Chapter 5: Wonder
Yawning, Osbert sat up, stretched his arms, looking at the quiet darkness of the room.
"Awake?" Roy asked, sitting on his wheelchair as the moon slowly became even more visible, then he got out of it and began stretching.
"Huh?" The man asked, slightly out of it still. "Was I sleeping the whole day?"
"You were awake the whole night." Roy chuckled, handing him a cup of hot water. "Here you go, this might wake you up."
"No coffee?"
"You know how you get with coffee," Roy said, holding a cup of his own. "Now we just have to wait for Lily to wake up."
"It must be hard to be stuck like that all the time," Osbert remarked, looking at the statue slowly begin to crack.
"She is a Gorgon," Roy said shrugging. "Though, she has the most impressive abilities of us all."
"There is a reason she was asked to join," Osbert said, laying back on the couch. "I am hungry. I haven't eaten the entire day."
"I have some things for you." Roy walked to the fridge and pulled out a plastic with a large slab of meat inside it. "Should I cook it?"
"I prefer it raw," Osbert said, shaking as his body morphed into a large wolf-like creature with majestic dark blue fur that seemed to sparkle in the moonlight though that might just be some of the white furs mixed in.
"Alright. Here you go." The man said, putting the meat on the plastic-covered floor as the creature began devouring it hungrily. "To not want to eat that in human form, even if you can … you really want to separate your human self from your other self, don't you?"
"Whatever."
"I have to admire your dedication." Roy chuckled as they heard something breaking followed by a groan of pain. "Good morning, Lily."
The woman stood in the middle of a rubble of stone littered all over the ground, stretching.
"Hey." She said, making her way to Roy.
"Coffee?"
"Black?"
"Yes. I'll pour you some." He got off his seat and picked a cup for the woman rubbing her sore arms, who just made eye contact with the large hundred-pound wolf. "Alby? Are you that hungry?"
"Just let him eat in peace." Roy chuckled, placing the cup in front of her. "Are you hungry too? Should I make you something?"
"Do we still have that vegetarian meal you ordered last night?" She asked, gulping the coffee like it was water.
"I do." Roy walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a box. "I'll warm it up for you. Are you full, Alby?"
"Yeah." The man said, covered in blood and sitting naked on the blood-stained plastic floor as he licked the blood running down his hand. "A little too full maybe."
"I am just glad you are able to feel full," Roy said brightly, standing in front of the microwave.
Their living room is connected to the kitchen. In fact, there is only one other room, besides the bathroom and that is where Roy keeps his wheelchair and crutches. They also keep their change of clothes there. A shared closet of sorts.
They never needed to go anywhere else and each of them have their own designated spots so that space was fine for everyone. The kitchen had all they needed.
The only time they go out is during the night and when they have to patrol to make sure nothing suspicious was happening, otherwise, the mornings are just when they rest.
"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" Lily asked, staring at Roy as he placed the box of vegetables in front of her.
"How are you even able to survive at this point?" Osbert asked, washing the blood from his face and hands in the sink.
"Go take a bath." Roy scolded, pushing him into the bathroom. "Or should I wash you?"
"Fine. Fine." Osbert said, walking into the bathroom without closing the door and turned on the tap. "Tell me, why didn't you sleep?"
"Shouldn't you concentrate on bathing first?"
"I can do both."
"I am curious too," Lily said, sticking her fork into the salad. "You don't usually stay up unless something happens. Something that bothers you to no end."
"Is it the man we met last night?!" Osbert called from the bathroom. "The one who bit me?!"
"Do you still have the mark??" Lily asked, turning in the direction of the bathroom as they heard splashing sounds.
"Yes! I thought I would have healed by now. Strange."
"I was just browsing the net," Roy said, staring at the cup in front of him. "To see if I could find out anything about creatures like us. I couldn't find anything."
"Well, what did you expect?" Lily chuckled. "If you could just find out by browsing the net, then there would have been no need of us to patrol the area."
"Why were you trying to look for creatures like us?" Osbert asked, walking to them with a towel draped around his shoulder. "You have never really shown interest in them before."
"I know," Roy said, conflict written all over his face. "But last night made me think just a little bit. That vampire was powerful but even he cannot escape the effects of daylight.
"So that made me wonder where he could have gone to and just how many of our types were left.
"After that, I wondered what would happen if all creatures like us were gone, what would happen to us? Will they keep us alive or experiment on us?
"Will we be allowed to live or will we be killed? We are dangerous in our own right."
Osbert and Lily exchanged looks before walking to Roy.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Lily said, hugging the man. "I know you have a lot of worries but we are here, right? It is best to just focus on the present."
"I agree," Osbert said, awkwardly patting his uncle's shoulder. "Besides, I don't think there is going to be a lack of us any time soon. I can smell countless people roaming the night. A little more than usual though."
"I suppose we will have to be on the alert then." Roy chuckled, smiling brightly up at the two. "Thanks, you two."
"Let's get ready," Osbert said, walking into the closet first and closed the door behind him.
"Last night is bothering him. Isn't it?" Roy remarked, looking at Lily.
"I wouldn't say bother. But it seems that vampire gave us all something to think about." She said, turning to the man, her purple eyes glittering. "After all, that was the first time we felt anything so dangerous."
"Our other patrols only included us meeting those creatures close to death or so hungry they were dangerous. Never someone with that much … personality."
Lily chewed at her lower lip, "Did he just come or was he here the entire time? If it was the latter, I wondered how we missed him all those months."
"And how many more are there like him?" Roy asked, his bluish-grey eyes glistening. "We will need to stay alert tonight."
"Yeah."
_________________________
Picking out a black oversized shirt and a matching black to white oversized jacket, Osbert stared at the mirror and the bite marks on his neck and the little cut on his lip, frowning.
Why hasn't it healed yet?
He remembered how the man quickly covered his lip as smoke came out of the spot the blood hit. He stared at the crystal hanging from his neck, its faint blue glow lighting up the room.
It was just like how some of the vampires I killed. But … how old is he?
They told me that … unless you have this, you will go crazy with bloodlust the moment you turn seventeen. But that man didn't look crazy like the others and … he didn't seem to have this as well.
Osbert stared at the silver markings on his back, frowning even deeper as he quickly put on his shirt to hide the marks on his body as well as that marking.
"I hope I can meet him again. I have so many questions."
"What did you say, Alby?" Roy asked from behind the door as the man quickly tucked in the crystal around his neck.
"I was just talking to myself," Osbert said, staring at the burnt marks all along his arms and his face. How did this even happen in the first place?
The man from the night before's disappointed expression suddenly came on his mind.
"Aww~. I thought you would be pretty."
"Well, excuse me for getting burnt." The man said grumpily, wearing his jacket and then the mask, annoyance written all over his face.
Wait, why is that bothering me? Huh? Why do I care what he thinks of my face?
Ugh. Whatever.
He walked to the door and opened it to meet Roy.
"Oh? You're done?" Roy asked, staring at the younger man closely. "Did you just put your bangs over your face? Don't you usually push them to the side?"
"I am not doing anything because it doesn't bother me at all," Osbert said, walking out of the room awkwardly, leaving Lily and Roy very, very confused.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone