you wanna; I've gotta get breakfast anyways. I'd love to take you, but I'm meeting my manager, and he'd be pissed if I brought along last night's entertainment." Apparently that was supposed to be cute, because Puri winked and stuck her tongue out like it was. EJ gave her a nervous smile.

And then the pink-haired woman was standing, letting EJ see all she cared to, the club idol surveying her prey. "Anyways... I'm gonna get in the shower. I hope I can see you at the club again, yeah? This time I'll help you keep an eye on your drink, cutie... I left something in your purse, by the way. A few somethings. Keep in touch."

A kiss blown to the wind and she was gone. EJ was left alone in the bedroom, body damp and hips tired, mouth dry and tasting like diesel candy. She struggled to her feet despite how tired she still remained and wandered out into the main room completely nude, assuming correctly that Puri lived alone. Her outfit was freshly cleaned and neatly folded on the main kitchen table; it was quickly donned, the purse saved for last.

Puri's apartment was nice and comfortable. It was affluent but nothing too crazy; upper-middle class and enjoyable without being luxurious. Whatever she did, she certainly did well for herself on it. Even EJ, who was paid pretty well, still had to live in the slums.

The purse was opened, and inside were all of EJ's possessions plus a few extras: a folded slip of paper, a flat black jewelery box, and a... gift card? The card was the first to be inspected. A dark black and sleek piece of plastic, it didn't say much about what it was for: LDG.com, for a whopping $200. There was a code to input on the back. The paper was next. A small scrap of printer paper, it had Puri's phone number as well as a pair of url links and a code - one was for LDG.com, and the other was for tAsT ('Tasty', a popular social media client mostly used by Vitus's youth). The code apparently had use for both.

She'd check them out later. First... She needed to get home and get some food, a shower, and think about things. She couldn't get Puri's scent out of her head, but in the back of her mind, a cat's purr rolled out like a funeral march. EJ shivered, going to open the box. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw what was within, emotions only recently stowed now drawn back up with resounding force.

A black leather choker, simple and sleek, with a heart shaped 'ring' as the centerpiece. It looked like it might fit nicely between her fangs. She swallowed once, then twice, implications and ideas driving her tired body back into a quick burst of nervous adrenaline. She was tempted to try it right away... but a buzz from her phone interrupted her. Apparently she had missed a serious amount of texts and calls from Judas, even though it was her off day. The collar-gag was tossed back into it's box and slipped to it's resting place within the purse, phone following behind it. She'd respond to Judas later. First, she had to get home.

As she left the apartment, EJ couldn't help but feel as though something was coming. An approach. A descent.