Hello! Long time, no talk.
I would like to thank everyone of you for your patience. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Also, a new chapter of Grief is in its final stages, so stay tuned!
Thank you, and enjoy!
Kei seemed stunned by Cloud's answer. His violet eyes softened as he surveyed the vampire. He stared curiously into Cloud's blue eyes.
"...What is it?" Cloud asked, embarrassed.
"I didn't notice it before, but you have the most interesting blue eyes I've ever seen."
"Interesting?"
"Yes. Most vampires I've seen have dull eyes. But yours stand out. They're like a sad night sky."
Cloud pondered this. "Sad, eh?"
"Like the gods after watching humans slaughter each other in savage war. I see dark blue flakes in your eyes, and they look like scars."
"So, let's call my eye color 'a scarred sky'. But your eyes are unique, too. It's not everyday when you see someone with eyes such as yours."
Kei laughed. "Violet eyes have been a trait in my family since time began. We consider it a brand, though."
"A brand?"
"Yes. For centuries, my family has served several vampire covens, acting as walking bloodbanks. Our purple eyes mark us as 'precious cargo'. Thus, we were targets for rival covens."
Cloud glanced at the biggest scar on Kei's chest. "Were you attacked by a vampire from a rival coven?"
Kei nodded, a pained expression on his face. He put his shirt back on.
Suddenly, someone burst into Cloud's room. The stranger was tall and muscular, with long silver hair and sharp green eyes. "Kei!"
Kei sighed. "Hello, Sephiroth."
"I'm glad I found you. I just got back from a mission and I'm really thirst-" Sephiroth stopped and scanned over Cloud. "Who's this?"
"Sephiroth, this is Cloud. He's our new addition." Kei replied.
Sephiroth looked over Cloud again, making the blond flustered. "So he was the one bitten by Vlad, huh? I was imagining a tougher looking one."
"It's no small feat to survive Vlad's venom, Sephiroth. Plus, you were once in his position. Can't you feel a bit of compassion for him?"
The silver haired vampire sneered at Cloud. "Anyways, Kei, I'm parched from that last mission."
"Ah. Yes, of course. Good night, Cloud."
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Cloud." Sephiroth said.
"And you too. Good night." Cloud replied. He searched, but he couldn't find any integrity in Sephiroth's wolfish eyes that supported his last sentence. He and Kei stepped out the door. Sighing, Cloud blew out the candle that flickered on a desk and fell asleep.
In the morning, he was awoken by a painful burning sensation and the smell of burnt flesh. Suddenly realizing it was coming from him, Cloud propelled himself out of bed, away from the light. He stumbled out of the room, hissing and rubbing the spot on his leg that had been badly burned. Feeling the sensation of being watched a few minutes later, he glanced over his shoulder to see Tifa looming over him.
"It seems that you have little tolerance of sunlight. Oh dear..." she mused.
"Tolerance? I didn't know vampires could tolerate sunlight at all."
"Oh, those are ancient vampires. We, the more modern vampires, built up a resistance to the sun. Since Vlad was the one who bit you, you should have some resistance, but I see that's not the case."
"Well, what should I do?"
"You'll have to relocate somewhere else. I know of a little village near the Nibel mountains where there is no sun most of the time. You'd do well there."
Cloud nodded. "Alright."
Tifa grinned. "So does this mean you've joined our coven?"
"I...guess so."
She clapped her hands together. "Hooray! Now, don't worry, there's no initiation you have to go through. Being turned into a vampire was an intiation in itself."
"That's a relief." Cloud replied grimly.
"As for moving to Nibelheim, a few other vampires and a human are embarking on a pilgrimage tonight."
"A human? Who?"
"Kei."
Cloud's eyes lit up. "I understand. I'll leave tonight." He thanked her quickly before running up the stairs to find Kei.
Calling out his name, he burst into the human's room.
Kei's room seemed to be empty. The curtains were drawn, making it impossible to see in the dark. Admitting defeat, Cloud turned around to leave.
"Cloud?" a voice called out.
"Kei! Where are you?" The vampire replied.
"I'm in my bed. I can't move."
Carefully navigating Kei's room, Cloud searched for the bed in the dark. Suddenly, a candle lit up. He followed the light to where Kei was.
"Hello." Kei greeted the vampire.
"Are you feeling alright?" Cloud asked.
"Yes. It's nothing, I'm just feeling a bit ill."
"That's a lie," a female voice said. It was Yuffie.
"It's none of your business, Yuffie." Kei hissed.
"We're apart of the same coven. It is my business. It was Sephiroth, wasn't it?"
Kei didn't reply. Yuffie sighed.
"Kei, you know that you have to say stop, even to the mighty Sephiroth."
"I know, but he just throws such awful fits when he doesn't get his way...it's not worth dealing with, as he takes my blood when I'm asleep anyways."
"Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore. Tonight, you're embarking on a pilgrimage to Nibelhiem. Cloud, I believe you're going with him as well."
Kei's eyes widened in surprise. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at Cloud. The vampire smiled back.
At nightfall, the group heading to Nibelheim donned black cloaks bearing the coven's crest. It was the job of the vampires to keep Kei safe the whole journey. That meant permission to kill, but only if necessary. They would be escorted by Sephiroth. Tifa found it rather odd that Sephiroth would request such a menial task, but it did not bother her much.
Sephiroth's presence made both Cloud and Kei nervous. Cloud made sure to stay between the human and Sephiroth. It seemed obvious that Sephiroth could sense their anxiousness.
Suddenly he stopped. The group stopped with him. He was tracking a scent. He suddenly realized what it was.
"Shit! Enemy coven!" a vampire yelled as another one tackled him to the ground. He was violently butchered by his attacker, who went to join a group of vampires standing in front of them. One of them was Vlad.
Cloud felt a shiver run up and down his spine. Unable to move his legs, he pushed Kei into Sephiroth's direction. "Sephiroth, you need to take Kei back to the coven."
"Cloud!" Kei exclaimed, realizing what he meant to do. Cloud grabbed the handle of his sword.
Sephiroth ignored Cloud's request. Instead, he walked over and joined Vlad and his group. Kei and Cloud gasped in shock.
"Sephiroth...you..." Kei studdered. Said vampire snorted.
"Huh. Did you really think I'd stay with such a low-level coven for long? Pathetic."
"Kei. Run." Cloud hissed into his ears. The white haired human turned on his heels, sprinting towards the woods they had just travelled through. Two vampires shifted to go after him. Cloud bared his fangs. Vlad looked at him, amusement on his face.
"Go ahead. I doubt you have the courage to kill anything," he taunted.
Cloud flinched. His thoughts went back to the human who was running for his life behind him. Protect him, at all costs.
"Kill," a voice hissed inside Cloud's head. He simply closed his eyes and tucked away his human side, letting his body guide him as he brutally fought Vlad's vampires. He could feel his fangs ripping through flesh, and the taste of blood on his mouth. His human side surfaced suddenly when he heard Kei's voice calling his name. Then everything went black.
When Cloud woke up again, he was covered in blood, lying on the ground. Littered all around him were the corpses of vampires that had been brutally killed.
"Dear God...what happened?" he asked himself, a sickening feeling rising in his stomach. Without warning, he coughed up the blood he had taken from the dead vampires.
"Cloud...?" A weak voice called for him. Cloud froze in horror when he realized who the voice belonged to.
"Kei!" he located where the voice was coming from to find Kei lying on the ground, injured. In his hand was a silver cross, which Cloud assumed he used to defend himself.
Cloud kneeled beside him. The human shifted away from him.
"Kei...you're hurt..."
"Don't you dare touch me," the human hissed. Cloud could tell that Kei had lost alot of blood.
"But...you're dying, aren't you?"
Kei turned his head away from him. "Looks that way."
"Don't let this be the end, please...I-I can save you."
The human's violet eyes widened in horror. "I'd rather die than become a vampire."
Cloud was cut by the sharpness of Kei's words. Cloud moved closer to him. The human winced as he tried to move away.
"What are you doing? Don't you dare!"
Cloud was just about to bite Kei's neck when he suddenly felt a severe burning sensation on his skin. Crying out, he looked to see Kei pushing the silver cross into his skin. When Cloud retreated, the human slumped over, fighting to stay concious. He suddenly stopped breathing as his eyes died.
Cloud, realizing what had just happened, yelled out in frustration and anguish. He passed out from exhaustion and guilt while he mourned over Kei's cold body.
In the morning, he heard voices mumbling around him, but they all sounded fuzzy to him.
"...No survivors." A voice hissed.
"The human's dead too. Do you think this is Vlad's doing?" An older voice asked.
"Who else would do such a thing?"
"Right. Well, it doesn't look like there are any survivors..."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." A female voice cautioned.
"Eh? Why do you say that?"
"Look over at the vampire by the human...his soul is still there. Barely, but he's alive."
"He must've been on the pilgrimage. Well, let's take him with us."
Cloud was silent as he was hoisted onto someone's back.
"Tifa'll be upset that only one vampire survived..." his carrier murmured.
A tear slid down Cloud's face. He had survived, but he felt he would be better off dead.
