---

Location: His room on building 1 floor 5 Room 1 -> the Cafeteria.
Interactions: none... yet!
Nicholas was sleepy. he didn't want to get up, but the sun was just like, HA NO MORE SLEEP FOR YOU! So he got up and made his way to the closet. he knew he could just grow an arm to grab the shirts and stuff for him, but whatevs. He got dressed, shapeshifted into a form that people would recognise, and walked out the door. he put in his airpods, and was listening to feel good inc by gorrilaz, when he made it to the mess hall/cafeteria/lunch room.
he went to the soda dispenser, and took 3 gallons of water, just straight up absorbing them. he didn't need food, but he did enjoy it, so he went over to the breakfast area and pointed at everything, trying to select. he had the most confused look on his face ever, you should've seen it. "Hmmm... selecting a bagel..." And then he grabbed one, blueberry, to be specific. he sat in the center, waiting for everyone else.

_{Early Morning
Building 1 Hallways
Interacting with: @CitrusArmsYumeiko, @XaltwindMiyuki}

---

The pain and sickness were already bone-deep. And they only grew worse. She hadn't gotten sick in a long time herself, but the people she'd seen just after she'd been turned, the pustules, the lungs filled with fluid, the plague...she couldn't imagine it felt much worse than this. Like her very being was being pulled away. She opened her eyes—no starry lights or inner glow now, just flat red, foggy and clouded and having trouble seeing as well as she usually could—to find out why. Just a few feet from her was a young woman with blonde hair.

...And blonde fur, apparently; a bunch of tails curled anxiously behind her as she looked at the out-of-sorts vampire. Her voice was indistinct, or perhaps Velvet's hearing was just suffering from her proximity. She blinked heavily, and as the fox spirit stepped backwards, her hearing came into focus again. “Miyuki. I shouldn't touch her.” Only then did Velvet realize there was someone else standing behind her. Another fox spirit; black instead of gold. She distantly remembered hearing about them when she'd been in the far east. Miyuki was a Japanese name, she thought; so probably that. There were more things she knew about them, but she was having trouble remembering right now.

As the blonde one who was basically a living ball of bad vibes hurried away, the feeling of sickness faded, and Velvet's body wasn't so painful and shaky. At least the black-haired bombshell in front of her didn't seem to prompt the same feeling. Her hunger returned. Even worse, she thought, as she stared at the blood on the ground. That was about the last she'd had in the tank. She was...so hungry. It had been days since she'd last fed, even before her ill-fated trip under the sun. She didn't expect needing this much. She hugged herself, raking her fingernails along her upper arms as the one named Miyuki approached.

"Y—yes, I—" Great, her teeth were chattering now. She needed to get to her room and drain everything in her fridge, stat. She ground her teeth together, nicking her lower lip on a fang. "This...this building. Room...205." With that said, she gratefully took the waiting woman's hand.

Ba-dump

Her own, pale as a ghost and cold as ice, slid into Miyuki's, and her eyes shot wide. It was so warm. So vital. She could feel her pulse. So strong. So steady.

Ba-dump

Almost poleaxed, unable to move, she barely remembered to walk as Miyuki moved on. Her eyes strayed up to her neck, almost unwillingly. Bare. Exposed. She could see the blood flowing through her veins. The smell of fresh blood was making it hard to think. Everyone had to eat. No. Don't.

Ba-dump

No, you can't, Velvet. Remember what Max said? People don't like it when you drink from them without permission. You want to make friends. You don't want to make enemies. You've just got two floors to go to get to your room, and all that...all that...blood... She leaned in closer, resting her shoulder against Miyuki's and taking a long, deep breath. The scent all but drowned out every one of her pitiful protests. She was just...so, SO hungry. It was fine to do it once. Miyuki wouldn't hold it against her. Everybody had to eat, right? Everybody had to eat, and she was starving.

Ba-dump

"Gramerci," she whispered as she leaned in again. Everybody had to eat. "Gramerci." Then she tilted her head to to the side, opened her mouth, and bit down.

Miyuki would feel a gust of cold breath, a pair of pinpricks, and then a tightening grip around both her neck and her, locking her in place. The diminutive vampire's arms were like steel bands, and they only grew stronger as the fresh blood flooded her mouth. She let out a sound something between a moan and a growl in pure animal satisfaction and relief. Strength and vitality flooded through her anew, and the wobbly rubber stilts beneath her actually felt like legs again. A few more seconds of pure bliss passed, where there was nothing but a vampire locked to the throat of its prey.

Stop, Velvet.

Well, why should she? She needed to, and this woman had been right there.

I've taken enough. Stop.

Why? Wasn't this what vampires did?

Didn't I want to prove I could live without doing this? I need to STOP!

The niggling voice of her conscience won out, and she released her grip well before she was full, stumbling backwards into the wall and running her tongue along her teeth to make sure she savored it as much as she could. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, dribbling down her chin and falling in droplets to the floor. She shuddered as she felt the warmth flooding through her cease. She wasn't nearly as cold as before, but it was nowhere near enough. She needed to get to her room. She needed more. But first, now that her command of languages other than Middle English was returned, she gave a slight bow:

"またごめん."

---

Locations: Bldg 1, Restaurant Interactions: @Sky Blue

---

A mad grin spread on Ryūs lips as the cooks finally brought the dragon her meal. They came through the kitchen door in procession; the first two carrying the roast pig on a spit between them, then three more, each carrying a tray with grilled chickens. Last came the head chef with her personal plate, three feet across, and a jug of her beloved hot sauce. They put the food in front of her, covering the entirety of her table and a bit of an adjacent one, and the five cooks offered curt bows before returning to their stations. The head chef remained, meeting Ryūs hungry gaze with a raised eyebrow.

Chef, Ryū said, nodding at the man.

"Dragon" the chef said in return.

Will you tell me the secret ingredient? Ryū tried, as she had so many times before, her eyes narrowing.

The man didn't flinch, "No."

Ryū gritted her teeth, snarling. And if I offered you gold? Or if I threatened to eat you? she said, her voice a venomous hiss.

In another age, this man would have been a hero famous for his bravery. He simply folded his arms over his chest, whispering a single word: "Never."

Fine! Ryū exclaimed, denied once more. Then pour! One day she would have it.

The head chef nodded calmly, then proceeded to upend the jug of hot sauce over the expanse of grilled meat, drenching it in sticky, fiery goodness. When he was done, he too offered a curt bow before returning to the kitchen. Ryū remained, sitting before her fleshy treasure, her previous grin returning. As she was just about to dig in, she spotted a newcomer in the center of the canteen. The... changeling, was it? Noticing the single little blueberry bagel in his hand, she nodded at him. Hungry? she chirped, and turned back to her meal. RAWR!~ the dragon roared, and dug in with both forks at once.

---

Location: Building 1, first floor
Interactions: @Xaltwind, @Lemons

---

Crystal blue eyes as cold as ice with pupils the size of pinpricks stared at the scene before her.

Iris had simply wanted to find Max. She had begun at the top of the building and was making her way down to the bottom floor. She had hoped she wouldn’t find anything along the way. She had kept her body pulled in tight, every muscle achy from the transformation the night before. She wanted this little trip to be quick and over as soon as physically possible. Get the meat and get back to her room. And yet, there she was. Standing at the end of the hall, eyes locked on the scene of the feeding vampire. It was against the rules. It was strictly forbidden. Her eyes were locked on the vampire, her breath caught in her chest at the sight. There was no fighting it at that moment. There was no arguing back and forth, no bickering between the two halves that clashed within her being. In that very moment, wolf and human were on the same side, with the vampire on the other. Punishment had to be delivered, she had to be removed from this place. She had to suffer for harming another resident, in their pack territory, in their HOME.

A low growl began to rumble from deep within her chest as she finally released the breath she held. "You,” she roared as she clenched her muscles, the pupils in her eyes finally expanding as the shift began to course through her body. Fur pushed through every single pore, hairs along her body thickened and her face contorted as a snort began to elongate her nose and mouth. Her canines grew in width and length, extending far past her lower jaw and even cutting into the not yet fully formed bottom. Her lungs heaved like a train picking up speed, each new breath coming in faster than the last. Bones elongated, and claws grew from her fingernails, digging deeply into her palms as she clenched her fist. Soon, a large bipedal wolf stood before them, still in the same sweatpants and breathing heavily, her whole body still quivering from the extent of the change. Thankfully, her transformation stopped there. She didn’t have to drop to all fours to continue it. She was still sane, if not a little feral. Her crystal blue eyes locked on the blood that lingered on the vampire’s jaw and then to it on the floor.

She took a predatory step towards the vampire, her eyes flashing to the fox for only a moment before she locked those crystal blue eyes on the leech once more. Iris wasn’t one to go along with the old trope of vampire and werewolf hate but this one had literally just been sucking the blood of a resident just a moment ago. Leech was a perfect description for this rule breaking, blood sucker. “You know what I think about people like you?” She asked as she took another step, her claws clicking loudly on the floor of the stairwell. “People who think they’re above others. Who think they can use others for their own purposes?” She grinned viciously, her fangs flashing violently under the fluorescent lights, her muscles tightening as she slowly lowered her stance down. “I think they need to be cut down to size.” And with that, she launched herself at the vampire, claws out to grab at her. Her strength and leg length made her move incredibly fast. Before one could blink, Iris was upon the vampire, her claws primed to swipe and mouth open in a wild smile.

If human Iris was in control at this moment, there might have been a thought or two of how this was a bad idea and she would probably get into just as much trouble as the vampire for attacking her but human Iris was pretty much gone at that moment. She was getting small tidbits of what was happening but it was like she was in a pitch black room with a strobe like set on the slowest strobe it had. She was only getting screenshots of the world around her from time and time and the feral wolf, who now had full control of the body, thought this was the greatest and most fun idea she had ever had. Here she was, with a reason to actually test out the strengths of one of the stronger residents in the complex. Sure, her intentions were noble to begin with but at this point, those intentions were lost with the rush of adrenaline and the need for the fight. If it wasn’t obvious by the laughing growls and barks she let out while attacking, she was having the time of her life.

All she wanted to do was get something to eat and having a transformation on an empty stomach like this, oh she was going to pay for it later. She’s going to have to eat a whole cow to make up for the protein loss she just experienced. She was going to have to sleep for a dang week after all this is said and done. She just wanted a steak!

---

Location: the Cafeteria.
Interactions: @Red Wizard
Nicholas looked at the dragoness. What in the world? He turned his face into a dragon's and rawred. not roared, rawred. it... was honestly kind of adorable. he turned back to normal and nom-nom'ed his bagel. "So, what's with the hot sauce?" He looked at her drenching her meat. honestly he didn't approve, but then again, his taste buds were artificial.

Location: Umbra Rose Condos, Building #1, Floor #1, Stairwell -> Front Desk
Time of Day: Early Morning
Relevant Cast: @Lemons Velvet, @BunniesofDoom Iris, @Dragonydas Theria, @CitrusArms Yumeiko, Anyone Else Currently At the Front Desk(?)

---

Ugh, do I realaly have to help carry this lush back up to her room? She's heavy. And she keeps murmuring to herself. And she smells like dust and stale air... I'm a delicate flwoer, y'know? I shouldn't have t---



There was a sudden prick at her neck and a even more sudden embrace. But it wasn't a loving one. This was the kind of stuff those drunk higher nobles would try to pull back at the imperial palace all those years, thinking they could get a free feel-up when nobody was watching. And was this bitch actually biting her!? Wait... One moment... She was sucking too...? Ah, not it made sense.

Miyuki suddered as the sensation of her very own vitality was litteraly being forcefully drained out of her by this wretched assailant. While she now understood what kind of curse this woman was under, that didn't make the situation any less unpleasant or inexcusable. here she was, being a good samirtan, trying to help this ingrate, and what does she get? Bitten in the neck and sucked upon by a complete and total stranger! With who-knows-what-kinds-ofSTDs or other nasty she may be carrying!?

Apart from the initial shock, and comedically loud and high-pitched yelp she'd let out when initially nom'd on, Miyuki's face and tone had now taken on a different tone. While many may have been frightened or panicked, tried to struggle and flail about like a captured mouse, the kyuubi did none of that. Instead, she stood silently and waited for the parasitic pleb to get this whole thing over with. After all, with a grip like this, there was no way Miyuki could move anyway, she wasn't exactly built for physical exchanges of the muscular variety. Her face did have a certain disapproval written across it though.

Evnetually, the offender seemed to regain some kind of composure or control - FIANLLY! - and relinquished her grip on the fox spirit, staggering and throwing herself backwards into a wall. The kyuubi was surprised to hear the girl apologize in her native tongue, not that doing so would earn her any bonus points. After all, she'd just--

-- And there came another one...

This one was a large woman, with dark skin and very blue eyes. And now she was ... Growing fur... All over... And her face was distorting into a wolf's head... Alright, great. FANTASTIC! Yes, let's not complicate the istuation or anything by doing something like just letting thinbgs be, let's try and resolve it ourselves, by turning into our true form, and then proceed to start a rawl. Which was exactly what this emathead did. After spouting some self-righteous bull-honkey to justify her bloodlust and war-mongering, the mongrel lunged and leapt to attack the human-sized lamprey who'd just snacked on Miyuki.

Now, had this all happaned back in her homeland and her own domain, the kyuubi would'be been more than happy to settle this trifle herself. By, obviously, annihilating the two morons and sending their souls to hell herself. But, this wasn't her domain, and she - as she'd been told when first arriving - had to obey the rules and follow the customs of this place, just like everyone else. Except for these two. Watching the two get into a scuffle, the black-haired woman straightened and readjusted her kimono, gently brushed her neck where two small bite marks were, let out a sigh and then...

... Turned on her hell...?

Yup. That's right. The fox spirit left the two combatants to duke it out in whatever primitive primal primate-like way they wanted. That was none of her concenr. Instead, she followed the path that her beloved had traveled, and quickly reached the front deek. Where several individuals were gathered. Including the gorgon-lady and an unfamiliar ghost girl.... But now wasn't the time to take stock of the crowd. It was good that this glasses wearing snake-woman was manning the desk, rather than that weak-willed, feeble-looking human who had somehow suffered a nosebleed just by looking at her the first they'd met Oh, and obviously her precious princess was here too. But enough about that!.

"Miss Caretaker." Miyuki stated, rather loudly and with a serious, commanding tone of voice. "Two of your residents are trying to maul each other over by the stairway in this building. Oh, and one of them tried to eat me, I believe." She stated, rather matter of factly, while craning her neck slightly and pointing at the pin-prick-holes in her skin. "I believe it'd be a good idea to stop them before they rip each others limbs off." Her voice and expression was dispassionate and unconcerned, as if she was talking about something as unimportant as whether or not there'd been any unwanted magazines in her mail.

---

---

_{Location:Umbra Rose Condos: Bldg 1, Floor 1, Rm. 107 —> Floor 1 Hallways
Time of Day: Early Morning
Relevant Cast: @Mistress dizzy@Lemons @BunniesofDoom}

---

Before Ms Chima could respond a rather loud roar echoed down the hallway, making Max’s hair stand on end. “Sorry, Ms. chima!” He said quickly, pointing the dolly down the hall. “That sounds like- I think I should-… bye!” His long legged stride was purposeful but his insides were quivering at the thought of going TOWARDS that sound. Coming around the corner to see a trail of blood drops leading towards the stairwell. His eyes followed it the other way and widened at the sight of a massive bipedal wolf (Miss Iris?), with rows and rows of sharp teeth (Why is it always sharp teeth?!) staring down the equally terrifying vampiress, who’s lips were bright with fresh blood. There was roaring, there was snarling, there was screaming. Belatedly, Max realized the screaming he was hearing was HIS screaming.

“AHHHH! Oh god, oh god, oh god!” Max’s brain was pure fight or flight but his duty to work forbid the later and lord knows he wasnt going to do the former so instead he settled for the only thing he could think of. His large hands ripped open the top package on the dolly, marked for delivery to Cai, the head chef of building 1, and he grabbed the only thing available.”AHHHHH!” His screaming continued as he took a powerful stride and pitched the large, rather expensive, Wagyu beef steak like he was in the World Series. The piece of meet sailed through the air, perfectly marbled edges catching the light, and struck the werewolf mid-lunge, square in the face.

---

Location: Building 1, floor one
Interactions: @LupusIntus, @Kuro, @Lemons

---

There was a slight understanding deep in the depths of the wolf’s mind that the fox- had left but, again, she may have begun as a knight in shining armor but by the time she was throwing herself forward towards the vampire, that excuse had been replaced by the thrill of the hunt. Her heart thumped in her chest like a war drum and she practically licked her canines at the excitement of it all. That was, until a wet, sloppy something smacked her square in the side of her face, pulling her attention fully from the vampire.

The wolf came to a screeching halt, a hand on the ground and the other extended in an attack and looked down as a steak fell to the ground with a sickly plop. She pulled her lips back from her fangs and whirled to face whoever dared to interrupt her battle. Who had the gall to throw a steak at her face, and just as she was about to tear the vampire apart?! Who? She was going to rip them apart first and then go back to the vampire! She was furious! She was never let out to just have fun and she was finally free and someone is ruining it! After this, she was sure she wasn’t going to be let out again for a long time. Hell, she’ll be lucky Iris doesn’t chain them up every full moon now! She had to take full advantage of this, now! So who is ruining this for me! Who?!

Rage filled eyes locked on a terrified Max just at the end of the hall and she froze. Her face flashed with a multitude of expressions as she recognized her friend. Rage, how dare he? He knows about her and how Iris treats her! He knows how she’s chained up or locked away, never allowed out to see or meet people! He knows! Why would he? Then the rage turned to denial. It couldn’t be Max. Not her Max! No, someone else had to have thrown the steak at her. He wouldn’t do this to her but as her eyes saw the blood from the steak on his hands, finally, acceptance of the situation and what needed to be done. Max was terrified. Her friend was terrified- of her. Guilt and shame flashed across her eyes and it was as if the rage, the need to fight, had washed away from Iris with an exhale.

Her stance slackened so greatly that it almost seemed like she deflated. She lowered the arm she held out for an attack before she looked down at the steak on the ground. She lapped it up in her mouth before she began an excited bubbly trot towards him on all fours. It would have looked cute if she was a normal sized dog. However, Iris was well over six foot in this form and she towered over Max while standing and was head height when on all fours. She paused in front of him, her crystal blue eyes examining his own before she closed them and lowered her head slightly in a gentle headbut. Her tail thumped loudly on the ground behind her a few times before she walked behind him and dropped herself down, laying down on the ground behind him like a guard dog heeling faithfully behind its master. She began to tear into the steak, gnawing on it happily, being sure to peer over at Max every now and then to make sure he didn’t leave.

She felt bad. She had caused that terror she had seen on his face and she hated that it was her that had caused him so much trouble. Even now, as she tore into the steak, she could smell the fear leaving him in waves. It was so strong, it filled the hallway. It made her angry at herself and protective of Max. She wanted to make sure he knew that there was no reason for him to fear her. She may be wolf but she had considered him pack. She considered most the workers of this complex pack. She, probably, wouldn’t ever hurt him. At least, not as long as she was still sane enough to decipher the difference between people.

It didn’t take her long to finish it and she found herself nosing the box of other steaks, sniffing the box hungrily.

---

Locations: Bldg 1, Restaurant Interactions: @Sky Blue

---

Ryū looked up from her feast, forks held high and chin dripping with hot sauce. There was a kind of frenzy in her unblinking eyes that hadn't been there before, and she seemed to have difficulty with pausing her feeding once she hsd begun. The sauce? she growled, It's the boss! Feels like my mouth is burning! Only way to get that while being like this! She pointed at herself with a fork for emphasis, licking her lips to catch more of the sauce. She suddenly narrowed her eyes at the changeling, as if suspicious. What, you want some? the dragon hissed, baring her teeth in a snarl, Well, you can't! It's mine. My own... My preciousss~

Tearing her gaze from the bagel-muncher, Ryū started attacking the grilled goodness once more, growling and smacking audibly as she tore into her meal. The forks were rending and tearing at the flesh, making quite the mess. She lost herself in gluttous greed, thrashing her head to and fro with pieces of meat lodged in her maw, as if delivering a killing bite. Insanity was the word that would come to mind for anyone unaware of her true form. Bad manners came a close second, knowledge or not.

In an all-too short space of time, the barbequed banquette was lost, devoured to the last drop of sauce. Ryū was gnawing on a bone for the last scraps of flesh, tossing the bone onto the impressive skeletal heap that was covering her plate. She leaned back, her hands on her belly, and belched loudly with a contended smile on her face. She looked up at the changeling. So, bread, huh? she mumbled, What's the deal with that? What does it even taste like? Seems kind of... dry, to me.

---

Location: Building 1, Restaurant
Interactions: @Red Wizard Ryu
Nicholas laughed. and fanned the air around his nose. "Wow. that was a real stinker. Well anyway, Sauron, I'm not interested. keep the hot sauce all to yourself." A spat of sauce hit Nicholas In the face. He wiped it off and sighed. He was aware that ryu had a true form, but other than that, his changeling instincts told him nothing more. "Well, As for bread, it was the first thing i saw, so i grabbed it. Tastes like flavorless meat. But i mean, I gotta give the chefs a break sometimes, right? I don't really need to eat though. I just enjoy it." He stretched, and looked around. Man, where is everyone?"

Location: Building 1: Lobby -> 1st floor
Interactions: @Kuro, @Red Wizard, @CitrusArms, @Xaltwind, @Lemons, @BunniesOfDoom, @LupusIntus

---

Right after the dragon Qaymu left, Layla, the attentive one, immediately looked towards the stairway, making Theria question what had Layla spotted. She almost instantly got her answer, when Sheila complained about the cold. There was a spirit near the lobby. Of course, Theris couldn’t see the spirit, but Layla could, and Layla directed Theria towards it.

"Good morning lady Krause." said Theria in the general direction of Suzy. “At least that’s who my Layla is saying is here. If I’m wrong, I’m really sorry.” As she said it, Theria placed a book and a pen on the counter. If ghosts wanted to communicate, it was usually by writing.

As she was waiting for Suzy to write, she looked back towards Velvet. Upon hearing her explanation, Kaki hissed, making Theria hold back a chuckle. Kaki, the glutton, was now complaining that the explanation made her hungry. Theria nodded to Velvet and watched her leave. “If you need room service to clean up, just let me know.” She said as the vampire left.

As she left, another resident dragon appeared and greeted Theria. “Good morning Lady Ryū.” said Theris back as Neiko, the fashionista of her snakes, commented on the dragon’s sense of fashion. Theria quickly shushed Neiko though.

Layla was still tracking Suzy while Yumeiko appeared and went straight towards her. Theria smiled as they spoke. It was a good thing to see a ghost being able to converse with someone. Theria made a mental note to also try to find an interpreter for ghosts… It would save so much paper.

When the other foxy lady appeared though, things quickly took a turn. Xena, the combative one, immediately warned Theria about the scent of blood coming from her. Theria was about to ask about it when Miyuki actually told her. There was a fight about to happen… And she had been fed upon. Velvet couldn’t hold it…

Theria thanked Miyuki and slithered towards the first floor in a quick motion. Xena was also curling herself, ready to pounce should physical action be necessary. Her right hand was also already grabbing her glasses. She hoped that she wouldn’t need to use her powers, but if that’s what it took to end a fight, she would. Hearing a familiar scream though, did not help her worries…

As she finished climbing the stairs, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Max was there with a transformed werewolf at his feet. Velvet, the vampire, had her back to the wall and appeared to be stunned. Layla hissed to let Theria know that Suzy was with Velvet. It seemed as if the situation was good and she didn’t have to use her powers after all.

“Max, is everything ok here? What happened?” She asked, eyeing both the Vampire and the Werewolf.

Location: Building #1; Hallways → First Floor
Interactions: @Xaltwind Miyuki, @Kuro Suzy

A soft smile graced her lips as two of her tails wrapped around her legs, keeping her warm against the frigid air from her ghostly neighbor. “Do-”

The scent of blood and Suzy’s turning attention drew the spirit fox’s attention toward.. Miyuki. What had happened? A sense of dread pulled at her heart as she watched the elder fox approach the front counter and demand action from the staff for - an injury!? She turned back to Suzy and found the ghost with a similar expression to her own. In a silent agreement, the two departed each other, each to take care of their own crisis.

She had left Miyuki alone, only for her admirer to get injured! The shrine priestess’s heart sank as she made hurried steps to the tall fox’s side, worry in her voice, “Yuki-chan, daijoubu?” Yumeiko had not the height Suzy was able to achieve with her minimal attachment to gravity, and had not seen the bite mark yet. She wrapped her arms tenderly around the Kiyuubi’s waist, regret in her voice, while her head buffled gently against the supple warmth. She left the skin with a kiss and stood on her toes to see, lifting her chin to raise her face higher, “misasete.”

She gasped, “kanda?!” Well, Miyuki had said an attempt had been made to eat her, which was not a welcome image. Yumeiko felt horrible, looking into Miyuki’s eyes apologetically, her ears back, tears welling in her eyes. She gave a soft sniffle before she gathered the first of her sacred tears onto her finger, “makasete.” and reached up, carefully laying one on each puncture wound. The two tails around her legs unwound as the room began to warm back up, and a third rose to meet her fingertip at Miyuki’s neck. With a bit of her lavender-colored fox fire, the drops were transformed into cute little bandaids with anime representations of her human and fox faces on them in a polka dot pattern, the sanctity of which would cleanse any vestige of foreign curse left behind, and help the wounds close and heal without scarring.

“This happened because I thoughtlessly asked you to help her.” The tails that had been around her legs wrapped instead around Miyuki, loosely holding her in their fluff as the lady herself fidgeted with the hem of the Kyuubi’s kimono, apologetic and frustrated with herself as she thunked her forehead forward, into Miyuki's sternum. “You only did so because I asked you to..”

For a while Khalid kept working, making adjustments to the design of his business card that included necessary information like his phone number and the fact that all sessions would be free of charge. He also opened a new window and began to put together a poster that could conceivably be tacked to the communal corkboard in the reception room, since while business cards were all well and good, they would probably never reach anyone he himself couldn’t. Unfortunately, progress on his mockups was slower than he would have liked, because he found it difficult to focus. For one, the right words didn’t always come, forcing him to pull up a web thesaurus or divert his attention from his laptop’s screen in order to circle back to his task from a different angle. But as he sat there, alternatively picking at his food and attempting graphic design, the more poignant concern was -as usual- his unique and precarious position.

After all, Khalid was now in public, rather than the security and privacy of his own domain. For all its advantages, room one-twelve was a decent enough place to survive, but not to live. That distinction meant little to the Shoggoth, but it meant the world to a human, and therein lay the problem. Its warm, humid atmosphere, rich with enough potent smells to make a newbie’s head spin, could not be tolerated for extended periods, and so Khalid spent the bulk of each day outside. If he managed to work his way through Umbra Rose Condos and out into the real world, he wouldn’t have to worry about things like possession and petrification, but the real world had its own problems, and Khalid for one didn’t feel at home in those streets, shops, and parks. There was nowhere that he belonged. One couldn’t get far out there without connections or money, which was half of why he’d found his way into Umbra Rose Condos to begin with. Wherever someone like him went, he’d need to be careful. That lesson had been beaten into him, sometimes literally. In here, at least, being careful just meant wearing talismans, growing wolfsbane, and frequently checking one’s blind spots–sometimes with a mirror.

So, it came as a somewhat pleasant surprise when, after a good ten or fifteen minutes at his computer, Khalid realized that the Building 3 Restaurant was still empty. Being in a public place without any people truly was the best of both worlds. He wouldn’t consider himself shy, necessarily, but an introvert never longed for human -or monster- contact. That said, he knew he was well within his right to fear the sort of company he could expect in Building 3. What to expect in Umbra Rose Condos, like monsters themselves, were no mystery if one could understand the patterns.

From his painstaking observations, Khalid knew that Building 1 housed the most human members of this unusual enclave, while Building 3 -with few exceptions- lay on the opposite end of the spectrum. They were presentable, identifiable, understandable. If not for animal ears, tails, pointy teeth, or weird eyes, many might as well be human. One could go to a strip mall in October and find Halloween costumes of all the ‘monsters’ who lived in Building 1. Not so for Building 3. Here there dwelled monsters. Cryptids that would flummox even the most foil-clad conspiracy theorists. Species with names that could seldom be pronounced, let alone recognized. Khalid had discreetly noted down several entities that he believed were, in fact, one-of-a-kinders. Some residents were strictly nocturnal. Some couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, or moved fast enough to stay in one’s blind spots. These were the things that went bump in the night. The things with very particular behaviors and requirements. The things that weren’t in control, or weren’t self-aware to begin with, and whose presence here skirted the narrow line between ‘tenancy’ and ‘confinement’. Like the Shoggoth, they were the sort of things that really threatened mankind, and that really interested him. They were the things he wrote about.

Until now.

With a sigh, Khalid attached his completed files and sent the email. The Gorgon in Reception ought to be on duty at this time, so hopefully she would have everything printed out by the time he arrived, but if she found herself busier than usual thanks to a bevy of correspondences or complaints he could be patient. Getting there would be the tricky part, but if he meant to actually start talking to monsters about his problems, he knew he couldn’t shy away from casual conversations, even if he ran the risk of being found out. He’d rehearsed a variety of situations during his stay so far in case someone should ever confront him, but theory and practice were too very different things. I’ll just have to believe in myself, he supposed.

…Still, it was hard to get moving, especially in the comfortable isolation of this restaurant. Khalid took a moment to inspect the Shoggoth, which was wrapping up its meal and had taken the form of a satisfied, bulbous mound. He checked its heat level by holding his hand close to its shifting epidermis, careful not to touch it. Still warm, but could be warmer. After a moment, the thin man cleared his throat. “Horace.” The mass shifted slightly at the word, instinctively projecting additional organs in his direction. “Are you full?”

“F̵̩͛͝u̵̫̇̏͝l̶̞̣͒̚ḷ̶͑͂͝.”

The hairs rose on the back of Khalid’s neck. No matter how many times he heard it, he could never get used to that voice. His voice, albeit a frightfully distorted imitation. That was about as good as the Shoggoth could ever do. Someone looking on might have thought that the Shoggoth answered his question, but that would be a rash assumption. The Shoggoth had no concept of language, or logic, or right and wrong. It could only take in, digest, and spit out a rough approximation of whatever it had been given. At least, that was his hypothesis. It was impossible to know for sure. The man swallowed. “Are you empty?”

“E̶̤̞͋̃m̸͕̓p̴̫͉̄̔t̸̲̊ý̶͍̔.”

Khalid snorted as he rose from the table. He held his satchel open against its edge, near where the Shoggoth rested. It was time to go, but the Shoggoth wasn’t about to move. Not by itself. “Horace," he said. His talismans rattled, their eyes blinking open. "In."

The Shoggoth stiffened. Then, after a tense second, the eldritch jelly slopped into the bag. Once inside, it relaxed in the warmth of the build-in heater, and Khalid tightened the buckles. His talismans were still again, their eyes closed. After putting his dishes in the return pile, he set off to make the journey through the complex to the front desk, his stride steady and self-assured. Even if, for whatever reason, today was the day, Khalid Alhazred would greet his fate with pride.

Sorry guys. I’m dropping out. This moves too fast, and I can’t keep up. Good luck with everything!

Qaymu

---

Bldg 1, Ground floor stairwell > First Floor stairwell landing

---

A blue transportation circle appeared on the floor next to the stairs to the first floor, and then Qaymu shimmered into being, floating briefly over the floor as his body seemed to sharpen and fill out. The next moment he was falling, landing on his feet with a gasp of pain. His left arm flailed out, desperately grabbing the handrail and holding on for dear life until the nausea subsided.

His human disguise faded, revealing his scaly bronze head. Qaymu looked down at the tied handkerchief in his right hand - then as he heard voices above, abruptly shoved it in the pocket of his trench coat. Rolling his right wrist, he checked his watch and scowled. The transportation circle had returned him only minutes after he departed from the condo, giving him the last few hours to relive. He must have left something out when he was reciting the spell.

Stealing himself, he climbed the stairs, still wearing his garrison hat.

Arriving at the first floor landing, Qaymu's eyes darted to each of them - Theria, the other Max, Velvet, and Iris.

"May I ask," Qaymu rasps, his voice deeper than usual, "What the hell is going on, here?"

_{Early Morning
Building 1 Hallways
Interacting with: @BunniesOfDoomIris, @LupusIntusMax, @DragonydasTheria, @ExpendableQaymu, @KuroSuzy}

---

It had all happened so fast.

She'd barely let go of Miyuki and apologized, fully ready to be yelled at for what she just did. It was an invasion. She knew that. In polite society, it was unacceptable to drink from people without permission. Maybe she could at least explain herself. But before she could even get another word out, a growl out of a horror movie came from near the staircase. She'd barely managed to register that Iris was there before the transformation had begun. She held her hands out in front of her, hoping she could at least convince one person that this hadn't been what she'd wanted. "Iris, wait—"

That was as far as she got before she accepted that was...probably not going to happen. The werewolf was looking at her like death—much like the Kyuubi was, actually—and then she began speaking. And it was at that point Velvet's right lip curled up contemptuously, exposing one of her bloody fangs.

The arrogant, evil fiend who uses people for her own purposes without thinking about them as 'people' at all. She was very familiar with this characterization of her. It had been pretty correct a while back. But that wasn't what she'd wanted. She'd tried her level best to not do any of that, to hold off until she could get to her fridge. She'd been starving, was all, and her instincts took over. And that was the crux of the contempt: you'd think that a werewolf would understand being taken over by your instincts more than anybody.

Oh. Wait. That 'cut down to size' thing didn't feel metaphorical or hypothetical, and suddenly Velvet realized that she was probably half an inch away from having to watch as her internal organs were swiftly splayed out across the hallway floor, and given how angry Iris looked, possibly the walls as well. Oh, come on. She'd JUST gotten that blood, even if she'd stolen it. She'd wanted to keep it for at least a little longer. Well, nothing for it. At this point, she just wanted to get it over with. As Iris blurred towards her, Velvet clenched her fists. Oh, she was fast. More than she'd been expecting. She sucked in a breath through a tight cage of teeth. She wouldn't be able to get out of the way, not like this. So all she could do was try to minimize the harm.

As Iris' flight ended, Velvet jammed her forearm into the werewolf's mouth. Eyes widened, mouth dried; that hurt quite a bit more than she was expecting it to. Big wolf, big jaws. Yet even as her bone splintered, she kept her arm locked firmly in place. Still, as occupied as Iris' teeth were, the arms? Not so much. One of them slashed downward, ripping a long, jagged gash across her chest. Blood rapidly soaked her shirt, and for the first time, she gave a gasp of pain. "Ah—"

Then in a blur of motion, Iris released her grip on the shattered wreck that her arm had become, and launched herself straight for her throat...

...Before she was interrupted by a flying piece of meat.

What?

Oh, no, she knew that smell. Human. Max, that darling little milksop that minded the front desk, had just thrown a steak directly in the face of a rampaging werewolf.

No, really. What?

A frozen moment passed as she stared up Iris. She was staring at Max now—with some very complicated expressions crossing her distorted face—but Velvet was still easily in range if she changed her mind and went back on the attack. So she held very, very still. Maybe werewolves were like t-rexes, they couldn't see you if you stayed still or something, but she didn't like her chances.

Then a frigid chill enwrapped her. She didn't feel normal cold. So it had to be—

And just like that, she was whipped backwards, skidding several feet away. Enough to be out of the line of fire if it came to that. She exhaled a long, shaky breath. Sure, her injuries would disappear by midnight. But that didn't make them any more comfortable in the meantime, as evinced by the maimed arm that she cradled to her chest. She whispered to the air with a strained voice: "Thank you, Suzy."

Then, a few moments later, another two people arrived. Theria, and...Qaymu. Her face fell. She liked Theria, and she wanted Qaymu to like her. Miyuki hadn't returned, it seemed like. She'd have to find her room and properly apologize to her later. This...was not a good early impression. At all. The least she could do was own it. She peeled herself away from the wall, trailing blood from her injuries as she looked back and forth between the two. "I was starving, couldn't control my hunger, and fed on Miyuki," she said flatly, surprised to the extent her voice was shaking. She hadn't been attacked in a little while now, and she was no longer used to it. "Iris saw it, assumed that I was being evil..." Even now, she couldn't help the note of that contempt that crept into her voice, "...and took it upon herself to bring me to justice." She flopped her injured arm at them, scattering droplets on the floor. "Consider justice brought."

Leaning back to the wall again, she tilted her head to the side as Iris nosed around the box of steaks. After what had just happened, it was so innocent looking that Velvet let out a short laugh free of any vitriol before she continued. "Now, I'm losing more blood than I can really afford. You can come with me," she looked at Theria, "and petrify me if I try something again. You can yell at me until you run out of breath tonight. But right now, I just want to get to my room, eat, and sleep before I collapse from hunger. Okay?"

Maxwell Erickson

_{Location:Umbra Rose Condos: Bldg 1, Floor 1 Hallway
Time of Day: Early Morning
Relevant Cast: @Lemons @BunniesofDoom @Dragonydas @Expendable @kuro}

---

No. No. No. No. NO. NOOOOO. Noooooo. No. No. No-oh. The words sang through Max's mind like a little mantra as the massive bestial form of a rather nice tenant, all things considered, joyfully trotted towards him with a raw steak happily chomped in her large jaws. Someone who didn't know Max might have believed he was handling the situation calmly, heroically even considering the monsterous maw of a humanoid wolf monster came within a few inches of his face and he didn't even flinch but the sad fact was that at that moment his soul had metaphorically left his body and his brain was no longer interpretting information received from his sensory organs. He was subsequently restarted when wolf-Iris offered him an affectionate head bump with the force of a light football tackle and almost sent him sprawling.

"Good.... Iris." Max's voice was a choked rasp as he stumbled back a step and instinctively patted the werewolf's head before realizing what he was doing and quickly locked his arms to his sides. Miss Theria arrived and he wasn't able to form a coherent answer to her question, which was fine as Mr. Qaymu suddenly made an appearance and Velvet recovered enough to speak. He glanced over to see Iris already digging through part of the meat supply for Building 1's restaurant and he winced inwardly but didn't dare stop her enjoying more of the prime steaks. She would be much more amicable in either form with a full stomach, though Cai would give him an earful later... and an eyefull of all those pointy crocodilian teeth.

Why do so many of the residents have such terrifying teeth?!

"I'm- I'm going to take her... out." He gave Theria and Velvet an apologetic smile. "But p-please let me know if I can... help Ms. Velvet with her recovery." The words left his mouth and he desperately wanted to pull them back and bury them deep in his soul but seeing Velvet in the state Iris' attack had left her gave too much strength to his inner empath who could plainly see the pain the vampire was experiencing. He was suddenly thankful he'd stuck a Nutri-grain bar in his pocket before leaving his room that morning; helped to keep the blood sugar up before a 'donation'.

Max turned back to the large, terrifying werewolf and patted his thigh. "C-come on, Iris." He forced his face into a quasi-smile while silently cursing himself and running over every single life choice that brought him to the current situation of taking a resident out for a walk. He grabbed the cart and started to make his way towards the stairwell ramp that would take them out to the courtyard.

Location: Umbra Rose Condos: Bldg 1, Ground Floor, Front Desk
Time of Day: Early Morning
Relevant Cast: @CitrusArms Yumeiko

---

"Daijoubu da wa." Miyuki replied softly, reassuring her fellow fox that she was ineed fine. She even did the little thing where you hold up an arm and flex your bicep - though in Miyuki's case, there wasn't much there to flex.

After receiving some TLC and giving her precious love-muffin a few gentle pats on the head though, Miyuki's eyes sharpened, her fingers curled and...

FLICK~!

Yumeiko was treated to a rather harsh forehead-flick, with the older fox spirit now putting her hands on her own hips and giving the golden-haired cutie an uncharacteristically stern look.

"There you go again with that bad habit of yours." She said, apparently either angry or annoyed now? "You wanted to help that girl, and she returned that goodwill by attacking me. How, exactly, my precious little floofbrain, is that your fault?" Miyuki folded and crossed her arms now, looking at Yumeiko as her many tails lazily and sluggishly squirmed. "I keep telling you this over and over. Everyone's responsible for him or herself and their own actions. All the evils of this world won't fit on those tender little shoulders of yours, so don't try to carry them."

This was a rare sight, to say the least. Usually it was Yumeiko who delivered the scoldings and the lectures and the unjustifed taking-away-of-the-fried-tofu, but every once in a blue moon, the older fox actually did act in this far more mature and worldly manner. Wisdom and experience do come with age they say, so perhaps.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrumble~!

"... I'm even hungrier now... Can we get breakfast already?" Miyuki's cheeks flushed slightly as she held both hands over the growling tummy and averted her eyes, the serious moment completely ruined by her lack of yum-yum's in her tum-tum's.

...

...

... Meanwhile, inside Miyuki's mind...

That wretched woman, how dare she lay a finger on me? She'll rue the day she touched the forbidden fruit without permission! I'll curse her.. I'll curse her entire family...! They'll all suffer. SUFFER! That tramp and all her filthy kin will suffer for this, you just wait, shorty...

None of this was ever conveyed in any of Miyuki's expressions or voice.

Teehee~

---

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