The sky overhead was almost completely dark. That was, of course, if you weren’t looking properly, or if you were in the middle of the city and were burdened by light pollution. For Elliot, however, the sky, though mostly black, was a velvety sheen of dew drops, dancing and sparkling—stars, shining bright and happy to have all the attention because the moon was nowhere to be found. Of course, she could be up there somewhere. But tonight, she was not kissed by the sun. She was completely dark, and invisible to all.
Elliot found himself out on the street, feeling somewhat nostalgic. Nostalgia was always at the back of his mind, but for some reason on this night, it was stronger. At first, he attributed it to recent arguments he had had with Pi. Emotions were always stronger, these days, ten times so. He found them hard to deal with at the best of times, let alone when he had a woman stomping all over them. That’s not to say she was doing it on purpose, but nevertheless…
He didn’t agree with any of the decisions she was making for herself, but there was no way to talk her out of them. She was set in her ways, and she had her reasons, and she believed in them. Elliot admired her for having such strength, but in this matter they were like an immovable object against an unstoppable force. Neither had an effect on the other, and so it sent each of them stuck in a mire of their own steadfast morals. It didn’t do them any good, not really.
But still, they found themselves coming together at the end of the night. Ever since Elliot had found Pi bleeding and broken in the Den, after he’d nursed her and patched up her wounds, he’d realised he couldn’t possibly stay away from her any longer. There was one thing upon which they could not agree, but in every other aspect, they loved each other. They were Yin to each other’s Yang, and to be apart was doing more harm than good.
Still, Elliot didn’t know what to do. He preferred it when his life was simpler. When he travelled from one city to another, living only with what money he had in his pocket, leaving friends behind because they, too, travelled from city to city. It was an unspoken agreement, to not ever be anchored. But here he was, anchored. He was not unhappy, but he was still coming to terms. Even after two years, he was still coming to terms.
It was freezing out—truly getting into Winter—but he was being stubborn. He didn’t wear a huge jacket like everyone else was. He knew that this might give him away as something more than human, but he didn’t care. Recently he’d been host to all kinds of foolish ideas, the least of which was to go get himself into all kinds of trouble so that Pi would realise the mistake that she had made. He wouldn’t go quite as far as revealing himself via powers in public, but he was still feeling stubborn. And so he would go without true winter attire.
The first clue that he had that something wasn’t quite as it seemed was how cold he really did start to feel. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his jaw set, as he contemplated the ice that had started to form in his bones. Sure, he still felt the cold as a vampire, but he felt it in the way that one immune to it would feel it—like an observer, rather than as a participant. Now, however, he could feel it right down to his very marrow. So much so, that he actually began to shiver. He hadn’t felt this kind of freeze for so bloody long…
The second clue became apparent as he entered the blackmarket store. The shopkeeper didn’t look at him as he usually did. The shopkeeper was not swayed by the melody of Elliot’s voice; was not convinced by his slick way with words. For the first time in a very long time, Elliot did not get a discount.
Exiting onto the street, Elliot was confounded. He paused on the footpath. He stared left, and then he stared right.
”What the ****…” he mumbled, under his breath.
He was not only confounded by his seeming lack of vampiric power. He was confounded by his seeming lack of relief.
