Page 78Faint memory

The two of us headed downstairs, going off the stairway that was still in decent shape. There wasn't much light in the hallway and Seriph had left the candle upstairs (after she blew it out). She walked very carefully, still testing out some of her limitations. Even so, there was no hesitation in her movements. No sound either, her steps were as quiet as a cat on the prowl.

The door was a simple one, a lock that didn't allow you to keep it open, but a handle on the inside was the only thing required to open it again. Seriph opened it, I could see her shiver a little holding the handle. It was as if the texture of it was enough to give her some pleasure. Curious I tried the same.

A shiver went through my body as well. The roughness of it was very odd against my extremely sensitive skin. Especially in my fingertips.

I doubted it would last though. Maybe it had to do with how strong the person or vampire was. The stronger the blood, the longer the effects lasted. I'd kept some of the natural powers of...

I realized I hadn't told her anything about those. But that would come later. The basics were more important now.

Stupidly I'd forgotten to look at her entering the street. But even when I looked she just stood there, smiling and looking at the world around her, breathing in the air. With no shoes on.

"Seriph?"

She turned back. "Just call me Ser here, Anne."

I nodded. "Ser, you don't have shoes on."

She nodded. "Yes, I prefer to have full control over my body and the environment. Shoes dull and slow down. This dress is only for decency's sake."

Something I'd wondered before. "Nothing beneath it?"

She shook her head. "No, it would only annoy."

The dress was formless enough to hide that little detail, even though it was tight enough to follow her body fairly properly. Stupidly I was gazing at her behind, wondering how it would feel to wear nothing. I wouldn't feel comfortable though. Besides the decency aspect, it shielded my skin from all kinds of things.

"Let's go to the ocean." She smiled. "I want to see it up close again."

"Alright."

We walked through the city, drawing a fair few looks from people. Considering it was after midnight and she looked like a 15 year old, wearing nothing but a simple dress, that was understandable though. We hardly spoke, just walked quickly through town to avoid any questions or suspicion. At least it helped that I was next to her. People just looked at me slightly oddly and worried. But considering I didn't look too slutty or male, they would probably just assume she was my sister or something.

Which, in a way, she was.

My little sister who was technically older than me.

Just before we reached the docks, something happened.

Seriph stood on something sharp, and fainted. The gasp alerted me and I managed to catch her before she hit the ground. It wasn't even a piece of glass, just a small piece of metal. I looked around quickly and sighed with relief when I found no one else there. I was happy to be a creature of the night, during daylight, a girl fainting like this would have attracted way too much interest.

I dragged her a little further so I could sit down on a box on the docks, to look at her foot. Already healing, just a small cut that had caused enough pain to make her faint. Would she stay this sensitive as well? Or would the vampire blood cause her to become different.

To me it felt like vampirism only made the body and mind stronger...

Which could mean that her sensitivity might even become stronger over time. But so should her mind and her dealing with it. Else it'd be a major weakness or just a good reason to wear full clothing.

Seriph awoke. "Did I step on something?"

I nodded. "Piece of metal wire, I think."

"I need to learn to deal with that. Are we at the ocean?"

I put her down, gently. She was carefully watching where her feet were standing as well. But the docks were, fortunately, quite old and fairly worn smooth. The wood itself had been varnished and worn so much that it was basically like standing on top of a thick layer dried paint. From here, Seriph could look out onto the ocean and did so in silence.

I left her in peace as well, no reason to disturb her new-found peace.

"Beautiful." She spoke softly.

It lasted for a while, until a man, looking like forty with a bit of a beard and not very nice clothes on him, interrupted our moment. He didn't look like a homeless, as such. Just someone with very little money. He wasn't drunk though, despite a fairly large bottle of gin in his hands. Fully transparent and not too tasty looking. It hadn't been open yet, but it probably didn't last very long tonight.

His voice was gritty but not too low. Maybe rough with cigarettes and booze. "What are you girls doing out this late?"

Seriph took one look at him and smiled. "Same as you. Drinking."

An interesting thought. The more powerful the blood, the longer it lasts...