Rick’s eyes snapped open, sleep gone before he’d even fully grasped that he was awake. “Something’s off.” He proclaimed with a ghost-whisper, uncertain of the danger, only certain that he could smell blood.

It was dark, late at night, the clouds covered the stars and moon in a mantle. And yet, for a fraction of a second, Rick could see. He could see a world of black and white, with no shadows or darkness. He was in the plains, with very few trees or dried bushes that could hide. There was movement off in the distance, furtive figures running away. But some part of him knew the ferals weren’t the source of the scent.

The next moment he was blind, a human surrounded by darkness and vague shapes.

What had THAT been about?

“Where?” Dia had been the first to speak, muttering soft words under her voice, using her power to create a dim, red light. At first it was too weak, only illuminating her face, the soft round cheeks and button nose. But it grew, and the camp came into focus again, cast in sharp contrasts of red shadows, the smoldering pit marking the center where everyone else should have been gathered.

A part of Rick still marveled at the simple feats of impossibility. The chemist in him gnawed at an attempt at explaining how it was possible for the light to form, or what properties it held.

He stomped those down; this was not the time for such thoughts.

“Kiara and Eva aren’t here.” Rick declared. Monica wasn’t here either, but she’d wanted to roam around tonight, meaning it was her turn for guard duty. “Don’t scream.”

“What?” Dia looked at him, and then followed his gaze, freezing at the two blue orbs that reflected the light from the spell. “... Monica?” The Rapha asked, taking a hesitant step back.

The Sabertooth stepped forward. Her muscular, Amazonian scarred physique came into sharp contrast with the light. It did not go unnoticed she’d opted to forego clothing now that they were away from any village or town. Rick’s eyes roamed the powerful frame, following the roadmap of scars to her heavy bosom. The feline noticed his attention and preened, fangs gleaming in the light, a smirk plastered all over her face, amusement and smugness all rolled into one.

“Where are Eva and Kiara?” Rick interrupted.

She merely grunted, shrugging and making a vague direction into the darkness. “Eva bad hunt.” She proclaimed, yawning as she stepped closer. Her fur covered claw landed on his shoulder with a possessive grip. “Sleep?”

She alluringly wiggled her eyebrows down at him. This close, the three meter tall woman’s mere presence made Rick feel like he was half his actual height. He wasn’t about to complain of the view, even if his neck would likely grow a kink eventually.

“Not now.” He replied. Why was it so easy for him to get worked up around these women?

Monica was a creature of power, strength, and feralborn fierceness. Her body was sculpted out of stone. Scars covered every inch of her torso, neck, and face, with snowy fur encompassing the rest. She moved like she owned the very ground she stepped on. So when that same woman knelt so she could look slightly up at him, shimmering azure eyes wide, and a quivering pouting lower lip… it was almost impossible to deny her.

Almost.

“Later.”

Dejected, she snorted, crossing her arms and thumping her ass to the ground, cross-legged and dejected. Her long pale tail lashed against the dirt in annoyance.

Rick sighed, attempting to ignore the look Dia was shooting at him. And no better way than to get moving. The Rapha was quick to follow with her light, making the red shadows dance all around them.

The sound of a gurgled scream froze them both. Rick turned over his shoulder to look at Monica. The feline had quietly followed them past the edge of the light’s range. He couldn’t feel anything from her end of the bond other than boredom and petulance.

“It’s not a threat.” He declared.

“To her, maybe.” Dia stated, taking position ahead of him, her robes flowing behind her.

The scent of blood was becoming stronger. It brought with it terrible memories of the first days in this world. Of a forest with monstrous trees that dwarfed skyscrapers and bloodthirsty shadows.

From those shadows, two deep red orbs peered in their direction, unfocused and wild. Rick sighed as he recognized Eva having lost herself to her thirst again. “Monica, could you catch her? No playing.”

The Sabertooth grumbled, vanishing into the shadows.

“You’re mean.” Dia whispered harshly at him, giving his shin a light tap with her boot.

“Let’s just assess the mess and get back to sleep.” He tried to smile, though it felt like the strings pulling at his lips would snap if he strained them further.

They moved closer to where Eva had been a moment ago, and he spotted an outline. The first thing his brain told him was that it was a woman, but it was unmoving and bloodied. His thoughts caught up to his thoughts and stomped out the initial impression. This was a feral Eva had fed on.

A feral. They were no more cognizant than an animal.

“Are you alright, sir?” The whisper came with a slight caress to his shoulder.

“It’s… nothing.” He declared, shaking his head.

There was a burst of fear through the bonds, followed by a scream that came from several directions in quick order. The shadows danced and trembled, shifting and threatening to push into their circle of light. And a moment after, it all came to a stop.

Monica stepped into the light, holding Eva by the scruff of her shirt like a mother carrying a kitten by the scruff of their neck. The pale Fledgling was making a token effort to get free, swinging her arms and kicking her legs. But it was more a gesture than anything else. Everyone present knew she didn’t have a chance.

“Let me go.” Eva glowered, the fact that she was half Monica’s height and the shortest member of the group making the situation even more amusing.

“She won’t.” Rick stated, stepping closer and looking her over.

Not that Eva was young, she was merely short. Her baggy clothes made that fact even more apparent, as she’d been forced to make do with one of his spare set of pants and shirt. Monica was still not happy about that. Particularly because the Sabertooth’s own attempt to put on one of his shirts had stretched and torn most of it.

“Look at me.” He reached out to grasp at the blood-drenched shirt.

Eva’s hands shot out to stop him, and Monica swatted her arms away faster than any of them could react. The Fledgling yelped, pulling her arms back, scratches marking the back of her hands. “You cut me!”

“It’s just a scratch.” Dia declared, arms crossed and glaring.

Rick ignored the exchange, lifting the shirt and pushing away her long black hair. He focused on how the cloth cut in several new places, but underneath there was nothing but smooth pale skin and bandages wrapping her chest. Either Eva hadn’t been hurt, or she’d already healed herself.

When his eyes met Eva’s again, hers glimmered with anger, held back, contained behind a mask of indifference. “If you want to kill yourself, do it when you’re no longer bonded to me. Be more careful next time.”

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He gestured at Monica, and she let go of Eva. The smaller maiden quickly put some distance between herself and the others, pressing her back against the nearest tree.

With a sigh, Rick turned upwards, to the black sky. “Kiara, I know you’re there.”

“Of course I was.” The voice rang out in a sing-song, though the Succubus didn’t bother to approach and reveal herself. “I saw the little leech running and thought to observe. She seemed famished.” Her voice rang out in a sing-song. “Isn’t it ironic? I save you from a Vampire only for you to take in its spawn.”

Rick did not miss the choked noise that came out of Eva, a snarl that had gotten stuck on her throat. “I am no spawn!” There was also a distinct… twinge in the bond. “The foul thing took my humanity.”

“We know.” He snapped, cutting her off before things escalated. Again. “This conversation is over, let’s-.”

His head snapped in a direction into the darkness, and he noticed Monica had done the same gesture at the exact same time. Her feelings of boredom had vanished with a snap, replaced with the feeling of encountering a stranger that had just pulled a knife on you.

“That is still creepy, no matter how many times I see them do it.” Kiara’s voice spoke in a hushed whisper. “Problems in paradise?”

Monica’s feline ears remained pointed squarely ahead, gaze sharp, her breaths slow and steady. “Weak, hungry. Very hungry. Many. Far.”

“Dangerous?” Rick prompted, eyeing her and trying to read her more closely.

“No.”

Her answer was immediate and without hesitation. Yet he caught the little details that betrayed the nuance, the twitch of her tail, the way her claws extended and her brows creased. Monica did not consider it a threat, she was certain she could handle it. But something about it was bothering her.

Monica had something to say but lacked a simple way to express it. He’d have to continue helping her expand her vocabulary.

“No rest tonight, then. Again.” He declared. “We’ll move away from the road for now. Don’t want to risk encountering anything when only two of us can see in the dark.” He made a gesture at Eva. “Dia, could you help with the blood? Let’s not tempt fate and possibly draw some hungry feral.”

It was to Rick’s surprise that Monica stopped Dia before the Rapha could use a cleaning spell on Eva. “No.” The Sabertooth declared with a firm shake of her head. “Eva weak. Need fight.”

“She has a point. The leech is not even pulling her own weight as it is.” Kiara proclaimed from the formless darkness above. Rick spotted a glimmer of azure hair in the dim light, framing the shadow of her curves.

“You can’t be seriously considering the skank’s words.” Eva declared, glaring at Rick directly. “I am no fighter, that is a m-.” Her words froze in her throat.

“A maiden’s job?” Rick finished for her, quirking a brow.

He might as well have slapped her with how quickly she turned to look away.

“I am a person of intellect.” She stated under her breath. “I am no blood-thirsty monster.”

Kiara let out a sharp, cutting laugh. “You should at least clean-up before saying that.”

The Succubus glided down into the red glow of Dia’s light, her figure moving through the air with the grace of a mermaid sensuously swimming through a current. It was no mistake she’d angled her peach-shaped rump at Rick, her tail raising the edges of her skirt and trailing sensual caresses up and down her calves and thighs.

“Isn’t that right, Rick?” She cooed, looking at him over her shoulder.

The Fledgling glowered, fists clenched and trembling.

“Did you wound the feral to draw Eva to it?”

The commentary cut through Kiara’s sensual display like a hot knife. “A growing girl needs her nourishment, and she’s been so considerate, starving herself just so she wouldn’t become a burden by asking for your blood.” The expression had remained smug, but Kiara’s tail had paused in its self-teasing, and that alone told Rick he’d hit the nail on the head.

He could push the matter, but something else had caught his attention. Eva’s face had gone from furious, to pale, to red, and then pale again. For a fraction of a second, he could see the whirlwind of emotions fighting for dominance over the others. Until a mask of forced neutrality fell into place, the gate to her feelings closing tightly.

“I think the weaker Eva is, the less of a chance she might pose a threat when she goes bloodthirsty again.” Dia declared. The nurse had spoken with a sweet smile, even when her eyes held nothing but contempt for the Fledgling.

Rick shrugged. As far as he was concerned, she had a point. “Eva, you want to leave this group once we get to Sinco, right?”

“What? Of course!” She snapped without hesitation.

“Then that means you will have to eventually find yourself some other human.” He replied before she could say anything else. “You might need to protect them.”

“I am no tool.”

Monica frowned in Eva’s direction, making the woman shrink slightly into the shadows.

“That’s that, then.” Rick said, not allowing another discussion to emerge. “Let’s pick up camp and start moving. Dia, the cleaning, and… once it’s done, Eva, you will guide us.”

The Fledgling bristled. “I am-.”

“If we stick around, whatever Monica detected might find us, and then chances are you will have to fight, regardless of your feelings about the subject.” Rick cut her off. “Don’t like it? Don’t want to help at all? That’s fine, I don’t need you around either. I agreed to take you to Sinco, but I will not put up with an attitude when you bring nothing to this group.” He pointed towards the darkness. “You’re free to leave and handle the ferals on your own. The road is that way.”

Eva’s wide-eyed shock was answered by Kiara’s laugh, as sharp as a knife to the gut. Rick didn’t bother to wait for a response. Now that the adrenaline was ebbing away, the bags under his eyes felt as if they were full of bleach, and his back ached from having slept at an odd angle on the dirt.

Returning to the camp while the Fledgling changed and Dia handled the clothes, Rick began putting everything away.

“She still believes she’s a human.” Kiara’s voice lingered in his ear with syrupy sweetness. “She’s so weak, even someone like you could conquer her.” A lilting pause followed. “I could help… if you asked. She would be quite… fun, to break.”

As Kiara spoke, her silken fingers caressed his back. The strain that had built there during the night was gone instantly. A refreshing cool breeze on a hot summer’s night that blew within his body and soothed away the cobwebs in his mind.

“Stop.” The word had taken more effort than he’d thought it ought to, but she complied. Just like that, the strain returned, the tiredness the stinging in his eyes. But he knew what would follow after the tingling touch.

Kiara was not shy about what she wanted. She was a Succubus, and he wasn’t in the mood to put up with her games.

“It’s not your turn.”

“Every night could be your turn, though. That much would at least make for a snack.” She declared, her warm hands caressing his back through the shirt. “We both know I don’t find ferals very… fulfilling. I can survive on them for only so long.” Her nails dug into his shirt, poking against his skin with the sharpness of thorns.

“We can’t do squat if we’re constantly on the road looking over our shoulder. The only reason you’re not getting ‘your fair share’ from us is because you’re not doing your part.” He stated.

“No-.”

“Yes, Kiara.” He snapped, whirling around to glare into her golden eyes. The intensity of his gaze made her pull her hands away. “Your supposed expertise in navigating the societal bullshit has gotten us nothing. How many nights have we actually slept with a roof over our heads?”

“Then you should read the mood. Leave Monica out of sight for a change and the locals might be less terrified.” She snorted, rolling her eyes.

Rick let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Yeah, no.”

Kiara was exactly the sort of person he would rather not stay alone with for any prolonged amount of time. He was keenly aware how little she thought of humans, and his best and only protection from her powers was having Monica around.

“Your brute might be content with waiting until you ‘get in the mood’, I'm not.” It was her turn to growl, her nails digging deeper into his shirt.

He grasped her wrists, holding her in place rather than letting her turn away. Their eyes locked, and Rick practically felt the maiden restraining herself from pushing him down there and then.

He spoke before she decided.

“Tell me, honestly, in my current condition, would I be able to survive?”

She held his gaze, and her strength faltered even if her glare did not. “If I’m going to wait, then give me something. I don’t live off of meat and veggies.”

He paused, frowning. Then sighing. “Eva.”

Kiara hesitated, looking equal parts stunned and dubious. “Really?”

“You… are part of the team. She isn’t.”

“That was not… No, nevermind.” She blurted. “So, you’re giving her to me?”

His lips narrowed. “If it comes down to it and there aren’t alternatives available.”

It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t do it anyway. He had little doubt on how little Kiara cared about anyone other than herself. Still, the offering appeared to placate her. Kiara relaxed, taking a thoughtful look, her hands resting against his chest almost tenderly.

For a moment it looked as if she was about to say something, then she leaned closer, her touch once more heating him up as her power washed through his body. She stared into his eyes with her pools of freckled gold, closing them as her sharp-angled nose brushed against his own.

Plump feathery lips caressed his own, heat flared across his body.

She pulled back.

Kiara smirked. “Just a reminder of what you’re missing out on.” Without another word, she flew off, returning to the darkness of the cloudy sky above.

Rick growled, adjusting his pants and getting back to work in picking everything up, making extra sure that his box of samples didn’t get crushed against anything. He sighed and wondered at whether the next village they stumbled onto would have something more welcoming for them than dirt and a cold meal.