Dark Secrets

Encounters

  Mercury was bent over the decaying, creaking desk in her boss's meager office so she could both enjoy him thrusting in her and think in peace without his eyes on hers. As she stared at the wall she was calculating the next few hours of her life in great detail. The cat family she had last night hadn't satisfied her and she wanted to go out again for more, be it cats or not. If she went to her usual spot and fed well, she would be satisfied for at least a month, give or take a few days. But she didn't know if or when the bar she passed through would be repaired. Then there was the issue of using the lounge, and the possibility of encountering the lounge singer again. Mercury could see the curiosity in the Siren, but wasn't entirely sure how deep it ran. If it was minimal then perhaps they could strike up some type of deal about feeding, or, if things went extremely well, a sexual relationship. If not, Mercury was taught to stay far away from anyone who may figure out what she truly was. 

     The end came, and her boss grunted as she held fast to the edges of the desk, pushing back into him at an angle that satisfied her body. He finished and so did she.

     On her way home she searched about for a stray to devour so she wouldn't have to run into that lounge singer again. A scruffy mutt just barely reaching her knees wandered across the desert, and she pursued it, harvesting the most savory bits way out where no one could see or hear. When she was finished she sat on her backside and remained still to allow her stomach to settle properly. As she sucked blood from her teeth she stared forward at nothing and thought, maybe, the lounge singer wouldn't be singing for long and, it was likely, that her hunting grounds would be safe again soon enough. It was an educated guess that things would return to normal within a short time.

-

     Dahlia had her name plastered on a little sign in front of the bar right where people could see it as soon as they came in. It was still there from the night before, and would continue to be there for a planned week. That particular deal came only five minutes earlier when the owner noticed the sharp increase of clientele asking when Dahlia would be singing next. She had only sung for one night and yet she was attracting intense interest. The owner didn't know how but he shut himself up in his sound-proofed office and didn't think to question it with the extra cash flow he was receiving. He was a simple man that refused to question good luck.

     Hair coiffed, lipstick slapped on, and eyeliner razor sharp, Dahlia stepped out into the dimmed lights of the stage before the band half hidden in the dark. She wrapped delicate fingers around the microphone stand and swayed forward, eyes closed, power at the ready, and she begun at a hum. Hips swayed ever so gently and that red mouth of hers pressed closer to the mic. She increased her volume to a seductive whisper and finally slid open her eyes to reveal otherworldly blue beauties. They were cobalt, and they roamed over the lounge in a sly fashion, causing dazed smiles everywhere. She belched out a song about the human condition and absorbed the joy she created, fed on the emotions she brought about on unsuspecting victims. It made her sigh in contentment as she finished.

     But  the wolf wasn't there to see it, not even in the back, or hidden in the many shadows. This didn't worry Dahlia, as the wolf hadn't arrived the night before until her second set. But still, her gaze drifted to the back exit periodically until her first set was complete. She had new information that she wanted to share and perhaps surprise with. Last night she asked around, both here with the humans and there with the others, and she found out the wolf's name. Mercury, like the planet, and, like the planet, she was magnetic. Those who Dahlia spoke to found Mercury's silent, barely there behavior interesting, and they often approached her. But Mercury wasn't all together there, they said. She was cold. A machine. In those places where only the beasts roamed Mercury was known for being a shadow's shadow. She lurked like a monster and caused destruction like one. In this sense, she was like the element. Exposure to Mercury led to serious adverse health effects and emotional distress. No one wanted to be around her, less the ones that struck relationships with her, which were always sexual. She was weird even to the weird. Dahlia went home with that and wanted to confront this Mercury about it all. She wanted to experience the magnetic planet and illness causing element.