Chapter 4: Keeping Records
I peered out from behind the tree I was hiding behind during Archery. I had my notepad and a pencil, freshly sharpened, and I was ready to write. I'd been following Serenity all day and hadn't found anything yet, but I wasn't backing down. No, not yet.
I watched her fit the arrow into place, lift the bow, pull back, and aim expertly. She held that way for a moment, squinting slightly at her target, before letting it fly. The arrow struck right in the center. Bull's eye. I gritted my teeth, and watched as her...MY... Friends congratulated her. My friends, my family.
She seemed thinner and less energetic today, as if she hadn't eaten or slept well enough. Impossible! She slept in and ate 2x her weight in breakfast, not to mention lunch! Maybe she was anorexic? I leaned back against the tree and wrote, Appears to be anorexic, right under Dislikes garlic. I thought a moment, and added, Is unnaturally good at Archery, Hiking, Swimming, Climbing, Running, etc. I heard a girlish shriek and peered out once more to investigate. Chuckie had shot his arrow into the bushes, and when he'd gone to retrieve it, he accidentally bothered a porcupine. Ouch. Reminded me of Phil and his snapping turtle. What did he call it? Shelly?
Anyways, I dedicated all my time to watching Serenity, being careful to pay more attention to all the small things that one tends to overlook. Does not burn. Her skin remained as pale as ever despite all the time she spent in the summer sun. Does not flinch/feel sick when faced with blood. When they pulled the porcupine quills out of poor Chuckie's leg, most of us flinched or looked away. Serenity didn't. She stood there staring at the red liquid, seeming nervous and... Was I crazy?... HUNGRY. The frightened feeling inside me grew more intense, and I almost screamed. Part of me felt like I needed to rush in and get Chuckie away from her, but I resisted. I already swore I wouldn't play her little game. Besides, how would I explain my little outburst?
By the end of the day, I was growing anxious. I had decided not to really LOOK at the things I was writing too much, so I could get the whole picture at once, but the wait was getting to me. And that wasn't all; it wasn't that I would have to sleep underneath the girl, but actually her campfire stories. To think about it, it wasn't so bad, but the way she had told us about Pioneer's Rock, the smooth, calm tone of her voice, the way she seemed to be retelling history, not just a story. And her choice of words, too...*shivers*
Well, anyway, I'll spare you the boring details of my wait and all the chit-chat before the adults left. FINALLY they did, and when they were gone, Serenity gave us all a mischievous, impish grin. She really enjoyed scaring us, scaring ME. We'll see who's scared when this is over...
"You guys want another story? A better one?" There was a chorus of "yes," and "Of course!" and the pale girl began her story.
Have you ever wondered how the first creatures came to be? How the first people came to be, the first animals? Well, the answer to these questions lie in myth and legend, and while there is much that must be left to personal choice, the beginnings of creatures, or as many would have it, monsters, have been passed down from generation to generation in my family. As is custom for us to say before we begin, "So I was told, so I shall tell,"
Long ago, there WERE no creatures, no monsters, no mythical, legendary figures to haunt the night and the dreams of the young. A young boy and girl, as are in most legends, were adventurous and restless, and they were the first to start the races that would one day become known as "Creatures."
One night, the boy, Jesna, and the girl, Rahgi, snuck away from their tribe in the night. They did this every night, exploring and laughing together, as they were close friends. However, they strayed too far from their home this time, and could not find their way back. As the sun rose, they became too tired to continue on any farther, and so were forced to seek shelter. They argued, which was uncommon for the two, over where to rest. Jesna, or Jes, wanted to sleep under a tree. Rahgi, or Rah, wanted to sleep in the cave they had found. Finally they agreed they should both do as they wished, as they were too tired to argue further.
Outside, Jes curled under a large tree and drifted to sleep. The day was warm, and he was comfortable. Meanwhile, Rah lay down inside the cave, and when she looked up, she saw the ceiling was black with bodies. Bats swarmed here, ready to sleep for the day and rise in the night. She smiled, and as she fell into the land of dreams, a multitude of the night fliers swooped down and blanketed her. They were protecting her, and keeping her warm, as the cave was far colder than the outside world.
Just as the bats chose to protect Rah, a pack of wolves decided to do the same for Jes. The Alpha himself, leader of the pack, curled up beside the sleeping boy. His mate and cubs joined him, and soon the whole pack surrounded the human.
When night fell upon them once more, Rah was the first to wake. She was startled to find the bats around her, but was actually awoken not by their presence, but by their departure. They were leaving to hunt, and as they did so, Rah heard the rustling of their wings and felt the cold returning. She got up and left the cave, only to find Jes at the center of the wolf pack. They, too, were awaking, and as they stood up, Jes began to open his eyes. He was as startled to see the wolves as Rah had been with the bats, but again, it was their warmth and presence that he was missing.
Rah and Jes had been adopted by two separate races, and as they stood in wonder of the situation, a handful of bats circled the two with berries in their claws, and several wolves approached with meat. At first, they only took the berries, and returned the meat to the wolves, who seemed to understand.
Every day and night, it was the same. Jes curled up with the wolf pack, and Rah slept with the bats. Every morning they were brought and offered food to keep them strong, and they learned quickly that they could not live solely on berries. Soon, they were children of the forest, feral, wild. They played and wrestled with the wolves, ran and hunted with them, ate the raw meat of the forest animals, and grew stronger and faster everyday. On occasion, the bats would swarm around them and lift them up into the sky. They both loved this, but it was Rah who lived for it, for it was she who had not only been adopted by bats, but who had adopted the heart of them as well.
Jes had become another son to the Alpha wolf, and he spent much of his time learning to be like him, that one day he might prove his strength and replace him when it was time. So Rah had accepted the bats, so Jes accepted the wolves.
Years passed; Rah and Jes learned to communicate with and speak to their adoptive families. They went with the bats and wolves everywhere. Where the animals moved, they followed, and somehow they seemed to understand that the human children did not want to part. They had promised; best friends forever and always. They were content with their species, but when they reached the teen years, however, their feelings changed. They wanted to be more than humans.
Rah went to the leader of the bats, who was old and wise, and asked what she should do. The leader's name was Volkex, and he had lived many years. He pondered her request for many days, then summoned her with an answer. First, he asked her how badly she wanted this change of race and species. "I not only want, but need it, as you my brethren need wings to fly," She answered. He nodded, and said that was good. He then asked her if she, too, wished to fly. "I long for it with a passion known only to those whose wings have been broken or crippled, those who have known flight and lost it," She said, and again, he nodded and said that it was good. And then he asked her if she was willing to pay for the change. In despair, she cried, "I have nothing in exchange but for my gratitude, humanity, and life, wise one!" He again nodded.
"That is good; child, I know what you must do. Are these three things what you are willing to give?"
"Am I one who would deny new life for old? What price I must pay, so I shall give it!"
At last, she was given an answer. To become that which she was not, she must give blood to receive that which would make her like them. A young adult from the colony was instructed to bite her and drink, just as one would expect from what we now know as Vampires. He did as he was told, and within days her teeth turned to fangs, and she found herself able to assume the form of a bat, joining her adoptive brothers and sisters in their nightly hunts in the sky. As she had changed, so had the young bat who had bitten her, developing a thirst for blood. Rah herself felt this thirst, and together, they learned to control it. Over time, the two became inseparable, and they became mates. They aged at such a pace, it seemed as though they did not age at all, and when they flew over lakes and rivers, they no longer saw a reflection staring back at them.
Meanwhile, Jes approached the Alpha wolf and asked how he might become a true wolf. The Alpha, named Weranu, regarded him with confusion.
"You are a true wolf," He said.
"But I am also human! How do I change that which I was born as, that I may finally cast off the shackles of my past?" Weranu considered his answer for many days, and finally called to the boy with a solution.
"You must give to receive, what have you to pay with?"
"But I have nothing! All I can give is my gratitude, humanity, and life, Alpha!"
"Then that is what you shall give," And he called a young female from the pack to bite the human boy. Within days, his strength and agility improved, and he found himself able to assume the form of a wolf. His aging slowed almost to that of his friend Rah's, and he noticed the same change in the female wolf. However, every full moon, the pair went berserk, and had to be restrained. Together, they learned to cope with this, and soon became mates. It did not take them long to discover their weakness, silver, which they learned to avoid as long as it was large and strong enough to detect, to be hazardous. For the time being, it seemed as though Rah and her mate HAD no weakness, and that thought prevailed for centuries until the discovery of garlic, which made them sick and could easily kill them if they had too much of it.
Months after their transformation, Volkex and Weranu called a meeting, as one, with all four species together, be them old or new.
"Jesna, Rahgi," Volkex began. "The hybrids who are pure, of one blood and one only," He flew close to Rah and looked into her eyes. "Rah, you hold the blood of bat,"
"That I do," She replied. "I hold it with pride and honor," He nodded.
"And you have not only taken but given. You and your mate are no longer bats, nor are you human. You are a new race, both and yet neither. From this day onward, you and your descendants will be known as Vampires, and you will be both a source of fascination and horror. Your kind can be increased with a special bite, but beware, lest you seal your fate on the path to destruction,"
"I will not take advantage of my abilities unless need be, and never will I force a transformation," She promised, though the vow was broken by later generations. Volkex nodded, as was his trademark, and backed away. Now Weranu approached Jes.
"Jes, you hold the blood of wolf,"
"That I do, and I hold it with pride and honor," He said, dipping his head in respect.
"Not only have you taken, but given. You and your mate are no longer wolves, nor are you human. You are a new race, both and yet neither. From this day onward, you and your descendants will be known by two names, for there shall be two variations of you: Werewolves and Lycans. As werewolves, you may only change your form to that of a wolf during a full moon, and the change will not be optional. Some will remain in control, but others will not. And some, in later times, will lose the ability to change at all, and will stay between both forms in a state of stability. To those, be careful you do not trigger a shifting reaction, for returning to this half-state will be difficult. As a Lycan, you will be able to change at will, but you will lose control during the times when the moon is full. This you already know from experience. You, too, will be able to increase your numbers with a special bite, but beware, lest you seal your fate on the path to destruction,"
"I will heed your warning, and never will I force a transformation," He assured him, though again, this vow was broken by later generations. Weranu nodded, and backed away. A year after this meeting, Jes fathered six cubs, three female, three male. Of each gender one was a werewolf, one was a Lycan, and one was an in-between, and so began the werewolves.
At around the same time, Rah became the mother of twins, a female and a male. The male retained the ability to change form, but to the female, the ability was lost. Having taken more to her father's side, she became known as the mother of the Vampire Bats. As for the male, having taken more to his mother's side, he became known as the father of the vampires, as he was the species' first male. And so began the reign of the vampires.
As Serenity finished her story, we all just stared at her. After a few moments, we all began to clap. I couldn't help it! After all, it HAD been a great story! Suddenly, I remembered something. I excused myself from the group, leaving them to laugh and eat smores, and hurried to my cabin, where I snatched my notepad and pencil from my bed and wrote, Is expert on werewolves and vampires. Seemingly believes her stories about said creatures.
I then took some time to look at what I had written.
Serenity's Abnormal Attributes:
Dislikes garlic.
Appears to be anorexic.
Is unnaturally good at Archery, Hiking, swimming, climbing, running, etc.
Does not burn.
Does not flinch/feel sick when faced with blood.
Is expert on werewolves and vampires.
Seemingly believes her stories about said creatures.
Darn it! I wasn't good with things like this. I had an idea, but it was just a hunch, and it couldn't possibly be true. Hmm... I didn't know much about this sort of thing, but DIL did! I smiled as I dressed for bed and crawled under the covers. Tomorrow, I would ask Dil what his girlfriend was, and chances were, he would tell me. And he wouldn't even know he was doing it.
I was asleep in sweet dreams long before the others even came back to find me like that, a smile still spread across my face.
(Note: The story about Pioneer's Rock was something I made up myself, as was the story in this chapter. Just so we're not confused, I was asked about that. Anyways, enjoy! And review, review, review! XD)