The grass and the sky
It was well into the night when she pulled up at the park, still dressed in her pink extravagant gown from the earlier party at the strip club.
The smart thing to do woulda been to go home and change before comming out to a park, but she didn't want to risk the chance that the baby would be awakened by her and get upset when she left once again. She tossed her mask into the back seat and undid a few of her curls. As she got out she kicked off her heals into the passenger sides floor. She wouldn't need those, it always felt better besides to go barefoot.
She held the back of her dress up so it wouldn't drag as she walked into the park along a trail. The winding dirt path led her finally into a patch of dense trees and she sighed as the moon beamed in and out of branches.
This month was almost over and with it ending meant another full moon comming. They seemed to sneak up on her. Lately she had gotten better at keeping track of the calendar so there wouldnt be any unexspected public changes. That had happened once before in the 24 hour supermart in one of the towns she had tried to set up residence in. Good grief what a nightmare it had been. Now she had an alert on her cell phone to warn her the morning of. Maybe she shouldn't be so forgetful.
A fallen tree provided for a nice stool and she made sure to check for dampness before she sat. Dry and moss free. She was only a few feet off the beaten path so he dirt was still loose enough to play with using her toes.
She began to day dream about running free of clothing through these trees, each step sending the trees wizzing past her faster and fater until they were a blur. Skin effortlessly shifting into fur, 2 legs to 4.
What a laugh, if only it was effortless and painfree.
Shot on the eye.. how the hell did he manage that? she would have to remove the bullet, she had done it before on herself once or twice, but never on another person, that would change.
"Ok Panos where the hell are you?"
Searching for him she did her best to concentrate, not to panic and stay as calm as possible in the given situation, her senses were working on over drive, she could feel people around her, animals and then she picked up on his unique body signature, he was close.
"Leopard, not cheetah. So, Panos, want us to take you to a surgeon or you gonna keep that bullet as a reminder?"
His nose twitched slightly, the dog smell was luckily not strong enough to make him sneeze but it still annoyed his senses. The need to watch this useless excuse for a vampire suffer was strong, but his desire to make Fallon happy was stronger. So rather than ending this one's pain he offered to help.
"Leopard, not cheetah. So, Panos, want us to take you to a surgeon or you gonna keep that bullet as a reminder?"
With parrallel speed he was up and defensive. The pain tore into him and he flinched but didn't sit back down. So she had sent Cyrus.
Surgeon right? Would that be your knife that happens to slip across my throat why someone is "fixing" me? Nausea hit him like a ton of bricks and he began to retch. Still he stumbled backwards a little further out of Cyrus's reach.
Touche to Fallon for sending you when she knew i was already injured. It was a slick, but a smart move.
When he mentioned her name, and she realized he didn't know she was nearby, she almost kept her mouth shut. But after all she and Cyrus had gone through to get to him, she didn't see any need to let him give up the fight now, thinking he was dead in Cyrus' hands.
"Oh Panos, for pete sake. I'm right here, and Cyrus isn't going to hurt you. Some of us aren't the monsters you're accustomed to. We've come to help so just shut up, and just do what Cyrus says."
'The monster he IS' was more like it, but again she saw no reason to rub salt into his wound.
"Man, you are a fuck up. How have you survived this long? Do you want help or do you intend to die here in the, oh three hours you have left before sunrise?"
Taking his coat off he flung it towards the car where it hung neatly on the side mirror. Holding his hands out to his sides he stood.
"There, all my handy blades are gone. Now get in the car so we can have the Anantya doc look at your sorry face."
It had to be painful. To be regenerating flesh around a large lump of metal. Especially in the skull. Not something Cyrus ever wanted to do personally. With a snort of derision he looked at Panos as he swayed and stumbled precariously.
"Fallon came out of kindness to you. Dont fuck this up because you dont know the meaning of the word."
It still could be a set up. Maybe not from Fallon herself but he had no doubt that this one wouldn't think twice about disposing of him. It was risky and he was running out of choices and moonlight. He didn't think he could make it anywhere remotely safe on his own, hell he couldn't get farther than the curb in the first place.
Don't think that because I'm injured I wont fight if you try something. You may have an advantage over me but all that gives you is the ability to underestimate me. But, I'll go.
He took his mask off and tossed it on the ground and wiped the exposed side of his face with his dirty hand. He waited for Cyrus to move, he had no plans on letting him flank him.
"Short walk, quick drive and one phone call. The surgeon should be able to meet us there. If it takes too long we wont kick you out into the sun."
Suddenly Cyrus realized he should have built a damn dungeon in that downstairs vault room. Oh well, no use for it now. His eyes on Panos' every move he walked backwards easily to his coat and plucked it off the mirror. Opening the rear door he then backed up to the rear bumper before giving Panos a stern look.
"I am going around the other side and getting in. We can both ride in the back. Fallon will keep the coat with her."
Putting words into action he moved with vampire swiftness around the car and was in the door in under 3 seconds. Regaining eyecontact on Panos he slid the coat up to his mate, between her door and seat. Then, he waited.
God, now he was going to sit next to him. A little less than comfortable would be an understatement. With a wince he made his way to the vehicle and slid up into the seat. Closing the door behind him he looked at Cyrus.He would have continued to stare at him if the pain hadn't drove him to close his eye. Beyond the pain the rest of his senses hieghtened to be on alert.
The distance between them on the seat was not much more than a little over a foot but anyone could feel the tension dividing it larger. He opened his eye again and sat silent.
"Please get us home quickly without drawing police attention Fallon."
Without taking his eyes from Panos, Cyrus had his phone zip to his outstretched hand. He didnt spare much more than a glance at the keypad before dialling a local number. Speaking in Japanese he quickly made arrangements with the doctor.
"Good evening Doctor Kim. This is Cyrus of Anantya and I have an emergency at my house. Bullet wound to the eye, no exit wound. Could you please stop by?"
The doctor quickly got directions and was heard to be rushing about on the other end of the line. After a quick word of thanks the phone got sent back to its earlier spot and still his eyes never left Panos. Yeah, he was begining to feel paranoid.
Taking the coat from Cyrus, she laid it across her lap, and made sure there was no way Panos could reach it. He didn't look like he was going to be trying anything, but he was someone she would not trust. Without a word, but a quick nod, Fallon pulled away from the curb and drove for home, concentrating on not speeding, or doing anything else that might make the little Rav look suspicious.
"Would you like to tell us what happened Panos, and where is the woman you say was responsible for the shooting?" She was still somewhat skeptical about things as he had reported them, but seeing no one else around, and seeing his condition, Fallon had to believe whoever else was involved had escaped. Panos didn't look like he would have been able to make it far with the type of wound he had, so she guessed he must have been shot in the vicinity where they had found him.
She smiled at Cyrus in the rear view mirror, and knew he couldn't have been too comfortable where he sat. She also knew he wouldn't put himself anywhere else in the car, no matter how badly injured Panos was, and that suited Fallon fine.
A snack, managed to pull a gun out of nowhere and shoot me. Something doesnt add up though, between her face and her horrible fucking scream. Something wasn't right.
Her face appeared into his minds eye once again but he still couldn't place the unsettling feeling he got from seeing it.
She took off, but i'll find her.
He was tiring from all the concentration on be alert but there was no way he was going to relax in the least bit. It was too easy.
Once again he marvelled at how Panos had managed to survive this long with his attitude. Cyrus shook his head at the clanless vampire sitting stiffly in the corner of their shared seat. The trip would be over quick enough but neither were comfortable.
Somehow he just knew Panos would be spending the night in their downstairs rooms. The thought did not make him happy at all. Mentally he reviewed the security in place for not only the weapon room but his collection of artifacts. At least Panos would be unable to access either room without his permission. Soon his mind tried to reconstruct what transpired in the park, it was strange really but this was only Panos' version. The poor woman probably had a different one. Sifting though the scents at the scene Cyrus wondered about the human. Because he doubted very much Panos could care for an animal he asked the only other logical question.
"Did she by any chance have a dog with her."
No...she had no dog with her. She was alone out in the woods. That's just asking to become a meal.
Agreeable meals? What the hell kind of ridiculous notion was that? Besides blood pumped full of adrenaline tasted so much better than say someone who was watching tv and handing over a wrist. Terror made everything taste better.
Agreeable meals, are you sure your a vampire?
Her experience with him had also led her to believe he got special joy out of scaring people to bits.
"No...something doesn't add up, does it?" Her comment was spoken aloud, but facing forward, and not directly at Panos, so she wasn't sure if he would have heard it or not.
"What was it about her face that didn't seem right?"
If she kept him talking, chances were he wouldn't have time to sit and devise any way to create further problems. It seemed like a good idea to her.
A dog! That's what the strange scent was that Fallon hadn't been able to place. Panos was covered in 'dog', but how odd that he would say he hadn't even seen one.
Fallon sighed.
"We all feed on blood Panos, but there are ways of making it less...hostile, or violent, than it has to be. I don't suppose it would ever occur to you to offer up a little pleasure in return? And just because someone does something silly, like being out, alone, and unprotected, doesn't mean you need to punish them."
Again trying to catch Cyrus eyes in the mirror, Fallon shook her head and allowed a look of disgust to cross her face.
"Guess the difference is that I prefer to get decades of meals from my targets rather than one belly full of terrified blood."
Meeting Fallon's eyes in the mirror he was sure his face reflected the disgust hers did as well as pity for the fool. The moment was over quickly and he returned his eyes to Panos' bleeding head. It was a shame a creature did not just end his suffering. Fallon would dislike his violent act though so he restrained himself. Still the knives in his boots burned like fire to be off his ankles and in his hands. To distract himself he took a deep breath and his nose twitched slightly at the canine smell.
"She must own a pet then, probably large too, this doesnt smell like a terrier."
Apparently I've had decades of meals now haven't I? I look for food, not a life partner. Perhaps you move from one love partner for a few decades to another, but I have no interest in that. It is not a romance.
His voice held edge to it. He wondered what happened to Cyrus's last agreeable meal, where he or she had gone to. If it was decades he was after, apparently it was Fallons turn.
He thought for sure he was walking into a set up when he entered the vechile but instead it was worse. Vampires with the ability to lecture. Sweet god he wished Alexandra had been home. She probably would have helped him track the pink clad woman down.
You two might be in the wrong clan. Evenhet is for the saps. He remembered Fallon's question and tried his best to answer. It was something about her eyes or her mouth..I cant seem to get a good recolection on it. Strange. Teeth...and....the eyes flashed they werent, normal. I don't know.
He shrugged. Next time he would get a good look at her face, that is before he tore it off.
"What room shall I prepare, Cyrus? Where do you want to put him? Do you think we'll need Suki?"
Trying to be as efficient as possible, but also wanting to give Panos a wide berth, and stay out of Cyrus way, Fallon remained standing next to Cyrus door.
They arrived home in good time and were getting out. Rather than have another standoff, Cyrus exited the car when Fallon did. An evil grin crossed his face at her question of where to put Panos.
"I don't suppose we can put him upstairs, can we?"
The bedrooms upstairs had yet to be decorated and did not even contain curtains on the windows so the thought of letting Panos rest there made Cyrus happy. Fallon's soft nature though would not like that, so he quickly suggested the downstairs.
"Actually though, he can make use of the downstairs room. Its the safest one for all of us. Please go open it up and let Suki know we need possibly two bottles when Dr. Kim arrives. Otherwise keep her and the little ones in our suite for now."
There was no way he was exposing his family to this monster so the vault bedroom would be best. Motioning for Fallon to head to the door with his coat he made his way around the vehicle to Panos' door. He hoped that the bullet ridden vampire could walk still.
Wonderful.
He opened the vechile door as Cyrus walked up to it, keeping the door inbetween them. Slowly he slid off the seat and as the world turned topsy turvey for a moment his feet touched the ground. He felt dissoriented but stood on his own. He shut the door with a look to Cyrus.
They spoke of where to put him, like he was a stray dog with rabies.
When he instructed her to set up the special room downstairs, and notify Suki, she didn't stand around and question, but immediately ran off towards the house. She managed to put aside her concerns for Cyrus' well being, even with her distrust of Panos. It was obvious the man was hurt badly, and not a threat to anyone at the moment. The thing to do now was to get him someplace he could be attended to, before he recovered enough to be harmful.
After opening up the room, and putting a thick blanket over the bed, hopefully to prevent any blood from seeping onto any of the pretty linens, Fallon then called Suki, in her room, and passed along the rest of Cyrus request. Once Panos was settled, Fallon would seek out Suki in the master suite, and get the blood that would be needed for their houseguest's recovery. For now she waited in the downstairs bedroom, in case Cyrus needed anything else.