Blood & Carrots Ep. 22

"So what's the plan?" I called out from the kitchen counter, while in the process of laying out a dozen silver bullets.

Lorelai snatched one of the bullets up and peered at it. "These... they are blessed with divinity."

"That's right," I spoke the words proudly and showed my teeth. "Gloria insisted upon blessing a box before I left."

"A boon to be sure. The touch of them does not bother you?" She asked curiously as she set the bullet back down.

I tilted my head curiously. "No... the silver makes Alex a little queasy, but it doesn't bother me at all, blessed or otherwise."

"That is fascinating to be sure." Lorelai showed me her fingertips, the pads of them looking faintly singed as if she had received a small burn.

With a frown I moved to her, gripping her hand gently before kissing her fingertips. "Are you alright? Why did you pick it up knowing it would hurt you?"

Lorelai offered me an amused smile and let me kiss her fingers. "Silly... I am not hurt." The sheep pulled her hand away before she dragged her fingertips over her tongue, the burns vanishing and healed. It was a small thing but a clear indicator of her power that she could heal holy burns.

I gave her a smile as she showed her fingers to me once more. I playfully snapped down on her forefinger and began to suckle upon it, my eyes shimmering red while I pushed into her.

She offered me a grin and used her free hand to brush my cheek. "Calm yourself, Alice. We have work to do... You may have me when we are finished."

Shaking my head I pulled from her finger and dragged my tongue over it. "Ha... must I? I long for you now, my love."

"Yes, you must." She gave me a grin and pulled from my arms.

"Very well..." I offered her a pout and returned to the kitchen. "So the blessed silver should hurt me?"

Lorelai put a hand to her chin and thought about it. "Undoubtedly... doubly so because of your demonic blood. Do Katrina or Elias feel anything?"

"I do not take the bullets near them. Usually, I have Gloria bless them on a need by need basis. This is the first time I've taken a surplus with me." I looked over the spread of bullets then back up at Lorelai. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am fine... truth be told I expected a much more violent reaction, like flames and smoke." The sheep peered at the bullets before curiously resting another fingertip upon one of them.

"S-stop burning yourself!" I called out with a fussed look.

The sheep gave me a smile and pulled her singed finger away and licked the wound away. "It's odd though, they are no doubt blessed but the reaction should be much more violent to me."

"Could it be Gloria's blessing isn't as strong as what you've seen in the past?" I started to puncture my finger then paused and looked upon my sheep. "Could you join me?"

"That's not how blessing's work. The silver becomes in tune with the divine, it doesn't matter the strength of the being that invokes them." Lorelai moved around to join me in the kitchen as she spoke the words. "Furthermore, they do not degrade with time, they simply cease to be blessed when the enchantment fades."

"What do you think it all means?" I looked upon her curiously.

She shook her head, the curls of her hair swaying before smiling. "I cannot say and since it is a quandary we have no answer to right now, let us focus on the pressing tasks at hand."

"Alright." I give her a grin and raise my fingertip. "I was about to draw forth my blood, would you like to do the honors?"

Lorelai snapped down on the tip of my finger in response. I felt her tooth pierce it, then bit my lip while I watched her sup from my wound, her brown eyes slowly shifting to red. "Ha... take that as a yes..."

The sheep gripped my hand and pulled my fingertip from her mouth. I watched a long trail of blood roll down the length of it before her small pink tongue dragged up the trail to lap it away. She pushed the tip back into her mouth and suckled a while longer while I panted out at the display.

"If you're hungry, my throat is yours..." I whispered the words gently and tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to her.

She focused on me with crimson eyes and there was some hesitation before she pulled from my finger. "N-no... we have a duty to fulfill... I will partake of you later." She spoke the words with resignation and I felt her struggle to pull from my arms, finally stepping away.

I gave her a nod and focused my own desires back down. "Alright... sorry for teasing you with the finger nip..." I turned to my bullets and began to quickly apply the blood to them.

"I appreciate the gesture and I enjoy your teasing." Lorelai offered me a hungry grin. "It will make our time together all the sweeter when we have it."

I nodded and quickly finished the dozen bullets and licked my finger to heal the wound. "Ah... shouldn't you contact the local lord about this?"

Lorelai tilted her head. "We are on a small tourist island, Alice. There is no local family here. There isn't enough population for it."

I frowned at that. "Then who keeps the paranormal baddies in check?"

"No one. Small villages and towns are at the mercy of whatever happens upon them." The sheep gave a shrug of her shoulders. "It's sad but that's how it is. We simply don't have the population to be a peacekeeping force."

"So what keeps something from just marauding and slaughtering people?" I opened the chamber of my revolver and started feeding bullets into it.

"Word gets around and we hear about it, or other factors hear about it. The mages circle, the celestials, or even hunters." Lorelai watched me work while she rubbed her chin in thought. "The smart hunters keep their victim count low and no one gets involved."

"So two per week is unacceptable?" I locked the chamber in place, then began to load my speed loader with the other six rounds. I had only brought one of my revolvers with me.

"It's not per se... but these are still council lands. They hunt within our borders, even if they are not patrolled well." Lorelai frowned and put a hand to her cheek.

"What if they simply don't know the laws yet? Will we still strike them down for their crimes?" I slid the revolver into the waistline of my pants, at the small of my back.

The sheep shook her head in response. "Do not misunderstand my intent, Alice. I will speak with whatever it is first. This is not an execution mission unless it has to be."

"I'm relieved to hear that, my sheep. Just know I've got your back no matter what." I showed my teeth and pulled my whip off the counter, hooking it to my belt.

"That means the world to me, Alice." She watched me adorn the whip and smiled. "Had I known we would be potentially going into battle, I would have packed my own things."

"Oh? We have not talked about your martial proficiency, my lovely sheep." I peered at her curiously. "What do you use as a weapon?"

She gave me a smile filled with pride. "What don't I use? Next to Harold, I am probably the most weapon proficient member of our court."

I gave her a laugh and put my hands on my hips. "Fine... tell me a weapon you would like, I will make it here and now!" Pride filled my chest as I spoke, Lorelai didn't know the extent to my blood steel trick and I was eager to show it off to her.

"Make it?" The sheep folded her arms curiously but smiled and played along with my words. "Make me a bow..."

I flinched and rubbed the back of my head. "Uhm... O-okay... how about a weapon that doesn't have moving parts or strings?"

"Very well, something small and easy for me to wield. Make me a wakizashi." The sheep curled her lips into a smile, seeing the confusion on my face.

Refusing to deny her again I quickly grabbed my phone and looked up the weapon. I took a few minutes to study its shape and size. "Okay... y-yeah... I can do this for you!" I spoke the words and left the kitchen, moving to the den where I had more room to work.

"What are you doing, my rabbit? You cannot make a blade without steel and a forge." Lorelai spoke the words towards me like a parent amused at a child trying to perform a task beyond them.

I fixed her with a confident glare. Now I would definitely make this work, just to give her pride in me. "Just you watch, I will make my wife a splendid weapon all her own."

I pierced my thumbs on my canines then let the blood flow forth. I willed it to gather before me in a small sphere that grew and grew. I forced my blood out of my wounds rapidly until I felt I had a large enough amount to work with.

I saw Lorelai watching me with a morbid fascination over all the blood and my control over it. "Thaumaturgy truly is a bizarre thing..."

I suckled on my thumbs to heal the wounds then showed her my teeth in a grin. "You've not seen anything yet." I hummed to myself and pulled my phone out, pulling up a time-lapse video of a wakizashi being forged. I held the phone in my left hand, my right maintaining the will over the blood. This was a similar technique I used when making my roses.

I formed the blood to a length of a shaft of steel, then curved the angle and began to focus upon forming it into the shape of a blade. I had a secondary sphere of blood that started to form from the refuse I trimmed off while sculpting the blade in the air.

It took me several minutes, possibly even an hour to get every detail to satisfaction. In hindsight perhaps a lot of needless time wasted. Regardless Lorelai stood there watching me, both in curiosity and fascination.

"Well... let's see how that works." I hummed to myself and willed the blood to harden to the touch. "Come take it, see how it feels." I held my left hand aloft to the blood sword suspended in the air.

Lorelai moved to the blade and snatched it up. She rolled it in her hand a few times, giving a few practice swings. "The balance is off, you need to bring the tip down a few degrees and take about two inches off the hilt." She spoke the words casually and tossed the blade back to me.

I caught it and nodded before quickly reforming the hilt and adjusting the tip. "And now?"

The sheep collected the sword once more and gave it a few practice swings. "Hmm... yeah, that's a pretty decent fit. Color me impressed, Alice." She gave me a smile and I took the sword from her.

"Who said I was done?" I gave her a cocky grin and held the wakizashi in my palms and focused my will. Red flames erupted from my hand that held the hilt of the blade, white flames from my left hand that the blade of the sword resided in. I licked my lips and focused my will, pouring the flames over the blood again and again, like a blacksmith folding the metal of a sword.

I snatched the blade into my hand, feeling it still hot to the touch and felt the energy upon it. The whole thing shined of deep maroon. Lorelai lifted her ears and rose a finger. "Ah... this is like the stone Elias wears, isn't it?"

"Yes and no." I hummed the words with pride and tossed the blade to her. She caught it and admired the detail. "I channeled the focus very specifically, can you tell?"

Lorelai brought the side of the blade end to her hand and I saw her eyes widen before she looked back at me. "It... it burns... you infused divinity into the blood steel itself..."

I showed my teeth in a wide proud grin. "But I used my unholy fires to temper the hilt where you grip it. So you can wield it with comfort."

The sheep grinned as she looked upon the blade and my heart leaped into my throat as I saw the look of pride in her eyes. "I can call this nothing short of an artifact... You have made me something that is one of a kind to be sure."

"She's not just a pretty face either." I hummed the words proudly and plucked one of my long blonde hairs from my head. Moving to her I held the hair in my fingers before her. "See for yourself."

She quirked a brow and brought the sword to the hair and lightly moved the blade forward, the edge clefting it with ease. The sheep huffed through her nose and looked into my eyes. "I will have a saya and tsuba commissioned for this first thing upon my return."

I gave her a grin and rubbed the back of my head. "What's that?"

Lorelai gave me a smile and I saw her eyes shining with pride. "It's what they call a scabbard to hold the blade. The tsuba is the handguard between the blade and hilt."

"How educational," I spoke the words and flicked my tail. "I am filled with pride that you like it."

Lorelai nodded and moved to the counter. She laid the sword across it and took out a spool of medical tape from the first aid kit in the bathroom. "I will have the finest grip made for it when I get home, but this will do for now," she spoke the words as she wrapped the tape around the base of the blade.

"I'm really glad you like it." I hummed the words and showed my teeth in a grin before moving to collect a bottle of blood from the refrigerator.

"I love it..." The sheep spoke the words while wrapping the tape around it, then her eyes cut to me while I was drinking. "And you... I can feel your love in this and it overwhelms me. It will remain on my person at every council meeting. It will be a badge of honor, proclaiming proudly who has my heart."

I coughed out at her words and almost snorted blood out of my nose. "L-Lorelai... are you serious?"

The sheep finished the intricate wrap of tape and held the blade aloft giving it a few more swings. "I am... I had already decided I would no longer hide what we were after I confessed my love to you. This simply buries any doubt I had left."

"Is... is that okay?" I asked with concern in my voice. "I do not want you to jeopardize your council position."

"We have no laws about such things. You need not worry and I shall tell Elias in person." Lorelai clicked her tongue and looked the blade over. "I will need something to hold it in... It is too sharp to just dangle at my hip..."

I took a heavy pull from my bottle and wagged a finger. "I can easily craft a simple scabbard for you," I spoke the words then continued to drink heavily from the sports bottle while moving back to the den. I pulled an extra belt I had packed from my bag and grinned over at my sheep.

"Haven't you done enough?" Lorelai blushed at my offer and frowned.

"This is nothing but a scrap of what I owe you for your love." I took the blade from her and easily cut the head of the belt away. I laid the soft end of the belt over the length of the blade and gave a nod. "This will do just fine."

"Y-you owe me nothing, I give my love willingly and you know this!" The sheep bleated the words and flicked her tail.

"I do..." I smiled at her before piercing my thumb on my tooth and quickly willed the blood forward. I folded the belt over the sword before crafting the blood into a long shaft about the length of the blade. It was a simple matter of thrusting the blade and belt into the liquid mass, then shifting until I felt I had a good fit. From there I willed the blood to harden around the blade and makeshift leather casing. I focused and molded around the leather as well as the steel, then pulled the blade free, dislodging it.

It took a little more effort than I expected, but nothing like the blade itself took. I had the sheath completed in just a handful of minutes. "There. I used enough force to make it cling to the leather to hold the blade, but hopefully has enough give to withdraw and sheath it. It's crude and will wear out pretty quickly, but it will get the job done until you can have a custom one made for it."

Lorelai showed her teeth in a prideful grin and took the sheathed blade. I had made a loop in the material so she could attach it and she intertwined it with her belt at the back of her pants.

"Hum... yes... that feels good." The sheep bent at the knees and reached for the blade. The stance and position reminded me of that mouse that I had an encounter with, Jennifer.

The elder vampire clenched her teeth and I saw her eyes glow red. She drew the sword underhanded and I saw a flurry of motion. I didn't actually see anything but a blur when she moved but she made several lashes and strikes in a heartbeat of time.

The sheep slid the blade back into place and gave me an adoring look. "Oh, that's nice... I like this present very much, my rabbit."

"Anything for you." I showed my teeth in a grin.

'Anything?" Lorelai looked at me curiously.

I swallowed and gave her an awkward smile. "Ah... w-within reason?"

She clicked her tongue. "Are your preparations complete?"

"They are, my sheep." I offered her a smile as I spoke.

"Then let us be off, I am desperate to ravage you and the sooner we finish this task the better." The sheep moved to me and gripped my hand, pulling me along as we walked to the balcony.

"I'm really glad you like it!" I spoke the words childishly and flicked my tail while she pulled me along.

Lorelai cut her eyes to mine and I saw her gaze soften before she spoke. "I'm really glad you like me... truly this is a treasure and I will hold it dear to me, just as I do your love."

"So what do we do now?" I asked her after we stepped onto the balcony.

Lorelai showed her teeth, a predatory look crossing her face I had never seen before. "Now my sister... we hunt." The sheep moved to the edge of the balcony and bounded up to the roof of the hotel.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" I spoke out and quickly moved to leap up to the roof after her.

Lorelai landed gracefully like a bird perching on a power line. I landed with a loud heavy smack of my boots and hands slapping the roof. The sheep gave me a knowing smile. "Not done much roof hopping, my rabbit?"

"Why would I?" I grumbled and my cheeks grew dark.

"It's something you become adept at when hunting in cities and running from the church." She spoke the words and walked out to the edge of the roof. The rain had let up to just a faint drizzle.

"So what do we do?" I moved to her side and put my hands to my hips.

"It's a small town... but even casing it from the rooftops would be a fool's errand. We are not comic book heroes and that never works anyway." The sheep cut her eyes to me. "Think back to when you hunt. Surely you know of that energy you pick up on the mundane. The one that tells you how strong-willed they are and how tasty they would be?"

"Never looked at it as a scale of tastiness, but yes I know what you mean." I moved a hand to grip her own.

The sheep closed her fingertips around mine and nodded. "Once you get old enough and more powerful, that will strengthen. You will be able to sense emotions such as jubilation and fear." Lorelai showed her teeth as she tapped her temple.

"Like being able to turn invisible?" I hummed excitedly.

The sheep gave me an apologetic smile. "You are... a long long way from that power, my rabbit."

"How long?" I asked while cocking an eyebrow.

"Harold can't do it and you know he has over a millennia, need I say more?" Lorelai hummed the words at me.

"Oh..." I frowned and lowered my ears.

"Do not despair, you have so much more than you should already, my rabbit. Do not pine for things that will come eventually." Lorelai squeezed my hand gently. "I and you are here in this moment. That is more important than any power that is to come."

I smiled and nodded. "You're right. I will bask in our time together."

She clicked her tongue again and looked out over the small town. "As I was saying... you can learn to garner a sense of how things work in a town by looking upon it."

She thrust her finger out towards a small patch of homes in apartments and cul de sacs. "The aura there, fairly peaceful and domestic. Most of the mundane there feel at peace."

She moved her finger to another section of town, the area looking more run down and shabby. "There is more hostility and anxiety there. It's the bad part of town so to speak, more than likely the people walk the streets fearful of petty crimes."