_+_ Yay, yet another chapter. I wonder when I am going to end it? o_0
whateva'. Enjoy. _+_
So, Leila had joined our group. From what Kyle had told me, her family was the victims of vampires, and that her mother had been kidnapped, and when her father went to rescue her, he was killed. Her mother had come back, but she had been changed, and the people in the village stoned her to death, right in front of her. She said she wanted to be a hunter to avenge her family. I really didn't see that happening in the near future, as I watched out the window as Borgoff desperately tried to teach her how to properly shoot a gun. She was clumsy, and she was an eyesore. I really didn't like her... at first. I felt like our family had been invaded.
When she fell backwards and the gun flew out of her hands when she shot it, Borgoff threw his hands up in the air and walked off muttering something about letting women do a man's job. I smiled. This wouldn't last long. Before I knew it, she'd be gone, and I wouldn't have to worry about it. She bit her lip and stood, putting away the gun and some other weapons Borgoff had tried to teach her how to use. She pulled open the heavy door to the tank (not without falling backwards, of course,) and walked on rubbing her temples as if she had been the one teaching herself.
"You think I can do this, Grove?" She asked, staring out the window across from me.
I smiled, and lied through my teeth.
"Sure. You just need some practice. I used to be really bad myself."
She turned and smiled at me. "You think so?"
"Sure, why not?"
She smiled, and came to sit next to me.
"Look, why don't I take you out? I have some money left from the bathhouse. You're always stuck in this bed, and everyone avoids you like you have the plague. C'mon. You can walk, right?"
I rolled my eyes and nodded, suddenly dreading this. I wasn't too weak by this point, so I shakily stood, and slipped on a pair of boots next to my bed. At least those still fit. She helped me stand and walked me off the tank, as if I were crippled or elderly.
"Yo, Borgoff?"
I heard him sigh disdainfully. "Yeah, Leila?"
"I'm gonna take Grove out for awhile, okay? Get him some clothes that fit."
"Good. He needs to get out once in awhile. It'll probably be good for him." I heard him laugh.
Kyle appeared from around the corner laughing as well. "Hey, if you can't fight with us, you can be our maid!"
She rolled her eyes, and we started off towards the city, which was just about a three-minute walk. We were camped outside of the city of Abrial, waiting for another bounty opportunity to show itself. Abrial was a city that was constantly in fear of vampire and demon attacks, because it was thirty or forty miles away from the village of the Barboroi. They had been isolated for years, but those animals had just recently started to show themselves, terrorizing and feeding off of humans like vampires did. We figured someone would ask for help sooner or later, once it was known that the famous Markus brothers were here.
She took me out to lunch, first off, to get some energy into me. It was okay; buttered Parmesan noodles and broccoli and cheddar soup were never my favorite, but it was a good meal nonetheless. Then we made our way to a men's clothing shop, where she bought me lots of scarves for some reason (which I grew quite attached to), pair of white pants and a few sweaters. I put them on the minute we got them; I was sick of walking around and looking like I was playing dress-up in big brother's clothing. Then, she said she had some business to take care of (to this day, I still don't know what it was. She said something about someone owing her money) and set me loose on the village, telling me to meet her at the church. I had nothing else to do, so I just went and waited in one of the empty pews. Despite the fear this city always seemed to be under, the church was oddly abandoned. Dust and cobwebs had claimed it as their own, spiders and other insects had conquered and ruled the land. As I scanned the ruins of this house of worship, I saw alabaster images of saints in the corners of the ceilings, peering down and looming over the area, as if to keep a judgmental yet protective eye. The windows were stained glass, depicting Lord Jesus Christ, and the angels: Michael, Gabriel, and the banishment of Lucifer. The walls were made of marble, and the pews of red cherry wood. They had velvet cushions on the seat and back. I wondered why such a place had gone abandoned, maybe humanity had lost their faith, but I guess, who wouldn't in a world like this? In a world where evil ruled, and where vampires didn't fear crosses and holy object as they once did. The cross, it seemed, hadn't lost it's effect entirely. Vampires had just learned o ignore it. But what caught my attention was the front of the church. In the right corner, there was a piano. I stood, and slowly walked over to it. Before we had the ambition to go off killing vampires, I had been learning how to play the piano and had written a few pieces. I hadn't played in years; I wondered if I still could.
After brushing off what seemed an inch of dust, I settled slowly onto the bench, trying to keep myself from falling over. I pushed the cover from the keys up and over. The keys were dustless, and to my surprise, nothing tried to leap out and attack me. I poked at one of the keys, and smiled when it produced the tune that it was supposed to. Judging by the rest of the church, I figured it probably would scream, whine and run away when I touched it. After doing a few warm-ups that seemed to come mechanically, I started to play, and everything came back.
Dad's stomach cancer, mother's depression, our stepfather's gambling/drug problem, my healthy body. Gods, I just wanted to be normal. I didn't ant to be a withered cretin! I banged the keys loudly and fell over sobbing. My child life was never horrible, but it just wanted to make me cry now. It was so painfully depressing to think that I would probably be bed ridden for the rest of my life. Maybe I wouldn't be, but the last time I used that power, (unintentionally) I just got weaker. I didn't tell anyone, and it was no doubt that they would want to use my power over and over again. I realized how childish I must seem, sobbing over a dusty piano in an old church. It was like I was in my hiding place, crying so no one would see me. I sat up and sniffled, rubbing the tears from my eyes. I started to play again, and to my surprise, it all just once again came mechanically. This time I played something faster paced, yet depressing. It sounded like the mind of a genius, I thought. Of course, that's just me. Sorrowful, beautiful and fast paced. I slowed down a bit, and it started to sound like something that might be played at a funeral. Before I knew it, I was playing the song I had played at my father's funeral. I bit my lip, trying not to cry, and kept playing.
I hadn't even noticed that Leila had been at the back of the church for quite some time, propping her body up against the doorframe. She was smiling ruefully, her arms crossed over her chest. I didn't even recognize her at first; It looked as if she had done some shopping herself. She had bought herself a gun with a fancy leather holster, and a skin-tight red ensemble. She had cut her hair to look like a man's , and it fit her better. Once I finished the lament for my father, I sighed, and started to play something again, but she quickly spoke, as if to keep me from playing more.
"I didn't know you could play."
I jumped up in shock. "I-I'm sorry, I." I quickly closed the cover, and walked up to her. "Okay, let's go back now, I'm sorry. I shouldn't."
She looked at me confused and laughed. "What the hell are you apologizing for?"
I opened my mouth to speak with a perfectly valid reason, than realized I had none.
"I don't know." I said, and sighed.
"It was beautiful, you know. You don't have to be embarrassed. You really have some talent."
I blushed, and smiled shyly.
"It was the song I played for my father at his funeral."
"It was really beautiful. I'm sure he loved it."
I nodded slowly, and looked down to the floor, still blushing bright.
"Well, let's get back to the tank, okay?" She pulled me close to her side and hugged me tight.
"But first, I just want you to know, that no matter what you think, you're not ugly. I've seen you sometimes crying to yourself about it. I think you're beautiful, really. And you are a wonderful person. You really are."
I looked up in shock, wondering why she was telling me this.
She smiled.
"Well, come on."
******
So, I guess she was the first one to really show some true sympathy to me. Maybe Kyle did once in awhile, but he was my brother, and all in all, it wasn't as genuine as Leila's. Sure, he cared, and I knew that, but he never told me that I was a wonderful person and not to worry about how I looked, and that I was a wonderful person.Sure, Leila was headstrong and a bit annoying at times, but I guess that she was the first person I really, well. really loved. Of course, I never told her. She may have said I was beautiful, but she might have just been saying it to make me feel better. I regret never telling her. Of course, by the time I thought I was going to, along came that Dunpeal hunter. She seemed hopelessly obsessed, and was always chasing after him. Maybe I'm just naïve. She could have just been chasing him to divert him from the carriage. That was probably it, but I think she had something for him. She helped him, I'm sure of it. There was that time that she disappeared for awhile, near lake Chvonne, where that Dunpeal was supposed to be. I can't think what they did, and nor do I want to.
When she arrived, I was relatively strong. Every time I used that supposed archaic power, I just got weaker. I died a little bit every time I used it. But even as I go weaker, Our bond seemed to grow stronger, even with that Dunpeal around. Even if it wasn't the kind of bond I might have wanted, I guess I'm thankful for it. Love who she may, I just wish I had let her know how I felt.
I sacrificed myself for her; I guess that's good enough. That's the best way to say, "I love you", right? Maybe she got the message, maybe she didn't. I just hope the message gets through to her some day.
_+_End!! I think so. I guess so. My sister was rushing me to finish it. I hope this is a good ending. _+_
So, Leila had joined our group. From what Kyle had told me, her family was the victims of vampires, and that her mother had been kidnapped, and when her father went to rescue her, he was killed. Her mother had come back, but she had been changed, and the people in the village stoned her to death, right in front of her. She said she wanted to be a hunter to avenge her family. I really didn't see that happening in the near future, as I watched out the window as Borgoff desperately tried to teach her how to properly shoot a gun. She was clumsy, and she was an eyesore. I really didn't like her... at first. I felt like our family had been invaded.
When she fell backwards and the gun flew out of her hands when she shot it, Borgoff threw his hands up in the air and walked off muttering something about letting women do a man's job. I smiled. This wouldn't last long. Before I knew it, she'd be gone, and I wouldn't have to worry about it. She bit her lip and stood, putting away the gun and some other weapons Borgoff had tried to teach her how to use. She pulled open the heavy door to the tank (not without falling backwards, of course,) and walked on rubbing her temples as if she had been the one teaching herself.
"You think I can do this, Grove?" She asked, staring out the window across from me.
I smiled, and lied through my teeth.
"Sure. You just need some practice. I used to be really bad myself."
She turned and smiled at me. "You think so?"
"Sure, why not?"
She smiled, and came to sit next to me.
"Look, why don't I take you out? I have some money left from the bathhouse. You're always stuck in this bed, and everyone avoids you like you have the plague. C'mon. You can walk, right?"
I rolled my eyes and nodded, suddenly dreading this. I wasn't too weak by this point, so I shakily stood, and slipped on a pair of boots next to my bed. At least those still fit. She helped me stand and walked me off the tank, as if I were crippled or elderly.
"Yo, Borgoff?"
I heard him sigh disdainfully. "Yeah, Leila?"
"I'm gonna take Grove out for awhile, okay? Get him some clothes that fit."
"Good. He needs to get out once in awhile. It'll probably be good for him." I heard him laugh.
Kyle appeared from around the corner laughing as well. "Hey, if you can't fight with us, you can be our maid!"
She rolled her eyes, and we started off towards the city, which was just about a three-minute walk. We were camped outside of the city of Abrial, waiting for another bounty opportunity to show itself. Abrial was a city that was constantly in fear of vampire and demon attacks, because it was thirty or forty miles away from the village of the Barboroi. They had been isolated for years, but those animals had just recently started to show themselves, terrorizing and feeding off of humans like vampires did. We figured someone would ask for help sooner or later, once it was known that the famous Markus brothers were here.
She took me out to lunch, first off, to get some energy into me. It was okay; buttered Parmesan noodles and broccoli and cheddar soup were never my favorite, but it was a good meal nonetheless. Then we made our way to a men's clothing shop, where she bought me lots of scarves for some reason (which I grew quite attached to), pair of white pants and a few sweaters. I put them on the minute we got them; I was sick of walking around and looking like I was playing dress-up in big brother's clothing. Then, she said she had some business to take care of (to this day, I still don't know what it was. She said something about someone owing her money) and set me loose on the village, telling me to meet her at the church. I had nothing else to do, so I just went and waited in one of the empty pews. Despite the fear this city always seemed to be under, the church was oddly abandoned. Dust and cobwebs had claimed it as their own, spiders and other insects had conquered and ruled the land. As I scanned the ruins of this house of worship, I saw alabaster images of saints in the corners of the ceilings, peering down and looming over the area, as if to keep a judgmental yet protective eye. The windows were stained glass, depicting Lord Jesus Christ, and the angels: Michael, Gabriel, and the banishment of Lucifer. The walls were made of marble, and the pews of red cherry wood. They had velvet cushions on the seat and back. I wondered why such a place had gone abandoned, maybe humanity had lost their faith, but I guess, who wouldn't in a world like this? In a world where evil ruled, and where vampires didn't fear crosses and holy object as they once did. The cross, it seemed, hadn't lost it's effect entirely. Vampires had just learned o ignore it. But what caught my attention was the front of the church. In the right corner, there was a piano. I stood, and slowly walked over to it. Before we had the ambition to go off killing vampires, I had been learning how to play the piano and had written a few pieces. I hadn't played in years; I wondered if I still could.
After brushing off what seemed an inch of dust, I settled slowly onto the bench, trying to keep myself from falling over. I pushed the cover from the keys up and over. The keys were dustless, and to my surprise, nothing tried to leap out and attack me. I poked at one of the keys, and smiled when it produced the tune that it was supposed to. Judging by the rest of the church, I figured it probably would scream, whine and run away when I touched it. After doing a few warm-ups that seemed to come mechanically, I started to play, and everything came back.
Dad's stomach cancer, mother's depression, our stepfather's gambling/drug problem, my healthy body. Gods, I just wanted to be normal. I didn't ant to be a withered cretin! I banged the keys loudly and fell over sobbing. My child life was never horrible, but it just wanted to make me cry now. It was so painfully depressing to think that I would probably be bed ridden for the rest of my life. Maybe I wouldn't be, but the last time I used that power, (unintentionally) I just got weaker. I didn't tell anyone, and it was no doubt that they would want to use my power over and over again. I realized how childish I must seem, sobbing over a dusty piano in an old church. It was like I was in my hiding place, crying so no one would see me. I sat up and sniffled, rubbing the tears from my eyes. I started to play again, and to my surprise, it all just once again came mechanically. This time I played something faster paced, yet depressing. It sounded like the mind of a genius, I thought. Of course, that's just me. Sorrowful, beautiful and fast paced. I slowed down a bit, and it started to sound like something that might be played at a funeral. Before I knew it, I was playing the song I had played at my father's funeral. I bit my lip, trying not to cry, and kept playing.
I hadn't even noticed that Leila had been at the back of the church for quite some time, propping her body up against the doorframe. She was smiling ruefully, her arms crossed over her chest. I didn't even recognize her at first; It looked as if she had done some shopping herself. She had bought herself a gun with a fancy leather holster, and a skin-tight red ensemble. She had cut her hair to look like a man's , and it fit her better. Once I finished the lament for my father, I sighed, and started to play something again, but she quickly spoke, as if to keep me from playing more.
"I didn't know you could play."
I jumped up in shock. "I-I'm sorry, I." I quickly closed the cover, and walked up to her. "Okay, let's go back now, I'm sorry. I shouldn't."
She looked at me confused and laughed. "What the hell are you apologizing for?"
I opened my mouth to speak with a perfectly valid reason, than realized I had none.
"I don't know." I said, and sighed.
"It was beautiful, you know. You don't have to be embarrassed. You really have some talent."
I blushed, and smiled shyly.
"It was the song I played for my father at his funeral."
"It was really beautiful. I'm sure he loved it."
I nodded slowly, and looked down to the floor, still blushing bright.
"Well, let's get back to the tank, okay?" She pulled me close to her side and hugged me tight.
"But first, I just want you to know, that no matter what you think, you're not ugly. I've seen you sometimes crying to yourself about it. I think you're beautiful, really. And you are a wonderful person. You really are."
I looked up in shock, wondering why she was telling me this.
She smiled.
"Well, come on."
******
So, I guess she was the first one to really show some true sympathy to me. Maybe Kyle did once in awhile, but he was my brother, and all in all, it wasn't as genuine as Leila's. Sure, he cared, and I knew that, but he never told me that I was a wonderful person and not to worry about how I looked, and that I was a wonderful person.Sure, Leila was headstrong and a bit annoying at times, but I guess that she was the first person I really, well. really loved. Of course, I never told her. She may have said I was beautiful, but she might have just been saying it to make me feel better. I regret never telling her. Of course, by the time I thought I was going to, along came that Dunpeal hunter. She seemed hopelessly obsessed, and was always chasing after him. Maybe I'm just naïve. She could have just been chasing him to divert him from the carriage. That was probably it, but I think she had something for him. She helped him, I'm sure of it. There was that time that she disappeared for awhile, near lake Chvonne, where that Dunpeal was supposed to be. I can't think what they did, and nor do I want to.
When she arrived, I was relatively strong. Every time I used that supposed archaic power, I just got weaker. I died a little bit every time I used it. But even as I go weaker, Our bond seemed to grow stronger, even with that Dunpeal around. Even if it wasn't the kind of bond I might have wanted, I guess I'm thankful for it. Love who she may, I just wish I had let her know how I felt.
I sacrificed myself for her; I guess that's good enough. That's the best way to say, "I love you", right? Maybe she got the message, maybe she didn't. I just hope the message gets through to her some day.
_+_End!! I think so. I guess so. My sister was rushing me to finish it. I hope this is a good ending. _+_