Scar's POV
When I stopped wallowing in self pit long enough to dress myself, I hurried my ass up.
Talon really was an impatient man and I wasn't in the mood to deal with his childish anger this morning.
When I exited my room, I noticed that the torches hadn' t been lit at all.
It was cold and dark but neither of those bothered me. I could make out where everything was thankfully and the cold didn't bother me much. As V had commented, my magical wolfiness helped.
I sighed, shoving my hands into my pockets.
I frowned when I saw a single torch lit. What the hell?
Was the torch lighter so lazy as to only get one lit?
The whole area around it smelled like Jasmine.
I frowned at the familiar scent before walking into the kitchen.
One of the women eyed me and quickly grabbed a plate off to her side "Alpha Scar, breakfast." She handed me the plate.
I replied "Thank you." and took the plate gently from her. The bacon looked good, as did the bread.
I ate it quickly before heading out.
I found V crouching next to the little girl he'd been talking to last night. I think he said her name was Janie.
She was a cute kid and I envied her because I knew V would be less than inclined to smile at me today like he was at her.
He was showing her how to tie knots in daisy stems. She was watching him with wide-eyed interest.
"What if there isn't enough of the pink flowers though?" she asked.
V pursed his lips and looked around, then spotted the white ones and tugged Janie gently with him over to them.
"So, you can tie these in between them." He said and then added "See how the stems are bendy? That's good; they won't break when you knot them." Janie smiled "I'm going to make Lucas a necklace." she proclaimed.
V laughed and stopped as if feeling my gaze. He turned and saw me.
V leaned down and whispered to Janie "I've got to go, but we should be back at dinner time. I'll see you then." The girl frowned before jumping up and wrapping her arms around V's neck.
V stiffened before hugging her back and gently disengaging her.
He jogged over to me and though he willingly approached me, he did so without ever meeting my gaze. His whole demeanor shifted. It went from the gentle, caring persona he had for the young girl to the steely-eyed mute around me.
I deserved it.
Vasilisa's POV
We trudged on silently.
Talon seemed perfectly happy to keep it that way.
I couldn't help but compare the two.
Talon and Scar where both of the same height and build, but where Scar had dark hair of an indescribable shade of black, Talon's was white-blond. Scar's hair was short in comparison to some I'd seen, but it still hung to his shoulders. Talon's on the other hand had been recently...hacked it appeared as it was sticking out all over the place.
They seemed worlds apart on inside as well.
I mean, with today as an exception, Scar has been pretty reasonable for a dictator. I'd even go as far to say that he'd been friendly.
Talon - though the people under his rule seemed well off despite his attitude - had a grumpy disposition. He seemed like the type that preferred to be alone in a quiet dark room with a book next to the fire place.
I felt like that sometimes but for him it seemed like it would be a natural occurrence. He also didn't seem like the type to read books either.
If they hadn't caught me staring at them already, I wasn't going to give them any more chances. I looked the opposite direction. I inspected the dense trees on either side of the route. I watched as little bunnies bounded through the brush and as squirrels shot up trees.
Everything was so peaceful out here. I couldn't imagine what it would look like with a battle raging through it. It would be a truly sad thing.
I couldn't stand it anymore before asking "Where are we meeting them at?"
Talon shot a glare at me as if I had just shot his best friend with an arrow. Scar replied in an impassive tone "Just a little further. There's a clearing we agreed to meet on. Neutral ground if you will."
I nodded "What exactly happened during the attack? Did they come into the village unprovoked? Was anyone killed?"
Talon stopped to turn and growl at me "You're not the Alpha here, boy. What makes you think you can ask those kinds of questions so informally?"
That did it "Excuse me? I'm sorry I'm an ignorant fool, Your Highness, but believe it or not I don't live here. Unless I have some kind of all seeing eye I couldn't have possibly known exactly what was happening. If you want to blame anyone, it should be him. He asked me to come along to help and that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to help. It's awfully damn hard when something seems to have crawled up both of your asses and died this morning!"
Talon's face dropped all other emotion except for shock. His mouth was slightly agape. Scar was almost in the same state.
I was breathing hard and clenching my fists "If they are half as evil as you seem to believe they are then we best not go in acting like we want to get in a fight. That's exactly what's going to happen if you both keep up with these attitudes. I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I'm sorry if I come across that way but you're both just going to have to get over it because those bloodsuckers probably aren't going to be much friendlier. Now, can we carry on a conversation without any more growling, shouting, or belittling?"
Talon frowned and I saw the inner child in him "That question is belittling."
I sighed "Only if you perceive it like that." His brows furrowed deeper "And that one was too! You're such a hypocrite!"
Scar stepped in between us "Talon, just shut up, would you? He's not being facetious, he's being quite reasonable. He's not half as stupid as you think he is if you listen carefully."
I huffed, exasperated "You thought I was stupid?"
He cringed "Not exactly stupid, just perhaps not the brightest lad in the line-up."
I scoffed and hunched over "Would you just tell me what happened? We'll be here all day if we keep going like we are."
He seemed slightly relieved and though Talon remained reserved, he told me the story of the attack.
Apparently some of the men were out hunting and their wives out gathering. When one of the men cut himself trying to gut the deer, a Vampyre came out and attacked him. A fight broke out as the men started fighting back and two more Vampyres stepped in to defend their friend. The wives went running back to town to get help.
And here we are.
No one was killed, thank goodness.
This seemed like simple issue to me.
I frowned "So, is this an issue with propriety or land barriers? The Vampyre was clearly not on his own land."
Talon corrected me "It was a woman."
I shrugged "Alright. She was clearly not on her own land. She smelt blood and came to check it out thinking it was a food source. No one was killed either, so this shoudln't be such a difficult compromise. In fact, the story you've told me doesn't sound nearly as bad as what Scar told me. When someone says attack you immediately think the worse."
I threw a pointed look at Scar who looked away. He was acting like a child being scolded. He deserved to be put in time-out.
So, for the rest of the walk we are silent.
Talon is no longer stiff and Scar begins to loosen up as well.
We enter the clearing first and I try not to let a small sliver of dread knot my insides.
They're not here yet, but as it appears I've spoke too soon because five Vampyres step out into the clearing.
Yes, all five are Vampyres. None could be mistaken for anything else. They were, despite urban legends weren't pale.
Well, if they had been fair-skinned before, they had completely smooth, marbled skin now. Two of the five were complete with this. The others had varying ranges of tanned skin, but nonetheless they were utterly beautiful. All of them. The four men were as tall as the Lycanthropes beside me, but not as wide in the shoulders. The woman was willowy and slender. I bet she could stun men with her beauty sometimes.
I sighed, silently wishing I'd had that kind of beauty, but if I did then I wouldn't be here now.
We came to a stop in the center, about ten feet from each other.
The head male stepped forward looking down at me as if I was something his pet had chewed up and spit out "You brought a human with you?"
Scar gave a sharp nod "He's here to help...keep us calm."
The man in front smirked at me. The man off the end with the pale skin grasped the woman's hand.
"Whatever. Katarina, Markov, come forward please." The Head announce.
They were the pale couple. They were gorgeous together. The woman, however looked pained to be here while the man was glaring at Scar with vehemence.
"Not with the human around. They want to protect their precious cargo so much then they shouldn't put them in harm's way. This is the reason we got in this mess to begin with." He bit out.
Talon grumbled "The reason we got into it is because your consort has no control, Markov."
The woman was getting upset and Markov was stepping in front of her, ready to fight for her honor when I stepped in. We didn't need a fight "Look, no one was killed, she's upset about it, it was an accident."
Talon glanced at me, unhappy, but resigned to let me speak.
The man in the front scoffed "So both of you are letting a human speak for you now? A child?"
I scowled "I seem to be the only one here who doesn't want to fight. Is this true?"
He glared down at me "Are you a special kind of pest?"
Scar growled "That's enough Henry. Katarina...how long ago were you turned?"
She looked at him and replied softly "A month ago."
Talon scoffed "Well hell, no wonder the man was attacked. She was even younger then. Of course she wasn't going to be ready to face that kind of temptation."
Scar glanced at him relieved and then back at Henry "We're willing to let it go, Henry. As our young lad here pointed out, no one was killed."
Henry glared at him and then at me "And what do you think we should do if you're so knowledgeable, little boy." Was that an insult or a taunt?
I didn't think about it too much as I replied "I think that in tense times like these, things happen and are blown out of proportions. Of course we always think of better ways we could've handled things when we look back at them, but at the moment, calling a truce would be best for the safety...of everyone, human and not so mythological being."
Henry's tight expression lifted slightly before he laughed.
Katarina was looking at me with a small smile and her...consort?...was much more comfortable now that his woman was not in distress.
Scar stepped in "Are we agreeing on something for once?"
Henry shrugged and then sighed "I guess so, you mangy mutt." They shook hands and then turned and left.
I let out a shuddering breath after they were gone "Son of a bitch." I put my hands on my knees which were shaking.
Talon actually laughed "Scared, boy?"
I huffed "Damn it, I don't have a weapon on me and even if I did it was five against three. Yes, I was particularly scared when you started taunting them."
He laughed again and Scar grumbled something about him being a supposed psychopath.
I hissed in a whisper as we started walking "There's no supposed about it. He has a death wish."
Scar glanced at me with an apologetic smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked cautiously.
He sighed "I was a ruthless bastard to you this morning. I'm sorry."
Apology #2.
I gulped "I don't accept it."
He pursed his lips and scowled at the ground, trudging along "Not until you tell me why you were acting like something bit you on the arse anyway. If you're going to snap at me like that every time I catch you with a woman I'd rather be in the dungeons."
He gave a low growl, but Talon was still amused. He asked "Oh, so I see you made use of Kendra again, did you? She was missing you an awful lot these past few months."
That stung.
Scar opened his mouth reply but no words came out. He slowly, almost regretfully, shook his head "I was angry at myself and I took it out on you, V. I really am sorry."
His voice was so somber. I took a deep breath "How often do you get angry at yourself?"
He gave me an apologetic smile "More so lately than I like to admit."
I still didn't feel very forgiving, my heart still smarting from the blow it'd taken this morning but I couldn't let his apology go unnoticed. That would be rude.
Then again, I never said I was polite.
I gave him a shrug and shoved my hands in my pockets.
Talon was smirking at me "Oh, the cold shoulder tactic. It's very effective on our Alpha here, lad."
I glanced at him with a scowl "Shut up, Talon."
This time, he listened.