"Oh, totally," said Selena. "That sounds crazy adorable. Let's do it! So... where do we find a bat."
Tatiana's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Remember, Lena, you're luck enough to have a vampire with you. We have power over the creatures of the night."
"And I'm gonna become one," Selena giggled. "Kinky!"
Tatiana laughed. "Oh, I'll show you exactly what it's like to be claimed by a vampire soon enough! Anyway, as a vampire, I can summon bats, wolves, rats, owls, crows, ravens, moths, spiders, flies, cats, and foxes. Each vampire can also turn into a specific animal. A full animal, not an animal/human hybrid like a werebeast does. I can turn into a crow, for instance."
"Sweet," said Selena. "You gotta show me that sometime. Well, do your summoning thing. I really need a bat."
Tatiana nodded and stepped into a clearing. She spread her arms, and closed her eyes. She tossed her head back and began to vocalize. It was a strange, haunting, wordless melody. It sounded almost like Tatiana's normal singing voice, but... different, somehow. There was a weird, enticing echo in it. It sort of reminded Selena of the time she'd met a mermaid last year and asked her to show her some mermaid song, only with a darker, heavier tone.
Selena spotted what she thought was a vast, black raincloud. On closer inspection, she realized it was actually a colossal swarm of bats. Selena tried to count them, but lost count after the forty-third. Tatiana's mesmerising song must have summoned every bat within ten miles! Bats began settling on Tatiana's outstretched arms, and then on her shoulders and head once they ran out of room. A few even made themselves comfortable on the vampire girl's shoes. Tatiana, clearly loving this, did her best to lovingly pet some of the bats in spite of being encumbered by so many others.
Selena raised a hand to her mouth, trying in vain to stifle a giggle. "Wow, Tats! You're like a goth version of a Disney Princess."
Tatiana laughed along with Selena. "Jesus, Lena! First Twilight, now Disney Princesses! You really know how to hurt a vamp. You wanna sleep with me or not?"
"Oh, I definitely wanna sleep with you, Tats," said Selena. "So I guess 'vamp' isn't a racial slur?"
"Nope," Tatiana answered. "Calling me a 'fang' or a 'leech' would be dropping a slur. 'Vamp' is just slang."
"Oh, like how you can call my pack weres or lycans, but never dogs or mutts if you want to live."
"You got it, beautiful," said Tatiana. "Well, you better get brushing if you wanna shift tonight. I've got, like, a million bats on me for to choose from."
Selena held out the Werebrush to a bat perched on Tatiana's finger. It looked pretty cute, she thought. Being a werebat should be awesome. She ran the brush bristles down the bat's furry back, noting the softness of the creature's fur. It was such a contrast to the leathery wings. Selena gave the bat two more brushes to be sure.
"Think I'm down," said Selena.
"Great," said Tatiana. She mentally gave the command for the bats to return to their homes... except for one. She kept the bat Selena had brushed on her finger and gave it a scratch behind the ears. "I think I'll be keeping you as a pet, Little Miss Precious. Hmm... I think I'll call you... Elvira. You like that name?"
"Well, I did it," said Selena. "I'm all set for the night. Be sure to come over for me first shift. I gotta warn ya, though, Mom and Dad don't like having vampires around. I totally understand if you can't make it."
Tatiana smirked. "I bet I could sneak in without much shit if I use my crow form. Be on the lookout for black birds who REALLY want you to open the window, tonight, Lena"