Incandescent

Ah, yes. They were disgusted. It was rather disappointing for Finley. They had hoped another witch might understand.

“Well, I’m a witch like yourself. And yes, experiments.” They smiled at them, their nonchalance dissonant from the bloody scene behind them. “On supernatural weaknesses and biology. This is the best place to do it, you understand. The proprietors of this place have use for my results, and the resources to assist me. It has the added bonus of keeping the chattel in line.”

They waved offhandedly at the vampire behind them, still covered in his own blood.

“Pleasure to meet you. Any questions on my research? I’m only really using werewolves, vampires, and sirens so as a witch you have no real reason to worry about my findings.”

“H-How can you...” They might be a witch too, but they were definitely nothing like Avery. That much was certain. They didn’t bat an eyelid at the horror in front of them, the horror they had caused with their own actions. It was truly disturbing to behold. Moreover, they appeared unconcerned about Avery’s evident repulsion, paying no attention to their consternation.

“Weaknesses?” As horrible as these experiments were, their goal could prove to be equally disturbing. Avery didn’t understand exactly what this all meant, but it could only lead to new ways of exploiting the slaves, new ways of causing them pain and torment.

Maia couldn’t help but become more curious at their vague reply, but decided against pressing further. Breathing in the cool, fresh air, she nodded gratefully at them before breaking into a sprint, flashing her blue eyes and running through the trees. She could feel the urge to change creeping up on her, but she suppressed it. She might be able to later, after the wolfsbane wore off, but even if she could do it now she wouldn’t. Wolfing out in front of them would be suicide, and she might never be able to come out here again. Instead, she focused on the feeling of the wind whipping in her hair and the sound of the rustling of the trees. 

Maia felt a rush of excitement as the door was opened, and she was free. For the first time in what seemed like years she would be out in the open. Catching up to the master, she walked briskly beside them, glancing over at them curiously. She couldn’t help but wonder why they were doing this. Why were they even on the island in the first place? Maia furrowed her brow before blurting out, “What are you doing here?” Realizing her mistake, and the amount of trouble she could possibly be in, she become flustered and attempted to apologize. “I-I’m sorry, that didn’t- I didn’t mean it like that.”

Avery noticed her eyeing them with suspicion as they approached the exit, soon leaving the dungeon behind as they stepped out into the open. The cool night air was refreshing, the path illuminated by the soft moonlight. Everything around them seemed so quiet and still.

“It’s fine” they shrugged. They weren’t angered by her question at all. “It’s... complicated” they answered, scratching the back of their head. “I don’t like what goes on here... it’s not right at all” they declared. “But there’re people here who’re important to me...” It was best not to give out any specific information; the fewer people that knew that, the better. 

“Well, there’s plenty of space for you to exercise out here..” they noted. “Just make sure you stay close to me.”

Maia opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. “I, um, th-thank you…!” She couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment when they said she couldn’t shift, but she got over it pretty quickly at the idea of running. “I’m, um, I’m Maia, by the way.” Making what she hoped appeared to be a smile, she walked up to the cell door, gripping the bars tightly with excitement. “Can we… Can we go now?” She was so ecstatic at the thought of running and being outside, generally, that she forgot the grudges she held against everyone outside the bars. And besides, this master didn’t seem like the others. They seemed… Nice? They seemed like they actually cared about the slaves, as people, not as fuck toys.

Petra gulped as the unfamiliar person called her name. Was everyone affected by this?

“Yeah, who’s asking?” She leaned against the bars, body relaxed in a stark contrast as to how the mistress typically carried herself. Her whole body felt off, and anyone who saw her was likely to guess this was not her original form.

But god they smelled really appetizing. She could hear the blood pouring through their veins. She licked her lips, unable to look away from their neck.

The redhead answered their question. Avery knew she was telling the truth, as nobody would have anything to gain by pretending to be one of the slaves here. And besides, it was immediately obvious from her bearing that this woman wasn’t Isabelle.

She regarded them with suspicion, which was only natural as Avery’s body was no longer recognizable. Avery also noticed that her gaze seemed fixed on their neck, clearly a result of her new vampire body. 

Petra awoke with a groan, stretching out on her cot. She rubbed at her temples, face tight. Why did she feel so weird? Half hungover half… thirsty? Hungry? She really couldn’t tell.

When she finally managed to open her eyes she was surprised to see that she looked… different. She was taller and skinnier and… her nails were done. She reached up to look at her hair to see it was bright red. So this day was off to a sufficiently weird start.

She felt her face, attempting to determine who she had become. She was fairly certain she was a mistress? She certainly didn’t recognize her, certainly. Then she felt her thumb be pricked. She pulled her finger back in shock. She was a vampire? Oh this wasn’t good.

She was hungry.

She went to the bars and began to pace. Hopefully she would be able to feed or something soon. They wouldn’t starve a mistress right? Right?

Avery was disturbed to find that they’d woken up in a strange body, which they recognized as being that of a mistress here, the owner of the tea shop. But they soon discovered that this mysterious condition had affected not them alone, but a number of other people too, and they could only assume a great many more also. 

Their mind swiftly turned to considering the possibilities this could present for escaping here, and they headed down to the cells with this in mind. Just as they’d hoped, the whole place seemed to be in confusion and disorder as it had become impossible to tell who was who.

They immediately headed for Petra’s cell, wanting to check up on her first of all. As they looked inside, they didn’t recognize her among the inmates, though they knew this was the right cell. Obviously, she’d been affected too, and one of these prisoners was her, though they didn’t know which. 

“Petra?” they asked, their eyes glancing from person to person, trying to identify her among these people.

“You… You can?” Maia inched closer to the bars. Now they had gotten her attention. “You’re not? I- uh…” Maia couldn’t figure out them. Why were they being nice to her? “Is there a catch? For me being let out… Do I- do I have to do something for you?”

“Yeah well, since they don’t let us go out and run or shift I need to do some exercise. It’s not good to keep an animal in a cage…” This master didn’t seem to be much of a threat, but Maia didn’t trust anyone until she was given a solid reason to. She had no idea whether they were here to help her or to use her again.

“Best interests… Yeah right. Stop sugar coating everything. They don’t want me to get sick because then they can’t rape me, isn’t that right?”

“I see... well, I can let you out now, if you want me to...” they offered. After living with Petra, Avery understood how agitated wolves could become when they were cooped up all day, and if this slave was going through the same thing she deserved a break.

Maia raised her eyebrows. “The matter? What, asides from being locked in a cell and used for entertainment?” She couldn’t help the snarky comment, then found herself regretting it as she remembered what these people had the power to do.

“But no, I’m fine. I was just exercising.” She hadn’t seen this master before, and, looking them up and down, they didn’t seem to be laughing at her or mocking her the way the other masters did. Which just made Maia more curious. “Why do you even care?”

Avery couldn’t blame the woman for being angry at her situation, or for her mistrust of them. It was only natural. They hadn’t earned her trust, and they knew that she would be suspicious of everything they said, that she wouldn’t believe their intentions could be good.

Maia was getting restless, her wolf growing more and more anxious to shift by the minute. She needed to run, or shift, or anything, but she was stuck in her small cell space. Finally, she stripped off her shirt, discarding it on her bed, and got down on the floor, starting to do push-ups. She started to sweat, but it felt good, so she pushed herself until she started panting with exhaustion.

She was about to do a different exercise when she heard movement coming from a cell close to her. She dashed back to her bed, pulling on her shirt, and peered out into the darkness.

Avery had been checking in on another slave, and as they turned to leave they heard movement from a nearby cell. Walking over to the source of the noise, they lit a fire from their fingertips to illuminate the darkness. They saw a woman standing there peering out at them. She was panting heavily, her face flushed red, and shining with sweat. Avery thought she might be suffering from a fever, or something similar.

Arabella was examining herself in a long mirror, as she usually did when she was bored–and consumed in her self. Narcissism was always a flaw of hers, at least to others. The Mistress ran her fingers down her slender body, deep red lacquered nails combing past any possible imperfections. Ever so into herself, Arabella continued smoothing out the tight, designer dress that formed along her body like a second skin. 

Finally, her eyes snapped up back to her reflection, and the person behind whom was caught red handed, staring at her. 

“It is rude to gape like that, darling.” She drawled nonchalantly, before she went back to staring at herself; this time pulling out her lipstick to apply it. 

Avery was walking down one of the halls of the witch manor, when they noticed a woman standing ahead of them, admiring her own reflection in one of the large mirrors that hung from the wall. They’d seen her around before, though they hadn’t spoken to her as of yet. From what they’d heard from others, her and Conrad had some sort of history. If she was anything like him, they felt it would be best to stay as far away from her as possible. She was certainly beautiful, though, and as they passed by they found it hard to take their eyes off her.

But she’d clearly noticed them staring at her. “You don’t look like you mind the attention...” they retorted. “Besides, I wasn’t “gaping”...” they added, slightly irritated by the woman’s tone.