Monday 13th April 09 Who: Cassie and Wolf, turning into Cassie and Harlow What: The demon gets a surprise visitor in her dreams. Where: The library and Cassie’s mind. When: Monday evening.
Cassie was.... wait for it... in the library. Not only was she there but she was trying to study. Not a lot had been going in during her classes recently, probably due to all the worry and lack of sleep going around. The dreamcatchers had been helping ease anxieties a little, but they couldn’t keep everything away it seemed and Jason was still wary about being around her, which, even though she knew why, made things harder somehow, and so she had other things to think about than her classes, or even causing chaos. So, study time was needed.
Really, considering the need to stay awake and all the other precautions people had in place at the moment, she should have been studying with someone else, or at least around someone else, but Cassie knew that if she tried she would just get distracted, and she couldn’t afford any more distractions. Of course she couldn’t afford to fall asleep either, but little by little her resting of her eyes between pages got longer and longer, until she was fast asleep, head resting on her arms, and dreaming of being in class with Jason and Fox, sending stupid texts and pieces of paper between them.
---
Wolf had been waiting at the edges of Cassie’s consciousness for the girl to fall asleep. He had focused all his energy on Jason and now he thought he would have a little fun and get his puppy all wound up for him. Wolf hadn’t always been like this, he had been a good guy when he was alive but being dead had changed him into something cold and manipulative.
He wanted Jason, in every sense of the word. He knew sex wasn’t something he would get out of him but a daytime vampire was something even better. But he was distracting himself; once Cassie was asleep he walked into the classroom in her dream and smiled at how teenage girl it was. “Really...you are what have my boy’s attention?” He frowned as he picked up the apple on the desk and then smiled at the two blond men in class. “Come here boys.” Wolf smirked as the two men walked towards him and then cuddled against him like kittens.
-----
Were Cassie conciously thinking about the content of her dreams she’d probably agree it was incredibly young and teenaged, but the appeal was in it’s simplicity. They were happy, everyone was getting on instead of there being tension between her best friend and her boyfriend. Simple happiness.
Well it was until someone else walked in, someone the demon didn’t recognise, making her pause, especially when he spoke. His boy? What? Who was his boy? It took a few seconds to click, right about when he called Jason and Fox to him, and she frowned. “Hold on. This isn’t right. Who the hell are you? Jason, Fox, you don’t want to be... “ Cassie stood, walking over but keeping out of reach. “Let them go. They don’t do men.”
---
Wolf didn’t understand the simplicity of a dream like this, it didn’t appeal to him. All he cared about was manipulating it to upset Cassie for his own amusement...and if he got bored, breaking her bones was always a good use of his time.
Wolf smiled at her as he ran his fingers through Jason’s hair. “Hmmm but it is right kiddo, this is my dream now and they will do whatever the hell I want them too, and happily and right in front of you.”
----
A more sensible person might have just walked away from it, left the sight behind, but this was Cassie. She didn’t think of sensible, besides she wanted to protect Jason and Fox. She couldn’t leave them behind, even if this was a dream. “It’s just a dream. A bad one. It can change.” She stated firmly, reaching out to the guys, closing her eyes and biting her bottom lip gently, trying to shift it to a club instead of the classroom and wish this other guy away.
---
“Cassie, little girl have you not figured out who I am yet? That sounded very over the top didn’t it? Doesn’t matter. Fox, lovely boy tell your friend who I am.” Wolf said as he lifted Fox’s wrist to his lips and bit into his flesh. It was a dream so Fox’s blood wouldn’t bother him. Wolf chuckled as Fox groaned out his name. The vampire lifted his head and licked his lips and smiled at Cassie. “I have control of your dream little girl, not you.”
---
Opening her eyes, she wrinkled her nose as he spoke and crossed her arms. Why did wishes never work unless it was against her? Cassie’s eyes widened as he bit her friend though and she moved closer involuntarily, as if she could stop it, but she already knew she couldn’t.
It took effort to look at Wolf and try to feign toughness, when inside she was ridiculously scared, but she couldn’t allow him to see it that easily. “I guessed who you were, you’ve been making everyone’s life a living hell and trying to break my boyfriend afterall. I just hoped it was my overactive imagination instead of the real you. And stop calling me little girl. What do you want? I’m not going to make Jason go to you, and he wouldn’t do it anyway. He’s too strong for you, so just give it up and go rot in a hole somewhere, ok?”
--- Wolf smiled at her with dream Fox’s blood on his teeth and then licked his lips again. “Mmm really you think he’s so strong? A few more nights of what could have been playing through his head and he will be crying in my arms. Your boyfriend wants what I took away, he wants his mommy and the three siblings he would have had. He would have ogrown up happy and well loved. Playing that movie in his head is doing some serious damage.” He forced Fox to kneel next to him and then focused on the dream version of Jason. “He will come to me dear girl, because he will have no other choice...it’s not like he can stand around and watch this happen to you.” Wolf flicked his hand and a good chunk of skin removed itself from Cassie’s arm, as Jason snuggled into him and Fox rested his head on his thigh.
---
Cassie kept her eyes on Wolf, trying to ignore anything the guys were doing. It wasn’t the real Fox and Jason, just dreams, she could ignore it.... oh fuck she wanted to not be seeing it. She wanted to tell Wold where he could shove his dreams, that Jason was smart enough to know what was lost couldn’t be brought back, that everyone would help the dhampir get through this, because he WAS loved, even if he didn’t have that perfect childhood, but he just kept talking, and threatening.... and hurting her.
The demon froze in shock as he skinned part of her arm, staring at it for the few seconds before the pain and the blood came and her eyes teared up against her will. Biting her lip, she clasped her other hand over it, pained sounds coming from her throat no matter how hard she tried to stop them. It took a little while before she could open her mouth and be fairly secure in the knowledge she wouldn’t scream or whimper. “Fuck you.” It wasn’t exactly eloquent, but boy was it heartfelt.
--- .Wolf seemed to know how to get into people’s heads and at the moment he was doing his best to get into Cassie’s. Whether it was real or not, seeing your boyfriend making out with someone else wasn’t always fun. Wolf turned his head to watch Cassie as she covered her arm. “Hurts doesn’t it? I can make it hurt a lot worse dear girl.” He said as his fingers slid through dream Jason’s hair. The scene changed and they were in Wolf’s caverns, his den of vamps coming forward to hold Cassie still, one licking at her arm. “I could let them play with you you know...but sadly Jason wouldn’t like that much.”
---
She kept wanting to scream at him to stop touching Jason and Fox, even when she was in pain. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to stop seeing it even when she woke up, and neither of them deserved for her to be seeing that when she looked at them.
As much as Cassie liked being held in place during sex or jokingly with people she trusted, this was something completely different and she struggled against the people, eyes darting around the cavern he had moved them to, but fighting just made her bleed more and it hurt a lot more. “You’ve made your point. You’ll hurt me to hurt him but who says I’ll even let him know or see what you do? Just give up already you sick bastard. I’m just as stubborn as Jason is, especially when it comes to protecting him.” She said, but there were tears in her eyes that were from more than just the physical pain.
---
Wolf still had Jason and Fox beside him, their presence as his toys bothered Cassie so he kept them that way, only now they were naked and crawling behind him which the really fucked up part of his brain loved. “You don’t have to tell him, I will and I will show him, he will know that it’s true.” He pet Jason’s head as he was on all fours like he was a dog. “Oh I know you are just as stubborn but everyone has a breaking point Cassie.” He murmured as her clothes started to disappear as well. “Hmm now what will I do with this scenario?” He asked outloud.
---
Oh how Cassie hated that fucked up part of his brain, it was hard enough before, but seeing two people she cared so much about like... that.... it did more than just bother her. She wanted to rip Wolf apart, but the chances of that happening were near enough to zero it wasn’t worth entertaining. Still, the thought was nice. She would just concentrate on that. It got harder though as her clothes disappeared and the girl fought to stay strong. “Naked doesn’t bother me.” Cassie said through clenched teeth, pretending she wasn’t worried about where he was going with this. He was supposed to be a lover of boys, but still... he had others, and he could hurt her badly enough in other ways too. Wake up. Someone wake me up, she pleaded inside her head.
---
Wolf smiled at her and motioned for his vamps to move her. They took her over to a bed that was suddenly in the middle of the room. “Fox show Cassie just how much you belong to me.” He said with a growl in his voice as he walked over to a large chair by the bed to watch, Jason crawling along behind. Dream Fox stood and walked over to Cassie, smiling as he climbed on top of her while the vampires held her down.
---
He wasn’t... he couldn’t.... Cassie’s eyes were wide again and she fought with all her might as the vamps moved her to the bed. She couldn’t let this happen. She was strong, but she didn’t think she could cope with this, and to use the image of Fox...... “No. No, you can’t!” She shouted, eyes on Fox as he moved ontop of her. “Fox, please don’t do this, please.” Cassie cried, ever fighting but as she broke down further into sobs, as she felt him against her and knew that everyone here was stronger than her, she stopped, just repeating that word over and over like it could protect her where nothing else could. “please... please.....” She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing it would go away, that she’d wake up...
---
Wolf smiled and then turned Jason’s head to watch. “look Jason...do you care?” He asked loud enough for Cassie to hear. The dream version answered no and went back to kissing Wolf. Dream Fox however was pushing Cassie’s legs apart like he didn’t hear a word she said...of course he wasn’t real so that was highly possible.
Harlow was in the library like she usually was in her spare time, wandering the stacks when she heard something and felt fear coming off of someone in waves. She made her way through the library trying to find the person it belonged to.
---
If there was a logical part of her brain functioning right now Cassie would know that it wasn’t really Fox, just like it wasn’t really Jason saying he didn’t care what was happening to her. She was far too focused on the immediate threat of Fox to notice what Jason was doing though anyway, as much as Wolf was trying to use it as an extra insult to injury. There was a small sound of defiance and show of it as she tried to keep her legs closed, as futile as it really was. “No! No!”
Back in the real world of the library Cassie was crying and thrashing in her sleep, blood dripping from her arm, completely unaware help was coming.
---
“It will be alright Cassie, you like Fox don’t you?” He asked with a laugh and then snarled as if he knew someone was coming to wake her. “that little girl is going to become a pain.” He snapped seconds before someone was shaking Cassie awake.
Harlow felt Cassie clearly before she saw her, but once she did she ran over to her and started to shake her awake. “Cassie...Cassie wake up.” Harlow said quickly as she wince when she saw her arm.
---
Cassie was lost in the nightmare, not even hearing Wolf, right up until she woke from it with a start. The demon jerked away, falling off the chair and crying before she could even realise it was Harlow who was there. Looking around she calmed a little as her mind came to the fact she was out of the dream and safe from what was about to happen, but it took a little time to calm enough to speak. “Thank you. I owe you... more than you will ever know.” She got through her tears, looking up at the blonde from her spot on the floor before standing carefully now that the pain of her arm was taking over again.
---
Harlow put up her walls so Cassie’s fear wouldn’t drown her and yanked a cotton scarf out of her bag. “Here let me wrap your arm so we can take you a healer.” She said softly and calmly, knowing just how freaked out Cassie was. Once she touched her, Wolf rose up in her mind’s eye and she pushed the vision away. Harlow did not need to know what Wolf did unless Cassie needed to tell her. “Come on that is a really nasty wound we need to get it taken care of, did you want to call Jason to meet you there?”
---
It probably wasn’t helping that Cassie’s own control over her special brand of empathic abilities was pretty much non-existant through her state, and with her emotions so wild. She was pushing it all over the place and probably increasing every emotion of every non shielded person in the vicinity of the library.
Harlow was a godsend though, keeping calm and soothing, so different from how the dream had been. Her question was hard though. Cassie didn’t want to worry or scare Jason, and she really didn’t want to tell him all the details of the nightmare, but Wolf had said that he would make sure the dhampir knew exactly what had happened, so maybe he’d be angry if she didn’t tell him first. “I... I don’t know.” She admitted. The demon’s mind was so messed up and confused. Jason usually made her feel safe, but after seeing him that way in the dream.... “I don’t know. Maybe you should decide...” She sighed, just concentrating on getting where they needed to be. If she focused on that maybe she wouldn’t replay that dream over and over and over in her head.
--- Harlow could feel Cassie pushing at her shields, but obviously she was doing it to everyone since a lot of people in the library were getting agitated. Harlow just ignored it and hurried her out of the library and started walking down the hallway, using her own shields to keep Cassie’s power from spreading to everyone around them.
Hearing her admit she wasn’t sure if she wanted Jason there was a surprise, the dream must have been really bad. “I think we should call him, if he finds out on his own later he will be really upset he wasn’t there for you when you were upset and you know it.” She said with a slight smile.
---
Aaaand there Harlow had it. She’d managed to pick up on one of the worries Cassie had in her decision whether or not to have Jason meet them, but she wished that was all there was to it. “This is going to hurt him no matter when he finds out.” She whispered, but she nodded in agreement. “Better now than later though I guess.... Please don’t tell Fox though, not yet. There’s... I need to sort some things out before I tell him.” Cassie pleaded.
--- Harlow frowned for a second and nodded. “You’re right it will but...he will be cranky if he finds out later.” She said as she pulled out her phone and then blinked at Cassie in surprise. “I...um...wouldn’t tell Fox don’t worry.” What Harlow wasn’t saying was that she and Fox didn’t talk to each other all that much in the first place. Harlow sent of a text to Jason to meet them in the infirmary and opened the door to go inside.
---
“Yeah, he didn’t really like it last time I kept something from him.” She muttered, thinking back to when he found out about the pregnancy scare, which was much more likely to stay a secret than this was. As for Fox, it didn’t take he and Harlow talking regularly for her to want to tell him that Cassie had been hurt, but she was grateful the other girl agreed to keep it quiet. “Thank you.” She gave a small smile to Harlow before they headed in to the infirmary.
Now to get some help without ending up locked up for her own safety. Here went nothing.