A Clear Path

To say that second quarter was easy... an understatement.

Jane, Daisy and pretty much everybody else, glanced more than once over to you, scribbling wildly at the test during Enhanced Mathematics Quiz rounds.

Math wasn't exactly your strongest subject, you preferred the calm symphonies of music and the complex stories of History and Literature as opposed to numbers. But god damn, did Your Vampiric powers pay off today.

"six rounds of rapid testing today ladies and gentleman, each test increasing in difficulty and complexity." 3xplained Ms Onmyo, a thin and soft-spoken Japanese woman with a neat river of short black curls that rolled down to her earlobes.

And went it had begun, only moments ago, Ms Onmyo gave You a particularly sweet smile placing the first round of tests in front of you.

There you were, eyes watching disbelief at the speed and focus of your work, while everybody else toiled over their tests, the Jock's puzzling and Nerds buzzing with the heights of their practised knowledge.

But not a single soul even came close to the dark storm that was Charles Drake, flashing through paper after paper, the prism of numbers and equations flying through your mind like lost paper bags on the wind, processing every speck of detail.

Your face flushed with energy, the heat of your powerful mind burning with the flames as You flitted through the Language of the universe.

All six papers slid in front of Ms Onmyo, the small but cute Asian Mathematics professor peered over her glasses and raised an eyebrow, silently taking your papers and observing them critically "Charlie... There's no way that You did all of this, that fast?" She muttered.

Fingers gripped around the small object that you'd pocketed moments before, brandishing it thusly... a, pencil worn down to its nub.

Ms Onmyo smiled, astonished by the complex and extremely neat handwriting in-scripted into every inch of the many pages.

"I have been meaning to speak with you, Ms Onmyo." You spoke lowly as not to disturb your fellow pupils.

"let me guess: You want your work ahead of semester?" Ms Onmyo was never a fool, soft-spoken and kind yes... but potentially the smartest teacher on Academy grounds, she was smooth and sharp with her responses, and You'd be hard-pressed to get anything past her.

"I seriously need to fix my grades, Ms Onmyo. You've seen what I'm capable of now and... math is actually kinda fun. Will you help me?"

The thin spider-legs of her fingers drummed on her desk thoughtfully. "I know about your little deal with Mr Harrow and Vicky. But this is against Academy Policy, Charlie, I'd be taking a risk on my reputation-"

"-Then you can rest easy, knowing that I'll not fail." You wondered what people saw when looked at you, some mysterious smiling weirdo? but You had to push forward to achieve your goals and Math had become simple, easy, even fun... you had already thought of so many uses for it.

Onmyo huffed "You've not been a big fan of math up until now, Mr Drake. I'd been eager to see the genius that my colleagues had boasted of you in their classes." She gazed at you, and for a moment you felt a slight unease as if someone was prying up a secret exit into your feelings. Onmyo grinned, pushing back her black hair "Alright. I will push your progress ahead of the other students. But this stays between us Mr Drake."

Your hands planted on the desk, rooting on the polished oak "What made you accept?" Your voice was light and curious "I really didn't think You'd be alright with this kind of deal."

There was a flicker in her dark eyes "I still remember when I had that look in my eyes when I was standing right where you are now, in this very classroom. it was when I realised just how much I was capable of. So, to answer your question; Curiosity... I am going to see how this goes. we have very high expectations of you, Don't let me down, Charlie."

!!!

You paused, gooseflesh erupted across your neck, and Your eyes puzzled at her... it was strange, looking at her, was almost as if looking at a pool of dark ominous water, Your face reflected back in those dark shallow orbs of hers.

"I'll have extra material for you to work on this afternoon, Mr Drake. Until then go ahead and be on your way, this work is exemplary, take the next half an Hour."

You were beaming all the way back over to your desk where You'd whisked up your bag and helped Daisy up with a gentlemanly hand.

"Where are you going?" Jane had leant over to whisper.

"I finished the test."

"Yeah, I saw," Jane nodded, the others around you also gave you that strange look, like they'd just seen some kind of miracle performed.

"Meet me in the Library when You're done, I'll try not to do such a frankly amazing Vampire Impression this time." You gave her a wink, kissed her cheek which flushed with blood, and with Your ever-loyal Blonde companion taking your arm. You took the next Half-Hour.

Slipping out of the classroom into the baron corridors, You made tracks towards the library... and Your smile faded. Marching forward, You quickly ducked into the Bathrooms outside of the Library, leaving Daisy looking worried outside.

Lurches echoed in the empty space, Your stomach rumbled as your throat squeezed in process of your dry heaving into the dirty toilet cistern. "WHUUUR." red-faced and quick breathed, you'd felt the deep hungry churning of your belly, the sickly sweet scent of Human beings toiling on your senses... for that entire lesson.

Falling toilet side. You Sat in quiet recuperation, trying to gather your faculties for the rest of the day. "One little Flitting session... and I feel like I'm going to starve to ****..."

Your powers were straining, You knew it... for too long you'd been starving them.

We must feed.

"I will not."

Then You will die, or others around you will die. This is what it means to be Undead, Chip.

"I am not, a Monster. Just... hush for a minute, I'll catch my breath in a moment."

A Dragon should not linger amongst sheep.

There was no reality where You'd partake of... That.

You were a Descendant of the First, nothing would change that. You'd washed your hands, and splashed your face at the sink. The Cracked mirror lingered above where you found yourself staring into the golden orbs that looked back.

You looked pale, and tired. You felt drained, No, nothing would stop you-

The aurous orbs... became translucent, your skin like glass in the reflection, the long locks of Brown and Black weaved into the air, almost unseen. Jolting back violently, rubbing your eyes, Your reflection... was intact.

You cannot ignore this, Chip. You might not accept what You are, but it cannot be changed, our path is clear, where your mind is not.

Drying your face, forgetting to dry your hands, You marched out of the bathroom.

"Clear my ass."

"Charlie!" Daisy marched like an ox behind you, her long legs only just able to keep up with your rapid stride through the hallway. "Charlie, will ya stop walking and just talk!?"

Her hand touched your shoulder as she caught up with You.

A fire sparked between you, the rising heat shooting out a small puff of black smoke. Daisy's eyes widened, seeing the black flame that arose from your shoulder, threatening to singe Your shirt.

Grasping you tightly, she pushed you out of the corridor and into a secluded corner, where you both immediately patted out the flames and took a breather "Fuck." You muttered, brushing the soot off of your shoulder.

The Mountainous blonde peered down at you, her soft eyes the colour of violet dawn kissed the irritated gold of your orbs "Your heart is hammering... You need to calm down." She whispered, her soft globes pressed against you in the cramped corner by the lockers.

You blinked "That's going to be a little hard with you pressed up on me... literally." Smooth Drake, Smooth.

Blood flooded into her cheeks and You averted your eyes. She sighed "You've got this right? You look happy... but you smell-"

"Like I want to devour you, and everyone here?" You asked brightly.

She saw the hunger in your eyes, she knew what you were feeling, leaning in with a seriousness that You'd rarely seen, it was majestic, authoritative and powerful; Madam Ostara whispered "You do not need to partake. You're... Like me, I can feel it. It's just finding the right crutch to keep the call at bay."

"I love your eyes..." But unfortunately, You were a Drake, and Drake's were stubborn. You didn't need some two-bit substitute... You didn't need anything, You were a Descendant... not a monster. "... They're like amethysts. Shining obsidian stars, that know just how to calm me." You whispered.

Madam Ostara softened, fiddling the collar of her crimson velvet jacket.

"I'm okay, Daise, don't you have faith in me?"

"What question is that?" She frowned, grasping the straps of her little handbag tightly. "Of course I do."

"Then trust me, the bloodlust, the fires of the sun, I will not let them stop anything. I have so many questions, Daise, so many mysteries that need to be settled. All your life you've stumbled towards an unclear goal, we have that in common, but... if you'll help me, I will fill this life with clarity for both of us. What do you think?"

A sigh left her lips, as she rubbed her eyes "I think that You're unstable and dangerous. But if I can help fix that with the 'clarity' you need, then I'm always happy to oblige." Her red lips curled into a gentle smile, beautiful and grossly incandescent as the rising sun.

"Thank you... Come on, let's go to beans. there is someone I intend to have a little chat with."

Leaves of red and gold soared on the cold winds, all-hallows eve was only until the end of October and damn if the fallen season hadn't swept through Wallace with a rampant hunger, draining the green; soaked from the storm last night. The cool wind helped soothe the roaring flame within somewhat, much to your relief.

The Bell sung as the door to the Beans Café opened. With Daisy by your side, you walked through into the classy coffee lounge... and could not help but deepen in your smile.

The place was mostly empty and you were grateful for it, the soft smell of brewing coffee graced your nose, nirvana in comparison to the many beating hearts that boomed in your ears and the stench of intoxicating blood pumping through veins.

And yet, that wasn't even the best part, no the best part, had red hair, a beautiful freckled face and a belly slightly more swollen than before, her bump barely contained in her oversized black and white woolly sweater.

But the orbs of deep blue had not noticed you... odd, Rose was usually hyper-vigilant, with that weird thing she did: looking with over open, unblinking eyes. Instead, Rose sat on a chair behind the counter, her face buried urgently in her phone.

Daisy didn't seem all too enthused with being in the company of who was apparently her nemesis, but Rose didn't even hear her heavy steps as you approached. "Rosie?"

"AH!" Rose jolted, bearing her teeth aggressively as her eyes darted around.

You raised an eyebrow as the redhead relaxed at the sight of you. She rubbed her ears "Human ears hm. How long have you been standing there?" She glanced at Daisy who returned the spiteful glare she bore for her.

"About 10 seconds, are you... playing Angry birds?"

"So you know this mission?" Rose's face became sunny again as she looked back at you. "At first my avian forces were no match for these porcine's fowl fortresses, but I have been tweaking my strategy to crush the rotten hogs under my superior campaign."

You blinked, shifting at the bloodlust in her eyes "You're a bit a crack-pot aren't you?"

"Why would I be a cracked pot?" She asked, a little obliviously.

"Ummm never mind. I need to speak with you, privately, if you are so inclined?" The cafe was always near empty during class, still, a few people tapped away on laptops, theatre students by the look of them, probably writing up a screenplay or something dumb like that.

Rose peered at the students and gave a knowing gesture towards the backdoor "Come, Help us up. My back hurts and I need to take my break anyway." She spoke bluntly, wincing as you Assisted her to her feet. "Luke!" She called sharply, making you jolt at the booming sound.

"Ow," Daisy muttered, the two of you rubbing your over-powered ears.

A Boy scuttled out from the backroom, tired-looking and melancholy just like the majority of her colleagues here. "Breaktime?" He yawned.

Rose nodded to the boy, whose eyes opened a little widely at you "Hey, you're charlie drake right? Wicked stuff, kicking those jocks asses the other day."

A prideful smirk painted your face, Rose looking bemused as you lent on the countertop snobbily "Yep, that's me, your friendly neighbourhood, Spider-ma---aaaaan"

"-Yeah yeah, Stop gloating and let's go," Rose grumbled, dragging you off and ruining your groove.