Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Essence of Blood (1x1)

He merely shook his head, and checked to see if the sun had set. Which it had. He gathered his things and made sure Zalia was ready before he made his way out of the inn, and back onto the road to head home. Strangely, he had not been stricken yet with hunger, unlike before. He wondered if that was due to drinking his sister's blood. The thought made his frown though, remembering it all.

He honestly couldn't wait to be back home, where it felt natural to be. He just felt so uncomfortable out in the open world.

Zalia would walk alongside him once they departed, keeping to the unspoken rule of silence. Alezander didn't seem to be in a very talkative mood, and she understood that. After all, a lot had just happened for him. But still...the silence worried her. Was he going to be alright? He wasn't killing himself with guilt, was he? Maybe she should try to cheer him up. But maybe she should just leave him alone.

Zalia pouted a little. She had no clue what to do. She wanted to help, but she feared that if she tried then she would only make things worse. So she just walked with him, keeping to the silence.

To be honest, he didn't like the silence. It gave him too much opportunity to think. And thinking right now, was only putting him into a bad mood. So he did something to break the silence, and try to get his mind off of things. He pulled Zalia to his side, right against him and held her there with his arm around her.

"What are we going to do when we get back?" he asked her, wondering if she just wanted to go straight back to how things were normally there, or if she had something else in mind. Something fun to do. "I mean, we'll be back home, but is there something you want to do, perhaps in the town, or something you want me to bring to us?"

Zalia blushed when she was suddenly pulled against his side. Her heart was racing, just being so close to him. "Huh?" She blinked and then blushed even brighter. "I-I don't know. We have to check on Shadow, you know?" The little bunny rabbit. "But uhm, other than that, I'm not really sure..."

Zalia sighed slightly. "I just want to get home." Home. A safe place, a happy place (most of the time). Home with Alezander and Shadow and no Maria. "...I'm really sorry. This all...it's all my fault."

He blinked for a moment, not quite having expected her to say something like that. "How is anything your fault? You can't control what people do. That's how most of this happened." He stopped and turned Zalia to face him. "Stop blaming yourself. It's needless... and pointless. I have so much to owe you for, so please don't say such things."

He didn't like it when she had that look on her face. Not just this time, but all the times before. He just wished he could make that look go away forever.

Zalia bit her lip. "I know I can't control what people do. But I was controlled, Alezander! No trick of magic, but just a trick of mind. I knew I shouldn't have listened to Maria but I did. It's all my fault. You know it is. If only I had just come to you first, or ignored her completely..."

Alezander had a tough job, getting that look off of her face. She had that look on her face for years. Years and years. "Blaming myself or not, I still...I just have to apologize. So I'm sorry."

"You did come to me first," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "You came to me, and I'm the one who helped you find that stone." He shook his head. "Even if anything was your fault, it was all with the best of intentions. And that's what matters. That's what lets me know that you care."

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, before adding, "If it will make you feel better, I'll accept the apology, and I want to hear no more of it."

Zalia blushed at his affections, but did indeed smile softly. "It will make me feel better, so thank you..." She blushed again and looked away shyly as he kissed her hand. "Are you always so charming, or is that just when you want to close a discussion?" she mumbled quietly. He seemed awfully charming to her, at least.

"We uhm...we should keep going. We're almost home."

He grinned a bit when she called him out on his conversation ender. "Sometimes I do," he said, turning to walk again, but still having her hand in his. "Sometimes I do it just to see that pretty blush cross your face." He was laughing in his mind, knowing that those words would more than likely bring another wave of redness to her face.

Just one more town to go, and then they would be on their way to their final stop, at his home. He really couldn't wait to start relaxing again.

Zalia tried not to prove him right, but he did indeed get another bright blush. "Hrmm." She stared shyly downwards as they walked along, hand in hand. She wanted to tell him how she felt. But she was too scared to do so. So she just stayed quiet and held his hand, walking along with him. She was so excited to be getting closer to home.

Rather than talk most of the trip to the next town, he would just enjoy his company, and the still night air. It was rather relaxing, and helped him get his mind off of things. But before he knew it, the sky was lightening up, and they were still a good several minutes from the next town.

He slipped his hands under Zalia, pulling her up into his arms as he made a little dash down the road. It took far less that that way, and they were too the town in know time, ready to check into the inn.

Zalia was not expecting the storm, nor was she expecting to be scooped up like that. "Z-Zander!" She held onto him as they rushed to the next town, rain starting to pour down upon them. Luckily they got to the inn before they got too wet, so once they were inside she would wiggle in Alezander's arms until he put her down. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the fact that he had been carrying her. "T-thanks.."

He gave a simple nod to her as he put her down, shaking his head a bit to fling some water from his hair. He placed his things down and slid his shirt over his head, placing it over a chair to dry.

"Almost home, then," he said. Laying back on the bed and resting his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He seemed to be in thought, and realized it after a few moments, shaking his head. He turned his head to look at Zalia. "I hate to say this, but I miss my own bed."

Zalia's face turned red again when he pulled off his shirt. She quickly looked away and settled into her own bed. "Yeah, almost home." As he finally spoke, she gave a quiet giggle. "Yeah. It's understandable. Your bed is really nice." She had seen it that once, when she was in his room.

"I hope Shadow is okay. I can't wait to get home and see him." THe little bunny was probably living a life of ease in that nice mansion.

"I'm sure he is," Alezander replied, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes. He felt hungry now, and really couldn't wait to get home to raid his cellar for the delicious crimson life force he needed. Just the thought of it made him feel worse. He cleared his throat and rested his head on his arm. His thoughts drifted around, going over the past events of the day, and back even further, to the day he left his family.

He listened for Zalia, her breathing, her heartbeat, until he knew she was asleep.

Zalia inevitably fell asleep. She certainly wasn't fighting the sleep, either. The sooner she woke up, the sooner they could get home. So she slept, rather peacefully. When she awoke, they got their things together and headed out. "What are we going to do now, when we get home? It's kind of weird to think we're not having people attack us now." Her father was still at large, but he had slipped her memory at the time and that was a very good idea. She needed relief from her father.

"We may not be under attack, but we need to recover after all that has happened. We need to clear our minds of the past events, and some peace and quiet... and relaxing will do just that." He rubbed his head a bit as they walked, holding his bag over his shoulder. He was trying to keep his thoughts on home... and getting there; instead of the hunger that was growing a bit more furious as the time passed.

But, doing so seemed to pass the time quickly, and they were already passing the area the lake was in. The one he had taken Zalia to. So close to home. But he stopped, sensing something. He grabbed Zalia and quickly disappeared with her into a couple of bushes.

A wagon was passing by, and the two riders were conversing, rather loudly.

"They said they found the body... and the owner of the mansion won't answer when they knock," said one. "Seems rather suspicious."

"They say he was bitten though. What do you think that means?"

"I don't know, but it makes me want to get as far away as possible. I hate travelling at night."

Alezander stepped back onto the road as the travellers disappeared into the shadows. "That certainly doesn't sound good."

Zalia remembered the lake they passed. She had fallen into it that once, and Alezander had had to save her. She gasped quietly when she was grabbed, but made no objection to hiding in the bushes, though she knew not what for. Until she heard the wagon and the riders. Her face paled at the words.

"Father."

Who else could it be? Her whisper of just the parental name sent shivers through her, and her hand grabbed onto Alezander's arm a bit tightly. That was bad. If her father was being so blatant, he was obviously trying to bring attention on Alezander and herself.

He felt her grip on his arm and glanced back at her. "Don't worry... This has happened before, when I was first a vampire. It will blow over quickly... or I assume it to. Unless they start piecing it all together. I can make a distraction though, to keep them off our trail if worse comes to worse." He held himself high, trying to show her he was confident about the whole situation. The last thing he wanted was Zalia to be nervous.

He would take her by the hand though, and lead her once again toward the house. It didn't take long either, and before he knew it, he was standing in the atrium with her. "Ah, that familiarity eases my mind a bit," he said, taking a deep breath.

Zalia nodded slightly. "...okay..." She walked along with him until they reached the house, smiling in relief. "Yeah. I feel that way too." She felt much better and safer when she was back in the familiar place that she could actually call home. This stranger's house was more of a home than her actual house ever was. Her hand suddenly pulled away from Alezander's. Thinking about her true home brought unhappy memories. Pushing, shoving, hitting and throwing. She shivered. "L-let's just find out if Shadow's okay..."

She needed something to distract her mind.