Private Tales Clashing Fangs

[Fallon]

Fallon's laugh caught in her throat as the woman spoke and she reluctantly drew her lips away, her fingers still running through her hair as she stared at her as though she couldn't quite believe she wasn't part of an almost forgotten dream. "Fuck I missed you.." she breathed again, her eyes narrowing as she flashed her teeth in another smile. The act had been so rare for her over these past few weeks that she found her jaw aching with it, one of the many aches to woman made her suffer.

"Everything?.." Fallon chuckled and bit on her lip, her head shaking slowly. "I've conquered many beasts and chased many demons back through the veil since I parted with you but I'd rather hear of how you wound up here." her brow furrowed but her smile was irremovable and her fingers were exploring her porcelain features once again.

"Truthfully, I have been...miserable." she sighed the word. "Insufferable, even. I'm ashamed to say that I tried to push you out of my mind, but every time I closed my eyes you were right there and being apart from you I.." she frowned, and her smile fell then as she melted into those ruby eyes of hers. "I've never known suffering quite like it." she admitted and swallowed the lump in her throat.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria didn’t want Fallon to be upset... but she did like feeling unforgettable. It fed her pride, and at least some part of her should get to eat. She let a thin smile hang on her lips, but it faltered when Fallon’s sadness peaked. No amount of flattery could make her enjoy that.

She knew why the silver wolf had tried to forget her, she’d attempted the same. It would be far easier to simply let their paths separate and just remember the one, magnificent intersection of fate. She quickly learned that was impossible. Fallon had, for better or worse, changed the very world around her. She couldn’t look at the moon without seeing her eyes in it, and she strained her ears for the howls of wolves in the distance.

“You infect me,” she said in satisfied defeat, moving her body into every graze of Fallon’s fingers. How did one describe such a thing? An affection so strong for someone that, by rights, should be hated. All she could do was put sweet tones to violent words. “You make me burn.”

“You know I haven’t walked barefoot in decades?” She leaned closer, but allowed her tired arms to fall to her sides. “Now I crave the earth in my toes because it reminds me...” she didn’t need to finish, and chose to gently press their foreheads together and lose herself in the feeling and scent of the wild one’s skin.

She should answer Fallon’s question.

“I was looking for people, these were the first I found. They’re... nice enough,” she stopped herself just short of saying “they’re too stupid to tell what I am,” still acutely aware that this might be a point of contention between them. “I played the victim, told them I’d been attacked and raped and all that, a nice old woman took me in.” Then she stopped with a short gasp. Norma.

If Damien went to check on his mother, or traced the fabric back to her and found Victoria missing he would start to ask questions. Questions lead to suspicion, and suspicion only grew in these tiny, backwards places.

“I have to go,” she said suddenly, “They mustn’t know I am out here.” It was anguish to think of leaving Fallon’s side so soon and, without thinking, her hand clamped around the wolf’s. A moment’s hesitation, and quick look back the way Damien had gone, then back into the quicksilver pools. ”Walk with me?”

She would tell Fallon more of her time here as they returned to the small house. She would walk slowly, stretching out the moments as long as she dared. So long as no one saw them it would be fine.

It would be fine.

 

[Fallon]

"Oh... I'm, not sure that's supposed to happen.." Fallon's cheeks dimpled in a grin at the woman's violent imagery, but she understood, and her wide smile said as much. She couldn't stop touching her, her face, hair, lips, neck, trying to convince herself that it wasn't some cruel dream she would wake up from at any moment.

Fallon listened intently, hanging on every word the woman spoke, her eyes sharing her fixation between Victoria's blazing eyes and lips as her fingertips curled into her crimson hair. With their foreheads touching, her eyes closed and a low growl purred in her chest. Her brow furrowed as she told her of the story she'd spun, even fictional the thought caused a sudden burst of burning rage and her eyes snapped open in time with the gasp.

"Go?.." Fallon sat back a little to look at the woman, a brief flare of panic in her eyes. If she left her right now she was sure she would simply die. Her pulse quickened, entirely ready to beg her to stay when she asked her to go with her. She looked down at her hand and her grip tightened in fear of the vampire changing her mind. She didn't know where they were going, she didn't care. She quickly pulled on a short dress of suede and fur and lifted her bag to go with her, her smile irremovable as they walked hand in hand.

Fallon paused when the few flickering lights of torches came into view of the sleepy village up ahead and her hand tightened it's grip on Victoria's as she turned to her. "I disturbed a hunt, didn't I?.." she asked quietly, but her soft frown wasn't one of judgement. She couldn't very well accept her feelings for Victoria without accepting what she was at the same time.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria’s eyes drank in as much of Fallon’s uncovered body as they could before it hid beneath the thin leather. She loved how rustic it all was, a single bit of animal skin between her and the elements, each tuft of fur a vivid reminder that life had been taken to produce the garment. She did note, upon closer inspection, that it was very finely made. Simple, yes, but elegant. The stitching was not clumsy, and the fur had been deliberately arranged. It was a more than a few steps beyond the itchy wool drapes she had pulled over herself.

She allowed half of her mind to live in a fantasy, a place where she and Fallon were walking the woods for their own pleasure. They would not appear as monsters to onlookers, just two women enjoying the cool air and each other’s company. Only the utter silence of their footfalls would mark them as hunters.

The other half of her mind, the one that knew secrecy must be maintained, was the only thing holding her back from launching herself on Fallon. It kept her arms linked around Fallon’s strong elbow and kept her knees off the ground. It was the cool chain that held tight to a collar of restraint, but every pulse through Fallon’s arm was a pull against it.

The village started to come into view, and Fallon spoke. Victoria tensed, and she didn’t answer straight away. Instead, she just looked into the torches. When she finally turned she was tight lipped, and she had to force herself to look into the deadly silver gaze. It was not the stare of derision she had expected.

”Yes,” she said after a deep breath. There was no sense in denying it. She knew she should say more, but then again… should she? Justifying it with hunger felt wrong. Yes, she was starving now, but she probably wouldn’t be the next time she fed. Or the time after that.

So she waited in an apneic silence for what Fallon would say in reply.

 

[Fallon]

Justifying her hunger would have been just as ridiculous as Fallon justifying her need to hunt demons. It was part of what they were. Fallon at least had a physical choice whether she did or didn't hunt, but the desire and the duty to were so deeply ground into the fabric of her being that it was quite simply natural. Victoria had no choice, and so less justification was warranted. If she wanted to function and survive, it was what she had to do. And Fallon so deeply wanted her to survive..

Her gaze narrowed in soft understanding and she sighed a sound of acceptance as her free hand lifted to let her fingers comb into those crimson tresses and her thumb drew back and forth across her alabaster cheek. Creatures who leeched and feasted on other beings had always been abhorrent to her and it was, still, but Victoria was different somehow. Somehow the thought of it...wasn't disturbing at all. Somehow the thought of it sent a shudder racing down her spine that wasn't all together unpleasant. She didn't see Victoria as a pitiful leech, she saw her as an apex predator, strong, impressive, elegant. Beautiful.

Fallon let out a breath and her fingers curled and tightened in Victoria's hair and she closed the gap of static air between them to claim her mouth with her own, a possessive growl rattling in her chest as she drew the woman against her.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

She stayed still as Fallon’s hand caressed her face, just a gentle and unconscious parting of her lips as her defenses were effortlessly swept aside. Those eyes held no disapproval, but Victoria almost couldn’t let herself believe that Fallon would really not be upset with her.

The kiss was not expected, but it was graciously accepted. She did nothing to resist Fallon’s arms pulling her close and drenched herself in the living heat. Her shivering knees buckled and her arms hung at her sides but her lips danced against Fallon’s own with as much energy as she could muster. She felt the carnal growl in her breast and desired nothing more than to surrender entirely to her.

She had never been so helpless against her own heart, not even when she had been lured into the woods on a summer night. She had been naive then, and foolish. Now she knew better. Now she had reason to resist but she just… didn’t. That was it. She didn’t reason with herself, did not bargain, did not fish for meaning and excuses. Her judgement told her to leave, and she simply said “no.”

And she knew, immediately, that she loved this wolf.

”Victoria!” A man’s voice, loud and sharp, shocked her back to her feet and painfully broke the contact of their lips. She could see Damien at the edge of the village, clear as could be in the shadows, with sword drawn and lanturn just now being lit.

She was frozen, her hungry mind was unable to think its way out of this, and she just gawked in horror as the flame came to life. How had she not seen him? She had been too distracted by her love, too elated at their reunion. She had let her guard down, and so, too, it seemed, had Fallon.

Damien set the lanturn down in the grass and produced the scrap of Victoria’s dress that he’d found. “Why are you out in the forest at night, Victoria?” He asked calmly. “And who is this?”

She couldn’t speak.

 

[Fallon]

Her lips burned, and her heart pulsed the heat of it to every nerve of her body and she felt her tension and worry melt away along with all rational thought. Victoria was hers, and the world was theirs, and fuck everything else that would tell them otherwise. Her hands had started their descent to the woman's hips when they were interrupted, and a raw growl rattled in her chest in response to being caught unaware and to the inconvenience of how cold her lips suddenly felt.

Silver eyes settled on the man with a dangerous flash of hostility, and she realised she'd never looked upon a human like a predator might in her life. He wasn't prey, at least not to her, but gods she hated him for what he'd interrupted. She looked the man over and her gaze narrowed at the questions he set before her red vampire, and by the pregnant silence that followed it was clear that Victoria could offer no viable excuse.

"I lured her out here.." Fallon told him casually and stood in front of Victoria.. "What business is it of yours?" her brow quirked and she slowly began her approach on the man.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Damien’s face remained hard and his worn tabard flickered orange against the lamplight. “I am the head of the guard. It is very much my business what occurs in these woods if it endangers our people.” The way he said “our” made it very clear that he did not consider either one of them to be within that group.

”She tells the truth,” Victoria chimed in, ”I am sorry if I caused you or your mother any worry.” She had morphed her tone back to the sweet, lost girl that had stumbled into their lives, but she did not out from behind Fallon’s protective shoulders. The gleaming fire hurt her eyes and she could feel its oppressive heat from here. ”I thought... maybe it was my Fallon.”

Damien ground his teeth and continued to lock eyes with Fallon, standing his ground. “I think not.” He said finally and with a touch more authority and raised his sword at Fallon’s approach. “And you will stay where you are.”

His blade was not good quality, but it did not waver in his steady hand. “Attacked women do not chase strangers in dark woods, and those who lose their husbands do not fall into the arms of another so readily.” So he had seen, Victoria bit her lip in irritation. Damien clearly didn’t know very much about women, but unfortunately it was him who needed to believe her lies most of all.

“But there are other creatures out here, in the mountains. Creatures I’ve seen. Creatures I need to protect my people from. Creatures that walk in darkness. Those with pale skin that hide from daylight. Lustful, hedonistic monsters.” His eyes flashed between the pair of them, and he made no effort to hide his disgust. Fallon in her sheer dress, Victoria who’s lips had been locked with the other woman’s.

“I know what you are, vampires. You will not have this town.”

Victoria let out a long, slow sigh. She had been so careful for so long, and it had only taken her a moment to tear it all down. She supposed she should be grateful that it had taken him this long to figure it out. She wouldn’t take it back, Damien could hang if it meant she could lean back into Fallon’s embrace.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon continued her slow stride toward the male, but it wasn’t his order or brandished weapon that gave her pause.

My Fallon? It probably wasn’t a good time to give in to the swell of emotion that such words prompted but the wolf turned to look over her shoulder at the redhead to flash her a smile of approval, and resisted the urge to return to her right then and there. But this man was still talking at her and her attention returned to him.

She was used to being vilified by people who didn’t know any better, but she was less used to the aggression that she felt toward someone she’d otherwise protect. He didn’t matter to her, Victoria did, and she quickly realised the hold that the woman had on her and that she had absolutely no desire to fight it.

“Very good.” Fallon replied casually, her silver eyes fixed venomously on the man before her. “And if you knew anything about vampires you’d know just how easily they can get into your head.. How easily they can lure unsuspecting humans into the forest at night.” her brow quirked. “You disturbed my hunt.” Her head tilted at him and she took another step closer before she froze.

A soft evening breeze drew Fallon’s attention briefly toward the bushes, and she felt her pulse quicken. He hadn’t come out here alone, of course he hadn’t. He thought he was hunting vampires.

“Victoria..” she whispered into the breeze to let it carry it’s tone of warning. She didn’t know how many there were, nor what weapons they had, but she’d rather run than take the risk of finding out.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

She didn't immediately know what Fallon was doing. She never would have though she would pretend to be a vampire, certainly not in open hostility to humans. In spite of the tension of the moment, it was a touching gesture. Victoria hadn't needed protection in a very, very long time. Maybe she didn't need it now, but it felt so good to have it offered nonetheless.

Fallon fell into the role so well that Victoria's heart ran circles around her head, and she latched onto Fallon's hostility in a pack mentality (the irony of which would not be lost on her). Her hunger mingled with raw attraction to form despicable, wonderful visions. Yes, my love. Rend him. Tear them apart. Let us take this town together. Fallon's warning made its way through her hazy mind but its meaning was not understood.

Damien had the grace to look confused for a second as Fallon continued her act, but his tone only grew firmer. "Your lies hold no power here! We will defend our home from both of you." As he said "we," several small and flickering lights came to life from the treeline around them. No less than six archers had been waiting to either side, and Victoria could feel the heat from the flaming arrows knocked in place.

Her ghoulish desires swept away, and the warning now clear, she felt the cold hand of fear grip tight to her chest. Could she outrun them in her current state? She doubted very much that she would be able to use her mistform. Stupid girl, she thought to herself. She should have fed on the villagers sooner, she should never have allowed her strength to wane so much. She should have taken a hunter, or one of the girls as they went to the spring. Her confidence in her anonymity had been her downfall.

Yet it was more than that. She knew there was another reason that she had declined to harm these people. Fallon had infected her mind with a most glorious fever, and it had impressed upon her some sickening aspect of worth to human lives. After all, if such a magnificent creature as Fallon... her Fallon... would go to such lengths to protect these worms then surely they must deserve it? And even if they didn't, would she disappoint the garou by indulging herself?

"Damien wait!" she called out, trying her best to look unthreatening. "We will leave. You will never see us again, just let us go." She was not accustomed to begging, and if Fallon were not also in danger she very likely would not have. "Please. You took me in. I have lived here for weeks. I don't want to hurt any of you."

Damien appeared to consider her request, then said "No one will be safe until you are dead." At his nod, the archers loosed the arrows: three to Fallon, and three to Victoria.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon had hoped her lie would have offered explanation for Victoria's evening stroll, and reason for being locked in a passionate kiss. That they might spare the red head and focus on her instead. That she could run and know Victoria was safe. But she knew a lost cause, and as Victoria pleaded with the man, the flickering light of the flames reflected in the glassy surfaces of Fallon's eyes and she felt her heart beat a cacophony of thrumming rhythm in her chest.

It all seemed to happen so slowly, the sound of her own shallow breaths loud in her ears. She looked to Damien as he gave his answer, and watched his gaze shift to his archers and she spun to look at Victoria.

No. No she wasn't finally being reunited with her to have her torn away from her now. No she wasn't about to die.

In an instant Fallon's body was throwing itself toward Victoria, her arms open to grab her and pull her to the ground and the pair would roll to a stop. Miraculously, she had avoided all three arrows, but she glanced back to see that the flames caught, as flames tended to do, on everything they touched, and in moments the dead underbrush was alight with a ghastly orange grin of unfettered inferno, devouring hungrily, licking and lapping at the thicket, twisting and swaying in a dance without rhythm.

Muscles ripped for a moment under her skin and Fallon stretched and writhed, claws raking across her clothes to strip them from her transforming body.

"Hide!" she told the woman, her voice strained from the pain of twisting bone and growing muscle. The shift didn't take long, and she could feel the men's shock in the lapse of arrows. They stared at the huge wolf in horror as she turned back to them, her lips pulled back over her teeth to snarl and snap a warning at the air. Fallon didn't retreat, instead she stepped forward, claws splayed by her sides and her ears pressing back flat against her skull and she knew, without question, that she was about to kill these men.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Fallon moved with greater speed that Victoria had ever witnessed and in an instant they collided. Air was forced from her motionless lungs as she hit the ground and she clung to Fallon as the momentum spun them in the dirt. She could hear the whistling of the arrows overhead and felt the their fire. A blinding, white-hot pain sliced through her calf as her body passed over Fallon’s, and she let out an agonized moan. No arrows had stuck, but one had glanced her and left a deep and blackened gash.

Fire. Everywhere. The heat was oppressive to her and the orange lights seared her eyes. Why was it always fire? She could feel Fallon begin to shift, felt the muscles move beneath her skin and heard the deep, contorted voice beckon her to hide. Victoria did not want her to leave, but the men were now focused almost entirely on the beast.

Squinting against the smoke, she crawled backwards through the brush until she felt cool brush to her side. She could see the hulking shadow that opposed these men and she wanted to run to her and fight by her side. She wanted to kill them all for daring to attack, but her elbows were still shaking beneath her, and the pain in her leg was crippling. Her body was making an effort to repair the damage but the burnt edges were stubborn. It would take quite some time to heal, even at full strength.

Damien called to his men to hold their ranks, but only four had the courage to stay and fight. A few of the villagers had awoken to the noise and were beginning to peek their heads out their doors, but none were near enough yet to see the battle at their border.

More arrows were loosed at the wolf, none of the guards daring to get close to her.

 

[Fallon]

The smell of Victoria's burnt flesh seemed to tendril into her mind and blacken it with rage and it gripped hold of her limbs and propelled her forward. The bipedal wolf stumbled backward, her shoulder thrown back as a flaming arrow struck her and buried itself deep into her bone. A roar was thrown from her lungs like an explosion of pure fury, and for the first time in her life, she lost control.

Another two thunderous steps and she reached a massive paw to grab a fumbling soldier, her claws melting into his throat and shoulder like a hot knife through butter. The frantic cries of the other men were drowned out by their comrade's curdling screams as Fallon lifted him from his feet and used him as a battering ram, his body swung and crashed through another two of them, sending them flying through the air and landing with clatters.

Damien was loading another arrow, and as it was about to fly at her she lifted the man, now a shield, and he croaked out another cry of pain as he took the flaming arrow to the belly. Fallon lifted her knee and brought the dying man down atop it, breaking his back and rendering him silent before she threw his limp body toward where Victoria hid herself.

She turned back to Damien..

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria’s eyes strained to adjust to the light, and when they did she was frozen in awe of what Fallon had become. Immense, ferocious, beautiful. The screams of men drowned beneath her roars and the shuddering of earth beneath her feet gave comfort to the pale, injured woman behind her.

The sounds of breaking bones and splashing blood was musical to Victoria’s inner sadist. Reveling in the suffering of her enemies distracted her from the pain, and she was mesmerized by Fallon’s relentless assault. She had almost forgotten her hunger until a broken corpse landed beside her in a heavy heap.

She remembered immediately and instinct drove her body forwards. The life had left his eyes but she could smell his blood on the air. It was still hot, and still fresh, but it would not remain so for long. Removing all pretense of dignity she scrambled forwards on hands and knees and bit savagely at his neck.

It was not particularly good blood, mediocre at best, but in her wasted state it tasted as sweet as rosewater. It was lukewarm against the heat of flames, but she felt it warm her insides all the same. Time was nothing now, the outside danger did not exist. She was singularly focused on her meal, but it was waning.

Without a heartbeat to pump it his blood quickly fell stagnant, and Victoria lifted herself from the body, leaving long sticky trails of half-congealed fluid. She saw two more bodies on the ground, and these were still writhing. Still lacking the strength to stand, she crawled for them like the creature she was.

Damien‘s face betrayed his fear. He had never faced anything like this and knew that he had taken on more than he could manage. His insufferable sense of duty pushed him on, though. If he died today he only hoped enough people would live to remember his sacrifice.

A scream came from behind him as the first of the curious villagers saw the monster at their doorstep. “Stay back!!” he called to them. Those idiots were going to get themselves killed regardless of his efforts. He regretted ever trusting that loathsome woman, felt sick when he thought about how she’d lived under his mother’s roof for so long. The sickness welled to the surface and caused him to gag as he looked over and saw that same woman huddled over one of his men’s twitching bodies. Hurriedly, he moved to load another arrow. If he could hit the monster in the face, or an eye, maybe it would make a difference.

It didn’t take long for Victoria’s strength to start returning, and she sat back up in the familiar heady, post-feeding euphoria. The men had been undernourished and overworked, but it would do. She rose to her feet just in time to see the men who’d fled earlier return with reinforcements. Not guards, by the looks of them, but male villagers bearing pitchforks and torches.

How unoriginal.

She wasn’t hungry anymore, just angry. Angry at herself for being caught, but mostly at the villagers for the trouble they were causing. She stepped over the body of her last meal to the man twisting on the ground beside him, and dug her heal into his throat, twisting her foot until she head the crack of his neck, and he went still.

She had missed how good it felt to kill.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon reached in annoyance to take hold of arrow that protruded from her shoulder and she growled as she yanked it out of her flesh, like uncorking a wine barrel that now freely poured it's hemic contents to run in ruby rivulets down her chest and arm. She rolled the offended shoulder, keeping her ominous, quicksilver gaze settled on Damien as he nocked another arrow and Fallon's snarl pulled her lips away from her razor-sharp canines in warning.

The scream that came from behind him seemed to shake her from her fury for a moment and her flattened ears lifted as she watched the villagers come forth. Fallon's body lowered from her hind stance and she stepped back.

What was she doing?..

The man hadn't listened, he'd already made his mind up that he'd be killing her and Victoria both, she'd been defending their lives, this she could justify just as she justified the death of the hunters that came after her and her pack. But villagers had never had to defend their homes and people from her. She wasn't a monster. They had to run.

The crack of a neck caused the wolf's ears to pivot and she turned her gaze to Victoria and the foot she currently held against the man's neck. Fallon's heart was thundering, her gaze wide with panic as she backed up a little too close to the flames and turned her head just in time to feel the bite of an arrow across her face. The wolf yelped and her massive head shook in distress. There was no doubt in her mind just how close the arrow had been from her eye.

The white wolf's hackles raised and her tail bristled, and she let out a loud snarl as she took a slow, threatening, step forward before lunging for Damien without any more warning. She was done killing, but she swung a weighty paw at the man's chest with a strength that saw him fly into a nearby tree before he could draw back another arrow.

More screams grated at her ears and caused them to fall flat against her skull. She was moving back again, but the villagers were too afraid to approach. Not that it stopped the launched spear that flashed toward her in her periphery.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

The fires still oppressed her, but her fear had been smothered by anger. Stupid, stupid humans, always meddling, always sticking their noses so far in that they had to be cut off. Everything would have been fine if Damien had just kept his mouth shut. She refused to acknowledge her own fault in this instant, her own carelessness for venturing into the woods and pining for her wolf. No… no it was Damien’s fault.

Fallon’s yelp wrenched her head to the side with a sickening sensation of dread. Her crimson eyes cut through the smoke to see Fallon shaking off an attack, her perfect silver fur stained with red.

Anger morphed to fury as Victoria bared her teeth at Damien, still holding the empty crossbow at eye level. Her face was stretched by hatred, and she would have rushed to him had not Fallon beaten her to it.

The sight of Damien crumpling to the ground was welcome, but her bloodlust was tempered by looking at the wonderful creature that had attacked him. She looked… worried. The ears were laid back but there was no more snarling. The eyes that reflected the flames were not filled with hatred but… what was it?

Her poor Fallon. What had she drawn her into? Perhaps the garou would understand why Victoria held such disdain for mortals… but that would not make up for the pain it seemed to cause. When the vampire looked at the cowering masses, the encroaching militia, all she could see was angry livestock. She recognized a few of the faces from her time undercover, but try as she might, she could not manage sympathy for any of them. Not anymore.

The spear was thrown clumsily, but that did not make it less dangerous. Victoria’s body reacted before her mind could process, and she bolted across the field to snatch the heavy stake from the air. She turned in one fluid motion and send it rocketing back into the crowd, where it pierced clean through the one who’d thrown it before embedding itself in the dirt some ten feet beyond.

She couldn’t hear the screams anymore and she turned to Fallon, placing her cold hands upon that moonlight fur. My poor dear, what have they done to you. She looked from Fallon’s eyes to her ears, then down her neck to her shoulder. It hurt almost as though she’d been shot herself, and her caring fingers grazed over the blood that fell from the wound.

Grazed over the blood.

The blood.

The Blood.​

Victoria began to breath again, quick and deep, chest moving more and more as her animal mind lit up. Fallon’s blood was hot and thick on her fingers, and the scent was overwhelming. It was like nothing she’d encountered before, so fine and pure and powerful. She swallowed, unable to take her eyes off of her own fingers, which traveled tremulously towards her lips. Just a taste wouldn’t hurt… just… just one taste.

She stopped just hairs away from her tongue. She was frightened. Frightened of how much she would like it. Frightened that, once tasted, she would never get enough. She didn’t want to think of Fallon just for her blood. She didn’t want to think of Fallon as prey. Yet at the same time she could almost feel the nectar seeping into her fingers, and she looked up at the towering wolf.

She silently begged her permission.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon braced herself to be skewered, her eyes closing with a premature whine. She wasn't at all ready to die, and regardless of how many times she stared death in the face she'd never go down without a fight. But as much as she'd have preferred to avoid it, she'd have accepted it, for whoever had thrown it had every right to do so.

The vampire's steps were so fast she'd barely heard them at all, it was the welcomed, cool breeze that ruffled through her fur that came with her sudden arrival that caused the wolf's eyes to open and her rigid body to ease. She took in the scene; the skewered man currently sliding down the impaled spear that had been intended for her, the scattering villagers that decided they were out of their depth who now ran screaming back toward their homes, and the few who still stood either in shock or stupidity with their feeble weapons still brandished within their tremulous grips.

Fallon's chest rose and feel with each heavy breath as she stared across the destruction, watching as the blaze was dragged along the spiny tinder by the cold evening breeze that fanned it's terrible temper. The hand in her fur caused her gaze to drop and her ears to lift as she settled her sight on Victoria, fully aware that the woman had saved her life once more. She glanced to the blood and then back at the woman with a soft whine, and as their eyes met she knew what she asked.

The wolf lowered her head, a low growl more akin to a purr rumbling in her chest. Mind, body, blood..heart. This woman could have whatever she wanted. The fire continued to devour, and a crack of wood yanked Fallon's attention back up to see a nearby tree succumb to the flames, and it's thick bough snapped above them. Her arm wrapped itself around Victoria and lifted her against her chest, shielding her from the flames as she ran until she could no longer smell the smoke nor hear the screaming.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

She stared into the face of a massive wolf. Jaws that could swallow her whole, atop shoulders that would dwarf an ogre, all of it covered in thick, snowfall fur. Fallons eyes were the only thing that never changed, of course these were quite a bit larger within this form than the others, and Victoria could see her entire self reflected in them. She appeared as a twig next to the garou, standing tall and thin amidst the flames and frozen in a state of self-denial.

Lips, already thick with the blood of men, trembled in anticipation. She looked up, and the eyes said “yes.” However, she had scarcely heard the snap of the branch above before Fallon swept her against her breast. Pressed into the gloriously soft fur she could only hold still as she was carried far away from the village. The heat of the flames subsided, but she felt warmer than ever. The only sounds she could hear were the rushing of Fallon’s breath and the thundering of her heart pressed against her ear.

A moment ago she had wanted to murder every last one of the villagers. A moment ago she had wanted to tear the men limb from limb, and to feed on their wives. It was amazing how quickly her focus shifted, and while she still harbored a vengeful hatred of those people she submitted to the serenity of being so close to Fallon, and so completely protected by her. The strength behind the arm that held her, thick as a tree, could not possible by understated. The rippling chest pressed against her face, and the rhythmic rocking of her body under Fallon’s power... it was awaking altogether different feelings.

They finally stopped, and though she was set down she remained on her back. The blood on her hand regained its place as her primary focus, and the extra blood that had spilled during Fallon’s run only added to her desperation. The wolf had told her yes, and so, watching Fallon’s beastial face, she touched her fingertips to her tongue.

The flavor was unlike anything she could imagine, and before she could stop herself she was running her tongue up her palm and sucking the blood from her fingertips. It took hold of her and all she could think was more. Gasping, writhing, and desperate, she clutched at Fallon’s chest as she cleaned the last drops from her hand, just trying to anchor herself as her head started to spin.

Then her stomach convulsed, and she rolled to her side doubled over. The hand she had been devouring was now clasped over her mouth while the other clutched at her belly. The garou blood was so pure, so powerful, and so opposite to everything that made up Victoria’s being that her body was attempting to reject it. However many of Fallon’s stories were actually true was for others to debate, but this much was clear: her blood had blessings of the divine, and it fought the vampire that consumed it.

Victoria kept it down, and as the cold nausea ebbed away a new feeling swelled to take its place.

​

Her body, curled forwards like a struggling babe, wrenched itself in the opposite direction, extending her arms and legs and bending her spine back so that she arched upwards from the ground. A moan, not quite pain and not quite pleasure, forced its way from her throat. The spasms continued, diminishing with each repeat, until she lay gasping on her back. Her eyes were wild and an insane grin had spread across her open mouth.

She felt powerful. She felt lighter than air. She felt... alive. She got to her feet in a single bound and noticed that her leg wound was simply gone. Her mind felt sharp, she could see everything around them, from the individual pine needles in the trees to the wolf’s watching eyes, and that was where her gaze stayed.

She put a hand on Fallon, and although the gesture was gentle, she would be able to feel the titanic strength behind the fingers.

”I need you to change back,” she said quietly. Her breaths had not slowed. ”Now.”

 

[Fallon]

Fallon sat on her haunches after setting Victoria down, each heavy breath panted into the frigid air in misty plumes as she stared across the expanse she'd just run, watching and listening for any sign of assailant. She rolled her shoulder absently and returned her attention to the pale-skinned woman to watch with a morbid curiosity as she tasted the blood. It was an odd thing to watch. Fallon enjoyed the taste of blood when it oozed from a fresh kill, but the meat was her sustenance just as blood was Victoria's.. How different was it really?

The reaction was unexpected. It sent panic rushing through her and the wolf whined and nosed at the convulsing woman in confusion. Was there something wrong with her blood? Had she inadvertently poisoned the woman that she loved?

The white wolf stared on in helpless trepidation, her ears pinned flat to her skull as she stood over her protectively, refraining from touching her in the fear that she might break. She let out a perplexed yelp in worriment over Victoria's writhing and a growl rattled free of her chest.

Her shift had already begun as the woman hopped to her feet and put a hand to her chest, and she barely let her eyes leave her face for a moment as her bones and muscles shrunk and rolled back into place. Soon the silvery white fur had seeped back under her olive and smoke-blackened skin and she stood naked, glistening with a fine sheen of sweat and slick with blood despite her wound having closed.

"What? What happened, what's wrong?.." Fallon growled in consternation and fear as both hands lifted to settle on each side of her face just as her claws receded. Silver eyes studied the Vampire's flushed face and the sonorous sound of her own heartbeat pounded in her ears.

"Are you alright?..."

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

”I have never been better,” she answered and drew Fallon in for a long, deep kiss by the nape of her neck. Her hand on Fallon’s chest roamed to the small of her back, pulling her in closer. Though she was not as well built as Fallon, she was taller, and she leaned forwards to dip Fallon back just far enough so that the weight was eased off her feet. ”Your blood is incredible,” she confessed in between greedy tastes of her lips. Everything felt more intense, and her hands clutched at the blonde woman’s skin like marble spiders crawling over dawn-touched fields. It was the softest, warmest, and most wonderous thing Victoria had ever felt, and being denied from it by a single layer of itchy wool was unacceptable.

She had all but forgotten the battle three minutes past. All but forgotten the village that, moments ago, she would have razed to the ground. Victoria was entirely in the present, and she could sense everything. Every touch, every breath from Fallon’s lips, every minute action of her body was amplified. All this from from a mere passing taste. She was almost afraid at what might happen if she were ever allowed a proper meal of whatever pumped through Fallon’s heart.

”Is this what it feels like to be you?” She asked and took Fallon’s neck with her lips. Somehow, knowing it was this woman‘s blood that had done this, knowing that Fallon, her Fallon, was in some small part coursing through her own veins, it made her feel that much closer.

”Thank you,” she almost hissed the thready whisper. ”Thank you, thank you...” each word was punctuated with lips moving steadily from collarbone to jaw. She should be making sure that Fallon was alright, but she dared not inspect her wounds. She could feel the pull of the blood that dried on Fallon’s arm and she resisted. For the moment Fallon’s lips remained dominant, but she could sense that control slipping.

”You saved me,” she lifted Fallon back to her feet. ”How can I ever repay you for this gift?” She had a few ideas, but she wanted to hear them in Fallon’s voice.

 

[Fallon]

That cold kiss was the tranquillising hit that she needed to settle her panic, but it done nothing for her racing heart which only continued it's climb, and shuddering muscle raced along the trail of her hands as they glided over her skin. She was being..dipped?

Fallon, eighty-seven years of age, alpha female of a pack of garou wolves, slayer of demons; and being quite literally swept off of her feet for the first time in her life. By a vampire.

It took her a moment to ease, but her tension slowly thawed and she practically melted into every touch, every kiss, every word. Fallon knew Garou blood to be dominant and pure, but she had never considered the effect it might have on one who might consume it. Until now, nobody ever had, but the lustrous impact it seemed to be having on Victoria made her swoon with a smug sense of pride. She clutched onto the woman for dear life and drank her in, every kiss breathing fire straight into her mind.

Her head fell back at her question and she laughed, her eyes closing under the slightest of frowns as she focused on the cool, pillowy kisses as they ascended over her neck. "I don't know.. What does it feel like?.." she asked in a breathy whisper and bit on her lip to suppress her grin and stop her jaw aching.

As she was straightened up again her body protested and leaned heavily against her, drunk on affection and craving more. Her grinning lips brushed over hers and she rumbled fervidly as she captured her mouth with another hungry kiss..

"Like you needed saving.." she spoke against her lips with a smirk, and her slender brow arched at her question, but she rested her forehead against Victoria's and she let out a shuddered sigh. "You can repay me.. By treating what I have to tell you delicately.." she swallowed and met her sanguine gaze as her fingers reached to capture a tress of her hair betwixt thumb and forefinger, almost nervously.

"I am.. so fucking hopelessly in love with you, Victoria." she breathed.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

”It feels like… everything.” Fallon’s face dominated her vision but she could see every detail. Things no longer blended together into a whole. It was not simply her face, it was her eyes, her nose, the fibers of her lips and skin, the pores on her brow, the gentle fog in the air from her breath, her elegant pointed ears, each filament of silver-gold hair that tumbled from her olivine skin. It was a tapestry that, until now, she had only seen from afar.

”It’s like the woods is talking to me. It’s like my body is waking up from some long, dreamless sleep.” She tasted Fallon’s lips again and the flavors burst on her tongue.

”I can feel you. Not… not just your skin. I feel you.” And she did. The wolf’s blood pounded through her, and she grinned with impish fangs against Fallon’s lips as she teased.

Fallon’s reply wasn’t what she had expected. Her sensory overload had quickly torn away her inhibitions and her gasping hands made no secret of her desires, but she acquiesced. Her expression was still warm, but she furrowed her brow in an expression of playful curiosity. What was Fallon going to tell her?

A subtle streak of trepidation hit her. In her hyper-aware state Fallon’s face screamed uncertainty, nervousness, worry. Her smile faltered as she assumed the worst. Had she gone too far in the village? Had she been too brutal with the humans and driven the valiant protector away? Or worse, had she compelled Fallon to betray her duty? Had the garou realized they could never stay together?

The sheer gravity of Fallon’s words hit her hard in the chest. Her eyes opened wide like a deer staring at this wolf, her jaw fell slack as it drew in a sharp breath. Her heart, which had been thundering, stopped.

She felt a tremble move across her lips and her hand gently cupped Fallon’s face.

”I am… so fucking hopelessly in love with you, Victoria.”

Her throat made a pitiful, gasping sound as she pulled Fallon’s lips to her own with more desperation than ever before and her heart exploded back into action. Fallon would certainly be able to feel its beating as she pulled their bodies together.

Tears, cold as snowmelt, fell to Fallon’s cheeks and Victoria held her so tightly that any lesser being may well have snapped. She kissed and kissed at those burning lips, the blood on Fallon’s arm forgotten, before burying her head in the crook of her neck, whispering in a wavering voice, ”I love you, Fallon. I love you. I love you…”

It felt so good to say, and she realized that the words had been burning inside of her for ages. Every repetition was like letting off steam, easing her mind and body little by little.

She was in love. It was a feeling she had all but forgotten, but she melted into it willingly.

 

[Fallon]

That pause felt like an eternity. The soft gasp, the way her heart stopped, the way she stared straight into her soul. For a moment she wished that she could reach out and claw the words back, fearing she'd spoken them too soon, that the woman would laugh at her and shatter her heart right then and there. She had to tell her, but she felt sick.

Oh gods, say something.

Her heart pounded so hard that it ached, and as the woman's hand settled on her face she stared back expectantly, too nervous to smile just yet.

"Vict--" She wasn't sure what she'd been about to say, some feeble attempt to assure the woman that she didn't expect the feeling to be returned. A lie, of course, but one that might have spared her dignity a brutal beating. But as the vampire's cool lips claimed her own so fervidly, held onto her so tightly, answered her so physically, Fallon's anxieties fell away and she shuddered with exultation. Her hands didn't know what to do with themselves. They cupped at her face, smoothed down her shoulders and arms, gripped at her hips and wrapped around her just to hold her as closely as she possibly could.

The icy tears on her cheek caused her to frown softly, and as she rested her head in the crook of her neck, Fallon's fingers ran soothingly through her flaming hair. She knew by her reaction, but hearing the words spoken was sheer intoxication. She pressed a kiss to her head and reached to her face to look at her, thumbs clearing her tears as she laughed in sheer elation.

“I knew it..” she whispered playfully against Victoria’s lips and kissed.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria’s breathing was a little heavier, and a little irregular. Her body was not used to these kinds of outbursts and it was almost like it wasn’t sure what to do.

The fingers in her hair were quieting, and Fallon’s tight embrace was the swaddling sedative she needed. She huffed a weak laugh at Fallon’s teasing but did not break the distance between their lips.

Fallon’s tender touch had never been so wonderful as her tears were wiped away like cool dew. “I didn’t know I could still do that,” she whispered about the droplets.

She felt, yet again, far younger than she was. She was happy, giddy even, just to hear that Fallon loved her. This is what young ladies were supposed to feel when their suitors introduced themselves or asked for their hand (which happened simultaneously all too often). Suitors could hang, this wild woman was all she wanted.

“I don’t understand any of this,” she blurted out, her cheeks aching from smiling with her brows tilted in confused acceptance. “Why do I feel like I’ve known you all my life? I don’t know anything about you, Fallon.” She lost herself in the silver eyes for a few moments, feeling a flush of feeling come to her face and chest.

“Do you have a family? Where were you born? How old are you? What... what do you even do besides try to kill the vampires you aren’t sleeping with? I’m sorry I... sorry.”

She bit her lip, aware that she might be very close to burning out the wolf with the sudden and personal questions? She was not acting quite herself, and her knees were shaking. Both of these she blamed on Fallon’s profession of love, but it could have been the high of the Garou blood still running hot in her system.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon just..let her speak. Her jaws ached from the growing smile that bloomed on her face as she watched her in all her flustered glory and the woman wrapped a tighter clutch around her heart with every word. Silver eyes stared, taking her in, this dangerous and intriguing woman who loved her back, an uncharacteristic look of adoration etched on her stony features as her fingers combed idly through her fiery hair.

She was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that she was, once again, naked and she shook her head with a quiet huff.. "You have a knack for stripping me of my clothes.." she rumbled, her lips twisting with amusement.

"Lets find somewhere to rest safely, and I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know." her lips curled and she flashed a bright smile as she curled a lock of red hair around the curve of her ear. Fuck she was beautiful. She wanted to find some place grand, with silk sheets, a large bath tub and a hearth, a place worthy of her. But Fallon had no such place to offer and the thought caused her heart to sink slightly and her smile to falter.

"I am sorry I ruined your ruse.." her brow furrowed softly.