On some days, it's better to listen to your instincts.
Dravon had wanted to be home this night. Going out on nights when the full moon is out can be quite tricky because just the way it comes out, its going back in is quite unpredictable.
If the full moon goes out while he is out, his life suddenly turns upside down.
Tonight, he was so sure he would beat the moon by getting home before it went out, until he saw her. And against better judgment, he missed the timing.
Standing across the giant mirror, he peeled his clothes off his back, wincing in pain at every pull. He examined the claw marks and bite wounds that littered his whole upper body. Underneath them, old wounds and fading marks could be spotted.
He half-sleepily strutted into the bathing chamber, where a large tube filled with steaming water stood. Dravon had, over the years, learnt to channel his energy into lighting firestones to heat his bathing chamber.
He had always hated the sluggish yet fearful movements of servants and had finally banned them from entering his residence.
Dravon slowly slid into the tub as the steam bit into the crevice of his open wounds. The pain tugged at his very being. He took it all in, as if relishing its taste, the taste of pain. Tonight has been tougher than the previous nights when he would get attacked by dark, soulless wraithlings.
The first time it happened, Dravon was young, yet to fully understand how different he was from other humans. It was an ordinary night for Dravon; he had slipped out of the manor as he had recently started doing. He walked so much that when he finally stopped, he found himself in a thick land of grasses that were taller than him. The moon shone so much that even in the thick shrubs, a pin could be found.He walked backwards trying to find his way back home, with zero despair, for he had never been a weak child.
A minute was yet to pass, and yet it suddenly seemed like darkness filled the world. Dravon desperately stretched his hands, just as he did, his eyes trying to make his way back.There was no sound at first, only the surroundings around him changed, something moved fast, like shadows, but then there was a group of them. They rushed him, latching onto him wherever they could with a ferocity that was more desperate than anything Dravon could have ever imagined.
Dravon closed his eyes at this memory. He had woken up in his room, with his father, talking in hushed tones with his physician, and that was how his misery began.
The wraithlings live all their days in pitch darkness, hiding from all sorts of lights except full moons. They roam about once the full moon is out just to feed off the moon's energy. When the full moon disappears suddenly, they disappear too. But Dravon has an energy that almost mimics that of the full moon. While it is not enough to conjure them, if they are already out of hiding, they attack him, trying to feed off his energy.
This first attack awoke his mystical abilities, leaving him vulnerable to dark powers and at the mercy of human tongues. His very existence was questioned both in court and inside the towns.
He finally walked out of the tub dripping with steam. It looked like it was coming off of him rather than from the water glued to his skin.
Dravon thought of the pale girl; he wondered if she had gotten home all right. As he lay down, he replayed all their interactions, trying to understand why she had acted like he was a stranger.
Something about her seemed different, so different Dravon almost concluded she was not Athea. Her manner of speech sounded foreign and distant.
"She must have been startled". He mumbled with concern written all over him.
For the many years Dravon has been going to that same seaside, he's never met a human there. Always wild animals and wandering spirits. This may be because locals believed the sea was cursed, so unless one really had to, they never went near it.
So, seeing her there meant one thing: she is unaware of the dangers that lurked within.
Dravon had been so worried when she fell into the water, so worried that he almost sacrificed himself to save her. While he is safe on land until after the full moon, he is never safe in the sea. If he takes as much as he takes a dip, he will become an energy boost for the dark souls buried beneath it. And so he was relieved to see her make it out safely, but then she almost got him wet with seawater. This would have had those souls crawling out in numbers to latch on to him.
He tried to sleep, but the contact his bare back made with the bed lining caused fresh pain. If only his abilities included being able to heal his wounds, he wouldn't despise it as much. It takes over three months for a single wound on him to heal, almost as if his inner glow eats from them. This means from now on, sleep would be a luxury.
If only I had no waited for her to come out of the waters, this wouldn't have happened, the attack had happened so quickly that the only way to get rid of them was to teleport back to the manor. Inside the manor, he is safe, regardless of the weather or time.
He sighed noiselessly. He has never been one to interfere in other people's lives nor take interest in them, but something about her had kept him on his toes.
And he suddenly worried about her! Dravon has never worried about anyone but himself.
The images from the night with Athea came crawling as he furtively fought to shake them off. It had unexpectedly become a routine these past days, one that scares him.
*************
Mira fell to her knees in shock.
She has been talking with a spirit all night long?
A spirit that could appear and disappear at will, too!
While she didn't expect him to be normal, he looked too good to be anyway, and it never crossed her mind that she had been in close proximity to a supernatural being.
"Lady Athea!"
Someone called again, someone, because previously she could have sworn that it was Mira's voice that she heard, but not anymore. This voice sounded coarse, nothing humanly about the way it sounded.
The voice called out again, now closer and stronger. To this, Diane answered.
Then a minute passed, and nothing, nobody was in sight. For the first time since the evening, she started to cry. Dying out here was a horror she didn't wish to experience.
Darkness loomed everywhere, and she could hardly make sense of her surroundings. She sat on the sand, her face placed on her folded knees as she tried fervently to mute her sobs.
A soft glow suddenly shone across her, and as she lifted her face, she saw where the voice had come from.
It was the creature!
It walked closer, as Diane stood up, very unusually happy at seeing a familiar face finally. It didn't matter so much to her anymore who came, Mira or a creature she could swear look like a cat.
The creature looked at her thoroughly and shook its head.
"You look terrible." "What are you doing so far off? That is a very dangerous situation, you know?"
Diane couldn't care less about the admonishment; she was overjoyed at the possibility of being home soon, back to the soft mattress.
"Let's get you home first", it said, leading the way into the thick forest.
Diane had no idea what she was expecting, but seeing that it had managed to find her in this vast region, it must have a super ability to maybe make them disappear and appear in her room? her legs felt so worn out that she dreaded the trek home, even without knowing clearly how long it would take.
"Just like he did?" I see you've met him already."
The creature said without a break in its walking gait or speed.
Diane stopped short. She suddenly felt so seen. Could it read her mind?