A Small Treat

The figure slammed into the wall hard enough that the closest painting to the pair fell to the floor and the glass shattered across the wood floor. Briar's fangs extended towards his face, but he only smirked down at her angry expression. It was the incessant tapping of Mahlikai's foot that pushed her over the edge. Of course she knew it was meant to be a test of weakened patience, but every time his foot hit the floor it etched the sound into her head ten times over. He had been explaining the many new vampiric abilities that he made her recently develop. The new nymph abilities - including the dark thoughts that started to shift in her mind - were something she would have to figure out on her own. 

She blinked away from the impulsive moment to completely pull away from him. He didn't seem upset in the slightest. His expression was far more amused than anything else. That seemed to only infuriate her more that he wasn't nervous about getting her riled up. "If you get harmed by my hand, that will be entirely your fault. And I will have to live a very long, lonely life full of guilt."

Briar returned to her couch and lifted the book from where she left it behind. She flipped carelessly to the center of the story then returned to reading from about where she left it off. A maid tapped her knuckle against the door a few times, asking if she needed any help. Briar dismissed her without even opening the door to greet her. 

Her suitor shrugged his shoulders a few times as he removed himself from the wall. He glanced back at the small break that just became apparent. His glittering gaze turned her way, but she didn't look up from the story. "I wouldn't let you kill me, love. It will all be fine." 

Her narrowed eyes flickered to him as he laid along her bed with an admiring gaze settled entirely on her person. They both knew she could kill him if she really wanted to try. Being a newborn didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things since she was already born a creature supposedly made to destroy immortals that tried to play with the balance of things. She and Mahlikai had already grasped the topic of what would be able to kill them now. A stake made purely of wood to the heart and burning to a crisp was fatal. Which was useful to her, since her body was now made partially of the tree her nymph-side descended from. Her only real danger would be a bonfire. Consuming garlic would cause an allergic reaction and weaken her and holy water would burn at the touch, but neither were an instant death. 

"I don't understand how such beautiful women can stay within their room all day long. Only leaving their houses for social events seems like a waste of life," Mahlikai grumbled under his breath. Most likely annoyed at the idea of staying inside all day. Briar never honestly thought about it, but she was suddenly feeling just as trapped in this room as he was. 

She ignored the complement she assumed was not-so-subtly targeted towards her and flipped to the next page as though she actually had any idea about the words scribbled onto the pages. "Because it is taboo to leave the house without the company of a man, Lord Mahlikai. If you were a woman, you would understand that it is much worse to cross society than to stay trapped within this decorated cell." Her stomach twisted, feeling the sudden impulse to leave the home to do something. Anything. It was like her stomach itself already had a destination in mind.

He huffed at the thought and rolled over so his face was pressed into her feather-filled pillows. "You have a male companion now," he offered with his words muffled into the fluff. She stayed silent for just a moment as she debated this new suggestion. Since he wasn't kin it would still be taboo to be found alone with him, but she couldn't find it in her heart to say no to him. 

"Okay, let me go see if Nesryn wants to join us." His head popped up with surprised eyes. Whether it was for her bringing up her sister or for her agreeing, she didn't know. She stood and put her book aside, nodding for him to follow along. Her sister's door was to the left of her's, so she knocked on it cautiously.

Her sister didn't answer, but called out from the other side. Using French, so the vampire behind her couldn't understand. "Je ne suis intéressé par rien de ce que vous avez à dire pour vous-même." She rolled her mismatched eyes at her sister's dramatization. It isn't like she had just found out she wasn't even a pure Blythe family member.

"Bien." The word given came out with mock disappointment. She leaned against the door frame with a small smirk and crossed arms, Mahlikai watching in confusion. "J'allais juste vous dire que Mahlikai et moi allons chercher de la glace." It wasn't hard to trick her sister into forgiving her. One mention of the ice cream parlor would have her running. Sometimes Briar thought Nesryn's love for the sweets was an addiction similar to their father's with alcohol.

The white wood door swung open and a sheepish brunette stuck her head out with a wobbly smile. "Je t'aime?" The elder sister sighed and opened her arms up for the brunette. The two embraced with a rather confused demon to the right of them. His mouth opened and closed, wondering if he should question their bonding moment.

Briar pulled away quickly when she felt her sister start to get comfortable within her embrace, "I love you too, but I don't want to try taking a bite out of you. Shall we get going?" Briar took charge of leading the band out of the house, thanking the butler who opened the door for the three of them. She paused just after leaving the doors, then turned back to the man, "Please tell my mother that we decided to get some fresh air. I don't want her worrying too much about our disappearance." 

Unbeknownst to her younger sibling, the woman had to start breathing through her mouth and forced her nails to dig painfully into her bleeding palms. The pounding heartbeat in her ears never seemed to disappear but she couldn't let herself sink her teeth into her baby sister. No matter how tempting it was seeming to be. 

Briar and Nesryn were inseparable throughout their childhood. They loved each other to a fault because all they had growing up were each other. Their father was a drunk who held no interest in his own woman or the offspring they created - unless it was something to do with climbing societal ranks. Their mother was only slightly better than that, but she left most of the raising to the nannies - which wasn't odd for people in their time. Now that they were older, at least their mother had started to gain some interest in them. This formed a bond so tight that they decided to form a "blood" pact at an early age. They said that, no matter the troubles, they would stay by each other's side. This was being stretched thin due to her new predicament.

Briar still remembers the feeling of dragging that crooked branch against the palm of her hand. Something that was never truly meant to draw blood since they didn't want to worry their nannies. Only trying to symbolize their new attachment. Their solemn oath said only in their broken French. In those days, they could barely speak the language. They had only just managed to master the proper English according to society's rules and it was around their first weeks into learning their second language. She could still remember her little sister's large smile that showed off her missing front tooth. An expression that showed off freckles that were lost throughout time.

The woman studied her sister in the corner of her brown eye as they started making their way down the street at each other's side. There was an awkward feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, one that she decidedly did not want to address anytime soon. Her sister was a proper woman now, completely different from the oath-making toddler, and it was hard for Briar to acknowledge this new fact. 

What of this blood pact now? Briar was basically immortal now and her twin had already expressed her dislike for her newly welcomed lifestyle. Their definitions of trouble had shifted entirely and there would be no going back. She worried about what she would do if Nesryn's life finally came to an end. The demon doubted she would be able to cope with such a significant death. Perhaps Briar could convince her? Change her views? That would be hard though when Briar felt the exact same way.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Her mismatched gaze settled on Mahlikai. He was settled on her other side with her arm locked in the crook of his elbow. The man was looking down at her with a smile on his lips and concern in his eyes. He must have had to watch so many of his loved ones fade away at the test of time. The thought would have made her heart beat painfully in her chest if she thought it beat at all now. 

A sad smile slipped onto her lips, even though she still radiated a happy air about her. Then she averted her eyes to the sidewalk with a shrug, "I'm just nervous about being around so many others in the parlor." She didn't pay him much attention as he curled his hand around her own and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. A more genuine smile lifted her lips and she felt a sort of calm wash over her. No matter what happens, she realizes, she still had Mahlikai to come back to. To relate to and to confide in. "Thank you." He grinned in a proud way, nodding in reply as if he knew what she was thanking him for.

The ice cream shop was full to the brim with delicious smelling humans. It wasn't even their scent that tried pushing her over the edge. It was the pounding in her ears that she wished so bad to silence it all. It was also the emotions that replaced the morning energy that she once had. A wave of exhaustion blanketed her, but she only pressed herself further into Mahlikai's side. Hoping that if anyone was able to help her remain herself, it would be him.

In the end, they had grabbed their sweets and took a seat outside. Away from the ruckus going on inside the homey little shop. By their sweets, she really meant Briar's and Nesryn's. Mahlikai had already warned her that their bodies were only able to take in liquids from now on. So to spite the blood-lusting side of her, she grabbed herself a shake. She only had to wait for it to melt. The silence that would be between them was filled with good-natured banter from the vampire and human of the party. Briar couldn't hide the happy feeling that filled her from the two getting along so easily. Even with the species barrier.

She was drinking up on her treat while watching Nesryn and Mahlikai debate whether cake or ice cream was better. If the man escorting them were any other, Nesryn would have been disciplined for speaking against him like how she was now. Had he started with that now that she was on the path of immortality, she would have no problem pulling his still heart from the bony cage of his ribs. Mentor or not. The nymph flinched, now noticing the aggressive thought that drifted through her mind. It went unnoticed as they bickered.

The newborn demon had nearly all thoughts of her blood-lust thrown to the back of her mind in the time they had spent there. Efforts went out of the window as the smell of the sweet red nectar drifted towards her nose. Mahlikai turned to her instantly, smelling it as well, and tried stilling her trembling hand. She was struggling, but it hadn't really got to her until a faded scream made its way to her enhanced ears.