Chapter 40 Hunger and Thirst
I was angry. These people, these vampires, should be nothing to me but they weren't. I was angry because they should have taken better precautions to protect us. We shouldn't have been blindsided by what we were. We shouldn't have been separated. We should have always known about the world to which we were biologically connected. It was a small quirk of fate that Amy and I lived in the same town. How different would our lives have been if the Queen and King had planned better? I slammed my backpack on the concrete table.
"It's all their fault." I proclaimed angrily while swinging my legs into place under the table. The grass under the table brushed my legs.
"They didn't plan on this happening, Steph." Eric pushed his black bag out of his way as he sat across from me.
"Exactly." I waved my arm in agitation. "They didn't plan."
"You're being ridiculous. You know they planned to place you with someone they trusted. They had no control over the fire that took the agency."
"Agency? Why are you still calling it that? They put us in an orphanage." I glared at him. He shook his head.
"You make it sound like they abandoned you."
"They may as well have. We were shuffled into the system like we were unwanted mistakes." I twisted the end of the strap around my finger. "If not for our parents we would have been nothing, had nothing." I pulled the strap through my fingers.
"Honesty... Would you really want to change it all? If there hadn't been a fire and mess up; you wouldn't have the parents you have. You wouldn't have lived here. You wouldn't have met me or any of us, the friends you have. You would have lived with the vampire couple the king and queen picked. You would have lived somewhere else, other friends, family, school. I mean, yeah, you and Amy wouldn't have been separated or surprised by the para-world but you wouldn't be the people you are. I would have never met you and Kyle wouldn't have met Amy." he dropped his hands on his bag. He smiled, questioning, unsure.
I didn't know what to say. I bit the inside of my cheek. I was still angry. I wanted to have it both ways. I wanted the life the king and queen planned and I wanted my parents and my friends. Quickly I pulled the blindfold and earplugs from the small pocket of my backpack. "Are we practicing or not?" I pushed up from the table. I heard him sigh as I walked a few feet away. I put on the blindfold.
"Yeah." His feet crunched over the ground behind me. "Ready?"
I pushed the earplugs in and nodded. I didn't move. The dark silence took a moment to get used too. I noticed the cool air move over my arm. It brought the scent of pine, earth, oak and a hundred other smells with it.
One of those scents snagged my attention. Kyle. He smelled of warm cotton and male. I could distinguish between his scent and anyone else's. Everyone was unique but him most of all. I took a deeper breath. The distraction cost me. A blow landed in the center of my back.
I turned to face him. In normal conditions I would be watching for his next move. I would listen to his heartbeat. But those options were unavailable. I concentrated on my skin.
He managed to land three more blows. One blow was to my ribs, my thigh and just above my elbow, in that order. I grew frustrated with each hit. I usually managed to block some of his attacks.
Defensive I crouched slightly. I felt the air move and blocked the blow with an upraised forearm. I didn't even hold back my smile of satisfaction. I stepped back and stood up tall. Proud.
I'm not sure of the exact quote but it's something about pride before a fall. Maybe, something like, pride soars before it falls. I'm not sure. But in this case that seems appropriate.
Pride soars before it falls.
A current moved brushing me from head to toe and from the left to right. He had moved. I shifted to match him. I felt him move again. This time the current moved from behind me to the front. He had stepped back pulling the air with him.
What was he doing? Why was he backing away? My heart beat only three times before the air shifted again. I turned and ducked. A blow landed on my upper jaw just below my ear. My eyes stung behind the blindfold from tears. I saw a burst of light.
The shift of air that followed covered my entire body. I swung wildly. My fist hit fabric and slid to the side. Arms wrapped around me. I thrashed around. Balance lost we both fell to the ground. Kyle shifted his weight. His legs wrapped around my legs and he held me to the ground. The blindfold was ripped off.
I blinked with the sudden unexpected sight. His face came into view above me. His lips moved. I stilled; unaware I had been kicking and punching. His hand moved up to my ear. He pulled the earplug out.
"– moved. Are you okay? I swear I didn't mean for that to happen." His legs relaxed. But he didn't move off me.
"Steph. Answer me."
I opened my mouth and tested the movement and intensity of the pain. The pain was fading. My eyes no longer stung.
"Shit." He grumbled. His fingers wiped a tear from the side of my face.
I shifted my jaw sideways. It stung. "I'm fine."
"Thank God." His mumbled and tested his head in the space between my head and shoulder. He lifted up. "Don't do that again."
"I kinda thought that was the point. Besides it's no big deal. I've had worse from Crow." I tilted my head and stretches the muscles in my jaw.
Eric stiffened and pushed up from the ground. "That's not what I was talking about. You didn't answer me. I thought I had- gave you a concussion or something." He told me. He didn't look at me while he dusted off his pants.
I lifted up on my elbows. "I'm fine." I really was fine. It didn't hurt anymore. I lay in the grass. Relaxed and comfortable, except for a small rock I had to retrieve from under my head and toss away. My stomach grumbled. "You ever just look at the clouds? Mom and I used too." I smiled at the memory. "Look." I pointed up at a fluffy white shape. "It's a shark." I watched as the cloud drifted across the sky. The shape changed to nothing but cloud. "I miss it." I scanned the sky looking for any recognizable shape.
I could feel eyes on me. I wonder if humans have that ability. I'm not sure I did before my life changed. Maybe I was just paranoid. I almost always felt watched.
"Frog!" I yelled as soon as I spotted it above me. I pointed to it as I had when I was younger. I didn't look as Eric settled beside me. He sat for a moment before leaning back to lay down. Our shoulders brushed.
"I don't see it."
I shrugged. "It's OK. They don't last long. What does that look like to you?" I pointed up to our left. He leaned closer and followed my finger. He tilted his head.
"A mouse — without a tail." He didn't sound sure but it was close enough to what I was thinking I didn't contradict him.
Soon the mouse-thing looked like a lobster with a claw missing.
"Does that look like a lobster to you?"
I laughed softly. "Yeah, it does." I knew we should be practicing but I was enjoying the quiet and peacefulness. We discovered six other shapes. I didn't mind that it took a while for them to form and most didn't change into anything when they disappeared.
Neither of us said anything about practicing. I know these extra practices were my idea; I still couldn't find the will to stand back up.
"Bow and arrow." Eric pointed to my right.
"I see it." It looked like a an arrow notched and drawn back, ready to fire. "Athena."
"Or Cupid." He countered. I rolled my eyes.
"A baby in a diaper brandishing a loaded weapon isn't my idea of match making."
"I didn't think the old gods were in your browser either." He joked lightly.
I turned my head to face him. "Browser?" Could he be any more of a dork? I couldn't help the amused smile.
He looked at me. His face only inches from mine. He laughed and grinned. "Yeah, you know your mind. Your brain; your memories; your subconscious." He reached across his body to lightly tap my forehead with his finger. I could smell the mint gum he had chewed on the way to the park.
I'm such a spaz. The smell of his minted breath made me wonder if i could taste it if I kissed him. For a moment, a second or two, I almost did it. I didn't know what we were... a couple, soul mates, friends- certainly, but sometimes it felt like more.
"Stephanie, if you keep looking at me like that I'm going to kiss you." His voice was low, husky, hesitant.
I turned to face him. "So kiss me." I couldn't believe the wispy sound of my voice. I sucked in a breath. He turned to his side. His hand settled on the base of my neck and pulled me slowly forward. The scent of mint filled my senses just before our lips met.
His lips were warm and soft. For a second neither of us moved. Then he did. Warmth slowly spread throughout my body. My hand lifted to his chest. My heart started to beat faster. His tongue flicked my lips and they parted on a gasp. I could. I could taste mint. Mixed with him it was amazing.
I pressed closer to him. His arm moved around me. His lips continued to move over mine. I followed his lead quickening and slowing the kiss.
Our hearts beat so hard and fast they drowned out the tiny warning being shouted in my mind.
His arm tightened around me until our chests were crushing the fabric between us. The kiss was taking on a life of its own. I suppose I should have felt embarrassed or hesitant but I didn't. It felt too good to allow the negative emotions inside.
I had never felt anything like this. His lips brushed my jaw, I thought I would explode from the sensation.
I held him tighter to keep from trembling. Somehow our legs had tangled together, I felt Eric was the only thing holding me together. With out his arms and legs wrapped around me I would have shattered, exploded or vanished from existence.
I wasn't sure if I wouldn't anyway. I may have even welcomed it despite the warning still being whispered in my head.
"Steph... " he breathed my name. I didn't know if he intended to say more or not. Somehow the way he said it seemed more intimate then anything else in the world.
The air smelled strongly of me, Eric and an unidentified but familiar scent.
I groaned. Hunger danced inside me. But passion led to more; hunger and thirst. My fangs pressed down and I was too far in thrall to push them back. Hunger simmered in my core. A small thought pressed against the back of my mind, a warning. My lips curved over my fangs as I kissed the side of his lips. I started to trail my lips over his jaw. Instinct urged me to bite his neck. His heartbeat called out to me in a rhythm of study coursing thuds. My stomach clinched as I pressed a small open mouth kiss to the skin over his pulse point.
I can't describe how much I wanted my fangs in his skin. A small amount of my brain still worked. It screamed a warning. The urge to ignore that warning was intense.
I could imagine the taste of his blood. It was going to taste just like him, the taste of his skin, his scent, the sound of his heart. I couldn't imagine it wouldn't be wonderful.
I needed to taste him. I was sure it would only add to this moment. It would of course be a life altering experience.
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I have two abscess on the Left side of my mouth. Its hard to concentrate. I'm on antibiotics but it still hurts badly. I am trying to write but my concentration is shot.
As always please vote, comment, share, add to your list.
Much love to you all.
Asha
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