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一 | ACT i (BEYOND BUCOLIC)
Chapter 4. Training
SILENCE ECHOED LIKE THEIR FOOTSTEPS ON THE ASPHALT. They sped through the city of Seattle of to settle at an abandoned scrapyard.
The first attempt at learning to fight didn't go too well.
Upon arrival Riley turned to face her and went for the right hook. Punches came at her from all directions and all that accomplished was a removed limb and an angry newborn.
"What the hell Riley!"
He ignored her protests and kept at it, rage and confusion clouded his face clear as day.
He had her pinned in about two seconds. But within seconds he was at the other side of the clearing, fuming with anger clearing directed towards himself and holding her left arm hostage.
Immediately she knew that something was wrong; he was still as stone, staring across scrapyard at pale blue Volvo with a look on his face.
She knew full well whatever was going on in her head she wasn't going to discuss with her, and she was okay with that. But she wasn't okay with the unsettling fact that he probably wouldn't tell Victoria, his supposed lover, and whatever was bothering would continue to.
Delphi knew that she didn't know Riley as well as she should, given their years of friendship and everything else, but she imagined that whatever she thought he was feeling, he felt tenfold.
She fixed her hair in preparation for what she was about to say.
His face snapped back to hers but he said nothing, so she did. "I get that your struggling and won't dare show it, so I only have one thing to say." She said that one thing she thought would make him want to fight her. "Think about Victoria."
And it was like his brain rebooted and he was back to the Riley who wanted to fight her.
So it began.
✧
DAY IN AND DAY OUT, AS LONG AS SUNLIGHT STAINED THE SKIES, THEY TRAINED. Delphi learned everything from fundamentals to analysing a targets moment to predict the next move.
And during all theirtraining, her body became littered with scars and bite marks and not in the wayit would turn some people on.
As he led her to Victoria's stronghold once again, this time she actually noticed her surroundings more vividly. Thought the building was unoccupied by others, it was far from abandoned. It looked to be an almost finished construction site, but how she got them to stop their work she didn't want to know.
This time they used a more practice entrance, the front.
The first few levels were, of course, vacant of all things, and when they reached the to level it was occupied by a large unmade bed which smelled of anything but sleep, a cluster of mirrors scattered around loft, a lone rack of clothes sitting in front of the window and bits and pieces scattered all around.
Not even a millisecond passed before Victoria was in front of her, that all she had time to do was fix her curious expression to once of stoicism. But even that didn't last long before Victoria attacked.
Each offensive more that came for her was blocked by a defensive one, but still, Delphi wasn't as good, which rang true when she was on the floor once again.
"You lasted longer than last time, but that still isn't good enough."
The days had begun blurring into one another, but it had only been a month since her transition. A week into training with Riley, Victoria asked for a demonstration of what she'd learnt, which wasn't as must as shed hoped and began training her at night after Rileys sessions.
"Have you ever thought about using your power to see my next move?"
It was like even though they had stopped fighting, Victoria stance indicated that danger was near. But from the vision of the near future all Delphi saw was bloodshed and at no point was she in danger.
Tugging at her lip, Delphi tried to appropriately describe what was going in on her mind. "I've tried that but I can't see longer than a second, I guess it doesn't want to be seen."
"A second can save your life or end another's," then she swiped at her legs successfully grounding her.
Whipping her head swiftly causing hair to fly wildly, "Riley, I see that you haven't taught her any offensive attacks."
"I'll get on it," the blonde-haired boy murmured, pressing a gentle kiss into her temple. The most physical shed seen them in the past month and left for the site where the newborns were hidden.
The room was silent again.
Victoria thrust out a hand and hoisted up the fallen girl.
"Well, looks like we should be off," with those words, Victoria leapt over the railing and was swallowed by the city.
✧
DELPHI SCALED THE STREETS OF SEATTLE, following the redheads lead.
High rises filled every crevice her eyes could reach. She went from recognising some of the sites to none at all, indicating that there were in the perfect hunting grounds.
The pair scouted a few prime locations for people who wouldn't be missed, settling at a homeless encampment. Pointing towards two men she knew to be up to no good, Delphi dubbed them the targets.
Every week they'd go hunting together, Delphi figured it was Victoria making sure that she wouldn't go easy on the humans and so she went along and catered to Victoria's opinion that they were on the same team.
Her hood up and face hidden, she moved swiftly across the pavement as she went into the crowd of human blood bags, her scuffed leather boots thudding. Once shed lured the man to his death it was her turn.
Delphi located the man probably killed more in his lifetime than she has in the past month and prepared to attack.
She leapt from the shadows and she sunk her teeth into its neck, hitting her mark perfectly. She drained the man eagerly and when she had finished, pushed it away and sprang upright.
The sound of commotion and screams following soon after indicated that Riley had let the other newborns' road free in search of the hunt.
It was time to return to Victoria's stronghold once again, this time with e fully belly.
✧
From high on their perch on the building, Delphi and Victoria stood shoulder to shoulder leaning of the railing as they watched the wild newborns roam the city searching for their next victim.
"They haven't met you." A hypothesis made from evident gathered that only got a hum in response.
"So, when do I get to meet them?"
"Once you're a little more trained. Riley told me they're a wild bunch, you'll need to be skilled in case they attack."
"How many are there?"
A look crossed her face that Delphi didn't think was possible. "Not enough," but it only came out in a whisper.
But even that was enough for her to understand what she was feeling, no matter how twisted.
YOU ARE READING
Prophetic ▹ Riley Biers (Daughters of Lilith I)
Vampir❝ she never loved him until he was gone, and when she found him again he wasn't alone. his love for her was eternal, but easily hidden by one that's carnal ❞ ••• Delphi Frobisher always saw what was coming, it was a talent. But she never saw...
