"Thanks for coming." John said, side-glancing the blonde woman.
"Anything for my niece." Rebekah said, her eyes not leaving the colossal monster near. "And to finally have a glimpse of the said dragon."
"Magnificent, don't you think?" John asked.
"I think you can call it that way." Rebekah commented. "What do you think?" She asked, but her words were not intended for the young man.
Freya, kneeling near the creature, muttered, "I don't know… I remember father telling me stories. Of the infamous Nidhogg gnawing at the roots of the World Tree, or the World Serpent. But that's it, stories. This… this is real."
"It feels strange." Hope, standing a step behind the trio, commented. "Every time I look at it, I get a certain feeling. Like I'm not seeing something similar to me."
"Well…" Freya was about to comment, but her sister was faster.
"I think I get what you mean, niece." Rebekah said. "You feel the same, John?"
"Yeah."
"And you, Gilbert?" Rebekah looked a little to the side. "What can you feel through your mark?"
"The mark tells me nothing." Jeremy replied, his eyes basically accompanying every breath of the beast. "My senses, however, are possibly telling me what you are feeling as well."
"Sorry, but normal people here are kind of lost in your talk." Alaric said.
Knowing they owed him quite a bit to let them conduct what was happening in his grounds, the young man searched for words to explain.
"It's a little hard to explain. Our enhanced senses just permit us to feel it better. Actually, it's not even a thing of the five senses. More inclined towards our sixth one." John tried to explain, facing the old hunter. "Call it a sharp intuition on our part."
Alaric crossed his hand, his lips forming into a sarcastic smile. "Perfect." He commented.
"Maybe you felt it, you just don't remember." John said. "Do you remember any sensation when seeing it for the first time? At the moment you faced it at the gates. Like a threshold that separates all of us from this." In a low and calm tone of voice, the young man tried to bring any possible sentiment the headmaster might have felt during that encounter. A sentiment similar to what they feel.
"That wasn't exactly the best moment to notice anything." Alaric commented, his gaze low on the beast, contemplating it.
"Maybe you will remember or feel it again if it wakes up." John said, taking a step closer to the beast.
With a wave of his hand, the spells placed around the dragon started to disappear, the magic visible for everyone else at that moment, before vanishing into nothingness.
Following his steps, Rebekah approached the creature, standing right by the young man's side.
Both stood before the scaled head, with Rebekah a little awed by black scales reflecting the sunlight.
"Are you ready?" John asked.
"That question is mine." Rebekah replied. "Are you sure of this idea?" She asked, her tone not doubtful, just casual.
A courtesy question to reaffirm he would be going through this.
"Any suggestions?"
"In this case, I don't know if any I have is going to be worth saying." She eyed the dragon. "It's just as you said, this is different from us. Not a human, never was, and as far as we know, no connection to what we all share, the concept of humanity. I don't know what to expect inside it."
"It's sentient, so it's very likely it has what we have. Memories, connections, emotions. It displayed anger and despair before me, so maybe it's not so different from us." John commented.
"I hope so." Rebekah, with a deep breath, raised her left hand and placed it on the young man's right shoulder. "I will guide you. I will act as an anchor between this side and that side. If you feel lost, just 'grab' onto me, and I will pull, okay?"
"I understood." He nodded, taking deep breaths as well.
"Put your hand over it. But don't press it. Over time, we learned that physical contact with who we wish to compel helps us in touching it's immaterial part. It helps build a bridge with its mind."
Although knowledgeable about this fact, the young man just followed as instructed, not debating over it.
Right now, he would just listen and do as he was ordered, the step instructed simple or not.
"You wish to learn more. Discover secrets. Then feel it. We repress our secrets deep within our minds. When you feel being pushed away, go against it. Try to move against the wind. Against the current." Her words, serene, softened by her lips, flowed along the air, spreading through the world.
"Your mind is a ship, you maneuver it. And at the same moment, you are a sea. You are to set sail to find what you search for, to venture to find another sea to sail…"
So quiet… Was the young man's thoughts.
Right now, he couldn't hear the world. He couldn't hear the birds, the voices across the backyard or the howl of the wind.
At this moment of time, the only sound was the soft whisper in his ear.
"Find what you search for…"
There it is…
[Josie's PoV]
"Shouldn't we all be having lunch?" A voice, not far from me, asked rather loudly.
Looking at the side, I noticed it was the new boy, Landon. A little lost among the crowd that had formed in the backyard.
Right about now, basically every individual from the school was here. With most standing where I was, right about outside the building, a few dozen meters away from the main group.
There, right around the monster, stood who we could say were the people of importance in the current situation. Dad, a few professors, John, Hope and her family.
All who just went silent as soon as John touched the scales of the dragon.
"Who can eat at the current situation?" Lizzie, with an acid tone, commented, dragging his attention.
Landon turned to us, and with two steps, he basically stood by our side, and seemed a little relieved by it.
Well, I can't blame him. He doesn't seem like the social type, and we are basically the only ones who have attempted an interaction with him since he came to the school.
Maybe the fact apparently no one knows what he is contributed to that fact as well.
When knowing he was permitted to enroll, everyone knew he was supernatural, just wasn't sure what. And him not knowing as well, well… made everyone ignore him.
Apparently, he only knows he is something thanks to John saying he is something. And since what we have confirmed is he doesn't belong to any of the three species, everyone is just avoiding him for now.
He didn't demonstrate any gift or ability. Nor was charismatic enough to start friendships with every group so soon. So, as far as I know, he hangs around with his brother and no one else.
"What are they doing?" He asked us when approaching, trying to keep his voice as low as a whisper.
But seriously, almost half of the people around had enhanced senses. Not to mention there was a surprising silence present, so anyone could hear him.
"They are trying to do mind-diving, a mind technique used by vampires to access memories, dreams, etc." I explained, my eyes deriving from John's figure for a moment.
"Oh, like Professor Xavier." He said, his tone going low at the end.
But again, too close.
"That was what you got from it?" Lizzie said, side-glancing him.
Landon just shrugged, returning to look at the situation. I did as well.
And during this short interval, more students arrived. Most came from the cafeteria, and mostly were vampires. After all, their diet was much more restricted than ours.
Even if they fed on animal blood, the school couldn't restock as much as possible for the vampires to simply drink as they wish.
They had to be regulated. Be it to keep the animals around alive so there would be a constant stock of blood or to not let them get too addicted and go crazy.
Because of these reasons, they would hardly skip a meal when the opportunity was presented.
"Is that it? They are just going to stay there and do nothing?" After a few moments of silence, someone finally blurted out.
"What did you expect?" Lizzie asked.
"I don't know. Somethin grand. Rushed my lunch just for it."
"Well, nothing of what you imagined will happen, Terrance." A voice familiar, but which I came to hate recently, spoke. "At most, we will learn some very good secrets as soon as superboy there comes back."
"Does anyone here know how long it takes?" Rafael, distancing himself from the pack and approaching us, asked.
"That depends." I replied.
"On what?"
"What you are searching for. If you have experience in it. On who you are trying to mind-dive." I listed off, keeping my eyes on John. "It's unknown territory. Every mind is different, every single one with different memories, built differently through different experiences. The books say every time someone tries to enter another's mind, they must never expect something similar. There are always going to be differences."
"And the target being a dragon changes anything?" Landon asked.
"Who knows?" I said, shrugging my shoulders.
I, as much as everyone here, was just lost at the situation.
Aside from a few things which were common knowledge now, we were probably in the dark compared to the group up there.
I tried to ask dad a few things after I talked to John. But he didn't say anything. I just knew that he knew something, and that something bothered him.
Or for what other reason he had a breath of alcohol earlier?
…
Okay, there could be a bunch of reasons. But I prefer to believe he wouldn't drink for any simple reason that comes around.
The actual situation must be really bothering him.
At the same time he feels responsible to ensure the safety of everyone in the school, he feels the responsibility to make sure all this problem remains within our world. That we should deal with it and not let anyone else suffer from it.
Seriously, it's a formula to stress. He must give up on one or the other, or things will just get worse.
But knowing dad, he will try to somehow get both choices. But the only way for that to happen is…
Ah…
So that's why. That's it.
That's what he is gonna do to get both things.
But, what about everyone? How are things going to proceed? Will he just wrap up the school year and send everyone to have early vacations?
No, dad wouldn't do this! It's too rushed. And too suspicious as well.
Just as he wishes to keep what is supernatural in the supernatural world, he makes sure the normal world sees us as normal.
Ending the school year? Just like that? Too fucking suspicious. And he hates to drag any kind of suspicion.
But he can come up with an excuse, right? But what kind of excuses would be good enough to keep away any suspicion?
Not to mention-!
"Hey!" I could feel a little of my skin aching at the same time someone called me.
Looking down, I could see Lizzie pinching my arm.
And damn it, she knows how it hurts me!
"What?" I looked at her, feeling a little wronged as I massaged my arm. What did I do to get pinched?
"I am suddenly feeling a little unease, but I was fine until a moment ago." With an almost nonchalantly tone, Lizzie eyed me. "Do you have anything to say?"
"I am fine."
"Hm… nope. Uhum." Lizzie shook her head, a little exaggeratedly. "You are unease. Which makes me feel unquiet as well. So, what are you thinking so I can find a way to deal with it and so I feel at ease as well."
"Nothing much, just worried about John." I said, not lying about it, but I couldn't tell her what I thought. Who knew how she would react. "He is doing everything while we are here, being useless."
"Hey, we're doing a fine job by being alive during all this turmoil." Lizzie said, fully believing in what she said. "Who knows how chaotic things would be if they lost their morale supporters."
"Hm…" Don't even know if we fit into that role.
"Be a little cheerful for once, okay? Everything is going to be fine." Lizzie said, looking ahead. "Don't need to be so gloomy about everything."
"If you say so." I just agreed, not wanting to prolong this conversation.
And it seemed it worked, as Lizzie apparently believed I was agreeing with her.
Seriously, sometimes I wonder if we really are twins.
Trying to return my focus to the main situation, I started to notice a presence missing.
He would be around us trying to praise Lizzie right about now.
"Did you see MG?" I turned to my sister.
"Not at all." Lizzie said, dismissively.
Okay then.
I tried to look around, but I couldn't see him anywhere.
"I saw him." Surprisingly, the person who answered my question was Landon.
"Where?" I asked, looking at him.
"He was going to the entrance. I think he went to receive his mother."
"His mother?"
"Yeah, apparently. That was what he said to me at least." He replied.
"Hm, okay. Thanks, Landon." I thanked him, giving a light smile.
"You're welcome." He nodded my way, then proceeded to look back at the group ahead.
I did the same, but my mind was a little occupied now.
Why is MG's mother coming to the school?
[John's PoV]
"Okay… this certainly feels different than when I am in my Inner World." Looking around, I tried to move.
Different from how it feels to move in the real world, but not as unrestricted as I feel in my mind.
Interesting.
Honestly, I expected different sensations when entering someone's mind. Maybe a little overwhelmed by feelings, memories on all sides…
Maybe I created a certain expectation based on my own experience with my Inner World.
But even then, this place, it feels so… empty.
So hollow. I almost can't sense anything here.
Almost…
Turning around, I looked at the distance. And saw what, even for someone with my sight, looked like a speck of dust amidst the void.
It was a point of light, flickering in and out of existence.
Emotions surged from that direction, moving like waves that tried to reach out to me.
But it was pulled back, like a wave that broke just before my feet, and not even the ocean foam could reach out.
It desperately tried to break itself free, tried to go further, beyond that small point…
Like a repressed memory.
"Not like I have other things to see." I started moving, walking steadily at the point of light direction.
Tud… Tud…
My steps resounded through the void. A rather interesting thing to notice.
Tud… Tud…
"Hm…" Few steps I had taken into the direction of the speck of light, but just these few steps were enough to break the steadiness in my steps.
I halted on my walk, and raised my hand to my heart.
"I'm… happy? Excited?" I questioned, unsure of my own emotional situation.
My heart was beating slightly stronger, but it wasn't out of control. It was fuzzy, calm. Rather a warm feeling. I didn't know which exact sentiment I was feeling. Which sentiment I was experiencing from that speck of light, it was a little weak from here. But I can affirm it was good.
"At least an interesting fact to take note, empathy works even when I'm inside the mind of another entity." I said, looking ahead once again, my legs starting to move as well.
Tud… Tud…
The distance between me and the speck of light, although expected from me to be large, was bigger than I expected.
I walked for what I counted and timed to be several minutes.
But the distance only shortened a little.
In reverse, the sentiment I was experiencing from that dot of light seemed to increase, and I was sure now that I was happy, I was content and satisfied. Those were the exact words.
At least, that was what happened during a part of the walk.
At a certain moment, the intensity of these sentiments started to diminish, at a rate greater than how fast I approached the speck of light.
I was joyful, then happy, content, and now… normal.
I didn't feel anything. Nothing reached out to me.
"Strange." Too much actually.
I looked at my destination, the point of light, and tried to feel something from it. But nothing came out of it.
It was almost like it went blank. As if there was no response.
"Okay…" I muttered, still finding the situation a little strange. "Let's just proc-!"
My words, they died in my mouth. I couldn't pronounce them. The emotions, the pain, they were too intense.
They were immediate, spontaneous.
Powerful enough to make me fall on my knees, taking my hand to my chest as I felt my heart pound faster than ever.
"What, what." I blurted out, trying to understand what exactly was happening.
But I couldn't. My mind was turbulent. Everything within me was in chaos in response to what I was feeling.
I need to turn it off for now.
[———]
"What is happening?" The first to notice the differences was the one who mostly worried about the young man.
Hope, standing less than five steps away from John ever since the beginning, closed the distance quickly at her notice of the young man's expression changing.
She took her hands to his face and his chest, sensing the quick breaths and accelerated beating heart in his chest.
"You don't need to stress yourself, Hope." Rebekah, with her eyes still closed, calmly directed her voice to her niece. "He is probably just facing some loose emotion from the dragon?"
"A what?"
"It's not uncommon for us to face emotions resulted from certain intense experiences when exploring someone's mind. And since he is new to it, it's not strange for him to let a certain part of these emotions reflect on him." Rebekah calmly explained, not sharing the worry the girl had.
Worry that was intensified by her words. For Hope knew how much someone's emotions could affect John.
Fortunately, her worry didn't last long.
Because through her hands, she could feel his heart coming back to normality, his breath stabilizing.
"See? Nothing to worry about." Rebekah said, her senses also telling her everything was returning to normal.
Hope, taking one more look at her boyfriend, let out a breath of relief. Retreating her hands, she stepped back, standing once again by her aunt's side.
Said aunt, upon seeing her niece's reaction to the slight alteration of the boy, turned her stare at Hope.
"You really worry about him, right?"
"I wouldn't be dating him if I didn't." Hope responded, not thinking much of the question.
"You know that was not what I meant." Freya said, her tone stronger.
Side glancing at her aunt for a moment, Hope remained silent until her gaze fell on the boy once again.
"I love him." Hope stated, her words slow, but unwavering.
"That serious, hm?" Freya replied immediately, but still thoughtful about the words said.
"What can I say? He captivated me."
"Then are you ready?"
"For what?" Hope asked.
"To inherit all your bloodline." Freya replied.
Silence.
All Freya got for her question was silence from Hope.
But although she said nothing, her body responded in her place.
Her eyes flickered, she tried to not look at her aunt and forced herself to look at the boy.
Her hands, standing by her sides, tried to find something to touch in due to her unquietness, with her fingers subtly tracing the outer part of her thighs.
Subtly, without dragging anyone's notice, Freya's fingers danced in the air. The magic obeying her will.
"You thought of it, right?" Freya asked. And although the question was different, the topic was the same.
Hope's future.
"Yes."
"Then you are ready."
"I don't know." Hope said.
Freya remained quiet after Hope's response, letting the words sink in for a moment.
"Didn't you say you love him?"
"Yes, I did."
"Then you are ready to leave him alone as you die as a mortal?" Freya asked bluntly, now completely turned to the girl, though the last didn't face her.
"..."
"Hope…"
"Can't we just not talk about it now?" The girl said, her sight still forced into the boy.
"Then you are willing to have a conversation about it at a later date?" Freya asked.
"..."
"I thought so." Freya said, turning away from her niece.
Aswhile, Hope remained quiet. Not knowing what to say. Something strange, uncommon.
A silence only her family was capable of making her.
"You know that I am a mortal. And Keelin as well. And in less than a century, your aunt Rebekah will be the same." Freya said, looking at her sister. Who surely heard all this conversation.
"I know…" Hope, with a weak tone, affirmed.
"A choice of hers. One that I tried to make her think otherwise. Even convinced her that I would find a way for her to get what she wants and still be immortal. But she rejected me." Serenity was laced in Freya's tone of voice. Her eyes casting over her sister and her still youthful figure. "Which means that in a hundred years, very likely, of all our family, only your uncle Kol and Marcel will be alive. Not even Nik will probably be around."
"Where do you want to get with this?" Hope asked, trying not to look her aunt's way.
"We know John is immortal. You said it yourself, you were tired of him saying it when he arrived at the school." Freya said, taking a deep breath before turning her head to her niece, looking at her once again. "I know you lost a lot. We all did. But we are sure of a world post this one, a certainty that few don't have or completely believe in. And one of the few certainties I have left in this life is that I will meet your father, mother and uncle there someday in the future. But you… are you ready to go there and meet them after this life? And leave him here to himself?" At the end of her words, Freya looked at the young man, who seemed to be in calmness now. "Are you ready to make this choice?"
"Can't we have this conversation later?" Hope said, her tone low, weak even, as she finally turns to her aunt. "What you say seems so distant. I am still only 17."
"Our family had all the time in the world. And even then, it seemed little." Rebekah, who was quiet all this time, blurted out.
Her words getting Freya and Hope's attention.
"But you are right. This is not the time for this." Rebekah said, bringing the situation to try to end the topic. "But you must think about it, Hope. At least try. If you can't even do that, then me and Freya must only fear what this relationship will bring to you." Rebekah added. Her tone was strong, but warm and careful as well.
"Okay…" Hope, out of words to express herself, just nodded and remained quiet, thoughtful.
With her mind filled with thoughts regarding Immortality.
[———]
"Took longer than I expected." John muttered, standing in front of the point of light.
Which didn't differ as he stood closer to the light.
It was that, a speck of light, a small sphere the size of a fist.
And by approaching it, trying to poke it with his finger, John could feel something pulling him. Almost like if the sphere was just an entrance to something else…
"Let's see what we have here." He said, walking in the sphere direction, trying to literally pass through it.
However, when the young man just barely touched it with his body…
He disappeared from the darkness. And looked around just to see the light and the sky.
"Where-" John barely couldn't begin his words when he was interrupted.
ROAR!!!!
———————————————————————
This last part of Hope and Freya wasn't planned, but damn I liked it. Thought as a foundation for future things.
Also, give me your feedback in one thing. What do you guys think about the spaces and methods I use to indicate scene break and change of povs?
Thanks everyone for your support. And if possible, help me by giving your powerstones and commenting so I can see what I can improve in this story. See you soon - Author.