What's this?! Two updates in one week?! Holy hell, I'm back in the swing of things!
Whisper Me a Nightmare
"Damon," Stephen called from the hall. Damon shifted, but merely waited. "Alaric's here." A devious smirk lit his face as we listened to an engine shut off.
"Come on." He whispered, trotting towards the window. He called on those gorgeous black wings and leaped from the room. I scoffed light heartedly and followed him. Showoff. He merely grinned. A tall man stood just before the manor door, hand reaching out to knock. Damon flapped hard just behind him to slow his descend before touching down. The sudden buffet of wind nearly knocked the hunter off his feet and his hand immediately darted inside his jacket. My heart stopped at the glimpse of the stake, but he stopped with a heavy sigh and returned the weapon to the hidden holster.
"Damon," he greeted between deep breathes, "you got a new trick." He paused as his eyes passed over me before adding, "And a new… friend."
"Wanna know the fun part?" he goaded. The man waited. "She's not a vampire." Alaric's expression suddenly hardened and he took a fresh look at me.
"How… what did you do?" He took a step towards me, eyes dissecting every inch of my anatomy. My wings flared defensively, which only fueled his confusion.
"Actually, she taught me this little… 'trick'." He replied. Releasing my defensive stance, I tried to feel the humor Damon was getting from the man's bewilderment, and I stretched them above my head and flapped lightly.
"Wh…" he shook his head a moment, clearing his thoughts, "What are you?"
"Lot's to explain," Damon intervened, "let's get inside." Albeit reluctantly, the man nodded and followed us into the manor.
"How about introductions first?" Damon scolded through his signature smirk. Almost biting his lips, the man nodded.
"Alaric Saltzman," he said, offering his hand, "My apologies; it's not very often something comes up I haven't seen before."
"'Thing'?" I restated, bringing a flush of crimson to his cheeks. Damon choked back a laugh as Alaric stammered briefly before sighing in defeat when I flashed him a smile. "Athena Alansry." I accepted his hand, "You can call me Thea." Again he nodded, sending Damon a friendly glare, which Damon was only too eager to return.
"Alright, question time; then we get down to business." He started.
"Business?" Alaric started, but Damon interrupted.
"Ah! Questions first. You'll need a bit of background info to understand what we're dealing with." The hunter gave a heavy exhale.
"What are you getting me into, Damon?" he murmured, wiping his hand over his lips. "Alright," he finally sighed, "So, what are you?" he started. I paused before answering, glancing briefly to Damon for assurance.
"I'm called a familiar." I told him. "I'm afraid I don't know a great deal about our origins, but we're connected in some way to vampires."
"And werewolves." Damon spat. Alaric cocked an eyebrow at him before returning his attention to me.
"How did you come to find yourself here?"
"I got caught in a storm. Damon… found me and brought me back here." The man merely nodded.
"And what kind of invincible new enemies are we facing today?"
"Just one." Damon replied. "We don't know his name, but he's definitely vampire. And he's old."
"What's he done?" Rage instantly surged through Damon. I twined my fingers around his before answering.
"He's hunting me." Alaric frowned.
"Why?" I hesitated before answering him.
"There's a rumor about familiars," I started, "if a vampire bonds with us, they supposedly gain access to an incredible power."
"Oh, that's just what you need." He shot playfully at Damon, but then he paused, actually contemplating his words. "Wait," he started, "have you?" I nodded. He kept his expression blank, but Damon could hear the sudden increase in his heart rate. "Well, if you have access to all this power… why don't you just... take care of things?" I swallowed hard and glanced back to Damon.
"We don't really know how," he paused before adding, "and… there may be some… psychiatric side effects."
"Oh," Alaric murmured, "well, that you don't need more of."
"Oh, well that meh, meh," Damon mocked. The hunter sent him a warm smile.
"Which leaves us with just one super-charged vampire wreaking havoc in this our lovely town of Mystic Falls." He clarified sarcastically.
"Hopefully." Damon added in a far too carefree voice. My heart sped up at the thoughts running through his mind. There was no telling if remnants of the Shadow Men would show up. "Familiars are…. in pretty high demand." Alaric's face suddenly darkened. His eyes flicked briefly to me before returning to Damon.
"Sorry, but I wonder if I could have a word with Damon." He muttered darkly, already stalking toward him.
"Won't do any good." Damon smirked, allowing himself to be pulled away by the suddenly distraught hunter for a few feet.
"What, does she have vampire hearing too?" he asked. Damon chuckled.
"You could say that." Alaric debated his next words carefully before whispering futily,
"Is that why she's here?" he asked, "so you can get stronger?" he paused before adding, "How can you be sure she's not with Katherine?" Damon scrunched his lips, pretending to debate the hunter's words, before draping his arm around the man's shoulders.
"No, no, and yes, I'm sure."
"Then why…" Alaric paused a moment, looking Damon hard in the eyes. "Oh. You actually…" Damon's expression suddenly hardened and the hunter let the words face. With a sincere, yet somehow sad smile, asked, "What do you need" For a while, they spoke of contacts and here-say and tactics. A few minutes later, Steffen joined them, arms crossed over his chest. Try though I did to maintain some interest, after the twentieth foreign name was referenced, I plopped down on the couch and began preening. I don't know how long they spoke, but my feathers were in desperate need of the attention. Eventually my eyes started to close from the rhythmic movement of my fingers and the hushed voices gently reverberating through the main room. With my wings still wrapped loosely around me, fingers barely moving along the feather, I vaguely felt myself slump against the armrest and drift off.
The scent of pine was nearly overpowering. I could taste the moisture weighing down the air. Run. I had to run. At first I wasn't sure why. But then I heard the laughter. And my heart stopped. Please no. My skin was already slick with sweat and ached where branched and brush had caught me. Didn't matter. Had to run. I could feel him getting closer. I could feel the eager exhilaration feeling his limbs. He could have my whenever he wanted, yet he waited; drew it out; savored my fear. The trees parted briefly and I flung myself desperately into the air. The instant my wings extended, an incredibly powerful force threw me against a tree. White hot agony surged through my ribs, forcing the air from me in a painful huff. I could only watch as my body crumbled to the forest floor; lungs burning.
"Thea?" Confusion.
Everything went dark briefly, but I forced the colors to separate. Run, damn it! Limbs distant and foreign, I scrambled to my feet, clutching my screaming side.
"Thea." Someone called.
Barely managing to steal a few gasps of air, I sprinted through the trees, each step bringing the darkness closer. My diaphragm bucked in attempt to fill my burning lungs with air. The agony in my ribs dropped me to my knees; forcing a cry from my lips. Crimson droplets gleamed on my fist.
"Thea!" Shouting. Something touched my shoulder.
A whisper echoed around me. Desperately, I tried to regain my footing and run, but the pain surging from my side crippled me. Stronger, louder it called. Couldn't make out the words; couldn't focus. It was everywhere. Dancing. Toying with me. "Little bird!"
Screaming, I shot from the couch.
"Thea!" Darkness. Arms locked around me, but my body shied at the flare of pain it sent though my ribs. He carefully tried to lay me down, but I struggled to regain my foot. "Don't try to move." Damon murmured, trying to calm me.
"What happened?" The hunter, Alaric asked.
"He's here!" I gasped.
"No; Thea look at me," Damon whispered, gently guiding my face toward his, "He's not," but the words died on his tongue. Laughter. My hands shot over my ears, but it wouldn't stop. Please, just make it stop! I think I was screaming.
And then it was gone. Silence. No one moved. Alaric stood at the ready, stake in hand, and Steffen had already placed himself between myself and the front door. Again, my diaphragm convulsed. I couldn't help but whimper as the coughs tore through my throbbing torso. Damon studied the main entrance a while longer, mind attempting to gage the likelihood of whether or not the vampire was old enough to get in. Several seconds passed before we were certain he'd gone.
Without a word, Damon it his wrist and held it to my lips. I struggled with the first couple gulps, but the pain quickly receded and my head cleared.
You okay? Damon asked, still holding me carefully against him. I nodded, lied; mind lost in a frenzy over the latest assault. My dreams. He could get me in my dreams.
"Did he just"
"Yeah," Damon interrupted. "He just attacked her in her sleep."
"But he couldn't have"
"'Done any real damage?'" Damon spat. Without another word, he showed the hunter his blood stained hand. I looked at my side to see the fabric stained in red. When I hit the tree… but how? Grinding my teeth, I got to my feet. Damon's arm kept me locked against him. What were the limits? How far could he go?
"Bonnie" I mumbled, catching everyone's attention. "I need to see Bonnie." Reluctance.
No. Came Damon's silent reply. It's not safe.
"Apparently no where's safe." I retorted aloud, earning a confused look from Alaric. "If she can put a block," Damon immediately balked at the thought, but I continued, "between this other vampire and me, maybe she can at least stoop this from happening again." His jaw tensed and his eyes hardened, but, dislike it though he did, he finally nodded.
"It's a great theory, but there's still one little problem." Alaric commented, "How will you get there? The hospital's miles from here." I turned my attention to the hunter and smiled.
"We'll fly." I said simply.