After the plagues and the burning, after the War of Angels, in the harsh new climate of Earth, only the strong can survive. Humanity is evolving to adapt, but not all due to the same reason, and that is a problem for those who want to have control...
After dinner we go about our routine before climbing into our shelter to rest, taking care of every small task with painstaking absorption. Finally we reach the point where can't put off our revelations any longer. There is just enough room in our shelter to sit cross legged, face to face, with our knees touching. The intimacy makes me want to reach out to grasp her hands in mine. Her aura flickers with many of the same emotions that I find myself experiencing. It calms me to know we are on fairly even footing.
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"There's a lot we don't know about one another," she begins hesitantly, and offers me an awkward smile. I can't help myself, I do reach out to take her tiny hands, holding them gently in my larger ones.
"Not all of it pleasant," I reply, feeling anchored by our physical connection. I'm also reassured that she will be unable to run off with the hot sun shining brightly outside our shelter. Whatever we discover, we're stuck here together to deal with it.
"Dante, I just want you to know, even with all the things I don't know, I trust you," she tells me softly, her violet gaze locks with mine so that I am able to read the sincerity of her words.
Her pixie face is so open, so pure. I feel the emotions roiling within me again, pulling at me to bind her to me. I realize I don't want to hand her off to some Watcher some day, or to leave her with others of her kind. For a moment I feel rebelliousness warring within me, but then I tamp it down, sealing it off. She is mine, but she will never be mine. The paradox cleaves me.
I am overcome for a moment at her trust in me, so I just nod, and hold tightly to her small hands. I feel her give mine a gentle squeeze of affection. I want more contact than just our hands together, but I steel myself and stay put. Her enticing scent surrounds me, pricking at my ever present hunger to taste her.
"I know you've seen me discover some new talents," she admits. "This is confusing for me too, because there is so much I need to learn about them. And I don't know if more will surface."
I remain quiet as she gazes over my shoulder for a moment. She is so much braver with words than I am, so much more honest. But then again, is that surprising with our vastly different origins?
She returns her gaze to mine again, and I can see the quiet determination in her. "It seems you have some talents of your own."
I gaze at her in wonder. This is how she chooses to phrase it? My command over the affected is a talent? As if I am a creature like her with abilities of my own? No wonder she is so ready to keep trusting me. I need to tell her the truth, but I draw out my silence as long as possible to bask in her positive regard before she withdraws it from me.
"It frightened and confused me at first," she plunges forward bravely. "I've never seen anything like it. After, when I thought about it, I realized you had protected me and created a realistic training. It wasn't pleasant, but I came through with more knowledge of my capabilities."
