Blood of The Rose

Chapter 38: Slumber Party

Downtown LA

The Last Round

The side street in downtown LA was much like any other that could be found in the bustling metropolis. Only a few homeless folk shuffled about, pushing aside discarded newspapers and other detritus on the sidewalks, though they were at times joined briefly by a rowdy gang member or two moving through to attend to their own business. There were no cars on the road, but traffic from the nearby overpass made a steady audible backdrop to the scene, dimly lit by several sputtering streetlights. In short, the perfect location for a bar that only wanted to be found by the right kind of people.

The night was shattered by the heavy industrial beat of Mayhem by Halestorm which was cut off just as quickly once the front door to the bar closed again. Two girls were left standing curbside, one petite and brunette, while the other was a lean and muscular blonde, with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and a leather overcoat settled about her shoulders.

"Sooo…" Ruby drawled uncertainly. "Now that you got your stuff to kick ass tomorrow night… We're gonna go look for this Muddy guy, right?"

"That's the plan," Yang nodded confidently. "Oh, what was it you needed to talk to Damsel about?"

The brunette shrugged. "Just to follow-up on the whole plaguebearer thing." She'd asked to speak with the Anarch Kindred only to be told she was 'working'. "I don't think Skelter likes me very much yet."

"Give 'em time. He can be a bastard, but once you get on his good side, you'll stay there." Her blonde sister chuckled lightly before peering along the street. "So, the phone message said it's across the way from here… That warehouse is all bricked up, we check on that every now n' then to make sure nobody's got a spot to stake out our bar… Maybe down the alleyway there?"

Ruby gave a brief nod, seeing where the other Kindred was indicating. "Yeah, there's a little building down there, I see it. Might as well check it out, yeah?"

The pair headed out, heads on a swivel as they searched for any sort of threat or sign of the targets they were hunting. Just as they reached the entrance to the side alley, however, Ruby's step made a squish sound, stopping her in her tracks.

"Son of a cuntmuffin," the brunette fledgling groaned. "These were new shoes!"

"Yeah, you really stepped in it now."

Ruby paused in her action of scraping the feces, human or otherwise, off on the building corner to give her sister a glare. "Really?"

Yang just grinned back unrepentantly. "I mean, I know shit happens and all, but…"

The groan that came from the brunette was more agonized than anything now. "Bite me."

"Y'know, that has a whole new meaning now, Rubbles…"

"I swear to kittens, Yang, I'm gonna wipe this off on you if you keep it up."

"Kittens?" the blonde deadpanned. "Really?"

When Ruby raised her foot threateningly, the other fledgling skipped nimbly back with a laugh. "Hey, keep your shit to yourself!"

"You're gonna be in shit if you don't cut your shit out!"

"Well, that's a pretty shit attitude."

Narrowing her eyes, Ruby began to stalk forward, only to come to a halt at Yang's upraised hand.

"We're on a job," the blonde reminded her, though her lilac eyes sparkled with humor still. "Remember?"

"Yeah, yeah… Just you wait, though, I'm gonna get you back for those noogies you used to give me…" She found a muddy puddle which sufficed to more-or-less clean her shoe off the rest of the way, leaving it a bit dirtied and wet but far less smelly.

"You were, what, five?" Yang exclaimed incredulously. "Are you still holdin' a grudge about that?"

Ruby snorted as they walked shoulder-to-shoulder towards what looked to be an abandoned storage building, illuminated by a single streetlamp. "One day, Yang… revenge will be mine..."

They shared a glance before giggling quietly at each other's antics. Ruby couldn't help feeling something warm inside her that'd been missing for far too long.

With her sister back at her side, she felt like she could take on the world, now.

The pair of Kindred paused in front of the nondescript building. It was smaller than a warehouse with a small flight of concrete steps leading up to a rusted metal doorway. One of the many homeless folk, clad in a wooly winter coat and rags, limped past them listlessly.

Ruby went up first, testing the handle to find it unlocked. Looking over her shoulder, the sisters exchanged reassuring nods before she pushed it open with a low creak.

Inside was a foyer bordered by brick and bare wooden walls with one open doorway to the right. Past that, the derelict nature of the building was quickly made more obvious once they stepped further inside. An oil drum in the middle of the area had an incongruously cheerful fire burning within and illuminating what had been a two-story building before it fell into ruin.

But the flickering light showcased a rather macabre sight that the vampires' eyes were immediately drawn to. Impaled upon the jutting rebar supports for the partially-collapsed second floor was a headless male corpse. Blood still dripped down to mingle with the trash and refuse of past squatters. One of those still seemed to be in evidence, curled up in a nearby corner and mumbling incoherently to himself while rocking back and forth, arms crossed over his head.

Yang carefully reached out to the man while Ruby gazed at the corpse, enraptured by the sheer brutality of it all. Her reverie was broken by a sharp hiss of reprimand from her sister, snapping her attention back to the sole survivor who now gazed up at them with wide, haunted eyes.

"D-d-d-did you see it?" he stammered fearfully.

"The headless corpse?" Yang quirked a half-smile. "It's kinda hard to miss."

The homeless man nodded, terror-filled eyes flickering about. "He done tore his head right off. Right in two. Ripped him 'part like a rag doll."

"It'll be okay, mister," Ruby interjected soothingly. "Can you tell us what you saw?"

He nodded once again, curling up into himself as he relived the recent memory. "These two guys - the dead guy and the other'n - uh, they showed up. I been living here so I hid, I thought maybe they was owners or… or cops come to clean the place out."

Yang nodded, keeping her distance so as not to spook the elderly man. "And the other guy?"

"Uh… the dead feller, he called him 'Muddy'."

Yang shot a quick look at Ruby before prompting for more. "So… this dead guy and Muddy, what were they doing here?"

"Well, they was waitin' on someone. They was gonna do some kind of job they was sayin'. But the person they was meetin', he was late, so - the one guy leaves to find a phone and call him and the dead guy stayed. Well, that's when the killer… yeah, that's when he... showed up."

The sisters shared another glance at the significant emphasis the homeless man placed on the last two words. "Showed up?"

The man kept nodding, this time a bit more frantically. "One second he wa'n't there an' then he was, like out of the shadows he come up. Scared the shit outta t' dead guy. I liked ta scream but I couldn't breathe."

"Then what happened?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Oh, that killer, he grew these claws… I swear it, I saw it. The dead guy went white like he seen the devil, then the killer grabbed him around the neck an' lifted him up and started cursin' at the guy."

"What did he say?"

"Oh, I- I couldn't hear too good. Somethin' about revenge for what he did or what they did. Th- the killer made sure the dead guy knew who he was, and then ripped into him… uh, just tore him apart. He did it real slow, made the guy scream 'fore he didn't have a neck anymore."

Yang smiled gently at the homeless man. "You know… Kind of story like that, if you tell anyone else, they'll lock you up forever. You should just leave now and forget all about it."

With one more frantic nod, he scrambled to his feet. "Okay... okay, I will. I don't want never to think about that again."

The sisters remained silent until after he'd darted out the door, slamming it behind him.

"Well, that was a thing," Yang commented.

With a noncommittal grunt, Ruby started to pace the perimeter of the building while Yang poked around in the blood-soaked trash below the corpse's feet, kicking aside the disembodied head. Eventually, Ruby let out an exultant cry, holding aloft the passkey she'd found labeled with the name of a hotel.

"Luckee Star Hotel, huh? Yeah, that's up in Hollywood," Yang confirmed, "Bit of a trek but we could follow up there later."

Unable to find much else of use, the sisters departed, heading back down the street and towards the apartment once again.

"Kind of a bust, huh?" Ruby mused, turning the key over in her hand. It had no room number on it, just the hotel's name and logo. "Woulda been nice to actually catch up with our friend Muddy, instead we just got another dead guy who can't even tell us where he went."

"Eh, don't worry too much about it," Yang stated cheerfully. "This kinda work doesn't always pay off right away, sometimes you gotta track a target for a few nights. We'll catch up to him eventually."

As they sauntered along the sidewalk, Yang pulled out her phone and dialed Kilpatrick to give him an update. The brunette fledgling tuned out the conversation as she dug her hands into her hoodie pockets.

Still a lot goin' on, but maybe things are a bit more settled… I got Yang back in my life, and we're making friends with Blake… And Weiss is still helping me lots, she's like my best friend now, for real, even though I tease her about it some… Her gaze swept around the neighborhood, noting that they were passing close to La Croix's tower. Maybe I can manage to make it in this… this existence… I'm always gonna suck a bit at being a vampire and all, dunno how I'm ever gonna be a proper Ventrue… But with Weiss and Yang and Blake…

Her eyes widened as she pulled to a halt, the words of a thin-blooded woman running through her head like a runaway freight train.

"Who can I trust…?" she murmured to herself. "The man on the couch. The smiling one. The queen of ice. The one who is only half yours. The lone wolf. The anxious cat."

"You say somethin', Rubes?" her sister inquired as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. She'd stopped a few paces ahead, looking back inquisitively.

"Oh, nothing, just… thinking," she replied easily, skipping forward to catch up. Already figured the man on the couch was Mercurio, Jack's the smiling one, and Weiss is the queen of ice… What if, the one who is half mine… Could be Yang, we're half-sisters, that would make sense… And then Beckett would be the likeliest for the lone wolf...

As they reached the Skyline Apartments building, Ruby frowned absentmindedly. But who is the anxious cat?

They passed through the lobby, giving the guard there a smile, though Yang's was a bit more flirtatious, and then took the elevator up to the fourth floor. The brunette dug out her new key and used it to open the door to her Haven, grinning widely as she crossed the threshold. Nice having a better-looking Haven to come back to.

"Honey, we're home!" Yang called out cheerfully, closing the door behind her.

"Did you have fun?" Weiss inquired with a small smirk from where she perched on the couch in the same location they'd left her. "Any felonies added to your list? A bar brawl, perhaps?"

The blonde laughed as she launched herself onto the couch in between the platinum-haired fledgling and a rather startled Blake. "Nah, we get in a bar brawl I'm definitely bringing you with me, Ice Queen."

"Too kind of you," Weiss drawled back. She spared a smile towards Ruby as the brunette went to flop on the unoccupied couch, kicking her shoes off before putting her feet up. "Welcome home, Ruby."

"Thanks, Weiss!" she chirped back. "And hey, Blake, you finished drooling over the fishies?"

The raven-haired Gangrel chuckled awkwardly, rubbing her forearms. She'd notably turned so that her back was to the wall aquarium. "Er, yes… they're a bit… distracting."

"We talked some about that," Weiss interjected calmly. "Blake, do you want to tell them?"

Ruby sat up as the other Kindred answered with a slow nod, nervously twisting her hands in her lap. "Well… I'm not sure how much you know about… my line…"

"Not much of anything, really," Ruby answered seriously. "But, y'know, this whole thing is new to me…"

Yang shrugged as she turned to face Blake and give her her full attention. "I've known a few Gangrels, but they mostly keep to themselves. Good fighters, pretty damn fierce."

"Mmm." Blake let out a soft sigh, her amber gaze focused on her lap. "We are… very attuned to the spiritual aspect of the Beast. Depending on the specific bloodline, from what Beckett has told me, some of us… have a particular animal that we tend to… favor. The more powerful of us can actually turn into such a beast."

"And Beckett's is a wolf," Ruby breathed as understanding lit up her face.

"Indeed. My line seems to be rather powerful as well, though I wasn't given any sort of… instruction… from my sire." Glowing amber eyes flickered up to regard each Kindred listening to her. "My animal… is a panther."

"I knew it!" Ruby squealed suddenly, making the unfortunate Gangrel jump slightly. "I knew I saw a big cat with that wolf! I toldya, didn't I, Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby, you did," the other fledgling sighed affectionately. "May we allow Blake to continue?"

"Whoops, sorry, Blakey!" The brunette ducked her head in apology. "Go ahead!"

"Er, yes, well... " Blake cleared her throat. "One of the… side effects of a Gangrel becoming… feral... as I was for so many years can be… erm…"

"Gangrels can develop some physical traits of the animal spirit they favor," Weiss explained when she sensed Blake was foundering slightly. "If, as she says, they spend too long in a feral state, or frenzy too often."

"Huh, no kiddin'?" Yang mused, eyeing the raven-haired vampire sitting next to her. "And I figure you're telling us this 'cause…?"

With a sigh, Blake reached up to undo her bow, giving the tufted ears atop her head a flick.

"Because I have these," she stated softly, eyes downcast once more.

While Yang might have been a bit surprised, that did not stop her or the other two Kindred sharing the couch with her to glance over at the source of a quiet but high-pitched squealing.

Ruby was perched on the edge of her seat, vibrating in place as she clasped her hands under her chin.

"Ohmygodyou'reacatgirl!" she finally exclaimed.

Blake blinked her eyes at the brunette, nonplussed. "I'm a… what?"

"A catgirl! Omigod omigod omigod…"

"Down, Rubes," Yang laughed.

Ruby covered her mouth to halt her babbling, but it only lasted a few seconds. "Can I pet them?"

"I…" Blake looked around at the other two vampires, both of whom gave her helpless shrugs. "I suppose?"

With another squeal, Ruby launched herself across the living room, halting herself at the last moment so that she wouldn't bowl her new friend over. Ever so gently, in contrast to her earlier manic behavior, the brunette rubbed the feline ears with her fingertips, admiring the softness of them. When one of them gave another involuntary flick, she giggled, continuing her ministrations. As she did so, however, her eyes widened suddenly with a realization.

The anxious cat, it's gotta be Blake, then!

"Well," Weiss commented slowly. "I wasn't quite expecting that reaction."

"Hey, Blake…" The blonde Kindred gave the confused Gangrel a reassuring smile. "You know you can tell her to leave you alone, right?"

"N- No, it's… quite alright…"

"So you got two sets of ears?"

"Mmm." Blake nodded slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth from the cooing now coming from the overenthusiastic brunette. "They help me hear a little better, I think, though I don't remember really what it was like without them…"

She trailed off at a series of rapid knocks on the front door. Four sets of eyes swiveled over to view the closed portal.

"Are we expecting anyone?" Weiss murmured.

"Not that I know of," Yang returned slowly.

"Should I go answer that?"

"Gaah!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping back in surprise at the voice that had spoken up from behind her. "H- Heather! Oh, um… sorry, I forgot you were… Wait, where have you been?"

"In the kitchen," the tall redheaded ghoul explained, gesturing with a hesitant hand behind her. "Cleaning. Um… Should I…?"

"Nope, no, you just, uhhh…" Ruby looked around helplessly as Blake quickly re-tied the ribbon around her ears. "Yeah, just, go back to what you were doing, I'll… get the door."

With a huff, Ruby turned and stalked over towards the front of the apartment, her socks making her approach relatively noiseless. Until, of course, she brushed up against the endtable, almost knocking over the lamp. With a clatter, she righted it with an exasperated sigh and returned to her intended target.

"Um… who's there?" she asked through the closed door.

When only silence answered her, Yang let out an amused snort. "Rubbles, there's a peephole."

"Oh, yeah… Um, okay, so I can barely see out but I can't… Oh, wait… I think there's maybe someone…?"

"Oh for the love of…" Weiss let out an aggravated sigh as she walked up. "Just open the door, Ruby."

"But-"

With an arched eyebrow, the platinum-haired Kindred indicated the rapier now held in her hand.

"Ok, then…" The brunette undid the lock, pulling the door open to reveal a diminutive, widely-grinning vampire with heterochromatic eyes and mismatched hair.

"Neo?"

Blake looked around curiously at the other three Kindred who had made the simultaneous exclamation. She leaned over towards Yang. "Er… who is this Neo? And should I be worried?"

"Neo is… well…" The blonde watched the elder vampire cautiously as she strolled in, parasol hung casually from her wrist and glancing about the Haven with interest. "She's old… Jeanette's childe, and a Malk…"

Weiss slowly lowered herself back onto the couch, her pale blue eyes never leaving the smaller woman. "Neo is a bit of a mystery," she whispered. "Most of us tend to avoid her, as she can be a bit… unsettling."

"Hey, Neo," Ruby began after closing the door once more. "Um… how have you been?"

The small Kindred turned and graced the brunette with a brilliant, fanged smile, giving her a gracious nod.

"Oh, that's good… And Roman, he's doing ok?"

Another nod.

"Cool, that's cool... " She glanced over towards the couch. "Um, I didn't realize you were Jeanette's, um, childe… Guess you heard about what happened earlier with Therese, huh?"

Again Neo nodded, but this time she skipped forward to wrap Ruby up in an unexpected hug. All four of the other Kindred froze at the action, though Ruby eventually returned the hug with only a trace of awkwardness.

"Um… you're welcome, I guess? If that's what that was?"

The Malkavian leaned back, giving another nod and a smile before returning to her perusal of Ruby's Haven.

"Okay, then…" Ruby walked back over to the couch and sat, rubbing the back of her neck and chuckling. She smirked at the look the others were giving her. "What?"

"I… you…" Yang shook her head slowly.

Weiss shifted in her seat uneasily. "How do you know her, Ruby?"

"Oh, y'know… we've met a couple of times…" Ruby chuckled, though she did keep an eye on the mute vampire. "She seems friendly enough."

"Uh-huh." The blonde cleared her throat. "So she just… showed up to hang out?"

At that, Neo turned from her inspection of a particular piece of artwork, holding one dainty hand over her mouth in a silent giggle. Heterochromatic eyes twinkling merrily, she swept her hands around to encompass the four seated vampires, including Blake, and then gave a deep bow before sauntering up the stairs.

Ruby turned back to the others. "Yep, guess so. With all of us, apparently."

"I don't even know her," Blake commented, perplexed. "How does she know me?"

The brunette opened her mouth to reply but closed it with a small eep when Heather suddenly loomed over her, brow creased in concern. "Is she a vampire as well, Master?"

"Uhhh…" Ruby stared back blankly. "Yes, she is. And don't call me Master."

"S- Sorry," the lanky redhead stammered. "I thought m- maybe it'd be appropriate…"

"Well, it's not. Please." The young fledgling shifted uncomfortably. "Just Ruby is fine, ok?"

"Very well."

"Not to interrupt," Weiss started, earning her a grateful smile from Ruby. "It is, however, getting towards sunup."

"Oh, shoot, is it? Wow, I completely lost track of time…"

"I should get going, then," Blake interjected hurriedly as she stood. "Perhaps there is one of those, er, cabs nearby I can use?"

"Wait wait wait, hold up," the brunette implored, hands raised as Yang had gotten to her feet as well. "Why go anywhere? I mean…" She gestured around her. "It's a big place, you guys have keys and all, it's as much yours as mine, okay?"

"Truly?" the raven-haired vampire breathed, a pleased smile growing across her face. "That… would be wonderful. Thank you, Ruby."

Both Yang and Weiss agreed to stay as well and took their time staking out sleeping areas. The blonde Kindred was fine with the couch, stating it beat a bathtub any night, while Blake gratefully took the oversized futon chair up in the loft. Ruby left her there, curled up comfortably, with the assurance that the Gangrel quite liked the plants up there.

Weiss and Ruby stood inside the bedroom, sharing a grin at the much larger queen-sized bed. "Well, this is a nice change," the platinum-haired girl stated, running her hands along the sheets.

"It's a lot bigger," Ruby agreed. "Shall we?"

Soon enough both fledglings were in their nightclothes and in bed. They could easily lie on their backs without even touching each other.

"Beats Santa Monica," the brunette laughed.

"Indeed… Er, Ruby?"

"Hmm?" She glanced at Weiss, only to have her attention directed towards the doorway. "Ahh! Uh, hey, Neo, sorry… almost forgot about you, eh-heh… D'you wanna, um, stay here too?"

The petite vampire clapped her hands together excitedly. She quickly shod her shoes and jacket before jumping into the bed, immediately glomping into Ruby's side.

"Uhhh… Y- Yeah, sure, we can share the bed…"

"I must say, Neo," Weiss began hesitantly. "Your behavior tonight is quite unlike your, er, reputation."

With a silent giggle, Neo popped her head up over Ruby's side, blinking her eyes and causing the colors to shift before lying back down again on the brunette's shoulder. While the sensation was definitely new, perhaps a bit odd, even, Ruby didn't really mind overmuch. And while she knew she should be cautious of the Kindred currently snuggled into her, something was telling her that for this night, at least, she didn't have anything to worry about.

Of course, the new sunset might prove an entirely different case.

She could sense it was getting close to the time that her consciousness would leave her for the day. However, before she could comment on such, a soft clearing of a throat sounded at the doorway.

"May I rest as well?" Heather asked hesitantly. "It's… been a long night."

Ruby let out a small sigh, trying very hard not to let her uncomfortable frustration show when dealing with her ghoul. She didn't ask for this, it's not her fault… "Yeah, why not," she conceded. "It's a big bed."

Grinning widely, Neo proceeded to climb over Ruby to insert herself in between the two fledglings, wiggling around until she was tucked into Ruby's other side but still pressed up against Weiss. Heather stepped in and lay down right on the edge of the bed with her back to the Kindred women, close enough that Ruby could feel her body heat but still not be touching.

Rolling her eyes, Ruby reached over to scoot Heather further in. "Don't fall off," the brunette murmured.

Weiss shifted a bit but was unable to comfortably rest without Neo leaning against her side. "Should have gotten a Haven with more rooms," she grumbled without any heat.

"Alright, girls!" Yang called up the stairs. "You be good now and use protection!"

"Bite me, Yang!" Ruby yelled back irritably.

Her sister laughed uproariously at that. "Like I said before, that has a whole new meaning now, Rubbles!"

"For god's sake, is the sun up yet?' Blake called out wearily.

"Mercifully, almost," Weiss snorted.

Heather chuckled a bit warily at the interaction, evidently still a little nervous around so many vampires. "What an odd group you all are."

Ruby nodded sleepily as she felt the sun begin to crest. "Yup, kinda like family…"

A/N: Neo cuddles are best cuddles. Just so long as you don't end up shivved the next evening… As SilvanaCrowe so eloquently puts it: "Always got to be wary of cute, tiny, and/or quiet. And Neo is all of the above, plus a healthy dose of nuttier-than-an-almond-orchard-during-harvest-time."

So as a little side project, I posted up a glossary of terms for this story over on AO3, take a peek and let me know if there are any others you'd like to see added:

archiveofourown dot org / works / 13325517

Much love for my fabulous Beta and collaborator, SilvanaCrowe, and hugs to all of you wonderful readers and reviewers! Sani2341, RealTerminal, SuspectNutria, FourNails1341, kinigget, Knight of Everwatch, zerosabers, Blacsparrow, Erenor, it was great to hear from you all again, and welcome to the new readers!

Stay shiny!