After tailing her for a few minutes, Elijah finally decided it was safe enough to come out. He found her quite stupid for taking a walk when she was injured, especially in a place infested with vampires and monsters alike. But then again, she’d always been daring.
The memories with her and the rest of his friends were blurry, but there were certain bits he could remember. Their sneaking out to get food. Them irritating vampires until they were starved, then fed and did it all over again. What Elijah didn’t find weird was that more than the warm memories, he remembered the painful ones. Like his body being ripped to pieces, him slowly dying out, and then being turned.
He slowly stepped out from the shadows at that thought, leaning against a tree, then waited for her to finally notice him.
Elyse relaxed in the silence of the woods. No birds had yet started their chirping so the only sound accompanying her was her footsteps. Even those stopped once she found a log to sit on, satisfied with the distance between her and the camp.
Being alone was nice. It let her calm her mind down, go through the flashes of memories that plagued her constantly. At least she figured she was alone. Even deep in remembering a day when she hadn't left Elijah's side the entire day just to bother him, she could hear the quiet shuffle of leaves in front of her. Her eyes flicked up, doing a double-take as to who was with her before she jumped up from her spot on the log.
It was Elijah. Again.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed, their encounter from days ago flashing through her mind. This wasn't the boy she remembered growing up with, this was some cruel twist of fate. Elyse herself had changed a lot since that day so many years ago, but at least the was still human. Elijah was the exact thing she had vowed to destroy in his name.
Elijah tilted his face to the side as he took in her features properly, without that mask covering half of her face, and while she was relatively clean. He, too, was washed clean from the blood. He blinked, his eyes falling to her bandaged arm.
"Hello, Elyse," he said instead, crossing his arms, tongue flicking his sharp fangs. A smile caressed his lips as he looked at her. It had been a while since he drank blood, so seeing Elyse, hearing her heartbeat, made him a bit hungry. But he had self-control, so he pushed back his urges. "Good to see you again. You look well."
That wasn't the case, really. She looked tired and hurt, and it was his fault. If she didn't hate him for who he was… she'd definitely hate him for trying to kill her.
"Don't you dare try to start a casual conversation, Elijah," She growled, not returning a smile, or really anything besides a stone-cold glare. Her mind was conflicted as she responded, one side of her screaming for her to kill the vampire in front of her like she had trained to. The other side was softer but even more persistent, she wanted to walk up to him and wrap him in a hug, to greet her best friend and make sure he was alright.
"Why are you here?" Elyse asked, the second option winning an advantage as her voice softened barely. There wasn't any way she looked 'well', as he described it, a fact she was aware of. "More importantly, why did I never know you were alive…well, dead, but you know what I mean, before now?" She knew his answers would be the difference between her trying to sock him in the gut or breaking down and bawling her eyes out. He wasn't alive anymore, in the sense that he wasn't human, but he wasn't dead. The boy who's death she had mourned since the day she had been rescued was standing in front of her.
Elijah blinked again, noting the way she seemed to struggle. Well, she had a right to be angry at him, he supposed. It wasn't every day that a friend walked out alive after being dead for years. Or, well, 'undead' would be the better word. He wasn't alive, but neither was he truly dead.
"I came for you," he finally responded, his voice cold, a contrast to her sweet, barely soft voice. He stuck his hands in his pockets and began to walk towards her again. He answered her second question, "You did not know I was still alive the same way I did not know you were."
He hadn't really tried trying to find her, though. Sure, he once begged Maverick on his knees to be able to bury the bodies of his friends. He killed for Lilith so she'd grant him that right. But no matter what he did, he was never allowed to even look at the remains of what had been his family.
Elyse backed up as he walked forward, instinctively putting her hands up in a defensive position even as it made her wince. " 'I came for you'," She mimicked him, shaking her head, "Could you be any more vague?" At least he had answered her in some way. Her glare hardened but it was clear she was having a difficult time keeping her emotions under control.
"Do you want to know what I did with the first two years of my life after being rescued? I searched for the place we got caught. I was searching for your body so I bury you and our friends. I mourned you, Elijah. Did you even think about us once you turned into one of them?" Her voice wavered as she growled the words at him. She told herself over and over to keep it together, practically spitting out the next words, "Back up, I don't want you and your fangs anywhere near me."
All she had to do was keep it together. That's what she told herself.
Elijah instantly stopped at her words. She really hated him, didn't she? Still, a bit of anger bubbled in his throat, flashing in his eyes. She had no idea how much he suffered, how much he was still suffering. Not only was he unable to properly grieve the loss of his friends, but he also had hardly any opportunity to mourn the loss of his humanity.
He bared his teeth, but then instantly held himself back, pushing away the anger threatening to burst.
"I apologize if you think that way, Elyse," he finally replied, his voice calm and composed as compared to her wavering one. "But, no matter what you seem to want to think, becoming a vampire wasn't nowhere near my agenda. Did you, perhaps, even thought of the possibility that I was turned against my will, regardless of what I wanted?"
"I thought of that, yes, I really did," She replied, swallowing the lump in her throat that was threatening to make her start to cry, "But I also knew that the boy I remembered would've done everything he could to not join the beings we both hated." Elyse shook her head, looking at the ground and dropping her arms from the defensive position they were in. "I missed you, Elijah. I missed laughing with you, goofing around, getting in trouble, life hasn't been the safe since that day, idiot." She whispered, letting her mask fall for just a moment before the walls she kept up slammed up harder than ever.
She had shown weakness. The one thing she wasn't supposed to do.
"Why did you come for me? What do you mean by that?" She asked, looking back up at him and meeting his different colored eyes. Her voice was back to a cold and calm tone, even as once again her emotions threatened to spill over. They definitely would if he did anything close to even resting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm afraid I'm not the same boy you remember, Elyse," Elijah said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and tilting his head to the side again. Maybe he should have felt something upon seeing her break–he did, but he'd been so cut off from his humanity that he had no idea what to do. So he did the natural thing all vampires were capable of doing, and he turned them off. "I'm a vampire, whether you like it or not."
Elyse then turned cold, even when Elijah knew she was so close to breaking again. He wasn't exaggerating when he said he wasn't the same boy from the past. He really wasn't. Everything had changed, especially him. Not just his humanity, but everything regarding him. It had been easy for Lilith to do that to him. The Blood Link between them ensured it.
"Your arm," he said, eyes falling to her wound. "I wanted to make sure you were all right. And you shouldn't be here alone, defenseless. You are a walking target."
"My arm is fine. I've had worse," She replied in a clipped tone, daring a quick glance at the bandages where the faint color of blood was starting to peek through again. Elyse found herself scowling when he said he wanted to make sure she was alright, "I'm fine, and I'm not defenseless either, I don't go out into the woods empty-handed you know." It was instinctive as she tilted her body slightly so her injured arm was further from the vampire. That was what she was going to call him from now on. He was just another one of them anyway. The lack of any emotion at speaking to her again showed that.
"Being a walking target is something that comes with being human, Elijah," She reminded him, crossing her arms as she looked up at him. It was the first time she had really studied what her friend had grown up to be. He looked strong and well-fed, something she didn't want to think about. He was also so much taller. They looked like opposites if she was being honest. She was a skinny, weak, short human. He was anything but.
This time, a pang of hurt flashed through him when she tilted her injured arm away from him. Though, then again, Elijah couldn’t blame her for. He drank blood, literally. She couldn’t—shouldn’t trust him. Especially when he was sent to kill her, after all.
At her words, he couldn’t help the wince that followed.
“I don’t remember what being human feels like. It’s been so long,” he admitted, looking at his hands, hands that had killed so many, and then sighed. “I tried finding you, too, Elyse. You and everyone else. But no matter what I tried…” when Elijah looked back at her again, his eyes were flashing. He shook his head, the words suddenly caught in his throat.
Then his sharp ears caught movement in the distance and his body went rigid.
“If you want to see me again…” he started, “go to a secluded place. I'll find you.”
Then he disappeared as if he was never even there, a few minutes before he heard Elyse’s teammate.
Elyse didn't interrupt. She kept her face and tone neutral as he talked, freezing when he tensed up and cursing his abilities to just…disappear. He left her with a choice to see him again. That part stuck out the most, the fact that he seemed willing to talk to her again. She thought over the choice for several minutes, leaning against a nearby tree with a shaky sigh. She had just talked to a vampire, albeit one she had known since childhood, but a bloodthirsty creature nonetheless.
Only her teammate's voices brought her back to the moment when she walked back to camp. They seemed to buy her lie that she had just gone on a walk, omitting everything about Elijah. It felt wrong to keep that part from them, even as she helped clean up the area and continued back to the entrance to their underground base.
It took two more hours of walking to reach the tiny shack that served as the entrance to their base.
The entrance looked like nothing more than a pile of wood close to collapsing, but under a few of the rotten floorboards laid a thick steel door. Elyse was so happy to see those rotting boards though, eager to get back to her bed and sleep as long as she wanted.
Elijah sighed from his spot on the tree top, annoyed with himself. He wished he hadn’t seen Elyse again. He wished things hadn’t been such a mess, but they were. Things had gotten rough again. Lilith couldn’t control him this far out, but… if he took too long, she’d send another one of her dogs after him. She knew that no matter what, he’d always come back to the only place that would accept him, but he existed for her purpose only. The second he had no use…
Elijah swallowed. He needed blood, but he wasn’t in the mood to hunt. So he grabbed the bag he packed, took out a bottle, and drank the blood, even when it hardly tasted any good.
He wondered what Elyse’s blood would taste like.
The thought disgusted him to the core and took away his hunger. He leaned back against the tree, closed his eyes, and waited for the moment he’d see her again.
Maybe she could help him. They’d been family once—perhaps she’d be willing to free him again.
With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The team slipped one after another into the base, keeping an eye out for anyone around them. It was a mess of medics and fellow soldiers after they were all counted for, a gentle medic guiding her to her room, armed with bandages and painkillers. It took Elyse a minute to figure out why the medic brought supplies with before she remembered her arm. Tending to the stab wound was a blur of pain and blood, but it was quick thankfully.
She didn't bother trying to eat anything after the medic left, heading straight to her bed and laying down. As soon as Elyse's head hit her pillow, she was out cold.
It was late afternoon by the time she woke up. She was still tired, but hunger was driving her as she stumbled out of her room and down to the mess hall. Even the other soldiers could see that while she waited for her tray of food. It was never much, a bowl of mystery soup, the tiniest serving of cooked carrots she had ever seen, and a slice of bread. At least she could identify two of the three things on her tray. No one could ever agree on what was actually in the soup.
Elijah didn't cross her mind until she was back in her room once again, his last few words echoing in her head.
"If you want to see me again…go to a secluded place. I'll find you.”
She sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed. Was it going to be a trap if she went and saw him? How much bribing would she have to do to even get above ground again? A plan snapped together not a minute later and she just stood up before walking out to test out her plan to get outside, wondering why in the word she was going to try to find Elijah again so damn soon.
Elijah wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, his eyes closed as he inhaled deeply. There was nothing better than a thrilling chase, with him being the predator, of course. He would have to get rid of the blood, yes, but thankfully his attire was all black. The stain wouldn't show on his shirt. He quickly found a stream and washed his hands and mouth, then decided to wash his shirt as well. He was dead, so the coldness wouldn't bother him at all.
Once he was done, he perched upon a rock and finally let himself think of Elyse. Would she want to see him again? She had been disgusted in their previous meeting, so he didn't put it past her to not come. Still, a bit of hope flickered in his chest.
Then got squashed down by the realization that he would have to track her down either way because of Lilith.
"Westly, please..C'mon." Elyse scowled at her friend, watching as he sighed and scowled right back at her.
"I'll watch the door for one hour. That's it. Then getting back in is your problem." Westly turned to face her, looking quite defeated after she had just been bothering him for the past half an hour, "I don't get why you couldn't just get a normal wooden stake from the storehouse, why do you have to go make one yourself?"
She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to follow her, which he surprisingly did, "I already told you, it's not the same. Finding a piece of wood that feels right in my hands is important. Otherwise, it doesn't stab right." Internally, she was overjoyed that he had agreed to watch the opening of the base for her, even if she only got an hour to find Elijah and talk to him. Elyse did feel slightly bad for lying to Westly as to why she was going outside, especially since it was keeping him from his constant training. He wouldn't understand the truth though. So she had to lie to him, for his own safety.
They reached the door a few minutes later, walking silently as Elyse checked that her arm was wrapped tightly and everything besides her fingers and the top half of her face was covered by cloth or wrappings to protect herself. "Westly…thank you, I promise I'll repay you." She said gently as she climbed the ladder up to the metal door.
He just nodded, offering a tight-lipped smile and relaxing against the bottom of the ladder. "One hour, that's it," He called up after her as she disappeared above ground. The door slammed shut tightly behind her and she was left standing alone in the collapsing shack. Her knife was a comforting reminder of what she needed to do while she was out here. The wooden stake tucked into her shirt felt heavy. She hoped she wouldn't have to use it.
Before her thoughts consumed her any further, she walked off into the woods to find Elijah.
Elijah had genuinely given up hope of Elyse’s arrival. He’d just started to leave when a familiar sent filled his nostrils, and within a blink of an eye, he moved.
And was behind Elyse, looking at her in surprise.
“You came,” he said in disbelief, waiting for her to turn around to face him. His next words had cracked slightly, the first bits of emotion he let out, ”You came alone. I didn’t think you would.”
Elyse visibly tensed when he appeared behind her and she slowly turned, her blue eyes glancing up at him. "Of course I did." She said, her voice soft but still guarded, "I only have an hour though. Please don't make me regret coming to talk to you." Talking this close to the entrance to their base made her jumpy, so she turned around again and started walking slowly into the woods further.
His voice actually held something like emotion in it. She had heard it. It made the gentlest smile twitch onto her face, the first smile she had in a long time, even if it was hidden under her mask.
Elijah sighed silently. It seemed she really would take time to trust him again, though it did hurt knowing all it took for her to distrust him was for him to become a vampire. That was human nature, though. They feared the supernatural, even though they were monsters, too.
He followed after, hands in his pockets, his steps graceful and light. He kept his distance, remembering she’d flinched back the last time.
“Did you tell anyone about me?” he asked quietly, but he knew she’d be able to hear him.
"The first time we met again…I was exhausted and facing you slipped out," She said, quickly adding, "I never told them I talked to you, or that I crossed paths with you any other time after that. It didn't take her long to reach somewhere she thought was safer and her pace slowed until she stopped. It wasn't much different from where they had just been, just deeper in the woods.
Elyse turned back to face him, shifting on her feet and meeting his eyes. "Do you remember our childhood? Anything before being..turned?" She asked gently, her voice holding no jealousy or anger, it was just a question. She wanted to give him a real shot at proving that he wasn't like the rest of them. It was all she wanted. She was going to give him an honest shot, a second try.
Her mask felt weird on her face and instinctively she pulled it off, letting it rest around her neck so her face was bare. "Is there any part of the Elijah I remember still in you?"
Elijah stopped as well, though still maintained the distance between them. At her question, conflict flickered across his features. He didn’t remember much, no, and that was the sad part.
“I remember your eyes. And everyone’s laughter,” he answered, trying to soften his words. “I’m afraid not, Elyse. I’m not the Elijah you remember. I don’t think I can ever be. I’ve done a lot of terrible things to ensure that.”
He closed his eyes, pinched his nose, exhaled, and then opened them again. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if he really could trust her, then slowly pulled the shirt from his left shoulder down, where a mark was burned into his skin. Lilith’s mark. “I’m blood bound to a vampire, Elyse,” he said quietly. “Lilith, my coven’s leader.”
Her face dropped at the second part of the answer, almost as if she had been guessing he would say that. "You still look the same..older, but the same, that hasn't changed." Elyse was clearly clinging to the idea that there was something still inside of that she could relate to, even if deep down she knew there was nothing. It clearly surprised her when he pulled his shirt down to expose his shoulder and she stared at the mark with an unreadable expression.
"What does that mean, Elijah?" She asked, stepping forward a fraction of an inch and reaching a hand out like she wanted to touch the mark. Her hand pulled back on its path to his shoulder within a moment though, dropping back to her side. Elyse knew he probably didn't want her touching him. "Is Lilith the one that turned you?" Already she wanted to kill this new vampire, even if she had no clue who they were.
Elijah couldn’t understand this girl. One second she was ready to kill him, the next she was emotional, and then she was angry again. Human feelings were so complicated.
He pretended not to react to her reaching out to him as he let his shirt go and slowly nod. “Covens are formed when a specific vampire forms a blood link with others,” he explained slowly, trying to dumb down the explanation. “A blood link between two vampires is formed when a vampire feeding the blood to another wills it and is strong enough to do so. I’m bound to Lilith, body and soul, whether I like it or not. I do what she tells me to do, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
"Is she telling you what to do right now?" Elyse asked, taking a step back. It would explain the sudden want to talk to her again. She hoped it wasn't true but she couldn't be sure, vampires were tricky creatures though. "Are you talking to me because she's telling you to?" This was all so confusing, it was messing with her head, messing with what she thought she knew and how much she figured she could trust Elijah.
It was a lot to process, that not only her best friend was a vampire, but he also claimed that there was another vampire that could control him. She didn't know what to think as she leaned back against the tree behind her and thought.
Elijah pursed his lips, eyes watching her every move. Even when he wasn’t entirely alert, he could feel and hear every little beating. Like the heavy beat of her heart, which told him she was scared. Nervous. He knew he was the reason for her nervousness.
He shook his head. “She didn’t make me talk to you,” he said, and that was all he said about that topic. “I didn’t know you were alive until I saw you at the battle a few days ago. There’s nothing Lilith would get out by making me talk to you.”
