Chapter 6
When I woke up, I was covered in hay. I must have tossed and turned a lot last night as I slept. I yawned and rubbed my eyes tiredly as I looked at the barns ceiling. After my customary mornings stretch I lifted myself to a sitting position and assessed my surroundings. Last night I didn't look around much since I just wanted to sleep but today I took the time to look around. I was sitting up on a platform in the far left corner of the room where the hay was kept. Why they have bales of hay when they don't have any farm animals is beyond me. But the hay was surprisingly comfy so I'm not complaining.
The barn was actually larger on the inside than it look outside. But that's because the floor is dug lower into the grown, which made the ceiling higher. The ceiling had a few skylights here and there, letting in some natural light. The walls, instead of wood were made out of metal like a fancy tool shed. The floors were made of concrete and were clean and polished. This place sure didn't look like any barn I've ever heard of. Really the only area that had anything actually resembling a barn was the area where I was. It had hay and a bunch of old gardening tools, along with mulch and fertilisers. The rest of the 'Barn' looked more like a mechanics shop. There were pieces of scrap metal at the other far corner and a few tables with tools here and there. On the wall next to me there were three grey doors. One, I imagine leads outside the one on the center had a 'Bathroom' sign witch I was happy about; and the last one was opened and gave way to an office. On the opposite wall to the right of the space, there was a walled up room, I would guess that those are the guy's barracks. In the center of the room were the team's cars, all lined up and pretty. A little to the side of the cars was a long meeting table for well... meetings.
I looked around a bit but found that there was no one else in the room. The team must still be sleeping or in the house. With another yawn I took my duffle bag that I got back last night from my motel room and was using as a pillow and crawled off the platform to the ground. With one last glance across the room I moved to the bathroom. Inside, I washed my face and fixed my hair again then changed into a pair of tail holed jeans, a black tanktop and a comfy pair of sneakers. Before I closed my bag, I fished around until I found a clear crystal vile containing purple liquid. 'I'm running out, I should make some more soon' I thought as I stared at the vile with a contemplating pout before I put it in my pocket, gathering the rest of my things and heading out.
I walked back out into the main room and put my bag back up on the platform, I'll move it later. With that done I started off to the door next to the huge ones. As I passed the big semi to the door, I could have sworn I heard someone cough. I stopped mid step and snapped gaze towards the truck. I watched the truck with narrowed eyes; I could feel the mood in the room become slightly tense as I stared down the huge semi. And that weird energy that I faintly felt last night became apparent again. As if... As if it were alive.
As I was watching the semi, the urge to put my hand on the vehicle overcame me and I involuntarily started to reach for the metal. I was just about to put my clawed hand on the truck when the door suddenly opened and I jumped at the noise with an embarrassing squeak, wrenching my hand from the truck and holding it against my chest; trying to calm my heart. I looked to the door to find ratchet standing there with a glass of water.
"Good morning Miss Ren, I was going to wake you" he said with a small smile. I gulped and nodded, smiling back in hidden embarrassment as I lowered my hand to my side.
"Good morning Master Ratchet; sorry for sleeping in, I had a later night than I had planned." I said with a smile, my former escapade with the truck forgotten for now.
"Do not worry yourself Miss Ren. It was Sarah who wanted you to join us for breakfast." He said. I nodded and smiled.
"Oh sure" I said walking passed him, out the building and I stopped and waited for Ratchet to close the door. As he did I caught a glimpse of the semi through the door. And my eyes widened when I saw the headlights flash blue for an instant. Before I got a better look, the door was closed. I stared at the door for a moment and shook off the experience, I looked back to Ratchet who was observing me and smiled hesitantly. He seems to want to say something but I cut him off by turning and saying a quick 'let's go' before starting towards the house.
Once in the house I saw everyone in the dining room eating. Well at least the Lennox's were eating; the others were sort of shifting their food around the plate.
"Good morning everyone" I smiled, receiving a few good mornings as well. But I also received confused frowns from both Ironhide and Jazz.
"Who are you?" Jazz asked, while Ironhide stood from his seat defensively; as if ready to attack. I tilted my head at them then laughed. This granted me an angry glare from the gorgeous man.
"What's so fragging funny" Ironhide growled, his hands curling into fists.
"Nothing, I'm sorry. I forgot you guys didn't see me last night." I giggled then straitened, smiling at the team I waved nicely at them. "Hi it's me, Ren the Demon from last night." I chirped. Ratchet and Optimus both smiled at me kindly but the other two... Well they just stared at me with blank stares. I frowned at them confused.
"Didn't I tell you guys that I had a Humanoid form? I could have sworn that I told you" I said, bringing a clawed finger up to my chin in contemplation.
"You did we just forgot, sorry lil' lady" Jazz answered with a smile. I nodded at him then turned to Ironhide to see if he would say something. Nope, he didn't; he just glared at me. I grimaced and just took a seat at the table, but coincidentally my seat was just across from him. Great...
I sighed and smiled as Sarah put a plate of meat vegetables in front of me along with a glass of orange juice. After I thanked her I dug in happily and the others followed my lead. After a few mouth fulls, I put my fork down and dug my hand in my pocket. I pulled out the crystal vile and set it on the table as I reached for my juice. Once I had placed it down in front of me I took the vile and pulled the cork and poured half the purple liquid into the juice then I stirred the juice with a small spoon.
I downed the glass of juice happily and continued to eat but then I noticed the stares. When I looked up I confirmed my little theory, everyone was looking at me with intrigued stares. I slowed down my chewing as I stared back at the mortals. After I swallowed my eyebrow twitched in slight annoyance.
"What?" I snapped feeling somehow defensive. They all blinked simultaneously and Ratchet was the first to speak.
"What is that you put in you drink Miss Ren?" he asked from his seat beside Optimus. I blinked at him a few times then glanced at my juice.
"You mean this?" I asked, lifting up the vile with what was left of the liquid to which he nodded yes. I set down the vile then put a finger to my chin and then leaned back into my chair to think. I tapped my lip with my finger and hummed a bit.
"Well I guess you could say it's a potion." I mused then nodded to confirm it. "Yeah that's it"
"What do you need a potion for Ren?" Sarah asked as she took a sip of coffee.
"Well without it, I wouldn't be able to fit my demon form in the house." I said. "You see my true demon form—the one I was born in—is way way bigger in comparison to the demon form you've seen me in. My true demon form is... Lest see... claw to shoulder I'm probably the same height as this house. And that little elixir helps me suppress that size into something more manageable." I explained to the unfortunate blank faces sans Ratchet who was soaking up the info like an excitable sponge, aw so cute.
I giggled a bit before continuing with my lesson. "I mean think about how bothersome it would be to walk around in that size around so many tiny mortals. Humans tend to freak out whenever they see something like that." I said. "And there's really no need for such a grand size anymore anyway. High ranking demons like myself and my relatives don't go around destroying villages anymore. That's so eighteenth century if you ask me." I muttered the last part. "And no offence but humans don't taste the same as they did back in the day" I added distractedly as I took another bite then I realized what I said and panicked. "Sorry" I exclaimed. "I wasn't supposed to say that" I muttered regret filling me to the brim.
When I looked up at the group they were all sitting there tensely the only ones who didn't seem unnerved were; Annabelle who wasn't paying attention, Sarah who just look uncomfortable with the guys' astonished faces and Ratchet who looked like a kid in a candy store. But yet again Ratchet came to my rescue. "So how old are you exactly? Do demons have a long lifespan?" he asked, changing the topic swiftly.
I gulped down the rest of my juice then answered. "Well technically I'm about a thousand years old give or take a century or two but biologically I'm about the same age as a twenty five year old human." I said. "And we don't really have a set lifespan. We're pretty much immortal until we find our mates. Then depending on whether you're male or female, you either gain the same lifespan as them or they to you. I'm female so I'll gain my mates lifespan when are bonded. And if he dies, I won't be far behind." I explained as I finished my food and stood. I took my plate and moved to the kitchen. Happy to be out of that room for now, how could I have been so stupid and mention that used to eat humans. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! So much for getting them to trust me, Dammit all to hell.'
"It's alright you know" I heard Sarah say from behind me. I pursed my lips and continued to wash my plate, not saying a word.
"It was a long time ago; you were just doing what was normal for your kind." She said as she walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"But I still did it, there's no excuse for that. Demons have always been on higher stances than humans and now that we live on equal terms... well I don't know it's weird for me." I said as I turned around to face her.
"What matters now is that you didn't do it anymore. And you're actually trying to atone for it." she said with a small smile. "And don't worry about the guys. They just shocked is all, I think that they actually seem to like you. Ratchet isn't one to ask questions to just anyone." She giggled. "And Ironhide hasn't tried to kill you yet so that's a good sign. He usually hates other people." She laughed; I joined in in spite myself.
"Yeah, he seems like the type." I giggled. We were interrupted by Optimus coming into the room with his hands full of plates. I sobered up quickly and helped him with the plates and Sarah left the room. He thanked me gently as I turned to wash them. I thought that he had left until he appeared in my peripheral vision. After a minute or two of him just standing there I lost my patience with the man.
"Look Master Optimus. If you're going to give me a little speech about how this family is important to you and that if they get hurt or whatever then I'll have hell to pay then save it. They are important to me too; they showed me kindness and took me in when I was hurt. I would never anything intentionally to hurt them. I've had hundreds of years of practice; I can control those instincts easily. I am no pup." I said emotionless, looking him in the eyes.
"I understand Miss Ren. I merely wished to know if you really were retired in your human eating habits" he rumbled. And I noticed the rest of his team appeared to be lingering at the door. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance.
"No, as I said that was hundreds of years ago. Besides humans are now all full of toxins and chemicals that will do more harm than good. Only very Low level demons do it anymore and even they sometimes get sick from it." I said, and I folded my arms over my chest. Optimus was about to speak again but I cut him off. "And yes I still can and probably will kill a human. But the paper work and having to deal with the council is too much of a pain to do it often so don't worry" I practically growled. I really hate it when people question my intentions.
Optimus nodded at my words but didn't speak as he processed the information. As he thought I glanced over to the rest of the group to find them all in thought as well. I pouted at them and leaned into the counter as I waited for my verdict.
Eventually they all snapped back to reality to find me dosing off in the counter. Optimus cleared his throat and I jumped up in alarm, flailing my arms around like an idiot. "It wasn't me I was framed!" I yelled drowsily at my non- existent accusers. But I straitened up with an embarrassed laugh then turned to Optimus. He merely raised an eyebrow at me but I just ignored the look.
"We understand you reasoning's, But it would be best if you spent a few more nights at the barn with us. Just to calm our spirits." He said gently, like he was trying not to anger me. It was a nice try but I wasn't angry. I was just annoyed at myself for getting into this situation. I mean, I had just kept my trap shut none of this would have happened. I nodded in consent and he visibly relaxed.
"Alright, I'll stay with you all long as you want. But only on one condition." I said as an idea sprang into my mind. I internally smirked at my own genius.
"Very well, what is it." he asked.
"By the end of you stay here on MY territory. You have to tell me why your cars are giving off weird auras" I said with a finality that would make my father proud. Suck it shyness. The whole team froze instantly at my word. And I visibly smiled in victory. "Of course, I don't expect an immediate answer. You have until it is time for you to leave to inform me. But if time wares out and I don't get my answer. I will make it my cause that you never get anywhere within a hundred feet of my charges again." I said, as I walked to the living room. I stopped just as I reached the door and turned to the men. "Now do we have a deal gentlemen?" I asked as cutely as I could. They watched me for another silent minute before Optimus finally nodded.
"Yes, I believe we have reached an agreement." He said. My smile brightened as I turned again to the living room.
"Okay then, I'll be seeing you all tonight! Don't wait up I still have business to attend to around the area." Sing songed as I left them. 'This was going to be more fun than I thought. By the end of their stay here, I'll have them all wrapped around my tail. Now, lest see if I Sarah wants to go to the mall with me' I thought as I searched the house for said woman. Yeah I know, I may want a simple life but I need strong connections in order to successfully build my home. Lennox's team seems capable enough to work for a pack. And if I can infiltrate their little trust circle then I would be set to at least relax a bit in this place. stressing over medial territory disputes is not as fun as it sounds. And i haven't even marked it yet.
