Different Strokes

Ethan arrived to their resting place almost immediately after Brit arrived. In truth, he had followed her for over a block, and had half-expected for her to turn sensing him near. She greeted him with a warm smile and unnaturally rosy cheeks. Kissing her forehead and lips, he paused when brushing her hair away to kiss her neck. His marks on her throat were gone. Pulling her to him tightly,his eyes flashed crimson for a moment. The sun was rising and he could feel himself growing more exhausted. Calmly, he said, “Tell me of your evening, Brit.” He had to spend energy to stay awake as he methodically went through a flowchart of casual questions. She answered easily; and he quickly attained that it was unlikely that anyone intentionally meddled, but she had indeed met someone who might have wanted to help. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her before sinking his fangs deep into her throat and slowly drank while wrapping a blanket around both of them. “I want to hear more tomorrow,” he said while lazily licking the wounds and falling immediately dormant.

Brit thought of the events of the evening while she lay practically bound in Ethan’s arms and the blanket. Her thoughts kept her from sleep. She could not shake the words between Nareth and the girl from the library from who Nareth drank. The girl seemed to care deeply for Nareth and Nareth did not seem to care for the girl at all. Remembering the dinner in Vienna, she knew that caring was not required. However, what disturbed Brit deeply was that the girl seemed wobbly and left the library with no one to follow or look after her. Her lips parted as her heart pounded and she felt sorrow for the girl. At the dinner, others seemed to look out for everyone there or perhaps she did not notice. The thought was upsetting.

That evening, unable to find Ethan, Brit went to the church to ask God about it. As before, there was no response. Her mind went to the line of priests she had met in Vienna. Each had spent some time talking with her about prayer, God, and answering questions for as long as she had them each evening. Ethan had waited and did not interfere as she spoke to each priest. She saw children of the school with the nuns and Brit had attended an evening mass with them. The music and language were beautiful though she did not speak the language. Ethan quietly interpreted it for her and answered additional questions after they had left the company of priests. Ethan kept expecting a question as to why one priest wore a mask, but Brit had never asked so he never had to explain about the anomalies of the Nosferatu clan.

Uncharacteristically, Ethan woke before she did. Rather than quietly extracting himself from the tangle of hair, he playfully poked and tickled her until she woke. Brit brushed her hair from her face immediately telling him of her concerns regarding Nareth and the girl in the library, and completely cut off what he was getting ready to say. Ethan listened with his infinite patience though not as relaxed as he usually was. He quickly reminded her of the dinner in Vienna, and told her to not be concerned or interfere. Additional questions were answered with kisses until she grew quiet. Pulling back, he traced his marks now quite raw on her neck and asked additional questions regarding the night before. Then he said, “What was the name of the person who touched your shoulder in the church?”

“Wolves,” she lisped. “He’s way nice.”

Leaning, he kissed Brit’s forehead and lips softly. “Everyone is way nice,” he softly teased, and sent her to dress. After sending her to the library, Ethan walked in the direction of the church.