My Little Ventrue Pt. 09 Ch. 15

She nodded as she leaned back in her chair, but she didn't let go of his hands either. "We will fix this. And then we will deal with Black Blood, you and I."

"Ha. Partners?"

"Indeed." Nodding again, she pulled him in to her, and before he knew it, she'd turned him around and set him on her lap. "I missed you last night, my love."

"Because of--"

"You were not with me, and I admit that the troubles that befall my city have left me frustrated and stressed."

Frustrated and stressed was what Antoinette used to describe Jack, as a precursor to sex. After those words, he'd usually wind up sitting or lying down, and Antoinette would be treating him to some sexual de-stressing.

Message received. He laughed, and turned on her lap. Yeah, she was a foot taller than him, a lean-but-curvy goddess, and he fit pretty damn comfortably on her lap. He nuzzled his head into the groove of her shoulder and neck, undid one of her jacket buttons, and another.

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~~Eric~~

He stared across the river, into the city of concrete and fake light. Behind him was the forest, chirping with crickets and caressing his fur with a breeze smelling of bark and grass and moss.

"I'm dreaming." Easy enough to tell that. He was in his wolf body, sitting on his haunches, and was able to talk without actually moving his mouth.

"Yes, you are," the shining light above said. Above and below, the moon's reflection shimmering in the river.

"Haven't talked to you in a while."

"I have been busy, young Uratha."

"Busy?"

"Do not ask. I am not allowed to speak of it."

Not allowed to speak of it? What sort of things could a moon goddess not talk about?

"Alright."

"You are soon to work with Avery to investigate the tears in Dolareido."

"I am."

"How do you plan to deal with the blood wraiths that guard the tears?"

He shrugged, as much as a wolf could shrug. "You don't know? Seems you've been eavesdropping."

"I... am not omniscient."

"Big of you to admit that."

"My reach is far, and my power vast, Uratha. Or did you think I had not touched this city?"

"Touched the city?"

"Surely you have enjoyed its sexual indulgences."

"You--oh. Us being in better control of our Gauru form. Kinda thought one of the big sex spirits in the city was responsible for that."

The moon shimmered a little more. "I would be lying if I said I did not consult with them. The choir of sexual spirits in Dolareido are powerful."

"A moon spirit colluding with sex spirits to... what, let Uratha fuck more?"

"I need not explain myself to you. But I am happy to know you have been indulging my gift."

He laughed. "Jessy has been, anyway."

"Surely you have as well. The power, the desire, holding her naked body and forcing your immense length into her insides, to--"

"Not going to talk about my sex life with some spirit god that gave me a curse I didn't ask for."

"Curse?"

"Being a werewolf."

"I gave you a gift."

"Uh huh. You knowing I fucking ate someone my first night transformed?"

"I do."

"You think I wanted that?"

"How is your knee, young Uratha?"

He growled as he paced the river shore. "I suppose you think you can do whatever you want. Us humans are just pawns for you fuckers to play with."

"I think you do not understand the game if you think you are but a piece on a chess board." The moon sighed, somehow. "Regardless. How are you, Eric?"

"I... I'm fine."

"Do not lie."

"Alright, better than fine. I'm great. My knee's healed. I'm in the best shape of my life. I got an amazing girlfriend. I make great money. Dad's out of the hospital and happily retired." And probably looking at pictures of his girlfriend's tits. "But I'm also neck deep in life or death shit."

"You were always in danger, Eric. Now you can actually do something about it."

"I still don't know why me. It's not like I'm--"

"No, it's not like you are special. But Dolareido has been at the center of rising events for a while now. Others like me are here, and we're invested in the outcome."

"You mean the tears? And Black Blood?"

Silence.

"Luna, if you know about what's going on, you have to tell me."

"I am bound by the rules, as are the others."

"Others?"

"Continue as you are, and you will learn more, I am sure."

He grumbled and groaned and shook his head. "Why are you here, visiting my dream then, if I'm not important?"

"You represent my presence in this city."

"Do I?"

"You do. Be thankful. It is why I speak to you. I wish to grow my presence in these walls."

"Why?"

Silence, for a moment. But after a few seconds, the breeze in the forest grew to a hard wind, the river rippled under its power, and the distant city went quiet.

Rustling in the bushes. Eric turned around, and froze. A white wolf. The larger wolf crept out from the woods, deep eyes shining with stars of their own as she approached.

It didn't feel like a dream anymore. It felt very real.

"Things are happening in this city, so I touched it with my hand. Enjoy the gifts I have given you," the big scary white wolf said.

"But.... what?"

"I cannot tell you."

"Then why tell me anything?"

"Because I am happy to see the fruits of my labor have helped someone." She came closer before she walked past him, and sat by the river beside him. Close. He was so close to her. And dream or not, he could feel the power radiating from her, like standing in the eye of a hurricane. "Maybe things will be different in this city in the future. Maybe my children will find a little happiness, instead of this endless march to fulfill their father's duty."

"Father?"

"Father Wolf."

Father Wolf, a mythic figure he knew next to nothing about. Except, what Avery had told him, about how his children killed him, and doomed the world to this weird split between physical and material. Sounded like a load of shit to Eric, but a moon goddess was sitting next to him. You could only take denial so far.

"I... see."

"I miss him, you know." The white wolf shook her head and patted the water once with a paw. "And perhaps I made a mistake in my anger. My children have... fought hard, carrying his burden, even the stubborn ones like you."

"I've done his duty?"

"Are you not doing what you can to keep the spirits in Dolareido under control? Sneaking away into the Hisil to kill those you consider problematic?"

"I... I was just helping out my city."

"And that is why I chose you. Not because you are special, but because you consider this city yours, and it is this city that I consider special." Sighing again, she lowered herself until she lay on the river shore. "Maybe my children will find a little respite here."

"Are you, uh, giving the Uratha a break? Like, fifteen-minute break from work, in Dolareido? Cause this is just one city, and it's not like I've been doing this Uratha gig long."

"Perhaps with time, things will be different. Be happy that I am testing what can be done here and now, as my temper has... waned."

"Temper? How long ago did Father Wolf die?"

"Tens of thousands of years. A blink of the eye in the lifespan of Gaia."

That was true. If the Luna spirit really was a spirit form of the moon, however that worked, yeah she'd been around for hundreds of millions of years. And the idea that he was sitting next to her was too damn big to wrap his mind around.

"What... What is Dolareido to you, Luna? What's so special about it?"

"I cannot tell you. But I am sure you will find more on your own."

"But--"

"No more questions. I am not here to indulge your curiosity. I am here to see how you are doing, how you are enjoying my gifts, and to... settle my guilt, I suppose."

"Guilt?"

"It is my will that Uratha are to bound to Urfarah's duty, these... Forsaken children of ours. Perhaps they will not be so forlorn... within Dolareido's walls."

At this point, he gave up asking. Either she didn't answer, or her answers were beyond him.

But she'd made one thing obvious: she felt bad. Guilty about something she'd done thousands of years ago. Sad her, uh, lover was dead. Maybe lonely? The fuck did he know about spirits that were basically gods?

"Mason," he said, "he told me about what happened to him, when he first transformed. Killed and ate a bunch of idiot punks. Then he spent months just wandering around, life ruined. Everything was hard for him. Avery found him, and life got better. But he tells me Dolareido's the best place he's stayed, the only place he's lived in that, as an Uratha, he feels like he can be who he is."

Luna lifted her head, looked at him, nodded in a gesture his wolf brain recognized as a wolf's equivalent of a smile, and set her head back down on the river's edge.

"This city is a respite for more than just Uratha. I hope it stays that way. I hope you all survive."

Well, that was certainly foreboding, and he really wasn't up for more foreboding. Things had been foreboding for far too long, but he knew Luna wouldn't answer his question. She wasn't here for him. She was here for herself, and he was just the closest ear she had.

Who else like her was in Dolareido? As much as someone like her could be 'in' a city. Black Blood? Did they exist on the same level? So many questions, and she was going to leave him in the dark about all of it. And honestly he'd prefer to not know about any of it. Just let him keep doing what he was doing. Don't tease him with information about gods playing games.

Was that so bad? Just let a man enjoy his new werewolf life. Sure it had some shitty parts, and he constantly found himself driven by some sort of instinct, demanding he hunt spirits and look for weird balance problems between the Hisil and Gurihal. But the health, the power, the sex drive, it was all amazing. He was happier than he'd ever been. And now she was hinting that it might all go up in flames.

But there wasn't any point in bitching about it. So, after looking down at the literal god paying his dream a visit, he did the only thing he could do. He lay down beside her, and watched the reflection of the moon in the river, and the reflection of the city lights across the way.

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~~Damien~~

One week later.

Somehow, no one had died yet. It'd gotten close. Jack had been involved in three skirmishes, and had caused serious injury to half a dozen Kindred. Damien had been in one, and had been shot several times. Jessy had been in half a dozen, and had beaten up and been beaten up as many times.

Two buildings had been burned down. Thankfully they were office buildings in North Side. One had been abandoned after the industrial boom, but another hadn't; empty at the time, thank the Lord. The Masquerade was still intact, but burning buildings made the Prince angry. She made that anger felt when she sent the sheriff knocking on their doors. He didn't give an order, barely said a word, but both the Invictus and Carthians got the message: damage to the city was frowned upon.

But Damien doubted Garry or Michael would listen. Maria would. She cared about the city, and the potential to slowly revive the Lancea et Sanctum within it. Michael and Garry did not. Like Jack said, they were dogs, barking at each other over a fence. But unlike most dogs, they were willing to fight and fight hard the moment someone gave them a nudge.

Damien peered through his telescope. He'd moved it to a better position, where he could watch the main street that crossed much of the city. A straight road, peering down its length allowed him to see all the way to the Carthian district. If anything strange happened, he might catch it before it showed up on the news. Might even catch some Carthian activity, and stop a fight.

But he wasn't looking down the streets to watch the Carthians at the moment. Right now, he was adjusting the focus and pointing it at nearby buildings, the tall buildings of the South Side entertainment district, and their enormous windows.

He stepped back, and Fiona stepped in.

"I can see!"

"Remember how to change the focus?"

"Aye! Aye I got it. I... wow. Ye can see everything!"

Nodding, he sat down on the rooftop's raised edge, and looked down below. They were on one of the apartment buildings, shorter than the others, cause it meant the telescope could get a better angle seeing directly into the windows of other buildings. Peeping, obviously, but in Dolareido, people wanted to be peeped on. The windows were massive for more than sight seeing, but also being the sight.

Fiona burst into giggles a second later. She found one.

"Ah, gross! There's an old couple fucking on a sex swing!"

Try as he might, Damien couldn't help but laugh as well. "There's a lot of exhibitionists and whatnot in Dolareido, and they're not limited by age."

She groaned and pretended to vomit, but she was smiling. "I suppose it's cute. The power of viagra!"

"Probably."

She turned the telescope a bit. "This couple is... two lads with little miniatures on a... big table that looks like a... battlefield?"

"You thought every window was going to be a perfect porn display, didn't you?"

"The first one was! If I was eighty!"

Damien rolled his eyes, got behind his girlfriend, and gently nudged the telescope to point toward Jessy's building. "Sixteenth floor, corner room. Jessy's room." Fiona moved her head a second and he doubled checked. "Yeap, that's it."

"Ye know where her apartment is?"

"Through no fault of my own, I promise. But I examine the city regularly, and Jessy had a habit of having sex in front of her window with her four ghouls. An orgy, against a giant window, is kinda hard to miss."

"Ah bugger, blinds are closed now."

"If you wanted to watch her have sex, just ask. She'll give you a video or stream it or something."

She laughed as she stood up and grinned at him. "Ye dinnae mind?"

"Born and raised in a city of sin, and then fifty years hiding in its sewers and tunnels. Pretty desensitized to public sex."

"Aye, but I mean, most lads can get pretty prissy about their girls seeing other lads fucking."

"I guess." He shrugged, and gestured to the telescope. "The Lancea et Sanctum teach humility."

"Ha. Are ye humble?"

"It wouldn't be very humble of me to say I am humble."

"But ye said the... the..." Laughing again, she looked back into the telescope, and scanned nearby buildings. "Ooh, I see something good! Pretty lad, pretty lass." She paused for a moment before she squealed and giggled. "He's fucking her ass!"

Well, he couldn't resist an invite like that. Promptly, he gave Fiona a nice slap on the ass. She jumped up with a squeak, turned around, punched him in the shoulder, blushed, and looked back through the telescope to hunt for more exhibitionists.

"You said you didn't like anal," he said. He hadn't ever prompted her for anal, never asked, but they had talked about the things they liked. Damien barely knew what he liked, but Vrall knew a lot, and Fiona had experimented a heck of a lot in her short life. All behind closed doors with toys, but she knew.

"Aye, but that does nae mean I dinnae want to see some other lass get manhandled and fucked in the butt." She motioned for Damien to come in, and he did.

In the window was what she said, a human fucking another human. The woman was on her knees, and the man was fucking her from behind; the angle made the anal penetration obvious. The brunette with the fake breasts looked out the window, and the pleasure on her face was blatant as she realized people were looking at her. She couldn't see Damien or Fiona, far as they were, but there were dozens of nearby buildings that'd be able to see into the huge window.

"See?" Fiona said, giggling louder as she nudged him out of the way and took the telescope back. "It does nae need to be for me, to look hot."

He decided to not ask about her porn habits. In the modern world, there was plenty of porn for ladies, free porn for anyone with an internet connection, and he was sure Fiona had explored it quite a bit. Dolareido's sex-obsessed aesthetic didn't surprise her much when she arrived.

She moved the telescope again, and giggled as she found someone else to spy on. "Did ye fight any Carthians yet?"

"Yeah, just yesterday. Maria wants me to try and get back the territory Garry took over after she was injured. I did a little inspecting, and got into a fight."

She gasped as she turned around, and grabbed his hand. "Ye dinnae tell me!?"

"I was fine. I shot them a few times, but nothing serious."

Gasp turned into angry frown, and she poked him in the chest. "Ye should still tell me. I'm yer girlfriend, and I... I get worried about ye. Azamel says we should still stay out of the fight, but... but ye're in the fight!"

He reached out, and pulled her into a hug. She struggled a bit, not happy, but a good squeeze soon had her relenting and hugging him back.

"I'll be careful."

"Ye better."

"And if you think there's something you can do to help Jack, by all means, tell him. This isn't Invictus versus the Carthians. It's Jack, trying to save both."

"Aye I know. But Azamel still wants to stay out of it anyway."

Damien wasn't entirely sure about that. According to Jack, she'd changed headspace, and was now trying to leave Dolareido a better place for her family before she died. Commendable, but 'better' probably didn't include vampires as a focus.

He kissed Fiona. She kissed him back. They nuzzled into each other, and he breathed in the smell of her as he slid his hands down her back. Once his fingers got to her jeans, filled by her large ass, he squeezed the softness and earned a small giggle and mewl from her. He--

His phone rang, and he knew the ring. Jack's ring. Lord, do you not have mercy for this poor soul who desperately wants to spend time with his girlfriend?

Fiona sighed and stepped back. "I know I know." Nodding, she grinned playfully, and set her eye to the telescope again.

Damien rolled his eyes, and answered. "Hey Jack."

"Damien. Whatcha doing?"

"Hanging out with Fiona and my telescope."

"Let me guess. She's spying on people."

He chuckled. "It's a large city, with large windows."

"Part of me thinks Antoinette made sure the city was shaped this way, specifically so people would get eyefuls of everything."

A reasonable theory. Dolareido had millions of people living in it, but it wasn't nearly as spread out and sporadic as some cities, like Los Angeles. It was more like Hong Kong, cramped, but with the Las Vegas sexual flair. You couldn't walk anywhere without seeing every carnal sin.

Lucas hated that. To him, kine indulging in sexual pleasure was an insult to God's purity. Now, Damien disagreed, but a part of him could understand why a hyper conservative, volatile, angry man like Lucas would find Dolareido and the Prince's way of things so offensive. A small part.

"Need something, Jack?"

"Yeah. I know this is your day off, but--"

"We get days off?"

Jack laughed. "Good point. Can you get up here? North Side, Tanvar building."

"Your detail?"

"Yeah. Mulder and Scully are reporting some activity. I need some eyes that can get closer."

Damien closed his mouth and looked to Fiona. She glared at him. "I... I'll be there."

"Thanks. Tell Fiona please don't hate me."

"She won't hate you." He offered Fiona a small smile, but all he got was glares. "She will be angry though."

"Welp, can't help that. Thanks."

"No problem." He hung up, and winced as he tried to smile some more for Fiona. "I have to go."

"We're on a date!"

"Jack thinks the Carthians are going to attack the Tanvar building again."

"Get Jessy to--"

"She's busy patrolling the border. There's been more skirmishes there lately, more brawls. A couple Invictus nearly died."