The "Legend" of Night Fall - Part 1
A small boy, age eleven perhaps, was running through the grass of a large plain, a wooden sword held tightly in his two, small hands. All around him, a strange wind was blowing, his white hair ruffled and his tan shirt and baggy jeans being pushed against his body. His dark, blue eyes were filled with excitement as, suddenly, a black demon, scorpion-like, appeared in front of him. The boy skidded to a halt, smirking as he waved his right hand in front of him, a blade of air forming and striking at the demon right across the chest, vanquishing it.
“Ha! I got it! Easily, too,” he cheered, punching his same hand into the air and grinning, the wooden sword held loosely in his left hand now. That grin dropped, however, when he felt a warm liquid in his fist, bringing it up to eye-level and looking at the deep cut that had formed in his hand. He blinked, more than a little surprised by the blood oozing out of it.
“Daniel, you idiot!” The boy turned, paling when he saw a girl flying towards him, her bat-like wings working furiously as she tackled Daniel, pinning him to the ground. Her golden eyes were gleaming, her pupils nothing but slits. Her own white hair was flowing to her waist, some of it resting on the boy’s chest; she looked irritated.
“What’d your parents say about using your powers more than necessary?” she demanded, sitting there in her black dress. She was very beautiful for her age, age thirteen, perhaps. “Come on, they didn’t send you here to kill yourself.”
“Relax, Sylvia! It’s nothing serious,” Daniel replied. He pushed the demoness off of him, sitting up and fixing his shirt. He then ripped off a part of the bottom of his pants, using that and tying it over his cut. “See? Problem solved!”
“Problem not solved!” Sylvia yelled, hitting the boy on the head. He muttered curses under his breath, something he would never do in front of his real parents; he earned another hit on the head.
“Geez, you’re violent,” Daniel groaned, rubbing where he’d been hit. He uttered a couple more curses before getting up off the ground, dusting himself off and picking up his wooden sword.
“I’m violent and you’re an idiot; we’re even,” Sylvia retorted. She hovered in the air a minute, fixing her dress before grabbing Daniel’s hand and flying off back where she came from, low on the ground so the boy could still run behind her. The boy behind her ran as fast as he could to keep up, grinning once again as he dragged the wooden toy along the ground.
The two children arrived at the wooden cottage, Sylvia landing on the door step and folding her wings. She pushed open the wooden door and walked inside, leading Daniel into the kitchen. It was an old place that was dark and completely wooden, a few cupboards here and there looking like they were rotting. The room in general looked like it would fall apart at any given time. Yet in it was a woman, her black, beautiful hair tied back in a braid, her slender figure dressed in a plain, blue dress, a single flower design on the front that was hidden by a white apron. She was putting away the last of her dishes, turning when she heard the door closing, her golden eyes filled with happiness when she saw Daniel and Sylvia.
“Mother!” Sylvia cried, flying forward and hugging the woman tightly; she probably would have knocked her over if she was any bigger. “I found him!”
“Good job, Sylvia,” Mother said, her voice calm and quiet, as well as pleasant. If it weren’t for her black hair and normal eyes, she could pass for an older version of Sylvia.
“But Daniel used his powers again,” the little demoness snitched, looking at Daniel and sticking her tongue out at him.
“Shut up. It was either that or get beat by a demon,” Daniel grumbled, frowning a little. He dropped his glare when Mother looked at him, concern in those friendly eyes as she made Sylvia let go and knelt down in front of the young boy, holding out her hand. At first, Daniel hesitated. However, a minute later, he showed her his bandaged hand, undoing the cloth around it and revealing the deep cut, which was still oozing blood. Carefully, Mother took it, holding the hand gently in her own before a slight, purple glow surrounded it, the cut healing but leaving behind a scar.
“There. All better,” she said, looking at Daniel and giving him a kind smile. The little boy had a small hint of red on his face as he looked away from the woman, standing there a moment longer before turning and running off towards his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Sylvia and her mother watched, puzzled but used to this strange behavior.
“I’ll go check on him,” Sylvia volunteered, running past her mother and following after Daniel, walking down the hall and knocking on his door. When she heard no reply, she merely put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, walking into the room and more than surprised to find Daniel sitting there in a corner, knees brought up to his chest and tear marks on his face, some still swimming in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Sylvia asked, quickly going over to the boy’s side and sitting on her knees beside him, confused and concerned at the same time; why was he crying? Did she do something wrong? Daniel merely shook his head and buried his face in his knees, which were brought up to his chest. Sylvia looked curiously at him before crawling over next to Daniel and putting an arm around him, as well as a wing, making Daniel lean on her as he silently cried
~*~*~*~
Five years later, we find Sylvia and Daniel in the midst of a scrimmage. Daniel is currently sixteen, Sylvia is currently eighteen. Once again, after countless times, she created a little ball of dark energy in her hands, firing it off at Daniel, the boy yelping, quickly putting a hand on the ground and creating a barrier around him with the air. In his left hand was a necklace, the pendant very simple; two silver wings connected to a blue gem, which looked like it was keeping the necklace together. Inside the gem, a faint, dark-blue color was glowing, though it was difficult to tell. From under the long-sleeved shirt Daniel was wearing, as well as a pair of black pants, a trickle of blood spilled, dripping onto the ground. He noticed this and quickly wiped away the red liquid. Sylvia only sighed before walking up to Daniel and hitting him on the head.
“Idiot. Don’t push yourself if it’s gonna hurt,” she said seriously, looking down on him. Her graceful figure was more beautiful still, her white hair tied back in a ponytail and her bat-like wings fitting her body perfectly. Her sleeveless top and long skirt made it look like she was wearing a dress, yet she wasn’t. “Come on, then. Let’s head back and bandage up the newest addition to your cuts.”
“I’m fine, though,” Daniel frowned, rolling up his sleeves and taking a good look. He paled at the sight; both arms now had two, deep gashes in them, surrounding them all around. “Alright. So I’m not fine. . .”
“And the older one wins! Now, you gonna fly or walk? I would suggest flying,” Sylvia said, nodding as she said it, stretching out her own wings.
“Fly, I guess. I need the practice, anyway,” Daniel shrugged, putting his necklace around his neck. He focused a moment. Then, two white, feathery wings sprouted out of his back, stretching about five feet wide. They looked like they could be camouflaged in snow. The boy grinned, more than happy that they were there, stretching them out before pushing off from the ground, flying around a bit and getting used to the way they felt before he took off towards his home, sticking his tongue out childishly at Sylvia as he did.
“Ah! That’s cheap!” Sylvia cried, pushing off from the ground and following after Daniel. She quickly caught up with him while they were just a few yards from the house. “Geez. Don’t you know how to wait?”
“I do. But I don’t have a lot of time with these things,” Daniel answered, landing on the ground. Just as he was about to make his wings disappear, pain struck his body, and he was forced down to the ground on all fours, panting heavily.
“Oh, crap. I forgot,” Sylvia whispered, hovering above for a minute before quickly flying to Daniel’s side and gently placing a hand on his back, avoiding the wings.
“s**t. These things are bugging me,” Daniel grunted, biting back a yell of pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking in a deep, pained breath, letting it out slowly and making the wings disappear. He opened his eyes when only small tingles of pain were running through his body, a small grin on his face. Then, a wave of exhaustion hit him, and he fell forward onto his front, the lure of unconsciousness pulling him in.
“Don’t use ‘em if they hurt so much,” Sylvia sighed, carefully scooping up Daniel and carrying him in her arms and walking into their house; a small two-story house, living room on the immediate left, stairs dead ahead. Sylvia walked up the stairs towards Daniel’s room, setting the boy down on his bed, sitting on the edge and waiting, wrapping her wings around herself, thinking to herself a little. “It’s gonna be harder to leave than I thought it would be,” she thought to herself. She jumped when Daniel coughed, quickly turning to him and seeing a small trickle of blood coming from his mouth.
“I swear. If someone this powerful has to suffer this much, then I’m fine the way I am,” the demoness said, wiping away the blood. She sighed again and lay down next to Daniel, putting her arms around him and keeping him arm with her wings, feeling the sudden chill of his skin. She hated it when he suffered like this, as if he had done something wrong. Yet she could name millions of people who have done worse. No, the whole world. Everyone had sinned; done wrong. They shouldn’t be allowed to live. “I know what I’ll do. I’ll find a way to punish everyone. Make them all regret their crimes, face their punishments. If they’re brave enough to commit a sin, then they should very well be able to suffer the consequences.” For once in her life, Sylvia laughed, but not a regular laugh; an icy cold laugh, enough to send chills down the spines of anyone who heard it. Carefully, she put a hand on Daniel’s chest, right where his heart was and focused. Slowly, a black snake slithered out of her hand as it glowed, its ruby-red eyes gleaming. First, it looked at Sylvia. Then, it looked at Daniel and hissed; whether angered or not, the demoness couldn’t tell, nor did she care. The creature struck the boy, sinking beneath his skin and wrapping itself around Daniel’s heart; the boy shivered slightly before settling, his breathing slightly heavier. She smiled in a way that revealed her pointed fangs, then closed her eyes and fell asleep; yes. She’d begin tomorrow, as soon as possible. After all, the sooner the better, right? Perhaps she could get Daniel to help. He was, after all, a vital part of it.
~*~
Morning arrived, though it was a long while after the sunrise that anything moved in the little house. Daniel shivered lightly, opening his eyes, squinting because of the ray of light that was in the room, blinding him. He cursed it, sitting up, realizing he couldn’t; something prevented that. He looked to see, a faint red appearing on his cheeks when he saw that Sylvia had her arms around him, keeping him warm. Though he noticed that he didn’t mind. Actually, he was cold, and quickly snuggled up closer to Sylvia, clinging to her warmth. He felt like a child again, though he didn’t care, so long as he was warm. After an hour later, though, he was forced admit defeat to his hunger, carefully taking the demoness’ arms from around him and getting out of the bed. He yawned then stretched, making himself look more of a child but not caring as he walked out of the bedroom, downstairs and into the kitchen, which was just through the living room. In it, he looked around, rummaging through the pantry and pulling out a packet of rice.
“I swear. We’re advanced in technology, clothing, architecture, and everything else. . .yet we still don’t have a decent breakfast food,” he sighed, putting the rice away before deciding to use what little eggs they had. He got out a metal plate with handles (a pan) and set it on the metal burner they called a stove. Carefully, he opened it up, lighting a fire and getting it working before setting the pan on the stove. As it heated, he got out an egg, bringing it over and cracking it over the pan carefully, jumping back when the liquid cracked.
“Yeah. I’d say we’re still behind,” Daniel said, shaking his head as he waited for his breakfast. At the same time, he spaced out a little, running things through his mind. Had it really been worth it, leaving his real parents behind to train with a demon family he hardly knew about? At first, it did seem worth it. After all, he met Sylvia. And she was his best friend! At the thought of the girl, a sudden pain erupted in his chest, centered around his heart. A hand immediately went there, clutching the cloth of his T-Shirt. He waved his hand in front of him, extinguishing the flames of the stove before sinking to the ground onto his knees, panting and doing his best to nullify it, though it didn’t work at all. Eventually, he had no choice but to succumb to it, allowing himself to lie on the ground, a small yell of pain escaping him as he tried to concentrate, trying to find the cause.
Upstairs, Sylvia stirred, twitching her wings before opening her eyes slowly. She tried desperately to cling to sleep, but was wide awake when she heard a yell, sitting up quickly and looking around; Daniel wasn’t around. She blinked, carefully getting out of bed and fixing her clothes before she walked out of the room, back downstairs.
“Daniel?” she called quietly, walking through the living room and peeking into the kitchen. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her friend on the ground, clutching his heart. She didn’t know when, but the next thing she knew she was at his side, holding him up in her arms and trying to determine the problem. She couldn’t, slightly panicked now as she put her hand over his, trying to get him to calm down. He didn’t. In fact, it seemed like when she touched him, his pain grew more.
“Daniel, what’s wrong? Come on, you can fight it!” Sylvia said desperately, hugging Daniel tightly. The boy winced horribly, another yell of pain escaping him. Then, a small burst of wind erupted around him, and Sylvia was forced to let go as she watched; Daniel panted heavily, little beads of sweat forming on his face as the boy struggled, sit up. He barely managed, though he was doubled-over in pain. Then, he opened his eyes a little, squinting through his own pain, squeezing them shut when another outburst of pain came. He squinted again, not liking how the wind around him was both protecting and harming him. He carefully took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he forced the wind under control, the thing getting slower and slower until it eventually stopped. He let out a small sigh of relief, turning and looking at Sylvia, who looked like she had been holding her breath the whole time. He gave the demoness a small grin before just falling back, unable to stay up any longer.
“Damn. . .that hurt,” he said, out of breath and exhausted once again, though he couldn’t sleep. He merely lay there, his breathing ragged though he managed a little. “Wonder what. . .that. . .was all about.” He put a hand carefully over his heart; it had all started because of that, right? But why, though? The answer didn’t seem to want to come to him as he relaxed, forcing his breathing under control as best he could.
“You idiot. b*****d. Making me worry that much,” Sylvia said shakily, crawling over to Daniel and gently lifting him up into a sitting position, letting him lean on her. Though she knew he didn’t want to, Sylvia felt Daniel fall asleep again, whether by choice or not, she didn’t know. She merely kept her arms around him and let him sleep, staying there by his side for a while longer before getting up off the ground, standing up slowly. Yes. She needed to punish those who were committing sins, starting with the town. She glanced down at the sleeping Daniel, hating to leave him but refusing to give in to her feelings, walking out the back door and flying away from the house, never to return ever again as she began her hunt for knowledge.
~*~
The backdoor of the little house was open, the cool night air creeping into the house. In the distance, a town was visible just along the horizon, mountains right behind it. Yet something was obviously wrong at first sight. Daniel stirred in his home, shivering lightly. He opened his eyes, staying still for a minute for sitting up, running a hand through his hair before glancing around the kitchen. The smell of bad eggs lingered in the air and all was quiet. Yet it wasn’t a good quiet, Then, the boy looked out of the backdoor, sighing when he saw it opened.
“Once again, Sylvia forgot to close the door behind her,” he mumbled, standing up lazily, almost falling back down but walking over to the door, slowly closing it until he had a better look outside, his eyes widening when he saw the town in flames. Smoke rose up, expanding in the air and covering the entire sky over the house and town. The boy was shocked, abandoning his post by the door and running into the night.
Once he was close enough, he scanned the entire town, able to see it all. People were running from the town as fast and far as they could, some escaping the tragedy. Yet all along the streets, bodies were scattered, that of men, even women and children; none had been spared. Yet right now, Daniel’s target was Sylvia. He scanned the streets, eventually using a trail of air to hover over the town directly and look for her. She wasn’t in the streets, and as he looked around in the sky, he confirmed that she wasn’t there, either. The smoke was starting to make him feel dizzy and he was forced to fly back over onto the ground, away from the burning town. He wanted to help, he really did. But he felt light-headed and could barely manage to force himself to walk away from the burning town.
It was quite some time before Daniel came across anything remotely close to civilization. The sun was almost up, yet the sky was red, still, in the distance from the ashes. How much more damage had been made while he had walked away, he wondered. There was certainly no doubt that the town was no longer standing. Yet what about the people? What about the bodies? Maybe one or two of them still had life pulsing through their veins! But as Daniel walked, finally ending up in the streets of another town, bustling with people, he realized that that life would probably have faded by now or perhaps a long, long time ago.
The boy bumped into something, whether a man or something else, he couldn’t tell. All he heard was “Are you alright?” He managed to look up, though the figure in front of him was far too blurry to be distinguished, and darkness fell over him. Cold, silent darkness.
~*~*~*~
Sylvia stirred a little bit, carefully opening her eyes. She didn’t know where she was at all. Yet as she sat up, she winced, a sharp pain coming from her side. There, she found that she had been bandaged up, the realization of her clothes being changed hitting. More still, she finally took note of the soft bed she was sitting on. She’d even been washed up. Carefully, she got out of the bed, nearly collapsing again but quickly using the bed as support. She took control of the weight of her body before she tried to move again, heading towards the door of the room she was in; it was quite luxurious; the place had red carpet and white walls, a window on the right of and behind the bed, which was a four-poster bed. There were curtains over it, making it look like the owner could have a little privacy if he or she so chose. The bed covers were beautiful, a dark red quilt and white bed sheet. Yet Sylvia paid no mind as she continued down the hall of the strange home, looking around and trying to remember why she was here. But nothing came to mind. On she walked until eventually, she came to a set of stairs. The demoness blinked before heading down, using the banisters as support more than anything.
At the bottom of the stairs, Sylvia glanced around. To her right was another hallway; to her left, an open door. She heard some voices coming from inside the room, carefully edging towards the crack and peeking in. Inside the room was a man, short jet-black hair that gave off the appearance that he’d just gotten out of bed, yet he was wearing a simple outfit; that of a plain white shirt and black pants. He appeared to be talking to someone, yet who it was, Sylvia couldn’t tell, nor could she hear exactly what he was saying. Only words like “Yes” and “Fine” seemed to float towards her. It wasn’t until then that the door creaked open slightly, and Sylvia fell to the ground, down onto her front, muttering “Ow” to herself. The man in the room turned around and looked, a slightly shocked look on his face. The demoness didn’t get a chance to see who he was talking to, as the person, or thing, vanished in a flash of darkness.
“Well, well. Looks like my beautiful guest is awake,” the man said, walking towards Sylvia. He bent down and offered his hand, the girl cautiously taking it and getting pulled up by the man. As she looked into his face, she noticed his green eyes, first. For whatever reason, she blushed at the sight, unable to speak. She then became aware of his fangs; so he was a vampire, huh?
“My, someone’s silent. Are you alright? You’re a little red. My name is Meir, by the way,” the vampire said again, laughing just a little as he put his arms around Sylvia and held her up on her feet. “I find you lying on a cliff above a burning town and you haven’t a thing to say?”
“Burning. . .town?” Sylvia repeated, a little confused. She blushed redder still at the man’s touch, though she kept close to him as she felt his warmth; she wasn’t uncomfortable at all, she knew that. Yet why was her heart beating so quickly?
“Yes. Burning town. I’m guessing your demon instincts took effect,” he continued. “Really. A little messy, yet I can’t say I’m disappointed. In fact, you’re rather strong for a girl your age. Your parents must’ve raised you well.”
“Parents,” Sylvia repeated softly. Then her eyes widened at realization, breaking away from the man and backing away. “I-I have to save Daniel. He’ll get killed!”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Meir sighed, walking up to the demoness again. “That fire was pretty big. There’s not a chance that he survived. If, by a miracle, he did. . .then he’ll be gone from that place by now. You’ve been knocked out for a day.”
Tears formed in Sylvia’s eyes as she slowly sank to the ground, letting them fall into her lap. How could Daniel be dead? She hadn’t meant to! No, he couldn’t be! There was no way he was dead! The boy was too strong. She bit down on her lower lip, keeping it from trembling; but he was injured. He’d been injured beforehand. Was there even a chance that he’d survived? The demoness shook her head, putting her hands over her face to hide her shameful appearance.
“Hey, now. Don’t worry. If your friend’s alive, then we’ll find him,” Meir said, kneeling down in front of Sylvia and putting his hands on her shoulders, smiling a little. In truth, he’d heard all about Daniel. Whether he was alive or not. . .that would be easy to determine. Very easy to determine. “I’m sure he’ll be alive. It’s not a small chance that he would be.”
“But you just said-“
“Forget about what I just said. I can make mistakes,” he said, a hint of an apologetic tone in his voice now, making the demoness blush even more. He ran a hand through Sylvia’s white hair, gently raising it to his eye level and softly kissing it. “You’re hair’s really pretty.”
Sylvia blushed redder still, looking at the ground first, and then looking up at Meir, at his eyes; they looked so friendly. And she didn’t stop him when he ran a hand through her hair. Carefully, she put a hand over her heart; it was beating so fast, yet she was neither exhausted nor embarrassed. Why was the little thing beating so fast, just from being around this man whom she just met?
~*~*~*~
Daniel shivered lightly, finally opening his eyes and staying still for a moment, unable to really make sense of his surroundings. It was another moment before he realized something was on his forehead; a cold, wet towel, neatly folded so it was comfortable. Slowly, he turned his head first to his left; there were three vases, two short, one tall. What was in them, he didn’t know. Slowly, he turned to his right next; there was a girl, kneeling there and beaming down on him, a tray with food on it in her hands. The girl herself was wearing a short dark aqua dress that was cut so it was flowing about half-way down her thighs with no sleeves, little hand socks on her arms, reaching up all the way about halfway to her shoulder. She had a black sash around her waist, tied tightly. Whether just decoration or not, it couldn’t be said. She also wore extremely long, black socks that rose up, a little bit hidden by her overall dress, which had a cut in the left side, about an inch long. She was wearing a blue headband, a metal protector on her forehead with three leaves on it, her red eyes looking very friendly and her blonde hair short, cut to about the ends of her ears; she looked to be about thirteen.
“Ah! So you’re awake now, huh?” she asked, setting the tray down and looking closely at Daniel. She carefully removed the wet towel, taking it and wetting it again in the water bowl next to her, getting rid of the excess before putting it back on Daniel’s head. “You’ve got a fever. Did you know that?”
“No,” the boy answered quietly, looking upwards after the towel was replaced. He realized he was in a tent that looked like it could probably house at least two more people. Yet he was lying there in the center with the girl. He muttered Sylvia’s name softly before realization struck and he quickly sat up, the towel falling into his lap, but the boy himself getting struck with a cough, a slight amount of blood dripping from his hand; even his breathing was difficult.
“Hey! Don’t get up yet,” the girl sighed, pushing Daniel back down to the ground, covering him up again and replacing the towel. “You’re a strange case, ‘cause you’ve only got the simple flu. Yet your body treats it like it’s pneumonia or something.” She shook her head, finally turning her attention to the tray of food and uncovering the little pots on it, getting out two sets of cutlery as well. “If you can sit up normally, then do so. If you feel hungry, then eat. Otherwise, don’t get up unless you really have to.”
Daniel blinked, watching her before he carefully sat up, this time catching the towel before it fell and setting it aside on the thing he was sleeping in, which he just realized he had no idea what it was.
“That’s a futon you’re in,” the girl explained, happily taking a bite of the food. “It’s like a bed, only it’s on the ground. Yet it’s far from uncomfortable, if I have to say so myself!” She beamed happily before getting another plate off the tray and filling it up with the food. Then she handed it over, along with chopsticks. Daniel took the plate, looking at the sticks curiously.
“Tell me. . .you know how to use chopsticks,” the girl said, a little surprised. She hung her head when the boy shook his. “Well, it’s simple. You just hold ‘em in her hands, kindda like this—“ she demonstrated, holding one stick over the other in her left hand, the bottom being supported by her middle finger and under her thumb, the top being supported by her index finger and under her thumb as well, the both sticks crossed at the end “—and to pick up the food, you basically put it between the sticks, then squeeze it in between. Easiest thing in the world!”
Sure enough, Daniel got the hang of using the chopsticks fairly quickly, though he did drop a couple pieces of food on the ground. The first time he did, a dog peeked into the tent. Not a large one, just a small little Yorkshire terrier. At first, he seemed friendly. But upon seeing the food, the little dog charged straight up towards it and pounced on the food, gobbling it up.
“That’s Rin. She hangs around us for whatever. Strangest little stray dog I’ve ever seen,” the girl laughed. Then she looked at Daniel’s face, realizing she’d forgotten something and smacking her hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sachiko. Call me Chi, though! What about you, Sir Silent?”
“Me? Ah. . .Daniel,” he answered quickly, setting aside his plate once he was full; little Rin pounced on it, licking away the stray pieces of food until it was spotless.
“Daniel, huh? Interesting name.” Chi cracked up as she watched Rin, setting her plate and chopsticks down so she wouldn’t drop them, shaking with laughter. Daniel looked at her curiously; how could one person laugh so much? He didn’t know. As he looked at Chi, though, he noticed a small piece of rice on her cheek. Carefully, he reached over and took it off, setting it aside, where Rin pounced and ate it. Chi stopped laughing, a look of surprise on her face as she put a hand on her cheek where the rice had been, looking at Daniel. He gave her a smile before being hit by a wave of exhaustion. At first, his eyes were only half-open as he stared at the ground. Then, they closed, and he fell back onto the futon once again, passing out. His breathing was a little troubled, but he was fine nonetheless. Chi blushed a light red as she looked down at Daniel, at a complete loss for words. She shook her head, covering the boy more snuggly and placing the wet towel on his forehead before collecting the empty plates, putting them on the tray, picking it up and walking out of the tent so the boy could rest soundly.
~*~*~*~
Two years have passed. Sylvia and Daniel still haven’t met in that short time, yet it does not matter. Sylvia and Meir have spent countless days together, enjoying each others company. Sylvia realized that the “feeling” she felt towards Meir was love. It felt weird, at first. And she tried to deny it. But soon, Meir came to love her as well. They’ve even gotten married!
On this fine day, we find Meir and Sylvia in their bedroom, Sylvia sitting on the bed, her beautiful white hair let down, wearing blood red lipstick and a simple robe. She was leaning against her pillow, a book in her hand that she was reading intently. Meir was beside her, his shirt off and merely watching the demoness, happiness in those green eyes of his. Sylvia glanced at her husband out of the corner of her eye, feeling a little uncomfortable.
“What’re you staring at?” she asked, turning a page in her book but paying full attention to Meir.
“Mmm. Nothing, really. Just gazing at your beautiful self,” the man answered, grinning. He wrapped an arm around the demoness, bringing her close, his mouth to her neck as it hovered there.
“Hungry again, huh?” Sylvia sighed, shaking her head. She marked her page and shut her book before looking at Meir, leaning back onto him. She closed her eyes, relaxing simply. “Do as you wish, then.”
Meir glanced at Sylvia curiously. He was, after all, about to suck her blood. Yet once again, she wasn’t hesitating at all. He had never been able to figure out why, yet some part of him was thankful as he sank his teeth into her neck, drinking what he pleased. The demoness shivered lightly, yet was patient. She didn’t mind, actually. She wanted to move, though, as she felt her blood drip down her back. It wasn’t for another minute that Meir stopped, lifting his head away from Sylvia and wiping away the blood on his mouth with his sleeve. “I might have overdone it, huh?” he said quietly, gently wiping away the blood on Sylvia’s neck and back.
“You were hungry. It’s perfectly understandable,” Sylvia replied, flinching a little when her injury was touched. She merely took a deep breath and concentrated; the bite marks healed up and disappeared. Only the lingering smell and look of blood remained. Then she put her hand on her stomach, which was slightly swollen, a slightly pained expression crossing her face as she allowed herself to lie down. “I feel awful now. I wish this was over with.”
“Hey, now. Don’t worry. Alright?” Meir said, lying down next to Sylvia and wrapping his arms around her, bringing her close. He put his hand over hers, smiling a little. “Come on. You can’t say you aren’t excited.”
“It’s quickly changing to just the want of it fading. You try having another life form growing inside you,” Sylvia answered back. She pressed her head against his chest, staying there a second before revealing herself again, gently kissing Meir. “Besides, you still have to wait.”
“Tch. So I’m impatient,” Meir pouted, making Sylvia laugh. The demoness rolled over onto her back, lying there nice and still, another slightly pained expression crossing her face. This time, it was Meir’s turn to laugh as he hovered over her, bent down and kissed her softly, first on the cheek, then on her lips. He eventually just sat up, watching her as she rested close to him. Then, Sylvia sat up carefully, looking out in front of her as she grabbed her book again, opening it up to her marked page and reading it over a few minutes.
“I think I’ll go visit Daniel. Do you know where he is?”
~*~*~*~
Daniel hung outside of a big, black tent, larger than all the others, merely sitting near the entrance and waiting, his legs crossed. He’d been given a fresh outfit; a black sleeveless t-shirt and white pants. They were simple yet comfortable, considering his other clothes were too small for him now, at the age of eighteen.
Inside the tent, yet another debate was going on; whether or not Daniel should remain with the tribe.
“Grandpa, come on! He’s been with us this long. He’s even admitted himself that he doesn’t even know where his family is,” Chi argued once more; she wore the same outfit she had worn when Daniel first saw her, only it was completely black now, the sash around her waist white. “I can’t believe you can even consider sending him away! What’s he done wrong?”
“It’s not that he’s done anything wrong, Sachiko, it’s that it’s the rules of our tribe,” an elder man argued back; Grandpa. He was the village elder, wearing a long, white robe; that was all that was seen. His hair and beard was white and in desperate need of a trim, his blue eyes holding rage and patience as he talked with his granddaughter.
“Who cares about the rules! Helping someone should be top priority!”
“Sachiko-chan, it’s really unfortunate, but we have no choice,” one of the other elders spoke up; an old woman. “I admit that he has been very helpful, but we just can’t afford taking care of more than we have to. We barely have enough food as it is.”
“Daniel hardly eats. It’s a miracle he’s even standing.”
“And the medical supplies?” Grandpa spoke up. “That boy is constantly getting hurt. At this rate, we won’t be able to take care of our own wounded.”
Chi scowled, folding her arms and staring at the ground; she always lost. And she hated that. Sighing, she stood up and left, much to the pleasure of the elders who protested, and looked down at Daniel outside, giving him a small smile.
The boy looked up when he heard her, seeing her smile. First he blinked. then he shook his head and stood up himself, brushing off the dirt. “I take it that it went wonderfully well again, huh?”
“Oh, yeah. It went well,” Chi answered simply. Then she winced when Daniel hit her on the head, her hands on her head now.
“Idiot. It’s a tent. Not a building. I heard everything.”
“Were we really that loud?” Chi sighed when she looked at Daniel, who had nodded his head. She quickly shook her head, getting rid of her pain and grabbing Daniel’s hand, leading him off back to their own little tent; a white one that had a rose printed on the entrance. Chi loved it; Daniel was slightly wary of it. One other person lived in the tent with the two; another boy that was a year older than Daniel. He, too, was wary of the tent, so he was almost never there. The only time he was in the tent was when he was sleeping, changing clothes, and eating.
However, today was different. Today, sitting on the usually unoccupied futon, was a boy roughly Daniel’s age. His blonde hair was a bit messier than Daniel’s white hair. He, too, was wearing a headband like Chi’s on his arm. He had on a white shirt and black pants; basically, the same thing as Daniel, only inversed colours.
“Toya! What’re you doing here?” Chi asked, more than a little surprised as she ran to his side and sat there on her knees; Daniel merely hung by the entrance, curious as well.
“No reason, really. Just had a run-in with something I couldn’t really handle,” Toya admitted, bitterness in his voice. He rolled up his left pant-leg, revealing a bandage all around his shin; a small bloodstain could be seen.
“Oh gosh, Toya. What’d you try and fight?” Chi asked, looking first at the injury then at Toya, a faint blush on his face that Chi didn’t really notice. Daniel, however, did. Only just. The boy merely shook his head and stepped out of the tent, leaving the two to be alone as he wandered around the campsite, passing the other tents and ignoring the usual stares he got from the residents.
He eventually walked straight out of it, walking onwards until he reached a cliff edge, flowers blooming all around the area as far as the eye could see. He blinked before shrugging, sitting down and letting his legs dangle over the edge, looking out at the valley below. He smiled and lay back, relaxing with the flowers around him and staring at the sky. How long he stayed there, he didn’t know. One hour. . .two hours. . .three hours. . .all he knew was that by the time he realized it, it was already dark and the stars were out. Daniel sat up, figuring he should head back before a search party was sent out.
Up off the ground he got, starting to walk towards the campsite once again before he was stopped by a familiar graceful figure, stepping out of the shadows and stopping until she was completely visible with her long, white hair and golden eyes, slits for pupils, and a black gown, a smile on her face that was neither cold nor friendly as she walked towards Daniel.
“S-Sylvia?!” Daniel rubbed his eyes before looking again; she was still there. He’d had several dreams of her before. . .but was it real this time?
“Daniel. . .it’s been too long,” Sylvia said, stopping when she was in front of him. Her smile was warm; her eyes were not. “How’ve you been all these years? Been getting into trouble lately?”
“N-No. I haven’t,” Daniel answered, getting over his initial shock. The demoness walked a little closer to him before she hugged him tightly. The boy, startled once again, jumped a little before carefully hugging her back, truly happy that he was seeing her again and that she wasn’t vanishing this time.
“It’s been way too long,” Sylvia said. She placed a careful hand on Daniel’s chest, keeping it there a moment. Then, a cold glare appeared on her face and her hand glowed, a small, powerful burst going through Daniel. The boy’s eyes widened as he pushed the demoness away, backing away until he was back at the edge. He examined the spot where her hand had been, a warm, red liquid oozing out of the gash she had just formed. His legs were starting to get heavy as he tried to keep his vision from blurring up, looking at Sylvia for answers.
“’Why?’ is what you’re wanting to know?” Sylvia asked, holding her hand up and examining the blood on it, looking at it lovingly. Then she turned her attention back on Daniel once again. “The answer is simply; you abandoned me. Have you even tried to look for me during these years?” She didn’t wait as she waved her bloody hand out in front of her, a black aura appearing where it was and shooting spikes out at Daniel. The boy gritted his teeth together, holding his arms head over his face and creating a barrier with the air, blocking off the attack, still wondering why Sylvia was acting like this. By now, he felt at least a pint of blood had dripped out. His body was getting too heavy and he knelt down on the ground, wanting to stand up but feeling dizzy as he placed a hand over his injury, one arm as a support to keep himself up.
“Tch. And to think, you’re a part of my plan,” Sylvia said, a small look of disgust crossing her face. She carefully walked up to Daniel, looking down at him; the boy was just barely managing to stay awake. “I’ll leave you for today. I don’t think you’ll die anyway.” With a rather cold laugh, the demoness took off from the ground and headed back home for a well-deserved rest.
~*~
Chi and Toya sat talking there until Chi finally stood up and looked outside, anxious for Daniel to return.
“He’ll come back. He’s a big boy, Chi,” Toya sighed, getting up off the ground and walking up behind Chi, limping a little. “You want me to go find him?”
“Please?” Chi asked, looking up at Toya.
“Alright. Then I shall. ‘Sides, a little shrimp like you’d get lost among all the tall tents,” the boy snickered as he walked out of the tent, laughing when he heard Chi’s yells.
On he walked, past the other tents and outside the campsite, looking around the area as he walked and putting as little weight on his injured leg as possible. He was frowning slightly when he wandered into the field of flowers near the cliff edge, sighing when he scanned the area.
“Now where the hell could that idiot have gone off to?” he mumbled, turning back until a foul smell hit his nose; the smell of blood. Toya covered his nose, the smell burning his nose as he checked again, a little more thoroughly. Then, amongst the flowers, he spotted a familiar mop of white hair, his eyes widening as he ran towards the body, despite his injury, and knelt down by Daniel’s side. He cursed under his breath; the boy was passed out and bleeding badly. That was all-too obvious. Quietly, Toya cursed under his breath, rolling Daniel over onto his back and examining the wound that the boy had.
“You idiot. What’d you do?” Toya wondered, carefully picking Daniel up and supporting him, one of the boy’s arms around his neck. Thankfully, Daniel opened his eyes, shaking lightly as he looked around at his surroundings carefully. Nothing was clear at all, yet the only thing he made sense of was the fact that he was being helped up.
“The sleeping dead is awake! Do you care to tell me what happened?” Toya asked as he started to walk at a pace that Daniel could manage.
“Toya. . .?” Daniel turned his head slightly, recognizing the blonde-haired figure, a very small smile on his face. “Wonder. . .why people. . .turn bad.”
Toya blinked, glancing down at Daniel; why was he asking a question like that? And how was he supposed to know? “Heh. People turn bad either because they’ve been betrayed or they’re just nuts. Those aren’t the only reasons, but they’re one of the main reasons.”
“Ah. . .” Daniel closed his eyes, wanting to drift off into the oh-so-tempting sleep that taunted him.
“H-Hey! Don’t fall asleep again,” Toya objected, sighing when the boy already went to sleep. Sheesh. Making me drag him like this. He owes me, he thought bitterly, walking into the campsite. He was very, very thankful that everyone had already gone to sleep, walking straight to their white tent and paying no mind to the rose. He had hoped that Chi might’ve been asleep. But, of course, she wasn’t; she had been sitting on her own futon in a red flower kimono, her headband off and laying beside her.
“Daniel! Oh my gosh, what happened to him?!” Chi demanded, getting up at once and helping Toya lay the injured boy down.
“I don’t know what happened to him. I just found him lying in the flower field bleeding half to death,” Toya explained, sitting on the ground when Daniel had been laid down. “Don’t know how much blood he’s lost. But he won’t last too much longer if we don’t bandage him up.”
“Lucky I snuck some bandages then,” Chi said, reaching over into her little chest and pulling out a roll of bandages and scissors. “Take of his shirt for me?”
Toya nodded, doing was he was told and carefully lifting Daniel up into a sitting position and taking the ruined shirt off, throwing it off to the side. He kept the boy up as Chi started cleaning the wound with antiseptic and bandaging him up. After she was done, Chi put away the stuff, back into her little chest, and Toya lay the boy down.
“Geez. Wonder what he could’ve done to get this injured,” Chi sighed, looking down at Daniel. She jumped when the boy coughed, reaching over and wiping his mouth when blood trickled from it. “I know about the whole. . .freaky-wind-powers thing. And I know that it used to hurt him. But he improved! He rarely gets hurt from them!”
“That wound isn’t an ordinary wound,” Toya said, looking at his pained friend, then at Chi. “Somebody attacked him. Do you know anyone that might want to do that?”
“Uh. . .please tell me you’re joking. . .”
“Aside from this tribe.”
“Erm. . .I dunno. He did mention this one demon girl that he had as a friend once. But that’s impossible! He said they’d been friends for as long as he can remember. That, and they haven’t seen each other in almost two years. So, suspect lost!”
Toya wasn’t convinced. But Chi had laid down next to Daniel, watching the boy curiously before she shut her eyes and fell asleep where she was. Toya shook his head, getting up and grabbing a blanket, which he covered Chi with before he, too, lay down and fell asleep with his friends, his mind racing and wanting answers.
~*~*~*~
Sylvia arrived back home, landing neatly on the doorstep and walking into the warm place. She navigated her way around, down a hall or two until she finally arrived in the bedroom she shared with Meir; the same one that she had been in when she first arrived. The demoness smiled, jumping when Meir suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her into a hug.
“So, my evil demoness. How did your hunt go?” the vampire asked, his hands resting on her waist.
“My hunt went well. He was right where you said he could be,” Sylvia answered, her smile returning. She blushed lightly as Meir kissed her on her neck before leading her towards the bed, where they both sat and cuddling against each other, the demoness sitting in between the vampire’s legs.
“Do you want to tell me how it went?” Meir asked, wrapping his arms around Sylvia and keeping her close.
“Hm. . .I guess I can say that. . .I was happy to see him again. To a certain point. Let’s just say he definitely won’t forget about me anytime soon,” she said finally, leaning back on her husband and closing her eyes. “Night Fall, huh. . .that’s what I’ll name the phenomenon. It suits it. Now, if I could only persuade Daniel.” She was tired. So very tired. Meir didn’t object when she fell asleep. Rather, he was pleased; she’d had barely any luck ever since she’d gotten pregnant.
“I can already tell what we’ll name the baby once it’s here,” he said quietly, leaning back in the bed with Sylvia in his arms and falling asleep quietly as the sun outside began to rise.
~*~*~*~
Toya stirred lightly, opening his eyes and rubbing them as he sat up, glancing around the tent and wondering vaguely why he’d been sleeping on the ground. As he glanced at Chi, though, he remembered; Daniel had been injured. And he, Toya, had rescued him.
“Eh? He’s not here,” he said suddenly, taking another glance around the tent; Daniel was definitely not here. Where could he be in his current condition? The blonde boy got up off the ground and walked outside the tent, stopping and asking the other residents if they’d seen Daniel. Many shook their heads, saying they hadn’t. Others merely denied and some even ignored his question! One old woman had even said, “No, I haven’t. And if I never saw him again, I would throw a party because of it.” Toya wanted to hit her for that, he really did. But he restrained himself and decided to check the cliff from last night where he’d found the boy injured. Sure enough, there he was, lying on the ground with his eyes closed and resting, a slight breeze in the area; Daniel could easily pass for sleeping like that.
“Hey! What’re you doing, lying out here all by yourself?” Toya asked, walking over to him and kneeling by the boy’s side. Daniel didn’t answer. He was breathing heavily, yet he wasn’t asleep; Toya could tell. Not liking the fact that he was being ignored again, the blonde boy poked Daniel right where his injury was; hard.
“Ow! What the hell?!” Daniel demanded, a small gasp of pain having escaped him. He rolled over onto his side and tried to control the pain once again before forcing himself to sit up, one arm lying across his stomach, the other supporting himself as he glared at Toya. “Geez. Can’t an injured person just rest for once?”
“Not when that injured person is supposed to be in a tent in a nice warm futon,” Toya said, smiling a little as he sat next to Daniel properly.
“Not my fault. Those things are still weird, no matter how you look at them,” Daniel frowned, sitting a little tensely now. Toya merely sighed and pat Daniel on the back; the white-haired boy instantly winced, shivering lightly.
“You think our ways are weird and we think yours are weird. Works out so well, don’tcha think?” Toya asked, grinning slightly. He lay back in the flowers, his hands behind his head as she stared up at the clouds in the sky, enjoying the breeze. “I take it the breeze is your doing?”
“Kind of. There was already a small one. Just gave it a small push,” Daniel shrugged, looking down at Toya. “Ah! That’s cheap! You make me get up then you lie down yourself!”
“Heh. I’m that kind of guy,” Toya chuckled, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Hey. You know the person who attacked you yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“Do. . .you know her?”
Daniel stayed silent; he hadn’t planned on ever explaining that Sylvia had attacked. No, maybe it wasn’t Sylvia. Maybe it was someone with her face! The boy shook his head, putting his hands on it as he tried to clear away that train of thought, not realizing he was shaking; that was definitely not a possibility, as much as he had wanted to believe it. There was just no way! But if that was Sylvia, why had she attacked?
Toya looked at Daniel curiously; yet again, he was thinking too hard about a simple thing. Sighing, he sat up before patting his friend on the back once more, a little harder than before. “You think just a little too much sometimes. It makes you look really weird.”
“Oh, gee. Thanks,” Daniel said sarcastically, taking in a sharp breath when he was pat and wincing horribly, a hand going over his wound. “Geez! Stop doing that!”
“Doing what?”
“You know damn well what!”
“Hai, hai!” Toya laughed, Daniel looking confused at the words. The blonde boy merely shrugged, standing up and getting the dirt off himself before offering to help Daniel up. The boy accepted Toya’s help, standing up and nearly falling over. But Toya prevented that, supporting Daniel as the two walked back to the campsite. Once again, everyone they passed whispered behind their backs, though, used to this treatment by now, Daniel and Toya only ignored them, walking straight towards the tent they shared with Chi. The girl was still asleep.
“She’s kindda cute when she’s asleep, I’ll give ya that,” Toya commented, letting Daniel go so he could rest.
“Yeah, I guess. Probably the best time, too,” Daniel shrugged, crawling under his futon but staying awake for now; it was comfortable, he had to admit that. “I swear, she talks too much when she’s awake. It’s a wonder she can talk that much, even!”
“Aaw. I find it funny.”
“Hey. You. . .like Chi, don’t you?” Daniel asked slowly, looking up carefully at Toya. Sure enough, the boy had a faint hint of red on his face, and Daniel made sure not to laugh.
“Y-Yeah. I guess. . .guess I kind of do,” Toya answered, looking away from his friend. “Kindda. . .pointless, though. ‘Cause she doesn’t love me back. She loves someone else. Then again. . .I don’t think it’s couple-love. More like. . .brotherly love, I guess.”
“Ah.” Daniel felt tired, merely lying back in the futon and falling asleep pretty quickly. Toya shook his head; the guy could be so clueless. He shrugged, walking over to his own wooden chest and sitting by it, pulling out a book and reading it.
“Idiot. You don’t know who she loves, do you?”
~*~*~*~
[END PART 1]
