A/N: Yay! I'm back! And I still have a bit of writer's block! ; But I think it's a good sign that I suddenly found myself wanting to write this. Actually, it took me a few days to actually get it all down, but at least it's all here, ne? So, enjoy! Thank you everyone for your support! sniffs I don't know what I would have done without you guys!
I have a few little things to be cleared up or answered before I head along with the story, so sit tight!
#1 Is Wolfwood a vampire? I'm not sure if I somehow mentioned Wolfwood being a vampire, but just to let you guys know, he isn't. Interesting concept, though. I'll have to think more about that one ;)
#2 Is Vash going to bite her? Well, I don't know…what do you think? Guess you'll have to keep reading, wont you?
#3 When's the Vash/Meryl romance!!?? Yes, I know you're all getting a little irritated with me, but my plans have changed a bit. It should be coming soon, though. I hope…;
Special Thanks to: Hannah5 (you're so nice to me!! ;; Thanks for all your reviews!), Lynderia, Kate Connor, kongykun, saoui, Maia Webmistress (glad you liked the chapter!), SailorPenguinz (I agree, Johnny Depp is so hot! Oh, I have to say I'm glad you didn't find my mistake!), Roganu-chan (thanx!), sweet-stars (I know, I'm a killer with cliff hangers! ), Ana, sora7 (I hate writers block so much! I'm glad you could wait for this chapter), Zalpinian (Finally someone who will criticize me! Seriously, thank you!), vash#1fan, Chibi Chibi (I hope you get over your writers block soon, if it already isn't gone…--;;), addictive (I always love enthusiasm!), Alucard2, bluesky7, and last but not least…WW!
Thank you all for your reviews! (I really should go back to the individual ones, shouldn't I? --
Disclaimer: I don't own it! Final!
Dialogue - thoughts
"Dialogue"- speaking
Chapter 17 (I'm getting confused here…)
Meryl could feel the hostility flowing off him in waves. He was practically burning with it, aggression written all over him, in his actions. It frightened her some, but also angered her.
He was a fool.
She had come to that conclusion after only a few moments back there, as they were facing the bloodsucker's head on. Either that or she had terribly misjudged him. Either that or she was the one off; she was the one who was an idiot, a foolish idiot.
Meryl would never brand herself, however, and the way anger, frustration and aggression was all wrapped up in a nice little package, rolling off Vash, the fool of a half-blood now, she could hardly call herself an idiot. He was the one who had acted rashly. He was the first one to fire the shot, and he was the one who had almost refused to leave.
She had been the one to save his life, as measly as it seemed to her.
But now, as both ran through the streets of London, the half-blooded vampire and the woman meant to hunt him, they both seemed like fools.
Legato had been right. Mayhap she—they might have been safer in her own house, even if the damned bloodsuckers knew the location and had complete access right through the front door. She might have been better off in her bed, sleeping off this horrible headache she had somehow produced over the time she had awoken, so abruptly learned her fate, and somehow managed in the streets, running like fool from a pack of bloodthirsty vampires with nothing close to the sense of morality.
And boy, were they ever angry.
The petite woman could hear there shouts, their snarls, their inhuman jeers and laughs as they enjoyed the hunt, as they cased after their prey, one of their own blood and a woman sought out by their master.
This was how Meryl found herself, short of breath as she struggled to keep up with the blonde's rapid pace. Her breath was coming hoarse now, her legs becoming leaden with every step she took. It was becoming an effort to keep up with Vash, and she hated it.
Being short was a burden no one should have to endure, she decided angrily as she forced her legs to move faster, quicker. But it was hard, she seemed to be taking baby steps, and the vampires only seemed to be gaining on them.
Moreover, Meryl wasn't about to lead them right to Milly's front door, or Nick's for that matter.
But the priest was out of the question, as the petite woman realized they had passed the crossing to his home several minutes ago. Milly was their last hope, but Vash had no clue as to where he was going.
And Meryl was falling further behind with every passing second.
This led Vash to a difficult decision. It seemed, no matter how he tried to push the responsibility away, the final vote always fell on his shoulders, whether he liked it or not. And at this time, he didn't like it.
Meryl was too slow, or rather, her lack of height contributed to her lack of speed. She wasn't necessarily slow, just unable to keep up with his longer, swifter strides.
Damn the man who invented height…
But the daywalkers were gaining on them, their noses sniffing out the short girl's blood, and her blood was the only thing on their minds.
It was becoming more difficult to resolve their horrid situation at every passing moment. Vash could feel what seemed to be the first signs of fear creeping under his skin, crawling it's way along his spine like some disgusting parasite you couldn't be rid of. And he could feel his strength waning.
Yes, it was definitely going. With every passing second, as he breath came forth in white wisps, visible in the cool air, as his body strained forward, as his ears picked up the sounds of their footsteps, as his senses could feel their presence.
Giving a sort of strangled, choking noise, the half-blood halted abruptly, Feel my own damn lifeblood being used up by the minute…! he cursed inwardly, his thoughts hardly making sense to himself as he caught the short woman by the arm when she slowed beside him.
And then, he dragged both of them into an alley, the smell of day old garbage and stench of the dead heavy in the air. It was utterly repulsive, but enough to muffle the scent of blood. It just might be enough.
Meryl, however, had different thoughts about the matter. Not only did she not enjoy being dragged into dank alleys by the scruff of her neck, like some sort of drowned cat, the first thing that came to mind wasn't pleasant. She associated dark places and vampires with unpleasant activities involving sharp fangs and massive amounts of lost blood.
So, she did the only thing she could think of, the thing she had been taught from since before she could walk, talk, or even hold a stake.
Angrily, Meryl jammed her elbow into Vash's ribs, struggling madly from his grasp with the vengeance of the heavens on her side. Or, so it seemed.
As a sharp response, the half-blood gasped, grimaced, slapped a hand over her mouth, and slammed her against the alley wall. The horrid, slimy, reeking, dirty alley wall. And then he hissed in her ear.
"Stop it! I don't think I can put up with your idiocy much longer!"
Meryl could feel the slime on her cheek, and she gazed into the darkness of the alley with wide eyes. This reminded her all too much of their first meeting. It made her both angry and frightened.
But then anymore words that were to be exchanged were ended quite abruptly as they heard them. The bloodsuckers, the mass of daywalkers trampling down the streets, hoots and howls rising up into the air with a chilling intensity that made anyone in their right mind run for the nearest hiding spot.
Everyone will be inside now… Meryl thought, her eyes staring blindly into the darkness as Vash refused to move, as the horde of monsters rumbled down the London street, trampling everything and anything in their path.
Everyone will be running now, just like the cowards they are… the petite woman's thoughts turned bitter as she listened to the inhuman screams fading, the pounding footsteps' echoes dying heavily as the pack moved on.
Like hungry wolves, bloody disgusting
And the two were left with nothing but their own harsh breathing to listen to.
"Nicholas…?"
Abruptly, the priest was broken from his thoughts by the sound of his name off Milly's hesitant lips.
He never wanted that. He never wanted her to feel afraid around him…
"Why do you ask that, honey?" he asked again, using the endearment as if to remind her he was no stranger, despite the odd note in his voice.
Slowly, his dark, cloudy blue eyes met her clear ones, and he didn't at all like the look in them. It was almost cold, distant, guarded. It was as though she was waiting for him to jump at her at any moment.
"I…I well…" she was still hesitant, and Wolfwood could feel any warmth that might have remained in the room abruptly vanish as the air around them became tense. She had just trodden upon unspoken territory, and she wasn't at all sure she liked it.
"I…there…I saw-I saw one…" once again, the tall woman failed miserably, and her eyes drifted to the floor as she tried to gather her wits.
This was horrible. She had never been afraid of Wolfwood before, never, never, never…
"Where did you see it, Milly?"
Now his voice was pressing, urging her to continue as though he didn't mind, as though he welcomed the questions. Milly shivered internally, her insides clenching painfully as she forced the words out.
"I…I saw it…on Sempai."
And then she was crying, tears welling up in her bright eyes, now dulled with sadness. And the priest would do nothing to help her.
"Oh Meryl!" she cried mournfully, "What does it mean, Nicholas!?"
Right then. It could have been right then. That could have been the exact moment, but the priest wasn't sure. The priest was never sure about anything these days. Everything had changed too fast, too soon. But that was it.
That was when Nicholas D. Wolfwood felt the world around him come crashing down upon him like some horrible dream made reality, when everything suddenly turned around and you were faced with the horrible truth of everything.
Damn, and it hurts…"Are they gone, do you think?" Meryl's quiet whisper seemed to echo in the small space. To her, her voice was entirely too loud.
Vash, however, could barely hear her. "I don't know…" He didn't know when he had let her free from his hold, but somehow they had managed to come to be standing in the middle of the alley, swathed in darkness and clothed in the stench of garbage.
"I think they're gone." Came the short woman's persistent voice, still deathly quiet.
It annoyed Vash.
"Then why don't you go see?" he stated boldly, if not somewhat haughtily.
Meryl turned to him with an irritated glare, and again she was somewhat surprised by how deathly pale the half-blood looked, even in the dim light. That wouldn't land him any sympathy, though. She wasn't gullible.
"Why don't you? You're the vampire!"
Vash shook his head in exasperation. "What does that have to do anything?"
"Everything!" Meryl snarled, and her voice echoed loudly through the alley, which only caused the half-blood to panic and slap his hand over her mouth once more.
"You don't have to yell, shorty! I can hear you just fine without you screaming in my ear!" he whispered to her harshly, his dull aqua eyes flickering from side to side nervously.
The petite woman's cheek twitched slightly, and she narrowed her gaze angrily before pulling away from the vampire's hold, her fists balled and ready before her. Vash really didn't like the way this was going…
"And I can hear you quite well without being strangled. If you think it's going to get my attention, you better think again, half-blood." She spat, and watched as her words took effect on her companion. However, as he stiffened, and looked ready to hurtle an insult right back at her, Meryl cut him off, once again shooting off in a rage.
"Now, to the fact you should be the one going out there to see if you're bloodsucker friends are gone!" Meryl kept her voice somewhat lower than before, and whispered the words in a low frenzy, her smoky grey eyes blazing. "Why do you think, broomhead? You're the damned vampire! You're less likely to be ravaged and attacked than me! And did I mention you aren't the one being hunted down by a mass of bloodthirsty monsters, so therefore are more candid to go check than me? Understand, half-blood? Or is you're bloody skull to thick to comprehend??"
The petite woman finished her rant with a deep breath, and took a step back as Vash turned to her, his face stormy.
And once again, she was struck by how pale he seemed, how lifeless his eyes were and how they stared at her with a empty deadness she only associated with one thing.
Vampires. Full fledged vampires, their souls encrusted with a layer of darkness to thick to penetrate.
Their hearts too black to see the light.
And then he spoke, his tone cold and quiet, a manner to match his eyes. The way they stared at her was unnerving.
"You have an awfully bold voice for a dead woman, you know."
And his words disturbed her much more than they should have.
Meryl suddenly felt cold, but there was no one to talk to.
Vash was already turning the corner onto the street, and if he was going to wait for her or not, she didn't know.
Being left behind was what she was worried about.
(Okay, I admit. I was thinking about cutting off here, but realized I wanted them to get to Milly's—mostly because it takes me so long to get people places! )
Sempai…poor Sempai…
Milly's mind was working of its own accord. She wasn't paying attention to what she was doing, what was going on around her. She didn't even notice her stomach growling, her hunger finally having caught up with it.
Everything was falling apart, it seemed.
Everything was going wrong. It was never supposed to be this way.
What she had found out from Nick wasn't ever supposed to happen to Sempai. It just…it just wasn't right. It wasn't natural…
The tall woman shifted slightly on her couch to address the problem that was her numb leg. Sitting for too long in one position did that to a person…
She rolled the cup of tea in her hands, her eyes staring across her living room, unblinking, unmoving.
Nick sat to her right, a cigarette hanging from his lips and a downward tilt to his whole being.
It was all quite depressing, really.
Meryl's whole condemned fate, the fact that she was marked with the vampire Lord's symbol. Done personally himself, she had been told.
Of course, that was not all that she had learned from Nicholas.
Shorty? He had exclaimed in a bewildered manner. You mean shorty is the one with the K?She had nodded to the priest's question; her face had been an ugly grey. Not unlike that of the dead.
That's what Nicholas called Sempai…
It's the mark of Knives. The K, a symbol of his power. It sucks the power from you, big girl. Meryl's a dead woman, that's what she is. Proof of the living dead, not unlike Vash and his kin
But that was funny. Sempai didn't look dead. She seemed quite alive; full of life the last time she had seen her…
It attracts the bloodsuckers like bees to honeyThe teacup in Milly's hands rattled violently for a moment, and she blinked, turning her blue eyes—normally glowing with joy—to the liquid inside.
They won't stop stalking her everywhere she goes until she's dead and turned, Milly. There ain't nothing you can do for her now
No, no…there must be something I can do for Sempai…
She's dead on her feetA loud knock resounded throughout the room, and Milly snapped far enough out from her stupor to recognize the sound of knuckles on wood. The rapping of knuckles on wood.
Someone was knocking on her door.
A/N: I think it was rather decent, a bit choppy, but hey, that's what happens when you don't write for a while! Anyhoo, notice random humour gone bad…I know, it didn't work out that great, but tell be what YOU think of it!
That's right, click that review button!
--Cayenne Pepper Powder