To Whoever This May Concern or to the Curious Wanderer Who Happened to Find This,
Since the beginning of time, higher powers have fought relentlessly for control and dominion. Light against dark. Evil against good. The infinitive against the definite. The unknown against speculation. The endless conflicts have ravaged our world since the very first tribal war broke out, splitting out population's unification and uniting those who believe in the same cause.
Peace brought by violent justifications. Misuse turned to good by twisted reasoning. We have learned or heard of at least one war in our lives as tragic as it may seem...
But I am sure you did not see this expecting to be here to hear our world's long history of wars but rather to focus on one progressing one mixed in with today's modern times. The one I will proceed to start in a moment.
Speculation of the existence of the supernatural and the properties of magic continue to be subjected to debate day after day, but no matter what the skeptical view points are, I will tell you from my own beliefs and knowledge that magic and the like do indeed exist.
Now of course I am probably receiving various reactions now aren't I? Some still remaining skeptical wondering, "Who is this guy? Telling me that I should believe in the stuff of fairy tales?" Or perhaps there are those of you who are rejoicing, somehow believing the word of a mere story teller. Or maybe there are those of you who have become transfixed, going back to childish thoughts of noble dragons and great wizards and wondering once again if those things may be real after all. Whatever it may be, it still comes down to the matter of your own opinion, but again we are not here to listen to my ramblings, but of my telling of a simple story about one war in particular. A recent progressing war set in today's modern times. The conflicting sides? The mortals who have been possessed with a power-hungry drug from within and the said unknown who just want equality with society.
We will start the story from the point of view of one young man... He lives using hidden tactics because he has to, wanting to avoid as much conflict as possible. Having already endured many hardships, he wishes for nothing more than the conflict to end, not wanting others to share experiences similar to his, even though he knows it will not come to an end anytime soon..
Remember, whether you believe in the supernatural or not is up to your own personal opinion, but keep in mind as you read this that these are indeed true events.
-Anonymous
2: Chapter 1: LucianChapter 1: Lucian
Slow breathes. In... Out... In... Out... I close my eyes and sigh softly as the sound of my pounding heart slams against my ear drums and I feel my wolf ears perk up before drooping again in my groggy state. Slowly I regain my senses before I slowly sit up from my bed and crack open my eyes. Slowly, slowly... Take it one step at a time. The moonlight streams in from my window illuminating my small bedroom of my apartment. In... Out... Don't rush the thoughts. I can't lose control again.
I close my eyes again, feeling the sweat on my body stick my clothes to my skin and the air cold as it brushes by. In... Out... I- My thoughts are interrupted as I hear shuffling come from the living room and my ears perk up again. "Lucian?" her sleep-slurred voice whispers breaking the silence. I give no answer. I keep my eyes closed and sit still. I've calmed down by now, but I still don't feel keen to go back to sleep. Back to whatever horrific apparitions had awoken me from my slumber in the first place. "Lucian?" her voice comes again. She's in front of my door.
A soft sigh escapes my lips. I know she won't stop bothering me until she's sure I'm fine. "Yes?" I call back.
For a moment I hear nothing and then the door to my room opens and her head pokes in. She looks over me for a moment, assessing my slightly wet snow white hair, drooping ears, dull sky blue eyes, tense and sweaty frame. I merely look back at her. Alert pink eyes, long flowing pitch black hair, unnaturally pale white skin, but what sticks out to me was the fact that her needle-like fangs were presently peeking out from under her upper lip. She must be hungry. But of course, before I can make something of it, she speaks first. "What is it Lucian? Was it another nightmare?"
I give her a tight smile which sadly I know that she knows it is a sign that I'm about to lie or not tell her what she needs to hear. "I'm fine-"
"Lucian, was it another nightmare?"
"No, it wa-"
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm no-"
"Yes, you are."
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose before looking up at her. "If you already know I'm lying, then why bother asking in the first place?"
"Because- on the off chance my mind reading abilities don't work, I just wanna make sure," she replies with that same stubborn look on her face.
I roll my eyes before lying back in bed, another sigh escaping my lips. “What should matter is that I’m fine now, Mackie.”
“Wha-? Bu-“
“I said I’m fine.”
“I know. You’ve said that like three times already bu-“
I cut her off as I sit up again with a hard look. Her fangs still peek out from under her upper lip… “Mackie, did you not feed lately?”
The girl before me furrows her brows before shaking her head. “Of course, I have. Don’t be ridicu-“
“Don’t lie to me,” I reply easily, a grin working its way onto my face as I watch her fluster for an answer. A moment passes and she keeps struggling before she finally gives in throwing her hands up into the air.
“Okay, fine. I haven’t fed yet, but what does that matter to you?”
I arch a brow as the skepticism begins to work its way into my eyes. ‘What does that matter to me?’ I muse. ‘Well that’s just bloody amusing for you to say considering last time you almost killed someone..’ But of course, I keep this thought hidden as I instead get up and run a hand down my face. I can feel sleep’s hands still trying to pull me back as I walk past her, out the door, and to the fridge. I open it, take a glance, take a quick whiff, then close the door again and I run a hand through my bedhead. “Huh… We did run out,” I mumble to myself before I hear Mackie’s voice come from right behind me and I whip around to face her.
“Well no duh. If we had any, don’t you think I wouldn’t be starving right now?” she retorts with an unamused look and I just roll my eyes before shrugging.
“Well, I don’t feel like going to the store at this time of night… Why don’t you just take a little from me right now so you’ll be good til morning, hm?”
Mack’s eyes widen as I guessed they would and she quickly steps back, shaking her head. “Oh no, I’ll be fine Lucian. You don’t have to worry about m-“
“But I do, don’t I? We’re in this together and no matter what, we still gotta look out for each other.. especially during these god forsaken times,” I note grumbling the last bit as I turn away and look out the window. Forestry can be seen outside the apartment window considering the building is built after all on the outskirts of the small Russian town, though I still wonder why Mack had decided to move to Russia of all places. It’s the winter time right about now and if the endless snow all around couldn’t tell ya that, then the freezing cold definitely would.
Mack’s soft sigh breaks me from my thoughts and I look back at her as she walks up. She looks up at me tentatively for a moment, lifting her hands to gently fix my blue bandanna in place, making sure it fits snugly around my head before letting it rest comfortably over my right eye. I know she’s only stalling, but I also know her hunger will get the best of her in three… two… one… She clasps my arms to hold me in place as if to make sure I won’t run, but she’s done this enough times. I’m used to it by now, but even then as she leans in close and seems to smell the blood in my veins, it unsettles me to watch as her light pink eyes twist to a dark red then she bites. I wince a little as her fangs sink into my shoulder and feel the blood seep out as if reacting to her hunger. One minute passes.. Then two, three… I close my eyes for a second before I slowly nudge her shoulder away and as if being snapped back, Mack abruptly pulls away from me, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologizes but I quickly shake my head.
“It’s fine. I’ve handled worse,” I reply easily, shrugging it off and pushing past her. “I’ll get the blood tomorrow.”
“Huh? Bu- don’t you need help with your shoulder?”
“I can take care of it myself,” I call back before closing the door before she can interrupt me again. Man, my sleepiness just worsened… I clench my jaw before stumbling over to my bed and I sit back onto the edge of it. I reach over to my nightstand and pull out the drawer to grab out the antiseptic wipes and roll of bandages before tending to myself. I sigh softly as I slowly go over my situation again bit by bit as I work on my shirt.
‘I have always thought it a bit odd… Our species are known to be sworn enemies yet here we are, friends and partners til the end during this conflict..’ Look at the door, get up to lock it before I unbutton my shirt and slip it off. ‘This conflict… A petty goose chase begun by mortal humans, unbelieving of the supernatural.. Hmph, how naïve and pathetic.’ I grimace slightly as I move my shoulder experimentally and feel it sting slightly in pain. ‘Not accepting what they do not know and then waging war on what shouldn’t even exist according to their sense of logic… How does that make sense?’ Slowly reach up and press the antiseptic wipe onto my shoulder and fight back a growl as the stinging begins. ‘Sense… She a vampire while I a werewolf.. Hmph, I still wonder if our meeting was created by chance or fate.’ Toss the wipes away into the trash bin in the corner of his room, store away the rest. ‘Found me when I had forgotten everything… Everything but my name, my age, my abilities… Practically everything that I knew was about only myself but not the memories of having a life before I woke up in that lone forest…’ Pick up the bandages and hurry to wrap a couple layers firmly around my shoulder. Have to staunch the bleeding if it still happens to be and so I don’t end up bloody staining my bed again.. ‘That forest… I wonder what Mack was doing there anyways? Hm… She never would tell me whenever I asked..‘ Pull experimentally on the bandages and tighten them a little more. A small ache can be felt but I’m sure it’ll hold. I put away the bandages. ‘But still… I guess I owe her my life. She practically retaught me everything about society and here I am. She’s the only person I know for sure I can rely on, but even then she can have her moments…’
I sigh softly as I flop back against my bed and stare up at the ceiling. I can hear the subtle tick tock of the clock in the kitchen and slowly begin to close my eyes. My ears sway from left to right but only faintly, barely, to the constant ticking of the clock. In… Out… In… Out… I’m ready to fall asleep right when I snap my eyes open, fighting away the grogginess again remembering one last thing. “G’night Mackie! Make sure to wake me up in time for my shift tomorrow morning!”
“Huh? Oh yeah, sure!” I hear the vampire call back before she goes back to whatever she was doing before.
‘Probably listening to music… or watching anime… That strange girl,’ I muse to myself in mild amusement as I let my eyes close again. In… Out… In… Out…
3: Chapter 2: LucianChapter Two: Lucian
10 Years Ago
I laid in the snow and felt its freezing bite dig down to my bones. I was a young werewolf then still getting used to the abilities I could have used so all I could have done was lay there. I laid there in the endless snow surrounded by dead, barren trees reaching up as far as the eye could see up to the gray sky of winter. I was shivering but I was barely aware of it. All other feeling suppressed by a literally blinding pain in my right eye and another aching one in the center of chest, just over where my heart should be. I stared with a detached mind up at the sky and from what I remember; I could have laid there for eternity before the sound of crunching footsteps pricked my ears up, but just barely.
And then there it was. A little girl's face hovering over mine, her expression ranging from suppressed horror to puzzled wonderment. I looked over her delicately slim, pale face, black hair cascading over her shoulders, tickling my face, bright pink eyes, but then stopped at her rosy lips. The faintest tips of needle-like fangs could be seen peeking out from under her upper lip and that's when my sense of smell finally seemed to wake up.
The scent of metallic blood and dead, rotting flesh hit me full force and before I knew it, I was already rolling out from under the girl, ignoring the pain in my eye and my chest. I could only register one thing as I hurried to scramble away from the pale girl. Vampire. The word invaded my mind like a curse. Following old traditions and ancestral instincts, I tried to flee from the sworn enemy of my species. I didn't know what else to do. What little combat I had learned was forgotten in my panic. And plus, I was only eleven at the time. How was I supposed to know the vampire girl meant no harm whatsoever?
"Hey, c'mere," the girl tried calling after me and in my haste, I lost my footing in the snow before falling over face first.Ow… The biting cold stung my right eye and bit at my chest but before I could register it completely a hand on my back made me whip my head around to find the girl had caught right back up to me. A fearful whimper escaped my lips as I tried in vain again to crawl away from the vampire. As if realizing she wasn't completely getting through to me, she raised her hands up as if ready to calm a wild horse and murmured gently, "Calm boy. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
I didn't know how it worked at the time, but as I looked on at her bright pink eyes, slowly the fear began to fade from me and I timidly began to approach the vampire, my ears pinning back against my head as I moved closer. The girl gave a small encouraging grin, but the movement only helped her bare her fangs and I stopped in my tracks, eyes widening. She’s… She’s going to kill me-
The girl abruptly stopped, her smile disappearing and instead tried for a more calming, gentle expression. "C'mon boy. It's okay," she cooed but this time I was more cautious. I didn't move another step. The girl's expression fell at my sudden stubbornness and she sighed before she decided to slowly step in my direction. When I didn't move away, she tried for a small, friendly smile, seeming more wary of her fangs. "I'm Mackenzie," she introduced gently. "I'm a vampire and I'm 9 years old... How about you? Are you a werewolf?"
My frame had tensed even more at her admittance to being a vampire and I anxiously nodded my head a little bit in answer. Only a moment later did I realize that she had actually revealed herself to me when everyone knew it was a mutual law of life among vampires to always keep your true identity secret. No matter what, save for those few exceptions.
But I had known for a fact that this was definitely not one of those exceptions. Finding a dying werewolf in the middle of the forest. I'm pretty sure if anyone else had found me that day, they would have killed me on the spot or left me there to die alone in the frigid weather… most likely kill me on the spot. Werewolf blood is a delicacy among vampires, so I’ve heard. So slowly I began to wonder if she might actually be trying to help.. Or perhaps she was just naive enough to reveal her identity in her desperation to get a meal.
My dubious thoughts were done away as she stopped in front of me, knelt down to my weakening figure and gave me a stern look. "Werewolf, you're hurt.. Let me take you back to my home so my dad can take a look at you."
At her words, my mind became open to the pain that continued to stab my right eye and ache in my chest, but the thought of seeing an older, more mature vampire frightened me even more. What if he killed me as soon as I entered the house? I didn't feel like dying despite the numbing pain that continued to plague my body.
"Please? I promise you no one's going to hurt you. My dad's well known for his healing abilities and he's very nice.. If it helps, he actually has taken care of other werewolves before," Mackenzie begged trying to give me an understanding look only to have it come across as begging and sympathetic. It looked as if she couldn't stand seeing me die here. After another moment, a shaky breath left me and I finally gave in. Whatever wounds I had at that time was finally getting to me, the world blurring in my aching haze and the cold digging into the confines of my soul. Slowly I began to register my small frame shaking and I finally nodded in agreement. My surrender brought a grin to the girl's face and I tried not to mind her fangs as I slowly tried to walk up only to end up stumbling on the ground and falling face first into the snow yet again.
Distantly, I began to register that there were various red splotches on the ground around us that I hadn't noticed before. Some spots looked old and frozen over while others looked newly dyed. I couldn't register exactly what it was at the time but before I could, I felt the pain residing in my eye and chest intensify from their own agony and everything went black.
= = = = =
As I came to, I found myself resting against a soft plush bed and felt a radiating warmth come over me. I yawned in a soft whine and turned over in the soft layers of blankets that covered over me but winced gently at the feeling of a sharp pain in my chest and a numbing, uncomfortable one in my eye. I whimpered in pain as I weakly reached up a hand to press it against my eye just to find bandages were already wrapped around it.
I began to move my head a little and felt the cloth wrapped firmly around my head but before I could test anything else, I heard a deep baritone chuckle sound beside me and I jumped. I cracked open my good eye to see a man sitting at my bed side watching over me. He would have looked normal with his slick black hair and friendly smile if only his eyes hadn't been a deep blood red and his skin tone almost pale as snow. My ears pinned back against my head and I tried to bury myself in the blankets that had been provided to me and the vampire chuckled again.
"Now, now, little werewolf. It is quite alright," he chided gently and I felt the covers lift to reveal my curled up form. I peered over my tail, which I had wrapped around myself, up at the man who only kept smiling in that fatherly way of his. "I am Mackenzie's father. She hurried to bring you here after you had fallen unconscious in the forest, and I'm glad she did. You were barely holding on," he explained quietly as he reached in to scratch behind my ears.
I tensed at first, giving into the childish belief that he would pull me to him any second and eat me, but eventually I relaxed at his comforting gesture. Gradually I uncurled myself and crawled out from under the blankets. The man's smile brightened at my gesture and he patted my head before moving to get up. "You must be hungry," he noted then as he moved to get up. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll have some food sent up." And before I could say a word of thanks, he was already gone. I sat up and waited, rubbing my chest gently to try and ease some of the lingering pain away.
About ten minutes later, Mackenzie came in holding a tray of what smelled like raw veal and I perked up along with my ears. The girl smiled as she walked up and set the tray on the nightstand beside my bed and I clambered over and smelled the meat cautiously. Mackenzie giggled before rolling her eyes. "We didn't poison it just so you know."
I looked to the girl furrowing my brows before I gently took a piece and began to chew on it. Delicious, juicy heaven enlightened my taste buds and settled well into my empty stomach and before I knew it the food was gone.
"Wow.. That was fast," I heard Mackenzie note and I looked over to her to see her smiling at me. My ears flicked back for a moment at the unsettling sight of her fangs and then noted how when her father smiled, his fangs hadn't been showing.. She must have been growing them in.
After another moment, Mackenzie climbed up into the chair her father had set up earlier and she looked at me curiously before asking gently,
"How are you feeling?"
I let the silence settle over us for a moment as I wrapped myself up in the blankets again before replying softly, "Good... I guess. My eye and chest still hurts a little though."
Suddenly the girl before me threw her hands up in the air in a triumphant gesture staring up at the ceiling as she did. "He speaks! He finally speaks!" she exclaimed before laughing and turning to look back at my unamused expression. She gave a smaller smile noticing the expression on my face and giggled to herself softly before she put in, "Oh sorry. It's just- it gets frustrating sometimes when people fail to communicate with me."
"Hm, maybe it's because you take up most of the conversation," I grumbled lying back comfortably against the bed. I looked up and gave a small smile at Mackenzie's mock look of hurt and she dramatically placed a hand to her heart.
"I think I like it better when you didn't talk actually. You seemed so much cuter when you're shy and quiet." A blush somehow began to creep on the vampire's face but she kept her friendly smile in place.
I felt myself arch a brow at her words but quickly dismissed them as I asked, "So before I passed out, you said your name was... Mackenzie?"
"Mhm! Mackenzie Elisa Oucan," she replied cheerily nodding her head and gesturing her hands in a flourish to emphasize. "What's yours?"
I looked down for a moment, my mind suddenly blank to come up with my own name. I struggled for several minutes until I finally got it, but I was still left with a feeling of disbelief. How could I forget my own name? What else could I have forgotten? I peered up at Mackenzie, smiling lightly before I introduced myself, "My name's Lucian. Lucian Chander Keysmith."
Chapter Three: Michelle
I sigh softly as I sit in the thin carpet of snow that now covers the floor of the shrine I have grown to love since Yule found me so long ago. I remember it like it was yesterday when she helped me walk up the pure white quartz and marble steps and I couldn't help but stare at everything in awe as I had taken in the structure. A flight of stairs rose up to a platform that was somehow able to support itself and the add-ons of four Roman-styled pillars on each corner as well as the simple Altar centered but pushed towards the back.
I break away from my brief memory as I look up and around me at that same shrine, now worn down from years of exposure to the elements and my constant visits. The pillar in the far right corner has long since been cracked and crumbled, half of it still standing while the other half on the ground twenty feet below. A thin layer of permafrost covers nearly every corner of the shrine now due to my relentless training but I keep making sure I never touch the small altar.
The altar... I look over at the small stone tablet surrounded by its own elaborate structures to keep it up, the stunning detail unaffected by the years, and walk over before kneeling down in front of it. I clasp my hands together and bow my head down until my forehead reaches my hands. I quickly murmur a prayer to Yule and then look up to read the words on the altar, but I come here so often the words have practically been engraved into my mind. "Divine forces, make thyself true and reveal to thy world what hope thy can prove."
I still wonder why I feel the need to say it even though it does nothing for me. Maybe it was what Yule used to tell me whenever we came here together. 'There's this little legend that the people would say. Whenever you read the words off of that little stone tablet, a good spirit would be released into the world to help make the good bad,' she would always say with that light, gentle smile of hers. I grimace faintly at the memory, missing my old mentor too much, and I hurry to stand pulling the hood of my white cloak over my head. I steal one last glance around the shrine before bowing my head to send another prayer to the heavens and then I turn and descend the steps.
I take my usual afternoon stroll since it seems like nowadays that is all I can really do. I sigh softly and watch my breath fog up before me and I pull the hood of my white cloak tighter around my head. I've traversed through this forest countless times considering I grew up near it but I still wonder sometimes…
Growing up, I've always been aware of another town about eleven miles away but of course never made the trek there... but even when I did have the urge to go see other people, a strong force would always come over my mind telling me to run away. Having no other way to fight or understand it, I always had no choice but to comply.
That sensation telling me to run away plagues my thoughts now. I can see the dots of buildings in the distance marking the neighboring town. I look at the trees around me before I finally decide to fight down the feeling trying to tell me to run, to push away from the strange town. I've been curious for too long and I want to at least meet other people rather than only know the ones I've been growing up with for the rest of my life. ‘And plus, my home town is starting to lose its appeal since Yule passed away.’ I grimace at the thought and hurry away.
My footsteps are determined. I am eager to see what this strange town can possibly offer me, but my confident stride falters as a distant buzzing noise catches up to me. I raise my hands out from their pockets and blow into them in a weak attempt to warm them up as I look around until I pick out a group of figures moving about among the trees on a small, snowy hill nearby.
My curiosity flares and I can't stop myself from going closer to see what's going on but my eyes widen as the scene comes into picture perfect view. There is a group of five working away at the trees. There are two pairs of men, each working to cut down a tree with a large saw to add to the pile they already have precariously balanced off to the side. The fifth man stands crossing his arms and surveying the scene with a stern, calculating expression as if waiting for one of his men to make a mistake. All of them are clad in heavy winter wear- all except one. One worker appears to be wearing lighter clothes as if not bothered by the biting cold, but I do notice his face seems to be completely obscured.
A few minutes later, the four men who are working stop and carefully back away from their saws as if to make sure the tree they were cutting is stable and then they turn to their boss who nods at them. "Alright! Lunch break!" the man barks pointing back in the direction of the neighboring town. I watch as the group disperses before they begin to head back to their town. I notice my hands are shaking slightly and I clench them into fists as I hurry after them hoping they'll have a gentleman's courtesy.
"Excuse me!" I call after them and catch the attention of the group, but as one of the men turns, he clumsily bumps into the pile of logs and one by one they topple over and a few begin to roll down the hill in my direction. I try to run but as I watch the momentum of the large logs and the area they cover, I know I won't be able to escape. I look up and am about to use my magic as a last resort when suddenly I hear the men begin to shout. I look up to see there are only four of them standing, watching in horror as the logs barrel down towards me, but my mind isn’t worried about the whereabouts of the fifth. There is only a few feet left and the logs will crush me in their pursuit if I don’t do anything to stop them. Only a couple seconds to my doom. I close my eyes and push my hands out. I don't care if they see me using my magic. I'm not gonna die so easily like this. I should have listened to the feeling telling me to run away before...
I feel the familiar rush as I prepare my magic but then suddenly I feel a presence skid to a stop just inches in front of me. Warm hands move my arms down quickly stopping me in the midst of my preparation and then a split second later I hear a grunt and gasp as the logs make impact... but not with me.
After a few seconds, the sound of my savior's heavy breathing calms my tense nerves for a second and I finally crack my eyes open again. I step back and look up to see it's one of the workers, the one who wears light clothing despite the cold. I look up to his face and see he doesn't obscure all of it but there is a blue, ragged bandanna wrapped firmly around his head -I can discern that he must use it to hide his right eye for whatever reason- and a casual fedora sat snugly on top. His expression is twisted in a pained grimace and only a split second later do I also register the fact that his body is shaking, taking the weight of all the logs. “Move away… I’ll be fine just- hurry up won’t ya?” he grits out through clenched teeth and I quickly nod before running out of the way as told. I turn back and watch as he slowly inches his body towards one end, but tense as the other unsupported end of the weight begins to try and roll down the rest of the hill. The worker pants shakily as he quickens his movement before diving away the last couple feet and into the biting snow. Now free of resistance, the couple logs roll down the rest of the way and slam into other upright trees, halting their mad pursuit, but my attention isn’t on the logs anymore.
I hurry over and kneel down by the man looking over his exhausted, sweaty body. His uncovered eye is closed and his breath comes out in heavy pants, but as far as I can tell, he has no injuries. Or at least any that are in plain sight. “Lucian! You’re insane!” I hear his coworkers call and I step away as the four men rush to him. Two move to help him up, wrapping his arm around their shoulders and the young man, Lucian, only gives a little laugh before looking up at me.
“Well what else was I supposed to do? I don’t want a woman’s life to die on our clumsy hands now,” he notes before shooting a light glare at the man who had bumped into the logs. He gives a sheepish smile and only raises his hands causing Lucian to roll his eyes.
“You know what? Whatever! Let’s just hurry up and get back to town for our lunch break and we can leave Lucian at his house to rest,” the boss calls to everyone and they all nod before beginning to walk off again. They all seem to pay no attention to me and I sigh, bringing my hands up to my lips as I blow shakily into them again. Lucian looks back at me as if he somehow heard me before he moves his arms from around the two men who are carrying him and he takes a step back.
“I’ll be fine.. You guys go ahead and have lunch. I’ll take the girl with me to my place and give her some shelter,” he replies gesturing shakily back at me.
“No way Lucian. We gotta get you back immedia-“
“She’s so cold she’s shaking, Erik,” he cuts in with a hard look, “I’ll be fine, you guys know me. I’ll be right back up and at it tomorrow morning.”
The four others exchange skeptical glances before the boss sighs and begins to walk ahead calling back, “Whatever! Let’s go! Lucian’s right. He always somehow recovers quickly so let’s not worry. All I really want right now is some hot food, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Ah… Yes sir!” the other three answer back, but they still steal one last concerned glance to their probably injured coworker before hurrying off.
Lucian sighs softly as he rolls his shoulder with a small grimace before walking up to me. “Sorry about that, Kolzak can be a bit much at times,” he notes before looking down at me. He furrows his brows for a second and in that moment, I freeze. When I look back at it, he somehow knew to push my arms down to stop my magic. Either that was a coincidence, or he knew something. “Anyways… We gotta get you somewhere warm and the closest shelter around here is our town. You wouldn’t mind… coming with me would you?”
I clench my hands into fists and stuff them into my pockets. I’ve been out for a little longer than usual. I never knew the cold would affect me this much. I sigh softly and watch my breath fog up before nodding. “Yeah… That would be great,” I reply softly and look up as he grins before moving to walk ahead, but not before stopping to remove his own jacket leaving him in only his white formal button up. He looks back at me and waits for me to walk up and he offers his jacket out. “Here.”
I begin to shake my head, an objection about to pass my lips when he quickly adds in, “I’ll be fine. You need it more than me obviously.” I bite my lip, not wanting to cause more problems than I already have, but eventually sigh in defeat and take the jacket. Lucian’s lips quirk up in a small smirk before he nods and begins to walk ahead again. I watch him before I pull on his light black jacket, keeping it under my white cloak, and another sigh elicits, this time of relief.
The warmth that still clings to the jacket shoos away the cold that shakes my frame and I can smell the light scent of fresh fallen snow along with… dog? ‘What?’ the question rings in my mind as I look back up to see Lucian is already pretty far away. I tilt my head to the side in wonderment before I pull his jacket tighter around me and I hurry off after him.
Chapter Four: Mackenzie
‘What the Hell?’ I still can’t help it. The thought has been stuck in my mind ever since Lucian walked through the door, obviously injured, his arm thrown around the girl’s shoulders as she helped him inside. Now she is carefully examining him as he sits on the edge of the couch and I sigh, crossing my arms and tapping my foot impatiently. The girl murmurs something to him and he merely nods. I look away and huff softly. ‘What the heck could they be talking about now?’
"Mackie, a little help?" I hear Lucian call over to me and I snap out of my thoughts before I hurry back to the sofa where he is seated on the edge of one of the cushions. He has the first couple top buttons of his white button up undone, but he's stiffly sitting now, a pained grimace twisting his expression. His hands grip at the edge of the cushion he's sitting on and the fabric looks about ready to tear.
I hurry to unbutton the rest of his shirt and slowly try to ease Lucian to relax so I can slip his shirt off but I notice the back of his shirt sticks to his skin. The werewolf gives a shaky breath as I peel it away from the bruised and broken skin of his back. The smell of blood mixed with pus hits me and I grimace as I turn to the girl he had walked in with. "Would you mind going to the sink and getting some hot water while I go get some supplies?" I ask her and she nods, making her way into the kitchen as I walk into the bathroom.
I open the mirror cabinet and grab out a rag, then another just in case, then a roll of bandages and some alcohol wipes as well. The only bad thing about this is, I'm not the best when it comes to medical stuff but I'll just have to try again, but still, he rarely gets hurt like this.. ‘I wonder what happened?’
As I walk out, I see the girl placing a bowl of hot water on the coffee table in front of Lucian and he gives her a small smile of thanks. A foreign feeling flares in my mind and I walk over sitting down next to him and plop down all the supplies I grabbed onto the coffee table, spreading them out neatly. Lucian shoots me a look, which I ignore, and I grab the first rag and dip it into the hot water. The boiling heat makes me recoil for a second as it touches my cold skin but I ignore it as best as I can before I begin to gently dab and wipe Lucian's back. He inhales sharply through clenched teeth and I know his ears must be flicking back from the sting under his hat. His body tenses again and I sigh before the girl walks up offering her hand out.
"Here. Back at my town, I'm kind of the person that everyone goes to when they need a doctor figure. I can patch up his wound and you can keep him relaxed," she offers calmly and I look down at the hot rag in my hand. I struggle with a new mix of emotions before I finally nod and give the rag to the girl who smiles and begins to gently clean Lucian's back again. He tenses again and I place my hand on his cheek. I turn his head so that he looks at me and I give him a meaningful glance causing his own gaze to soften and he gives a soft sigh followed by a subtle smile. The girl quickly finishes cleaning off the wound, using some of the alcohol wipes (much to Lucian's stinging reluctance), and then begins applying the bandages.
At first, she seems to have some trouble trying to wrap it around his toned frame without irritating his back and she eventually asks me for help. I only smile and happily oblige helping her wrap the roll of white cloth around him and make sure to keep it tight. When we're done, the girl gets up to pour out the bowl of water as I go to put away the extra supplies.
When I come back, the girl is helping Lucian stand and I puzzle over what she's doing until they start walking to his room. I walk up and help Lucian from the other side and frown a little feeling how stiff he still seems when he tries to move. The wounds have taken their toll.
When he first came in, he was still moving freely as if nothing had happened to him but now he's stiff and aching. Pain claws at his back as his body tries to fix himself. Sadly and worryingly, his werewolf regeneration won't kick up til night time and considering it's only the crescent moon, it'll still go by slowly.
The other girl and I help Lucian into bed and with a strained grunt, he falls back and a sigh escapes past his lips. He has begun to sweat a little, a faint shine covering his features, and my worry begins to heighten. If he's injured this badly... There must be something besides what we're seeing on the surface that he's not telling us about, but I'm sure he'll be fine by the time nighttime falls. Maybe... Hopefully...
We leave Lucian when he falls into a light sleep and I settle on the couch with a loud sigh as the other girl leans back against the kitchen counter, examining the apartment curiously. After another moment, I lean my head back to look at the girl and ask curiously, "So, what's your name? I'm Mackenzie but I prefer Mack."
The girl regards me for a second and for the first time I notice her alternating eye color. Right eye blue, left eye green. "Mitch," she replies and I furrow my brows.
"Mitch? Isn't that a guy name?"
The look she gives me tells me she's asked this too often. "Well, Michelle, but I prefer Mitch," she amends shrugging off my question. I try to brush off her cold attitude not believing only moments before that this girl had been gentle and tending to Lucian's back.
"So Uh... What's with your eyes?" I ask trying to seem innocently curious when I just wanted a way to keep the silence at bay. Usually if Lucian came home, I'd always chat up a storm with him and banter him even though I knew it annoyed him, but I always found the sight entertaining. Now pitted with this odd girl, I was at a loss of how to entertain myself.
She looks over at me again at my question and stuffs her hands into her pockets. "I was born this way... but maybe I should be asking you that. I've never seen someone with pink eyes."
"Oh- I-I was born this way," I reply back sitting back up on the couch, my back to her as I do. I sit that way for a moment before turning to face Mitch again, legs now crossed as I sit straight up.
"Mm... You know, I feel I should say sorry... It's my fault Lucian was hurt," the girl suddenly puts in gently and I look up uncomprehending. As if sensing my confusion, she silently explains, "They had these logs stacked and I called up to them, hoping they could help me find a safe passage to your town. One of the men bumped into the pile and sent them rolling down in my direction and Lucian stopped the logs before I could be run over."
My eyes widen and I clench my hands into fists at my sides. "You... Why didn't you just run out of the way?" I accuse, struggling to keep my voice calm.
"I wouldn't have made it-"
"BULL SHIT!" I cry out in my sudden anger. Mitch leans back a little at my sudden outburst and I fight to control my anger as I get up. I want to walk over to her and strangle her but I know Lucian will be disappointed and chide me later about host etiquette or whatever. But I can't help it. This girl is the cause of Lucian's pain.
As if trying to defend herself, Mitch raises her hands up in a gesture of friendliness, she means no harm, and her thoughts might prove it to, if I wasn't already so angry. I advance and I notice her blue eye flashes but I only walk up to the spot next to her, keeping my fists by my sides. Oh how badly do I want to slap her out of the apartment, but again, I remember Lucian and I grit my teeth, sigh haughtily, and then storm off in the direction of Lucian's room.
"Uh hey- I think you should leave him alo-"
"SHUT UP!" I snap as I pull open Lucian's bedroom door and turn around to glare at Mitch who only looks back at me, face now void of all expression.
"You're going to wake up Lucian," she says calmly.
"I don't care. As long as you're nowhere near him," I retort before I walk in, slam the door behind me without thinking and sit on the ground leaning back against the bed. A moment later, I finally realize how much noise I've made and hurriedly glance back at Lucian just to see he's still out cold. He doesn't seem as tense, but he's still covered by a slight sheen of sweat and I sigh, both in relief and in an attempt to calm myself down. 'Stupid girl...' I grumble in my thoughts as I pull my knees up to my chest, rest my chin on top, and decide to wait until Lucian wakes up again.
Chapter Five: Michelle
I stare at the bedroom door dumbfounded. ‘Did that really just happen?’ I mull over for a moment before I confirm it to myself. Yes, that really did just happen. As much reason as the pink-eyed girl had for lashing out at me, it was still a surprise. The reserved way she had acted when we were tending to Lucian… I could only come to two conclusions. One: She was very good at pretending or two: She had very loose control over her emotions. At that moment, I was leaning more towards the latter.
At a loss of what else to do, I sweep my gaze over the apartment once again. A rather small space consisting of a living room, kitchen, and three doors most likely indicating two bedrooms and a bathroom… or something along those lines. The living room has a single three-seat couch with a low wooden coffee table in front of it. There’s a laptop near the corner of the coffee table with a rainbow sticker on it and I assume it’s most likely Mack’s. I look around the room and notice a red guitar leaning back against the wall just under the window and that’s when something else catches my eye. All the windows in the apartment have the curtains carefully drawn closed, as if to prevent natural sunlight from getting in, but it leaves the apartment so dark and dim… but something else tells me if I disturb anything, Mack will give me an earful before Lucian wakes up.
I look over at the couch, but quickly shake the thought away. ‘It’s tense enough as it is… Maybe I’ve outstayed my leave. I should get going.’ Fixed on that thought, I glance back at the bedroom door, hoping Lucian will understand, before I step towards the apartment door and walk out, closing the door shut behind me. I take a moment to make sure the door’s locked before going ahead to descend down to the first floor of the building. ‘I’ve caused enough trouble… Guess I should get going back to my town before nighttime falls,’ I note to myself as I peer up at the sky and notice the sun already beginning to set, signaling its late afternoon trail.
‘I can’t be caught out at night in the woods… I may know magic but that doesn’t mean those supernaturals are any less merciless.’ I pull the hood of my cloak over my head and pull it tighter around me as the biting wind begins to whip against my face, but I don’t make it farther than five feet when I hear a familiar voice call out to me.
“Hey, it’s you! How’s Lucian doing?!” I turn around to see Lucian’s three coworkers walk up to me, all smiles trying to hide the worried glint in their eyes. I eye the clumsy one who knocked over the logs curiously, keeping my expression carefully guarded as I answer, “He’s doing well… I left him under the care of Mackenzie so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Ooh, das vonderful!” the heftier of the three exclaim clapping his companions on the back with a big grin. I note his thicker accent and assume he must be naturally born from the region. “Mm, yes. Mackenzie’s such a vonderful girl for Lucian to have by his side, da? Dependable, caring, responsible…”
He begins to batter off a whole list and I begin to tune him out when one of the men finally cut him off. “Yes, yes, we know Pavel,” he intercedes with a little chuckle before they all turn back to me. “But anyways, as long as Lucian’s resting in bed, we’ll know he’ll be up and at it again in the morning. Always the chipper of the bunch when it comes to work ethics eh lads?”
“Yeah, you could say that again,” the last man agrees, the clumsy one.
“But anyways,” the man who interrupted Pavel starts looking back at me. “Surely you’re not leaving now hm? I thought Lucian’s famous courtesy would have had ya stayin’ the night. Surely, it’s too late to travel now. The nearest town is eleven miles from here.”
I nod patiently at his statements. “Yes, yes, I know. I’m from that town, but I assure you I’ll be fine.”
“Aw, das too bad, devushka. Surely, you vould not mind stayin’ anoter night? Ve have lots o’ good food and very, very nice hotels if you cannot stay vit Lucian,” Pavel puts in then and I sigh softly before trying for a small smile.
“I’m sorry, really, but I really gotta get going,” I try to insist but it seems they’re having none of it.
“Oh nonsense,” the clumsy man quickly puts as he and the other man walk up to take either of my arms and twine it with theirs. I try not to give a look of exasperation as they try to lead me along towards who knows where. ‘My god, these people are persistent,’ I can’t help but note as the men introduce themselves.
“I’m Erik,” the clumsy one starts before gesturing to the other man on the other side of me, “That’s Ralushka, but we call him Ralush for short-“ he pauses as he gestures back to the heavy man with the accent “- and I am sure you noticed our friendly companion back here is Pavel.”
I look back at Pavel who merely grins at me with that exuberant positivity of his and I can’t help but smile back before I look back in front and notice as we approach a tavern. “Vat is your name, devushka?” Pavel asks me curiously and then I notice again how he uses that foreign word. Wonder what it means…
When I fail to give them a response, Ralushka nudges me in the side and I keep from giving him a look. “C’mon, couldn’t hurt to give a name to us eh?”
I fight back a strange feeling, but I recognize it immediately. It’s telling me to run away again… “Hm… Maybe later on I’ll find the time to tell you hm?” I answer forcing a smile and the three men merely exchange a glance before we walk through the tavern doors. We’re greeted by a man working behind the counter, wiping a dirty rag into a drinking glass.
“Oi! It’s you three again! Where is Lucian?” the bartender, and most likely tavern owner, calls over with a grin.
“Ah, he is resting. He’s got another injury,” Erik answers as the three men continue to usher me forward until all four of us take seats in a line in front of the counter, Erik and Ralushka flanking me while Pavel sits next to Ralushka.
“Who’s the broad eh?” the bartender questions with a grin and the two men beside me look at me before shrugging at the same time as if they had practiced it.
“A girl Lucian saved from being crushed by logs,” Ralushka replies as the bartender sets out mugs of drinks for the three and then looks to me questioningly. I only smile politely and shake my head in response and he shrugs as he moves to clean away other things. I look around absently, noting the few others lounging around in the tavern and faintly listen to their conversation.
“Saved from being crushed by logs eh? How so this time?”
“He ran up so quickly, it vas like a car!” Pavel started then and I notice him spread out his arms from the corner of my eye. The other men laugh at his gesture as if always finding the hefty man amusing. “Lucian just ran up in front of the barreling logs as if zey vere not’ing and zen BAM! He stopped zem wit his body! That young man seems to have a lot of endurance and strength da?”
The men only laugh along and I can’t help but smile faintly at Pavel’s grand display as he narrates the story. The bartender intently watches with a grin as he cleans more mugs and works to pass out more drinks to all his patrons. After some more small talk, Pavel looks to me with a grin, his nose and cheeks rosy most likely from the alcohol taking its effect but I can’t help but notice how much the flush look makes it look like someone swapped out his features with bright red cherries. “Hey, so when are you going to tell us your name huh?” Erik slurs out nudging my side with his elbow.
I only look at him blankly at his gesture and shrug. After another moment his expression shifts to one of puzzlement before it twists in anger and he clenches his jaw. He looks like he’s about to punch me and I wonder if he’s had about a bit too much to drink. Well- we have been sitting in here for at least an hour so I wouldn’t be surprised… Suddenly, his hand shoots out and grabs my arm and I pull away giving him a warning look. He sneers at me and Pavel gets up from his seat moving to pull Erik away. “Hey now, Erik. Maybe it’s about time ve go home da?”
“No, c’mon. When’s the last time we had some fun huh? What about you Ralushka? Lucian’s always holding us back but why not let’s explore for once eh?” the man puts in grinning rather maliciously now and I stand taking a step back before I suddenly find myself bumping into Ralushka. I turn and look back at him in alarm. ‘How… how did he get there?’ But before I can think he’s already gripping both my hands behind my back and I grit my teeth as my battle instinct kicks in. I whip my head back and feel the back of my head make contact with Ralushka’s chin making him grunt and his grip on me loosens. As soon as it does, I whip around and punch him in the gut making sure to keep him stunned before shoving him away into the nearest table just as Erik grabs one of my wrists. I clench my jaw and turn to face him pausing just in time, his face suddenly a mere inch from mine.
Noting the close proximity, I grit my teeth and give him a look of disgust before I shove him away as well. His drunken state causing him to stumble and loose his footing then collapse into the stools set up by the counter. Both men are groaning and Pavel looks at his two companions with worried looks before turning to me. “Oh my, oh my… I’m so very sorry, devushka. As you can see, zey get razher… unruly when zey have had too much to drink. It is usually vhy I like to come here vit Lucian in company…”
I shake my head at his apology and try to manage a small smile. “No, no, it’s fine Pavel. It’s not your fault-“
“Ralushka!” Pavel cuts me off harshly with a stern look and suddenly I feel a man’s single arm wrap around me again, trapping my arms in places so I can’t move them. I struggle and feel hot breath snake down the back of my neck making me shiver just as I feel his other hand start at the small of my back and move down... I clench my jaw again and in my last resort, I flick one of my hands back and feel Ralushka being pushed away by a small push of icy cold air. I turn around to see him fly back father into some more tables and notice the few other patrons have been watching the whole time. ‘The hell…? Why weren’t they helping?’
“Devushka…” I turn back around to see Pavel staring at me wide-eyed, his jaw hanging down. “How… zat strength could not have been possible… Vat vas dat devushka?”
A second too late, I realize I’ve revealed myself to these men and remembering the conflict I’ll most likely become persecuted now. I clench my hands into fists just as Erik stands and draws a pocket knife from his boot. “You whore,” he grits out. “You’re a demonic whore!”
I step back, my eyes widening when I notice the bartender reach down under the counter and pull out a hunting rifle and I take another step back. ‘Oh no… Oh no, I need to get out of here,’ I quickly note, pointing out the obvious to myself, as I turn around and pause. The other men have blocked the door, one single man helping Ralushka up and I tense. The bartender is readying his rifle. I can hear him reloading the weapon, cocking back the hammer… ‘Dammit.’ I flicker my gaze around. I’m practically in the center of the room. I won’t make it anywhere without being flanked. Even if I use my magic to help. I try to rush through any techniques I know, but in my sudden panic I forget any that would be the most helpful.
I see Pavel look around at the men, a cold expression now on his face. “Vat are you doing?! She is just a girl!”
“A girl with magic! She’s spawn of the devil Pavel! Have you been listening to Lucian’s fairy tales again?” Erik retorts back bitingly and Pavel huffs before moving to grab his companion by the collar of his shirt.
“YOU are not zhinking correctly! Ze alcohol has fogged up your mind da?! ERIK! Zink about vat you are doing!” the man barks shaking his companion who only grits his teeth before using his free hand to sock Pavel. The hefty man stumbles back, holding his jaw and shoots Erik a disappointed look but doesn’t have time to react as he rears his arm back but I’m already turning around to run. I’ll just have to try and bust through the men at the doors. I just have to-
I turn around to see all the men are now armed and I grit my teeth. I prep myself for a split second then run when I suddenly feel a stabbing pain in my leg and I inhale sharply as the weight on my leg suddenly seems to heighten the pain times ten and I fall face forward, sprawling out against the floor. “HA! That’s right BITCH!” I hear Erik call and look back to see him standing in the same place but his dagger embedded into my leg. ‘Damn it, he can still throw when he’s drunk…’ I grunt as I try to get up and look back to see Pavel growl as he finally lets loose, throwing a harsh swing right into Erik’s jaw knocking his companion out right when a gunshot rings out and I see the blood splatter… but it’s not mine.
My eyes widen as I look over and see Pavel grabbing his shoulder just as the bartender cries out, “YOU! Do you worship the devil you bastard?!” and hear the gun cock again. My gaze is brought back to the door as I see the doors suddenly forced inward, breaking them off their hinges and the men pushed onto their faces. I notice a form sprint inside over the sprawled men but the darkness is too prominent to make out who it is. The rifle cocks again and I hear Pavel give a defiant roar before he retorts back, “Go ahead! Shoot me dear friend! I vant you to see your regret when I haunt you!”
BAM! The rifle goes off again but this time no sound of blood splattering is heard. I look back to see Pavel staggers back but his expression is of surprise rather than pain and then turn my gaze to the counter and see the familiar figure rip the rifle out of the bartenders hold, smack him under the jaw, and watch him collapse. The young man props the rifle against his shoulder and aims at the rest of the offenders, his expression fixed in rage yet his stance poised and ready as if he’s handled guns before. “You idiots! What the hell are you trying to kill a fucking girl for this time?!” Lucian snaps, repeatedly aiming the gun at whoever moves and I watch all around as the men freeze.
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