Mutual Aid for Magical Creatures

Better than MickyD's Sprite

Lori opened the door wide and watched Cherri as she teetered inside the apartment on her leopard print stilettos. Yep, that was definitely a tail. A brown, fluffy tail that swung against the back of Cherri's knees. 

That day had been wild already, but this was the thing that made Lori want to yell "stop, I want to get off this ride!" First, vampires are real, actually do need to drink human blood, and do so out of a boba straw. Then, a mysterious woman who also might be a cat showed up with something strange in her purse. Plus, she was in a cute boy's apartment! In Queens!!

Lori couldn't wait to tell her best friend Mar about all this. She wanted to text her, but was too afraid to pull out her phone because then she might miss something. That day kept getting weirder and weirder, but it was the most fun that Lori had in a while. 

Max turned to Lori, looked back at Cherri and her tail, and shrugged his shoulders. 

"I guess Cherri's here," he said. "And she's part cat?"

Lori shrugged back and followed Max to Cherri to the kitchen just in time to see Charlie crawl out of the cabinet.

"Wow, two hot women in the apartment in one day! I should send you out to get, uh, take out more often, Max!" Charlie said. 

He looked entirely different than he had even just ten minutes ago. Now, instead of being pale and drawn into himself, Charlie was standing tall. It looked like even his biceps got bigger? Lori couldn't tell for sure, but she definitely wanted to find out. She started to walk towards Charlie, but Cherri cut Lori off and stood in front of the vampire instead. 

"You're just a baby!" Cherri cooed at Charlie. "They really are making them younger every year! Or maybe I'm just getting older. I'm over 200 feline years old, but with the face creams I use you would never know it."

Cherri turned to Lori and winked sarcastically, "I can get you some free samples if you'd like, honey. I can see the effects of aging already starting around your eyes. Five years later you'll thank me."

Who was this woman and why was she so rude?  Sure, Lori was pulling some more shifts at Howdy's than usual but she didn't look old, did she? She wasn't even thirty yet! That's the age when it all was supposed to go downhill. Lori had at least another year of looking good. She rolled her eyes at Cherri. What did that lady know? She probably was hiding cat ears under her teased up hair! 

"I, uh, I think you look great." Max said to Lori. 

Cherri cut in, "You won't think that about her in a few years! Anyway, I'm not here for a makeover though. I'm here to introduce my guy Charlie to the product that's literally going to change what your life, or the new version of your life anyway. Please, sit down."  

Cherri pulled out a kitchen chair and dropped herself down on the chair, not waiting for anyone else to sit. Her tail was perked up high like she was ready to pounce on an unsuspecting small animal. 

Lori saw the brothers share some sort of ESP look between them, but it must have been decided that Cherri was worth hearing out, even if she was mean to Lori, since both of the brothers sat down too. Lori leaned against the cabinet instead to show that she wasn't as enamored with Cherri as the boys were.

"So I heard that you recently turned into a vampire, is that right Charlie?" Cherri flashed a megawatt smile to the brothers. 

"That's right. About a week and a half ago I went on a date with someone and well, it was hot at the time but..." Charlie trailed off.

Cherri chuckled. "And how has feeding been since then?" 

"Hard." Charlie said, his head hung low. 

Lori thought about Max's face, and how he scared he was hiding in that dumpster. Max seemed like the type of guy who would do anything for his brother, but he couldn't keep stealing blood forever. Honestly, he barely got away with it this time. He was a sweet guy but a bad criminal. I wonder what their plan is, Lori thought. Did they even have a plan?

"Of course it is!" Cherri said. "Buffy got it all wrong. Vampires don't just rise out of the grave ready to rip into someones neck. Sure, they get hungry like everyone else but they can choose when to bite someone. 

But Charlie, you know what happens when you don't drink - headaches, muscle pain, cravings, and after a few days you get so tired you can barely drag yourself across one side of the bed to the other, am I right?" 

Cherri pulled a plastic bag filled with what looked like a red slushie out of her purse and laid it on the table. The bag was twice as big as the blood bags from the blood bank that Max just stole, and it wiggled a little bit on the table as the liquid settled down.

"That's where the Baggest Corporation comes in. Our Liquid Delight product is a synthetic blood that's packed full of all the nutrients you need, plus it comes in delicious flavors like pineapple and root beer float. It's barely like drinking blood at all!" Cherri ripped off the corner of the bag and offered the drink to Charlie. "Here's a free sample. Try some, you'll love it."

Charlie hesitantly reached across the table. He took the bag from Cherri and lifted it to his lips. Immediately, Charlie's fangs shot out and latched onto the Liquid Delight bag. He slurped down half of the bag in two seconds. Charlie's hands gripped the Liquid Delight bag tightly, making his arms shake with the effort. He looked like he just drank five expressos and was about to run a marathon, that's how hyped he was. 

"Holy crap!" Charlie said. "This is incredible." 

He drank the rest of the Liquid Delights bag then rolled up the bag, go-gurt style, and sucked out every last drop. 

Cherri flashed her sinister grin, "Liquid Delight is incredible, isn't it? And, it's approved by the FDA as well. Perfectly safe, unlike most of the synthetic blood products you'll find on the market place." 

"Wait, the FDA knows about vampires?" Lori asked.

"Of course the Fae Digestibles Advisory knows about vampires," Cherri responded, rolling her eyes at Lori's ignorance. 

Lori rolled her eyes back at Cherri in an even larger, more obnoxious way. What, like she was supposed to also know that fairies existed too? Before Cherri could say something else mean, Charlie jumped up on the couch and stole away everyone's attention. 

He bounced up and down, shaking the whole apartment. "I love Liquid Delight! This stuff is better than human food, better than regular blood, better than MickyD's Sprite!"

"That's what most of the Baggest Corporation's clients say. Liquid Delight is truly magic! Anyway, I'll leave you with a few more free samples and my card. Call when you need a refill." Cherri said.

She sidestepped a still-bouncing Charlie then walked towards the door, her tail swinging with the sway of Cherri's hips. Lori watched Max read Cherri's card and cringe. 

"$250 for one bag?" Max yelped. "That's way too high!"