Message-ID: <53579asstr$1145243401@assm.asstr.org>
From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Pandora's Box 13 (Mf Mff MMf rom ws exhib bdsm)
Lines: 278
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 23:10:01 -0400
Path: assm.asstr.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://pandora.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Pandora and our other stories. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
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Pandora whirled with a little gasp. "What are you _DOING_?  TANDI!?" She
ran over, shoving between them, and sticking her arm between Tandi's
descending hand and Gabriel's unprotected neck, causing the girl to pull
the potentially fatal blow with an irritated snarl.

Gabriel staggered, gasping for breath, and grabbed for the wall, looking
stunned.

"Are you _crazy_?" Pandora yelled, grabbing at her sister's arms. Tandi
fought her, snarling like a cat, and yelled, "You son of a _bitch_! What
the fuck did you do to my sister, huh? You undo it _RIGHT NOW_ or I'll
fucking kill you!"

Gabriel dropped to his knees, gagging, as he tried not to lose his
breakfast.

"Stop it! He didn't _do_ anything! Oh god, Gabriel? Love? Damn it Tandi,
what do you think you're _doing_?!"

"I'm going to kill it, that's what I'm doing, Dora. Let me the fuck _go_.
You just think you love it, but you don't really. I'll fix it."

Gabriel gasped for breath. "What...the hell..." He shook his head. "I
didn't...at least, I don't _think_ I did anything to her. And if I did, I
did it to me, too." He swallowed, with an effort. "I didn't _mean_ to claw
her, but I've only had the damned things for twelve hours. Cut me some
slack."

Tandi growled, looking down at Pandora's back. "Oh yeah, motherfucker? She
has _SCARS_ damn you. Scars don't happen in 12 hours. You fucking took her
Underhill, didn't you? You filthy piece of shit...how long did you keep her
there? What did you do to her? You undo it, or I'm going to shove a cold
iron blade up your fucking _ass_!"

Gabriel stared at her, bewildered. "What?"

Pandora gave her a little shake. "What are you _talking_ about? Look...calm
_down_, and I'll explain. The scars are from last night, and I was _quite_
willing, I promise. They healed because of...well, what happened to us. I
don't know _what_ you think is going on, but it's _not_, I promise, and if
you don't stop threatening Gabriel, I will leave with him _right now_ and
not ever come back."

Gabriel straightened slightly. "Wait," he said, holding up a hand. He
looked at Tandi intently. "_You know what I am!_"

"_Duh_, dipshit. Does _she_?" Tandi looked at Pandora pleadingly.
"Dora...please. You don't understand. God, if I'd known...."

"No, I _don't_ understand. That's why I want you to _talk_ to me. You know
what happened to Gabriel? Because we don't have a clue...it just happened
yesterday."

"Maybe you think that. Maybe he's got you thinking that. But I've been
warned about these things. They're fucking _dangerous_ and they fuck with
your head. It's what they do. They _enjoy_ playing with humans."

Gabriel straightened the rest of the way. "Wait. You know what I am. _You
know what I am_. Tell me, dammit! Because I don't know what I am. I thought
I was human yesterday. Now...now I don't know what the hell I am."

She glared at him. "You expect me to believe that?"

Gabriel sighed. "Yeah. Because it's true. Look, I never knew my parents. I
grew up in a series of foster homes, okay? I never even got adopted. So no.
I don't know what I am."

"So, you're saying you just _turned into_ an elf?"

"Well, yea -- elf?" He looked at her skeptically. "Elves have claws? Are
you sure you don't have me mixed up with something else?"

She sniffs distastefully. "Unseelie might have _anything_. I should have
known the instant I looked at you, but it _could_ have just been your
looks. But the ears and the fingers, once I knew to look for them, on top
of the power. Yeah, that's what you are. A damned dirty Unseelie Sidhe. And
you _touched_ my _sister_."

"I'm...an elf." He glared at her for a moment. "I'm not dirty. Look, I'm
thirty years old. Exactly thirty, in fact. Yesterday was my birthday. I
don't know what the hell you're talking about, okay? But you do. So sit
down and tell me what the hell I am." He pursed his lips. "And for the
record, _yes_, I touched your sister. And I'm not ashamed of that. Why the
hell should I be? I love her."

"_Your_ kind can't love anything."

"That's _enough_!" Pandora snapped. "More than enough. You don't know
_anything_ about him. He's telling you the truth. This just happened
yesterday, and it hurt him horribly. I _watched_ it happen, and it scared
me to death. If you know something, I want to hear it...but not enough that
I'll let you talk about him that way. I love him. I was...well on my way to
loving him when he was still human.  Whatever you think about him...he's
mine. And I'm not going to leave him."

"Tandi? I _was_ human yesterday. Or I thought I was. Is there any way I can
prove it? Or are you just going to assume I'm a liar?"

She hesitated. "I...don't know. Maybe there's something I don't know
about...maybe if you're half human, or something, things are different...we
can talk, I guess....but if I find out you're lying, I _know_ how to kill
elves."

"I'm not. Really, I'm not." He sighed. "So...what the hell am I? An _elf_?
With claws and fangs? What's up with that?"

Pandora loosened her grip, and Tandi shrugged out of it. "I don't know if
all elves have the claws and fangs, or just the Unseelie. The aura of
attraction...that's pure Unseelie. Mostly High Court, they said, but it can
happen in any of them, even the monstrous ones. It's genetic I guess."

"Unseelie?"

"Who said?" Pandora asked at the same time.

"There are two kinds of elf. Seelie and Unseelie. Light and Dark. They're
none of them _good_ though, just different, but the Unseelie are worse.
They like to play with humans for fun. Mess with their minds, get them to
love them, torture them to death slowly, that sort of thing. As to
who...Dora, you remember when I tried to become Wiccan 'cause my best
friend was, and couldn't bring myself to believe in a goddess anymore than
I ever could a god? Well...they talked about things like this. And I _did_
pick up a couple of...um...tricks, I guess. I can read cards, and cast
stones, and, mainly, I can see auras. So once I knew he was hiding
something, I could see his, and see the spots he had 'disguised' and then
see right through it. Anyway, my friend's friends always said that an elf
was worse than a demon, because at least a demon didn't make you love it
before it ripped your head off and shat down the hole."

"I have no desire to torture her to death. None. I didn't _mean_ to claw
her, I just..." He blushed. "Let's just say she's naturally talented. And
the scars...I'm not sure if I clawed her, or she clawed me."

"Well that's very fucking sweet and all, but do you have any _idea_ what
our mother is going to do to her when she sees those scars on _her_ skin?
If you knew anything about her at all, or cared, you'd know how fucking
important it is to never, _EVER_ leave a visible mark on her, damn it!"

Pandora went suddenly pale.

"I didn't _intend_ to! It was our first time since I'd gotten the claws."
He frowned. "But if I can cover up my ears, surely I can cover that."

"Think again, Spock. Elves have glamor to disguise themselves. It's second
nature to them. It doesn't extend to other people."

Gabriel glared at her. "And how the fuck was I supposed to know that, huh?
Look, god-dammit, I'm _trying_ here. But I'm not perfect. I can't take into
account something I don't know, and I didn't _intend_ to hurt her at _all_,
okay?"

"So that makes it alright then? The hell Mom's going to put her through
over those scars doesn't matter, it should just be forgiven?"

Pandora had gone very quiet, very scared.

Gabriel said, very quietly, "You tell me. If you were allergic to cats, and
I didn't know that, and I brought a cat with me, would you blame me?"

"No. But I'd expect, if you were saying you _loved_ me, that you'd know
that."

"I didn't. I know a lot of things about her. I know things that you don't.
But that one specific thing I didn't know until right before we got here,
okay? I know her in ways I can't explain. I've _been_ her when we were
making love, and she's been me. That's why I said I didn't know if I
scratched her or she scratched me. Yes. I love her. But I know from hard
and bitter experience that that doesn't mean I won't hurt her." He sighed.
"It means I'll try. It means I'll do everything in my power to protect her,
and it means that I _will_ find some way to keep her from getting hurt by
this. And you're going to help."

"Of course I'm going to help her. She's _my_ sister."

Pandora stepped over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "You didn't hurt
me. Not with that. I wanted it. I...I was happy about the marks." She
looked up at him, eyes glassy. "Do you understand? I _wanted_ you to mark
me. I...I just wasn't thinking past being with you. But it's not your
fault, it's mine. Oh god...Gabriel, when I just got sunburned once, she
totally freaked out." The tears overflowed, escaping down her cheeks.
"The...the things she _said_ to me," she whispered, "and she...she took
away my music. A..all of it..."

Gabriel's jaw set. "She won't do that. Not again. One way or another. I
_told_ you I'd do anything to protect you. But lets try to remove the
need." He looked at Tandi. "Which one of your friends is best at magic? Or
would be able to give us the best pointers?"

She shook her head, still regarding him with unveiled hostility. "I don't
think any of them do _real_ magic. Fortune-telling, luck  spells, that sort
of thing, but not like...elves can do. And even if they did...they wouldn't
tell me. It's all...regimented. You have to get initiated, and then there
are degrees, and through all of it you're asking for divine help....and I
don't do that shit, so I never learned any 'secrets'. Except I know _none_
of them will help _you_. Maybe you're the world's only non-evil elf.
_Maybe_. But they're not gonna buy that."

"Where do people like this hang out? I mean, is there a bookstore, or a
club, or something?"

She shrugged. "Both, plus coffeehouses. Just look for the goths, really."

Gabriel looked thoughtful. "Which one would be more likely to have other
non-humans?"

"I've never seen any other non-humans."

"Which do you think, then?"

"I have no clue. I guess it depends on what you're after. Elves would
probably be looking for victims, so clubs most likely."

Gabriel shook his head slowly. "If what you're telling me about elves is
true, then I don't think I want to run into any anytime soon. Unless they
aren't any longer-lived than humans?"

"No. They're immortal unless someone gets lucky."

"Then definitely not." He shuddered. "If they're as bad as you're telling
me, they'd see me as competition. _Weak_ competition."

"Yeah, probably. I guess. I don't know anything about their social lives. 
They might not hang out around people who can see them, though, now that I
think about it. They would _not_ be welcome."

Gabriel sighs. "Where do you think we should go first?

"_Why_ are you asking me? I've told you everything I know. The people I
know won't help you."

"Because you at least have _some_ clue." He sighs in frustration. "Maybe
they won't. But maybe they would. Come on, don't you have _any_ friends
who...like to do things other people tell them not to?"

"Yeah, lots. They're just not the same friends who are Wiccan."

He sighed. "So none of your friends who know magic are rebels. Damn."

"Like I said...you've gotta follow the rules to learn anything important.
So I never did." She looked embarrassed for a moment. "I also don't
kiss-ass very well, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna treat _anyone_ like
they're better than me."

Gabriel looked thoughtful. "Maybe we need to find people who aren't in your
social circle. What's the best goth club?"

She looked disgusted. "Do I _really_ look like a goth?"

Gabriel glanced at her green and white sun dress and said, straight-faced,
"You could be wearing a clever disguise."

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If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
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Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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