The Vampire's Rival

Appreciate

It was early morning, and I was on watch with the other vampires, each of us taking up positions to surround the ruins, still making sure that those watching us from the shadows stayed there. There were definitely eyes on us from every direction now. But were they curious eyes or foes? I couldn't tell. The humans were all asleep. I had gotten to speak to Jamila a little more the previous night, trying to understand how they'd all come to be in Sleritu's Enclave. I'd learnt that they had escaped The Caves.

Escaped.

That was the word that Jamila had used.

I had so many questions!

"Good morning, Ruqwik?"

I turned to the voice and found Jamila smiling at me. Was it morning already? I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed the skies getting lighter. Hadn't even noticed that Kade was cooking up breakfast behind me. But who could blame me? The last day had been nothing short of insane!

"Good morning, Jamila?" I asked, putting on a smile of my own. She was always a welcome distraction. "How are you after last night?"

Jamila flexed her shoulders and neck. "A few bumps and bruises, but nothing I can't handle."

"Good," I said. I looked behind her. "The others?"

"They all seem to be doing alright," she replied, turning to follow my gaze.

Almost all of them were now waking up to breakfast. I watched Hadley sipping on a bowl of stew. A human action. Then I watched her gingerly put pressure on a leg that had a bone snapped clean through the skin just a few hours before. Not human.

I turned back to Jamila.

"That's good." I replied, noticing the cup in her hand for the first time. My nose suddenly flared at its contents, and my fangs were halfway down before I even realised it. "What do you have there?"

Jamila handed me the cup. "I got you some... breakfast?"

The cup was half full of blood, and Jamila's hand was wrapped with a cloth that had a spot of blood seeping through. I accepted the cup, carefully placed it on the sill of the space that was once a window, from where I'd been watching the forest, then took her injured hand into mine.

"You didn't have to do that," I said, gently unwrapping the bandage. There was a neat slash across her right palm. I raised her hand and licked the wound closed, then looked up at her as I lowered her hand.

She was furiously blushing. "I know... I just... your eyes... and I didn't know how else to... um..."

I was patient, letting her fumble with the words until she found the right ones. She didn't. Instead, she used the hand I still held to pull me closer, and she kissed me. It was hesitant, and sweet. And much too quick. She pulled away, blushing even more.

"That was too forward, wasn't it? I'm sorry," she gushed, turning to the ground.

I lifted her chin, so she was looking at me again.

"Don't be," I said with a smile.

"It's just that, before last night, I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she said.

"If I knew that was the welcome I was going to get, I'd have found you sooner." I replied, trying for some levity. It worked. She smiled.

"Everything out here, outside the Compound walls, just keeps changing so fast," Jamila said, taking a deep breath. "I promised myself that, if I ever saw you again, I'd make sure to tell you how I felt. To let you know that I like you. A lot."