Celebrating Monsters

Justin groaned and opened his eyes. "Aaralyn..." he said, looking up at the leopard face above him. "I hope that's you..."

Aaralyn shifted back to human form so that Justin would recognize her. "It's me," she said. "How do you feel?"

"Well, your whiskers were tickling me," Justin said. "But now I just feel like I've been stabbed in the neck a few times... And I feel weak. What were you doing just a second ago? That was soothing."

"I was licking your vampire bites," Aaralyn said. "Werecat saliva has some healing and strengthening properties. I thought it might help with the pain."

"It was helping," Justin said. He reached out and found Aaralyn's hand and squeezed it. "Babe," Justin said. "You SAVED me."

"I told you to be careful with those stupid vampires," Aaralyn said. "You should have stayed at the bar with me."

"Yeah," Justin said. "I really should have. You just always give me the brush off, and I've been lonely for a long time..."

"Me too," Aaralyn said. "But werecats can't get involved with other species. It's too dangerous for everyone concerned."

"You always have your walls up, don't you, babe?" Justin asked. "Even out here with no one else around, just you and me and a smelly mattress..." Justin looked down at the mattress for the first time since he had fallen on it and wrinkled his nose.

Aaralyn smiled at Justin. "Do you think you can stand up?" she asked. "You lost a lot of blood..."

"I think I'm okay," Justin said.

Aaralyn stood up and gave Justin her hand, helping him up beside her.

Justin stumbled and clutched his head. "Wow, I'm dizzy," he said.

"It's the blood loss," Aaralyn said. "I can't let you be by yourself tonight. I want to watch you and be sure you're okay. Our first priority is to get some food in you and get your body started recovering. Do you think if I shift back into cat form, you can sit on my back and hold on? If you can, I'll let a few of my walls down and take you back to my place."

"Let me ride you and take me back to your place?" Justin asked. "Oh, babe, I'm all over riding you at your place. Are you sure YOU'RE up for that?" Justin laughed weakly at his own joke, holding onto Aaralyn's shoulder for support.

"Well, it is Halloween, after all," Aaralyn said. "The one day of the year when we can celebrate monsters for everything they are and appreciate them in spite of, and maybe even because of, all their quirks and flaws."

"I'll definitely celebrate you," Justin said, all joking gone from his voice now, his face right next to Aaralyn's ear as he leaned on her for support, his breath fluttering strands of her long silky hair.

"Well, let's get you home then," Aaralyn whispered back. She changed into cat form, standing on her back legs, and lowered herself down onto all fours very slowly so that she didn't throw Justin off balance. He put one leg over her back and fell into a slump with his arms wrapped around her neck. "Hold on really tight," Aaralyn said. "I don't want to lose you..." She waited for Justin to get a hard grip in her fur, and then she sprang up into a tree, struggling slightly with his added weight to pull herself up. She steadied herself on a branch and waited a minute while Justin readjusted his grip. "You okay back there?" Aaralyn asked, unable to look over her shoulder because of his arms tight around her neck.

"Yeah, I think I'll live," Justin said. "But no more vertical jumps. I almost got sick just then..."

"No more vertical ones, but there will be some long horizontal jumps as we go from tree to tree," Aaralyn said. "Think you can make it?"

"I'll survive, babe," Justin said. "Do what you gotta do, and I'll try not to fall out of the trees."

Aaralyn was more concerned about Justin than ever now, so she moved through the trees as gently, but as quickly, as possible. They went way outside of town and into the thick forest. It took them nearly an hour, which was more than double the amount of time that it usually took Aaralyn to get home, but she couldn't afford to go at her normal speed with her passenger in tow. Finally, they came to an area of rocky hills and cliffs. Aaralyn went over the top of one big hill, and below, water cascaded off one side of the rock and fell down into a stream at the bottom of a concealed ravine. Aaralyn climbed gingerly down the side of the rock, putting her feet in places where a human would not have managed to hang on. It was very difficult trying to keep Justin clinging to her as she did this, but at last, they reached the bottom of the little hidden canyon. The stream ran down the middle of the opening, and next to the waterfall, there was a cave that couldn't be seen from above.

"Justin," Aaralyn said. "We're here. You can let go of me now."

"I don't want to," Justin said, but even as the words came from him, his grip was slipping. Aaralyn changed back into human form, catching Justin's hands and pulling him upright with her.

"Hey, don't give up on me now," Aaralyn said. She steadied Justin and waited for him to open his eyes before she made him move again.

Justin looked at Aaralyn and waited for things to come into focus. Then he had a look around. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Home," Aaralyn said. "Or at least where I'm living right now. If you can stand on your own, I'll give you the tour."

"I think I'd better hold on to you just in case," Justin said. He managed a weakened version of one of his suggestive smirks, and Aaralyn smiled too, glad to see him at least attempting his usual humor.

Very little moonlight penetrated the narrow canyon. This was no problem for Aaralyn with her cat-like night vision, but she knew Justin wasn't able to see in the heavy darkness. With that in mind, she held on to Justin's arm and led him over to the cave. "I'm going to let go of you for just a minute, but it's worth it, okay?" she said.

"You promise it's worth it?" Justin said, nuzzling against her ear.

"Do you want to see where you are or not?" Aaralyn asked, turning toward him and placing a little kiss on his cheek as she released him.

Justin reached through the dark, wanting to catch Aaralyn and get more of her lips, but he couldn't see anything, and he stumbled, going down on his hands and knees. When he looked up, there was light in the cave.

Aaralyn had lit a candle next to Justin, and she was walking around with a trigger-style lighter with the stem that reached out, lighting more candles all over. The candles were in little nooks and crannies, or on pieces of rock that stuck out like little shelves, and soon, the whole cave glowed.

Justin looked around and noticed that there was an area at the back of the cave where Aaralyn had lots of blankets spread in layers, with a few pillows scattered around. He stood up and made his way over to that area, lying down, propped up on one elbow, watching her move around the cave. "You were right," he said. "It was worth it. But you still need to come over here and apologize for making me fall down just a second ago."

"That was your own fault, not mine," Aaralyn said. "And I told you, you need nourishment before anything else. Just stay right there, and I'll take care of you." She walked over to an area of the cave where she had some boxes and crates sitting, and she pulled out a Gatorade. She walked over to Justin slowly, her shadow swaying in the candlelight. She stopped just short of the blankets and said, "Promise me that you'll behave for a little while. Nothing crazy until you're feeling a little better..."

"Awww, babe..." Justin said, reaching toward her, but unable to touch her without getting up from the bed area.

"Promise me," Aaralyn said. "I'm trying to make sure you're okay. I'll take very good care of you, in all ways, I promise. But you have to do what I say first..."

"Fine," Justin said. "I can't refuse that kind of promise."

Aaralyn came a little closer and put the Gatorade in Justin's open hand. "Drink this entire thing," she said. "You're dehydrated from the blood loss. I'm going to fix you something to eat, and when I come back over here again, I want to see that bottle empty."

"Yes, dear," Justin said. He opened the bottle and began drinking the Gatorade.

"Good boy," Aaralyn said, patting him on the head and laughing when he stuck his tongue out at her. She walked back over to the boxes and began bringing out food. She found some grapes and other fruit and took those over to Justin. "Here," Aaralyn said. "Eat some of this until I can make something hot for you."

"You're hot enough already," Justin said, pulling on her hand and trying to get her on the blankets with him. "Let me nibble on you for a little while."

"No, no," Aaralyn said. "You promised to behave for a little while. Eat some of this fruit, and I'll come back after I cook something." She went away again and built a campfire just outside the cave with some sticks of wood that she had stacked in her supply area next to the food. Aaralyn went down to the stream and pulled on a rope that was tied to a rock, bringing up a cooler that had been under the water. The water of the stream stayed cold year-round, and Aaralyn used this as her refrigeration system. She took some meat and vegetables out of the cooler and then replaced it in the stream. Over the campfire, she cooked a meal for Justin in a big pot.

"Aaralyn, honey, that smell is driving me crazy. Get back over here and feed me whatever is in your pot..."

"Feed you, huh?" Aaralyn said, coming back into the cave and letting her silhouette dance in the candlelight. She put the food on a plate and grabbed a fork. "If I'm going to feed you, you'll have to sit up." She sat down on the blankets beside Justin, and he sat up as she asked, leaning his head on her shoulder. Aaralyn scooped some meat up on the fork and put it in Justin's mouth.

"Oh, babe!" he said. "That's GOOD!" He sat up straighter and held his mouth open for the next bite.

"Look..." Aaralyn said. "We could get to other things a little faster if you feed yourself..."

"But that's not as much fun," Justin said. "What kinds of other things?"

"Well, first we'd have to bathe you and get the nasty mattress and vampire funk off you..." Aaralyn said.

"Bathe me..." Justin said. "Hand me that fork!" He ate with vigor, and Aaralyn laughed. When he was finished, Justin set the plate aside and waited, watching Aaralyn's face.

"Are you ready?" Aaralyn whispered.

"Oh yeah," Justin said, leaning in and kissing Aaralyn's lips. "I've been ready for a long time." He wound one hand through her hair and kissed her harder, brushing her lips with his tongue and getting just a little taste of her.

Aaralyn kissed Justin back at first, but then she pushed him gently away. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" she asked.

"Eating helped me," Justin said. "I'm already feeling better than I was. I promise you, babe, I'm fine." He reached for her again, but Aaralyn wiggled away.

"In that case, we have to get you clean before anything else," Aaralyn said. She ran outside the cave, past the campfire, and out beyond its glow. Justin saw her shirt, then her pants, and then something small, maybe a piece of underwear, fly by and get picked up by the glow from the campfire before disappearing again into the darkness. Then he heard a splash.

Justin didn't hesitate; he ran out of the cave and began peeling his own clothes off, dumping them near the campfire where some of Aaralyn's pieces had landed. He looked around, but he didn't see her. "Babe, where are you?" Justin called.

"Behind the waterfall," Aaralyn said. Justin fumbled along in the dark and walked by the edge of the stream to the waterfall that cascaded down from the rocks above, following a faint glow that came from that direction. At the base of the waterfall, there was an area where the water pooled before moving on into the stream. Behind the waterfall, Justin found a natural shelf in the rock where Aaralyn had placed some soap and shampoo and a little battery operated lamp, all of which were wet from the spray of the water. Aaralyn herself was down in the pool of water, only her face above the surface, looking Justin up and down.

"Hey, no fair!" Justin said. "You get to check me out before I get to check you out!"

"Then get in here, hot buns!" Aaralyn said.

"You've got to be kidding me," Justin said. "I'm full frontal here, and you're thinking about my buns?!"

"Hey, I like everything I see there," Aaralyn said, but I already had my hands on the buns earlier tonight, so I know they're spicy. Maybe if you hurry up and get in here, I'll have some other things to entice me..."

Justin hopped down into the pool of water, which came up to his chest, and gasped. It was extremely cold, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe.

"Justin...?" Aaralyn said. She came toward him. "Are you alright?"

"F-freezing my b-balls off!" Justin wheezed. "You didn't tell me this water was so cold! It even hurts my lungs!"

"I'm sorry," Aaralyn said, reaching out and putting her arms around him. "I always jump in fast and force my body to adjust quickly. I didn't really think about you not being used to it."

Aaralyn's breasts were pressed up against him, and Justin started to forget about the cold. "Well, I guess if you stay really close to me," he said, squeezing her and making her squeal, "then maybe I'll forgive you." He grabbed Aaralyn on her round little behind and lifter her up, bringing her legs around his waist. He bent his head down and kissed Aaralyn hard, smashing her lips and forcing his tongue in, roving around and tasting her.

Aaralyn moaned slightly, the noise vibrating against Justin's mouth, and she put her hands behind his neck, running them through his hair, pinning his face against hers, pulling, tugging, scratching even.

Aaralyn's excitement was contagious, and Justin could feel his manhood swelling, in spite of the icy water. He shifted Aaralyn slightly so that she felt it, too.

Aaralyn gasped and held Justin tighter with her legs, grinding her hips on him and letting her body feel his length against her.

"That's all for you, babe," Justin whispered against her skin.

"I thought you were suffering from blood loss," Aaralyn said back, kissing along Justin's jawline and down his neck.

"I've still got plenty in the places where you want it," Justin said.

"I thought we came in here to get clean," Aaralyn said. "I can still smell vampire on you."

"No way," Justin said. "I don't smell bad."

Aaralyn raised her head up and looked into Justin's eyes. "Do you really want to smell what I smell?" she asked. "See what I see? Hear what I hear? Feel what I feel?"

"I want to know everything about you," Justin said. "I want your mind, your heart, your body... I want to be inside you." He moved his hips against her again. "Be mine tonight, baby. Let the walls come down."

"Okay," Aaralyn whispered, leaning into him again and kissing Justin's lips, his cheek, his neck. "The last wall is right about... here." Aaralyn's head changed to the leopard, and she sank her teeth into Justin's neck. She pumped her saliva into his veins through her hollow fangs like snake's venom.

Justin cried out when Aaralyn bit him. The vampires' bites had hurt, but he had almost instantly lost so much blood from them, that he had gone numb and been unable to function. But when Aaralyn bit him, she didn't take anything away; she put something in him. Her fangs pricked Justin, and something warm from her shot inside his veins, moving like liquid fire, burning at first, and then going through him like a shot of whiskey, packing a punch, but bringing comfort, and making him feel high as if he had been shot up with some kind of drug. The next thing Justin noticed was that it changed him.

Aaralyn pulled her teeth gently out of Justin's neck, and her human face reappeared. She leaned back and looked at him, watching his veins swell out of his skin briefly as her juices coursed through him, changing him, making his muscles grow and his senses heighten, and she would swear, even his penis against her inner thigh got larger than it already was.

Justin breathed in and out deeply, his muscles clenching and unclenching as he tried to adjust to his new strength and incredibly strong senses. "I can see everything," he said. "The darkness doesn't bother me anymore. I can hear everything. The tiniest sounds are easy... I can hear the bubbles at the very bottom of the stream, coming off the waterfall... And I can smell.." He took a big whiff at Aaralyn. "You... Babe, you're the best smelling thing in the whole world." He breathed her in deeply.

"That's my pheromones," Aaralyn whispered. "You have a bunch of werecat hormones in you now, and it's affecting all your senses. You can experience everything that I do. You can smell that I'm... all hot for you..." She leaned in and nipped at Justin's lip playfully, making him smile and bite back at her.

"Aaralyn," he said, his voice coming out like a growl, "does this mean that I'm..."

"Oh, no," Aaralyn said. She looked him in the eye, sadness all over her face. "I'm sorry Justin. This is just temporary. Werecat bites are used to give a human extra strength for a little while. Remember once when I told you that I protect people from creatures who are stronger than them so that they don't get eaten? A werecat's special ability, other than her own super strength and the ability to become a big leopard, is that her bite gives weaker people some of her super strength and heightened senses for a little while so that their escape is easier. It only lasts for a few hours. I can't actually change anyone else into a werecat. If I could..." She leaned her head against his chest and hid her face, but Justin could feel a few warm tears trickling down before they hit the cold water around her.

"Hey, babe, it's okay," Justin said, putting one hand on the back of Aaralyn's head and stroking her hair. "We said all along that this was just one night, just Halloween, just the two of us celebrating the monstrous side of us and being ourselves, no barriers. I never even thought sharing this much of your experiences was possible. Now I can feel how you feel for a little while. I'm the luckiest guy in the world, just to get one night with you." Justin stood there, simply holding her. After minute, he said, "You're right, though. I can totally smell the vampire stink on me now."

Aaralyn laughed against Justin's chest. She looked up at him, and touched his face. Justin took her hand from his cheek and kissed her fingers.

Aaralyn unclamped her legs from around Justin and reached over to pick up the bar of soap. She came back over to Justin and began rubbing the soap over him, starting on his chest and lathering all over. She brought the soap up to his neck and touched the vampire bites very softly. Amazingly, they had already begun healing over, and the bruising around them had faded.

"Justin..." Aaralyn said. "I think I should have bitten you sooner. I think my fluids in you are causing you to heal. That's the other ability that werecats have--the ability to heal at a very accelerated rate. I'm so sorry, baby. I could have ended your pain a long time ago..." She looked up at him and got sad again.

"Hey, hey, hey," Justin said. "I wouldn't have changed anything about this night, Aaralyn. Not one single thing. Not even how cold this water is. But seriously, babe, we've been in here a long time. Hand me that soap, and let's get this over with before we both turn into prunes." Aaralyn smiled at him and handed over the soap. Justin washed himself quickly, scrubbing hard, and then he turned the soap on Aaralyn. He lathered up her neck and shoulders and worked his way down to her bouncy breasts with their nipples erect in the cold water. He held them and squeezed them and caused Aaralyn cry out happily.