Chapter Text
Rumi stumbled into her bathroom, slamming the heavy door behind her.
She paused before catching her breath, slowly looking up to stare at herself in the mirror, her patterns turning from light purple and iridescent to an angry purple and black, swirling underneath her skin. Her braid was slightly undone, loose trails of hair framed the sides of her patterned face. Her left eye was slowly turning amber, the pupil already slitted like a cat's.
She gasped as her jaw clenched, the pain stabbing through her whirling thoughts. The cut on her lip kept stinging distracting her from her panic.
Suddenly she tasted copper and felt a warm substance ooze through her teeth.
Blood!? Again?! Why is this happening? She thought, her mind spinning in panic. She blinked back tears as she felt the panic building in her throat.
She stumbled over to the sink and spat out, some blood running down her chin. The shimmering red fluid seemed to have hints of purple throughout it, making it oddly beautiful.
Rumi looked at herself in the mirror, her mouth was covered in blood and her patterns were pulsing purple and black and her eye was fully amber. She felt her chest tighten. She didn't hate her patterns, they were just...hard to get used to.
Suddenly the pain got worse, the dull ache turning to a searing stab into her jaw. She wiped her lip with her hand, cleaning some of the blood off, but it kept coming.
She felt her canine teeth get tight, almost like something was trying to push them out of place. Rumi cried out as another jab of pain came back and she spat more blood into her sink.
Her head was pounding so loudly she would have thought someone was hitting her head with a hammer.
Suddenly she heard a soft *clink* as the pain faded in the left side of her jaw. Looking down, she felt her eyes widen with horror.
In the sink's messy pool of blood was a singular shining white tooth. Rumi looked in the mirror in shock, her eyes widening as she opened her mouth. In the space of her canine tooth was a glittering fang. Not like a demon's curved one but like a cat's.
Suddenly her right tooth got tighter, and braced for the pain. She gasped as it fell out, the pain more bearable the second time.
She heard a second *clink* as her right canine fell into the sink.
Rumi's hands shook as she touched her new fangs. She slowly ran her finger down the edge of one, flinching as it made a thin red line of blood on her finger.
She looked back into the sink, the blood and the teeth making a gruesome sight to look at.
I should clean up before they notice anything. Rumi thought. She grabbed both of the teeth hesitantly and threw them in a garbage can.
Then she turned on the water and washed her hands. The blood flowed off easily, though her cut stag a little. She then rinsed her face, washing the red fluid off her chin. The cold water washed over her swollen gums, providing a small bit of comfort.
Suddenly, she heard knocking on her door. "Rumi? We heard you yell, are you ok?" Zoey said, her voice laced with worry. "Yeah I'm fine! I-I'll be out in a minute don't worry!" She replied, her voice shaking, a sign she was obviously not okay.
She swore she heard Mira sigh, but paid no attention to it.
She looked back into the mirror and breathed. Slowly her eye turned back to brown and her patterns faded back to their regular iridescence.
Rumi walked to the door, her hand pausing over the handle for a split second before opening it. She breathed out and walked into the living room.
Mira and Zoey both looked up, the worried looks on their faces being replaced with relief. "Are you okay?" Mira asked her gaze a mix of relief and something that Rumi couldn't place.
"I-I don't know..." Rumi said, her voice struggling to speak. Zoey jumped up to grab Rumi's hand, her warm touch almost shocking Rumi with how sudden it was.
She led Rumi to the couch in between her and Mira. Mira gently held Rumi's hand, her voice was soft when she spoke. "You know you can tell us anything, we won't judge you." She said, her gaze filled with love.
Zoey gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "We love you Rumi, all of you." Zoey said. Rumi felt a soft smile grace her lips, a warm feeling blooming in her chest.
Suddenly Zoey gasped, "Rumi! Your patterns!" Rumi's head snapped to her arms, where her patterns were glowing a soft pink with golden swirls throughout.
"Sick." Mira said, "You're like a mood ring." She slowly traced Rumi’s patterns, causing the other girl to blush immensely.
Zoey giggled and Rumi’s patterns mirrored the blush on her face. "You like me doing that don't you tiger?” Mira purred, her voice silky smooth when she spoke.
"No..." Rumi muttered, her head buried in her hands. Her patterns blushed again, contradicting her words immediately.
Mira let out a soft chuckle as Rumi practically melted on the spot.
"What did you want to tell us?" Zoey asked, her eyes widening with curiosity.
Rumi, who had regained her nerve, looked up nervously. "Okay...promise me you won't freak out." Her hand trembling as she spoke. The other squeezed her hands comfortingly as Zoey replied, "We won't judge you Rumi, no matter how weird it is!"
Rumi let out a breath, "Okay so, you know how my jaw was hurting earlier. Um, turns out it was because I now have...fangs." Zoey gasped and Mira's eyes widened, "Wait like vampire fangs? Oh my god, are you a vampire?" Zoey exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"N-no? At least I don't think so..." Rumi squeaked, taken aback by Zoey's positive reaction.
"Sick." Mira said, blushing slightly as she looked at Rumi's teeth. "How do you have them?"
“I think it's a demon thing, Jinu and the others had them so I guess now I do too." Rumi replied, relieved at how they were taking the news. It was a lot more positive than she expected, especially considering the fact they found out she was a half demon today.
"Can we see them?" Mira asked, her face blushing as she asked the question. "If you're okay with that I mean, I don't want to force you..." She rambled, her face getting redder by the second.
Rumi giggled, “Yeah, sure I mean, they aren’t that cool.” She opened her mouth, revealing the shining fangs inside. “Whoa, that’s so cool!” Zoey exclaimed, leaning closer to see better.
Rumi blushed as the smaller girl practically bounded onto her lap, straddling her thighs. "Can I?" Zoey asked softly, her hand brushing Rumi's lip. Rumi nodded, she felt Zoey's hand lift her upper lip, exposing the cat-like fangs underneath.
Mira appeared from Zoey's left, her long hair falling along her shoulders as she leaned closer. "Wow...their beautiful Rumi..." She said, her eyes roaming every inch of Rumi's face. She lifted a hand, brushing a strand of Rumi's hair behind her ear, "You're beautiful..."
Rumi blushed at her words, unable to speak due to Zoey's fingers in her mouth.
Suddenly she felt the taste of blood in her mouth and Zoey quickly recoiled. "Ow, my finger!" She squeaked as she examined the small cut on her thumb. "What happened?" Mira's voice slowly faded into the background as Rumi stared at the cut on Zoey's thumb. She felt her heartbeat thump in her ears, drowning out the other voices.
You hurt her, not your demon side, YOU.
She heard the voice in her ear, it wasn't Gwi-ma though, it was herself. She felt her pulse speed up as the image of Zoey's cut finger spun in her mind. She got hurt because of Rumi.
Rumi heard other voices but her speeding heart drowned them out. It was like the world was spinning around her, out of control, wild, dangerous.
Suddenly she felt faint, and her entire body fell to the side, landing on a soft pillow on their couch. Mira and Zoey's concerned faces filled her vision. Don't worry about me... She tried to say, but her vision slowly turned to black.