It was a relatively normal day. Arianna had just gotten back from another hunt in the forest around The Soaring Cliffs, and she was looking forward to a good rest. However, it seemed life had different plans. As she was flying back into the city, Arianna happened to look down, and caught a glimpse of someone who immediately made her scowl. "That little..."
It still infuriated her, every time she got a look at Graham. It had been months since her run-in with him, but that kind of attack on a dragon's pride wasn't forgotten so easily. In all her years, Arianna had never dealt with such an arrogant man. The fact that he was still in the city guard vexed her to no end, especially because she had befriended captain Holly, and knew much more of what he was like.
She paused in the air, scowling at the man. Although, she was much too high for him to notice her. Just as she was about to move on, however, she saw him start to move. Glancing in the direction that him and the other guard with him were walking, Arianna saw a pair of women at the edge of the forest. As soon as she saw them, Arianna was intrigued. The human looked interesting, but it was the other one who really caught her attention.
She was a vampire. With her incredibly sharp eyes, Arianna could see her in detail, and she was beautiful. Arianna felt a flutter in her heart, and she had a powerful urge to approach the vampire. Being a dragon, living in Agoria, finding people who had lifespans similar to her own was more difficult for her than most, particularly since she wasn't anyone important. Finding women of similar lifespan, who shared her interests, was even more so. So, any time she encountered a woman who caught her interest, Arianna would try her luck.
Her thought process, however, was interrupted by Graham, who had just reached the pair. Arianna, having previously resolved to stay away from Graham, to avoid doing something foolish, simply observed from afar.
Recognizing Graham's body language, Arianna felt a surge of anger. Just as she was about to ignore her resolution and go down there to give the man a piece of her mind, the human she hadn't given much attention to moved. In a motion of terrifying speed, she moved behind Graham. Arianna's sharp eyes allowed her to recognize that she hadn't used some kind of teleportation skill. The woman was just that fast.
Arianna watched in awe as the human effortlessly made a fool of Graham. Then, she saw as Graham's companion directed his attention to the vampire, again. Arianna couldn't quite see what the guard was pointing to, but whatever it was, it nearly made Graham piss himself. She watched in delight as Graham instantly turned into an obedient, terrified, pathetic creature. He and his partner led the pair of women to the guardhouse, and went inside. It didn't take a genius to deduce that they were going to speak with Holly.
Arianna was too curious to let it go. Too curious about the vampire, too curious about what had frightened the arrogant guard so much, and too curious about what was going to happen to the man. So, she waited. She found a comfortable spot to land, and she watched the guardhouse until the fascinating women came out.
It didn't take too long. Maybe a half-hour later, the two stepped out. They were talking about something as Arianna flew down to them, but she only caught the tail end of whatever the vampire was saying. "...to get to know her better, but she certainly made a good first impression." The woman turned around just as Arianna landed, making it look like she had just been standing there, waiting until she was noticed.
Getting a look at the woman, up close, Arianna momentarily froze. Her brain shut down as the beauty of the woman nearly overwhelmed her. Arianna wasn't great with people. Her Charisma stat was an abysmal seven and, to add to it, she had always had problems with talking without thinking, so she just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "That was so cool!" The woman raised an eyebrow, and Arianna immediately started berating herself in her head. Seriously!? That's the best you could come up with!? You sound like a forty-year-old! Come on, think of something to say.
As Arianna stood there, frozen as she got stuck in her own head, the woman gave her an unreadable look. "Hello?"
Arianna jumped, shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts. "Ah! Yes. Hello." Her mind was still trying to catch up, so she didn't immediately follow up on her words.
The vampire looked at her for a moment before speaking. "What was it that was 'so cool'?"
She instantly started blushing, looking down in embarrassment. "I... um... I mean..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I saw how you dealt with Graham. I was just getting back to the city when you arrived."
The woman smirked. "So, that's what you were talking about?" Arianna nodded. "And I take it your presence here, almost a half-hour later, isn't a coincidence?"
Arianna shook her head. "No... I... wanted to meet you."
She just held her hands out to her sides. "Well, here I am. Satisfied?"
Arianna blinked. "I... yes? I mean... no? I mean..." Arianna just sighed, slumping.
Just as she thought her social ineptitude had ruined another chance for her, the woman started laughing softly. "Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself. You just look so cute when you're flustered."
"C-cute!?" Arianna let out a loud squeak, her face turning bright red.
The vampire just smiled wider. "Yes! Just like that!"
Arianna was too embarrassed to immediately respond. "You... you... you're a bully!" She huffed, folding her arms and pouting.
She just laughed more. "No, I'm a vampire."
Arianna was speechless. She'd never encountered someone like this before. She wasn't sure if she wanted to start laughing or crying, but for some reason, both sounded like a good option to her, at the moment. "You're... You're... Ugh!" She threw her hands in the air, scowling. "How do you do that? It feels like you're mocking me, but I don't feel like I'm being mocked! Why? Are you using some kind of skill to stop me from being angry?"
The woman just shook her head, grinning. "No. It's called teasing." Arianna finally realized what this feeling reminded her of. It was like when her older siblings made fun of her.
She stared at the woman for a moment, then she folded her arms again, giving her a petulant look. "You can't just tease a stranger like that. I don't even know your name."
The woman giggled. "I'm Verena. This is Marianne." She gestured to the human next to her, who had yet to speak. "What's your name?"
Arianna hesitated, not expecting such an upfront answer. "Um... Arianna."
Verena smiled wickedly. "There. Now we know each other's names. That means we're not strangers, anymore." Arianna felt a foreboding feeling at the expression on Verena's face. For some reason, she got the feeling that not being strangers with this woman was not a good thing for her, at the moment. Her concern was validated a moment later when Verena leaned in closer. "Now, I believe we were talking about how adorable your blushing face is." Arianna turned red as a tomato. "Yes! That's the one!"
"You... I..." Arianna couldn't find the words she wanted, so she just glomped onto Verena. Her head was, coincidentally, level with Verena's chest, so she ended up burying her face in her boobs. With her arms wrapped around her torso, and her tail lashing back and forth, she spoke from her place, buried in the vampire's cleavage. "You're mean..."
Verena reached up with one hand, gently patting her head. "No. You just make it too easy." The soft petting drew an involuntary purr from Arianna, which just further embarrassed her.
"St-stop that!" Arianna pressed her face deeper into Verena's chest, trying to hide. She was too flustered to realize what she was doing.
Verena kept petting her. "Nope. Your fluttering wings are too cute." Arianna yelped, turning around to look at her wings, confirming that they were, indeed, fluttering happily. She turned back to berate Verena, but she finally realized that she had just had her face buried in Verena's breasts. She stiffened, turning crimson as she looked up at the devilish smile on Verena's face. "Comfortable?"
Arianna screeched, jumping away from the vampire. She stammered, looking furiously at Verena. "You... you... pervert!"
Verena just started giggling, shaking her head. "I'm a pervert because you buried your face in my breasts? What kind of logic is that?" Arianna couldn't form a coherent sentence. She was spluttering and stammering, pouting at Verena. Finally, Verena stepped forward and put a hand on her head, which quieted her. "Let's go somewhere more private, you're starting to make a scene."
Arianna looked around, realizing that several people were staring, now. She looked up at Verena, chagrined. "O-okay..."
Verena took a step back, smiling. "Do you live in the upper city, or the lower city?"
Arianna looked down, still trying to recover her composure. "L-lower."
Verena nodded. "Alright, can we go to your place? Marianne and I just arrived, so we don't have anywhere to go to, at the moment."
Arianna nodded meekly. "Y-yeah... we can go to my place. Though, I live with my family. Just a warning."
Verena hesitated for a moment. "Your family?"
She looked back at Verena with a much gentler embarrassment. "M-my parents and siblings."
Verena nodded, relaxing some. "Alright, lead the way." With that, Arianna started leading the two women down the street, heading home.