Literature
The Bells Part 1: The Feeding (Commission Header)
Part 1 of a story written relatively recently that I'm posting here for commission purposes. The rest of the story is posted on Ao3 and will not be out here due to smut reasons. ----------------------------------------------   ||A look of visible confusion spreads across the woman’s features as she hears it. The soft, gentle chime breaking the relative silence of her surroundings.||   ||A bell.||   ||Someone is ringing a bell.||   ||She doesn’t know who. Not at first. But she hears it. The soft, metallic tune of a crotal bell being shaken about.||   ||Time and time again it catches her ear. Each time seemingly singing from a different location. Always nearby. But no matter how she turns about, she never spots whoever it is that is playing the silly little tune.||   ||Some part of her chalks it up to paranoia. An escaped dog or a roaming cat must be wandering around nearby. She’s only just beyond the reach of the city. It wasn’t unusual for an animal to make it out here. There were plenty of trees or flowering bushes for them to hide behind. That was what made the park so appealing, after all.||   ||Again the bell chimes. This time louder. She finds herself turned about again, her eyes intent on scanning the surrounding scenery in search of whatever it was that had made the noise. But nothing is there. No man or beast lingering in the twilight. Just an empty park.||   ||Once more, she hears the bell ring. Even louder this time.||   ||Because it's right behind her.||   ||Her breath hitches in her throat as she spins herself around once more. Her arm brushes against a cold, unmoving body as she turns around.||   ||Wide, alert eyes settle upon the creature that had somehow appeared directly behind her. And it is most definitely a creature.||   ||Glowing red eyes lock with hers. Intense and hungry. A wide smile laced with sharp, jagged teeth tugs at its face. A smile which parts somewhat to allow a long, thick tongue to dart out and trace the side of its face.||   ||A tremble rolls through her as she stares at the creature. The obviously hungry, predatory creature. For a moment, she can’t bring herself to move. She can only stare at it. This monster of the night. Clad head to toe in attire meant to cartoonishly mimic the nocturnal sky. The only jarring contrast in color being the cape draped over its shoulders. Black. Marked with red streaks and a few stray, golden stripes.||   ||Tall and lanky. With limbs that better resembled a mishmash of metal and bone than they did flesh. A face free of features outside of its eyes and mouth; save for the pale, crescent shaped marking that encompassed half of their face.||   ||Under less intimidating circumstances, she might have thought this creature stunning. In a cartoon villain sort of way.||   ||But this thing was anything but a cartoon villain. It was very real, and it was very, very unnerving. So much so that she can only tremble as a large, skeletal looking hand is lifted to brush against her face.||   ||“What pretty eyes you have~” The creature utters, it's - his - voice deep, and laced with amusement.|| ||“So wide and shining~ So... Afraid ~” He chuckles, gently tracing his thumb against the skin beneath the woman’s eye.||   ||She struggles to find the strength to take a step back as the creature moves closer to her. That same large, skeletal hand slowly drifts back down her face. He caresses her cheek. He traces her jaw.||   ||She trembles pathetically as a clawed finger traces her throat.||   ||“No need to be afraid, friend~” The creature muses, casually hooking their claws into the neck of her shirt to tug the fabric aside. Her chest begins to heave from panic as they lean down. Surprisingly hot breath rolls against the nape of her neck once the being has moved close enough to claim her as their prey.|| ||“Just a quick pinch, and it’ll all be over~” He chuckles.||   ||She doesn’t give him the chance to sink his teeth into her. As soon as the rush of adrenaline flooded her system, she bolted. First by stumbling back. Then by darting back the way she’d come. Up the sidewalk. Keeping to the light of the lamp posts as the steady encroaching darkness activated their protective glow.||   ||The bells start up again. Louder and more ominous than ever.||   ||No matter how quickly she runs, it's as though she can’t evade them. They never grow quieter. They never grow more distant.||   ||One instant, they’re right behind her. The next, she distinctly hears them to one side. Regardless of how she turns to try and evade them, they are without means of escape.||   ||She doesn’t even realize that she’s been herded to a more secluded spot. Driven in a specific direction as the creature used the chimes of its decorative bells to distract and alarm her. Until she’s left exhausted.||   ||Panting and wheezing, she clutches the metal of the lamp post as she presses her back against it. Lost and confused, she does her best to go silent. She does her best to ignore the pounding of her own heart as she gazes out into the encroaching darkness, trying and failing to spot the creature that had pursued her.||   ||The bells have finally gone quiet. Eerily, disturbingly quiet. The only sound to break the silence is the heavy hiss of her throat as her chest heaves.||   ||Then a muffled scream as a familiar, skeletal hand covers her mouth.||   ||A second arm wraps around to hold her by her torso, trapping her in place even as she thrashes in their hold. The only barrier between them is the metal pole that she had foolishly tried to hide herself.||   ||The bells start up again as tears begin to prick her eyes. But the sound chimes from a different source; ringing not from the creature behind her, but from somewhere in the distance.||   ||If not for her panic, she might have been inclined to see what it was. But her focus is entirely on trying to squirm out of the embrace of this beast that has apprehended her.||   ||Until a second one walks boldly into her line of sight.||   ||She goes still again, her only movements being the trembling of her body and the heaving of her chest as she stares at this new creature.||   ||The obvious counterpart to the one that had pulled her into their clutches. A gold and yellow face peered down at her. The only features of that face being a sharp toothed smile and a set of pale, blue-gray eyes. The crescent mark is less obvious. A crown of golden rays adorned their head. Their clothing is bright and vibrant, like the radiance of the sun.||   ||Their cape is red. A deep, dark red. Decorated with streaks of yellow.||   ||An eerie, playful smile tugged at their features as they moved closer to her. A yellow, skeletal hand was brought up to her face. With the touch of a single, clawed finger, she was encouraged to lift her head to better face them.||   ||The blue one slowly pulled their hand from her face, exposing her pathetic expression.||   ||“P-please!... Please, don-” She began to plead for her life, only to be quickly silenced as the golden one began to shush her.||   ||“Shh, shh~ Relax, friend. No one is going to kill you... We’re just hungry .” The golden entity states, their voice velvety soft as they attempt to comfort the woman. They lean down somewhat to lock eyes with her, shushing her as a few stray tears roll down her cheeks.|| ||“Calm down now... That’s it. Don’t worry. You’re safe .” He murmurs, slowly lowering his hand. Just as the blue one had done, he takes to tracing a clawed finger down to the bottom of her throat. Only now, as he tugs the collar of her shirt to the side, she feels not an ounce of fear.||   ||Something about those pale eyes has calmed her. Something about their sweet, velvety voice has put her so at ease.||   ||He waits for her chest to stop heaving before he leans down to nuzzle the crook of her neck, a soft smile tugging at his features all the while, exposing his pointed teeth.||   ||“Good girl~” He murmurs.||   ||She can’t help but flinch as the momentary pain hits her.||   ||She only feels it for a moment. Just a pinch. A split second of pain, and then the warmth of her blood trickling down her skin. Then the oddly appealing sensation of a tongue lapping at her wounded flesh.||   ||For as terrifying as this ordeal should be, she’s unusually calm. Relaxed, even. And she only grows more relaxed as her blood is greedily swallowed by the semi-robotic, golden vampire.||   ||She grows so relaxed, in fact, that the blue one has to tighten their hold on her as her legs begin to give way. Their other arm is wrapped around to hook under one of her arms. Their hand settles upon her shoulder.||   ||Before long, the golden vampire pulls their teeth free of her flesh.||   ||She would have let out a relieved sigh if not for the fact that she felt the sting a second time.||   ||The blue one sank their teeth into her next. Rather than reuse the original bite, they sank their teeth into the nearby flesh to create a fresh wound. A wound which allowed fresh blood to flow into their greedy mouth.||   ||The blue one was different. Where the golden one had been content to bite once and then suck on the wound, the blue one liked to bite repeatedly. Every few seconds, she would feel that telltale sting of teeth cutting into her throat. Each time, a faint hiss would escape her, followed by a rush of relief.||   ||Between the two of them, she lost a lot of blood. Her head grew foggy and her vision became blurry as her life was slowly spilt onto the vampire’s greedy tongue. By the time that the blue one had finished making a meal out of her, she was left so tired and disoriented that she could no longer stand.||   ||One of them laughed, though she could not determine which. The steady glow of the lamp post began to irritate her exhausted eyes. As she allowed her eyelids to fall closed, she ignored how her heavy body was jostled about.||   ||She struggled to stay awake as her body was readjusted. She felt a pair of arms wrap around to pick her up. The back of her head fell against one arm as the other tucked beneath her knees.||   ||Not long after, she felt the breeze slowly roll against her body as she was presumably carried to a new location. But she could not be bothered to panic. The blood-loss induced grogginess mixed with the physical exhaustion of her earlier escape attempt, assuring that she wouldn’t be able to muster a single ounce of defiant energy.||   ||The soft singing of the bells resumed as she began to steadily drift off, securely held in the arms of one of the beasts that had nearly drained the life out of her completely.||   ||Comfortably held, but likely far from safe, she fell asleep in their embrace. The steady chimes of the bells guiding her into the depths of darkness as her consciousness slowly drifted beyond her means of reach.||
