Chapter 106Of Contrast and Likeness

The warm air of the cafe flowed around me as I walked through the door, the thick sound of people talking like a wall to walk through. Each voice their own conversation, woven together. Like a ghost I walked through the crowd, smiling gently and happily. No matter what I chose, I was glad we could both keep to our words. Also, I could not help but feel pretty in my new clothes.

I stood in front of him, on the other side of the table and smiled.

He smiled back. "You're looking much better."

"Thank you, I feel better too." I sat down.

"Have you made your choice?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"And?"

"I will come with you, but only on one condition." I briefly wondered how he would take this.

"Which is?" He kept his attention.

"I will travel with you for a while if we will go to the others first tonight. I want them to know who I'm with and I want them to know you."

His reaction was that of surprise and thought. Immediately I could tell he was pondering the up and down sides of this proposal. He had always stayed on the sidelines, but he did accept my maturity. Also, I had a feeling he did miss contact and was, in an odd way, quite a stranger to comfort. The conflicts that crossed his expressions were quite fascinating up to the point I saw them settle down.

He smiled and nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."

He paid the bill and we left. The woman he was talking to earlier, staring at his back until we had left. We headed into an alley and made sure no one could see us. We were a nice contrast. He in expensive clothing, a mix between gothic and modern styles where blacks and deep red were offset by gold. And next to him me, with my simple white and light blue. For the first time I noticed he wore no jewelry except for a gold ring.

Something to ask, for another time.

We took to the air and hovered a little above the buildings. After a second to get my bearings, we flew straight to my home. From afar we could see Valerie and Khuna sitting on the roof, talking. They weren't looking at us and probably couldn't hear us nearing. The wind carries their words toward us.

Khuna's voice. "...still miss her."

Valerie answered. "Kai said he had got a notice of one of our credit cards used. So she is still alive and around somewhere. It's a pity we can't see where they are used just yet."

Khuna sighed. "I know, but isn't there something we can do?"

Valerie shrugged. "Not really, the note said she needed time. Aslo, she has been very strong, so I'm sure she is alright."

We had slowed down a little automatically as we came nearer. I didn't really want to listen in to my friends, even if it was accidental. I already felt sorry for having heard this much. Afentis and I touched down on the roof, our footsteps just audible. Our feet making noise on purpose. I didn't want to speak, this was much easier.

Khuna turned around and jumped up to hug me. With her vampire reflexes those three actions took only half a second. I laughed as I had trouble keeping myself standing. She kissed my neck tenderly and held me tight.

Valerie simply turned around and smiled, got up slowly and kissed my cheek. "We missed you, crazy girl."

Khuna released me and took a step backwards to look at me. I could see the shared pain in her eyes but she smiled. "You look better then I thought you would. And those new clothes suit you!"

I smiled, feeling a little embarrassed. "I've bought them today, I freshened up after a bit of a rest underground."

Khuna looked at Afentis. "Was he with you the whole time?" She sounded jealous.

I shook my head. "No, but I will explain more. Is Kai inside?"

Valerie nodded. "Yeah, he walked back in while we were sitting here. We haven't gone out yet." She walked over to me to give me a quick hug. "It's nice to see you again." She squeezed me a little bit in her hug. "Really nice."

I smiled. "Come on, let's go inside. I'll explain everything."

Afentis kept politely quiet and simply followed us as we headed in. Kai turned around and almost fell off his chair with surprise, seeing me and Afentis follow Khuna and Valerie back inside. He got up and walked over to me to hug me. He didn't say anything, surprisingly, but allowed us all to sit on the sofas in the corner. Afentis and me didn't sit down, however, as we had to tell our story.

Well, my story.

I smiled, it felt so good to see them all again.