Building A (Strange) Family

Cold Feet

"Lilly... what are you doing?"

"My feet are cold."

"I got that; You put them on top of mine..."

"Yeah, and it didn't help. Somehow they seem colder."

David chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

They were laying together on the floor in the basement, in front of the fireplace.
Despite the fire and blanket over them it was still chilly.

"Did... Did your feet just get colder?!"

She pulled her head back to look at him and his face had morphed to his vampire form.
It startled her for a second and she shoved his shoulder, both giggling.

"Seriously? Vamping out makes your feet cold?"

He shrugged.
"Look for yourself..."

She didn't understand how looking at something could prove it was colder,
but she pulled back the blanket to look down.
She yelled out an expletive Mom would have chastised her for and pushed away from David.

"Do ... Wait, what?! Your feet change, too? How have I never seen this?"

David almost couldn't hear her over his laughter, rolling onto his back.

"...You've got talons..."

"Stranger then me not liking Taco Bell?" He finally asked, rolling back to face her.
He had changed back and as such Lilly let him pull her close again.

"... Okay, it's weird, but not that weird," she concluded.

Lilly was sobbing and couldn't seem to stop.
David could only sit there, bewildered, holding her.

The guys had come in, one at a time, trying to get answers.
Each time one of them came in all David could give them in response was a shake of his head.

After probably and hour, Lilly pulled her shirt sleeve up.

"It was just a random, in the heat of the moment thing! I knew better... but he had great reviews! And his books looked so good!"
She stopped before going into full hysterics again.

David held her arm and looked at the small, fresh tattoo, red and raised and...
Whatever it was supposed to be, he couldn't identify it.

"What..."

She sniffled, "I know. I'm to embarrassed to say what it should have been... but it didn't look like that when he started!"

Then she was laying against him again, crying.
His heart breaking, he tried to rub her back in a soothing way.

"So sorry..."

"I never thought about a tattoo going wrong. My last one was so perfect! I never..."

She calmed down again and just lay against his chest.

"You know... my fist tattoo was a disaster, too."

She lifted a little to look at him.

He grinned, raising his arm and pulling his sleeve.
Under the soft part of his bicep was a tiny bat. Not well done, not very big.

She sniffled as she giggled.
"How have I never seen that?"

He shrugged, pulling his arm back down.

"So... are we both gonna get cover up tattoos?"

David cringed.
"I have... twice."

She frowned.

He sighed, explaining,
"I got the tattoo when I was human.
Tried to get it covered up after...
But unless they can make silver needles,
the ink just comes right back to the surface after two days.
You're lucky. Your little... blob should be easy to cover."