by P. S. Power
Hilda shook her head without turning, “Not from here. Sorry, but I'm not much good directly around Alede...And these two don't have very good control right now. I'd ask to wait in the hall, but I might scare the school kids that live here if I keep the gun out.” She turned briefly, and winked at Kate. “And if I don't, I'd probably get hit on... That's what Libby said at least.”
Claire bowed to Britney and Blaine, then gave the titles again, just so there'd be no confusion about who they were later. Then she asked questions, as to the nature of the attack, specifics as to what was said, reasons as to what may have caused the attack if it wasn't random and a dozen other things. Blaine tried to explain that it was probably a simple mix up, though a painful one for him. After a moment he sighed, which made him react in pain.
"Not that I can do much about it at this point. Those guys saw what they did, so as far as they're concerned I tricked them into gay sex. Like I have to trick people?"
Claire had an answer to this, “First we'll see to your safety. This means all of you, Kate. You'll all need to stay together as much as possible. Guards will be provided. You'll have to share, since we don't have enough volunteers to cover you easily at all times individually. Still, I think vigilance is in order until the investigation team has a chance to look into this. If we can handle this quickly you should be inconvenienced only shortly. It may take longer. If so I apologize for any disruption in advance.”
Britney, obviously feeling a bit awkward, tried to explain about the situation at “McC's” that she thought sparked the attack. She didn't blush, since that reaction, while possible for an Alede, didn't come from shame or embarrassment, only sexual arousal. Kate knew that she'd be a deep scarlet if she were Human right about now. Not because she serviced so many guys in that short of a time, that, for an Alede, would be a matter of pride. No she felt embarrassed because she'd inadvertently caused problems for her brother. Her mistake, one that she should have known better than to make, had caused pain to a complete innocent in the situation. She chewed her lip at the end of her story, looking a lot like a lost little girl, if a seventeen year old, very hot one.
Holding in any sign of mirth perfectly, Claire nodded once, “That... sounds like a likely scenario. However, given the people you've been around lately, you're potentially open to attack if only to harm or confuse others. If we'd had this much warning with Courtney Moore, she'd probably be alive right now. None of us want to see a repeat of that incident.”
At the door Hilda tensed at the mention of the actress's name. Blaine tried to tilt his head, but winced in pain and had to bite down on a soft moan, which made him wince again. After a few deep breaths he managed to speak.
"What would Courtney Moore have to do with this? I'd heard she was murdered, but..."
Claire answered, “Probably nothing. I don't know how much you know about her death, but it was perhaps one of the most horrific I've ever heard of, and I've been around some awful things in my time. The Arch-Demon Cruxias had it done using Human agents. Simply to disrupt us, our communities, it seems. While things have calmed down now, in regards to the forces that did that, we all want to be careful for a while about such attacks. Since your deaths could potentially disrupt large scale economies, it's merely prudent to intervene early.” Her head bowed, tilting to one side slightly as she moved, as if deferring to their importance. It got a strange look from Blaine, but he focused on his sister instead of speaking.
Britney kept crying softly, and didn't look up, muttering softly about how it was all her fault. Blaine put a single hand on her shoulder to comfort her, though he moved to her stiffly. Kate saw him look at Claire, and could tell that he meant it to be questioning, but it didn't carry through the current mask of swelling and bruises very well.
So she took a breath and tried to explain.
“Blaine, it's like this, I think... If you or Britney were killed, Hartley would come to investigate himself and that would probably bring half the power structures in the world down here as well, scrambling to keep him satisfied that everything possible was being done to make sure justice took place. I know that after what happened to Courtney, well, he almost ripped the economies of the world apart searching for Cruxias. The lines stopped moving all together for a few weeks, since even the Demons were afraid that he'd kill them if he found them in the lines...” She moved to Britney and gave her a hug with one arm, so that she'd know that not everyone in the room blamed her for everything that had taken place, just her screw up that started the whole thing.
Keeber walked over and patted the blonde girl a little awkwardly for a second too, then moved back by Claire, that feeling like a safer position to the man. Turning into a bear at will gave him decent senses and the ability to do a lot of damage at need in a fight, but it didn't prepare him for working in large groups. That being anything over three, he'd told Kate once, very well at all.
“Um, yeah. I remember when they caught the Humans that murdered Miss Moore and how he didn't even speak at the trial. I know everyone else thought he was just being politic, letting the process take its course, but I saw him and Troy standing in the back. I thought they were going to rush the front and kill the prisoners themselves. I don't think I've ever seen him get that mad at anything. He just stood there, but I could smell the rage coming off of him.”
Blaine's mouth formed an “o” and he looked at Claire again, asking some practical questions finally, to Kate's relief.
“So, I need to transform soon, because this pain thing sucks. Then I'll need to harvest a lot of energy. I guess I could shift to female for a day or two, though I don't want to miss too many classes if I can help it. So far my attendance is pretty good...”
Kate answered this one, wincing a little herself in empathy, relief not being easily in sight for him. He needed to stay in his current state for a while, though she could heal the breaks and the lost tooth, for him. She moved over and asked him to open his mouth, then slowly put her right index finger in it. He jumped when she touched the empty hole on the back left, where the tooth had been.
She looked him in the eye, “Now, this may feel funny, so try not to bite me, OK?”
He just gave her a look with his one open eye.
She dropped into a clear, empty, state of mind first, blocking out everything in the room, then, using her finger as a conduit for power, she triggered a change of flesh, from male to female, causing the tooth to come back into being almost instantly, as if reforming out of thin air. She had to pull her finger out of the way, because it tried to generate inside the pad of it, appearing out of nothing for all intents and purposes. The physics of it were spotty by Human standards, but since it worked, that just meant that their way of thinking about things was wrong this time. Then she reversed the process, returning the flesh to male for him, though he'd have matched things together himself with his next transformation, she thought.
He rubbed at his cheek for a second, then, after her finger was out of the way, put his own in to see what had happened. He made a small sound something like “gurk!” and tried to grin at her, then stopped when his lip split open.
Before he could ask questions, she did the same thing to his ribs that were obviously cracked or broken too, so that he could breathe more easily. Claire told her to leave all the external damage for the police though and suggested getting some pictures of the wounds, both now and over the next few days as the colors should bloom nicely, just in case they needed them for Human court proceedings. Looking around she saw a small camera on a shelf and asked if they could use it for that purpose.
Britney saw it and shook her head, “That's Don's. We should ask him first. I mean, I think he'll let us use it, but he may hate me now...” Her head bowed.
Kate hugged her and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Then told Claire to use the small silver camera, but to make sure it had a memory card in it first and try not to erase anything on it if possible. Don, she told them, would want them to get the pictures when they
needed them.
“Why would he hate you though, Brit?” Kaitlyn asked, really not seeing a reason at all. Sure, she'd gotten her brother beaten up, but she hadn't meant to. Blaine probably would have taken those three if he'd noticed the first one about to tackle him anyway. This sucked, but wasn't that big of a deal for him. After all, his side had won in the end, which meant he won.
Tears formed in the ' eyes again, causing Kate to reflect that, for someone with essentially the same genetics that she had, the girl's tear ducts could sure produce a lot more than hers could. A training effect maybe? Stay weepy enough long enough and you could build up to it? The idea made Kate want to try it, but that would have to happen later. Everyone waited for an answer.
Hiccupping slightly as she spoke, Britney told them, “He knows that I sleep with a lot of people for fun, but that's different than sucking off half the football team in the back of a seedy bar! Human men don't deal with things like that very well. Not from women that are around them. I know some act like it for a while, but it wears on the ego too much. Plus, you know, I've really hurt him a lot already, since I wouldn't sleep with him before. How would that make him feel now? He's not good enough for me, but anonymous cocks coming at me through a hole in the wall are fine?” Big sobs wracked her frame then, but Hilda chuckled at her from across the room, causing Britney to glare at her briefly, looking like she wanted to do the woman real damage. It would be a bit like a Chihuahua trying to take on a dire wolf, but that didn't stop the blonde from tensing up.
“Sorry! I don't laugh at your worry...” The big woman spoke clearly, only the barest hint of accent in her voice anymore, that being a hard edge to parts of each word, almost sounding like she grew up speaking German. She turned quickly to look at the crying Alede and spoke next in a tone that Kate recognized as the traditional story telling voice of the Trolleinkein.
“I have heard the tales of Donald, in part, from those who were there. How out of his great love for the Alede Britney and his friend the Alede Blaine he sat in the void for hundreds of years, seeking the skills he'd need to feed them the stuff of life itself... Even as we speak he sits in the void, where centuries can pass in the blink of an eye, facing total dissolution. Doing a thing only two have done before. One of them the Line Walker himself, the only other Human to have survived in the void on his own that we know of. I do not think you have to worry overly that the Human Donald hates you. If he survives this day, this will make an epic tale for my own people. He is very brave! I went into the void myself once, and nearly died and lost my mind, in mere moments there, and that with Zack guarding my thoughts the whole time. That he does this for you now...” Hilda's head came up, as if proud of Don, even though she'd only seen him for a few moments in passing.
Britney didn't say anything, but she stopped crying and finally looked around the room, noticing the people that stood there, as if for the first time.
“I don't... understand what's happening here. Where's Don?” She stood up, pulling Kate with her. “Is he safe? I have to go to him. Where is he?” Her voice went a little frantic then, panic starting to form behind her eyes. Hilda, holding her breath moved in and held the girl. Claire spoke quickly.
“Your friend, Donald, has gone into the void with Mr. Hartley, where he seeks to learn the things he needs to help you through this. He's been in the void before, so his mind should be proofed against it. What he's doing right now, well... it is dangerous, but he has the Line Walker looking after him personally, and I can assure you that Zack would die himself before letting your friend come to harm. As to what the void itself is like, I think you should ask Kaitlyn here, since she's been there longer than anyone but Zack, and please, Britney, calm down. Hilda will need to breathe soon and she can't do that easily while holding you.”
Claire pulled out her cell phone then and started making calls, possibly trying to show Britney that action made more sense than worry right now. The first sounded like a call to a local lawyer, from what was said. Arrangements were made to find out what information the police had so far. While this happened, Keeber lumbered over and offered to take the half panicked Succubus from Hilda, so she could breathe again. He looked embarrassed as he did it, his body having a clearly sexual response to the situation, because worried Succubi tended to pour lust out in all directions as a basic defense mechanism. Which caused Britney to cuddle closer to him and start grinding against him lightly. He made a move like he'd let go, but Kate stopped him.
“Keeber, I know it's off putting to you right now, with all these people around, but she's calming down a lot... If you can hang on for a while, till Don gets back, I think it would be a good idea. Either that or knock her out. Because otherwise, I think she's going to freak out on us...” Looking around the room, she noticed that the only one that would care about this display in public would be Keeber himself.
Claire simply ignored it, expediency being her main concern. If Keeber could keep things calm by having sex with the girl, then they'd clear the other bed for them and be thankful that they had something they could do without making the situation worse.
Kaitlyn jumped up, almost hitting Claire, swatting at her hands to move them away from the papers, which instead of getting an anger reaction from the Vampire, got her to pause briefly. Good to know. Vampires could be a little touchy about things like that and Kate had acted without thinking, but Claire remained steady as always. That was probably why she was an Ambassador, Kate realized.
“Sorry! But I know what a pain it is if things get out of order when you're working on them. I don't want to screw up Don here. Let's see if we can keep some kind of organization...” It wasn't perfect, the papers getting separated as closely as they could manage by subject into three neat stacks, placed between the textbooks that seemed to go with them. They could only hope that they weren't going to get into too much trouble later for it.
The bed clear, Claire gently picked up the large man holding the much lighter girl and set them next to it, so the he wouldn't have to let go. Keeber moaned a little when they fell onto the bed, Britney working at his belt already, hitting him with a solid dose of lust. Strong enough that he didn't really have a choice but to comply with her demands for sex, in public or not. After a few seconds, he rolled to one side, dumping her off slightly, though still holding her tightly.
“I can't! I...have a girlfriend.” He tried to pull away, while she fought to keep him in her arms, not willing to let go now that she had a hold of him.
Blaine got up and limped over to his sister, clearly still in a lot of pain, and placed his left hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything, but after about twenty seconds, the girl calmed down a lot, pulled her energy back in and let go of the big man with an apology. Claire shrugged, clearly not caring how the situation handled itself, as long as it did. Then she stepped away from them all, standing next to Hilda and made another phone call.
Keeber, still hard, refastened his belt and sighed, “It's nothing against you, but Becky's a regular Human, and she wouldn't understand if I had sex with you for any reason. I'm not a good enough liar to hide it from her either...”
They sat and waited, taking pictures of Blaine's injuries, Claire making several more calls and getting a few in return. Finally a knock came at the door. Hilda stiffened, then smiled, able to smell who it was through the wood. The door started to open, a key being used, causing Keeber and Claire to go on alert, until a voice called out from the other side.
“It's us! Zack and Don. Don't shoot, Keeber.” It was said precisely, since Zack could kind of see the inside of the room through the door. He'd told Kate about it a few times trying to explain things that she might notice, but other than some lines going through walls, a door was still solid to her.
They walked in carefully, Zack getting a hug from Hilda, which he returned heartily. Having known him as long as she had, Kate knew that probably meant Don and Zack had been in the void for a long time, at least to their perception. Britney pushed Keeber
out of the way and knocked into Claire lightly as she raced to Don, grabbing him up in a hug and kissing him on the lips hard.
“Are you all right? Did they hurt you somehow?” She asked, between kisses.
He kissed her back, then after about fifteen seconds shook his head.
“Nope, I'm fine. I just had to learn some things, and it took a while. Then I had to practice some of what I'd learned for a few hours before Zack thought I'd be ready to give it a try on a person.”
The thin man walked over and gave Claire a kiss before turning to Kate and hugging her.
“I think he should try it on you first, Kaitlyn. He may not be able to see shortcuts or enter the void on his own, yet, but his mastery of energy itself is strong. Maybe stronger than mine. We need a pro here for him to practice on first, I think...” He gestured to Don to take the position he'd shown him earlier. Hand flat on Kate's bare stomach, a move which caught the attention of the other two Alede, since it was how little kids were fed energy by their parent when they were too young to collect any on their own.
Don started by taking a few deep breaths, the lines of blue-green thick around him as he did it, then he let these flow through her all at once. The energy ripped through her, almost causing her to black out. She went to full charge nearly instantly and started orgasming so hard it didn't even feel nice. It felt like a seizure.
“Whoa! Break there, Don.” Zack told him, causing the connection to be broken instantly. Don scampering back, eyes suddenly wild, afraid he'd done it wrong or hurt her. “Let's try it again, only, say, a quarter of that power level? Think you can do that?” Don nodded and started over again. This time she started to ride a high of sexual bliss instantly, being already topped off, though she tried to hide the effects on her body that it had. After a minute she pushed his hand away.
Leaning in she kissed him, at least as well as Britney had done, and hugged him for a bit, until he started to blush. Kate looked at Don gently and smiled.