We Don't Stop Till Someone's Bleeding

Chapter One

I suppose, in the end, it doesn’t really matter what happened. All that matters is the here and now.
I stood beside Kiyo as she smiled happily. We were on the edge of a small forest, a whole new world before us.
“Kiyo,” I began, before she stopped me.
“New plane, new name,” she reminded me. “I’m Phyre now.”
I laughed at the irony that the fire-demoness whose flames had consumed her body was now to be called Phyre.
“Fine, I’ll go for irony as well. I’ll be Scarrlette. Now what the fuck happened? He stabbed you though the chest and you exploded. You should be dead!”
“Hm? Oh, a few of the vampires found me and healed me up. I stayed with them until I could come find you,” she said simply.
I frowned at her for a long moment.
“So you knew Takuma left me.”
“Yes, but I thought he would have come back by then. Come on, Scarrlette; let’s just move on. Please,” Phyre whined.
I shook my head for a moment.
“Phyre, I lost my boyfriend because you died. Because I stopped holding back on that bastard. I just…I need some time.”
Phyre nodded and held out a bundle of clothes towards me.
“You’ll need these,” she stated.
“Why?” I asked, voice cold.
“It’s different out there. And you look like shit.”
I closed my mind off to her then, taking the clothing.
“Thanks. I’ll call for you when I am ready.
“I know,” she stated with a small smile.
I closed my eyes for a second and when I opened them, she was gone. With a sigh I began to change my clothes. It took some work, but I finally managed to get the odd things on.
I felt a paper in the pocket of my pants and pulled it free. It was covered in Phyre’s handwriting.

Kieko,
I know you’re going to want some time alone, so I’m writing this to tell you about where you now are. Welcome to 21st century America. This is New York, which is the name of both the city and state. It is much like your old America, but entirely human. Except for us now. I figure you’ll want to spend some time at school to learn about it here. So, I gave you a map. You know me, I won’t be there. I already spent a month here getting settled. I got us separate places. Check your map and you’ve got the key in your other pocket. So that’s everything. I tried to get him back for you. I’m sorry. Hope to see you soon.
Phyre

I sighed a bit and pulled the map and key from my pockets, shoving the note back into the other pocket. I turned my attention to the map and smiled a little. At least we weren’t far from my apartment which was not that far from my school. She knew me so well.
Turning to the east, I set off for my apartment at a decent pace.
It only took me twenty minutes to make it to the building I would be living in. It was a tall building, at least thirty floors and I would be living on the top floor. With a sigh, I opened the main door and stepped into the lobby area. Green carpet and boring beige walls were all that I saw. A small sign told me that the elevator was down a hallway to my left.
I stepped into the metal box and pressed the button for my floor, chewing on my bottom lip as the doors shut me in.
When they opened again, I saw more green carpet and beige walls, this time with numbered brown doors. Mine was 30C which was directly in front of me. Gripping the key in my hand, I stepped forward to hear a small sound behind me.
“Hey! So you’re the girl who’ll be living there. I met your friend Phyre some time ago,” came a distinctly male voice.
I turned to see a male of about six foot two. He had dark chocolate-hued hair with strikingly emerald green eyes. I took in his appearance and smiled inwardly. A black t-shirt clung to his toned upper body and the barest hints of a tattoo peeked out from under his left sleeve. Black pants clung to his long legs that were as defined as the rest of his body and ended in obnoxiously lime green shoes. Returning my eyes to his, I smiled.
“Yeah, hope she didn’t tell you too many horror stories,” I joked as I slid my key into the lock.
“Nah, she didn’t tell me you’d be so pretty though.”
“Well thank you; she told me nothing of you, though,” I admitted. “I’m Scarrlette.”
“I’m Joel,” he said, stepping forward with his hand extended. I took it firmly and smiled kindly.
“Nice to meet you,” I grinned, making a mental note of how soft his hands were.
“I hate to be rude, but I was just on my way to band practice, but how about I grab some Chinese on my way home and come by and we’ll have dinner? It’ll only be about two hours from now.”
I nodded with a smile, “Sounds fine to me.”
He nodded and released my hand finally and turned towards the elevator.
I watched the doors shut on him before I placed my hand on the doorknob to release the spell Phyre had put into place. It let go with a flash of light and a low, purr-like noise.
I pused open the door with a smile and the lights came on instantly.
“Welcome home, Kie,” chirped Phyre’s voice. “I brought your library but left the rest of the decorating to you.”
“Smart wolf demon,” I thought with a grin.
I stepped into the apartment fully and shut the door behind me with a click. Hardwood floors and boring white walls; this would have to change. Smiling, I closed my eyes and let the magick flow through my body and push out into the room.
An hour later I opened my eyes again and smiled. The white walls were gone, now a more caramel color through the living room, blending to a chocolate into the dining area. A large couch sprawled across most of the living room, its fabric a wine-colored suede. A black coffee table sat on a black and caramel rug situated between the couch and giant entertainment center. the doors were shut, but I knew it housed a large television along with gaming systems and a stereo. A modest table sat in the dinig room with two chairs placed at opposite ends. Stepping farther into the room, I saw my small kitchen was now a burgundy color with stainless steel appliances.
“Perfect,” I thought as I began to move through and towards the bedrooms.
I moved past the kitchen and down a small hallway with three doors that stood open. To my right at the end of the hallway was the bathroom, now a pale purple with black accents. Directly across from it was my bedroom, an entirely black room with white and gray accents and furniture. Next to that was my library or at least a smaller version. After all, I’m a twenty-thousand-year-old dragon. I have a lot of books. Phyre had brought my favorites only and left them for me to organize. I knew I should shower before Joel came with food, so I told the books to do it themselves and turned back to the bathroom.
I had just finished getting dressed again when I heard a knock on the door. I threw my hair into a ponytail and turned towards the door, my cotton pajama pants covering my feet and causing me to slide across the floor. With a shot, I crashed into the door.
“Are you alright?” Joel asked from the other side of the door.
“Yeah,” I called back, rubbing my head a bit as I opened the door slowly.
“Do you want me to take my shoes off?” he asked as he stepped inside, arms full of bags of food.
“God no! you may slip too!”
Joel laughed and nodded, “Alright.”
I reached out to take the bags from him but he refused to allow me to touch them.
“Table or living room,” he asked me.
I shrugged a little and lead him towards the coffee table.
“Living room is fine by me, might as well see what’s on,” I smiled, flopping down onto the couch unceremoniously.
He laughed and settled down beside me, pulling boxes from the bag and setting them on the table.
I looked at the boxes as he set them on the table, the aromas causing my empty stomach to growl viciously.
“That smells delicious,” I stated, doing my best not to drool.
“Best place in this end of New York,” he stated with a laugh while handing me a pair of chopsticks.
“You do know how to use these, right,” he asked, teasing me.
I rolled my eyes at him and snapped them apart before holding my hand out for a carton of food. A smirk fell across his lips as he handed me a carton of white rice.
“Let’s see you eat THIS with chopsticks,” he laughed.
I simply rolled my eyes and began to eat from the container without difficulty. Joel just watched me for a moment before sighing and placing the rest of the food he had gotten for me down in front of me and settling back with his own.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” he admitted as I reached for the television remote and pressed the power button. The doors on the entertainment center slid open to reveal the television before the device turned on.
“That was cool,” he mumbled around a mouthful of food.
“Yeah, it’s not bad,” I agreed with a grin.
Joel turned to me and smiled after a moment.
“So you didn’t set all this up? You just came in and your friend had it all set up for you?”
“Pretty much,” I nodded with a smile, “we’re like that for each other.”
“So where is she,” he asked next causing me to grimace.
“Eh, we had a bit of a falling out today,” I admitted.
“I’ll be your new friend,” he grinned, causing me to laugh.
“Alright, sounds like a plan to me,” I smirked.
Halfway across town Phyre smiled, throwing her arms around one of the twins standing before her in a warm hug.
“I have missed you two,” she told them happily.
“Where is Ki…” One began before Phyre hit him in the stomach.
“She is Scarrlette now and I’m Phyre,” she told him and he nodded.
“So where is Scarrlette?”
“I… well she’s none too happy with me at this exact moment, but no worries! She’ll be back,” Phyre cheered, though her eyes showed her concern that the dragoness might not actually return.
“Phyre,” the one she had hit began.
“I don’t want to hear it Harry.”
“Harry?”
“Yes. You are now Harry and Aaron. Deal with it. I have decided.”
“Of course Phyre,” Harry said.
The small demoness nodded and smiled up at the pair once more.
“Let’s get to work shall we,” she asked them, taking their hands and skipping off towards the center of the city.
The program ended and found Scarrlette asleep against the arm of the couch. With a small smile, Joel quietly picked up the containers and bags, pitching them into the trash in the kitchen. Seeing her bedroom nearby, he went back and scooped up the girl before carrying her in and placing her on the bed. He tucked her beneath the covers and silently made his way out of her apartment, closing the door tightly behind him.

Chapter Two

Morning came, the light barely making its way through the heavy black curtains hanging in the dark room. However the weak beam landed directly on the sleeping dragonesses face, causing her to whimper and duck beneath the heavy comforter for a long moment.
“I suppose I should get up,” she spoke aloud, not expecting an answer from the silent apartment.
As she fell silent again a bird began to chirp outside of her window as if it had heard her and agreed. She let out a slight growl and threw the covers away from her body, shivering a little as the harsh, cool air touched her warm skin. She danced slightly, the stereo starting up in the living room in response to her good mood, and moved to throw open the curtains. For a long moment she stood and watched the cars and people below.
“They seem so rushed,” she thought to herself with a frown. “Don’t they know that their lives are too short to be in such a rush all the time? And to things they hate no less.”
Shrugging it off she turned to glance at the clock on her night stand. The little red numbers told her it was just after eleven in the morning on a Sunday.
“Damn,” she swore with a sigh. “I was hoping I could go to the school today and get that finished,” she told the apartment. It merely creaked in response. She took that as it agreeing with her annoyance and smiled. She patted the wall lightly before dancing out and into the kitchen. She threw open the refrigerator and hissed in displeasure.
“Well shit, she couldn’t at least stock my fridge,” Scarrlette grumbled before shutting the door a little harder than necessary. The apartment groaned in protest and she sighed, patting the appliance and muttering some sort of apology as there was a knock on the door.
“Come on in,” she called, sure the door was locked.
“Housekeeping,” Joel joked as he stepped through the door.
“Oh, damn. I was hoping it was the grocery service,” Scarrlette laughed, poking her head around to smile at the male.
“Aw, does someone not have any food,” he mocked as he made his way towards the kitchen.
“None at all,” the girl whined, opening the fridge and cupboards for him to see that she had absolutely no food.
“But you have dishes,” he laughed, causing her to shrug.
“Yeah, well, I can’t explain it,” she smiled sweetly.
Joel laughed and shrugged, holding out his arm for her.
“Shall we go shopping then?”
Scarrlette rolled her eyes and laughed before nodding.
“Let me just get dressed and grab my money and we’ll go. Enjoy the television,” she teased him before skipping off towards her bedroom.
“Oh I will! I’ll make that thing LOVE me,” he yelled after her with a laugh.
Scarrlette shook her head, choosing to ignore him as she shut her bathroom door tightly.
Sometime later she stepped out of her bedroom clad in mostly black. A pair of loose pants sat on her hips, being held up by a silver studded belt. A small expanse of her stomach showed before it met the black, wife-beater style tank top that finished her outfit. Her violet hair was thrown up into a ponytail and kept out of her way. She crept up behind the male seated on her couch with a grin.
“Boo,” she whispered right against his ear, causing him to jump and scream while simultaneously falling off the couch. Scarrlette fell to her knees in laughter.
“You scream like a girl,” she managed to choke out, gripping her stomach.
Joel shot to his feet and turned a glare upon the girl.
“Oh shut up,” he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.
Scarrlette drug herself to her feet and moved over to offer him a hug.
“Aw I’m sorry Joel-y woolly! I didn’t mean to scare you! Come on, let’s go shopping for food! I’ll buy you a cookie!”
“Chocolate chip?”
“And the softest, bestest one I can find,” she promised him.
“Fine,” he grumbled, accepting her hug and tugging her towards the door, “but you’ve started a war little girl. One that I’ll win too.”
Scarrlette simply rolled her eyes and allowed the male to lead her from her apartment without another word.
Joel led her from the building and down to the grocers’ district with ease, pointing out places that might be of interest along the way. Scarrlette smiled to herself, allowing him to pull her along while comprising a grocery list in her head as they went.
“So we’re here. What exactly are you going to need? You’re mostly going to find the dry goods here, I figured we’d hit produce and meat on the way back so it didn’t spoil,” Joel rambled at her, smiling.
“I’ve got a list in my head, just keep up,” she told him as she quickly began to make her way from stand to stand.
Phyre sighed and rested her temple on her closed fist. Her silver orbs gazed at the people walking around as she drummed the fingers of her other hand against the table.
Never one to sit still for long, the prankless time she spent here in New York was beginning to bore her. Not enough chaos was being wreaked. She hoped that Kieko would come around soon. If not, she feared that she and the twins would have to move without her.
"I would come back. It isn't like I would leave her forever," she growled at a nearby tree as though it had spoken to her.
"Who are you talking to?" questioned Harry as he walked over carrying a styrofoam plate and a plastic cup.
"Nobody," she sighed, turning her moonlight eyes to the male. He frowned at her as he sat the things down on the table in front of her.
"That worries me, Ki..." he began. However, her glare soon reminded him of his slip. "I mean, Phyre. It always makes me nervous when you are talking to yourself."
She let out another sigh and shrugged. She got up and walked over to him. Her arms wound around his waist and she nuzzled his stomach, sad that he was so much taller than she was. Without thinking, he gave her a half-assed, one-armed hug.
"What's wrong with you today, Phyre?" he questioned once more.
"I'm bored, Harry. I have to do...SOMETHING..." she whined. He smiled and rubbed her arm.
"How about you start with eating? I brought you your favorites," he told her. She smiled as well and nodded before sitting down again.
"Thank you, Harry," she said, beginning to eat the fruit salad and steak that he had retrieved for her. His smile remained as he sat down beside her.
All was silent for a time until Harry's twin showed up, carrying a tray of food as well.
"Yo, instead of getting the princess her breakfast, you should have been helping get your food," he grumbled to the male seated by the girl. Harry merely shrugged and grinned, knowing that his weakness had always been the tiny female.
"That is why I'm beta," he told Aaron. Aaron growled, glaring at Harry.
"Fuck being the beta! You'll never amount to anything. You're just a worthless healer," he growled low. Harry snarled and stood, slamming his hands on the table.
"Take it back," he demanded threateningly.
Before any more could be said, Phyre stood up and walked between them. She placed a hand on each of their chests and shook her head.
"Not here, you two. You can sort this out later. However, there are far too many humans here. Come on. Cool down," she muttered. Immediately, the two looked away from each other and quickly walked off. Phyre sighed and shook her head again as Harry appeared behind her.
"Don't make me tell you that again," she threatened him softly. Knowing she wasn't a force to be messed with, the male swallowed and nodded.
"Yes, my lady," he told her. She nodded one more time before walking away from her original table. The male followed after her and fell into step behind her.
"Where are we going?" he asked a moment later.
"I don't honestly know," she admitted with a shrug. When she stopped, she gazed around her. A park greeted her and she smiled.
"Apparently I wanted to go more into nature," she told him. He said nothing as she walked over to a tree and jumped into it. Without another word, she pulled a violin out of seemingly nowhere and began to play Vivaldi's Four Seasons softly. Smiling, Harry leaned against the tree, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. The sound of the music was all he needed to reassure himself that he was no longer in trouble with the alpha.
“These bags are so heavy,” Scarrlette whined, looking to Joel with a pout.
“Oh no you don’t, I’m carrying more of them than you are anyway. Look, we’re almost there let’s just get to your apartment and put this shit away,” he laughed.
Scarrlette nodded, huffing and trudging on towards her apartment in silence.