|
Chapter 04
Meeting (September)
The hooting of an owl made Sofye shiver, but it was a delicious sort of shiver. The stars were amazingly bright at the eleven thousand foot elevation and the evening breeze surprisingly cold for the time of year. She smiled at the huge silver orb of the moon. It was just past full and Eliza had fed well three days in row. She'd been so replete that she’d suggested that they "blow" town and "chill" out. She'd suppressed her giggle at the archaic terms, but she did understand and think it was a good idea. The hooting of the owl and a rush of wings made her jump and sent a chill through her. That sound was weird! Her hand snaked out of her sleeping bag and found Eliza's. She could just make out Eliza's features. They grinned at each other and squeezed hands. Eliza's small hand always felt so cool, but it was so firm. Sofye grinned and shook her head. Having a vampire for a "mom" was really weird. Well, a vampire was better than her birth mother. The vampire was here, loved her, and tried to make her happy. She snorted in disgust. Here, was the most important part of it. She looked at Eliza and sighed, feeling rather content. She squeezed Eliza's hand and the answering squeeze was just right. Life could be good. A coyote howled adding to the "flavor" of the evening. Sofye snuggled down into the warm sleeping bag and could feel herself drifting into a peaceful sleep. There was a chuffing snarl followed by the yelping squeal of a terrified coyote. Sofye and Eliza bolted upright in the small tent. A dull thump followed by an un-Eliza-like curse was drowned out by the rattle and thud of a terrified coyote as the frightened animal ran headlong into the side of their tent. Eliza scrambled out of her sleeping bag and stood. "You stay here," she hissed at Sofye and vanished into the dark. Moonlight lit the scene, but scudding clouds darkened the moon and cast weird shadows over the clearing in which they'd pitched their tent. Sofye sat up and pulled the sleeping bag around her shoulders. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She was more curious than scared. She had no real fear of animals and she had complete confidence that Eliza would protect her. She snickered. Even if she did bump her head on the tent pole and cuss in a very un-lady-like way. The snarl of a large cat echoed through the forest followed by a high pitched hissing sound that almost as pleasant as the screech of steel on glass. Sofye peered out of the tent wondering what was going on. She knew there was the occasional mountain lion in the area, but they never hurt anyone and that screech was just totally unnatural! There was the rustle of brush across from her tent she caught a glimpse of the strangest thing she'd ever seen. A swirl of mist obscured her vision and she peered intently at the spot where she'd seen it. She rubbed her eyes with her fist. That could not have been real! She could hear feminine voices and a giggle. As the mist cleared, she saw Eliza with a woman a few inches taller than she. They were walking with their arms linked and laughing like old friends. "Hey, Sofye! This is Christa. Come on out and say hello," Eliza called. Sofye shook her head again, trying to clear the vision she'd glimpsed in the mist. There was no winged creature with fangs nor was there an upright cat-like creature that was strangely female and obviously very vicious. What she had glimpsed was truly frightening, but the memory was already fading. She stood, dropping the nice warm sleeping bag. Smiling, she held out her hand, "Hi, Christa. I'm pleased to meet you." She felt her hand engulfed by a very warm, soft hand that hinted at a hidden pool of power. "Hi, Sofye." Christa smiled. "You are every bit as cute and pretty as our fanged friend, here, said. Has she mentioned me, yet? I did appear sort of unexpectedly, but I like it that way. Always keep them guessing, right?" The reference to fangs was not lost on Sofye. She slowly removed her hand from the soft, warm grip and looked questioningly at Eliza, one eyebrow lifted. "Christa's ok! She knows all about me." "But I don't know all about you and I don't know anything about her," Sofye shot back, looking miffed. "Oooooo, she's feisty," Christa quipped. "Look, Sofye, I really don't know all about her. She probably knows more about me that I know about her and I'm not surprised she hasn't told you a lot about me. We haven't seen each other for far too long." She put her arm around Eliza's shoulders and gave her a hug that made her grunt. "We're buds, though, and we can count on each other." Eliza almost looked embarrassed, but was clearly pleased by Christa's comments. "I really was going to tell you about Christa. I just hadn't gotten around to it and I didn't know my were-friend, here, was going to put in such an unexpected appearance." She giggled self-consciously. Sofye, had noticed how easily Christa had made Eliza grimace and grunt when she'd hugged her and what did were-friend mean? She was slightly confused and very curious. "Ah," she started. "Maybe the easiest way to get this done is just to show you, ok?" Eliza asked. Christa nodded. "I'd think so. A fang is worth a thousand words." Facing Sofye, she asked, "That ok with you?" "Ah," Sofye breathed again and nodded. She felt those strange little butterflies in her stomach. What was she going to see? Christa grinned and stared into Sofye's eyes. Sofye relaxed and realized how calming, almost hypnotic, they were. And what a strange yellow color. She jumped and realized that the pupil was slit, like a cat's and she was suddenly looking up to meet her eyes. She took a step back and gasped. THAT was what she'd seen in the mist! It was a tall, well muscled, but somehow very female catlike being She had long fangs that curled down her slightly protruding muzzle, arms with muscles that a body builder would kill for, and ab definition like she'd never seen. Her hands were a hybrid combination of human and feline, terminated by curved, razor sharp claws. Sofye felt a quiver of fear in her belly, but somehow, this. . . creature really didn't seem threatening. "So what do you think," Christa, were-cat (Yes, she now knew what Eliza meant by were-friend.) said. "Neat, huh?" Sofye gulped. "Ah. . . Yes. Yes. Neat." She swallowed wondering what to say next. Reaching out, she touched Christa's hand-paw and was shocked to find how soft and warm it was. She felt like she was petting a large kitten. She smiled. "Wow, that IS neat!" "See!" Eliza said. "Told you just be your sweet furry self and she'd fall in love with you!" The rumbling purr that escaped from Christa, seemed to shock her more that it shocked Eliza and Sofye. "Oops," Christa said, shifting back to her human form so quickly that Sofye couldn't really be sure that a large human-like cat had really been standing there. "Mom," Sofye said in a timid voice, "is this for real? You haven't given me something, have you?" Eliza stepped forward and hugged her. "Oh now, Sweetie, I haven't drugged you. I know it's crazy and weird, but life is crazy and weird." She step back from Sofye and smiled. Taking Sofye's hands in her's she continued, "I'm a vampire, Christa's a were-cat and we're both decent people and will be doing our best to take care of you!" Sofye hesitated for a moment and then she felt a warm rush of affection wash over her. Eliza was trying to take care of her. That was true. Eliza had never hurt her, or made her do the things that they had. Eliza had done nothing but be good to her. It was so familiar, the ropes biting into her flesh, the chant and suppressed laugher as she begged for them to stop hurting her. "Sofye. Sofye!" Why were they calling her name? They never called her name. She curled up into a little ball and wished it would stop. "Come on, now, wake up. You are OK, it's only a bad dream." She Eliza's soft hand on her cheek. Opening her eyes, she saw a blurry vision of Eliza and Christa worriedly looking at her. She stretched and smiled, the bad dream fading so quickly, it was almost as if it had never happened. Seeing Eliza made her feel warm, comfortable and safe. "Good morning," she groaned, focusing on Christa. The prior evening came rushing back to her. She jerked to an upright position and stared at Christa, her eyes widening. Eliza giggled, but Christa just smiled. "Still a little surprising isn’t it?" Christa asked, still smiling. "Now that you know one of my secrets, tell me one of yours. Why do you have nightmares? What happened to you?" Christa looked concerned. Sofye looked around. "Nothing. I just had a dream." "Sofye, when I found you, you were tied over a grave. What was going on? It’s okay to tell us." Eliza sat down on the sleeping bag and held Sofye’s hand. She could tell Sofye was close to giving in. Eliza bent over gave Sofye a kiss on the cheek. "I was going to be sacrificed. It was my turn. I was ready to die you know. It would have been better than going back home." Sofye started to cry. "It’s okay Sofye," Eliza said, taking Sofye in her arms and hugging her. "You won’t go back, I promise." Sofye stopped crying and looked up at Eliza with unbelieving eyes. "Honest? My Father is the leader, he’ll be looking for me." Sofye shuddered and started to rock back and forth. Eliza looked at Christa and Christa looked at Sofye. "You should tell her, Eliza." Christa said, looked down at Sofye. Eliza nodded. "Sofye, you’re father is dead. I killed him that night I saved you." "You did WHAT?" Sofye screamed. Eliza and Christa looked at each other, dumbfounded. "He was my Father. You killed my Father!" Sofye was in hysterics. She was shaking and shivering and neither Christa nor Eliza could get her calmed down. Finally, Sofye collapse, exhausted. "Man, I didn’t think she’d react like that. I thought she’d be happy." Eliza whispered to Christa. Christa nodded. "Me too." "Obey the Family. Love the Family. Cherish the Family. Be part of the Family. Obey the Family. Love the Family. Cherish the Family. Be part of the Family." "What is she saying? Think she’d tell us if we woke her up?" ~~~~~ Eliza posed briefly, allowing the moon to glisten on her nude body, and then she gracefully leaned forward and dropped into empty space over the ledge. Sofye gasped at her grace as she cleanly entered the water, not even splashing a single drop of water. It was as if a wisp of smoke had emanated from the water rather than a body entering it. A brief moment passed and water erupted as if a wounded whale had been awakened. "EEEEEEEEK! That is COLD! Gad, that is cold!" Grace totally abandoned, she floundered towards the rim of the snow fed lake, gasping and squeaking Sofye giggled. "Why am I thinking of a dyslexic bat," she wondered. Lying on the rocky rim of the small lake, Eliza gasped. "I need to hurt someone for this." Pushing herself up, she gazed at Christa, happily paddling around it the 50 degree water. "Christa!" She said dangerously. "Yes, Eliza, it is wonderful. Very brisk. I knew you'd enjoy it." Eliza glared at the grinning Christa and Sofye could almost see steam rising from her shivering body. "You... You... YOU KNOW how I hate cold water! You let me. . . no, you enticed me to jump in." Eliza was the picture of indignation. Sofye snickered, and while Eliza pretended to not notice, her ears turned pink - an odd contrast with her pale and slightly blue and chilled flesh. Sofye grinned and settled back to watch what she was sure was going to be an interesting altercation. ~~~~~ Sofye kicked the dry, red earth and felt a tear leak down her cheek. Eliza's comforting arm around her shoulders helped but did not erase the pain. She sighed and Eliza squeezed her. "It is the best way, you know." Eliza said in a low voice, almost a whisper. "I know, but I don't want to leave you." "You aren't leaving me, Darling. You are simply going to school. I'll visit you every weekend, make special events, and we can talk on the phone and on the internet. It won't be that bad." Eliza's voice broke on the last three words. Turning to face her, Sofye could see that Eliza's cheeks were damp too. They hugged. "It's the only way," Eliza reminded her. "We do have to keep you under cover until we get things straight." "Yea, I know," Sofye sighed. "And those strange things that were happening. That was sort of spooky." "Well, don't you worry about that. I can handle whatever that was. As long as I know you are safe, I can handle it!" Sofye had to smile at the intensity of that comment. She had no doubt that Eliza could handle it, and that made her feel very safe. When you got to know her, Eliza did inspire total trust. Lost in their thoughts and conversation, neither realized that they were no longer alone. "Ahem. . ." Both of them jumped. Sofye grabbed onto Eliza's arm, but Eliza assumed a semi crouch defensive stance, hands raised slightly, looking every bit the warrior. "I'm sorry to be late, but delay was unavoidable," he apologized with a slight, unidentifiable, accent. "You may call me Otaktay." He smiled, waiting. Eliza straightened and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Sir," she replied. "You are doing us a real favor, allowing Sofye, here," she said, indicating Sofye standing next to her, "to go to school on your reservation." A look of concern crossed her face. She wondered if she should have used the word, "reservation." She sighed. Being politically correct could be difficult. However, Otaktay didn't seem to notice. He smiled. "Christa asks, Christa gets." He looked as Sofye with a penetrating gaze. Holding out his hand, "Please to meet you Miss Sofye." At about 5'9" he was not a tall man, but he was taller than Sofye's 5'1" and she did have to look up to meet his gaze. "Nut brown," she thought, "He's nut brown." Politely shaking his hand, she thought, "And strong." He had the strength, and his hand had the roughness, of a man that worked with his body regularly. As his hand engulfed hers, she realized that he more massive that she'd first thought. He was wearing blue jeans and a short sleeve flannel shirt. He was carrying a walking stick, slightly taller than himself, and carried himself with an air of assurance. His hand was warm and somehow comforting in its strength. He released her hand, and squatted, holding onto his staff for balance and stared into her eyes, a concerned expression on his face. Eye to eye, she felt that she was being drawn into his eyes. For a timeless moment, she existed, suspended in time and space, thoughtless and empty. She staggered and felt his strong hand supporting her. "I should be afraid," she thought, but she wasn't. Standing, he looked down at her. "You have the story to tell." He stepped back. "But not today.' He paused. "In your time. You'll tell your story in your time." ~~~~~ Sofye sighed and pulled the warm wrap about her. Because of her association with Eliza, she thought of it as a cape, but called it a robe, but it wasn't really a robe as she thought of it, so cape it was in her mind. Whatever you called it, it was warm and the night was cool with a hint of rain in the air. Walking along the edge of the lake, watching the dark clouds scud across the moon she sighed. She missed Eliza. Eliza was almost like a mother to her, warm, soft and caring. She looked up at the almost full moon and felt a fine mist of rain on her cheeks. "I miss you, Mommy," she whispered her voice choking. She angrily wipe the tears from her cheeks. Looking down, she kicked a stone into the lake. She was wearing soft leather shoes and the impact hurt. "Owwww," she breathed and kicked another stone even harder. The pain made her wince, but it somehow felt good. Looking up at the moon, the clouds seem to make patterns and if you looked real close, there seemed to be something hidden behind them. Not a thing, but a realization, an idea. Feeling hot tears running down her cheeks, she reached up with both hands, trying, straining, reaching for she knew not what, but needing something to fill the ache in her soul. "Please," she whispered, "Please." She knew she'd cried herself to sleep on the cold wet lake shore. Alone, cold and lonely, she'd wept and finally, curling into a knot and pulling the cape over her, she'd slept. She inhaled and let out a shuddering sigh. She felt a firm hug and a soft hand brushed her cheek. "Mommy?" She opened her eyes and saw Eliza smiling at her. "I'm here, Sweetie. I'm here." Eliza hugged her tight as she threw her arms around Eliza's neck and sobbed. Sofye tossed a pebble in the lake. "I sorta like it. It's interesting and usually fun. I've never heard of a school like it. Sometimes, it's just me, and sometimes there are two or three students and they can be 6 or 18 years old. Sometimes we have classes in an old one room building, but if the weather is good, it may just be walking through the woods or along the lake." Eliza frowned. "Sounds to me like this isn't too good an idea. Are you getting a decent education?" "Oh, I didn't mean to make it sound like I'm not learning. I am! I think we're moving a lot faster than I would in a regular school and I feel like I really understand what we're covering. It's just that it is so weird and so," she hesitated, "um, unstructured?" She grinned. "I think that's the best word to use." Sofye bent and picked up another pebble and threw it in the lake. "How come you came last night? How did you know? You did know, didn't you? That wasn't just a coincidence, was it?" "No," Eliza replied. It wasn't a coincidence. Otaktay called Christa and told her you needed me. Christa, ah, communicated your need to me and here I am." Eliza sighed and putting her arm around Sofye's shoulders, squeezed her. "I told you I'd visit and be around whenever you need me. You've got quite a support system going for you. You don't realize how many people think you are rather special and are working for you and are on your side." "Me?" Sofye squeaked, looking confused. "Me? I'm not special. I'm just a s . . ." "Hush!" Eliza hissed. "Don't you say that and don't you even think that. You are the sweetest person I know and I don't even want such thoughts entering your mind." "Good morning, ladies," a quiet voice from behind them said. Both Eliza and Sofye jumped at the unexpected sound. Spinning around, not sure what they were going to see, Otaktay smiled and gave a semi-bow. "It is a lovely morning to walk along the lake." He turned and gazed out across it. "It's a jewel and it connects, you know. It can help open the mind to the greater." Eliza looked at Sofye and lifted one eyebrow. Sofye grinned. Otaktay was prone to talk like this quite often. Sometimes he even made sense. "But that's another subject," Otaktay continued. "Are you ladies ready for breakfast? It will be served in the common room in a short time." Eliza wrinkled her nose. She was never a fan of breakfast, and the moon nearing full, was altering her dietary preferences. "Oh, come on," Sofye begged. "They'll have some really good steak and I'm sure they'll fix it just the way you like it." Eliza sighed. "Oh, OK. " Surprisingly enough, it was just the way she liked it. Sofye tried not to look at it, but Eliza found the steaming slab of very "rare" steak delicious. Range fed, young and tender, it was a carnivore's delight and Eliza was feeling particularly carnivorous, today. Although Otaktay had called the room a common room, there were not very many people in the large, almost cafeteria style area. The tables were wooden, like picnic tables, and very sturdy. There was a cafeteria style serving area, but it was not open. They had seated themselves with Otaktay and a young man had come and taken their order. Otaktay has ordered for them all. Sofye seemed to expect it and it had happened so quickly that Eliza just went along, very sure she wouldn't be able to eat what ever runny breakfast concoction that was delivered. She dabbed and the blood running down her chin with the back of her hand and then licked it off of it. "Mom!" Sofye hissed. Eliza actually blushed. "Excuse me," she whispered. "It's just so good! I had no idea how hungry I was." Otaktay smiled. "Some may think we're primitive," he said, looking around the rough but comfortable room with a satellite dish on the roof, "but how many will eat this well with such good companions this day?" Sofye rolled her eyes, but Eliza nodded. "It is a good way to begin the day." She looked around. "Why aren't there more people here? We're not keeping people out, are we?" "Oh no," answered Otaktay. Breakfast is normally served just before sunrise. They are simply cleaning up. We, and any stragglers are being served as a courtesy. Eliza watched as Sofye prepared for school. Eliza's yawns and her squinting in the brightening light was clear indication that she was "fading" fast. As Sofye finished brushing her hair and tying it back, she turned to leave and saw Eliza sound asleep on her bed. She smiled and felt a rush of affection for her strange mentor. Walking over to the bed, she pulled a cover over her and kissed her on the cheek. "Day, day, Mommy. I love you." She felt strong arms circle her body. "Love you too, Daughter." The arms relaxed and there was soft, steady breathing. Eliza was fast asleep. Sofye smiled and walked into the sunlight, as ready as she could be for another day. |