When he heard her heart pounding away like a jackhammer and saw the lines of her body go taut, Kalab wanted to kiss her again. Sheâ€™d nearly relaxed before. But what would it get him? At best, slapped again. At worst, heâ€™d probably be stabbed. And that option was no good for either of them. Noâ€¦ He wouldnâ€™t even touch her, even though he wanted to try to rub some calm into her.<br/><br/>Kalab just knelt there, head down, letting her shout at him even though sheâ€™d clearly taken what heâ€™d said wrong. He thought she was done, and chanced a look up, rather contrite and a little bit confused. Panicâ€¦ was a good look on his Nehmahati. Not all the time, but right now, it was perfect. She was afraid of, not him, he could tell that, but of herself.<br/><br/>It hurt him though, to hear that she was killing the little ones, the vampires. Annoying they might be, but that was only to be expected. They were childrenâ€¦ Kalab wrapped his arms around her legs and lay his head against her stomach. â€œCalm, dear heart. I donâ€™t think humans are pitiful, or fragile. They are beautiful, tough, fleeting creatures. But it isnâ€™t what you areâ€¦â€<br/><br/>He wouldnâ€™t let her go until he was done, not even if she did hurt him. And he loved listening to her heart beat so closely, loved being able to smell her skin and the soap she used, loved especially the warmth of her body. â€œA long time ago, sometime beyond the memory of even the oldest creatures, there was only man, beast, and the gods. Then man, with his pretty words and short sight, broke the pact. So the gods created others. Werewolves, demons, angelsâ€¦ And one goddess made vampires. Until the great split, all of them worked to keep the balance in manâ€™s world, out of his sight, and forever feared or revered by him. But the old gods passed, and the new creations, the little ones forgot.<br/><br/>And Rorik and Varik became the gods of all vampires in the goddessâ€™s stead. These two, unable to have children between themselves, chose a young priestess. She brought into the world twins. One male and one female demi-god. â€¦Nehmahati and Kalab. Two halves of a whole, fire and ice, chaos and stillness; made only for each other. They were born to replace their parents, when the time came. Only someone killed my dear heart, my soulâ€¦â€ He clenched his jaw and squeezed harder on her legs, snarling in unadulterated fury, â€œand that goddamned leech Ellon will find his balls yanked out of his fucking eyes if I ever see him again!â€ But he took a breath, shut his eyes, and much of the angry tension faded away until he could look at her with nothing but concern. â€œHe never hurt you, did he?â€<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">--------</div><br/><br/>â€œAww, tings gawn. Now wudda we sâ€™post tâ€™do?â€ The shade with its puppy gazed longingly after the direction the white thing had gone, seeming to accidentally avoid being struck by its partner.<br/><br/>â€œWe wait until they come out, stoopid.â€<br/><br/>This answer went unappreciated by the first shadow creature, who rambled some distance away, playing with the puppy in the long shadows cast by the fluorescent lighting in the tunnel.