"Please, Theo, this isn't like you..." pleaded the shark-boy.
"Shut up! You know nothing! nothing of what my kind has been through!" shouted Theo. His eyes darted back and forth between the other males dangerously, but then he turned and, falling to all fours, he bolted in the opposite direction. In the process he kicked a large amount of sand right into the tiger's eyes. The tiger growled and cursed as he tried to clear his eyes "THEO!" he shouted, but the were-jackal had escaped with blinding speed.
"Should we chase him?" asked the shark-boy.
"No, only Thomas could have caught him, and then only in a short sprint." said Vincent. "With the lead he has now, no one could catch him." Vincent offered a water bottle to Thomas, the tiger-guy, who used it to wash out his eyes.
"But he will be seeking other weres to come here and kill her." said Thomas. "We have to move, now...with your permission of course, my Lady?"
The deference with which they treated you was strong, and strange. You wanted to ask about it, and this new world, and about being a star drifter, but not getting killed seemed more important.
"Of course." you respond.
"Then please follow me." said Thomas. With that he broke into a trot...a trot that was probably about 30 miles an hour. You wonder how you could ever keep up with that, but find to your joy that your new vampiric body can keep up the pace, albeit not as easily as the others, whether that was because of species, gender, or just you being new to all this. Soon you're running across the beach. It would be bliss, flying across the sands at incredible speed like that, if you weren't running for your life.
"There's a secret vampire den near here..." shouted Vincent.
"I know." replied Thomas.
"How the hell do you know?" asked Vincent.
Thomas laughed. "You vampires love your little secret clubs and stuff, but you'd be surprised how word gets around."
"Secret clubs? are you kidding me? You're calling a coven at an ancient shrine to the vampire goddess Moldra a secret club?" Thomas only laughed again. Soon you had arrived at a rocky cove. Vincent glared daggers into Vincent's back as he led the group right to the secret entrance. With a drop of Vincent's blood, a door appeared in the rock. "I pray they don't kill me for bringing you all here," he said, "but it's best that I do the talking from now on. Stay behind me and stay quiet." The others nodded nervously. Thomas was putting on a brave face for the group, but you could sense that he was nervous too. Vincent knocked on the door, and soon it opened.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the vampire inside, but then he saw you, and his jaw dropped.
"I offer apologies for my sin and breech of protocol, in bringing these outsiders here," said Vincent, "but you must let us in. She is a star-drifter. We may be being pursued by weres as well."
The vampiric door guard paled, or at least you fancied that he did. I mean, he was already pale since he was a vampire, but if it were possible to get paler, he did. After a moment he spoke to Vincent. "You and the Lady may enter at once. I will ask about the rest of your companions."
Thomas growled. "A pack of weres may be here to tear us to ribbons at any second. Let us in."
"I will ask," promised the vampire, "but I cannot possibly let you in without permission."
Thomas looked like he was deciding whether or not to force the door open himself. It wasn't good. You decided to act. You called upon your newfound confidence and, adapting your best impression of a noble vampire lady, you stepped forward. "These gentlemen saved my life. I will not tolerate them being endangered. You WILL let them in."
The other vampire withered under your gaze. "Please, my Lady, this is holy ground. We cannot let these outsiders in..."
You folded your arms. "Either they come in with me, or I do not come in at all. We will seek shelter elsewhere, and then YOU will become known as the one who turned me out in my hour of need."
The door guard swallowed nervously, hesitated, and then bowed deeply. "Of course, my Lady. You and your companions are welcome here."
You were led inside, and soon were surrounded by murmuring vampires. The room you found yourself in was a large, underground circular chamber. At last a tall, slender male approached, clad in a black and red robe. The door guard whispered in his ear. He then offered a bow of his head to you, but you noticed that while he showed you reverence it was less than any other male had shown you since you'd arrived in this universe. "Welcome, my Lady," he said, " I am Voltrus, Master of this Sanctum and Lord of Solkaria." At these words, most of your companions seemed to relax, and to be impressed, but Vincent seemed if anything more nervous now.
You give another attempt at acting like a noble lady, and offer just the slightest nod of your head. "I thank you, Lord Voltrus. I trust we will be safe from pursuit under your care." Not bad, you thought. Was it the star-drifter thing that let you adapt to this vampire lady thing so easily? Who knows. Then you consider your bikini-clad form, which you had a feeling was drawing quite a bit of attention. "And I might I find some more suitable clothing?"
"I'm afraid we have no clothing suitable for a female here." he responded. He offered an apologetic nod and smile at that, but the smile seemed...twisted. You glanced at your companions, and notice that Vincent in particular seemed to look at Voltrus as if he were made of living slime. You looked back at Voltrus to catch his eyes upon your breasts for a moment before they returned to your face. So that's how it was then. You'd have to be careful with Voltrus, and smart.
But then Vincent dared to speak, venom in his voice. "Does the Lady Licinda not frequent this shrine? Surely you have accommodations for her here?"
Voltrus glared at Vincent. "Insolent whelp. I could have you flogged for daring to speak to me so."
Vincent only looked angrier. "And you could have me killed for what I am about to say, I imagine, but you will answer the question anyway or surely your head will be on the chopping block with mine. I suspect you are trying to deprive the Lady of clothing purely to satisfy your own base desires, or perhaps to make her vulnerable to manipulation for some other end. I will make these accusations formally if need be."
The crowd gasped. "How DARE you!" shouted Voltrus.
You had to intervene, or Vincent might be in big trouble. You reasoned that you seemed to be to some extent beyond reproach in this culture, and tried to steer the focus back towards yourself. "You WILL answer the question, Voltrus." You said, glaring.
The crowd of vampires were murmuring loudly as they looked towards Voltrus, expectantly. His face shifted from rage to barely concealed fear. "I only thought that surely it would not be proper to offer you Lady Licinda's clothing without her permission. We will send someone to town to fetch more clothing. The wait will not be long."
Both Vincent and Thomas now looked ready to tear Voltrus's throat out. For that matter, so did a few of the other vampires in the room.
"So be it. I will wait." You said. You wondered if that might defuse things, or if a "Lady" sitting there in a bikini against her will for a while might serve to infuriate everyone in the room against Voltrus. Either option might serve well, and frankly you didn't feel intimidated by being in this clothing. It was strange how powerful you felt now...
Voltrus grimaced and bowed, apparently having realized what a hole he'd dug himself in. "If I can do anything else for the Lady..." he said.
You spoke with a slight raise of your chin. "If we are safe here for now, then I would appreciate being shown to somewhere more private and comfortable where I might converse with my companions."