Vampire/Human [AKELA and BOWELS]

[Akela]

“And-…and you can play with my hair when I wake up,” Aly whispered, snuggling into Ruth’s arms. She obviously wasn’t thinking straight, for it would have been a question instead of a comment if she were. “It’ll help me get- better…”

James sighed, crouching down to be beside Ruth. He brushed his fingers through her hair, whispering in her ear. “Baby, leave her be, let’s go upstairs. She won’t notice you leave, you don’t need to see yet another death. Make Simeon deal with the body.”

Vera was boiling, but she kept it in as Aly’s breathing slowed, stilled, her heart giving up after working vigorously under so much strain. She wanted more than anything to be in his arms, but she was too tired to request it. With a deep sigh, ending in a cough, Aly laid her head limp on Ruth’s shoulder, her limbs letting go of any remaining energy she had put into holding them up.

Poor Aly didn’t make anyone wait long; not after putting Simeon through a week of hell. Simeon had to endure her watching him intently before letting her lids cover her fading eyes one last time. And then…the sound of her heart, something everyone else in the room was focusing so intently on, died away. It felt as if something was missing, like one more beat should be heard, but of course nothing came. The girl’s chapped lips parted slowly as her body became empty…for James, why did this feel so different after having killed too many humans to count?

James rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, trying to think of how to handle this situation. It wasn’t unthinkable that she got sick because her immune system was down. And it would have been down more than normal because of the amount of blood taken… hopefully Ruth would not have this train of thought, because in the end it wasn’t her fault at all either way. The girl was destined to die surrounded by vampires from the moment she was taken.

“Simeon, what- what are you doing here? Have you been drinking off her all day to make it worse? Surely sick blood isn’t that great for you,” Vera hissed, the moment gone for her. Time to find out what was going on.

[bowels]

Even then, surrounded by the peers he had conditioned to know him as the cold-hearted creature he instinctively was, he couldn’t keep his face from cringing. His expression tugged back in a permanent flinch as he watched his girl, slipping into the never ending nothing. He wanted to change her, but he couldn’t—he wouldn’t. If it came between her neck and his, he’d save his own, but it didn’t change the depth to which he felt for her.

Ruth, terrified, held onto her, still quite bent on the idea that she could make it through. She blatantly ignored James’ soft words, believing her to be more than just a dead body after death. She was still Aly—her life wasn’t there, but it was there.

Just when Ruth went to take a deep breath, to relax and reassure her, she died. Simeon’s facial struggle dropped and he looked the other direction. Ruth gawked down at her still face, waiting for something to happen—to hear her heart again. It never came.

Vera immediately attacked Simeon, and he glared over at her with his jaw tight. His eyes were steely. Ruth continued to stare down at Aly, brushing her matted hair.

“You insolent, mewling quim,” Simeon hissed. Then, beyond his better judgment, he lashed out, grabbed her by the throat and pinned her up against the side of the mammoth building. No doubt she could take him down, what with her impressive age, but he wasn’t looking to win. “You do not know the first thing about this—all of this!”

He paused, leaned in closer, and bared his teeth. “You’re not one to judge, when your own state is corrupt.”

He pounded her against the wall then took a few large steps back with his long limbs. “Warren was the one who had me kill Ruth,” he stated boldly.

Ruth finally looked up.

“He arranged the entire affair,” he claimed. “We struck a deal. I kill Ruth on his behalf, he give me something in return.”

[Akela]

“You’re not one to judge, when your own state is corrupt.”

Vera took being thrown against the building quite well, letting him take his anger out in hopes that he would explain. She was, of course, livid, but with no pulse it only showed in her eyes. When he finally let go of her she glared, straightening out her dress and the piece of hair that had fallen out of place. “And what do you mean by that, Simeon?”

Warren…how could he say such a thing? It took Vera a few moments to respond as she regained her composure, James quietly moving to Aly again. “Hun. Let me take her. We’ll bury her, would that do?” he whispered, wanting to get Ruth out of the area as quickly as possible. If they started fighting…it could end badly.

“Why should I believe you for even a second, Simeon. Warren knows how we feel about Ruth, and he loves her too.” Okay, that last part was a stretch, but he wouldn’t want her killed! Why did he care?

“What did he give you in return, if what you say is true?” It was a terrifying question, and all this made her wonder where Warren was.

[bowels]

Ruth never ignored people—especially James—the way she was, but this was a queer situation which called for a different reaction. With a dead body still poured into her lap, her eyes were glued on Vera and Simeon, and when James gently touched her shoulder to guide her elsewhere she nearly violently snapped her shoulder away.

Simeon wet his lips, then began to adjust his suit. Composure flushed up to his cheeks again, and though he’d spilt the dirty secret he could still bounce back. He could make this look like another way to tool and fool with ‘lesser’ folk, though Vera most definitely was not below him in status, with his political standings or not.

“Nothing yet,” he informed the group coolly whilst tugging on his lapel. “So long as it involved you no harm, he was to do a single favor of anything I wished. Keeping things under wraps wasn’t exactly a part of the deal, so I guess our deal is still on.”

Ruth was still. Simeon was still the one who had metaphorically pulled the trigger, but it had been Warren who’d arranged it all. If it hadn’t been for him, she would still be human—living and breathing, and with a chance at life. She would have graduated high school. She could have gone to college. Maybe she would have had kids, somehow. Her dead heart splintered.

“Do not go judging other relationships when yours is clearly damaged,” Simeon growled. Then, with one last look of longing towards the corpse in the vampire’s grasp, he vanished into the dying night.

Ruth shook her head, nearly sedated in her daze. “I knew I was afraid of him for a reason,” she muttered coldly.

[Akela]

“Relationship?” Vera sneered, eyes narrowed in an anger. “You’re telling me what you had with this girl was a relationship? That’s the most- Simeon, you’ve gone mad, you think you can have a relationship with a human you got from the basement? You mark her and it’s true love?” But she wasn’t invested in the argument and turned away with a scoff. She needed to find Warren...if it was true, it explained why he always disappeared when Ruth was gone.

“Ruth...come on, give me the- give me Aly.” After Ruth’s reaction there was no way he would leave the body in Simeon’s care. One he would probably just leave her in a ditch, and two she needed a proper burial. For some reason humans thought it important, and he assumed Ruth would be of the same mind.

“Hun, I- I’m so sorry... If I’d known we would have left in an instant.” James paused, looking down at the ground in thought. “We have to leave, soon. I don’t want him getting any ideas about finishing the job. Vera will clearly understand...”