Mein Licht

As Kross's eyes seemed to focus on her, Mizuki first sighed in relief, glad that he had come back, but his excuse didn't exactly make sense to her. She narrowed her eyes a little. People just dozing off don't stare off into nothing and don't not respond to people talking and shaking them. They don't ignore someone cutting off the air from their body. She started to chew on the inside of her lip. There was something wrong here, and she got the feeling that he was trying his best to hide it from her.
"Yeah, let's head back," she answered softly after a moment, stepping away from him. "It is getting kind of late..." She trailed off as she started to walk back, moving ahead of him as she did, thinking. He could smell things better than anyone she knew, could hear better too it seemed, and was definitely strong from what she could tell. He'd just spaced out for a couple of minutes and lied to her about the cause of it -because that wasn't dozing off. What do you think? she asked, glancing over at her father, Nathan, who was still nearby.
I think you're right, Mizuki. He's hiding something. Be careful about trusting him.
I know he's hiding something! I mean... a lot of the stuff I'm seeing looks vampiric, but he's out in the sunlight and stuff. I don't think he's one, even if some of the things match.
But Tom is only half vampire, sweetie. He could go in the sun too.
I know that! I don't think he was lying about his past though, which means he's completely human. At least Tom can be explained because of the vampire trait in our family.
Yes, that's true. Don't trust him though, the ghost warned.
"I know!" Mizuki bit her mouth closed as soon as she noticed that she'd said that out loud, by this point just in front of the front door of the house. She opened it and pushed through, hoping Kross hadn't noticed and wouldn't ask as she walked into the living room. She hadn't asked any questions even though he was dampening her trust with hiding things.

Kross blinked at her as she randomly shouted 'I know!', but shrugged "You talking to one your friends?" he asked, smiling. Her gift really fascinated him.
As they wandered inside, Kross smirked at the napping Harry on the couch, and headed into the kitchen where he opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Gulping down all of it in one breath, Kross gave a satisfied exhale and smiled again at Mizuki. "Today was fun. I'm really glad I stopped here," he said, though his mind kept hearing the sound of Lothaire's voice, calling him to come and rescue him. He wasn't sure if he would do it or not... He didn't want the vampire to die, but he also didn't want the whole village, especially Mizuki, after him. He was certain that he would go and speak with him tonight, though, after Mizuki and Harry had retired to their bedrooms.

"Yeah," Mizuki answered vaguely. Since she had told him she usually spoke outloud, she was surprised he honestly didn't question her more, but glad at the same. She saw Harry napping on the couch and rolled her eyes, sighing at her brother. "Harry," she muttered, though glanced up as Kross began to talk again. She nodded a little. "Yeah, today was pretty fun for the most part," she admitted, seeing the empty bottle of water he'd gulped down.
After a moment, she went over to the counter, leaning against it as she looked at him. "You said your parents were human, but your dad did experiments on you, right?" She drummed her fingers lightly against the counter. "Did he ever do anything permanent?" she questioned, and looked up at him, meeting the boy's icy blue gaze. She made sure that as she looked at him that he could tell she knew there was something wrong, without voicing what she suspected though.

Kross stared at her, slowly closing the lid on the water bottle and walking to the other side of the counter, so he was across from her. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and pointed to several white scars on his arms "They're pretty much all over me, but I suppose that's the only permanent thing... scars," he said, though a part of him felt like she was asking for a different answer, "My mother used to tell me, before she died, that nothing he did was permanent. So I grew up believing that... Things can always be taken away or rebuilt," he added, hoping that would tide her over.
Rolling his sleeves back down, Kross tossed the bottle into the garbage can and swiped his hand through his hair "Look, Mizuki, I know you've told me a lot of things about your past, but I really don't feel like talking about mine. I like you a lot, and maybe someday you will learn everything, but now just isn't the time. It's over and done, so there is no sense in revisiting it, okay?" Kross said, rather sternly.
With that, Kross nodded to her "I'm heading in for the night... See you guys in the morning," he headed back to Tom's bedroom and closed the door. He stripped off the button down and white t-shirt, tossing them into a chair, and looked at his torso in the mirror, analyzing each scar engraved into his flesh. He usually would have flamed up at the sight of them, but he decided that it wasn't worth it tonight. He had bigger things to worry about. Kross fell down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, and waited for the moment when Harry and Mizuki would go to sleep.

Mizuki let Kross leave without saying anything, te look on her face after he left only able to be described as thoughtful. She was almost certain he had lied to her again... Saying the scars were the only permanent thing his father had done to him, but she didn't question him further. She needed more than just a guess before she confronted him about her suspicions.
She had been hoping that he would just come out and tell her... If he was really even part vampire though she guessed at that point she would know why he wouldn't want to tell her anything though. She had already claimed to be a hunter, and they were in a village of them. He had even seen one being tortured. Did she really expect any different from him?
Sighing, she ran a had through her hair and woke Harry up, telling he should go to bed. They headed in their room together, Harry falling asleep quickly though it took Mizuki a while with the thoughts going through her mind.

As Kross heard the twins settle into their room, he hopped out of bed and grabbed a jacket, not even bothering to put a shirt back on.
He moved without sound through the house and out the front door, making sure not to wake Mizuki or Harry. Once outside, he used his heightened speed to glide through the town, until he slipped inside the red tent. A hiss immediately met his ears, but Kross waved his hand "Shh, Lothaire, it's me. The boy you spoke to earlier,"
"Ahh," he whispered, "You came. I am proud of you, boy,"
Kross got down to his knees in front of the vampire, "You need to be quick with whatever it is you're going to tell me. I don't have much time,"
Lothaire nodded, but winced afterwards; he was hard for him to make any movements with the way his arms were tied behind his back, and his ankles bound to the floor. The sight of this made Kross wince as well. "First off, your name?"
"Kross," he replied
"Good. Kross, I am a prophet, or a seer, or a precognition, or whatever it is you wish to call it. That is the gift I was welcomed with when I woke up for the second time, or when I finished my vampiric metamorphism. My visions are accurate; I have had years of practice with them, which you saw when I shared mine sight with you, something I learned over the years. Now, for this next part, I need you to be listening. It is important,"
"I'm listening," Kross nodded.
"War is coming. I can see it. I can feel it. It is inescapable now. A war between everyone... The vampires, the hunters, the werewolves, the witches and wizards, and everyone else residing in these mountains. The cause... I do not know. The purpose... I am not sure of. But it is going to happen. The War of the Night. The hunters will not hesitate to kill, and that goes for you too. So we have to get out of here. I know people... A coven we can join. We can band together and get a head start on this before it even happens. But we have to leave now!"
Kross blinked at him... That was a lot of information to take in at once. "A war..." he whispered.
"You must believe me, boy. You must!" Lothaire begged.
Kross nodded "I do... I believe you. I know how strong vampire's abilities can be, even to be only part. My ability hasn't showed itself... Probably never will since I'm still mostly human. But I do get it. And I will get you out of here, Lothaire... I just..."
"You just what, boy?!" He demanded.
Kross looked back in the direction of the Skye House, and his mind thought of Mizuki. He couldn't just leave her... He had just gotten to know her, and if a war happened their relationship would end before it could even start. After several more seconds of thought, Kross finally nodded, "I will get you out of here," he promised.
Lothaire's yellow eyes lit up. "Marvelous! A blade, any blade should be able to cut these binds..."
"I'm not finished yet," Kross continued, "I will get you out... tomorrow night. I need more time to do things here. Like, reading up on the history of the village... It may give us some insight on the war,"
"You want more time with that mundane human girl!" he spat.
Kross glared at him "Do you want to get out of here or not?"
Lothaire remained silent.
"I will be back tomorrow night. Just wait for me. Goodbye," and with that, Kross sped out of the tent and back into the house, silently creeping back into his bedroom, throwing the jacket back in the wardrobe, his pants on the floor, and then hopped into bed, trying to fall asleep.

The next morning, Mizuki was up early; before Harry or even Kross. As she dragged herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom, she sighed in frustration at seeing the unhinged door. She had completely forgotten about that. Chewing on her lip, she paused to stare at it, and after a moment just shook her head, slipping inside and then moving the door to where it covered most of the entrance. Hopefully if she was quick, she would beat the guys to waking up.
So with that, she hopped in the shower, washing quickly and then came out, wrapping a towel around her body after drying her hair some. She headed back into her room at that point, Harry still snoring, and closed the door gently, locking it just in case, and then dressed, this time putting a jacket over her t-shirt since she knew it was going to be cold outside. With that done, she headed out of the room silently again, closing the door to the room behind her.
Zipping up her jacket as she walked, she threw on some shoes and exited out the back door. They had a small garden -mostly because it had been her mom's and she still liked the fresh vegetables- and beyond that was the forest. Taking a quick look back at the house, she pulled her hood over her head before she entered the forest.
Mizuki ended up running about a thirty minute trail she knew well before she came back out to the back of the house. She paused in heading inside to check on the garden, picking a few of the ripened vegetables before, humming softly to herself, she went back in the house. And since the back door was in the kitchen, she set the food down on a counter with some leftovers before she took her jacket off, walking far enough to throw it in the living room. Since Harry got up late, she always made breakfast, which is what she started on now.

Kross awoke about an hour after Mizuki. After the talk with Lothaire, he had only slept for about four hours, but he kept waking up, so he decided to go ahead and start the day.
Kross walked into the kitchen and sat down, his eyes halfway closed "...g'morning," he muttered to Mizuki, not paying any attention to the fact that he was still just wearing his boxers. He hadn't quite woken up all the way yet.
Thoughts of last night pecked at Kross's mind, and he remembered something he needed to ask. "Is there a library here?" he yawned, "Or some sort of book... place... maybe in the court house or something?" It was hard for him to form complete sentences while still waking up.

Kross awoke about an hour after Mizuki. After the talk with Lothaire, he had only slept for about four hours, but he kept waking up, so he decided to go ahead and start the day.
Kross walked into the kitchen and sat down, his eyes halfway closed "...g'morning," he muttered to Mizuki, not paying any attention to the fact that he was still just wearing his boxers. He hadn't quite woken up all the way yet.
Thoughts of last night pecked at Kross's mind, and he remembered something he needed to ask. "Is there a library here?" he yawned, "Or some sort of book... place... maybe in the court house or something?" It was hard for him to form complete sentences while still waking up.

Mizuki glanced back as Kross plopped down at the counter, turning away almost immediately though with a mix of a shake of her head and a sigh. "Morning," was her curt reply as she went back to preparing their breakfast. At his question, she considered it a moment before nodding. "Yeah, we actually do have a library of sorts. Not much there, but it has books, depending on what your looking for."
She finished making the panckaes -blueberries in them- and glanced back at him. "Could you wake up Harry for me please? I'm afraid that sometimes even the smell of food can drag him from his bed." she paused. "If you need to, feel free to dump cold water over him. He won't mind." That would be because she did it to him all the time, but he didn't necessarily need to know that.

Kross slowly nodded, pulling himself out of the chair and dragging his feet back into Harry's room. "Harry..." he muttered to the sleeping boy. Seeing how he didn't move a muscle, Kross just flopped down on top of the red head and closed his eyes once more "Wake up..." Kross whispered, even though he felt like he was about to fall asleep again, too.

Feeling someone on top of him, Harry groaned, and hearing a male voice, groaned even louder. Crap. Not even thinking about it, he rolled over, knocking Kross off of him and to the ground, nearly toppling off the bed himself in the process. He stopped himself in time with a pleased nosie and rolled over in his bed, burrowing under the covers further.
Mizuki, hearing the loud thud, came to check on the guys. Kross looked half asleep in the floor and Harry was still asleep. Sighing softly, she retreated to the bathroom, grabbing a bucket, and filled it with chilly water. Heading back to her and Harry's room, she commenced to pour half of it on her brother, startling him out of sleep, then stepped over Kross, releasing the rest of the contents on him as well.

Kross made a low "Unph" sound as Harry pushed him to the floor, but made no other notice of it. He continued to sleep.
Though, minutes later, he suddenly felt icy water coat his skin, and he jumped up and groaned, but his eyes were wide open.
Looking down, Kross saw that he was in his boxers, then looked to the side to see Harry, soaked in water as well. "...What happened?" he asked him, not even taking notice of Mizuki yet.

Mizuki set the bucket by the door, rolling her eyes when Kross asked Harry what happened, leaning in the doorway without making a sound, instead letting Harry reply.
Harry groaned again, sitting up straight now with water dripping off him. "Mizuki happened," he said, casting a slightly evil glare to his sister leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed. He thought about going back to sleep, about fussing at her because he thought the festival days were his days to sleep in, and then about just getting up and getting food as usual. He chose the middle choice...
Harry hopped up out of the bed. "DOGPILE!" he screeched, a little jokingly, but it caused her eyes to widen slightly as she dashed out of the room. Harry ran after her, ending up catching her as she slipped at a corner a bit, and the twins went down in a tangle of limbs in the living area.

Kross blinked at the twins, before shrugging and chasing after them. Once he found them again, tangled up in the floor, Kross threw his arms in the air and screamed "Geronimo!" as he jumped into the air and landed on top of them, forcing himself into the dog pile.
Unintentionally, Kross's vampire instincts kicked in, and he wrapped both of his legs around Harry's torso, pinning him to the ground before sitting on top of him, while at the same time, taking both of his hands and flipping Mizuki upside down and tossing her over his shoulder. "I win!" he said pridefully, forcing both of the twins to stay where they were.
The cold water still clung to him, dripping off his back and onto Harry, while other drops absorbed themselves into Mizuki's shirt. Kross looked down at Harry's face, nestled roughly between his knees, and smiled "No peeking up my boxers, Hardon. Try to contain yourself," he winked, then used one of his hands to smack Mizuki on her butt "But you're free to check any time you want," he laughed, before looking back down at Harry again, giving him an overly dramatized frown "Oh, I suppose it's just not fair, is it buddy? Alright, alright. You can peek if you really want too. And I know you do,"

Mizuki all but growled as she was suddenly interrupted from her wrestling match with her twin and tossed over Kross's shoulder. Couldn't he stop picking her up?! Then she felt something hit her butt and at the same time that a flush came over her face, soon disappearing, she really did growl, using their position to somehow actually flip him over, and pinned him to the ground.
"Never do that again," she said, glaring hard at him, though half of it was forced just to reinforce the fact that he shouldn't touch her ass, despite the fact that he had been laughing and smiling. Then she let him up. "Now, it's breakfast time guys," she suddenly announced.
As she walked by Harry, she messed up his hair. "No food for either of you until you're fully clothed though," she warned before striding into the kitchen without a glance back. She went ahead and made her plate, completing it with syrup and then went back in the living room and plopped down into the chair, folding her legs comfortably underneath her.

Mizuki growling at Kross just made him laugh all the more, but when she got up, he pulled Harry to his feet and stood up with him.
At her remark about them having to be fully clothed before eating, Kross defiantly walked into the kitchen without putting on any more clothes, and grabbed a plate of pancakes, drizzling syrup over the top of them. He had half the mind to take his boxers off, and then go and sit down, but he decided against it. Lucky for them, he was in a bit more of a serious mood today... Any other they and he would be walking through their house butt-naked eating blueberry pancakes.
As he took a seat on the couch, Kross began to eat, while making obnoxiously loud 'mmm's and grunts. "These are delicious!" he cheered, then looked at her flirtatiously "Almost as delicious as the feel of your ass,"
Finishing his pancakes in a matter of minutes, Kross began tracing his finger through the excess syrup and let it drip into his mouth, the thick, sticky, sweetness rolling down his throat before he could even swallow. He stuck out his tongue to catch more, which it did easily; he had an unusually long tongue with a semi-pointed tip. Most likely a trait from the vampire's blood he was injected with. He remembered his father doing research on the different types of blood suckers, and some of them did had longer tongues, almost like dragons or snakes. He liked it though; it made him feel exotic.

Mizuki glared at Kross again when instead of getting dressed, he simply went and got his food and started to eat. Then she rolled her eyes at his comment, making it a point to ignore him as Harry came out fully clothed and got his breakfast as well. She was glad now that she had decided to sit on the chair instead of on one of the two couches since he would have surely sat beside her. She felt moderately safe in the chair at least.
After she was done, she went into the kitchen, washing her dishes, and then came back into the living room, curling into the chair once more. It was her favorite piece of furniture usually with how comfortable it was. She ignored Kross completely at this point as she leaned back and simply closed her eyes. Maybe if she did so, he would disappear? She was doubtful but there was a slight hope there all the same.
Harry raised his eyebrows as he saw Kross, and then Mizuki, shaking his head slowly at the sight of the two of them. Those two... he thought with a sigh, finishing his breakfast silently as well.

Kross took his plate into the kitchen, then announced that he was going to take a shower. "Once we're all ready, I assume we're going to enjoy the festival again?" he asked. After they had answered yes, obviously, Kross ran down the hallway and back into Tom's room.
He grabbed another pair of jeans and a gray and blue striped long sleeved shirt. He could tell it was cold outside, just by how it looked; pale and blue. Back in the bathroom, Kross propped the door into place again, silently noting I'll have to fix this before I leave... There's probably going to be no coming back after I free Lothaire... he thought, feeling a sudden wave of sadness. Even though he had only known the Skye's for a day, he felt like they were just meant to be friends... Things like what had just happened before breakfast had easily become some of Kross's fondest memories in his life.
Kross stood in the shower, letting the hot water roll off of his body while he thought: I'll go to that library Mizuki told me about, try and read up on as much history as I can, and then spend the rest of the day with Mizuki and Harry... Maybe squeeze in a secret goodbye, if I can...
It was hard for Kross to just let people go, for it was rare when he found people that would actually take him in. So each time he did come across someone nice, he grew instantly attached. But he was strong... And this was part of his lifestyle. Getting up and leaving as quickly as he settled down was nothing new... Though this time, for some reason, it felt like a foreign concept... Like his body was disagreeing with his actions, and didn't want to go.
Shaking off all of the hard thoughts, Kross got out of the shower and toweled himself dry. He got dressed and walked into the living room again, sitting down on the couch "Whoever's next, it's your turn,"

@ Kross
Mizuki motioned to Harry when Kross came back. "I got one while you were both asleep," she explained to her brother before he left. She was almost glad now she did, especially because of the door being broken. She supposed she would need to find a way to fix it, or have Harry do it -either one would work. She was sure if she looked and figured out what was wrong with it, then it wouldn't be long before she figured out how to fix it.
After Harry got up and went to go get his shower, the sounds of running water traveling easily into the livingroom, silence fell between the two people still sitting there, Mizuki moving her toes as a form of something to do. She quickly grew bored of that though, feeling a certain icy blue gaze on her, but still saying nothing, reached to the table beside the chair and took up a book she was reading. She let the chair recline, curling in something of a ball at the same time though as she leaned against the armrest and the back, cradling the book in her lap as her eyes aptly studied the pages before her.
Not a couple of minutes later she heard a knock at the door, which was strange considering she and Harry never actually received guests except on special occasions. Frowning a bit to herself as first, she sat up, closing the book after marking her page and went to the door, opening it. There stood a man with semi-broad shoulders, short sandy blonde hair, an almost threatening demeanor, and sharp amber eyes. She blinked up at him for a second before shaking her head at herself and nodding to him. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone. Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked the current leader of their town, slipping out the front door and closing it behind her. Whatever conversation happened between them wasn't Kross's business nor concern.
Mizuki received a business-like smile from Alistair. "I'm sorry to intrude so early in the morning, but I'm currently working on letting our hunters know about a new assignment we've been hired to carry out.” He paused, letting Mizuki nod before he continued. “There are a group of peoples just on the other side of the southern mountains, who wish for us to be their protection in traveling northwards. It is a large group and will require many of us to go, though some will naturally be left behind.” Again he paused to watch her.
“I am not being left behind,” Mizuki said vehemently, standing a little straighter. “I know I haven’t exactly been on an assignment yet, but I can do this. I’m no good with watch duty anyway. I’ll be better out where I can help my village fight, if that’s what’s required.” He hadn’t said they would be attacked –likely by the only real threat in the mountains, vampires- but there was still a large chance, especially if they were being hired to provide safe passage. “Please, you know I’m good. Let me go,” she added, deferring to her leader as she looked up at him.
“Relax, Mizuki,” Alistair chuckled at the violet-haired girl. “I wasn’t going to tell you that you would be staying. I believe this will be a good chance for you, especially as a first assignment, and I was going to ask if you would come with us. I know you hate to leave your brother alone, and this would be a journey that would likely last at least a month. I wasn’t sure whether you would accept it or not knowing Harry would be here alone,” he explained to her.
She nodded a little, glancing back at the house. “Well, I suppose we should give them quite a distraction to keep them away from our village while we’re away then,” she finally said, turning a smile on the man in front of her, who chuckled at her in agreement.
“Yes, and we’ll put up one hell of a fight.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re a good lass, Mizuki.” With those parting words, he started down the forest path once more, and with Mizuki practically grinning with her chance, she at first turned to go inside, and then remembered something and turned back around. ”When do we leave?!” she shouted.
A bob of sandy hair could still be seen, moving as he turned around to face her. “One week!” he shouted back.