Will you remember?

Ash September 25th, 1917

Today had been bloody, but it was quiet now. A stark contrast to earlier with the sounds of bullets, mortars, and tanks. Gods, those made a lot of noise. But, of course, that was nothing to the screams from both sides. War cries, insults, orders from the commanding officers, and the sounds you hear when someone's hit. Whenever I think I've seen every conceivable way someone could die or get hurt, I'm proven wrong, and I'm left shocked for longer than I'd like. 

I've seen humans die before, but not like this. It wasn't like I hadn't killed either. I'm a dragon, which comes early in your life, but it wasn't the same. I thought I was prepared for it, but I wasn't. The thing that took me most by surprise was the bloodlust. Especially when one of my comrades went down, I felt this burning urge to destroy ten for that one life. 

"Why does Eric do that?" I watched as the vampire crouched over one of the enemies, muttering in a language I wasn't familiar with, a cross in his hand. I'd watched him do this from the first battle we'd been in.

"Performing last rites." Romulus sets his jaw, watching Eric make a cross sign with his hand before moving on to one of ours. 

"I understand that." I scowl, watching him repeat the ritual. "Why does he do it for them?"

"Have you learned about human religions yet?" He asks me, and I nod. When we weren't fighting, the others made it their mission to teach me as much about the human world as possible. Eric focused on the spiritual aspects of human culture, but I still needed to learn why. "Well, in another life, Eric was a priest for the Catholic church."

"A clergy?" That surprises me. Was that why he wanted to teach me about human religions? Because he knew one intimately? 

"I'll let him explain that." He shakes his head, turning and heading to one of the dead soldiers. "It's his story to tell."

"You've known him a long time?" I knew both of them were older than me, but I wasn't sure by how much. It wasn't something we discussed.

"Long enough." He gives me a smirk but doesn't comment further before checking the man's clothes. It was something he did to the enemy. He said he was getting to know them. "Come on, Walter, we've got a lot of work to do."

It's several hours before we're done getting the wounded to the doctors. I don't envy their work. Especially the surgeons. It would be much easier to save a life if they could use magic, but they make miracles without it. That didn't mean we didn't lose people, too many.

"I am going to shut my eyes for a while." Nick sighed, sitting beside me on the log I was using as a bench. "Hope you don't mind."

"Hmm, a night where you don't try to cheat at cards? I think I can survive." He chuckles at me, taking a drink from his canteen. 

Nick was only four years older than I was, but this was his second human war. He'd fought in the Civil war alongside his father and uncles, and I won't deny that I'd been jealous of him. Nick was lucky, growing up in the human world, his whole life in the desert of Las Vegas. Like my family, all of them lived there, both in the city and out in the wild. But, unlike me, he'd been free to do things since he was a hatchling. 

"I don't cheat." He's insisted on that for the past three months, but I still don't believe him. "Don't stay out too long. They're sending assassins in the middle of the night."

"I won't." I stared at the sky, it was cloudy, and the moon was barely visible. "Can I ask you something?"

"No, you cannot use my new socks." He teases, reminding me that he got mail today. "With your big feet, you'll tear them."

"I have my own." Rolling my eyes at his joke. It wasn't like my family didn't send me a package every chance they had. "No, I wanted to ask you if it's normal to feel it."

"Feel what?" He walks back to me, his arms crossed. "Tired, hungry, and homesick?"

"No..." I did feel those things, but that wasn't what worried me. "The feeling like you want to keep fighting... killing."

"You mean the bloodlust?" Even though we're speaking in our tongue, he keeps his voice low. "Is that what you mean?"

"Yes." I don't know why, but we shouldn't talk about it. That it isn't something we should possess, even though we're dragons.

"Every time." Nick smiles sadly. "You're a warrior, Walt. Death and war are in your heart, just like mine."

"Doesn't that make us as bad as the enemy, then?" 

"No," Nick sits back on the log, staring at the clouds like I had. "My father once told me we are what we're born to be. So it's fruitless to fight it."

"How are we not as bad then?"

"It's what you use it for. I've met warriors who were on our side, and they were monsters. It made me question if I was like them, but there were things I couldn't do. Even if I was ordered to do them. We might be a sword and a shield, but that doesn't make us monsters."

"And what happens when there's no war left to fight?" The idea that I was this and that someday I'd be useless was as disconcerting as the bloodlust.

With a laugh, Nick smacked his leg. "I keep forgetting that you're new to the human world. Don't worry, my friend. As long as humanity exists, there will be a war to fight. You need to worry about what happens when the lust is satisfied. What will you do with your life when war isn't your desire anymore?"

"I don't think that day will ever come." War was the only thing I'd ever dreamed of, so how could I think of becoming anything else?

"I think that too, but my father insists I'm wrong." Then, with a stretch, Nick gets up again. "Well, I'll be in our tent. I hear my mother poking me."

"You still haven't told me how she reaches you from so far." I couldn't imagine someone in my family reaching me across the world. 

"When she tells me, I'll tell you." He laughs before hitting me on the shoulder. "Hopefully, it'll be a quiet night. If it is, I'll see you at dawn for training. Night."

"Night." I watch him walk toward the camp to talk to his mother. A small part of me wishes I could do the same, but maybe there were better plans than that, especially during my nights. 

When he's out of sight, I scan the area. Unlike humans, I have better senses in the dark. I don't have night vision, but things aren't as shadowed. It turns out Nick was right. The night was quiet. I doubt the Germans would attack again tonight. They'd lost many of their soldiers here. 

Still, I try to be silent as I head into the woods. No animals stayed here anymore. Between the constant fighting and the presence of dragons and werewolves, it was too much for them. When this was over, and we were gone, they'd return, and to them, it would be nothing more than a disturbance to their way of life. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be easy for the humans living here. 

A hand grabs the back of my shirt, and I'm nearly slammed into a tree. Without thinking, I spin around and react. My hand reaches out in the darkness until I feel the fabric of his clothes. Holding my attacker's shirt collar, I pull him toward me with a low growl. He chuckles at my action before wrapping a hand around my neck, his lips brushing against mine before he speaks. 

"Are you that eager, Ashari?" The way he says my name summons a moan from deep in my throat, loving the elegant, rich way he purrs it. "Does a full day of smiting your enemy not satisfy your need?"

"No," My confession comes out as a gasp, feeling the edge of his fangs grazing my bottom lip before he kisses down my jaw, licking all the way to my throat. "It doesn't."

"Do you know why that is, Ashari?" The vampire breathes, undoing the buttons on my shirt, his lips never stopping their assault on my skin. 

"I..." The answer doesn't come. My mind becomes a fog. I don't know what it is about him, but even the slightest touch makes me forget how to do anything. 

"It's alright if you don't know. I can tell you." I stare into Eric's eyes. They're bright and have that ring of silver around the irises. Even in the dark, you can't miss them; they draw you in. "Fulfillment can't be found from one source. War only quells a piece of your heart, but it doesn't gratify the craving your soul needs."

"And what is it my soul needs, Eric?" In my life, I've never submitted to a lover before. I've always been in control, but I lose that sense of dominance with him. It just happens, I don't have any control over it, but it doesn't bother me. 

He doesn't answer. Instead, his mouth crushes mine in a challenging, demanding kiss. His purrs drowned in my growls. At the same time, Eric moves his hand down my body to the waist of my trousers. I try to touch him, but he uses his other hand to swat me away, his tongue snaking its way along mine, keeping me distracted before his fingers pull the hem down.

"Passion, Ashari. That's the key to gratification. It's always a passion." He whispers when he pulls away. Getting on his knees before taking me into his mouth, making me see stars.