Julian
had just hung up his phone when a
short, black haired girl zipped into his room and leapt over his
desk. Shoving back his chair, he grunted as the girl landed in his
lap, her torso smacking against his. “I was wondering when I was
going to see you again.”
“Can I keep that girl in the other room? I want a
new pet.” The girl's golden eyes flashed mischievously as she
looked over her shoulder, back the way she'd come in. “She can
make stuff appear that tastes really good! Not like her though, she
has a weird taste, it makes my tongue numb. Did you know that if you
stand out in the cold long enough you go numb? Speaking of cold, she
made me an ice cream! Vanilla I think...it was white like your coat.
Why do you wear a coat, are you cold? Do I need to get you a
sweater...not one of those yucky ones you have, but a good sweater?
One with skulls and kitties and-”
Julian smiled as he placed his hand over the girl's
mouth, quieting her. “Calm down, little one. I don't think the
young lady wants to be anyone's pet, but you can be her friend.
Besides, she was here for a checkup and to make sure you were fed.”
His expression changed as a worried looking Kalen stepped into the
room. “Why don't you go and watch some cartoons, all right?”
Nodding, the young girl zipped from the room, leaving
Kalen with a confused look on his face. “Patient?” he asked,
closing the door.
Julian smiled and shrugged. “Something like that.
She's decided to call herself Tweek, after the South Park character.”
Taking a seat on the other side of Julian's desk, Kalen
looked expectantly at his mentor. “So, how's she doing?”
“Better than to be expected. I'm going to have to
transfer her to the hospital later so I can monitor her better, but I
have high hopes that she will come out of this with nothing more than
a bad headache.”
“Can I go see her?” asked Kalen, his expression
still uncertain.
Getting to his feet, Julian smiled and led Kalen down a
hallway and up a flight of stairs. There wasn't much in the way of
decoration to liven up the wooden walls, but Kalen had learned over
the years that Julian preferred things simple. Walking to the end of
the hall, he pressed on one of the wooden panels. “I had to keep
her hidden, I hope you understand.”
With a nod, Kalen stepped into the small room, his eyes
filling with tears as they fell on his mother lying in a hospital
bed. Hurrying forward, he knelt down next to her and gently gathered
her in his arms, sobbing quietly against her like a lost child. The
more he tried to fight the tears, the harder they flowed, finally
releasing hundreds of years of pent up fears, worries, and
nightmares. “Please wake up, Mother.” he whispered. “I can't
lose you again.”
Not wanting to intrude, Julian stepped away from the
hidden door. “I'll leave you two alone and try reaching Rafael
again.” Without waiting for Kalen's answer, he slid the door shut
and made his way down the hall to a door covered in gold and silver
stars. Knocking quietly, he pushed the door open. “What'd you
choose today?” he asked, stepping inside.
Tweek stretched and hopped up from her spot on the
floor, following Julian over to the large couch in her room. “Count
Duckula. I'm on the gold episode.” she smiled, sitting down next
to him and tugging lightly on his coat. “Do you think Miss Mekana
will be ok?”
“I think so, but just in case, make sure you think
lots of positive thoughts about her getting better, ok?” At her
nod, Julian produced a small vial from his coat and shook it, causing
the liquid inside to change from a calm turquoise to a violent shade
of purple. “Here, in case the other people in the household see
you, it would be best if you're your “adult” self. It tends to
help when you look your age.”
With a small mock salute, Tweek took the potion and
scurried over to her closet, disappearing inside. “Blue or grey?”
“Go with blue today.” Julian smiled as Tweek
stepped from the closet, now fully grown. Though her height never
passed five four, she still had an enchanting sort of beauty around
her. She'd dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark blue
turtleneck, her feet still bare against the hardwood floor. “You
look lovely.” he said quietly.
Tweek grinned and bounded back to the couch, hopping up
on the cushions and nuzzling up against Julian. “You smell nice
today.” she breathed softly, her lips inches from Julian's neck.
His skin turning a bright shade of pink, Julian could
do nothing more than stammer a quiet thanks as Tweek lay down, her
head resting in his lap as she returned her attention to the cartoon.
Looking around, trying his best to ignore how close Tweek's head was
to his groin as well as her nuzzling, he focused on the decorations
of the room.
It was one of the larger rooms of his house, and was
decorated specifically for the Vampire nuzzling his lap. The walls
were covered with posters of different movies, as well as concert
posters of her favourite musician, Voltaire. There was a large
dresser next to the walk-in closet, with a large collage of pictures
above it. His eyes moved to the left of the dresser, falling on a
simple student desk, which was buried under a pile of books and
sketches. Tweek had placed the TV and DVD player on the dresser, so
that she could easily watch her cartoons from the comfort of the
hide-a-bed couch.
Julian smiled as he ran his fingers along the black and
blue star pattern, remembering how happy Tweek was when he created it
for her. Everything in the room was made just for her, or collected
from various vendors for her in hopes of bringing some sanity back to
her shattered mind. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Tweek
began to whimper quietly. Looking down, he could see that she'd
dozed off, but seemed to be having troubled dreams.
“Don't leave me...” whispered Tweek, gripping
Julian's leg as Julian shifted to accommodate her better.
Resting his hand on Tweek's arm, Julian nodded. “I
won't, I promise. I'll stay right here until you wake up.”
****
Julian awoke to a sharp pain in his leg. Looking down,
he couldn't help but smile as Tweek flashed him a fanged grin, her
golden eyes sparkling with mischief. “Did I fall asleep?”
Tweek nodded and smiled, snuggling up against Julian
and pulling his arms around her. “Your blood is moving really
fast. Something wrong?”
“No, nothing's wrong.” Julian raised an eyebrow as
Tweek jumped up and scurried over to the door. “Something
bothering you?”
