Beyond The Fangs

Chapter 17

IZEL

I couldn't help my curiosity, but how could I when the Slayer was as mysterious as he was? 

I eventually decided to stop asking questions though, but I still couldn't believe the situation I was in, that I was going to be fighting side by side with a vampire, the very race that I kill and that kills me. I didn't trust the Slayer and the fact that he wasn't only a vampire but also my enemy always put me on edge. 

I didn't know if I would have his back in battle, or if he would even have mine. This unsureness could lead to me hesitating in a fight, and that hesitation could cost one of us big time. I needed to remember that this was about more than just the Slayer and me. I needed to trust him, no matter how much I despised the idea. There was a bigger goal, a bigger purpose, and we only had one shot at it, at killing the Zas and changing the fate of our kinds, so we had to do it properly. I needed to trust the Slayer, if only just a little bit, and I think I knew just how to do that.

There was a series of drills and exercises that we did back at Lilliville during training. Drills that helped us gain the trust of our partner. Drills I realised I had to do with the Slayer if I wanted to get rid of my constant urge to stab him.

I took a deep breath before telling him about my idea. He was against it almost as much as I was, and I wouldn't have minded if he said no. If he disagreed to do it then at least I could use that as an excuse for when I stabbed him in the middle of the night.

You shouldn't have disagreed. If you hadn't then maybe I would have trusted you enough not to stab you, was what I would say. Oh well.

But to my discontent, he agreed to do it. The idea of doing trust-building exercises with me seemed to pain him almost as much as it pained me. He said he would only do one exercise with me, but it was one too many, and I couldn't back out now. 

I thought of the easiest, most well-known trust exercise of all time. The trust fall. There was a twist to the way we did it though. We fell four times and each time we stood on a higher platform than the last.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," the Slayer sighed, rethinking his life decisions. Well, he wasn't the only one. He had his back toward me and his arms crossed over his chest. I was glad that he at least hated this as much as I did.

"You and I both," I agreed, holding my arms out to catch him. 

The Slayer had refused to untie me completely, but only loosened the knot. I didn't mind though, because I could use my tied hands as an excuse for when—if, I meant—I dropped him.

I was tempted to leave him to fall at least once. This was only the first fall so he was standing on the ground, so it wouldn't hurt him that bad. That would be immature of me though, I came up with the trust exercise so I had to do it properly.

"Did you have to pick one that involved so much contact?"

"Trust exercises almost always require contact," I told him. "This one involved the least."

"You couldn't have—?"

"Just shut up and fall."

After a long groan, he finally fell back and I extended my arms to catch him but my immatureness got the best of me and I stepped to the side, leaving him to fall onto the floor. I burst out laughing. It was much funnier than I thought it would be. 

He sat up and whipped his head in my direction.  "Why am I not surprised?" He asked but his lips threatened to quirk upwards.

"Sorry," I said between laughs, even though I wasn't sorry at all. I would do it again. "I've never made anyone fall during a trust fall but that was just... hilarious." I controlled my breathing as my laughter died down and then cleared my throat, "Now we're even. That's what you get for dropping me in the dirt."