Shapeshifter Pt. 2 - Teil 4

"I'm not a contract killer." he snapped angrily, wrinkled his nose in disgust and added more calmly, "I'm a mercenary. Usually I get to hit people until they pay their debts, or blow up something, or deliver packages of dubious origin. I've shot my share of people, mostly armed ones that wanted to shoot me too - until I met you. I was ready to blow out your brains when I went into the men's room, but there you were, sucking happily on that darn ugly cock." He drained his cup, swallowing with a contented smile, and continued, "I waited and watched you, and then I started to think. 'Why would the Mafia send a mercenary for a simple kill? He's got no weapons at all.' I told myself, 'maybe they want to set you up.' So when you gave me that kicked-puppy-look I decided to find out more."

Noom stood up, unbuttoned his washed-out jeans, and walked over to his battered desk to switch the music. "When I saw your penthouse and learned your name, I got even more suspicious of the whole 'Kill him' story. So I decided to take you with me. Have a little fun, you know. Find out if they want to get me arrested."

His sudden chattiness blanched me. I wasn't stupid, and I had heard and seen enough in my life to know that he really meant to kill me if he told me so much. Up to this point I hadn't believed he would do it, and the realisation hit me like a freight train. What was I supposed to do now?

First my nail beds began to tingle, then the skin above my tailbone began to itch, and I realised that I was panicking. My instincts screamed for me to shift, to take on my fighting shape and defend my life for all it was worth. But to shift in front of a human meant to sign his death sentence. Even if he planned to kill me, I just couldn't wrap my mind around killing him.

I did the only thing left for me: I ran.

The pat-pat-pat of my naked feet echoed over the hardwood steps as I pounded down the stairs, followed closely by his call "Stupid fucking bitch-" and the sound of his boots barreling down behind me. The unfamiliar territory downstairs made me lose my pace only for a second, but it was all Noom needed to catch up. Just as I reached for the front door he barreled into me, driving me into the solid wall right next to the door and taking my breath away. One of his hands grabbed my hair, then he dove my head against the wall two times, stunning me completely. The whole attack had been so fast that I hadn't even had time to cry out.

Blood dripped from a laceration on my forehead, leaving a pattern worthy of a Rorschach-picture on the white wall, and I had a front row seat to examine it with benumbed eyes while his harsh grip bore against my back and his breath bristled with anger.

"You listen now, scrap, because I won't tell you again. If you try to run ever again, I'll make a long cut around your waist, grab the skin and pull it over your head. You won't die from that, but you will suffocate slowly, you get my drift?" His voice was thin with menace, biting every word right into my left ear, where his lips brushed against my hair.

A one-time attachment Pt.1 - Ch. 3

His charisma was like a sledgehammer against Gwynns forehead, appealing and appalling at the same time. That invitation appeared to be a small courtesy when in truth that Adonis was waiting for a female date, but at that point Gwynn grabbed for everything he got.

Slowly sitting down he smiled sheepishly and replied "Since we're already here - I'll take that drink, thank you."

Automatically his fingers searched through the inner pocket of his jacket, fumbling for his cigarettes and his old, bronze-colored petrol lighter. Putting both onto the table he shrugged out of his jacket, folded it and put it onto the cushioned bench next to him, keeping his gaze downcast. He was so nervous his fingers shook, so he kept them busy, and the best way to do that was smoking.

"Do you mind?" he politely asked, pointing at his cigarettes.

"Not at all. Be my guest." the godly creature replied, nodding his encouragement. Pitch black strands of hair slid over his broad shoulders as he rearranged himself, getting more comfortable in his seat. "I heard this restaurant has a reputation for home destilled Single-Malt. I'll have one. What about you?" Then he paused for three seconds, reconsidering something silently before he extended his arm over the table, offering a handshake. "Please excuse my terrible manners - Dr. Corinne Baldric."

His name echoed through Gwynn's brain like a mesmerizing siren's call, and he grabbed for the extended hand before he even understood the words. "Gwynn Whelan, nice to meet you." He managed and twisted his lips into an amused smile. "Interesting name you got there."

We shook hands and Gwynn grabbed a cigarette, making a jovial face while pondering over his opponent's first name. Who would be so cruel as to name a son with a woman's name, all the more if that particular son had the face of an angel? "I'll have a port wine, thank you." Gwynn added, remembering Corinne's question. "Care for a smoke?" Gwynn offered him the package, remembering his own manners.

Corinne's joyful smile illuminated Gwynn's world. "No, thank you. I've seen too many people unable to exist without cigarettes, and smoked too long myself." Then he sighed deeply even though he seemed unfazed by the comment on his name. "It's hard to be taken serious with a girl's name. But I get by." He winked, then added "My name has northern roots." That being said he changed the topic elegantly. "Are you from here, Mr. Whelan? Your surname hints otherwise, if you don't mind me saying so."

Gwynn put the cigarettes away, lighting his while he thought about how Ihe could answer Corinne's question without giving away too much. "It's Welsh. But I've left my place of birth a long time ago." He wanted to add more, but at the same time he was too afraid to tell Corinne too much. No need to become too attached to that beauty, Gwynn decided, taking another drag of smoke. "What kind of doctorate have you got, if you don't mind me asking?"

Fortuna smiled - Pt.1/Teil3

I threw up three times before the pain ceased a bit. By then I was gulping for air, my head was spinning and my knees felt weak and wobbly when I tried to get up. I had to use the toilet paper dispenser as a grip to get back onto my feet, feeling utterly miserable, and very lonely.

Even though Doug hat hung me out to dry a few minutes ago I desperately wished for him to be here, support me and take me back home. But Doug was not here. He was there, engrossed with his regular lay on an evening he had described as our romantic get-together after our break up.

Had I really believed he would change? Laughing sarcastically I staggered out of the cubicle, bumped against the washbasin and flushed my mouth vigorously. The world around me swayed and wobbled and I felt feverishly hot. When I finally looked into the mirror blood-shot green-brown eyes met mine, surrounded by unruly black hair and a sweaty sheen on the forehead. On any other day I had the gothy looks down cold, but today I looked like a junkie on a trip gone bad. I was very lean, on the brink of ascetic, tall and fragile looking in my loose-cut dress slacks, even though I worked out regularly. One just didn't need mountains of muscle for bouldering and rock climbing, and Doug didn't like skin-tight clothes, so I didn't wear them.

I shot myself a disapproving glance, took a deep breath, and growled, "You look like shit."

"Excuse me?"

The voice behind me sounded taken aback and indignant, but slightly amused. I must have been quite the sight in my ailing condition, and I hadn't heard someone coming in. "I'm so sorry," I stammered, grabbing the edge of the washbasin when I turned around unsteadily, "I didn't mean you, I meant.." That's where my words trailed off and I had to swallow dryly.

Eyecandy had ascended from heaven and broken through the veils of my personal hell to grace me with his presence.

Ambience Sound: Dredg - Lightswitch

I was put in a round room

And told to sit in the corner

While they wash my brain with a dirty rag

I was given a hammer

And told to build a fortress

With walls impossible to penetrate

You're the only thing I need

And you've become the only thing

That keeps me breathing, without you I'd be

In a dark place, no lightswitch

An open wound without a stitch

Maybe now you will understand

No matter how stable

The foundation may seem

Everything is crashing down on me

With papercuts on fingertips

Blackened eyes, and broken lips

Forever wounded, it's hard to tell

You're the only thing I need

Whether I fail or succeed

Within my blindness, you are all I see

The morning fog sun burns away

A predator's eye without its prey

Maybe now you will understand

I won't quit on you

No, I won't quit on you

I won't run away,

Ever, ever, ever, ever...

Shapeshifter Pt. 2 - Teil 3

I shifted around restlessly and finally sought refuge in my own cup of coffee, blinking at the milky-brown surface intently just to be able to avoid his relentless staring. "That's a pretty exclusive name I'd guess." I mumbled just to break my own stupor, trying to make conversation. A million questions raced through my head, but for the life of me I wasn't able to voice any of them, let alone form a coherent sentence without being pushed first.

"Tell me why the Mafia want you dead." he demanded amiably, pursing his lips to take another sip of his coffee. He sounded relaxed and conversational, as if he weren't talking about a plot on my premediated murder, and it made his question even creepier. My surprise must have shown on my face, because he fired another charismatic, toothbaring grin at me that made my dick throb in interest.

"You thought I wanted to kill you? Do I look like a sociopath that runs around killing jailbait for fun?" he purred, and I quenched the impulse to answer 'yes you do' with another mouthful of coffee, then started to look for my faculty of speech. I remembered his impatience for unanswered questions way too well, and a small part of me was outraged at the thought that maybe he already deemed me stupid or slow in the head.

"I don't know. Maybe they want to weaken my father by killing his offspring?" I offered, keeping my face straight and neutral.

"No, they would have threatened him first, and they would have left some kind of message for him if that was the case." he answered. His glare never wavered, demanding more information.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," I answered back, "the only illicit thing I ever did was buying drugs and paying with sexual favors. The Mafia don't do drugs." Well, at least that was what I always read and heard. Somwhere through our verbal exchange I had stopped fidgetting, but now I clung to my cup instead as if life itself depended on it.

The thought of being wanted by the Babylon Mafia scared me shitless. They had first shown up about 50 years ago, a strange and exotic mix of Indian and Asian culture with a very particular interest for human trafficking, smuggling and black annealing. In the last few years there had been rumors about Mafia members joining the ranks of police and taking over political functions. A dozen people had turned up dead, officials had proudly announced the forming of an anti-corruption squad, and then everything had gotten quiet. Quiet was not good. Quiet meant they had gotten so influential on the cities highest ranks, that noone dared talk about them anymore.

They could make people disappear. They could make me disappear. I just didn't know why they would have any interest in me.

Noom assessed me quietly for a few moments. I practically felt his gaze travel from my face to my neck, then to my naked, slim chest and further down, before his eyes snapped back to my face, staring at me over the brim of his cup when he took another sip. "I want to keep you around for a few days, but I don't want to end where you are now, having a bounty on your head and all that. They said 'kill him where he stands', and that's what I'd do under normal circumstances." He seemed to want to add something to that, but he didn't, and he stopped staring. It caught my attention.

"So why don't you? If you're a contract killer you shouldn't mind who you kill." I griped, unable to contain my grief on the thought of someone - anyone - wanting to kill me. I was used to being hated and rejected, even to recieving threats of violence and of course being subject to corporal punishment, but nobody had ever tried to kill me, or talked about killing me before.

Fortuna smiled Pt.1/Teil 2

The bell sounded, indicating the end of the second break. It felt like the announcement of impending doom for me, but before I could find some kind of lame excuse to stay in the hall Doug already pulled me to the entrance, giggling excitedly. He was in heaven, whereas I was in hell. Even though I had never heard of Mr. Schoenberg before Doug seemed to be in nerdvana, jabbering about oh-so-exciting historical facts and anecdotes from his life. I suddenly got wary about the whole Schoenberg thing, since he hadn't talked that much about any of the other compositions, but I had to admit that I tended to be paranoid after his last escapades.

We took our seats, the lights went down, and then...

Noise. Another aeon of despair and torture unfolded before me, this time intensified by the heartbreaking abuse of one of Lord Byron's poems that a burly, grey haired man stammered between a cacophony of violated violins and pianos. My stomach clenched, followed by a wave of nausea and a jabbing pain in my gut. This was not good at all, and for once I didn't blame it on the music, or the sparkling wine.

Leaning over to Doug I mumbled, "I think that last oyster was spoiled, I need to go. Can you take me home?"

Doug didn't react, his gaze transfixed at the stage, a drunk smile on his face.

"Doug, I'm dying here. Take me home!" I repeated, hissing when my guts tried to crawl up my gullet.

"He's fabulous, isn't he?"

This time I followed his glassy eyes, and for a second I forgot my rebellious intestines. In the first row of the orchestra sat John the shags-my-boyfriend-violinist, brows knitted together in concentration, flaxen hair flying wildly every time he swung his violin bow, and damn him, he did look gorgeous! The top buttons of his white suit shirt were undone, the sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up just enough to show his lean wrists, his lithe body moving sensously to the sweet purr of his instrument...

The world spun, and the combined pain of cramping innards and a broken heart stole my breath. "Doug..." I began, then gritted my teeth and left my seat, wishing I would have had the guts to just vomit into the face of my boyfriend. He would have deserved it.

I stumbled into the empty hall, one arm wound around my raging stomach, sweating like a pig. My steps gave off an eerie echo when I ran for the restrooms, sounding like a scene from 'The Shining', not unlike the music I had been treated to minutes before. I was glad that everyone else seemed to be enthralled by the concert since my retching and heaving must have been heard throughout the entrance hall.

Fortuna smiled - Pt. 1/Teil1

I was bored out of my mind. I was literally dying amidst the buzzing of twohundred people blabbering about atonal noise they dared call "compositions of the Second Viennese School". Death by cultural overload, or by fatal dose of canapés. The taste of my last culinaric adventure into French cuisine still stuck to my molars like salty, squishy gum. The oyster had resisted every attempt to flush it down with sparkling wine, giving off a slightly rotten flavour every time I stopped drinking for a few minutes. It was the reason why I sipped at my fifth glass of booze, and since I didn't drink alcohol normally, I was nearly at a point where I ceased caring about what people might think of me if I voiced my opinion about "dodecaphony", French appetisers and people who ooh-ed and aaah-ed at crap like that.

"Oh my god!" Doug exclaimed behind me, making me jump just a little. "They're gonna do 'Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte' by Arnold Schoenberg next, you'll love that one!"

I must have looked pretty unimpressed, because he linked arms with me and gave me his damned-to-hell puppy eyes. "You'll like it, I promise! It's a setting based on the poem by Lord Byron, very emotional. You love his poems, don't you?"

I gritted my teeth and felt the chunk of dead oyster squish and flood my taste buds with another wave of nauseating lukewarm saltwater flavor. My stomach churned disapprovingly, but I had the decency to nod at his question. Yes I did like Lord Byron, but I could have done without the music.

The only reason I tortured myself with a whole evening of classical music was Doug, my boyfriend. He was a musicology major in the middle of writing his M.A. paper, and I hated him as much as I loved him.

Two weeks ago I had come home to the moans and groans of two rutting males, none of them being me. They hadn't heard the loud bang of the door. They hadn't even heard me calling angrily "Honey, I'm home!". It had been the third time I had surprised my alleged boyfriend with John, and all I had felt had been intense distaste.

I had broken up with him when he finally had noticed my presence.

Yesterday he had knocked on my door, apologising over and over. He had even brought roses, and two tickets to a classical concert. Damn his puppy eyes. We had had great make up sex, and now I was here, surrounded by people I didn't know, having the poor dead oyster form a tight knot in my stomach, and feeling totally out of place.

Shapeshifter Pt. 2 - Teil 2

Gulping down a mouthful of sticky saliva I slowly rose, holding up my hands to keep him from putting a bullet into my head. "Sorry, I was distracted." I muttered when the cold pressure of the gun disappeared. How was I supposed to explain the intriguing allure of scent to someone who couldn't even smell the tracks mice had left next to his wardrobes? Then again, how could I have missed the strong aroma of fresh hot coffee right behind me? As soon as I didn't fear for my life anymore it hit me like a sledgehammer. He hadn't snuck up on me, he actually had brought two cups of coffee, placed them on the coffee table behind me, and THEN pulled a gun without me noticing him. Jesus, did I feel stupid!

Pushing the Gun between his Belt and the waistband he grabbed my wrist, snickered at my sheepish look and pulled me back to the couch resolutely. "Now don't look so sullen. Your naive fascination was kinda cute. But it's just a trunk, and it won't kill you if it gets angry, I will. Now sit and drink your coffee like a well-mannered guest is supposed to."

Too baffled to resist I let him push me down onto the couch and automatically grabbed one of the mugs, already dreading the possibility of unsweetened hot beverage. I was positively surprised when i tasted a good amount of sugar in the first sip I tentatively took - he did seem to get me quite fast. Nearly purring I closed my eyes, savoring the taste as I sipped and swallowed, feeling more alive with every second.

"You're strange, ya know that?"

I twitched in shock and nearly coughed out the good coffee when he spoke. Had I spaced out again? "I think I have a concussion." I mumbled swallowing hastily, and set the cup down cautiously, eyes cast down as I blushed. "And I'm not strange, I just like coffee." And scenting, but I didn't say that out loud. He already thought I was nuts anyways.

"You do realise that you are naked and partially hard?" he asked, a small smile tugging at his kissable, pale lips. He surprised me once again by saving both coffee mugs just in time when I bumped the coffee table as I jumped up. Grabbing the unicorn to hide my crotch I scampered around looking for my clothes, and my face got hot from embarassment. Jeans, trousers, there had to be something I could put on before I died of shame!

I heard a clicking sound when the coffeecups were put back on the table, then a piece of black and white colored cloth hit my face. "You won't be able to wear that for long, but since I plan to finish my coffee before I jump you, you can put that on - for now." he said.

My breath hitched, but I didn't respond to his infuriating calmness. Eyes cast down I simply put down the unicorn and put on the pair of... what in the name of god? The piece of clothing he had given me was some kind of rough cloth shaped like leggings from the knees down. The upper part resembled very tight clad jeans that sat low on my hipbones and hugged my ass with a loving grip. Either it was at least one size too small for me, or it was meant to show off my body in a way even I found slutty. At least it covered my more intimate parts, but the bulge of my cock showed quite nicely through the material. Nevertheless I didn't dare object to his choice of garment, so I picked up the poor unicorn, put it back on the couch and sat down next to it.

Now that I had at least some piece of clothing on my skin I immediately started to feel better, calmer, ready to do the one thing I subconciously hadn't dared to do yet. I let my shoulders sag with forced relaxation and in return a pleasant tingle marched through my stomach, rewarding me for my bravery. Then I inhaled deeply and raised my eyes to meet his steely gaze.

Arctic blue. The color of glacial ice. A hint of clouds cought in a tempest. His irises had an unearthly draw to them, never wavering, pupils dilating ever so often in time with his heartbeat. While his body seemed to be totally at ease, the twitching in his eyes gave his nervousness away, and I felt my own pulse speed up in joy over my discovery. I caught myself leaning forward when I tried to decipher the emotions in his eyes, totally engrossed with their hypnotic qualities.

"Noom."

His voice startled me once more, and I quickly averted my eyes. "Excuse me?" I mumbled, picked up my cup and took another sip. Everything he said seemed to get me off-balance, and I started to feel pretty stupid. At least my vocabulary hadn't decreased to grunting yet, but if he kept confusing me like this it would happen sooner or later.

"That's my name. Noom." he repeated, while his eyes took the grand tour over my body again. His ogling wiped out my relaxation within seconds.