reliarobot

Blood can be used to control vampires, but there are other means to do so.

Nessa raised her fist to her lips and frowned. She silently counted her resources, knitted her eyebrows together furiously calculating odds, and scanned the other player's boards. "I... pass." She leaned back in her chair, chewing her lip.

Jinx picked up the dice and started fidgeting with them, clacking the old wooden dice in one hand. "I thiiiiink..." She started, and then suddenly dropped all the dice with a shout. "Ouch!"

"What happened?" Said Ella, moving over to hold her while Gabby dove for the fallen dice.

"Splinter," grimaced Jinx, holding out the palm of her hand. A long wooden shard had impaled the soft webbing of her thumb.

And a bright red, shiny, perfect droplet of blood had formed at the base.

Nessa stared. She couldn't help herself. It was like she was hypnotized. She rose from her chair, feet barely scraping the floor as Ella said something about tweezers. Her voice was muffled through the ringing in Nessa's ears. Nessa's whole world was reduced to one tiny, bright-red sphere. It was growing larger. Before too long it would lose surface tension and trickle down Jinx's palm. What a waste that would be. A terrible waste of such a perfect thing. Nessa could help. She could just lick it right off. One lick. That's all. Definitely nothing more than a single lick. Not Jinx's fingers in her mouth, Nessa's fangs in her palm. Just. One. Lick.

"Nessa! Heel, darling."

Nessa snapped to position, suddenly standing just at Gabby's right. Gabby's palm caressed her lower back. Her vision was still focused on Jinx's palm. The droplet would fall, soon...

"Nessa. Look at me."

Gabby's hand caressed her neck. Nessa tried to turn her face without looking away from Jinx, but Gabby turned her head further, so the shining beacon of red was outside of her view. Nessa's eyes locked with Gabby's, and she realized she hadn't been breathing.

"Nessa. Why don't you go outside and ask if the owners have an emergency kit. It wouldn't hurt to find some disinfectant. Okay? Go."

Nessa, guided by Gabby's hand, left the private room and felt the spell snap as the door closed, cutting off the scent of blood. She collapsed against the wall, breathing hard. That had been far too close. She heard muffled explanations through the door, of how she "wasn't good with blood." If they only knew. She was really, really lucky she had Gabby.

But couldn't she use a different method for breaking her out of her bloodlust than... that? Nessa felt her face grow warm. To be told to heel, like a common dog... Not that there was anything wrong with that, but, still... wearing an actual collar would have been less embarrassing. She buried her face on her hands at the thought, her cool fingers soaking some of the warmth from her face. She'd even fed right before this! It had only been... she checked her watch.

Then she checked the date on her watch. Ah.

Still, she should have more control over herself. More discipline than to float off the floor like a mosquito. She took a breath to steady herself, then remembered she was out here for a reason and went off in search of disinfectant and gauze.

A little while later, she returned, and thrust the small kit at Ella as she came through the door. Without looking at Jinx, she threw herself down in her chair and pulled up one knee to block the sight of her entirely. Of course, this left her staring at Gabby, who reached out and stroked her hair. Nessa closed her eyes, enjoying the simple sensation.

"Good girl," murmured Gabby.

Nessa's expression soured. She drew her other knee up onto the chair and put her head between her legs, covering her hair with her arms.

Gabby scooted closer. "It's true! You did great. You're good."

Nessa peeked out from under her arms. After a moment, she muttered, "It's embarrassing. I should be better than this. And having you command me like an animal..." She buried her face in her knees again.

"Do you not like it? Should I stop?" Murmured Gabby, whose hand was now gently scratching her back.

Nessa couldn't find it in herself to respond.

"You know what I think," whispered Gabby. "I think you were denying yourself again. And I think that even though you were very good and very strong, you were weaker because you were pushing yourself."

Nessa compressed herself more into the chair.

"And," continued Gabby, "I think you did very well. You didn't do anything you shouldn't have, and you knew to ask for help beforehand just in case, and I was able to help you. You did good. You are good."

Nessa risked a look at Gabby. Her smile was encouraging, and Nessa gave a half-smile back.

"I also think," murmured Gabby, her eyes sultry, "that you don't actually mind being called a good girl, and being told to heel, but that maybe you're not comfortable with that around Jinx and Ella yet. Am I right?"

Nessa suddenly found a very interesting piece of wallpaper behind Gabby's head, as she felt warmth creep up her cheeks again.

Gabby grinned. "We can talk about it later, okay? For now: you did good. And it's your turn."