The Divergence

The forest rolled endlessly beneath Lavinia.

Moonlight washed over an ocean of treetops, their leaves shifting gently in the night breeze as she glided overhead. 

Far below, rivers reflected silver light through breaks in the canopy before disappearing once more beneath the branches.

She stretched her wings slightly wider.

The leathery membranes caught the cool night air with almost effortless precision, allowing her to drift forward with barely any effort. 

Every so often she gave a measured flap, the powerful motion sending a deep rush of displaced wind behind her before she settled back into another graceful glide.

Flying...

It already felt natural.

As though she'd always known how.

The others streaked through the night around her.

Unlike Lavinia, who seemed content simply to glide, several had already begun treating the open sky like a playground.

A delighted laugh echoed somewhere above.

Lavinia looked over to see Gwendolyn dive sharply.

"Oh no you don't!"

Evangeline folded her own wings slightly before dropping after her.

The two blurred downward before banking around enormous trees, climbing again moments later.

"You'll never catch me!"

"I definitely will!"

Their laughter echoed across the forest.

Lavinia smiled faintly.

The others flew with far less enthusiasm.

Adelaide maintained an even pace.

Rosaline lazily glided with barely a wingbeat.

Cordelia drifted silently through the air.

Celestine hummed quietly to herself.

Violetta remained comfortably near the middle of the group, occasionally glancing around to ensure everyone remained together.

There wasn't any rush.

Sunrise remained hours away.

They would reach the vehicle well before dawn.

Lavinia's gaze slowly drifted downward again.

The forest rushed beneath them.

Yesterday...

It hadn't existed.

At least...

Not here.

The thought lingered.

People didn't wake expecting to become vampires.

Or werewolves.

No one opened their eyes believing reality would quietly rewrite itself while they slept.

Yet...

That was exactly what had happened.

Again.

Somewhere...

Millions of people had gone to sleep expecting another ordinary day.

Instead they'd awakened to discover the Earth itself had become larger.

Cities farther apart.

Roads broken.

Entire forests where empty land had once stretched.

It still felt...

Impossible.

Her wings flexed.

A powerful flap sent another rush of wind through the night.

Several seconds later...

Whoosh.

Another deep pulse of displaced air approached from behind.

Lavinia didn't need to look.

"...You're loud."

Valerie laughed.

"I'm flying."

"Very loudly."

Valerie eased into position beside her.

Nearly seven meters separated them.

Close enough for conversation.

Far enough that their broad wings wouldn't collide.

She matched Lavinia's speed almost effortlessly.

For a while...

Neither spoke.

Only the steady rhythm of wingbeats filled the night.

Then Valerie smiled.

"So."

Lavinia sighed.

"...What?"

"Have you moved on from my sincere love apology already?"

Lavinia looked at her blankly.

"I've been wondering."

Valerie continued with complete seriousness.

"You've been awfully quiet."

Lavinia's eyes narrowed.

"Were you thinking about some other woman already?"

Lavinia rolled her eyes so dramatically Valerie nearly laughed before she answered.

"Valerie."

"What?"

"You're not a woman."

Valerie blinked.

"...Excuse me?"

"You're not."

She gestured vaguely toward Valerie.

"You're Valerie."

Several seconds passed.

Valerie slowly sighed.

"I hope you know..."

She looked ahead.

"...you deserve to stay single forever."

Lavinia's eyes widened.

"What!?"

Valerie nodded once.

"Forever."

"That's too mean!"

Lavinia cried.

"I really will live forever!"

She threw both hands upward before remembering she was flying.

"Being single forever sounds terrifying!"

Valerie burst into laughter.

The sound carried easily through the cool night air.

Lavinia looked over at her.

Their glowing red eyes met briefly.

Then Lavinia looked away again.

"No."

She said thoughtfully.

"You aren't a girl."

Valerie chuckled.

"I've noticed we've changed subjects."

Lavinia continued anyway.

"And..."

She glanced toward the others.

"...none of us really are."

"What?"

"We're not strictly female either."

Valerie tilted her head.

"Explain."

Before Lavinia could answer...

"Lavi!"

Gwendolyn called from somewhere below.

She banked upward slightly without completely climbing to their altitude.

"Do you mean biologically?"

Lavinia looked down.

Gwendolyn pointed at herself.

"Like..."

She gestured awkwardly.

"Our appearance doesn't really do anything biologically female?"

"No children?"

"No nursing?"

"Like that?"

Rosaline immediately objected.

"I am absolutely a beautiful woman."

She folded one arm confidently across her chest while continuing to glide.

"My curves say everything they need to."

Valerie snorted.

Rosaline looked offended.

"They do!"

Lavinia couldn't help laughing.

She shrugged.

"I don't think it matters."

Valerie immediately seized the opportunity.

"So you'll accept my confession?"

Lavinia looked genuinely confused.

"...When did you confess?"

Valerie stared at her.

"When you pinned me onto the bed."

Silence.

"I thought we became a couple."

Lavinia nearly stalled mid-flight.

"What?!"

"You looked very convincing."

"I was wrestling you!"

"You were on top."

"I was trying to stop you from teasing me!"

"You also bit me."

Lavinia's face fell.

"...That wasn't helping."

"No."

Valerie agreed cheerfully.

"It wasn't."

Lavinia threw both hands upward again.

"I would like everyone present to know that Valerie is attempting to destroy my reputation!"

"Too late."

Rosaline called.

"We already accepted your proposal before for the harem!"

"I proposed that to everyone as a joke!"

"A proposal nevertheless."

Cordelia replied calmly.

"I hate all of you."

"You know you love us."

Gwendolyn corrected.

"...Unfortunately, it does seem that way..."

Lavinia muttered.

That only made everyone laugh harder.

A moment later Celestine climbed smoothly upward.

Her leathery wings beat in slow, elegant strokes before she settled near Lavinia's altitude.

She glanced over curiously.

"So."

Her voice remained as gentle as ever.

"You really don't think we're female?"

Lavinia considered the question.

"We're definitely woman-shaped."

She nodded once.

"Obviously."

She gestured between herself and Celestine.

"We look like women."

"We sound like women."

"But..."

She searched for the words.

"I'm not sure that's actually what we are strictly."

Celestine hummed thoughtfully.

"I suppose..."

She admitted.

"...that's fair."

Far below...

Evangeline called upward.

"It's basically the same thing anyway!"

Lavinia shrugged.

"You're not wrong."

Adelaide looked across from several meters away.

"Then why do you think we're all 'female-shaped'?"

The question lingered.

No one answered immediately.

Even Gwendolyn stopped chasing Evangeline long enough to think.

Finally...

Cordelia tilted her head.

"I have a theory."

Everyone looked toward her.

She continued flying as smoothly as ever.

"If vampires were designed to survive on blood..."

She looked ahead.

"Then interacting with humans becomes advantageous with a softer appearance." 

No one interrupted.

"A feminine appearance generally encourages interaction."

She spoke with quiet certainty.

"It appears less immediately threatening."

"More approachable."

She glanced toward Lavinia.

"If beauty helps us feed..."

She smiled faintly.

"Then perhaps beauty is another survival mechanism of vampires."

Silence followed.

Lavinia blinked.

"...Huh."

Valerie nodded slowly.

"That's actually..."

She smiled.

"...a little unsettling."

"It would make sense."

Violetta admitted.

"If there is a biological purpose, as vampires appear to be sterile, and lack normal means of reproduction."

Rosaline looked thoughtful.

"I suppose..."

"...that's possible."

A much quieter voice drifted through the wind.

"I..."

Everyone looked around.

Evelyn had spoken.

She blushed immediately under so many eyes.

"...Humans..."

She said softly.

"...also find us eerie."

The wind almost stole the rest.

"Or..."

She looked downward.

"... a bit uncanny."

No one immediately responded.

The words lingered.

Beautiful.

Yet unsettling.

Familiar.

Yet unmistakably not human.

Perhaps both could exist together.

The discussion quietly faded as the familiar road finally appeared through the trees ahead.

A ribbon of asphalt stretched through the forest, illuminated by pale moonlight.

Their parked vehicle waited exactly where they'd left it.

One after another, the vampires began descending.

Wings folded slightly.

The rushing air softened.

Boots approached the pavement.

Lavinia touched down first.

Tap.

Her boots landed lightly against the asphalt.

She brought both hands together in a single clap.

"Well."

She smiled.

"I agree with Rosaline though."

Rosaline brightened immediately.

"You are beautiful."

Rosaline beamed.

"I knew someone appreciated me."

Valerie landed moments later.

She folded her leathery wings neatly against her back before laughing.

"Rosaline."

She looked around the group.

"We all look pretty similar."

Rosaline blinked.

"...We do?"

Valerie nodded.

"Different hair."

"Different personalities."

"Different styles."

"But we're all unmistakably vampires."

She smiled warmly.

"So if one of us is beautiful..."

Her eyes drifted around the circle.

"...then all of us are."

"Lavinia is basically praising herself here too."

For a brief moment...

No one argued.

Instead, ten immortal vampires stood together beneath the moonlight at the edge of an unfamiliar forest.

A world larger than the one they'd known stretched out around them.

...

Lavinia smiled to herself.

The familiar SUV sat exactly where they'd left it, parked quietly along the roadside beneath the moonlight.

Finally.

She stretched once before pulling her wings inward.

The leathery membranes folded neatly against themselves.

Then...

They simply disappeared.

Drawn completely back into her body without so much as disturbing her clothing beyond the repaired slits closing seamlessly behind them.

Lavinia sighed happily.

"That really is convenient."

She took a few steps toward the SUV.

Almost there.

Almost...

"...Lavinia."

She stopped.

A chill of apprehension crept up her spine.

Slowly...

She turned around.

Valerie stood smiling.

Rosaline smiled too.

So did Evangeline.

Cordelia.

And Gwendolyn.

Every one of them wore an incredibly gentle smile.

Lavinia knew immediately.

Those smiles were dangerous.

She immediately batted her golden eyelashes as innocently as possible.

"...What did I do?"

Rosaline's smile somehow became even warmer.

"Oh."

She stepped forward.

"You don't remember?"

Lavinia swallowed.

Rosaline casually draped an arm around Lavinia's shoulders before hooking gently around the back of her neck.

"So..."

Rosaline leaned in slightly.

"Do you remember earlier?"

"When we were flying?"

Lavinia remained perfectly still.

Rosaline's smile never changed.

"You told all of us..."

She tilted her head.

"...that we weren't women."

Lavinia's mouth opened.

"..."

It closed again.

"..."

Opened once more.

Nothing came out.

She slowly looked around.

Valerie.

Smiling.

Evangeline.

Smiling.

Cordelia.

Smiling.

Gwendolyn.

Smiling.

Even Adelaide stood nearby watching with unmistakable amusement.

A sinking feeling settled heavily in Lavinia's stomach.

"...Did..."

She looked hopefully toward Cordelia.

"...did all of you take it badly?"

Cordelia shook her head.

"I didn't."

Lavinia brightened.

"I was merely..."

Cordelia smiled pleasantly.

"...slightly displeased with how you said it."

Lavinia deflated.

"I..."

She inhaled.

"I'm sor-"

She vanished.

Or rather...

To human eyes...

She did.

Gwendolyn launched herself forward in a blur.

Lavinia reacted instantly.

The two disappeared from the roadside.

Then reappeared.

Then disappeared again.

Grass exploded upward.

Tree branches shook violently.

Leaves spiraled into the air.

To any human unfortunate enough to witness the scene...

It would've looked like invisible forces were ricocheting around the roadside.

To the vampires...

Gwendolyn had simply grabbed Lavinia and enthusiastically begun spinning her around.

"Gwendolyn!"

Lavinia exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!"

The world became slightly blurred anyway.

"I didn't mean anything by it!"

She finally caught Gwendolyn's wrists.

"There!"

She declared triumphantly.

"I've stopped the spinni-"

Rosaline promptly grabbed both of Lavinia's shoulders from behind.

"I was very offended."

Rosaline informed her cheerfully.

"Very offended."

Lavinia instinctively tried to wriggle free.

"Rosaline-"

She couldn't move.

Not because Rosaline was overwhelmingly stronger.

Because everyone else had already decided this was entertaining.

Valerie calmly caught one arm.

Cordelia held the other.

Evangeline prevented her from stepping backward.

Lavinia looked from face to face.

"...Girls?"

Nobody answered.

Gwendolyn suddenly raised Lavinia's wrist.

"Hm?"

Lavinia blinked.

Then...

Bite.

Gwendolyn's fangs slipped gently into Lavinia's wrist.

Lavinia's eyes widened.

"...Hey."

Before she could even pull away...

Rosaline leaned forward.

Bite.

Her fangs sank delicately into Lavinia's shoulder.

"Oh, come on!"

Valerie laughed before finding an unoccupied shoulder.

Cordelia quietly claimed the opposite wrist.

Evangeline leaned in with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever.

Within seconds...

Lavinia had become the group's chosen meal.

"H-Hey!"

She protested immediately.

"I didn't agree to this!"

Unlike a human bite...

Vampire fangs didn't hurt.

Not really.

The sensation was strange.

Warm.

Pleasant.

Almost soothing.

Which only made the situation more embarrassing.

Because she was quite aware...

That she was currently being enthusiastically consumed.

"My blood isn't public property!"

She complained.

"Get your fangs out of me!"

Nobody listened.

Lavinia tried pulling one arm free.

No luck.

Another.

Still no luck.

She wriggled uselessly while surrounded by quietly content vampires.

"This is bullying!"

She declared.

"I object!"

Rosaline hummed happily without removing her fangs.

Gwendolyn's white hair swayed behind her.

Valerie looked entirely too pleased with herself.

Even Cordelia somehow managed to appear politely appreciative while drinking.

"This..."

Lavinia huffed dramatically.

"...isn't friendship!"

Several more seconds passed.

Eventually...

One by one...

The vampires finally released her.

Lavinia staggered backward dramatically.

She pointed accusingly at all of them.

"You monsters."

Rosaline smiled brightly.

"Thank you."

"I wasn't complimenting you!"

Lavinia immediately marched toward the SUV.

She opened the rear hatch with perhaps slightly more force than necessary.

The cooler still sat inside.

Without hesitation she grabbed a blood bag.

Punctured it.

And began drinking.

Large gulps.

The others quietly watched.

Lavinia continued glaring over the top of the blood bag while drinking.

None of them looked remotely guilty.

If anything...

They appeared refreshed.

After finishing the last mouthful...

She lowered the empty bag.

Valerie wandered over.

"You really walked into that one."

Lavinia rolled her empty red eyes.

"If you all wanted blood..."

She crumpled the empty wrapper.

"...drink a blood bag."

She pointed toward the cooler.

"Not me."

Rosaline immediately clasped both hands behind her back.

"But..."

She smiled almost sheepishly.

"...you taste better."

Lavinia stared.

Rosaline continued without shame.

"I could taste the berries."

"And the pine."

"So clearly."

She smiled dreamily.

"It was wonderful."

Lavinia sighed.

"...You're impossible."

She casually tossed the empty blood bag toward Rosaline.

Rosaline caught it before it could even think about touching the ground.

"Thank you."

She said happily.

Lavinia wasn't entirely sure whether Rosaline meant the wrapper...

Or the blood.

She suspected the latter.

One by one the vampires climbed into the SUV.

Doors opened.

Closed.

Seatbelts clicked.

The comfortable familiarity contrasted strangely against the impossible forest surrounding them.

Evangeline settled into her seat.

Then looked toward Lavinia with a grin.

"I really enjoyed your flavor."

Lavinia froze.

A strange expression crept onto her face despite herself.

"...Would you not say it like that?"

Evangeline blinked innocently.

"Say what like that?"

"My..."

Lavinia waved both hands vaguely.

"...my flavor!"

She covered her face with one hand.

"That's so embarrassing!"

Evangeline laughed.

"But it's true."

"Shut up."

Lavinia muttered.

"And stop saying embarrassing things."

Rosaline nodded solemnly.

"I also enjoyed your flavor."

Lavinia groaned.

Valerie immediately joined in.

"It was quite pleasant."

Lavinia pointed accusingly toward the front seats.

"I'm never letting any of you bite me again."

Gwendolyn tilted her head.

"So..."

She smiled sweetly.

"...next week around this time?"

Lavinia stared at her for several long seconds.

Then slowly leaned back in her seat.

"...I miss when all of you were behaving yourselves."

Silence lingered.

Finally, Adelaide looked over from the driver's seat.

"Were they ever though?"

Lavinia thought about it.

"...No, they weren't..."

The SUV filled with laughter as the engine started, and beneath the moonlit canopy of a forest that hadn't existed the day before, they began the drive back toward the city.

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