“Are you sure you're well enough to go on your own?” Shaffra asked Stella as she took the stairs one at a time.

Stella nodded in reply and weakly muttered with a slight blush, “I'm just going to the bathroom. Even if I needed help for that much, I don't think I would take it.” Shaffra gave the steps a short glance then proceeded to help Aileen onto the couch.

Once upstairs, Stella turned to her left and shuffled into the first open door, beckoning her into a simple bathroom with a grey tiled floor, a wet sink cluttered with various hygiene supplies, a slightly dirty mirror, a clean, spotless white toilet and a shower with the yellow-ish curtain pulled over. She stopped in front of the mirror and looked herself in the eyes while clenching her teeth. Curse that devilish flower! She thought to herself as she inspected the dark bags under her eyes.

She slammed the door shut behind her silently and leaned against the wall where she could still see her reflection. One by one she started undoing the buttons on her purple plaid shirt, revealing her plain blue bra and scar-clad body, then she dropped her top on the floor in a heap. Afterwards she planted both hands on the porcelain counter, clenched her teeth again and tensed up every muscle in her body. She watched as each muscle in her torso rippled slightly though her grip on the counter only got tighter as her frustrations grew.

Stella then reached behind her back and clasped the hook of her bra with one hand and ripped it off. Three quiet dings could be heard as the hooks fell to the ground and she threw the bra on top of her shirt. Now with her torso fully exposed she turned her back to the mirror and strained her neck to be able to see herself looking back at her. Once more, every muscle in her body tensed up and she continued to watch the ripples but this time, what first seemed to be two, long vertical lines appeared, starting at her lower back and ending at her shoulder blades. She pressed her teeth together even harder and the lines turned into slits. Her eyes shifted to obsidian and the slits began to spread ever so slightly. Before long though she let out a deep breath and released her grip. The slits closed and formed scarred skin again devoid of any inhumane features.

Stella dropped on her hands and knees, panting. I can't bring them out yet. That fucking plant! She waited a moment longer then without getting off her knees, she reached for the pile of stripped clothing. She tossed the bra aside but grabbed the shirt and draped it over her shoulder. Using the brass doorknob for support, she lifted herself to a standing position once again, opened the door and cautiously stepped outside after checking to make sure no one had come up. Scanning left then right, she used the wall for support as she stumbled into her and Aileen's room and this time, fell on her stomach.

Stella laid still for a moment, just feeling the grey carpet below her, then crawled to the queen sized bed in the middle of the room. Once she was right beside it, she reached underneath it, feeling around for something. Her hand grasped a metal box of sorts and she used the momentum of turning over her body to drag it out. From that position on the floor, now on her back, she took a few more deep breaths before slowly rising to her feet. She placed the box on the mattress and let the lid fall behind it. Sitting in the box was a long, midnight black curved blade, just under the length of her forearm, with a purple, scaly handle. Underneath it was a leather strip that was just as long and had straps protruding from the top and the bottom.

Stella threw her shirt down beside the box and picked up the blade. She inspected it for rust or any other deficiencies that could have developed while it was in storage. Satisfied that the blade had no visible damage, she placed it on top of her shirt then grabbed the leather strip. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her left forearm on her lap, balancing the strip on top of it. She used her other hand to hold it in place and grasp one of the straps at the top while she brought up to her face and grabbed the other in her teeth. Through slow trial and error, she tied the straps together just below her elbow then moved onto the next set which she tied about three inches up from the base of her hand. She gave it a few test swings to make sure it wouldn't come loose and stood up again.

Next, she grabbed the bladed weapon and held it up to the strip. Towards the top of it, the leather grew thicker around the edges, creating a shape similar to a canyon. Stella then placed the tip of the handle into that piece which barely held it in place. She flicked her wrist and the blade dropped down past her hand where she grasped the handle perfectly before it fell out of her reach. Satisfied again, she put the blade back into it's holster and grabbed her shirt once more. Without bothering to put another bra on, Stella dressed herself and checked her sleeve. The blade wasn't visible underneath it and she couldn't see any noticeable extrusions.

Downstairs the door opened and closed and Stella heard footsteps echo in the foyer. She checked herself over once more before edging out of the room and towards the stairs. Luna emerged at the top of them as Stella got into the hallway. “I guess that old man wasn't lying when he said you were in pretty bad shape.” She mumbled and offered Stella her shoulder. Stella smiled weakly in response and accepted.

Getting down the stairs took a bit of experimenting on their part. Stella's depth perception was off so she kept misjudging how far down the steps actually were, forcing Luna to have to catch her then re-balance. “Hurry the hell up.” Styx demanded from the living room.

After about a minute and a half, the duo finally made it to the ground floor. Luna guided Stella to the love seat against the far wall where she could sit down. Now sitting, Stella nodded lightly to Luna then started taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, hoping to limit the beast bane's effects on her body. Meanwhile, Luna knelt down in front of Aileen and they had a silent exchange. Aileen maintained a cheery attitude even as her torso swayed back and forth when she was unsupported.

“So,” Luna stood up again and gave Styx and Shaffra a suspicious glare. “Who are you two and why are you here?”

Shaffra opened her mouth to start explaining but Styx held up a hand, silencing her. She gave him a concerned glance. Neither one said anything for several seconds. Stella leaned forward, ready to stand up if she needed to and made sure she had enough room to draw her blade. Styx and Cain could switch from being friends to enemies at the drop of a hat. She thought to herself. She peered at Aileen who seemed to struggle just to keep her eyes open. What is he planning to do this time...

Styx lowered his arm, glared daggers at Luna and smugly stated, “We just came to meet the monster.”

Luna squinted her eyes at him as Shaffra aggressively whispered, “You said we weren't going to try agitating her!”

Styx ignored the remark and walked uncomfortably close to Luna with a couple of confident steps. What's that supposed to mean?” Luna growled and clenched her fists.

“I'd like to know that too.” Stella declared, her fingers digging into the armrest on the love seat.

Styx backed up a step with a smile and shrugged his shoulders innocently. “If my niece is anything like my brother, she'll be a thorn in my side for years to come.” His smile disappeared and his eyes hungered. “And I'll have to clean up her messes, won't I?”

“I'm supposed to believe that you're my uncle?”

“It doesn't matter whether you do or not. The important detail is that accursed left eye of yours." Stella flinched and Aileen tensed up slightly and tried to watch the exchange as attentively as possible. Luna felt her eye pulse like a heartbeat but resisted the urge to clasp a hand over it. “How long do we have I wonder before that eye robs you of your sanity?”

Luna scowled. “Are you senile gramps?”

Styx made a face like he was genuinely confused. “You didn't tell her about the Ríastrad?” He peered menacingly at Stella then Aileen. When neither replied he muttered under his breath, “I wonder if that boy still would've died had she been more aware of it.”

Luna held her ground and didn't let any hint of recognition show on her face as she remembered the conversation between Aileen and Stella that she had overheard so long ago. “I wonder how long we have until she awakens to the Ríastrad...” They had said.

“Might as well tell me now that you've brought it up.” She snapped at Styx.

He backed away from her, his face turning expressionless. Did they think that keeping her ignorant would delay the awakening? That she could avoid having to fight in order to live the way Cain wanted her too? Styx faced Stella and noted that she was growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing second as she realized his intentions. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, he flashed Luna a devilish grin. “It's nothing more than proof that you're a hideous monster.” He snarled.

“That's enough!” Stella cried out and tried to stand. A wave of nausea and dizziness washed over her and knocked her back down into the love seat. She cursed to herself over and over again as her legs went numb and her vision began to blur.

Luna scoffed at Styx then ran to Stella's side, urging her to lean back and stay seated. Styx watched from the edge of the kitchen where he started laughing, “You may have recovered enough to be able to move but it'll be tomorrow by the time you can afford to get excited. Just stay there and be quiet.”

“I'm alright,” Stella whispered to Luna while putting on a strong face. “He's trying to provoke you, don't listen to anything he says.” She explained hurriedly.

“Why do you tell her that?” Styx started to taunt. “Don't want her to realize that you're afraid of her?” He continued despite getting no reaction. “You know, when your father first asked her to look after you, she only agreed to it because she owed him a favour. When she saw that cursed eye of yours back when you were a baby, she contemplated tossing you aside.”

“That's not true.” Stella stated calmly, watching Luna who had no visible changes.

“Did you know that your parents abandoned you as soon as they discovered your ears and tail? Do you know what they said? 'How could a parent love a freak like this?'”

Luna flinched.

“Luna, sweetheart-” Stella stammered but Styx cut her off.

“They thought you were a monster Luna! They couldn't bring themselves to kill you though. Who knows what curses would befall them if they killed the monster they birthed? So they tossed you aside. To repay your father, Stella took you and raised you away from them.”

“Her parents died trying to protect her future, you know that!”

“Is that what you think? No, they preferred death over the possibility of ever seeing this little demon again.”

“Shut up.” Luna mumbled quietly, her head starting to hang lower and lower.

“Like I said Luna, don't listen to him. He's-”

“Right.” Styx cut her off again and started inching closer to them, his eyes burning into Luna's back. “He's right. Your parents thought you were an abomination. They killed themselves just to be rid of a filthy animal like you.”

Stella tried to cover Luna's ears where she noticed that Luna had started gritting her teeth together. They were growing longer and getting sharper. Her eyes began to glow in the shadow cast from her hood. Her fingers nails sharpened into claws and started cutting into the furniture she was gripping. Ba-dump! Her eye pulsed again.

“Styx,” Shaffra started to whisper aggressively from across the room, “I think this experiment has gone on long enough!”

Styx shook his head and started to reach towards Luna. Stella clenched her fist and tried once more to get up from the chair, desperately fighting the lasting effects of the beast bane. Though successful in getting on her feet, when she lunged for Styx to prevent him from grabbing Luna, he pushed Stella's arm aside and with one forceful heave, threw Stella to the floor.

Ba-dump.

Luna tensed her right wrist and quickly turned to face Styx, jabbing at him. She caught him in the stomach, but she felt no impact. Instead the area she struck turned into a black mist and her hand went straight through him. The mist covered her arm and it instantaneously felt frozen. She tried to pull away but was stuck fast.

Ba-dump.

She quickly widened her stance and rolled her left hip towards him, ready to strike with her other hand in order to break her right hand free. Before it could get past her own head though, it felt like something had grabbed it. With a quick inspection, she noticed that a skeletal hand had risen from the ground and prevented her from finishing her strike. Unable to break free with either arm, she tried to kick using her back leg but all at once, it felt like every ounce of blood in her body stopped flowing then rushed into her feet. Her legs became very heavy and she was unable to lift them.

Ba-dump.

“Is this really the best any of you can do?” Styx teased as Stella struggled to pick herself up off the ground, Aileen could hardly keep an eye open and Luna was effectively taken prisoner. He placed one hand on Luna's elbow of the arm stuck in his stomach and a shadow crawled up the right side of her body up to her shoulder where it started to squeeze.

Ba-dump.

Shaffra started to yell, “We don't need to go that far-!”

Snap!

Looking in from the outside, he appeared to only lightly push against Luna's elbow but it bent inwards nonetheless. She grunted in pain and closed one eye but refused to cry out. The skeletal hand, shadow, and mist all released her and she stumbled backward, holding her arm just below the break. The skin started rapidly turning into a combination of blue, grey and purple.

Ba-dump.

She squeezed her arm hard, trying to ignore the pain that throbbed as far as her shoulder and looked up at Styx again. All she saw was a blur of movement and something struck her just below her right ear with a crack. She fell to the floor motionless, the right side of her jaw hanging slightly lower than the left.

Ba-dump.

Styx inspected his hand before watching Stella get up on her feet. His thoughts remained centred on Luna though. That's all it took to break her jaw? She really isn't as durable as Cain was. The Ríastrad still refuses to show itself as well. How the hell did a kid get it out but I can't? He then started to actually watch Stella intently. New strategy then.

Leaving Luna where she was, Styx charged at Stella. She started to flick her wrist down in order to draw her blade but in the blink of an eye, Styx had already closed the distance and grabbed the wrist where her weapon was mounted. “Hello, hello.” He said with a sadistic smile and lifted her arm up beside her head, jammed his forearm into her throat and pinned her against the wall. “Droopy from the beast bane or not, if a former sex slave such as yourself thought you could get the better of me, you're sorely mistaken.”

Stella attempted to attack him using her other hand like Luna but was trapped similarly. Instead of a skeleton or a shadow though, her other arm was trapped in clear blue ice, frozen to the wall. She couldn't move and couldn't breathe. Her legs were still numb from before so she couldn't even be certain as to whether or not they were also trapped or even acknowledging her orders.

Styx peered at Luna as Stella tried to scan the room for some kind of escape. Luna had no reaction at all and he guessed she had fallen unconscious. Doesn't matter. He thought to himself. She only needs to hear it anyway. Styx started to squeeze Stella's wrist and she winced in response, unable to make a noise. “Get used to this one squirt,” he mumbled to Luna, “You'll be hearing this a lot in the future.”

Crunch!

The bones in Stella's wrist shattered under Styx's grasp and her forearm stretched out to the width of his hand as the excess bone was pushed out of the way. He released a small amount of the pressure he had on her throat and she started to cry out in pain though silenced herself almost immediately. She clamped her teeth together, her eyes wide with agony. She shut them tight and when she opened them again she gave Styx a devious smile as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. “I won't let you use me as the catalyst to awaken the Ríastrad.” She growled through clenched teeth.

“Guess I'll have to turn it up a notch then.” Styx replied, his tone growing uncomfortable.

* * *

“Did you lose?” A voice echoed out to Luna in the darkness.

“Huh?” She replied. Rather she thinks she did.

“Did you lose?” It asked again.

Luna didn't immediately answer. She instead tried to look around but everything was just darkness. She tried to move her arms and legs but she couldn't even feel them.

“Does it hurt?” The voice continued.

All of a sudden Luna felt wet. She blinked and everything was varying shades of red. The sky was roan red, there was what appeared to be a scarlet sun on the horizon and she was floating on her back in a sea of blood, still unable to move.

“What is this?” She tried to say but when she did, the blood drained into her mouth. She couldn't even cough it back out.

“Does it sting?” The voice was joined by a gaggle of fierce laughter and she couldn't help but feel like it was directed at her. Her eye pulsed again and a ripple was sent across the sea of blood. The scarlet sun shone brighter.

“Are you struggling?” There was a clap, and Luna found herself standing on flat, brown rock overlooking the bloody sea with the sun to her back.

“Your desire?” The voice asked.

Luna said nothing.

“Your desire?” It asked again.

“I want...” She started. Styx was now standing in front of her with a smug smirk. Everything went black and with one final ba-dump, she exclaimed, “To kill him.”

* * *

Stella braced for whatever torture was about to come and closed her eyes. Styx made a fist and started to swing at her but stopped instinctively, as though a sixth sense had warned him about coming danger. He lowered his hand and looked to where Luna had fallen. Stella, realizing that the attack wasn't coming, opened her eyes and followed his stare. Luna was now sitting up, her hair in front of her eyes.

“I've got this handled sweetheart, no need to get involved any further.” Stella called out to her, trying to hide the pain in her voice though unsuccessfully. Luna didn't react to it. Rather, the ice that imprisoned Stella's arm turned red and cracked before shattering.

Luna slowly got up onto her feet and up higher, her eyes could just be seen in between tufts of hair. Her right eye appeared unchanged though didn't seem to react to the light whereas the pupil in her left eye had disappeared and the iris was starting to condense as blood welled up in it like a tear. Styx grinned, “So the monster is finally coming out then.” Looks like my efforts weren't for naught after all.

Crash!

Styx panned his head around to see that Aileen had forced herself to fall from the couch and was now looking directly at him. Her sky blue eyes had an aqua green, vein-like pattern coursing through them. He opted to ignore her, thinking that if she couldn't even gently remove herself from the couch, there was no way she could be a threat to him in their current situation. He turned his attention back to Stella. He backed his head away from her slightly in surprise when he saw that her dark blue eyes had shifted to obsidian. What the hell are they doing? He thought to himself and tried to remember what magic they were capable of. Before he could remember though, there was another crunch from Stella's wrist though not bone this time.

Following the crunch, a blinding and hot light emerged from under Stella's sleeve, burning it away up to the elbow and charring her skin. Styx backed away quickly, his hand nothing but a smouldering stump and his face smoking. Bits of scaly material and the blade of Stella's weapon scattered across the floor. The scales were purple on one side and a clear gem-like material on the other. Styx looked at his burning stump and laughed. “I shouldn't be surprised that you made your handle out of 'Shadow Caller scales' from Síocháin.” The smoke from his wrist quickly dissipated and the bones that make up his hand started to slowly grow out of the stump, muscle, and flesh following closely behind.

Stella didn't pay him any further attention and instead looked at Luna who's gaze turned to follow Styx but didn't move otherwise. Before she could, Stella put one hand on her throat as though to prepare herself and started to sing. Luna's ears twitched.

Styx cleared his throat. “I didn't think Lilly taught you that song. Only a succubus could-” He stopped talking when he noticed the blood welling in Luna's eye disappear and was replaced instead by a regular tear. Her iris returned to its original size though her pupil didn't seem to come back. “I'll be damned.” Styx whistled. I guess a half-succubus can still be affected by it regardless of who sings it.

Stella got onto her feet without halting her song and slowly approached Luna. When she was certain that the Ríastrad had been calmed down, she finished one more verse and reached towards Luna with her good hand. Luna fell backward into Stella and then both fell onto the floor. I'm at my limit. Stella thought to herself. That flower took a lot out of me and that song took the rest. Her eyelids began to go heavy. She watched Styx carefully but he made no sudden movements. She passed out there, with an unconscious Luna on top of her.

Aileen planted one hand on the ground and tried to force herself up, keeping an eye on the vampire couple. Both continued to stand still. “Styx.” Shaffra said softly.

“Yeah. I got what I came for.” And just like that, they left.

Aileen fell on her face again, eyeing the wounds on her family. Once more, her eyelids fell shut and she was greeted by darkness.

* * *

“Oh, you're awake?” Aileen called out cheerily to Luna before she opened her eyes.

“What...?” She mumbled tiredly and tried to sit up. She was groggy and even after opening her eyes it took her several seconds to finally see her surroundings. She was laying in a queen-sized bed with white covers, in a room with a grey carpet covering the floor and the walls were painted a soft purple. Beside her was an equally groggy Stella who was stretching while still laying down. They were both wearing baggy, button-up collared shirts and Luna guessed through feeling that at least for her, that was all she was wearing. Aileen was sitting beside the bed on a chair, her arms crossed on a nearby nightstand like she had just finished sleeping on it.

After a brief moment, Luna's eyes snapped wide open and she gazed down at her arm that had been broken and gasped. The skin was undamaged and devoid of blemishes. The bend was normal and she had no pain. Gingerly, she tested moving it around and found that she could do so just fine without causing any degree of irritation. “How the hell?” She whispered.

Aileen smiled at her and placed her own head down on the nightstand again. “Thank mamma Aileen for that.”

“How much do you remember?” Stella asked her, a slight slur to her speech.

Luna thought for a moment. “Everything up until I thought my arm had been broken. After that, it all felt like a dream.” She looked at her arm again. “Was it a dream?”

Stella shuffled in the bed and swung the covers off of herself so that she could get out. “It wasn't a dream.” She stated simply.

Aileen made a partly embarrassed, partly nervous smile and declared, “We have a lot of explaining to do.”

Stella got up onto her feet and took the shirt off. “All those scars...” Luna started to say and Stella turned towards her, making no effort to cover anything. Instead, she spread out her arms slightly and started looking over her self.

“I guess this would be your first time seeing them. I usually keep myself well clothed.” She gave Aileen a sideways glance. “I can understand the baggy shirts for keeping loose but were no pants necessary?”

Aileen pouted. “I was tired too. Do you know how hard it is to put pants on an unconscious person? Even just taking them off so I could check for harder to spot injuries was a challenge. We're all the same gender here so it's not like it really matters.”

Stella sighed. “Right, right.” They all looked to the sole window and the room. Stella wandered over to it and pulled it aside just enough to see the moon high in the sky. She then faced Luna once more and instructed, “Why don't you go get dressed? We'll meet up in what's left of the living room in a few minutes.” She put one hand on her head. “Aileen's right. We have a lot of explaining to do.”