Feeling her brow beginning to twitch as she sat atop her Dullahan guardian’s hand, Abby sulked silently as she felt the redheaded child continuous poking her reddening cheeks. “Aww, you’re so cute when you get all moody! Just look at you puffing out your cheeks like that. Cute, cute, cute!”

Swatting Casey’s finger away from her face yet again, the brunette huffed angrily as she tried to hide her face in her arms. “Come on, stop being so glum. If I hadn’t taken a little energy we'd still be back in my den, ya know that.” Growling, Abby turned back to the girls head as she held it tucked under her arm.

“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET OVER BEING RAPED?! If it’s not one of you girls it’s another!” She wailed before hanging her head. This was beyond humiliating. It was demeaning, degrading, shameful and just about any other word along those lines!

Feeling her crimson cheeks poked again, Abby screamed before batting at the girl's hand again. “KNOCK IT OFF CASEY, STOP IT! I’M BEING SERIOUS!” Snickering, the redhead pulled her head out from under her arm before moving it in front of the smaller girl.

“So was I. Ya just look so cute like that! Come on, fuss again! Please!” Pouting as she heard no audible reply from her jibe, the younger girl sighed before shaking her head.  “Look, It ain’t like ya didn’t like it. So what’s the big deal? As I recall, ya did scream pretty happily. I’m thinkin ya secretly did enjoy it. Care to do a little… experimenting?” She purred before stumbling as she felt the hand the shrunken teen sat on pinched… hard.

“OWE, THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR YA LITTLE SHIT!” Crossing her arms, Abby gave the headless girl a deadpanned look before scoffing. “I-I-I didn’t like it! I can’t help biology! And I already told you, it’s wrong!” Groaning, Casey lowered her head before resting it on her arms.

“Ye keep sayin that but why's it so wrong to have a Lil fun? It ain’t hurtin nothin and ya know it feels good. Besides, I’m sure some of the other girls would appreciate the treat~.” She chuckled before yipping as her hand was pinched again.

“Knock it off!” “You first!” Butting heads with one another, both girls growled before they soon came to an intersection of the cave. “Look here! I don’t want to try it! I don’t like other girls, and I don’t like being used by children!” She shrieked.

Resting her back against one of the walls, Casey scoffed before balancing her head back on her neck. “Well, first off get the notion we’re children out of yer head. To us, ya humans are but babies, especially someone adolescent like yerself. To us Hominal we have different maturity stages. For me personally, Dullahan reach adolescence at the age of six, and since I’m eight that technically makes me yer senior!” She smirked.

Sputtering, the brunette looked up at the younger girl before slamming her hands down. “THAT DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT YOU STILL LOOK AND ACT LIKE A CHILD! Mature my ass!” Feeling her brow twitching now, Casey growled before lowering her head towards her. “And are ya tryin to imply somethin? Eh?” “I’m not implying anything; I’m calling you a kid!”

Stomping her foot angrily, various curses escaped the redhead's lips before she clenched her fingers around the smaller girl. “Now look ere! Jus cus I look like a one, doesn’t make me one! Half the girl's ere look like children, but they’re older than yerself to! So don’t go preachin age to us when you ain’t even that old either!”

Crossing her arms beneath the angry girl’s hand, Abby was silent as she ignored the redhead. Yesterday this probably would have frightened her, but now she had come to realize the Dullahan only acted violently when she was arguing. She really wasn’t that violent of a person in general though. But, even so… she probably shouldn’t openly antagonize the girl, even if she was wrong.

“F-Fine, you may think you’re older than you are, but you still are just children!” Tsking, Casey shook her head before catching it as it fell off her shoulders. “Fuckin twit ya are. Fine, believe what ya want. No skin off my back.” She mumbled before she began walking once more.

If she wanted to act all high and mighty on her then fuck it, let her be. It wasn’t like she enjoyed last night either… kind of. Blushing a bit, the redhead scowled as she remembered the delicious flavors from before. Human energy really was something else. Too bad the only human they had was a fucking prude…

Noticing the loudmouthed girl sighing silently, Abby nodded before closing her eyes. Hopefully, she would drop the subject now and stop messing with her. She had been acting all cutesy with her since she had woken up. It was embarrassing!

Gazing down quietly as she thought about the morning they shared, the smaller girl sighed as well. “T-Thank you for the clothes by the way…” Glancing back to Abby, Casey shrugged before smiling coyly. “Eh, it’s the least I could do for wreckin yer other ones. They fit alright?”

Tugging on her black and white frilled dress, the smaller girl nodded before shaking her head. “They do… b-but why are they identical to yours?” Blushing, Casey looking away sheepishly before chuckling. “Heh, w-well I just thought you'd look good in them. I-If you want them changed I can, I mean!” She stammered quietly before growing silent.

Glancing towards the girl’s neck as she saw smoke rising freely, Abby gently shook her head. “No… it’s fine. Don’t use any more energy than you have to. How long can you keep this dress up? Doesn’t it drain you to make clothes that aren’t attached to your body?” She had made this for her out of her shadow after all.

Humming, Casey scratched her cheek before shrugging. “First time I’ve ever done it. I guess if ya stay near me it won’t take too much to keep the things up.” She felt fine honestly. With her reserves replenished like they were last night, she felt great. More than great actually… she had never felt this full before.

The power she was experiencing was vibrating through her whole body leaving a wonderful tingling sensation. Just the thought of feeling like this all the time was intoxicating. Sighing sadly at the realization it wouldn’t be permanent, Casey tucked her head under her again before looking back to the smaller girl. She seemed lost in her own thoughts as well.

Rubbing her hands over her arms, the brunette grew quiet as she scowled angrily. She still had goosebumps up and down her skin. What Casey had done to her last night… as much as she hated it, a part of her didn’t. Clenching her hands tightly, Abby glared at the ground as her mind went over the feelings she was experiencing.

‘I-It is wrong… Two girls can’t like each other, and shouldn’t.’ So why did Casey act so second natural to the whole experience? It was as if she didn’t see the problem in it. But why? Even if she was a Hominal, they had to know it’s supposed to be one guy and one girl…

Didn’t she feel shame for what she did? She did, so, why not Casey? Peeking over at the redhead, their eyes each met before both girls blushed. “W-W-What the hell are ya lookin at!” “N-Nothing!” Thanks to her… she had made this whole bodyguard deal kind of awkward now…

Hopefully, they could just get back to Kari soon so she could continue her care over her patient. Maybe Najia was doing better today. Frowning silently, Abby shook her head before cupping her hands. She was actually finding herself rooting for the Kitsune to recover… Monster aside.

Perhaps taking her on as a patient was a mistake after all. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life taking care of Monsters and Humans. That would be a rather vicious cycle. Lying back onto Casey’s hand, the brunette closed her eyes before shaking her head. What a terrible thought indeed.

Looking to her human passenger, Casey chuckled before petting the smaller girls head. “Still tired? Hell, I wish ya told me that. I was game for snuggling with ya a bit more anyways. Just holdin ya makes my shadow tingle.” She snickered.

Ignoring the younger girl’s words, Abby opted for silence as she laid still. There was no point getting into another argument over things like this. It was only a matter of time till they were… stopping?

Blinking her tired eyes, Abby leaned up before looking over to Casey. “Hey, what’s up? Why’d we stop?” Standing as stiff as a board, Casey narrowed her eyes as she peered around the darkness that accompanied them. She didn’t know why… but, she could feel something… something she couldn’t before.

“Hey, hey, Casey!” Gritting her teeth, the redhead moved her head back onto her neck before her shadow coiled around it to keep it in place. “Shhh… stay quite, Abby. I don’t think we’re alone…” Gawking at the younger girl, the human quickly turned around as she peeked down the different hallways around them. They were in another intersecting area.

Walking towards one of the walls near her, Casey rested her back against it before pressing her free hand into the stone. Closing her eyes, she held her breath before listening intently. It seemed her senses were at their highest now too thanks to Abby. Had they not been… she probably would have missed it.

There it was again! Furrowing her brow, the younger girl clenched her eyes as she forced herself to listen carefully. The rumble of the walls… it was water on the outside of their caverns. The pattering of stones in the distance, it was just dirt falling from the stalactites… the squeaking though… what was…

“Hehehehe~”

Snapping her eyes open, Casey clenched Abby in her hand tightly before she took off in a sprint, her face pale now as it dawned on her what it was she had heard earlier. They weren’t alone. Yelping as she was flipped about in the Dullahan’s hand, Abby poked her head up before looking up at her.

“C-C-Casey, what is… it…” Feeling her voice die off, the smaller girl shivered. Her face… she looked, scared. ‘C-Casey…?’ what did she have to be scared of? Looking back down the dark tunnels, the brunette shook her head. She didn’t hear anything. So what had the redhead so frightened?

Rounding a nearby corner, Casey came to a halt before touching the walls once more. She could feel them coming! ‘D-Damn their fast today. Fuck me, why now of all days?’ This was poor timing for sure. Feeling her anger rise, the redhead grew cold as she called upon her shadow. If they wanted to play, then she’d play. There wasn’t a chance she was going to let them find out about Abby!

Shivering quietly, the shrunken brunette watched in confusion as Casey continued to growl. “C-Cas-“ Going silent, the smaller girl screamed in surprise as shadows shot out in every direction around them before all the light in the cave faded… faded to black. She could see nothing…

Feeling her heart pounding in her chest painfully, Abby whimpered in fear before shrieking as Casey’s fingers tightened around her… at least, she figured they were hers. “Don’t worry Abby… I’ll protect you.” Shivering in her hand, the teenager nodded timidly before frowning. She didn’t have the heart to tell her the reason she was so scared was because of her.

Being in this blackened void… it was terrifying. No light was around them. So, how would Casey know where to go? Kneeling on the ground, no longer attempting to outrun them which from experience always ended badly, the Dullahan choose her only other course of action… she’d have to fight.

Keeping her free hand firmly pressed into the sandy stone walls, the redhead glared intently at the void around her before standing up abruptly. “NOT THIS TIME YOU LITTLE SHITS!” Slamming her hand through the rocks, the redhead grinned savagely as she gripped the one she had heard within them. Tearing something out of the wall, Abby watched through the murky darkness as a darkened figure was thrown into the opposite wall.

‘S-S-She p-punched a hole in the wall?!’ She didn’t know Casey was that strong… It was actually kind of intimidating. Stepping over to the limping figure, Casey willed her shadow to leave before taking a look at which one she had grabbed.

“Hurts doesn’t it! Tell your sister to back the fuck off or else I’ll-“ Growing silent as she felt it too late, Casey turned around rapidly, but she was already on her. Stumbling backward's as something slammed into the Dullahan’s face, the redhead staggered before the dark veil around them lifted.

“C-CASEY!” Falling to her knee’s, the younger girl steadied herself before reaching up towards her neck… Following the girl's movements, Abby paled. Her head was gone! Stomping her foot angrily, the headless girl made some frantic gestures before taking off in a random direction much to the teen’s surprise.

This was the first time she had ever seen the girl’s body move so… fluently without her head. Ducking past corners and avoiding the rocks around her, Casey continued to run much to Abby’s amazement. It was like she knew where she was going even without her head attached.

‘I-Is it because of her shadow?’ It really was amazing… but, she had to focus on the present and analyze the girl later. Something small had just taken her head! Thinking back in the darkness, the brunette mulled over what that creature was before shaking her head.

It was short, almost half the size of Casey, maybe even less. It couldn’t have been more than two feet tall. And… and it was inside the walls. ‘S-So it can burrow, or it uses tunnels to move around.’ She didn’t have a clue what Monsters fell under that category…

There was Beastials who lived underground, but they were pretty big. So what the hell was this creature! Feeling both her and Casey come to a rather sudden stop, the Dullahan looked around before her shadow rose all around her.

“A-Are they here…?” They were in an empty passageway. Did the redhead get lost without her head or-, Screeching as headless girl smashed another hole in the wall, Abby clung to her free hand tightly. This was freaking her out!

But… her intuition of sorts had been spot on. Leaping out of the hole, two miniature figures darted down the cave as they carried something in their hands… “I SAID LET GO OF ME YOU FUCKING CUNTS! I’M GOING TO KICK BOTH YER ASSES IN AND MAKE EACH OF YOU-“ Hearing the chain of curses fading in the direction the creatures darted, Abby blinked slowly before gawking.

“T-T-They’re taking your head with them?! W-What the fuck is going on!” Palming her face now as she looked up at Casey’s body, the human shook her head. She was actually expecting an answer from the girl before it dawned on her…

Running after the two creatures once again, the Dullahan began picking up the pace as her shadow coiled around her. It seemed like things were probably going to get serious now. Feeling the redhead's hand grip her tightly, Abby clung back before screaming as they shot forward at near impossible speeds. ‘HOW IS SHE THIS FAST?!’ She was running fast enough to leave a trail in her wake!

Peering in front of them, the brunette shielded her eyes as dirt kicked up around her before narrowing her eyes. She could see them… Sprinting a bit further ahead, both the strange creatures passed what she presumed was Casey’s head back and forth between them before…

Skidding to a halt, the headless girl pulled her arm back before punching the wall the two had crawled into one again. Splintering, the rocks fell away before one of the creatures fell out… and it was carrying Casey’s head!

Grunting in discomfort as her head fell into the rocky grounds beneath her, Casey cursed before looking up at her body. “FUCKING BITCH! I’LL KILL YA WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YA!” Wrapping a shadow around her head, the redhead shot it back into herself before clutching it tightly.

“D-Damn it, fucking hell I hate those two!” Looking up at the younger girl as she pushed her head back in place, Abby was quiet for a moment before whimpering. “A-A-Are you alright, Casey?” Glaring down at the smaller girl accidentally, the Dullahan sighed before nodding.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine now. Those freaking cunts didn’t make it to their territory yet so we’re lucky…” Blinking, Casey looked down at her hand before smiling softly as she saw the shrunken human hugging her hand. “I-I’m glad you're alright… w-what the hell we’re those things!”

Rubbing the back of her head sheepishly where she had been hit, the redhead groaned before shaking her head. “They're a fuckin pain is what they are. I’ll tell ya later once we’re back in my… domain…” Gulping, the younger girl grew silent once more before her shadows shot up once more.

“You little shits don’t give up do ya…” Clinging to her guardian fearfully, Abby shivered as she heard it now… heard what these things were. It was faint… but in the cavern they were in now, their voices echoed loudly… Their voices were coming from everywhere!

“Hehehe, did you hear her screaming El? She sounds really, really mad!”

“Hahahaha! She is mad Em! I wanna take her head again, let’s play more!”

“No, no, no El, we can’t do that! Mistress said we needed to grab the, you know what! We can’t disappoint the Mistress. We’ll play with CC next time…”

“Oh, no fun! I wanted to have more fun with her! Fiiiiiine… let's grab it and head back. Mistress will be pleased if we do as she says, right?”

“Definitely!”

“Then let’s go!”

As the voices died down again, both Casey and Abby stiffened before hearing the walls around them rumbling. “Abby… go in my pocket… and don’t make a sound.” Glancing up to the fear-stricken girl, the teenager nodded timidly before sliding off the redhead's hand and into her black dress pocket.

Cupping her head and waiting in silence, the teenager tried to be as quiet as possible. She didn’t hear much… but it sounded like whoever these two were… might know about her too. She couldn’t be sure but it seemed Casey was worried now to… but, not for herself.

Wrapping her right arm up in a set of linen bandages, the redhead flexed her fist before nodding. “Alright… round two you cunt's.” She wouldn’t hold back now that Abby was involved. Hearing it right before it happened, Casey’s shadow shot up to her left before the walls split apart as a figure dashed out.

Punching through the black mass, the redhead smirked as she knocked one of them down into the ground before jumping back as the ceiling collapsed right where she had been. “H-HEY DON’T BRING THE FUCKIN CAVE DOWN YOU EEJIT’S!” Hearing a chorus of playful laughter as her only response, the Dullahan grew enraged.

Forcing her shadows all around her once again till the cave was pitch black, the younger girl clenched her hands before closing her eyes. She could see them now… Punching the air, parts of her shadow stabbed into the wall as she tried to hit the two creatures around her.

If they couldn’t get near her, then they couldn’t make a grab for her head… or worse, for Abby. Repeatedly punching the shadows, more and more holes lined the walls as she tried to hit them, but fuck they were fast!

Listening as she heard them darting around inside the walls, her eyes snapped open in surprise before she rolled forward, the roof falling over her again. They were using the frail foundation to their advantage! “Fuck you two!” She was going to have to move them out of the middle caverns.

If she got back to her domain then they couldn’t use the walls to their advantage anymore… then again, who knows how many tunnel networks these two little freaks had made already… Batting at the two sprinting shapes as they ran through the fractured walls, both suddenly leaped out before aiming for her.

“Come on, play with us CC!”

“Come on and play, haha!”

Clapping her hands, Casey smiled viciously. She’d play alright! Slamming her shadows together, the redheaded girl laughed as she felt them both trapped in her shadow. “Screw ya both ya little shits!” She did it!

Forcing her shadow to compact on itself, Casey focused intently on her makeshift prison. All she had to do now was take keep them inside there for a few hours while she made her way back to her friends. Hopefully, Kari wasn’t too worried. They had been gone for-,

Hearing a cracking noise behind her, Casey turned around in surprise before gawking as the ground shot up in front of her. “Tag!” Springing onto the Dullahan, one of the creatures kicked off her before laughing hysterically as she ran away.

Coughing in pain, Casey spat on the ground before opening her shadows… rocks falling out where the two creatures should have been. ‘D-Did they get even faster this time?’ She just couldn’t match the little shits…

Moving into a defensive stance, the redhead growled quietly as she listened… but, all was silent now. Blinking in confusion, Casey looked around at the war-torn cavern before sighing. They were gone. That had been a rather abrupt retreat. Did they get tired of her or something?

“Hey Abby, I think it’s safe to come out now… Abby?” Looking to her pocket, the redhead reached in before her eyes shot open. Yanking her dress forward, the younger girl paled. There was a hole in her pocket…

Abby was gone…

Clenching her fists in rage, Casey shuddered before screaming angrily. Where the fuck was she!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Gritting her teeth in discomfort, Abby groaned quietly before rubbing her battered arm. She had been confined for most of whatever went on but at some point she found herself falling to the dirt below. Resting her back against one of the cave walls near her, the brunette looked around shakily.

She didn’t have a clue where she was but she could hear Casey… screaming? Raising her hands towards her mouth, Abby was about to scream back before the younger girl's words echoed in her mind. ‘S-Stay quite… right…’ Whimpering, the teenager pulled her knee’s to her chest as she tried to look small.

She hoped Casey knew where she was. She seemed to have a good understanding of where she was going before when her head was taken… but, what about with her missing? Would she know how to find her to?

“J-Just stay calm… relax. Casey said she’ll protect you, Abby. All you need to do… is… relax…” Shivering as she tried to console herself, the teenager frowned. She was scared… alone, alone… and scared. If one of the other girls that presumably resided in this cave came and found her… that would be it.

Hopefully, Casey found her first before it came to that. ‘Alright… knock it off. You just need to… to…’ Hearing a faint swirling noise behind her, almost like water churning in a tub, Abby quivered in fear as she felt it… felt something, behind her…

Turning her head slowly, the brunette lower jaw trembled as her eyes tried to process what it was she was seeing. Behind her where the cave wall had once been… was a large murky black spiral of… something. B-But… but it was the two hands coming out of it that rendered her speechless…

Extending through the grim, black portal, both petite pale hands reached forward deliberately slow as they began to lower towards her. They were trying to grab her! Falling backward's, Abby screamed, screamed louder than she thought she ever had. This… this was a nightmare. She had never witnessed anything as horrifying as this! Shrieking in terror, the brunette crawled on her back as she tried to get away from the two seemingly floating severed hands.

As they reached her, both began to lower down over her before the smaller girl finally found her words through the immeasurable fear she felt petrifying her. “N-N-NO, S-STAY AWAY FROM M-ME! DON’T TOUCH ME!” Clenching both eyes shut, the teenager curled into a fettle position before whimpering. What was going to happen to her… what was that… thing… what did it want…

As seconds ticked by, Abby continued to clench her eyes shut before feeling the hair on the back of her neck lower. Peeking a tear-filled eye open, the shrunken human sniffled before looking around. The portal… along with the hands, it was gone?

Trembling where she sat, Abby kept her eyes locked on the wall where the strange murky shadows had been. She wasn’t hallucinating… she could feel them, feel their presence. That was one hundred percent real… so, what just happened?

“Look Em, what is it?”

“I don’t know El, it looks weird.”

Time seemed to slow once again for the brunette now as she felt the feeling from before rising once again. Turning around her stomach dropped now as she saw them… Standing over her with their hands resting on their hips, two figures towered over her petite form… their azure and crimson eyes shining in the darkness as they studied her…

Once again… she had been found. But her worst fears were realized… it wasn’t Casey who found her…

It was the two creatures who had attacked them before…

And this time, she was on her own…

To be continued…