Hemoglobin

Chapter Eighteen

By Scarlet Fever

There were so many jumbled images mixing within the pure black that I saw. Most of them consisted of Seifer in some capacity. I couldn’t make sense of what I saw, but I didn’t really care to. My thoughts weren’t what was most pressing to me. I felt a deep thirst that I so badly wanted to quench. It was driving me insane. The black, black surroundings turned into crimson, the colour of the deepest blood. I moaned, wanting it so badly. I could taste the sweet liquid on my tongue, could practically feel it splashing against my teeth. I bit into my lip, trying to suppress my urges, but felt blood in my mouth. My own blood. My teeth were now stuck into the inside of my bottom lip. I ran my tongue against them, feeling the sharpened points against the exploring tip of my tongue, which had already started lapping at the blood. My own blood was better than nothing.

I opened my eyes, which was more difficult than I had expected. My eyelids felt so heavy. I shielded my eyes, expecting bright light, but was surprised when it was dim.

"Welcome back."

I moved my hand away from my eyes. Even in the darkened room, I could make out Tifa’s features perfectly. "Tifa?"

She smiled with relief. "Good to see that you’re doing well…."

I slowly sat up, my body feeling stiff. I stretched my arms over my head, getting the kinks out. I looked down, realizing I was naked underneath the comforter. I blushed slightly.

"Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve seen naked men before." She studied my face. "You’re thirsty, aren’t you?"

I nodded, eager to quell this thirst. Tifa leaned over me, offering her wrist. "You’re too weak to hunt, and you need to be fed, so drink…."

I didn’t need much cajoling, and grabbed her wrist. She grimaced. I must have done it too roughly. I loosened my grip, bringing her pale, slender wrist to my mouth. I pricked the flesh gently with my new fangs, pushing them into her vein. I sighed, contented, as her blood splashed across my tongue and mouth. As I drank, I used my tongue to push more blood out of the wound. I looked up at Tifa through my eyelashes. She was watching me, smiling, like a parent smiles at a child. I grunted in disappointment when she pulled away.

"Where’s Seifer?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Is he alright?" I suddenly became afraid that he hadn’t made it. What would eternity be like without him?

"Calm down, calm down. He’s hunting. He has to eat, too. He stayed by you the entire time, until I made him go…."

"How long has it been?"

"Three days."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Wow." I paused. "What about Sephiroth?!"

Tifa frowned darkly, picking lint off her red linen skirt. "Still around…."

"What?"

"Not here. He wouldn’t dare show his face. He’s probably with his bitch…."

"Esemono…."

Tifa nodded, her dark hair swinging. "They’ve probably been working together this whole time…"

"Why isn’t he affected by holy artifacts?"

Tifa sighed. "Honestly, I don’t know. Something from his past, I guess…. I don’t know everything about him."

I cocked my head. "Why would he betray you?"

"Power. It’s his true passion. But I don’t know his exact motives."

I sighed. "How are Zell and Selphie?"

"Fine, fine. Selphie actually seems much better."

"That’s because Irvine’s out of the way."

"More than likely. I don’t know if Zell is comfortable as the only human among us…."

I smirked. "Probably not…." I trailed off, thinking about what it would be like to hunt Zell down. He was probably just down the hall, and he wouldn’t be able to fight back…… I shook my head.

"Ah, I see you’ve noticed your instincts."

I frowned. "I can’t believe that I would think about killing Zell, and do it with such delight…."

"You’ll learn to control it."

"I think I need to learn about more than that."

"It’s not like you’re totally uneducated. At least you know not to go in the sun. You’re walking in with your eyes open, which is more than I can say for most people who are turned."

"Why are you being so nice?" I asked cheerfully. I didn’t mean it as an accusation.

Tifa smiled. "Because Seifer would kill me if I wasn’t," she joked.

"Do you honestly believe in that prophecy thing?"

She smiled wryly. "Not really. That was Sephiroth’s baby, not mine. I don’t even think that Seifer really bought into it. No doubt that Sephiroth has some sort of ulterior motives…."

I sighed, resting my chin on my knees. Tifa patted the back of my hand. "I’ll go get you some more to drink. New vampires must be fed."

I raised my eyebrows as she began to explain.

"When creating a new vampire, you must keep them fed for a certain amount of time. Usually, about a week. After that period, they can control their hunger better, and understand enough to hunt by themselves, even though we rarely do that. It’s a wolf pack of sorts."

"What happens if they aren’t fed?"

Tifa stood. "They become insane and deformed. Like a walking rotted corpse, who’s sole drive is blood. They have no civility."

"And we’re civil?"

Tifa laughed. "Touché. I’ll go see if Seifer is back…"

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of seeing him. When Tifa closed the door, I got up, deciding to walk the kinks out of my legs. I didn’t really care that I was nude. As I passed the bathroom door, the mirror caught my attention. I wondered if the myth about vampires not being able to see their reflections was true. I flipped on the light, actually surprised that I had a reflection. I was actually more surprised by how I looked. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I didn’t expect to be so….. Gorgeous. I looked the same as I always had, but I knew myself better than anyone. I seemed to be glowing from the inside. I couldn’t help but be pleased. I never had taken much pride in my physical appearance, but… Wow. I leaned in to the mirror, looking into my own eyes. They had that same fluid, moving quality that Seifer and Tifa possessed.

I gasped as I felt a hand run down my naked spine. I spun around, my bare feet squeaking on the tiled floor. "Seifer! You scared the crap out of me!"

"I’m sorry, La Mer," he murmured playfully. "Don’t want me to catch you admiring your reflection?"

I snorted, turning back to the mirror for a second. "I can’t believe it."

"What? That you’re so beautiful?" He reached for me, wrapping his arms around my bare hips, crushing my body against his. I could see the relief in his eyes. "I’m glad you’re okay, Squall…."

I sighed. "You still regret it, don’t you? But, at least we’re together…."

"At what cost? Your humanity?"

I stood on my tiptoes, kissing him lightly. "Fuck my humanity."

"I’d give anything for things to be the way they were five years ago. We didn’t care about anything, and just enjoyed sitting around, living…."

I kissed him more fiercely. "Shut up," I commanded gently. I trailed my mouth to his neck, resisting the urge to bite into him.

"Go ahead," he urged gently.

I sank into him, the heat from his vein burning my mouth. As I drank, he kissed the side of my face, smiling against my cheek. He laughed as my hardening erection pressed against his hip. He pulled away from me, pulling me back into the bedroom.

"What if Tifa walks in on us?" I asked.

"So what if she does?" He began removing his clothes as I nipped at his throat again. He gave me a look. "You can have more if you fuck me…."

I laughed, my mouth feeling sort of strange because of my new fangs. I jumped Seifer before he had the chance to finish taking off his clothes. He lost his balance, falling on the bed, my body following him. I groaned as my erection banged against his hip. I could still feel the thirst, gnawing at me, but the urge to have sex with Seifer, be inside him, was warring with it. Seifer kicked off his pants, which caused him to be totally nude. I grabbed his thighs, pushing them apart, and sliding my body between them. When my eyes met his, he was watching me sadly. He reached up, brushing my shaggy bangs out of my eyes. I kissed his palm, noticing that he was fully healed.

"Are you sure you’re going to be able to accept this life? It is eternity, you know….."

I ground my crotch against his, which caused Seifer to moan softly. "I’ve never felt more alive. I don’t know why you complain so much about it…."

Seifer sighed as he reached over to the nightstand, pulling out a tube of lubricant. "I’m not as masochistic as you are…"

I smirked, unscrewing the cap. As I prepared our bodies, I kept looking up at him, wanting to meet his eyes, wanting to watch him watch me. Because of this, I kept spilling small drops of the sweet smelling liquid onto the sheets and onto Seifer's taunt belly. I gripped his hip with force, creating small bruises in the shape of my fingers. Seifer threw his head back, the chain of his steel collar, the only thing he was wearing, jangling together. I took a deep breath, deciding to be gentler. I raised his hips, pushing my thighs under them, creating the right angle. He rotated his hips, which caused his cock to sway with the motion. I purred, positioning myself at his entry.

"Ready?" I asked huskily.

He smirked absently, nodding against the pillows. I slowly pushed into him, amazed at his tightness. It was like the first time every time. He thrust his hips to meet mine, throwing himself against my body. As I began to pump into him, I realized that I could feel his blood moving around me, under the skin that surrounded my body. I groaned loudly, pushing into him deeper. As I continued to quickly push into his body, I felt my thirst return. I bent my body over his, clamping my mouth down over one nipple. He purred softly, stretching his body like a cat as I sank my teeth in. I made my tongue very busy as I ran it over the hardened nub of his nipple, and caressed the wound, causing blood to splatter into my mouth, onto my teeth. He softly whispered my name, rolling his hips almost violently against me, working his erection against my hip. I felt the vibration in his chest as he whimpered, arching his body so severely that it looked painful. I resumed my assault on his nipple with my mouth, the bloodlust compounded with my sexual desire pushing me to the brink of release. When his internal muscles began to coil and contract around me, I growled lowly, pulling my mouth away from his chest. I hastily captured his mouth, our fangs clashing together. I maneuvered my tongue around the sharp protractions, pressing it to his tongue. I felt his hand heavy on the small of my back, pushing me into him as far as I could go. After a couple more eager thrusts, I felt his release against my belly, hot and wet. His orgasm, and the smell of his blood, mingled with come, threw me over the edge. I climaxed with a low purr in my throat, exploding deep within his contracting channel. He slowly, wearily lowered his body to the mattress, pulling me down with him. He kept a tight grip around my waist with his legs, preventing me from pulling out. I collapsed against him, kissing at the healing wound just below his hard nipple. He sighed, cradling me against his chest.

"Fuck," I whispered, burying my face in the crook of his neck. I yawned, realizing that I was very tired.

He kissed my temple. "Sleep, La Mer."

"What about Sephiroth?"

Seifer sighed angrily. "We’ll talk about it later…."

I nodded wearily, falling asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

When I woke up, I groaned. There was a strange feeling running throughout my body. It wasn’t painful, just odd, different. I sat up slowly, opening my eyes. I felt movement against my side, and looked down to see Seifer stirring in his sleep. I smiled, brushing a small lock of hair off his pale forehead. I was hoping he would wake up soon, because I wanted to know what this strange feeling was. I ignored it when the sweet smell of blood hit my nostrils. I looked over to the table, which had a large wine bottle on it. Famished, I crawled out of bed, careful not to disturb my lover. I greedily grabbed the bottle, drinking the whole thing. When all the sweet liquid was gone, I sighed in contentment.

"Glad to see you’re making a pig of yourself."

I slowly turned around, smirking. "You’re just lucky I didn’t attack you….."

He rested his weight on his elbow, reclining his body seductively. "How are you feeling?"

"Strange. There’s this weird feeling that I can’t explain. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just, odd."

Seifer nodded, stretching like a cat. The blanket slid down around his hips, causing me to purr softly. "It’s because the sun is up. It’s kind of an internal clock, telling you what time of day it is."

"So, it goes away when the sun goes down?"

Seifer nodded again as I crawled back on the bed, pressing my nude body to his. I sighed, kissing him. When we broke apart, I frowned. "What about Sephiroth."

Seifer’s eyes went dark. "I know…… It’s something that we should talk about……"

"Why hasn’t he done anything yet?"

"He’s waiting for us to make the first move…."

"But there’s more of us…."

"I know, but he’s older."

"Is he stronger?"

Seifer shrugged. "I don’t know. But even if I was stronger, he has the advantage over all of us."

"The fact that he is immune to holy stuff…." I trailed off.

He nodded, crawling away from me. He stood. "We should go talk to the others."

I frowned, which caused Seifer to smirk.

"We can’t stay in bed all day."

"Says who?" I asked, getting off the bed.

By the time we made it down to the dining room, the feeling in the pit of my chest, my awareness of the sun was fading. The sun must have been setting. I just realized that I would never actually see the sun again, have to rely on my memory alone. Looking over at Seifer, I didn’t care about never seeing the sun again. At the large table, Zell was slouched in a chair, listening aimlessly to Tifa and Selphie, who were talking about something he didn’t seem to care about.

"Well, well, look who’s back from the dead," Selphie commented.

Zell gave me an appreciative once over. "Nice…."

"Stop it!" I chided, blushing. I knew I looked good in the black suit I had chosen, the bright azure shirt bringing out my now mystical eyes, and that thought made me feel egotistical. When I sat down, a servant put a goblet in front of me. I took an appreciative sip. I couldn’t believe that I was still thirsty.

"What are we going to do?" Zell asked seriously.

Tifa looked over at Seifer. The chocolate silk of her hair was loosely pile in a bun on her crown. Antique combs held the vagrant locks out of her lovely face. The black blouse she wore was backless, and crisscrossed all over the pale flesh. My eyes traced her pale flesh with appreciation.

"What do you suggest?"

Seifer shrugged, his red shirt pulling against his taunt muscles. "Well, I know that we outnumber Sephiroth, unless he got an entire army of traitors….."

"Well, if we got rid of him, they’d all basically fall." Zell frowned as he spoke.

I licked my lips, watching him, like prey……

"Well, Seifer, you are stronger than him, right?" Selphie asked.

"Seifer may be stronger, but he’s a child as far as vampires go," Tifa explained. "Sephiroth is older than I am, and age is a big factor."

Seifer sighed thoughtfully. "So is the fact that he’s got the church behind him."

"Zell and I aren’t affected," Selphie offered.

"I don’t want to get Zell involved in this one." Seifer looked over at the smaller blonde.

"I think I can speak for myself," Zell muttered. "I want to help."

"You’re no match for Sephiroth," Seifer looked at him sadly.

"Maybe so, but I’m a good decoy. If we can get him out of the church, and away from Esemono, you’ll have a better chance."

Seifer sighed. "I don’t want you to risk your life."

"I risk my life all the time. It’s part of the job. And, if something goes terribly wrong, you can bring me over….."

"No!" Seifer exclaimed.

Zell frowned. "I’m sure Tifa or Squall wouldn’t have the same qualms. Besides, Selphie couldn’t fight off Esemono and his guys all by herself. Don’t argue, Seifer. You need me."

Seifer frowned, but stopped arguing.

Tifa smirked. "We do have one thing that Sephiroth doesn’t know about…"

"Such as?" Selphie asked.

Tifa pointed at me. "Squall’s our ace in the hole."

I raised a confused eyebrow. "Meaning?" My voice was muffled as I took another drink.

"That Sephiroth doesn’t know about you changing, and compounded on the fact that he can’t sense you is a great asset in out favor."

I nodded. Seifer didn’t seem to like this idea, either. "What?" I asked.

"I don’t want to put you in danger. Why do all of you want to throw your lives away?"

Tifa groaned. "Jesus Christ, Seifer! Lighten up!"

He frowned, taking a drink. "Fine. Nobody’s going to listen to me anyway….."

Selphie clapped her hands. "Perfect. And I have a little something that might slow Sephiroth down before he even gets going…."

"If you’re going to say ‘sexual prowess’, don’t," Seifer replied wryly.

She stuck her tongue out playfully. "Fuck you. No, the bullets from Irvine’s gun. I took them. He had a whole case of them."

Tifa whistled, stroking Selphie’s small back. "Nice thinking. But sadly, I can’t fire a gun."

"The bullets probably won’t fit into a gunblade…." I muttered.

"Well, I still have the shotgun," Selphie offered. "If Zell takes it, he won’t be so unprotected…"

"Okay, okay. But what are we going to do?" I asked, sighing as the strange feeling left me. The sun was gone. "We can’t just parade down the middle of the street, you know…"

"I know, I know. But, the woods do back onto the church grounds. That would be a much better place. We could get Zell and Selphie to get Sephiroth after us. Selphie could take care of Esemono and any of his followers that get in the way, and Zell could concentrate on Sephiroth," Seifer planned, more talking to himself. He bit his lower lip thoughtfully. His fangs looked small.

"I’m up for it!" Zell exclaimed, standing.

Seifer looked up at him. "Zell, you must realize that Sephiroth is too strong for you. Don’t concentrate on just getting rid of him. Just lure him away from the church so Tifa and I can fight better."

"Me, too," I stated, peeved.

"Are you sure you’re strong enough?" Tifa asked, concern written in her liquid eyes. They reminded me so much of coffee.

"I’m fine."

"You did just wake up…." Seifer began.

I held up a hand, hushing him. "I know. But, I’m not going into this with my eyes closed…" I gave Tifa a look, then leaned into Seifer, whispering "And you don’t honestly think that I’m going to let him get away with what he did to you, do you?"

Seifer frowned, but kept his reservations to himself. I smiled in appreciation, kissing his set lips quickly. His cold eyes melted, but I could tell that he still was against this. I kissed him again, parting my lips against his. He breathed into my mouth, his fangs pressing against my upper lip. I broke away from him when I heard a noisy whistle. I turned. Tifa was raising an eyebrow and waving her hands.

"This is serious," she muttered with a smirk. Selphie gave her a look, which caused me to become confused. Zell didn’t even seem to notice, or care. He was actually watching us. I sighed, settling back into my chair as we fleshed out our plan.

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