The crowd had been dispersed and Keela was simply there, on top of a proud faced Velka. The silence of the heavy air around them was only accentuated by the four circular holes on Velka’s shoulder from which blood was dripping, slowly sinking into the fabric of her clothes.

“Why did you do that? What happened to your shoulder? What happened at all?” said Keela, frantically trying to apply pressure to the wound.

“Relax, I’ll be fine, it doesn’t hurt much”, replied Velka, catching her breath.

“How does this situation beget any kind of calmness?!”

“I have a theory and I need to prove it. But for that, I’m going to need you to sit in a chair and let me run some tests.”

“That doesn’t sound safe.”

“You’re the one who bit me. I think safety is the least of your concerns if you don’t remember tackling me so hard I singed my hair trying to live the impact.”

“I did what?”

Sighing, Velka stood up, escaping from Keela’s worried grasp. As she did, Saphielle came rushing out of the door, looking as disappointed as she was worried.

“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked, turning to Velka.

“No, but I’ll need your help restraining Keela in a chair in her office. We probably have some mana restraining gems somewhere?” replied Velka, hurrying along towards Keela’s office.

“We do but…”

“I’d appreciate it if you could fetch those. I need to test things.”

“I’m sorry, what gems?” asked Keela, chiming in.

“I did my research while you pranced around outer planes”, replied Velka, refusing to elaborate.

Having bandaged her wound, Velka had grabbed a series of small transparent gems handed to her by Saphielle and grabbed a few straps that had probably served to restrain people in torture devices before. Keela was waiting in the office, wondering what any of this situation was. Opening the door, Velka quickly got behind Keela and wrapped a leather strap around her neck, multiple small bumps on the inside of the haphazard collar indicating the presence of the gems lying on her skin. Tying it fast, Saphielle assisted, pushing Keela into the chair, despite her protesting. Within seconds, she was completely restrained, hands and legs tied, no possible movement.

“Can someone explain now?” asked Keela, looking about her restraints, now resigned to this.

“Can you try to get out? Like for real?” asked Velka, putting a hand to her chin pensively.

Keela nodded and tried channeling electricity to her muscles, only to find that not only was her mana well completely shut, she didn’t even feel it being present. She was completely powerless.

“Apparently, I can’t”, she said, a cold worried sweat pearling on her forehead.

“Perfect”, replied Velka, fetching a dagger from her hip.

“Can you explain?” asked Saphielle who seemed to grow increasingly worried each second.

“I’ll explain when I fully know what I’m dealing with.”

Walking up to Keela, she offered her most compassionate smile, lying a hand on her head.

“I love you dearly but this is likely going to be extremely unpleasant”, said Velka, smiling as she ruffled Keela’s hair, stopping at a specific spot and nodding understandingly.

“Okay, now I’m really worried. What are you on about?” asked Keela, now sharing the same kind of cold sweat Saphielle had on her forehead.

Not saying a single other word, Velka looked straight in Keela’s eye and put the dagger to her own arm, drawing a shallow line up on it. The blood immediately started flowing, the same sweet scent filling Keela’s mind. Only this time, it was much stronger. It overwhelmed everything. She was hungry, starving and she needed to eat now. Keela started fighting in the chair, moving about and pulling on the restraints, baring her teeth. She showed no signs of stopping, her will seemingly only growing more and more violent.

“This is what I thought. We’re dealing with a big problem here”, said Velka, turning towards Saphielle, ignoring the beastly screaming.

“A-and wh-what would that be?” asked Saphielle, shooting glances at Keela worriedly as the chair creaked.

“One last test.”

Velka walked over to Keela and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head back violently, restraining her in a position that kept her mouth open. She began letting blood drip in her mouth, the wound seeping profusely. After a few seconds, Keela closed her mouth and swallowed, immediately arching her back as the veins on her neck bulged and immense pain filled her. With excessive strength, she shattered the arms and legs of the chair. Crumbling to the ground and grabbing her head, she screamed as she started to bleed from the scalp. A minute into this, to Saphielle’s surprise and Velka’s expectations, two small horns could be spotted, parting her hair.

“Well… this is manageable”, said Velka, bandaging her second wound.

“What about this is manageable?!” screamed back Saphielle, extremely panicked about the whole situation.

Kneeling down, Velka grabbed Keela’s chin softly and raised her head. She was crying, blood starting to dry on her face.

“This is what happens when you don’t do your research Keela”, she said, poking at the horns.

“W-what the fuck is happening to me?!” said Keela in a feeble croaky voice.

“Well, you were turning into an extraplanar being. Specifically, a demon. This is what happens when you go in outer planes without any restraint or worry. Is your lesson learned?”

“Is it going to hurt like that every day?”

“From what I read in very old books, no. But you will need some blood every day. Which I will likely provide so you don’t feed on some random civilian.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in as much pain.”

“No kidding.”

Flashing a pained smile, Velka wiped some blood off Keela’s cheek with her thumb.

“Please do your research next time. I know you like to rush into things but I think you have enough permanent negative conditions, okay?” she said, showing motherly concern.

“I’ll run it by you next time, promise”, replied Keela, getting back up slowly, a bit lightheaded.

The conversation closing on that thought, Keela stumbled back to her room, completely drained. Grabbing a pot of water, she cleaned her face, looking in the mirror. Her eyes were still outlandish in their heterochromia, her hair still half white although some of the tint was creeping up into the brown part that was left; a phenomenon she still couldn’t explain. The two horns that had sprouted out of her head were three inches long, completely black in coloration, marred by bloodstains. She chose not to pry at them for now; the investigation of this new feature could wait. As she dried off the ends of her hair that had unfortunately touched the water, a familiar sweet scent reached her nose. But this time, the hunger wasn’t strong. It was another type of hunger. She stared into the basin at her own warped reflection, hoping for the feeling to pass. Velka dropped a small wooden flask on the bedside, her freshly bandaged arm still soaking the fabric that covered the wound. The sweetness in the air became unbearable, overcoming every one of her senses and making Keela salivate. She turned around slowly and walked calmly towards Velka, looking towards the ground. Her head hit the middle of Velka’s chest, making her come to a halt.

“You okay?” asked Velka, trying to take a glance at her face.

Not replying, Keela gently pushed Velka towards the bed, not obeying her own thoughts as the scent made her dizzy. As Velka’s knees touched the bedside, she was gently pushed over, falling onto the bed. Keela climbed over her, nestling her head in Velka’s neck, struggling not to bare her teeth. She couldn’t escape this hunger; this need to consume. She sat down on top of Velka, looking at her for a second. How her hair was messy around her soft features, how her expressions showed on her face in those moments of weakness; Keela loved all of it.

“What’s up? You wanna tell me what’s wrong? You seem distressed?” asked Velka, clearly worried.

Keela’s breathing was ragged, her cheeks flushed.

“I… need… it…” she muttered, her entire body feeling like it was ablaze.

“If you need more blood, I can just--”

As Velka started to try to unwind the bandages on her arm, Keela softly stopped her, pulling both Velka’s hands above her head. Leaning in, she stole a kiss, softly imposing herself on those features she loved so much. When she broke the contact, Velka’s face was as flushed as hers.

“W-what?” stuttered Velka, trying to grasp the situation.

“I don’t need blood. I need you”, replied Keela, leaning in an inch away from Velka’s face.

Freeing herself from Keela’s grasp, Velka softly grabbed the back of Keela’s head, pulling her in for another kiss. Keela didn’t fight it, giving in to the hunger. Pulling up a knee between Velka’s legs, she started unbuttoning her shirt, the sweetness of the moment taking over the overwhelming hunger as she gave in to it, devouring all that she could that night.