Nefarious

C123 - Wine red

"Poison?" I stuttered. "For vampires, not you," he clarified. "Jeez, Alex!" I sighed loudly. "Do you think I would ever inject you with poison just like that? And by Jace? Hell no! Anyway, Xavier survived that as you know," he said. "Yeah, but that's not the first you think about when somebody tells you you've been injected with poison," I argued. "No, of course not."

Suddenly, in the middle of Alex and I's moment, Xylan entered. "Ay, I think I lost my necklace to the floor, so sorry for that psychical contact," I cleared my throat, moving away from Alex. He looked at us with a dubious look, so I moved even further away. "Is she here for your amusement or something?" Xylan asked sceptically. "What do you want?" Alex asked. "Just a quick word with you."

When Alex went out with Xylan, I spotted his journal standing upraised in his bookshelf. I felt extremely tempted to grab it and read it, but I knew I couldn't. I would be caught before having read the first page, and in the worst case, possibly by Xylan.

Tracing my finger over Alex's journal, my thoughts started running wild. With all the things Jace had written about Xavier in my mind, my curiosity only increased. Reading the journal would give me an insight into Alex's mind, and possibly many answers, but it wouldn't be right of me to do such.

My attention moved to Xylan's voice rising. The door wasn't muting his voice anymore, meaning it was slightly opened. "You know, Hayden's stronger than you, Alex. Each time I mention his name your body tenses like you're about to lose it. He's scaring you, and trust me, it's not a good look on you. It doesn't suit you, Alexander." "Perhaps you should've chosen Jace then, and don't call me Alexander." "Why are you suddenly struggling? You have a person who is damn important to Hayden and the others, yet you're not doing shit," Xylan scoffed sharply. "I don't rush decisions. You may kill on the spot whenever you feel like it, but I don't," Alex answered. "Hayden will be coming for her soon, remember that as you make your non-impulsive decisions," Xylan warned.

Alex entered the room with a rather confusing facial expression. He shut the door and heightened his head as if he'd realized something. In a rushed movement, he grabbed his wine-red leather gloves and the matching coloured clothes. "What're you doing?" I asked hesitatingly. "I don't have much time," he answered unclearly, fiddling with something. "Time? Time for what?" I frowned. "Xavier!" he called. He grabbed the sweater roughly, determinately. "What's up?" Xavier asked from the doorframe all of a sudden. "Stay here for a little while, will you?" Alex raised his eyebrow. Xavier nodded once before stepping inside.

It didn't seem to even cross Alex's mind that Xavier was in the room when he changed his outfit. It wasn't hard to tell Alex was in good shape psychically, but what Xylan has been saying can't be any good for his mental health. Alex's movements were clearly determinate and quick as if he was in a rush, which I found hard to understand. His sight suddenly landed on me, catching my attention immediately as my thoughts slowly faded. "Stick with Xavier, Valerie, okay?" he said. "What-" I started. "I need you to say yes," he cut me off before carefully placing his hand on my neck. He glanced quickly at the wound on my neck, reminding himself of everything that had happened. "I will, yes, but-" I started once again. "Good, good," he cleared his throat, his hand leaving my neck. "Be damn careful, Leclair," Alex said, leaving hurriedly.

Xavier crossed his arms as he leaned against Alex's bed. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I knew there were risks with asking questions in here. Therefore, I asked something else. "Why was I injected with poison if Hayden and the others feed on animals only?" I questioned. "They kill that way often. Anyway, some of them feed on humans, but it won't ruin their reputation because they keep it a secret. Adeline, for instance, she isn't feeding on animals. Alex turned her, taught her how to live her new life. She can't change that even if she wants to," he answered. "Fucking hypocrite," I scoffed. "You're her ex's new girlfriend, I'm pretty sure she's bitter about that part," he reminded me. "Oh, jeez. You're right, Xavier. When Alex messed with her and let her think for a second that he cared for her again, she softened up," I swallowed oddly. "Exactly. She's not over Alex, she's just angry that he chose you over her." "I just can't picture the two of them together." "Understandable, I can't either," he shrugged his shoulders.

My question regarding the poison could apparently be answered, but I still didn't want to risk anything. Xylan could be eavesdropping right outside the door or something for all I know, so he chose to answer why Alex was dressed in red as an addition to my knowledge. "In crisis situations, the vampires who belong here need to be able to distinguish Alex from the others so they can inform him of important details and so on. The wine-red clothing is a sign it's a Caizar leader," he answered. "But why did he wear it back when I came here then?" I frowned. "Things weren't great. Hayden and the others were looking for you, and we had issues with insiders. Anyway, it was kinda a big deal that you came here as you're an important person here." "Damn, I wasn't aware. That's why you reacted the way you did?" I narrowed my eyebrows. "I was afraid something serious was about to go down because of the red, yes," he shrugged his shoulders. I didn't want to ask him due to the risks but resisting it was becoming rather difficult. He divulged the meaning behind the red coloured clothing as to being for crisis situations, and Alex did seem pretty stressed out... so what the hell is going on?