18+ story ]

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How did it all begin"

If she were to sit and start, what words would she use"

How could she ever explain that first night"

The recollection of it should be a simple process but Vera found herself struggling, head in her hands, pulling at her hair. She was sitting on her couch, the same couch she had spent a lot of time with a certain blonde.

Of course it had felt odd having him there " looking so out of place in the modern style apartment. He looked like he belonged in a throne room, not an apartment that was depressingly close to the West End.

Dimly she remembered how tender he had been — sitting down with her like he had already been there a thousand times before, pulling her into his lap. The rake of his fingers, claws scraping her scalp, tangling in her hair and pulling until her head arched back, displaying her throat submissively in a way that left silent, incoherent whimpers trembling on her lips.

This she can remember.

She can clearly recall the hot slid of his mouth, the stern shape of his lips, seeking and finding hers in a kiss that seared her to bone and left her heart thundering in her chest. Oh, she can clearly recall the innumerable times Mateus stayed in her apartment, looking out-of-place and yet perfectly at home.

It wasn't as though she had been far from inviting.

This she can remember.

What she can't remember was that night " a night that left her shocked and shaken to her marrow. A night where she tangled with a force of nature that did leave her whimpering on the floor, hot tears coursing down her face, and her friends gathered around. There was nothing they could do for her and she remembered the silent rage they felt. An impotent fury that hurt more than helped.

And Mateus.

There he was suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, his hands grasping and pulling her close. His concern a palatable flavor on her tongue, washed back with the scotch he favored and shared with her. He took her away from the rest of them and settled her like a small girl on his knee, a hand rubbing in slow, soothing circles down her back.

Gently he questioned and brokenly she answered to the best of her ability.

What does she remember of that night " the First night?

Vera remembers a swirling darkness, seeking to consume her in a way no lover ever could. She remembers a puff of air on her ear, a slithering whisper that stole into her conscious thought and raped her sanity.

Mostly she remembers screaming.

It had all been hers.

When Bylah spilled out of the fireplace in all his glory Vera jumped on a table like a scared little girl (unsure of what to do, her inner voice crying for Mummie) with the half-elf Xavril staunchly (and bravely) standing in front of her.

All in all, the entire scene looked like something right out of a Hollywood blockbuster.

A scared starlet. A would-be hero, sans sword and instead holding a revolver better suited to a western then this particular story. And a Beast that towered over them both, handsome and menacing. Looking back, Vera found herself more amused by the memory then haunted.

__________________________________________________ _____

"I don't want you to lie to me ?"

The slim line of one black brow, perfectly sculpted, arched above one black eye, an eye marred only by the tiny rivulets of lava that seemed to course through it. After a moment, his head inclined.

"I will not lie, if that is what you mean to ask. While mine legacy for lying is unmatched, it is not beyond me to be truthful. There are no debts. You pay me daily. I have no use to ask for more."

And so now it was that the half-elf was put between the creature and gypsy. Sadly, he didn't put much faith in the weapon in his hand, a cold piece of human manufacturing that normally did little to other-worldly creatures, especially hellspawn as he assume this was. His hand curled around the grip of the pistol and he remained eerily calm despite the circumstances.

Vera wondered if it was too late to ask for a guarantee of safety and chided herself on her priorities. How like her to seek out knowledge first and leave the rest to chance. Swallowing past the growing tightness in her throat, she gently touched her fingertips to Xav's shoulder, hoping to forestall any impulsive actions, should he take it into his head. The creature was being docile enough, for now.

"You actually set-up nicely my first question; what do you mean I pay you daily' Or do you mean the human populace in general?"

"I mean everything," the Beast rasped, a ribbon of sparks slithering out of his mouth, carried on a cloud of smoke. "You. The fire at mine back, the floor at mine feet. Nothing escapes me." It was said with no boast, no rancor. Simple fact, and little room for anything else.

"Interesting. You have to explain a bit, I'm simple minded," she drawled, almost amused but still scared stiff, "how do we pay you? In what way do you take payment ...?"

"What does water do to the mountain"" he asked, hands folding behind his back. There was nothing but endless patience in his tone.

Xav felt her hand and was reassured of her position behind him. His hand did not move from the pistol and that shoulder would remain still, though tense. Little did she know, he was working out an exit strategy for the both of them, just in case docile turned to dangerous. His thoughts then would be on stalling the creature long enough for an escape.

And this odd woman wanted to converse with the creature...

"Depends, water erodes away rock, carves out streams and rivers through a mountain. At the same time, it can nurture, bring life to flowers, grass, feed the roots of trees." She shrugged, almost helplessly,

"Are you saying that the payment takes from you but gives back?"

Damnit, she had known she would have to riddle this out, stupid supernatural creatures. This was almost as bad as talking to a demon straight from the pit. Then again, maybe this was exactly that ...

"Erosion," he said, eyes slitting. "The leaves turn orange and fall. Streams dry up. Cells die. Wood burns." His was not a face for expression. He did not smile - nor frown. There was no little licks of humor in his voice, his features. "I am Entropy, girl - that which endlessly destroys."

The front door to the inn was pushed open quietly, before Chi slipped inside, and let her eyes scan the room quietly. Vera was spotted first, and was offered a wave, and a grin. Then the others got a nod in greeting.

Oookay, she had been somewhat on the right track, her brows lifting slowly while she took it all in. "I see. So every mortal existence pays something to you, even in the smallest form, like burning wood in a fire place."

Nodding, she could understand that, though parts and pieces escaped her. The Gypsy didn't pursue the details, just accepting that as a human she wouldn't be able to fully grasp it no matter how hard she tried.

"How did you come into being ..." Born or created?"

Hearing the door, but not looking away from the creature, Vera touched Xav's shoulder again, inclining her head in the direction she believed to hear Chi. It was a subtle, this telling of hers, go protect the other girl.

She knew this might not go over well but the Gypsy was taking a gamble with Bylah and she didn't want to risk her friend because of her own inquisitiveness.

"Created by necessary conditions," he said, the smooth white of his flesh shuddering, rippling a slow moment as the roaches and the rats, the maggots and the muscle beneath it shifted. "Just as the tornado is made, when the heat and the wind is just right."

He did not take his eyes off of the Gypsy.

She had wanted his attention and now she had it.

All of it.