Crimson Claws & Fangs ch.12

  Samantha still in her were-dire form has been running for hours through the shadows of several towns and through the desert between them. In the still night air filled only the barks of dogs and the sounds of insects singing she has stopped in the backyard of some random suburban home. In her hunger she finds and catches a garden snake, however just as she is about to eat it her canine like nostrils catch a familiar scent, barbeque.

 

     The scent is coming from the house. She sneaks up to the house’s glass sliding double doors. With a quick check and twitch of her large pointed ears she can hear that everyone in the unlit house is fast asleep. With a sniff she can tell that the barbeque is cold, leftovers from a cook out earlier that day.

 

    The human side of her mind tells her she shouldn’t break in, but the animal side simply can’t resist the delicious smell of chicken legs, hamburger paddies and hot dogs smothered in honey barbeque sauce. The ability to detail the exact nature of her food thanks to her nose makes it that much harder to resist. Finally giving in she puts her hand palm flat against the glass door. A concentrated aura of blue flames flow from her hand and melts a human sized door in the glass.

 

   The kitchen stands not ten feet in from the back door, a small yet nicely decorated country style kitchen. Samantha quietly opens the fridge and removes the tin foil covered tray of barbeque; she grabs up a chicken leg and holds in her mouth savoring the taste. Her ears pick up the sound of someone at the front door fumbling with keys, “damn,” she thinks, not caring about who or why despite the sounds of people sound asleep that someone else would be entering the house, she flees from the house quickly and quietly.

 

     With tray in hand and chicken leg still clutched between her teeth she runs into the dark corners of a town park. While sitting beneath a tree amongst some bushes she continues back to her meal thinking how it would be nice if the meat was heated up at least. With this though blue fire emits from her mouth encircling the chicken leg and even penetrating it to heat it to fit her exact memory of how it should be. Long past questioning how her powers work in this manner Samantha continues with her meal savoring yet devouring like a dog every bite, making sure to suppress moans of pleasure having tasted real meat after a year of eating mostly reptiles.

 

     As she is eating she hears a female voice from the tree above her say, “Getting the hang of your powers I see.” Startles as she hadn’t heard, smelled, or otherwise detected anyone being there when she arrived or coming after. Samantha looks up to see an odd yellow furred more fox like than human like yet distinctly female figure standing crouched down on a tree limb that looked too small to support her weight. The figure looks down saying, “The name is Yasha, I am a....well…an employee of Kitsu, its nice to make your acquaintance Crimson, Crimson Vixen….well I can’t call you Vixen, that’s name is taken…hmm” with her muzzle in the air looking comically thoughtful Yasha thinks of a shorter name to call her. Interrupting her train of thought Samantha speaks up as she stands leaving the tray of food at her feet, “Do you work with Grey Wolf?”

 

   Yasha with a wave of her finger causes a hamburger patty to float in the air and up to her hand. With a quick breath of what looked like blue sparkling mist from her mouth Yasha heated the patty and engulfed it in one bite, only then did she look down at Samantha as though only just then had her question registered with her. “Hmm...” she said with a turn of her head like a confused dog, “no.” and then laughed a little, as though in a comical manner suppressing a larger laugh.

 

   “In fact,” Yasha said, “I was the one who prevented Grey Wolf from following you after you ran.” With a dismissive wave of her hand as though to get the thought of that man from her mind she continued, “I’m here to deliver a message from MY boss, Lady Kitsu, That…guy, works for someone else, the H.E.P. you should be weary of those guys.”

 

   Yasha stands impossibly on the tree limb as though to leave and says, “Also you should know the Order of Knights of the Golden Cross are after you too, well see you around C.V.” With a mock salute Yasha vanished like a ghost leaving a very confused Samantha standing there in the dark.