Empusa 1.4
The day is going fine. Emma didn't come back to school yet, probably still hospitalized. And I'm thriving. Sophia is keeping an eye on me but isn't doing much physically. Madison is keeping a low profile because Emma is absent and Sophia indecisive. So I'm left to my devices. It's good. It’s peaceful. I can even enjoy the lessons instead of enduring them.
It doesn't last long though.
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Sophia was having a shit day. She worried for Emma and couldn't even focus on the classes. They weren't even relevant to her. She only had one career path paved for her. She'd be a cape her entire, short-short life. Capes in general don't live long. A minority cape in Brockton Bay? Yeah no. One day she'll slip up. And somebody would catch her lacking. Then they'll leak her identity and that's it. Closed casket funeral for her, and probably for the rest of her family. Life was tough but Sophia was sure that an unhealthy heap of stoicism and denial would help her cope through it before she inevitably bites the bucket.
But she went on a tangent there. That's what happens when she lets her thoughts wander around. That's why she distracts herself. Because school is boring and the only person who makes it interesting for her is Emma.
So it's a surprise to Sophia when she gets a message from Emma.
“Meet me at the music class during recess ❤️”
The heart sends Sophia’s mind racing. She's back! She's fine! She wants to meet me! She used a heart emoji! Her own heart is beating fast. Her hands are sweaty. This is it. Emma finally realized it. And decided to act on it unlike me.
Because Sophia held back. Both for her own sake and Emma’s. They couldn't date. Not in Winslow. Not with a black girl. Sophia was already their target, so her being openly gay was fine. What were they going to do? Lynch her twice? But if Emma ever realized her feelings for her, the subtle hints she dropped, about how interested she is. If Emma breached the subject, it'd be fine. They could date then. Maybe in secret. Just… holding hands at the back of the class. Maybe kissing when they were in the privacy of their own homes. Hugs. Just hugs? At school? At home? Sophia could use a hug.
But maybe the heart means nothing. Maybe it's just Emma being cheeky. Maybe Sophia got her hopes up for nothing. And her heart drops into a cold pit. Hope for the best, expect the worst, Sophia. She reminded herself. But she stayed restless for the entire remainder of the class. And when the bell rang, she rushed to the music class.
It was dark when she came in. And flipping the light switch did nothing. But she heard movement in the room. And suddenly, the room lit up in hundreds of fairy lights.
“Ta-dah!” Shouted Emma, wearing her favorite outfit. A green blazer, light green blouse, a red miniskirt and the kind of makeup boys usually confuse with having “no makeup”. That's the outfit she wore when she wanted to get the boys to do something for her. Anything. How she'd sway her hips and they'd sway their heads. And Sophia would sway along with them. And Emma had caught her staring before. Teased her about it.
“... You're okay!” is what Sophia could say once she got her bearings. “I thought you'd still be in the hospital.”
“I got better.” Emma smiles that smile, like she knows something you don't. She liked knowing secrets. And revealing them. “You're doing fine too.” Emma took leisurely steps towards Sophia.
“Y- yeah.” Sophia laughed nervously. “You wanted to talk about something?”
“Just wanted to try something out, you know? Would you help me with it?” Emma said, her finger catching on the top button of her blouse, tugging at it. Oh god. Sophia thought, eyes glued to the button that is straining to hold it together. This is it. She wants to… experiment.
“Uhhh… yes! Sure! What- what do you want to try?” She swallows as her voice breaks a little on her last word.
“Lock the door first, maybe?” Emma suggests. And Sophia does. Oh how fast she does it. Door locked, tables blocking it just for extra measure. “Sweet. Sweet Sophia~” murmured Emma, and shivers ran down Sophia’s back. She stood there like a deer in headlights when Emma grabbed her and pushed her against the wall, the fairy lights tangling her arms. “You know, when you hit on Taylor yesterday…” Emma pauses, letting Sophia panic a bit. “I got so jealous.”
“I- I didn't recognize her! I thought it was somebody else!” Sophia tried to defend herself.
“So you'd keep flirting with her if she wasn't Taylor?” Emma asks, both hands still firmly holding Sophia’s. Oh god she's so possessive. “I'm hurt. What about all the times you… hinted… at something? Something that could be between us? Something special?”
“I- just didn't think you'd reciprocate! You never did!”
“But I do now, Soph.” Emma brings her hands together, freeing up one of them to grab Sophia’s jaw, lifting it up. “And I so want to kiss you.” Sophia’s heart was beating a mile a second. It's really happening. I'm going to kiss Emma. Emma's going to kiss me. We're going to kiss.
“I want to kiss you too.” Whimpers out Sophia, hungrily meeting Emma’s lips. Her knees buckling under her, intertwining with Emma’s. Oh how long she waited for this. If only she could also hold her. Caress her cheeks, grab her by the shoulders at least. But Emma had her in an iron grip, not releasing her for even a moment. Not letting her squirm away. And then Emma pulled back, ending the kiss with a thin trail of saliva still between them. And she reached down, towards Sophia’s neck, leaving a trail of kisses first, sucking on it, leaving hickeys. And then she bit down. And Sophia had half a heart beat to laugh about it, how aggressive Emma was about kissing. But she bit down harder and Sophia panicked. She couldn't get out. Emma’s hand was squeezing her wrists like a vice. She tried to tell Emma to stop, but she wasn't listening. So she went into shadow and screamed. The fairy lights had electricity running in them. Her hands burned. Her back burned. Her neck hurt. But she went shadow again and wrenched herself to the side, turning human again instantly upon impact with the floor, panting and coughing, a hand pressed up against her bleeding neck.
“Aw, Soph. What's wrong? Are you chickening out?” Emma said, walking slowly towards her.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Sophia tried shouting, a wet garble audible in her voice.
“What do you mean, Sophia? We live in the world of predators and prey. Wouldn't it be fitting for the new apex predator… to make the previous apex predator their prey?”
“... What?” Sophia was confused. Her vision was going blurry. But she could have sworn she just heard some bullshit. Maybe, it was even some bullshit she told Emma a year or two ago, being spoken back to her.
“I'm just skipping up in the food pyramid, love.” Said Emma, reaching down to her.
That's when the door slammed open, sending the blocking table sliding away. A figure darted in and swung a chair they just grabbed at Emma. Emma, for her part, tried blocking it confidently. But her arm bent, unnaturally, at the point of impact. She screamed and grabbed her arm only for the figure to send a thrusting kick at Emma’s stomach.
Sophia didn't care anymore. She had to act too. Some fucked up shit has happened to Emma and she couldn't just sit and do nothing. So she rushed towards the closest vent and briefly turned to shadow. She couldn't keep crossbows in every vent grate in the school, she earns minimum wage. But she has stashed enough “confiscated” knives and other kinds of weapons kids here brought to school usually. So she joined the fight. She didn't have to think much on whose side to be on. Emma was not in a proper state of mind right now. Maybe she was even Mastered. So she needs to be disabled. Cut tendons usually do the trick for minor Brutes. Cause that's what she was right now. A minor Brute. Sophia didn't notice at first but there is no way a regular person could hold her down like that.
The knife found its target in Emma’s inner elbow and armpit, when the other person in the room managed to push her down and away from herself. Then Sophia was bodily thrown at the row of tubas and trombones and other brass instruments, loudly crashing into the drum set behind them.
“So that's how it is, huh? Bestie? That's whose side you're actually on! I knew it wasn't an accident! I-” Emma’s voice abruptly cut off as two cymbals smashed her head between each other with a loud reverberating clang. The other girl then shoved a flute up Emma’s nose and played a quick staccato on it, making one of her eyes almost pop out of its socket. It didn't, in the end, but it was beet red now. She yanked her head away from the flute and bared her claws. Oh. She had claws now. And fangs. She lunged, throwing herself and the other girl on the fallen brass rack, and suddenly got slammed into the ceiling as the other girl kicked her up with both her legs, freeing herself from the grapple. She jumped towards the rows of stringed instruments and slammed Emma’s head with a guitar once Emma stood up. Then swung it up when Emma’s head tilted down, and swing it back down again once Emma’s head was up, punching a hole through the guitar’s center with Emma’s head. The girl didn't stop, dragging Emma by the guitar towards the piano, but Emma twisted out of the guitar and jumped towards the exit.
“I'll remember this, Sophia. I'll remember who you chose in the end. How weak you are in the end. And YOU. Don't ever think I'll forget about you, bitch. You're prey and will always be prey. I'll destroy you and everything you hold dear.” Her voice gained a monstrous grumble by the end and she fled.
Sophia slid down the wall she just used as support to get up and join the fight.
“Fuck.” She whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I-” She looked up at her savior, who squatted down next to her with a first aid box and started treating her neck.
“You should get it checked out. Normal people don't bite necks so hard. She might be rabid.” She dabbed an alcohol-soaked cotton pad to disinfect the bite wounds, which caused Sophia to inhale sharply and wince.
“Hehh- huh. I- I guess you're right. Thanks for- you know." She tried nodding towards the classroom but the head movement caused another pulse of stinging pain to run through her.
"... No problem." The girl said curtly and pulled out a roll of bandages to put pressure on her neck and prevent further infection.
"So what's your name? I- I mean not your name-name cause you're a cape, heh." Sophia tries playing her near death experience cool and kicks herself mentally for trying to flirt with another girl so soon, the one she can't even see properly. But her vision is clearing little by little and what she sees right now- she might just be a sucker for long legs.
"Recluse." The cape answers.
"Like the spider?" Sophia sees her nod blurrily. If it was Widow, she'd have a line or two to spit. Like 'you could eat me anytime'- NO Sophia! Bad! She water sprayed herself mentally, but then paused. Wait a second! Brown Recluse females are also cannibals! "You could eat me anytime." She giggles and winks at her. The cape's reaction causes Sophia to suck in air through her teeth when she ties the bandage a little too hard. "Oof, fair. S-sorry."
"Weren't you just about to get eaten? By your little friend." The cape notes.
"Oof, uh. Yeah..." Damn, where are random holes in the ground when Sophia desperately needs one to crawl into?