Sick Child - MarkoxOC

Part 47: royals

Star won't turn. David can feel the truth of the situation sitting in the pit of his stomach like a brick. It won't matter how much he tries to convince her. She's a lost cause. He made a mistake; the shame and guilt of it sticks to him like tar. They don't bring new vampires into their coven often. It's dangerous. The wrong person could throw off the delicate balance that the four of them have built over the years. David has been blinded by his desire for a mate, a desire that he's tried to ignore and squash for decades. Star has a few months before she reaches a breaking point. Turn, or slowly descend into madness. The future spreads out like a roadmap in his mind while he and Paul stroll the boardwalk. Paul's eyes follow the endless throngs of people. He huffs, annoyed.

"This is bogus," he mumbles. "There's nothing here."

Usually, Paul looks for drunks and stragglers. Easy prey. Tonight, everyone is tightly packed and moving quickly. He sighs. David claps him on the back.

"You're gonna have to use your charm for this one, pal."

Paul scoffs and glances over at his brother. His gaze is piercing, searching for something. They usually get high and crack jokes when they hunt together, but David has been uncharacteristically quiet tonight. He braces himself. As obtuse as Paul is at times, he's got an innate ability to read emotion and he's incredibly empathetic. It's fucking annoying.

"Uh oh," Paul mumbles as he lights a cigarette. "I sense another therapy session coming on."

"Nah," David chuckles.

"Something's bothering you. Is it Star?"

David's lips twitch.

"Sometimes you're too good at this."

He doesn't want to admit failure, at least not preemptively. Paul senses his brother's trepidation and wraps an arm around his shoulder.

"She'll come around, bud. Give her time. They can't all be like Sofie."

"I wasn't thinking -"

"Yes you were. You want what they have. We all do."

"Do you?" David asks pointedly.

"Sure." Paul grins and passes David his cigarette. "It's okay to want that stuff, dude."

David falls silent. Crystal blue eyes scan the crowd. He spots a young man in a white t-shirt and faded blue jeans. He has lush, curly dark hair and a beautiful, chiseled face. Moonlight bounces off of his sharp cheekbones. There's a sense of softness about him, an innocence that David is so hopelessly addicted to. He's statuesque, but clumsy in his movements. He bumps into crowds, holding his hands out and apologizing profusely. It's endearing and oddly beautiful. His clear blue eyes stare in wonder as he glances around with no clue that every muscle twitch is being watched closely. He's a tourist, or new in town. They have a certain air about them. He shoves his hands in his pockets and the muscles in his arms flex. A rush courses through David's body, and then a pull - like the magnet Marko has told him about. And then desire. To follow, pursue like a lion hunting a gazelle. He wants to smell, to touch, to taste, to drink from him. David takes a deep pull on the cigarette to distract himself. This is what Marko was talking about. He found it. Now he has to make it his. David watches him get swallowed up by the crowd and carried away. The sense of loss threatens to hollow out his chest. He tosses his cigarette onto the ground and crushes it. He'll be back. Paul gazes at him while his eyebrows knit together.

"You good?"

"Yep," David lies. "Let's try the beach. There'll be more stragglers there."

"Good idea."

They hop the fence and begin to stalk the beach. David spots a young couple on the beach passing a bottle of wine back and forth and nuzzling against each other. They remind him of a painting he saw once in Moscow. Two beings leaning on each other in perfect balance, one unable to be without the other. David fights the tension in his chest. Paul stops, eyes fixed on the couple, but David puts a hand on his shoulder.