Chapter 19:
Seras held onto D's gaze and winced once as she tried to move her right arm for comfort. D noticed and said nothing, but walked to Seras and knelt by her. Seras gasped a little as he inspected her right arm, it was not because she was shocked, but the pain that climbed up her arm as it was lifted.
"Your arm is still sore. The lack of blood is draining the energy you have that would have healed your wounds." D explained levelly to her, his eyes now seen under his wide brimmed black hat.
Seras grimaced at the mention of blood; she was still reluctant to drink if she did not have to. Seras stomach rumbled deeply as she has had nothing to drink in almost a week. D pretended that he did not hear that, but his hand was not as unknowing.
"Hear that D? Her teeth will drink blood right from under you...human blood…when she is strong enough, that is…" Left hand said sarcastically as if trying to pick a fight already.
Seras heard this and still wincing from the pain answered in a weak voice. "I only drink medical blood." She stated bluntly, as if she had a feeling that Left hand would not believe her.
Left hand opened his mouth; D glared at him and shook his head no. "I do not have medical blood on me." D said plainly as if there was nothing else to the matter, "I only drink that of animals. You may join me for that, if you feel up to it…"
Seras stared at him and realized that he still held on to her arm with his right hand. Seras clutched his hand slightly in determination. Her posture poised as she stared at him. "I don't think I could move to hunt for the animal, but I would have a taste if you got one…" Seras said as her stomach gave another vicious rumble, which shook her whole body in weakness.
D felt her grasp and felt that her strength was slowly returning. He nodded in acceptance of her challenge. "I will return soon." D stated plainly as he let go of her arm and started to get up. His armor made scratching noises as he moved.
"Oh yes, he will be back, who knows about me. Don't take any pity or notice of me…I'm just a hand. No feelings at all like this poorly dressed shmo." Left hand said as if his feelings were truly hurt, but D knew better.
Seras stared at it, wondering if it was always this sarcastic. "Hmm…a little surgery could get him removed." Her eyes flashed as she said that with a chuckle in her throat that escaped soon after.
Left hand stood stunned, with mouth open in shock. He stared franticly at D and than to Seras, seeing that their eyes had locked once more. "You would never do that, right D? I mean…wasn't I always a good help to you?" Left hand fidgeted noticing that D did not stir, until he turned to leave.
"You are a hindrance and speak too loudly." He growled lowly at Left hand, but continued as he left the hall, "I could not get rid of you. You are attached to me for a reason, as is everything that happens." He said dully and exited the cave noticing Draco sitting on the left side of the entrance.
"Leaving so soon, I see... I began to wonder if you had any other motives for binding her wounds, but if you are that eager to leave her so soon; I see that the thought has never crossed your mind." Draco said to him bluntly.
D turned his head slowly, his armor rippling slightly as it was skin tight. "What my Left hands motives are, I do not know. I do not want to know. I am leaving merely to get blood, not human blood." He added quickly seeing the dragonic face in wonder.
"I see how it is. Being a Dunpeal, you do not wish to lose your little bit of humanity by staining your hands with humans…That Seras seems to only be a half vampire at best, and you do not wish to make her a full as you would than have to kill her. Is that right, I suppose?" D shook his head in the affirmative, but knowing already what he would ask, she spoke once more, "That is understandable, I will watch her while you are gone."
D bowed his hat a little and walked through the woods, trying to be as quiet as possible, which was annoying as his armor made noise. He knew that if he used his horse, that it would make more noise than just him. D noticed the ground becoming more slippery at a gradual pace and started to hear creatures move around him. At the time, he was glade that his hand had decided to bite his pride and be quiet for once.
Not more than another half a mile in he saw what appeared to be a deer grazing on some pine. D noted that it was of good size and would hold more than enough blood for him. Just when D started to inch closer slowly, something pounced on him from the tree above. D fell to the ground and rolled over quickly, drawing his sword as he did so. He expected to see something, but saw nothing at all. Hm. It must be really quick or…some kind of mist. Yet the deer stayed…he does not know, or does not want to know. Clenching his left hand, D tried to get up, slowly, but was knocked down again just as quickly. This time he saw a black shape, so quick that he could not tell what it was…
It hits me when I move…the deer is staying still, he does know…It was a trick…This creature is fast, as fast as…His dark red eyes widened a little as he understood what it was. Black lightning! Something here can caste that…hmm. He knew that he could not move, but he did not need to. D's eyes searched the grounds, and wiggled his finger to see how accurate the spell was. It must not have been so as he managed to move his hand without being hit by the blackness again. He grabbed for some rocks and tossed one up in the air. Like clockwork, the black lightening zipped across, blasting the rock to dust.
D did this repeated times from different angles until he saw the spell castor. It looked like a mordicant demon from Barbaran, but he was not so sure. The mordicants features were black; a long snout with teeth followed by ravenous black hair, and a tigers tail. It held some kind of wood stick with the skull of a dragon on top, a small skull considerably, thus the dragon was a baby when it died. The thought of killing a new born dragon for use of his head in black magic angered D above most of all, but did not show it. This mordicant must have been hunting the deer when I happened by. He thinks he can use that as well for a sacrifice to his dark art… and all the way for Barbarous… that does not bode well for them.
D had enough of sitting and waiting. With his last rock, and his sword steadily grasped around the hilt of his sword, he threw it and moved swiftly as the black lighting hit only the first thing that moved. D ran to where the mordicant sat in the trees, black lightening pelted towards him, which he managed to dodge well enough. Using his sword to throw off smaller doses of the bolt, he leaped in the air. D's sword thrust out as his hand extended and lopped off the top of the staff, the head that held the power. Descending rapidly, he grabbed a hold on a lower branch and swung himself up to the mordicant.
The mordicant stared in awe for a moment, and D now standing on his branch, started to claw at him. D parried the blows: once, twice, and the third he combined with a strike straight through the mordicant's abdomen. The mordicant's eyes budged as he stared into D's face and knew it was the end. The mordicant howled deeply like that of a wolf's and keeled over, falling dead to the ground.
D jumped to the ground after him, kicking him over with the toe of his boots, he with drew his sword. The sword was covered in the mordicant's black blood, and D wiped it off before looking around for the deer. The deer still stood there, ears up and eyes on him. As if the deer already knew that it was his end, it walked to up to D and stared at him in the eyes.
D was surprised by this offer, but did not show it. He put his left hand on the deer's head and felt it shiver beneath his touch. "You will not die yet, but this does make things easier."
The deer's ears picked up again, but he knew that it would not be much longer. D returned his sword to his sheath and held on to the deer's side as he walked him slowly back to the cave. When D reached the cave with the deer, Draco looked at him in awe. She had not seen a deer in awhile, and could see the terror in the deer's eyes as he looked at her.
"I'm impressed, D. One does not simply walk into the forest and drag out a deer." Draco smiled slightly, which looked odd as her long snout did not exactly have lips, "Seras is resting well, though, I feel that her lack of blood is preying on her mind. This should resolve things well." She said as she glanced over the fully grown male deer in all his glory. Every detail from the shine of his golden brown coat to the antlers of hard wood was pleasing to her eyes.
Draco moved aside and allowed passage for D and the deer. D walked, as did the deer, both causing skull cracking noises. It seemed to ricochet of the walls as D could hear Seras gasp from the sound of the many bones cracking at once. D entered the circular room of the cavern, still filled with the fire light, holding the deer by the back of the neck and walking in to see Seras.
Seras stared in wonder at the deer and knew what it was going to be used for, but could not help feeling some what sorry for the creature. It was so gallant with long antlers as well. D moved the deer closer to Seras as he saw her admiring it, and stood next to it as well.
"Ladies first." D said plainly and when he saw Seras staring up at it, he knelt lower. He forced the deer to buckle his knees as well and follow in suit, "This should be easier for you now." He said still holding on to the deer so that it would not escape, as it was starting to forcefully pull up.
Seras eyes widened. She could not drink from a deer, but she did not have any other choice. She turned her nose up at it in repulsion of her own thirst, but her stomach beckoned her on. Sweat started to drip from Seras as she strained not to drink from the defenseless creature, and D's stare did not make it much easier. After another moment, Seras started to shake and her teeth pushed forcibly out of her mouth. Forgetting the constant pain in her arms, Seras wrapped them around the deer's big neck. Leaning half against the deer for support, her mouth opened wide and her eyes filled with delight, half crazed with hunger. Seras bit down hard and started to drink, feeling the rush of the warm blood into her body, like warm milk. It had a metallic salty taste to it, but was different than her medical blood as it was fresh.