Current...Past...Sin...Alexander...Forum...Notes...Survey...D-land

Ruins From the Past
2002-09-13 - 10:58 p.m.

When I awoke, I reached my arm out to feel for Alexander, but he was gone. I decided he must have gone to go look for Ella, so I wasn't worried about him. Sighing, I swung the coffin lid open and climbed out.

"Tisbah ala khair, Arnon," Adhemar said pleasantly. "About time you got up."

I took a piece of string out of my pocket and tied my hair back. "Have you seen Alexander?"

Adhemar hesitated for a moment before saying, "�no, he was gone when I got up."

"Really�?" I said, still pulling back some stray locks of hair. "Do you think I should go look for him?"

"I don't know, kid," he answered quickly, looking to the ground.

I turned to Adhemar, sensing his sudden tenseness. "What's wrong, Adhemar?"

"Nothing," he replied.

Looking at him with concern, I said, Adhemar? Perhaps, I decided, the intimacy and privacy of our minds would make him feel more comfortable.

What? he thought back impatiently, crossing his arms.

Tell me what is wrong, please, I urged.

There is nothing wrong, he repeated.

Unable to control my anxiety any longer, I grabbed both of his shoulders and said fiercely, "Please, Adhemar. Tell me what is wrong."

He looked at me wearily for a moment before saying, "I just� feel out of place here, Arnon."

"Why?" I questioned quickly, concerned about why he was acting differently.

"I� I mean, you and Al�" he began, looking to the ground again. "I'm just moody, kid. I'll be all right soon. But I have to go feed now--"

"What do you mean?" I interrupted him. "What about Alexander and I?"

"Nothing, kid."

"What?"

He sighed in defeat and said, "Just� you and Al, kid. Even now. The first words you said when you woke up were 'where's Al?' and I just� don't belong here. I� want to go home�"

"What� what are you saying?" I asked in astonishment. "You're my best friend! Of course you belong here! I like you very much!"

"But not like Al!" he answered. "And that's why I don't belong here. I'm in the way. And I miss my family!"

"Adhemar�" I trailed off for a moment before continuing. "Please don't think of leaving� I need you here, please� "

Adhemar stepped away from me and said, "I� I'm going to go see Henmi�"

"Adhemar�" I said quietly, watching him leave the room. I stood for a moment, before I decided that I should follow him. If Alexander came back to the house and found me gone, he should know that I would have gone to the bar, anyway, I decided.

So I then ran outside and went to Impuret� to talk to Adhemar again.

When I arrived, he hadn't been there yet, so I assumed he went to feed first, as he had expressed interest in doing so earlier. However, I did see Henmi, so I walked over to him and greeted him with a hug.

"Hi, Sin," he said, hugging me back.

"Hey, Henmi," I said, letting him go. "How are you?"

"I hate this, Sin�" Henmi said, looking to the ground. "This is too much for me to do alone. I can't manage the bar by myself�"

"Adhemar said he would help you, didn't he?" I asked him. "He should be coming here shortly, anyway. He told me he wanted to talk to you."

"Me�?" Henmi asked. "Why?"

"I don't know, Henmi," I said. "But he's very homesick right now� He's not originally from here, of course. He says he misses his family." I stopped and sighed before continuing. "If you can, Henmi, please stop him. I know you'll be able to. He likes you, Henmi, and I don't know what to say to him. He thinks he doesn't fit in at Alexander's house with me."

"Why doesn't he move to a different house, then?" Henmi asked innocently.

I stood silent for a moment, before smiling widely. "You like Adhemar, don't you Henmi?"

Henmi looked surprised. "W-well, I suppose�"

"And you want someone to help you manage the bar�"

"Sin, he couldn't possibly--"

"--And he doesn�t want to stay with Alexander and I, so�"

"Sin, I� I mean� he� why would he� stay here?" Henmi stuttered.

"Why not?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"B-because� w-where would he stay?" Henmi asked nervously.

"With you, of course. In the back room," I answered.

"B-but� he has a� a coffin. What if someone sees?" Henmi asked.

"Hmm� you're right�" I mused. "Oh, well. We have to think about getting him to stay in town first, anyway."

"S-Sin, please, I� I don't want to�"

"What?"

"I can't� live with him�" Henmi answered.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because�" Henmi replied, his face reddening.

After we talked for a moment longer, Adhemar came inside, his skin darker with the intake of blood. He spotted us immediately, and walked over to stand in front of us. Without paying me any mind, he drew Henmi's hand up and kissed it gently, and coolly said, "Marhaba, Henmi." Adhemar's voice was rich with a thick Arabic accent, which, I decided, was probably one of Adhemar's "feeding weapons," judging from Henmi's reaction.

Henmi stood immobile, gazing back into Adhemar's eyes with a half-dazed, half-amorous expression on his face, shivering slightly, and his face redder than ever.

Adhemar used his free hand to brush a few stray locks of Henmi's hair away from his face. He then released Henmi's hand and smiled, saying, "I'm here now. I'll help you in a moment, Henmi. I need to have a word with Arnon first."

Henmi nodded obediently and then pulled his gaze away from Adhemar's eyes, and got back to work.

I turned to Adhemar, who was still smiling. "Ad� he� mar�!"

He smirked. "I couldn't help it, Arnon. He was too cute."

"�But more importantly, are you all right, now? You don't seem as� Well, homesick as before," I stated.

"I told you, Arnon, I was just in a mood," he answered. "I know I can't go back there. Not how I am now. My parents, they'd�"

"You don't think they'd still love you?" I asked.

"No, no, kid that's not it at all," he corrected. "They'd love me no matter what, but� I don't know, Arnon. I'm too used to this life now." He paused for a moment before adding, "Besides, there is someone back home that I� want to stay away from. I'm all right here."

I smiled. "That's good. And you're still alright with living with Alexander and I?"

"Of course, Arnon," Adhemar answered. "I just get jealous, of course."

"I think Henmi will be disappointed," I replied. "I told him you were looking for a new place to live."

"You didn't," Adhemar said unbelieving.

"I did." I laughed.

"Arnon, you know I have to be hidden. Suppose another human were to find my coffin? Suppose they buried my coffin underground while I was asleep?"

"Well, you wouldn't die, that's for sure," I answered.

"But still�" he said. "I don't know about living here. There's too many people. No offense at all to your most adorable and delectable sibling."

"He's just happy that you'll help him manage the bar," I said. "He's scared, Adhemar, and very stressed. Please help him, will you?"

"Of course, Arnon," he said. "I already promised, didn't I?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Adhemar�"

"What are best friends for, eh, Arnon?" He smirked and raised his hand for me to take. I smiled and shook his hand.

Afterwards, I watched Henmi teach Adhemar various tasks about managing Impuret�. I waiting inside and talked with them both, hoping Alexander would stop by. I still hadn't fed, so I was famished. I wasn't good at reading humans' minds yet, so I didn't want to try to find anyone to feed from until Alexander arrived to help me.

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