Nameless Ghoul

Captured

Sunshine felt so sad for Itzal. He’d done well tonight. She could feel that he was enjoying the party and him being slightly buzzed had tempered out the edginess he usually displayed when faced with a lot of people. She could have killed the Sister who tried to join them just now though. 

Sunshine had to bite her tongue so hard in order to politely turn her down, when all she truly wanted was to claw her eyes out for ruining their moment and upsetting Itzal’s fine emotional balance. She felt his mood change as soon as the Sister walked away and she knew that his old memories were creeping in to haunt him. It felt like a storm cloud drifting slowly and ominously towards her through their bond, and it broke her heart every time it happened.

When he'd admitted he was struggling and wanted to leave, she offered to go with him, but over the last few weeks she’d learned that sometimes he was best left alone when this happened. As much as she would love to be joined at the hip with him twenty-four seven so that she could comfort him through the dark moments, she knew he needed the alone time and that he hated to be a burden to her. Itzal wasn’t, of course, but if it made him happier, then she would abide by his wishes. She knew now when to push him out of his comfort zone and when to leave him be.

She took one last look at him and drank him in before she twirled around and waved over her shoulder as she walked back to the dance floor to find Cumulus. Cirrus and Swiss had moved over to join in with the orgy, but Cumulus was still in a dancing mood.

Sunshine grabbed another drink for them on the way and weaved through the crowd towards the curvy blonde ghoulette who was doing her best Shakira dance with some of the Sisters. She shimmied over to her and gave her the cup of punch. It was delicious and seemed to be going down well with everyone there. Sometimes the humans didn’t seem to enjoy the Ghoulish flavours, but this one had been a success.

They downed their drinks and danced for a while longer, before moving over to sit with Rain, Mountain, Dew and Aether, who had commandeered one of the big sofas along the wall. Rain was curled up asleep with his head on Mountain’s shoulder. She smiled as she thought about the shy ghoul who didn’t really drink that often. It must have hit him pretty hard.

Sunshine could feel a warm glow from the alcohol and she thought maybe she should head back up to the lair to check on Itzal. She reached out with the bond and could tell he was asleep. Peacefulness like she could feel coming from him right then made it easy to tell the times when he was sleeping soundly. 

She thought she would sit down for a while with the others, who were snuggling into each other, contented to be around their kin in their drunken hazes. She plonked herself in between Dew and Cumulus and snuggled into Cumulus’ side, bringing her knees up to hug them and sighing a little happy sigh. The last thing she thought before she fell asleep was that even though her life had been turned upside down over the last few weeks, she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

____

Sunshine was cold when she woke up, and she tried to roll over to find Itzal. They both hated being too cold, so she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t snuggled up to him or wrapped in a blanket. A cold draft skittered along her legs and arms and Sunshine realised she couldn’t move. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking away the fuzziness she felt as voices echoed in what seemed to be a large, enclosed space.

The light temporarily blinded her and it took a little while of squinting for her eyes to become accustomed to the bright light. The sun was streaming in from small windows towards the ceiling of what looked like a large warehouse or factory.

She turned her head. Her brain was still fuzzy and confused, wondering what the hell was going on. She lay on her back on a hard surface, and her wrists and ankles were bound with metal cuffs linked to chains. As she looked down her body, she realised she was wearing the dress she wore to the party. She frowned and turned her head towards the voices.