Kiss Of The Feathered Vampire

20251009

Written for Bradley Ramsey's "First Indulgence" event.

Guffy was previously seen here.

At first Steph thought she’d done very well last night. After all, she didn’t have a hangover. Her head was crystal clear. The only pain she felt - and calling it pain was overselling it, really, it was more accurate to say discomfort - was a sore spot on the side of her neck.
Her questing fingertips expected to find a pimple. Maybe a bruise. Perhaps even a hicky! Despite the lack of fugue she didn’t have any memories of the evening. All sorts of shenanigans might have happened.
There was… little bumps. Bug bites? But there was no itching. And it was wet and chilly out, surely they would’ve stayed indoors? And there weren’t many biting insects around this time of year anyways.
Better check the mirror.
It was only then, when she fumbled for her lamp, that she realised she wasn’t at home. This was an unknown bed.
Fear hit. And with it she felt her hair crawl - literally crawl, trusses shifting and swaying of their own accord, reaching to probe the space.
This made the fear deepen - and her teeth shifted in her gums, canines extending until her mouth was forced partially open. Her fingers twitched as nails followed suit, making it hard to fumble through her pockets.
Please, please…
She still had her phone!
While this didn’t ease her roiling fear the metal rectangle was a lifeline to normality, and to light. Bringing the torch up was easy even with sudden novelty nails.
The strange shadowing meant it took a moment for her to recognise the space. This was Yvonne’s old room, decorated with all the stuff she hadn’t taken to uni.
Oh. Thank goodness. She was still at Jackie’s house. Either she’d fallen asleep here or she hadn’t felt well enough to go home.
That clarity let her relax for a moment, and with her fading tension her body shifted again, this time returning to normal. She gingerly probed at her fingernails and teeth. Was it her imagination, or did both feel sharper than usual?
She’d… she’d check the mirror, and talk to Jackie.
What had happened last night?
Steph opened her phone properly, intending to check the group chat for photos, and found a message from Jackie waiting. [Hi. Serious news. Tell me when you’re awake.]
Normally that would be ominous, but with everything she’d already experienced today it was actually reassuring to have someone promising “serious news”.
Also… wow, it was already evening? While she was used to waking up in the afternoon after a party, seven pm was a heckova lie-in.
She swiftly typed in a reply to Jackie. [wtf is goig on?? MY HAIR WAS BEEN FREAKY!!]
Not chewing on her hair while fretting waiting for the reply was difficult but she didn’t want that stuff anywhere near her mouth right now. At least this might help her kick that bad habit?
A knock at the door made her jump. “Steph?”
“Jackie!!” Steph scrambled out of bed and tried the door. It opened to reveal Jackie looking pale and worried. “You won’t BELIEVE-”
“Yeah. I know.” While Jackie looked freaked, her voice was low and steady. “How are you feeling? Was it just your hair?”
“Uh… no. My nails and teeth were kinda… they got pointier? It sounds crazy but…”
Jackie bit her lip and looked away, her expression pained. Then she turned back to Steph and said “You know Guffy?”
“What, that grumpy old parrot you say’s a vampire-” Steph froze.
No. Nonono. This had to be a joke. Or rather a prank. Any moment now someone would snap a photo of her face and Jackie would yell “psyche” and Steph would scream at everyone involved for pulling a stunt this Not Cool. Hahaha.
Jackie’s somber expression wasn’t wavering. She just nodded.
“Y-you…” Steph’s fingers flew to her neck, probing those bumps.
“That dumbass Josh knocked her cage over - by accident, even he’s not that stupid - and Guffy was freaking out and you managed to catch her and, um, I think you assumed giving her a hug would calm her down?”
“Oh god how drunk was I?”
“Well… it was after Don’s punch got put out…”
“Oooh that’d do it.” Steph buried her face in her palm. “So… I shoved a panicked lil feathery vampire against my neck?”
“Y-yeah, and I’m so sorry, it really wasn’t your fault-”
“Holy shit, and I thought that tattoo was a bad drunk mistake.” Steph shook her head, her fingertips still gently rubbing the fang marks. “I… I’m a vampire now?”
“Yeah.”
“And that’s irreversible.”
“I’m so sorry!!!”
“Me too.” Steph mumbled.
Feeling somewhat… dazed. While this explained everything that had happened so far today… the concept was… huge. Complicated. Her mind was slowly unfolding the idea, exploring how this was going to change every part of her life going forward.
Oh. Oof. It wasn’t her life anymore, was it? She was going to be eighteen forever.
“I, uh, do you want a hug?” Jackie certainly sounded like she needed one. “Or, um, we’ve got blood packs… d-don’t worry, they’re safe for, um, human vampires.”
“I… yeah.” Steph took a deep breath. Uncomfortably aware how… unnecessary… having full lungs felt. “I think I should… have breakfast… before I get close to anybody.”
“Right.” Jackie beckoned her down the hall.
Walking through the remains of last night’s fun was surreal. It felt like a lifetime ago. So many “lasts” and she’d been blissfully unaware.
The last time she got drunk… the last time she ate pizza…
Guffy’s cage had been duct-taped back together. The parrot took one look at Steph, mantled her wings, and in that funny little voice cried “Oh! No no! Bad Guffy!”
“I-it wasn’t your fault, either!” Jackie assured her earnestly. Shooting an apologetic glance at Steph.
“Yeah. I shouldn’t have grabbed you.” Steph put a finger through the bars and Guffy gently rubbed her head against it, a feathery kiss. “…Shit. What am I gonna tell mom and dad?”

Prompt was “After a wild night of partying, you wake up the next morning to find strange bite marks on your neck, and you suddenly have a craving for blood.”