dialogue – thoughts
"dialogue" – speaking
--
Chapter 14
--
Sometime past dawn, when light had flooded her room to the point where it was impossible to sleep any longer in restful peace, Meryl had pulled herself reluctantly from her bed and shuffled sleepily downstairs. Her night had not been pleasant, after being attacked by six full-fledged vampires and later, while in her room, hearing and seeing things that were not there.
She figured everything that had been happening was finally getting to her, and she could say she didn't like it one bit.
Vash's bumbling bangs and thumps as he was cleaning her living room had ended not long after her initial encounter, and the petite woman had taken to watching the individual, injured bloodsuckers slink with defeat into the darkness like beaten dogs.
Just gone to lick their wounds, Meryl had convinced herself.
They would be back for more in no time.
Vampires mended quickly, which explained Vash's quick healing process and full mobility after just five days after being shot (fatally to any mere human) by Legato. It seemed as though the half-blood, however intent on living like a human, couldn't ever escape his true heritage.
Meryl yawned loudly, setting her full kettle onto the stove to boil. Tea had always calmed her nerves and managed to wake her up from any sleepiness lingering after the night was over. She had been drinking it since she was a child.
It was more of a habit to drink it now, just like Nick and his cigarettes.
Smothering another yawn, the petite woman glanced up at her clock. It was ticking away happily above her stove, reading nine on the dot. She was lucky it wasn't one of those annoying cuckoo clocks, the kind where the bird chirped the number of hours at every change. Milly had inherited one from her great uncle, and it managed to annoy Meryl to no end with it's incessant chattering.
Pushing those thoughts from her head, she made her way toward her table. Dropping heavily into one of her kitchen chairs surrounding her modesty small table, Meryl rested her head on her arms to wait for her kettle to whistle. Her neck was throbbing painfully, and she was sure dark bruises would show their faces no later than noon that day. She could feel them forming.
They were a reminder to her night's activities.
It was then, in her half-doze and peaceful morning atmosphere created for her own self-indulgence, did Meryl notice the loud, horrible, unbearable snores emanating from her living room.
And, while sitting and listening to the noises, she felt her eyebrow begin twitching with annoyance.
I hate mornings…
Here she was, trying to rest her pounding, heavy, aching head after a night of no sleep and that insufferable half-blooded, idiot blonde vampire was snoring away in a blissful slumber unaware to the pain he was causing the remaining occupant of the house!
Now how had she managed to miss that?
Was she going deaf, or what?
The snoring continued, and Meryl—somewhat reluctantly—pulled her head from its cosy resting place and shuffled her way out of her kitchen.
Now she was intent on making the Vash's life a living hell for disturbing her peaceable lull.
Her thoughts were feeling bitter this morning, Stupid demon, disturbing my morning after ruining my night! Meryl's jaw was set in agitation, and she made her way toward her living room.
But she completely halted her vengeful progress when she came upon the scene before her.
Now, not only had Vash mysteriously ended his bout of horrible snores when she had entered, but the sight of the blonde sprawled ridiculously across her sofa, one arm hanging limply over the side while the other tucked under his chin with his face so relaxed, it was hard for even herself to launch into a string of tyrannical yells.
That, and the fact he looked absolutely too peaceful to be disturbed by her hand sent the harsh words that had been ready on her tongue to die like wind to a candle flame.
So, Meryl opted to settle herself down in one of her chairs and simply watch the man.
Well, vampire, if you insisted on being specific.
And she had to admit she had never taken the time—or liberty—to discover a vampire's name, to interact with one as though it was an equal, something relatively like a human. She had never thought to learn of a vampire's life before she killed it, put it out of its misery.
Meryl was sure they did something other than kill and eat. Maybe they had a life, someone who cared for them, someone who would worry if they were out too late. Did they have companions, friends, or were they merely independent, only travelling in groups because it was easier to kill their prey?
Meryl gazed on at Vash, watching his face with a somewhat distant eye. A lock of blonde hair fell neatly out of place with his steady breathing, and she blinked, resisting the urge to stand up and remove it from his face. Instead, she contented to simply watch, thinking absently while her tea brewed.
Did they have family?
Vash had said Knives, the ruler at Purebrood, was son of Lord and Lady Saverem…
And that name seems so familiar…
So, that meant that Knives had parents.
But did they care for him like humans did their own child? Did they love and worry, and raise him, or did they leave him to defend for himself?
Meryl watched as Vash sniffed slightly, his fingers flexing and his brow furrowing.
The petite woman wondered aimlessly, Are vampire's capable of love, even? They are dead, but yet they are able to reproduce, either by conceiving a child or turning a human. If they are dead, they can still have feelings, though…
Vash, she was sure, held emotion.
So, maybe only half-bloods, those created from human and vampire blood, have feelings, can experience friendship and pain, maybe even something like love…? She wondered carefully as she studied Vash.
He seemed completely human to the untrained and unknowing eye.
In fact, if she didn't already know what he was, and was just another person having a conversation with him, she was sure she couldn't guess it. He looked human, acted human. Meryl smiled somewhat, Hell, he even eats like a human, although much more than normal.
And it was true. He had eaten everything Milly had placed in front of him the day before, without protest. He had resembled a starved man introduced to the luxury of food after a year of mouldy bread and water.
Or human blood… Meryl suddenly reminded herself, somewhat grimly.
Maybe he can eat food, human food and have the same effect drinking blood, the woman mused thoughtfully, That could save a lot of people pointless heartache.
But even as she thought it, she knew it probably wasn't true.
She didn't know anything about vampires and how they lived, only that they fed on human blood, either killing their victim or allowing him or her to be turned.
Meryl frowned slightly as the realization came upon her.
She had been tracking, killing and making a profit from bloodsuckers since she was a teenager, and she knew nothing about them. True, she knew more than the average person, but not enough to be truly useful.
Sighing, Meryl turned her gaze back onto Vash.
He looked so human, so relaxed, maybe a little pale, but anything but a vampire.
She was sure he was as human as anything in this world, the creature that was so close in the genetic line that he easily fool anyone…
But it was at then, at that precise moment that her kettle's piercing scream, a high pitched whistle reached her ears, and Meryl shot up abruptly without a second thought and ran hurriedly to the kitchen.
Meryl just hoped it hadn't woken up the half-blood and he had somehow noticed her staring at him.
She didn't know if she could live with herself if a half-blood, a vampire, thought she was some sort of creep!
Ten minutes later found Meryl happily pouring herself a cup of steaming tea, waiting patiently for the half-blood to wake up so she could get started with her day. Milly and Wolfwood were due at her house sometime around noon for another discussion with the vampire.
She didn't notice when the latter had woken up, yawned himself awake and had made his way, sleepily, into her kitchen.
In fact, she was just pouring some cream into her tea when Vash's voice chirped out from behind her, nearly resulting in a broken teacup and steaming tea all over the floor. However, her only surprise was shown when she started slightly, a few drops of cream splattering neatly onto the counter, nothing more.
"Morning, short girl."
His tone reminded her almost too much of Milly, but she quickly pushed that thought away with a response.
"Good morning, broom head." She replied curtly, "Glad to see you're finally up." Meryl set the cream down and made her way across the kitchen for the sugar.
A brief silence enveloped the two, in which Meryl found the elusive jar and was now rummaging for a teaspoon.
"Did you clean up my living room last night, or does it still have bodies lying around it, bleeding on my floor?" Meryl asked, her voice rather cold and snappish, but she figured it was a good idea not to let him know she had been watching him while he slept.
A loud humph came from the half-blood, and she could imagine him crossing his arms indignantly at her proposition, "I did my job very well, I'll have you know." He paused to yawn, "And your precious hardwood floor is perfectly fine." He sounded slightly offended, and the petite woman smothered a smile.
Keeping her back to him, Meryl busied herself with measuring off her sugar, "That's good to know," she replied almost absently, and then stopped, a sudden thought coming to mind. She turned slightly, glancing at the sleepy man, "Would you like a cup of tea? I already have the water boiled."
Her offer sounded too pleasant even in her ears, and the petite woman felt herself almost relieved when he refused.
"Err…no thanks, I don't drink tea…" he trailed off slightly, and Meryl shrugged, turning back to her drink.
So, he ate spaghetti but didn't drink tea? At the least to say, she found that quite amusing.
"Fine by me." She replied, spooning sugar into the hot drink.
All the more for her.
But Vash spoke again, "Wait a second..." The man's voice held a note that somehow managed to irritate Meryl, and she didn't bother to turn to see what had caught his attention.
A brief, sharp, "What?" the woman scowled lightly into her drink and pushing the cream to the side, "Do you want tea or not??" she turned fully to glare briefly at him, and turned away just as quickly.
"No, no, I don't want tea…" Vash was biting hit lip slightly, eyeing Meryl's back as if trying to see straight through her.
She only turned her head this time, and glanced at him out from the corner of her eyes, "Spit it out, broom head."
Vash's next words provoked a very odd reaction from the petite woman, one that nearly sent her spoon and sugar to the floor for ants.
She wished she hadn't even bothered to ask…
But she supposed it would have happened sooner or later, and she had been dreading when it did.
He pointed to her, an inquisitive look on his face, "What's that on the back of your neck, short girl?"
It was too bad she hadn't thought of pulling up her collar…
--
Reviews?
--Cayenne Pepper Powder