Sable

"Remember what happened earlier when you tried to push the plant over?" Lucca asked as they walked.

They were in some strange greenhouse area. The place didn't look like a greenhouse; it looked like they had stepped outside into a very well-kept garden. It was so beautiful it made Sable gasp. She left Lucca's side and wandered through, down a winding grey brick path where grass was growing up through the bricks. Sable almost wondered just how much money Lucca had to build something like this within his home, but she remembered that she was in fact inside a castle then.

"I grew all of this for Inara," Lucca said, following after her. "As I was saying, if you remember what you did earlier, I'd like to put that to good use today. There is a dead patch on the way down this path."

"Oh," Sable said. "So this is some kind of training too?"

"You agreed to it," Lucca said. "You're the one who wanted to master her powers. This will be the last bit of training for the day, and then we can enjoy another fantastic meal."

"Well, okay," Sable agreed. "How come the patch is dead?"

She could see it a ways away before reaching it. She froze and stared. Everything was brown or black or tan; it sent a shiver up her spine. There was something chilling in the atmosphere that way.

"Inara died," Lucca said quietly.

"That's the reason?" Sable mumbled. She turned her head as Lucca nodded. "Oh."

She stood there a while, staring at the patch of death. It filled her with a great sadness. Shouldn't it be blooming back to life since she was there? She was the reincarnation of Inara after all. She began walking closer to the depressing sight.

"Everything had died in here, in fact," Lucca said, following after her. "After Inara died, most of the plant life in the castle died away or went dormant. Since you've been here- not even for that long- everything has been slowly coming back to life. But this area has been stubborn; Inara came here a lot, and I'm not sure that it accepts you as her replacement."

"What?" Sable laughed as they finally reached it. "You're talking as if the plants have feelings."

She regretted it as soon as she said it. It felt as if the dead plants hissed at her; and the other plants around her felt hostile suddenly. What was going on? She supposed that it must be true that these plants could feel, and that she could suddenly feel that they could feel was shocking. She looked around at all the green and other colours around her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Most things calmed down once more, but the patch remained irritated.

You are not Inara, though you may look like her, she heard in her head.

"Oh," Sable jumped back.

"What is it?" Lucca asked. "Can you hear them speak as Inara did?"

"This is so weird," Sable said, turning around. "Do I really have to be here? I don't want to be here. I don't want to do this."

She tried to leave, but Lucca caught her around the waist with his arm. He pushed her back with his hands on her shoulders.

"Please try this, for me," he said, looking into her eyes. Sable chewed her lip and stared back at him. "I know it's possible. I've seen you do it earlier, and I've seen Inara do it a thousand times. Bring these stubborn plants back to life."

"How did you know they don't accept me, if you can't talk to them?" Sable asked, brushing his hands off her and crossing her arms.

"A wild guess," Lucca grinned. "Will you speak with them?"

"Okay," she rolled her eyes and turned back to the plants.

"You there," she said. She pointed at the dead grass. "Come back to life."

"Try using your magic as well," Lucca encouraged. "It might yield better results if you show them that you have her power."

A mortal could never possess the power of our goddess Inara, the voices echoed in her head. Voices. Odd. Either Sable was going mad from being held captive, or the plants really were talking to her. She pursed her lips.

"I'll show you," she muttered under her breath.

Sable held her hands up slightly in front of her. A golden glow quickly swirled down to her fingertips. She let her agitation subside, and allowed hope to flow through her. How had she done it last time? She was panicking then. Wouldn't that have just messed everything up? Sable shook her head, and focused, looking forward. She let out a slow breath and pushed forward.

A few of the plants bloomed to life as the blast of golden energy hit them. Others were still resisting.

"Alright, what's your problem?" Sable asked. "I brought these guys back to life. What are you doing, staying dead?"

There was silence. She tried again.

This time everything- including small bits, that weren't in that area, from around the greenhouse- bloomed back to life. A peaceful silence fell over her mind once more.

"Oh," she said. She hadn't even realized how loud the voices of all the plants were.

Lucca began to clap. She turned to him, still feeling shocked. She stumbled backward a bit and stared down at her hands. There was all this power within her, and there was definitely a long way to go before she could master all of it.

"Well done," Lucca grinned.

Sable looked back up at him. Her vision blurred, and she stumbled again, dizziness overwhelming her. Lucca caught her before she could fall to the ground. She held onto him, looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"That must have taken a lot of energy," Lucca explained. "All of the plants within have come to life again. I envy your abilities; but of course they must be protected at all costs. They cannot be absorbed by another."

Sable nodded. "I'm hungry," she said, her stomach growling.

"Of course," Lucca helped her stand. "Are you able to walk right now?"

Sable took a step forward, then lost her balance again. Lucca caught her once more and lifted her up into his arms. She stared up at him and frowned.

"Just until you recover your strength," Lucca said, the corner of his mouth lifting again.

Sable's frown deepened as he carried her. This was intimate contact that was unwelcome for her, but she had not other choice and held onto him. If she wanted food she would have to let him carry her; she most certainly did not want to be left behind while he went to bring her food.

Sable's gaze passed over all of the plants before they left the greenhouse. The silence was peaceful; there was no more unnerving feeling coming from the room. There were no more pained voices in her head that she hadn't even noticed were there. She looked at the hand that clung onto Lucca as he carried her. One day she would be able to use her powers more efficiently. Would there come a day where she didn't need to eat like crazy for energy?

Inara, Sable thought. Did you need to eat so much?

Sable looked up at Lucca's face. "Did Inara need to eat a lot?" she asked him. "Or is it just me?"

"You're in a mortal body," Lucca said. "Inara was immortal. She only needed the life around her to gather energy."

"Oh," Sable stared forward again. He carried her up the stairs. "Will I eventually be able to do that?"

"I do hope so," Lucca nodded. "I'll be trying to train you how to do that. But I think that only the spirit within you can teach you."

"Okay," Sable nodded.

They reached the kitchen once more, and Lucca sat her down on one of the stools at the island. He walked over to the refrigerator, opened it and grabbed some odd items from it, then walked over to the stove. Sable peered over as far as she could; she watched him grab a skillet from up above and place it onto the stove top. He turned the heat on and cracked several eggs open into the skillet.

Sable thought and watched him cook. He was powerful too; stronger than her, even. Wouldn't she- as a goddess, well reincarnation of a goddess- be stronger than him? She chewed her lip in thought.

Several minutes later Lucca came back over to the island and placed a plate with a large omelette on it in front of her. She stared down at it. A fork was sticking out of it, and she laughed quietly.

"What's in it?" she asked as she took the fork.

"Cheese, mushrooms, and bell peppers," Lucca said, dusting his hands off. "I hope it's to your liking."

"I didn't know you could cook," Sable said. She took a bite of the omelette and chewed; it was good. "Isn't that kind of a useless skill for a vampire?"

"Well, we do have human guests on occasion," Lucca said. He sat next to her at the island and watched her eat. An apron she never noticed him put on was still tied about his waist. "I like to help my staff with the cooking."

"That's nice of you," Sable smiled. She continued taking bites of the omelette. Strength came back to her almost immediately.

She wondered more as she ate. Had Lucca always been a good vampire, or was he so strong because...? Had he absorbed the powers of gods before? She paused and looked up at him.

"Have you-" she sighed and trailed off. It was an invasive, personal question; and she wasn't sure if she should ask it of him. Would he even give her an honest answer? "Your powers are very similar to mine."

Lucca remained silent. He looked away from her.

"Are you just a strong vampire?" she asked. "Or have you absorbed powers from that of gods?"

"Just a fairly strong vampire," he whispered, smiling sadly.

Sable didn't know if she could trust that answer, but she returned to her omelette. Like he had said the first time she asked; it was a question for another time, perhaps. She felt as if she probably already had her answer.