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 Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:10 pm
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:57 pm
She stared at them again.
What?
No way.
Not hers, they weren't.
Yet... they were. She could tell just by looking at them. The pale colors, the stripes... even the little tiny fins that stuck out of a couple little holes in the fabric. Her ink-black eyes narrowed as her tail curled about them, determined to keep grubby little hands away from them. She had two with her now; Kayin's bonded had scooped up the third little one to care for himself. Probably better, since the elder didn't really want to be bothered with all of this baby business.
Or maybe she did. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach anytime someone came too close or looked at them the wrong way. The fur on the nape of her neck stood on end, and she found a deep growl working its way out of her throat. No one was touching them. She could see Capricorn across the room casting glances at the two things every now and then; undoubtedly trying to decide what to do with them. It made her nervous. If she were to take one, she couldn't do anything about it. Complain and hiss, yes, but she couldn't hurt the vampire; she didn't have it in her to do it.
The sound of the sea outside calmed her nerves; if she didn't have the two little things to take care of and watch, she knew exactly where'd she be.
Her attention snapped to her bonded as she finally stood from her arm chair, rolling back her shoulders to relax her tired muscles. She didn't immediately start towards her, much to her relief, and instead stepped outside onto the deck and into the night. Vienna let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and curled her striped body about the two bundles, tail tuft coming back around to meet her large paws.
She felt a twinge of guilt for making the vampire think so hard; she knew of her horrid dreams of late. Of course she did. No one in the house could escape the dark circles under her eyes or the chill gasp of her breath as she started awake from even an afternoon nap. They were getting worse and worse, these nightmares, and not even Beau could see where or what they were from.
Heaving a sigh, she set her head down on her paws and glanced at the bundles beside her. They couldn't be all that bad.
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:59 pm
"What?"
Three little bundles of joy.
End.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:44 am
"Horizons"
The seasons may change, but the sky is always the same.
Theme Music
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:10 am
The usually warm sand was chill against his paws, breath puffing soft clouds as he exhaled. Sure, it wasn't even October yet, but tonight was the night. He knew it, he could feel it in his bones, in the corners of the bits of soul Capricorn had lent to him. Given to him.
First snow.
Azure eyes scanned the horizon on the sea, traces of a smile tugging at the corners of his maw. Gray clouds billowed out from where the sun was quickly setting, promising those first few snowflakes that would make a whole summer's wait so worthwhile. Shaking his mane from his face, Aldes padded down the cool beach to a slim dock, talons clacking against the weathered wood that stretched into the rocking waters. He stood at the end for a moment, small tail flicking back and forth in impatient anticipation.
Finally settling in, he sat back on his haunches, eyes focused on the clouds that drew closer little by little. So focused was he on this that he failed to notice the soft sound of claws on the dock from somewhere behind him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:38 am
Kaja had been curled comfortably in a pile of blankets someplace in the house. As she awoke with a soft yawn, her body slunk out of them, ending in a stretch on the floor. Hopping to her feet, her eyes gazed about her, suddenly realizing that something was missing. Hadn't she been talking with Aldes before? The male was gone now, and to where she was absolutely clueless. The demon blushed a bit at the thought; when she had been younger she had an admiration for the older winiko. He was the only other one in the house that appreciated the cold as much as her. That admiration had turned into a sort of mild crush for him as she grew older, though she was almost positive that the feeling wasn't quite mutual.
Shaking her head to ruffle her mane, she padded around the house before Capricorn told her he had gone down to the beach. Bounding out the door and down the deck stairs, she stumbled a bit when she reached the sand of the beach. She followed the slender path that wove through dune grass and rocks before arriving on the shore itself, immediately spotting the figure perched at the end of the docks.
Her heart skipped a beat, and inwardly she chastised herself. What was she getting so excited about? Kaja headed towards the dock, stepping up onto it and cringing as her claws on the surface sounded like gunshots in her ears. The male didn't seem to notice, so after a moment's hesitation she opened her mouth to speak.
"What light through yonder window breaks?" she said, a twinge of amusement on her voice. Quoting Shakespeare had become a favorite habit of hers lately, even if she couldn't quite help it sometimes. "You seem quite focused on the sky tonight."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 10:00 am
Aldes managed to hide how much the femme had startled him, craning his head about to look at her with a charmed expression. "Blow, blow, thou winter wind; thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude." He replied simply, motioning with his head for her to come sit next to him. Like the others in the house, he had accepted her 'gift', if you could call it that. It wasn't her fault that she was prone to quoting all sorts of things, after all. It was a quirk, they all had those.
"It's going to snow," he said, a smile tugging at his mouth again, "I can feel it." His eyes scanned the clouds again, searching for even the tiniest of precipitation. It had to snow; he didn't know how much longer he could keep up his spirits if the humidity and searing temperatures of summer didn't give way to snow and ice. He had thicker fur than the other demons in the house; he just couldn't take the heat.
He leaned towards her and bumped his shoulder against hers. "Once winter really hits," he started, eyes still looking off into the clouds that loomed closer, "I'll take you someplace special. No one else knows about it." He flashed her his best grin. "What do you say?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 10:15 am
The return of a Shakespearean quote made her smile; she knew he didn't know anything of the writer and only memorized the quotes about wintertime, but it didn't matter. It was the thought that mattered, after all. Her stomach fluttered for a moment at his gesture, and she padded to his side and sat without even a second thought. Her tali wriggled behind her, thumping softly against the wood every now and then.
Snow?
The thought gave her chills. She loved the stuff, the look of it, the feel; and here he was, telling her that it was all coming. It made her smile just a little bit broader. "That's fantastic," she replied, feeling all of her usual bitterness and anger melting with each one of his words, "I bet it'll be beautiful."
His offer was too good to resist. "Of course," she replied, slightly surprised, "Why once it snows? Is it easier to get to that way?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:25 pm
"It always is," Aldes replied simply, tail wriggling likewise, "It's a fantastic thing indeed, snow. Never the same twice, you know. Snowflakes, that is- no two are exactly alike. Almost... like winiko. They may appear the same from a distance, but up close and personal they're infinitely complex."
Her question earned a soft chuckle from his throat. "If I told you that, Kaja, it'd spoil it! You'll just have to wait." He grinned at her before something caught his eye and his head snapped back to look at the clouds above.
"There it goes," he whispered, almost breathless, "The first of the year. Hopefully not the last, either." Tiny, minuscule snowflakes were drifting down from the sky, not even making it to the ground before they were gone. They might not last, but that didn't matter. Snow was snow.
"Beautiful."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:32 pm
Kaja didn't have time to reply before he was staring back at the sky, enthralled with the little bits of snow. Her heart had skipped at beat at the way he had said her name; did he even know what effect he had on her? She could never quite tell if he shared her feelings or not from the way he acted.
Shaking her head and giggling softly, she rose to follow after him as he finished watching this spectacle. Matching him stride for stride and meandering up the beach back towards the house, she wondered when her girlhood admiration had changed to such a strong emotion. Would she tell him someday?
Possibly.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:35 pm
"Horizons"
The seasons may change, but the sky is always the same.
End.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:44 am
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:59 am
The sun cast orange streaks across the pale tan of the dunes, creating fire where nothing but dull olive grasses grew. The ocean was unusually quiet today, waves barely audible from the fourth-floor balcony. The wind blew, and for a moment a sheer chill ran down Capricorn's spine. She shivered, slender fingers running through her hair distractedly before her hands gripped the railing again, leaning her weight into the weathered wood. The cold faded after a moment, replaced by a comforting, familiar feeling that settled in her chest, wrapped itself around her.
She heaved a soft sigh, squeezing her eyes shut and lifting a hand to gently massage the place between her eyes. She didn't want to open them again, because if she did.... well, he wouldn't be there. He never was.
The warmth seemed to read her thoughts, tightening a bit before relaxing and slipping away. If she told herself that it wasn't him, then it didn't hurt as much. He wasn't coming back, never could come back. The more she told herself that, the easier it was for her accept it.
Turning and making her way towards the stairs, several faces peered at her from the windows of the house as she descended the stairs. They knew where she was going; she went every time the sky was like this, casting a blood-red blanket over everything in its sight. They asked no questions and no one dared follow- there was something about where she was heading that gave every one of the demons in the house chills, scared them out of their wits. What was it? None of them quite knew.
As her boots met the sand, the vampiress heaved a soft, shuddering breath. The gentle caress of that familiar warmth returned, brushing against the back of her hand like it was so accustomed to. She glanced to the side, hoping for a glimpse of the face she knew wouldn't be there.
She didn't know why she glanced, her heart just sunk lower when she did. Sniffing softly for a moment, she turned and trudged towards the seaside forest, the rising moonlight making her tattoos look gaunt and foreboding against her pale skin. The scars that usually blended so well suddenly looked much more apparent, like the gaping wounds they must have once been. Violet eyes gazed deep into the dark woods, searching for something, anything.
When it didn't come, she plunged into the darkness.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:25 pm
It was just how she had left it.
The clearing was small, and at its center sat a ragged, ancient stone. A message was carved into its face, runes so ancient no one in existence could translate them.
No one but her.
She sat down hard onto a well-worn stump, staring at the words for a minute or two. The day she had written them they were clean and crisp against the rest of the stone, yet today...
Fo....eath h.... tor...........art.
It was all that was remaining; perhaps she would have to return soon and rework the phrasing. Her eyes stung with tears for a moment, but she blinked them back with a fierce determination. Not now. She was done crying over her past, she had promised herself- no, promised Beau that she would repent and move onwards.
The leaves littering the ground stirred softly; out of reflex Capricorn lifted her gaze, starling heavily at the not-quite tangible form sitting on a smooth boulder just five or six feet from her. It smiled, unfolded its arms, and leaned forward to rest on its knees.
I was waiting for you.
She shuddered, blinked, and looked at it- no, him again. Even in a ghostly form, his features were clearly visible; gray eyes alight with amusement, dark hair carefully brushed back from his face and over his shoulders. She caught a glimpse of what looked like a scar running up from somewhere below his shirt to under his jaw; likely what had killed him.
"Damien?"
Her voice shook as the ghost smiled again and nodded. He stood and strolled around the other side of the engraved stone, hands thrust deep into the pockets of a opaque, black trench coat. His favorite, the one where the bottom was torn and ragged.
I talked to your friends the other night. Capricorn's eyes shot back to his face, brow furrowed in confusion. Damien's ghost seemed to sense that and laughed softly, gently. Winiko, they're called? They caught me as soon as I got near your house to interrogate me. Beau stopped them though. It was almost like she knew who I was before I gave my name.
A confused expression of his own crossed his pale face for a moment, before a soft chuckle came. She told me everything. Said I could rest now, she knew why I was back. He grinned at her and settled on the other half of the stump, resting his back against hers. She had been about to speak when he gently hushed her, that warm feeling spreading where he was leaning on her body.
Beau promised to protect you where I failed, he continued, eyes looking through the trees to the star-strewn sky above, I laughed, told her she was right. How was that for a fiancee? Dead before he could even protect the one he loved...
His voice trailed off as Capricorn felt him rise. He strode towards the stone acting as his grave marker and touched it, smiling as the text seemed to recarve itself, looking as it had the day it had been written.
I wanted to let you know I'll be watching you, he continued, turning to her and leaning to press a wisp of a kiss against her cheek, Always. As he faded from view, Capricorn reached up to wipe tears she hadn't even known she'd cried from her cheeks, still stunned into a breathless silence.
Demons, ghosts... they were all similar, weren't they?
As she lifted her head from her hands, her eyes settled onto the grave, reading over again the text she had written so long ago.
Do not fear, lonely warrior, rest in peace now. Forgive me, for Death has torn us two lovers apart.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:27 pm
"Haunted"
He always came back to her...
End.
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