Still playing in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy playground...
Malina passed him after breakfast on their way to class. She smiled at him, a big, pretty smile that still covered her fangs. She was wearing green again, and had her hair tied up, spilling down her back in a long, rippling, silky-looking pony tail.
Dimitri watched her walk away. The other Moroi girls he'd been with invariably drifted away after a week or two, but they were always friendly. Malina didn't stop.
Ivan caught up to him, obliterating any thought of Malina. "Belikov."
It took quite a bit of effort for Dimitri to keep his hands unclenched. "Zeklos."
"You didn't say any more while everyone was talking." Ivan said. He sounded unconcerned and casually friendly. "I agree that we're safe, but you have to admit any Strigoi sighting near campus is far from normal. Everyone tells me you're the best novice; you must have some ideas. What else are you thinking?"
Dimitri shrugged, and his muscles were so tight that the movement felt stiff and unnatural. "Strigoi go where Moroi are. That's why you have guardians."
Ivan just chuckled, and Dimitri nearly flinched. "Sounds like the standard guardian line. I promise I won't overshare and cause panic, I'm just curious. I've realized very recently that I don't know much about my friends who are going to get stuck protecting me. If I understand more how you think, maybe I can make someone's job easier when I'm assigned a guardian.
Dimitri refused to let his guard down but forced his shoulders to relax. Zeklos was right. Dimitri wasn't going to make the mistake of believing him, but at least Zeklos seemed to be approximating good behavior. "You don't need to worry about that."
He felt Zeklos's eyes on him but kept his own focus forward, refusing to engage him any more than necessary. Zeklos matched his long strides exactly, still watching him, and finally said quietly, "All right, I won't. But if you ever change your mind, I really am interested."
They walked the rest of the way in silence and entered Comparative Literature together, leaving the cool, silent, starlit outdoors behind them. Ivan broke off to sit in the seat he'd chosen the day before, and Dimitri chose a familiar spot much further back. Once at his seat Dimitri rolled his neck and stretched his shoulders, trying to work out the tension being around Zeklos ratcheted into his muscles. Familiar movement at the front of the class caught his eye.
Guardian Nikitin – not the class's Moroi professor - gave Dimitri a sharp nod in greeting when Dimitri looked up. "Good morning," Nikitin started after the bell, clapping his hands together. "You might be wondering why I am here this morning, but then again, if you've been paying attention to the rumor mill, maybe not." He smiled a humorless smile, and a few students – dhampir and Moroi – smiled back uncertainly.
"I am here because we had a slightly concerning event late last night. As you may have heard, a Strigoi was a little bit too close for comfort. We don't think she'll be coming back, but we are taking extra precautions. Quite a few of us have been working most of the night, and we thought you might want to see what we've been doing while you were all sleeping.
"Please pair up, novices with Moroi. I know our numbers aren't quite even, so double up where you need to. We are heading to the wards, just remember, it is dark out, so just to be on the safe side –" Dimitri could have sworn he heard dry humor in Nikitin's tone – "please no one step over the line."
The novices and Moroi grouped quickly, but Dimitri stood alone. He was out of his comfort zone, he simply wasn't one to socialize randomly. He couldn't help see Zeklos standing alone as well. Dimitri turned away quickly, but not before he saw Zeklos take a step toward him, an uncharacteristically cautious look on his face. Malina rescued him.
"Hi Dimitri," she said. She smiled uncertainly, then straightened her shoulders and raised her chin to look him in the eye. "You know Catherine."
The Moroi girl standing next to her nodded. "Hi Dimitri." He knew her – they'd all grown up together at the academy – but this was probably the first time they'd spoken since elementary school. He was surprised to see a quick intelligence in her eyes, not the shyness he expected from a girl so quiet and plain. "Thanks for getting the Badicas to leave me alone last week."
He remembered, now – the Badicas had been verbally harassing her and she'd tried to ignore them. He'd stepped in when they'd starting using their elements. He nodded, not sure what to say.
"Do you need Moroi?" Malina asked.
He half-smiled. "I think I do."
"Good, because we need a novice." She smiled back at him, but she was somehow cooler, less friendly than she'd been last night. Dimitri wasn't sure what to think. He was grateful that she helped him avoid Zeklos, but she'd gone from sweet and overly affectionate to almost superficially friendly. Ordinarily he wouldn't have bothered worrying, but he'd started to think Malina was different than the other Moroi girls he'd been with. Maybe he was wrong.
Thank you for reading!