Another day, another trip to the nearest grocery store and putting in several orders for her restaurant to be stocked up for the next day. Dinner services were over by now, only special reservations for romantic evenings even possible now that the sun had set and the dragoness was done in the kitchen. Actually she kind of liked this time of the evening, this particular trip of hers especially. Every time she went to the store she left a little while ago it brought her past the old drive in movies and she'd stop for a few minutes to see what they were playing. It was surprisingly popular too, from old couples that longed for that "yesteryear" feel to new lovebirds mainly looking for an excuse to take out dad's car and break in the back seat a bit. She kind of imagined this would be great for the few non-anthro dragons too, a chance to actually watch something considering they'd never come close to making it into a normal theater.

Tonight they were running some horror movie, not entirely her thing but there was definitely a crowd. She lingered by the chain link fence that only partially gave a view of the screen, smiling and turning to continue on her way. The dragoness was never really worried about her surroundings, while she wasn't much for violence pretty much everyone in town knew better than to mess with the dragoness. It felt kind of... empowering, to be able to head down a dark alleyway if she chose and knowing the few dirtbags that might be lying in wait would cower in the shadows until she passed. At least she felt that way sometimes considering how close she came to a few of those alleys. She was clear of the worst neighborhood, not quite back into the safe part of town but in an area where you'd expect to have strange things instead of dangerous things.

For some odd reason she chose to take a little shortcut, pausing as she thought she heard a noise. Nothing, just deathly silence, and after a few more steps there it was again. Someone... wimpering? Odd, it was gone again and this time didn't come back. Crimson focused her attention on the last place she thought she heard it coming from, a concealed corner down yet another side alley. Thankful for a nice bright moon and relatively few clouds passing overhead she peeked around and saw something white... a dragoness... but what was she doing there? And was that someone with her?

This night felt like a special one, a bright, clear, cold one full of promise. She'd dressed simply, with tight black jeans and a dark red t-shirt, and one gold choker. And she'd needed a break from Verdy - with Syn itching and scratching and screaming at her - and so she'd come here, to dark unprotected streets and an unlucky victim.

He was a diminutive jaguar, easy to take down. One had to wonder why he'd been out here. Of course, there had been the gun that he wasn't quick enough to get out. Oh, and what was she doing, talking in the past. The creature was still quite alive, whimpering now and again. She let him, the sound music to her ears as she carved claw into furry flesh and tooth into neck, the blood a sweet evil as it slid sluggishly down her throat.
"Mmmm," she murmured, caressing his shoulders. "You taste good."
Another whimper with wide grey eyes, pleading her to stop, or to end it.
"Oh, you want it to end?" she crooned. "You want to die..."
The last word a hiss, shoving her face to his, then slowly scraping her tongue over a cut on his face, right below his eye.
He whimpered again, and suddenly she smelled something. Another female dragon.

She clamped a hand over his mouth to stop his whimpering temporarily, another on the back of his head, and twisted. A sickening crack and he fell a little before she caught him, holding him up.
The dragoness was closer...shit. She was behind her, in sight. Too obvious, especially with the clear sky, that the feline was dead. Judging by previous knowledge (dragon) and smell now, she wasn't sure she could take her. There was blood all over her mouth, cuts and wounds all over him.
Well, she always had her acid if she needed it.
She turned around to face the other dragon, smiling pleasantly as she dropped the dead body to the ground.
"Hello. How are you doing this fine night?"

Well, that WAS someone with her anyway. Didn't look like it anymore though, and now that she was focusing on this stranger she could definitely smell as well as see blood. "I'm doing quite well I suppose, and you?" Odd, all logic would dictate she be afraid of someone that either just killed or found a person dead and yet here she was standing and just staring at the dragoness. She was smaller, a nice white contrasting the black pants and dark red shirt. Actually kinda cute... heck even the blood still dripping from her lips a little was a nice contrast. Crimson found herself smiling a little. Why was she smiling when there was a murderer so close by? Maybe she just didn't feel like the white dragoness would be able to cause her any problems. It was one thing to pick on a little jaguar that couldn't really fight back once he was down but a much bigger deal to try and hold off a bigger dragon. Crimson figured she'd probably interrupted a meal or at least some sort of entertainment, good chance she'd end up on the "menu"

"I'm doing quite well I suppose, and you?"
Forsynthia grinned, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. This one wasn't rearing for a fight, nor did she seem to be afraid. Turned her off from attacking right then and there, atleast.
And the other dragoness smiled, too. Was she into this sort of thing? Intriguing...
"Very well, thank you. You did interrupt me, though...what are you doing back here?"
"And who would miss you...why won't you ever hand complete control over to me?" Syn hissed, scraping at the walls of her mind.
"Because you're reckless."
Syn huffed and sat, arms crossed. Forsynthia internally rolled her eyes.
"Is it possible you were headed to the movie? Was thinking I'd finish my little...act with a horror movie. It's supposed to be a good one tonight. Don't know what about, though."
She walked closer, blood still dripping from her black claws.
"Or would you rather I finish with you?" she asked lowly, grinning.

Crimson was still smiling a little as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "Sorry to have... interrupted you but I didn't think anyone would be around these parts tonight. Guess at least two people were, and now there's only one other than me. Just walked by the movie, it looked decent from what I could see but it's kind of crowded over there." What exactly did the smaller dragoness mean by that last part? Either way it was... she didn't know why she thought this but it was kind of interesting. Maybe deep down she was itching for a fight or for someone to spend a little time with. The only down side was, well, she was kind of a sucker for felines and that fella wasn't going to be very entertaining at this point, which left the dragoness if that was really what she had implied.

Crimson smirked and let her tail swish about behind her lazily. "Well if you think you could handle me you're more than welcome to try. Besides, they might be doing a double feature over at the movies so on the off chance I'm not quite what you're looking for you could still catch part of a show." The other dragoness could take that any way she liked. Crimson wasn't exactly in any rush to be anywhere or to consider reporting the now body.

The older dragon seemed ok with the whole thing, at the least. No real way to tell.
"Well, she interpreted it partly a different way, but..."
"Actually, I have taken dragons your size before. I wouldn't go around killing people if I hadn't trained to be optimally fit, and in all sorts of weapons...I have something secret in my arsenal too. But I've already sated myself, I think. How about we start with names, instead? Though, don't think I'm going to give you mine if you try to place that dead body in my name."
For spoke again, a suggestion. "You could go to the movie with her. If you do that, she might not tell anyone..."
The white dragoness chuckled. "How about we go to the movies, and you don't tell anyone who killed the jaguar? Unless you're not planning on reporting it in the first place."
The dragon was older, and she had a hunch all the bigger anthro dragons were related. She could be wrong, but it was good enough for now.

"Oh I'm sure you have, but I've taken on dragons my size and bigger, and I've still come out on top. My name's Crimson, and I don't exactly intend on telling anyone about this. Looks like you had a bit of fun with him, but I have to say it almost looks like a waste of a perfectly good kitty that you could have played with a lot more. At most I might mention spotting what I thought was a body and not wanting to get close to verify my suspicions. So what's your name?" Crimson smiled, taking a few steps closer to the white dragoness. "I think I'd like to go to the movies with you, but before we do, we make sure you're all cleaned up. Like that spot of blood on your cheek, and the drips you have on your paws." Crimson stepped even closer, within arm's reach. "Let me get that for you." She was definitely tempting fate as she leaned in and licked the spot of blood from the white dragoness' cheek, all the while keeping an eye on her claws and ready to react. Not that she wanted to have to fight, but if it came to that, this was probably the easiest way to provoke one and get things started... or to be reassured that fighting wasn't necessary.

"Looks like you had a bit of fun with him, but I have to say it almost looks like a waste of a perfectly good kitty that you could have played with a lot more."
"Quite true, but not in an alleyway. I go places a lot more...hidden or concealed to do things like that."
"So what's your name?"
"Forsynthia," she replied. Crimson, as she was named, took steps closer to her, and she realized they weren't much more than a foot apart now.
"She's right about getting cleaned up, though. Going to the movies is one of the excuses to dress up nicely, and other than the blood, I'd have to say my attire is quite perfect. Glad I didn't get any blood on myself where I couldn't-"
"Let me get that for you."

Forsynthia blinked her silver eyes as the dragoness leaned and licked off the blood for her. Her tongue could in fact reach there, but...whatever. The sensation was warm, almost pleasing, but she did not care for such a affection-implying gesture from just about anyone.
Clearing her throat, she flicked a clawed paw up accurately towards the older dragoness before stepping back.
"I believe I got a spot on your throat there, but you'll have to get it off yourself," she said, smirking, feeling her pulse speed at the thought of all the blood under those red scales.
"I can barely see it though, so maybe you don't mind."

Crimson smiled and took care of the spot, wiping it away. "Thanks. So Forsynthia, you still want to head over to the movies?" She was getting mixed signals from the dragoness on her actions, and not the normal surprise she'd expect. The white dragoness was a killer obviously, but that didn't have to be her whole personality. The better thing to wonder was if she'd end up a target or not. Forsynthia had to know that if they ever wound up as rivals there was a witness to a crime. Crimson shook her head slightly and cleared out the negative thoughts, focusing on the dragoness. It was her move, start trouble now, later, or no trouble at all.

"Thanks. So Forsynthia, you still want to head over to the movies?"
She didn't want to fight, but she didn't want to get licked by some stranger either. What was she supposed to do? Clear her throat to say 'this is awkward', step back to get away, flick the blood just as an optional warning...it seemed simple to her, but then again her mind didn't work like most people's. She was alright with that though.
"Of course I do. I'm just not into women, if that's what you're wondering."
She chuckled and then walked past Crimson, saying to her as she passed, "Let's go."
For a few moments she walked in silence, listening for her approach, then added something.
"I was thinking of flying around after the movie. By what I can tell, you're not...too much into all the killing and such? More into...less dark deeds. So we could find someone, and we could each do what we liked with them. Or you could lure someone out and have your fun...I won't kill anyone else though, if that makes you happy."
"More like if that makes her not report you..." For said, and Syn replied with her normal irresponsibility - "And why should that matter? Kill anyone you like and skip town. Or just kill her, that would be such a better guarantee, and more fuuun!"
"Oh shut up."

"Well yes, I was wondering if you were into women or not. Flying around after the movie sounds good, especially the not killing someone part. I'm not really into causing the darker things to happen." But she wasn't the kind to go around reporting everything she saw either. "So what would you do with this person if we found someone?" She was following the dragoness toward the movies. Not how she'd pictured her night going but it was definitely interesting, a change of pace. Hanging out with a murderer... though the guy likely wasn't exactly a kind hearted soul. She knew nothing about him but a young guy in this area with a gun didn't exactly paint a bright picture.

"You know you forgot the gun, right? For asked.
"I didn't forget anything. I don't want to go and take his gun while there's someone watching. Not that I don't have a license - close enough - for it, but..."
Forsynthia briefly stretched her wings, as far as the narrow alleyway would let her, being careful not to hit Crimson either.
"What do I do with them?" A dangerous note slipped into her voice, then slipped right back out of her next sentence. "Bite their neck, typically, and drink their blood. I guess you could call me a vampire, atleast in that sense. Or be a little more specific and say I simply have vampiric tendencies. I like night time better than day time, and wouldn't you agree I'm quite pale?"

She laughed at that, then looked around and found they were at the main street. The white dragoness flexed her claws, checking every shadow, then continued at a brisk pace.
"Doubt anyone would attack two dragons, but still..." she muttered under her breath. For good measure, she also looked behind her, to glance at Crimson.
There was a lot more she'd normally do to a victim, but now it was obvious that this dragon was not...not quite disapproving, but certainly not approving either, of murder, then she wouldn't like torture. She didn't need to tell the red dragoness a single thing about that, nor did she need to actually do it when the time came.

"Do you even notice the decline in your pleasure of hurting others?"
Forsynthia almost lost balance mid-step, caught off guard. Yes, she had noticed, but it didn't seem...worth much thought.
"But it is. Syn has been controlling you less and less, I've watched it happening, slowly. A lot of it is linked to Verdy, you know."
She hissed quietly, one hand clenching, her pace slowing just slightly.
"It makes sense. You have fallen in love with him, after all. To think, you almost had him for a meal all those years ago."
"Shut up!" she thought fiercely, yanking herself out of her head to keep her pace up. "I don't need you babbling and distracting me right now."
"Oh, like you can't protect yourself. I -"
"I can't if you're distracting me!"
For grumbled, but left her alone

"Oh? Really? That actually sounds... thrilling? No, maybe not quite thrilling but exciting perhaps, or... oh whatever the right word for it is." She guessed there was a lot more to it than that, but she wasn't going to press the issue. "Hehehe, well you are a little pale I'll admit, and I don't think anyone would ever be silly enough to try and strike out at two dragons." She was happy to walk a little behind her, stretching her own wings when they were back on the main street. Crimson was watching the white dragoness for every little sign she could. The more she understood her the better right now, so she'd know if there could be trouble later or if Forsynthia was the kind to just move on and ignore loose threads. Or maybe she didn't even consider Crimson a loose thread, which was what she hoped honestly.

"What's it like?" she asked suddenly. "Drinking their blood, and... and whatever else you might do?" Why was she even asking? It wasn't as though Crimson would go out and try it for herself just because she saw a younger dragoness doing it... right? She was only curious, trying to find out what made her tick. Sometimes her pace became erratic or she seemed to trip on her own, probably lost in thought. If only Crimson knew the true turmoil going on inside the other girl's head.

The red dragon surprised her a little with her first words. Perhaps "interesting and slightly exciting because of how taboo that sort of thing is" was what she was looking for. Not even taboo; assault, injury, maiming, and killing were all illegal and that's what you went to jail for. Regardless, though...
Forsynthia kept her eyes, ears and nose alert for anyone or anything. Funny thing was that right now, the street was completely empty, even of cars. A single car had yet to pass them, or even pull out of any parking lots of some of the public buildings nearby.
She shrugged to herself. Did it matter?
"What's it like?" Crimson asked suddenly. "Drinking their blood, and... and whatever else you might do?"
Whatever else she might do? She smirked, glancing back again at the older dragoness.

"I guess a good word would be what you used before. Thrilling, exciting. Satisfying, euphoric at times even. A lot of people can't stand the taste of blood though, and some can't even stand the sight. It's like...wine tasting. Anyone who drinks or eats something for a long time can detect slight differences between similar types. Same goes with blood. Canines, felines, reptiles, birds, they all taste different. A wolf tastes different than a fox, in fact the grey wolf tastes different from the mexican, the red, the arctic. The cougar tastes different than the lion or leopard. The barn owl from the great owl and fish owl, the red-tailed hawk from the Cooper's."

She paused for a moment to take a deep breath, smiling slightly.
"I think you get my point though, so I won't keep going. And of course, if you pay close enough attention, if you even have sensitive enough taste buds, then you'll be able to taste each individual, all the tiny little differences. Of course, sniffing them, or even looking at them is a far easier, less intrusive way to tell who they are, but their blood....that's who they really are. Blood holds an essence in it, the individual's. I like being able to get to that."
She walked for a few more moments before dropping back next to her and looking her in the eyes.
"Why do you ask, anyway? Are you interested in trying, because I'd be more than happy to teach you..."

"And another truth comes to the light," said For, smirking.
She made sure to keep her pace the same, and attend to both For and Crimson with equal measure. If the red dragon spoke, she would know and take herself away.
"What would that be?" she snarled back.
"You long for companionship, just like anyone else. Not just love, but -"
"Why must you keep interrupting?"
"You asked. Don't give me that look, you asked me!" she protested, half-smiling.

"You need to learn to say nothing in the first place, so you don't manipulate me to ask you because I know you're just sitting there all smug." The white dragon rolled her eyes when she went into the pose she was describing. "Now go away. No, I have a better idea. Find Rythia."
For's smile left her face and she nodded slowly.
"How long has it been again?"
"No sign whatsoever for several days now, almost a week. We caught those few glimpses at first, remember?- but nothing since."
"Well, go look instead of bothering me, alright? Make sure Syn does too; can't have her egging me on to maul this dragon."
For gave a little laugh before she turned away to search for the invisible Rythia.

Wow, apparently she hit on a topic that the other dragoness really enjoyed talking about. Maybe it was just because she was so familiar with it, and had probably never really been asked before. Aside from the doubtless incidents where a pair of pleading eyes wanted to know why they were having their very life sucked out of them drop by drop. "Oh I can certainly understand how they'd all be different. And probably different blood types from the same species tasting different too." She had no idea how far down it could go. Though the white dragoness' next words surprised her. "Well... actually, yes, I would like to try I suppose." Wait... what?

It was the cook in her, the desire to experience so many different flavors. Raw meat was often requested at her restaurant and she had yet to see the real appeal. Predators looking for a substitute to a fresh kill she had assumed, but maybe there were other reasons. Maybe the blood itself was the big turn on for those customers, and maybe she should finally figure out what all the fuss was about. She didn't plan on making it a regular habit, or a violent one. The red dragon wasn't counting on how addictive it might become, something her friend probably knew all too well.

Then her mind came back to what had been said. A lot of discussion had gone into the whole blood part but not so much what else she did. Maybe the white dragoness wasn't so keen on talking about it, or maybe she thought it was too disturbing. She'd let it go for now, maybe she'd find out later, preferably not from firsthand experience.