Chapter 1 - Tar

I wrapped a towel around myself as I stepped out of the steam filled shower into the cold air that filled the rest of the room. Out of habit, I yawned deeply. Three nights already this week and it was only Thursday.
I was glad that I didn't need to sleep as frequently as most people. Really, I didn't NEED to sleep at all. I did enjoy it though. Dreaming was one of the most pleasant things I had experienced so far.
I grabbed another towel off the rack and began to dry my hair.
My hair had long been a point of contention between myself and Jak. She always insisted that it was not natural for girls to only have three inches of hair, that having long hair, like hers, was something to be proud of. I always insisted it was a lot easier to look after when most of your evenings ended up the way mine did. There was also the added fact that my hair was naturally a bright purple colour, and by having it cut short, most people assumed I was going through a 'Gothic' phase. Either that or, in part due to my undying loyalty to Jak, that I was a lesbian.

That of course was stupid. I wasn't a lesbian, technically, I wasn't even female, I stayed this way because it was easier for Jak to accept if I kept the same form I'd had when we first met. In reality, I couldn't even remember what gender of form I had been in the beginning. No, my loyalty to Jak was for the most part just because she took a lot more looking after than most best friends. Most best friends didn't transform into a wolf night after night, trying desperately to eat any human they came into contact with. Most best friends weren't 'supposed' to be your mortal enemy. But then again, most best friends wouldn't take the news that you were actually a vampyre with as much finesse as she had. Most best friends wouldn't turn a blind eye when you went out hunting for blood every weekend. Most best friends wouldn't offer you their wrists to feed from when you were incapable of hunting.

I shuddered at the thought.

It had happened the weekend after her first transformation. I had been so busy keeping her away from the humans that I hadn't had chance to feed. It was stupid really. I was loosing my strength so quickly that I wouldn't have been able to stop her if we had run into any humans. But she was always more interested in trying to kill me when I was out with her. I hadn't told Jak that small detail. Of course, I'd always known it would happen. When she was a wolf, the most important thing to her was self preservation. And Vampyres were by far the most dangerous thing she was likely to run into. But, by letting her hunt me all night, it meant she didn't have the opportunity to hunt anyone who couldn't fight back. Now I went hunting for myself when I was certain she would not transform. I also kept a supply of blood in the fridge, just in case.Don't get me wrong. I never killed anyone by feeding. For the most part, they never even know. I just sneak into a house late at night, take what I need and leave. They wake up with a slight headache the next morning. No problem whatsoever.

I quickly toweled off my body and pulled on my school uniform. Ironic. I was over 500 years old and I still went to school. I laughed at myself. It was true that I didn't need to anymore. I knew much more than most of the teachers there, and had enough money in the bank to do whatever I wanted. But in order to keep an eye on Jak, I had to be where she was. And since we'd become friends, I'd started high school again. School was another point of contention between myself and Jak. Since her first Transformation, she had wanted to run away from society, for us to go somewhere completely new and out of the way. I had insisted that her new ability could be controlled, tamed, and that she would need to be able to interact with normal humans. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I thought I might be wrong. For three years we'd repeated this routine, her transforming more and more often. now it was almost a daily occurance. Yet we'd come no closer to finding a reason why, or how to control it. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps we should leave.

I sighed at the morbidity as I threw my towels into the washing basket and pulled open the bathroom door. Grabbing my bag from the landing I jogged down the stairs towards the smell of Jak's cooking. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Eggs. Again. How on earth did she eat that rubbish?
As I stepped into the Kitchen, Jak turned to me and smiled, all traces of last nights events removed from her face. I was glad she could hide it so easily. I grinned back and flipped the switch on the kettle.
'Morning Tar!' She passed me a mug of coffee. She was prepared, as usual. I flipped the kettle back to off.
'Morning. How are you feeling this morning?' I took a deep mouthful of my drink and winced.
'Fine thanks, a little tired...' her voice trailed off and her smile faded.
'Oh bugger' I thought 'Don't get upset again...' I took a step towards her.
She looked at me again and her smile returned 'Why do you drink coffee if you don't like it?'
I shrugged 'Same reason I eat those manky sandwiches at lunch. Keeping up appearances' I took another mouthful of coffee.
Jak turned back to the frying pan and dished her eggs out onto a plate. 'Seems pretty pointless doing it at home though. I know you don't like normal food.'
I strolled over to the kitchen table and sat down. 'I guess it's just habit now.' I pushed out the chair opposite with my foot as she followed me to the table. She sat down and picked up her fork.
'Thanks' she mumbled, her mouth full.
I laughed gently. 'No problem.' I leaned back in my chair, stretching the muscles out in my neck. I winced as pain shot down my body. I must have landed badly when she pinned me last night.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jak watching me with a horrified look on her face. I sat up straight 'What is it?'
'I...I didn't hurt you did I?' She looked mortified at the thought.
I laughed again. 'No don't be silly. I'm just a little stiff from the exercise.'
She didn't look convinced. I wouldn't be either, I was an awful liar. 'Don't worry about it, you know how quickly I heal. It was my fault anyway, I wasn't paying enough attention' Her eyes bore into mine, filled with worry and guilt. It was almost comical really, concidering some of the damage she'd done previously. She didn't know about that of course.
'Look, will you stop worrying and eat your breakfast. We'll be late.' I downed the last of my coffee, aware she was still watching me.
'We could just fly you know.' She said it in such a matter of fact way I nearly choked.
'It's the middle of the day Jak. I can't just fly us everywhere. I'd get caught.'
'No you wouldn't. You're so damned fast even I can't see you move sometimes.' She sighed and looked at the ground. 'You never fly us anywhere anymore.'
I rolled my eyes and knelt beside her. 'I can't risk us getting found out Jak. Imagine what would happen if people found out what I was.' I pulled her chin up till her eyes met mine. 'And imagine if they took me away. What would happen if I wasn't here with you every night?' She shuddered involuntarily.
'Exactly. I tell you what. After it goes dark tonight we'll go somewhere, okay?'
I saw her eye's light up and a smile spread accross her face. If I'd had a heartbeat, it would have skipped. Just because I wasn't a lesbian, didn't mean I wasn't in love with her.
'Really Tar? You promise?'
I smiled back at her. 'I promise. Anywhere you like.' I looked at her breakfast. 'But not if you make us late for class again.' I pulled my hand away from her chin and felt the familiar ache in my chest. Of all the forms I could have taken that day, why did I have to have picked this one? I watched her shovel the rest of her eggs into her mouth. I'd contimplated telling her of my shapeshifting abilities. But I didn't think it would have made much of a difference. She knew me as this now, and it was something she could never love back.

Chapter 2 - Jak  (13+) 'Then what am I?' I became a wolf at night. What else could I be? #1479705 by Kay