Boarding School for the Mythical

((I’m going to skip a few years.))

Tabitha:

I hugged myself as I walked down the dark street to my car. The mist was making my tights sticky and seeping through my thin wrap that covered my dance clothes. Shade trotted along right at my feet and hissed whenever he thought he heard something. I wasn’t scared though. Ever since I had found out my… other side, I hadn’t been scared of much. I was more in tune with that part of me now. I could use some of my abilities regularly now. But I occasionally had black outs. It’s like that part of me was getting stronger. According to my sister I had blackouts all the time when I was a kid, and I had done some awful things, but I had gotten help to suppress whatever it was that caused me to do that. It also had suppressed my powers. But both were back now, and I was trying to focus on merging both parts of me.

Velaric:

I sipped at a glass of blood while watching fish in a fish tank swim around blissfully unaware of the predator that sat in front of them. I was waiting to meet with a vampire clan leader. Most vampires found a clan and stayed out of the rest of society. The ones who didn’t were frowned upon and clan leaders often tried to convert them. At the moment that was what was happening to me. It didn’t please me too much. It was dangerous to turn down the offer of a powerful vampire, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.

Sphinx:

I lounged on the floor at Velaric's feet. The pretense being I was a servant of his. It was far from the case, neither of us caring who actually was better than the other, but in this case we needed to do it. Turning down a full blood was bad news. Velaric was one as well, but he didn't have the clan to back him up. If Velaric ever decided to take his claim on his own birth clan, he would be part of the council of three. The three head families sent their leaders to talk to help lead the rest of the vampire kind, to hunt rogue vampires, or to destroy clans that had fallen too far.

All of that wasn't why I was here, I was here in case things went south. Something had left me, and I wasn't as strong as I used to be. I had spent a month working it over in meditation and had found that a large chunk that was the pool of power I drew from had been drained. My guess. It had been sucked out a while ago. By Tabitha.....thinking the name brought me to pause, and quiet reflection. I wondered how she was doing, it had been two years after all, and we were both finally out of blasted Alaska. It was nice for a while, but the same boring white got old quickly.

Tabitha:

I opened the car door for shade once I reached it and he hopped in and got to the other side. I climbed in then locked the doors changing into a dress in the front seat. I then drove to this reclusive restaurant where I was to meet my date. He was from another dance company that mine had worked with for a while. He seemed nice but I wasn’t too enthusiastic about him.

Velaric:

“Funny how they like to keep you waiting. I bet you she’s here, she just wants to push her limits.” I hissed so only Sphinx could hear me. Vampires were always absorbed in their own self-importance. I sighed and glanced at the clock hanging above the door. It had already been nearly an hour. I looked back to the fish tank to keep me occupied. Through the water I spotted a familiar face. It was a shock, seeing her, here of all places. I glanced at Sphinx, I knew he couldn’t see through the tank from his position, and even if he could I doubted he’d be able to see her face, my eye sight was infinitely better than his. I wasn’t sure it would be a good thing for him to see her… “Maybe we should just leave.” I muttered.

Sphinx:

I chuckled softly. "Should I do something to bring them to us?" I asked stretching absently. Between the two of us, he was the better fighter, but I was stronger power wise. "It wouldn't take much...I just hate to disturb other customers. And thankfully this clan leader has no idea who I am, which is nice for once. I like not being bowed and scraped over." I flashed him a grin at the memory of what had happened the last time. The clan leader had been old, old enough to have seen what I did the last time I had been around that clan. I never did like the term bloodless. Its not my fault that the clan leader at the time had decided to attack me right after I had spent time training with the norse gods....those bunch were always fighting.

Velaric:

I barely listened to him. “You stay here. I’ll go look around the place. I’ll be right back.” I said as I got up. Tabitha had disappeared through another hallway, but I knew I could find her. I made my way through the halls quickly and found her in another dining room. She looked like she was waiting, her little gray fox was curled up under her chair. “I need to talk to you.” I said as I slid neatly into the chair opposite her. Her eyes widened in shock. “You don’t need to be frightened, I never meant to hurt you in the first place. It was only a bite anyway. All the hysterics after were not caused by me.” She looked offended by that. “I’m not frightened…. Is Sphinx with you?” She looked hopeful. “It doesn’t matter. You need to leave. Quickly. You need to not come back. Got it?” I leaned toward her with my elbows on the table. “Are you threatening me?” She asked settling back in her chair, she didn’t look that scared. “No, I’m telling you to stay away from Sphinx because I know how dangerous you are.” I said and reached across the table in a flash, grabbing her wrist and bending it back to expose the veins. They pulsed red then slowly faded back to blue. “Don’t touch me.” She hissed as flames licked off of her skin. I jerked my hand back. She scowled at me and my expression mirrored hers.
“Velaric. I was under the impression that we had a meeting. Were you going to bring this thing as a treat?” A velvet voice asked at my ear. I drew in a sharp breath and turned to look at the vampire behind me. Tabitha looked annoyed and surprised. The fox jumped up onto the table and growled, Tabitha quickly hugged him to her chest protectively.
“Well I got so terribly bored waiting that I decided to come out here in search for a better offer.” I snapped already annoyed. Fury flashed in the deep silver eyes of the vampire woman, but she hid it. Vampires were always so polite. I didn’t feel like being polite.

Sphinx:

The rage and anger that came from the direction got me to my feet almost immediately. I closed my eyes and focused as I walked, bringing an aura of power as well as calm around me. As I stepped into the room with Velaric I shook my head watching shoulders relax around me. "That's enough. Now, if you would all please step outside while we let these fine people dine in peace over watching you all be so foolish over nothing." I said resting a hand on Velaric's and the clan leaders shoulders. I didn't look at Tabitha, not out of not noticing her, but because I noticed her too much. "Now, lets do what we came here for. Ma'am he wont be joining your clan. He wont because he is stuck dragging my butt around the world at the request of the Head council. I would hate to have to bring attention to your clan for them. Unless you do, in which case I can be very convincing about how badly I was treated while I was here." I smiled sweetly to her as I motioned with my head. "Think about this now, you could either lose support of the council or just let us go and be able to brag all about how you were one of the few clans that got to serve food to the Bloodless himself."

Tabitha:

I stared at Sphinx. As did the vampire woman. Velaric still scowled in my direction. Everything seemed to get warmer, and calmer once Sphinx came in. “Tabitha? What’s going on?” My head snapped around to see my date had arrived. “James.” I breathed, I had completely forgotten him once Velaric had shown up and I thought I might get to see Sphinx. Velaric glanced at him and snorted. “Werewolf, you’ve got to be kidding me.” He muttered under his breath. James came over to stand next to my chair his eyes narrowed on both vampires. Velaric looked a mix of amusement and annoyance. And the woman vampire’s eyes had gone from silver to steel as her eyes focused on James.

Sphinx:

I looked at James and let out a soft breath. "Well then. This is going to end wonderfully." I said with an absent shrug. I patted Velaric on the shoulder before reaching onto the table to scratch Shade behind the ear absently. "I think I'm just going to take a walk then." I said after a moment as I put my hands in my pockets and walked away. Vampires and Werewolves. The silliest fight in the world. It all started over something so minor too. It was sad really, but amusing at the same time. I called over my shoulder to Velaric as I left. "Play nice, I really do not want to have to drag you out of anything today." I said flashing him an amused smile before just leaving. My head was a whirl of emotions, that I suppressed slowly, giving up on trying to pin down any of it.

Tabitha:

I stood up to go after him, letting Shade down to the floor. I felt a cold hand grab my wrist. “Let him be. He doesn’t need you chasing after him.” Velaric said. His grip on my hand was impossibly strong. “Don’t touch her.” James grabbed me by the shoulders and attempted to pull me back. Velaric’s lips twisted into an amused smile. “Chill pup. You can have her. In fact take her away. She doesn’t need to be here.” He said coolly. I frowned at him. “Oh I don’t know about that, nymph blood is rather refreshing..” The woman vampire said with a wicked smile. Shade growled at her. Her eyes went to him and she knelt down in a fluid motion reaching out to him. He chomped on her hand and she jerked back with an offended hiss. She lashed out to kick him, at which point several things happened; a half circle of fire protected Shade from her, the lights in the chandeliers went out, and the glass in a fish tank close by shattered out, leaving the water still in perfect shape. I gasped. A few other dinners scrammed. The vampire tried to grab me but Velaric got in the way. Then there was a bright light coming from the floor, Shade possibly? And then we were outside in the street, a few blocks away from the restaurant.

Velaric:

“The hell was that?” I hissed under my breath and I grabbed the girl’s arm and pulled her out of the street to the side walk. I looked up to see Sphinx rounding the corner.

Sphinx:

I walked unfocused. Letting instincts alone guide my steps. I wasn't sure what to do about any of this. Being able to see Tabitha again was...refreshing. And it was good to see that she had moved on, but at the same time...why had it hurt so much that she had? IT was a different pain than what I was used to and it puzzled me. I was no stranger to being injured physically. But this one...this was an emotional pain. Not something I had experienced before. I shook my head to dispel those thoughts as I walked. I briefly wondered what Tabitha thought about seeing me again but as before I pushed that out of mind as well. It would be easier to not think about such a thing.

Tabitha:

I jerked my arm out of his grasp. “That was your fault. You should have left me alone. I wasn’t even looking for you!” I hissed at Velaric, fuming. Shade sat and curled his tail around him. “He would have seen you, and I don’t want you around him.” He spat back at me. “Well he already saw me! And he walked away! So I don’t think you need to worry” I crossed my arms and glared at him.

Sphinx:

I smiled a little to myself. It was good to see Shade again at least. It seems Tabitha had gotten through to her family to let Shade stay, not that they would be able to anyway, but it was nice to see regardless. I found a small park and picking the tallest tree, I sat down with my back against it, closing my eyes while I just willed everything out of my head. I let it just fade away, leaving me in a calm, unthinking state. It helped, a lot. With the turmoil that was my emotions not being able to think was a huge plus, and one that I welcomed in gladly.

Velaric:

“Well thank goodness for that.” I said in exasperation. I turned to walk away. “Why didn’t you two just stay up North? You shouldn’t have come back! I didn’t know you were going to be here!” Tabitha called after me. I ignored her and continued walking in the direction I knew Sphinx was. I groaned inwardly when I heard her footsteps on the damp concrete behind me. “I have the right to see him. We were friends after all. Nothing more than that..” She paused seemingly thinking about something. I assumed it was that night before we left when she did things that merely friends didn’t do. “Is that why you don’t want me around him? Are you jealous of me?” She demanded. I stopped walking and turned to face her slowly an irritated look on my face. “No. I have nothing to be jealous about.” I snapped at her. “I don’t want you around him because I know how vile you are. I tasted it in your blood and it made me sick. I know you’ve killed people, maybe not on purpose, but you did it. And I know you’re very powerful, because your siblings were scared of you.” I hissed it all at her then continued walking clenching my fists to release some of the tension. I could so easily hurt her. She had no idea.

Sphinx:

I relaxed, falling into a meditative position, my hands making a heart shape in my lap while I continued to let myself calm down. I kept my body relaxed, and let everything around me become tuned out. My body grew so still that a squirrel came to scramble up on top of my head. It chattered away for a moment, before starting to eat the acorn it held. A small smile came to my lips but I didn't move at all still, keeping myself such so I could keep the squirrel around. Animals tended to like me, even those that were herbivores. It was nice in a way, but I didn't get many opportunities to actually use the gift. The meditation was helping me keep my head cleared, it also helped me think, separating useless thoughts out as well as emotions from the giant mess that was whirling inside of me. I wanted to get to the bottom of it, to sort it all out.

Tabitha:

I followed after him, fuming. “You don’t know me. You only have a small example of who I am. Don’t judge me based off that.” I called to him trying to keep up with his stride, but it was difficult. We rounded the corner and he disappeared. I scowled and kicked a stone on the side walk. Shade had made his way up to the brick wall ledge and was watching me from above with a mix of disapproval and curiosity. “Come down, we’re going home.” I told him, irritably. He stayed where he was, his tail flicking.

Velaric:

I was quick enough to lose her, and fast enough to sneak up on Sphinx. Upon seeing me, the squirrel on his head dropped the acorn and scuttled away. I leaned down putting my elbows on the bench back. “Having fun are we?” I asked.

Sphinx:

"Well, I was." I responded opening my eyes. I looked up at him for several moments before asking. "I'm not going to be aloud to leave your sight am I?" I smiled in a soft tired way. I wasn't going to go after Tabitha, guessing that if she wanted to see me she would come on her own. I did want to linger here for a bit though, if nothing else but to let me continue to work through the mess that remained of my emotions. In all, this promisingly entertaining day was so far...rather horrible.

Velaric:

I hopped over the back of the bench to sit next to him. I stretched with a soft groan before grasping my hands loosely in my lap. “Well, I’m not your baby-sitter. You can do whatever you like. I’m still going to try to keep you from doing something we’ll both regret, but I would rather just trust you to do the right thing.” I said with a small shrug. “And I’d like you not to mope about it either.” I added.

Sphinx:

I shook my head. "So basically I dont have much of a choice...well, I have never been known to follow rules...or do what people expect of me." I said rolling to my feet. "I doubt she remembers me all that well anyway, and its nice to talk to old friends." I stretched absently before pausing and letting my exhaustion and confusion show. My shoulders slumped a bit and my face grew haggered before I drew myself together and took off running.

Velaric:

I sighed. I could catch up to him easily, but I didn’t think chasing him would do much good. I waited for a moment before going after him, carful to stay out of sight and give him a wide space. I was content to just watch, him. To make sure he was safe.

Tabitha:

I tried coaxing Shade down, he wasn’t having it. I tried ordering him, begging him, bribing him. He got bored and started trotting along the brick wall away from me. I followed after him in annoyance. “This isn’t fair. You shouldn’t be mad at me. I didn’t do anything wrong. It was Velarics fault.” I explained while I walked below him. We reached a bench close to the wall, I used it to climb up onto he wall. I perched there, uneasily while Shade looked me over, impressed.

Sphinx:

I caught sight of her on the wall, and I guessed because she was so focused on looking at Shade that she didn't notice me. I tilted my head, smiling slightly as I watched. "You know, I think usually the owner decides were to go." I remarked teasingly, my eyes dancing playfully. Even as my eyes danced, my posture practically screamed that I was nervous. I honestly had no idea what to do or what to say to her, so I just stood there watching her. It was all I could do really. After all, she was on a wall...in a dress.

Tabitha:

I drew in a surprised breath and twisted to look at him. I flushed embarrassed by the state he found me in. Shade put his two front feet on my leg so he could see Sphinx. I had to put my hands on the wall on either side of me to keep from losing my balance. I smiled softly after a moment. “I think maybe the owner is deciding where to go. Sometimes I feel like I’m the possession and he’s the one keeping me. He certainly is more than just a pet.” I answered. Shade’s tail flicked and the mention of the word ‘pet’.

Sphinx:

"Hmm...maybe its a mutual pact then." I said chuckling softly. I relaxed a bit before offering my hand up to her and one to Shade. I bet that Shade knew he could just run down my hand and not have to worry about me not being able to take the strain. And the hand to Tabitha was to be polite. "You might want to get down, a dress isn't exactly the best thing that one should wear on a wall." I said slight amusement coloring my voice as I spoke.

Tabitha:

My blush deepened at that. “No I guess not.” I answered as I took his hand and hopped down. Shade studied him for a second the hopped the then jumped the eight feet to the ground and landed lightly. He was smug about it, I knew. I dropped Sphinx’s hand immediately after I was on the ground and pulled the hem of my dress down a little, just to make sure. I took a step back and leaned against the back of the bench I had used to climb up on the wall. I gave Sphinx a soft, uncertain smile.

I matched her smile, not really knowing what to do. I could usually banter away and come up with something, but my mind was blank for once. It felt awkward to look at her, but it felt awkward to look else where, so I just settled on watching her face, hoping to catch her emotions. If nothing else it could give me the chance to say something, or...heck even to know if I should just turn and walk away if that was what she wished. One way or the other, I felt strangely better standing next to her than I had in a long, long time.

Tabitha:

I looked right back at him. I felt weird. He used to be so easy to be with. I had wanted to spend every minute with him. Now… I had made things weird. So much had happened right before he left, and then he was gone so abruptly. Because of me. It never gave our friendship a chance to heal. “Did you find me on accident?” I asked finally after the long prolonged awkward silence. I didn’t think Velaric would have let him go looking for me. Seeing as I was so dangerous to him… I wondered if Sphinx was weary of me, because of what I could do.