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.
"Do you want help now or just going down the stairs?"
It would take Dr. Kim at least ten more minutes to arrive so they had time to get inside but every moment Panos was on his feet was a bit of his failing strength wasted. Turning slightly, Cyrus took a step towards the house while being mentally ready to catch Fallon's maker should he fall. They could get inside like this or he would carry him. Wishing just for a moment to be able to shift and rip Panos' head off caused him to sigh just a little bit.
Still as he took a few dizzying steps forward he knew he'd have to except some help, specially if there were stairs involved. Begrudgingly he mumbled a response.
I'm fine until the stairs.
His only hope was Fallon. Unfortunatly as that sounded. He didn't believe she'd of come to retrieve him only to let Cyrus kill him now. He placed his last hopes and bets on that one notion.
He approached the home with caution and within two steps from Cyrus's side. His insides screamed for mercy from all the stress he was placing on his body just to keep his gaurd up. He prayed it wasn't much longer before he could let it down. But when would that be? When he was alone? Even then there were many dangers. He'd have to eventually, he had to sleep, he had to rebuild....
First things first, and that was getting the bullet out.
"Oh dear God, please don't let anything happen...if it does, it will all be my fault..." And though she still had complete faith in Cyrus and his abilities, it just wasn't enough to halt her worrying a hundred percent.
Finally, when she couldn't stand to look at the room a moment longer, Fallon went back upstairs. She just had to see what it was that seemed to be holding up Cyrus, and Panos.
"Oh good grief!" Seeing they still hadn't made it inside, Fallon shook her head, mumbling as she walked to the door. At least they seemed to have made it that far.
"Panos? Why can't you just let us do what we came to do?" Not considering for a second that Cyrus was responsible for the slowness of their movements, Fallon marched to Panos' side, and grabbed the arm opposite from his wounded side, and wrapped it around her shoulders. Her arm went around his waist, and her other hand held his.
"Cyrus, please get his other side...if we wait for him, he's going to bleed to death all over our nice portico." Still grumbling a little, concerned that they would go to all this trouble just to have the man die in their home, seemed to be typical Panos...only thinking of himself.
Taking names and giving orders, that is better. He mused.
He relaxed and let her take some of the weight. Fallon and Cyrus would have to lead him to where ever they wanted him, almost like a prisoner. The thought stirred up tiny bits of doubt and anxiety in his stomach but the waves of exaustion and hearing Fallon angry at them..or rather him, gave him odd comfort. The strength he had seen long ago in her, that he had thought had been more recently lost to Cyrus, he saw again. Even if his thoughts and vision were distorted. He closed his eyes almost completely and mumbled.
Good kid.
"Let me take him from here, Kitten."
Physically, Cyrus did not move, but mentally he took the weight that had been on Fallon and began the decent. It was a challenge to move something bodily while assisting himself but Cyrus had spent centuries honing his telekinesis. The only small challenge was to keep Panos upright while getting the downstairs door open. Thankfully Fallon had turned off the security requirements so he did not have to lay his hand on the scanner.
Entering the vault-like rooms he made a direct path to the bedroom. With the last of his mental strength he let Panos fall to the bed, across the foot so that the doctor would not need to move him again.
"Dr. Kim should be arriving shortly."
Wiping the moisture from his temple that had gathered due to the exertion, Cyrus claimed a spot to sit on the dresser. Uncaring that it was traditionally not a seat.
Not that Cyrus ever fought her on anything. Whenever he had a concern he spoke it, and Fallon, seeing the logic behind hit, agreed, and did his bidding. Other times he would smile, and pretty much let her do what she wanted. Right now she guessed her intervention must not have given him any reason to disagree, and therefore had been a good decision on her part.
She didn't miss Panos comment about her giving orders either, but saw no reason to comment. Anything he said, she guessed, was probably laced with sarcasm anyway. Yet the last words...'good kid'...she thought she must have misunderstood. Surely he wasn't complimenting her now...that was just too farfetched to consider.
Gladly turning Panos over to Cyrus, Fallon went in search of Suki, and the blood, hoping the doctor Cyrus had called, would arrive soon. Daylight would be surfacing soon, and Fallon wanted Panos secured before she and Cyrus retired.
It was like that old Jamurqi music video, where the floor moved but not the people. It didn't last long, just as it started to become sort of cool he was flat on his back on a bed. With a sigh he closed his good eye and pulled the torn shirt wrap from his head. The dried blood was beginning to itch as was the wound that was continuously trying to heal. He did his best not to start digging at that eye.
Wait wasnt he sleeping? He shouldnt feel itchy if he was sleeping. Ah well. He put his arm back down and just laid still.
She had been winding up a toy for the patiently waiting orange tabby when she heard the bell ring. Dropping it to the ground she picked up the bucket full of items and ran to the door. It was a challenge to open the master door and reclose it securely before the kids could follow her but she did it. Running to the front door she opened it on the second ring of the bell. The man before her was small and very asian looking.
"Doctor Kim?"
He nodded curtly and proceeded to interogate her on the location of the patient. Since she knew next to nothing, it was easier simply to get him into the house, close the door behind him and take him downstairs herself. She stayed in the stairwell and simply bid him enter with the supplies she had gathered and returned to the master suite to wait for further instructions.
"Thank you for coming Dr. Kim. As you can see the patient is on the bed. Do you need anything?"
The doctor pushed the bucket into his hands that Suki had charged him with and took himself to the bed with his black bag. Within moments the doc had a plastic backed absorption pad under the bleeding vampire's head and readied instruments and a syringe. Doctor Kim laid a hand on the unwounded side of Panos' face and looked at him with his old eyes.
"May I begin?"
While Cyrus would rather not watch the procedure, the last thing he was going to do was leave anyone alone and unprotected with Panos.
He peeked his good eye open and saw an oriental man standing over him. He shrugged and closed his eye. What was the guy talking about? He was trying to sleep and this guy was touching his face. Maybe if he just agreed with whatever was being said, he'd be left alone to sleep.
Sure. He said with a sigh.
Knowing Cyrus would come to her when all was taken care of, Fallon went to their suite, and plopped down on the bed. A couple of the kittens had already found their way up, and were snuggled on the pillows. The rest of their brood followed once Fallon had returned, and soon she had all six playing about her. Letting them crawl over her, nip, and lick, and cuddle close gave Fallon such joy, and also helped erase the ugliness she had seen not so long ago.
She was still curious to know more about the wound Panos had, and how, and who inflicted it, but didn't trust him to be giving the complete truth. There was another side to the story, and Fallon would have liked hearing that as well. She wondered if she ever would.
"Good good." Doctor Kim said to Panos as he gained permission to assist. With a deft move the sterile syringe injected something into the neck of the prone vampire. Mindfull of his audiance, the doctor began a running comentary of what he was doing.
"There, that should put him out for about five minutes, just long enough for me to do the painful parts. We need to simply see the bullet lodged in his head and then I can lift it out. Quite a mess he made of himself. Lucky for him it did not blow out the back of his skull, healing that can take weeks. Ah there we go, stuck in his grey matter. Simple enough to remove. He should heal fine with proper sustinance."
Cyrus blanched at the use of steel tools to open the wound so the doctor could snake a small implement in to see. Finally the bullet emereged and the tools were put down so that the cleaning could start. He had always seen the benefit to certain abilities and knew without a doubt that Kim used his to their fullest. Between him and Fallon they could have possibly removed it, but the diminutive vampire before him did it with such professionalism and skill there was no need to fumble around.
In under five minutes the wounded Panos was bullet free, cleansed and bandaged. Doctor Kim did not linger either, he smiled at Cyrus and then headed up the stairs to leave. "Get him to drink a pint or two or else he will be camping out here for a week."
Bowing at helpful clanmate Cyrus cleaned up the room slightly and watched for signs of awakening from Panos, large mug of warmed blood on the dresser.
"Assdick what the hell was that for!?" He cussed at the small man. The room grew tall and long. Stretched out and pulled like taffy.
"That's odd." Panos commented. He went to sit up only to realize he was in a desk at a highschool wood shop. The floor was miles beneath him and he grew confused.
He contemplated jumping from the very high desk but thought better of it. Maybe if he could just crawl across the tops of the desks he could find the door and leave. He pulled himself up and began the careful balancing act as the desks dipped and teetered this way and that. Slowly a dull roar grew louder in teh near distance. It was a ban saw in constant cycle. As it grew louder Panos began to lose his concentration and his right hand slipped off the edge of the desk and he tumbled into the pure emptiness below.
With a start he jumped upright. Witha frantic look around he saw that he was in a bedroom alone. His heart racing he put his hands down onto the soft comforter to brace himself. There was pain in his eye like a dull sinus headache and he remembered. He looked around once more and saw that he was not alone. Infact Cyrus stood not all that far away and was currently watching him. His hand came up to his face and felt the bandage. That would explain the blocked vision on that side of his face.
It's out? He asked.
(red is crazy dream! I always have em when i get put under!)
"Its out. Doctor Kim is as talented as he is quick. Leave the bandage alone and drink this."
Standing he picked up the mug and offered it to Panos with an extended arm. The last thing he wanted was this psycho freeloading on him for more than a day. Stepping back he muttered to himself.
"You will be back to terrorizing women before you know it."
He looked in the mug and saw blood. Odd, he thought to himself. It was his preference that blood was only drank from a person so it seemed unnatural to be drinking it out of a cup like coffee. Though he knew it was either day light or very close to daylight and he wouldnt be out hunting anytime soon, and while the thought of drinking off of Cyrus and leaving him dry was a happy one he knew it was ridiculous. With a straight face he drank from the mug.
Tastey. He said with a quick raise of his eyebrows.
Will we be spooning this evening? He asked with his usual sarcasm.
"No, but you do have some options and a choice to make."
With one hand he casually waved it to indicate the entire room as he stood slouched against the dresser.
"This entire room can be yours for the evening and I can spend the day in the next room. Or you can agree to sleep down here alone, with the security system enabled, meaning you cannot exit until we release you."
Of course he did not say that either option had that last caveat attached to it. Before going into more detail he picked up the bottle near him and took a drink of the blood it contained, uncaring that he was taking directly from the only source Panos had. There was not even the consideration that the injured vampire could drink from himself so he continued on his option listing.
"You could always decide to wreck havoc or attack us, which would cause me to kill you or to haul you before the council with charges of assaulting and turning Fallon without her permission or even a clan. That would possibly mean you get the death penalty. With the added kindness of Fallon's latest act of picking your sorry ass up out of a park and getting you medical attention would look particularly bad. Of course, Chryseis would be impacted as well considering your connection to her, it could be bad enough that even if you are allowed to live that she kills you."
Another drink from the bottle before putting it back on the dresser did nothing to wipe the fang flashing mean smile from his face. Crossing his arms across his chest he arched a single brow and awaited Panos' choice.
Or, she would kill Fallon as a repercussion to my death. I am her last flesh and blood left on this planet. Who also happens to be named after one of her dead children and looks almost identical to her dearly beloved dead brother. Good old dad and his gene pool. I may not be her favorite person, but I am the only connection to her past that she has. How pissed off would she be if it was because of -you- that the council had me?
His beliefs were founded on his first run in with Chryseis. SHe had absolutely no tolerance of anyone who annoyed her and he definatly fit into that catergory. He was a liability but she was always there, helping him, protecting him, giving him money and shelters. Even after he had kidnapped her and bonded himself to her she hand't killed him. It was his theory it was because of who he was. He had seen all her old dusty pictures in her underground home. He'd not a miss a chance to manipulate those feeling if push came to shove.
Oh she'd strike allright. Maybe not in person but she'd strike. She'll look for a weakness, which in your case would be easily found. Fallon, a new young vampire. Virtually a newborn, a lamb ready for the slaughter. A lamb who also happens to be my only turned daughter. What a romantic notion would that be. If i'm gone she'll want to erase any memories of me, that includes Fallon. Her cold gaze will turn to you and your household and she'll spread her anger upon it.
He sighed like a school girl reading her first romantic novel, the ones with the hunk on the cover caressing a woman lovingly. Why was he saying all these things? He knew if Cyrus wanted to he could kill him and he wouldn't have a fighting chance against him. It was that smug smile across Cyrus's face that had provoked him. He knew it was Fallon's help that had gotten the bullet out, not Cyrus. Panos would still be in the park if Cyrus had been in charge.
'Good for Fallon.' He thought to himself with a smile. Perhaps she hadn't gone so soft after all.
So no, I don't think you'll be sleeping next door to me tonight. You should go up and sleep cozy and tight next to your woman before you get anymore silly ideas in your head. Set the alarms i'll be sleeping. Maybe you have video cameras in here too, you could watch a little Panos Tv if you become restless with the thoughts of what 'could' happen should you decide to bring me to the council.
His lack of fear of the council was pure arogance. He had survived being evicted from Tacharan hadn't he? What was some old cronies.
"Rest and heal, tomorrow we will take you back to the park where we picked you up."
Spitefully, Cyrus snagged the bottle off the dresser as he left the room. There was really no use letting Panos regain full strength while here. Exiting the downstairs he sealed the lower level door and removed all permission to open it aside from himself. Emerging from the stairwell into the pantry he realized something important. The sun had crossed the horizon and was sending fingers of light across the kitchen. Cursing from the shadows he pulled the house phone, a cordless handset, off its base on the wall to himself. In a matter of seconds he had dialed Fallon's cell phone and heard ringing in his ear.
"Stupid ass." He thought to himself about Cyrus.
He didn't want to go back to the park. He wanted to go find the bitch who shot him. He would eventually. For now he was letting the huge crashing waves of exaustion swallow him.
It wasn't long after his head hit the pillow that he was immediatly asleep and immediatly healing. With the bullet now removed, his body was able to do its job finally. He would awaken new and rejuvinated, and also very hungry.
As the night wore on, Fallon began to nap, all six tykes balled up against her stomach, as she slept on her side ala fetal position. When her phone rang, she stirred, and gently moved away from her brood to fetch her cell.
"Cyrus? Honey? Where are you...?"
He filled her in briefly on what the doctor had done to Panos, and how he was doing. That was the good news. The bad news was the sun was rising and Cyrus couldn't make it back to their suite to sleep. Nor would Fallon be able to do anything to get to him. She wasn't thrilled, but she would do everything she could to make sure he was safe, and made it through the day without incident.
"I agree the stairwell is better than the pantry...I just hope you'll be comfortable there. And I'll call Suki, and have her cancel the staff for the day. Then once Panos is gone, we can go back to our regular, normal, stress free lives."
Fallon tried to keep her words light, and hoped fear free, though she had some qualms about the day ahead. But Cyrus had given Fallon those instructions, and she would now carry them out as he requested. He had gone above and beyond at her request, and she now felt bad that he was the one to pay and suffer for it.
"I love you baby, and thank you again, for being so understanding, and such a tremendous help. I'll see you just as soon as the sun sets again. Sleep well."
Cradling the phone against her breast, Fallon only let a few seconds pass before she called Suki and passed along Cyrus' instructions. She also gave Suki a short explanation of the evening's activities, and their new house guest. Fallon didn't go into further detail, feeling it was Cyrus place to do so. She also made sure Suki knew that the instructions she was passing along now, were in fact from Cyrus. Things with Suki had been going perfectly the past few months, and Fallon wasn't about to do anything that might create the problems she had had with Suki in the past. She adored Suki, and really didn't know what she would do without the woman's assistance. Fallon had also come to think of Suki as a dear friend, and that's what made it a little difficult to NOT go into greater descriptions about the nights events.
"Okay kids, it seems Daddy won't be coming to bed here tonight, so you're stuck with Mom. But it's really late now, so no more fun-time...everyone crawl in and cuddle."
Stripping off her clothes, an exhausted Fallon shifted too, thinking it would be easier to sleep without her mate that way. Once she had slipped between the sheets, and gathered up the kittens into her arms, the pull of daylight was too strong to ignore, and soon they were all sleeping.