HOME | DD

Description
Aira walked down the wooded path of the park leading to the stream and the playground.  She bit her lip and widened her eyes in the hopes of drying her tears.  She attempted to swallow the lump forming in her throat, causing the tears to spill over.  Wiping them away impatiently, she sat on the grass and tried to compose herself.  Resting her face in her hands, she tried to block out all thought; thinking hurt, and she couldn’t cry in front of the vampire’s council.
Despite how much she needed to focus on what was to come, she could not keep her mind from straying to Albin.  The events of the past night rushed through her head, going fast enough to blur the images.  Aira felt the breath catch in her throat as her mind’s eye caught on her memory of his final moments before death.  No matter how many times she had revisited this scene over the past twenty four hours, it still felt like a blow to her.
Aira was so distraught she didn’t notice the sound of another approaching: a boy of about sixteen with raven-black hair.  He touched Aira’s shoulder gently and whispered her name as calmly as he could manage.  Despite his best efforts, however, she still jumped at the touch.
“Easy, it’s me,” he said, smiling consolingly, though his vampiric eyes still remained a bright yellow, the color of tension.  Traces of blue, which signaled grief, and red, the color of anger, haunted his eyes as well.  A vampire’s eyes reflect his mood.  Only the most powerful vampires could mask their eyes.
“Hey Blake,” she said.
The boy called Blake reached into his pocket, pulled out an extremely wrinkled tissue, and handed it to Aira.  He stayed silent as she dabbed her eyes, then asked, “Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered, thought they both didn’t believe it.  He put an arm around her, and she lay her head on his shoulder for a minute, each taking comfort in the other’s presence.  Aira and Blake had been best friends, literally, since birth.  Both had been born vampires, and since the clan raised their children together, the two were rarely ever seen apart.
They sat like this for another moment; then Blake stood and helped Aira to her feet.  “We can’t be late,” he said.
“You were summoned, too?” she asked, taking his outstretched hand.
“The whole clan has.”
They stood in silence.  They both knew without saying that this was big.  Never since Aira’s birth had the entire clan been called together at once.
“C’mon,” said Blake.  “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.”
She nodded and the two set off together.  Aira felt a lot better now that her oldest and dearest friend was with her, but she still felt upset.  They walked a little longer in silence, then Blake asked Aira, “What do you think all this means?”
“Hmm?” she asked, still lost in her own thoughts.
“Them summoning us all to the meeting.  Do you think they’re gonna change the pact?”
Aira bristled.  “The pact is there for a reason,” she said haughtily.  “They wouldn’t just throw it away like that, no matter what the hunters did.”
“Maybe they’re just thinking about changing it.”
“Impossible,” said Aira.  She knew very well that it was not impossible, but she could not help being fearful of change.  For centuries, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters had decided upon an agreement with the hunters, who had persecuted them since their creation.  Basically, they agreed to never intrude upon each others’ territories as long as there was peace among the two sides.  So, if a vampire killed a hunter or any other human, the pact would be violated.  This pact had been the only thing keeping their powers in balance; it created a surprising amount of harmony among the two sides, and it had not been violated since its conception.
Until now, thought Aira bitterly.
Rounding a corner, Aira and Blake came to the clearing where the Council of Elders held their meetings.  Aira saw that nearly all of them had arrived, along with most of the other members of the clan.
Aira noticed the wise and male head elder first, Talbot.  His face, which appeared to belong to one in his early thirties, betrayed his true age of over three thousand years.  Only in his eyes could you see the wisdom he’d accumulated with his age.  He stood quietly next to a picnic table, seemingly lost in thought, when he looked Aira straight in the eyes.  Their eyes locked for only a moment, in which Aira could feel his deep, underlying grief, and she looked away.
Sweeping her eyes across the scene, she saw Lucine, the female head elder, meditating silently in the grass.  Her long, silvery hair flowed down her back, and she swayed ever so slightly with the wind, communing with the world around her.  Aira started to feel the air surrounding Lucine with her mind to catch her mood, but stopped herself.  Her mother would say that was disrespectful, and she dimly agreed.
Sitting alone in the shadows Aira saw the dark form of Sauda.  She was watching Lucine with cold, black eyes that made anger boil in Aira’s stomach.  Aira had never trusted Sauda.  Her voice was deep, sultry, sinister.  Exactly how Aira pictured the voice of the snake of Eden.  Her eyes were always the color of flawless onyx; her power was beyond compare.  Sauda saw Aira looking at her and grinned maniacally, like the smile of a dangerous cat.  Aira didn’t respond, but instead chose to see who else was there.
Next to the merry go round sat Aira’s mother, Astra, and Blake’s little sister, Keaira.  Astra had shared her long, brilliantly red hair with her daughter, and the stars forever sparkled in her eyes.  She was a beautiful woman, tall and strong.  Keaira had the same black hair as her brother, and a contagious smile.  Neither of them was smiling then.
“Hey guys,” said Keaira when the two of them sat down.
“Hey,” they said in return.  Astra ran a hand through her daughter’s hair, looking into her eyes with deep sympathy.  Aira looked back, and the two didn’t need words to understand each others’ mourning.  None of them said any more, and instead awaited the start of the ceremony.
They did not have to wait long; in only a few minutes, Lucine stood in the middle of the playground, and all fell silent as she raised her long, white hands to the sky.  With that solemn sign, the Elder’s council officially began.

Description
Aira walked down the wooded path of the park leading to the stream and the playground.  She bit her lip and widened her eyes in the hopes of drying her tears.  She attempted to swallow the lump forming in her throat, causing the tears to spill over.  Wiping them away impatiently, she sat on the grass and tried to compose herself.  Resting her face in her hands, she tried to block out all thought; thinking hurt, and she couldn’t cry in front of the vampire’s council.
Despite how much she needed to focus on what was to come, she could not keep her mind from straying to Albin.  The events of the past night rushed through her head, going fast enough to blur the images.  Aira felt the breath catch in her throat as her mind’s eye caught on her memory of his final moments before death.  No matter how many times she had revisited this scene over the past twenty four hours, it still felt like a blow to her.
Aira was so distraught she didn’t notice the sound of another approaching: a boy of about sixteen with raven-black hair.  He touched Aira’s shoulder gently and whispered her name as calmly as he could manage.  Despite his best efforts, however, she still jumped at the touch.
“Easy, it’s me,” he said, smiling consolingly, though his vampiric eyes still remained a bright yellow, the color of tension.  Traces of blue, which signaled grief, and red, the color of anger, haunted his eyes as well.  A vampire’s eyes reflect his mood.  Only the most powerful vampires could mask their eyes.
“Hey Blake,” she said.
The boy called Blake reached into his pocket, pulled out an extremely wrinkled tissue, and handed it to Aira.  He stayed silent as she dabbed her eyes, then asked, “Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered, thought they both didn’t believe it.  He put an arm around her, and she lay her head on his shoulder for a minute, each taking comfort in the other’s presence.  Aira and Blake had been best friends, literally, since birth.  Both had been born vampires, and since the clan raised their children together, the two were rarely ever seen apart.
They sat like this for another moment; then Blake stood and helped Aira to her feet.  “We can’t be late,” he said.
“You were summoned, too?” she asked, taking his outstretched hand.
“The whole clan has.”
They stood in silence.  They both knew without saying that this was big.  Never since Aira’s birth had the entire clan been called together at once.
“C’mon,” said Blake.  “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.”
She nodded and the two set off together.  Aira felt a lot better now that her oldest and dearest friend was with her, but she still felt upset.  They walked a little longer in silence, then Blake asked Aira, “What do you think all this means?”
“Hmm?” she asked, still lost in her own thoughts.
“Them summoning us all to the meeting.  Do you think they’re gonna change the pact?”
Aira bristled.  “The pact is there for a reason,” she said haughtily.  “They wouldn’t just throw it away like that, no matter what the hunters did.”
“Maybe they’re just thinking about changing it.”
“Impossible,” said Aira.  She knew very well that it was not impossible, but she could not help being fearful of change.  For centuries, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters had decided upon an agreement with the hunters, who had persecuted them since their creation.  Basically, they agreed to never intrude upon each others’ territories as long as there was peace among the two sides.  So, if a vampire killed a hunter or any other human, the pact would be violated.  This pact had been the only thing keeping their powers in balance; it created a surprising amount of harmony among the two sides, and it had not been violated since its conception.
Until now, thought Aira bitterly.
Rounding a corner, Aira and Blake came to the clearing where the Council of Elders held their meetings.  Aira saw that nearly all of them had arrived, along with most of the other members of the clan.
Aira noticed the wise and male head elder first, Talbot.  His face, which appeared to belong to one in his early thirties, betrayed his true age of over three thousand years.  Only in his eyes could you see the wisdom he’d accumulated with his age.  He stood quietly next to a picnic table, seemingly lost in thought, when he looked Aira straight in the eyes.  Their eyes locked for only a moment, in which Aira could feel his deep, underlying grief, and she looked away.
Sweeping her eyes across the scene, she saw Lucine, the female head elder, meditating silently in the grass.  Her long, silvery hair flowed down her back, and she swayed ever so slightly with the wind, communing with the world around her.  Aira started to feel the air surrounding Lucine with her mind to catch her mood, but stopped herself.  Her mother would say that was disrespectful, and she dimly agreed.
Sitting alone in the shadows Aira saw the dark form of Sauda.  She was watching Lucine with cold, black eyes that made anger boil in Aira’s stomach.  Aira had never trusted Sauda.  Her voice was deep, sultry, sinister.  Exactly how Aira pictured the voice of the snake of Eden.  Her eyes were always the color of flawless onyx; her power was beyond compare.  Sauda saw Aira looking at her and grinned maniacally, like the smile of a dangerous cat.  Aira didn’t respond, but instead chose to see who else was there.
Next to the merry go round sat Aira’s mother, Astra, and Blake’s little sister, Keaira.  Astra had shared her long, brilliantly red hair with her daughter, and the stars forever sparkled in her eyes.  She was a beautiful woman, tall and strong.  Keaira had the same black hair as her brother, and a contagious smile.  Neither of them was smiling then.
“Hey guys,” said Keaira when the two of them sat down.
“Hey,” they said in return.  Astra ran a hand through her daughter’s hair, looking into her eyes with deep sympathy.  Aira looked back, and the two didn’t need words to understand each others’ mourning.  None of them said any more, and instead awaited the start of the ceremony.
They did not have to wait long; in only a few minutes, Lucine stood in the middle of the playground, and all fell silent as she raised her long, white hands to the sky.  With that solemn sign, the Elder’s council officially began.