Chapter 20:
D watched stunned as Seras' grip on the deer tightened. The deer became quiet, as if waiting for death, and D could not watch anymore. He turned his back from the sight, thinking that normally this would not have disturbed him. The sounds of slurps and gulps were all he could make out, until he heard one thud. The thud of dead weight, of Seras being satisfied, and his turn if he so wished.
Seras licked her mouth once she was done, and mused at how the metallic taste stayed on her teeth. She licked them off and fell back against the wall, only remembering now how much her arm still hurt. D turned back around to see the deer motionless on the floor, his blood still flowing slightly from the wounds; two little puncture wounds on the side of his bronze neck.
"Whoa…you think she left any for you, D? That thing looks like it died from shock alone." Left hand commented, as D was prone to expect by now, and paid no mind to him.
D bent down over the deer, staring at the bite mark for a moment. He proceeded to swipe his hand over the deer's eyes, closing them shut to honor the creature for his gift. With both hands, D lifted the deer from the ground and moved it to the side, feeling that he was no longer hungry. D went back to Seras, to see how she was doing, and found her to be shaking her head in disbelief at what she had just done. D could tell that she was new at this, and his eyes held a form of pity for someone so apparently young, yet he did not voice this opinion.
"How could I …it was only a deer, but still… It was the same taste of blood, the same life draining." Seras muttered to herself. She knew that she needed the blood to survive, but she did not know if she was supposed to feel so guilty about it.
D sat down next to her, and peered at her from under his black wide brimmed hat. "To take life is to be alive." D said solemnly, trying to calm her nerves some what, and hoping that his hand would not butt in as he usually did.
Seras looked up, looking into his eyes as well. "One life does not outweigh another. Who is to make the decision if one should live or die?" She said and hung her head low a little. It is the same feeling. Even with medical blood…I feel like I am stealing life…just to keep this cursed one. Is it worth it? Seras questioned herself, barely sure of anything anymore.
D sat in silence for a moment. The thought took him back to his childhood, when he discovered the fate of a Dunpeal. He wanted to run from it, but there was no escape in fate. "Is there a decision?" D questioned as if to himself, and turned back to Seras, "Life…death…it all turns into the same thing. It is the one thing that is meant to be; the fact that all things that live will die. All things that are dead can die; the only difference between living and undead is when they die."
Seras stared at him in awe for a moment, she did not expect that, but shook her head a little. "Living things do not usually kill just for blood…" Seras paused a moment, meanwhile D interrupted.
"They may not kill specifically for blood, but they do kill to survive. It is as it was; survival of the fittest." D said sternly, knowing that she had started to realize it, and that is why she stopped.
Seras looked to the fire, "It does not make it right. Drinking someone's blood, it is like saying when to live or die." She could not look at D anymore as his eyes pierced her, as if to see what she really was.
D clenched his left hand, feeling that he was about to interrupt, and telling him not to. "Right is over rated. Certain things are fate, neither right nor wrong; it just is." D stated plainly and thought about her wounds. This conversation must be interesting to her. She does not complain about the pain anymore…or she is getting stronger already.
Seras looked back to him, locking with his gaze once more, but more sorrowful than the last time. She looked down again and sighed slightly, "You sounded like one who tried to fight it, what you are, I mean."
D followed her gaze into the fire. "You sounded like you had a choice on it. It is my fate as a Dunpeal to do this. I fight it even now, it is in my blood to taste humans, and I have not."
"How did you know…that I had a choice?" Seras questioned as she turned to him, D still staring at the fire.
"I could tell it in your voice; underlined with depressive tones of being forced into it." D still stared at the fire, the dancing flames entertaining him little, but was a good distraction to the eye.
"It was that or death….but my master did ask. I did not know what was a head of me, I know now." Seras said this quietly, wondering if there really was another way, but decided that there was not.
"Has your decision been worth while?" D questioning, not having a choice of his own, he wondered what it was like.
Seras, still looked at him, but this time in wonder. "I guess so. I have learned much from my master." Hanging her head a little, she continued. "He still treats me like a kid, or a strange pet of some kind."
D sat silently, wondering if there was any truth in his left hand's words, whether this girl did know the one he hunted. Letting his slight conscience get to him, D asked, "Is that the reason you left?"
Seras shook her head. "I left for personal reasons. I have to see if this letter is true, if my father is alive."
D sat silently; he had a feeling that to press the matter would be a big mistake. D looked back at her, and he roamed his eyes over her body, as if to inspect.
Seras felt his gaze on her, and it made her feel naked to him, her mind at least. "What are you doing?" She questioned, a little disturbed by his persistent glance.
"I was trying to see if your wounds were healing. You have not complained of them for some time now." D said bluntly, as if there would be no other reason to be looking at her like that.
Seras looked at him wide eyed. A sweat drop appeared on the back of her head and she said a little out of it, "I forgot about that. Eh…now they hurt a little." Seras hung her head a little, feeling stupidly about not even feeling the pain for awhile.
"You must have really been engaged in the conversation than, it distracted the pain." D said coolly, as Seras still contemplated it.
"I don't know…in this cave, I feel comfortable." Seras said, looking back into the pale face of D.
"It is warm in here, relaxing in a way." D muttered in response, as he was practically over heating in his armor.
"You could easily get a heat stroke in here. Don't you think you should take it a bit easy there, D. The heat effects you more than me, not like I want to be boiled alive in here." Left hand finally awoke, and started to complain.
D was getting tired of this, and saw that there was still some what in the basin next to the fire. It was the basin used to help clean Seras wounds. With a quick motion, D picked up his left hand and placed it in the cold water. Instantly, muffled sounds and trashing came from the water.
"D…stop..trying to kill me? ..Me..only a hand…not ..much I can do." D pulled his hand out again. Left hand gasped and spat on the ground to get some of the water out of his throat.
"I was not trying to drown you, only cool you off from being over heated." D said coolly, meaning every word of it.
Seras watched them in awe and started to laugh at the idea of a hand drowning, if that was even possible. Her face lit up in the cheerful light of the fire, even though, she regretted it as her sides started to hurt.
D looked at her, it did lift his heart a little to see that she was at least in a humorous state, which usually meant recovery was going well. "I would say another day or two and you should be well enough to move again, if you wished." D stated annalistically after her laughter died down.
Seras grinned at the thought. As much as she liked the cave and Draco, there was still much that she had to do, and she knew it. She sat up against the wall again, and quiet for a moment to consider things.
Seras looked back to D again, her face in puzzlement. "D, why did you help me? Binding my wounds and all when you did not even know me?" Seras allowed her curiosity to get the best of her, as she wanted to ask that for awhile.
D sat in silence for a moment, as if to contemplate a good answer. "You would have died if I did not. It is unjust to leave a person being attacked when this person already has a previous disadvantage. I was only trying to even the score. I noticed that you were a vampire, and should have killed you there…" D paused for a second, not knowing what else to say.
"Why didn't you kill me then?" Seras eyes wide in wonder, trying to pry a little bit of information from this mysterious vampire hunter.
D looked down at the ground, wondering himself why he did not. As that was before he found out who she was, he did not want to say that he was trying to get information from her on his new assignment. "I guess, the thought of saving someone to just kill them again would not have set right on my conscience. You were also in sunlight, so I knew that even if you were a vampire, that you did not drink human blood. I only kill those who are harmful, if you did not drink human blood; I thought that you were not that harmful."
Seras mused at his answer, and was satisfied. She was so tired all of a sudden. Both staring at the fire, they watched until it was down to the embers. Seras drifted off to sleep, pondering her predicament. D just sat there, staring at the glowing embers until they were gone as well.