Midnight Meeting [val]

[glorilyss]

Mariella had never been good at waiting. Tonight was no different.

Outside of the window, the fat, rounded edge of a brilliant moon had just begun to creep over the treeline in the distance. A rectangle of light fell through wide-flung shutters, illuminating a patch of obsessively clean floor and, above that, a puddle of strawberry-blonde hair. As the moon continued to rise over the next hour, the path of silvered light crept across the floor, lighting up the sharp face, the wide amber eyes, the pursed lips set in an annoyed grimace. As the girl stared at the path of the moon through the window, the lines on her brow eased; she rolled to her hands and knees, scrambling up moving as quietly as she could to the bed. A dark cloak lay folded neatly at the foot; moments later, she'd swirled it around her shoulders, drawing the hood over her fair hair and creeping through the door of her room.

Mariella's family lived in a two story building, the floor below making up the shop and the suite of rooms set above acting as their living quarters. It wasn't hard to move through the upper rooms without being seen, especially as her parents often retired early; she could pass directly through the drawing room from her doorway, and then down the double flight of stairs to the workshop below. The real trouble was discerning which of the floorboards would creak that night as she made her way in silence through the building; they often gave a groan loud enough to wake the dead.

Making her way creak-free down the stairs and through towering racks of shoes, past work tables with partially-stitched moccasins and delicate slippers, Mariella eased the long leather thong with its heavy key from the depths of her bodice, using it to unlock the door and, after slipping through with the grace of a shadow, locking it behind her. After that, it was a simple thing to cross the small garden behind their home, climb the solitary apple tree planted against the east wall, drop down on the other side, and make a flat out run from shadow to shadow, little slippers whispering over the cobblestones.

When the town's edges thinned out - very few people lived this close to the forest - the girl slowed, a wild joy alive in her eyes, face brilliant with excitement and daring. She always chose to come out on the full moon - even though it was harder to move around unnoticed, the added visibility was always worth it. Besides, she always saw the best things on full-moon nights, and she had the feeling that tonight was not going to disappoint. The feeling of excitement mounted in her belly as she entered the forest, moonshine instantly blocked out by the canopy above, moving as quietly as she could through the undergrowth but still cursing as she stepped on sharp stones, or tugging the simple gingham shift and black cloak free of brambles. It would have been so much easier to shift into a bird or her ever-favorite cat, but she wouldn't risk it this close to home. Sometimes hunters came into this edge of the woods; she couldn't let anyone discover her secret.

As she tripped through the woods, she saw the darkness begin to lighten ahead of her. A thrill of delight bubbled in her belly, fluttering behind her heart. At least, the last tree was behind her, giving way to the tumbled slope of the little glade in the forest. A tiny stream sliced through part of the clearing, chattering in the silver light, lifting her spirits even more. Mariella closed her eyes for a moment. This was what she'd come for; this was what she'd wanted. Taking in a deep breath, she bent to shuck off her slippers, fingers expertly rolling off the stockings beneath. She wasn't making the mistake of shifting with any constricting clothing on ever again, not after the time she'd nearly choked when she'd turned into a bear.

[ValamLym]

Kat hadn't been in the small town long, an hour at most as she was travelling from town to town to see where she'd strike down next. She didn't find this bit of town particularly interesting though and after trying to get a room in the local inn without success, she moved into the forest itself. It would be easy to find someone to sink her teeth into now, especially in a town like this, everybody knew each other.

She let out a soft sigh as she gracefully jumped from tree to tree, only stirring the leaves at most. She had to find someone and soon, she felt the sensation of hunger claw at her mind, she hadn't properly drank blood in a few days, to often did her childish pranks ruin it first. This time however, nothing could get between her and her blood, save for someones neck of-course, that'd be great even. She snickered quietly as she paused on the branch, realizing this was where the trees stopped and a clearing began. She coiled her head to the sky, sniffing.

''My lucky day.'' she muttered to herself, as the scent of a human filled her nose, a scent trial leading her directly to its source. It seemed whomever it was wanted to save her the trouble of luring them here. She inhaled again, getting a clearer sense of the scent, she smelled Leather? hide? she thought, perhaps a hunter? She gracefully swung to the trees that aligned along the clearing, following it down toward the source.

It took her mere seconds to close in on the source of the scent, but couldn't quite discern what it was, leaves stopping her from getting a proper look. Her other senses were certain though, someone was down there, all she had to do was pounce them. She circled around the tree until she could get a proper view of the human, she concluded it was a she, only slightly shorter then Kat herself. Sadly, there was no real way to sneak up on her in this clearing so a confrontation was un-avoidable.

She jumped down, swinging the massive scythe from her back and landing with a thud, she let the scythe rest on her shoulder and stared at the short girl ''Don't move a muscle and I will just take what I need without killing you.'' she demanded, walking toward the girl, ready to run should she have to.

[glorilyss]

Her first thought didn't involve the approaching girl at all; in fact, she didn't even notice her for several moments. Her mind went from appreciating the way that the moonlight turned the tip of every ruffled wave silver to absolute oh shit horror. She'd been such an idiot - a fifteen-year-old girl, out on her own in the middle of the night. She hadn't even checked around herself before she'd pulled off her stockings and shoes, and the half-undone laces at the back of her dress felt like limp snakes in their uselessness. Oh, gods, she thought again, half-numb with fear as she eyed the large scythe. It glittered with pink drawings in the moonlight, the color incongruous with the dread that pooled in her stomach.

I'm not even wearing shoes, she thought pathetically. She couldn't even run back through the forest; she'd never make it. She had nothing, could do nothing, couldn't even fight this other person-

You idiot! The thoughts arced through her mind like lightning bolts, inspiration flashing instantly. Of course she couldn't run as a girl; the approaching lady, dressed in rich clothing and with boots that would make her father salivate, could probably run her down in a moment. And anyways, she was much too slow to dodge that big blade; too slow, not nimble enough. But she had a weapon that the lady didn't know about. With a forlorn sigh, she closed her eyes. My favorite dress. Nothing to be done about that now. Taking a deep breath and expelling it quickly, Mariella reached deep inside her, a dozen forms flicking behind her eyes in her panic. Without much time to think, she plucked the first one she focused on, feeling her body shift downwards, the ccloak and her dress pooling around the...

... pug.

Jeez. She'd picked her pug form. She'd wanted something canine, something that could get through the forest with good eyes and swift paws. But a pug? She had to refocus, and the absolutely darkness around her - after all, her dress and cloak had fallen on top of her in her haste - disoriented the little dog. Another breath, another exhalation, another shift, and she felt herself stretching. The cloth of her dress burst around her, seams ripping in ragged lines, the cloak still partially covering her body. She shook herself hard, the shreds of the dress falling around her, the cloaking sliding off to reveal the form beneath.

Long, slim body, reddish along the crest of her spine and blanketing the top of her tail, curving around the sides of her throat and covering her ears, but pale white underneath; alert ears, curved, set above the amber eyes over the long snout. She'd only tried to be a wolf once before, and it hadn't quite worked out how she'd remembered; the eyes in her face were human-shaped and weaker, but she tweaked the image in her mind, feeling everything about her grow more ragged, more feral. She opened her mouth, the voice of a human incongruous with the canine teeth and long tongue. As such, her voice was a little thicker, but not by much.

"Did that count as moving a muscle?" She felt more confident now, bravery creeping back up her spine. Almost every muscle was tensed, ready to make a dash for the forest behind her. She couldn't know the true speed of the creature in front of her, but she thought that she could make it- hoped she could. For the time being, she remained still; she had been in the bodies of enough predators to know that fleeing triggered the instinct to hunt. She wouldn't make the first move.

[ValamLym]

Kat snickered as she approached the girl before noting the sudden odd behavior, she blinked looking at the girl shrink down considerably, her dress falling around the.. ''A pug, what?'' Kat burst into uncontrolled laughter, tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head, finally calming down.  when her eyes met the supposed pug again she was surprised again tho, as no longer was there a pug, but a beautiful wolf.

her scythe glew up in a bright pink light, disappearing into a pink mist that coiled around Kat's neck, revealing a pink, runed Celtic looking necklace. ''I'll show you a wolf.'' she said, smirking as fur began forming around her body and bones began relocating, painful snaps echoing through the clearing. Before long, a bear sized white furred wolf stood before the other one, towering over it like a muscled behemoth, an un-natural and vampiric aura lingering on her body.

The hulking creature stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath her weight. Her necklace glew up and her echoing and un-natural voice was heard ''It counts, yes.. now be intelligent and just surrender, I wont kill you.'' another step forward was taken, she bared her massive canines at the other wolf, almost as if smirking.

[glorilyss]

Despite being muffled by the layers of clothing over her, Mariella had been more than able to hear the peals of laughter over her head. She felt the skin beneath her fur growing warm from a combination of embarrassment and anger. How dare this... this stranger laugh at her! Okay, so yeah, the choice of pug hadn't exactly made a good impression, but, well, she'd been rushed, and-

She felt her own train of thought get derailed as the scythe twisted form, growing misty and then solidifying once more into a necklace. Her eyes would have widened had she been able to make them; this was magic that she'd never seen before. To be fair, living in Connlaoth, she didn't see much magic at all; she hardly even knew how to control her own abilities, but she was always getting better. Still, she could feel the whisper of the magic against her skin. The wolf shivered, her skin jumping as if she was trying to get rid of flies. Her eyes never left the larger form,  though she did take a small step backward. She'd never even met anyone else who could do what she did - at least not that she knew of.

The young girl judged her options. The stranger's wolf form was certainly large - definitely too strong to fight, but she didn't seem incredibly fast. She wondered if she could make it to the town if she just took off. She wondered if the other wolf-creature would follow her that far. She wondered what would happen when she ran into a town in the middle of night, shaped as a wolf, and when she changed back in the midst of her neighbors, how hot the fires that might burn under her feet and the exact roughness of the stake at her back would feel, how loud the shouts of witch would climb-

No. She couldn't do that. She didn't even know if the townsfolk would burn her for being different, but she'd heard stories. Magician. Witch. Devil-lover. Abomination. She couldn't bear to see the shame on her parents' faces when they realized that their older daughter had been a whore and their younger a freak. She'd just have to stick it out.

Mariella took another step back, a full one this time. "What are you going to do to me?" She kept the fear out of her voice magnificently, but it was obvious that she was deeply uncomfortable. She wasn't good at surrender, being bossy and imperious by nature. She liked things her way, and she worked at them until they fell into place. Surrendering was not part of that. Surrendering was losing, and she'd lost too much already.

[ValamLym]

The hulkimg wolf continued her advance. Pausing only when the other questioned what she would do to her. She felt like saying many things, lieing even in hopes of causing fear... But earlier this wolf in front of her had seemed like a little girl. As dark as people might think her, killing children wasnt something she did.

"I will bite you and drink your blood" she stated, bluntly. Truly it was not really something you could even say subtely. Her muscles tensed as the other wolf backed up. In her head she was genuinly annoyed with herself, she was tempted into this form by the situation but knew full on well that this form was slow, at-least much slower then the lithe frame of the wolf in front of her.

"Dont make this harder then it has to be, I will not kill you if you comply" she figured it would become a chase, then again if she were in the girls shoes she would not trust her words either. " it wont even hurt" she added hoping to calm the situation.

[glorilyss]

Mariella watched the oversized wolf approach. She was right - she definitely seemed to be much slower in this form. The commoner was almost positive that if she made a break for it, she could get away - but to where? There was nowhere to go. She was trapped, both by the wolf in front of her and the town behind her. Death or submission. Become an outcast or become a meal. It won't even hurt. The words echoed in her head like the bells of her town's church: loud, sonorous, forbidding. Threatening.

"I don't want you to do that. I'm not just some snack, and I don't want to become... like you." She tried to say it politely, but the truth was, much like the stranger's words, there wasn't a nice way to put it. She didn't want to be the sort of creature that needed blood. She didn't want to become like that. It was hard enough to have a secret so big, so dark, that she couldn't even tell her parents. How would she hide when the darkness itself took over her? When she couldn't even stand the light?

Of course, just being bitten didn't guarantee her to become a vampire, but Mariella didn't know that. In fact, until a few seconds ago, she hadn't even known vampires existed. Hers was a town that was fairly backwater; they weren't as up-to-date as other places. She felt vaguely surreal, like she was in a dream but couldn't wake up. There was no way out... or was there?

Within a moment, the wolf crouched, then closed her eyes. Not giving the fear time to blunt her instincts, she plucked inside of herself again. Within a moment, she was morphing, forelegs moving, shrinking, back legs thinning and shortening. She forced the change as quickly as she could, arms flaring out as wings and pushing down hard. The little owl lifted clumsily into the air, beating her wings hard as she lifted to the branch of the nearest tree and settled there. Speckled brown and white with massive yellow eyes, she looked down at the wolf. "Look, I'm really sorry," she replied. "And I don't want you to hurt me or anything. But I just can't." There was a sort of charm to her country-girl voice, as if she was trying to make her see a valid point in a casual conversation.

[ValamLym]

Kat patiently waited, hoping the girl would see reason. However when she spoke again she knew it was not going to be easy. She wanted to turn, say it was okay and leave. But that was not an option, the bloody thirst was already gnawing at the edges of her mind, demanding to be sated.

The second transformation caught her off guard, giving the little owl time to escape without retribution. Soon, Kat too begun to change again, fur retracting into skin and clothes returning to cover her frame.

"I am sorry, but that wont do... I need it, bad." she spoke with a slight hint of sadness in her voice. Her necklace turned to pinkish dust once more before reforming into the scythe again, the metal reforming in her palm. Meanwhile two large leathery almost demonic wings burst from her bag, taking her into the air with a single powerful flap.

She paused only for the slightest of moments before charging the owl, her scythe dangling loosely in one hand while she reached out in an attempt to grab the owl with the other.

[glorilyss]

Mariella watched the wolf turn back into a human's form, round eyes blinking silently at the change. So she could go to wolf, and to human, but could she do anything else? Maybe she should just make a run for it - just fling herself into the sky, fly for a while, hide out until she lost her. Maybe she could get back to town and find a corner, an alley, even a shadow, find that and shift back, run home, and - what? Lead this creature right back to her parents? Two frail humans with even worse defenses than herself? For some reason, she really didn't think a deadbolt would keep this vampire out.

'I need it bad.' So do I! she wanted to shriek, releasing a little owl scream of frustration. Her wings fluttered in agitation, head swiveling partially around and then- oh shit she thought again, shuffling along her branch and extending her wings a second too late. The other girl's hand was already stretching out, but her left wing was in the way. Mariella felt a nauseatingly bright burst of pain, a sinking of her stomach and a fluttery faintness. She gave another screech, trying to struggle against the hand but only jarring her injured wing worse. "Stop! You're hurting!" she all but sobbed, feeling her grasp on the owl form waver. The colors of her feathers began to pale as she struggled to keep herself together. I'm going to die. Oh my gods, I'm going to die and my parents won't even know what happened.

[ValamLym]

When her fingers grasped the little owl Kat rejoiced mentally. Hunting this girl had felt good somehow, she felt powerful and on top of the foodchain. However, when the poor thing yelped she quickly stapped her scythe into the tree and grasped her back with the now free hand, letting go of the wing when she had her firmly in her hands.

Red began seeping into her eyes now, as her prey was near. A powerful flap send her into the air again before floating back down, gently landing on the ground the owl in tow. "change back" She commanded, clearly growing agitated by the proximity and hunger clawing at her mind.

"If you comply now I promise you that you will be fine, if you dont I will just split you open and drink your blood then." meanwhile her scythe turned to pink mist again, re forming around her neck as an necklace once more. "You're just making it more difficult for yourself by resisting"

[glorilyss]

The pain was nearly blinding; Mariella scrunched her eyes shut, feeling her little bird chest flutter as the panic and the agony built into her left wing. She knew she couldn't hold on much longer; as she shifted, the form she took had all of its natural frailties. Birds' hearts often pumped in overdrive when frightened, and if she stayed this way, she realized that the chance that she could die from the overexertion was growing. With a last little gasp of pain, she let herself dissolve, just as she heard the other girl command her to change. Even half-insensate with pain, she hated following orders, but within a few moments, the slender girl materialized, a spill of strawberry hair slipping over the vampire's arms like a wash of blood.

"You're just going to kill me anyway," she ground out, teeth gritting on the pain. She cradled her arm against her chest, breastbone heaving with shallow breaths. She felt the world darken around the edges of her vision but struggled against it, trying to shift backwards in the girl's arms. "You said you wouldn't hurt me!" The words were almost a sob again. As much as Mariella tried to be brave and self-controlled, she was only a fifteen-year-old girl who had led a very easy life.

Panic and pain rose in her chest, and the shifter failed to choke back another round of tears. I'm going to die anyways, what does it matter? "You promised, you promised, just like she promised." The words were a low keening, her face tucked against her chest, rocking back and forth slightly. Mari never lost control like this - but then, she was facing what she thought was certain death: either by being killed outright, or by being turned. After a moment, she felt her breathing slow slightly and turned her tear-stained face up to the vampire. "Just do it then. Just do it. I won't die crying." As if to contradict herself, she sniffled loudly, but it was hard not to admire the courage she was trying to show.

[ValamLym]

Kat felt for the girl. She really did. Her sobbing and writhing stirred the soft and caring heart that lies buried beneath her childish antics and dark needs. But those needs were growing, twisting and contorting so loudly in her mind that the girls words barely breached the noise.

"I.. I am sorry.. truly." she spoke softly dragging a hand across the girls arm and toward her neck, grabbing obton to it gently and forcing her to turn. The vein in the nevk was always the easiest and least painful. She took a hand to gently whipe away the girls tears off her cheeks before placing it on her other shoulder.

"You wont die, I promise" she muttered, uncharacteristically kind before parting her lips and bearing her fangs sinking them into the neck of the thin girl. She would feel minor stinging and a burning sensation at best az Kat did her best to stay true to her word.

For a few seconds she drank. Pure bliss washing over her as the girls blood passed down her throat. When her normal eye color returned she stopped, pulling her fangs clear from the girls neck and gently rubbing the incursion spot clean with her hand, she turned the girl to face her again and couldn't stop herself from hugging her, a genuine sense of guilt washing over her now that the hunger was gone.

"I am so sorry that you had to deal with this." she muttered half expecting a punch in the gut or some other retribution.

[glorilyss]

I am sorry, truly. But did that ever make things better?

Mariella felt vaguely distant as the vampire's hand trailed along her arm, knowing that she should struggle more but unable to. She felt her head turned by the strong fingers, but her neck lolled back against the supporting arm, eyes rolling towards the trees. She felt a surprising sharpness in her vision, yet a numb, dreamy feeling in her body, quickly accentuated by a sharp sting. In one part of her mind, Mari knew that she was trying to distance herself from the action, trying to distract herself with pointless details - the exact shine of the moonlight on the creek, the way the edge of a leaf near her head was edged in silver - to keep her mind off of everything. She tried very hard not to think of anything.

She didn't know what it would feel like to become a vampire, didn't know what would happen when the teeth came out of her neck. She tried to think these things through - if she was going to be some creature of the night, shouldn't she at least figure out a game plan? This was very inconvenient, being unable to think, but all she could focus on was the prickling in her throat, and the growing anger inside her. She was just... just a snack! How belittling! How... embarrassing!

The heat of her anger in her stomach distracted her just long enough to realize that she was being laid back down. There was a slightly glassy look in her eyes, rimmed in red and contrasting with the paleness of her face. "You didn't have to do-" Her voice ended in a strangled cry as she was pulled in roughly, the other hand flicking out in a gesture meant to shove the older girl away. "That hurts!"

[ooc sorry shitty post, there was a lot of filler there v_v]

[ValamLym]

Kat had her fill and the girls outcry had been calculated. What she had forgotten though was her arm, and boy did the girl remind her of that. She didn't really know how to respond, she wanted to make amends but had no idea how. She figured that a soft and kind approach would just be seem as weakness.

"Had you not been stubborn your arm would have beem fine. Or need I remind you that I kept my word while snapping your neck would have been childs play?" she sighed expecting nothing but more anger because of those words.

"Show me your arm, maybe I can force it back into place. she quietly muttered clearly somewhat at loss with herself "I never meant to hurt you" she added again, her voice low and soft.

[glorilyss]

Mariella rolled her eyes. "Yes, let's make it my fault that you threatened me with death and then drank from my neck." The words were hard and cold, filled with all of the self-importance of a fifteen-year-old that knows everything and has seen it all. Of course, she'd never seen past the walls of her town and the edge of this forest; she hadn't seen anything at all, except the hunger in her own eyes and the need to lash out, to take back what had been stolen from her.

However, when the vampire offered to pop the bone back into place, Mariella's face turned several shades paler. Though she had already been light-skinned from birth and blood loss, she looked positively ghastly now. "No, no," she stuttered, scootching back an inch across the grass, both palms flat on the earth, and then crumpled awkwardly to one side, her body slamming against her broken arm. Her cry was pitiful, tears springing into her eyes again. "Aren't you good for anything? Can't you fix people?" She bit her lip til blood welled out, bright and glistening in the moonlight.

[ValamLym]

Kat simply shrugged, she wasn't quite amused by the girl's reaction but she had gotten what she wanted. Still, her reactions did help her feel a lot less bad about the whole biting thing. After all, when someone continues telling you off you're bound to replace guilt with annoyance and anger. She fixated her gaze on the girl's hurt arm and then on the girl's face. Reaching up with her hand to wipe the blood off her own.

She quietly pondered for a moment, she could easily over power the girl and force the matter, but she didn't feel like going through another one of the girl's emotional tours. Truly, this girl had been the epitome of brat to her. She had been crying for her life mere minutes ago and now she was already back to bad mouthing someone whom she knows could easily break more then just her arm.

''I can fix your arm, if you would stop being such a brat.'' she simply stated, clearly done with being nice, it seemed like this girl needed even more discipline then she did, and she thought she herself was childish. ''Didn't your parents teach you anything?" she stepped closer, violet eyes fixated on the girl all the while ''You're in no position to bad mouth me, you should be happy I didn't drain all of your blood and left you to die.'' another step and she leaned down ''Want me to fix your arm or not?'' she snickered ''Or did you think you'd survive a trip alone, through this forest, with a broken arm?''

[glorilyss]

Mariella's look was sullen, her eyes downcast and mouth closed in a petulant frown. She sort of had forgotten about the giant scythe and the whole vampire thing, so maybe mouthing off hadn't been that good of an idea. Still, she'd never been particularly good at being a well-behaved child, as her mother had always been quick to tell her. Some of that rebellious sarcasm had clearly stuck around from her formative years.

She was tempted to shift and just take off, just to see the look on the girl's face. However, you usually needed two good wings or four good legs to be anything resembling fast, and right now, the only form that could actually walk easily was this one. Just the thought of stumbling through the forest and landing on her arm made her shiver. She shot a quick glance up at the sky; it had taken her about an hour to walk here, and another hour back at least. She could go home on her own, but she'd never make it back over the wall that led to the garden behind their house, and going in through the front was far too risky. She'd have to accept help, as much as it killed her.

"I'm not worried about surviving it... at least, as long as you're not still hungry." She tried to make a weak joke, offering a watery smile. If she was going to have to have some help, she may as well make it look like her own idea. With a long-suffering sigh, she slowly held her arm out from her body, closing her eyes. She knew it was going to hurt, but that didn't mean she had to see it. "Just do it quick, okay?"

[ValamLym]

Kat seemed somewhat perplexed at the attempted joke, not getting it in the slightest. She, in fact figured the girl was being serious ''I'll be fine for a while.'' she simply muttered in response before she leaned down, taking the girls broken arm in her hands, ignoring potential protesting. She carefully dragged her fingers over it, hoping to find the area where the bone had been broken or moved out of place, she knew she grabbed onto the girl horizontally so logically the bone should have been forced downward, but she wasn't sure this translated from owl to human.

After a while she found it, she took a short moment to grab a stick from the ground, cleaning it with her fingers a bit. It would never be completely clean, but for what she was about to do the girl would probably want it, she turned back, offering it to her ''Something to bite down on, should you need it.'' regardless of whether the girl took it or not she turned her attention back to her arm shortly after, finding the spot again and grabbing onto the arm rather firmly, before forcing the bone back up to connect with the old, a sickening pop echoing through the forest.

Kat quietly watched for a moment, holding onto the arm to search for any other possible locations of dislocated bone. When she found none she gently let go, offering the girl a weak smile. She knew she'd probably be confronted with another childish tantrum, but she honestly could forgive her for it this time, this hadn't exactly been a pleasant feeling no doubt. She waited for a few more moments before offering a more sincere smile ''there, now just refrain from using it for a few months.'' she got up and placed her hands on her hips. ''Need a lift home? Or got somewhere else you want to go?'' She figured she'd get a lecture about how evil she was again, but she figured actions would speak louder then deeds to this young and especially frail girl.

[glorilyss]

Mariella watched her joke go unnoticed, though she was feeling ill enough not to be bothered. The longer she sat with her arm held out, the queasier she felt. Just looking at it made her sick; there was thankfully no horrible gash, no ends of bone protruding, but approximately three quarters of the way down her forearm, there was a noticeable change in angle. She stole another quick glance at it, feeling another wave of nausea that was only partially caused by the pain.

When the vampire girl brushed clean a length of stick, the reality of her coming actions settled like a rock into the bottom of her stomach. Oh God, she thought nervously, eyeing the stranger's quick, precise movements. She flashed a panicked look through upturned eyes at her face, almost begging with her expression for the older girl not to do this. She knew it had to be done, but that didn't mean she wanted it to happen. Mariella had gone her whole life without so much as a broken finger, and when she finally broke a bone, it had to be in a skirmish with a vampire. No one would even believe me. Or worse, they'd mistrust her.

Another deep sigh depressed her chest, and she closed her eyes. "Just do it quick-" she started to instruct, but her words were swallowed by the strangled shriek that clawed its way out of her chest. She really hadn't gotten to the stick fast enough, and her teeth came down so hard on the tip of her tongue that she tasted a copper flood of blood. The world swam around her and she found herself half-sliding to one side, struggling against an advancing tide of blackness and barely managing to prop herself up with her good arm. Too shocked and disoriented to even work up the energy for a sarcastic remark, she just shook her head, looking a bit dazed. "I'll be fine," she murmured, reaching up to rub at her mouth and smearing red on her cheek. "I don't need a lift, I need a lie." How was she ever going to explain this to her parents?

"You should have just finished me off," she mumbled nervously, looking at her impromptu doctor with a slight sheen of sweat and panic on her face. "My mum's going to strangle me anyways when I come home with filthy clothes, scuffed shoes, and a broken arm. But.. thanks." She shifted to her knees and then pushed herself up with her good arm, dizzily snatching at the nearest tree trunk. "I mean, even though you, you know, forcefully drank my blood. But at least you weren't, you know, rougher, I guess." She was decidedly looking a little gray, but it was clear that she was trying to put a brave face on it; she just didn't have the energy to bicker and squabble right now.

[ValamLym]

"A lie huh? I suppose your parents dont know about your tricks then... cause of the hate for magic here?" kat simply smiled at the girl. She didn't quite understand her concerns about being bitten but did try her best to change her opinion. She didn't have to think long to find the reason. She always just wanted to be accepted.

"I am sure they will understand if you were to say y- " she paused eyeing the girl "They dont know you are out here do they?" she smirked, sneaking out was something she herself had done often enough. She pondered for a while, trying to conjure up a plan for the girl.

"We can clean your clothes in the river and take you to a proper doctor to see about the arm." she softly offered the plan but did not stop working her mind on another incase the girl didn't like it. If she were honest though she knew the broken arm would be exposed quite quickly... "you could always set up a scene" she offered, trying to think of a proper way to fool the girls parents.