Yay, next chapter up and another review! Thank you for the kind words!
I don't own any of the Legacy of Kain games. Wish I did. I'd be working on the next game.
Onwards to the chapter!
Edits were done by my dear Beta Ellara Levellanas on 04/02/2017
More edits have been done as of 7/2021
Chapter Six: Arguments and Embarrassments
I awoke an undeterminable amount of time later with a pounding headache and a sharp pain centered at the base of my left shoulder where my wing-joint met the shoulder blade when extended. Noise reverberated through the air, and it took a moment for me to realize that it was the sound of two men arguing in the distance. The voices were vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place them through the pounding in my skull. Didn't want to, honestly. The pain was too bothersome.
Instead of wasting time focusing on the voices and potentially worsening my headache, I looked around the room. I'd like to have a better idea of where I was. Oddly enough, I was lying on what felt like a soft, feather-down mattress. There were even silk sheets covering me. The room itself was... not as nice as the bed, which looked to be new. It was a run-down mess that showed signs of being recently dusted. And poorly at that.
Curious, I sluggishly lifted the sheets to look down and my body and saw that my wounds had been neatly bandaged. I was still wearing the same clothes, though. I'm not sure how I would have felt if someone had changed my outfit. Grateful? Angry?
I licked my lips... and tasted copper. Blinking, I reached up to brush my fingers over my lips and pulled them back. Blood. And not mine, either. Well then. Whoever it was that had found me had not only treated my injuries, but they had fed me what I'd needed to help speed up my recovery. Kind of them. Hopefully, that meant I'd been found by decent vampires or at least those who were sympathetic to the vampires. Not that I was going to complain. Not yet anyway.
Yet, it was odd. The blood was... sweet. Sweeter than anything else I'd had before outside of heart's blood. The literally addicting fluid was something that I'd avoided like the plague. Auron had been hellbent on getting me hooked on it, and I'd always spat it in his face.
Perhaps it was because of the type of blood I'd been forced to drink? That of murderers, thieves, the homeless, the sickly, or otherwise long-stale blood? Blood type might well affect the flavor of a person's blood, but what really made a difference was the person's physical health.
Pushing the thought aside, I tried to sit up. Only to fall back against the bed as a wave of dizziness assaulted me. A low groan escaped my lips, almost too soft to be heard. Once my head stopped spinning, I tried to sit up again, only slower this time. It took a few moments, but I was able to right myself. Shifting to the edge of the bed, I swung my legs out from under the covers and tried to stand up.
I almost fell on my face.
It took more than one try before I could finally get to my feet, but I had to use the headboard to steady myself to do so. Truly, I just wanted to lay back down and bury myself back under the covers of a soft bed. It had been far too long since I had been able to indulge in such a thing. Still, I needed information. I needed to know where I was. And if I was safe.
What if these vampires, or vampiric allies, were like Auron? What if the comfort currently afforded to me was a ruse? Something meant to soften me up for later? Trading one tormentor for another wasn't something I wanted, and if I needed to make a run for it, I would. Better to keep my freedom now that I had it.
Making my way to the door took several minutes. A low, near-silent growl escaped me once I reached it. I was tired after just walking across the room. How frustrating. Even if I'd been fed recently, I still felt weak as a kitten. Not good. Bracing myself against the doorframe, I reached for the door handle and found it was unlocked. Unexpected, but encouraging, really. Keeping as quiet as I could, I tried to make out what was being said.
It helped that the next thing said was almost a shout...
"Half-bloods cannot and do not exist!" said an annoyed-sounding, familiar voice.
Yep. Whoever it was that was arguing, the fight was centered around me. How... wonderful. I shifted my weight and pushed open the door a little more so I could look around. Based on the layout of the corridor and open doorways to nearby rooms, I was underground. An old-style setup that had likely been built for underground storage and was probably connected to a huge sewer system. Strange. What little I could see of this place was also familiar to me. Vaguely.
The discussion continued, pulling me from my thoughts...
"We have been over this several times now," responded a second male voice. "Now, will you allow me to finish what I was saying, or will you continue to deny the truth of the matter in a blind fit of pique? The world as we know it holds more secrets than even I know, but this at least is something I have knowledge of."
Pushing the door open another inch, I peeked out a little further. There was a large archway nearby leading into what had been converted into a main area. There were two male vampires, and they were vampires now that I could focus, stood in the center of that main room. Their Aura's all but screamed Power in my head, even relaxed as they were. Which was odd given that the pair had gone silent.
I'd have called the silence deadly were it not for the lassitude in their Aura's. The way they were glaring at each other made me think they were about to fight.
I took the time to examine them, trying to place them in my memory. Both were taller than I was, yet one was almost a foot taller than the other. If one counted the ears, that is. The ears stood out to me the most as they were tall, elongated things not dissimilar to a wolf or a bat. The Eldar-looking Vampire, and I only knew that's what they were called because Auron had a least one full-blooded Eldar amongst his pets, was a tall, dark-green-skinned male. He was wearing a dark red and black robe liked with what looked to be gold filigree. Memories clicked almost violently into place in my mind.
I knew this male. Knew of him at any rate. Honestly, if my jaw weren't connected to my skull, it would have hit the ground.
The Eldar was Vorador. The 'sado-hedonist of Termogant Forest,' as a certain individual had once named him. Beyond a few basic things, such as the fact that he hated the humans with a passion for killing his Sire and so many of his Siblings and Children, I knew next to nothing of the male. Wasn't he fiercely protective of Vampire kind too? And a blacksmith? There was something else, but I couldn't quite remember past the pounding in my skull.
Closing my mouth and swallowing roughly, I wrenched my eyes away from the green-skinned male toward the other Vampire. Oh. Wasn't he...? He was. The outfit was the same. This was the male who'd walked over to me as I'd passed out. Again, if counting Vorador's ears height-wise, the white-haired male was maybe a half-inch shorter than the Eldar. Regardless, they could look at each other eye-to-eye without either of them having to look up or down.
He had the cloak pushed back over his shoulders, revealing a rather severe lack of armor over his bared chest. Though he was wearing a pair of hefty-looking bracers. Honestly, the outfit showed his form... rather nicely.
What in the hell? I shook my head to clear it. Why in the world was I suddenly thinking that of all things. Was I really that tired? I mean, yes, he was eye-candy in a very rough-edged sort of way, but that wasn't important right now.
I needed to know if I could be safe here. If I needed to leave. True, my instincts were... calmer than they'd ever been since my Awakening. But could I really trust that? Having my gut say 'safe' when my mind screamed 'be careful' was disorienting, to say the least. Even if my instincts proved trustworthy, I knew better than to let my guard down.
But who was this... wait. Oh. Oh.
That's the fucking Soul Reaver sheathed to his back. The silver-haired male was Kain. I raked my thoughts, struggling to remember what I could. He was supposed to be the representative of the Pillar of Balance. One of Nine total Pillars of Nosgoth that supposedly maintained the world. Whoever was the Balance Guardian had the final say over how the other Eight used their powers. The most influential of the Nine.
He was also supposed to be the soon-to-be ruler of all of Nosgoth. The 'wild card' Moebius seemed to be the most afraid of Outside of Raziel, that is. What was the title he gained in the later games? Ah, right. He wasn't just the Balance Guardian. He was the Scion of Balance. A kind of messiah. Or was the messiah Raziel?
Once more, the burning question from earlier tore through my thoughts. How was I here? How was I on Nosgoth of all places? Was this nothing more than a dream? A hallucination brought on by my succumbing to madness? And if this was real, well, what luck to have landed amongst such auspicious company. Perhaps I would find a safe harbor here. Perhaps I was going to end up in a hell of a lot of trouble.
As another wave of dizziness hit me, I had to contain a half-crazed giggle. It was too bad that I had no one to place a bet with. Kain finally spoke, breaking the silent stalemate. It sounded as if he wanted to lash out at Vorador.
"First, the Sarafan have not lost their righteous sense of 'Holy Duty' as they should have with the fall of their 'gracious' leader," he said slowly. I looked up and saw the sneer on his lips, "and now we must deal with the... improbability... of a half-blood? Your explanation for the Sarafan made sense Old One, but the origins of that girl? You speak nonsense! Vampires are sterile!"
As Kain spoke, part of my mind drifted once more. Where was I in the timeline? Could I remember? How strange it was to be on a world that had time travel. From what I could understand, he'd defeated the 'Sarafan Leader.' The only 'Leader' I could recall from the story was the Hylden Lord. This meant that it was post Blood Omen 2. Strange. From what I could recall, Kain was supposed to have had less trouble after beating the Hylden Lord. Not more trouble.
And yet, it had been so long since I'd played any of the Legacy of Kain games. Decades. Perhaps centuries. Yes, my memory had improved drastically after my Vampiric nature was unlocked, but I'd also been... been tortured for that same amount of time. I wasn't sure I could trust my memories. And that's if the story I knew followed this... 'reality.' Vorador let out a sigh, and I glanced back at the pair.
"Kain, we have been over this several times. Must we do so again?" Vorador let out another sigh of exasperation, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "The girl's heart yet beats like humans when badly injured. A true fledgling's heart will come to a halt when they are critically injured. This is to help reduce further blood loss. And yet, she clearly has vampiric traits as well. That she has fangs and claws is just being the beginning. The blood we gave her did more to restore her than any healing magic, just like a vampire. She has an Aura of her own, muted though it is due to her injuries. Thus, there is only one logical conclusion; she is somehow both human and Vampire. A 'half-blood' if you will. The how of it all is the only thing we cannot confirm at this time, at least not without speaking with her further once she awakens."
"Very well, Vorador," Kain said with a dismissive flick of clawed fingers. "A 'half-blood' or not, she might be useful. She did not-"
Dizziness hit me. A wave strong enough that I almost passed out. My hand slipped from the door, and I stumbled forward into the hall connected to the main room. Widening my stance was the only thing that kept me from face planting onto the floor. Even then, it took me a moment to fully regain my balance. I shook my head, rubbing at my temple as I tried to salvage what wounded remains of my pride that I had left.
Both Kain and Vorador had turned to look down the short distance of the hall toward my form. Both wore expressions that were a mix of amusement, surprise, and in Kain's case, residual frustration.
I tried to give off the impression that I was fine. Tried to straighten back up into a normal stance. However, I could feel the blood as it drained from my face. Knew that I was close to outright collapsing onto the floor. Too much activity too soon. The pair before me looked like they easily saw through my ruse. Kain let out a noise that was a mixture of amusement and annoyance as he walked toward me. Vorador was the one who spoke up, however. His voice was... almost gentle, really. Kind yet stern, like a parent lightly but firmly scolding a wayward child.
"You should not have tried to get out of bed so soon, young one," he said, tilting his head and crossing his arms over his chest as he looked me over. "You've only been with us for a few nights, and your wounds have yet to heal in full. Though they are healing nicely.
Kain's hand closed on my left shoulder, and he forced me to turn about so that I was facing the room I had just exited. He gave me a small shove to get me to move. I was far too tired and too confused with the whole situation, but I still didn't enjoy being manhandled. A low hiss escaped me as I tried to shift away from his touch. Sadly, doing so caused me to stumble to the side, and I almost fell over. Again. Kain caught hold of me before I could list too far to the side.
I was grateful. Truly I was. But then he picked me up in his arms as if I were a child! I squirmed about in his grasp, letting out another hiss as I tried to wriggle my way free. His grasp was like steel.
"I can walk on my own!" I snapped at him when I realized I wasn't getting free anytime soon.
"And I can carry you," he responded, rolling his eyes at my antics. "Now that we each know what the other is capable of do be silent and enjoy the 'ride,' girl."
I sputtered angrily, and Kain smirked down at me, blatantly ignoring my growing annoyance with him. Vorador chuckled softly at my antics and wandered off as Kain entered the room I'd woken up in. Probably had some other business to attend to. That, or he was glad to have the chance to escape before another argument broke out between him and Kain.
Kain walked over to the large bed and set me down upon it. He backed away a few steps and tilted his head as he looked me over. I couldn't really tell what he was thinking. His expression was carefully blank. But there was a hint of curiosity glinting in his eyes. I glowered back at him. Honestly, being carried around like a helpless child was... embarrassing.
"My name is Katrina," I said firmly, not really caring if my tone came across as discourteous, "not 'girl.'"
"Indeed," he drawled, raising a brow at me. "Well then, Katrina, perhaps you would care to explain where you are from?"
The tone of his voice brokered no argument. Not only that, but I got the sense that he would know if I tried to lie to him. I sighed and shifted to lean back against the headboard of the bed. He, in turn, moved to lean back against the wall while keeping himself between me and the door. It was subtle, and if I hadn't been used to seeing guards 'relax' around me in a similar manner, I might have missed it. He wanted answers.
"Would you believe me if I said I'm not from this Realm?" I asked with a sigh.
He tilted his head and waved a hand for me to continue. And so I did. I explained my world, the many continents, and cultures, and languages. I was omitting a few things here and there, but it's not like he needed to know day-to-day stuff. I was honestly surprised that he was so calm as I spoke. Was it because of the Hylden? Had he gotten used to the thought of people from other Realms because of them? Or maybe he'd seen my arrival. Which would explain how he found me so quickly.
"What is the technology like in your world? Your magic?" he asked after a moment of silence.
Now wasn't that a can of worms? Mentioning the advances of my world didn't sound like a good idea, but he'd asked me directly. I winced, finding myself unsure of how to respond. What if he wanted to go to Earth? To my Gaia? He could make use of some of the technologies of my world without needed to understand them. Guns were fairly simple to use, after all. Still, figuring out how to travel to Gaia would likely take ages to work out, and, at this time at least, he wasn't exactly known to be the most patient of men.
"We have advanced medical practices. Blood transfusions. Cures for a lot of illnesses," I started with a thoughtful frown. Telling him a little bit about the differences between our realms wouldn't be too bad. Right? "We have vehicles that run on combustion engines. I'm not entirely familiar with how they work, though. Usually, they can get you to a nearby neighboring city within a few hours instead of days. Better weapons, but again I'm not overly familiar with how they are made."
"Interesting," Kain's expression was thoughtful for a moment before it cleared, his eyes narrowing on me once more. "And what do you know of Nosgoth? Are you familiar at all with its' lands? The cities here?"
His words once hinted at the possibility that he'd seen my arrival. Or was near enough to sense it. I found myself more than a little hesitant to speak of what I knew. What I remembered.
"I... know of a story involving a world called Nosgoth," I started hesitantly. "And, if this isn't some sort of fever dream, then maybe the stories of one Realm can be the reality of another? And... maybe when people dream, they see the events of those other Realms? And then write about them? I mean... you are Kain... right?"
"I am," he said, voice carefully blanked of emotion.
"Okay, so the story I know of covered details about the Pillars, the crazed members of the Circle, and well, most of the mess that led up to your 'choice,'" I said, rubbing the back of my neck and glancing at the ceiling. The freedom of movement was... pleasant. "After that, it went over your fight with the Hylden? If that's what they're really called?"
"It is," he said. Honestly, it was like talking to a brick wall right now. Did he have to be so unnerving? "And from there?"
"There's a gap. A big one. Around either five hundred or even five thousand years pass before the story picks up again. Things aren't really clear at that point," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "And again, that if I'm not simply hallucinating all of this..."
A small snort of amusement escaped him, but he didn't press me further about the supposed future. A relief, I suppose. Kain tapped his chin in thought, tilting his head once more.
"And do you know how you came to be here?" he asked.
I couldn't help it. I stiffened and looked away. Dream or not, I needed to look at everything that had happened to me. Needed to... needed to come to terms with the possibility that I really was free. That I had been through hell and back. Without conscious thought, I spoke of what had occurred. The kidnapping. The... Awakening. The torture.
Oh, I said nothing about my family life. The knowledge that my father had likely not been Human. That my mother had lied to me. That he'd probably not died in a car crash either. I mean, what Vampire dies in a vehicular accident? No, I just stuck to the bare-bones fact of what had happened to me while I was trapped in Auron's clutches. What his minions were like. The strangeness of my eventual escape.
Kain's head tilted to the side again as I spoke, an almost canine-like gesture of curiosity and intrigue. He looked amused, or perhaps bemused, as I spoke without inflection. A dull kind of anger coursed through my veins. I had nothing to lash out at. Nothing to take the anger out on. But it was still there, under the surface and waiting for a reason to explode outwards. Perhaps I should have been concerned by the feeling, but... I couldn't bring myself to care.
I fell silent after a moment and risked another glance at him. His expression remained inscrutable, and yet there was a glimmer of something in his eyes. Respect? Maybe. Even if I read the look right, I doubted that he would ever verbalize that respect. From what the stories said, he wasn't exactly the type of guy who was open with his emotions. Or should I toss those stories to the far winds and stop making assumptions?
"Where did you learn to fight as you did?" he asked abruptly, eyes narrowing on my form. "You may have been wild in your attacks, but there was still some small measure of skill to your movements."
"Fight?" I echoed back at him with a blink.
So he had been on hand to witness the battle. And he had decided to remain in the shadows. Still... I felt my cheeks warm. No one had taught me how to fight. I was the definition of self-taught. A just-starting-college bookworm that liked swords and had taken some basic self-defense classes as a child. There had been no 'formal' training. Just years of desperate attempts to get away from my captor.
"No one really taught me how to fight. I mean, I learned some basic hand-to-hand stuff as a kid, but I never kept up the training," I responded with a small shrug. "Well, unless you want to count fighting to escape Auron and his pets every day as training. That was just... learning how to fight dirty, I suppose."
He nodded at my answer. I sighed and slumped back against the headboard, keeping my eyes on him. I was tired and wanted to rest. But I also knew that I needed to be careful around him. Even a hint of betrayal, in his eyes at least, and I'd be in trouble. I had no desire to end up like Umah.
"Have you gained any Dark Gifts?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.
I blinked, containing a wince. Did Kain have to ask that question? Out of everything else he could have enquired about? Mentioning the one Gift that I had was risky. He might want to take it for himself, which, to my knowledge, would only be possible with my death, or he might think the ability a threat to him. Which would again risk my continued 'good' health. Alternately, I could keep quiet about the ability for now and just... either never use the ability or pretend to 'obtain' it later once I was more confidant of my chances of survival.
Actually, was the ability to sense other people's Aura's a Gift? What if... no. He supposedly had the same Gift. A base ability amongst Vampires, perhaps?
"Surely you know what the Dark Gifts are?" he asked with a sneer, pulling me from my thoughts.
"I know what they are," I said slowly, realizing that I must have looked confused. I took a slow breath to calm my heart rate and then let it out in a sigh. Best to tell the truth and see what happens. "It's only... I've only recently gained my Gift and have only been able to use it the once during my escape. It's, well, a form of invisibility. From what I could tell, I cannot be seen, heard, or even scented when it's active. I... don't know what the limitations actually are, though."
I said the last with a small, fluttering wave of my hands. Kain's eyes narrowed thoughtfully on me. His gaze was cold. Impassive. And yet thoughtful. I took a moment to examine him in turn.
What stood out the most wasn't his physique. It was his eyes. They were a pale blue, flecked with bits of gold. The effect made his narrowed gaze all the more frightening than if his eyes had been one color or the other. Those cold, ice-like eyes held a deadly, powerful sense of grandeur to them.
His brow rose, and I looked away abruptly to break line of sight. Odd. There was an instinctual tug in the back of my head that I'd never really noticed before. Auron had tried to make me submit plenty of times, but this... It was different. Strange.
After another long period of silence, he pushed away from the wall and left the room without saying anything else. I didn't, couldn't, relax until the door had shut behind him, and I could no longer hear his footsteps echoing off the stone floor. My breath left me in a rush.
That had been more than a little nerve-wracking.
I knew that I needed to get as much rest as I could. That I needed to heal. Yet, I found that I couldn't sleep for long. I kept waking up every hour or so, expecting someone to burst into the room. Expecting the pain to begin again. Tired, and more than a little cranky, I pushed myself back to my feet. Thankfully, there was no wave of dizziness this time to knock me over. Not only that but the door was still unlocked.
The place was quiet as I wandered about. Part of me was still reeling from the shock of being... elsewhere. Part of me was waiting for the dream to fade. Yet... everything around me felt real to my senses. I found a stairway that led up into an abandoned building. Instead of going for the front door, I looked around and found a ladder that led to the roof. Could I fly here?
I made my way onto the roof but kept my wings tucked away within me. No one yet knew of my weakness. Not yet. Not here, at least. The sky was still dark, but it was that soft darkness of pre-dawn. I sat down on the uneven but nearly flat roof of the building and looked around. I breathed in through my nose slowly, only to have my breath catch in my throat. Spices, baking bread, and alcohol. The scents of women, men, and children that did not immediately reek of fear and death and decay.
Below it all was the subtler scent of Vampire, so similar to that of a Human's, but also different. Wild. The scent of a predator. And it was... healthy.
I wrapped my arms around myself and looked upwards to stare pensively at the unfamiliar star-scape above me. I tried to distract myself by trying to figure out which star might be used as a 'North' star. Didn't work. My thoughts kept turning back to the scent of Vampire in the air.
They hadn't harmed me. In fact, all they had done so far was take me in and help me on the path to recovery. Kain hadn't even asked anything of me beyond inquiring about my history. That he had chosen to listen to me at all was an unexpected kindness. I hadn't even realized how much I needed to... to vent. To share what had happened. To be believed. I...
A voice sounded from behind me, and I tensed.
"Tell me, are you afraid?"
It was Kain. He'd followed me onto the roof. I swallowed roughly and wondered what he would do. Would he be upset that I had left the room he'd placed me in?
"Fear and I are... old friends," I responded warily, not daring to turn around and look at him.
"Hn. Most would deny being afraid of anything," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "So what is it that you fear? Do you fear the light of the sun? The darkness of the night? Perhaps you fear pain. Or solitude?"
His voice drew closer as he spoke. Tension sang through my body. It took all my willpower not to bolt or, worse, lash out.
"Light. Dark," I let out a huff and shrugged one shoulder. "Either one can hide monsters or can keep you safe from harm. Pain? Pain can... can provide a strange kind of clarity or be dragged out until time loses all meaning. Solitude? Solitude came to be synonymous with safety. Or perhaps the illusion of safety."
"Then what is it that you fear?" he asked, coming to a stop next to me. "What drew you up here, so close to dawn's light? What has you so tense and ready to bolt like the hare facing the hound?"
"I suppose it is the... the strangeness of all of this that leaves me numb and excited at the same time," I began after a long moment of silence. At Kain's look, I waved a hand to indicate our surroundings. "It is the thought that all of this is a sign that I have fallen prey to madness to escape what is being done to my unconscious body. That is what I fear the most. That this is an illusion. That I am not truly free..."
I coughed into my hand to try to conceal the strained breaking note to my voice. Although, I was nearly certain that Kain had noticed it. Thankfully, he didn't say anything. Instead, he simply turned around and started toward the far edge of the roof. I watched him silently and was about to my attention back to the sky when he spoke.
"Come with me," he said in a voice that brokered no disobedience.
The order made me tense. I remained frozen for a long moment, giving Kain enough time to leap to a neighboring rooftop. I swallowed roughly and stood, moving to follow him after a few moments of indecision. He eyed me stoically as I made my way to his side. I couldn't tell if he was upset at my delay or not.
Rather than say anything in rebuke, he turned and led me across the rooftops until we stopped on one of the larger buildings furthest from what I knew to be the main, Sarafan-controlled mansion. Kain waved his hand, motioning me toward the center of the roof, and I warily made my way to the spot. He started to circle me a moment later, and I tensed. He paused in front of me and touched a claw to my chin, attempting to force my head up.
I almost jerked away violently. Almost knocked his hand aside. Yet something subtle settled along the edges of my mind like a comforting weight. Kain was... he had lightly brushed his mind against my own. I twitched, not quite flinching at the contact. I'd only known the foul touch of Auron's mind and that of his pets. The gentle pressure continued, and I relaxed an inch at a time when nothing else happened. It took another moment, but I eventually allowed him to tilt my head up.
I relaxed further still when he let his hand fall to his side, apparently satisfied with that token, begrudging bearing of my throat.
"Show me your wings," he ordered a moment later.
And just like that, all signs of relaxation were gone.
"Why?" I asked, a hint of a warning growl in my voice.
"I wish to see them," Kain responded, his tone dry. "And you are currently afraid to have them out where they can be seen."
"So?" I snapped, hands clenching and unclenching with my unease, ready to try to block him if I needed to. To run if I needed to.
"Hn," Kain's eyes narrowed on me, but he did nothing. "You are allowing your fear to control your actions, woman."
I bristled at the accusation, hands clenching tight enough that I could feel the points of my claws start to dig into the skin of my palms. My jaw worked, but I held my tongue. I refused to rise to such obvious bait as that. He chuckled darkly after a long moment of silence.
"You know my words to be true, and yet unlike the others that I have known who have also been tortured or tormented by our enemies, you wait and watch rather than lash out," he tilted his head and then circled back around me. I turned my head watched him warily. "A wise reaction when dealing with the unknown."
Kain's hand landed on my shoulder, a firm and unwanted weight. The need to bolt warred with the desire not to show weakness. Thankfully, he did nothing else. I looked away, clenched and unclenched my jaw as I warred was my emotions. My... fears. Swallowing roughly, I jerked my shoulder in an effort to pull away from him. His hand fell away, and he stepped to the side, head tilted.
I closed my eyes and... and chose to risk it.
My wings burst from my body and then drew close along the line of my back. With them held in such a position, it would be easy to lash out with them if Kain tried to hurt me. If he... If.
A low, satisfied thrum filled the air. His hand reached out as if to brush against the wing closest to him. I hissed at Kain in warning, and his eyes met my own. Feline-like eyes narrowed, and he very slowly and purposefully placed his hand on my right wing. A strained noise escaped me, and I clenched my teeth. I watched him with wary, likely wild, eyes.
Gods, but I wanted this to be real. I wanted to be forever free of the torture and pain that I had known for so long. I wanted his touch to remain placid. Calm. I wanted to believe that not all of my Vampiric kin were like Auron and his ilk. That there was a… a society… a something that I could belong to and be proud to be a part of.
Kain let out another thrum of sound that was not quite a purr and let his hand drop. He turned to walk toward the edge of the roof, looking down at the people three stories beneath us.
"Put them away for now if you wish, woman," he said. "It is time to return to Sanctuary. You are still not recovered from your injuries."
That... that was it? I blinked at him in confusion and watched him begin to make his way back to the rooftop we'd started on. He didn't stop, as if expecting me to follow. For a moment, I could only watch his retreating for in a daze. It took me a moment to realize that I was feeling... relief. He hadn't harmed me.
A shudder ran through me when the cold night wind cut through the air. That I could feel the cold to such a degreed meant that Kain was right. I withdrew my wings and moved after him, leaving a mess of feathers behind to drift in the breeze. All I really wanted right now was the warm bed that these vampires had provided to me so freely.
Yet, despite that, as I stumbled my way back to the room that had been given to me, I knew that I wasn't going to get much in the way of rest. There was too much on my mind. Too much that could go wrong.
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