Chapter 5: Chapter 5- Supernaturally Normal and Research
POV-Hope
Making my way back to my room I take a deep breath, not bothering to hide the stupid grin on my face. Dominic…Dom, is just so easy to talk to, confident, casual, and fun. I like Landon, what he was for me, something normal in my wildly chaotic mess of a life, but I wish he were more like Dom. He's better than I remember, but there's this look in his eyes, whenever he can get them off the floor, that seems off-putting.
And Dom didn't even question the reason for bringing the page of black magic, and not because he didn't understand. He knew why I originally brought it, but still hid it for me and gave it back without questioning why I was planning to kill his brother, well foster brother.
In two days, each of them has already made a clear impression on most of the students, Landon for being possessed into stealing a magic knife, at least according to him. Rafael for hanging out with the wolves, having a shitty attitude and a bad temper, and Dominic for being a unique creature both socially and supernaturally, managing to befriend the Saltzman twins with ease, and also have a friendly conversation with Penelope, who many assumed would put a curse on him. He'd even managed to call Lizzy Liz without her getting angry at him, a miracle of magic considering the last person who did so was left with facial scars from the severity of the acne inflicted on her.
His being a unique creature, a demon, was also incredible news for me. My whole life I've been different, isolated because I'm different from those around me. Yet here he is, casual as can be about being a race we thought only religious fiction. I'd no longer be the outsider because I can hang with him, even if that means dealing with Lizzy's attitude.
POV- Dominic
Waking to an early alarm I enjoy the first warm shower I'd had since the church. Washing my face and brushing my teeth was a weird experience as I was constantly staring at my forehead, wondering if I'll end up with horns. 'Don't get me wrong, that would be cool as hell, but only as long as they can retract like everything else. Speaking of,' I groan as my thoughts go to my ruined top and jacket, both ripped across the back. 'Maybe I should buy some of those wide open side singlets, that should allow me the range of motion required to use my wings without replacing shirts all the time. The only alternative is to carry around a zip-up hoodie with me wherever in case my shirt gets ripped so I can cover it.' "I'll deal with it later." Walking shirtless over to Rafael's room I knock, finding him already awake and dressed.
"Hey bro, what's up?"
"I was wondering if you'd been given shirts to wear, because my wings ripped mine, and I don't think going around shirtless is a great idea."
"It is if you want a date, God damn," Raf's roommate said, Thomas, I think. He quickly looked up at me and asked, "Is it offensive to say that, you know invoke the name of God?"
"I don't think so, but then again, I was never religious." Thomas let out a sigh of relief, passing me a shirt from his wardrobe.
"You look close to my size, though definitely fitter, but you should be able to visit the town this afternoon after the game. Just return it rip-free sometime tomorrow."
"Cheers, dude. Okay, well seeya Raf." The shirt was definitely a little small. Luckily it was a long line so it fit me vertically, but the way it clung to me made me feel more embarrassed than when I was shirtless. Heading down to the dining hall I grab a small plate of chicken and cheese quesadillas, munching on them as I catch up to the twins. "Good morning, ladies." Both smiled but looked drained, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just couldn't eat much because she did something stupid that affected both our bodies."
"Magic twin synergy…awesome. By something stupid, you mean like black magic stupid or licking the skin of a toad stupid?"
Josie looked at me in a panic but noticing my casual demeanour, quesadilla in hand, she explained, "The tracking spell that was performed to find your brother had elements of black magic in it, not entirely dark, but still enough to make you empty your stomach and feel ill after."
"Fair enough, Hope did a spell yesterday that knocked her unconscious for a minute or so." The girls looked at each other simultaneously, sharing a look of mutually understood recognition.
Liz continued her complaint about Josie's spell, "Well because of your spell, I had the sudden urge to purge, and heaved up a gallon of black goo."
Coming out from behind the corner of the wall, Penelope makes a catty remark, "Maybe you're pregnant Lizzie. Or maybe that's just how that jersey fits."
"Seriously? That was such a basic bitch insult, Penelope. I expected better from you." I turn to Liz, "Though that yellow does nothing for your skin, or anyone's who picked the colour it's awful."
"Dad did," Josie answered, glowering at Penelope.
I put my hands on Josie and Liz, guiding them away from the instigator, "See you later Penelope."
~~~
"So wait, you've been losing every year just to throw off suspicion," I ask, standing near the group of players as they warmed up in the sun.
"Well, we can't use our powers so we suck."
"But can't you just win, like humans? Win fair and square?"
"That's…Our dad wants us to lose, and he's the coach." I raise my hands in surrender, not pressing the issue.
Milton's vamp buddy Kaleb was listening though, supernatural hearing and all, and gave me a nod and a thumbs up.
During the coin toss, I burst out laughing at the state of the other team. "Hahaha, how the hell have you been losing at football against this group of gangly twigs." Both teams were looking at me, one with amusement and the other with anger, the tallest twig barking back at me as I sat on the bench next to Penelope.
"Who the fuck are you calling a twig?"
"You, dumbass. Kaleb run him down." A grin from the vamp guaranteed the poor sod's fate, and within seconds of being passed the ball, Kaleb, at a fairly regular teenage speed, swiped the ball from him, running straight past two defenders into the end zone. Despite the occasional intentional flaw and flop from Milton and Josie, the scores weren't terrible, Kaleb having held the offence while remaining completely normal. During half-time, Alaric went over the gameplay.
"All of you have done excellent, but Kaleb, why're you going against the plan?"
Kaleb in turn, points to me, as I'm sitting relaxed on the bench sharing a drink with the 'evil witch,' as Liz called her, causing Alaric to groan as he looks across. "What he said makes sense, I was an athlete before turning, and the opponents are absolute twigs. It's actually weird how a team with some fairly fit vamps and wolves are losing against them so badly." Alaric pondered it for a moment before putting it to a vote, letting the team make the decision on whether to intentionally lose, or win as humans.
"Majority say win. Get out there and take the win, but no superspeed or compulsion, and absolutely no spells, no matter how bad they trash talk." When the team left to go play again he came over to us, "The both of you are exceptionally good at convincing people aren't you, between the two of you, I think you could manipulate the whole school. Your right about this, but just make sure no one gets hurt." Both Penelope and I nod, knowing that he was referring to his daughters, and neither of us truly wanted to harm them, merely possess.
"Of course, Dr Saltzman," we said, almost simultaneously, causing him to flinch slightly. As he moved away Penelope raised a question she'd been holding back since we sat together, "So which one of them are you going for?"
"Who says I'm going for anyone? I'm not used to being in one place for a long period of time, so dating was never really my goal." She looks into my eyes looking for signs of deception, faint flickers of dark purple and light grey showing mild fear and confusion. "And who says I wouldn't go for both?" The smirk on my face, as I jest, made her laugh.
"Going after twins is a bold move."
"Well, they're so codependent I'd feel bad if I split them up. And besides, as the sole known member of my race, I should be trying to prevent extinction." She smiled again, her beautiful face a stark contrast to the insults I'd heard about the 'vile bitch.'
"Wow, both generous and a conservationist, how rare." Grabbing the bottle from me she takes a sip, "So how did you trigger your bloodline?"
"I was stabbed to death, 3 days ago."
"Is that it, because that's pretty much the same for vampires."
"Well, I'm not sure if it's important, but I was stabbed while I was having sex with a taken girl, her partner saw us in the car and the doors were locked anyway. So, when he told me to get out so he could bash me I just kept going, which prompted him to stab me and dump me in an alleyway."
By the time I finished telling my story, Penelope was cackling like a hyena, wheezing as she laughed. "You're such an idiot. You kept going just to spite him, then wonder why he stabbed you. Why didn't she react?"
"She was kind of out of it by that point, and making her finish in front of her partner was probably the reason he stabbed me yes." She continued to laugh for a while, every time she looked at me it would set her off again.
The game at this point had 3 minutes left and Liz had the ball. With scores tied, we could actually win this, despite most of the team spending the first half tripping on air, diving out of the way of attackers, and pushing the ball away when they should be catching.
Liz backed up, looking for a good pass, but seeing no one, ran it herself, passing one defender and continuing up the field. A short blonde girl from the human school was approaching from her blind side, but almost a meter from Liz's back, Josie tackled the girl to the floor, allowing Liz to slip through unguarded, scoring in the final moments. As the final whistle blew the team cheered and whooed like women on a hen's night, celebrating their first-ever win. Students with horse head masks and hideous yellow and blue shirts enjoying the win and dissing the Mystic Falls Highschool students. 'Okay, the rivalry between the schools is way worse than I thought.' I could see the trash talk between the players, but I figured it was just the atmosphere, but hearing some of the comments about the Mystic Wolves getting bred, for a more polite term, by the Stallions, was way more aggressive than I expected.
"Are they usually this bad?" I say turning to Milton who'd run over to grab a drink.
"Mhmm, yeah. Usually, it's us being mocked and jeered at every year but the hostility's the same." When Kaleb ran over and offered his hand I was a little surprised, as I'd been told by the twins that the vamps and wolves generally avoid everyone outside their species.
"We haven't officially met, I'm Kaleb, vamp. I just wanted to say thanks for convincing Dr Saltzman to win. I was scouted by division one schools before getting turned, so the lose-to-win plan was really pissing me off."
"All good, Dominic. Demon."
"The rumours were true?"
"Wings, tail and aversion to exorcisms point in that direction." He motioned for silence looking over my shoulder at the blonde from the regular school who'd traipsed over to the Stallion's bench bravely. She walked right up to Kaleb and complimented him for having "nice hands," which was the weirdest compliment I'd ever heard.
"And you," she starts turning to me, now having to look up rather severely, "Why aren't you playing?"
"Because I enrolled here 3 days ago," I reply, with minimum levels of interest in the girl who reminds me of some of the bitches I'd gone to school with. Popular for no reason, moderately good-looking, and yaps like a terrier, or some other breed of small dog. "Is that all you came here for? To compliment his hands and ask why I wasn't on the field?"
"Actually, I came here to piss off the tall blonde bitch on your team, but I'm open for a date if you're ever in town. I should get going. Don't want to trigger another meltdown now she's off her meds." Smirking evilly, she turned and left, blowing a kiss towards a seething Liz.
"She knows what she's doing," Kaleb said, laughing lightly at Liz's expression.
"Kinda like a low-end version of Penelope, no magic and no charm." With a groan, I head over to go deal with Liz, who was currently being whispered to by Josie in an attempt to calm her down.
"One word and I could burn her perky little boobs to ash," I hear. It seems chicks are just as spiteful with or without magic.
"You talking about the short blonde?" I ask, not really needing an answer.
"Dana, yes," Josie said, her naming of the girl causing Liz to tense up again.
"Yeah, she's got a real thing against you, Liz, openly admitted to trying to rile you up while talking to us."
"That's all she wanted?" Liz asked, looking at me hopefully. 'There's two ways to respond to this, either I say yes and calm her down, or have a little fun and set her off by mentioning the date invite. Eeny Meeny Miney Moe… Fun it is.' "Well, she also asked me on a date next time I'm in town, but yeah pretty much." Watching both girls flinch and ball their fists with clenched jaws was mildly hilarious, 'Do they know how cute they look when they're pissed?'
"A date?" Josie spat out, holding onto Liz tighter in both anger and preparation in case of a meltdown. I let their emotions build, watching as their individual emotional vapours become swirling masses almost as severe as Hope's was yesterday.
"Yeah, but I've got a feeling she's equally interested in getting into your head as my pants, so I'll probably turn her down." I'd waited long enough, though to be honest it was only about six seconds, before releasing them from their build-up.
"Really?" Liz asked glassy-eyed.
"Really really. I've got enhanced strength and stamina. I'd be worried about breaking her," I laugh, though the dark looks in the girl's eyes warned me not to joke about banging Dana again.
Hope, who'd watched the whole game from Dr Saltzman's side for some reason, came over, demonstrating the werewolf hearing I'd heard about, suggesting that perhaps it required some level of concentration. Unlike yesterday, when she and Raf missed the dragon lady breaking a stick, she managed to hear my end of the conversation. "You mentioned the strength and endurance yesterday but never described it. How strong are you?"
"I have no idea how strong I am, but I can run at around 30 miles an hour for over an hour pretty easily. So, not vamp speed but then again, I can fly, so…"
"Have you tried sprinting all out?" Josie asked, now curious as to my body's limits.
"No, I was only trying to warm up and do some exercise in the gym after sneaking out of your room," I explain causing Hope to look at me weirdly. "I slept on their floor seeing as Dr Saltzman hadn't allocated me a room after dealing with Landon," I explain, not wanting to piss off the chick with a book of black magic.
"You should try," Hope added, "knowing what you can and can't do could save your life."
"Yes mother," I groan, rolling my eyes to the twins' amusement. "Though I feel like whatever level I'm at isn't my best. A year or so back I couldn't train because of an injury and my body got all stiff and weak because the muscles weren't being used. Currently, it feels like that but worse, like there's a limit on what I can achieve currently, far from my potential."
"And you know that how, are you a doctor?"
"No, but I train my body every single day, so I know when my body isn't feeling in top shape. I might be wrong but I doubt it, not on this."
"Still test your body's limits, even if you're right. Maybe Emma will be able to give you a better direction once she figures out what you are exactly because the lack of horns and hellfire is making me doubt the demon theory."
"I brushed off dragon fire with my bare body. Humans may have simply figured we controlled fire because of it, though I see your point. The sleep touch thing is definitely not what is described in most descriptions of demons." My last sentence caused a flinch in Josie, a wave of pink colouring her emotions and her cheeks. 'The fuck is she embarrassed about? I'm the one with the Nyquil touch.'
POV- Dorian
After yesterday's clusterfuck with the magic knife and the dragon, I started to branch out my supernatural creature studies, reading everything I could and identifying common weaknesses and abilities of supernatural creatures in books and media. A week ago, I would have laughed at the idea of using modern media to build a database on the supernatural, but apparently, regular humans have already done an extremely thorough job. Through movies and books, they have explored creatures I hadn't even heard of and made online web pages detailing the creatures and what they can do.
"Dragon," I read. "Large, scaled creature with four legs and the ability to breathe fire. Often depicted as having wings and hoarding stolen treasure such as gold in their dens, particularly from the tales of the western continents. Not to be confused with Wyverns that have two legs and wings, but varied showings of fire-breathing."Noting it down I had a look at demons, having heard the rumours around the school and from Emma herself who was inclined to agree.
"Demons. Once angels, that fell with Lucifer's rebellion, the fallen angels were banished to hell, serving as torturers of the damned, though are sometimes depicted as evil tempters on Earth, sowing discord in humanity. Depictions illustrate them as having wings, similar to those of a dragon or a bat, and a spiked tail and horns. Though modern media has altered the images slightly in television and some graphic novels, the common description is as above. Demons vary throughout stories, with some being large, hulking brutes, obese gluttons and some capable of invading the dreams of others." 'He has the ability to put people to sleep so maybe start there?' I mused, 'Baphomet, Devil, Spiny devil, Succubus,'
I instantly click on succubus. "Succubus, plural succubi, are sleep demons that can invade the dreams of men and steal their life essence. Described as creatures of love and lust, they are beautiful creatures that can create addicts out of the purest of people. In male form, called Incubi, these demons are not depicted as being particularly strong physically, in comparison to other branches of demons, however, wield abilities that more than make up for their lower base strength. With supernatural charm, control over the realms of dreams and nightmares, and the manipulation of the emotions of others, these sly demons were a feared creature throughout history. Though now viewed as little more than sex demons, these demons were depicted as capable of absorbing the youth and strength of others and placing their victims in eternal nightmares, a precursor to their time in hell."
"Well, that leaves very little deniability as to what Mr Beaufort is," I murmur to myself. 'I really don't want to have to explain that one of the students is an incubus to Ric, and the drama this will cause when it gets out. Poor kid's gonna be blamed for every single issue at the school.'
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