vampire

6
 

He fought himself free of his feverish, senseless dreams, surfacing to awareness after a long, tiring battle. Groaning, he felt his heavy lids and his aching body, almost wishing he could drift back into blissful oblivion once again, if only it would have been blissfull at all.
 

“Sh…” A soft breath ghosted over his burning skin, making him turn his heavy head towards the direction from where the sound had come from. Slowly cracking his eyes open Yazoo was welcomed by blinding light that slowly dissipated, and a light blur come into vision. He peered at the shadow, willing his gaze to focus until first he could make out the contours and finally an unfamiliar, but friendly face, framed by brown locks could be seen. Brown hazel eyes looked down on him smiling, but also slightly concerned.
 

He tried to speak, wanting to ask what was going on, but instead the person spoke up again, telling him softly to not strain himself and go back to sleep again. A cold sensation swept over his forehead, cooling his feverish thoughts. Feeling oddly secure, the boy cast a last look at the warm smile and slowly drifted back into a dreamless, restfull sleep.
 

xxXXxx
 

“How is he doing?”
 

The low, calm voice didn´t startle her much as it suddenly filled the silent, dimly lit room. Aeris was already used to her master suddenly showing up at the most random times. So she just changed the wet towel on the boy´s forehead, gently striding one of his long tresses out of the pale face.
 

“I think he´s out of the woods now,” she said softly and rose to her feet to wash out one of the linen cloths. Sending a questioning look at the mysterious man, she only sighed when he crept even further into his collar and left it be. If he didn´t want to explain the situation to her, she had to live with it. For now she was glad that the boy had overcome the fever that had haunted him for two nights in a row now.
 

“He regained conciousness this afternoon, but went back to sleep soon after. Maybe he will wake up again,” she informed him quietly, wringing out the cloth and silently observing the man walking towards the bed and coming to stand next to the boy.
 

Watching Yazoo´s even breathing, the tensed shoulders seemed to relax a bit. “Did he say something?”
 

“No.”
 

Suddenly Yazoo stirred and Aeris placed the towel aside to hurry to his side, but Vincent stopped her, saying “It is alright, he is only waking up. Could you please leave us alone? I will call you when I need your assistance.”
 

Aeris obediently bowed down and taking the bowl she quietly left the room.

Leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest, the vampire watched as Yazoo, groaning, came back to his senses.
 

Opening his eyes slowly, he reached with a frail hand for his spinning head, although he felt a lot better than the last time he had awoken.
 

Sluggishly taking in the unfamiliar surroundings and the sensation of lying in an actual bed, the boy frowned in confusion. Was he still dreaming?
 

His eyes finally met the cold gaze of the only other occupant of the room, and suddenly Yazoo bolted into a sitting position, not feeling drowsy anymore. The sudden movement was a little bit too much for his worn out body, and dizzily he leaned back into the cushions, but not without sparing his visitor a hot heated glare.
 

“W-where´re ma brothas?” he demanded to know hoarsely. “Where´m I? ”
 

Vincent remained quiet, observing as Yazoo rubbed his aching temple and with narrowed eyes shot him another cold look. “An who da hell ´re ya?!”
 

Of course he couldn´t remember him. Vincent had erased all of his memories from that night, but nontheless Yazoo had the weird feeling that he had met the person before… At least he could say that he found the person kind of… eery.
 

His expression suddenly turning petrified, as he snarled at the cloaked figure with icecold eyes “I swear if ya did anythin´ta them I´ll fuckin-”´
 

“Kill me?” Vincent interrupted, sounding faintly amused. The boy pressed his lips in a thin line and continued to scowl at him, but the frightening impression wouldn´t quite take effect for he wavered to the side ever so slightly, looking bleary and still very tired.
 

“Do not worry. I did not touch your precious brothers.”
 

“Oh yeah?! Den where da hell ´re dey?!” Yazoo lifted his chin in a provoking manner, meanwhile gathering the sheets around his frail body for he suddenly became very aware of his nakedness. If that guy had tried anything funny to him…
 

“Your brothers…” Vincent pushed himself from the wall and came slowly towards the bed, making the boy backing away unconciously.
 

“It pains me greatly to have to inform you about their recent decease.”
 

“Uh?” Yazoo blinked at him with big, uncomprehending eyes.
 

“They are dead.”
 

Now that he understood. Eyes growing large like saucers, the boy stared at him with his mouth hanging open, until he finally shut it with a snap, breathing “Ya lyin´.”
 

Then his face became furious, as he balled his long fingers into fists and growled “Dun fuck with me!”
 

Vincent lazily blinked, wisely refraining from an answer as it was obvious that his guest wouldn´t believe him now anyway.
 

After Yazoo didn´t get an answer, his childish features turned even darker as he, agitated, wrapped the sheet around his hip and tried to leave the bed. Fuck, his head was still swimming too much. He didn´t even make it out of the bed, as suddenly the strange guy that had told him that his brothers were dead appeared next to him in the blink of an eye (he hadn´t even seen him move!) and strong fingers gripped his shoulder, holding him in place. “You are in no condition to walk around. Stay.”
 

The boy threw him an angry look and snarled “Take ya bloody paws off me.”

Unfazed, Vincent held his hands where they were, despite the possibility of receiving the silver haired humans eternal wrath, and even squeezed his fingers a little to emphasize that this was bitter serious and if Yazoo wasn´t willing to cooperate he would take entirely other measures, the boy would like even less.

Seizing the other up with cold eyes, Yazoo finally relaxed and sank back onto the mattress.
 

“So,where´re ma brothas?” he demanded again, as if the whole conversation before hadn´t taken place.
 

Sighing quietly in a resigned manner, Vincent comtemplated if it would make any sense to try to convince Yazoo. Withdrawing his hand, he took the pout and the stubbornly crossed arms into consideration and eventually concluded, that he wasn´t quite fit for this now, nor was the boy. Hence, he only closed his eyes, declaring with his sonorous voice filling the room.
 

“Not now. We will continue this conversation at another time. Sleep.”
 

Before Yazoo could even start to protest and throw insults at him, his face went blank, his eyes rolled back and with a tud, he fell back onto the matress.

The vampire opened his eyes, taking in the view of his softly snorring protégé. This was much better. Yazoo´s relentless butchery of their precious language caused him severe headaches…
 

Shaking his head a little, Vincent left the room and went down to the kitchen, where Aerith was heating up some soup for their guest.

The vampire informed her that it wasn´t necessary since Yazoo wouldn´t wake up before morning.
 

Aeris, knowing better than to ask her master if he´d like some instead - for he never ate, or at least not in this house- bowed and asked in what condition the boy was, receiving a somewhat sarcastic reply that he seemed to be very well again.
 

He told her that he would take his leave for now, but planned on returning the next evening, wishing her a good night. After a pause, he added a “Be careful. And do not let any sharp objects come into his immediate surroundings,” leaving her to wonder about his strange words.
 

After all, what could a little boy like him do anyway?
 

xxXXXxx
 

“Da hell I gonna fuckin´sleep!” Very abruptly the boy shot into a sitting position, furiously glaring at nothing in particular, looking drowsy and absent- mindedly rubbing at his eyes.
 

Startled, Aeris set the bowl of hot soup aside, and waited for him to wake up with a gentle, patient smile on her rosy lips. Standing there with her hands folded in front of her white apron, her brown, bow bedecked braids hanging from either side of her shoulders, she was the perfect image of warm kindness and purity.
 

“Good morning,” she said, drawing the boy´s attention to her.
 

Yazoo looked at the maid with his head tilted in confusion and then slowly turning it around, scanning the room with a frown.
 

“Where da hell´s dat fella?” Anger was creeping back into his voice, as he clutched the sheets in frustration.
 

“Do you mean Master Valentine, by any chance?” Aeris friendly offered to help him.
 

“Dunno. Da creepy fella with da red sheet.”
 

“Oh yes, that is Master Valentine,” she smiled, amused.
 

Sceptically eyeing her, Yazoo finally shrugged and asked unimpressed “Where da hell did he run off ta?”
 

Vexed, the boy looked around the room. Hadn´t it been pitch black outside just a second ago? Now the chamber was cast in a warm light, coming from the pastel flower curtain framed window and being reflected by the chalked walls.
 

Aeris had turned around and rearranged a flower bunch on the window sill, informing him gently “Master Valentine left tonight after you went back to sleep. He will visit again in the evening.”
 

Yazoo glowered, not liking this development at all. When had he fallen asleep anyway?!
 

Though that really wasn´t of any interest now, he had to know something first.
 

“Where´re ma brothas?” he asked, feeling like he´d asked that particular question for the millionth time now. Really how difficut was it to answer it?!

Eyeing her expectantly as the maid finished her task and moved around again, he distantly wondered where the fuck he was.
 

“I´m afraid I don´t know anything about your brothers,” she answered with unshakable patience, but her beautiful face showed some sympathy. “Master Vincent only brought you here three nights ago. You were in a pretty bad shape and have rested since then. He did not mention your brothers nor what happened to you.”
 

Seeing his somewhat crestfallen, blank face, she sighed and reached for the bowl. “Everything will work out when Master Valentine comes back tonight, you´ll see.

How about you eat something? I´m sure you must be very hungry-”
 

“I ain´t want no friggin´shit,” he hissed at her, bunging the bowl out of her hands with a frosty look. The hot soup spilled all over the pale wooden panels and Aeris yelled in surprise.
 

She regained her equilibrium very fast though, as she picked up the ceramic bowl with slightly shaking hands and set it aside. Wiping her burned fingers at her apron she briefly smiled at him and hurried out of the room to get a cloth and clean up the mess he´d created.
 

While she shuffled down the stairs, her long skirt held up between two fingers so she wouldn´t trip, Aeris told herself that it wasn´t his fault. Given the circumstances it was really no wonder that he was confused. He had been woken up to an unfamiliar place after a horrible incident and nearly dying and apparently his family was missing. Once she reached the kitchen, Aeris crouched down to pull out a large wooden bowl and a linen cloth from under the stone sink.
 

She filled up some of the water she had carried from the well this morning, and with her hands full, made her way up the stairs again. Maybe she could calm him down enough to tell her what had happened or to make him eat at least a little bit.He was alarmingly skinny and hadn´t eaten much the past three days, apart from the chicken soup she had managed to instill into his feverish, unconcious body. And he hadn´t been exactly fat to begin with.
 

With a gentle smile donned to her face she walked through the door, but it was frozen to her features as she found the bed empty and the clothes she had layed out for him gone.
 

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Xyleel: Mh, ich denke du hast schon recht. Als ich die Geschichte geschrieben habe, hatte ich sehr viele Ideen im Kopf und habe sehr schnell geschrieben, deswegen kann es wirklich teilweise hektisch und unausgereift wirken. Vielen, vielen Dank für den Tipp, ich habe schon gleich ein bisschen umgeschrieben! Andererseits wollte ich mich diesmal aber auch bewußt nicht so übermäßig lang bei den Nebencharakteren aufhalten... 'Abuse' und 'Trials of living' sind ja etwas mind-game-mäßig angelegt, deswegen sind die Innenansichten der Charaktere sehr wichtig. Hoffe aber, es ist jetzt eine einigermaßen gute Mischung geworden. Auf jeden Fall vielen Dank für das feedback, das hat mir sehr geholfen!!! Und wenn du konkrete Vorschläge zu einzelnen Szenen hast, die ich noch ausbauen sollte, immer her damit!
 

Loveless: Eine neue Leserin, juchu! :D Danke, dass du dir die Zeit für dieses sehr lange und SEHR hilfreiche Review genommen hast! Ich glaube, es gibt kein Äquivalent für 'unbetad version'(naja, vielleicht so ganz schnöde: 'unkorrigierte Version' oder so... aber ich mag Anglizismen ;)). Es war sehr hilfreich, dass du auf die Schwächen und Stärken hingewiesen hast (über die positiven Sachen habe ich mich super gefreut, und über die Hinweise fast noch viel mehr, weil ich sie dann nämlich ändern kann). Ich bin jetzt natürlich ein bisschen in einem Konflikt, weil ich ein wenig den Verdacht hatte, dass es teilweise wirklich an etwas fehlt. Um so schöner wenn du sagst, dass du soweit nichts vermisst! Ich hab ein bisschen was dazu geschrieben... Solltest du trotzdem denken, dass ich bei manchen Sachen etwas genauer werden sollte, oder etwas fehlt, dann wäre ich sehr dankbar, wenn du´s mir sagen würdest! Nochmal Danke für dein tolles Kommentar und hoffentlich gefallen dir die kommenden Kapitel auch!