Bleeding Out

He was coated from head to toe in the blood of his feast, his stomach almost feeling that it might burst from the seams, and yet still as empty and starving as though he hadn’t so much as seen a bite to eat in months. It was always the worst part of his affliction; satisfaction was so close, and yet the moment he reached it, it was torn from his grasp and dangled just out of reach. Nothing in any world would change that, but as unfortunate as his life had become, he couldn’t deny that his frenzy had improved his condition. Now, instead of literally being on the cusp of starving to death, he was only forced to deal with a phantom feeling of the disease. 

It wasn’t perfect by any means, but such was life.

His satiation was, however, slightly impeded by his environment. The oh-so-inviting stench of death and blood and fear, the electric presence of chaos… all of it bombarded his senses and battered against a more predatory part of him. That instinctual side of him would’ve liked nothing more than to tear through the rest of the building, devouring all of its inhabitants and laying waste to anything he couldn’t stuff down his throat. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a viable option, and so instead of giving in he sat uncomfortably while he was reminded of the demon’s presence. Something about her lustful appreciation of his kills made him feel… uncomfortable. 

After a moment’s hesitation, he finally answered. “It was… good, yeah,” he said, a guarded expression working its way onto his face. “I won’t need to feed again for another week or so, I don’t think.” If he played his cards right and was able to gorge himself on animal flesh, he might even be able to sustain himself for longer. Not that it was likely, given how easily his instincts managed to take hold of him. After all, he’d only meant to eat one or two of the humans Shuten had provided… not the near dozen he’d consumed. “When did you say you wanted payment?”

The demon was still riding off her high from Jack’s feeding. She sat down a little more comfortably in front of him, still looking over his bloodied appearance. It was.... it was something else for her. To see a wendigo feed in such a frenzied manner. Shuten hummed softly before nodding lightly. “You’re welcome to come by again if you’d like... It was truly an experience watching you...” she murmured lowly.

Tapping her lips, the demon gave Jack a rather crooked smile. “Well, I did say you owed me a kiss. Isn’t it fair that I get one at least before you leave? Just for... feeding you. After all, you don’t even have to clean this mess up,” she remarked, gesturing towards the torn cages and blood splatters on the floor and walls. “Just a simple one. I won’t ask for it again.”

“I’ll let you know when I’m going hunting though, so you’ll come along. That was our agreement, yes?” Shuten reminded, her eyes flickering with something dangerous behind them. If anything, she hated nothing more than being cheated out of her deals. And she thought she gave Jack a rather generous offer, given that she was giving up a wendigo for her collection.

Dante pursed his lips as he glanced at her, he was uncomfortable. It would have been evident to anyone but he managed to keep himself in control. “It’ll be uh, 350.” He informed the woman after examining the paper and what she requested. “Very intricate piece.” He commented, it seemed fitting, moving behind the desk. “Card or cash?” Smiling at her as he asked.

“Card,” Shuten said with a flick of her hair as she slid one of her credit cards to Dante, her fingernails gracefully clicking along the counter top. “I’m a lady with style, sweetheart. Wouldn’t be me if it wasn’t beautiful,” she sighed before glancing around the store. “So, are you going to build it for me? Or is someone else going to?”

Dante smiled at the all too familiar woman, how could he forget her? She made quite the impression. He honestly had no idea how to be around her, she made him uneasy. Sure, she was beautiful but something about her was off and he didn’t know what or where it came from.  What he did know was that he was edge when she was around, yet he managed to be kind. “Seems like the tables have turned.” He managed a smile. “Just need the half down to start it, we can collect the rest when you pick up. It’s just procall.” He informed her. 

Shuten leaned on the counter top as she watched Dante curiously. She smiled before nodding slowly. “Seems like they have...” she chuckle, idly drumming her fingers along the top of the counter. “So, tell me how much then,” the demon mused. “Do I get to pick you up too when I come back later? And here I was thinking that I wasn’t your type. Yet, you do want me to come back!” 

“i’ve been told that i’m full of surprises.” he rolled his shoulders into a nonchalant shrug, yet an amused expression was still written across his face. strolling down the hall filled with fresh meat hung everywhere mingled with the smell of fresh blood caused ace to close his eyes for a second as he inhaled rather deeply. his attention was fixed on the inviting smell of blood that he didn’t quite pay attention to the woman that was leading the way, needless to say, he was lost in his thoughts for a bit. 

opening up his eyes once again, he watched around only to snort at her question. boy was this exciting. he was good at that, luring people into sleeping with him and acting like total strangers the morning after. and this woman seemed to know just how to play his games. “mhmm. i’ve been told. i guess that’s why i’m called ace, you know. just so fuckin’ good at fuck– everything. i meant everything. whoops.” holding up his hands as if to surrender, he smirked mischievously. 

“you’re a skilled hunter, then? i would have never thought so based from judgements from your pretty face.” leaning closer to her, he raised a hand to gently stroke her cheek with the back of his hand, eyes watching her closely. “you’re oh so very interesting, miss. ah– you have more secrets? then i guess i’m ready to pay for any price that awaits. take me on an adventure.” 

"Only boring people have to convince others that they’re surprising,” Shuten retorted with a rather teasing grin. She continued leading Ace through the second freezer, smiling to herself as he remarked of his interest for more of her secrets. She was more than willing to indulge the pretty man, if it meant her having her way with him. “Don’t tell me you’re all talk...”

Shuten laughed lightly at Ace, amused at the way he was playing along with her game. “Ah, what a clever name... I’m certain you’re good at everything, but I’m a more hands-on sort of girl. Why believe what you’ve been told when you can experience it first hand? That’s the only way you can really know,” she chuckled, leaning in as well as Ace stroked her cheek. Shuten paused before pulling away, stopping at the darkest section of the freezer. Flicking on the light, the demon turned, staring down Ace with an amused gaze as cages and cages appeared before them.

The cages were filled with all sorts of beasts. Species from Soulmeria, from completely other realms, things unseen before. There were plenty of supernatural creatures, but even more so rows and rows of humans, all bound up and restrained in separate cages. Trailing one hand along a row of these cages, Shuten kept her gaze fixated on Ace. “I’m a bit of a collector, you see. I hunt what I want and I collect what I like. Everything else is simply disposable,” she said with a soft sigh. “So, tell me, Ace, what’s the price you’re willing to pay? Is there something in here that fits your fancy, or do I have something special before my eyes that I have to add to my collection?”

“Right, so it usually takes about a month for us to make it and then we usually give you a call once it is done, but I do need half down to start the order.” Dante smiled at the client. Sometimes owning the only furniture store in Bright Haven was a pain but his family had never suffered from money issues because of that. 

“Oh? Already trying to take money from me? And we haven’t even gone out for dinner yet,” Shuten teased as she smiled back at Dante. If she were completely honest, she had no need for the furniture. It wasn’t lavish, it wasn’t spectacular. It hardly fit her own home’s decor. But it was more than enough for her to track down that gorgeous man she saw in her shop the other day and flirt with him until he was uncomfortable. That was rewarding.

The horrible paradox of his condition meant that the more flesh he consumed, the more he gave into his grotesque cravings, the worse his frenzy became. The human he’d pulled from another of the cages was stripped down to their bones in minutes, blood and bits of gore staining everything around him. Less than half a minute after he’d revealed the clean, pale bones beneath their flesh, even they were reduced to nothing, leaving him just as unsatisfied as he’d been before he’d sunk his teeth into their neck. It took more than two bodies to even begin to quell his bloodlust, and for once he didn’t have to worry about holding back.

There were more than enough bodies to spare.

A buzz of strange, demonic energy seemed to saturate the air around him, but with his mind deep in the grips of his hunger, he couldn’t do anything but briefly acknowledge its presence. Tearing another body from a nearby cage, he tore into them like a madman, his helpless victim given only a split second to protest before they were permanently quieted—and then devoured with such haste that any other living creature would have choked. But a wendigo was incapable of slowing down, and his spiritual disease kept his throat from obstruction. Feeding was the reason for his existence, and nothing so simple could keep him from swallowing his prey.

Jack felt his skin grow tight and uncomfortable, the beast locked behind his flesh practically begging for a chance to engage in the carnage—it’d been decades since his true form had seen the light of day, and longer since he’d allowed himself to feed so freely. But he knew that once he transformed, once he gave into that last urge, there was very little that would stop him from eating his way through the entire building… and a large chunk of the town. In order to keep himself even slightly in control, he needed to keep a mostly human form; it didn’t mean he had to like it. Finally, after a dozen cages were opened and empty, he steered his exhausted, blood-soaked form towards a nearby wall and collapsed against it, breathing heavily.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, almost too quietly to be heard.

Shuten lost track of how many times she reached sheer bliss in those frenzied moments of feeding. The demon was writhing in complete ecstasy above the cage she perched upon, her aura leaking out into the freezer. If the air wasn’t already thick with the captives’ fear and disgust and the stench of blood, it reeks of something ominous and deadly, though it was clear from the whole scenery that things were indeed, ominous and deadly.

Feeling herself coming down from her high, Shuten opened one eye, glancing over at the bloodied Jack leaning against the wall. He looked... heavenly. Everything about him drove Shuten wild, from his bloodied look to the sheer power that seemed to ripple throughout his body. The demon admired Jackson so much... he was perfect... “Anything for something as beautiful as you...” she whispered in return, slowly peeling herself off the cage, slick with fluids that one wouldn’t want to examine for any purposes.

The demon staggered over to Jackson, drunk off of her own feeding of pain and suffering, of madness and frenzy. The power surging throughout her was incredible. She kneeled down in front of Jackson, her own appearance seemingly crazed. “Tell me... how was it for you? How was it, being able to gorge yourself? Was it delicious?” Shuten whispered.

”I love food, cooking and eating so I guess it just made sense for me to have a big appetite. Yes a brother, his name is Maddox. Do you know him? I mean I can go on and on about him for hours. I don’t want to talk your ear off.” Blushing Lillian tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “You should ask someone that’s not his sister.”

“Hrmmm... Are you a good chef?” Shuten asked, tilting her head to the side. “Can’t say I have, but he sounds absolutely delicious. Tell me everything, dearest. I’ve got all the time in the world, especially when it comes to you.” The demon chuckled before sliding the finished package across the counter. “Oh? And why’s that? Shouldn’t the sister have the best opinion? After all, you’re the one that sees him the most, no?”

“Because I’ll look like a tomato in a matter of second and that’s just terrible! I’d have to put green color correcting concealer all over my face just ‘cause you made me blush too much.” Leila giggled, super flattered. “You just might have to. As long as I see sunlight, I guess it wouldn’t be too bad.” She said, scrunching her nose at her before raising an eyebrow and tilting her head. “So… what else do you eat that isn’t food? She asked, slowly smiling. “So how does a big city girl end up in a tiny town like this? Sure it’s near Salem but even that’s nowhere as lit as New York or LA or London.”

“Or a beautiful rose,” Shuten purred, eyeing up Leila. “I’m glad to hear that I could flatter something as wonderful as yourself...” The demon finished slicing up the cuts of meat, placing the slabs of meat onto some packing paper. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know?” she giggled. “I think that’s a conversation that should be for somewhere more private, don’t you think? I can’t reveal all my secrets to you...”

“Well, honestly? I was asking the same myself,” Shuten said with a soft sigh. “I was thinking about moving back a couple days ago, but taking a look at you today and some other folks around town... well, don’t you think I should stay, just for a little bit? Get a real taste of what the townspeople are like.”

it was getting darker as the evening was rolling in and santana found herself walking home from the human canvas this time. It was her choice to attempt to get to know the distance between where she would spend her afternoons and where she would spend the rest of her nights in bright haven. stopping outside of the Angel’s Keep, she found it quite odd that the bar was doing so well on a tuesday evening…in such a dull town, no less. she figured if there were any chance of finding any sort of activity around down, it would be here. looking up to the establishment as she took a few paces ahead, santana couldn’t help but cringe when a women, who clearly had no idea who she was, placed a hand on her shoulder. “no..” satana turned immediately, the blonde grabbing onto the brunette’s ponytail before she fall into the angel’s arms to which santana slowly began to place her on the floor. Looking up, she saw a passerby had caught what happened, and the best thing the brunette could think was to play innocent, especially since it was her first kill in the new town. “i…” she paused, looking at the dead body in her arms before looking back up, “i-i don’t know what happened, she just passed out…”

Shuten always found that lounging around Angel’s Keep was a bit of an amusing past time for her. Of course, she’d been a couple times to see Kole if nothing else, but the patrons were always a wonderful set of beings to look at as well. However, she was more eager for someone to just... pollute. The demon was bored and wanted nothing more than to play with someone. It wasn’t like anyone had caught her interest in the bar though. Besides one cute bartender, everyone else seemed... utterly and entirely boring. 

Already walking out the door, Shuten was about to curse her disappointing luck with boredom in this town before her eyes flickered to two women standing near the entrance, one very clearly... slumped over? Passed out? The demon couldn’t tell, but from the explanation of the other woman, something was clearly amiss.

“Oh? Then take her back inside. Surely you wouldn’t leave a woman like that out here where something bad could happen to her, no?”

The instant he’d bitten into his prey, the world around him ceased to have meaning. The rows and rows of cages around him seemed to vanish from his peripheral vision; the combined scents of fear and blood zeroed in on only the human in his grasp; sound itself was muffled and judged unimportant. A part of him could still understand speech, understand that the demon was speaking to him—her tone was amused, unsurprisingly—but while it carried the same value as background noise, the words traveled in one ear and out the other. His focus was entirely spent on the one thing that still held meaning: his unfortunate choice in prey.

A horrible crunch rang out as he bit through the human’s jugular, cleanly severing his windpipe and forcing his meal to go limp in his arms—they were dead long before they hit the floor. He ate through the rest of them hastily, stuffing fistfuls of flesh down his throat like his life depended on it. In a way, it did. When finally he raised himself back to his full height, the human he’d chosen was nothing more than a few scraps of clothing and an absolute mess of blood coating Jack’s front. He turned to throw a ( wild ) glance in Shuten’s direction before he resumed his frenzy, dropping the bloodied keys to the floor and tearing a lock off another cage’s hinges.

More was a word he understood very, very well in that moment. The demon’s voice had distorted and mixed with his instincts, seeming to scream along with the terrible emptiness in the pit of his being. He needed more. God, he’d been so deprived! Diving into the cage, he tore the terrified human from their bindings, barely waiting to drag them out before he started to feed. They squirmed and wailed in his grip, begging for a rescue that wouldn’t come—the only relief they were offered was a quick snap of their neck. “Shut up,” he snarled at his newly-dead prey, ripping into them much more quickly than he had the last.

Watching Jack tear into his prey was pure, orgasmic bliss for Shuten. She curled up her body, biting up a moan as she pawed at her host’s body. The noises, the screams... it was pure delight for her. Nothing satisfied her cravings more than seeing pure suffering. The demon herself fell silent as she watched Jack prowl around her cages, grabbing victims left and right. Her eyes flickered black as the wendigo glanced back at her, and she couldn’t help but tremble in her body. She wanted nothing more than to burst out of this form, to break out of this skin-tight body into her more free-flowing body. Each cry, each bone crack... it felt like power.

Shuten couldn’t even stop her own overpowering aura from leaking out of her, slowly filling up the freezer. Not that she felt threatened by Jack, but his feeding habits, his hunger... that was all so satisfying for her. Her body was reacting in all sorts of pleasurable ways. Throwing her head back, the demon couldn’t help her body’s reaction, spreading her legs as she let out a guttural moan as the wendigo ripped apart her cage and snapped the victim’s neck in two. What strength; it was swelling up inside of her, rippling and pulsing, so pure... so delicious...

Eyeing the gory scene with a rather lustful look in her eyes, Shuten banged on the cage she was sitting on. “Faster! More, more, more! Show me your hunger... I want to see all of it...” she mewled, almost intent on pouncing over there herself and ripping open the cages just to see Jack shred through them, like a lawn mower cutting through grass.

 “What would you like to know? No I’m not having a special someone over, well at least not tonight. I  have a pretty big appetite besides it’s just my dad and I at home. My brother doesn’t live with us and as far as I know he isn’t coming over tonight.”

“Big appetite indeed...” Shuten hummed as she finished up the cuts, placing the meat on some packing paper. “Oh, a brother? Tell me about him. What’s he like? Is he as ravishing to look at as you are?” she mused, winking at Lillian.

“I didn’t know if you wanted payment first,” he admitted, forcing a sigh back down his throat. Anyone else might have found a problem with her fiery attitude, but instead of being offended the most he could muster was a mild discomfort. If she was trying to get a reaction out of him, she wouldn’t find it—he could be about as apathetic as they came. “How long do you keep them here?” he asked, sending a quick glance in the direction of the cages. If she would eat them herself—or well, not—in a week, were these humans newly caught?

What made him most uncomfortable were the demon’s advances, and he had to wonder whether he was actually her type or if she just found amusement in watching him squirm. Maybe it was both—it was hard to tell with their species. “Demons usually aren’t,” he replied, his grimace seeming to deepen. It wasn’t necessarily a lie but truth be told, it was really more just her than the stench of her species. For whatever reason, she unnerved him. Luckily, he didn’t need to trust her completely to see that she was following through on her end of the deal.

Taking the key, he examined it in his hand before he stepped over along the cages, his tongue darting out to swipe along his lip—the humans in question were very obviously not as pleased as he was. He paused in his selection as she continued, throwing another glance in her direction. “If… you want, I guess,” he said, shrugging a shoulder and turning back to continue picking out his next meal. Once he found one satisfactory enough, he plugged the key into the locks, pulled them free, and dug into them like his life depended on it.

Shuten eyed the different cages before sighing gently. “As long as they last, I suppose. Most of them are a pain to keep alive, so I always just toss out whatever’s ruining my merchandise. People always prefer fresh things anyways,” she remarked with an air of indifference. “I should throw something big though... a gala or something. It’d be a good way to collect up some more... plump specimen...” the demon mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

The demon raised a brow before giggling. “No need to be so rude. Would you have wanted me if I were a werewolf, or vampire? Or even a wendigo like yourself? It’s not my fault I’m the way I am,” she said, putting on a mock pitying face. “I can’t help it if I’m just too much for you to handle. But no worries, I’ve already found my own little special someone anyways. This is all just for fun to me. No need to take it too seriously, dear.”

Sitting down on one of the wired cages, Shuten watched as Jackson devoured into the beings, amused at the way he ate. It was very messy, and would be a pain for her to clean up later, but the demon was so fascinated. It was so beast-like and savage... What a desirable way to murder. She was almost certain the victim felt every bit of pain, and her body almost reacted to the victim’s screams, causing Shuten to moan lowly. What great pleasure, what great pain! “I want to see more...” she breathed, her eyes flicking black for a moment.

Nathan leaned into her a little as well, just to get close to her and pulled back with a smug smile, “You get right to business, don’t you?” He teased gently and moved an arm around the back of her seat. “I have plenty of stories to share and I will get to them as the night progresses.” He commented and smiled at her once again. “We may not be to that point quite yet, but by the end of the night I might have a few pet names for you. A little forwardness in a woman has never bothered me before.” 

He looked over to the min fridge with a nod. “A drink would be nice.” He said and smirked at her like he had before. “Whiskey would be good. I imagine you have that.” He wasn’t much of a drinker only because it never did so much for him, but he liked to keep up appearances.

“Of course I do. I’m a busy lady. If I don’t get to business, then who will?” Shuten said with a light wave of her arm, clearly pleased at Nathan’s arm being behind her. “Ah, so you’re being a tease now,” she giggled. “Fair enough; I do hope they’re worth the wait,” the demon mused. “Well, let’s see where the night takes us. I’d be curious to see what else is going on in that mind of yours besides pet names,” Shuten sighed before pulling out a bottle of whiskey at Nathan’s request.

Pouring out a glass for the man, she handed him his glass before pouring out her own. “So tell me, besides teaching boorish students and catching the eyes of wonderful women like myself, what else do you do with your time, Nathan?” Shuten purred at the name, liking the way it rolled off her tongue.

 “You never know I could become one day in a snake meat loving mood. Just enough for two.” The other half was also for her. She might be only 5′2 but she did have a large appetite.

The demon nodded as she continued her cuts. “How curious indeed. Perhaps you could,” she mused, raising a brow at Lillian. “So, tell me about yourself. The least you could do is entertain me while I give you some meat,” Shuten purred, looking over the other woman with an amused glance. “Are you having something special with someone? People usually ask for enough meat for family, not for ‘just two,’” Shuten chuckled.