Vespara Knightly's Story Part 1

It’s nighttime I see a boy screaming I wonder who he is and where he’s come from. I’m up in an old gnarled tree watching him. There’s a man with the boy telling him, you need to calm it will be over soon, all over soon. The boy’s screams carry on throughout the night. The screams are starting to hurt my ears. We are away from town out in Smokesly Forest. It’s around midnight they have a small lantern it’s very dimly lit. I drop down to investigate I land the softest of sounds. They haven’t spotted me…yet. The boy stops screaming and falls to the ground with a light thud when he lands in the grass the man is smiling half-heartedly. His teeth no way, I think, can he be I thought our kind destroyed them for good. The boy seems not to be alive, but I can still sense his heart beating and hear his barest of breaths.

“How long do you wish to stand there in the shadows?” the man says. “Err I uh” I reply intelligently as I step out towards him. “B-but you’re a vampire you should be extinct.” “Well as I am not I don’t suppose you’d tell me what a young werewolf is doing out here at this time.” the vampire says. “How could you…” I look down mid-sentence see my tail and blush. “Our kind should have killed you!” I say as the vampire laughs at my blushing. “Its ok, young one, I know one of your older pack members we are good friends in fact, dear wolf.” the vampire said obviously amused. “But they told us from the stories you were…wait what were you doing to that boy!” I walk towards the boy and kneel down not taking my eyes off the vampire, but not quite meeting the vampires eyes wondering if I should trust him or not. “It is normal for you to not be able to trust me dear wolf.” Damn him I think. “Ah, but I am already damned aren’t I in your books and ancient scrolls they teach you of us as if a scary bedtime story.”
“What’s your name, Fangy?” “My name is Archie.” I laugh slightly and Archie looks puzzled. “Archie huh, like the comic book,” and then I laugh some more although I wish I hadn’t but I couldn’t stop. “Stop, young wolf, sunrise arrives” “Oh no I’ve got to be home by sunrise,” I think aloud since it didn’t matter anyway. “What have you done to the boy?”  “We shall speak tomorrow night, wolf, I must be going meet us here.” with that him and the boy disappeared suddenly. “Damned Archie.”  I could’ve sworn I heard laughter. I walk ‘home’ trying to make my tail go back away before sunrise. As usual I don’t succeed I’m still new at the whole werewolf thing and the elders say I must learn it myself its not to be taught. Figures!         

I get ‘home’ - the refuge a place for lycanthropes of any species, the people think it’s a homeless shelter- and grab my clothes from my room before heading to the shower chamber. I take a hot shower and clean my tail off it’s so hard to get dirt out of the fur. I shut off the water and realize someone is in the bathroom with me. I grab a towel from the pile. Wrap it around myself and look around the room. Sighing with relief, as I see Lawrence. “Just because its nothing you haven’t seen before doesn’t give you the right to come in here!” He’s tended to my wounds before and seen quite a bit. Lawrence blushes deep red. “I didn’t I mean I…I’m sorry” Lawrence replied quickly. Lawrence is about seventeen I’m fifteen or sixteen no one really knows.  “Could you leave please I need to get dressed!” Lawrence walks quickly towards the door opens it just enough for him to get through and then shuts it quietly.         

I wonder why he was in here anyways…oh well. I quickly dry off and put on my clothes…my favorite red shirt with the golden streaks within it and faded jeans with the zip up part for my tail. It’s really helpful since I can’t make my tail go in fully yet. I hate this refuge for werewolves…and other lycanthropes mostly werewolves though. I open the door only to find Lawrence standing outside it waiting for me. “The Headmaster wants you…again, Vespara what did you do this time?” Lawrence says. “I really don’t know he’s probably just making a new rule so I can break it I’ll see you later thanks.” “No prob.” Lawrence says before going to his room. I walk past many doors all the same modern looking ones ‘til I come to the Headmasters dark wooden one. “Come in, Vespara Knightly.” The Headmaster says in his friendly voice. Great I never can sneak up on him. “Yes Sir!” I open the door slowly and come in.

I gasp Archie is sitting next to him looking happy and tired. “Surprised to see me…Vespara.” What the hell is going on now?!?! I glance at the headmaster Mr.Horshe confused. “Mr. Horshe what’s going on he’s a a” “Vampire.” Mr.Horshe interrupts. “Yeah that.”  I say still a little worried. “No reason to worry Vespara” Archie says I growl slightly. “Vespara! He is our guest be nice!” Mr.Horshe says and I feel only a slight bit of his power and stop growling. “S-Sorry Archie.” I say my voice shaky. Please stop reading my mind if you can. “Ok I will all you had to do was ask.” Archie says then starts laughing and Mr.Horshe does too. I just stand there feeling uncomfortable. “Oh yes Vespara,” Mr.Horshe says after he stops laughing, running a hand through his long black hair. “Come sit near Archie, Vespara,” he says gesturing to Archie. I look at Archie and walk over slowly there is no chairs left so I sit next to his on the floor cross-legged not wanting to make the headmaster upset again.

Archie places his hand on my head and I fight the urge to rip it off. I realize its ice cold and look up at the vampire who’s looking down at me smiling. I quickly look at the headmaster only to find him grinning also. “Ummmm excuse me but what’s going on.” “ Well you see Vespara I need to warn you this probably wont be easy for you to understand just yet…”Archie says still smiling. What is it?” I say  “Vespara, Archie is your father.” Mr.Horshe says. I rip Archie’s hand off me. Then I get up in a blur and go to the corner I think someone’s calling my name, I think I’m screaming no. He can’t be he’s a vampire my father killed my mother after I was born I don’t remember but that’s what the elders always tell me he can’t have children he’s a vampire I’m a werewolf this isn’t real it must be a nightmare.

Archie looks worried he stands up and starts to take a step but in a blur the headmaster is there and whispers something in Archie’s ear I couldn’t hear anything but my own thought’s right now. Archie is gone without even a second passed he just disappears. I fall to the ground and lay there crying I think about everything that’s happened. I’ve been here since I was a baby the elders always looked at me differently I had to drink blood…but I ate like the other werewolves this can’t be happening how could he be I don’t understand.

I wake up in my bedroom don’t know how long has past I must’ve fell asleep on the floor. There’s a note written in the headmaster’s handwriting on my nightstand.  When you’ve sorted this out come see me. I know this is confusing if you have any questions come ask you will be excused from your classes today. -Headmaster Mr.Horshe. I must see him right away I get up and make the bed quickly. I check myself in the mirror and see I’m ok. I walk to the door and open it wondering about how this could’ve happened. I shut the door behind me and see a lot of people milling about the hallway. I quickly go past them trying to avoid hearing rumors spreading already. But of course I heard one. I heard she and Lawrence are dating she’s so lucky but then again he and her do go together they are both weird!

I reach the headmasters door and come in shutting the door behind me. “I’m so sorry I reacted the way I did I just…” I look down at the floor trying to stay strong for any punishment I may receive. I hear him stand and walk towards me he places a hand on my shoulder. “You reacted well Vespara I thought you would try to kill him, personally.” “I have some questions for you but also I wish to know my punishment,” I look up to meet his amber eyes. He says “There will be no punishment except to do the class work you missed now on to your questions.” “Well sir I’m wondering how if he is a vampire how he could be my..my….father.” “Vespara please sit this will be a long talk” He motions towards the chairs and takes his hand off me. I walk towards the chairs feeling uneasy I sit in the dark wooden one with the red cushion that…Archie was sitting in before. I sit like usual with one leg bent with my foot tucked under my bottom and one leg bent up near my chest. My tail wraps around my leg. I tuck my hair behind my ear while Mr.Horshe walks over. He sits in the dark wooden one with the green cushion he sits normally.

I think I hear him say something about my mother. “What about my mother?” I say confused. “I didn’t say anything about your mother Vespara, I thought something.” I try to hide my fear but don’t succeed. “Vespara it’s ok I can explain later after your questions would you like to start asking them?” Mr.Horshe says looking a little happier than before. “Yes sir sorry for whatever I just did sir.” I say as I figure out which question to ask first. “How come he left me here alone?” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice though I tried. “He wasn’t in any condition to take care of you Vespara.” Mr.Horshe says sighing. “But I was his daughter and he abandoned me what could be so bad, that he would leave me.”

“His thirst was that bad Vespara…remember when you didn’t drink blood for a couple weeks and you grabbed that boy and cut him with your nails and started to drink.” Lawrence. “Yeah I remember.” I replied sadly. “Well imagine that feeling you had but ten times more strong.” I can’t believe it that would be impossible to control. “So Archie lost control?” I asked confused now. “Somewhat but not really you see the vampires are not extinct we only kill those who kill freely and messily if they keep quiet and don’t kill unless needed we don’t kill them, your father was going to lose control he killed your mother,” I cringe and he continues pausing momentarily, “right after you were born he drank her to death.” Pausing here for a breath he continued again. “Well your father went to a shelter for vampires sort of like this except its for those who feel they will soon lose control, he was still in grief and he had needed more blood since had drank from a half-human species. So he was craving human blood more than usual. The vampires own blood banks across the world so he took some of that and stayed there ‘til he was fit to leave.”

“It took him 15 years?!” I was worried now how could it take him that long. “No Vespara it didn’t he was looking for you,” Huh? Hesitating Mr.Horshe continued “He didn’t know where you had been moved too, there isn’t any that we know of like you so he thought we might’ve…killed you.” Mr.Horshe said sadly. “You thought of killing me?” I say a little worried."Vespara you must understand, we had a great debate about it that took nearly a year." Mr. Horshe seemed to be thinking of something else."Vespara your like me in the
sense that you are not of one species,I told the council this that I had survived even
though I was shall we say reckless as a boy." he smiled warmly. I had a vision of
Mr.Horshe as a young boy his hair was down to his shoulders and he his eyes were
warm he even had a tail and ears like a black panther. Coming out of the vision,
"Wait then what are you a mix of, if it's not too personal, sir."
I asked wondering why weird things kept happening to me. "Black jaguar, commonly
thought of as a panther and a maylayan tiger." Mr.Horshe said softly.