Blood & Carrots Ep. 09

Welcome back, my lovely reader!

As you can probably tell, this is not just a story of sex and love. No there is plenty of drama and action to come. Being what she is, Alice's life is quite dangerous after all and she can't always flirt her way out of problems.

Our bunny has a lot going on in her she shouldn't, but if she has the newfound powers, she might as well put them to use and make them her own, yes? What of those she's been pooling from though, are they growing weaker because of it?

Let's jump right in!

I stubbornly insisted upon a garden walk, despite the weather. You being a diligent pet, stubbornly insisted upon accompanying me. I walked through the graveled paths, hearing the wet crunching under my feet while you move next to me, eagerly holding the large parasol for the two of us as we walk.

"Are you sufficiently bundled up, my pet? I do not wish to cut my sojourn short, on account of you setting up a chill again." I spoke the words sternly at you while we walked, I didn't want you to overexert yourself after having been fed upon so recently.

I noded at your words and continued to walk, listening to the rain fall all around us. Naturally, if you did fall ill, I would whisk you home in a rapid flight. I had no intention of forcing my pet to stay with me and set up cold.

We made our way by the pond and along the twisting walkway. I felt a shiver come from you and rolled my eyes, deviating my path towards the gazebo at the center of the garden. The small building had a fire pit within, that I laid some kindling and a few nearby fire logs into.

You took a seat on the bench after folding the parasol and putting it away. I felt myself give a frustrated sigh, finding nothing to start the fire with. "I must have words with the servants about this..." I frowned and shook my head.

Giving you a smile, I lift my ears in realization. "I suppose it's time for you to see one of your Mistress's tricks." I grinned as you sat up more attentively at the words. I made a spectacle of it for you as I flourished my right hand, then brought my forefinger to my right canine, to make a deep prick upon it.

With a bit of my own blood rolling from the corner of my mouth, I smiled upon you, seeing you flinch at the painful display. I cut my hand in an arc through the air, letting several drops of blood fling from my fingertip and spatter upon the waiting kindling. I licked the wound to seal it then wiped my mouth before focusing my will.

The thaumaturgic energies in my own blood warmed and responded to the droplets I had laid. Each of the drops erupted into small gouts of white-hot fire. The heat was felt in a quick radiant burst and rapidly consumed the tinder. I give a contented smile and folded my arms once the fire took, beginning to spread upon the logs.

Your look of disbelief was to be expected and I gave you a gentle smile. It was a trivial thing that most fledgling thaumaturgists could accomplish, but seeing your excitement brought pride to my chest. "Bask in the fire a while my sweet, warm yourself before we venture back out into the rain."

I moved and sat beside you, placing my hands in my lap, giving a nod to your question. "Yes, I did learn that from her." I gave a knowing grin, not allowing you to ask before I spoke again, "Yes, I shall regale you of it and perhaps a little more..."

I said my goodbyes to Lord Val, we took longer than we should have to say them. He promised to come to call again as soon as he could. I likewise told him I would come to visit house Lakestone at my earliest ability to do so. My heart ached a little to part with him, but I sent him off with a smile.

A few nights passed and Katrina continued my basic education of things when I was not derailing us to partake of her. I had reawoken quite a lot of vigor from her and Elias and they were more than happy to return my adorations.

The evening that marked a week since Val's departure, I was summoned to my lord's chambers. I was told by the servant it was a formal summons and he had instructed them to make that clearly evident to me.

Upon arriving I was greeted by Katrina at his door. She gave me a smile and held it for me. I strode in and the black cat came in behind me, shutting the door with a loud click. The white fox sat at his desk, fingers forming a peak as he looked between the two of us. It was odd to share a bed with this fox, but having to be so formal at certain times. Nonetheless, I made a polite bow to him. "You summoned for me, my Master?"

He gave me a gentle smile and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands to his lap. "I did, Alice. I wanted to give you a week to recover from your lessons with Val. Now, I think it is time we continue with some of your more, hands-on education."

I gave him a nod and looked at Katrina before back to him. "What would you ask of me?"

The fox stood and moved to his window, looking out into the blackness of the night. "You have brought me and your sister, even Val, a bit of light these days."

I smiled, feeling pride fill my chest at his words. "I just return in a small amount, what the three of you have bestowed upon me. Truly my lord..."

He smiled at me, but it belied a sadness to it. "I know, my Lady. That is why we need to begin with this sooner than later."

"What is it, Master?" I frowned, feeling his tension. My ears wobbled curiously and I felt my tail flick in nervous twitches.

"Explain to her," Elias spoke out in an authoritative tone to Katrina.

"Going forward, you and I are to begin your lessons on thaumaturgy, my love."

"Oh... y-you mean that cool thing you do with your blood?" I tilted my head and clenched my fists, grinning at her excitedly.

"Please maintain your composure my sister, this is court business and we must treat it as such." Katrina frowned upon me, folding her arms. The look in her eyes said she didn't like keeping it formal either.

"Furthermore..." Elias called out over his shoulder to me. "I will begin instructing you in the use of my radiant flames."

I nodded quickly and tried to compose my eagerness. "Y-yes my master!"

"Alice..." Elias spoke to me through clenched teeth, giving me an apologetic look. "You need to understand a few things before we begin..."

I frowned and nodded. "Yes sir... what is it?"

He sighed and turned to face me, looking me square in the eyes. "This will be official business of the family. You are to take it seriously."

"Of course, my lord! I will do my best to bring you and my family honor!" I spoke the words energetically, flicking my tail as I grinned.

"No derailing the training." He spoke out pointedly.

My ears drooped and I nodded at him. "Y-yes sire..."

"I mean it, my Lady. When you train with I or Katrina, you will be working with truly dangerous powers. You put your desire and urges for us aside. Am I clear?" His words came out barked and authoritative.

I gave a quick nod of my head and frowned. "Of course my lord. Whatever your will, I shall do my utmost to enact it."

"Good girl..." His voice softened and I felt his hand upon my head, stroking my hair gently. I gave a relieved sigh and closed my eyes, basking in his adoration.

"Alice..." Katrina spoke out gently to me.

I blinked open my eyes, looking upon my lover and smiling. "Yes, my Lady?"

She smiled then frowned again. "You need to understand, even with your new-found power. There are forces at play that could easily threaten you or any of us."

The black cat crossed her hands behind her back and paced about as she spoke. "Hunters that would end us in their righteous indignation. Demons and celestials who would steal our power, or strike us down, for being creatures of the darkness."

"C-celestials?" I tilted my head curiously.

"Divine being's my Lady. We may not all be evil in nature, but we have a reputation. In times past our kind were ravenous monsters that mindlessly killed to sate our thirst." Elias spoke the words solemnly towards me.

"W-well... can't we just explain ourselves to them? I mean... times have changed. You've shown we can get by just fine without slaughtering and killing. Even Val and his kind don't have to kill for what they want now." I frowned and looked between the two of them, their gazes looking upon me as if I were a daydreaming child.

"A hunter or celestial would sooner burn you to ash than speak to you. Don't even get me started on the church." Katrina rolled her eyes, a sneer in her voice.

"Then there is the matter of others of our nature as well," Elias spoke as he moved back to the window sill. "Some give in to the hunger, they feed and kill without discrimination. They truly become mindless animals. That is what the hunger will do to us. You give in a little and it always takes a little piece of you with it, when it retreats. Eventually, you lose all control and cease to be but a true monster."

I frowned and looked away, feeling the bleakness of the conversation weigh heavy upon me. "I see..."

"Were-creatures too," Katrina speaks up.

"What? But... Alex is one of us." I retorted, frowning at the cat.

Elias shook his head. "We have an alliance with his clan. They are one of several dozen though. Rest assured most lycanthropes highly respect nature. They look upon us very much like celestials do. We are abominations against the natural order of things. They would rip us apart without hesitation."

Katrina continued. "You may be able to reason with most if they are not in their full form, you also have the advantage of pushing your will upon them. However, rest assured even some of the strongest of us would stand little chance, with a ravenous lycanthrope bearing down upon them. You saw how quickly Luciano lasted and he was two centuries old."

I nodded and sighed. "What other threats should I be aware of?"

"There are too many to go over, that is the truth of the matter," Elias spoke the words out as he looked over at me from the corner of his eye. "This is why you will learn to fend for yourself. I and my Lady may not always be around to protect you. You need to be strong, to give us peace of mind."

"Yes, Master. Yes, my Lady." I spoke to each of them in turn then folded my arms over my stomach while frowning.

"Alice, remember the greatest threat to you will always be yourself. Control your hunger, make logical choices, and you will be fine." Katrina gave me a reassuring smile as she spoke.

"Also, remember that of all the threats, the biggest ones are the very ones we depend upon." Elias looked at me and nodded. "The mundane have no special powers, but rest assured they are the greatest threat to any supernatural being. They truly are a sleeping beast and if you ever awaken it, all your powers will not be sufficient."

"Truly Master?" I looked upon him with confusion.

Elias showed his teeth and I saw the blue flames flicker into view upon his ears and tail. I saw the wisps drift up from his fingertips as he held his hand palm up before me. "Truly... I know I could easily lay low hundreds of them if they came for me in force. You likely could do similar things, my rabbit." He then snapped a finger and the flames dissipated. "But what are hundreds or even thousands, when you have billions?"

I frowned and nodded at his words. "I-I understand my Lord..."

"It is a power you should respect and fear, Alice." He gave me a sharp nod and moved back to his desk.

Katrina moved next to him and folded her arms behind her back. "Going forward, you will begin training with me twice a week on thaumaturgy."

Elias nodded and folded his hands in his lap. "I wish I could give you more time, but you will also be getting at least one day a week with me. If I can make more time in a given week, you shall have it."

"I understand. When do I begin?" I tilted my head curiously.

"You begin now, let's go my rabbit," Katrina called out to me as she moved past me for the exit of the room.

"A moment, my Lady," Elias spoke out, calling to the black cat.

Katrina froze in stride and quickly turned to face him. "Yes sir?"

The fox moved out from behind his desk and over to me. I blinked upon him, then felt him rest his hand upon the back of my head, pulling me into his chest gently. "Come take a moment with me to hold our rabbit. She has heard a lot of depressing things. Let us remind her, we are here and there is yet good things to be had..."

Katrina smiled and pushed her body to mine as well. I gave a happy sigh, feeling their energy and adoration around me. My ears wobbled drunkenly and I grinned while pushing into Elias's chest. "Ha... my lord, my lady... Must we start training so soon? The night is young and I long for both of you."

Elias grinned and looked to Katrina. "What are your thoughts, my Lady?"

Katrina smirked at the fox and showed her teeth in a grin. "I am not opposed if you allow me the lead this time."

"Oh ho... well since it's for our rabbit. I suppose I can try to rein it in a little, for you two." The fox growled the words into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

"You are both so good to me." I coo the words happily, my tail flicking eagerly.

We took the stairs down deep into the basement of the mansion. Katrina had a small duffle bag slung over her shoulder while we walked. We made our way through the dimly lit halls until we happened upon a large metal door. The black cat pulled on the handle and gave it some effort, the metal groaning as it gave way and opened.

We stepped into a large room that stunk of old blood and sweat. The walls of the area were covered in dried dark stains of blood and looked like something out of a horror video game. The area I could see in the darkness was covered in various training mats and dummies. "Nice place. You bring all the girls you're into here?" I cooed the words playfully.

The cat showed me her teeth in a grin and moved to the far end of the room, hitting a large red button on the far side of the wall. The southern end of the wall slid away with a groan of steel and concrete to reveal a firing range with various targets already set up. "A gun range? I thought you were going to teach me your blood tricks?"

Katrina gave a shrug. "I'm going to teach you a lot of things, my rabbit. You're going to learn to shoot and fight, on top of thaumaturgy." The cat put her hands on her hips and gave me a challenging grin. "No partner of mine, is going to be a one-trick rabbit."

My chest filled with pride and I grinned. "Your rabbit eh?"

"My rabbit." Katrina nodded and hit a button, the arm holding the used paper target moved forward. She changed it and set the arm back off into the distance. "Alright. I'm starting you off with something easy." She removed two handguns from the weapon rack and set them before me. "I've always been a fan of Glocks, light, and semi-automatic. Also, the grip is ambidextrous, which is important."

"Why is it important?" I asked questioningly, then realized why as she took my left hand and pushed the gun into it. I frowned and awkwardly held it aimed downrange. "But..."

"Yes, I know you're right-handed." She spoke out and put her hands on her hips. "I'm teaching you to shoot like me, that means you're going to be fancy and shoot with both hands."

I smiled and clumsily aimed the gun at the target. The shot I fired off clattered down the range somewhere. Katrina clicked her tongue and coiled her tail. "Well, Rome wasn't built in a day. Just keep firing off while I start loading you some clips."

"Shouldn't I get some goggles or ear protection?" I spoke the words teasingly, continuing to fire the gun while blinking and trying to focus on the target.

"Very funny..." She gave me a playful huff and set a fresh clip down.

The gun emptied and I picked up the clip, looking it over. "How do I change bullets?"

Katrina smiled and shook her head. "This is going to be a long night..."

So it went. She spent the evening showing me how to use and maintain the guns. Encouraged me to practice on my own time as well. It felt nice to bond with my cat outside of the bedroom. The training room also had a room full of dummies and sparring mats and she put me to work learning various martial arts.

More to the meat and potatoes of the story, let's jump up a few days. Let's talk about my first time using thaumaturgy.

"Alright, I'm going to show you the basics of the basics here." Katrina brought her finger to her tooth and gave it a nip to get the blood flowing. I felt my mouth water just watching her do it. The cat gave me a knowing look and shook her head. "Focus, my Lady."

I nodded and lifted my ears in focus, watching her intently. "Right!"

She nodded. "This only works with blood you've consumed and brought forth. You can't just make other people's blood do the work for you."

"Why is that?" I asked curiously.

"Fuck if I know. I don't make the rules, I just play the game, Alice." Katrina shrugged and held her hand aloft, letting the blood form at her fingertip and drip off it. The cat flicked an ear and the droplet abruptly halted in the air. The blood just stood there hanging in the air, as if suspended in time.

"That's... really cool! I spoke excitedly and wiggled my tail as I looked upon it.

"You're going to lose a lot of blood doing this, Alice. That's why I brought several sports bottles worth." Katrina nodded. "Just like with most things, it's all about willpower. You're not gonna do this on the first try, probably not the first dozen, so be patient."

I nodded and brought my finger to my tooth and tugged it across it, slashing the tip open letting blood well up. I frowned at the bite of pain then held my hand forward like she had, waiting for the blood to drip. "So, I just focus... focus and will it to catch in the air and stop, yeah?"

"That's right. Just do your best, I know you will get it in time." Katrina gave me a reassuring nod as she licked the tip of her finger, sealing the wound.

I saw the blood pool and furrowed my brow in anticipation. The drop beaded then fell in a heavy drip. I huffed and pushed all my will forward, as if demanding the drop reverse course. It did indeed reverse course, so hard in fact it shot straight up past my finger and splattered into the ceiling. "Fuck! I didn't do it right, I'm sorry..."

Katrina stood there dumbfounded, her green and copper eyes wide. "T-the fuck was that?!" She hissed out, clenching her fists and glaring at me.

"I'm sorry! I will try harder, don't get so angry with me, Kat..." I whimpered the words, feeling tears come to my eyes at her glaring at me.

"Huh? No! I'm not mad at you... but... seriously, what the fuck was that?" She hissed again and looked up at the ceiling then at my finger. The cat looked at me questioningly and snatched my wrist. I grunted as she pulled my finger to her tongue as she lapped up my spilled blood.

I bit my lower lip watching her, then blinked as the cat smacked her tongue and shook her head. "Do it again."

"O-oh okay..." I moved my hand back and reopened the wound, her tongue having sealed it.

"This time... try to will it to do what you did accidentally last time." Katrina frowned and put her hands on her hips, watching me intently.

I nodded and bit my lower lip, focusing as the blood pooled and then eventually dripped down. I pushed out my will, and demanded the drop of blood fly straight up to the ceiling. I pushed hard at my will and thought about how I wanted it to hit the ceiling very hard to impress, Katrina.

The blood stopped in the air and quivered for half a second then shot into the ceiling like a bullet. I blinked up at the tiny chip of concrete it had made, the impact so strong the blood splatters scattered in little micro drops over a few feet in diameter.