Kindred Souls

Chapter 2 - Awakened

- Rain -

"Load them up, babe. I like it extra creamy." Emily winks as Ruby, a fellow Kindred and the owner of Joe's, as she loads the whipped cream onto the milkshake. Ruby rolls her eyes but proceeds to fill the whipped cream to the point of toppling over. She is also Emily's sister-in-law, who is used to Emily's antics.

"Thanks, hon," Emily licks the cherry and cream before sauntering over to my booth, where I sit unfazed too. I admire her bold personality, a complete opposite of mine.

"Here is your orange creamsicle, my lady," Emily passed my milkshake with a lopsided cream. I watch as a drop splats on the table.

"You are a monster," I respond to the missing cherry and half-eaten cream. We both know I couldn't care less. She has more of a sweet tooth than I do.

"And yet, you still love me," Emily chews on two cherry stems before spitting the knotted stems on a napkin.

"And I wonder why," I sigh emphatically as if I am the crazy one.

"How was the marking?" As the only two members in the diner this late at night, Ruby serves the rest of our order on the table. She usually closes up by 9 pm, but we can stay an hour or two as she cleans.

"It was okay," I respond. We salivate at the steamy plates of garlic bread and fries. I am already halfway through my creamsicle.

"We feel the same as usual?" Emily responds with a mouth of fries.

"You're disgusting," Ruby recoils to avoid the food spray, but she grins at Emily. "The actual marking ritual is short but it is still quite an experience. It's the twenty-four hours after that is exciting. You will start to feel the awakening effects. And then over the next few weeks, maybe we will hear new marked pairs." Her eyes glaze as she reminisces about her marking a decade ago.

"Anyways, you already know, but you should start heading home before midnight. Stay home for the weekend, or at least, until tomorrow night." She glances at the clock, which displays ten pm.

"We were starving and just couldn't miss out on our favorite shakes and bread," Emily pouts and shakes her head.

"Whatever, you know the rules," Ruby walks away to clean but knows we will listen. She is generally very chill.

"Any changes?" I look at her arm as if I could see her mark. A mark supposedly glows a faint blue and can be incredibly simple or intricate in pattern. The mark always starts from the palm circle.

"Not yet," Emily seems disappointed as she examines her body. She grabs her garlic bread and raises it in front of me. I follow her motion and tap her bread before we take a huge bite of the garlic bread. The garlic butter instantly melts my senses and always hits the spot. We sigh in contentment.

"No change for me either," I dip a fry into my creamsicle. I pause, deep in thought.

"Do you believe in the fated partner?"   I finally ask her, but sensing what her answer will already be.

Emily looks at me for a while before responding, "You have been acting odd all night. What's going on?"

"I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Rumor has it more Kindreds don't find their partner or do not care anymore. I don't know if I want to live my life waiting or searching for my partner." I whisper though I doubt Ruby will eavesdrop.

"Our clan is still pretty traditional even though we have adapted to the modern world. You can't just say that anywhere, Rain." Emily leans closely. "We have a high pair rate regardless, even if it's not within the clan. We somehow do."