Dragon Healer

I woke up a few hours later, or so I thought, and the moon was high and almost full in the sky. I was in my bed, and both jess and bane had passed out at my side, they were loosely arm in arm, and as I watched them, they snuggled together. I felt good tonight, in fact I felt great. I stopped for a moment to watch the sleeping beautys, and shook them gently awake, they woke up, practically in each other's arms, "AAAAHHH!" Jess screamed, "AAAAHHH!" Bane screamed, they paused, then turned their heads in unison, and saw I was awake, this time in chorus, "AAAAHHH!!" they shot to opposite sides of the room, I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing, I laughted so hard my sides cramped, and they cramped so badly, I cried, which was so funny, I couldn't stop laughing. they stood there, and gaped at me, Bane sulked, and Jess fumed, then we heard wings. oh crap. Core flew in, the picture of what a vampire is; his hair was wild, and his eyes were black. his nails were long and sharp, his ears were batlike. his huge leathery wings folded beside him, and he looked up at me stangely. he froze. before anyone could move, I noticed one ofhis sleeves had been torn off, and his shoulder was smoking. There was a metal band around his arm, and a cross spell had been cast on it. It was eating his flesh away. Jess roared, and transformed into a big two tailed fox, Bane roared, and transformed into his scarred black dragon form, they hit him in a fury, Core didn't move as Bane and Jess attacked him, I ran and tried to pull them off him, working my hands under the metal band. it was strong, but I started working it off, Jess and Bane jumped back, thinking I had been bitten, and they were about to pull me off Core. I was working on that band despirately, now or never, come on...yes! I got the band off of him and fell backwards onto Bane, who transformed on the floor, and I landed on his chest, Jess pushed Core aginst the wall, and I screamed "No! leave him alone! let me explain!" Jess hesitated, and reluctantly let Core go. Core's face stayed as predatory as it was, but now he added a crooked smile to the mix. it was creepy. he walked over, draging his wings, and fell to his knees in front of me and Bane, and sat still. he could have been made of stone for all he moved. "Jess." jess shifted to a semi human form, still with two tails, and walked over, eyeing Core. "get me my green book out of my bookshelf." I got up clumsily, and helped Bane up. I saw him clutching his bandages. when this was over, if we sorted it out. i would beat Bane and Jess both to a pulp. I picked up the band of metal, and looked at the intricate inscriptions. some were alchemy, some magic, hidden in what may have once been a gift. it gave off a distinct aura, this was a holy item now. I had seen one before, it was made to repel vampires, not torture them. it was normally worn around the neck and...I looked at Core. how many did he have? I scrambled off Bane, and kneeled down to brush Core's other sleeve up to see another band. to fool with it now would be to trigger it, I moved his hair to see one around his neck, there were two on his ankles also. gifts of slavery. Bane was holding his side still, and I was getting worried that he may have injured himself further, when Jess brought me my book. he handed it to my silently, but I could hear Bane gasping for air. I had to hurry. I paged through the ancient book, it had many counter spells useful for everything, but all i needed was a anti-bless. the book had belonged to a werewolf, who had used it in his healings, and had treated all races, he had given me the book of basics, the tree's tome. I was eternally greatful. he thought it was cute, and had mussed my hair, and told me to hurry on my way. I had only used such spells once or twice, but I knew what to expect, and that gave me an edge. I flipped through to the anti-spells, I would need a drop of blood, a goat's foot, and...the item that was to be de-spelled. good, I looked with some concern at Core, and beckoned Jess, I whispered in his ear, "you need to let me trust them, as risky as it may be, and I'll need one goat foot, a big billy's if you can get it, well," I did the math, "four, and bring back the rest for blood, i'm sure that bane and core both will need it." I looked at Bane cluching his side, and Core sitting on his knees. and decided to do what I could for bane until Jess could get out and back. jess nodded and transformed agian to the form of the two tailed fox. I was pretty sure that his mother and father had nine tails, but they grew them through sheer age I think, and they could hide them at will, so he could just have been holding back. he bounded off into the moonlight. and I walked over to bane, while core just watched me with amusment. "are you in pain?" I asked. and I gingerly pulled his hands from his side too see all my delicate disinfecting a mess of blood and scales. he had torn back the bandage to see the wound. it was bleeding slowly, and the scab had been scraped off. as i had been inspecting it, bane caught his breath to reply, "a little," and he flinched after a deep breath. i picked up my med kit and started setting out supplies, "well i would hit you until you were if you weren't. so count your blessings," he looked at me angrily. "well if you hadn't invited him in in the first place, this never would have happened." i ripped off the rest of the bandage as fast as i could, and he made a little noise, "i know that." and i started a bowl under the wound, since there was plently of blood to spare, i swabbed up the excess and started patching him up, this time, i would use stitches and the wounds will stay shut. "here bane, drink this..." i gave him some alcohol, maybe now he could stop pushing himself. "but i can't, i get...dangerous when i drink." i pushed the bottle into his hand, now i was pissed, and too tired to do this. "dangerous my ass. drink til' you pass out. i need to put in stiches and i don't want you chewing on me." he looked sad, and took the bottle. he lifted it and drained the whole thing. it wasn't a small bottle either. it would take me weeks to find a replacement and steal it. oh well. he slowed down instantly, his head kind of rolled. and he reached for my hand as I started stitching, the first three stitches, he couldn't even catch me, four through eight, his hands would land, but slip off as I moved, and nine through seventeen, he just abandoned his pursuits and sat still. I watched the bowl fill a little faster, I had to make sloppy stitches for now. the bowl was half full when I pulled it away. "Core." he had been watching me. he leaned forward a bit but otherwise did nothing. "here." I used my nails to pick a spot over a vein, and dropped a few drops of my blood into the bowl, then slid it toward him. he nodded silently and reached to accept it.

I turned back to Bane, he was changing. His battered horns were emerging from under his skin, and his fingernails were thickening. He grabbed for my hand. This time he caught me.

Jess was running, runing like the wind. A goat. There was a nice old lady who bred goats for a living. She was well off and had a bunch of goats. Okay. Where was solved, now all he needed was a how...

I reacted without hesitation. I dipped my thumb in his blood, and traced a seal on his chest over his heart. "still!" he froze. it would work until the alcohol wore off. he could still transform though. so i had to work before his easy to sew together human skin was replaced by hard scales. his tail looped out behind him, and wings folded at his back. stitch eighteen through thirty...core was savoring what i had given him, he lapped the blood up like a cat with milk. it was obvious now that he had been starving. i finished at stitch number thirty-six, and just as black scales started to spread over his arms. and bane flexed his fingers. oh no...the magic seal wouldn't work on the scaled portions of his body, a slight miscalculation...

jess had tied the biggest billy he could find, and picked it up in his jaws. he grew out his third tail, and ran faster than any eye could follow. hopeing, that he would make it in time.

bane's scales trailed down his shoulders and over his chest, and he was free of the seal. it was too soon. "Core..." he looked up from an empty bowl, and licked his lips. bane let out a low growl and reached up to hold his head, "What blasphemy is this!" he demanded. as he fumbled with his new stiches, i had to grab his hand to keep him from picking them out. he pulled me close by the wrist, furious. i expected him to hit me, or to scream at me. but he just held my wrist and searched my face with unfocused eyes. he squinted at me. "Camula?" at this name, core walked over and plopped himself in beween us, not touching either. bane didn't seem to notice. "Camula...I can't...I don't care what you do to me, but I just can't..." i stayed quiet. he took my hand and stopped dead. "Camula? this...isn't you...Lily? are you okay?" i breathed a sigh of relief, maybe his dragon half would bring him to his senses. he kind of sagged, and let go of me. he fell back, unconcious. well, he would probaly sleep til' morning. lucky little shit. i brushed myself off and sat down on a chair on the far end of the room. core followed like he had nothing better to do. he came as close as he thought i would let him. "okay core, i don't care if you sit in my lap; just don't try anything stupid." he grinned wider, showing lots of sharp teeth. and jumped up on my lap. i was too tired to tell him i was kidding. what's the saying? a six ton red sleeps where ever it wants? he leaned back and rested his head on my shoulder, his hair was like silk, and his skin was soft...of all things! i'm in the middle of a crisis, and i'm thinking about how pretty the starving vampire on my lap is, i'm being dated by a fox whose parents don't want me to corrupt their bloodline, and i've been careing for a dragon half whose fiance looks a lot like me. if i love them, i can't do much. i normally love my patients, but it's normally more of a maternal love than anything else. and they rarely return my affections, much less three of them returning my affections at once. the only thing is, one is engaged, one has a bloodline to maintain, and one of them won't age, and can't help me poop out babies of my own when i finally want them. sooner or later, i would like to carry on my genetics, maybe when i'm thirty or something. being eighteen and unmarried is almost unheard of at this point. i've had a few proposals, but i normally ignored them and my suitor would leave after a while. but when i'm caring for them, it's harder to tell them to ask one of the wild boars, they would have better luck. well, they would want me to choose. but i don't want to, but at the very least i have now to mull it over. core stretched one of his wings over my shoulder. and he turned around to face me. i muttered a spell under my breath, smiled sweetly at him, then pulled a very nice, sturdy frying pan from behind my back. he fluttered his eyelashes, and took it from me like it was nothing. "cheater." he set it by the side of the chair, and looked at the cave's entrance. he looked back at me, then to bane asleep in the bed. what was he was trying to do...core swept me into his arms and kissed me on the lips, my eyes bugged out, but again, i couldn't move or discourage him. so i closed my eyes, he was...sweet...and i was enjoying this dammit...he wrapped his other wing around my shoulders and bent in, he drew his tounge around my mouth, as i explored the tips of his fangs, ah lust. i hate it so much. too much temptation, but my body was reveling in this kiss too much for my concience to interfiere...i hadn't had as much as a hug before i had moved here, but i would regret this later, i knew that.

i would savor it for now...

jess could see the light coming form the cave in the distance, he would be there in a matter of seconds, he trusted lily, but that vampire...

core withdrew, and i opened my eyes slowly as he brushed my hair to the side, and got off my lap. he walked slowly over to the spot he had been sitting on when jess left, his eyes at least, had returned to normal. i put my hand to my lips, did that just happen? jess bounded into the cave and dropped a terrified goat onto the hard floor. he changed back to full human form, and walked right up to me, seeing the shocked _expression on my face. "i smell him on you." he frowned and came close, and i looked him in the eyes, sad that he had never tried to kiss me. he had always respected my boundries, and now i think he may regret it. he leaned on the arm of the chair, and gave me a little kiss on the cheek, like a brother would, this spoke volumes to me, that he didn't want to force a relationship on me, but i knew he loved me, and he just wanted me to be happy. he knew it, we both knew, that it would never work between us, but before now we had avoided that conclusion, refused to see. he was crying, i wiped a tear from his face, and cried one of my own. "i do love you jess...i love you like a brother...like a child...and i never want to see you hurt, but i can see that this is hurting both of us." core looked on with a bit of an evil grin. this expression faded quickly, and he moved over to wait patiently over the goat, who had passed out. bane stirred a bit, but then lay still. jess was dumbfounded, "i wish those words were not so true...or so...painful." he looked at core, "if you are happy, i'm happy. i just want you to takecare...i'll...i'll be gone for a few days, with core free i'm sure you can manage..." and with that, he left. i was going to call back to him...but he needed his space, and if we were to go to bane's mother and explain, we couldn't risk his life by bringing him with us.

The spells were relatively easy, and only reqired a simple incantations, so i had the bands off in about an hour and a half, and core and i shared only one simple conversation about nothing in particular. after the last band was removed, he seemed to take his time, he drank what he wanted from the goat, but every once in a while i saw him eyeing my neck...he struck up a new topic. "i thank you for your kindness, but i must say you look delishious. you..." he traced his fingers across his lips, he had not forgotton. "tempt me with your actions, but i must apologize about...that...I haven't had that sort of thing for a while. but it was not voluntary, as enjoyable as it was, it was that, or feeding, and i chose the lesser of two evils." he waited for my reaction. forgive you, but i know i lost control with you. and i regret it now. but still..." i looked at bane, asleep on the bed. core dropped the goat and walked over, but gave me my space. "it could work.." his features softened, and his face returned to normal. well, as normal as it had been. and he came close and took me in his arms. he kissed me, on purpose, and i kissed him back. and this time, i didn't have to regret it. he smelled like death, but i didn't care. he didn't want love or lust, just an end to the lonelyness, and that, that i could do. for now.

i made a temperary coffin for core to sleep in, and so he set it far back into the cave where no daylight could reach him during the day. it was agreed that we would leave after sunset tomorrow, and i would have to get a green or a fox to stand in for me while i was gone, so no one would get worried. i felt bad for jess. and i hoped he was doing alright. core and i stayed inside, he helped me re-dress bane's wounds, and held him down while i made new stiches. he was asleep, but still. i worked on cleaning the big billy for breakfast, and he wandered off. i saw him inspecting everything, from the medicines, the food, my room, he flipped through some of the books i had aquired, and started to pick up my med journal when he stopped, and asked if he could read it. i said sure, and he read it front to back. he looked through my sketch book, and leafed through my magic book, tree's tome. he even inspected all my furniture, like all my belongings held some secret code or something. he was about to go though my dresser, when i grabbed him by the hand, and planted a small silver key in his palm. i pointed him to the right passage, you look right past it all the time, but i doesn't look very promising. he found the door consealed in the stone, and opened it. every now and agian, i would get a little gift from a nice patient. i always thanked them profusely and kept the gift, and i stored them all here. i had a pile of silver and gold, every kind of precious gem you could imagine, and what seemed to be a few household items. there was a mirror that was easy to scry with, a horn that could summon or deter, along with a huge pile of teeth and claws, and the walls were lined with scales; red, green, silver, blue. i had forgotton that i had added some of bane's scales, so i was kind of embarrased, but otherwise, this was my treasure room. he took time to look everything over, and i left him to it. i went into my room and locked my dresser. that done, i walked over to check on bane, and heard core chuckling. I was sitting by bane's bedside when he walked in, holding up a delicate pair of green panties, snickering. "why you little leech! give

those here!" i chased him around the room until i could get my hands on him, then i hit him so hard i went off balance and fell on him, laughing. i snatched them back, and walked back to my room, where i put them back in the still-locked dresser. he was sitting by bane's bedside when i came in. "planning on stealing his briefs, core?" he gave me a mischevious look, "he wears boxers, and no." i rolled my eyes, "i guess this means we're dateing?" he leaned back and rubbed his chin. "i don't know...we are a bit mismatched, agewise, but with my kind it doesn't really matter, lily, you bring the one thousand year old out in me. i'm actually only a thousand five hundred and three years old, but still!" he was hopeing to shock me. he was the oldest vampire i had ever met, but since i had only met two before, it wasn't that suprizing. i walked over and sat down in his lap, my turn to be agressive. "well, old fart...i'm sure you'll enjoy helping me in such youthful activitys as awful boreing household chores? or in my case,cavehold chores?" he looked at me, in mock offence, "well i never! i'm an ol' man by cracky! i don't want such young whipper-snappers workin' me to the bone!" we sat perfectly still for about three seconds. then we both burst out laughing. i felt bad for bane, but he didn't wake up. falling for a cross-dressing vampire. yay. fun. i needed sleep, we would travel at night, but i needed time to adjust to the scheduel. so i bid core a good night, and if i found he had been going through my things agian, i would start eating garlic. i was still watching for a double cross, but i was going to enjoy a decent relationship! yessiree!

i went to bed, and for a while, i though i saw him standing in the corner, watching me. how sweet, and...creepy. i drifted off to sleep, ready for the night to be over, so i could talk to bane, and look for a stand-in.