Blood & Carrots Ep. 28

I showed my teeth and glared at the cat. "Hey, at least I'm trying here, asshole!"

"You assume to speak to me in such a manner, abomination?" The cat hissed the words and stood from his seat. In my mind, I noted I seemed to always end up with someone having this reaction when I tried to negotiate.

"Sit down, Gerald." The dog at the center spoke out with a barked but authoritative tone in his aged voice. The cat dropped back to his seat right away and said nothing. The dog then focused upon me and I could see the bags under his eyes, the age of who knew how many centuries behind them. "Young chimera, why do you come to us and seek peace? Our kind has known nothing but conflict with one another since the equinox of recorded history."

"Then isn't it about time we got past it?" I spoke the words and pushed my hands out. "Our people are not rampaging monsters, most of us don't even kill anymore."

"How do we know you don't feed us falsehoods?" The bovine called out casually.

I shrugged a shoulder. "You have a seer right there, ask her. She witnessed all of this a year past. She knows I speak the truth."

The other two archangels and bishop looked upon Rachel. She nodded her head. "She speaks the truth. I witnessed her love and honesty at fallen angel Gloria's tribunal. She and her friends risked their lives for nothing but to save her."

"Ah, the fallen knight. How is she doing?" The bernard asked curiously, his gaze shifting towards Lorelai as she spoke up to answer his question.

"We took her in, she has spent the last year going to various lords and ladies of our court, learning our ways and teaching the benefit of yours. She truly believes in her task and has taken to it with the utmost vigor." Lorelai rolled her parasol as she showed her teeth. "Why, the little dog has even started learning other languages so she can speak to those outside of our region."

"That is commendable but seems fruitless, our kind simply can't coexist." The central angel spoke the words in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, how about no?" I spoke out, showing a glare in my eyes. "I and Gloria have been together for years now. Her wings may not be white, but she is the same kind soul she has always been."

"A fluke I'm sure." The female archangel quipped out flatly.

I sighed and ran my fingertips through my hair, trying to keep myself rational. "You see... this is why you guys aren't doing so well these days."

The five of them shared a look and then Toroah spoke out to me. "Explain what you mean."

My ears lifted and I shrugged. "You said it yourself, I'm young and stupid. I know I don't have all the answers, but even I can see what's happening just in the short time I was here in your city."

I paced over to my sheep and grinned at her as I reached for the parasol. Lorelai smiled and let me take it. I began casually walking to the front of the table, spinning the parasol as I spoke out. "You guys haven't gotten with the times, we have. You are set in the old ways of thinking, while we adapt."

I moved back to the center of the room and looked over my shoulder at the five of them, my tail flicking. "We found a better, smarter way to find our blood and survive, ways that keep the mundane and things like you from finding us or hunting us down."

I casually tossed the parasol back to Lorelai who caught it without hesitation and shouldered it. I put my hands on my hips and gave the trio before me a flat look. "Instead of dragging this crusade out, you guys should be out there making miracles happen and reminding your flock you exist. That is why we thrive and you wither, we have moved past this petty squabble, you keep the torch of hatred burning."

The black cat hissed and called out to me. "You speak much too disrespectfully to-"

"Hold your tongue, Bishop." Toroah snapped out at him. The cat clenched his teeth and grew silent.

A silence hung in the air as the trio stared upon me as well as the two bishops. I could see Rachel focusing her will, judging me for falsehoods. I cleared my throat after a few more moments and spoke out once more. "Change has to happen somewhere. Even a tiny step is still a step."

"What do you get out of this, chimera?" Samantha called out to me skeptically.

I looked to her and back to the fox to make sure she was still judging me. "Not a damn thing. I have my angel which is all I wanted. But you are her people and I do not wish to come at odds with you. Likewise, I do not wish to see my kind hunted and persecuted by your lot."

"What would you do if we agreed to peace talks, arch-vampire Lorelai?" The bernard asked the sheep directly.

The sheep frowned at the title and stepped forward. "You're considering this? Color me shocked, Ichiro."

"More humoring it at this point, sheep." The bovine called out with an edge to her voice.

"Pull your head out already, Samantha. You know I don't treat fools lightly." The sheep showed her sharp teeth and glared at the cow.

"Both of you stop." I snapped out sharply between them. Both glared at me, Lorelai's looking particularly fierce. I swallowed hard but stood my ground. "Listen to you, this shit... this right here! This is why we can't move on! Everyone has bad blood here, but we have to get past that if we want to see us stop butchering one another."

My sheep gave me a focused glare but I saw her eyes soften. She darted her gaze back to the three archangels. "To answer your question... If you were willing to cease your callous slaughter of my people, I would consider speaking with the council at large and calling upon a vote to take killing off the books completely. I wager ninety percent of my court already adheres to a no-killing policy, it would meet little resistance."

"I'm sorry to call out, but how would this benefit us in any way?" The black cat spoke over towards us.

Lorelai showed her teeth in a grin. "You really want to know that answer?" She lifted her ears and looked to Toroah. "My court lost twelve members to celestial attacks over the last ten years. How many of your knights fell for those dozen of my family?"

The rabbit grimaced and looked down. "Three times that number, not even counting what we've lost to demons, lycanthropes, and mundane."

The sheep gave the black cat a bored look. "You understand now, cat? My wife is offering you a very generous thing. I could wait for one more attack... I could let one more member of my court fall to your kind and I could rally every house to my side. We would have your kind swept away in weeks."

"Your boasts will not garner you any leeway here, Lorelai!" Samantha spat the words as she rose from her seat.

"I believe archangel Hagen told me something similar before I plunged my teeth into his throat and drank his life away." The sheep showed her large canines and gave the bovine a challenging glare.

"Enough..." The dog at the center called out sharply to the room. "You see, young chimera. There is poison blood between us all." The archangel fixed me with a calm look.

"Get over it." I spoke out plainly, warranting a curious look from him. I looked to Lorelai then to Samantha. "It's in the past, get over it. Everyone needs to just get the fuck over it, already."

"Toroah, why did you arrange this meeting?" I called out to the other rabbit in the room, giving him a sharp glance.

"I believed in your words and agreed with your goals." He spoke the words back to me gently.

I looked at the other two archangels and folded my arms. "This isn't a matter of who has the biggest guns. This is a matter of what is best for our families. I say it again and I say it as plainly as I can. The times are changing and we must adapt. Get, the fuck, over, your shit."

A long silence hung in the air before the bernard spoke out gently. "I can't argue with her logic. The times have found us and we must adapt."

"So we will just treat with the murderers of our kind as if they were old friends?" Samantha called out bitterly.

"I would like to point out, most of the time, it was your people doing the murdering, mine were simply defending themselves or retaliating. We have never actively sought to hunt your kind out and slay you." Lorelai spoke the words calmly as she walked away from the table, spinning her parasol.

"She is right, Samantha. They only want peace, they are not making unfair demands of us though they are in a position to do so." Toroah spoke placatively towards the other archangel.

"Oh, there's an idea!" I hummed out playfully and looked at my sheep. "They donate divine blood to us, we don't kill mundanes anymore."

Lorelai's eyes glittered at the notion and she nodded. "Oh, I agree. I do so love the taste of divine blood..."

"You two are insane!" The bovine yelled out at us sharply.

"They are jesting, your holiness." Rachel spoke out respectfully towards the archangel. "They do not mean their words."

"We do not, but it would be a fair demand for tribute if we so desired it." Lorelai fired back sharply. "Our terms have not changed. We only want peace, we have enough to deal with, we do not need your kind involved. Leave us be and we keep a gentle hand towards your flock as we have mostly been doing for the last century or more."

The dog gave a resigned sigh and lowered his head. "These things take time, Lorelai... it would not be an overnight change."

"Tell it to the diplomat, not me." Lorelai jerked her head towards me and I stiffened my back slightly at being put on the spot.

"Ah... that's understandable, I'm sure we would have discontent members that would need to be spoken with as well." I spoke the words nervously and flicked my tail.

Ichiro nodded and looked over towards Samantha. "My sister, I understand your view, but shouldn't we give them a chance to prove their words? We have been the ones endlessly hunting them after all, and here they are extending an olive branch all the same."

The female archangel sighed and lowered her head. "If it is for the good of our people and our flock, I am willing to give it a chance..."

"Toroah, this is your brainchild, I assume you will be spearheading things on our end?" The dog asked the rabbit curiously.

"Of course, I will begin preparations at once. Are we making this official then?" The divine rabbit asked the other two.

Samantha sighed and nodded. "I am not opposed."

"I also am not." Ichiro spoke out calmly. "What say you, Countess? We will call off hostilities and your kind will stop preying upon our flock."

I raised a finger. "We will not kill them, we still must feed upon them. The only killing we will do is mercy ones."

"I do not like this grey area, Ichiro..." Samantha grumbled out.

I didn't wait for his answer. "Stupid. I mean mercy killing as in people dying and beyond hope of saving. Would you rather we offer a member of your flock a painless slip into death, or leave them to agonize and wallow in pain so your ego is sufficiently stroked?" I showed her an angry glare.

"I do not like your attitude with me..." The archangel narrowed her eyes while glaring upon me.

"I do not care. This is the last time I'm saying it... get over your shit. We aren't here to promote trickery, our terms are simple and clear."

"Toroah, see that all the information is relayed to every knight. We are under a cease-fire until the vampires have made their arrangements. Once that is done, we will refrain from any hostilities so long as they do the same with us and our flock." Ichiro spoke the words in commandment and the rabbit nodded.

"I will begin gathering the council to speak of the new arrangement and vote upon it. I do not suspect it will fail." Lorelai spoke the words calmly and nodded her head.

Ichiro then turned to me. "Countess Alice. I expect to see you and your wife at least annually for the first several years of our treaty, we will no doubt have several bumps in the road that will need to be discussed and smoothed."

"You have a lovely city, I look forward to visiting it as often as you will allow. I sincerely hope this opens the doors to a future both our families can look forward to."

#

"I still feel like a jittery mess..." I huffed the words out over a steaming hot cup of blood, sipping it slowly while seated at the small dining room table in Toroah's home.

"I confess, Alice. I did not think you would pull it off. You have my thanks as well Toroah, I'm impressed you even got them to the table to talk." Lorelai hummed the words while sipping on her own mug.

The angel smiled at us both while drinking a cup of tea. "I truly hope this will bring a bright future to all of our kind."

"Not too bright I hope." I hummed the words with a playful smile.

The rabbit looked confused at first, then the joke caught up to him and he gave a soft laugh, his earnest laughter sending a chill down my spine. "Oh, you are too witty for me, Alice. I was always slow on the uptake of puns and jokes."

I saw Lorelai gazing upon his figure over the rim of her cup silently. I cleared my throat and leveled the rabbit with a coy grin. "Council business is over, why did you two split, Toroah?"

Lorelai bleated out and glared at me. "Alice, that is-"

"The strain on our positions was too much. I distanced myself like a fool, I felt I was protecting her." He spoke out sharply and met the sheep's eyes. Lorelai cleared her throat and looked away.

"That's too bad... and now I have her." I spoke the words with a cocky tone in my voice.

Toroah frowned and Lorelai glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "Yes... you are very fortunate, not a day goes by I do not-"

"Good thing I'm not opposed to sharing." I showed my teeth in a coy grin at the angel.

"A-Alice! Are you insane?" Lorelai growled the words at me, her cheeks flushing heavily.

"C-countess Alice, what are you saying?" The angelic rabbit looked at me in shock, his blue eyes wide.

"I know your type all too well, Toroah. Here, let me explain in a way you will understand." I moved to my sheep and pushed my palms to her cheeks. The heat on her face and glare in her eyes told me she was furious with me, but the moment my mouth pushed to hers, it all melted away.

I stood there kissing her, the divine rabbit watching us in shock and awe. My lips parted and Lorelai blinked up at me, her jaw setting as she fixed me with that fussy princess glare I loved. I showed my teeth and pulled from her arms, sauntering over to the rabbit. "Do you understand now?"

"I... I think I d-" I slid into his lap and shoved my mouth to his own in mid-sentence. His blue eyes widened then slowly closed as we kissed. A moment later his tongue was pushing forward curiously and I was happy to play along. My nails dug into his chest while I ground against his lap, clearly feeling the effects watching me and Lorelai kiss had made upon him.

His energy was surprisingly gentle, not unlike how it felt to touch Gloria. I rolled my tongue against his own for a few more moments, then pulled from his mouth. His tongue was still showing slightly and I grinned upon him before shifting my gaze to my sheep. She was staring upon the two of us with a conflicting look on her face.

"Did you at least kiss her while you were with her?" I spoke the words while still working my hips, feeling his hands avoiding touching me, as if out of fear.

"No, I didn't want to be too forward." He spoke the words quietly to me, my body shivering at his smooth angelic voice.

"Well, now's your chance..." I whispered the words and pushed my palm to Toroah's face before gently sliding out of his lap and moving over to my sheep once more.

Lorelai glared daggers at me but I said nothing and grabbed her wrist. She bleated out softly as I tugged her to me once more, my teeth showing in a coy grin before I pushed my lips to hers once again. The sheep widened her eyes, realizing I was passing the kiss back to her, then eased into my arms.

My eyes shifted to red and I rolled my tongue against hers, feeling her give in to my touch. Our tongues flicked against one another for a few more moments and I broke the kiss with a huff. Lorelai blinked up at me with her soft brown eyes, then gasped out as I pulled her forward and shoved her right into the rabbit's lap that had been watching us.

Toroah gasped out as she pushed into him and both of them stared upon one another for a long series of heartbeats. The archangel swallowed hard and spoke out timidly towards her. "Ah... I really did miss you... I'm sorry for-" Lorelai parted her lips, showing her teeth while he spoke and then shoved her mouth to his in an aggressive feral kiss. The rabbit shuddered at the attack then relaxed instantly.

I watched as her tongue lashed out and forced its way into his mouth. Her nails dug into his chest and dragged down it hard, tearing at his simple black shirt before dragging across his ivory flesh, leaving bloody scratches in her wake. My eyes widened at the dominant display of my sheep and I squirmed on my feet.

"Take me... take us, to your bedroom, now." Lorelai snarled the words after breaking from his kiss, her fingertips clenching hard at the torn shirt he wore. Toroah blinked upon her eyes and nodded his head quickly. The sheep slid off his lap and gave me a haughty look before darting her hand out and snatching my wrist hard. I bit my lower lip and felt her pull me along as she followed Toroah.

"Do you have any idea how many centuries I walled myself up for, all over you?" Lorelai spoke the words in a dry neutral tone as the rabbit walked us into his bedroom.

"I just didn't want to hurt you, hostilities with our-"

"Shut up!" Lorelai glared at him and then cut her eyes to me. "Alice! Do you think this is okay?"

I bit my lower lip hard at her glare, then furrowed my brow and showed her a cocky grin. "Yes."

The sheep flinched at my confidence and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me closer. "You will not play cupid with me, rabbit."

I gave my sheep a haughty laugh and put my palm to her cheek. "Do not be absurd, I have no intention of fostering love between any of us."

Lorelai clicked her tongue and glanced back at the nervous-looking angel, then back to me. "Then what are you doing?"

"He's hot and I want to have sex with him. I want us to have sex with him. If you two rekindle something that was lost, bonus points. You're still mine though." I tapped the sheep on the nose and pulled from her arms, moving over to the larger rabbit. "How about you Toroah? You still like my wife, don't you?" I showed my hand, the gold ring still upon it.

"I-I do... I never stopped caring about you, Lorelai." He spoke towards her and frowned.

I hummed and shoved him to a sitting position on the edge of his bed, climbing into his lap. "Do you like me, rabbit?" I huffed the words and grabbed his left hand, forcing it up my side to brush over my right breast. I felt him curiously squeeze and rub it through the silk vest of the business suit I had worn for the meeting.

"You are gorgeous, Alice, both of you are..." He whispered the words while squeezing at my breast. He reminded me of some of the virgins I occasionally hunted when I went out.

"Don't be shy... you don't have to ask... touch them all you want." I cooed the words into his ears while he deftly moved to unbutton my vest and peel it away, leaving me in a button-down white top. I showed my sheep a grin and folded my ears. "You just going to stand there, sheep?"

She bit her lip at my voice, recognizing the bedroom tone and her tail flicked as she obediently moved over towards me. "I can take this off... give Lorelai some attention..." I huffed hotly into his ear in a whisper. "Be aggressive, she will love it..."

Toroah widened his eyes at my words and gave a quick nod. I grinned and slid out of his lap, moving my hands to undo the pants I wore and peel them away, revealing my blue panties beneath. I finished unbuttoning the top next and tugged it away, a matching blue bra the only thing left upon me.