Sable

The forest had started to make stranger, and stranger still, noises as they progressed. Sable knew she shouldn't have been afraid, she had Conor there with her, but she wasn't used to a setting like the one she was in. She picked up her walking pace, trying to stick close to him.

"Hey, Conor?" she asked.

"What is it?" Conor responded.

"You're really strong, right?" Sable continued. "I mean, you are a vampire."

"Yeah, I guess," Conor said. He glanced at her over his shoulder. "What's this about?"

"I'm scared, I guess," Sable mumbled, and refocused her gaze on the ground passing beneath them.

"Well, as of right now you've got no need to be afraid," Conor told her. Her head snapped back up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sable demanded.

"It means that right now we are safe," Conor said. Sable didn't find that to be an acceptable answer.

"So you're saying that, if danger did appear, we're screwed?" Sable asked.

"No," Conor shook his head and laughed. "You have grown so much with your abilities. And I am, as you pointed out, a super strong vampire. You have nothing to worry your pretty little head over."

"Okay," Sable agreed, though she wasn't entirely convinced. "I'm still afraid."

Conor stopped walking and turned to her. He rolled his eyes and held his hand out, lifting one corner of his mouth. Sable knew that he was just as reluctant as she was.

"Here," he said. "You can't be afraid now."

"I don't want to," Sable shook her head and remained standing where she was. Conor's face fell, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He made his way over to her and grabbed her hand before she could pull back.

"Come on," he growled. "You'll feel more secure this way."

Sable held onto his hand as they walked, defeated. His touch was cool, a major difference in temperature compared to the night before. Was it a vampire thing? Could he change his temperature at will?

"Hey, Conor?" Sable asked.

"What is it this time?" Conor said quietly.

"Hey," Sable dragged the word out, showing offense at his tone.

"Sorry," Conor said.

"I have some questions about-" Sable paused. Would it be wise to ask? "About being a vampire." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What makes you think I'll answer them?" Conor asked. "You really don't want to know everything. And the experience is different for everyone. Wouldn't want to ruin the innocence of your mind."

"Oh, come on," Sable said. "There's no way you think I'm still innocent."

"You've never had to face- and hopefully you never will have to- what I've faced," Conor said, his voice low. "I'll answer your questions, if I want to."

"Okay." Sable sighed. She rubbed the side of her face with her free hand. "Hopefully this is a question that you feel like answering. Are you able to control your temperature? Because that would be so cool."

"It's useful," Conor answered without actually using yes or no. Sable assumed it meant that he could.

"Do you- kill people? When you feed from them?" Sable asked. Conor remained silent. "I can handle the truth, you know. I may have not yet seen bloodshed before my very eyes, but there's a possibility that it's going to happen. You can tell me. I promise I won't think of you any differently."

"Then you already know the answer," Conor replied. Sable's smile fell from her face. He had, then.

"Every time?" she continued.

"Not anymore," Conor said.

"Okay," Sable said quietly. She tried to imagine him doing it and then quickly stopped; her stomach turned.

"One last question, for now," Sable spoke again. "Are you really gay?"

"No," Conor said.

"What!?" Sable pulled her hand out of his. Conor chuckled. "So you lied to me!?"

"It was better for you to feel more comfortable around me," Conor explained. Sable's face burned bright red. "You'd never have gone to sleep if I hadn't have told you that. I give you my word that I would never do anything strange to you."

"You're still going to make me sleep huddled up with you again tonight, aren't you?" Sable asked.

"Unless you'd rather freeze to death," Conor offered. Sable groaned.

"We could just light a fire," Sable suggested. "Better yet, why couldn't we have gone back and packed a blanket or two? After all, you knew-"

Conor's hand came roughly over to cover her mouth. He had the fingers of his free hand pressed to his lips to signal her to be quiet, and pulled her down to the ground with him. They were behind a tree, hidden from view of whatever made him desire silence.

Sable heard it: the very loud, very heavy footfalls. They even shook the ground and the trees around her. Sable's eyes widened.

"What is that?" she whispered against his hand. Conor gave no reply, he just waited for the loud footsteps to fade.

"A terrifying beast," he finally spoke in a low voice. "We're in an area that I had hoped to avoid. This land belongs to the Evergreens."

"I'm guessing you're not referring to a tree," Sable whispered. Conor shook his head in reply and then his eyes seemed to go out of focus. Sable waved her hand in front of his face, and he grabbed her wrist. Sable waited.

"There are at least five of them in the area," he said after a while. Very slowly he stood again, bringing Sable with him and keeping a tight hold on her. "We may have to run. I'm strong, but not strong enough to take on five all at once."

"Are they Finnian's minions?" Sable asked quietly.

"No," Conor smiled. "These are just one of the nasty variables out here. Luckily they don't have a very large population. Let's get going; we want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Okay," sable agreed.

The two of them made their way slowly and as quietly as possible through the trees, Conor guiding them along. Sable's heart pounded loudly in her chest and she wondered for a moment if Conor could hear it.

There was sudden eerie quiet- the forest sounds around them had stopped. Conor had frozen, stopping Sable with him. Sable felt a new level of panic.

"Conor?" she whispered. He was staring up at something, so she followed his gaze.

Evergreen had definitely been a poor choice in name. A massive, pale, furry creature stood before them on long, strong legs. Its arms were nearly twice the size of its torso, clawed hands dangling at its sides- touching the dirt below. The eyes and face were what Sable found unnerving.

A long, thin dark line was its closed mouth. There didn't appear to be a nose. Its eyes were long and sunken in, dark pits that felt as if they were luring Sable in- urging her to step closer and seal her fate.

In the short moment she was allowed to take the creature in, it opened its mouth to reveal sharp, jagged teeth. A deafening roar escaped its throat, followed by several more in the area nearby.

"Run," Conor said.

He took off first, dragging Sable along with him. His grip was excruciatingly painful on her wrist, but she didn't want him to let go and forced her legs to move faster. Even during the whole process of being abducted she had never felt as afraid as she did in that moment.

"Those- are Evergreens?" Sable gasped out.

"Terrible name, I know," Conor said, he didn't sound like he was out of breath. "They're wicked fast- it only seems like this one is after us. If we can make it out of their territory with still just the one chasing us, I'll need your help killing it. They seldom cross the boundary out of their home."

"Got it," Sable breathed out.

He picked up the pace, and she tried to match it. Her lungs were on fire, and her legs ached too. She had never been known for her athleticism during school.

Finally they broke out into a large clearing, and Conor spun them around. He made a swooping motion with his arm and a sword appeared within his grasp from out of the air. Sable stared in awe.

"Get ready to stun him," Conor said, releasing her wrist.

"What- how?" Sable panicked.

"Your powers!" Conor said, exasperated.

"Right," Sable calmed down a little and refocused.

She raised her hands into the air, golden energy building at her fingertips. The trees surrounding her poured more energy into her, and the glow became steadily brighter.

The creature came bounding through the trees, and Sable let go. The blinding ball of energy hit the creature square on the forehead. It stumbled backward, almost falling back into the trees.

Conor launched himself off his feet into the air, and in one swooping motion ran his sword through the air. And sent the creature's head flying. Sable froze, and the head rolled toward her- stopping at her feet. It was nearly as tall as her. The eyes blinked once, and then closed for good. Conor jumped off the creatures falling body and landed back over by her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He moved as if he was sheathing the sword, and it disappeared.

"Oh, yes, fine," Sable spoke quietly at first. "Except for the part where you just lopped this- this thing's head off right in front of me, and almost crushed me with it!"

"You know, all of this could have been avoided if you hadn't destroyed my logi-stone," Conor said, throwing his arms up into the air. "But no, you had to be stupid and break it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Sable yelled.

"Did you stop to think that maybe after the first, I don't know, twenty attempts that maybe you should stop bothering with it!?" Conor shouted back at her. Sable shrank back a bit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that. The important thing here is that you're safe."

"Yeah, it's fine. Let's just get going," Sable muttered. She adjusted her bag strap on her shoulder.

"You don't want to stop and have lunch first?" Conor asked.

"I lost my appetite," Sable said. And she began walking.