Chapter 255Fleeting Finds

With two hugs, one for Nuru and one for Hitori, and a kiss for Hitori, I left the house. I really didn't need any feeding tonight, although it was very tempting to try out the effect of my new clothes on the crowds. Would I get more attention?

My current attire was very different from my old one in style. From the innocent little lost girl to the self-certain but not brazen girl. I still didn't really show off too much. I didn't use cleavage like Valerie in her one-piece dresses to get attention from others. Then again, her playful and serious nature perfectly complemented her clothes. I giggled to myself, it was still weird to wear pants again, but it was something I didn't mind getting used to.

The streets weren't as empty as I'd hoped, it took me a few minutes to find a quiet place to rise up and fly. But once I did the air was my kingdom again. It definitely felt smoother to fly with pants than it did with a skirt. It was probably more aerodynamic. I doubted the creators of these pants tried them out in a wind-tunnel though. Optimizing it for different speeds of flight.

My mind kept bouncing around silly subjects because it didn't want to focus on the real one. Would I let Rain choose?

I put my trust in Afentis to keep our nature a secret and had little doubt he would succeed. Rain couldn't read thoughts, as far as I knew, even though she did have some mental skills. That made me wonder as well, was it normal for various people to possess mental skills without the blood of a vampire? The Circle apparently searched for it explicitly.

It also made me wonder if the vampire blood could enhance their skills or if it would douse them... An interesting question to put before Afentis, I'm sure he thought about things like this a long time ago.

As the city passed by I found myself thinking of Nuru's dream as well. It matched up with what I read of Afentis earlier, but it felt as if it was much, much later. And Faith... how was she doing now? Did she still only have a vague hold on reality?

For Afentis's sake, I hoped she'd become better. It didn't look like it was hurting her when I saw her, but it certainly looked like it was hurting Afentis. Seeing someone so close, so far away. Unable to reach back to you when you reach out for her.

And Rain...

Finally my thoughts ran into a full circle.

Rain had appeared happy to stay there, the castle was probably more like an adventure for her. I still remember the expression on her face when we rode up to the castle in that fast car... with...

Something nagged at me. Didn't I leave Nuru with Rain at the castle?

Yes, I did... But why had she been with Hitori when I got back?

It would be very unlike the Nuru I knew if she had asked Afentis to bring her back to Hitori to wait for me. They hadn't said anything about it and I was too happy, too distracted to think about it. In fact, her presence was kind of perfect. It had a soothing quality to it that had made me much more peaceful than if only Hitori had been there to pick up my pieces.

Or Faith had told her to go back... That was a possibility as well...

The landscape rushed by below me, with me gliding like a feather on the wind. It looked like it was going to rain any minute though. I hoped I arrived before it did. I didn't want these clothes to become wet.

Could I fly above the clouds?

Something inside of me told me it was possible, but much harder. The thinner the air, the more difficult flight became. We needed something to glide on, our support. Just like birds, they can't fly above a certain height, as the air would be unable to fight the gravity. And the same was true for me. For us.

The castle looked slightly looming but mostly friendly in the distance. There were several lights on in various rooms, even though I didn't see anyone there. From here I imagined I could feel the three of them in the castle, like the sound of distant heartbeats. But somehow different.

It was probably just my mind projecting it on my senses though.

Easily, I touched the ground with my feet in front of the door. Some of the pebbles crunched beneath my feet, but slowly as my weight only gently was moved to my legs again. It was a fun sensation, kind of like getting up out of the water, when the feeling of your own solidity returned to it's normal state, but it felt odd as the water had supported you before.

Normal is always relative...

A smile played on my lips while I rang the doorbell.