The Turning. . . .

The Sunset was beautiful.

The two buns sat next to each other, Asra's horns shimmering in the light of the sun falling across the sky.

He sighed, and Agnes turned to look at him as she stopped cleaning her sickle, the question was silent, but it was still there. 

He didn't answer and just sighed again. 

Today wasn't a good day for him, hence why he'd gone looking for her in the woods again despite what had happened the last time he went into the woods. 

Perhaps he had a death wish, or perhaps he was looking for comfort in his only friend, on the worst day of the year. 

Well, it was the worst for him at least. . . . .

Agnes grumbled something indecipherable under her breath, and Asra sighed once again. And this seemed to pull at a thread in Agnes’s head that set her off.

“Demons, would you quit that!!!”

“Sorry” He grumbled softly.

Agnes was the one to sigh this time, “Look, you don't need to talk about it with me, but whatever you're going through, you should at least talk with someone, anyone really, about it.”

The silence dwelled for a few moments, as Agnes waited for a response from the bun who had said nair a word to her the entire time he'd been there, barely even a hello.

“Its. . . . “

“Astra you don't have to tell me” She assure in her own grumbly and grumpy way. 

He sighed again. 

“This is the anniversary of his death. . . .” Asra finally answered, albeit quietly with a faint hint of bitterness to the sadness in his voice. 

“His death?. . .” Agnes repeated, more as a question than a statement. 

“My partner, he died of a strange illness about two years ago. . . .” Asra elaborated, a few stray tears falling from his now watering eyes. . . . .

“You had a partner?. . . .” The question was a lot more harsh than Agnes intended it to be.

But Asra just brushed it off as her usual harsh voice. 

“Yeah, I know, I'm pretty lucky that anyone would even give me a chance. . . .” Asra chuckled bitterly. . . .

“Astra. . . That's not what I-” Agnes tried to backtrack, but was cut off.

“Grrrrrrrr”

A loud growl ripped through the air from the trees above, and the two, sat by the small lake, immediately got up to survey their surroundings. 

The forest around them fell dead quiet. . .

It was unnerving. . . 

No longer were the birds whistling in the distance, no longer were the squirrels chattering about in the trees, it was like they had all packed up and ran as fast as they could.

The fish that had been at the surface of the lake, nibbling at their hooved feet, had disappeared beneath the water's surface.

The two buns stood up to look around the clearing in the woods around them, a few trees spread about the place.

It was hard to tell exactly which tree the noise came from, but both were beginning to get a nauseous and uneasy feeling in their stomachs. . . .

“We need to get back to the cabin” Agnes muttered, her voice not shaking for a second, despite her darting eyes, and her hand reaching for her sickle. 

Meanwhile Asra stood frozen, his hooved feet practically stapled to the ground with fear, it was just like the night they had first met. But this time, it felt like they weren't going to both make it out in one piece. . . .

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he finally muttered back, “Go home Agnes. . .”

“What?!? Do you have a death wish???” Agnes whisper yelled back, though Asra was beginning to think that whispering and keeping quite wasn't really helping them. . . .

Looking down, his eyes became cast in shadows, as he contemplated their choices here. 

He knew Agnes would try to fight the beast again, but something in his gut told him that would be a bad idea. . . .

And, well. . . . He just couldn't loose someone again. . . .

Shifting to his doll form, he finally took a step forward, and grabbed Agnes's small bun form, giving her a small sequestering hug, before he tossed her back behind him, towards the cabin, and screamed “Run!!!” 

She didn't move as Asra took another step forward, didn't flinch as he glared back at her, the first time she'd ever seen such a harsh expression on his face, but she did let out a small cry, as the creature let from above, and before she had time to react, landed on Asra, and pinned him to the ground, a small gasping cry leaving his throat as he became attached to the ground. 

Agnes went to run forward, her scyth at the ready, but when those bright, shining, crimson red eyes darted up to look at her, not as an enemy, but as a meal, she flinched. . . .

She didn't know what to do, she wanted to help, but it was as if the gaze of the creature controlled her, this thing. . . . It wasn't a Succubun, at least not anymore, no matter how much it looked like a twisted version of one. . . . Maddened, deranged, bloodthirsty. . . . 

It willed her forwards, as if to watch, and it took everything in her not to run towards it like an obedient pet. . . . This feeling, it disgusted her. . . .

As she tried with all her will to not obey the creature, to walk away, to seize back control of her body. . . 

An ear splitter scream echoed put from underneath the creature, a cry of fear, of desperation, of nothing but pure adrenalin!

And the creatures eyes snapped away from her. She could move freely, but at what cost? . . . .

And unlike anything she'd done before, she turned and ran, as fast as she could formulating a plan, a plan of attack, to save possibly her only well. . . . Friend? Was that what they were?

She didn't have time to think about that now, she just hoped she wasn't too late. . . .

As she finally reached the cabin, she rustled about her house, her belongings, looking for something, what, she wasn't quite sure of yet, and then it occurred to her. . . 

Oleander had once given her a Church of Sulfur amulet, it was much like the statue that stood atop the building. . .

Agnes took a moment to look at it, her thoughts taking her back to that day, at the church, and a few stray tears began to fall from her eyes. . . . But then an agonising cry ripped through the air and snapped her back to reality.

“Astra!!” She shouted, though she doubted he could hear her, she slammed the door open, crossing the threshold, and ran towards the lakeside where the beast had attacked them, only to find Asra alone. . . 

The beast, nowhere to be seen. . . . .

She ran over to him amulet in hooved paw, and asshegotclose enough to see his now paling face, discoloured and more grey than it should even have been. . . . A pool of blood surrounding his head, she rushed closer only for him to hiss and try and pull himself away. . . . A hand was pressed to his neck, the blood trickling down from between his fingers. . . .

But he wouldn't let her get close. . . .

It was only as she looked towards his pained eyebrows scrunched uncomfortably on his face and looked down at the amulet, that it began to hit her. . . . 

The word was muttered under her breath, though she couldn't say for certain. . . .

Dropping the amulet to the forest floor, soon to be forgotten, she inched closer to Astra, and this time he didn't hiss. . . .

Leaning down next to him, she began to try and pull his hand away from his neck, but he would hiss, and groan and whimper every time she did. . . .

“Please let me look Astra, you're bleeding out!!” She begged, this was all to soon. . . And she was beginning to fall apart at the prospect of loosing one of the only people she could see who cared so dearly about her. . . .

She was growing weak. . . . 

But Astra was worth it!!

After everything he'd done for her, she owed him this at the very least. . . .

Finally prying the hand away from his neck with much protest from Astra. She got a good look at the wound on his neck, two puncture holes, spaced apart just so. . . . 

It was only confirming her suspicions more so. . . .

Closing her eyes, she let out a pained sigh, and began to lift up the doll form of Astra, dragging him back to her cabin.

The trek took longer than it would have had either of them been walking alone, be it bun or doll form, but she pushed on nonetheless.

It was only as they reached the threshold of the small house that she noticed it again, it was like a barrier preventing him from coming inside, he pushed off her, his neck no longer bleeding, as he seemingly refused to enter. . . .

“Come on!!” Agnes urged him as she came back through the door and tried to pick him up again to drag him inside. . . .

But as though he were burned, he hissed, pulling away from her, away from the door. . . .

She thought for a moment as her anger festered, but nothing came to mind, she didn't know much of these creatures, besides their existence. . . . And now she suspected Asra was turning into one. . . . 

She remembered how the other beast had prowled around the house, unable to get them, unable to enter. . . . .

‘Urrggg!! Demons!! This isn't working!!!’ She had thought, the bitterness in her thoughts only matched by the bitterness eating away at her soul. . . .

Finally she just snapped at him out of frustration. . . Not at him, but at herself. . . 

“Just get inside already!!!” 

A sigh left his throat, and as he slowly stood up, bit by painful bit, she feared he would turn and walk away. . . .

But. . . . He entered. . . . Without another word out of her mouth, he entered the room, and flopped on the small carpet by the fire. . . .

Rushing in after him, taking a quick cursory glance around the forest outside the cabin, she ran over to some hung up rags, and wet them with water before running back over to Astra. . . .

Dabbing at his neck and the skin around it to clean the dried blood away, she muttered out “Demons, I swear if you die bleeding out on my carpet. . . !” 

A chuckle. . . .

A soft warm chuckle left his dried throat. . . . .

And as Agnes searched for more wounds over his body, he slowly sat up and reached for a bottle of rum by the fire. . . . Before hissing as his hand was slapped away by the small red bun. 

He just gave an awkward apologetic smile to her. . . . And she rolled her eyes and got back to work cleaning away the dried blood. . . . 

They were silent for a few moments. . . 

And then he spoke. . . 

“What's. . . What's happening to me?” he asked, hoping she would know the answer. . . . 

She shook her head unsure, and he looked away with a sigh. . . Of course it wasn't that easy. . . .

Sighing again, he picked at the stray treads of the carpet, as he let his thoughts stew. . . .

What had happened to him. . . . What was happening to him?. . . . It was hard to say with so little information. . . . . That thing had bit him, it felt like it had infected venom into him and then left, but all the side effects weren't matching up with any venom he knew of. . . 

Looking at the carpet, the other bun finally spoke. 

“I have an idea of what might be happening. . . .” she mumbled as she bit at the hooves on her paws. . .

Peaking Asra’s interest his head snapped up to look at her, a new hope sparking in his eyes. . . .

“But I'm not certain. . . .” she reiterated. 

The spark dimmed, but didn't go out. . . 

She got up and walked over to one of her many bookshelves and pulled out a book, blowing some dust off of it to reveal the cover, ‘A Manual of Monsters: A Succubuns Guide’.

She looked over the cover before opening it, flipping through a few paged before stopping.

“I believe you're turning. . . .” She uttered only loud enough for him to hear. 

“Turning?? Into what?. . . .” he asked, desperate to know his fate. . . . .

She turned the book for him to view the capitalized word at the top of the page, the words ‘Extremely Dangerous avoid at all costs’ written just beneath. . . . .

“But those are just myths!! No one has actually confirmed their existence!!” Asra tries to reason. . . . . But there wasn't much to say when faced with the facts. . . . .

And Agnes spoke one last time. . .

“You're turning into a Vampire. . . . !”