Work Text:
Drip
Blood trickles down the woman’s claw-like fingernails in an almost elegant manner, falling to the body of the woman’s poor victim slumped on the ground.
Lily feels as if she were nailed in place, her heart beating in her chest as she steadies herself against the alley wall. She could’ve sworn the woman’s gaze softens as she looks at Lily.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” The woman coos, reaching out a hand and beckoning Lily closer. Lily felt as if an invisible thread was pulling her; she couldn’t explain it but, she felt safe with the woman. Protected
Lily stumbles over to the woman, grabbing the outstretched hand with her own shaky one.
She looks down at the victim, her breath catching in her throat as she finally takes in the victim’s appearance. She recognizes him; the man slumped on the ground in a pool of his blood was none other than the creep who had been leering at her all night. Lily still can’t shake the feeling of his large, sweaty palm off of her. The way he had gently placed his hand on the small of her back in mock gentleness, stroking his thumb across, spreading his filth, his claim.
Lily had quickly pushed him off of her, but the man had been insistent. He had moved to stroke her hair instead, only leaving her alone when Lily had pretended to knock her elbow into her drink, successfully soaking the front of the man’s shirt.
She couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face as she watched him storm out of the bar, all while huffing about stupid redhead bitches . It feels odd to see him lifeless on the ground now.
Lily tears her gaze from the man, looking at the woman beside her. Her savior is tall, Lily’s head barely reaching her chin, with pale skin and scarlet eyes that matched the blood dripping from her mouth.
The woman is unnerving to look at, human-like, but something is undeniably off about her. She’s smiling at Lily, but she seems to have too many teeth, her mouth stretched in a way that Lily has never seen before. And her hands - her hands are not those of a human. Long fingers that taper off into razor-sharp claws, also painted crimson.
No…this woman isn’t human at all.
But it feels wrong to call her a monster. Surely, a monster wouldn’t go out of their way to kill a man they saw bothering some poor girl at a pub.
“…Who are you?” Lily finally croaks.
Her savior laughs.
“That, my love, is a secret.” The woman hums, tapping her chin with a pointy claw, “Let’s just say… I’m your little monster. Anywhere you go, I go. And if you need me, I’ll be sure to appear.”
Lily can’t help but gawk at the woman. Her little monster? The name makes her smile.
“Well, if you’re going to protect me, then I think it’s only fair to give you a name.”
The woman tilts her head, staring at Lily with that eerie gaze that makes her either want to run away or wrap herself in the woman’s embrace.
Lily’s never seen anything like this woman before. A present that’s just begging to be unwrapped, a mystery Lily is determined to solve, although getting close to the woman feels as though it will have dire consequences- that’s it.
“Pandora. I’ll call you Pandora.”
The woman – Pandora – laughs again. That high, shrill sound that makes Lily want to cover her ears because of its piercing nature.
“Pandora. That I shall be.”