Disclaimer: Typical disclaimer applies…
Summary: After a gruesome war that nearly brought the two races to extinction, vampires and werewolves have been locked in an unstable truce from centuries. But when a certain vampire suddenly finds a certain werewolf's blood is all that he can consume palatably… Will it result to another bloody war or something else entirely?
Chapter 20
She couldn't believe her eyes! How could a bloody leech look like an adorable angel when he's asleep?!
Mikan stared at him again with a frown. Natsume's breathing was long and shallow due to day-sleep. She'd timed about thirty minutes between each interval of his breaths. His heart had also virtually stopped beating, giving only a pulse at the same time as his breathing. But she could tell by the way his eyes were moving behind his lids that his subconscious mind wasn't as dormant as his corporal body.
Shaking off her trance, Mikan got up in all fours and stretched her sleep-stiffened muscles in her lycan body. She went to the single window in the hall and peeked out the curtains, making sure to block any sunlight from entering. It was only a couple hours before sunset, she estimated. She might as well wait for everyone to wake up. Ambling back, she laid herself down on the floor beside the bunk bed Natsume's on.
Time ticked by, and her ears picked up a change. Natsume's heart was starting to pump more regularly. His breathing had also changed, normalizing to its usual cycle when he's awake. Soon enough, Natsume began shifting around in bed. She could tell by his shallow breathing that he was still asleep though.
Mikan almost jumped out of her fur when an arm suddenly flung itself onto her. It was followed by a cold body snuggling against the fur on her back. Mikan froze. She wasn't sure if she should move away or not. But if she moved away, Natsume would most likely end up on the cold, hard floor. And he won't be a happy vampire when he wakes up, she was sure of it.
She glanced over at him, and then sighed. She supposed it wouldn't do any harm to stay where she was right now. She smiled. Besides, he's still asleep and looked like an adorable, innocent angel – an angel with a five o'clock shadow, but an angel nonetheless. She inwardly chuckled. It looked like male vampires aren't immune to facial hair growth. She prefers men who are clean-shaven. But she had to say, that light shadow of stubbles was giving Natsume quite a handsome, rugged look.
Natsume cuddled closer and buried his nose in her fur. "Strawberries," he murmured. A minute later, he muzzled her back. "…taste good… Mikan…" he sighed, pressing and rubbing his body against her.
Mikan stared back at him with repugnance. The name at the end was nothing but a whisper, but she could still clearly make out whose name it was. Cancel out the adorable and innocent part! And change that to damned and perverted! She frowned. He still looked like a peacefully, sleeping angel right now though.
He woke up feeling warm and cozy. It was an unusual but good feeling. With their circulatory system nearly at a halt during day-sleep, vampires turn cold and clammy as a corpse from the blood inside their bodies being at a standstill. The lack of circulation results in them waking up cold and dazed.
This time, he only felt a little dazed. Waking up somewhere that isn't your bedroom tends to do that to anyone. But he felt warm all over. And the light scent of strawberries surrounding him wasn't bad either.
"Are you going to get up? Or are you going to burrow into my fur for the rest of the evening?"
Natsume's head snapped up at sound of Mikan's amused, growling voice. He quickly grasped what he was doing, and how his body was positioned against her back. Damn! Someone please tell him he did not just go all snuggly-snuggle on her!
He rolled away from her, but frowned as a chill suddenly invaded him as soon as he lost contact with her warm body. If it wasn't for his pride, he'd happily snuggle back against her soft, comfy fur. But before he could tamp down his ego in hopes of feeling warm again, Mikan sat up.
"Come on, get up," she nudged him. "I need a run tonight after I eat. And I have to warn you. Running around in a five hundred meter radius area isn't going to cut it for me in this time. I need a heck of a lot more space than that to effectively get the required exertion in this form."
Natsume irritably sighed but got out of bed. "I need a shave first before I'll allow you drag me anywhere," he grouchily grumbled.
Just as Natsume closed the door to the hall's water closet, Nonoko and Sumire entered the hall, carting in Mikan's mountainous dinner.
"Are you sure this coven will still have enough cows to support its blood consumption after the full moon is over, Nonoko?" Mikan eyed the heaps of meat. "I don't want you guys to have a blood shortage because I ate a portion of your blood source."
"It's okay," Nonoko replied. "Since we give buyers their free pick on which beef or beef parts to buy, those meat that the buyers don't consider up to their quality are usually left behind in the freezing unit. So, the truth is, you're actually doing us a favor by helping clean out the unsaleable meat that are over-stocked in our freezing units."
Mikan smirk in amusement. "In other words, I'm being given low-grade beef to eat."
"Well, yes," Nonoko laughed and sweat dropped. "I hope you don't mind."
"To werewolves, meat is meat," Mikan shrugged and munched on a slab of ribs. "Fresh, stale, diseased, it doesn't do anything to affect us. As long as it still isn't too bad to our taste, we can eat it."
"That just means that you werewolves have cast-iron stomachs," Sumire sneered. "From that way you eat, I'm pretty sure your stomach is like a bottomless trash bin."
Mikan finished off the meat and drolly grinned down at her. Sumire took a stumbling step backwards upon seeing the rows of Mikan's sharp teeth. "You want to come inside my stomach and take a look around just to be sure, Permy?" Mikan bent down and pointed her muzzle at Sumire, causing the vampire to let out a frightened yelp. "I can gladly assist you inside."
"Quit fooling around, Mutt," a now clean-shaven Natsume said, striding towards her. Mikan presumed that he keeps some extra clothing in the water closet, since he was wearing fresh ones. He shot Sumire a glare then turned his attention back to Mikan, blatantly ignoring the green-haired vampire. He was still quite irked at her for nearly poisoning Mikan with her childish act of revenge. "If you're finished with your meal, let's go. The night's wasting away," he grumbled and headed for the front door.
Mikan backed away from teasing Sumire. She gravelly thanked the two female vampires for preparing and bringing in her dinner again, before she caught up with Natsume with only a couple of strides.
"Why are you going around on all fours?" Natsume frowned as she treaded beside him. "I know you can very well stand and walk on your two hind legs in that form."
"It's easier for me to move around on all fours," Mikan replied, moving stealthily and fluidly despite her fifteen foot size. "Especially while I'm indoors," she muttered, glaring at the overhangs above. Once her lycan height had gotten past ten feet, she limited herself from moving around on her hind legs, particularly when indoors. She'd learned the hard way that her head has a very bad tendency to get clonked and chipped by those sneaky ceiling overhangs when she's in this particular form.
Mikan stared down at Natsume once they've stepped out of the castle's front doors, her countenance turning into a frown. "You're going to need a horse tonight," she declared, swiveling around and heading for the stable. Natsume was left with no choice but to follow her.
While still ten meters away from the structure, Mikan stopped then turned to him. "I can't get any closer than this, unless you want your stable torn down by panicked horses that are scared out of their wits by the big, bad werewolf," she rolled her eyes.
Natsume shrugged and started to walk the rest of the way to the stable alone. But he'd only taken a couple of steps when Mikan's rumbling voice called out to him, halting him for a moment in his tracks.
"You'll have to use Lucian tonight," she told him. "Any other horse you have in there won't to cut it. They'd probably be too scared to run with me. Let alone, keep in pace with me." Natsume gave a nod and continued his way towards the first stall.
Carrying a saddle with him, Natsume entered Lucian's stall. The white stallion gave the vampire a quick glance while busily chewing on some hay, but remained immobile where he stood. As he was putting the saddle on Lucian, Natsume couldn't help but think that the stallion was acting really strange tonight. The big horse would usually cause an enormous fuss whenever anyone comes near him. And with the top of his head not even close to reaching Lucian's back, the stallion could do a lot of damage to a person. But tonight, Lucian was calm, helpful keeping as motionless as possible while he was being saddled.
As soon as Natsume finished buckling on the saddle, Lucian ambled out of the opened stall without any prompting. Natsume tried to grab his reigns to stop him, but Lucian swung his head to avoid his grasp and blatantly walked out of the stable. Natsume was about to run after him, but he changed his mind when he saw the stallion happily and fearlessly trotting towards the lycan waiting some distance away.
Mikan was lying curled on the ground when she felt something prodding her. She opened one of her eyes to find Lucian standing beside her, nudging her with his head. "Hey, Lucian," she rumbled out as she sat up. Lucian was larger than even an above average male horse. But in her current form, she was easily twice the size of the white stallion.
Lucian gave her a shrill whine in greeting then began nibbling on the fur on Mikan's shoulder. Mikan softly chuckled. "I hope you're up for a long, hard run tonight," she murmured in a low, deep voice, gently stroking Lucian's head with a clawed hand. Lucian snorted in response and toss his mane about just as Natsume came walking up to them.
"Now that you and the horse have finished going through your friendship-bonding ritual," Natsume grouchily muttered, placing a hand on the saddle horn. "Let's get going." But when he was about to slip his foot in the stirrup, Lucian sidestepped away, preventing Natsume from mounting his back.
Natsume bit out a curse when his almost lost his balance and tried to get the horse to stand still, so that he can try to climb on again. With the stallion's height, it was nearly impossible to get on without the horse's cooperation. But Lucian seemed quite adamant to keep his supposed rider from clambering on and maintain a rider-free back.
A deep, rolling laugh came from Mikan due to the horse's antics. She leaned in closer and whispered in Latin to the horse. "I know you don't like anyone but your owner getting on your back. But we can't go anywhere tonight if you don't let him ride you." The stallion emitted a noise that sounds distinctly like a scoff, before standing motionless to allow the vampire to climb onto the saddle. Natsume glared at the two conspirators but didn't say anything as he final got on the horse.
"Let's start this run then," Mikan smirked as Natsume finished settling himself. "Do try to keep up with me, boys," she smugly rumbled out to them with a grin, before dashing away.
Lucian let out a piercing neigh in response to the challenge, and swiftly bolted after her without waiting for his rider's command.
Natsume could instantly feel the difference between riding a regular horse and riding Lucian. First of all was the stallion's height alone. With Lucian over twenty hands tall, being on the draught horse's back equated to being far off the ground. And, another thing is, Mikan was right – no ordinary horse could possibly keep up with her in lycan form. The blurred landscape around them was a testament to that. He could very well image, all someone who might be watching them could see were nothing but a streak of silvery-white following an equally hazy streak of gold-brown against the night's shadows.
Mikan led them across plains of grassland and into the maze of the woodlands. Once in the woods, she nimbly weaved in and out between the trees despite her size. Lucian pounded after her, deftly conquering the sharp turns and leaping over tree roots, even with a rider on his back.
Passively leaning over Lucian's neck to avoid getting hit by overhanging tree limbs, Natsume gave the white stallion its head for the gallop. Not having to control the stallion and watch were they're going, left time for him to observe Mikan whenever she and Lucian came side-by-side. He couldn't help but notice how happy she looks right now while running freely.
The wind brushed against her face like a loving caress. Mikan picked up a bit more speed to feel more of it. She really loved the sensation of her muscles working, the feeling of her feet and claws pounding against, and eating up, the ground and distance. The scenery swiftly passed around her, making her feel as if she'd been transported to another dimension. A dimension where time itself ceases to exist. Nothing but her, the wind, and the vast, changing landscape around her.
The sound of a horse's snort snapped her back to reality. She gave a quick look behind her towards Lucian, then skywards to see the full moon directly overhead. She hadn't noticed the passage of time. They must have been running hours now. Her muscles gave soft throb in concurrence. Lucian's a hardy horse, but he'll also want a little respite from running.
Slowing down a bit, Mikan gave her surroundings a quick glance to decipher where they were. The corners of her mouth tilted up. She knows the perfect place around here where they can take a break before they head back to the castle's grounds.
Mikan made a sharp turn, instantly changing her direction. Natsume had no choice but to cling on tightly to keep from being thrown off the saddle as Lucian followed, taking the same sharp turn and powering through some low-hanging foliage in pursuit. Squeezing his eyes shut, Natsume cursed. His eyes were in serious danger of getting poked out by a stray branch or twig in this route they're taking. He was just about to bellow out an order for them to stop, when Lucian finally broke through a clearing.
Natsume's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. Every inch of the clearing was filled with wildflowers. Moonlight made the whole field of flowers appear to glow in a ghostly-silver hue. The bright full moon looked as if it's shining specifically on that spot of the forest. In turn, the flowers seem to bask in the moonbeams. There blossoms open and facing the moon above, as though welcoming its light.
"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" a rasping voice uttered beside him, snapping Natsume out of his trance.
He glanced at his werewolf companion. "You led us here. You knew about this place," he stated.
Mikan shrugged. "I ended up here some time ago while I was wandering around." Natsume slid down from Lucian's back and led the stallion behind her as she plodded towards the middle of the field. "I thought it would be a good idea for Lucian and me to rest here for a while before we head back," she said, lying down on a bed of grass and wildflowers in the heart of the clearing.
Natsume looked behind him to see Lucian already cropping on some grass, before sweeping a glance around the clearing. Taking a break here might not be such a bad idea. He then glanced around again, trying to find something to tie Lucian's reins to.
"You don't have to tie him," Mikan lazily rumbled, guessing correctly what Natsume had in mind. She was already lying down on her stomach, ready to take a short nap. "I'm sure Lucian isn't going to wander away too far even if he's untied." Natsume raised a brow at her but took her word for it, leaving Lucian's reins slung on the saddle horn before walking up to a napping Mikan. He plopped down beside her and leaned back against her side, his weight sinking into her cushy pelt.
They stayed that way for almost an hour. The only the rhythmic sounds of Lucian chomping on grass and a drifting, gentle breeze passing through interrupted the silence.
It seems like an eternity had passed when Mikan shifted behind him, making Natsume sat up. Giving her body a stretch, Mikan got up on all fours. "We should be heading back. It's getting late. The moon's already traveled across the sky."
Natsume gave a curt nod, accepting that they're peaceful moment together had to end, even though he didn't want it to. He walked towards Lucian and was about to swing himself on the saddle, when the stallion skirted away from him again. He turned to Mikan. "He's not letting me climb up again," he gritted out. This horse could really try his patience.
Mikan came up to them with a noticeable frown on her lycan face. She stared at the stallion, and the stallion stared right back at her, a silent communication seemed to go on between them. After a moment, she broke the contact and sighed. "He carried you here, so he thinks it's only fair that I share the burden and cart you back," she resignedly told him, giving in to the stallion's demand. She knows from past experiences that Lucian can get even more stubborn than her.
"You speak horse?" Natsume lifted an amused brow. He never found a woman as interesting as her in his life. And he was damn sure he was never going to find another woman as interesting as her in the future.
"No," Mikan uttered in a drawn out rumble. "I, in fact, do not speak the language of horses." She just knew Lucian long enough to accurately figure out what he wanted. But she wasn't going to tell Natsume that. "Come on then," she said, lying down flat on her stomach. "Climb on my back so we can get going."
Natsume walked up to her but didn't climb on. "What about him?" he asked, gesturing towards Lucian. "He won't have a rider."
Mikan shook her head. "He'll follow us back. Don't worry about him. Now get on," she insisted.
He looked at her skeptically, but decided to take her word for it. His hands clutched onto her thick but soft fur, as he clambered over her. But once he got settled on her back, he wasn't exactly sure what to do to keep from falling off once she starts running. Unlike Lucian, she didn't have a saddle or a rein to keep him in place and hold on to.
"Just grab a handful to my fur and hang on," Mikan told him, guessing his hesitation. "Having someone clutching on to my fur shouldn't bother me so much," she muttered. Once he complied, she got up on all fours again. "And get ready to shout if you feel like you're going to fall off or something, so I could slow down and lessen any damage to you."
Natsume might not be able see her face when she uttered those words, but he could sense the mischievous grin she must have had on when she said them. It gave him just the warning he needed to tighten his grip on her fur and hang on, as she suddenly bolted away from the clearing.
Well, riding on a lycan's back certain was different from riding a horse's. For one thing, Mikan certainly can run faster than any ordinary horse. Not to mention, it was certainly furrier, but it was also surprisingly far more comfortable. Mikan's stride was pretty much the same motion as a horse's, but it was less jarring. All that thick fur certainly made a nice cushion and shock absorber. If he willingly let himself go, Natsume inwardly confessed, he could find himself falling asleep from the smooth ride on Mikan's back.
In no time at all, they were back at the castle's grounds and in front of the stable. And like Mikan said, Lucian had obediently followed them all the way back. Natsume resignedly slid down from her back and led Lucian back to his stall. He took the saddle and reins off the stallion, then brushed him down to settle him after tonight's long, hard run.
Natsume exited the stable to find Mikan dutifully waiting for him outside. "You still have at least tomorrow night in that form," he stated, critically eyeing her. He'd already decided last night to indulge her while the moon was full and she's stuck in lycan form. After all, he's the reason why she can't fully accomplish whatever regimen she needed to do at this time of the month. So, it's up to him to cater to her needs. He won't stand for her getting sick again, especially not when he can do something about it. "You've already chased me around, got me to read to you, and set off on a run with you in these two nights. What's next?"
"I was hoping that you'd be in a mood to play wrestle with me tomorrow night," Mikan grinned at him.
Natsume's face remained utterly blank. But images of a huge lycan pinning him with an equally huge claw and mulling him began flashing though his mind. He looked back at Mikan, her face looking as innocent as it could with her current predatory features. What had he gotten himself into?!
CHAPTER END
A/N: Yes, yes, I'm late again. I finally got my professional license and had been busy looking for a job. I currently still don't have a job offer though… It's frustrating as hell to wait for their reply if they want to hire you or not after the initial interview. I have no choice but to apply on as many companies as I can to increase the chance of getting a job -.- … I'm not in a mood to thoroughly proofread this chapter (I'll go by it some other time), so if I missed some errors, please inform me about them. And please leave a review for disgruntled old me. Still the same as before, constructive criticism, but no flames, allowed…