It was during a lull in their conversation and when Thirteen saw an unspectacular street flash by through the car window that the air around them changed. One moment they were jokingly discussing Kutner's role at Naam's home and the next the atmosphere was charged with a foreboding quality that made her skin tighten, almost as if preparing to react to some impending danger. Suddenly edgy and almost panicking for reasons that were beyond her, her eyes sought Cameron, who was driving the car calmly. It was a decidedly strange experience. Thirteen knew that even if they did crash it wouldn't be that big of a deal with the rate at which they healed, and there were no other possible dangers that they couldn't handle.
Noticing the strange look Thirteen was sending her, Cameron flickered her eyes over to the brunette, catching a glimpse of the distressed look. It made her slightly antsy that a mighty vampire could get nervous over something. "What is it?" The other woman didn't seem to snap out of it at her question. "Are you hungry?" she guessed, finding it increasingly harder to focus on the road.
"Do you feel it too?" Thirteen asked right back. The feeling was persistent, intensifying, and she wished Cameron would just pull over and let her out already, because something was definitely wrong. "Pull over."
"Why? What should I feel?" Despite her questioning, she searched for a place to park and found a spot at the end of the street. All the while, she could not seem to keep her focus away from Thirteen. She had become the epicentre of her attention since the woman's tense reaction. Cameron was barely able to park without running over a stray pedestrian.
"You're sweating," Thirteen remarked, unbuckling her seatbelt simply because she felt she needed to. "You feel it too."
"Stop saying that and tell me what's going on!" Cameron snapped, pointedly turning to the other woman. Seeing that Thirteen had unbuckled her seatbelt, she did the same. "You're scaring me."
It was only when Cameron had undone her seatbelt and gave her an imploring look that Thirteen understood where the feelings were coming from. Blue eyes shone with a newly acquired health. The blonde's entire demeanour had become impressive. Every aspect about her triumphed over the normalcy that was humanity. She had only been dumbstruck for a moment, but it was enough for Cameron to realize much the same, for suddenly she was surrounded by Thirteen's scent, and every superfluous breath resounded loudly in her ears. It felt like she was pressed up against the brunette, only there was a good distance between them and they were in no way touching.
A mistake that could easily be corrected.
Thirteen's eyes widened as Cameron's eyes flashed with intent.
Jeanette, mother of two, wife of her dear, dear husband, had decided to walk home that day. She breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh evening air. It had been a good choice. Needless to say, with that promotion in the bag that finally allowed her to determine her own working hours, she was in a good mood. A very good mood.
But she still let out a shriek of surprise when the car to her left suddenly opened and a woman tumbled out backwards. The brunette who was lying on the ground briefly glanced up at her, shooting her an awkward smile. "Hi."
"Um… hey."
The woman's remarkably clear eyes widened before she shot the other occupant of the car a scolding look. "No! No, you're not yourself right now!" she said, pulling her legs out the rest of the way and into the safety of her own personal bubble. Despite the clear rip in her jeans around her thigh, she stood up with a grace that surprised Jeanette.
Maybe she was a ballerina.
"You can't just leave me like this." A blonde sporting a desperate look popped her head out of the car.
"I have to," the brunette corrected. "I'll see you at the mansion." With that, the woman ran off.
The striking blonde woman looked up at her, not quite able to wipe the desperate look off her face. "Hey," she offered awkwardly.
"Hi," Jeanette answered, only now noticing that she had grasped at her heart in her jump. She lowered her hands.
The blonde looked around awkwardly. "Well, good night," she said, not waiting for an answer as she closed the car door.
Jeanette stared a little more before snapping out of it. That was a decidedly strange occurrence between two beautiful women.
With a shrug, she continued on home.
Thirteen came to a halt in the central hall, carefully listening for Naam and Rose's whereabouts. The first thing to assault her senses was the overwhelming smell of blood, though there were no sounds to hint towards why the house reeked of the delicious, rich scent.
She rolled her eyes in a way that would make Rose proud, mouth watering despite herself. It didn't go past her that Naam and Rose were anything but gentle with each other when they so felt the need for it, but that was the fourth time that week. With an eternity together, she'd thought that certain desires would diminish, but apparently that wasn't the case with her sire.
In the process of constructing a plan to disrupt their time together that didn't require Thirteen to interrupt and possibly do something stupid, she noticed something about the smells that hung around the house.
She glanced at the stairs warily, taking in a deep breath. While it was usually the scent of Rose's more earthy blood that hung heavily in the air, now it was accompanied by Naam's maddeningly sweet one along with the stench of garlic.
Her eyes widened as she placed the smell.
"You won't hurt me." Rodriguez pulled himself to his feet and smiled crookedly from beneath a mop of unruly dark hair. The thick stench of garlic that hung around him almost scared away the rats. "I'm immune," he sniggered, lifting his arms to present himself.
Thirteen disappeared in a blur as she raced up the stairs. It was maybe a second later that she burst into the grand bedroom, the door already hanging from its hinges when she entered. What she saw inside made her rethink the practical use of the soundproof quality of the house. A giant beast at least three times her size was fending off a pack of smaller wolves, tearing through limbs and fur with claws and gleaming teeth, only for others to replace the fallen animals. Continuous growls, yipping and furious snarls were the things audible in the room. Wooden furniture lay spread around the room in shards, the bed a mutilated heap of recyclables of when the clash no doubt took a turn for the worst. The scent of blood and violence hung heavy in the air, which was probably the only reason why Thirteen's relatively unremarkable presence went by unnoticed as the brutal clash continued.
She quickly took cover in the shadows, behind what had been a dresser. Thirteen had been on high alert ever since she was met with the scent of garlic, but what had her worried to death was that the werewolf – Rose, hopefully – was fighting for its life, while Naam could order animals down with a flick of her hand. Even though she possessed much the same characteristics as the ancient vampire, she could not calm down and order a pack of rabid animals, much less a werewolf.
Where had the animals come from?
More importantly, where was Naam?
A wave of panic flooded over her, instantly making her forget about anything else outside of the room. She wasn't ready yet to live on without her sire. The thought alone scared her to death. Whether it was the bond that made her think that or the strange mother-daughter relationship they had developed, she wasn't sure, but she had no time to contemplate her reasoning. Her eyes ripped the room apart as she searched for Naam.
Thankfully, her search was cut short when she spotted an eerily familiar body lying in the corner of the room, propped up against the wall in a sitting position. A wooden stake with intricate, cut out designs on the handle protruded from her chest. Before she knew what was happening, instinct had dictated her to rush over and pull out the offending object. The wound didn't heal and the woman remained immobile. She didn't know whether to cry or to growl in frustration, so instead she continued to listen to her instincts.
A howl behind her was interrupted by another sickening crack as another rabid animal was disposed of.
She paid it no mind, her fangs finding her wrist before she pushed the bleeding limb against Naam's mouth. For several long, arduous moments nothing happened. Thirteen, on the verge of leaving her sire and escaping the massacre behind her, startled when lips moved against her flesh. Naam's eyes flashed open, revealing an astounding bright colour of blue.
It was in the next moment that Thirteen found herself on her back, a sharp pain shooting through her neck. She shouldn't have liked it – hell, she shouldn't have squirmed in euphoria as another vampire fed off her, but she did. She grasped futilely at the white material that covered ashen shoulders, vaguely aware that something was ripping as she fisted the cotton. The ripped sweater fell from Naam's shoulder, and with the new lack of grip, Thirteen proceeded to grasp at bare skin.
Her mouth fell open in what would have been a silent gasp. Along with her body, her mind sang at being able to sustain her precious sire in such a way. Maybe it was a reflection of Naam's state of mind or maybe this was simply how it felt to be bitten, but for an endless moment she couldn't seem to grasp reality as she was swept away by the endless pleasure scorching a path through her veins.
As much as she held on physically, she felt herself slipping more and more until she was strangely calm all over. Thirteen's sluggish mind registered how Naam slowly pulled away, the woman's long, dark hair creating a curtain around them that somehow separated them from the outside world and its noises. Reassuring dark eyes and bloodied lips came into view. Something cold dripped onto her cheek, mouth, until she felt soft, wet lips press against her own. It was an almost apologetically soft gesture, and despite being unable to reciprocate or think clearly, the thought that it was the best she ever had crossed her mind. She couldn't think of a reason why at that moment, but if felt like the thought wasn't entirely her own.
"Thank you," Naam whispered softly, still so close that Thirteen could feel the cold rush of air against her skin as she spoke. "Today, you have repaid your dept." The brunette reached out meekly as the older vampire stood up and faced the butchering without hesitation.
The remaining wolves whimpered and backed away as soon as Naam approached, even the ragged breathing from the werewolf calmed down and all eyes focused on the ancient. In the calm she could finally spot Rodriguez off to the side, giggling madly and clapping his hands at the scene. His cheery behaviour melted away as soon as the peace returned to the place.
"No! No! This is all wrong!" he spat.
Cameron entered the mansion, instantly hit with a strange array of smells she could not distinguish from each other. She covered her nose with a sleeve, grimacing. What she could make out was that Thirteen's scent was amongst them and that blood was predominant.
Deciding quickly, she rushed up the stairs.
"Killing us won't end your curse," Naam said.
"No, but it will!" Rodriguez stood still in front of the vampire, and Thirteen wondered vaguely why he was so calm even though Naam's wrath was a very realistic possibility. "If you both die, I will have nothing to reincarnate to!"
Naam scrutinized him for an extended moment. "This mortal body has polluted your mind."
He pulled out a gun, making the werewolf take a step forward and growl. Naam remained unmoving as she watched him wave around the silver piece. "No! This is the first time I've seen it all clearly!" His expression was stuck between elated and convinced as he waved around the gun as if it couldn't accidentally go off and kill him. "I'm not here for the good of mankind. Mankind is doomed to fail anyway, so we should just end all their suffering!" He raised his gun at Naam, aiming for the head. "Starting with you."
In the time that it took for Thirteen to blink away her blurry vision, a shot resounded. Naam was holding Rodriguez by the wrist, pointing the gun away, and held him by the throat with her other hand. If it hadn't been for the startled look on the vampire's face, Thirteen would have never noticed the figure standing in the doorway, holding bloodied hands over her stomach.
Cameron looked down at her trembling hands dripping with a sizzling red liquid that couldn't be hers. The last thing she heard before everything went black was a desperate call.
"Allison!"
"Allison."
Cameron startled awake, a hand shaking her gently by the shoulder. She sat up in her chair, eyes searching the room – diagnostics? – until they fell on the man that awoke her. "Chase?" she asked incredulously. "Where's Remy?"
Chase furrowed his eyebrows, watching as Cameron regained her bearings. Instead of responding to her question – to which he didn't know the answer anyway, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Then she remembered being shot. She glanced down her body, patting down the surface until she was sure there wasn't a gaping hole adorning her stomach. Sure enough, nothing was wrong with her. The clearer her mind got, the more things she realized. First were the construction workers at home that made sleeping almost impossible.
"Did you go home at all last night?" he asked, his frown deepening with worry.
Cameron sighed. There was a file in front of her on the table. She had been working on their current case and had fallen asleep in the progress. "Yeah," she breathed, calming down. "I mean, no." She shook her head, vaguely gesturing to her work. "I think I fell asleep while trying to figure this out."
Chase shook his head in both amusement and concern, then moved to put away his coat. "I told you to go home and unplug your phone so you could sleep in."
"Yeah…" Cameron stared down at the notes she had made, not reading anything.
It had all been a dream.
After having excused herself from the room to freshen up, preferably by getting out of the wrinkled clothes she was wearing, Cameron strolled through the busy hall of the hospital. That had been the most explicit dream she'd had in forever. Aside from becoming a supernatural creature herself and other obvious aspects, it was pretty realistic too.
She slowed down her pace, frowning thoughtfully. Oh, who was she kidding? It had been unrealistic from A to Z. The only thing realistic about it was everyone's reaction at the hospital.
With a tired sigh, she looked around, searching for distractions. What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. In one of the patient's rooms where the blinds hadn't been pulled closed entirely was lying a familiar blonde and next to her stood an equally familiar dark-skinned woman. The brown eyed woman appeared the same right down to the business attire and efficient body language. The only difference was the blatant emotion that she was displaying as she gnawed on a nail and hugged herself with her other arm. Her eyes were red from crying and an all too human flush coloured her cheeks.
It almost hurt to see Naam in such a state.
Cameron averted her eyes and moved on, not daring to look at whom she had dubbed Rose in her dream. It made her feel like reality was collapsing on her. Rose was not weak, and Naam was not human.
But most of all, Remy existed.
She walked on stubbornly.
She had to.
Dear reviewers, I appreciate your input even though I haven't replied (or, well, couldn't reply) to your comments. I'll understand if you don't value the Naam/Thirteen moment I so subtly squeezed in, since, y'know, Naam is an OC and CAMERON APPEARS TO HAVE DREAMT IT ALL, AHAHAHA.
In my defence, it was all Heimdall's idea.
On that note, Heimdall, ilu. LOL.
THERE WILL BE A NEXT AND FINAL CHAPTER REGARDLESS. Hopefully beta-ed and between now and less-than-three-months.
Ps. "She wasn't ready yet to live on without her sire. The thought alone scared her to death." Am I the only one who lolled inappropriately at this? … Somehow, I have a feeling that I am xD
Triniredster; That is a very good point. Maybe not a trial period, but a very long consideration time would've been better. Hm. Oh well. Cameron basically "transformed" all the way in this chapter.