Chapter Text
“Adla!” Sephora lights up, seeing her client saunter into her cabin despite her limp. It had been many days since Adla had visited, and she was happy to be back.
“I-If you need me —” Ybbob starts outside of the cabin, but Adla simply shuts the door and looks over to her favourite witch with a grin.
“Ignore him.”
The eccentric woman giggles as the women both huddle together. Sephora sits her client down and hums. “Now tell me, Adla,” she starts, “just where have you been?”
“Ah, nowhere,” she says cooly. Obviously, a lot had happened since last seeing her visagiste, but that was gossip for another day. Another day, when Adla still wasn’t so… affected by the “vampire slayer”.
“Yes, yes. Mysterious as always?”
“Ah, you know me too well to be mysterious,” Adla sighs. Sephora laughs at her friend and runs a hand through the woman’s short, blond hair. Adla, having to trust Sephora's judgement, believed herself to look rather nice – even in her bat form. Now that she was healed enough to live as normal, she was feeling especially good about herself. Not that that was her husband’s fault. In fact, quite the opposite. Not only was he just unimpressive in bed, but now he could hardly get through a night without passing out. When would that man learn!?
“Let it out, sweetie,” Sephora smiles, powdering the vampire’s cheeks. Adla supposed she had said out loud all her thoughts, as she usually did around her friends. “That stupid man doesn’t know what he’s got.”
“Thank you!” Adla huffs, raising her hands to emphasize her point. “Sometimes, I feel like I am dealing with a mere boy! And what woman wants a boy in their bed!?”
Sephora curled the ends of Adla’s hair with a wooden stick, letting out a coo. “Adla! I did not know you swing such ways.”
“Ah– no, no! I mean it different, you see– a man! I want a man, not a boy or even a—”
“Quiet, friend,” Sephora shushed her, brushing a hand down her cheek. “I understand. But I bet, with your beauty, any man or woman would be pleased with you!”
“Well…” Adla had to simply sigh, leaning back in her seat wistfully. Truthfully, she had been thinking about the possibility of a woman in her life since that wicked vampire slayer had left her with nothing but mild injuries and a new outlook. She wished not to think on it long, however! It was a ruse from that silly woman, whose only goal was to destroy her in the end! Not that it worked.
“I suppose you are right. Quite beautiful, am I?”
“Oh, yes!” Sephora chirped, powdering blush on Adla’s nose in a way that made it scrunch. “Now go teach that man exactly what you are worth!”
Adla laughed as her friend pushed her to her feet, spraying some light spritz on before seeing her to the door. She pushed her light, now slightly wavy hair behind her ear and bid Sephora adieu – now looking to Ybbob, who was sitting on a bench half asleep.
“Come, man!” Adlaremse ordered, slapping her husband’s back as he startled and followed after – asking endless questions and give multiple obvious offers for sex. All of which, of course, she ignored and instead turned to him with a new proposition.
“You expect me to walk the rest of the way, Ybbob!? I am leaving, whether or not you have the strength to join me!”
With that, Adla lifted and poofed into her bat self, moving with grace and elegance above a husband who was still adjusting back to their daily life since having gone to America. As she soared above into the sky, getting to their castle with ease while it might take Ybbob 10 minutes on his own, she couldn’t help peering down at the ground. Just what was down there, she wondered? Perhaps, if she had bothered to walk, she might find the girl – Sammie – stranded somewhere about the woods beneath their house, starving or pleading for her mercy. Ah, what a nice thought, after all she had hurt her with… Only physically, of course! Emotionally, Adla was completely disconnected! Of course!
Still, even her heart now – as small as it was in this tiny form – felt as though it was yearning outside of her chest to have simply one more glance at that curious girl.
---------------
Four days. Four fucking days since Sammie had probably unsuccessfully killed Esmerelda, and she still had nothing to show for it but a damaged stake and a hunger that was becoming too apparent to ignore. She had settled that quiet night for the small berries she found in a bush, having spent the entire day attempting to get as far from the castle as possible. Her life was most certainly in danger, was it not? Both for a failed slaying mission, and for the fact that the one he tried to kill had a fire burning bright in her soul – and certainly a knack for vengeance, if she had already recovered by now.
Honestly, as Sammie laid against the bare trunk of the tree and stared at the stars, she couldn’t help feeling… stupid. The plan seemed so simple when it was presented to her – find the vampiric man, go under disguise as a highschooler, and trick him onto death’s doorstep before it became too late. But it had become too late, obviously. Sammie, at heart despite now being 25 years of age, was always one to enjoy taking it slow and having fun with things – even with things that, in retrospect, should have been done quickly. Now, she had been kidnapped to Transylvania (NOT a part of the plan) and had ended up, in a panic she tried to make seem suave, stabbing his wife instead. She could still feel the moment:
Her hands heavy with sweat as she yanked the blade out and watched Esmerelda fall to the floor, gasping for air. The servants piling into the room, shrieking at high pitches and alerting their lord. Hands attempting to grasp at her as she so barely escaped through a hole in the old, Victorian walls. Her back still hurt from the pain of tumbling down a hill into the large forest that had been engulfing her since. And why had she even done it, damnit!?
This was not a part of the mission, and by god– even if it was, it had become utterly pointless! To think a rookie, who’d basically been sent out for suicide with nothing but a bronze stake, would be saved by the forces that hired her– no matter if she got the right target or not! So why!? Why had she bothered!? For someone who clearly just had to take her damn time… why had she rushed that perfect moment!?
Sammie picked restlessly at a piece of bark she had picked off the ground as these thoughts twisted in her head. She was getting absolutely nothing for her own hunger, keeping this up…
Hoot hoot. A sudden, but familiar call.
“It’s you again,” Sammie spat out, lifting her head a bit and pushing back long, unruly strands of dark hair – as if that was intimidation. “What do you want?”
The owl cooed out as it suddenly flew from its branch above her and, with sudden quickness, flew down to grab onto her chest. Sammie flinched back but, even now, had to find a way to stay calm.
“You’ve got an awfully tight grip there, sir,” She grits her teeth, still attempting to smile through her teeth. “What? Never seen someone with titties before?”
The owl scowled in her face and let out a large shriek, which quieted Sammie’s remarks any further from progressing. It grabbed her by the collar of her button up with its claw, pulling and pulling and pulling nonstop.
“Hey, alright, alright! No more- urgh- quips! What do you want, to eat me?”
…
“... Hm, that’s still pretty quippy, thinking about it.”
The owl lifted its free claw to the sky – ironically, right in the direction of the castle with how damn tall it was. Sammie shook her head rather quickly, grabbing the owl finally by its body and being able to throw it off into a spot in the sky, where it flew angrily above her.
“Back there!? You’re crazy, owl– damn crazy!”
It scowled and flew back over her chest, pounding its claw right her heart was. She winced, pulling back as far as she could while against a tree.
“What, here to inspire some wisdom into my heart now!? Yeah, yeah, it’s sooo funny how I accidentally got too nervous talking to one sexy vampire and tried to kill her! Sue me, owl– sue me!”
But at those words, the owl seemed calm. It took her a moment of pause.
“Ohhh. You just wanted me to let it all out, didn’t you? Well, you got what you wanted. I got all cliche and stuff, and now I’m totally like one of those young adult book characters – thirsty vamps and all…”
With that, and with the owl having calmed now by her side instead of on top of her, Sammie slumped back into the tree and sighed. She looked up into the stars again.
“... Y’know, for how damn serious this has all become, it’s nice to just talk about stuff. Even though I’m half convinced you’re a hallucination, of course.”
The owl let out more soft coo and nudged its head into her side. Sammie only briefly stiffened before patting its head.
“Weird little guy…” Sammie murmured, before stretching up and shoving a few leftover berries in her mouth.
“Alright then. When morning comes, I’ll figure out… something. Till then? Get ready for a long night of snores, buddy. I feel like the night’s only begun from here…”
…
“Heh,” Sammie chuckled, eyes already closed. “Cool one liner. Makes this shit feel even more unreal than it is.”
And with that, the night ended for Sammie – and by consequence, Adlaremse had never been more awake.