3"Stay here!" Monice ordered, pushing the young shape shifter back into the chair behind her. Reles found herself being forced into the chair behind her and sat. She was in her delicate and beautiful human form. "There is a war out there. Do you want to be killed?"
"Just because you're a vampire doesn't mean that you can order me around." The stubborn fourteen year old grumbled, but obeyed the vampire anyway. Monice smirked and crossed her arms across her chest.
"No, I can order you around because I'm on duty to watch over the youth at this moment of time." She said, glancing over at the different age groups of children around the large cabin. In one corner, there was a group of infants, most sleeping. Next to the babies, there were mischievous toddlers, and next to them, there were the eight year olds to the twelve year olds. In the opposite corner of the infants stood many teens talking in hushed voices, flirting and joking. The adults were all out fighting the war against the humans, slayers, and sorcerers.
"I'm not that young." Reles mumbled, more to herself than to Monice.
"Just go to the other kids your age." Monice sighed. Reles walked over to the group of youths and was promptly ignored in the group. The vampires stood in one small area of the group while the werewolves sat in another area. The shape shifters were all in whatever form they preferred, whether it be a sly cat or a strong wolf or even perhaps a human, and in the middle of both the vampires and the werewolves. Reles sighed, sliding down a wall in the corner that she had grown fond of. Away from everyone.
Monice sighed. "Reles, sit with your group."
"Neither they nor I want me to be over there." Reles responded wryly.
"Just try to get along." Monice suggested. Reles shook her head.
"Neither they nor I want me to be over there." She repeated. Monice gave up, throwing her arms in the air in annoyance. The door swung open suddenly, capturing the attention of all groups, Reles, and Monice. It revealed a silver, shoulder length haired vampire with grey eyes. Reles smiled in appreciation of the vampire's looks as did most of the female youths in the room. Jealously rivaled on the male teenager's faces and Monice glided over the young male vampire.
"My parents have decided that I am too young to fight the battles. I am now to stay here." The male drawled in an unique near-Irish accent. Monice nodded.
"Your group will be in that corner." Monice pointed to the many teen ages youths in the corner. "I should suspect that you will find yourself welcome."
The vampire nodded in understanding and walked towards the large group as the females pushed to the front to greet him. Reles watched in disgust as the vampire accepted hugs from the females and shook hands with the few males who looked as they might accept him. Finally, she took her attention off of the newcomer and focused back onto a way to get out of the awful cabin. She stood up, but was soon pushed back down by a weary Monice.
"Sit back down." She ordered the stubborn fourteen year old. "You have to stay here. There is a bloody war being fought just outside this cabin. If you step foot out of here without the proper training, you will surely be killed immediately."
"Then train me."
"I'm not on duty for training at this moment. I am not allowed to do such a thing." Monice informed the young shape shifter. Reles sighed and stayed in her corner as Monice went to some crying infants. Reles buried her head in her knees for a quick, exasperated moment, and when she raised her head, she nearly screamed. The young, vampire newcomer was now directly in front of her, kneeling down to face her. She found herself raking her eyes over his face, noticing a tiny silver hoop in his ear. He grinned at her reaction.
"I hear that you wish to be trained for war." He started.
"Yes, and what do you want with me?" She said brusquely. She would not fall under the spell of the vampire's endless charm.
"It's very unusual for a shape shifter to prefer the human form." He went on. She glowered at him.
"Where are you leading to?" She prompted.
"I simply wish to know if you would like for me to train you."
"What do you know about fighting in war?"
"I fought in this war for the past two years." He said, growing impatient of her insolence. "However, if you do not wish to learn then I will surely leave."
"How old are you?" She said, doubting his experience. He scowled.
"It is not up for your scrutiny. Either you accept my offer or you refuse it."
"I cannot accept or deny anything unless I am properly informed on the offer." She said.
"Young and intelligent." The vampire mused with a grin. "I have fought for the past two years and have undergone training a year before. Despite the protests among many of my kind, I was trained by my own parents and proceeded to fight in this war."
"How old are you?" She demanded.
"It is not up for your scrutiny, dear." He said tiredly.
"It is if you wish to train me."
"It is not I that wished to train you, but the other way around." He informed her. "You are the one that wishes to be trained in order to fight in the war. Though I might wonder why a beautiful fourteen year old shape shifter would want such a thing."
"It's not up for your scrutiny." She repeated his own words. He frowned.
"As you wish." He said, getting up and turning to leave her. She stood up after him and laid a hand on his arm, holding him back.
"Wait." She ordered. He turned to face her, surprised to discover that she was only an inch shorter than him unlike most of her species who was much shorter than he. "Train me."
He grinned. "Of course. However, you must answer to my questions in order to receive training so early in your life."
"Only if you answer to mine." She glowered back. He grimaced.
"My personal information is not up for your inspection." He warned. She shrugged.
"If you wish to know my personal information then you should allow me to learn about you as well." She reasoned.
"I will only ask you questions that I shall answer myself." He compromised.
"Then it will be done. Train me." She ordered. He took her hand and dragged her to a corner that she had never liked much. Letting go of her hand for a moment, he glanced around the room to make sure that no one was paying attention to his actions and pushed on a block. It slid back, revealing an open space and Reles gasped in surprise. He grinned at her and slid through. She glanced around before sliding out after him.
Once they were both outside, the vampire slid the block back into place and took her hand once more. He lead her through the forest to a small three-man tent and pulled her inside the tent. She glanced around, noticing three sleeping bags piled in a corner and a few pots and pans in another. She looked over to the male and watches as he summoned her over to an empty corner. She kneeled next to him and half-grinned when she saw him pull back the corner, revealing many weapons of many types. Knives, bows, arrows, guns, and tiny bombs took up the space in the small hole dug beneath the tent. He grabbed a knife and handed it to her before taking one for himself. She ran the sharp edge across her finger causing blood to gather, and the bright red blood attracting the vampire's attention.
"Do not do that." He said gruffly, wiping some of her blood onto his finger and licking it off. She contorted her face in disgust at his action and put her own finger in her mouth to stop the bleeding. He crawled out of the tent soon followed by Reles and immediately began to explain the used of the knife.
"There are two major, vital places to stab a human, slayer, or sorcerer. The heart or the brain. Once the knife is lodged in either of those places, then the life will leave the body soon after. The stomach is also an mortal area to stab. The one that is stabbed, if not in medical care in time, will die slowly and painfully." He lectured as she studied her knife. He grabbed the knife from her. "Are you paying attention?"
"Yes." She answered, grabbing the handle of her knife that he had quickly taken away. He refused to let go and kept a firm, strong grip on the knife handle.
"What was I saying?"
"The two best vital spots to stab a human, slayer, or sorcerer is the heart of the brain. Both places cause death quickly. However, the stomach is also a deadly area. It will cause a slow and painful death if not treated in time." She summarized. He let go of her knife and she continued to study it as if the knife was in her possession all along. The vampire continued with his lecture and was suddenly interrupted.
"What's your name?" Reles asked.
"Lium." He answered absently.
"Reles."
"I know." He brushed her off, and soon began his lecture again. She listened while toying with the knife which accidentally ran across her wrist in the doing. It did not pop her vein, but it did cause blood to bead the cut, distracting the vampire's attention. She struggled as he grabbed her wrist, blood seeping onto his fingers, and raised it gently to his mouth. She shut her eyes, feeling his lips on her wrist and stopped struggling as she felt his tongue seep out to the blood beading on her wrist. Her eyes slowly opened to find his head gently to her wrist and his eyes on her.
He quickly pushed her wrist away from his mouth and licked any traces of blood from his lips. She covered her bleeding wrist with her other hand, dropping the knife to the ground.
"Never drop your weapon." Lium said, bending down and retrieving her knife. "It will leave you unarmed and your only option will be to run."
"Perhaps I wouldn't have dropped my weapon if you hadn't decided to make a meal out of my wrist." She glowered.
"Perhaps if you had not have cut your wrist while playing carelessly with your only weapon, you wouldn't have had to worry about such a thing." He countered.
"Perhaps if you could control your need for blood as most of your kind do then I might have not had to have worried about such a thing in the first place."
"I can control my bloodlust when needed." He assured her. She bent down to crawl into the tent, but Lium grabbed her arm, stopping her from going any further. She turned back to face him. "The lesson is over for the day, Reles. We will train more tomorrow. Take this knife and keep it with you at all times. When you begin training you are automatically put in danger's way."
She took the knife and looked for a place to put it. Lium tossed her a knife sheath and she hid it underneath her shirt, sheathing her knife. Lium grabbed her hand and walked her back to the cabin full of youths. They snuck back in through the moving block and found themselves face-to-face with Monice.
"Hello, Monice." Lium said calmly, standing up and helping Reles in. Reles immediately spotted Monice and felt her eyes widen slightly. She pushed the block back into place and stood up next to Lium who seemed to understand how to handle the situation.
"Lium, Reles." Monice said in a harsh warning tone. "Where did you go?"
"I took Reles to a small lake. This cabin does need to learn to enjoy themselves sometime or later, Monice." He said pointedly. Monice shot a quick glare at the younger vampire.
"I do not need a young male such as yourself to tell me how to run my day care." She warned.
"If I may say, this is no more a day care than the raging war out in the open."
"I do not need this back talk from you, Lium. Either listen to me or go back out to the raging war as you put it." Monice said, knowing very well that he was not allowed out in the bloody war. Lium glowered, taking Reles's hand and taking her over to the group of teen youths. The youths welcomed Lium like an old friend, with the girls flirting and the boys each trying to be his companion. They ignored Reles, who had grown use to the lack of acceptance in her group. Lium pushed Reles in front of him and introduced her to the group who acknowledged her with a quick greeting and turned back to Lium. Reles left Lium to the mercy of the teens and sat in her corner again. She was soon trapped by Monice.
"What did you do while you were out?" She demanded from the young fourteen year old. Reles sighed.
"If you must know, no we did not do anything inappropriate. There was no kissing involved." She assured her elder. Monice sighed with relief and pulled up a chair in front of the shape shifter.
"He was training you." She stated dryly. Reles avoided eye contact and shook her head.
"No. I'm too young to be trained."
"He was trained early. He took you out to train you." Monice insisted.
"I'm too young to be trained." She repeated.
"He is training you." Monice persisted.
"So I am." Lium said, startling both Monice and Reles. The two females turned to him.
"It is against the law." Monice informed him. He smirked.
"Are you going to stop me?"
"No, I will not. However, the law setters may have a say about this."
"They had a say when I was training. However, they did nothing to stop it."
Monice sighed and stood up. She stood directly in front of Lium, only slightly shorter than he.
"Do not get caught." She advised, and proceeded to make her was to the eight-twelve year old group who seemed to fight over a stuffed animal. Lium turned his attention to Reles and sat in the chair in front of her.
"It is very unusual for a shape shifter to prefer the human form." He commented.
"Unfortunately." She added. She squirmed uncomfortably as she noticed his eyes raking over her.
"That can be an advantage to our side. The humans are our enemies and are incredibly naïve. They would fall for the human form trick easily."
"I'm not allowed out until I am trained."
"It takes a year to be completely trained. By then, the war should be over if you would take into consideration of the stats of the war currently."
Reles took this into account and stood.
"Then let us train more today." She suggested.
"Only a small amount of training can take place in one day. If there is a larger amount, then you will forget it and surely be overwhelmed."
"I am not the average student."
"We have trained as much as we will today." He said with a final tone.
Reles felt a grin tug at her lips as she made her way to the moving block. He stood up and followed her, knowing what her intentions were. She exited the cabin full of children and youths, making her way to the tent. The vampire crawled through and followed her as she began walking through the forest surrounding them. He watched as her form seemed to turn to liquid and formed back into a sleek, beautiful female wolf. He bent next to her, running his fingers through the stunning, thick fur that surrounded her body and half-grinned to himself. The shape shifter sniffed, soon targeting the smell she had wanted. She ran off, feeling her legs swoosh beneath her as if she was running on air. The vampire ran after her, not as fast as she but fast enough to keep her in sight. She finally stopped when she reached the tent, and glanced behind her, noticing the vampire finally catching up, his breath short.
She melted into her human form once again and watched as the vampire caught his breath. He shook his silver hair back and reached into his pocket. Grabbing a rubber band, he put his hair up behind him and leaned against a tree, waiting for the shape shifter's reaction. She ignored him and took out her knife, skillfully twirling it between her fingers and tossed it in the air, soon catching it by the handle.
"You have practiced with a knife before." Lium stated. She clutched the knife handle in her fist and grinned.
"I was never trained." She replied.
"You have practiced." He repeated. She nodded and leaped for him, the knife aiming at his heart. He jumped sideways and pulled out his own weapon, ready for her as she rushed towards him with incredible speed. The moment that she was slightly in front of him, she put the knife in her teeth and shifted into a wolf, scraping the vampire's leg badly as she swiped by. He cursed and jumped over her before she could swipe him again. She formed back into her human form and looked down at the large cut on his leg. He took advantage of her distracted state and aimed for her, slicing open her knife arm. She hissed in pain and dropped her knife, babying her bleeding arm. He sheathed his weapon and retrieved hers from the ground.
"You are not to get distracted by anything in a battle." He warned. She lifted her other hand, glancing at the blood that had sifted between and through her fingers. The vampire sheathed her weapon on her own knife belt and bent to inspect his own sliced skin. He ran a finger over his blood and sucked it off of his finger, soon digging into his pocket. He retrieved a small bottle of clear liquid and put a taste into his mouth, watching his wound heal unnaturally quick. He tossed the bottle to the shape shifter who caught it with her blood hand.
"Drink a very small amount and do not spit it out." He ordered. She took a quick taste and immediately began coughing in disgust as she swallowed the clear liquid. She put the cap back onto the tiny bottle and threw it at the vampire's head. He caught it and watched her arm heal. She checked her knife and rubbed her arm in surprise as she realized that the gash was nonexistent.
"You must learn to ignore such wounds in the center of a battle." Lium remarked. Reles glanced at him before walking through the forest once more.
"When will I be fully trained?" She asked as Lium walked next to her.
"At the rate that we are going currently, you should be finished in eight months." He told her absentmindedly.
"Eight months?" She repeated. "That's much to long! The war may be over by then."
"Are you eager to fight?" He probed.
"I am." She admitted. "Wars are rarely fought against us. There may not be another war as long as I live."
"Wars are bloody and awful. Wars can and will result in the loss of lives and the loss of loved ones. The loss of one's kind is devastating to all. Why one would want to join in a war might be a mystery."
"Why would each youth be trained? If wars are as awful as you explain them to be, why would they try to train youths, male or female, to fight in these conflicts? If it only results in loss of life, they have to have a reason to train them."
"Youths are trained for the main reason of the chance of a war. Wars are not planned. Wars are not exceptional or great. Wars are only fought between enemies and always bloody awful." Lium attempted to explain. "Wars are not looked up upon and they are not highly thought of. Lives that are lost during such battles are mourned for and war is blamed for these losses. Warfare is costly and distressing."
"It is." Reles agreed reluctantly. The shape shifter and the vampire soon fell into silence as they walked. While they walked, Reles spotted two humans and gasped. Lium snapped his head to where she was looking and drew his knife hastily. One human went for Lium while the other lunged at Reles who had yet to draw her own weapon. She screamed and let her hand fly to her only form of defense. She swung at the human recklessly with the knife, and soon hissed in pain when she felt the human's own knife slice into her abdomen. In the mist of so much pain from a sensitive area, she dropped her knife, curling over. To her side, she heard Lium curse while busy with the second human. Reles choked as she felt the human's arm wrap around her neck and her breath was soon cut off. She looked down at her knife and reached for it unsuccessfully.
Reles winced, feeling the knife digging into her chest and pulled at the arm around her neck, now desperate for breath. Suddenly, Reles heard a long, piercing scream of pain behind her and found that she was released from the human's hold. She immediately picked up her knife and turned, seeing the human dead in a pile of its own blood and Lium retrieving his knife from the human's back. She felt her stomach churn at the sight of the body and quickly ran behind a tree before gagging.
When she made her way back to the scene, her stomach now empty, she saw Lium wiping his knife on his pants and putting it back into its sheath. She watched as Lium lifted the body's neck to his mouth and bit down into the vein on the human's neck. She winced as she saw him take the dead human's blood greedily and hungrily. She fell, the pain in her abdomen suddenly striking her roughly, and her hands flew to the cut. Blood oozed onto her hand and between her fingers.
"Drink this." She heard Lium's voice above her and a liquid being pressed to her lips. She opened her mouth, getting just a small drop of the foul liquid and swallowed it. She shut her mouth and opened her eyes, seeing Lium standing up and shoving the small bottle into his pocket. She looked down at her sliced shirt and noticed that the cut was gone under the dried blood.
"Thank you." She mumbled quietly as she stood next to him, brushing herself off.
"You're welcome." He responded politely, taking her hand and began leading her through the maze of trees that surrounded them. They walked in silence until they got to the cabin. Lium pushed the moving block and crawled in. Reles followed slowly, and he helped her up once she got in.
Monice spotted the two immediately as Lium went to push to block back into place and gasped at Reles's ripped, blood stained shirt. She rushed over there immediately, a stern look on her face.
"Where have you been?" She demanded. "What happened to your shirt?"
"We had gone out for a few minutes to train." Lium spoke up, urgency in his voice. "We ran into two humans. Get the children together. We are leaving now."
Monice's eyes went wide and she immediately ran to the children with a calm façade as not to alarm them. Reles stood where she was as Lium went to gather the youths. They obeyed him as a loyal dog would it's owner.
The cabin was soon emptied of everyone but Reles.
Alrighty! I decided to repost this story because I've been getting a lot of "Why'd you take it off?! I was reading that!"s. So, review please! I love reviews, and not only do they give me more of a reason to write more, but they give the story a reason to stay on! ^^;