Chapter Thirty-Three: Fledglings

[ShadaAntoinette]

Niya and Shada became fast friends after that, and the Xurenae began to get comfortable around the Mortals. It was obvious that Rhys was going to have to stay away for a while, so she Traced back to Vik's house to tell him so, when everyone else was asleep. He hadn't been happy about the news, but at least it was better than going to Hell, like the Elders wanted him to.
They were there only a week before Shada realized it; she hadn't realized how hard living with Mortals would wear on her Thirst. So, each night, she would sneak out to feed and make sure to be back before dawn came, when the household would be awake. Unfortunately, they'd had her and Vik share a room, which was wearing on him, much to her enjoyment. But hey, it had been his idea to call her his girlfriend, not hers. So this was his problem, and she was just there for kicks, really. Each morning, she would Trace back into their room, to find him up, dressed and waiting for her to return.
"You know, you'll have to tell them what you are eventually. I mean, what are you going to do if you get caught?"
"Let me worry about that when the time comes, all right? And I know I have to say something. But what the Hell do you want me to do? Just broach the subject over dinner some night? Oh, aye, that will go over just splendidly." She rolled her eyes drolly. He'd said nothing to her after that. What else could he do? She was right.

That day had been one of the worst heatwaves Shada had ever seen. Literally, she was glad that she was in this form, and not her natural one; she would have died from the heat. Niya, on the other hand, seemed not to notice, dressed as she was in a long, deep green dress that let little, if any air in. Her curly hair was tied back loosely with an emerald barette and she looked comfortable sitting on one of the benches in her garden, reading. Shada, who was dressed in shorts and a tank top, envied how comfortable her friend was.
"I don't know how you can stand this heat." Shada said, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow.
"Mm, my husband says that a lot." The woman smiled from over the top of her book. "I guess I'm just used to it."
"You must be." Shada sat beside her, tucking her legs beneath the bench, used to her much larger form. "Still, this is unbearable." Niya merely nodded and went back to her book. Shada, on the other hand, sat with her until the silence became unbearable before leaving her to find a cool place elsewhere. She really didn't understand how the woman could be so comfortable.

With a sigh, she finally managed to find a shady spot beneath a rose bush, coincidentally, since she seemed to always gravitate toward the flower. She lay there, staring up at the clouds, daydreaming.
"What are you doing?" Vik's voice startled her out of her own mind. Her green eyes flicked to his face, though he was upside down since he was standing behind her head.
"I'm watching the clouds." She replied, matter of factly. "Not much else for me to do." She blinked. "Why? What do you want?"
"I've been looking for you all day."
"Well, I've been here for a few hours and I haven't seen hide not hair of you all day." She shrugged. "So you found me, what is so important?"
"I wanted to talk to you about what I told Niya." Oh, goodie, here it came. She had wondered when he would get to this.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, but didn't move. He seemed to fidget, which made her suspicious. She sat up then and turned so she was looking at him. "What?" He opened his mouth as if to say something and stopped.
"Never mind." He said, finally. "Never mind."
"Suit yourself." She shrugged and laid back down, her attention returning to the fluffy clouds above her head. He stood there for some time, just watching her; she could sense him there, but he said nothing. After a while, she got uncomfortable with him and spoke.
"Okay, look, I know there is something you want, so just spit it out all ready. I'm not getting an younger." She frowned, watching him.
"Eh..." He said nothing else, he just turned and walked away. Okay... that was weird. She was slightly annoyed now.
"Oh stop... you know as well as I do what he was trying to tell you." Liir piped up. "He hasn't the words just yet, but you know what he was going to say."
"I know nothing." Shada replied, clearly in denial. But she ultimately knew. Either he was going to say he actually liked her, or he was going to tell her she was irritating and to leave him alone. And she was doubting it was the latter.
"Really, I don't see why you bother torturing him. It isn't any fun, you know. More like pathetic." Liir sounded bored, which in all honesty, Shada was as well. Vik just wasn't fun to mess with, he didn't give her the reaction she wanted.
"I know... but for some reason, I can't help myself. He left himself wide open, even you know that."
"I do. Still, if I had to guess I would say your heart brokenness was fixed that morning you woke up at Vik's house."
"I would have to disagree with you. I trust no one."
"You trusted Rhys fairly quickly." Liir reasoned. "Besides, how can you lie to me when I clearly know what you're thinking?" Shada sighed.
"You know, Liir, sometimes you really are annoying. I don't know why I put up with you."
"Because you know you can't get rid of me." Liir giggled from within her. "Then again, I don't think you would, even if you could get rid of me. We have that bond, you know. We were born together. So, sister, you better get used to this voice."
"I know, I know." Shada closed her eyes. "You're still annoying though."
"So are you, trust me. So are you." Liir was silent again after that, leaving the Xurenae woman to herself and her own thoughts. Her mind raced, her natural curiosity starting to slip in. Dammit... now she really wanted to know what he was going to say. No. She forced herself to stay where she was, even though all that she was was telling her to go find the man and ask him. She just couldn't do it, curious or not. Some things were better left unspoken. Her eyes slowly drifted closed and she was soon asleep.

Shada awoke to the sound of the night birds and realized she had slept the whole rest of the day. A blanket had been laid over her, which she smiled upon, after coming back to her senses. It had been a while since she had actually slept, since her nights were filled with hunting and feeding and her days were filled with normal, Mortal tasks. She hated living the double life, she really did, but at the same time, she didn't know if she should risk showing herself to these people. Sure, Niya and her family had grown accustomed to seeing her with Vik, since he had named her his girlfriend and everything, but it really hadn't been that long since the war and she wasn't at all keen to showing herself to them, lest they turn her in... or something as equally foolish as that. Still, the stress was slowly wearing on her.

She stood up and brushed some grass from her butt and the rest of her clothes, folded the blanket and wandered toward the front door, passing the full kitchen window as she did so. She could see Niya, her husband Jean Pierre, and their two children, as well as Vik all sitting around the table, eating. The longer she watched the more she realized that she missed that. She missed having her own family, a husband, some kids. She, Azazel and Pandora had never done this, mostly since they had been part of a Coven from before the time Pandora was born, until she and the girl escaped. But still. The ache was beginning again. She bit off a Teja curse and went inside, throwing the blanket on the couch and moving into the kitchen.
"I'm going out back to start a fire, is that all right?"
"Of course it is." Jean Pierre said, nodding. Niya smiled.
"All right, thank you." She nodded to the family unit, smiling before taking her leave and going upstairs to change. She wanted to wear something else for her ritual, and what she had on, was just not going to cut it.

She reemerged downstairs a few minutes later, dressed in a long, black dress with scarlet and silver accents. By this time the family was done eating, and had gone back to whatever they were doing before they had shared their meal. She made not a sound as she went back outside, still barefoot, to begin her ritual, her books under her arms. Starting the fire had been easy enough, finding the wood was the difficult part. But soon she had a roaring fire, though small enough for her to contain. She sat down on the ground nearby, using the light it cast to find the particular ritual she wanted.
"Summoning... no, banishing, also no... let's see...Oh! Here it is." She skimmed over the words, refreshing her memory before she began. She stood up, setting the books far enough away that the fire wouldn't get them before she raised her hands to the sky, chanting in Usrezan. As she spoke, she tossed certain things into the fire, using them to cleanse herself and her magick. She wanted to clear her mind... to ease the uncomfortable feeling she had inside, and to soothe Liir, who seemed to be in a terrible mood, though this time she wasn't taking it out on her soul sister. She danced around the fire, casting illusions as she went, making the space around her look like her homelands. The castle gates stood not by five feet from her, and there she placed herself and Pandora, though the girl's father was nowhere to be found. She opened her mouth and sang, which made the fire blaze, the illusions to heighten in appearance, making them look more and more real as she danced, and her voice grew louder.
She always felt better when she sang for some reason.

When she finally came to a stop, the illusion faded and she stood alone next the fire again, barely out of breath.
"That was amazing!" Niya's voice startled her and she almost fell into the fire.
"When did you get here?" Shada brushed hair from her eyes and smiled.
"Oh, about ten minutes ago. I wanted to see if you needed anything." The woman's eyes were wide, but she was smiling. "How did you do that?" Caught, and with nothing to say, Shada shrugged.
"Magick. My mother taught me." She said, honestly.
"You mother taught you? She must have been quite the Witch." Shada's eyes were dark, though Niya wouldn't be able to see that.
"Aye.. she was. She was...uh.. she died not too long ago." She answered, walking toward the woman.
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Niya said, sympathetically. Shada shook her head, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"It's all right. She's in a better place now." For the most part, anyway. Niya nodded.
"Could you teach me how to do that?" Shada was surprised a little by this request.
"Teach you? Well, I have to tell you that you have to be diligent and want to do this. If I teach you what I know, you have to study and learn, all right? No slacking."
"I promise." Shada laughed a little.
"All right, we will begin in the morning. I'll meet you in the study."
"Deal. Now tell me what you just did, I'm curious." And so Shada did. She explained what she was doing, and how she did it. When that was done, Niya was staring at her again.
"Whoa... that's a lot of work. How long did it take you to master all the things you're able to do?"
"Months, but I was a quick learner. It could take you years to learn all that you have to learn in order to do some of this stuff."
"Years? Isn't there some way to bypass all that?" Shada shook her head.
"Magick is serious business, I can't teach you halfway and allow you, in good conscience, to practice on your own. Wouldn't be a very good teacher, now would I?"
"I guess not." The Mortal yawned. "Still, it seems like a long time to have to learn and practice, you know?"
"Well, first I teach you the basics, and when you have gotten the hang of that, we can move on to the harder stuff. I mean, come on, if I went straight to the hard stuff, that wouldn't make very much sense. Besides, what fun is it to just in head first if you don't have any idea what to do? You could hurt yourself, or worse." Niya nodded, her attention going to the fire.
"Oh, hold on." Shada turned and waved her hand, which made the fire go out.
"You'll have to teach that trick too."
"No problem." The Xurenae laughed, heading toward the house again. "Let's go inside."

"Shada! Shada, wake up!" Shada's eyes flashed open, to see Niya leaning over her. She bolted upright.
"What happened?" She rasped, throat dried out.
"It's Raevania! She was bitten by a some weird snake! I don't know what to do, you have to help me!" Shada blinked the sleepiness from her eyes and got out of bed.
"All right, slow down. What happened?" Shada asked, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"She was out in the garden playing with the dogs and got bit by a strange looking snake that I've never seen before. I don't know what to do! You have to do something!" Niya was almost in tears as she explained. Shada's lips thinned as she thought about what she had to do. It was going to be interesting to see what the bite looked like.
"All right, take me to her." Shada threw a robe over her night gown, and followed the woman to the living room, where the had laid the little girl.

She was sweating profusely, and the bite wounds were bleeding a strange, orange pus. Shada could smell the venom, though she didn't recognize it. She placed a hand over her face.
"All right, first, I need a knife, a strip of leather, hot water and some towels. Niya, I need you to come with me to get some berries." She took the knife from Vik and had the girl bite down on the leather. "This is going to sting, if you even feel it. If you do, don't be afraid to scream, it's all right." She used the knife to cut the infection out. The little girl fidgeted, but didn't scream, which made Shada wonder how far the infection had already spread. "Jean... I need you to flush her wound, and keep flushing it until we get back. If you see any black flesh, or black pus, make sure to drain it or cut it out. She won't feel it for a while, shock has pretty much shut down her senses in this leg." Shada handed him the knife and stood up. "Niya, let's go."

The women split up once approaching the woods, each taking a different path. Shada made sure to tell her which berries to get, as she left herself the task of getting the roots and other things she would need for the poultice.

Taking in the scents of the woods almost made her forget what she was out here to do. Shaking her head, she went on about her way, singing under her breath. She stopped a few times, gathering what she needed. She picked up the last root she needed, still singing to herself.
"Your voice always was beautiful, Shada. I just wish you would have sang to me... but you didn't." Azazel's broken, rough voice startled her, and she whipped around, eyes wild. How had he come back so quickly? She saw nothing, nothing at all and that bothered her. Hallucinations? Really? She hurriedly gathered the rest of her herbs and roots before moving quickly back to the house. She didn't want to find out if she was actually hallucinating, or something worse than that.

As soon as she got back to the house, she immediately went to the kitchen to grind everything up. She was missing something though, and that fact became clear the more time she spent grinding everything. "Mmm... rose petals...."

Niya sat down to rest on an old fallen log, exhausted from looking for moss and berries for the poultice for Raevania's leg. She had spent the better part of two hours doing it, since Shada had told her what to look for. The bite had looked pretty bad, but they were lucky Shada seemed to know what to do. Niya was grateful for the woman's strange talents.
She was hot and tired, but she had yet to find the last berries Shada had described. She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow and looked around, spotting a bush nearby. Smiling, she got up, elated that she was almost finished with her task. Scurrying over to it, she began to fill the basket with the scarlet berries, unaware that she was being watched.
"Well, hello there." A male voice startled her, which made her scream. "Don't be alarmed, I'm not going to hurt you." The man said. She bit the inside of her cheek, watching him. He was a tall, dark haired man, with green eyes, like Shada's were but his over all demeanor told her he was a dangerous man. He seemed to literally ooze danger, and that made her nervous.
"W-who are you?"
"My name is Azazel, I assume you know who I am. She never could hold her tongue." His eyes seemed to darken with a hidden rage. "I'm looking for my mate... my ex-mate." He told her.
"Your.... mate?" Eh? Who was this man?
"Nightshade? Ring any bells?" He crossed his arms over his chest and studied her.
"Oh!"
"Aye. She was my mate, over sixty centuries ago. I'm the reason she looks the way she does. Seems to have done her well over the years, though my plans were supposed to have the opposite effect than what's happened, but whatever." He shrugged.
"Sixty centuries? That's impossible! Shada's only nineteen years old!" Azazel smirked and shook his head.
"Oh foolish Mortal, you really believe everything and anything, don't you? Of course she's nineteen. She looks nineteen. But she hasn't been nineteen for as long as I can remember! Looks aren't everything, you know."
"I don't understand...." Niya had no idea what he was talking about, there was no conceivable way that Shada could be older than nineteen. Shada was such a sweet girl, there was no way that she had ever been married to this man.
"I'm surprised, though. I never thought she would try to hide herself among Mortals, especially when I cursed her to look like a wolf. I underestimated her magickal skill." He chuckled to himself.
"A wolf? Shada doesn't look like a wolf. Perhaps you are mistaken with another Nightshade?"
"Please, I think I would know my own mate. But since you seem to think I'm wrong, her full Mortal name is Nightshade Antoinette Angheliiratiaa Kavihaa De Embrell." He said, studying his nails as if bored by her. Her eyes were wide when he spoke her name. It was the same woman, just as she feared it would be. The woman lied to her!
"Yes... is she really a wolf though? A werewolf?"
"Lycan, aye. She's a white Lycan." He said, looking her over again. She felt a little uncomfortable by this and stood up, backing a couple steps away from him. "She is a 20,000 year old Vampire, cursed to look like a wolf." He clarified. "And she had the audacity to try and kill me." He snorted and leaned his back against the tree he stood in front of. "Pathetic, really. She hadn't fully awakened yet. But, she has now, and I've come back for my revenge."
"Why didn't she tell me?" Niya didn't hear the rest of what he'd said, she's been so stuck on the fact that Shada had lied to her, letting her believe she was human...pretending to be something she obviously hadn't been in many years, if this man was to be believed.
"She's crafty, isn't she? Lying to the ones she's been privileged to call friends and everything." He clicked his tongue at her. "I guess you don't know her like you thought you did, huh?" Azazel laughed.
"Shut up!" Niya snapped, golden brown eyes flashing.
"She didn't trust you enough to tell you what she really is, did she? So what else is she hiding? I'll tell you. No, better yet, I'll show you." He opened his hands, which opened something she couldn't see. A dark light poured from them, which made her close her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she could see what looked like to be the remnants of a child, a boy. He was missing his right arm, and both of his legs. The rest of his body was intact, though it looked like an animal had mauled him. She thought he was dead, but he opened his eyes. Blue pinpricks of light zeroed in on her face and his mouth moved.
"Mother.... Mother, why? Why did you do this to me? Why did you kill me?" The voice was wrought with emotion. He thought she was his mother, and though she wasn't, a shiver of dread filled her. What had happened to this child? Niya cried out from seeing such a sight. The boy resembled his mother, her best friend, the woman who had kept so many things from her. She felt like she didn't know her anymore, and that bothered her.
"Who is that child? What happened to him?" Niya asked Azazel, her worried, horrified gaze going to his face.
"That boy is my son, our son. She killed him. She killed our child." His voice was rough, as if he were trying to fight some emotion she was certain he was almost incapable of feeling. "She murdered her own flesh and blood." Azazel's green eyes were dark and cold as he watched the woman try to fight her own feelings. Good, his plans were going to work this time...soon Shada would be on her own again, and when she was... she was his. This time... oh this time, he was going to make sure she was dead. There would be no mistakes like the last time.
Niya was furious at him and at Shada. Why hadn't the woman just told her? Why hadn't she told her what she really was? Why was this man coming to her, instead of going to Shada himself? None of that made sense. What was starting to, however, was Shada's strange behavior. The leaving after dark, staying in the shade during the hottest part of the day, or sleeping at around the same time. The way she watched the entire family as if they were prey to her... But what about Vik? Did he know his girlfriend was a... monster? Raevania! Oh, if that woman laid a hand on her daughter the way she had her own son....She would make sure the woman fried!
"She's not your friend, Mortal. Who keeps secrets from the one they consider friends? Who allows their friends to believe that they are something they aren't? Why on earth would she befriend a Mortal, unless she planned to eat them in the end?" Azazel interjected her thoughts.
"Stop it!" Niya shouted. She clenched her eyes shut, her fists were balled at her sides. Her body felt weird, as if it were humming for some reason. "Stop talking!"
"You don't know her like you --" Before he could get the rest of his sentence out, she opened her eyes, which glowed a deep, dark purple and expelled energy that sent him flying off into the trees.
Confused, Niya hurried grabbed the basket and fled toward the house to find her so-called friend.
She found the woman in the gardens, tending to a bush of dark red roses, her fiery red hair swept back and held by a bat-shaped barrette the size of a fist.
"You!" She marched over to the woman, who looked up when she'd yelled and slapped her hard across the face.
Confused by both the slap and Niya's obvious anger, Shada fell back on her ass, staring at the furious woman, a hand on her pinkened cheek.
"What was that for?" Shada asked, her accent showing thickly in her words.
"Why didn't you tell me what you are? What are you doing here really? Are you going to kill Raevania like you did your own son?" Niya spat at her.
"Niya, what are you talking about? I'm trying to get rose petals for the poultice. I don't understand what you're talking about! And I would never kill any of you, you know that!" Shada was alarmed now, mostly because of the questions the woman was asking and by the way she was looking at her.
"Don't lie to me! I want to know exactly what you are and what you're doing, right NOW." Niya's eyes were dark, almost black. Shada sighed and picked herself up off the ground, brushing the grass and dirt from herself.
"Look, I'll tell you whatever you want, but right now, all I'm worried about is making sure that Raevania is going to be all right. If you can at least trust me to do that..." Shada held out the rose to her. "I'll even let you do it, if you want. I'll just tell you what to do." Niya glared at her, but didn't put up a fuss.
"Fix my daughter, monster and then I want answers." That stung the Xurenae, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.
They entered the house and Shada immediately went to the kitchen and continued to grind up the plants, even the ones that Niya had gathered from her. The woman was watching her, she knew, so using a bit of her talents, she covertly slit her wrist and dripped a few drops of blood into the bowl, sealing the wound with a muttered 'Haiichii' so that she wouldn't hear her. When is was ready, completely, she soaked a small towel in the mix and went to Raevania's wound, seeing that her father had done well to keep the infection out of it. She laid the towel down and held it tightly against the girl's skin, pressing until she had it tightly bound. She would have just used her healing abilities to heal the child, but she knew this wasn't the time to make herself look worse in front of Niya, who'd somehow figured out that she wasn't what she appeared to be and that bothered her some. Her words had hurt the most, but she didn't, no, couldn't let that show. Then again, she had been called worse, but not by friends, never that. Except Miranda, the last time she had seen her... but that was something she didn't like to think about, not ever.

Niya waited for her to finish before dragging her outside to the gardens again. Vik gave Shada a look, which she merely answered with a grimace before disappearing with the woman.
"All right, you're done. Now, talk. What the Hell are you?" Shada sighed.
"Niya... look. It's not that I couldn't tell you.... I didn't know how you would react to this, so I didn't say anything. It was for my own safety." Shada said, trying to reason with the woman.
"I don't care." The Mortal said. Shada frowned, her green eyes turning a bright blue. Niya stifled a gasp when she saw this.
"Fine, fine." Shada turned around, actually facing her now. "It's easier if you see this before I explain." Shada spoke an incantation, allowing herself to change back into her Wolfen form. Her body stretched first, so that she stood to her full height. Her skin paled and started to sprout white fur, except over her various tattoos, which were black or whatever color they had been colored with. Her face elongated and became a short muzzle, her eyes grew bigger, though kept their basic almond shape. Her ears stretched until they became large wolf ears, to which her piercings moved likewise. Her spine elongated, stretching beyond the casing of her body, becoming a long, fluffy tail.
At long last, she stood as she was, the Xurenae form she had been given after Azazel's curse.
"This is what I really look like." She said, a wounded tone in her voice.
"You look like a... so it's true. You are an Immortal." Niya said, this time without the anger in her tone. Shada nodded, her eyes on her big feet.
"Aye... this is what I really look like, who I really am. But you have to tell me who told you about this." She looked at the woman, a twinge of fear in her still blue eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Niya asked again, ignoring what Shada had said.
"I told you, I didn't know how you would react to this. Not everyone is ready to see creatures like me in society and I didn't want any of you to think I was a monster, though it's obvious that you do." She fiddled with the steel ring in her lip. "Niya, who told you?" She added, gently.
"A man named Azazel told me... Does Vik know about this?" Shada hadn't heard what she'd said.
"Vik knows ab-- WHAT?! What did you say?" Her eyes grew round then, the name sinking in.
"Azazel. He said you are his wife... or were his wife. I forget." Niya frowned. "Why is that important?"
"He didn't hurt you did he? Did he?" Shada grasped the woman's shoulders tightly, eyes turning a silvery color.
"No, he didn't. Will you please let go? You're hurting me." Shada released her and stepped away. "He said you were a vampire, is that true as well?"
"He's a dangerous man, Niya, you have to promise me if you see him again to call for me, okay? Oh, I thought I was rid of him..." The wolf woman turned away from her friend, fear, anger and surprise on her face. How had he escaped? Was he coming for her?
"Stop dodging the subject and tell me!" Niya's voice snapped her back to reality.
"I'm not dodging. I just have a lot on my mind. Azazel could have killed you." Shada said, grinding her back teeth. "But aye, it's true... I am Vampiir." She sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. "I guess you could say that anyway." She brushed a strand of her red hair away from her eyes and looked at Niya again. She knew there was a lot that the woman would ask her, it was just a matter of time.
"The child. Who was that child?" And there it was. Shada closed her eyes momentarily before replying.
"I only have one real child, her name was Pandora, and she died long before you were but a speck in your father's eye." Shada told her. "The child you saw... or he told you about... whichever, is something Azazel created with magick, which is one of the few things I cannot, in good faith, show you how to do. Anyway, I was broken after her death, and returned from the war we had fought in to tell him that our child was dead, killed by a Baninae, my own kind. He must have read far more into it than I can even imagine, since he took it upon himself to take some of my hair or something and create the child." She swallowed hard. "I admit it, when he showed me what he'd done, I lost it. I killed the creature he had painstakingly had created, without my consent and he was livid. I thought I had destroyed him, but I obviously hadn't, to which I have mixed feelings about. In a way, it is a good thing, but at the same time, I don't know what he has done to the boy since then. Azazel and I... divorced, if you want to call it that, when I killed him. He tried to kill me and I killed him, end of story." It wasn't, but she wasn't going to try to explain what had happened. There were far too many bad memories there, and she was depressed as it was.
"That is an awful thing he did to you, but I also see what he was trying to do. I guess I understand how you felt as well." Shada looked at her paws.
"I've never forgotten the look on his face, nor the look that Azazel gave me when I'd actually ended the boy's life. They still haunt me. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for that." Niya's small hand found it's way into Shada's big paw.
"He was still alive when I saw him, if that helps you any. That should at least relieve the guilt." That didn't make her feel any better, but she nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. "Shada... tell me how you became what you are today. Please, I want to understand what happened to you." Oh, there were far too many things to be said for her to fully understand, but... Shada nodded and looked at the woman, her eyes going to a hunter green.
"I will tell you this in two parts, for it's important for you to see both sides of my life, my death and my afterlife. Does that make sense?"
"Yes." Niya replied with a slight nod.
"All right, so I will start with my death and you will learn much of who I am from this story.. much more than I have told you already, I suppose. My actual life, what little I did have, is as I told you before, full of pain and completely irrelevant to this story, other than to show how I came to be with my Sire, so I will skip that part."
"Fair enough." Niya replied with a nod. "I am eager to hear this story...."
"It all started when I arrived at the Harpies' hideout, which happened to be an old run down church that had been abandoned by whichever religion had kept it for so long. Paganism was prominent in my country, so it was likely one of the other, far less popular ones had been run out. That's irrelevant though. My..." Shada couldn't say it. Not after what she'd learned. She swallowed and continued again. "My friend, at the time, Miranda, was with me, having decided to run away with me. I had a reason, she didn't that I knew of. I would learn much later what that was. But anyway, we entered the church cautiously, wondering just what we would find inside. It was rumored that the Harpies were Vampires, but we thought that those were just rumors. Naivete and such.
"But we were wrong. When we arrived, a voice called out to us and told us to join them in the sanctuary. We went, and found Lief, my Sire and his women, all fifty of them, clumped together in the room. Now, the room was by no means small, they just seemed to all want to sit next to him. It was with good reason, Lief was an etherally beautiful man, with golden hair, and sky blue eyes. He was perfect. And he knew it, which made me instantly dislike him. Arrogance is not something I find attractive in a person." Shada shook her head. "Still, when he spoke, it was like nothing else in the world existed but you and him. He asked our names, so we supplied them to him, which he spoke, sending shivers down my spine. I tried to ignore him, as I knew Miranda would, being that she was gay, but it was so hard. Who could concentrate when you have a six foot, four inch tall, two hundred and fifteen pound gorgeous man walking around you, watching you, studying you as if you're a specimen? Impossible, but I managed somehow. I think I fixed myself on the skimpy little outfits that all of his women wore, in different colors. I think that's what did it for me. I've always been self-conscious about that kind of thing. Now.. I'm sorry, I'm getting off topic."
"It's all right, Shada. I understand." Niya smiled.
"Thank you. Anyways, Miranda was the one who told him that we wanted to join him, to which he said, after a while of dicking around, that he had space for only one of us. I knew it wasn't going to be me. I just did. My older brother Jasper had shown me several times through his rounds of beatings that I was worth nothing, and that I was ugly and the whole lot. So I had spent my time training so that I would at least amount to that." As hard as it was to remember what he'd done to her, she continued. "So I stood there and waited for him to tell me to leave, but he didn't, and that surprised me. For the first time, I was given a chance!
Instead of that, he decided to make it fair. He told us he was going to challenge us and whoever won would get the spot he had left. Then he told two of his women to show us upstairs, where we remained all night. That should have been my first clue that these people weren't human, but I was foolish, and I didn't know. The next night, everything was ready. I don't know how he did it, but he did. We all went to a maze using an ability called Tracing, which we all have, though Miranda and I didn't at the time, so the women from the night before helped us.
"When we arrived, he asked us to pick weapons to use. I chose the weapons I was comfortable with, a sword. I rarely use one now, but I've also had more that adequate magickal training now, as opposed to then. Then he told us to find the soulstone in the center of the maze, which was the goal and set us loose. We each had a series of tests to complete, which I managed to pass with flying colors and minimal damage. Except the last one. Somehow I found myself fighting a future me."
"How did he do that? You don't have the ability to go back in time, do you?" Niya interrupted. Shada laughed.
"No, I can't do that. I found out later that there was a woman there who could look at someone and see their future, and thusly become that form for a short period of time. So, she became me, this me.... I think. Still trying to figure that out, actually."
"Interesting talent."
"Tell me about it. I met her long afterward, she's a really awesome person, actually. Though she could tell me nothing about what she'd become. Kinda wish she had... but I know how that could mess things up in the long run." Shada shrugged. "But yea. So I made it to the last part of the maze, and had to fight this woman. Liir, my second.. soul....yea, it's complicated. Short version is I was born with two souls because my father is the devil. You can ask me about that in a moment. With Liir's help, I ended up winning and took the stone. Miranda had been on my tail, since I took the stone just as she was arriving to the center. She was upset that she'd lost, but elated that I'd won. And me? I was missing an arm, woozy from blood loss and glad that I'd actually survived the ordeal in the first place."
"Okay, I have to ask, Liir? The Devil?" Shada sighed.
"My father is Lucifer, he came to the Mortal plane to seduce my Witch mother and thusly have children. He wanted a boy, ended up with twin girls, triplets if you count Liir, who he'd asked to be born in my body so that I would always have someone protecting me. She's actually kind of annoying."
"I am NOT." Liir piped up. Shada's ears flicked and she fought the urge to grip her skull.
"And she's trying to explode my skull right now, so I'll stop talking about her." Shada laughed. Niya looked at her funny. "It might sound crazy, Niya, but I really don't lie. Not about that kind of stuff, trust me. Back to the story.
"Since I had won the challenge or whatever, Lief decided to let us both stay. I had been too woozy, I had missed that part. Hadn't missed his friend, who happened to be Azazel, standing next to him though. He was staring at me like he wanted to talk to me, but I think I passed out before he got the chance to. Either way, I woke up later and he was there watching me, which was creepy. I'd expected Miranda, but he told me she was off with Lief, which pissed me off that she would ditch me to hang out with him... since he was a guy and as far as I knew, she didn't like him. Perhaps that was my opinion and I was hoping she felt the same about him though she didn't. He did something and made me go to sleep again. I just remember being really pissed off that she'd left me."
"Were you jealous?"
"I suppose I was. She was the closest thing I had to a lover at that time, and I guess I just got possessive or something. But she was my friend first and foremost and that was what really pissed me off. But the next time I awoke, she was there and she was excited about something. She asked me if I was all right, and everything and I just... I just let her have it. I just went off. How could she leave me like that? She told me that Lief had healed me, and seemed to be proud of that fact. I bit the inside of my cheek and just let her talk, irritated.
"She told me why she was excited, Lief had Turned her, though she had tried to tell me she was a Roya Doublienn, which was a lie. Roya's are very attractive Vampires that lure their victims with their faces, and their auras. Lief and the Harpies are all Baninae, the Banshee and the Siren of Vampires. But, I was Mortal... or half Mortal, depends on how you look at it, so I didn't know. Asked her if she could Turn me; she told me Lief would have to do it. I didn't want that bastard touching me so I shrugged it off.
"It was like that for two, maybe three years. I was a Mortal from the age of seventeen until my nineteenth birthday and I hated it, since I was the only one. My birthday went well, during the day, I spent time in a tattoo parlor, getting this one here on my neck." Shada tilted her head to the right and showed her the heart shaped ankh on her neck. Even after all that time, it was still fresh looking. "After that, I went around town, just to see the sites and everything. It wasn't everyday that I was just out and about.
"I ended up by the lake, in a weeping willow, which I had found some time ago and deemed as my special spot. I was alone a lot so I went there to think. Liir spoke to me, which she does from time to time, though less frequently than she does now. She told me that I had visitors, which confused me. No one ever came to visit me, ever. Why would this day be any special?
It was special because my father, my real father and my twin sister were coming to see me. As soon as I heard his voice, I was off and running. I had to know who had come. I was shocked at first, since my mother never told me about either of them. Lilith, my elder sister, had been living in Hell for the past nineteen years with our father, learning the ways of the Demons and whatever. Father said it was to prepare her to protect me when I took over as his Successor, which I had no idea what he was talking about. But my sister and I exchanged hellos and happy birthdays before the two of them left. I was happy that at least someone in my family gave a crap about me. I mean, I'm the youngest of nine kids, you don't get more forgotten than that, let me tell you. So when they left, I was in a happy mood. It was coming on dusk, so I headed back to be there when the others awoke. Didn't really matter, I would be alone anyway.
"By the time I made it back, Lief was waiting for me. He told me that Miranda wanted to see him upstairs, so I nodded and went upstairs to see her. I was literally attacked when I got up there, in which time I was washed, dried, dressed, laced, pinned, coiffed and sprayed into a dress I had never seen before. I didn't fight it, as if I could in the first place. But they released me when they were finished and told me to go downstairs, since Lief wanted to see me. Never occurred to me to think about that, but I went and found that his present to me was dinner, formal dinner for just us.
"I found that he wasn't the vulgar asshole I thought of him as, which surprised me a lot, actually. But, as the night wore on, I could tell something was going to happen. I was right about that too. After we were finished, he asked if I would like to come up and see his rooms, and when I should have said no, I didn't. In hind sight, I probably should have said no, I would have lived but I said yes, and we went upstairs.

"His room was immaculately clean, though cluttered by glass cases full of strange artifacts. I looked upon them with awe, having never seen things such as that before." Shada cleared her throat. "He started to come on to me, telling me I was beautiful, and as a girl, I didn't know what to do, other than to blush and thank him for his words. He told me he wanted to taste me, to see if I tasted as good as I looked, and naively I gave my consent. The Baninae are bound by a strict honor code. We can't feed from someone unless they are willing to be fed from, or unless one has lost their bloody mind and went on a rampage. I have been both in my lifetime."
"You have?" Niya asked, surprised. "I would think you'd have the strength to fight it."
"You would think that, but no. Circumstances led me to break the Baninae code of ethics, several times in fact. Nothing really happens if you do, but you lose a bit of your own self respect doing so. I have little left, as it were." Shada replied, looking down at the petite Mortal woman. "Still, I allowed him nothing more than a taste, and he killed me. He did ask me if I wanted to die or be reborn, and at that time, I didn't want to die. So he gave me his Blood and finished what he'd started." She squeezed her eyes shut against the memories.
"Tell me what happened next, Shada." Niya said gently. "I want to know." Shada opened her eyes and bit her lip, nodding.
"When you're Turned, your body dies. You would think that it's painless, but it isn't. In fact, it's actually painful. Very painful. And as I lay there on the ground, convulsing, my bodily fluids draining from various orifices, it hit me. I had made a mistake. I did. I didn't want to be this monster, I didn't want any ties to Lief and his ways. I wanted to live. It was far too late for that, though. Far too late. My body was too weak and the Baninae venom was in my veins now. I was done.
"The next thing I knew, he'd picked me off the floor and had taken me to his bed. I didn't want him to do this, but I was too weak to fight him off. It was then I realized he had tricked me, and I was furious. I wouldn't expect scum like him to understand what rape is, but that's exactly what he did to me. He took my life and my virginity that night and buried me behind the hideout. He laid roses across my body and buried me, telling me this was my final slumber and that he would explain everything to me when I awoke in a couple of days. I did nothing but close my weary eyes and feel the dirt cover me.
Two days and nights passed and I was then able to climb out of my grave, a real Baninae Vampire. All I remember was the insatiable hunger that ripped through me. It's like nothing I would wish on anyone, it's so bad. Not as bad as the initial dying, but close enough." Shada shivered. "But that is how I came to be a Vampire. The other story... the one where I got this infernal body, is different and I really don't feel like explaining it right now.. but if you would like to hear it some other time, I would be more likely to oblige you." Shada said, her eyes darkening to black at the thought.
"Thank you for telling me this much, Shada. I feel like I know you a little better now." Niya said, laying a small hand on Shada's massive paw.
"You are quite welcome. I really don't want to hide things from you, but like I said, I didn't know how you would react. Mortals haven't been kind to me in the past, even before I got this form, and because of some other things that happened to me, I have a strong mistrust for everyone. It's nothing against you, it's just the times, if that makes sense." Shada tried to explain. "I keep myself glamoured magickally for that reason."
"I forgive you, and I understand why you do it, I just wish you would have given me a chance." Shada nodded and stood up, Niya rose likewise.
"Shall we retire for the night? I don't have to sleep, but you do."
"I think that would be great. But I have a question for you." Niya said, which made Shada stop short and look at her.
"Oh? What's on your mind?"
"Well..." Niya paused for a moment and Shada knew what she was going to ask in that moment. Her body language gave her away. Her body went cold at the thought. "It's just that I'm really interested in becoming a Vampire, so I guess I was wondering if you might..." Shada's eyes glowed silver for a brief moment.
"Turn you? Niya...Is this really what you want?" Shada knew this was not going to sit well with anyone else in the house, but she had to make sure the woman was serious about it. She didn't want to hurt her only friend. "I don't want to hurt you, hun."
"I know you don't, Shada. But I want this, for myself."
"But think about it! You'll never grow old, you'll outlive your mate and your children! Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?" Pain flooded her eyes; Shada really didn't want to rob this woman of her humanity.
"Yes! Why can't you accept this?"
"Because I know what will happen if you aren't accepted by your family in that state and I don't want that for you." She frowned and looked at the ground.. "I'll make this deal with you: I will give you three days to think this thoroughly. If and only if you still feel you want to be Turned after that, I will allow you to ask me again. I am only able to Turn you if you ask for it and I am honor bound to oblige. Does that suffice?" Niya frowned but nodded.
"Three days then." Niya said, following Shada back to the house.

Those three days were Hell. All Shada could do was wonder if she'd been successful in changing Niya's mind. It was a long shot, but she hoped she had. She liked the woman, but she didn't want to be responsible for killing her. She wanted to tell Vik, but tried to avoid her at all costs. He even took to sleeping downstairs in the living room until just before dawn, when he would come upstairs and get in the bed, which she wasn't occupying.
"Vik... did I do something to upset you?" She'd asked that morning. He merely shook his head and rubbed his blue eyes.
"No, why?" He yawned.
"Well, you're avoiding me. I thought maybe I did something..." She trailed off.
"Shada, look. It's either I stay and torture myself, or I go sleep downstairs."
"What?" She had no idea what he was talking about.
"You know what I mean." No, not really. "Look, it's one thing for me to say that you're my girlfriend, but you're making it really hard not to blur the line and say fuck it, you know? That would never work out. You're a Demon and I'm a... well, I'm not." She was watching him, a slow smile crossing her lips.
"Really, Vik? That's the excuse you're giving me?"
"What do you want me to say? That I'm in love with you and all that?"
"No, unless you really are. It wouldn't be fair. Besides, I stopped messing with you ages ago." She said. "Promise."
"Oh, cut the crap, Shada! You have to be doing something to me, I'm not into the whole Demon thing."
"Uh-huh. I don't know what this is about, but I swear to you, I stopped messing with you like a month ago. Anything after that isn't me, that's you. And you're a Fallen or some sort. You can't lie to me, I can sense the power in you, just like you can sense mine." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. "So spill it, Angel boy. I want to hear it."
"What are you talking about?" He was getting annoyed now, it showed in his voice. She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head.
"All right, if you don't want to tell me..." She stood up straight and went to the window, posing to climb out. "Your problem, not mine. I can't make up your mind, but when you want to talk about what's bothering you, just call my name." She gave him a wink and disappeared out the window, running down across the lawn, jumping the fence and fading into the coming dawn.
Shada returned later to find that Vik was just as irritated as he had been when she left. But that was nothing. She was being to get accustomed to his moods, which was a scary thought, her getting chummy with him. Ick. But, at the same time, it held somewhat of an appeal, mostly since he was the only male for miles that didn't make her want to choke herself to death, and that included blood as well. There was something about this region that sickened her, whether the blood be too rich, or too... thin for her taste, it was unknown. Still, she couldn't bring herself to admit that she hadn't been feeding as regularly as her nightly excursions would claim her too and she was getting... desperate.
Her boot slipped when she went to climb back in the window, and she fell with a heavy thud to the ground, effectively knocking the wind from her. She laid there for a long moment, seeing Vik in the window. Her eyes caught the smile on his face, and her ears deftly caught the laugh that escaped him. She glared at him and Traced from the ground, ending up in the room.
"Oh, that's funny, is it?" She rose, a growl in her throat.
"You have no idea." Vik continued to laugh at her, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, he was laughing so hard. Her eyes glowed green and she growled low at him. In the next second, she pounced on him and knocked him to the ground. His laughter became an 'Oof!' as she landed on his chest, knees first.
"It's not so funny now, is it?" She snarled at him. His blue eyes flashed dangerously, all traces of amusement gone.
"You have five seconds to get off of me before you regret it, Demon." He snarled back. She laughed at him.
"And if I don't?" Her eyes narrowed and a cold smile froze on her face. He stared at her for exactly five seconds before he moved, flipped her over on her back and pinned her by digging his knees into her shoulder blades. He grinned wickedly and started to tickle her, knowing she could do little to get him off of her.
"Vik!" At first she was pissed that he had gotten the jump on her, and then pissed that he was tickling her. "Get off!" Her eyes were pulsing colors now, blue and then violet.
"Nope." He said, moving his hands to new spots along her ribcage.
"Vik! Get OFF! She was annoyed, but laughing; she had no other choice at the moment. She thrashed beneath him, trying everything she could to dislodge him. Nothing seemed to work. "What do you want from me?"
"What do I want? I want you to stop using your magic on me." He said, obviously not have believed her earlier.
"But I'm not! I don't do that!" She gasped, laughing harder now, her chest tightening.
"You have to be. There is no reason why I should feel this way."
"Feel like what? I don't do spells like that!" Bloody tears coursed down her face now, and she was trembling.
"Shada... I've fallen in love with you. And I don't just do that." He said, pausing for a moment and watching her face. She continued to laugh and cry until she was empty and breathless.
"Vik.. I don't use magick like that. At the most I heal other people. I don't even do love spells, as a matter of fact." She wrapped her legs up around his waist, and moved him, a feat since he was sitting on her chest. "And I'm flattered, I really am." She said to him, sitting up. "But... I'm not in love with you. I'm just not. I love you, sure, I probably have for a while, but.." She shook her head and drew her knees to her chest. "I just don't trust anyone. I'm sorry. If I had some way to know that you wouldn't end up killing me one day... " He stood up, a strange look on his face. Uh-oh. She pleaded with him with her eyes, begging him to understand. And knew somewhere inside her that he didn't.
"What are you saying, Shada? You love me but you're afraid that I'll kill you? How many times have I saved your ass since we met?"
"Vik..."
"Answer me." He said, kneeling beside her.
"Three." She said. "But..."
"Three times." He said, shaking his head. "And you think I'm going to kill you?"
"Vik, listen to me. You have to understand.... I've had a few tell me they loved me, one betrayed me, one killed me and the last one cursed me before trying to kill me. Be glad that I even love you..." She looked down at her knees.
"But you DO love me, right?"
"I do." She said, still not looking at him. He embraced her.
"Then that's all I want to know. We can work through the other stuff." He said. She could almost hear the smile in his voice. He squeezed her tight until she yelped.
"Yea..." She wasn't so sure. Not only that, she didn't know if he fully understood what she'd even meant. But, time would tell, and that's all that mattered just then. She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes, not even close to ready for what she and Niya would have to talk about later in the day.

It was about midday when Niya finally found Shada in the study. It had rained all day, so Shada had holed herself there, looking over some of her books.
"Thought I might find you here." Niya said, with a smile.
"Oh?" Shada's tail wagged as she looked up at the woman, smiling.
"Yea, I looked everywhere else first." The two laughed.
"Well, you found me. What did you want to talk about?" Shada had been waiting for her to come to her with her answer, she just hadn't expected it to take this long.
"I thought about it, like you told me to. I talked to Jean Pierre as well, and I decided I would like for you to change me." Shada closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. She knew this was coming and still didn't want to do it, even though the woman had done what she'd asked of her.
"Very well then, you know what you have to do." Shada said, standing up and stretching her long body.
"Yes." Niya nodded and cleared her throat. "Shada, will you change me into a Vampire?" The Xurenae woman shivered as the words rushed over her, and she felt her fangs lengthen in her mouth, peeking just under her upper lip. She nodded, unable to speak. Niya looked a little frightened, which gave Shada pause, but not enough to stop her. She wrapped her arms around the woman, embracing her and kissed her neck once.
"Are you ready then?" She whispered into her ear softly.
"Yes..." Niya's eyelids drooped to half- mast, falling under the spell of Shada's Vampiric aura.
"Good." Shada tentatively licked Niya's neck and gave her a sucking kiss, hiding her bite within. Niya's hands went immediately to Shada's shoulders, as if trying to stop her, which Shada knew from experience was just the natural reaction. She drank the woman almost dry, leaving enough to allow the woman to answer her, as she was taught to. Sadness was in her eyes as she pulled back, knowing she had pretty much killed her only friend.
"I will ask you this once; Do you wish to accept my Gift, or condemn yourself to death? Which do you choose, for the choice is yours and yours alone."
"Gift....please..." Niya was very weak and even to say that was a strain on her. She was sitting just on the threshold of death, and any moment could teeter and fall off of it.
"All right. By this you have given up your soul, your life..." Shada ripped a fang over her wrist and offered it to the woman. She used her other arm to hold Niya upright. "Drink... Drink from me and be reborn, Niya. You have been given a new life." She pressed her gaping wrist to Niya's mouth. She immediately felt the drawing sensation, knowing Niya was taking her blood from her. She moaned, enjoying the sensations that another feeding from her always gave her. "Release me..." She told the Fledgling, pushing her head gently. The woman came up gasping, shuddering as the painful part of the process began. Shada Traced outside where there would be no mess to clean up, knowing the hard part was about to begin.

She screamed, falling from Shada's grasp and into the grass as she began to convulse, her bodily fluids expelling from her body. Shada could do nothing but watch with the aching sadness in her eyes. She hadn't wanted to do this...she had wanted to protect Niya from this and had failed.
A strange, decay-like scent wafting from the woman's body which assaulted her sensitive senses. She grimaced and went off to find something that would ease the smell and returned with some lavender, a few sprigs of mint, some vanilla flowers and some papaya flowers. She quickly twisted the mix into a wreath and laid it across Niya's body, careful not to step in the pool of fluids on the ground.
"You will sleep for a day or two and awaken a full-fledged Baninae Vampire." Shada told her, lifting her effortlessly and Tracing back into the house. She took her to the bathroom first, where she made sure she was clean before putting her to bed. Jean Pierre looked at her when she came in with Niya.
"She is Turning so she will sleep for two days. She is not to be disturbed. If anyone asks, she's sick." Shada laid the woman down and replaced the flowers on her body. "I am truly sorry, Jean Pierre."
"What for? You did only as she asked of you, and you told her the risks ahead of time." He said, with a shrug.
"For killing your mate." Shada said, with a nod. "I suppose you're right, though. But still, I am sorry." She turned and left the room. "Please, let me know when she's awake again. She and I have a lot to talk about."
"I will." He called after her.
Shada went to the room she shared with Vik and flopped down on the bed, mentally exhausted.

[ShadaAntoinette]

Shada had a tough time after she'd Turned Niya. She was upset that she'd been so weak that she'd obliged the woman instead of telling her no and going on about her way. True... she had a weakness for people she considered a friend, but that shouldn't have clouded her judgment like it had. And she was regretting it. Niya would be awakening from her Final Slumber the next night, and Shada would have to start teaching her the basics of being a Baninae.

She walked through the rain drenched woods silently, mind lost in a daze of regret. It had started to rain yesterday, and it hadn't stopped since then so she was soaked to the bone, her bare wolf feet sinking in the mud with each step she took. She loved when it rained, when she was by herself. The scents, the sights, the sounds. The forest was just a plethra of pleasure for the senses. But this day would change her, probably as much as when she would begin to teach her first Fledgling.
A twig snapped, which made her stop in her tracks, ears flicking, trying to pick up on the source of the sound. When she heard nothing else, she continued on, weary now. What if it was Azazel coming back for her? What if... what if... what if... There were far too many what if scenarios for her to want to stay. She hurried along, listening behind her. When she was certain there was no one following her, she slowed down again, leisurely walking along.
Then she began to sense that she was being watched. The aura was faint, but she was still picking it up and she was on guard. Something whizzed past her head, which made her turn in time to see Max flying at her.
"I found you, bitch!" He tackled her, knocking her into the mud, or he would have, had not an almost seven foot tall Angelic male pushed her out of the way. She hit the ground with a thud, and Max, well he'd hit the man like one would hit a brick wall, hitting the ground there after.
"What are you doing here? The man asked Max, who looked up at him with hatred in his eyes. Shada recognized the voice, barely, but it was there. When it hit her, her eyes grew round.
"Vik?" She asked. The man turned his head to look at her, his long, white blond hair moving fluidly along his back.
"Yes..." He answered with little more than a nod. Wow.. so this is what he really looked like... she was impressed.
"Vik? What the Hell are you doing out here?"
"I asked you first, Max." His voice was little more than a silky monotone, but it was enough to make Shada get up.
"You know why I'm here, Vik." Max jerked his head in her direction. "I've got a bone to pick with her."
"No. You're going to go home and leave her alone." Vik said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh, I think not." Max's voice turned into a snarl as he began to change. He became thicker, and he grew dark brown fur over his body. He wasn't as Mortal as Shada had once believed, apparently. He stood a little taller than Shada in her current form, but thicker, more muscular. She was surprised to see that he was actually a werewolf. His eyes should have given him away.
He let out a feral snarl and turned in her direction, but Vik raised his arm to block the creature.
"You will leave her alone, Max. I am not going to tell you again."
"Or what? What are you going to do, Angel boy?"
"Even if he does nothing, I can stand up for myself, you bastard." Shada snarled at him, eyes glowing.
"Oh-ho!" Max laughed at her. "A little fire in you yet. I like that." He made a lewd gesture at her, which pissed her off. Vik grabbed the man by his neck and dragged him off as Max fought him tooth and nail to get away from him. "Let go, dammit!"
"I warned you." Vik said.
"You w-- How about I tell her what really happened between you and Kaija? Bet she'd like to hear that, huh, Angel boy?" Max laughed. Vik halted in his tracks, his feathery wings rustling in distaste.
"There is nothing to tell. Kaija was killed in an accident." Vik said.
"No she wasn't, I saw what really happened." Max said. He finally broke Vik's grasp and charged over to her, wickedness in his golden eyes. Vik grabbed him again, stalling him again.
"You speak lies, Max. You were with me when we got the call." Vik snapped.
"You would lie to save your own ass? Shit.. you don't deserve her, you know that? She deserves a real man, who can take care of her." Max said with a snort.
"Like you?" Shada said, dryly. "Please, I would be little more than a whore to you. Besides, I hate your guts."
"Why you li--!" Max lunged at her, which she did nothing except kick him in the face, forcing him to stumble back. "Bitch, you have a lot to learn about me. And I'm willing to be generous with you. All you have to do is come here."
"And what, get raped? I'm good." Shada's claws gored the tree she leaned against, her eyes black.
"You don't want to make me angry."
"Likewise, and you're starting to." She growled back at him. He smirked at her, his long muzzle twisting. "I can do things to you that would make you wish you were never spawned, asshole."
"Big words, coming from a female. You know, your breed is weaker than mine, right? I could overpower you in an instant."
"I would like to see you try it, you piece of shit. I would kill you before you raised a hand to her." Vik said, eyes narrowed.
"Oh, just try it, Vik. I've got something for you too." Max's eyes glittered maliciously. "I know your weakness, Angel boy. It's not that difficult to deal with you and then she'll be mine anyway."
"Actually, Max, I have to stop you there. I'm not weaker than you, in fact, I will never be weaker than you. You don't know me and you don't know what I am." Shada said with little more than a yawn.
"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yep." She stood up and took a few steps toward him, raising her hand to Vik, when he moved to stop her. "No, no, let him try." She said.
"As you wish, Shada." She didn't know what to think about what he'd said, so she turned her gaze back to the brown Lycan.
"Go for it, give me your worst." She said. Max let out a roar and came at her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her to the ground, his jaws around her delicate throat. His claws groped her, goring and ripping her. Blood welled from her skin, turning her white fur crimson. She started to laugh, which distracted him.
"Is that all you got? Shit, you fight like an animal." She forced her paw between his jaws, slicing it open in the process, but succeeded in prying him off before kicking him away. Vik immediately came to her side, healing her wounds. He picked her up in his arms.
"Enough." She had nothing to do but wrap her arms around his neck, looking down upon Max, who was up now, looking at her with a mix of irritation and confusion on his face. "You won't harm her anymore."
"Is that how it is, Vik? Stealing her from under me, are you?" Shada blanched.
"Come again? I didn't know I was a possession." She spat.
"She was never yours, Max. Never. And she is not something to be owned." Vik said, setting the woman behind him, where she wouldn't get hurt, his wings out to block her from Max's view.
"Au Contraire, you act as if she's yours." Max said. "Just like you used to do to Kaija. Remember her? Remember my little sister?"
"What are you talking about? Of course I remember Kaija." Vik said, irritation rising in his voice.
"Remember what you did to her? Don't give me that look, I saw you. I saw what you did to my sister." Max growled at him. "I saw how you treated her. You were suffocating her, she even told me so. She used to tell me all kinds of things. She hated you, Vik. Deep down inside, she hated your guts."
"You're lying Max, I can see it in your eyes. Just what are you trying to do?" Shada heard all of this, and wondered about Vik's former girlfriend and what became of her. And just what this had to do with what was going on now.
"Am I? Am I really? Want to tell me why she told me she was afraid that you were going to kill her in her sleep?" That struck a chord in Shada. That was precisely what she'd thought about him as well. She took a step back from him, which he must had sensed, since he turned his head to fix her with a calm blue eye. "She told me you used to stand over the bed and watch her sleep and that you told her you were protecting her. What were you really doing, Vik? What, do you get your jollies from suffocating women? You fucking sicko." Max was on fire now, shaking and spitting at his former friend. "She didn't die in an accident, Vik. I saw what you did, slipping things into her drinks when you didn't think anyone was looking, watching her like she was a piece of meat. Did you do that to Nora as well? What, did you think I'd forgotten about that?" Max leaned around Vik to look at Shada. "You met Nora, didn't you? Yea, he probably told you she was killed in some sort of cult thing. Nope. He was lying. He slit her throat when she slept. He killed his wife and then came after my sister."
"That's enough of your lies, Max!" Vik yelled. He slammed Max with a fist, which made the wolf man stagger back for a moment. Within seconds, the two men were tussling on the ground, leaving Shada to stand there, lost in what Max had said.

Was he right? Had Vik killed his wife and Max's sister, Kaija? She didn't know what to think, what to do... she just stood there dumbly.
"Shada!" Vik's human voice startled her. "You have to believe me, I didn't do any of the things Max said!" Something was off, Shada could tell. There had been a glowing, almost alive bluish stone on his chest, which now was dull and listless. Was that the source of his power? She had no idea. "You have to believe me, Shada. I would never do that! I would never killed either of them, and I sure as Hell wouldn't kill you!" She hesitated and took a step back. Vik was losing this fight and with the fire in Max's eyes, he wouldn't survive it either. Torn, she opened her mouth to speak and closed it with a smack of her lips. "You have to say my name, Shada. You have to say my real name..." His words were cut short by Max, who landed a solid punch there. He wanted her to say his name...
"Viktor..." She said, at a loss for what he meant. That was the only name she knew him by. Nothing was happening, except.. except, her body was starting to heat up. She swallowed hard as she felt herself slip into the form that scared her still; it was just so foreign to her at times.
"Say his name, Shada... you know what it is.. you know...." Liir was saying to her over and over. Her mind began to race and she felt like she was going to explode. "Say it or he will die tonight... you don't want that, do you?"
"No... No!" There was something wrong, she could feel it... she wasn't transforming, her body was still wolfen. Knowledge flew through her mind at a break neck pace, the sounds drowning out the sounds of Max's fists hitting Vik.
"You have to say it, Shada. If you want to say him, you have to say it......" Liir's voice was calm, belying her soul sister's distress.
"Y....." She stopped and took a deep breath, calling upon her inner strength to do this. Her eyes flashed opened and her entire eye glowed a fiery gold color. Her Goddess symbol appeared on her forehead which glowed almost as bright as her eyes did. Fires began to smolder and burn beneath her paws. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth again. "YORENTOMAENII..." She said. She saw Vik's body twitch and his head jerked in her direction.
She was glowing now, her hair had caught fire and she was beginning to burn, her clothing going first. She opened her hands, letting them fall to her sides, instead of them gripping her skull. She opened her mouth again, her symbol and her body burning hotter and brighter.
"YORENTOMAENII!!!" She shouted, the birds in the trees scrambling into the air to get away from her fury. Suddenly a bright blue-white light erupted from Vik's chest; the stone had come alive when she'd called his name, which had blown her back, forcing her to instantly cool down and Max away from his body. The Divine energy that usually came from him had disappeared, which made her wonder what had just happened. She was blinded by his light, which made the outcome of the fight unknown to her. All she did know is, the victor came over to her and lifted her from where she had landed.
"Vik?"
"I'm here." His ethereal voice was back, which made her sigh with relief. "Thank you.. for believing me and for reawakening my power." She looked up at him blindly, eyes sightless.
"Is that what I did? I had no idea..."
"Neither did I. I had hoped that you would have the power to do so, but it was something I had to find out. If you hadn't, I probably would be dead." She laid her forehead against his chest, feeling the heat of the large stone that hung there.
"Vik.. what is this exactly? What are you?" She asked, voice muffled by his chest. He heard her perfectly though.
"I'm called what is known as a Lunariae Naa in Acannan." He answered. "The rough translation is ' Soul of the Moon'." He said. She looked up at him, blinking as her sight started to come back to her. His blind eye hadn't been fixed in his transformation, but it still glowed the same pretty blue as the other one.
"I've heard of that, though I'm ashamed to admit I believed they were just a legend." He laughed.
"You, of all people thought my Kind was a legend? Love, your just being alive is a legend!"
"Touche." She smiled at him. He smiled back and shook his head.
"Rest... I will take us home." He told her, looking off toward the house.
"Mmkay." He didn't have to tell her twice. She was tired anyway; his power had caught her off guard and she had lost a lot of energy because of that. As a result, she was asleep before they returned home.