The Fallen Vampire

In the dead of night, a small group could be seen treading up a snowy mountain slope.

Two of the women were extremely recognizable underneath their billowing cloaks.

One was the grizzled, yet beautiful Queen of beast fallen, while the other was the icy and charming ruler of the undead.

At their back, the small group of Leopold and his daughters, Kohaku and Kuro were acting as bodyguards for the highly esteemed duo.

"I am growing more and more tired of this trek as the time passes by. Why would my Besto Friendo choose to live in such a faraway location?" Aja complained.

"Perhaps his goal was to hide away from you. I don't know that there would be a better place for it than this mountain." Ayame snipped.

Aja remained largely unfazed by the werewolf's cruel comments.

She knew her friend was a bit on the cold side, but he enjoyed her company. No one could tell her differently.

"Pardon me, my queen." Kohaku suddenly bowed. "May I ask why we have ceased all flight? It would have made the journey much faster."

"Naturally I'm aware of that, but look around." Ayame gestured to the budding snowstorm that was slowly picking up all around them before they even knew it.

It was building quickly. Unnaturally so.

"An array formation.." Leopold realized.

Arrays are complex magical spells that are cast on specific places and have a continuous time of effect.

They can be broken, but depending on the complexity and meticulousness of how they were drawn, they can take hours, weeks, or days to bring down successfully.

Ayame nodded as she pulled her hood over her head.

"That's right. Installed by our very own handsome kitsune around fifteen years ago. If we try to rush through here, we'll get turned right back around."

"I see… how grand." Leopold muttered in amazement.

Ayame paused momentarily and gave her three bodyguards a fair warning.

"I'm just telling you now, but you'll have to wait outside while Aja and I meet with him. I can't imagine that the habitual shut-in would enjoy uninvited guests coming into his family home."

"We understand, My Queen." Leopold bowed. "My daughters and I take no offense."

Ayame nodded and returned her gaze to the path forward.

"Alright… Let's go see if that handsome man is in the mood for company… Well, even if he's not, he's out of time."

The group resumed their journey towards a hidden cave just under the peak of the mountain.

Approximately forty-five minutes into their journey, they noticed a disturbance on the mountain.

A lone man was surrounded by a pack of deep red direwolves.

Each of them looked ferocious and starving, and yet the man remained as cool as a frozen cucumber.

He was an elderly human man with a shiny bald head and wearing a set of elaborate dark robes.

He wielded a shining staff with a set of golden rings fastened at the top.

Though he stood still, he was projecting a rather fierce and intense aura that could not be easily replicated.

But miraculously, all of that energy he was producing suddenly dissipated.

The kicker was when a set of wolves ran up to Ayame and Aja; recognizing their scents and losing their hostility, which in turn was translated to the rest of the pack.

Aja's eye briefly glowed yellow. The wolf who ran up to her had it's eyes glow red.

It sat in front of her and Ayame gave the good boy a good petting. Eliminating all hostility in seconds.

"Wow… I've never seen you be so tender with… anything now that I think about it." Aja rubbed her chin.

"Shut it, lich."

Ayame reassumed her cold and authoritarian look as she glanced at the only other stranger on the mountain.

"Who are you? Why have you come to this place?"

The old man held his hand up to his chest and smiled warmly in greeting.

"Namaste, new friends. Are you too seeking a little lady who makes her abode on this mountain?"

-

Inside the sect, the festivities showed little to no signs of slowing down.

Except for the humans that is.

The lot of them had found a bench and ended up sitting on it together.

Within a minute's time, the six of them were slouched over each other like dominoes.

Jordan and Corey were the only ones still fighting their sleep using all of their newly acquired focus and concentration.

"You seem like you're about to fall asleep." Corey poked.

"Whatttt…? No, I'm just… resting my eyes for a bit."

Corey watched Jordan struggle to keep her head up for a few seconds before her head inevitably fell on his shoulder.

Now, the young man was wide awake.

His heart was beating so loudly that he was worried Jordan was going to hear it and wake up- thus ending this tender moment.

This was the greatest day of his life!

So what if he had almost died more times than he could count??

Who cared if every muscle and bone in his body was screaming at him with unimaginable resentment?!

This was what it was all for!

His spring of youth had finally come!!

While Corey was busy smiling like an idiot, he missed the sight of a small rat moving above his head.

The adorable creature soon vanished from his perch teleported to another part of the sect entirely.

Taira reappeared in the kitchen inside of his very own home.

He quickly grabbed a small tray of mochi from the ice box and prepared to return upstairs when he realized he'd been caught.

Aveena and Keran lit the candles around the room; instantly illuminating the space.

There, he could see the two women leaning side-by-side against the doorway; both wearing all-knowing looks and very thin robes.

"We said that we would let them have their fun and not spy on them." Keran reminded.

"… I wasn't trying to be overbearing. I merely wanted to see how those six were mixing with the others."

"How is it going?" Aveena asked, equally curious.

"They still have a tendency to stay to each other…. But perhaps they are just too tired from their training to properly socialize."

"I can imagine that."

Keran sauntered up to her husband and removed the tray of sweets from his hands.

"I understand that you have your concerns about our members, but they can find their footing on their own. Their Dai-Shi cannot help them with everything."

Keran slowly reached for her waist and untied her robe.

She let the fabric fall to the floor seductively as she started to reach for his clothes as well.

"For the next two days, I would like it if you didn't concern yourself with any cult business. It's been a while since we all got to spend time together, as one, thinking of nothing but our love and pleasure. I miss that."

Keran used one of her tails and reached across the room for Aveena.

She pulled her towards the two of them and began undressing them both with her hands and tails.

Though she was considered the 'good' variant of fox spirit, Keran's touch was every bit as dangerously enticing as Taira's was.

The subtle gliding of her hands over their skin.

The natural sweet scent her body produced to rouse their lust.

It was all so intoxicating that Taira and Aveena were practically brought to their knees.

That is, until their bodies suddenly stiffened, and they began to look at Keran with an apologetic look that she recognized all too well.

"…Don't say it."

""…Your mother is he-""

"FUCK!"