"Ooh, did someone mention me?" said a voice, a breathy soprano. Selena and Tatiana spun around to see a beautiful girl with a dreamy expression standing behind them. The girl had pale silver hair that cascaded down to her ankles, soft violet eyes, and pearly skin as pale as Tatiana's. She was dressed in a flowing dark purple maxi skirt, a white lace tunic, sandals, and garland of black roses in her silvery mane. Selena also noted that this girl was wearing a necklace that looked exactly like Tatiana's Amulet of Daywalking. Was this hippie another vampire?
Tatiana grinned and waved at the newcomer. "Oh hi, Liesel! I was just helping my friend Lena out with an errand." She turned to Selena. "Lena, this is my sister, Liesel von Karnstein. If you haven't seen her around our place, it's because she and her sister/girlfriend Claudia have been off at College. They must be back for our new fledgling's initiation rite tonight. Hey, you should attend that! It'd give you a chance to see how we welcome new members into our happy little clan. Hey, you should probs introduce yourself."
Selena shook Liesel's hand. "Great to meet you! I'm Selena Lyall. My dad's the alpha of the werewolf pack just outside of town."
"And I'm so happy to meet you, too, Selena," Liesel smiled. "You have really nice vibrations. I can tell you have a very passionate, joyful soul, even if life hasn't always let it out to play." She scrunched up her face and studied Selena for a second. "You say you're one of Caleb Lyall's daughters, but I can't see any sign in your eyes that you've been Moon-blessed. Sorry if that's rude."
"It's fine, Liesel," said Selena, blushing slightly. "I was actually born with a recessive werewolf gene. If you saw that my joyful spirit's been dampened, it's because the pack gives me a hard time for that. I'm working on fixing it. Say, how did you get all that from just looking at me? Tats never says things like that."
Liesel smiled mysteriously. "Mother Night and I have always been very close. She shows me secrets hidden to most, and I hear her voice sing to me in my dreams. I think I could even almost hear it when I was human, but I didn't really understand it until Matriarch Carmilla turned me into a vampire, Night's chosen. She tells me that I'm chosen among the chosen."
"Cool," said Selena, trying to look like she understood.
"Where's Claudia?" asked Tatiana. "You two usually aren't far apart."
"Tinkering on her motorcycle back home," said Liesel. "You know how much she adores that contraption. Never had much time for lifeless machines myself. I'm much too busy reveling in the magic of nature." The hippie vampire twirled theatrically, gesturing around the park. She looked back to Selena. "So, Selena, exactly what are you doing to fix yourself?"
Selena held out the Werebrush. "See this silver pet brush? It's called the Werebrush. I bought it from a witch called Morgana, Tats' dentist, to transform myself into a functioning werebeast. I just have to brush an animal three times and then brush my hair with it. If I do that, I'll shift in the light of the next full moon."
"That's marvelous," said a smiling Liesel. "I've always liked werebeasts. They're so closely connected to Lady Moon, Mother Night's favorite lover. And she's blessed them with such a deep union with primal Nature! I sometimes wish Mother Night had made vampires a little more feral." Liesel sighed wistfully before quickly brightening up. "So, what did you brush?"
Selena pointed. "That saluki."
"Oh, nice," said Liesel. "A bit domesticated for my personal tastes, but still very pretty. So, are you and Tatiana dating?"
"I think so," said Selena, her cheeks reddening. She swore Liesel was struggling to not look hungry. "We only really agreed that we were an item just today. In this park, actually."
Liesel took hold of Selena and Tatiana's wrists, twirling them around the park in celebration. "Oh, that's wonderful! We should all have a little picnic in the woods to celebrate! Or maybe the zoo; they've got tigers there!" Liesel released the girls and plopped into the lawn and started making a grass angel.
"Wow..." Selena sighed. "Your sister's something else, Tats. Are you sure she's a vampire and not a fairy?"
Tatiana smiled understandingly. "Pretty sure. My Aunt Walpurga swears Liesel must've had some fairy ancestry as a human, though. But she's my favorite sister, so she can be as weird as she likes as far as I'm concerned."