RPOV

After I left her shop, I raced my car out to the middle of nowhere, where no one would find it except by accident. I proceeded to get out of my car and continue racing on foot. The nice thing about being supernatural is that I have many talents, some come from being around so long, learned talents, others come naturally, almost as consolation for being what I am. One consolation is being able to run about 400 miles per hour. Being able to move at half the speed of sound has its advantages. Charlie kept pace with me knowing all of my tendencies so well. About halfway through Canada I stop.

I stare at the sky and roar loud and aggressively enough to make even a lion cower in fear. All the wildlife went quiet. "Why the hell does she have to be the one? What did I ever do to deserve this?" Never had I been tested so badly. Never had I dealt with this much emotion all at once. Never again shall I be in this situation.

In my anger, I slammed both fists into a poor innocent thousand year old oak tree splitting it in half. In my sadness, I sat upon the stump and cried tears of blood for my body has no other fluids. In my self pity, I allowed the crying to continue. In my friendship to Charlie, I did not harm him and let him comfort me with a nuzzle on my hand. In my confusion, I screamed at the sky. In my hatred for what I am, I tore at myself.

This barrage of emotions did not let up for quite a long period of time. When they did I arose from my condescend position on the tree stump. I guessed I had been sitting there for about two or three hours. In those hours I found no solutions, no solutions whatsoever. I walk back to my car trying to clear my thoughts further, only running when I needed to get through densely populated areas.

Charlie eventually had left me to sort things out. I love that dog. He was an amazing man. He was somewhat of a Vampire Hunter. He was good at it too. That is, until his best friend was turned into one, I thought ruefully to myself. He gave up the hunt to help his friend in need. He is the epitome of loyal. He could never stay with his best friend as a human so he stayed in his dog form, only barely safe for 100 years or so. He stayed through all the tough times though and in the process forgot how to become human again. He has accepted that fact. He knows how change can cause drastic effect and that time is all one needs to accept and move on.

I finally make it back to my car. I plopped into the driver's seat only to sit and stare at the forest. The forest is dark and scary unless you know the secrets and opportunities it holds. All it takes for that forest to become friendly is five minutes of contemplation, five minutes of trying to understand. Maybe that is all I need to do with this. Think it through, allow what will happen to happen and not get terribly worked up over it again.

I take this peace of mind with me to my home. I am supremely content now that I have made a decision. Upon arriving at home, I find a snoozing Charlie. Unlike me, he still needs sleep. He is still mortal, all except for the fact that he does not age. I pride myself on being able to move silently but Charlie still pricks up his ears right after I pass him. He glares at me.

"What? I didn't do anything." I exclaim in his direction. Suddenly he's not glaring at me anymore, but looking hard towards our front door. His tongue lolls out of his mouth as he grins widely. He runs off to the forest, I shake my head. Sometimes I wonder about that dog.

I sit down with F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby because it is what fits my mood currently. I read for the next 15 or 20 minutes and Charlie barks quickly followed by a timid knock on the front door. What has this dog gotten me into now?

I am only slightly shocked when I see Caelwyn standing on my front stoop. "Hi. What are you doing here?" I ask.

She just looks at me like I am an idiot. I can't say I blame her. "I whirled here if you must know. I have no idea what's going on. I am fairly sure I'm lost. And I know I am without corporeal form with me. So, in short, I have no idea what I'm doing here." She smiles at me after finishing this small rant.

I am now the one with no idea. There are many things going through my head right now. She was not asleep when this started. She has seen her own body while doing this. She is taking this so calmly, there must be something wrong with her. It must have showed on my face because she is staring again. I reel in whatever composure I can and respond, full host mode, "Why don't you come inside."

"I think I shall. So do you have any idea how I got here?" She asks so very bluntly. I have to admire that.

I decide right then and there that I would answer any question she would ask of me that night, at least as much as I was allowed to, but I would not lie to her. "Sure I do. You jump."

She just looks at me and exclaims, "I what?"

"You jump. You move from one dimension to another while leaving your body behind. You not only take a form with you, but clothes and ideas. The interesting piece of that is you bring the ability to speak and manipulate space around you, just as if your corporeal, as you called it, form was here."

She just sits for a moment, makes up her mind about something and opens her mouth to speak, "Well question one answered, have time for more?"

"Sure I have all the time in the world." Charlie decides it is time to make his presence known again. He pushes his head into the back of her knees towards the couch. He knows better than to push me. She takes his cue and sits down so I park myself in an armchair close by. Charlie has no qualms for personal space so he leaps up next to her and curls into her side. It always amazes me how small of a ball that big dog can make himself be.

"Alright the, are you a vampire?" She just spits out one of the most dangerous questions she could ever ask of me.

"What would lead you to believe that?" I ask this hoping beyond all hope she'll let it go. I'm sadly disappointed.

"You said you have met quite a few vampires yourself. You also said that only very old, practiced vampires can control themselves around human blood. This leads me to believe that you are a vampire yourself and rather old at that, considering I am still alive, and you visited my bookshop. You also can see me when no one else can. You are also always in color when in another dimension, just as you were the first night I saw you."

Wow. That is all my brain would process after all that. No other human could put all those factors together and still be sitting here this calmly. If she wants to risk her life, that's her business I guess. I shake my head and answer with, "I believe you are too observant for your own good. I also told myself after I first met you that I would never lie to you. Frustrate you maybe, but never lie. So, yes I am a vampire."

I am still trying to figure out why she isn't running away when she completely throws me off track with another question. "Question number two answered. Question three, what is Charlie? He is not just a regular dog."

All I can do is stare at her. First she figures out I am a vampire off a book title and something that could be easily misconstrued as fantasy. Then she figures out that Charlie is not only different than normal, but also that he is not 100 human. I am never underestimating this woman. "He is a man that is stuck in this Wolfhound form that never ages. He ran away from his human form for one reason or another and is now stuck for all eternity. I believe the best way to put a name to his condition would be were-dog. You might best identify him as a werewolf, but he does not bite to change others into werewolves and he does not only change on a full moon, etcetera, etcetera." I did not lie to her about Charlie's history, but it is a story for another time, another day. She is not running away from me yet, and I would not want to give her more reason to hate me yet.

"Okay," She says enthusiastically, "now question three is also answered. It seems only fair you should have a chance to ask me questions."

I think about it for a minute. I did not believe I would be given chance to ask her anything this conversation. "Okay, do you know who you are yet?" Hey, if she could figure out the other two, she could surely figure this out as well.

"No, figuring out who you are usually takes a lifetime. And if you are referring to the prophesy you won't tell me about, no I don't have any clue yet."

"Alright, you answered truthfully, that is interesting." I only have one other question to ask her. "Since you know what I am, why are you not running or asking all the usual questions about abilities and whatnot?"

It is a few moments before she answers. "Since the first time I came here on accident you have not hurt me. You have thought about it and if I had not woken up at an opportune moment on the very first visit… well let's just say that life would not the same. You managed to come to my shop without harming anyone. And if you believe I need to know about any abilities then you will tell me about them. Tonight is not the night to worry about what you can and cannot do."

I smile. I have a feeling she will always surprise me. "That is an extraordinarily wise answer."

She smiles back almost melting my long dead heart. "Well, I have my moments. How did you and Charlie meet?"

"I believe that is a story for another time as well. It has been many, many years since our bond was made. I have no last question to ask you before you have to go. What do you know you can do when it comes to this jumping and whatnot?" I asked curious as to what she has figured out so far.

"I know no human can see me. I know you and Charlie can see me. I know it happens accidently when I sleep. I know I can see ghosts and that is about it. I have no idea what I am getting into on the big picture."

She seems sad and excited to know that there could be intrigue involved. "That is never good. I will help in any way I can but for right now, you need to return to your body. Think about how it feels to open your eyes to sunlight, to hear the sounds of your apartment. Think of waking up from sleep." I am anxious to see if she can make it back. I really hope she can because I have no idea how to get her back if she can't.

She has more to say before she leaves though, "If you think so, farewell Charlie; Goodbye for now Raven." She closes her eyes and after a few moments she begins to fade. Thank goodness, she will be able to get back. That is a huge relief.

I still have no idea what to do with that woman.

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