Immortal Lovers

The weather here was warmer, humid, compared to the city life I was used to. The unfriendly people, unwelcoming atmosphere, and the air of confusion mixed with emotions of grief, anger, revelation, and greed were nagging at me. After swearing my vow to Mara, offering her strength to avenge the massacre of her family and species, I ask my own question, and receive the answer I was certain of from the first syllable of my asking. Once the questions have been asked I turn to Daedalus, Aureval, Mara, Shadow, and Alucard, "I seek fresh food." Kindly Mara offers Everlasting Rations. Bowing my head, I gently decline, "After nearly two centuries, those taste like pine bark to me." I shouldered my gear and aimed for the door when Alucard spoke up, "I shall hunt with you. I could use fresh air myself." I nod my assent and step from the building with Alucard beside me.

We traveled for a bit to the woods where Alucard begins preparing for his hunt.

"I fear I know not how to hunt or fish, I was hoping with my memories to guide me, I'd get a bit of luck. I don't think I will be able to handle rations for every meal." I hide a wry smile, embarrassed at my lack of true experience. Alucard smirks, "I'll get food, I'm good on the hunt. You find a good spot to start a fire."

I kneel and meditate, the heat and humidity uncomfortable in my layers of armor, it takes me a few minutes to pull the memories forward, something as simple as building a fire didn't require much time or concentration, many of my lives lived knew these skills, which made it so much easier for me to access. By the time Alucard had returned with a large swamp hare I had a strong fire built, and together we began cooking. I spread my heavy blanket on the ground to keep the dirt from our clothes, and set out my dining gear, but as I set out a second set Alucard shakes his head at me and lifts a flask from his cloak, a thick red liquid sloshing inside, coating the glass and silver. He almost grimaces when he turns the stopper. "You hunt for me, gather me fresh food and cook it, the least I can offer is the same to you." This causes him to pause and look in her direction, "What you offer..." I nod. Standing I begin to remove the layers of plate armor and chain shirt below, I straighten my loose pants and tunic before pulling up the sleeve of my shirt, "I offer my blood to your sustenance. When I said we eat fresh, I meant it."

Alucard blinks, his voice soft, hesitant, "I am flattered. This is a surprising gesture, are you sure?" I nodded again, "When was the last time you've had from the vein?" I asked, my voice matching the tone of his, quiet, respectful. There is a quiet understanding between them, a respect that comes from ages of life, remembered or not. "Four Centuries, when I was learning to control my blood lust. I didn't trust myself after, nor did I trust the people who offered it."

"I trust you enough. You should come to me when you have need. I will freely offer. You, the noblest of your cursed kin, should not be made to partake of beasts or aged and kept blood for sustenance."

Again he pauses, looking at the dark skin of her offered wrist, the bright white stripe standing out in contrast, "I...hmmm. My lady, honestly, I cannot thank you enough. This..." Sighs, "I do not know if you understand the significance of your offer, but I extend my full thanks to you. Truly. This is significant."

I couldn't help but smile, truly and without hesitation, "My gift. My honor."

Taking her offered hand gently, kissing the palm, "A gift I will accept with an open heart, for my soul is not mine to give." A whisper of a kiss on her pulse point, "My lady." He pierces her flesh with little hesitation, as gently as he can manage. The warmth, the energy of life invigorates him in a way that his bottled meals never could. He drinks deeply, his thirst seeming to increase with each swallow of rich blood, until his eyes reach upwards and sees the kind acceptance in mine. He pauses, pulling away slowly, cleaning the blood from my skin. The pain is barely noticeable, and though the initial piercing of fangs caused a burning ache, I put it aside and focus on the man before me and his needs. There is more than hunger in his eyes, there is a desire for acceptance.

I take a piece of clean dry cloth and wrap my wrist, it seemed wrong in a way to heal it with magic, as if doing so would ignore the significance for Alucard. Almost like shrugging after someone shares their deepest secrets, it wasn't right. It would heal soon enough, even without magic to help it along. It was important to her that he sees she understands this event means something to him, though she doesn't truly understand why.

Clearing his throat and wiping the blood from his lips he breaks the silence by asking, "You mentioned earlier, looking through your memories to find the skill to hunt, what is it like? To be able to search through your own memories, your lifetimes, as you do?"

Turn the hare on the spit they had made earlier I take a moment to collect my thoughts, it's hard to explain really, but I wanted to try, "Imagine having a large book filled with stories in many languages. You can only read a few paragraphs at a time and it's often hard to recognize what ones are available when you open the book. Each paragraph a different language and you have to find the ones you can read among those you cannot."

Testing the meat Alucard nods thoughtfully, "That is...interesting. Useful, but...it must be frustration at times."

"I can be." I respond, looking around the circle of trees that grant us privacy from potentially unfriendly eyes, "Imagine have a thousand lifetimes to sort through, but only able to see maybe five or six at any given time. I try to search for a commonality in them...like when I built the fire. It's a common enough skill, so it doesn't take long to find. However, trying to search my mind for specific history lore, that's a bit harder, and takes a lot of energy."

His eyes are sad as he looks up. I hadn't noticed him move, but he was across the fire, testing the meat and scouting to be sure we were safe and unwatched. The fire cast a glow to his eyes that would cause most to be afraid, but I sensed what was beyond the reflection, the word he spoke meant so much more than the syllables of its making, "Lonely?"

A sad smile touches my lips and I look to the ground where my armor lays, softly glinting in the fading sun and rising flames, "I am." I sigh, my thoughts race to the years, decades, of my training, studying, my forced solitude of learning, "I was destined for great responsibility. Three days after my birth the Lifeline Shaman foretold of my fate. I have been forced to train since before I could stand. I have spent more time alone in my mind than with any company." Dark images flash in her memory...the hideous transformation, the need to find a magic that would free her from her solitude, finding her divinity and finally her way back from the brink, back to the Deva. I forced my thoughts back to the present, now was not the time to share the dark thoughts.

Pulling the hare from the fire he sits down on the blanket, not next to me, but within reach, there is a nervousness that is well hidden by manners, "Have you ever thought of...well...not doing what you are told?" He cuts the meat from the bone and leaves the pieces on my plate, "It seems lonely...as I said." He pauses, licking the juices from his fingers before dabbing them on a kerchief in his pocket, "You don't have to follow what they told you, if you don't want to."

I take a bite of the meat, savoring the flavor that only roasting over an open flame can give, "My destiny is to be an oracle. My choice is to serve."

I reached out to him, touching his arm to create a connection of more than words, "Ours is to be lonely. Outside our own kin, they die and so to be close, is to mourn." My fingers caress the fabric of his sleeve in an almost careless motion, "I serve them so that I can know what it is to be mortal." I smile softly, mostly hidden in the growing shadows as the sun passes below the horizon, leaving only the dancing flames as light, "In a years' time I will have learned more about what it is to live with the fear of death, than I have in my two centuries of life."

Alucard returns her shy smile, "My lady, I understand your choice, and they are of a noble cause which, " He gestures towards the vicinity of the Oracles hut, "with the exception of Mara, I have seen a distinct lack of, since my joining. It is refreshing to see as such, and, well, I was mortal once. Perhaps this is something I can help teach." He lifted my plate and offered me a bit of food, "You should also smile more, My lady, Cegari."

"With you, I can smile. As with me, you can feed. With them...I am stone and I am light, until I am certain they are deserving of more." I begin to eat slowly, careful to keep my tunic and leathers clean. After a few more bites I remember laughing, "It is very good. I am thinking we should dine as such often." She glances up at him, her hand covering her mouth as she finishes her mouthful, "And unless you intend that I call you Lord and bow upon your every arrival and departure, I insist you simply call me Cegari."

"Well...I will change between My Lady and Cegari. It is habit from my youth, but now never will I call you both. I would enjoy that. It is...well, it is refreshing to have that companionship and someone I can...be myself around." He relaxed a bit then, leaning against the trunk of a strong tree, "This was more relaxing that I had anticipated, and I am glad for it." He turns to look at me as I wrap the rest of the food, wanting to save some for Mara, "If, of course, you want to know anything about myself, please ask."

I am ashamed now that I did not hesitate, but asked, "How was it you came to be cursed?" then remembering my manners, "If I may be so bold as to ask?"

He hid his face from me, allowing his hair to hide his features for a few moments before he looked back at me, "Well do you know of Rauviel Vasilvok? If not you have at least heard me mention him I imagine. He is the original Vasilvok the one who made our line nobility, and most think him dead, hundreds... no more than a thousand years ago. All Vasilvoks know the truth, he is alive and well and pulling the strings always."

He laughs briefly, "There was time when I was a young boy when I admired him and his stories, keeping the nobility in line when it strayed etc. being the second prince I got to talk to him often, he told me that if I continued as I did and took his advice I would take the throne over my brother. I believed him. I awoke one night with Rauviel above me; I was unable to move a-a-a spell or a charm I have since come to realize as he lowers himself to my neck telling me of the greatness I will achieve one day. I felt his fangs pierce my neck and then nothing."

His hands shiver slightly "I awoke some time later, how much I do not know but I stumbled through the castle to find Rauviel I didn't want to believe it was real. I knew what it meant if it was. I found him in a room in the castle talking to a mirror to someone I could not see, telling him that his plans are in motion. I left home that night, I felt betrayed and used I couldn't be part of any plan against my will I refused it. I was 27...623 years ago."

I took his shivering hands in mine to offer comfort and warmth, moving closer to share his pain, his memories, "You have not been home since?" I rubbed slow, smooth circles on his palms, a tactile barrier against the unpleasant remembrances.

His hands stopped shaking in mine, but he no longer looked at me, I saw something there...felt it...but couldn't place it perfectly, "I have not, I discarded the Vasilvok name I took one that I found 'Adamache' meaning... well meaning 'The Outcast' I found it fitting, I couldn't come home, my family revered the great Rauviel and his legends and tales they would never believe me. And I didn't come back here in case Rauviel was waiting to use me again."

I lowered my head so that my eyes could meet his, should he look up to me, then tapped my finger softly upon his chin, "The shame is not for you to bear, and that you would share it with me honors me. Never fear my judgment." I tightened my hold on his hands.

"The shame is my own, My lady." He looked at me then, the pain in his eyes was palpable, my chest burned with his emotion, "It is something I have had to bear for many years and will continue to do so, more so when I realize that my powers are useful or...or when I enjoy using them."

Threading my fingers with his I smiled gently, "It is this vow I make to you, none shall use you against your will, not with me as your shield."

He smiles again, but it doesn't hide the emotion in his eyes, "Cegari, maybe it is because you are what you are, "He gestured then to my plate armor, "but you manage to put aside fears that I have, if but for a moment." His hand returns my firm grip, "and I thank you for that. The moment I can spend without fear or worry are almost as sweet to me as when I will again feel the sun touch my face, the warmth without the pain. I miss the feel of the sun quite often."

He moves closer so the gap between them is not so great, "You vow to be my shield. I vow to travel on with you to your destiny, to be the sword to cut through the dark and the light if need be, to see your wishes fulfilled." With an embarrassed smile he lets go of my hands, I hesitantly pull them away from him, feeling as if the moment is gone, but he smiles, a true smile that shines from his eyes.

I smile in return, "Then I name you friend, not companion. We will walk this world together. There is no need to be embarrassed." She leans against his side, even though the day was warm, the night brings a chilling wind, not unpleasant. I whispered...afraid that I misunderstood, "I feel it too."

After what seemed like hours, but perhaps was half what it seemed, my thoughts welled up until I gave voice to them, "What shame you feel is not yours. This form grants you strength. When one is taken advantage of they cling to what strength they can to prevent it happening in the future. You have spent many centuries hiding behind what you are, all the while running from it. Your life is shades of grey, not black and white. You must learn to accept it, control it, not let it control you." I paused for a breath before continuing, "Shame is for those too weak to do as you do, to keep from hunting and killing...it is their shame."

He doesn't turn, he rests still against the tree, "I believe I have lived my life as grey as they come Cegari. Travelling with this party has made me realize even more about myself, I cannot abide by senseless theft constantly."

He retakes my hand "But I will take your words into consideration, for you are wiser than I, I am able to admit that to you, and I will heed your words and shape myself once again. I have gone through many iterations. I ask of you this, if the... bloodlust takes hold. Try to calm me. I believe you can"

Squeezing his hand for a swift moment I once again return to a near whisper, "I will feed you, as often as you require, so that your lust is slaked and you never need fear losing your control." I turn my head to rest on his shoulder, while allowing me to peer through the leaves above, "Once Mara has been avenged, my only vow is to you. I will be your conscience and your guide. You will be my teacher and my friend."

Alucard laughs very briefly at my words, "I will not need to teach you anything Cegari, you know of much more than I. I am content with friend...for now." His smile stays, a slight upturn of his lips.

A few hours pass, we sit quietly, watching the stars shift across the sky before I speak again, "The Deva believe that the stars hold the souls that await their rebirth." The thought was brought to her in the comfort and peace of the moments they shared, sitting beneath the sky in silence.

"It could be true; there are many theories as to what they actually are. My own? Personally I feel they are to do one thing, to remind us in the dark you can find beauty" He glances down subconsciously at me when he says that, and he stays with me until I choose to return to the hut.

When we return together I pass a sleepy Mara the fresh catch, kept warm near the embers of our now extinguished fire, "Fresh food, my dear." Before I lay out my bedroll and blanket in the corner and rest.

THE NEXT DAY

The day had been long and the fight with the beasts had been simple enough to deal with that I was now extremely bored, I hadn't even managed to drain the essence of one of the beasts, quite disappointing really. Between the party arguing or discussing about who killed what and who should get what between themselves my head was beginning to throb much like it does when I haven't eaten in some time.

I'm brought out of my reverie by a familiar touch of soft delicate skin from the lady Cegari as I was about to pass her on the way back to the coven and signals for me to slow my quick pace, I smile at her as I do happy enough to comply to the immortal beside me. With a quiet voice she speaks up when we are a ways from the party some "Do you wish to feed? You didn't eat much at breakfast, and you were fierce during battle." I smile at her offer again looking into the deep eyes of the Deva "when we return I would appreciate the offer my lady but for now... It's hard to explain if you haven't seen a creature such as I fight before but-" And I lift up the sleeve where the monster slashed me showing her the smooth flesh of my arm where it has healed since my rest. "Battle sustains me when I steal a creature's lifeblood"

She reaches out to the spot on my arm and places her fingers lightly upon it and I can feel my skin tingle where she touches it "A useful ability" she says to me and I nod in mute agreement before she continues "Please, let me know when you are ready or have need. I will try not to pester you by asking, and I will learn, soon I hope, of your abilities so as not to ask unnecessarily." I can't help but take her hand as she finishes her words a smile upon my lips as I look upon her in genuine happiness, "I do not mind you asking, in fact the fact you do is a welcome comfort" I pause briefly before using the words I want to say "and quite endearing my lady"

I watch as she smiles a genuine smile again and in the corner of my eyes it seems like the lines or her body glow brighter and I decide to take a chance as I reach down and take her hand in mine and I'm rewarded with a smile that awakes something within me that until recently I hadn't felt in over 500 years. "How is the adrenaline suiting you my lady?" I smile and decide to prod her a little "I believe I saw you miss one of the beasts somehow" my smile widens as I pretend to doubt her perfection in the battle.

I'm rewarded by the sudden outburst "I did not miss! Not once...it was exhilarating. I've sparred all my life...but never in a dire situation...it felt good" I nod understanding the rush a battle can give "the blood rush cannot be matched by anything else in this world-" I pause as I realise there is maybe one thing "-well besides one other thing" and I cannot help but let out a low chuckle as I think upon my own memories, amused by the slightly confused look she gives me as I continue to laugh. After I stop I try to think of a reason to get her alone besides my need to feed "will you need help addressing your wounds my lady?" hoping for the positive answer and slightly disappointed when she shakes her head shakes her head, "I am strong and my magic cures me well. The only wound I carry is from you, and I carry it with peace and honour."

Another moment is interrupted when we hear the loud tones of Daedalus rip through the quiet sky as he tells us both to catch up, Cegari laughs softly, a sweet almost melodic sound that when I hear it I only want to hear it again as she drops my hand and moves to catch up with the group as she comes up with an almost weak excuse "Alucard was just dressing my wounds we will re-join you now" I myself do not catch up I move into the shadow of a tree and transform my body into the shape of the bat and fly to Cegari and perch on her shoulder, screeching at her and enjoying the free ride to the coven, I watch as Cegari smirks privately walks at the back of the group. She takes my form and moves me to her shield arm. She starts to shield me from what little rays of the sun permeate the clouds if I could laugh I would at the unneeded gesture. "Neat little trick." She murmurs.