[i]“No, w-wait-…”[/i]

Mila's soft voice was like music to Lisette's ears as her hand gliding along the other woman's jawline. She hated Mila, hated her with everything that she was because Mila personified what Lisette [i]use[/i] to be. Powerful, beautiful, dangerous, and [i]not[/i] a monster. 

Which Lisette was. 

She knew she was a beast, knew that the body count she had left behind her was surmountable, and she was okay with that. Yet, there had been a point, so long ago now it was like the memory of it belonged to someone else, when she hadn't been a monster. A point when she would never have harmed a soul, a point when she had been hopelessly human. Lisette had been able to love. She'd enjoyed the simple things, like the sun's warm light against her dark face, the way the moon reflected in a pool of water or the feeling of a hand interlocked with her own. She had been able to cry, to feel heartbreak and fear so intense that sometimes that dead part inside of her still quaked at the sound of a sharp voice or lethal weapon. Back then, she hadn't been the boogeyman cowering under someone's bed waiting to strike and kill without a second thought. She had been powerless, because humanity was weak. 

Which Lisette [i]wasn't[/i]. 

Mila wasn't a monster, but Lisette would stop at nothing until she tainted that innocent part of her and left her with the same dead feeling she felt, that was only filled by a bloodthirsty desire to kill. 

She flinched when the older woman's shout resounded through the air, piercing in contrast to her quiet whisper just moments before. 

[i]“Charlie!”[/i]

Char blinked at the sound of her name and unclasped her hands from around her mouth, she took a small step forward before freezing in place. She wasn't sure what she was planning on doing, running forward? Running [i]towards[/i] the cause of so much pain and confusion and into a situation that could only breed more of those same feelings. She stopped herself and stood there, gaping like an idiot because her second option, the one to turn away and run in the opposite direction, wasn't enticing to her either. She watched as Mila ripped away from a woman, whose rigid, defensive stance was obvious even from the distance, and run towards Charlie at an inhumane speed. She'd never seen someone move so fast. Her gut twisted and she regretted not taking the second option while she had the chance. 

The vice like grip on her arm sent a violent shiver through Charlie's body as she instinctively tried to pull away. [i]“Oh, Char...”[/i] Mila's thick voice wasn't at all like the sultry tone that Char remembered, or even the remorseful tone that still made her feel ill when she thought about it. “What are you doing...” She felt the cold grip release her forearm just as quickly as it had grasped her. [i]“I-I’m sorry, I-…”[/i] The apology made Charlie flinch. [i]Yeah, everyone's sorry about something tonight.[/i] She was too stunned to do anything but gape for several seconds. “Mila, I-I thought..” Her wide-eyed stare was teary as she took a small step backwards. She felt a sudden sick sense of anguish as all her feelings came rushing back with a flash of this other worldly woman's dark eyes. “You said you were leav- Oh!” 

She was pushed back against the wall of a nearby building. The brick bit against the flesh on her back uncomfortably and she looked at Mila with an expression of pure exasperation. “Don't touch me!” She scowled and attempted to push away from the wall. Her hands were up, ready to shove her former roommate away, when Mila took a protective stance in front of her. In her moment of regard, Char had nearly forgotten about the two other ghostly figures until she peeked around Mila. With her lips parted slightly she formed a question that was cut short: “What is going...” As she saw them approaching, Charlie wondered how she ever could have let these two people, no these two [i]things,[/i] slip her mind. Her voice broke mid sentence and her eyes widened. Where there was some underlying [i]good[/i] about Mila, although that word was a bit of a stretch, the blatant animosity in the eyes of these two made the human shrink back against the wall. 

[i]“Not this one.”[/i]

Charlie briefly glanced towards Mila when she spoke, her eyes flickering back to pair just in time to see the curious cock to the woman's head and the sinister grin that lit the man's face with malice. [i]“She’s… I’ve already claimed her.”[/i] Claimed her. Those words made Charlie's breath draw in as she tried to press herself farther into the wall, the motion only causing her more pain as a piece of sharp brick cut into her back. “Nobody has [i]claimed[/i] me.” She hissed, her voice cracking and making the words seem more pathetic then she meant them to be. “It speaks! Haha!” Charlie snapped her head to the source of the darkly sanguine voice. The young looking woman, whose tousled black hair and startling eyes made her seem like some sort of feral animal, was almost dancing in her spot. 

[i]“You’re kidding me…”[/i]

The man wasn't looking at Charlie as his gross laughter floated around them. He was talking to Mila, and Char was having a difficult time listening to what he said. She was distracted by his dark hair in contrast to the pallor of his skin and the viciously amused gleam in his eyes which gave her a sense of unease. She shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath, trying to calculate how in the hell she would get herself out of this situation. 

[i]“Can you be serious? Then again, you always were on the possessive side, weren’t you. A little too fond of pets, are we?”[/i]

“I'm not a [i]pet[/i].” Charlie spat instinctively, glowering towards the man. “I have nothing to do with this, just let me go home.” She ignored the grating, childlike laugh that could have been beautiful if not for the sinister twist. “You have everything to do with this, love.” Charlie's stomach knotted as she let herself look over at the dark skinned woman who was edging slightly closer towards them. Her eyes were malicious as they stared right at Charlie, she felt as if this malevolent woman could see right into her soul, and suppressed the urge to shut her eyes. A grin danced across her face, showing off the razor sharp incisors that pressed against her bottom lip dangerously. Char exhaled deeply, she didn't want either of these two any closer to her then they already were. They were dangerous, even more dangerous then Mila perhaps, and Charlie would have given anything to be out of that alley and back in her silent apartment. Safe. 

[i]“Nothing’s changed. I’ll go with you, but you have to leave her to me.”[/i]

Lisette, who had been staring at the human girl that coward behind Mila's protective stance, turned slowly to face her old 'friend'. “Mila, you should have just told us, there really is no need for all of this... unpleasantness.” She took a small, yet deliberate step forward raising one eyebrow as if to ask what Mila was going to do about it. “We would have understood, you've never really taken to our way of life like you should. We could help you,” she paused, the smile growing so that her sharp teeth were in full view to both women. “And you can even keep that one for awhile, it really would be a shame to loose something so beautiful so quickly.” She breathed in deeply, keeping her eyes leveled on Mila, testing her limits. “She smells delectable, no wonder you're so smitten.” Sending a quick wink over to Charlie, she took another step forward.