Author's note~ First, I must offer my most sincere apologies for the dreadful delay that I've had between postings. My social life decided to exist this weekend, thus preventing me from being home. Which in turn caused me to not be able to write anything. Second, I want to thank Mistofan, Anime WarriorSkye, and Erakotsu for their kind reviews. And now, without further delay is chapter 9. Enjoy!
Graverobber led Shilo to a lesser known and barely guarded graveyard. "Watch and learn, kid." He said as he started working on a corpse. Shilo did as she was told, and she learned quickly. He let her try the next one. "Just relax, and take it slow." He instructed.
"Ok." She whispered as she tried to keep her hands from shaking. She jumped a little with the initial shock of seeing the blue liquid pour into the vial.
"You're doing fine, kid." Graverobber said encouragingly. Shilo nodded and after a few more attempts felt her confidence growing. "Kid, you're a natural." He said as he handed her several empty vials. Then he gestured to the rest of the graveyard. "Knock yourself out."
Shilo nodded and was soon working at a steady pace. Graverobber watched her briefly and then turned his attention back to his own work. "Industrialization has crippled the globe." He sang softly to himself as he worked. The singing provided a rhythm for his hands to follow. Occasionally, he would alternate between singing and whistling. Periodically, he would glance up to watch Shilo who seemed to making very good progress.
When he was satisfied that they had done enough harvesting, Graverobber packed up his tools. "Come on, kid. Lets go."
"Where are we going?"
"Home." Graverobber replied. "We've gathered enough Zydrate for the next couple of nights."
"Ok." Shilo said handing him the vial she had just finished collecting.
They walked in silence for a while before Shilo asked "What's your real name?"
"It's not important, kid."
"You said earlier that names are very important." Shilo stated simply.
Graverobber sighed and turned to look at her. "Look, to put it simply, whoever I was before died along with my sister. He doesn't exist anymore. So as far as I'm concerned Graverobber is my name."
Shilo nodded and let the subject drop. They continued walking. Graverobber whistled every so often until his whistling was interrupted by the thud of something hitting the sidewalk behind him. He turned to see Shilo lying face down on the pavement. He knelt down beside her. "Kid, are you alright?" He asked, his voice full of more concern than he had intended express.
Shilo looked up at him her face bloodied and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. But these jeans are way to long for me. I thought rolling the hem up would make it better. Guess, they rolled down."
Graverobber shook his head in amusement and looked down at her feet. The sight he saw made him laugh. Shilo's jeans had been snagged by a jagged piece of metal jetting out from beside a dumpster. Shilo's feet were totally covered by quite a bit of jean material. "Looks like we're going to have to find you an alternative." He said disentangling the jeans from the metal. "Why didn't you tell me the jeans were too long?" He asked as he stood.
Shilo got up and grimaced. "I thought you wouldn't let me come with you, and I didn't want to be by myself." She re-rolled the hems.
He shook his head. "There are ways to fix problems like that."
"Yeah, I just didn't know how."
"Come on, kid. We'd better get you home and cleaned up."
Shilo nodded and followed him home. Once they were back at the apartment, Shilo got cleaned up. After her shower, she went out to the living room to see Graverobber reading a book. He put the book down and motioned her over. "Come here kid, I want to take a look at your face."
That was when Shilo noticed gauze and antiseptic on the coffee table. "I'm ok." She said softly.
He shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not satisfied, and your not getting infected on my watch."
Shilo sighed and sat down next to him. He put some antiseptic on a piece of the gauze and then took hold of Shilo's chin, tilting her head back enough so he could get a better view. "Now, just try and relax. This stuff can burn a little."
Shilo did flinch a little as he dabbed the antiseptic on the first cut. "Ouch." She whispered softly.
"Sorry, kid." He said gently. He worked quickly and before Shilo knew it he was done.
"Thanks."
He nodded. "Get some sleep."
Shilo nodded then went off to her room. Graverobber sat on the couch for what seemed like an eternity. Then he went to the kitchen and grabbed a shot glass and a bottle of alcohol. He made his way to his bedroom, stripped off his clothes, then poured himself a few shots before falling asleep.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but it couldn't have been very long. Because he hadn't dreamed. Yet awake he was. He had been awakened by an ear splitting scream. He sat up and pulled his pants on trying to figure out where the scream came from. He heard it again, a little softer this time and it came from Shilo's room. He sighed and left his room.
He walked silently down the hall and into Shilo's room. Shilo was tossing and turning about in a fitful sleep. She groaned pitifully. He knew had to do something, he just wasn't exactly sure what. How exactly am supposed to help her with a dream? He thought.
Wake her up, dumbass. The annoying little voice in his mind taunted.
No shit, I meant after she wakes up.
You'll figure it out.
He shook his head and made his way over to Shilo's bed. "Kid?" He said softly.
Nothing.
Shilo's groaning got louder. Graverobber sat on the edge of her bed and gently touched her arm. "Kid, wake up." He said
Shilo swung at some unknown enemy and he was in the way. He tried to move out of her reach but lost his balance and wound up on the floor.
"Shit kid, you're a sound sleeper." He muttered. He decided for a different approach, one that might get him punched, but at least he wouldn't wind up on the floor.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to Shilo. When he was in a comfortable position, he pulled a squirming and whimpering Shilo into his arms. He wrapped his arms securely around her. "Wake up, Kid." He said gently.
The squirming stopped and Shilo looked up at him. "Gravrobber?" She asked groggily.
"Yeah, kid?"
"What are you doing?"
What's it look I'm doing? Graverobber thought. "You were having a nightmare."
"So you crawled into bed with me?" Shilo asked with a confused expression that Graverobber found absolutely adorable.
"You were thrashing around and I couldn't get you to wake up any other way." He grinned and let her go.
"Thanks." Shilo said quietly.
He nodded and then stood getting ready to go back to his room. "Not a problem, kid."
"Where are you going?" Shilo asked almost panicked.
He smiled. "Back to bed. You weren't asleep very long."
Shilo looked down at the covers and then back up at him. "Please stay." She pleaded in a small voice.
"You sure about that, kid?"
Shilo nodded. "I've been alone all my life, and… well, I just don't want to be alone anymore."
He smiled and nodded. "Fair enough."
Graverobber climbed back into the bed and stretched out. Shilo snuggled up next to him. He put his arm around her, and she repositioned herself so that her head was resting on his chest. Within minutes Shilo was asleep. Graverobber smiled as he felt her steady, rhythmic breathing. Careful, you're gonna get in over your head on this one. That little annoying voice whispered mockingly.
She needs me. And it's nice to be needed for something other than sex or zydrate.
How cute. Are you growing a heart again. The voice mocked.
So what if I am? Shut up and go away.
Graverobber stared at the ceiling for a long time before drifting off into a deep and for once dreamless sleep.
A/N~ Ok, I hope you enjoyed that. A little teasing of fluff. More fluff will come in time. I am contemplating bringing Carsmacker back soon. Let me know what you think.
