The memories seemed like they were growing stronger every day. Or at least, he thought they were memories. He doesn’t actually recall the event that plays in his head, it’s more like a particularly vivid dream. But he caught glimpses, and he knew exactly what it meant. The sight of a trampled body, the blood that came up to his elbows, the crushed and discarded heart at his feet. But strangely, it was the stench that he remembered most, that reek of death – but not just fresh death, or even a few weeks later kind of rot, but the gut wrenching smell of the innards of a vampire.
He didn’t remember anything else, but those glimpses certainly seemed to be getting clearer. They bothered him mostly at night, and they had disrupted his sleep which was frustrating. Alex knew that the brief, fleeting visions were memories, and he knew that he had killed Lucien Remington… but it hadn’t been him. It was difficult to describe, Teph had said that she had found him – hooves and all which was an absolute no no – delirious and stumbling around the back of the barns at the ranch. He couldn’t remember that either.
Alexei just tried to focus on his work, shifting hay bales in one of the barns. In only a matter of months spring would break, and spring meant more tourists, which meant the horses had to be ready and rearing to go. He sensed their frustration too, the need to break free of the snow and ice and prance in the meadows. Soon, he kept telling them, soon they’ll get their chance.
When the last bale was set nicely atop the stack, he glanced down to his watch and found that it was probably time he took a break. He’d skipped right through lunch in favour of keeping busy, but now he was starting to feel the fatigue in his muscles and bones. Alexei dusted off his hands, grabbed his jacket and hat. Both were slung on with little care as he stepped back out into the crisp white landscape.
The ranch was just outside of town, but on a clear day like today you could just about see the ski resort and cable car leading down the mountain from over the hill. From the hill itself you didn’t get a bad view of the town proper, but that single building nestled into the higher reaches of the mountain was a reminder that civilisation wasn’t so far. Alexei turned and headed back towards the shack that doubled both as office and breakout area, but he didn’t bother going inside. Instead he just pulled out a flask from inside his jacket and sat himself down in the rocking chair on the porch after giving it a dust down from the snow. Kicking his feet up on the banister, he took a long, deep swig from the flask.
A coat was never something Xera had ever had much need for, but as she tracked through the snowy landscape of the town, she found she was thankful for the one she’d been given for yule. Her sister had noticed that Xera’s body temperature had dipped and that she no longer had the ability to keep herself warm like she used to. She’d also given her a pair of faux fur lined snow boots. She’d not found a reason to break them in, but she’d grown bored sitting at home watching cartoons so she’d decided to take a walk. It was perhaps not a smart choice, considering her illness, but she needed the fresh air and the silence.
There were different kinds of silence that surrounded the town, but what Xera had needed was a silence of the body and the mind. Not the silence of the town or even her home. She could have found that easily enough if she’d only turned off the TV and locked her front door. The silence she required was that of nature. The sounds, or utter lack there of, of the snow falling on the ground. The way the world sounded completely devoid of life as white blotted out all in its path. That was the kind of silence she needed. So she’d pulled on her boots over a pair of simple skinny jeans and slipped into the puffy down coat her sister had given her and headed out of the house. She tried not to think of the aneurysm Oliver would have had had he known she was out in the cold while she was this sick. It was easy to do if she was honest. He’d left, picked whatever was important over his ailing girlfriend and she was finding it hard not to feel angry over that. The simple thought of seeing his indignation only spurred her on in her walk.
She walked and walked and walked, not caring where she was really going, though her feet knew the path she walked. The only true thought in her head was that the farther away from town she got, the quieter nature became. It was like someone had taken all sound from the world. It was the most beautiful thing she could think of. The most calming. She had always loved the sound of silence. It was so complete. So encompassing and imposing. It was safe. Silence meant nothing was happening. It wasn’t until the sound of a horse caught her attention, breaking the silence that she realized where she’d wandered off to. She’d expected to find herself at Demitri’s, but no. She’d found herself outside a ranch she hadn’t visited in many months. She’d been up a few times in the summer, offering her winds to the few that worked with the horses but she’d been scarce since fall came. With her illness, she’d stopped venturing anywhere that was not her shop.
She paused, considering her options. She never wanted to bother Alex, he had a temperament that did not always welcome visitors, but she’d loved the horses and would love to see them. There was one in particular that Xera was extremely attached to. He was 16 hands tall and a gorgeous fawn color with little tan spots. She’d fallen in love with him the second she’d met him. Percy was his name and she always gave him an extra apple when she was there. Alex never truly seemed to mind when Xera was around, thankful so she didn’t really hesitate when she took a left and headed up the path that would take her to the stables and to Percy for sure and possibly Alex.
Xera knew the road up to the stables like the back of her hand when there was no snow on the ground, but the snow liked to cover obstacles and rocks. She didn’t think much of it as she walked up the path and onto the ranch. That was until her boot hooked a rock and she ended up rolling her ankle because of the change is ground level. She landed in the snow with a muffled flump, her jacket protecting her from most of the impact and let out a little laugh. The ridiculousness of the scene was not lost on her even as she rolled over and climbed to her feet. “That was graceful,” she said looking down at the disturbed snow that now held an outline of her. “Well done.” The snow and she weren’t really getting along, but she didn’t care. It was still beautiful and silent.
She tested her ankle, finding it a bit sore but otherwise in fine working order. It wasn’t long before she realized that she wasn’t alone outside, despite the fact that snow was everywhere. Alex stood out against the white backdrop looking the picture of laid back. It was a pose Xera had never gotten the hang of in her 27 years of life.
She dusted herself off, patting the snow from her jeans and coat before making her way over to him. She said nothing about the flask, but smiled and waved instead. “Wasn’t expecting to see you out here,” she said, her voice soft as she stopped just before the steps up to where he sat. “How’s it goin?”
