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Frustration was not an emotion foreign to Rhajat. For example, a hex not working properly was a sure fire way to put her in a bad mood. Another way to get on her bad side, was being Ophelia. She wasn’t sure if she’d go as far as to say she hated her. However, she didn’t really want to call her a friend either. Ophelia was a bit too much for her. She’d always come off arrogantly, saying she could cleanse the darkness within her.
Please, as if anyone could do that. Yet, after what she did, she found herself feeling… strange. She never would have made a good luck hex before Ophelia did whatever it was she did. Her magic was nothing compared to Rhajat’s hexes. If there was one thing Rhajat knew, it was spell casting.
What would Ophelia know about darkness anyway? She was so bright. Honestly, a bit too bright. She was so loud, and excitable, It made her heart tense with aggravation. Her face flush with anger, blood rushing to her cheeks just thinking about her.
She was positive she didn’t hate her. She just honestly didn’t want to think about her, or about the weird feeling in her stomach when she’d see her. Which was a bit difficult. Loathe as she was to admit to it, she was very pretty. So she found herself looking at her often. Thankfully, Ophelia hadn’t noticed. That was a conversation she didn’t want to have.
Every time she’d work on a hex lately, she’d pop in her head. It was as if she was cursed herself. Perhaps she was, given that whole soul cleanse she went through. That would explain why she was always on her mind lately. She was under Ophelia’s spell. Well, she couldn’t just take that lying down. She had to do something about it!
She already tried hexing her in retaliation before. As amusing as that was, it didn’t feel right in this case. The best bet she had was to confront her directly. Tell her to release whatever this was, so Rhajat could get back to normal.
She had a lot to do after all. She didn’t have time to lay around hyper focused on this one silly girl. No, she had a long list of hexes to practice. There was one problem. She had no idea where Ophelia would spend her time. She looked all over the astral plane, but could find hair nor hide of her.
She growled in frustration. She really needed to talk to her. It was always when she needed to see someone that they were no where to be found. Particularly if they were Nohrian. Rhajat could not give less of a damn about the tension between Hoshidans and Nohrians. If she liked someone, she liked someone. If she didn’t, she didn’t. Their nationality wasn’t really a factor in that.
Yet, she did notice that a lot of Nohrians had a ways of sort of… vanishing. It was so bizarre. Honestly, it was an ability she wouldn’t have minded learning more about herself. That was neither here nor there though, she still had to find Ophelia and give her a piece of her mind.
She winced as she heard a shrill sound, followed by a thump. She looked over to the source, a few trees down. She couldn’t make out what it was. Deciding she should get a closer look, she walked over to it. She stopped in front of the tree, nearly stepping on the source of the noise.
There was a black bat laying on it’s back. That wasn’t something she saw every day. Birds would show up in the plain from time to time, but she’d never seen a bat. Much to her disappointment, considering how well they fit her general aesthetic. She fell down on one knee, while narrowing her eyes. It didn’t seem to be dead, more… dazed.
Rhajat snorted. It seemed like the bat crashed into the tree and bumped it’s head. She supposed it wasn’t paying attention to where it was going. Perhaps it was in a rush or something. She’s not sure what a bat had to do that was so important though.
The bat started sparkling, much to her surprise. It’s legs grew longer and paler, as did it’s arms. It started to grow long hair on it’s head. It’s torso stretched out too, until it wasn’t a bat anymore, much to her shock. She’d seem some strange things in her life, but a bat turning into a girl was pretty high on the list.
Not just any girl, but the girl she’d been looking for. She was still unconscious, but it was pretty clearly Ophelia. She put a hand on her shoulder and started gently shaking her. Was this a hex of some sort? Species changing was beyond even her abilities though. Not to be arrogant, but she doubted Ophelia knew how if she didn’t. So what was it?
A curse by someone more experienced than either of them wasn’t off the table. That brought up the question of the why. Then again, knowing her, she just annoyed someone to the point that they decided to do so. She smirked a bit at the thought. She’d have to write that one down, whenever she figured out how to pull it off anyway.
Ophelia moaned, seemingly coming to. Her eyes slowly opened, prompting Rhajat to let go of her. She looked around the area as she rubbed the top of her head.
“Hey. You okay?” Rhajat asked.
Ophelia blinked a few times. “Yes, I believe so.” She forced her self up, before falling back down onto her knees.
It seemed that the blow hit her harder than either of them realized. As much as Rhajat wanted to ask her what was going on, she knew better. Ophelia needed help, and much to her chagrin, she was about to give it to her.
“Don’t push yourself.” Rhajat scolded. “Don’t need you fainting again.”
“I suppose that’s fair…” Ophelia’s eyes then widened. “Wait… perchance, did you notice anything… odd?”
Rhajat shrugged. “Depends on what you mean by odd. People transforming into beasts or animals are kinda old hat.”
Ophelia paled. “I see…”
Rhajat rose an eyebrow. Was this supposed to be a secret? If so, flying around like that wasn’t a good way of doing so. There was a tense silence, one she wasn’t sure how to cut through. Ophelia looked like she wanted to run, which was very strange of her. Ophelia was a show off, always wanting to prove that she’s a true “chosen one” or whatever.
Seeing her like this, so timid… Rhajat wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was somewhat uncomfortable. She racked her brain, trying to think of a way to help her. Even if it was just to allay her clear anxieties. She’d nearly forgotten about the true reason she was looking for her in the first place, but she needed to prioritize. If she interrogated her while she was in this state, it wouldn’t end well for either of them.
“Hey, I’m not gonna tell anyone.” Rhajat reassured. “I don’t even really know what that was about.”
Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief. “Th-thank you…”
“Do you… want to talk about it?”
Ophelia shifted uncomfortably. “I… I suppose there’s no reason not to. Given that you already saw my other form. But you are sworn to secrecy!”
Rhajat rolled her eyes. “Again, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Okay…” Ophelia began. “Not too dissimilar to Wolfskins or Kitsunes, many Nohrians are capable of transforming. This is because… many of us are actually vampires.”
Rhajat’s eyes widened. She wasn’t even sure if those were real. If she didn’t know any better, she’d assume Ophelia was messing with her. However, the evidence was right in front of her, looking into her eyes. As far as Rhajat knew, they were more of a myth than anything. It was incredible to realize that most of the opposing nation was comprised of these creatures.
“Interesting…” Rhajat finally said. “Why is this not common knowledge? Like you said, Kitsune and Wolfskin transform all the time.”
Ophelia wrapped her arms around herself. “You’ve also seen how they’re treated. Kitsunes are hunted for their fur, Wolfskin are pretty isolationist. Not to mention, the stories you’ve certainly heard about us. How violent we are, stealing people’s blood and kidnapping people. Many don’t know the difference between reality and fiction, so if they knew about us… it wouldn’t go over quite smoothly.”
Rhajat decided to ignore the slight hypocrisy in the fiction comment. She could get the logic. That fear of being further ostracized. They were surrounded by Hoshidans. There was a basis to her anxiety. At the same time, she didn’t see anyone who was part of this army trying to kill her or her brethren just for being different.
“You probably don’t need to keep it secret from the army.”
“Logically, you’re probably right… but emotionally… it’s just been something that’s been instilled into me for a long time. It’s difficult to break free of these chains. Plus, how do I know they won’t go out and tell someone who can hurt me or my family?”
Rhajat paused. She couldn’t really argue with that. It was always a risk to trust people. Even if they’ve given you no real reason not to trust them. It somewhat surprised her to see that even Ophelia had her own fair share of baggage. Everyone had problems, but Ophelia always seemed to care free. No, maybe it was more that she didn’t show this side of her often.
“Well. You can trust me Ophelia." Rhajat reaffirmed. “This changes nothing between us.”
Ophelia blushed. A smile crept onto her face before she nodded at her. “That means a lot Rhajat.”
Rhajat looked away as a blush crept onto her own face. There it was again. Ophelia making her feel weird. She scowled, her mission coming to the forefront of her mind once again. She wondered if this was an ability of hers. No, that couldn’t be it. Ophelia just said there were rumors about what vampires can and can’t do. She didn’t want to believe that, and make her think that Rhajat wasn’t being sincere.
Rhajat was a lot of things, but a traitor wasn’t one of them. If she swore loyalty to someone, that was that. She had no intention of breaking someone’s trust. She didn’t lie to get in good with people for manipulation’s sake. If anything, when she lied it was to hide her true feelings.
Rhajat wondered what that meant for her then. Why did she care so much? She supposed she could just empathize with her. That still didn’t explain the weird feelings she’d been having. It wasn’t hatred, and she didn’t want to believe that Ophelia did something weird to her. Vampire or not.
“So… why…?” She mumbled to herself.
“Rhajat? What ails you?”
Rhajat sighed. She guessed there was no need to keep this to herself, now that Ophelia was in a better place. It did involve her after all.
“Ever since that… cleansing thing. You’ve been on my mind, non stop. My stomach, my chest, my mind. Everything hurts. I just, can’t figure out why that is.”
Ophelia’s blush deepened. “Rhajat… I’ve been having a similar conundrum. I think I have the answer… if I may be so presumptuous.”
“You do?” Rhajat asked, ready to finally have a solution.
“When I cleansed your soul… I didn’t really do too much. Nothing that would be affecting you so deeply. I believe… it’s possible you… have feelings for me?”
Her eyes widened before suppressing a scoff. Her? In love with Ophelia of all people? As if. The idea made her want to crack up. She more tolerated her than actually liked her… right…? It would explain… everything she’d been going through. Perhaps… there was a method to her madness, as deranged as it sounded.
“S-sorry. That was a bizarre thing to suggest.” Ophelia bashfully said.
Oh no. That was adorable. Ophelia was adorable. Ophelia was oddly kind, behind all the eccentricities. She was pretty, and… she made her want to do better. She made her want to be better. Ophelia proved that her spells and abilities rivaled hers. That was the correlation. It wasn’t some sort of brain washing, no, it was respect. It was joy that she had someone she could see as an equal.
“…No. I… I think you’re right. I think… I do like you a lot.
“Rhajat…”
Her heart began to race, her face hotter than the flames of hell. She admitted it, and accepted it. She had feelings for her.
She stood up. “Well… I guess I should thank you. For helping me through this. If you’re okay then-”
“W-wait! Don’t go! I haven’t even given you an answer!” Ophelia exclaimed.
“I… know your answer.” Rhajat said with a sigh. “I know you don’t feel the same. Let’s save us both the awkwardness. Please.”
“Who said that?” Ophelia asked. “Rhajat… of course I like you too! How could I not? You accepted me after all! If anything, I should be the one leaving in shame!”
Rhajat looked at her for a few seconds, her blush not leaving. She then started giggling, she hadn’t expected that sort of response. She felt as free as the wind itself. Such a huge burden has been removed from her shoulders, by the last person she expected.
She put her hand out. “Then… I guess that makes up… girlfriends…?”
Ophelia took it before giggling herself. “It certainly does! Rhajat, our love shall be immortal. They shall sing songs of us for generations to come!”
What she would’ve rolled her eyes at not long ago, was now honestly charming. She guessed it was something she’d have to adjust to. How loud and chaotic her life was going to get. That wasn’t such a bad thing though. Having a partner to explore this life with. Someone to spell cast with. A partner in life to have her back.
Not to mention, she was dating a vampire. It wasn’t really something she’d ever considered, but she wasn’t going to complain. She had a lot to learn. About Ophelia, about her culture, about the world they lived in. She had a feeling that she was going to enjoy every second of it.
Ophelia slightly stumbled on her way up, prompting Rhajat to catch her. Ophelia looked into her eyes, and Rhajat did the same in turn. They leaned in, and made contact. Pain entered her chest and stomach, but this time, it was a good sort of tension.
“Are you okay Ophelia?” Rhajat asked.
“Sorry, just a bit light headed. That’s probably why I crashed earlier. Vampires… not all of it is wrong. Blood is a requirement for us to be at our best. I usually get it from animals but… it slipped my mind to do so today.”
Rhajat guessed she’d have to take care of her. She shook her head fondly before putting out her arm. Ophelia looked at her as if she’d grown another head.
“Are you-”
She shrugged. “You need some right? I can’t have my girlfriend fainting on me.”
“Rhajat… Are you sure? You’re going to feel a bit of a pinch, but otherwise it’s harmless.”
She nodded. “Do it. It’s fine.”
Ophelia smiled. She opened her mouth, and her fangs began to protrude. The pain from being bitten would be worth it, as long as her loved one was healthy. She and her partner in crime, were going to wreak some havoc. She couldn’t wait.