"So what's the plan?" I called out from the kitchen counter, while in the process of laying out a dozen silver bullets.
Lorelai snatched one of the bullets up and peered at it. "These... they are blessed with divinity."
"That's right," I spoke the words proudly and showed my teeth. "Gloria insisted upon blessing a box before I left."
"A boon to be sure. The touch of them does not bother you?" She asked curiously as she set the bullet back down.
I tilted my head curiously. "No... the silver makes Alex a little queasy, but it doesn't bother me at all, blessed or otherwise."
"That is fascinating to be sure." Lorelai showed me her fingertips, the pads of them looking faintly singed as if she had received a small burn.
With a frown I moved to her, gripping her hand gently before kissing her fingertips. "Are you alright? Why did you pick it up knowing it would hurt you?"
Lorelai offered me an amused smile and let me kiss her fingers. "Silly... I am not hurt." The sheep pulled her hand away before she dragged her fingertips over her tongue, the burns vanishing and healed. It was a small thing but a clear indicator of her power that she could heal holy burns.
I gave her a smile as she showed her fingers to me once more. I playfully snapped down on her forefinger and began to suckle upon it, my eyes shimmering red while I pushed into her.
She offered me a grin and used her free hand to brush my cheek. "Calm yourself, Alice. We have work to do... You may have me when we are finished."
Shaking my head I pulled from her finger and dragged my tongue over it. "Ha... must I? I long for you now, my love."
"Yes, you must." She gave me a grin and pulled from my arms.
"Very well..." I offered her a pout and returned to the kitchen. "So the blessed silver should hurt me?"
Lorelai put a hand to her chin and thought about it. "Undoubtedly... doubly so because of your demonic blood. Do Katrina or Elias feel anything?"
"I do not take the bullets near them. Usually, I have Gloria bless them on a need by need basis. This is the first time I've taken a surplus with me." I looked over the spread of bullets then back up at Lorelai. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I am fine... truth be told I expected a much more violent reaction, like flames and smoke." The sheep peered at the bullets before curiously resting another fingertip upon one of them.
"S-stop burning yourself!" I called out with a fussed look.
The sheep gave me a smile and pulled her singed finger away and licked the wound away. "It's odd though, they are no doubt blessed but the reaction should be much more violent to me."
"Could it be Gloria's blessing isn't as strong as what you've seen in the past?" I started to puncture my finger then paused and looked upon my sheep. "Could you join me?"
"That's not how blessing's work. The silver becomes in tune with the divine, it doesn't matter the strength of the being that invokes them." Lorelai moved around to join me in the kitchen as she spoke the words. "Furthermore, they do not degrade with time, they simply cease to be blessed when the enchantment fades."
"What do you think it all means?" I looked upon her curiously.
She shook her head, the curls of her hair swaying before smiling. "I cannot say and since it is a quandary we have no answer to right now, let us focus on the pressing tasks at hand."
"Alright." I give her a grin and raise my fingertip. "I was about to draw forth my blood, would you like to do the honors?"
Lorelai snapped down on the tip of my finger in response. I felt her tooth pierce it, then bit my lip while I watched her sup from my wound, her brown eyes slowly shifting to red. "Ha... take that as a yes..."
The sheep gripped my hand and pulled my fingertip from her mouth. I watched a long trail of blood roll down the length of it before her small pink tongue dragged up the trail to lap it away. She pushed the tip back into her mouth and suckled a while longer while I panted out at the display.
"If you're hungry, my throat is yours..." I whispered the words gently and tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to her.
She focused on me with crimson eyes and there was some hesitation before she pulled from my finger. "N-no... we have a duty to fulfill... I will partake of you later." She spoke the words with resignation and I felt her struggle to pull from my arms, finally stepping away.
I gave her a nod and focused my own desires back down. "Alright... sorry for teasing you with the finger nip..." I turned to my bullets and began to quickly apply the blood to them.
"I appreciate the gesture and I enjoy your teasing." Lorelai offered me a hungry grin. "It will make our time together all the sweeter when we have it."
I nodded and quickly finished the dozen bullets and licked my finger to heal the wound. "Ah... shouldn't you contact the local lord about this?"
Lorelai tilted her head. "We are on a small tourist island, Alice. There is no local family here. There isn't enough population for it."
I frowned at that. "Then who keeps the paranormal baddies in check?"
"No one. Small villages and towns are at the mercy of whatever happens upon them." The sheep gave a shrug of her shoulders. "It's sad but that's how it is. We simply don't have the population to be a peacekeeping force."
"So what keeps something from just marauding and slaughtering people?" I opened the chamber of my revolver and started feeding bullets into it.
"Word gets around and we hear about it, or other factors hear about it. The mages circle, the celestials, or even hunters." Lorelai watched me work while she rubbed her chin in thought. "The smart hunters keep their victim count low and no one gets involved."
"So two per week is unacceptable?" I locked the chamber in place, then began to load my speed loader with the other six rounds. I had only brought one of my revolvers with me.
"It's not per se... but these are still council lands. They hunt within our borders, even if they are not patrolled well." Lorelai frowned and put a hand to her cheek.
"What if they simply don't know the laws yet? Will we still strike them down for their crimes?" I slid the revolver into the waistline of my pants, at the small of my back.
The sheep shook her head in response. "Do not misunderstand my intent, Alice. I will speak with whatever it is first. This is not an execution mission unless it has to be."
"I'm relieved to hear that, my sheep. Just know I've got your back no matter what." I showed my teeth and pulled my whip off the counter, hooking it to my belt.
"That means the world to me, Alice." She watched me adorn the whip and smiled. "Had I known we would be potentially going into battle, I would have packed my own things."
"Oh? We have not talked about your martial proficiency, my lovely sheep." I peered at her curiously. "What do you use as a weapon?"
She gave me a smile filled with pride. "What don't I use? Next to Harold, I am probably the most weapon proficient member of our court."
I gave her a laugh and put my hands on my hips. "Fine... tell me a weapon you would like, I will make it here and now!" Pride filled my chest as I spoke, Lorelai didn't know the extent to my blood steel trick and I was eager to show it off to her.
"Make it?" The sheep folded her arms curiously but smiled and played along with my words. "Make me a bow..."
I flinched and rubbed the back of my head. "Uhm... O-okay... how about a weapon that doesn't have moving parts or strings?"
"Very well, something small and easy for me to wield. Make me a wakizashi." The sheep curled her lips into a smile, seeing the confusion on my face.
Refusing to deny her again I quickly grabbed my phone and looked up the weapon. I took a few minutes to study its shape and size. "Okay... y-yeah... I can do this for you!" I spoke the words and left the kitchen, moving to the den where I had more room to work.
"What are you doing, my rabbit? You cannot make a blade without steel and a forge." Lorelai spoke the words towards me like a parent amused at a child trying to perform a task beyond them.
I fixed her with a confident glare. Now I would definitely make this work, just to give her pride in me. "Just you watch, I will make my wife a splendid weapon all her own."
I pierced my thumbs on my canines then let the blood flow forth. I willed it to gather before me in a small sphere that grew and grew. I forced my blood out of my wounds rapidly until I felt I had a large enough amount to work with.
I saw Lorelai watching me with a morbid fascination over all the blood and my control over it. "Thaumaturgy truly is a bizarre thing..."
I suckled on my thumbs to heal the wounds then showed her my teeth in a grin. "You've not seen anything yet." I hummed to myself and pulled my phone out, pulling up a time-lapse video of a wakizashi being forged. I held the phone in my left hand, my right maintaining the will over the blood. This was a similar technique I used when making my roses.
I formed the blood to a length of a shaft of steel, then curved the angle and began to focus upon forming it into the shape of a blade. I had a secondary sphere of blood that started to form from the refuse I trimmed off while sculpting the blade in the air.
It took me several minutes, possibly even an hour to get every detail to satisfaction. In hindsight perhaps a lot of needless time wasted. Regardless Lorelai stood there watching me, both in curiosity and fascination.
"Well... let's see how that works." I hummed to myself and willed the blood to harden to the touch. "Come take it, see how it feels." I held my left hand aloft to the blood sword suspended in the air.
Lorelai moved to the blade and snatched it up. She rolled it in her hand a few times, giving a few practice swings. "The balance is off, you need to bring the tip down a few degrees and take about two inches off the hilt." She spoke the words casually and tossed the blade back to me.
