[And, her guts officially turned to ice. She closed her eyes and kept from hyperventilating. Arya hadn't come to see her that night, thank god. She nodded to herself and opted for text as well, so that Arya can't hear how horrified and self-loathing right now.]

Yes, I think we do. I owe you more than an apology. You shouldn't have had to see any of that, Arya. Name the place and time, and please don't fuss over me too much if it's today. I'm a little bit of a mess.

Meet me at the Carnival during the late afternoon. I will be off of work, and we can make sure that there's lots of people there. It gets a lot of business.

[The request actually hurt, but she couldn't blame her, and in fact she was glad that she was doing that. It was much better that way.]

I will see you then.

[Samantha was particularly sober when the time came. She was seated in a very open bench, hands between her knees, clenched with her feet together. Her tail flipped in a nervous, agitated fashion and she watched the crowd almost unceasingly, hoping Arya would actually come.

She half expected to be stood up, or to have her brother come out of the woodwork with a sword. In truth, it would have hurt, but it wouldn't have upset her.]

[The silence hung for a second. As soon as Arya showed up, Samantha had started. She scooted to the edge of the bench opposite Arya, as much distance between them as possible. A faceless person almost sat down between them before a warning glance made them skitter off in other directions. Samantha did not seem able to bring herself to look at the girl, swallowing thickly.]

So, now you know why I warned you. Thank you for not coming to men then. I don't think I would have been able to forgive myself.

You probably have questions. Ask. I... won't hold anything back, no matter what you ask.

[She curled her arms around her legs and nodded. It was the most obvious question, after all, and she'd known it would come up. She sighed before speaking, and when she did it was at a volume that carried no further than them.]

I am, as I think I've mentioned, half demon. The term in my world is cambion, the child of an Incubus or Succubus with a human. My demonic side is that of a succubus, a demon that feeds off of sexual energies and was created to drive people towards debased and oftentimes sexual vices. It's a depraved, wicked creature that violates, destroys and corrupts anything it touches.

It seems like, just at home, it can happen without warning. But those aren't as often. It's only done that once here. My powers and anything related to sex are risky. People flirting with me, getting me aroused, screwing with my mind all have a bit of risk. But, it doesn't always happen. As far as you're concerned, none of the triggers should go off, unless you and I practice resisting body control, and I would only do that with someone there to knock me out besides you.

And... whatever the monster's like inside of me, you're... ummm, don't take this the wrong way, but you're a little young for me. My demon side really doesn't care, and is attracted to everyone. But, you're a little girl. You don't need to worry about this crap for a while. You only need to worry if she just busts out sometime, and I think you know the signs now.

There's only one problem. she knows everything I know, which means...

[She would know about the last month and a half of precautions taken.]

[She nodded sadly. Arya was quicker than most, which really was a credit to her.]

No matter what, that part of me is acting and pretending. You saw it yourself. When I'm like that, I can pretend to be normal, but I can't ever quite do it right. I will always push for things that don't make sense. Alone time. Meet me in a place that's private without anyone around. I have a secret I need to share, things like that.

Admittedly, I do actually do that normally sometimes, but it's hard to put it into words what the difference is. Do you ever get that creepy feeling like there's something not right about a situation, but you're not sure what? If you ever get a message from me, out of the blue, that gives you that sort of tingle down your spine, don't trust it. I will remember the warning I gave you, and even if I do have something I have to relay to you, it will usually be with other people around. Even if we spend time just the two of us, I'll try to make it so that times like that are in a place that's safe.

[She considered what would happen if her body control reached Kaz's levels and shuddered. That would destroy any semblance of truth in all of this, and she knew it.]

And I want you to mark the days that I tell you that part of me came out. If we find a pattern, I want you to be aware of it. That part will know we know the pattern, and she'll try to get past it, but there's got to be limits. I hope we can find it before my powers grow too much.

Eve and Merlin are keeping track as well, I think...

[she frowned and looked at Arya for a second. Her eyes narrowed and she grunted, pointing a finger at her.]

Don't start talking like that. You've got one of the better powers to do it. I just don't want you in danger by my hands, Arya. You can catch me off guard pretty easily with your speed, and if you can actually swing that sword or a dagger like you'd talked about you can bring me down just the same as anyone.

I'm not all-powerful. It's just scary when a demon's bearing down on you with claws and fangs. My nails? They're about as nasty as cat's claws. If I put some real force behind them, they'll cut, but they're not daggers. My fangs? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get close enough to actually do the whole vampiric kiss thing? My skin's apparently as tough as any athlete's, and I can get cut the same as anyone else. Two on one will almost guarantee someone can beat me unless I get the drop on them.

The only reason I win as many fights as I do is because of my attitude, Arya. You have to be willing to take any step you can, use any tool at your disposal and not hold back sometimes to win a fight. It's not about being better. It's about not caring if someone's trying to kill you and still going for the eyes.

If it comes down to it? I think you could take me. I just don't want you to have to do that.

[Honestly, Arya wasn't the first. Sam was sort of confused at the impression some people had that she was somehow this unstoppable juggernaut. Karuika just hadn't known what he was getting into, really. In another fight, she'd put the money on him.]

Yeah, I'm hoping you guys manage to pin something down the next time I go nuts, so maybe we can figure out when I need to get tied to a chair for a day or two. And thank you for promising. There's some things that are already hard for my conscience. That part of me getting her claws on you would be a little much.