naturally.

@allthewrongpieces.bsky.social i'll take a bottle of your most expensive vintage.

i wish to get drunk tonight. let's visit a bar first.

okay.

just follow my lead.

i don't know. but you musn't say that to her.

hm . . . alright. there *is* one little bar in this hellhole that interests me. there's just the naughtiest little blonde behind the bar.

not yet. we must find more vampires.

i *was* a bat, honey-bunch. yes, i do. how are you finding urf?

perhaps i simply fluttered in.

in-tru-der window. hello. do you believe that?

i'm so glad you agree.

that's all you want? a *pretty girl* like you? sand?

say that again. go on. yes, i thought so. that's why you're better off with me. i'm expected here. i was invited. and i know the rules of the game.

( the smile of someone who enjoys being difficult; not shit-eating - she would never stoop herself that low. ) i walked. you're in danger here, you know. i'll go, if that's what you want, but by my side is the only --secure-- place in this entire universe.

catty as always. i can see your handiwork everywhere, darling.

excuse me?

i can think of one thing. come with me.

very good. have you been practicing that one in the mirror? i want your most expensive wine. at once.

mmm, i'm not sure. i think this town's all bark and no bite. i liked the real gomorrah more. don't you know your own name, alice? maybe i'm not the one who ought to be careful.

( a laugh. she means this one. her eyes flash red in the dim bar light with desire. ) i bet you say that to all the girls. well . . . to be honest . . . ( she pouts when she thinks, her eyes looking up at the ceiling. ) i'm kind of fussy when it comes to drinks. what's your name, darling?

( kassandra opens her mouth to insult the woman, but stops herself. this one has an odd way of looking at her. there's something delicious in her eyes. ) . . . hnnnn. you're right, it's stupid of me. with a face like that offering me *free booze*, how could i say no? kassandra.

"that would make 'wille', with 'th' as surplus. "you could say that, yes. since i was reborn some years ago, bloodshed has been . . ." a pursed smile. "something of a second nature to me."

( hissing. ) ASK ME NO QUESTIONS! ( flapping her cape and vanishing. )

neither, my dear, are you. i have work to do. don't disturb me.

what? what are you talking about? i'm asking you to interrogate the girl and see what she knows. you know what, forget it, it'll require brains.

"logically," she says, folding her arms. "it's simply a battle of wills. and i, as it happens, have the willpower to go the whole distance."

once upon a time there was an impudent little twit who didn't listen to what her master told her and so she died. miserably. horribly. slowly. the end. do this for me, at once. i MUST know how many *time lords* are still in existence.

if one can breed . . . would you like to hear a story, little quintain?

i would like to agree with you, my dear. but she is partially descended from a race which have the potential to ruin my campaign, if i allow them. i had thought them dead, but . . . well, i needn't worry you with that . . . small detail. my point is that you can never be too careful.

would you like to play with her? i *am* looking for information . . .

we are not equals. you are not asking the questions, nor are you making the demands. perhaps some quiet contemplation in a cell will change your mind.

( her face scrunching up in mock-politeness. ) mmm, *please* . . .

don't worry about me, del. i'm already familiar with tyler's mind games.

your silence speaks for itself. there are others. if you give me names and locations, perhaps i will spare you. speak.

answer the question.

i can hear your hearts beating. what a sad little song they pump out. tell me, girl. i'll know if you lie. the time lords: are there any left? your *parent*, for instance?

( kassandra yanked her forward and gripped her chin, her sharp nails digging into valerie's skin as she moved the girl's head from side to side, squinting. ) i know. you're half *time lord*, aren't you? yes, i knew the rumors of looming were too good to be true. you fuck like any other animals.

people? they can barely build spacecraft. i know it somehow. come closer, girl. let me see your face better in the moonlight.

point to me a single one of these cattle who does not deserve the blade. the wise ones will convert; let the rest see their example. i recognize that smell. your second heart. it is . . .

questions? you know our kind. our scent lingers. yet you are not human either. surely you have tasted their cruelty? their abject failures?

indeed. i am kassandra, the crimson emissary of the eternal night. i have come to your feeble planet to grant its people the chance for salvation. for too long has mankind wasted away in the bright tyranny of the sun. now there will be order, and rule, and bliss, forever.

but of course. i will speak most favorably of our collaborators to the red king. they shall be given their dues, as our foes will be in kind. *and*, i have the faculty to bless individuals with ascendancy at my own discretion. you and your loved ones, vicky. they need never suffer again.

a true genius knows there is no such thing as 'can't beat 'em'. everything has a weakness.

dither no more, child. you are in the presence of greatness.

( she laughs. ) no. we are its reward. for enduring.

a time lord? i would never debase myself. their acrid stench repels me.

the scourge of the universe. i quite agree.

i see.