First steps into the ice rink
ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩
“Open your eyes, look at me, and obey me.”
Startled, a girl woke up on her bed. Still wondering what she had dreamed about, what she heard and listened to. She got up and sat on her bed to think about it; it was a cold voice that could nearly freeze you, yet something about it was warm, captivating.
Rocco was the name, and royalty ran through her blood, blood of a titan. She shook her head and thought of preparing herself for the day that was to come. She slowly ran her fingers along her short curly hair, the one that made some people call her weird, or even a tomboy. She didn't mind those comments, since she was pretty happy about her appearance, but sometimes she wished for people to see her as feminine as she intended to be, and not judge her for her looks or choice on hair or clothes.
She sighed, and made her bangs cover her forehead and stroked the back of her head for a bit.
The brunette stretched her arms followed by a sleepy yawn, and proceeded to wash herself, just to put on her favorite dress, an orange one that went from a bit lower than her thighs to her very chin, which accentuated her soft breasts and tummy. Her dark skin contrasted with it, making it one of the reasons she loved wearing that same outfit, which she practically put on every day.
Another yawn that wasn’t hers startled her for a bit; it was her roommate which had woken up and was now sitting on his bed, still half asleep, looking at the girl.
“Sorry, Raiki, was I making noise and woke you up?” Rocco asked the short blonde guy who had fully incorporated himself.
“Nah, not in the slightest, I wasn’t tired anymore” he said while stretching quite the same way Rocco did a bit ago. She could see his ears moving alongside his head movement and the wagging fluffy tail of the half wolf half boy roommate Rocco had, even though she liked messing up with him by calling him a puppy, which seemed to make him angry, but in the end it just embarrassed him to be called that. “You’re up early, and I think I know why.” He began talking again.
Right. Today Lilith, one of their friends and the owner of the house she, Raiki and all her other friends and partners lived in, was supposed to come back from a trip to gather information around some matters that concerned all the people that lived there. All these people, around their twenties, were living in the same house, and working in similar work places, as protectors of the different regions that extended through the land, all the towns, all the villages, from elves to demons, wolves, or even titans. Just the thought of her kind being discriminated against by the masses, because of how “violent” they thought they were made Rocco flinch and clench her fists.
Rocco waited for the boy to dress himself, even though he was just wearing an oversized hoodie and some shorts. He looked a bit messy, having acquired a heavy bed head through the night, but he looked cute regardless, adding to his short stature. When they were both ready they headed out of their room and went downstairs, where all the others were hanging out, talking to each other and having breakfast.
“Good morning, Rocco, Raiki” A warm, yet playful voice said behind them. They turned around just to find a tall gorgeous woman, with voluptuous curves that were slightly camouflaged by a baggy hoodie, that looked similar to the one Raiki was wearing, just being way bigger. But her black and gray horns were the most remarkable attribute she possessed. It gave off a stone resemblance that contrasted in color with her purple and wavy hair that reached to her shoulders. That, along with her long and pointy tail, made it obvious she was a demon, a succubus.
Since infants are old enough to go to school, they are taught that demons, alongside vampires and other dark creatures, are objectively threatening to the life of citizens and every creature, being dangerous, violent, sadistic monsters. Not her though. For some reason, this demon in particular was nice to everyone, and even had a little shop of magical artifacts in the middle of the city. She was dependable, generous, and alongside her appearance, you could say she was almost like a big sister to everyone she treasured. That’s how Mary was to them, no matter how demons were supposed to be.
“H-hey, Mary, good morning. Great weather we have today huh…” Raiki said as he tensed up, words having trouble coming from his mouth, his face lighting up with rubor. The purple haired girl noticed this and smirked, just to stroke the boy’s hair.
“No need to get so nervous.” She giggled as Raiki’s blush stroke furiously, being quite redder, and hiding himself in his hoodie’s neck, trying not to let it be any more noticeable. “Did you both sleep well?”.
It was quite obvious that the blonde one had some kind of feelings for the demon, and she seemed to be aware of it and used it to her advantage, or maybe just to have fun. But a few people there also thought that the succubus could have developed some kind of feelings for the boy, who now had his tail wagging like crazy.
“Uuuuhh… y-yeah we did.” The boy looked around in order to not meet Mary’s glance, which caused an uneasy feeling inside him.
Rocco was quite amused by the display, used to it at this point, to the way the succubus uses to toy with what, at this point, was. She then sensed some arms around her waist pulling her close as a cheery voice she already knew appeared from behind.
“Goo~od morning, Rocco!”
The brunette turned around to meet the turquoise haired girl with the biggest smile ever, that she was expecting to see.
“Good morning to you too, Claire” Rocco giggled, patting the head of the girl. She was just a year younger than her, but Claire was like a little sister which she appreciated a lot. She had hair similar to Mary, but lacked the horns and grape purple looking hair, , just a bit less than the demon and the brunette were. “You look happy this early in the morning."
“Mhm!” She nodded, happiness and hope flooding her eyes. “Today Lilith will be back from her trip, and she might have some information of where Luria could be!”
Rocco smiled sadly. The case of Claire and her sister Luria was difficult. Claire used to live in a little village in the waterfall lands, and was invited at the age of eighteen to leave and go to the capital to learn better magic and, in general, have an improvement in her studies. She had to say farewell to her sister, though, who was a few years older than her and took care of her since she was little. Their parents went missing so they ended up living with their grandpa, but it was Luria who was responsible for her the most. But not much after Claire traveled to the capital, It was said that two people attacked their village, massacrating everyone they found on their way. When we received the news Claire was devastated. The one who was by her side since she could remember, wasn’t there anymore. Yet, a few days after these tragic news were revealed , we were told that Luria’s body hadn't been found yet, and that maybe and just maybe, there was a chance that she was, somewhere, safe and sound.
That bit of hope made the sparkles on Claire’s eyes keep shining, and we all wished that Lilith entered the house with good news, for both sisters’ sake.
Interrupting the girl’s thoughts, there were a few knocks on the front door, which Claire went immediately to greet, humming happily, thinking it could be Lilith. And so It was; the tall girl with long silver hair was back, probably with news, hopefully not bad ones.
“Lillith!!! How was it? How are you? Have you found anything about her??” Claire attacked her with questions, making the just arrived girl stand back to catch a bit of air.
“Woah, relax, girlie, I’m also happy to see you again” Lilith chuckled, stroking the bluenette’s hair, which now looked like it was her bed hair “but if you're that interested about it, it’d be better if you saw it for yourself.
Lilith took a step aside, and behind her there was someone. Someone familiar to Claire. She could recognize those glasses or that light blue hair pulled up on two side buns. Claire didn’t even hesitate, and ran towards the tall girl, trapping her between her arms, like she was happy to see her, but terrified that she could vanish any second, disappearing if she turned her head and didn’t look at her for a second, and leaving her once again. But no, she was here. Luria, her beloved sis, was finally here.
“It’s been a while, little starfish,” Luria's voice pronounced as she reached one of her hands to the turquoise mass of hair, and patted her. “How have you been?”
“You’re here… You’re here!!” It was all that came out of Claire’s mouth besides of whines and sobs that drowned her words as she was crying her eyes out, tugging on the t-shirt that the girl with glasses was wearing.
It was a wholesome and comforting display for all the people present there, all the friends that Claire had made since she came in and that she could now introduce to the one who gave her all, her cherished family. It was perfect. Everyone was smiling, laughing, some people shared the tears of joy that Claire had… It was touching, marvelous.
But not for Rocco.
Everyone was cheery and happy, but her. She was more concerned in other matters, matters that also involved the newcomer big sis, not joyfully for her
Luria’s skin was so pale. Claire had always had a bit of a tan, saying that it was normal to the people in their village and near towns to have it, due to the hot climate and sun there, even if it was a bit steamy. But not Luria. She was pale as a ghost, majestuous in its own way, like a saint or a spirit, but yet scary as if she was…
And every time she smiled, that was even more terrifying. She smiled widely, probably because of the happiness of the moment, so she didn’t give much importance to that. What she was taking her attention to was what was inside her mouth; Long, white, sharp fangs, shining bright, that led quite the attraction to them, and even then, Rocco couldn’t believe that anyone else was thinking that she could be…
But then, It came all together. In a moment where it seemed like time might have stopped, when everyone seemed not to look at the newcomer nor the short-haired girl, Luria finally glanced at Rocco’s eyes, and that deep look she shot at her solved any and every doubt. There was it; Bloody red eyes were stabbing into the brunette’s.
It was definitive now;
Luria, the girl that was standing before them, that survived a massacre and returned as a miracle, for some reason, also returned as the most threatening creature.
She became a vampire.
Cold sweat began running from Rocco's forehead, her back, and any place. The nervousness was clear; Even if they had a demon living with them, Mary was kindhearted since they could remember meeting her, a bit playful, naughty even, yes, but not a threat to any of the people there. But what would happen to them if someone who was supposed to be a kind and generous human, gets turned into one of the biggest threat when speaking of races from all across the lands?
A some-looking mischievous grin from the dangerous creature that girl was, broke Rocco from her thoughts, and made her look away from Luria.
What is she smiling for? Why is she looking at me? Why hadn't anyone else noticed? And if they did, why has nobody pointed it out?!
Again, overflooded by her thoughts and questions, Rocco glanced again at Luria once again, to see if she was still looking at her, with those vermilion eyes, and that smile…
Rocco's face lit up, and she felt her cheeks warm up a bit. Was she getting flustered by her? That couldn't be. She just arrived and was already making her head a mess!
Without making much of a sound, she slapped her cheeks a bit, and hoped that they didn't get any blush, and if they did, that it was from the little strokes she just gave. Focus. She thought to herself. Since she knew of how the girl was now, or had a hint of it, she convinced herself that she had to investigate it. What if she hurts Claire? Or any of her friends there?! that wasn’t a thing she could afford to happen. Rocco headed to the rest of them, since at some point of the happy and joyful reunion it was, she went apart from the group. She tried to look at Luria more carefully this time, since she didn’t want to be noticed or called rude. Little did she know that this attempt was going to be a failure, since some turquoise bubbly airhead would address her loudly almost the second after she tried.
“Rocco, Rocco!! Have you already met my big sis’??” she couldn’t blame the cheery happy girl that was in front of her at that moment, since she knew how much Claire had waited to see her beloved sister. But it was this reaction that made her even more worried; She couldn’t let a girl this excited and lighted in sparkles be deceived or hurt.
Now think about how she would feel if the person who hurted her, emotionally or physically, was the one she had waited for.
The one who used to take care of her.
The one who made Claire grow up into the pretty and happy girl she was today.
Rocco’s fists clenched. She was starting to see red.
“No, I haven't had a chance… yet.” She now fully looked at the older sister, forcing a smile into her face. “I’m Rocco, it’s a pleasure.”
Luria must have noticed this, because she smiled a bit playful and reached her hand out for her “Luria’s the name, and the pleasure is mine.”
Rocco doubted for a second before even touching the supposed vampiress’ hand, being distrustful of her. She ended up doing it, but when her hand touched her’s, it was cold. Way too cold. Just as if she was dead.
Maybe that was what happened, she really did die at the massacre and what we see her is just a ghost. And even if she wasn’t, vampires where a threat itself so sooner or later she would be dealt with and–-
No. Stop it. Claire wouldn’t deserve that. She thought to herself.
But still, even with this many thoughts running again inside the brunette’s head, she also started noticing how soft her hand was, and despite the coldness of it, it also felt kind of reassuring to see that nothing happened when she held it. When she held Luria’s soft hand, there wasn’t any problem, was there? Now that she was closer, her eyes, which were scary and kind of screaming bloodlust, were now a bit more warmer, having a kind look compared to the grins and terrifying glances she gave to the brunette earlier, those same eyes now made her feel… a bit more calmer. She wasn’t going to look at her with those scary eyes again, was she? It didn’t seem to… So it should be fine to look at her eyes, that were almost relaxing now... And her cold touch.. Started to get even more warmer every second. It was the touch though? Why was Rocco sweating, yet she had chills on her back? She had closed her eyes at this point, feeling her body, getting warmer and warmer and… but why? Why was it so hot there? Why was Luria so hot…? Why, with just a glance and a touch, did it make her feel like she was boiling? Like she couldn’t think straight? Like–
And then, there was a voice.
“Open your eyes.”
It was a cold voice that could nearly freeze you, yet, something about it was warm, captivating.
She knew this voice. She heard it before. Dream or not, she had heard this already this morning. Was Luria the mysterious voice?
She couldn’t care less. She wanted to keep listening.
“Open your eyes.”
Listening now felt captivating, fun, safe. It felt like her muscles softened. She obeyed the voice and opened her eyelids.
“Look at me.”
Her jaw stopped any force it might had, mouth slightly open. Arms and legs felt numb, losing any force, the arm which hand Luria wasn’t holding fell limp to her side, while her legs stood still by miracle, but where shaking, as she could fall any second. She was fully relaxed, there, ready to listen to the end of it. And so, she obeyed again, and looked at Luria’s eyes, even though she wasn’t even seeing them anymore.
She was just obeying now.
“And o–”
“Rocco? Can you hear me?” That was a different voice. A different voice interrupted the cold yet soft one that was guiding her. Where was she again…? She blinked a few times and finally realized what was before her: Luria, still holding her hand, and Claire, close to her sister, looking at Rocco with a concerned look. “Are you okay? You seemed like you spaced out.”
Rocco reacted, still a bit dizzy and having trouble remembering what just had happened. She reflexively took her hand away from Luria’s “y-yes, I just had something on my mind for a bit!!” And then just after she stopped talking, she could swear she heard Luria make some sort of noise.
“Tch.”
What? What was that just now? Rocco asked herself. Was Luria disappointed? Was she expecting something? What for? The last thing she remembered was…
Taking Luria’s hand. And listening to the voice.
Not only that, she had obeyed it. She didn’t know much about it, but by what she had heard of vampires that just seemed like… Hypnosis? Was she being hypnotized? Had Luria tried to hypnotize her? Then, hadn’t it been Claire interrupting the voice and she would have been…
A shiver came across Rocco's back.
“Now!” The bluenette kept saying, startling Rocco again “I was going to tell Luria just how cool you are! After all, you are part of the Titan’s royal family!“
“wha- Claire!” the one from the royalty complained “you don’t have to explain that–”
“Oh? So this girl here is a big shot or something?” Asked Luria, amused again by Rocco’s reaction.
“Yes!! She’s the king’s daughter so she is a princess!!” Claire said proudly about her friend, like she was the princess and not Rocco.
“C-CLAIRE!!” Rocco complained again, this time almost shouting in embarrassment, blushing furiously. But just as that blush and embarrassment came, it also went away, and Rocco’s face just turned a bit gloomier and sadder.
“That… Isn’t entirely true” She said as she turned away from them, headed to her room again. “I am no princess”
At this point, almost everyone was focused talking with everyone so nobody noticed the sadness of Rocco’s expression and what she said, and just thought that she went to her room to get something, or do some stuff she had to do.
Luria noticed, though, and kept watching the girl until she disappeared inside her room.
“So a princess, huh?” Luria said, having a little mischievous grin on her face. “Quite interesting, tomboy.”
ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩ᡣ𐭩