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Leo

After my father apparated us home, I poked around at the dinner Shari had made, before excusing myself for bed- I hadn't been very hungry, just tired. The next morning, Shari woke me up at the crack of dawn to train, and by the early afternoon, I was exhausted. With concerned looks, they let me go to bed, and when I wandered down stairs later, rubbing my eyes, I almost ran into Shari and my father at the bottom of them, both of them staring at me far too keenly. "What?" I asked, confused, and Shari drew back the curtain covering the closest window to reveal that it was dark outside. "So I slept for a few hours, so what?" My father shared a look with Shari before stepping forward to place a hand on my shoulder.

"Leo, you slept for over a day."

I stared at him for a second before chuckling nervously. "You're kidding... right?" Shari shook her head.

"Have you been feeling any different lately?"

I shrugged, even as I forced my sluggish brain to think. "Not really... Tired more often, not as hungry- but nothing serious." I pulled out one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

"Did you sit down because you were tired?" I hesitated for a second before nodding reluctantly.

"Leo, when was the last time you ate?" My father asked and I paused, thinking back.

"Like... Tuesday?"

Shari sat down in her chair, hard. "Leo, it's Sunday." I winced slightly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"It's not that bad." My father watched me carefully, also taking a seat at the table.

"When was the last time you hunted?" I shrugged.

"The second to last day of term."

Shari paused for a second. "And before that?" I furrowed my eyebrows at her.

"The day before." She and my father shared a look.

"So, you've been eating less, but sleeping and hunting more?" I hesitated, sensing that there was most definitely a catch, but eventually had to nod, nonetheless. "Leo, I think you might be sick." I stared at them, incredulous.

"Vampires can get sick?"

Shari sighed. "Not without help." I raised an eyebrow, not understanding, and my father explained.

"We don't think you're sickness is caused by natural causes, Leo. It's like you've been poisoned somehow. Would anyone want you dead?" I froze down to my very core.

"Could it be slow acting?" They both shared a look before standing, rounding the table to stand on either side of me.

"It could be... but who'd want to hurt you?"

I grimaced at Shari's question. "On top of the many vampires who think I'm an abomination? Try: My mother." Shari's mouth dropped open.

"Last summer, after Lisbet and Jonothan attacked, she kidnapped you. Leo, what did she do?" I shrugged.

"Y'know, I'm not entirely sure." I glanced around. "Where is Lisbet, anyway?" Shari patted my hair, and I felt my father watching me in concern.

"She's out hunting."

I nodded slowly, moving to stand up before stumbling slightly. "Leo!" My father cried, sounding panicked- after all, vampires, even vampire hybrids, didn't stumble.

"I'm fine," I murmured, straightening up.

"You're not fine," Shari reminded me, looping an arm around my shoulders so she would sneakily be ready to catch me if I fell, I knew.

"We'll ask Lisbet if she knows what happened when she gets back. For now, you need to eat," My father advised, and I groaned.

"Not hungry."

He fixed me with a stern, distinctly parental look he really couldn't pull off. "Leo, you need to eat." I waved him off, but Shari grabbed my arm, dragging me back to the table.

I struggled against her, and at first she won hands down, but I twisted quickly and wrenched my arm out of her grip. "I'm not hungry," I reiterated, and she watched me with deep concern in her eyes.

"You have to Leo- you haven't eaten in days." I shook my head, fighting back a yawn.

"You're tired again, aren't you?"

I stared at them for a second, then dropped my chin to gaze at the ground. I didn't want to admit it, but I was scared- terrified, even. I hated seeming weak, but I knew I couldn't fake it around them, and I just wanted to be alone... and to rest my eyes again.

"Leo, we'll figure this out," My father reassured me, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Just go to sleep, we'll handle it." I didn't want to agree, but I nodded anyway and climbed the stairs with the help of the railing- a first for me and it- too tired to be all that bothered by the weakness I was showing.

"What if we can't 'handle it'?" I heard Shari ask whisper quietly, and I paused at the top of the stairs to hear my father's reply.

"We have to... he's my son."

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This chapter has had edits made to it on /5/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences. Added Leo mentioning that his brain was 'sluggish'. Added Shari's emphasis on 'Leo, it's Sunday', because if I knew someone I cared about hadn't eaten for at least like, five days, I wouldn't be quite so flat about it- and neither would someone like Shari. Nicholai, maybe, if it was someone other than Leo. Added Shari's emphasis on, 'It could be... but who'd want to hurt you?', because she isn't sure that is or isn't and doesn't want to get Leo's hopes up (but suspects that it is, now that he's mentioned it), and is constantly in a state of disbelief that anyone would ever want to hurt Leo, of all people. Also, Nicholai's look of concern was at least partially because Leo was letting Shari pet his hair without really even noticing, because at this point in the story, they don't really have that sort of relationship. Specified that the 'stern look that Nicholai couldn't pull off' was a 'distinctly parental' one, which makes more sense later in the story. Added Shari's emphasis on, 'you have to Leo- you haven't eaten in days', because again, she's really trying to urge him, and remind him that normal people tend to eat three times a day, not less than once in five. Added Leo saying that he wasn't just scared, but terrified. To clarify, it's less about being scared of death, at this point, and more scared about what his mother's plans are, and a fear of the unknown. Added Leo using the railing, and the fact that it was a first for him and it. Added Shari's emphasis on, 'what if we can't 'handle it'?' because she's kind of annoyed that the extent of Nicholai's plan- at the least the plan he's told Leo (and probably her) is 'we'll handle it'. I changed it from, 'we have to. He's my son...' to 'we have to... he's my son', because I felt like that was more emotionally resonant, and considered having Nicholai say, 'he's my son', but in the end, I don't think Nicholai would put the emphasis on it, since the word itself is enough for him.