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How Not To Become Lunch: 45 - Don’t Look Tasty
Fiona put a hand to her belly with a little smile as the morning breeze drifted through her fur. Things had been a bit… complicated lately, but it was hard to have a bad morning with the trailing bits of yesterday’s late lunch padding her lower gut. There was a comforting security in it, not to mention the lingering pleasure.
As the breeze blew by, it also carried scents past her nose. The smells of the season, of the birds in the nearby trees, and the many aromas of her classmates as she arrived at school. Fur of many mammalian varieties, scales of nagas and dragons, the humans with their bare skin and traces of perspiration, some of which smelled rather appetizing, and some of which smelled especially-
Jack, came her recognition of the scent. Her smile shrank ever so slightly; hardly even noticeable. She turned in the direction, toward the far end of the school’s broad entryway, but didn’t see him. Not immediately, anyway. After a few seconds, his familiar form suddenly appeared, wand in hand, as he released his invisibility spell, eyes already meeting hers.
He wore a noticeably uncomfortable attempt at a small smile, but he started toward her without any outward hesitation.
“…Hey, Fi,” he greeted conservatively.
“Hey,” she replied with a little wave, managing not to seem too awkward. …At least until they both realized they were now just standing there in silence.
“…Wanna walk to homeroom together?” Jack offered.
“Um, sure.”
A part of her was genuinely happy to hear he still wanted to be around her after yesterday, but that part was largely overshadowed by anxiety as she began to remember exactly what she’d done: leaving him to get swallowed between classes, ditching him after school, not to mention what she’d done during class with him just one seat over. How had he felt after she’d left? How did he feel now? What was he thinking?
Okay, not a bad start, is what Jack was thinking at that moment. Maybe I should just… let us warm up to each other silently before I try opening my mouth again. After all, the last thing he’d said to her besides ‘hey’ hadn’t ended up so well.
He smells nervous! Wait, does he always smell nervous? Ugh, that’s only recently, isn’t it? He’s not saying anything. But that’s normal, right? We walk without talking all the time! …Right? …No, but I can’t just stay quiet and pretend like yesterday never happened. Maybe he thinks I don’t want to talk to him? Maybe he’s waiting for me to say something first? Come on, Fiona, you have to say something.
The werewolf glanced around inconspicuously.
Come on, say something. Something! Say something! Anything!
“That girl looks kinda tasty,” Fiona commented.
THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT BY ‘ANYTHING’! Ugh! Why did I say that? Do I want Jack to think that I only think with my stomach!?
“Oh- um- not that I’m hungry or anything! I was just saying. I’m actually still fine after what I ate yesterday.”
WHY DID I MENTION WHAT I ATE YESTERDAY!? Fiona screamed mentally at herself. What am I supposed to say now!? Nothing could save me from that!
That’s when another voice chimed in.
“Why don’t you mark her, then? Save her for later?”
Fiona’s muzzle snapped to the side. “Arthur!?” She must have been so preoccupied she hadn’t even noticed his scent, let alone the werewolf himself walking right up to them.
Jack frowned. His tiny, optimistic hopefulness quickly sinking into deep uneasiness as he watched her lay eyes on him and her entire demeanor change.
Emotions flashed through Fiona’s already busy mind: surprise, a quick flutter of giddy joy, and then even more awkwardness as she realized Arthur must have just heard her stumbling over her own tongue. Oh, what she wouldn’t give for an excuse to get out of there! …Actually, Arthur had just given her one, hadn’t he?
Having another marked human for lunch doesn’t sound bad, she admitted, unable to help her mind momentarily drifting toward the human that was still drifting through her digestive system. Even if she gets taken by someone else before then, at least Arthur will get to see me in action.
“Yeah, good idea, Arthur,” she replied with nervously exaggerated enthusiasm. “Would you mind watching Jack for a minute?” She’d been purposefully avoiding her friend’s gaze, but glanced at him as she said his name. He did not seem happy. She’d apparently managed to be so inconsiderate that she’d messed up the mood of his whole morning with hardly a dozen words. All the more reason to excuse herself and avoid saying anything that would upset him even more.
“Sure, go ahead, Fi,” Arthur replied.
Wait, when did Arthur start calling her that? Jack asked himself a bit bitterly, but that was only a passing thought. He was more concerned with figuring out how everything had just gone from okay to terrible in the course of a few footsteps. The two of them had just met up, and now Arthur had appeared out of nowhere and Fiona was all flustered and now she’s suddenly off to…
Wait, did she say she was going to mark that girl?…
Jack felt something in his chest tighten as he watched her go, knowing her intentions. Realizing he was now alone with Arthur, he glanced inconspicuously at the werewolf, but the keen-eyed pred had his gaze set steadily on Fiona. Deciding he probably wouldn’t try anything, Jack looked back to watch as well, drawn in like it was some impending disaster. He knew all too well that for his unacquainted schoolmate, it would be.
Fiona herself felt a sizable amount of relief as she stepped away. Not a total relief- she knew she’d still have an awkward mess to clean up when she got back- but it felt good to at least get away from it and take a chance to clear her head. But this was more than just a moment alone. As she set her eyes on her newly designated prey and felt herself slip into that familiar, predatory mindset, she found herself almost smiling. Back there things were complicated, but hunting was simple. It wasn’t necessarily easy, but she was skilled, powerful even.
Her tail flicked once, but she stilled it to remain a bit less conspicuous. She walked toward her quarry, but not directly at her, and she took a moment to observe. Her prey was talking with two other girls, all three of them walking down the hall together- with Fiona moving toward them just slightly faster. Only one of the girls seemed to be a mage; her target and the third girl were wandless. That did make things rather easy, she wouldn’t even have to disarm anyone. She picked up her pace.
Jack watched her close the gap with a growing sense of silent dread. She was leaving him behind again, but it felt like more than that. It felt like she was leaving herself behind, in a way, like she was stepping out of that kind, caring self he knew and becoming something else. He’d had the same feeling when he’d watched her hunt the other day, when she’d caught that adult with the rest of her new friends watching- with Arthur watching.
Admittedly, he’d only seen her hunt a few times since coming back to town. He’d watched her when they were little, but she’d definitely grown quite a bit since then, and seeing her take down other humans had definitely been an adjustment. But even those first couple times… he was almost sure of it, something had been different, she’d still seemed like Fiona to him then, now… well, she was certainly still Fiona, but…
Almost… the prowling werewolf thought to herself. Just a couple more steps… Keep talking like I’m not even here…
And then it happened. Silently, as if she had been a ghost. She’d reached out and taken the girl’s arm as if it were her own; just something she’d left hanging around. And she guided it right between her jaws and into her glistening, white-
“Ahhhhh!!”
The girl’s immediate reaction was to try and pull her arm away, but Fiona held her prey firmly in place. She wasn’t so worried about the human escaping, after all she was planning on letting this one go until later, but with her teeth where they were she didn’t want to make a mess. She wanted a clean bite; and that’s what she got- or rather, what she gave.
“Hey!” The mage of the trio turned and immediately raised her wand. “Let her go!”
Fiona glanced at the human girl, who was clearly ready to fight, and simply obeyed. She parted her muzzle and gently withdrew her prey’s arm, with nothing but a small string or two of saliva and a clear, clean mark in the pattern of her pointed teeth. She let the skin slip through her furry fingers, and the human pulled her appendage back, clutching it to her chest with her other hand. The third girl rushed forward to pull the newly-marked to safety, while the mage kept her eyes and her wand trained on the werewolf.
But Fiona had no more business with them, at least not until lunch, so she simply turned and walked away, growing a satisfied smile at a job well done and running her tongue along her teeth, keeping one ear open in case that mage decided to try anything behind her back.
Jack was stiff as a stone. The moment seemed to stick with him, staying in his mind even as Fiona walked away. The moment those teeth touched skin. He knew all too well what would happen to that girl after that, everything she’d have to go through. She’d be a walking lunch now, a beacon for empty bellies, just like him.
But as impactful as that was, that wasn’t what struck Jack the most. Fiona had marked her… for nothing… She’d said it herself, she wasn’t even hungry, she’d marked that girl for… for the fun of it? For the sport? For Arthur to watch? Jack knew as well as she did that leaving a marked prey to roam around school until lunch was far from a safe bet. If she’d really wanted a big lunch, they both knew she’d have been better off hunting for one when the time came. She didn’t do this for food, not really. By the look on her face, she’d done it for the satisfaction.
“Nicely done,” Arthur complimented, sounding a bit satisfied himself. “I think I actually share a couple classes with that one, I’ll spread the word she’s yours.”
Jack very clearly got the sense that an advanced predator’s claim to a human held some weight, and that Arthur’s word could very much help strengthen that claim. In theory, he should feel some security in that, perhaps if they spread the word that he was Fiona’s he’d have a bit less trouble. But the truth was he’d rarely felt more like an object- outside of a hungry gullet. Besides, most of the preds already knew Fi had marked him, and it seemed they considered him more or less fair game by now.
“Thanks,” Fiona replied. She sounded noticeably less anxious than when she’d walked off a few seconds ago. There was a moment of silence as she simply smiled at him, apparently basking in his presence, before seemingly remembering the ever-ticking clock. “Well, we’d better get to our homeroom.”
“Catch you later,” Arthur said. He smiled and walked off, a watchful eye on Fiona’s future meal as he went.
Fiona started walking too, glancing back at Jack to make sure he was coming along. He followed just a step or two behind. He was silent. Appropriate words felt far beyond his reach now, he was more focused on keeping up his calm, casual facade.
And maybe he’d imagined it, but as they were walking, he thought he could hear a faint little sound over the din of the halls.
*gurgle*
Fi’s belly was making room.