Kierra

We sleep for a while, getting up around noon the next day. Already setting a bad example. I'm sure under the circumstances of everything though, waking up late is allowed.

I have to pull myself from sleep, dreams getting overly weird. Once I wake I don't know why they were, but the feeling is still there. Small snippets come then go just as fast. Angry bouncing cats and really long-legged horny phantoms.

Like I said. Weird.

I'd woken a few times throughout the night as Bastion moved around, at one point he'd laid over me, my cracked bones really didn't like that, but I dealt. Thankfully he didn't stay like that for long. One of the times getting awoken was by Asher licking my muzzle, apparently, I'd been crying out in whines in my sleep. Eyes had opened briefly, but my head didn't even lift before I drifted off again.

When fully waking though, he was gone. I stick my cold nose into the boy's ear and nudge him. My inner foreleg is bleeding, and I can feel that my neck is damp. Once Bastion sees that, he jumps up, fully awake. Probably thinks I'd gotten into another fight.

I assure him I haven't, that the wounds are from last night, having reopened while asleep. It was a pretty constant dripping, so I go to the bathroom. Shutting the door with my rump as I begin the shift back to human.

Neck wound is burning again, knowing my luck, I'd gotten cooties from a Vamp. The skin screams as it reforms and tears, and it becomes clear that I've been bleeding for quite some time. It's a wonder I didn't bleed to death.

I try looking at my neck in the mirror when shifting is complete, but it's too bloody to see anything. Should have sucked it up last night and stayed human to actually be bandaged up properly. That would have been the logical choice though, can't very well have that.

I make a face at myself in the glass before turning the water on, my nose scrunching up. Inspecting my arm reveals that it's regrown the meat that had been torn off. I poke at it, unable to help myself.

Exposed nerves pulse and remind me of that skinned woman in the movie 'Hellraiser'. Soon as I see people coming through my floor from blood hitting it, I'm so outta here.

Flashing on what I had done last night when my fingers were in the man's back, that was a lot like the movie too. Clearly I watch too many movies. Next thing you know I'll have meat hooks hanging in my living room with spinning pillars that play music.

I snort and get into the tub, a tiny blood pool having started forming under me. The water hitting the exposed and raw areas cause me to hiss and pull out from under the beating pressure. Was so not ready for that, but I should have been.

Stiffening my shoulders, I move under the water slowly. With my head pointed down, teeth clench tight as my continually burning neck throbs from the warm spray. Think I need to get a shower mirror that men use for shaving just so I can look over my hard to reach or see wounds.

Stretching my injured arm out and away from my body, bloody water streams from it. Have to stand there for several minutes before the red flow slows, but my throat becomes a constant ache under the pressure as I wash my hair, hissing as the soap connects and burns. Keep putting off washing my body as long as possible, wanting the water cold but keeping it hot so blood isn't rushing to try and warm areas I want to stop bleeding. Takes me another fifteen minutes, but I finally finish.

Turning the water off and stepping out to go right to the closet to pull out a towel and lots of gauze, I find the gauze, but no towel. Crap. Cracking open the door, I call out for Bastion to bring me one from my room. Didn't get laundry put away last night.

Thrusting his arm through the small gap, a towel hangs from his hand, I give thanks and shut the door. It gets put on the toilet seat for now. Wiping down the mirror comes with the conclusion that I have to towel off a little bit since the absorbing rug at the side of the tub does not extend out this far. Dammit.

Faline is going to kill me when seeing the bloodstains on everything. I try reaching for her again as I stare at my reflection. Able to sense her but not able to connect. At least I know she's alive, that's a small comfort. She feels stronger in my head, a sense of 'more' in both physical and power of will.

That's good, she'll need it. We both will. My eyes glow green at my reflected self, looking eerie on a human face. It looks strange anyway from over twenty-some years of seeing glasses and now they're not there, my face incomplete.

The glow stays, eyes sliding down to my neck as I touch at the ragged edges. No one seems to like my left side these days. Need to chug some orange juice, get some meat into me. A lot of blood has been lost recently.

Mostly closed, it looks like most of the blood had been coming from the new-forming skin constantly getting torn open. The punctures higher over the vein have closed, but small dark veins spider web outward from the area. Didn't notice that last night. Worrisome indeed.

The skin is hot to the touch over it, whatever 'it' being, my body is fighting it, starting to itch as if a forming spider bite. Yup. Cooties. Just freakin' lovely.

Patting my arm dry, I'm careful to not start it seeping again before wrapping it in the mummy bandages. Easy enough. Usually have my sister doing this. Last time had been just before this all happened, from the bite Asher had given as a parting gift.

The small assorted scrapes and scratches get ignored as they're just about faded and gone. The bigger hole on my neck proves to be tricky. If I'm not careful I'm going to end up permanently disfigured with all the damage to my left side.

I stare at the gauze with a frown, then go back to the first-aid box. Has to be a few large gauze pads in there somewhere. Ha! Indeed there is. I slap that on and dry off again.

Heavy hair gets twisted to release more water, then let down again. Circling myself within the towel, I go to my room. While getting dressed I think over what needs to be done today.

Laundry.

Bloody yard clean-up.

Trip to the neighbors.

I need to have a talk with them anyway about people looking for me or my sister. Lost father my ass. Also need to look up the lawyer and judge that provided that 'technicality' that was mentioned. It should never have happened. Still have that small memory chip still stashed away, want to put that off as long as I can, nothing on it can help me with anything right now.

Pulling on underclothes, jeans, socks, and a light t-shirt sees me dressed. Pulling on my boots that reach up to my knees, they're designed to go over pants, and I'd been lucky to find a larger pair. I wear them under the pants though, they look weird on the outside.

Jeans feel looser all around, but not falling down loose. Clothes get put away quickly, then the kitchen is raided. With a big glass of juice in hand, I lean my rear against the sink counter as I face out into the living room.

The large black wolf is absent, but Bastion is sitting there with one of the books I got down for him. Dressed in his own jeans, sweatshirt, and socks. No shoes on the furniture. Big rule. Bad enough dirty wolf prints cover one side.

Setting my juice down, I clean off the couch. Scrounging for a heavy quilt from my room, it gets folded up and around the spot the wolf has claimed. I sweep up a bit then go back to my juice.

Bastion and I fall into a routine we seem to have started. Where I move around randomly, he's up out of the way, an easy silence between us. I turn on the computer and eyeball the radio on the top shelf of the desk. I know when I'm reading I can't have music on, don't know about the kid.

"Bastion? Up for some music? Figure I have it play while I go through the yard cleaning up."

He shrugs thin shoulders. That's helpful. Pulling out an extension cord, it plugs into the radio cord and taken to the front porch, the cord is just a bit too thick to fit under the door, so a small gap is left.

Go back in to finish my juice and stuff my face with some bread, then head back out. I can't live without my bread. It's a huge staple in my home. Any kind, doesn't matter.

I have no shed or garage, a lean-to had been in the works, but I kind of failed on that. Have a feeling not having something for my poor jeep this winter is gonna bite me in the ass. Since I'm situated further back from the road, shoveling my driveway is my responsibility.

Hell, road is too since a plow never comes out this way. Let's just say shoveling over a couple hundred yards worth of dirt driveway really sucks. I refuse to pave it though.

My home is at the ass-end of an offshoot back road. Last house. There's one further up that's fenced in with a horse. Haven't seen the animal lately though. Otherwise everything is several hundred acres of wooded land, behind that is all farmland.

Putting the radio on the railing and turning it on, I get to work destroying evidence. Not that there's much there, the breeze that had started last night is still blowing. Vampire dust is all gone, aside from his clothing and chain, nothing is left. Picking up the clothes carefully, they get tossed into a garbage bag.

Do I keep my spoils of battle or would that be considered tacky? Don't want to be confused with a sociopath or anything. I toss the chain with the clothes, shoes go to. No I.D. or anything in his pockets.

Not much I can do about the blood on the trees, not like I can hose 'em down or anything. I have an outside faucet, but no hose. Had one, something chewed it up, haven't replaced it yet.

Blood on the ground, however, I can mix with dirt, debris, or bury. Smell might linger for a bit, especially those with preternatural noses, but otherwise it's all gone. My poor jeep, on the other hand, needs a good scrubbing.

Good thing I hadn't gotten the glass windows put on yet. At least one would have gotten broken. Would have been a lot worse if I had gone all monster on his ass. Eyeballing the top ridge where my back collided, it makes muscles and bruises twinge in memory.

Probably a good thing I can't easily see them, would just give me more to grouse about. The cheery radio weatherman proclaims we'll be getting some flurries later, which lifts my mood immensely. The announcer, however, is getting on my nerves. It's a music station, not an 'advertise a million things' station.

While scowling at it, contemplating using it for target practice, Bastion comes out with my cellphone in his hand. Mom's ringtone. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. I really hate that word, but that pretty much sums this up. She doesn't know anything that's going on and we were supposed to go see her days ago.

I walk up to him for it, turning the radio down. Taking a deep breath, I answer.

"Y'ello?"

"Kierra? You can't answer your phone anymore? I've been trying to get a hold of you and your sister."

I wince. I've no idea where Faline's phone is. I don't remember her having it on her when everything happened, but I could be wrong.

"It's me, mom, sorry. Things have been a little crazy lately. Publisher is being a dick again and I think the battery in Faline's phone died, I haven't been able to replace it yet. I sent her off to one of her friends' houses to get her out of my hair. She's been sleeping over there the past few days. I'll get a hold of her soon and we'll come see you when I'm able to get free, okay?"

I know it sounds really abrupt, but when mentioning my dick of a publisher, it smooths everything. Whole family knows he's a hardass, demanding everything right at that moment, giving ridiculous deadlines. Been thinking about switching for a while now. Just one, wee, little problem.

My contract.

"Alright, but soon. I miss my girls."

That feels like a kick to the gut, so much so that I hunch over.

"We will, mom. Love you."

"Love you too."

After goodbyes are said and clicked over, my arm drops slowly. With everything... I'd forgotten all about mom. I'm a horrible daughter.

Already knew that though.