Several days ago

Vanya set down a massive crate roughly four times her slight build and sighed heavily. The long day had been a hot one, and even though it was late into the evening, it hadn't cooled even a smidge. She leaned against the most recent crate she had moved, her purple eyes wandered over the others that were in the same wooden shack where she stood. A sudden hand rested on her shoulder, and she jumped as she looked at the intruder, startled. Her eyes met with the bright yellow ones of a young lycan woman, someone she considered to be her closest companion amongst everyone who dwelled in the compound. She had hard brown ears and a bushy tail, which slightly waved back and forth in harmony with the massive grin on her face.

"You really need to take a break, Vanya." She said softly. "It's about time the menfolk remind us why we keep them around. We can have them move the non-perishables."

"No, ma'am! No worries! It'll be a cold day in mid-August when those lunks can out lift me, anyways!" Vanya grinned herself as she made a show flexing her non-existent muscles.

Lycan eyes roamed her thin arms as her grin thinned to a line. "Vanya, why don't..."

"Why are you hoarding so many supplies, anyways? Do you really think the factioned communities will see this place as that much of a threat?" Vanya interrupted her.

The woman sighed and turned away. "People think we're hippies." She began, her gaze was drawn out the window at the bustling town around them. "Funny, honestly, that they dare judge us without even stepping foot inside. We've welcomed dozens into our family, and there are many more to come. It's beautiful, being part of this. With every new member, we grow, and together, we thrive. We're making an environment where we know something more than bloodshed. We live for more than war. When you want peace, you need to be ready to do anything in your power to protect it."

"What you're doing... Your dream... It's amazing." Vanya stared at her in awe, then turned away and walked up to the window to look out for herself. Her gaze was drawn beyond the town, over the rolling hills. She absorbed the beautiful sight. Huge white clouds filled the sky, and you could barely see a small lake in the distance. "This new location is perfect. The children will love it... When do they arrive?"

"Next week..." The Lycan paused, "We have a few new members too. We recruited them out west, there are ten of them in total." She paused again, and Vanya just stared at her until she continued. "One of them is a vampire. I am overwhelmingly excited."

Vanya leaned against the window frame and crossed her arms, the smile on her face turned forced. She shifted from foot to foot as she spoke. "Is that such a good idea? Even I'm not fully accepted here yet, and I've been around since the beginning." She spoke quickly, her hand wrapped around her braids. She tugged on them as she questioned her friend. Her eyes were glued to the ceiling as she continued. "And you know how other vampires feel about me... Being me..." She quickly glanced at her companion's face and flinched at their changed facial expression. They now looked slightly heartbroken, and Vanya couldn't help but the quick, "I'm sorry." That slipped out, and it sounded just as crushed as she felt.

Vanya then found herself in what would have been a bone-breaking hug (if she was weaker), and a soft whisper met her ear. "Oh, Vanya... That's why it's good to introduce another vampire to the family! Besides! They have to trust you! I trust you! And absolutely nobody has argued with me when I let you have the power to come through the gates whenever you want. You know how much they like to complain!" They pulled away and stared into Vanya's eyes as they squeezed her shoulders slightly. "Seriously, though, Fangs. I trust you. With everything."

"I guess..." Vanya rolled her eyes and grinned smugly. "Obviously, you trust me... You're too sentimental not to." Vanya pushed their shoulders lightly, and they laughed together happily.

Suddenly a loud blast rang through the compound, and without a second thought, they both ran through the doorway and entered the main square. From a brief glance around, they found that there were only a few minorly injured people. A crowd had gathered around a witch that held a now shattered staff. Her arm was profusely bleeding, and it left a trail down the staff. It had started to form a pool at her feet, and she wobbled unsteadily.

Vanya was in motion before the order reached her ears. "Find out what happened. I'm going to take the injured to the medical tents."

Vanya hesitated outside the circle of creatures that surrounded the witch. She knew that even if some of them trusted her, the group as a whole wouldn't. No matter how much faith her friend had in her, she still walked on eggshells with every interaction. She stared at the witch, though, the amount of blood that escaped her body grew more concerning by the moment.

"What happened here?" She reached out toward the witch, who pulled away. "Let me help with that. We need to stop it as soon as we can."

"This dumb b..." A pixie man spoke, but swallowed the word as he noticed who spoke to them. "Witch tried to do a spell. She said we had to learn how to fight. Protect the compound at any cost." He goes to spit but thinks better of it. "At any cost, my dust. She could have been killed."

"No more!" The witch interrupted him with a shriek. "No more, I tell you! A traitor amongst our midst, and you spill all? I will not stand another moment, I can not! If everybody else refuses to take action, it is up to me!"

Vanya's eyes grew wide at the witch's words. She could only watch in horror as the witch raised her uninjured arm into the air and shrieked what appeared to be a word. Another explosion rang through the compound. Vanya barely registered the purple light as she flew backward into a building. Her hands flew to her face as she screamed, the burning sensation that settled into every fiber of her being was unparalleled to anything she had ever felt. Vanya collapsed and screamed again. Tears were streaming down her face, and when she forced herself to pull her hands away, she saw that they were soaked with her own blood. She then passed out.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

When Vanya came to, she felt herself move as she was dragged across the square to a bench nearby. The pain was gone, and she heard various whispers, but she couldn't concentrate on them. She felt like she floated on a vast sea, untethered to anything in the world. She's snapped back to reality as someone put pressure on her wounds. Her scream brought forward several people who held her down, restrained her so that her friend could tend to her face. Vanya struggled against them as she screamed again, and it wasn’t until after she was out of air that she inhaled deeply.

It was in that moment that the smell of fresh blood punched her in the gut. Her veins felt like they simultaneously combusted as the hunger spread through every inch of her body. It seemed as though everything around her slowed down as she, at first, went limp, but then twisted her wrist around so she could grab one of the men who restrained her. Before he could try to pull away, she pulled him on top of her and dug her nails into his scalp as she pulled him closer. She bit him fiercely and drank without restraint. When someone grabbed onto his body in an attempt to pull him away, she refused to let go. She dug her fangs deeper into him. Soon the sickening sound of ripping flesh could be heard throughout the group as they forced him away.

She shrieked animalistically as someone else surged forward to grab at her now free hand, but she moved too fast for them. She grabbed them, instead, and flung them away from her with all of her strength. Within the same motion, she grabbed the person who clung to her other arm and slammed them into the two people who still attempted to restrain her legs. She slammed the body against them repeatedly as she tried to get free. With every new impact, the surrounding crowd could see/hear a new bone break in her weapon. Soon she was free, and she tossed aside the newly dead corpse she held.

She shrieked again as she ran forward. She slashed and bit at anything, anyone that moved. Bodies fell left and right, but soon she found herself pinned to the ground by a substantial force. Her friend stood on her and tearfully demanded. "You need to stop." When Vanya shrieked yet again, they just shook their head. "I know that you're not yourself, Fangs... But you have too much blood on your hands. Even I... Can't protect you. But I can protect them... I need to protect them. I'm... I'm so sorry."

It was at the feel of steel at her neck when Vanya's wide eyes went pitch black. Her friend managed a tiny cut before Vanya grabbed their wrist and flung them off of her. It took her but a moment to jump up and run to the body. Vanya looked her friend straight in the eye as she thrust her hand into their chest and ripped out their heart.

Vanya stared at the heart, brought it to her lips before she heard a strangled scream. Her eyes automatically sought out the noise, and she found a young girl stood, frozen in fear close by. Vanya licked her lips and lunged. The timid figure had no chance to move as Vanya started to feed.

It was as she fed that she heard. "Thirty-Seven lives." They muttered behind her. Vanya dropped the girl and turned to the intruder. The figure held two small sickles. As simple as they looked, they screamed danger. It wasn't visibly clear what they were, but Vanya could sense their power and knew. "You can see me, can't you? You've taken so much." They chuckled uncomfortably. Vanya lunged at them, but they didn't move, an almost bored look on their face. Vanya stopped an inch away from their face, a growl slipped through her lips. "Yeah yeah yeah... You don't scare me, Vampire. I've met all sorts of your kind, even others exactly like you. I'm called Adrian. I know you're still in there, even if you yourself don't seem to. Hidden by the ID. Your psyche..." They sighed. "It must be a hell of a thing." He looked around again, briefly. "There is no wonder as to why I was sent here anymore... So much death. On both sides." Vanya leaned in and growled in their face again. They just stare at her. "Look... Death is not going to like this. She will hunt you down, and you won't find her as forgiving as me. If you want to remain intact... You have to get out of here." They stared into the darkness of her eyes. "You don't understand what's going on here, do you? You just recognize me as a threat because of my strength." Adrian groaned loudly and sheathed their blades. "I shouldn't be doing this... But I can't not do anything." Adrian rubbed their hands together, which caused sparks to fly between them. Their palms smoked with a mysterious energy, and they poked Vanya in the forehead. Lightning zapped between their bodies, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

They bent down and poked her in the face, "Hey. Wake up." Vanya came to consciousness slowly. She sat up and shook her head. She accidentally grabbed Adrian's finger, and they both jumped as they made eye contact. Vanya's eyes had gone from pure black back to blood red. "Oh shit, you can be normal in that form!?"

"What are you talking about?" Vanya asked. She stopped when Adrian just stared at her, confused. She then stared down at her clothes and hands. She trembled as she then looked around, eyes widened. "W-W-"

"Don't strain yourself; you could revert back," Adrian warned her.

"What did I do!?!" Vanya screamed at them. "N-no. There was an explosion." Vanya breathed, her eyes locked onto the ground in front of her. "Someone was hurt. Then…" Vanya gasped for breath as she touched her face, then she continued. "Darkness. I couldn't..." Adrian stood up and walked to her. They rested their hand on her shoulder as she began to sob. Adrian looked worried and concerned.

"Did you know..." Adrian started.

"I don't want to talk about it." she all but shrieked. They sat in silence.

"What's your name?" they asked.

"Vanya Leah." She mumbled.

"A Leah huh?" they smirked. They stood up and looked around at the death that surrounded them. "I've met a few of your family members. Not this way, though. Usually, to take them to Death's dimension."

"Is that gonna happen to me?" Vanya asked.

"Uh," Adrian shifted uncomfortably, "I'm not sure. This is…" Adrian looked around, "a unique situation." Vanya still didn't raise her head, so Adrian squatted in front of her. "Go home, Vanya. Don't sit here with the dead."

"I killed all my friends. I killed people that trusted me, and you're telling me to run? Seriously?" She yelled, her fists clenched in front of her. She still did not look up.

"If you wait here, you could revert back to that monster. You need to be somewhere more stable." Adrian stated simply.

"That is definitely not my home!" Vanya screamed back, she was looking at Adrian now. They sighed, rubbing their temples.

"Vanya, other people will be here soon. They will most definitely kill you. Get up and go home." they commanded sternly.

"I can't move." she slapped her hands over her face. Adrian picked her up in their arms, and she struggled a moment, startled. They then poked her in the forehead again, and she fell back into unconsciousness.

"You are one stubborn vampire." they grumbled, "For a first-time offender, you are really punishing yourself."

Adrian looked around. They turned to leave but before they could move, Death materialized into existence before them. “Adrian.” Death let out before she stopped and looked around. “What is this?”

There was a moment’s pause where Adrian turned their body away from Death, placing themself between Vanya and Death. “I’m not quite sure myself, ma’am.”

“We should have heard about this. What has Tanda been doing that she hasn’t seen such an event coming to fruition?” Death narrowed her eyes as she looked around. Her gaze lingered on Vanya for a split second before she spoke again. “Do what you must here, and with her. Report to me after. I have to go see Tanda.”

Adrian let out a sigh as Death vanished before him and he was again alone with Vanya. They threw their free hand up, and a portal appeared. "Time to go home, little girl." They stepped through it.