Note: Stick with me! I know, I know, I can't help it. I promise, though, stick with me :-)
"No, mmm no, Larten-"
Larten's eyes blinked open. He was still on the living room couch, music playing in the background, and two empty plates on the coffee table.
He rubbed his eyes. His internal clock said he had not been asleep for long. Less than an hour to be precise. A small vampire nap.
He looked over at the sleeping figure of Erin, her legs in his lap. They had been digging into his thigh so he had moved them to stretch out across his lap. He figured that would be more comfortable for her as well.
Now what was it that had finally sparked him to open his eyes as he had been slowly waking up on his own? Oh right, he thought he had heard his name.
"Larten...stay-" a voice sighed, gently plaintive.
He looked down at Erin. He had heard his name. From her.
He wondered what she was dreaming. She sounded...how could he put it? She sounded like she was yearning for him, reaching out, needful, but with an undertone of fear. It perplexed him and he couldn't lie to himself...it caused his heart to give a painful thump.
The night was still young and he was going to guarantee that Erin would not be disturbed. He was almost certain symptoms of sleep deprivation would eventually set in, but he knew she was tough. She had a fighting spirit purely out of compassion. Larten's heart swelled with feeling. Those kinds of warriors were never given their due respect. Although she, too, could be given some credit among his people since she had confronted and "fought" against a mad vampaneze.
Larten slowly stood from the couch using vampire finesse to move Erin's legs without waking her up. His wound twinged a bit, but ever since the pain killer dose she had given him he noticed next to nothing, and for that he was grateful.
Erin mumbled again and pulled her feet in closer to her body. Larten would be able to carry her upstairs easily. She would most likely chastise him for doing so in the morning since it would pull on his wound, but he knew it would do no damage.
He bent down to scoop her into her arms when he heard a song and buzzing sound coming from the kitchen. It wasn't the music in the living room. It continued and he followed it. It was, as he thought, one of those mobile cellular phone devices. It was laying in her open purse with Brigid's face and a green circle on the screen.
Larten sighed. He knew if he didn't somehow answer Brigid's call it would be bad for him.
He lifted the phone out of the purse, it buzzed in his hand, and he tapped the green circle. Nothing happened. He tapped it again, harder. A small crack appeared on the screen.
"Larten, you idiot!" He cursed under his breath. Vampires were not meant for these ridiculous phones! He tried to not use his nails this time and hit the green button with the pad of his finger instead. The screen changed and he heard a voice coming out of the speaker.
"Hey, are you home yet? Did you get my note? I'm staying with Ellie. Is Larten up? Hey, Erin, why aren't you answering? HEY!"
Larten put the phone to his ear and started to speak. He knew how to use a phone, he had seen its invention and development, but he still hated these...small, slick, confounding ones that weren't just for talking and made no sense!
"Miss Brigid, this is Larten. Your sister is asleep." He said with clear precision.
There was a pause on the other end. His eyebrows furrowed. What had he-?
"Oh, hey, Larten! Glad you're up and answered. Let Erin sleep. I'm staying with Ellie and I'll text Erin in the morning. Have a good night! Oh, and Larten, take care of Erin, okay? Bye."
The call ended and the the phone showed those tiny squares on them. He set it back down into Erin's purse. He would have to apologize about the crack he caused on the screen. He would offer to purchase Erin a new one. He had the means.
His thoughts quickly returned back to the matter at hand. He walked back into the living room, somehow figured out how to turn the music off, and went back over to the curled figure of Erin.
He knelt down and slid his long arms under her body and lifted her deftly. She made a small whine as he carried her up the stairs.
He headed straight into her bedroom and laid her down on her own bed. It had barely registered in his mind to place her in Brigid's room. He knew that's where she had been sleeping but she deserved to sleep in her own bed. She had been doing so much, giving so much.
Yes, he knew she would argue with him about it later. But that was later and this was now and he immediately noticed her reaction to being in her own bed. Her body stretched and relaxed entirely. He looked down on her and chuckled. He knew exactly what she was feeling. It was the same when he was in his own coffin. Pure bliss.
Larten was certain Hibernius was taking care of his coffin and Madam Octa. He was eager to get back to the Cirque but this situation had to be taken care of before he could plan anything else. Murlough had to be stopped. It would take killing Murlough to stop his madness and from killing Erin and Brigid. Larten looked at the X-shaped scar on Erin's right wrist. His throat clenched and jaw tightened. He would not let it happen.
Erin shifted and rolled to her other side towards Larten. Her body language had changed. Her face was in a grimace and she was breathing hard and fast. She was having a nightmare. Larten sat down on the edge of the bed. The one night she finally had to sleep and she was having a nightmare. That wouldn't do. Brigid had oddly told him to take care of Erin but inside he had already silently decided he was going to, even in this small matter of her getting a good night's rest.
"Leave him alone...stay..." Erin said in despair, a few tears escaping down her face, her hand clenching a fistful of bedsheets.
Was she having a vision? Brigid had explained to him a bit about each of their individual gifts. (It made perfect sense why Murlough was hell bent on killing them.) Erin being a sort of psychic empath had dreams that were sometimes subconscious flashes like ones she would have when awake. Brigid said Erin's gift seemed simple but it was very multi-faceted. Brigid had the same only with her mathematical visions of events and all their derivatives of various sequences. She told him everything in the world, the entire universe, could be explained by math. When she had been talking to him about it she got more and more animated and excited explaining it to him. It had completely veered from the topic of their gifts to Brigid going on and on about universal equations and why and the philosophy of math and logic and what dictates what make and the theories...by the vampire gods that girl could talk and talk. She did eventually realize she had gotten carried away and apologized. He had told her to think nothing of it. She was an enthusiastic youth. And there was an innocence in her, a pure soul. Larten reminded himself of this when he was about to blow a gasket and tell her to be quiet and to simply QUIT TALKING!
Larten laid his cool hand onto Erin's forehead and stroked his thumb gently through her hair. She immediately responded to his touch and rolled onto her back, her cheeks still slightly wet, her face still in pain.
"I promised..." She murmured.
He shifted his position on the edge of the bed. He laid his hand back onto her forehead, his thumb gently massaging.
Nightmare. Vision. That wasn't the point. She needed to sleep. She slowly started to relax and her murmurings were further and further apart and indistinguishable. Her features were softening until she was finally in a regular sleep. Larten went to brush the hair stuck to her cheeks; they were warm. He carefully moved her hair from sticking to her cheeks. She again responded to his touch and turned her head to nuzzle into his hand and sighed. He rubbed her cheek with is thumb for a second before slowly removing his hand.
She gave a small 'mmph' at losing the sense of touch but other than that she was calm again.
Larten placed the comforter over her and left the edge of the bed. He looked back at her at the door. His vampire vision saw her clearly through the dark. She was still calm and free of the nightmare. She could finally rest. He quietly closed the door.
He walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen. He remembered the plates in the living room and went to get them to wash. He turned the sink faucet on and rinsed them. His thoughts were on Erin and how she had felt in his arms. Her body was soft in his arms, warm as she rested her head against his chest. Managing her long legs up the narrow staircase took some finesse but it was nothing to him. Carrying her and having her near made him feel warm throughout his body. He felt tempted to stay with her, guard her, against anything that might disturb her sleep.
Larten placed the dishes in the drying rack. He leaned against the counter and looked around. He hadn't stayed in a real, non-dilapidated house in a very, very long time. He wanted to go out and resume his search for Murlough. End it once and for all. But he knew he was nowhere near ready enough. If there's one thing you learn as a vampire, if you have the time to heal completely and not have to worry about your enemies finding you, you take it. Gavnur had stayed with a woman who had saved his life in basically the same way Erin had done for him. Gavnur had stayed with the woman for a fortnight and a year later returned to thank her. They fell in love and every chance Gavnur had he went to be with her. He was probably with her now! The last time Gavnur and Larten had sought the other's aura, Larten knew Gavnur was with her. Larten also knew that Gavnur would call him a fool if he went to search for Murlough after only three days of a near-death battle. Larten was no fool in such matters. The time would come but it wasn't now so he would have to not obsess over it. The luck of the vampires was on his side and he would not spit in its face.
Larten went to sit in the living room. Another way Gavnur would call him a fool would be why he would want to leave the company of a beautiful woman just to search out a mad vampaneze. Larten 'hmphed' and scratched his scar. There he went being a stuffy old bat again!
Larten sighed and laid down on the couch. He shoved a small pillow behind his head and his feet dangled over the opposite end. A common problem for one his height. He shifted to get comfortable. His pain was still under control and he finally had time to think. He would make a list of things he could help Erin with around the home. One being repairing her screened-in-patio. He liked the vision of the two of them sitting in it and looking out into the garden.
He got up from the couch and went to look at the damage. Brigid and Erin had put a piece of tarp over where the door had been. Larten stepped through it. The screen door that led into the garden was in complete smithereens. The screen sections and posts were broken, the roof mesh caved in, too. It looked like a bomb had gone off and left a hole. He stepped off the patio, cracked terribly from the ordeal, a huge dent where he had landed.
The cool night grass felt good on his feet. The rain had left a freshness all over. There were freesias, marigolds, roses, rosemary, thyme, and lavender. The marigolds were still bright in the autumn weather and some roses still lingered. He inhaled again. He could smell smoke a couple of row houses down. It was peaceful and he couldn't keep the small smile from his face. Peace was hard to come by for a vampire. Or anyone for that matter. That was life.
He also needed to replace Erin's phone. He would need help with that, he hated to admit. But maybe while he did so he could also find a few replacements for his jacket and a vest. He was missing his full red outfit. He wondered if he could find something green for Erin. Or red. Auburn brown hair and her dark chocolate eyes and fair skin would be complimented by something red. Maybe they could go out for a dinner or...some such thing. Murlough had been worse off than him and would not be showing his face anytime soon. Though Larten was prepared if he did; but he knew from Brigid that nothing would be happening very soon concerning that matter. She had made that very evident and Larten deduced that there was something else going on that was take precedence but Brigid would not reveal it. She may not even know the whole story but she was keeping her cards close on whatever it was.
He wanted to know what Erin was dreaming of that made her call out his name. She had gone through a range of emotions as she talked in her sleep. Maybe he should go up and check on her? What if she was having another nightmare? What if she was calling out his name again? What if she needed him?
Before he even knew what he was doing he was going back into the house and heading swiftly up the stairs. He opened her bedroom door quietly and peeked in. She was still asleep, her chest rising evenly.
Maybe he should check closer and make sure she wasn't having a nightmare. Larten knew that was an excuse but he was already standing over her. Her brows were furrowed slightly but she wasn't murmuring anything. He didn't plan on it but suddenly his hand was again brushing her hair out of her face and smoothing a thumb across her cheek. She did the same thing as she did before: she responded and turned her face to be cupped in his hand.
He removed it gently and left the room taking one more look at her sweet sleeping form.
For the rest of the night Larten passed the hours by clearing the broken pieces of the garden patio. He carried the broken wood and mesh out to the bins on the side of the house. The door out to the garden was a simple mesh screen door but the one to the house was a proper door. He checked the frame and knew it would need to be entirely replaced. He adjusted the tarp to hang more securely than what Brigid and Erin had been able to manage.
Doing these small tasks kept him occupied until it was close to dawn. He stood in the garden as the sky began to lighten in the east. He picked a small rose that had bloomed and was only beginning to wilt.
He walked back into the house and up the stairs. He had decided he would sleep in Erin's closet for the duration of the day. Sleeping in Brigid's bed was, he felt, improper. He could possibly have passed the day sleeping on the couch but that would disturb their daily routine and it would not be as dark as Larten preferred and he had already showed some flaws in his personality and when it came to his sleep, well, he would like to avoid a confrontation as much as possible for the sake of his image. Gavnur called him a grouchy old woman concerning his sleeping habits. He really did want to avoid showing that side of himself to Erin and Brigid, he thought to himself, scratching his scar. The closet was the best choice.
Larten inaudibly entered Erin's room and closed the door. She was still sound asleep. He took a pillow from beside her. He laid the rose by the sink in the bathroom before entering the closet. He, again, enjoyed the clean, feminine smell.
He closed the closet door and was glad to be in the darkness. The dawn was blooming and he was starting to get drowsy, ready for a full day's rest. His pain was still under control but it was coming back. It was a deep, dull pain, like there was a heavy rock in the area. He would make it through the day and see how he felt when he woke up that night. (Or Erin would see how he felt first, most likely!) He placed the pillow under his head finding a comfortable position and closed his eyes breathing in the attractive scent of Erin.