Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis: Genesis ❯ Chapter XVII ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter XVII

As the snow began to melt and more delicate signs of life, including brave little flowers peeking up and baby birds crying out for the first time among the broken remains of their egg shells, began to develop and become more commonplace, Lyrial started to notice a change in herself and her bizarre roommates. Like the climate which soon gave way to spring and ultimately an equally unbearable summer, the inhabitants of the tiny flat had developed into a weird functioning unit. Lyrial pondered while stroking the brown fur of the kitten who had also weaseled its way into her life with no means of helping with rent or groceries, if the growing familiarity between herself, Kaya, and Sano was making her dangerously numb to the potential threat of Sano's truest nature and intentions. It wouldn't be the first time he had lulled her into a false sense of security before unleashing the beast that always lurked just beneath the surface, ever vigil of an escape.

Whatever was happening between the three of them, one thing had still remained constant. As a heavy tome was flung across the room, missing its playful target, irate shouting hurried to fill its place. The arguing between Sano and Kaya fluctuated; sometimes it was mild before escalating into violent rants and attempted bludgeoning. On the occasion, when Lyrial's exhaustion from her new dual life as student and employee weighed to heavily on the brunette's sanity, she would lash out suddenly at the Witch and Vampire, barking her opinions on their childish distaste for one another. A stunned silence usually followed, then a half-grumbled apology and temporary truce. Wen the shock subsided, however, they'd be at it again, forgetting the third party who now drew surrendered amusement from the displays. Even Sardinez the cat had become accustomed to the quickly born fights. Life in this powder keg made him uneasy at first; he'd jump and hide at the first signs of conflict, cowering away even hours afterward, but now he lay halfway across Lyrial's lap as she sighed.

“Place your bets,” she said and looked down at Sardinez. He yawned and readjusted. The feline had full confidence in the wit and speed of tongue his silver Master possessed. Master would end this skirmish soon enough. After their terrifying first encounter in the alley behind the apartment complex, Sardinez had bonded with the interesting creature. The brown tabby spent every afternoon napping soundly next to Master, departing only to greet the sweet voiced Mistress upon whose lap he now resided.

“If the door is locked, it means `Keep the hell out!' Does your kind have manners of any sort?!” Kaya squawked, awkwardly claspiong the towel around her body. Her blonde hair dripped thoroughly, a testament to the haste in which she left her still running shower.

“Can I not take a piss, woman? You're behind a curtain! What do you care?!” Sano replied from the other side of the room.

“A sheer curtain! It's almost completely see-through and you know that, you pervert!” The Vampire scoffed at the mark, almost offended.

“Don't flatter yourself. If not for your cunt, you'd pass for a man. Besides, should I stoop to peeping, it would be for a body like Lyrial's.”

“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that,” the brunette said, though it was lost under Kaya's enraged response. Another heavy book went hurling across the room on a collision course with the Vampire's head just as Lyrial sneaked up to turn off the shower. Sardinez followed her to the threshold.

“Is it sad that I'm more concerned about my water bill than the chance of Sano's broken nose?” she asked the cat. Sardinez stretched, arching his back and yawning again. “Didn't think so,” she added and reached down to scratch his head before collecting her purse and walking out of the apartment. The humid summer night coated her skin and began to dampen even the yellow tank top she wore. Lyrial pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed a less explosive individual.

“Hey baby.” The warm honeyed voice made Lyrial smile and forget the mayhem taking place in her apartment.

“What are you up to?” she asked in response.

“Uh….” She could hear the shuffling of papers and the distinct crinkle of a candy bar wrapper being hastily discarded. “Nothing really. Actually, I'm glad you called. Are you hungry? I've been at home buried under work all day and I'm going a little stir crazy. Are you free for some dinner?” Lyrial giggled and her smile widened. Things were pretty tight financially with only Kaya minimally pitching in on rent from her part time playground monitor job, so eating out was a real treat, and Chris' company was certainly a welcomed bonus.

“I'd love to,” she replied and mentally ran over some choice restaurants nearby. “Where should we meet?” she asked.

“How about something casual? Do you know where Missy Miles' is?” Chris asked. Images of homestyle macaroni and cheese, golden crispy fish and chips, and luscious apple cobbler sprang up in Lyrial's brain. She tugged at the leg of her shorts with her free hand, the humidity was making the denim stick and rise up between her thighs, bunching and posing an uncomfortable wedgie. Very attractive, she thought while struggling.

“I do,” she replied. “I'll see there soon. Chris? What's that sound?” The brunette suddenly asked after hearing weird cries coming through the phone. It was a strangled sound, full of pain and rage, and it had been underlining their entire conversation thus far. Three loud bangs followed bearing the haunting resemblance to gunfire. That sound was forever imprinted in Lyrial's memory ever since her encounter with the break in a few months ago.

“Chris!?” She squeaked.

“Sorry, that T.V. was louder than I thought. I'll see you soon, just need to clean up.” With a click, the conversation ended. Lyrial stared at the words Call Finished on the screen of her mobile. Why was she finding it so hard to accept Chris' explanation of the sounds? Probably because all bullshit is hard to swallow, the cynical part of her mind warned.

Even so, visions of Chris beating and then pumping a transgendered hooker full of lead seemed a bit extreme. Still a small part of her wondered about the quality of the company she was keeping in recent times. Shrugging, Lyrial slipped her mobile back into her purse and began the moderate walk towards Missy Miles' Diner. It was a little out of the way and she soon opted for the street car to complete the journey.

Missy Miles was the wife of the original diner's owner. She had been a big blonde woman with an equally big personality; people came from miles around for Missy's homestyle meals and for fifty years the diner was a landmark in the city. Located close to the marina, their fresh seafood dishes were always the highlight of the menu. It was here that Lyrial first fell in love with food; when the hot cinnamon apples filled her six year old mouth, the brunette had fallen deeply into a relationship with food that would continue to grow throughout her life.

As she pulled her curly hair into a limp and humidified pony tail to lift the heavy main from the back of her neck and allow a little more airflow, she concluded that it was a bit hot for apple cobbler now.

“Maybe just the ice cream,” she said with a giggle as she hopped off the street car only a block from the marina. She adjusted her purse over her shoulder as she walked, holding it close to her body. She knew this city like the back of her hand and had never anticipated an attack on her person until living with Kaya and Sano, coupled with the dangerous events that followed their arrival, she had become a little more aware of her surroundings. Maybe it was a good thing, but the brunette had certainly never felt so alone while being on her own walking. Missy Miles' Diner was in sight but it seemed so incredibly far in the evening setting.

Lyrial sighed in relief as she pushed open the Diner's door and the jingle of the welcome bell sounded above her head. A blast of air conditioning from the old fashioned unit made her shiver for a moment before her humidified skin became accustomed to the new atmosphere.

“Just grab a seat, sweetheart,” the waitress said from behind the main bar of the diner. “I'll be right with ya. Just one, tonight?” she asked while refilling another customer's glass of iced tea.

“Two, actually,” Lyrial replied sweetly and took a seat at a booth next to the window. The blinds were pulled down but opened so the view of the street was only partially obscured by the cheap plastic bars.

Lyrial ordered herself a cold glass of soda to quench her thirst as she waited. Each time the bell over the front door jingled, the brunette looked expectantly, but so far, no Chris. She frowned a little and wondered what could be keeping him. Their last phone conversation made Lyrial a little uneasy but she pushed it from her thoughts; what really bothered her was the serious lack of physical-ness in their relationship. It wasn't for lack of trying on her part, mind you, but besides from the occasional kiss and hand holding, Chris never really initiated anything physical.

Hell, the one time Lyrial had really tried to stoke the fires, it had failed miserably. After that kind of rejection, bravado was scarce and hard to come by. Was he just not sexually attracted to her? No, that didn't make sense. She distinctively felt the way his breath hitched and his body tightened when they hugged or cuddled on the couch. Snuggles were all fine and well, but she could visit Allen and his boyfriend for that. Lyrial was a grown woman, damnit, she thought and viciously crunched an ice chunk in her drink between her teeth, and she had needs! She was ready to kiss goodbye to the PG rating of her relationship.

But could she get Christ to cooperate? Then it suddenly hit her, harder than the brain freeze that set in after her aggressive ice munching. It wasn't that Christ didn't want to have sex or play around, she looked up and met the young man with a simple smile as he entered the diner, he wasn't allowed! Now, Lyrial reasoned as he sat down, greeting her with a meek kiss on the cheek, not forbidden like a child in a time-out, but morally not allowed. The crucifix he always wore should have been her first red flag.

“You okay?” he asked, calling Lyrial from her detective work.

“Are you Catholic?” Chris blinked. That wasn't a common response to the question he had posed.

“Yes?”

“How Catholic?” Chris laughed, a little uncomfortable.

“Lyrial, where is this coming from?” he asked quietly. And where is it going? He wondered.

Flustered, Lyrial blurted out exactly what was on her mind: “I'm just trying to figure out why you won't have sex with me!”

The few other patrons of the diner stared while collectively gasping. She had been louder than intended.

“Shhhhhh---what?” Chris asked in an embarrassed whisper.

“You heard me….Everyone else did,” Lyrial responded, both her and Chris' cheeks the color of the ketchup bottle.

“Should I come back?” the waitress asked awkwardly from the other side of the table.

“N-No,” Chris said, utterly relieved for a second's distraction. “Cheeseburger with bacon, ranch on the side,” he muttered in a distracted way. When the waitress looked at Lyrial, pen and pad up expectantly, Lyrial thought to reach for the menu but shook her head.

“Fish and chips,” she said quietly.

“And can I get a water?” Chris asked as the waitress headed to the kitchen with their orders.

“Well??” The brunette girl prodded, demanding they return to their conversation.

“This really isn't the time or the place for that kind of discussion,” Chris insisted nervously. He hooked his index finger under the collar of his T-shirt and wretched it around the hidden crucifix chain there.

“Am I not pretty enough?” Lyrial asked at the hesitant responses. “Am I too short? Chubby? Quiet? Timid?” she continued and with every adjective, Chris became more and more uncomfortable. He was overjoyed to see a water glass before him. He drank heavily from it, hoping the icy concoction would cool the burning blush on his face.

“It's none of those things, Lyrial,” he insisted quietly, still trying to hide from the eyes of the other diner customers. “You're beautiful, funny, smart, and everything anyone could ever want.”

“But what about you?” she asked and his panic softened. “I'm not asking about what anyone could want. I'm…asking what you want.” A hush fell between them as they both became lost in the question. The waitress reappeared with their food and set it down in front of them before moving off again with a half-hearted `Enjoy your meal.' The hush continued and both parties looked at the food in front of them, no longer having the stomach to eat. The silence was uncomfortable and seemed very loud in Lyrial's ears.

“I guess that answers that,” she said finally and stood up. She jammed her hand into her purse and yanked a ten dollar bill and threw it onto the table.

“Wait, Lyrial!” Chris shouted after the brunette as she hurried from the diner, utterly embarrassed and equally infuriated. She burst out into the street and marched determinedly up the hill to the street car stop. She cursed in between huffing breaths as she just missed the departing street car.

“Lyrial, stop!” Chris called out as he chased after her. He'd hurriedly thrown down the rest of the bill onto the table, apologizing for their rushed exodus, and chased after the young woman. As he approached, Lyrial grumbled in the back of her throat looking up and down the street for an approaching street car. With none in sight, she started marching up the hill by foot. She could catch another form of transportation on 17th Avenue, it was always bustling with taxis and railcars.

“Slow down!” Chris called as he jaunted up the hill in pursuit. “Please!”

15th Avenue.

“Just forget it!” Lyrial shouted back over her shoulder, scurrying across the intersection even as the walk sign blinked in warning for the upcoming green light of oncoming traffic.

16th Avenue.

“Lyrial, please! Let's just talk about this!”

17th Avenue.

Lyrial waved her hand and a yellow cab came screeching to a halt in front of her. She opened the door and climbed in, shutting it quickly to prevent Chris from joining her in the back of the vehicle.

“I tried that,” she responded and rolled up the window of the backseat. After giving her address, the cab sped off, leaving Chris on the sidewalk, his hands still outstretched from their position against the frame of the cab's door.

“Lyrial….” He said with a lost look. “What's gotten into you?”

As the cab moved through the city towards her apartment, Lyrial felt a little bad about abandoning Chris on the side of the street but stood firm by her decision to leave. There was a deep pang of guilt that rang in the young man's belly. As he raised his hand to summon another taxi in order to chase after Lyrial, he felt his mobile vibrating within his jeans pocket. He wanted to ignore it but halted the processes of cab hailing with the small hope that perhaps it was the brunette herself. Disappointment settled in his features as it was not the name Lyrial displayed upon the screen of the device but Private Number instead.

Chris slid open the phone and held it to his ear. After a moment of listening his discontent deepened.

“I understand,” he said and then the line disconnected. He let out a breath and shook his head before slipping the little electronic device back into his pocket just as the speeding cab with its precious cargo rounded the next couple of blocks to arrive at Lyrial's apartments. The girl handed the driver a wad of a few bills to cover the expense of the trip before marching up the stairs of her building and into her apartment like a little hurricane.

The cocktail of emotions that had been brewing in her heart and mind was overwhelming; the embarrassment, the anger, the shame, the need, and the sadness all bubbled over and tried to take a dominant role in her demeanor, leaving Lyrial in shambles and on the brink of neurotic. Flustered, Lyrial moved across the apartment to her bedroom, not noticing the sudden silence that filled the flat. She yanked off her clothes and pulled down her hair, the sticky humidified curls clung to the back of her neck and shoulders as she grabbed a towel off the back of her bedroom door and headed to the bathroom, wrapping the terry fabric as she went.

She didn't spend long under the forgiving waters of the shower head and soon Lyrial came out with her brown hair damp and the towel wrapped around her middle again. The shower hadn't helped as much as she had hoped instead it only seemed to inflame the myriad of emotions welling up inside her. So caught up in her current state of mind was the young woman that she stood not to notice the curious silver eyes watching her, sitting on the edge of her bed along with Sardinez the kitten.

“Did those hurt?” Lyrial gasped loudly and scrambled to pick up the towel she had just dropped around her ankles.

“Sano! Get out!” she cried while trying to cling the wet material to her ample bust which threatened to spill out of her petite hands. The Vampire raised his hands in defeat, standing up slowly and stalking behind her. Lyrial watched him over her shoulder with a strange sense of murder in her eyes.

“What?” she snapped and spun around, taking a few steps away from Sano and bumping into her dresser in the process.

“When did you get those?” Sano persisted, displaying an usually high level of concern that bordered genuine.

“Get what?” Lyrial demanded and reached one hand around her to feel for the edge of the dresser. There was still an acceptable distance between the Vampire and herself, but Lyrial had learned that securing an escape route was a necessity when dealing with Sano on her own.

“Those scars.” Lyrial hesitated, her brows furrowing deeply. She turned around to look in the mirror and saw only her reflection, just as she knew it.

“What scars?”

“These,” Sano announced and grabbed hold of the girl's shoulders. He spun her to face him before tilting her head to look over her shoulder. Honeyed brown eyes followed to motion of the Vampire's hand as they ran down two perfectly vertical marks that filled the expanse of Lyrial's upper blades down to the middle of her back. They were spaced evenly apart and were so apparent in their existence that Sano seriously questioned his sight for not recognizing them in their time of cohabitation before this moment.

“Those aren't scars!” Lyrial defended and looked back at Sano. “They're birthmarks,” she admitted and Sano raised a finely groomed brow to suggest her words to be some kind of humorous attempt.

“They're raised. And red,” Sano insisted and watched the large marks stand starkly against Lyrial's moderately tanned skin.

“They are not!” she refuted and pulled herself out of the silver haired young man's grasp, sliding along the edge of the dresser to flee the corner she had backed herself into.

“Are you blind? Do they not hurt? How long have they been there?” he persisted and followed the brunette as she tried to get to her closet and cover her naked body.

“No, no, and since forever,” Lyrial replied and an embarrassed look crossed her pretty face. “I was born with them, they just….flare up when I'm under a lot of stress. I don't know why, so don't ask, okay? The doctors say they aren't cancer or something awful like that, but they are weird. I know they are….”

“Well, they are weird,” Sano replied and watched the embarrassment grow in Lyrial's eyes as she managed to fumble around and grasp an oversized T-shirt and pulled it over her body, obscuring her nudity and ending the need for the towel.

“……”

“Weird and certainly not birthmarks.”

“…get out…”

“They're too perfectly straight. It's almost like someone just carved them right down your shoulders.”

“I said, get out.”

“Freshly carved, too.”

“GET OUT!” Sano stopped speaking and looked at the petite young woman from whence the impressive volume had just erupted. She was hugging herself and glaring into the carpet of her bedroom as if to burn a whole in it and outright refused to remotely meet Sano's eyes.

“Okay. I'm leaving,” he said quietly and took a few steps back before turning away from the girl and walking out of the bedroom. He glanced at her over his shoulder before disappearing from the apartment completely. Lyrial shivered from the pent up fury Sano had reignited. She slid down to her knees and hugged herself as Sardinez pounced from his place on her bed to sit beside her. A soft meow reached her through the confusion and she picked up the stray and held him her arms.

Lyrial felt very alone after sending Sano away in such a manner. She had been angry and embarrassed by the marks on her back all her life and Sano's scrutiny coupled with her already embarrassing escapade with Chris only moments before, it was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

“Oh, Sardinez, what am I going to do? First Chris and now Sano. I'm quickly running out of people to alienate myself from, aren't I?” Another soft meow was her response. Lyrial knew she must be alone in the apartment, her shouting would have undoubtedly sent Kaya rushing to her rescue long before Sano's remarks rocked her inner being. She wondered briefly where the blonde could have gone in such a short time; the Witch and Vampire had both been present when she had left for dinner with Chris, but it seemed that Sano was alone when she had returned.

Lyrial envisioned the athletic blonde fuming from her last fuss with Sano and then storming from the apartment to cool her head in a more secluded setting. Lyrial had found Kaya more than once meditating on the roof their apartment building (now that the weather had warmed, that is) and the girl had come to the conclusion that her friend not only liked but sometimes really needed quiet alone time to collect herself. That sounded like something Lyrial herself could really use, a bit of alone time. She clearly needed a vacation, time away. But where would she go? And with what money? There were too many reality based obstacles standing in the way of her fantasies. If only she could run away from the entire world for just a little while.

Eventually she would regain her strength, pull herself up by her bootstraps and take the world on just as she did with Alan before all these calamities built up on her. But for now…a little reprieve would be nice.

“Someone please take me away…” she whispered under her breath, willing an escape to appear. Suddenly, her bedroom door creaked and Lyrial's heart jumped into her throat. Her head snapped up and her eyes darted in the direction of the door to see nothing, only catching the discrete end motion of the door moving. Sardinez leapt from her arms and arched his back, hissing violently in the direction of the empty threshold.

“Sano?” Lyrial called out hesitantly and swallowed the sizable lump in her throat as the cat continued to warn an invisible intruder to come no nearer. “Sano is that you?” Lyrial called out again, a bit louder than before. She felt very vulnerable on the floor and slowly rose to her feet, keeping her knees bent as if ready to dodge a sudden bullet.

“Sardinez, please stop that, you're scaring me,” she begged of the cat who spat briefly before arching his back with more intent. “Sardinez!” The bedroom door slammed shut on its own accord and made Lyrial shriek. She covered her mouth with her hands and her knees trembled. Even Sardinez had lost his boldness at the abrupt movement. He raced back to Lyrial and continued to growl under her shadow. A weighty cold filled the room and the brunette raced to the door, almost tripping on the cat tangled between her legs. She ripped the door open and collided with very solid individual.

“Woah, woah, woah! Take it easy,” Kaya said while mustering motherly tenderness. She held onto Lyrial's arms to focus the other girl. Sardinez came sprinting from the room and dove underneath the couch.

“K-Kaya!”

“What happened? You're white as a ghost! And you look as if you've seen one,” the Witch said and carefully looked passed the other woman expecting to see her notorious rival Sano creeping in the corner of the bedroom after terrifying their gentle hostess.

“Did you close the door?”

“What?” Kaya asked confused.

“Be honest, did you close the door?” Lyrial insisted, clutching Kaya's arms in return. The blonde noticed how tight her grip was and deemed it actually uncomfortable.

“No. I just came back home. I heard you scream and as I came to your room, you ran out,” there was a pause and Kaya really noticed the tremors racking Lyrial's body. “What happened? Are you okay?” Lyrial shook her head in the negative notion quickly and threw herself fully into Kaya's protective embrace.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” she begged and buried her face against her friend's athletic shoulder.

“Well, I—“
“Please!” Kaya sighed and rubbed Lyrial's back affectionately.

“Of course,” she replied and walked the brunette away from her bedroom and to the one they would share. The situation made her acutely uncomfortable and she thoroughly noted all that she could observe, vowing to investigate with more vigor in the morning, but for now, she would stay awake and by Lyrial's side until coming day brought about the protection of the sun's powerful rays.

“What did you see in your room?” she asked finally after locking their bedroom door and settling her friend under the covers. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“I was alone,” Lyrial began, scarcely believing her own story. “Kaya, I was alone in that room except for the cat and the door slammed shut.” The blonde listened carefully, not dismissing her roommates words as childish or unbelievable; she knew better than to do that.

“Is that all?” Lyrial shook her head.

“At first it just…moved,” she admitted. “Just a little, in fact, I barely saw it, but it creaked. After that, Sardinez really lost it. He started hissing and growling as if some kind of monster was coming in the room,” she paused and covered her eyes with her hands. "But there was nothing there, Kaya. I didn't see anything and before I could think the door slammed shut.” She rubbed her face with her hands and laid on her side, hugging an extra pillow to her chest.

“You must think I'm completely insane.” Kaya shook her head and smiled, rubbing Lyrial's forehead softly.

“I think you are a lot of things, Lyrial, but insane is not one of them. Yet, anyway,” she added with a bit of humor. “I'll tell you a little something about me. You know I'm a Witch and….I know I don't do a lot of magick around you, and that's for your sake, but where I come from…where all Witches come from, we use the elements to strengthen our spells.” Lyrial relaxed and listened to Kaya's deeper voice, it was like hearing a bedtime story during a thunderstorm, something calming in the face of utter danger.

“Fire is the element that I rely on. Since the sun is like a big ball of fire, my magick is stronger in the day time. So,” she said and laid down as well, facing Lyrial and taking her hands gently. “Tomorrow I will investigate your room and see what I find. Sardinez is a smart little fella and I'm sure he won't let anything happen to you.”

The two girls shared a smile briefly before Lyrial nodded and slowly let her heavy eyelids fall shut. Kaya would investigate tomorrow and enlist the aid of that useless Vampire to do some nighttime sniffing; hopefully they could turn up whatever it was that caused this chilling incident for their dear friend.

When Kaya was certain that her flatmate was safely secured in a state of sleep, her blue eyes opened and took in the state of the room. She sat up carefully so as not to disturb the brunette and then slipped out of bed. She bundled Lyrial up in a motherly fashion after her absence of another living radiator. She turned to look at Sardinez who had crept into the room as well, still unnerved by the incident from before.

“Now you keep watch,” Kaya said sternly and the kitten seemed to salute by turning up his nose quickly before padding softly up the expanse of the bedding to curl up beside Lyrial. Kaya reached out to stroke the fur of the feline with both affection and respect; if there was something unnatural happening in the apartment now, Sardinez would be the first to raise the alarm. In her homeland, it was not uncommon for Witches to keep cats about in their homes because of their sensitivity to Magick and the presence of those from the Beyond.

Some believed it was their whiskers which picked up on the fine vibrations in the air which Magick left in its wake while others thought their keen eyes simply saw past all that. Whatever the case, Kaya felt confident that should something try to approach Lyrial in her absence that Sardinez would alert them both. She stepped away from the bed and headed to the door of her bedroom. The blonde looked both ways cautiously before moving into the main room of the apartment. She leaned the door to her room almost completely shut to protect the precious cargo within but still allow her own access in a hurry.

With some grace she moved to the other side of the apartment and entered Lyrial's bedroom. She scanned the area briefly before moving to the set of drawers with the attached vanity mirror. She looked into it mirror deeply, her brows furrowing in concentration.

“Where are you when I actually need you?” Kaya asked while maintaining her gaze with her reflection. “Come on, you worthless blood-sucking creature. I need your expertise on this.” After a further moment of concentration, she closed her eyes and looked away from the mirror. The room seemed normal enough, quiet, but normal. She then moved decidedly from the dresser and waited in the living room. Perhaps half an hour passed before she heard the front door begin to rattle. Her body tensed as it slowly opened to reveal Sano.

“Call me crazy,” he began as he closed and locked the door behind him. “But something told me that I needed to come home. A weird feeling like….I was needed here.” He shook his head to dismiss the sense of warning his imagination conjured up. He had experienced the undeniable magnetic pull back to Lyrial's apartments for reasons he could not explain; it was as if he had forgotten to turn off the stove or left the bath water running. Neither of these scenarios was accurate, so Sano could not explain the sudden need to rush back to the apartment complex.

“As much as I'd love to allow you to hype up your sense of paranoia,” Kaya began while examining one of the air vents in the living room. She carefully pried off the screws that held the metal grate in place before it fell forward. The blonde produced a burlap sack from inside the vent and started rummaging through it.

“I called for you. Now before you start getting weird and assuming things, it is only because I need your particular knowledge on something.” Sano watched with mild curiosity blooming as Kaya pulled a small leather bound book from the bag. She stood up and flipped through its pages, making a section with the thin twine attached to the binding to hold the place.

“Dare I ask what for?” The incredulous look gave the Witch spoke more volumes than any snarky after comment ever could have. He wanted to tease and ridicule Kaya just a little, entreating her to fall to her knees and beg him for the aid which she so clearly desperately needed.

“I believe something may be after Lyrial.” And with that, all thoughts of playful revenge vanished, his fantasies of degrading Kaya into a pitiful begging heap of a woman evaporated after the soft utterance of the delicate brunette's name.

“What do you mean?”

“Sano, what do you know about hauntings?” The Vampire frowned a bit.

“Why would I know anything about hauntings?” He appeared quite offended by the question as he moved from his awkward place by the door to sit onto the couch. He perched himself on the edge of the seat cushion and looked passed Kaya to the closed door of Lyrial's bedroom.

“You're dead,” Kaya responded, discrediting the look that the Vampire was giving her. “I'm running on the assumption that dead things know about other dead things.”

“No,” Sano said, cutting her off. “I am among the living-dead, that's a totally different ball game, baby doll.”

“How, exactly?” Sano laughed.

“The difference, my dear, is that I can still throw your legs over my shoulder and nail you like a piñata.”

“Can you not take anything seriously!?” Kaya screeched but then covered her mouth with a hand, recalling that Lyrial was sleeping in the next bedroom. Sano didn't stifle the chuckle that followed despite the deadly glares Kaya shot in his direction.

“Alright, take it easy,” he said. “Why do you ask about hauntings?” Kaya adjusted herself and looked back at the bedroom which housed Lyrial and Sardinez. She hugged herself around the middle gently and paused.

“Something that Lyrial said a few hours ago,” she began. “She said she felt the presence of something in her room with her.” She then relayed the entire story to Sano, commenting on how the cat had behaved and the sudden slamming of the bedroom door. “Lyrial wouldn't make something like this up, and her terror was far too genuine to be questioned.” Sano listened quietly to the tale, only nodding occasionally to show that he was indeed paying attention.

“I don't know if I'd just straight to haunted apartment, but it is definitely suspicious.” Kaya had to agree with the Vampire. Was it possible something had followed them to this place? Had Sano been dwelling in darker places than necessary or had she unknowingly unleashed something while practicing Magick. Neither scenario made her comfortable because either way they were at fault for Lyrial's fears.

“So, what's the plan, Captain?” Sano asked and tapped his index finger against Kaya's forehead to bring her back to the conversation. She swatted his hand away.

“The plan is until we know what's going on, Lyrial is not alone. Ever.”

“That's a bit extreme, don't you think?” Sano asked as he strolled across the apartment to peek into the bedroom where Lyrial was sleeping. Sardinez the kitten was curled up closely to her chest, purring loudly.

“No, it's precautionary,” Kaya defended while pushing Sano to the side so that she could look in at the sleeping occupant as well. “I'd rather be safe than sorry concerning Lyrial. She's too important.” Sano looked at Kaya's face and the ever softening expression that blossomed. He shook his head silently and patted the blonde on the back.

“I know. She's the one thing we can both agree on, but a slamming door and a skittish kitten isn't reason for an all-out defensive strategy.” Kaya looked ready to argue but Sano put a finger to his lips, suggesting silence instead. “Of course we'll look into it and do a thorough check of her bedroom, and we'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious, but we don't want to freak her out too much either.” The Witch felt Sano was dismissing her worries but also knew that in a small arena he was right. Lyrial was a sensitive and innocent girl who was already overwhelmed with all the things that had happened since their arrival almost a year ago. She would never dismiss Lyrial's fears as irrational but would try her best not to feed them with unwarranted explanations.

“For now,” Kaya said sternly while keeping her tone at a whisper. “But if things escalate, you and I will be on a constant vigil.” Sano nodded his head, not willing or able to argue with her definitive words.

“Agreed. Now get some sleep,” Sano said and patted her back again. “You look awful.”

Metamorphosis: Genesis