☼ Too Long Gone ☼ (Closed)

[Teagan (DELETED 7350)]

Once we're outside I drop Tay's hand and nestle myself against him, linking my arms through his. It's been too long since I've seen him. Too long since I've been able to enjoy being close to someone. The freaks in the sewers at least left me to my own devices. Mainly. So long as I did what they said, that was. I trained. They left me alone. They realised early on that they shouldn't touch me. They had to knock me out to give me the tattoos on my back. I freaked out because they held me down. I don't think they care what the tattoos looked like, so much as they worried that me squirming would mess up their effectiveness or something. It was pretty fucked up.
The option to get food is a good one. I've pretty much been eating what I've been given for a while now and they didn't much care how the food tasted. Their main concern, as always, was efficiency. So I ate a balanced diet that would help me maintain my strength, since training was pretty strenuous. I smile at the thought of having something greasy and wonder if my system can take it. It's going to have to. It has no other choice. I want to eat something bad for me.
I'm daydreaming about a cheeseburger when Tay stops and makes me face him. His hands are on my arms but I don't worry about that, it feels good. Comforting. The look in his eye though. That's not so comforting. He's about to say something difficult. I can see it. Thankfully I don't have long to wait until the words are out of his mouth.
I freeze.
I understand the question. I know what he's asking. I need to tell him no, but just the subject has me shivering with fear. I shake my head as I look into his eyes. No Tay. They didn't do that. I can think it. I just can't say it.
"They're... not normal."
This is how I start because the story is not honestly one a sane person would believe and yet I need Tay to believe me. Of course we know about supernaturals so it should go over easier but knowing of them and being one of them are not the same thing. How do I tell my brother I was forced to become something more than human. It's every girl's dream perhaps. Every girl but me that is. One day I'll get over my issues. I hope.
"They changed me Tay. Made me one of them."
I hang my head. I'm too ashamed to look at him.
"They trained me. I left the moment I could."
I swallow hard and force myself to look up at him again, though I'm frightened to see the look in his eyes. I don't want him to reject me; it would kill me if he did.
"I don't believe what they do."
This last sentence is whispered and if it weren't so quiet out, he'd probably never hear me. I'm not sure why I felt the need to say that then but it seemed right. He has to know that I'm not one of them, even if technically I am. I'm not going to hunt our friends. I refuse to. They didn't do anything wrong. But then life is hardly fair and bad things happen to good people. I'm exhibit A of that.

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

Teagan doesn't answer him in the way Tayden was hoping for. Looking for, that was. She's shaking and he can't help but wonder why that is. Is she afraid he would leave her there? Turn her away? Tayden couldn't. Even if Anika's life might be in danger. They were connected and always would be. Sure, they weren't identical twins, but they were still twins and they would always be family.

Normal. What was normal anymore? A lot of people wouldn't think he was normal anymore. Would she think he was normal? Tayden wasn't even going to talk about the things he had been up to the last couple months until he knew everything about what had happened to his sister. She was one of them. Tayden inhaled and held his breath, waiting. A paladin. Destined to hate and kill vampires, or so he had been told and heard at least a dozen times. But, that couldn't be right. Could it?

Teagan and he had fed how many vampires? Two dozen? Three? More than they could count on both of their hands combined. And they had never had any issues. Nothing crazy anyways. And now his sister was not only one of them, but a trained killer. Trained. She could kill a vampire. Any vampire. And probably anyone else. Paladins were crazy strong Anika told him. It's why she avoided the underground scene.

She looks up at me and tells me she doesn't believe in their cause and I don't hesitate to believe her. Not for a single second. Teagan wouldn't lie to me. Others? Definitely. Me? No. "I believe you." I say before I wrap my arms around Teagan.

She still hadn't answered his question in a fashion that satisfied him, but maybe right now wasn't the best time to bring it back up again. Or maybe he already had his answer. She would tell him. Tayden believed that Teagan would have told him. Answered him. Once they got to the restaurant, he could fish around a little to make sure what he suspected was true. Was right. "You're safe now. No one even needs to know besides us. No one will know." If she stayed above ground, Teagan would be safe, right?

[Teagan (DELETED 7350)]

I cling to Tayden like he's my life line, because he is my life line. I'm so relieved to hear him say that he believes me. I bury my face in his chest, again, and do my best to hold back the tears. It's cliché I know to think of a person as your home but that is what Tay is for me. I don't know how I'll survive if I ever lose him. Knowing he was out there and that I'd see him again was the only thing that got me through my so-called training.
He says I'm safe and I believe him. At least I do for a moment. I'm not safe. None of us are. The world is full of pitfalls that we can't be protected from, events and people we can't avoid. I just know that things are better when Tay and I are together. We look out for one another and now I'm stronger than I was. I can protect myself better. I can protect Tay better. I don't want to shatter his illusion. I don't want to tell him that people might very well guess what I am. Unlike other supernaturals, I bear the scars of my ordeal. Yes. I can keep them covered. I can keep them covered. But someone is bound to see them one day. I'm bound to slip up and be unmasked for what I am, even if it's not who I am.
"They marked me Tayden."
My words are whispered against his chest, so I raise my head and speak them again.
"They marked me."
He probably already knows how paladins are made but I tell him just in case he doesn't. I don't want to tell him that they held me down when they did it. I know he'll be annoyed. But he knows me and he'll probably guess. My voice or my face will give me away. The fear, the ordeal, it will be plain for him to see.
"They tattooed me. Enchanted the ink. I can't hide it."
I choke out the last sentence and then the tears begin. I can't hide it. Everyone will know what I am. I'll be judged.
My mind runs away with me. I start to wonder if my blood will taste different. I wonder if they'll know when they bite me. I wonder if my friends will shun me if they find out. When they find out. I don't care. I don't care. Tay won't leave me. I know this. I know this, because I wouldn't leave him. I know this. I knew this. My worries, my fears, they were stupid. I was stupid. And I do care. I don't want to lose who I am again. I want to be free from my scars. I'll never be free from my scars.
I start to pull myself together. I have to. For me. For Tayden. He doesn't need to worry about me. He shouldn't worry about me. He will. Of course he will. But I hate that does. I hate that he has to. He doesn't have to, but he does. He's the best brother in the world.

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

Tayden listens carefully to what his sister is saying and his eyes move from just her face to her entire body. It's covered, but that doesn't stop him from trying to see where they marked her and how much of the markings she had on her. "We can't get someone to tattoo over them? Ever?" It was probably a pointless thing to say, being she said they were enchanted, which meant to him that nothing could phase it.

Tayden looked at his sister and shook his head. "I think this is going to be one of those actions speak louder than words. Or in your case, tattoo." Tayden looked around, before returning his eye sight to his sister. "I won't let anything bad happen to you. Keep what you have covered and everything will be fine. People will believe you. If they don't-they aren't the people we want to be around. Or need to know." Tayden assured Teagan as they entered the restaurant, his eyes bouncing from wall to wall to see if he knew anyone, vampire, human or blood thief. Tayden knew a couple thieves, but not very many. Just enough for him to stay away. Most of them were like junkies anyways. Did it for all the wrong reasons. Like any junkie.

"Come on. Let's grab that booth." Tayden pointed to the booth near a corner of his choice of pick to eat, grabbed two thin menus and moved over that way. "Who cares what people think anyways? Everyone who knows you-knew you before you disappeared knows you. They will believe you. They might even want to kill some of them." Tayden wasn't sure what he was going to do yet. He was still sitting on the fence with the calling the cops idea, or maybe asking Anika for a little pick me up juice and seeing what and who he could find in the sewers for himself.

[Teagan (DELETED 7350)]

I wonder at his words. Could I cover the tattoos? Would that help hide who I am? I don't think they can be removed. But disguised? Could I change them? Could I add to them? Could I take back my skin, by designing my own additions? Tayden is a genius. I hadn't considered getting more and trying to disguise them. There's a reason for that though. I'd have to be touched. Someone would have to put their hands on my skin. The pain is nothing. I can take the needles. It's the intimacy of the act I can't stand. I don't like that. Though perhaps Tay would come with me. Sit with me. Keep me calm. I could ask that of him.
I nod at his advice.
My tears are drying as we walk into the restaurant. I do my best to wipe the moisture from my face discretely. I don't want to face people looking like this. Looking weak. I don't care if they think I'm ugly. In fact I'd prefer they do. I don't want the kind of attention that comes with being pretty. I don't want attention, period.
I smirk as I seat myself in the booth. Kill them. Kill them all. I like that idea. I'm not so sure about having allies but it couldn't hurt. I wouldn't cry for a single one of them and unlike vampires, they don't get to come back. We don't get to come back. Good. I don't want to live again. I've had enough of this life already. If it wasn't for Tayden I wouldn't be here now.
I shake the negativity from my mind. I can't wallow. Not now. Now I have to celebrate. Or try to at least. I haven't seen Tay in so long. I have to make an effort. For tonight.
"You're right. Keep them covered."
I'm staring at the menu, my mouth already watering at the prospect of eating something super greasy. I don't know why I'm looking at the menu really, I know what I want and it's just making me hungrier. I'm having burger and fries with a root beer. If they have one. I turn to the drinks section and hope to see what I want to see listed there. I do. I nod. Good.
I look up at Tay now. Sneak glances at him. He's real. He's here. I'm here. I know this, but I reach across the table regardless. Holding his hand would look weird. People would suspect we're lovers in this setting and not family. I don't care. But I do. So I grab his sleeve. I don't pull on it and I don't pull away. I just hold it. Like an anchor. Or a talisman. He'll get me through this. I hope.
"You believe me Tay. That's enough for now."
I need a break from all this. For now at least. I need to know what's new with him. If anything is new with him.
"Have you been okay? While I was gone?"
Is it selfish to want him to say no? To want him to have felt as broken as I did. I trained. I survived. But I survived to get back to him. To make sure they hadn't taken him. To make sure he knew I was alive. I could never leave my brother without telling him where I was going. No. I could never leave my brother.

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

A waiter comes and puts two menus down in the center of the square table, along with two glasses of water. Tayden grabs the menu and flips it from back to front, listening to his sister. The waiter says he'll be back in a few minutes and to take their time after rambling off the daily specials. None of them sound appealing to Tayden, but then again none of them were a burger. Some fish special, and spaghetti for a couple toonies less than usual, along with a piece of pie. I don't really like pie, so I decide I'll find a burger and some fries with an orange juice.

"Things have changed. With me." Tayden put the men down to look at his sister across from him. "I've been learning things, while trying to find you. I got a lead a couple months back, but it ended up as a dead end. On where you might be. I looked but never found you." He confesses, before moving on to how he's changed. "I met someone. And they introduced me to a subset of people. Different than the ones you know. The ones that took you." He grabbed the glass of water and took a drink from it before going on.

"She taught and told me a lot of things. About the city. About some of the things we've never heard of. Knew about." Tayden set the glass down on the center of the table, not far from its original resting place and looked his sister in the eye. "We help vampires, and they can help us too. We can help each other. Live together and flourish together. Against those pricks that took you." Tayden let his sister absorb what he said, while he sat back in the booth, eyes on her.

[Teagan (DELETED 7350)]

I pull my hand back and look at the waiter. I think we unnerve him as before we can even order, he's gone. He's giving us time to decide I suppose but I don't need time. I need food. I watch Tayden. I'm looking for something. Hints of the changes he's talking about. Honestly, his words scare me and it probably shows on my face. My brother is talking in riddles and it's only serving to heighten my anxiety. I don't like it. I want to grab him and shake him and make him spit it out because I don't understand, but I don't. I'm not a hypocrite. I talk in riddles too. I'm not sure if it's nature or nurture. Perhaps it's because Tay and I have never really needed as many words as other people to communicate, as we usually just get each other. We understand one another. Right now though I'm missing some crucial information. Who is this subset he's talking about? Who is this woman Tay met? I already know she's not good enough for him. That goes without saying.
Tay's watching me. I know he sees my confusion. He sees the concern, the fear. My eyes search his. He looks good. Healthy. There's nothing wrong with him. Please God there's nothing wrong with him. My hand goes to my throat in a protective gesture. My mouth goes dry. I take a moment to try and puzzle out the clues. Tayden, what did you do?
I reach for my water and swallow down a few large gulps.
"She taught you what? I don't understand. They can help us? How?"
They can give us cash, maybe a place to crash if we need it but we knew all that already. We didn't deal with scumbags if we could help it. I never met a new vampire alone either. Tay was usually with me. It was only once they became regulars that we'd meet them alone. You can't be too careful. People aren't to be trusted. Trust is earned. Respect can be given but trust, trust has to be earned. It comes with time. And sometimes it doesn't come at all. Tay's the only person I trust implicitly. That might change one day. I hope it changes one day.

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

He sees the change in his sister instantaneously. She's gone from scared and worried, to worried and concerned over him. Tayden leans back in the booth, looks around and then at her. "I'm fine." He assures her with a small laugh. "More than fine. Stronger than I've ever been. Ever could have been." He could do a lot of things right here, right now, thanks to the vampire blood in him, but Tayden wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to get them kicked out of one of the few places his sister might be safe at right now. "They can help us. Have helped us. Me." Tayden rephrases his thoughts before going on.

"There's these guys around the city. Looking for vampires. Not to hurt them or anything." Tayden assures his sister, as he drops his hand to his lap under the table. "They're called blood thieves, but I've never taken anything without permission. You know I wouldn't do that. So, I guess I'm a little different." The name always rubbed Tayden wrong, because it implied that every time anyone of them got blood it was taken without permission. Or by force. Some criminal act.

"Anyways, vampires need us, and some of us need them. We get their blood, they get ours. It's a circle of life sort of thing. And with that, they survive and we, us 'blood thieves,' get some pretty cool powers. Super powers. Powers that would have helped me get you out, had I been able to find you." Tayden leans forward and looks his sister in the eyes. "I'm still me-just amped."

[Teagan (DELETED 7350)]

I search his eyes to see if he's telling me the truth. He is. I know he is. He's still Tayden. Just like I'm still Teagan. I can't doubt that. Don't doubt that. He believed me, and I believe him. I don't know what a blood thief is. I didn't know they existed but now my brother's apparently one of them. If they feed off of vampires, then that's... well it's kind of disgusting. My brother is drinking blood? My nose crinkles and I know he'll know what I'm thinking, but I voice my thoughts before he has a chance to second guess me.
"Doesn't it taste bad?"
I say that like it matters. Tay and I spent many years on the streets. We've eaten things you wouldn't look twice at unless you were starving. Which we were. I'm glad those days are behind us.
It strikes me that while we've changed, we may have actually changed for the better. We changed while apart but we're back together now. We're stronger. We've both got powers. I'm not sure what his are. I'm not really sure what all of mine are. But control comes with time, as do answers.
The waiter comes over and I finally place my order; burger, fries and root beer. I wait for Tay to give his order. I'm not surprised that we both wanted the same thing, though our drink choices differ. It could be a twin thing, it could be habit, it could be coincidence. Fast food is comfort food. For me. Usually. Today I don't need it for comfort. I have Tay. He's my person blanky. Tayden is safety personified.
I smile to myself and allow myself to relax. I take a deep breath and let my fears slip away. For now. I reach over and grab a hold of his sleeve again. It's not enough though. So I take a hold of his writs. Mine's covered. Mine are always covered. The scars are easier to hide behind cuffs. I have a few. Metal cuffs, leather cuffs, fabric ones, the kind that look like sweatbands. They look like a fashion choice. They aren't. They're practical. They hide my past. Hide my present. Hide what I don't want others to know. Tay knows though. Tay always knows. The vampires that feed from me know too. That can't be helped. I won't let them feed from anywhere else.
I'm staring at our wrists. I'm thinking about blood. Tainted blood. Vampires still feed from Tay. He pretty much said as much. It's a circle. He feeds them, they feed him. I wonder if he has to feed daily too. I hope not. That means his powers wear off too soon. Too quickly. He'd be vulnerable. I don't want him to be vulnerable. My thoughts shift to my own taste once more. Will I taste different? Will they know?
"Do you... Taste the same? Do they know?"
I think I'm safe to ask that here. I need to know. I need to know just how dangerous it is being us. Just how easy we are to detect. My tattoos can be hidden. Tainted blood can't be hidden. Not if I allow others to drink it. I need to know if I need to stop. Stop helping. Stop feeding them.

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

Tayden chuckles and relaxes in the booth as she asks the question he suspected she would ask. Anyone probably would. "It took a while to get used to. Sometimes, I'm still getting used to it. And some of them do taste bad. Acidic even. Something must be wrong with them." He shrugged a shoulder and looked around the restaurant before going on. He wanted to make sure the waiter wasn't coming back to check on how their food taste in a conversation like this.

"They know. I never take from people that wouldn't want it. Sometimes I pay them to have their blood, and sometimes it's just a simple exchange. What I have, they need and what they have, I need." He looks down at her hands on his wrist and wonder why she's holding them. Does she think he feels different? Some sort of psychological thing? If she didn't hold on to him, he might up and leave, or someone might come and tear them apart again? Take her back to the place she was being held? Over his dead body. Teagan wasn't going anywhere without a good fight, if anyone ever did try and come take her again.

Tayden popped a fry in his mouth after slowly pulling one of his wrists away from Teagan, so he could do that. "I have a pretty willing...donor? I guess you could call her that? She takes from me and I take from her and it's a pretty sweet set-up." He admitted with a shrug. "But some nights I don't see her, and some nights when I need it, their blood, I got to pay or trade something else." That sounded dirty, and dark even. I could imagine what she was thinking. "Nothing illegal." Tayden said with another laugh. "Maybe you could meet her sometime. She's been sort of abandoned by the person that made her what she is now. It's kind of crap." Tayden grabbed the cup of pop on the table he had ordered and took a swig of it. "Whenever you want to. IF you want to." He wasn't going to push his sister into doing something she didn't want to. She had endured that sort of lifestyle for far too long.