Hate Me

The radio blares out incessantly, invading her sleep…

I have to block out thoughts of you so I don't lose my head…

The heavy wooden door stood slightly ajar.

The dust that still helplessly clung to the desecrated ground below showed no sign of disturbance.

She frowns slightly, placing her palm flat against the door; it falls open easily at her touch. She coughs a bit as the dust swirls up in choking clouds, and the pressure of memories begins to gag her.

They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed…

Though she promised herself she would never return, she steps into the foyer, heels clicking softly on the marble. Her eyes slide close as she stands there, soaking in the memories she had thought she had buried so deeply in these walls. The Manse was of the past, a past she didn’t want to remember. Still too close, still too painful.

Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I'm alone…

A brilliant flash of light falls across her face, causing her to squint before carefully opening her eyes. She blinks rapidly several times to clear her vision, sweeping her eyes across the entryway before her.

She’s not alone.

An ounce of peace is all I want for you. Will you never call again?

Her eyes slide across the folds of the handsome white suit, the long dark hair. He stands there, his back to her, with a piece of parchment in his hands. He seems to be intently reading the spiky black writing that litters the page and has taken no notice of her. She simply stares at his back in shock and utter disbelief.

And will you never say that you love me just to put it in my face?

A soft, metallic clang shatters the silence between them. A metal collar lays on the floor, glinting softly in the sickened sunlight.

“You abandoned me,” she says finally, still staring at him.

And will you never try to reach me? It is I that wanted space…

He turns his face to look over his shoulder at her, but no emotion can be discerned past the dark sunglasses he always favored.

“How does it feel?” Valen answers softly.

Hate me today!
Hate me tomorrow!
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you.

((Lyrics from Hate Me – Blue October))

Eyes the Color of Death

A faint beam of moonlight flares across the sleeper’s face for the briefest of moments before being swallowed by darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Acrid smoke chokes the air; Satine coughs and sputters as she attempts to breathe past it. She flails her hands, desperate to clear the space around her from the thick haze that is both suffocating and blinding her. She lashes out blindly, stumbling forward, dodging countless fires that litter the warehouse floor. A sudden gush of clean air blasts her, and she inhales gratefully, blinking several times to clear her vision. The nightmarish scene behind fades to an indistinguishable grey blob, but she pays that fact no mind.

A distant crack splits the silence asunder, and Satine jogs forward down the hallway in the direction of the commotion. Just as she reaches the T-intersection of the two hallways, a pale man with dark hair emerges to her right, sprinting impetuously forward with the desperation of one hunted. He grasps at his side tightly, but a dark stain spreads from between his fingers despite his best efforts to stem the flow. A moment later the two collide and collapse in a tangle; Satine reaches out to right both of them quickly. She struggles to pull both of them to their feet, but his race has run its course; she holds him tightly as they sink to the ground once more.

For several moments, she looks around, stretching her senses as far as she can to find whatever has been chasing him - but to no avail. She snaps her head back to look at him as he touches her cheek, moaning at the feel of the hot blood his fingertips leave behind. She stares at him critically, but try as she might, she cannot discern his features though an air of recognition hangs about him. He reaches up again, placing his palm over her mouth and nose, fingers spread across her forehead and temple as if in benediction, marking her with a bloodied handprint. A shudder of both elation and disgust run up her spine.

“Baptized in blood, both damned and saved…Does your misery really enjoy the company it keeps?” His eyes flash a startling emerald as he body takes its last shuddering breath. She caresses the hair back from his face as she feels his soul slip away in the waiting arms of death.

“Tsk, tsk, Satine, I told you not to drain them dry, you need to leave enough to let them walk…” She spins around, trying to find the source of the dry Italian voice, but no one is there…

“How can I ever trust you again?” This voice is cold, emotionless; she winces, closing her eyes tightly, but a single tear rolls down her face, cutting through the drying blood.

Several moments pass as she kneels there, clutching the man’s body tightly. She jumps as gentle finger tips brush back her bloodied locks; opening her eyes, she lets out a wail. A beautiful strawberry blonde is bent before her. “Ariel…” Satine murmurs, and the woman smiles beneficently.

“Poor Satine, has it really come to this? Hush child…There is no need to fear. The path before you is set, but still you must choose…” Ariel leans forward, brushing their lips together before giving her a soft, undemanding kiss. Satine sighs, sliding her eyes closed after a moment as she relishes the affection. “I forgive you, Satine. Forgive yourself, for redemption awaits…” And with that, Ariel fades to a ghostly, translucent white, walking through Satine without so much as a glance behind her.

The dhampir shivers softly, suppressing a heart-wrenching wail. “Oh, Ariel…what have I done?” Another tears cuts a path through the dried blood.

An eerie sense of familiarity settles over Satine again; she chances a look at the room, and stares in absolute horror. A golden man stands before her, staring in equal horror at her and the body still cradled in her arms. He takes a few steps back, muttering softly…and explodes into darkness. His eyes, having once comforted her so, become a glittering abyss of nightmare, boring through her, infecting her very soul. He laughs softly as she shrieks, casting a glance to the side as a bald man emerges from the right side of the hallway.

The man is wearing a suit of which the likes Satine has never seen before, but it is not that that catches her attention. His eyes…His eyes are as pale as death as he stares at her, a gratified smile on his face.

“Your only choice is death,” he tells her. “You are not fit for redemption.”

The golden nightmare man shrieks, and Satine responds in kind…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A scream catches in her throat as Twist sits up abruptly, heart pounding in her chest. The man beside her does not stir as she sits there for several moments, taking in long, shuddering breaths to ease the fear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moon light flares again, and the sleeper awakens, still caught in the terrible depths of her vision. She twists and turns, but the darkness holds her, silencing her screams. Her bright red hair fades to the darkest shade of midnight, clear blue eyes darkening to a frightful, stormy grey. A savage blood lust wracks her body as she struggles against her bonds, groaning at the feel of the many heartbeats around her. Several moments pass…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twist rubs at her face in her hand, trying to get her racing thoughts under control. She holds out her hand, and reaches for the darkness within her, but her hand explodes in a magnificent bright light. Mase stutters mid snore, and Twist closes her palm quickly, frowning. She pauses, then tries again, smiling softly as her hand fills with a thick dark cloud. She sighs contentedly, looking over at her lover…and her hand explodes once again into a bright light.

Tears leak out slowly from her eyes as she watches him sleep, a single thought repeating itself over and over in her mind.

Is who I am worth sacrificing for a man who hurts me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A beautiful, pale woman stares out the window at the setting moon, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She looks down from her perch, smiling gently at the man sleeping there. She reaches out a hand to brush the hair from his forehead…and shakes her head as her hand passes through his skull. The man stirs fitfully, murmuring “Ariel…” as he turns over, and she wrenches her gaze from him, staring at the moon again.

“Oh, Duncan…It has begun.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A last beam of moon light shines across her face, and the memory of the nightmare fades away…except for those eyes, those eyes the color of death…

The Dead Smell of Roses

WARNING! Piece deals with adult content. Reader discretion is advised.

need need it want it have to have it give it to us hot river of life need need it

A chime. Then another.

Ariel looks up from her inventory, bleary-eyed, and squints at the clock. She groans, having lost several hours in there somewhere if it was already two a.m. Soon the ferries would stop running, and she didn’t relish having to try and find a place to stay for the night here in the Isles. She stifles a yawn as she marks her place in the ledger, laying it softly on the counter. She spins around once, smiling at her newest acquisition. A magic shop would be harder to run than just a bookstore, but, Ariel tells herself, a business is still a business. And she knows business. She hums softly to herself, smiling at the remembered lyrics.

“I feel you on my fingertips…my tongue dances behind my lips…for you…”

Drunk wasn’t even in the same ball park with how she felt at the moment. It didn’t help that insanely beautiful woman who smelled of summer roses kept buying her drink after drink, encouraging her libations. The woman smiles down at her, bright sapphire eyes gleaming with a twinge of dark lust as she looks at her.

“You are so beautiful…Too beautiful to be wasted on the likes of men…” The woman leans in, kissing her softly, undemanding. But she yields under the kiss, parting her lips and slipping her tongue in the sapphire-eyed woman’s mouth. The woman inhales sharply, then pulls away put wraps her arms around her, urging her to the other side of the bar. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?” She nods slowly, grinning like a maniac.

How could someone so beautiful be interested in her?

Ariel laughs softly, clasping her hands together in soft, child-like glee. Everything was working out so wonderfully, it was almost like a fairy tale. She had her store back, with this nice little addition, thanks to Idy. Mr. Summers had been so apologetic that afternoon, telling her he had had no idea the place meant so much to her…and why’d she sell it in the first place? She gave him back his money, and he had given her the deeds to both places. He silenced her protests quickly.

“Someone younger than me needs to look after it. ’Sides it will make a good nest egg for the two of you love birds when you do tie the knot. That young beau of yours was most…forceful this morning. You obviously mean the world to him, and I can‘t say no to young love.” He smiled genuinely at Ariel, and she had took the deeds with promises that he wouldn’t be sorry, no sir.

now we stalk now we hunt the night is ours to feed on live on who will die to sate our lust

“Now then, should I even ask your name, lovely, or would you prefer the anonymity?”

She looks up at the sapphire-eyed woman, then speaks slowly. “My name is Satine.”

“Satine, huh? Pretty name for such an extraordinary girl, I’ll tell you. Mmhm, so beautiful…” The woman slips her hands under Satine’s shirt as she leans into to kiss Satine again, this time more forcibly, eliciting a soft moan from Satine. The perfume of roses seemingly intensifies around the two, and Satine can’t help but moan again, her own pale blue eyes starting to darken with lust and need.

“Do you want me?” The woman asks, nipping at Satine’s neck.

“Yes…”

“Then let me in…let all of me in, I promise you won’t regret it…” The woman croons in her ear, hand exploring the supple body beneath her.

“All...all right.” Satine relaxes completely, letting down the remaining remnants of her guard and loses herself in the woman‘s touch.

there there she’s a pretty morsel stalk her hunt her eat her make her yours

A nest egg, he had called it…a nest egg for their marriage…a marriage that would never happen. Ariel closes her eyes tightly against the impending tears, willing herself not to let them fall. Deep, deep down, she knew…even as much as he said he would, Duncan would never propose. All Ariel had ever wanted was to be his, and to show the world that they belonged together…

Despite her best attempts, tears roll down her cheeks in swift, silent waves.

The woman smiles again, her ruby lips teasingly running up and down Satine’s neck. “There, there, m’dear, doesn’t that feel better? All relaxed, all ready for me…”

Satine didn’t even have time to scream as a darkness blacker than midnight invaded her body, spreading outwards until it controlled her, wrapped securely around her mind. I’ll let you watch, the darkness whispered, But not interfere.

feel her heart beat feel it race soon her blood her life will be yours

Angrily she brushes the tears away, herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Ariel brushes back her hair, sweeping it up out of her face and securing it behind her head. She grabs her coat and keys, flipping off the light switch as she heads out the back door.

Satine struggled against her invader, but it was to no avail; the woman had her consciousness bound back tightly, only allowing her to view the events unfolding. That did not stop her determination to shake the darkness. Idly, she noted that they were passing through the streets of Aeon City, but Satine had no idea why. What she did know, though, was that her dark, deep seated blood lust was running rampant in the night air, desperate to sate itself on the nearest beating heart.

may we have her eat her feed on her watch her die watch us kill her screams as sweet as the blood running across our tongue

The bolt slid home, but its soft click did not satisfy Ariel as she had thought it would. She sighs softly, breathing in the cool fragrant night air. A sudden chill runs up her spine, and Ariel instinctively pulls her coat closer, a small ball of flame resting in her hand. The alley, while perfectly innocent and pleasant in the day, was a bit too creepy for her this late at night. She sets off at a brisk pace down the alley towards the street, but a cold chill comes over her, accompanied by the smell of lilies…

The darkness seemed to chortle with laughter as they turned the corner into the alley, bloodlust screaming at the feel of a heart beat just down a little ways. A flash of strawberry blonde hair and a swish of a coat…Satine damn near groaned, the thirst torturing her body…

“Satine? What are you doing here?”

She flinched in horror, recognizing the voice. And you’re going to kill her, Satine… No, no! But it was no use, she was walking forward resolutely, and nothing she could do could stop herself.

Ariel watches as the dhampir approached her, smiling gently. “You sure did scare me, my friend. I’m glad that out of all the creeps that stalk alleys, it was you sneaking up on me, not someo-” Ariel grunts in surprise as she is scooped up in a hug, and she sighs gently, resting her head on the other woman’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she says softly.

feelthepulsefeeltheheattakehermakeheroursfeedandbefreed TAKE HER NOW

A shiver of elation and disgust runs through her as she feels her teeth slip soundlessly into Ariel’s neck, and the warm, rich flow of blood runs across her tongue.

Ariel whimpers softly as the pain rockets through her uncontrollably. Instinctively, she hits Satine with a hand full of flame in the abdomen, but it doesn’t seem to deter the woman from drinking deeply at her throat…Ariel sinks down, immobilized, wincing as a voice cuts through her mind.

“You were never worthy of the love he gave you; he sees that now, and will never marry you. You are worthless, disgusting…and not worth the scum on the bottom of his shoe.”

Ariel closes her eyes tightly, tears slipping out once again.

Satine winces, feeling Ariel’s spirit slipping away without a fight, going gently into the waiting arms of death…

Ariel can hardly breathe past the pain in her chest; her heart is racing at an extraordinary rate to circulate her barely there blood. She watches in horror as Satine pins a teleporter disk to her chest, then kisses her forehead just as she disappears in brilliant flash…

Requiem Everlasting

Soft footsteps fall on the seemingly desecrated ground, disturbing the softly layer of dirt that had lay dormant along the floor. Each sharp click of heel on the marble was like another strike against her heart, painful and reverberating through the cold and empty spaces that had grown with seeming abandon lately.

The only whisper of sound was the inevitable sigh that fell from her lips as she surveyed her only home, lost amongst shadows and half hearted dreams.

There was no trace of him here, not as though she had expected there to be any. Three excruciating weeks had drug by since he had proclaimed her First. And as quickly as he had made her completely his, he had forsaken her and everyone who depended on his vision. Now the vision clung to the darkened corners of the Manse like a forlorn soul of the damned, covered in soot and dirt and broken promises.

It was as if the sun had conspired with Valen on this day, casting feeble yellow pools of light along the floor. She approaches the winding banister, once a glorious, glossy white trimmed with in a pale gold. Now in the light, the wood appeared a sickly brown, as if it were shriveling up in communion with the vision. She stops a moment, laying a single hand on it, as if remembering the countless times she had climbed it to her Lord’s room, or even her own. Her blue eyes shift to her hand lying there, and for a brief moment the grief and madness cross them, her one betrayal of the emotions threatening to wrench her in two. She refocuses, slowly ascending the stairs, hands hanging low at her sides.

She pauses at the top of the stairs and looks back at the foyer; a clear path of her footsteps can be seen from the ornate entrance doors all the way up the stairs. The realization sinks in direly at that moment; she stumbles and catches her breath, suppressing everything that would betray her. A moment passes, then another. Her pale face, framed so elegantly by her red tresses, falls once again to a stone wall, eyes as icy cold as an Antarctic ice flow.

The heavy doors of her Lordship’s bedroom fall open easily at her slightest touch. His study looms before her, more thickly covered in dirt than the rest of the home. Every footstep that falls causes the dust to burble and cloud around her, stifling her air, but not her determination. Another set of doors bar her way, but bolstered by her already satisfied courage, she pushes them open just as easily. She stops a moment, in the entryway, as the memories flood forth.

So many happy memories had been made here. All crushed into the fine dust of oblivion by a single action of a desperate vampire.

She steadies herself, breathing the sour air deeply. No one had touched this room since the last time he had been seen, and it certainly showed. Clothing lay strewn about, mildewed towels made little mountains of stiff material here and there; the opulent bed remained made in those satin blue sheets he had so largely prized. It was this that she approached warily, her last act before…She didn’t think about it.

Her palms began to bead with sweat, dampening the envelope in her hand. She hardly notices as she tries to breathe between the knots in her stomach and the lumps in her throat; she manages short, stuttering gasps hissing between her clenched teeth. Eons and seconds later she reaches the foot of the bed, and she sways on her feet, still unsure of what to do.

Again her eyes betray her for a fleeting moment. But it is only fleeting. She had to do this.

She leans over, placing the neat, white envelop on the center of the bed. She shifts it first left, then right, unsure of the placement. Sticky black calligraphy adorns the face of the envelope, the words “Lord Valen” can be made out after a moment. She straightens, remembering with a vivid ferocity the words set inside the pages within:

Dearest Lord Valen,

You have gone away for a long enough while that I must consider if you are ever coming back to my arms. I am myself most saddened at you sudden departure, and eagerly await your triumphant return. But I am a realist, and must therefore prepare myself for the fact that you may never be coming home.

What we shared was as brilliant a flickering candle burning strong and true. But for you, the wick’s run out while my wax still is melting.

I will cherish the love we shared forever more, and tuck it in to the secret places of mine heart. I will always be yours, Lord Valen, and all you must do is call for me, and I will come. But for now, I must venture on own, to find my small niche in life where I will be truly happy.

Do not worry for the material things, they are already being cared for. As long as breath fills my lungs, you shall never have to worry about the Manse. I keep it in the hopes that you will soon return to populate it again.

My final gift to you, Lord Valen, is that which I trapped myself with. It contains a piece of me that could never exist elsewhere; I wish you to have, if only to remember the vows and promises I made you.

I will always love you

Everlastingly Yours,

Satine

Only now does a tear trail down her cheek as her fingers work deftly at the clasp. A click, a slide, and it comes free, cold metal heavy in her hands. She places her collar to encircle the letter, gazing at the symbolic significance of this tiny action. For a moment, she reaches out along the connection he had forged between them, desperate for even the tiniest trace he is still alive. Her answer is a high pitched static, whether from a heavily shielded mind or a dead spirit, she can’t tell. She spins on heel, careful to close the doors behind her, and leaves yet another sad chapter of her life behind.

Of Flesh and Bone

Satine sat, a desolate island of humanity atop the Arachnos building. Her mind was elsewhere entirely, flitting from one conversation to the next.

“Take care of Lord Valen…”

“Am I a monster?”

“Satine…what will you do now?”

It was all too much…The past couple of days she had survived in a haze of detachment, speaking only when spoken to, and sometimes not at all. But, as all things do, every haunting moment had caught up with her, cruelly managing to catch up to her at once. She couldn’t take it anymore…and let out a pain-ridden scream, tears spilling down her face.

For several moments, she simply let herself feel again; feel all the anguish and vulnerability that her heart had been steeled against for the last few days. She abandoned herself completely to her grief, clinging desperately to the edge of the building less she also abandon herself to the cold concrete that lay several hundred yards down.

That was her first mistake.

Slowly, achingly, she managed to free her mind from her heart’s entrapment…and snarled. There, propped up against the thick spire he stood, as beautiful and dark as any of the devil’s angels. Mathieu.

Satine turned slowly to face him, muscles twitching in anticipation of the fight to come. Seemed Mathieu had other plans. “Crying over your dead lover? Pathetic. You are a disappointment, Satine. He never loved you, only told you that so he could use your body…” He stopped for a moment, black eyes running down her supple form. “I would never have done such a thing to you, pet. I would be kind…Forgiving…All I ask is that you bow to me.”

Satine simply stood there watching him frostily, furiously wiping away her tears…But stopped rather suddenly. By admitting her pain to him, she let him win; when in all essence, her ability to feel was what made her stronger than this swine. She let her tear stains stand as a testament to that fact, facing him no longer as a scared little girl, but as a true predator and he her prey.

Mathieu didn’t seem to notice. “Bow child, and I will spare you. Give you the best that slavery has to offer, the coveted place as my Prime. What more could you want?”

She just stood there, looking at him. Motionless, though every muscle, every fiber of her being screamed for her to lunge. Let the mouse make the first move, she told herself. Let him make his bed in which to lie.

“No, Satine? You will not take my most generous offer? Then be prepared for the consequences.” And he lunged, just as she knew he would, catching her about the shoulders, attempting to propel her towards the spire. Satine simply threw her weight back, and the combined force sent them both over the edge, plummeting towards the concrete below.

Mathieu watched in horror as she disentangled herself from his grasp, and hit him repeatedly. Blood was spewing everywhere, and the most satisfying cracks of bone could be heard. But Satine took no pleasure from it, just as Claurice had taught her. Make it impersonal.

They hit the ground with a sickening crunch as bones gave way to concrete, flesh gave way to bone. Several moments passed, neither able to breathe past the pain that was threatening to spiral them to unconsciousness. But vampires heal quickly, and soon, Mathieu rose, still clutching his arm to his chest, hip stuck out at an odd angle. People watched in total horror as he stumbled off…And in greater horror as Satine pushed herself up. A compound fracture of the tibia, totally obliterated shoulder held her back, but Satine followed, forcing bone back into place, forcing herself to transcend the pain.

His fear was evident as she lunged for him this time. They hit the ground forcibly, bodies entangled in a sick imitation of two lovers. She rolled off of him, regaining her feet, and kicked his injured hip viciously as he tried to rise, arm flying to hit his soft temple, dazing him.

She towered over him as he lay there on the ground, moaning. She stood for a moment before roughly pulling him to his feet, cradling him in a vampiric embrace. It was only then that she spoke in soft whispers.

“I will never be yours. You are a monster, Mathieu. Prepare yourself for death, my friend.”

Mathieu began to uncharacteristically plead. “No, I have lived along time. I paid a high price for this life, and I would not loose it now. I offer my blood as repayment for the debt between us.”

“Fool! You would sink so low as to offer me your infection for your own life? I shall take your offer then, swine!”

Mathieu tensed beneath her as she had done so many times under her Lord’s embrace. Leisurely she leaned down, laying a soft kiss on his neck before savagely sinking her teeth into him, letting his blood flow across her tongue hotly, unconsciously swallowing before she withdrew, whispering in his ear, “Fool. Your blood means naught to me.”

A look of pure terror crossed over Mathieu’s face as Satine broke his neck, twisting as hard as she could…When something hit her like a pure adrenaline rush, causing her to tear Mathieu’s head off completely.

Her entire body was trembling with pure energy…Her mind, realizing after a moment, her infinite stupidity…Mathieu’s blood was in her system. She stumbled off a few feet, and promptly fell to her knees, body quaking with the power…And the pain. Bones shifted in her back, grating against each other in terrific agony. Her vision blurred, mind ripped apart…

She let out a soul searing scream as wings forcibly broke from her skin, extending behind her in a blood soaked mess, and she collapsed on the pavement, blissfully unconscious.

A Dream Disturbed

It was a struggle to get his massive bulk on one of the beds, but somehow Satine managed. He was still bleeding, which in and of itself was odd - Nazael was practically immortal, and healed much quicker than this. Satine watched, a dark knot of worry and helplessness forming in her chest.

“Dream…’ou need to rest, mon chere.” Satine moved to get a blanket, but a gentle hand pulled her back.

“Please. Just…stay with me awhile?” His eyes reached out to her, pleadingly, silver eyes glinting in the faint light.

“Of course, mon amour.” Satine knew something was wrong…And so did he. She took his hand in her own, soothing him, and sat down next to him on the bed. He looked so pale, so fragile, laying there, not at all as she remembered him. “Dream…”

“Hush Satine. No time for meaningless words. Not now.” He raised himself a bit to look at her, wincing with the effort. “Satine, I love you. Never forget it.”

“Oh, Dream-heart…” Satine stifled a sob, smiling sweetly at him. “As long as I leeve, I ‘ill never forget eet. I am so sorry, ‘ou should never…Forgeev me, Dream-heart, for being a fool.”

“There is nothing to forgive. What’s past is past.” He collapsed back on to the bed, drained, his voice a harsh whisper. “I am so tired, Satine. I’m not cut out for this kind of life.” A gentle smile crossed his face, and then nothing. Dreamblood slipped into the sweet arms of death.

Satine stood there for a long moment, watching him. Not a single tear fell, nor a another heart wrenching sign to show she was distraught at his passing. Her heart couldn’t take loosing him like this…her guilt was overwhelming…Her mind, already half crazed from Lord Valen’s threat of suicide, couldn’t wrap itself around this. And so, Satine stood there, watching him…and quite simply broke.

Ages, or moments, Satine couldn’t tell, later, Claurice found them - Dream dead, and Satine still holding his hand, unable to move. Something about the woman’s presence shook Satine. She squeezed his hand gently one last time. Her voice, once so fluid, was completely lackluster, no trace of her accent left. “Good-bye mon amour. Je t’aime.” A single tear fell down her cheek, her only outward concession to the pain that was threatening to rip her apart. She lay a gentle kiss on his forehead before laying him out. He looked so peaceful, laying there, like so many a night he had laid in her arms…A true angel, simply sleeping, ready at any moment to open his eyes and take her into his arms.

Satine broke a little more.

“Shit.” Claurice rubbed her face in her hand, sighing. “Shit.” Satine barely noticed she was there, lost in a dark haze…And as she speaks again, it is to no one, but perhaps her own dieing heart.

“Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant, from every bond of sin, that being raised in the glory of the resurrection, he may be refreshed among the Saints and Elect, Through Christ our Lord. Amen.” The litany of the prayer soothed her, allowing Satine to continue. “I treasure the gift you gave me, Dream-heart. You will never be forgotten, nor will your deed.” Satine looked up at Claurice finally. “He was an Angel, Claurice.”

“Half at least.”

“In his heart, he was.”

“Satine... what will you do now?”

“What do you mean, Claurice?”

“You're going to stay at the Manse, right?”

Satine inhaled a shuddering breath, before continuing. “I..I do not know. I went to him for all the wrong reasons, Claurice. And managed to love him for all the right ones…” A thoughtful pause. “I went to Sharkhead tonight to save a little girl's life…And it cost me far more than I dared dream.” Satine closes here eyes, falling in the trance of the story, reliving it as she spoke.

“Tonight..Kitten called, needed my help. I owe her my life, so I agreed.”

“I was supposed to draw an ill from the child's mind...but her bloodlust wouldn't let her go. I offered my throat, so that none would die. She didn't deserve the guilt of a death on her head at such an age.”

“Mm.” Claurice regarded her flatly.

“She fed, but I was left weak...and so I called on the only person I could trust. I just needed him to bring me back here, let me rest. But...Some family goons jumped us. He fought; we barely managed to escape back here.”

“He...he complained of the bullets hurting far worse than they should...Said he needed rest, so I carried him here. And the rest...is history.” A short thoughtful pause. “He died so that little girl could live, as it were.”

Claurice just stood there. No recriminations. No judgement. Slowly, she nodded her head. Satine opened her eyes, a brief betrayal of her inner turmoil crossing her face before she simply retreated back into herself.

“Claurice...I cannot stay here.”

“You should.”

“I need to think.” And with that, Satine walked away, without so much as a glance back at the body of the man she had loved so dearly.

Kitten Comfort

Satine was a wreck, and she knew it. She came here to get away from everything - Dream, Lord Valen, Mathieu…everything. She stood at the spire of the Arachnos building, gazing out into the distance, trying to reason through her mess of emotions. Rain was pouring down in sheets, but she didn’t notice…and the wetness on her cheek was not because of the rain.

A body lay a few yards from her, glazed eyes seemingly watching the rain fall. Two holes at the neck were the only mark of violence upon the young girl’s body.

Satine had killed her, drained her dry. She kept telling herself that it was out of self preservation, but both she and the dead girl knew different. The murder had not made Satine any less suicidal, in fact, it had only heightened her drive to dive from the roof top.

Again and again, she came back to the same question-why. Why had she released her lover? Why was she even here in the Isles? Why had she let herself be claimed? After three hours of soul searching, Satine still had no more answers than when she had started.

She had not expected it to hurt so bad…she thought she had done the right thing, releasing Dreamblood to the arms of his lover. Now, she was not so sure. Her soul seemed ripped in two and a gigantic piece of her heart was gone, her very will to live seemed tarnished and frail. It was bad enough, the knowledge, but seeing how he ran from her so quickly was like a knife thrust into her already bleeding heart.

And so, Satine had come here - to die or live, she couldn’t tell. She simply clung there, to the spire, tears falling free, emotions ripping through her. Time passed slowly…it seemed eons ago she had killed the girl, but the body was still warm…

And then a sound. Soft footsteps came from the other side of the roof, then a pause. The clank of knees hitting concrete, and a sob. Satine, more curious than anything, swiveled to investigate.

A young woman knelt at the roof tops edge, head buried in her hands. She was dressed plainly, black and white shirt with long, armored pants, her shock of red hair unbound and snapping in the wind.

Another body wrenching sob. Satine dropped down to the roof top, some feet behind the girl, and noiselessly approached her. The girl never moved, never looked up, but still seemed to sense Satine. The girl’s southern drawl was palpable as she spoke. “What do you want?!”

Satine sighed, and knelt with her at the rooftop edge. “Nohzing ‘ou can give.”

The girl looked up. “That bad, huh?”

“Zhat bad.” Satine smiled bitterly, looking out over the edge for a moment before continuing. “Ees eet zhat bad for ‘ou too?”
The girl nodded, managing to compose herself a bit. “I guess I’m not the only one who comes up here for solitude.”

“I deed not come up ‘ere to be alone…I came up ‘ere to die.”

The girl turned, slightly, looking Satine over. “Been there, done that. It’s not worth it, you know. I’m sure there’s someone out there in the world that loves you.”

“Zee problem ees I loved heem too much, so I set heem free.”

“You’re a good person, then, sugar.”

“Non. I am a murderer. Not a good pierson.”

“So am I. And the people around me, they have pounded it into my thick skull that as long as I am sorry for what I have done, I can still be a good person.” The girl stopped for a moment, then smiled. “Name’s Catherine. But everyone calls me Kitty.”

Satine looked startled at this random spot of kindness. “Satine ees mine. Eet ees nice to meet ‘ou, Kitten.”

“Kit-oh, never mind.” For a long moment, neither woman talked, simply content in each other’s company. “You know, I would feel awful bad if you killed yourself tonight, what with me not going to stop you. Think you could hold off till I leave?” A rueful smile touched Kitty’s lips.

“Of course, Kitten.”

“That’s good, because I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long while.”